Caught in the Act: Book Two: Independence Falls

by Sara Jane Stone

His eyes narrowed and he reached across the table. Claiming her hand, he turned it over and ran his thumb across her palm. Her breath caught. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who could play this game.

  “Katie, if it makes you happy, I was running chainsaws from the moment I set foot on the job site.”

  “Hmm,” she murmured, feeling his light, teasing touch from head to toe. “Without a shirt?”

  He leaned back in his chair, withdrawing his hand as he let out a low laugh. “Not a chance, honey. Not a chance.”

  The waiter interrupted, placing the spinach/artichoke dip on the table between them. Katie shifted in her seat, breaking contact with him. Looking at this man, she couldn’t picture him behind a desk, pushing papers and reviewing financials. “Do you miss being out there every day? In the forest?”

  He shrugged. “Most days I still am.”

  Her brow furrowed. “I thought Eric wanted you to take a larger role in the business side of things.”

  “That’s part of the deal,” he said. “And I’ll tell you one thing, if all business dinners are like this one, I should have moved into the office a long time ago.”

  “Doubtful.” She suspected that most of the men negotiating deals with Moore Timber had zero interest in seducing Liam. She dipped a cracker into the steaming dish.

  “I’m curious,” she continued. The question of why he was here, why he’d tossed out a low offer now, when she was on the verge of closing the deal with Black Hills, was ever-present in her mind. “If your first love is working in the field, why did you agree to spend time in the office? Negotiating acquisitions doesn’t seem like your thing.”

  Liam glanced out at the water. “I don’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps and work in the forest until the end. That land we walked through the other day?”

  She nodded, picturing the trees and the things they’d done below them. She tried to push the thoughts away, but the memories refused to budge. Shifting in her seat, her thighs rubbed together and she drew her lower lip between her teeth.

  Liam chuckled. “You remember.”

  But then his expression turned serious. “I want to build my own place on that land. Make a home, something nice. You probably didn’t notice when we walked through with the goats, but I’ve already started thinning the surrounding forest. When I’m done, it will look like a park.

  “But it’s about more than just the land,” he added. “I want my kids to have a future and choices—beyond logging or joining the military.”

  “Wow.” She didn’t have another word. The Liam she’d known, the man she’d met out in that field, he hadn’t looked much beyond one night of pleasure.

  But that was before he lost his parents to cancer. Before his sister graduated college and joined the army. Before he waited day and night for Georgia to come back, knowing he couldn’t keep her safe. Katie had a feeling that Georgia’s choice had a ripple effect, one that continued even now that she was home.

  “Georgia could have done anything with her life,” he said quietly. “But for reasons I still don’t fully understand, she joined the army. If I’d had something more to offer her here, a way for her to continue in school . . .”

  “She would have gone anyway,” Katie said. “Georgia wanted to make her way in the world.”

  “Yeah. I know.” He polished off the last of the dip.

  “But you hate losing control.”

  Liam studied her, not saying a word as the server removed the dip and set down their burgers. “You remember that too, huh?”

  “I was angry with you for a long time, Liam,” she said. “But I never wanted to forget that night.”

  And even if she wanted to, she couldn’t escape those memories.

  “Are you still?” he asked, picking up his burger. “I know your brothers hold a grudge. It was written all over Brody’s face when I stopped by. But do you?”

  “No. It was a long time ago.” And that was a big, fat lie. She wouldn’t be here if she didn’t. But this time, it was about more than a grudge. She wanted payback for the way he’d hurt her—and she wanted him to stay far, far away from Summers Family Trucking.

  “When I think about you,” she said softly, leaning closer, “I don’t envision friendly dinners in crowded places. You were always an orgasm-first, talk-second kind of guy.”

  He raised an eyebrow as he set his burger down and wiped his mouth. “Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf.”

  “What if I liked the bad boy who spent his days working with his hands in the woods, and his nights getting down and dirty under the stars?”

  Heat flared in his eyes. That look promised wicked things. “I haven’t changed that much. But I’d like to wine and dine you first. And talk.”

  “About?”

  “Whatever you want.”

  “And then?” she challenged.

  “You want me to spell it out?” His voice was a low rumble.

  She nodded and her pulse sped up. Her body was hovering precariously close to needing things from him. Naughty touches, stolen kisses, and so much more, as if it hadn’t gotten the memo that this was an act, a show put on to trick Liam.

  “Do you see that cabin over there?” Liam leaned back in his chair and pointed at the lake.

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Which one?”

  “You might need to come over here for a better view.” He pushed back from the table and patted his lap.

  “I’ve seen a cabin before, Liam.”

  “Humor me.”

  Katie rose and moved to his side of the wooden table. Bending over, she offered him a view down her tank top. Liam took the bait and stared, his jaw tightening. While she’d grown wiser since the last time he had stolen a peek down her shirt, her breasts hadn’t changed one bit. She’d always been on the small side. But back then, he’d labeled them perfect and given her every reason to believe him.

  Without warning, he looped an arm around her waist, drawing her down to his lap. The hard ridge of his erection pressed against her bottom.

  She shifted her hips, rocking against him, letting him know she hadn’t missed the evidence that he was turned on. “I get the feeling you’d rather be somewhere else,” she murmured.

  “We’ll get there.” His lips brushed her ear as he spoke, keeping his voice low. “And when we do . . .”

  He nipped her ear and Katie closed her eyes, feeling his palm flat against her belly. “I promise to take my shirt off for you.”

  His thumb brushed the underside of her bra. Her breasts would barely fill his hands. She knew that for a fact. But every inch of skin covered by her lace underwear was super sensitive. She bit back a long, low moan, knowing that if he touched her again, even through the barrier of her clothes, she wouldn’t be able to keep quiet.

  “What next?” she demanded, opening her eyes and focusing on his words. “After you take off your shirt?”

  He let out a low chuckle. “How about I start before I undress?”

  “No.” She ran her hand up his leg, wanting to touch him anywhere she could reach from her forward-facing position on his lap.

  “Oh yes, honey.” His free hand captured her wrist, holding tight, preventing her from wandering and exploring.

  “First, I’d strip off your clothes,” he continued, his voice a low growl. “I’m dying to see every inch of you. Touch you. Taste you. And make you scream. I want to hear my name on your lips over and over.”

  “Liam,” she gasped. The way he held, preventing her from touching him, pushed against the limits of her self-control.

  “And I bet that cabin over there has a bed,” he continued. “Some of my wildest fantasies involve lying you down on top of soft sheets, licking you from head to toe.”

  “Fantasies?” she repeated. That one word pulled her out of the teasing game. Her reasons for saying yes to dinner had every
thing to do with the deal to buy her family’s company. And his? She’d suspected he was targeting her as a way to get to her brothers, mistakenly believing she was the weakest link, a way to learn more about pending contracts and unsigned deals. But if he’d been dreaming about her . . .

  He released her wrist and his hand captured hers, interlacing their fingers. “This time,” he whispered, “I’ll be soft and sweet.”

  As she stared at the calm surface of the lake and the cabin in the distance, images of moments she’d never forget flashed before her.

  Her hands held behind her back, not because he’d bound them together, but because he’d told her to keep them there . . . the feel of Liam taking her as if he couldn’t wait, as if he needed to make her his. . .

  She didn’t want soft and sweet from Liam. Not then and not now. “Trying to make amends for the past?” she asked.

  “I want to give you new memories.” He nipped her ear.

  Oh God, she was going to melt into a puddle of take-me-now desire if he did that again. “And if I like the old ones?”

  “We’ll get there too,” he said.

  “Umm, sorry to interrupt,” the waiter said.

  Katie jolted upright on Liam’s lap, feeling her face heat. If she had a mirror, she knew she would see bright red cheeks staring back at her. Her bottom still pressed against Liam’s lap, she glanced at the young man, probably close to her age, holding a second set of menus.

  “Can I interest you in dessert?” the waiter added.

  Liam squeezed her hand. “What do you say? Still hungry?”

  “They don’t have what I want on the menu.” Slowly, she rose from Liam’s lap and walked past the wide-eyed waiter to her side of the table.

  “Just a check,” Liam said. “We need to hit the road.”

  Katie sank into her chair. The motorcycle. An hour with her body pressed up against his, the large machine vibrating beneath her. How was she going to survive the ride home? She stared at the man across the table. She wasn’t. Not without a kiss, a touch—maybe even an orgasm right here in the Ale House parking lot.

  LIAM TOOK HER hand, leading her through the maze of parked cars and pickups to his bike. He needed to get her back to Independence Falls and safely seated in her wagon, heading home to her brothers. His jaw set, his teeth grinding together, he held on to that plan. He was determined to do this right, damn it. When they got down and dirty, there would be nothing holding them back. She would know that she was his.

  Now wasn’t the time and place. She’d asked if he was trying to make amends for the past, and in a way, he was. He’d been too stupid and afraid to fall for her back then. He wouldn’t repeat that mistake.

  Moving too quickly, taking the fleeting pleasure she offered over a supposed business dinner, would only lead to a dead end. He’d traveled that road, and the sign where the pavement ended? It read “FAILURE” in big red letters. And that wasn’t an option for him.

  He stopped beside his bike, quickly handed her the spare helmet, and threw one leg over his ride. Hell, his jeans were too tight. And having her holding on to him for the next hour would be hell. When he got home, he was headed straight for a cold shower. Alone.

  Liam sat upright, hoping she wouldn’t notice that he’d left the restaurant still at half-mast. Before he could stop her, Katie put her foot over his, sliding her leg across his lap. That bold move had him reaching for her. It didn’t matter that they were in a parking lot, the sun still peeking over the coastal ranger. Katie Summers stirred something inside him. Knowing he should end their evening with a simple kiss didn’t change his desire to take more. Perched on the front of his bike, the handlebars at her back, she pressed up against him.

  “Now how am I supposed to drive like this?” he murmured, his hands gliding up her slim waist, teasing the breasts he was dying to touch and taste.

  She inched closer. Her fingers brushed the nape of his neck, working their way up to his hair. “You’re not.”

  “Katie.” He heard the hint of desperation in his voice.

  She touched her mouth to his skin, running her lips, her teeth, her tongue, over his jawline. Liam closed his eyes. Now would be a damn good time to stop, but he couldn’t do it. She drew her body flush against him, rising up until her breath brushed against his ear.

  “My turn,” she said, her voice low and heavy with need. “If I took you to that cabin, I’d give you a night you would never forget. I would tease you until you begged. This time, I want you screaming my name, begging me for more. After all that, if you’re ready for round two in the bed, you’d better be ready and willing to bind me to the bedposts.”

  His pulse raced at the image of Katie tied to his bed. He wanted that and so much more.

  “I remember what turns you on. What makes you lose control,” she added, running her hand down his chest, pressing her palm against his erection. “And I liked it.”

  He grabbed her wrist and drew her teasing fingers away from his crotch before he came on his damn bike. “Katie,” he growled. “We’re in a parking lot.”

  “I know. And I’ll play by your rules.” She shifted back willingly, allowing him to see the wicked gleam in her green eyes. “I’ll wait until you’re ready to give me everything. No holding back.”

  Liam closed his eyes. He felt her slide off the bike and move to the rear seat. He’d never held back. Not with her. But letting her in, showing her what he wanted, that was his biggest regret.

  “I need to take you back to your car. Now,” he said, his voice low and rough. Opening his eyes, he glanced over his shoulder. “Put your helmet on.”

  She smiled. “I always liked it when you made demands.”

  “Katie,” he said, facing forward. “I think I liked you better with curly hair.”

  He revved the bike knowing that was a lie. He liked Katie Summers just the way she was and always had.

  Chapter 6

  KATIE WIGGLED HER freshly painted toes. The pink paint sparkled in the sunlight. She had a mountain of paperwork waiting for her, but Georgia had called and suggested that they meet at the nail salon to talk while Nate was at preschool. Liam’s little sister might have shifted roles from former soldier working as a live-in nanny to fiancée, but she had no intention of finding a new caregiver for the three-year-old. Katie had to admire her friend’s steadfast dedication to a child who’d lost his parents.

  The back door to Ariel’s Salon slammed. Katie spotted Georgia slowly making her way to the backyard nail drying area, a glass of lemon water in one hand and a notebook in the other. She claimed a seat on the bench beside Katie, facing the stunning view of the distant mountains.

  “You know, this place is pretty,” Katie said. “I bet Ariel would let us have your bachelorette party here. We could bring in the champagne, have some girl time.”

  Georgia shook her head, her brown hair falling into her face. “After touring through the vineyards, I’ve decided I want something more daring.”

  “We’re not doing anything that involves jumping out of a plane.” Katie knew her friend had returned home from Afghanistan with a burning desire to live her life to the fullest, but Georgia had calmed down since she had fallen in love with Eric—or at least she’d stopped her wild, risky stunts.

  “Eric said the same thing. But there is a difference between skydiving and wine tasting. I went online and made a list.” Georgia opened her notebook and withdrew a sheet of paper.

  Katie scanned the five potential party venues. “A country bar with a mechanical bull? Is there one in town?”

  “Not in Independence Falls. But there must be one nearby. I also added nightclub to the list. Number two. Eric’s afraid it will be too crowded for me. I’m still having a hard time with large groups of people. But I’d love to go dancing again.”

  Hearing the wistful note in Georgia’s voice, Katie made a mental note to incl
ude dancing in their plans. “We don’t have to go to a nightclub for that.”

  “True,” Georgia said. “And we might have to knock clubbing off the list unless we can find one that allows dogs.”

  Katie looked up from the paper. “Why are we bringing a dog with us?”

  “It wouldn’t be much of a party with just you and me. And I don’t have a lot of girlfriends left in Independence Falls. So I invited Lena. She’s in my veterans’ therapy group, the one that gets together each week in Portland. She is the only other woman who is about our age. I don’t know her well, but I get the sense she’s been struggling to reconnect with her friends. Recently Lena received a service dog trained to help with her PTSD. Wherever Lena goes, the dog goes.”

  Katie nodded. This was Georgia’s party. If she wanted to bring dogs, they would find a way to make it possible.

  “I’m eliminating the sleepover at Eric’s beachfront condo,” Katie said. “It will be too cold in a few months to go to the coast and swim in the ocean, even in wetsuits.”

  “Which brings us back to dancing all night or numbers four and five,” Georgia said.

  Katie tried to picture their merry group—one former soldier recently returned from the Middle East, a second woman with PTSD, a service dog, and herself—at a nightclub. That plan had disaster written all over it.

  “First, we need to expand the guest list. I’ll come up with a few names. Add some friends from high school who are still in town.”

  Georgia nodded. “OK.”

  “And I’ll look into four and five,” Katie promised, scanning the list. “Wait, what is a boudoir photo shoot?”

  Georgia’s eyes lit up. “I read about this online. They recommended using a hotel suite, but I thought maybe we could add our own twist. Rent a cabin in the woods by the lake and do the photo shoot there.”

  Katie heard the word “cabin” and thought of Liam, whispering in her ear the things he wanted to do to her. How could he infuriate her and turn her on at the same time? It didn’t seem fair. But when it came to Liam Trulane, fair wasn’t part of the picture.