Misplaced Princess (Foreign Affairs, Book One) by Lexxie Couper, Mari Carr Page A

played on her lips. “Shed?”
    He grinned. “Wanna make out with me in the shed? There’s a stack of hay bales in the corner that almost hits the ceiling.”
    Annie’s smile grew wide. “That sounds…intriguing.”
    Hunter grasped her hand and tugged her toward the shed. “Just making out, Annie. That’s all. I promise. I won’t let it go farther than that.”
    They had less than an hour before the jackaroos started arriving to tackle the day’s tasks. Soon the yard would be teeming with men drinking coffee before settling down to work. For now, the station was relatively quiet. He could imagine the satisfied smirk on his mum’s face if she were to spot him holding Annie’s hand right now. His resolve to keep his hands to himself crumbled even more.
    When they entered the shed, he gestured to the hay bales stacked at the back right corner, like a staircase made of tightly compacted straw. Annie started first, climbing each square bale as if she were scaling a mountain. Hunter grabbed a blanket, not waiting for her to reach the top before making his own ascent. He distracted her midway by running his hand down her bare leg. She’d donned shorts again today. They were perfectly appropriate, coming nearly to her knees. Even so, that didn’t keep him from fondling her trim calves.
    “Keep that up and I’ll fall,” she chastised, though there was no censure in her voice.
    “Don’t worry about that. I’d catch you.”
    She paused for a moment then gave him a sweet smile that knocked the breath from his lungs. What the hell was wrong with American blokes? How could they let a woman like her run around free and lonely for so long?
    Once they reached the top of the stack, he resumed the kiss without a word. Annie accepted his embrace, her hands tightening on his waist. Her firm grip told him she was afraid he’d pull away again. He knew he should. Walking away was the right thing to do, but no force of nature was going to stop this stampede. He’d promised her a makeout session and by God, she was getting one.
    Hunter tossed his hat to the bale beneath his feet, tangling his fingers in Annie’s soft brown hair. She’d joked once that she got all the brains in the family, while her younger two siblings got all the beauty. Hunter couldn’t imagine any woman holding a candle to his Annie. Her eyes were bluer than a clear Australian sky. Since arriving in Oz, her porcelain skin had warmed to a beautiful golden brown.
    Annie started to sit down, but he stopped her. “Wait.” He spread out the large blanket he’d grabbed. “Hay is scratchy stuff. This might help a little.”
    She helped him pull it over the hay then they lay on their sides, facing each other. “I can’t remember the last time I made out on the sly. I feel like a naughty teenager again.”
    He’d brought loads of girls to the tops of hay bale stacks when he was a boy. He’d learned quite a bit on the hay. “Where did you do your fooling around?”
    She grimaced, humor twinkling in her blue eyes. “Oh God. This is sort of embarrassing to admit.”
    “Tell me.”
    “The back of my dad’s limo.”
    Hunter shook his head, chuckling. “Jesus. What a life.”
    She didn’t respond. Instead, she ran her hand over his chest, dragging it down until she could slip it under the thin cotton. Then she caressed his bare skin. “If it makes you feel better, I think I prefer it here.”
    “You think? Sounds like I have my work cut out for me.”
    He rolled her to her back, moving over her. He’d jerked off to this image a couple times since her arrival. Annie beneath him, parting her legs to welcome him between.
    He pressed his cock against her, enjoying her soft intake of breath. Her face was flushed, her gaze heavy, inviting. She pulled him lower, initiating the next round of kisses. Unlike the hungry ones by the paddock, these were slower, deeper. Their mouths met and fused like time had stopped for them. The sense of urgency dissipated. This was