“I’ll do it,” he told her, stepping out of the car. “You’re exhausted. Go to bed.”
“But your suit…”
Logan looked down at the dark blue jacket and tailored pants he was wearing. Sighing, he slid the jacket off, and unfastened the tie, laying them both on the driver’s seat. “Go to bed,” he told her as she stepped out of the car. “I got this.”
“I need to count the chickens. Make sure they’re all there.”
“I’ll count them. Right after I catch that damn hen.”
“She likes you,” Courtney reminded him. “Go easy on her.” She climbed out of the passenger side and turned to look at him. “Are you sure I can’t help?”
“Nope. How hard can it be?”
“I’ll sit on the stoop,” she told him. “In case you need help. Or advice. Just yell, okay?”
As it turned out, catching an oiled-up hen was trickier than he’d thought. Logan had to chase her around the cottage three times, listening to Courtney laugh every time Hester dodged out of his grasp. Her wings would flap until she was about eight feet in the air before she gently wafted down again. The third time, he managed to grab her leg, and she turned her beady eyes on him, looking outraged that he’d finally gotten the better of her. She flapped her wings again, but he refused to let go, pulling her into his arms. He could feel her slick feathers against his shirt as he held her tightly, stalking across the earthy path toward the coop she’d escaped from.
Clearly unhappy at being caught, she pecked his hand hard with her pointed beak. “Fuck,” he muttered, wincing at the sudden pain shooting through his arm.
“Did she get you?” Courtney called out.
“Just a bit. I’m fine.”
“She doesn’t like being held too tight. It makes her anxious.”
“Now you tell me,” he muttered.
The other hens were asleep when he reached the sprawling coop. He opened the door a smidgen and pushed Hester inside, then quickly counted them all. “I see forty-four,” he called out eventually.
“Including Hester?” Courtney’s voice came from around the corner, where she was still sitting on the front porch.
“Nope. Forty-four plus Hester.”
“Forty-five. That’s right.” There was a smile in her voice. “Can you see where she escaped from?”
“The wire’s loose at the corner again.” He hunkered down on his leather dress shoes, pulling at the guilty piece of fence. He hooked it over the nails on the wooden frame, trying to ignore the way Hester was stalking toward him, a look of murder in her eyes.
“And you like me?” he asked her. “You could be a little nicer.” He pushed at the wire to check it was secure. “I’ve fixed it for now,” he called out to Courtney. “But I can come back in the morning to make sure it stays that way.”
“I thought you were catching the first flight to Boston?” she shouted through the darkness.
“I am. But I can change it.”
“Ah, either Ellis or I can take care of it. It really needs replacing. But thank you, anyway. You want to come in and wash up?”
He stood up, giving Hester one last glare, then walked back around the cottage toward the porch.
Courtney was standing at the top of the stairs, her lips curled with amusement as she caught his gaze. “Look at you, farm boy,” she said, her voice low.
Damn, he wanted her. He took a step forward, his body lighting up with every inch closer he got to her. Her gaze was warm as he walked up the front steps, stopping only a foot away from where she was standing.
“You’ve got a feather in your hair,” she whispered, reaching up to take it out. But instead of pulling away, she slowly caressed his cheek, her fingers feathering against his skin. “Thank you,” she said softly.
She was too much. Everything. He couldn’t take the ache in his body any more. Without drawing a breath, he crashed his mouth against hers, kissing her hotly in a way he’d only dreamed of for months.
Then she was kissing him back, her arms wrapped around his neck, her sweet body pressing into his. She was everything he remembered. Warm and soft, yet able to set his soul on fire. He slid his hands down her back, cupping her behind as he lifted her against him. Stepping forward until she was wedged between him and the wall of her cottage, he kissed her again, his tongue sliding against hers. His heart was hammering against his chest, his dick hard and needy as he pressed himself against her, as Courtney’s fingers tangled into his hair.
“My bedroom,” she said, her breath hot against his lips. “Now.”
She didn’t need to ask him twice. There was nowhere else he wanted to be apart from inside her. He let her down from his hold long enough for her to open the front door, then scooped her up again, unwilling to be parted from her for a moment more.
Her lips curled against his as he kissed her once more, kicking the front door shut with the sole of his shoe before he shucked them both off and carried her up the stairs.
“Should I use something?” he murmured against her lips as she unbuttoned his shirt, sliding it off his shoulders. Her dress was already pooled on the floor, her bra nestled on top of it. The way he wanted to take care of her touched her more than it should.
“Kinda like bolting the stable door after the horse is gone,” she told him with a wry grin. He laid her back on the bed, and unfastened his pants. “Anyway, for what it’s worth I’m clean. I got tested at the last appointment.” Her eyes lifted to his. “And I haven’t been with anybody since we were last together.”
“Neither have I.” His voice was thick. He ran his hands up her bare legs, sliding them apart and staring straight at her panties. “These are beautiful,”
