by Lila Kane
She shook her head. “This was it.”
He grinned. “You were confident you were going to get me here.”
“I was hoping.”
“Let’s not waste it, then,” he said, and stood. “Come on.”
She let him pull her out of bed, and when she was before him again, his cock twitched. “Damn. You turn me on just standing there.”
Leah pressed one hand to her cheek. “Shane.”
“I’m not just staying that. I swear.” He saw her glance to her dresser and shook his head. “No way.”
“What?”
“Don’t you dare think about getting dressed. I have a better idea.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“A shower,” he said.
She laughed. “What? You mean like recreate the scene from the manuscript?”
“I bet you can’t do it,” he said, grinning.
“I see. You’re betting again. I’m not losing the bet this time.”
“No?”
She turned away from him and walked to the bathroom. I watched her ass the entire way, then jogged after her, already getting hard again. She turned on the water, and when it was steaming, she stepped inside.
He followed her, and before he could even blink, she was on her knees in front of him. Her lips wrapped around his dick, and he swore he almost died right there.
This was one bet he was only too happy to lose.
Chapter 7
________________
Leah
It was supposed to be a good day. The end of their internship, and a day to celebrate. But Leah almost didn’t want to go into work. The last day of their internship meant the last day she’d see Shane.
When she reached her cubicle, Shane wasn’t there. He hadn’t been late to work since that night at her apartment. But that was because she was usually with him in the mornings. And almost every single night.
Shane might have seemed like the type to play the field, but he hadn’t been with anyone else but her since two months ago.
But every single time she tried to bring up what might happen after this, after their internship was up, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. It was too soon. Or too fast. Or too scary. Shane didn’t seem like a long-term relationship kind of guy.
“Leah?” She glanced over to find Kara standing in her doorway. “Can you come in here for a minute?”
Leah abandoned her desk and walked into Kara’s office. She sat in the chair across from her boss.
Kara folded her hands on top of her desk and got straight to the point. “You’ve been a great intern and we have an opening for an assistant literary agent. You’ll still work for me, but you’ll start to get your own clients. And best of all, you’ll get paid.”
She opened her mouth in surprise. “I had no idea you were looking for someone.”
“Just one position open, and I think you’d be great.”
Only one position? Jenna tried not to show how surprised she was. Shane was just as qualified as her but they weren’t offering the position to him? Or maybe they had and he hadn’t wanted it. Or worse, he knew they weren’t offering it to him and that’s why he hadn’t shown up today.
All those thoughts raced through her mind and she realized Kara was still waiting for her response.
“That’s a wonderful offer,” Leah said. “I’m sure I’ll have a lot of questions later, but for now I’d like to let it sink in and think about it. Can we talk again tomorrow?”
Kara nodded. “Of course. We can discuss whatever you want. I’ll be here.”
Leah walked back to her desk, and froze when she saw the flowers. A small bouquet of roses with a card. She glanced to Shane’s cubicle but he still wasn’t there. Disappointment made her shoulders droop.
She opened the card attached to the flowers and saw Shane’s handwriting.
I got a new job! Don’t worry, Kara knows. I hope your last day at work goes well! –Shane
Her stomach clenched. He’d gotten a new job, but hadn’t told her. He hadn’t shown up for his last day of work. Did that mean his new job was in another city? Another state maybe?
One part of her wanted to throw the flowers in the trash. The other part wanted to run into the copy room, lock herself in, and cry.
How could he do this? They’d been together for two months. Exclusively. They spent almost every night together.
Leah froze at her next realization.
She loved him.
She dove into work, trying to distract herself from the flowers—which she had brought to the break room—and Shane, who hadn’t even thought to take the photo on his desk. Was he really in that big of a hurry to leave?
By the time the day ended, she’d finished the last of her tasks as an intern, and almost wished she’d told Kara she’d take the job before she left. That way she’d have something positive to look forward to tomorrow. Something—anything—besides Shane to think about.
She walked from the office to her apartment, planning on digging a pint of ice cream out of her freezer and eating that for dinner. But when she reached the door and found Shane standing there, her appetite vanished.
“Shane,” she whispered.
He smiled at her, then scanned what she was carrying. “Did you get the flowers?”
She gritted her teeth. “And your note.”
“Ah. So you’re mad.”
“You’re not worth being mad over.”
He lifted his brows, then had the audacity to laugh. “Damn. You really are mad. Too bad, too, because I have something for you.”
She spotted the bag he stood next to and her heart stopped. It was all her things—it had to be. Everything she’d brought to his apartment. Everything she’d left there and he wanted to return.
Her lip quivered. “Okay.”
“Okay, what? You don’t even know what’s in here,” Shane said. He lifted the bag and opened it for her to see. “It’s dinner.”
Confused, she peered inside. “A goodbye dinner?”
“What? No. You thought—oh, shit. Yeah, so…” He ran a hand through his hair. “That was a little mean of me.”
“Mean? What—”
“Making you think I’d just quit without saying goodbye.”
She shoved him. “You did quit without saying goodbye.”
“I did it on purpose. To surprise you.”
“Surprise,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re an asshole.”
He grinned. “Feisty.”
“You have no idea.”
Shane stepped up to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. He kissed her hard. “I wanted to surprise you with dinner and tell you I got a job. I also have something else to tell you.”
Breathless and still confused, she said, “What?”
“I love you, Leah. I have for a while now and it took me too long to say it.”
Her heart swelled in her chest and words wouldn’t come.
“Leah,” Shane said cautiously. “This is where you answer me. Or argue or something.”
“I…I don’t know what to say.” He frowned, making her laugh. “Yes, I do.”
“Say it.”
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 8
________________
Shane
He followed her inside, thinking more about what was underneath her dress than what he’d brought for dinner. Hearing those words, I love you, from her mouth only made him want to solidify his feelings.
He loved Leah and he wanted her to know. The flowers and dinner were just a start.
Leah walked to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of wine. “To celebrate.”
“That’s what dinner’s for,” he said, setting the bag on the counter.
“You’re not the only one who got a new job.”
“What?”
Her lips curved in a sly smile. “Well, a job offer. I haven’t decided yet.”
“When did this happen?”
“Today.” She ro
lled her eyes. “When you weren’t there.”
He pulled her into his arms. “Don’t be mad. I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did.”
“That wasn’t it—or not all of it,” he said. “There’s more.”
“More? I don’t know if I can handle more.”
He ran his tongue along the seam of her mouth, trying to get her to open. When she did, he mingled his tongue with hers, drawing out a quiet moan. “I was offered a job from a publisher. One that’s close by.”
Her unfocused eyes locked on his. “What? How close?”
“Five miles away. Close enough to still be near you. If that’s what you want.”
“If that’s what I want? Shane—”
“I still want to be near you. I know the internship is up and you might be moving on. But…” He kissed her again. “I don’t want that to be it. I still want to be with you.”
He waited, almost afraid for a moment that she’d turn him down. But she’d told him she loved him—that had to mean something, right? Even if they ended up living in separate states, they could make it work.
“I want to be with you, too,” Leah breathed, wrapping her arms around him. “I want to be near you.”
“What about your job offer?”
“It’s with Kara. So I can stay at the same place.”
He eased back, narrowing his eyes on her face. “Kara offered you a job?
“Yes.”
“And she didn’t offer me one?”
Leah laughed and kissed him. “She must have been really impressed with me.”
“And your storytelling skills. You’re getting really good at that romance thing.”
She grinned. “Romance, yes. But I had a good teacher.”
He backed her to the counter. “You did. So are you going to take it?”
“What?”
“The job. Are you going to take it?”
Leah angled her head at him. “I think so. I want to be there and do what Kara does.”
“Live the fantasy,” he said.
She smiled and started to undo the buttons on his shirt. “I think I’ll start living the fantasy right now.”
“Oh yeah?”
“As long as dinner can wait.”
“Dinner can wait,” he said, taking her hand. “I can’t.”
“Where are we going?”
“The bedroom.”
Leah laughed and tugged on his hand, getting him to stop. “I forgot to mention that living the fantasy starts right here.”
He looked around. “In the kitchen?”
She pulled off her shirt and tossed it aside. “In the kitchen.”
Shane’s dick hardened and he gripped her waist to set her on the counter. He could handle kitchen fantasies—and fantasies everywhere else, too. He’d met his match in Leah and the only thing he regretted was not betting her sooner.
Leah rushed to take off the rest of her clothes, but when she reached for him again he caught her hands. “Hold on.”
“I can’t,” she panted. “I need you now.”
“One more thing.”
“No more things. I’m done with surprises.”
He laughed, but held her still. “I want to move in together.”
That made her stop moving. “Really?”
He kissed her. “Really. What do you think?”
“Yes. I think yes. Soon.”
“You’re just horny. You want me to live here so we can do it in the kitchen, and the bedroom, and the bathroom.”
She chuckled. “And on the balcony.”
“You’re an exhibitionist now, too?”
“I’m any fantasy you’ve ever dreamed about.”
He groaned and hurried to take off his pants. “Then let’s get started.”
She pulled him to her. “Let’s.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
________________
Leah
She ran through the front door, nearly tripping on the satchel Shane had left by the door. She cursed but didn’t slow down.
“Shane!”
Her heart raced out of control. She could barely wait to tell him her good news. But when she rounded the corner and saw candles on the dining room table, she froze.
“What…?”
Arms came around her from behind. “Surprise.”
“I thought we were done with surprises,” Leah murmured. She turned to face him.
“Just one more. A big one this time.”
She kissed him long and hard before she answered. “My surprise might be bigger.”
His eyes lit with laughter. “You go first.”
“My client got an offer from a publisher today. My first contract.”
“Really? That’s great news. Congratulations. To both of you. Did you tell her yet?”
“Him. And yes. We talked for an hour this afternoon and he wants to sign after we do a little negotiating.”
He squeezed her tighter. “I’m proud of you. Don’t tell me it was my publisher.”
She laughed. “No, though you should have made an offer. My client is amazing.”
“So you said.”
Her gaze strayed to the candles. “Don’t tell me you made an offer today. We have the same news.”
“No. Not the same. Very different, in fact. But I bet my news might just top yours.”
He took her hand and led her to the table. She sat, nervous and confused at the same time. Maybe he’d got another job offer from a different publisher. But he said very different. Then what…?
When he knelt before her, she gasped and put her hands over her mouth. He was holding a ring.
“Leah,” he said. “Will you marry me?”
“Shane…”
“Are you going to argue with me?”
She laughed and threw her arms around him. “No. Not this time. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He slid the ring on her finger. “I think I won the bet.”
Still laughing, she nodded. “I won’t argue with that either.”
THE COWBOY
_______________________
ENEMIES TO LOVERS, BOOK 6
THE COWBOY
Willow Morgan looks forward to returning to her parent’s ranch. She just graduated from college and the summer is the perfect time for her to get a change of scenery and decide whether or not she wants to go into the family business. But she doesn’t know they’ve hired a new ranch hand, who is taking over the place, running things differently. Who has a record. He might be sexy as hell, but a criminal? The last thing she needs is to have him around her family.
Cole Park is serious about his job. Morgan Ranch takes a lot of work and he knows it better than anyone else, especially Willow. Just because she’s part of the Morgan family, doesn’t mean she knows what she’s doing. But she’s determined to make sure he’s there for the right reasons, and when they confront a crisis together and tension turns sexual, they’ll end up working together in more than one way.
Chapter 1
________________
Willow
The first thing she saw when she drove through the gates of Morgan Ranch was a stray cow. She frowned and slowed her car. What was the cow doing outside the fence?
She sighed and pulled over, dust billowing up behind her. She got out and scanned the fence, looking for a break or a broken post. It wasn’t unlikely—after all, the last time she’d been here, the place had been falling apart.
But everything looked okay from what she’d seen. At least they’d fixed the fences. Part of her worried about the rest of the place, though. Part of her knew that if she didn’t stay to help get things in order, the ranch might not be able to function anymore.
Before Willow could get back into the car, she saw a horse in the distance. On top, a man—a huge man with a dark hat. She shielded her eyes from the sun to try to make out who it was. Her parents had hired a few ranch hands years back, but as far as she knew, one or two had quit, and the others wer
e young. Inexperienced.
He rode well, in control of his horse, hands wrapped around the reins like he’d been doing this his whole life. But this was ranch country, so that was more than likely. Willow had started riding and roping when she was two.
When the rider saw her, he slowed and then hopped off his horse.
“Do you work here?” she asked.
He gave a short nod, paying more attention to the cow than to her.
“Your cow’s loose. I didn’t see any breaks in the fence, but—”
“There aren’t any.” His voice had a bite to it that got my back up. It was also low and dangerous, giving me the chills.
“Then how’d she get out?”
He glanced my way. The brim of his hat shielded his eyes, made them dark enough I could hardly tell what color they were. Her guess? By the way he stared her down like he was God’s gift to man? Onyx. Black as black.
“Someone didn’t do their job.”
Him, probably. But he wasn’t going to take the blame. If her father knew there were cows wandering the road, he wouldn’t be too happy.
She crossed her arms. “Looks like someone’s in trouble then.”
His jaw flexed, gaze narrowed, going all the way from her head to her toes and back again. The motion was equal parts creepy and sexy, with enough edge for her to feel it right in her pussy.
Then he turned, dismissing her. She barely heard his deep voice when he said, “If you’re heading up the ranch right now, Mr. Morgan isn’t home.”
She knew that. She’d called before she’d left this morning, and made good time. Her father was probably getting supplies in town—a job he liked to do on his own. No matter. She’d tell him about the cow and the ranch hand later. They’d get things sorted out.
Willow got back in her car, trying to ignore the eyes on her. She could feel them boring into her back, assessing her. She glanced down at her outfit, a summer dress and sandals. Okay, so her clothes didn’t exactly scream cowgirl, but she hadn’t been planning on doing anything today other than driving home and taking it easy.
But maybe she’d get her jeans and boots on later and give the place a thorough looking over. Just to see how bad it’d gotten. The last thing she wanted was to see the ranch go downhill. Her parents would hate that, too, but they were getting older. Her mom had mentioned buying a summer home further south and her dad, ever since he’d had a heart attack, just couldn’t work as hard as he had before—even though he wanted to.
