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He was doing it. He was actually doing it.
“Now back,” Calla said.
Liam wanted to take that last little step so he could touch the mare. Maybe even try seeing if he could get her to take the bit.
Then he considered his failure rate before Calla had shown up. Baby steps. He backed off.
When he got back to Calla, her eyes were shining as she beamed at him. “You’re doing so good. You’re a natural at this.”
His chest flushed with warmth like he’d just had a shot of whiskey on a cold day. “I don’t know about that.”
Calla scrunched her eyebrows together. “Wait. What’s that?” She bumped him on the shoulder before looking up at the sky. “Did I miss the pigs flying? Is Liam O’Neill actually being modest?”
Liam barked out a laugh. No one ever took the piss out of him. And everything was just so natural with her. They’d had sex—not just that, but she’d lost her virginity, maybe not technically to him, but as good as. And yet here she was, not making a big deal about it or pressing anxiously for more.
He’d been joking earlier when he said the tactics she was using on the horse would work for dating but maybe there was something to it after all.
He wrapped her in his arms, lifting her up off the ground and spinning her around. She shrieked and hugged his neck. He set her back on the ground and nudged the bill of her cap back until it fell off her head. Damn she was pretty. Those flushed cheeks. The adorable freckles sprinkled across her nose. The way she looked at him like he was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her.
He leaned down and kissed her hard. He probably should have taken it slower. But for once he was letting go of all his normal calculated moves and just going with what felt right.
From the way she kissed him enthusiastically back, he’d say it was the right way to go.
At least until she pulled back. She was still grinning at him as she pulled out of his arms, though. “I still want to work with Painter a little more and get him groomed. See you at dinner.”
“You bet your arse,” he said. Then, before she could turn to go he stepped forward and kissed her again.
She was laughing as she pulled away. “I’ll see you.” Then she turned and slipped back out through the fence. She walked away but looked back at him a couple of times, that radiant smile still on her face.
He frowned. What if she was playing him? This innocent, not immediately available, hard to get act could just be that—an act.
It wouldn’t be the first time a woman had tried games to capture his attention. There was nothing he hated more than people trying to fecking manipulate him. For a long while there he hadn’t thought there was any other way to interact.
Wasn’t he the guy who believed no one ever gave anything without expecting something in return? So what was Calla’s angle? If she didn’t want him for his money, what did she want? Maybe his body. She’d certainly seemed to enjoy everything he’d done with her.
He stared in the direction Calla went long after she’d disappeared around the corner of the barn.
Jaysus, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so in over his head. With a horse or a woman.
“What do you think happened with Mackenzie?” Calla asked. They were sitting on the porch swing after dinner, her in his lap with her head nestled in the crook of his shoulder.
Usually when he had a woman in this position, he’d be quickly shifting her other leg over him and hiking up her skirt so they could get on with things.
But he and Calla were just… talking. Well, occasionally they’d make out for a while, but then it would calm down again and she’d just curl up into him like a contented kitten.
Liam paused from where he was running his fingers through her hair, finally registering her words. “Um. He’s an arsehole?”
Calla shoved his shoulder lightly. “I’m serious.”
Liam had been serious too. Mack was a bogger arsehole and that’s all there was too it.
“Have you seen him the past couple days?” Calla lifted her head from his chest to look at him.
Liam shrugged. “Just the back of his head after he’s grabbed his food and heading up to his room.”
Calla sighed. “Exactly. I think something’s going on with him.” She dropped her head back to Liam’s chest but she pulled away moments later to look at him. “Do you not want me to talk about him? Is that…” she glanced down. “Is it not okay to bring him up?” Her eyes were anxious.
Liam squeezed his arms around her. “You can talk to me about anything. I don’t want you holding back.” He was just starting to trust that she wasn’t a fake. He certainly didn’t want her to think she should put on a show of any kind.
