Caught in the Act: Book Two: Independence Falls (6 page)

Chapter 7

“F
EEL LIKE SADDLING
your horses?”

Katie turned away from the mare she had cross-tied in the barn’s center aisle, and found Liam leaning against the open door. He’d traded his work clothes for clean jeans, cowboy boots, and a button-down flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up to reveal his powerful forearms. “Shouldn’t you be playing in the forest?”

“I started early. Spent the morning playing and the past few hours at my desk.”

“Brody dropped off our response to your bid today.” Katie turned back to the horse, running the brush down her neck. “I figured that would keep you tied up for a while.”

“Eric and I plan to sit down with your brothers, and you if you’re interested, on Monday morning. But I’m not here to talk about your family business.” Liam stepped inside, moving slowly, and offered his hand to the skittish horse. “I have carrots in my pocket. Can I give him one?”

“Her. The mare’s name is Princess.” She gave the horse, a rescue that had abuse in her recent past, a reassuring pat. “And yes. She’d like a carrot.”

Liam reached behind him and withdrew the treat from his back pocket. Breaking it in half, he offered the first piece to Princess.

“Do you always carry horse treats?”

His gaze locked on hers as the mare ate the second piece. “Only when I’m coming to visit you. So how about a ride?”

She shook her head. “I can’t. I have plans tonight.”

“Hot date?”

She heard the edge in his voice. It left her wondering what would happen if she said yes. Would he demand that she cancel? All because of one kiss on his bike? That long-held anger rose to the surface. Liam didn’t have the right to make choices for her. He never had.

She drew her shoulders back, reaffirming her desire to seduce the man gently feeding her mare carrots. But with the meeting scheduled for Monday, and Liam’s determination to take things slow, she didn’t have much time.

“More like a research project.” She hooked a lead line to Princess’s halter and released the crossties. “I hadn’t planned on taking a date with me. But you’re welcome to ride along.”

Liam trailed behind her as she led the horse into her stall and closed the door. “I’m game. What are we researching?”

“Surprise. I’ll pick you up at eight. This time, I’m driving.” She turned, leaning back against the stall door. “Plan on a late night.”

He took a step back. “Katie—”

“And wear your dancing shoes.”

W
ITH THE FULL
moon rising in the Oregon night sky, Liam climbed into the passenger side of Katie’s station wagon and reached for his seat belt.

“Want me to drive?” He’d never liked riding shotgun.

“You don’t know where we’re going.”

“You could navigate.” Seat belt secure, he looked over at her. She’d changed out of her usual jeans and T-shirt into a short, pale pink dress that did amazing things for her long legs. Hell, maybe she should drive. He’d rather watch her skirt inch higher on her legs.

She put the car in reverse and backed out of his driveway. “I can do both. Settle in. Relax. We’re going to be here for a while.”

“I like how you dress for research, but I’m wondering if my jeans and boots will make the cut.” He glanced up at her profile. She’d blown out her hair again and put on makeup. A light coat of shiny gloss on her lips, which left her looking like she wanted to be kissed, and a dusting of something that highlighted her green eyes. “Mind telling me where we’re headed?”

“Surprise. But I think you’ll fit in just fine.”

He shook his head. “You have an independent streak a mile wide, don’t you?”

“I couldn’t stay eighteen forever.”

“Honey, you knew your own mind back then. Your headstrong spirit is part of the reason I never realized how innocent you were. I never imagined it was your first time.”

She stole a quick glance at him before returning her attention to the road. Putting on her blinker, she steered the wagon onto the highway. “We don’t need to talk about this.”

“I think we do.”

He hadn’t been looking forward to this conversation, but he knew it needed to happen. She’d told him the other night that she didn’t hold a grudge, but he suspected that was a lie. Maybe she hadn’t admitted it to herself. Either way, if he wanted to move forward with Katie, they needed to revisit the past. Here, in her moving car, where he couldn’t invite her to sit on his lap, was probably the best place.

And there was one question he’d been dying to ask for seven long years. One he should have addressed to her that night instead of shutting her out. “Why didn’t you tell me it was your first time?”

“I was afraid you’d stop. I didn’t want you to walk away.”

“I would have,” he cut in.

“I know. And I told myself that it didn’t matter. I thought you—” She bit her lower lip as if trying to stop herself from letting another word escape.

“That I’d fallen in love with you?” He kept his voice soft and gentle as if speaking to one of her skittish horses. “Katie, I never meant to hurt you. Never. But I was young too. And pretty damn stupid. I wasn’t looking for love back then.”

“And now?” she demanded. “What are you looking for now?”

Liam hesitated, staring out the window. It was too soon to tell her that he wanted a second chance at that moment when she’d offered him her heart, her future, her everything. He needed more time to prove that he deserved her, show her that he’d cherish her. This time it would be about what she wanted and needed from him.

“I’m not as stupid as I was back then. I like to think I’ve learned from my mistakes.”

“And yet here you are. Taking me out for a second time this week,” she said, not bothering to mask her sarcasm. “What would my brothers think?”

“I’m planning to leave them out of it this time.” At least until he’d won her, which sure as hell better happen by Monday.

“And if that’s not possible?” she challenged.

“Like you said, you’re not eighteen anymore. I would expect them to respect your decisions.”

She let out a mirthless laugh and headed for the exit ramp. The sign overheard indicated they were approaching one of the nearby college towns.

“Am I allowed to know where we’re going yet?” he asked.

“Big Buck’s Country Bar. According to the reviews I read online, they have a mechanical bull.”

His gaze fixed on the bare skin of her thighs. “And you’re planning to ride it wearing that?”

“No.”

Thank God. He’d have ended up in a bar fight if she’d mounted the machine in that dress.

“We’re just checking the place out. I want to find out if they have dancing. See if it gets too crowded. And if I can, talk to a manager, ask if they allow dogs.”

Dancing and dogs? Liam furrowed his brow, unable to piece this puzzle together. “You lost me.”

“It’s for Georgia. The guest list for her party includes a friend with a service dog. I get the sense he’s not a purse dog we could keep hidden. And Georgia wants to go dancing.”

Katie turned into a parking lot lined with cars and a few motorcycles. The neon sign in the corner read: “Big Buck’s, Live Music Tonight!” She pulled into a vacant space. “This doesn’t look promising. I don’t want your sister to run away and hide at her own party, not when we’re supposed to be celebrating her last hurrah as a single woman.”

Liam reached for her arm, stopping her from exiting the wagon. “Hold up a minute. We’re here ‘researching’ my little sister’s bachelorette party?”

She nodded. The smile on her face—it was almost devilish.

“Not a chance, Katie.”

Her eyes sparkled with a naughty glint. “I can go in by myself.”

His mind filled with the image of Katie’s long legs wrapped around a mechanical bull. Every man in there would be staring at her. And when she got off and hit the dance floor? They’d be lining up for a chance to get close to her.

“Hell no.” He let go of her arm and reached for the car door. “I’m coming with you.”

K
ATIE SLAMMED HER
door and turned around. Closing her eyes, she drew a deep breath, needing a moment before she played the part of the determined seductress again. She’d been having fun with her role. But then Liam had mentioned the L-word—the one that had no place in her plan.

That one word had thrown her off course. She’d started asking the wrong questions. Instead of wondering if he was ready to fall in love, she should be pressing to find out why he was demanding a place in her life now, after all this time.

She knew from experience that Liam always took charge, claiming what he wanted. That was part of who he was. He issued commands. But while his words haunted her fantasies, she knew they’d wreak havoc on her dreams for the future.

Still, when he spoke of respecting her choices, her heart had surged as if it wanted to send hope rushing through her veins. It was as if the stupid organ wanted to hear him out, find out if things would be different this time. Not that words and promises could change the past.

And if she wanted to keep her grandfather’s company from slipping away, she had to follow her plan. She couldn’t let her family down again. Her brothers accepted her choices, most of the time. But they had a limit. And when they found out she was involved with Liam again? She had a feeling that respect would go out the window in a heartbeat.

She’d seen the looks her brothers had given Liam over the past seven years. Back when Georgia had come to stay with her, before her friend had worked out her problems with the man she planned to marry, Katie’s brothers—especially Chad—had been ready and willing to start a fight when Liam had come looking for his little sister.

Liam came around to her side of the car. “Ready?”

She walked past him. “Let’s check it out.”

She stepped inside Big Buck’s, her eyes wide. This place looked nothing like the bar described on the review Web sites. The long wooden bar running along one side of the open space fit the pictures, but the similarities stopped there.

“Looks like they removed the mechanical bull,” Liam said, standing close, his front practically touching her back. But glancing around, he didn’t have much choice. Big Buck’s was packed. People, mostly students from the nearby university, if she had to guess, covered every inch of space, their bodies moving to the bump-and-grind music.

“They do have dancing,” he added, his lips brushing against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “But call me crazy, that doesn’t sound like country.”

“It’s not.” The floor beneath her sandals vibrated as the speakers pumped out the kind of music that called for close-contact movement.

“Do you still want to find a manager and ask if they allow dogs?” His hand wrapped around her middle, drawing her back as a pair of drunken girls wobbled past on their outrageously high heels.

“This place is all wrong for Georgia’s bachelorette,” she said, turning her head and looking up at him in order to be heard as she mentally crossed “Country-Western bar with a mechanical bull” off the list.

“Should we head out?” he asked.

His powerful, imposing body acted like a cocoon, shielding her from the wild scene in the bar. The way he held her—possessive and protective—she should run for the door.

“Katie?” he said. “It’s your call.”

She rested her head against his shoulder, silently debating. Stay or go? His arm, wrapped around her center, held her tight. Her hands moved to his forearm, feeling the corded muscles.

“We came all this way,” she said. “Let’s stay for a drink.”

Liam released his hold, laced his fingers through hers, and stepped in front of her. Blazing a path to the bar, he kept her close behind him. Despite the press of bodies, she could smell his unique scent—a lingering hint of the forest mingled with a spicy men’s cologne that drew her in and made her want to stay pressed against him.

Being here, in this bar, she felt as if she’d taken a step back in time. She’d visited places like this, dancing all night, while in college. At first, she’d been trying to erase the hurt she’d left back home, and later she’d come just for fun. Glancing over her shoulder at the crowd of people, couples mixed with groups of mostly girls dancing as if they didn’t have a care in the world, Katie wished she could lose herself in that carefree feeling just for a little while.

“What do you want?” Liam kept his hold on her as he signaled the bartender.

“Something fruity and fun.”

He raised an eyebrow.

The bartender came over before she could reply. Liam relayed her instructions to the young man and ordered a glass of water for himself.

“We don’t do fancy drinks here, man,” the bartender said. “Will vodka and cranberry work?”

She glanced over her shoulder at the crowded dance floor. The rhythm made her want to move, to feel Liam pressing close, dancing with her. Katie turned to the bartender. “Can I change my order to a shot of tequila?”

The bartender cracked a smile. “Sure thing.”

He returned a minute later with their drinks. Katie downed hers and turned to the dance floor. “Drink up. We need to get out there.”

Liam set his water back on the bar and took her hand, leading her around the side of the dance floor. On the edge of the crowd in a dimly lit corner, he drew her close.

His hands on her hips, he allowed her to set the rhythm. The shot combined with the frantic, building beat of the unfamiliar music and left her feeling bold. This man, this solid wall of enticing muscle—he’d made his desire clear the other night in the restaurant. And out here, in this wild crush of people, she wanted to lead him past words, drawing him headlong into touching, feeling.

She ran her hands down his chest, over his chiseled abs, and around to his back. Drifting lower still, she pressed her palms against his butt. He allowed her to pull him close.

“Katie,” he growled.

“No words this time,” she said. “Show me.”

“Here?”

She nodded.

Without warning, he spun her around and drew her back flush against his chest. His arms banded around her, his palms pressed flat against her stomach. He guided her back, away from the dance floor and into the shadows. As they moved closer to the large subwoofer resting on the floor, shaking the ground beneath their feet, it was impossible to hear anything but the music. If he wanted to issue commands, he would need to use his hands and body.