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“Why else would I be willing to cat-sit this ornery animal?” She stroked the kitten’s tiny ear and Tay-Tay growled low, causing Liberty to laugh.
The transformation that took place when Liberty laughed made heat flood his body. Which was ridiculous. She’d flat-out told him the only reason she was being nice was to get him to change Corbin’s mind, but for some reason Jesse’s mind had latched on to the idea of Liberty sucking up and wouldn’t let it go.
Getting involved with her was a bad idea. A very bad idea. His gut knew this. But the desire pooling inside him like the steaming hot coffee he still held in his hand overrode his gut.
In business, he had always liked to have the upper hand. To have something someone wanted badly was called bargaining power. With it, Jesse had always gotten what he wanted. Even if it wasn’t a good idea, he wanted Liberty. He wanted her with an intensity that scared the shit out of him.
If she hadn’t turned the tables on him and started being nice, he might have been able to avoid her. But when she was sitting right next to him, offering him the power to have her, he couldn’t refuse it.
He wasn’t a stupid man.
“What else?” he asked.
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“What else would you be willing to do to get me to change Corbin’s mind? Ass kissing usually entails doing more than one thing for the—”
She cut in. “Ass you’re kissing?”
He laughed because he couldn’t help it. He didn’t just desire her. He liked her. “As a matter of fact, yes. So what else are you going to do for this ass, Libby Lou?”
The annoyed look in her eyes said she was only seconds away from telling him to go to hell. But instead, she took a deep breath and slowly released it as the logical businesswoman took over.
“I won’t just cat-sit for a few minutes. I’ll take Tay-Tay to the ranch and cat-sit until Corbin gets back. Mimi has missed having animals around and will love it.”
“Hmm?” He took a sip of coffee. “It would certainly be nice to not have to worry every night about my throat being ripped open by kitty claws. But a little cat-sitting in exchange for what you’re asking doesn’t seem like quite enough.”
He was toying with her . . . and loving every second of it.
Anger flashed in her emerald eyes, but she didn’t concede. He knew she wouldn’t.
“Fine. I’m one of the best event planners in Texas . . . if not the best. If you can talk Corbin into stopping the foreclosure proceedings and letting Rome pay off the loan, I’ll do an event for you for free. I’m talking everything from the tables to the decorations to the invitations to the dessert forks. Everything.”
“I’m not really a guy who likes to host big events. What else?”
She gritted her teeth. “You seemed to love pigging out on my mama’s apple pie. She’ll make you as many as you want until you leave. And dinner. Dinner every night.”
“That’s a nice offer, but that’s your mama sucking up. Not you. I want to know what you’re willing to give for your family to keep their ranch.”
Her fists tightened and he braced for a punch. “Fine,” she said through her teeth. “I’ll make you dinner and apple pie.”
His eyes widened. “You know how to cook?”
“Why do you find that so surprising?”
“Because you’re not really the homemaker type.”
“And exactly what is the homemaker type? Just because I run my own business doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy cooking, baking, and sewing.”
“Sewing? Now you are joking.”
She glared at him. “You are the most insufferable man I have ever met in my life. Yes, I can sew. I’d love to sew a zipper over your arrogant mouth right now.”
He grinned. “I’d just unzip it. I’m a whiz with zippers.”
Her eyes narrowed. “So that’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want apple pie from me. Or event planning. Or cat-sitting. You want to force me into giving you sexual favors.” The thought of Liberty giving him sexual favors had all the blood in his body heading south. But, on the other hand, the force part pissed him off.
“I have never forced a woman into giving me sexual favors in my life and I never will. What a woman does for me in bed, she does of her own free will. I would never push a woman to do something she didn’t want to do.”
