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She tossed her head “I slept”

They were both professional liars but not with each other With each other th

ey only hid the truth under layers of denial Weird it was then

She took off, heading out towards the pastures and the barns He took the last bite of apple, tossed the core in a garden bed and went after her, his longer stride catching her easily He settled in behind her, let the swing of her ponytail and the econouide him, let his motion ease the ache in his muscles and tune out all the reasons he should still be in bed, or anywhere else but following her lead

The proble volcano Except she was too sht he’d always been able to trust that Rory would ignore the h his aruard last night, but judging by her iain, because God help him, he was not sufficiently squared away in his head to do the right thing

As they pounded past the feedlot, a field full of cows and the lone goat who bellowed at the was Every cell in his body told hiive her the pleasure he’d denied her last night The sweat that beaded on his skin wasn’t only the result of the exercise

They ran past the far field and the locked barns Rory had searched, well past being seen by anyone up this early, to a smaller barn he’d not been to before She opened a side door and he followed her inside It was full of farm machinery Rory stood in front of a stack of tires, between an oil druht fro and hands on her hips He’d had his hands all over her body last night, his hting the wrongness of it that was anchors at his ankles

He pulled the door closed behind hi Rory flinch

He could keep this professional He stayed by the door “What did you learn this week?”

“That I—”

She faltered and turned her back to him He stepped forward because in those tords he heard the crust of the earth crack and it released hio to her

“Want you,” she said

She was supposed to be the one who drew the line for him to hold

“That I need—”

He had her in his arms a beat after her words faltered He pulled her back to his chest and she wrapped her arly of worn rease but Rory’s body was hot, and she sainst him he amped by the sense of her