AlexI checked the address again to make sure I had it right. The perfectly straight vinyl fencing lining on either side of the paved driveway didn’t seem right. I had worked on countless farms and I couldn’t remember any of them having paved driveways. Few had expensive vinyl fencing. The fencing was pretty, but it wasn’t practical.I added it to my list of things that could be cut back on to get the farm in the black. Spending thousands of dollars for pretty and easy was not the way a farm operated. I parked my truck alongside a fleet of brand-new Chevy Silverado trucks. Each of them had small logos on the door. I groaned, shaking my head at the waste of money. Farm trucks weren’t meant to be pretty.I jumped out of my own truck, covered with a thick layer of dust that clung to the mud clinging to the sides. My truck wasn’t old, but it wasn’t new. It had seen some work, like a truck was meant to do. I looked up at the massive house with what appeared to be a fresh coat of pristine w

DamionIt felt good to slowly start building a routine. I had dropped Oliver off at school and then went right back home to get started in the barn. It felt good to know what needed doing. I had gotten up early and taken the horses out to the pasture, feeding and watering them before taking Oliver to school. Now, it was time to clean out the stalls.I had just finished the first one when I heard Alex’s truck coming down the driveway. There was a little rush of excitement at the thought of seeing her. I knew I had no business getting excited about it, but I liked hanging out with her. It could have been the lack of adult interaction the last week. She was really the only adult I had spoken to since I quit my job. Oliver was a great kid, but he was five and not exactly a great conversationalist.“Two days in a row!” Alex said as she walked into the barn.I grinned. “I’m making it work.”She smiled at me. I took in the sight of her clean face, free of makeup. She looked young and beautif

AlexOh my god. I was kissing Damion. In the barn. And god have mercy, it was fantastic.There was a moment—I didn’t know how or what—but it was a moment that everything changed. I was drinking water, barely able to breathe, when I looked at him. Like really looked at him. His broad chest, with just a smattering of hair stretched over his defined pecs, glistening with sweat, had turned me on.That wasn’t an apt description. I had burned with a need for him. With the flip of a switch, he went from being Damion, the guy who inherited Oliver’s farm, to a man I was incredibly attracted to. The heat between my legs was nothing like the physical heat I felt while bucking hay. I felt achy and wet and so goddamn hot I was practically melting against him.I scraped my short nails down his back, feeling the heated skin under my hands. I wanted more contact. I wanted to feel his flesh against mine. I didn’t care we were in the barn, in the middle of the day, both of us sweaty with bits of green

DamionI was still shaken from the incident in the barn. Shaken was probably not the right word. I had been rocked to my very core. I had never, not ever, experienced such a strong physical need for a woman. There was something about her that set me on fire. I burned for her. Even now, when I knew it was probably a mistake, I wanted her again.I blamed it on the barn and the sweat and how fucking hot she looked with the little bits of hay sticking in her hair. She was edgy and soft and too damn irresistible. I wanted her again. I didn’t know if that was an option or smart, but my body craved hers. Yesterday had been like sampling the goods and getting hooked.I pulled my mind out of the memory, knowing it would only lead to a raging erection that would make it impossible to face her without wanting to really give her a good roll in the hay. I expected her to be back at the house when I got back from dropping Oliver off at school. I didn’t want to get out of the truck with a hard-on. S

AlexI felt like I was playing hooky from school. I should have gone to the farm. I knew it, but I couldn’t do it. I had dressed and changed clothes three times when I realized why I kept changing my clothes. I was trying to impress him. I didn’t need to impress him with my looks. I needed to do my job, and that was that. I was not going to have sex with him again.I had made a cup of coffee, telling myself I could face him and it would all be okay. We would both pretend it never happened and go on with our day. The longer I sat in my chair, stalling, I knew I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t look him in the eye and not think of him naked or him seeing me naked.I bailed on the work. I was a big coward. I could admit it. I dumped the rest of my coffee into the sink and headed out the door. I felt like getting my hair cut. Not really, but it was a good excuse. I walked into her salon and caught her working on a client.Sadie made a big show of looking at the clock, then back at me. “What are