Page 186 of Liberating Lily

He’d reached the top by then and watched as her face grew pale.

“Husband, huh? I like the sound of that.”

“You do?” she whispered.

“Of course I do. I’m going to get a ring on that finger as soon as I can, and then you won’t be able to leave me again. Or tell me to go away. Because once you marry me, it’s forever, Lily St. Clary. And there is no getting away from me once you’re my wife.”

“I don’t want to,” she told him. “I didn’t want to push you away. I was just doing what I thought was best.”

“Yeah, what you thought was best,” he said as he climbed up onto the roof and took the gun.

Thank fuck the safety was on. He could breathe a bit easier now.

He set the gun to one side and drew her close to his side. “But it wasn’t for the best, was it?”

“He would have shot you,” she exclaimed. “I had to send you away. How come you came back anyway?”

“I came back because I realized you wouldn’t have just changed your mind like that. And I’d let my hurt feelings and temper rule rather than my brain. Oh, and I would rather he was threatening me than you,” he told her. “Thinking about you running away from him, climbing onto a roof with a loaded gun, and then clinging to the roof of the barn . . . yeah, I really don’t want to think about that at all, and I would much rather you hadn’t lived it. So if there is ever a threat to you again, you will let me handle it.”

“I don’t know if I can promise that,” she said.

“You will promise it, mo bhreáthracht. Trust me. After you get your ass spanked, you won’t ever want to disobey me on this.”

“Not sure I want a spanking,” she said.

“Pretty sure you don’t get a choice.”

“Hey, that’s rude. You said that I did, that I could say if I didn’t want that.”

“That was before you sent me away while a man was holding a gun on you. That deserves a punishment.”

43

Sheesh, why was him going all stern like that a complete turn-on? Her clit was throbbing, and she squeezed her thighs together, shifting around.

“Are you turned on? Because now really isn’t the time for that. We have a man down there who’s been trussed up like a turkey. And a steer who is probably plotting his next move.”

“Oh shoot! Chuck Roast.” She turned to look over the side just as she heard a crash.

“What the fuck?” Harvey said as he slid them over so he could look over the side. “That damn steer knocked the ladder over.”

“You wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes, right?” she said.

“What I can’t believe is that we’re stuck up here, while that asshole is down there, and there’s no one else around.”

“Have you got your phone on you?” she asked.

“It’s in my car,” he said.

“Well, I wouldn’t stress too much. It’s not like we can do anything about it.”

She sensed him staring at her and turned her head to look up at him with a smile. “I’ve learned not to let things get to me too much since I’ve been here. There’s been something really cathartic about living here, helping with the animals, and just being with my sister, you know?”

“I can see it in how relaxed you are,” he said. “You really like it here?”

“I do, at least to visit. I’m not sure I’d want to live here full time. I miss things about the city. But I will be sad to be so far away from Clem.”

“I can’t leave Boston and my family,” he said. “Not with the family business, but we can visit a lot.”