She grabbed my arm. “Why haven’t you asked about me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been at your house for weeks, but you haven’t asked me if I’m okay. You haven’t checked on me.”

My brows knitted up. “Ani, I’ve been teaching you self-defense.”

“But you haven’tasked…”

Overcome with regret, I pulled her into a crushing hug. I hated that she was right. What I did was as important as what I didn’t do. And what I didn’t do was tend to her needs.

She sobbed in my arms for a few minutes as drops of cold rain pelted my neck and the top of my head. Deep, rolling roars drummed around us, inspiring me to pull her out of the cornfield.

I hugged her to my right side as I rushed her toward the greenhouse. “Come on. It’s about to be freezing.”

Her teeth chattered when the sky broke open. Frigid rain slammed on top of us as we raced past the greenhouse and toward the neighborhood on the other side of the collection of small buildings. Kids laughed while racing around a yard to the left. To the right, a couple of horses were bathing in the rain. We ran back to the house with our hearts beating as loud as the thunder above our heads.

Water pooled at our feet inside. I didn’t even care. I took Ani upstairs and toweled her dry. I hoisted her into my arms and carried her to the guest bed where I placed her. She tried to get up, bashfully grinning when I urged her to stay put. I dried myself with the towel and tossed it aside.

She hugged herself. “Cold.”

“I’ll handle that, baby.”

Her red-rimmed eyes landed on me with gratitude. It hurt to see her eyes puffy from crying. I didn’t like thinking I’d caused her to hide in the cornfields where the stalks were withered and yellow from the cold. I didn’t like knowing her pain was an indirect result of my actions.

Instinct instructed my hands to curl around her ankles. I started in slow circles, working away the agitation that had built up in the balls of her feet, and soothing away the tension in the arches leading up to her toes. She reclined on the bed with a sniffle, humming with contentment when I hit a good spot between her toes.

She stretched her leg, curling her toes when I snaked my way up her calf. A balled-up knot sat right behind her knee, one that tightened the tendon and caused her to snap forward. I eased my pressure and watched as she relaxed back into her original position with her hands resting on her stomach.

In there, life would soon bloom. I thought about the first time I’d pictured her pregnant and how much it pleased me. Now that I was drawing on that image again, I found it hard to contain my excitement, my cock hardening with a life of its own as I worked my fingers under her sweater dress to her thighs.

Her lower lip quivered as I skated her flesh, worshiping the supple skin that once housed my hips. That was only a week ago. How had so little time passed when so much was happening? I couldn’t believe her receptivity to me, how she wiggled under my touch and widened her legs. The way she parted her thighs made her skirt hike up, and I practically drooled at the sight of her white lace thong.

The higher I massaged, the more she writhed, a result that only coaxed me to grow harder with every rub. Overcome with desire, I bowed to sample her flesh, nuzzling over her inner right thigh toward her thong. Her fingers curled into my hair, encouraging me to move closer to her slit.

Arousal scented the air, a sweet and delectable nectar that called to me. I plunged into her slit and licked right under the fabric of her thong, groaning with satisfaction when she shoved my face deeper. I cupped her hips while feverishly licking my way through her folds, not caring whether or not the position caused my back to ache.

Fuck it. I would do anything for her.

A desperate mewl sounded from above. “Yes, Liam…right there…”

I sat back to whip off her thong, casting the soaked fabric over my shoulder as I dove again for her alluring slit. Quick flicks over her clit tugged her hips into action as her hands returned to the back of my head. Warm arousal coated my tongue, inspiring me to slide my hands over her hips to pin her in place.

Her grip on my hair tightened. “Liam.”

She was unfurling beneath me, wiggling and grinding against my mouth as I kept my rhythm. Curses shuddered from her lips as she came right on my lapping tongue, her hands snug against my neck to prevent me from pulling away. Only when I had sufficiently drowned in her fluid did I dare to fight her grip and wipe my mouth on my sleeve.

She was gasping for air as I discarded my jeans and shirt. My cock bobbed inside my briefs, aching to be shoved into her wet warmth. Arousal soaked her slit and invited my touch again, an uncontrollable response to seeing her pleased to pieces.

She whimpered while struggling to lift her head. “Liam…sensitive…”

The grin I wore made her bite her lower lip. “That’s right, baby. I’ll keep going”—I rubbed her clit faster—“as long as you want me.”

“I want you.”

I tugged at the hem of her dress with my left hand, keeping my right palm steady on her puffy nub. She fumbled to get her dress over her head, groaning with frustration as I chuckled and tried to help. Once it was gone, she unhooked her bra and released the most gorgeous melons I’d ever seen.

Just the sight of them made me salivate. I slid my hand along her thigh, pushing her legs apart as I shimmied toward her. I bent to sample one of her tits, utterly enthralled by her peachy areolas and pointed nipples. While the head of my cock skirted her entrance, her chest heaved, and she eagerly bucked onto my cock.