Free Billionaire With a Twist 2 by Lila Monroe Page A

maybe I simply noticed more details.
The way the sun shone through the Spanish moss, more enchanting than
any stained glass window in a cathedral. The brightly colored lizards
that scampered up the trunks of oaks that had been saplings when
Columbus first landed on American shores. The way the moss-covered
rocks at the edge of the forest stream glistened like emeralds.
    For the first hour that we rode through
the forest, we had been competitive, each trying to ride faster, to
jump higher, to make our way through thinner openings and trickier
landscapes. But we had slowed down now, taking mercy on our mounts
and relaxing in each other’s presence. We rode together in
companionable silence, moseying along and taking our time to digest
all the beauty around us.
    Or in my case, the beauty next to me.
    I snuck another glance at Hunter. His
shirt stuck to his skin with sweat, and it made my mouth water as I
imagined peeling that thin cloth away.
    We were, in unspoken agreement, riding
our horses as close together as we could without spooking them. I was
close enough to hear each breath Hunter took, to hear each shift of
his body in the fine leather saddle, to almost imagine I could hear
each beat of his heart.
    And I could smell him, too—that
sweet clean sweat scent, and the faint lingering honey of his
cologne, and the slight vanilla scent of his shampoo, and oh, the
scent of him was driving me mad, the humid air bringing it to life
even stronger until I could smell nothing else, until desire hummed
like a song between my legs and I rocked myself unconsciously against
my saddle.
    I imagined riding along on the same
horse with him, his firm body pressed against my back. His strong
arms would encircle me, holding me safe. His warm breath would ghost
along my ear, and then his soft lips would caress my neck, and I
would feel his cock harden against me, and I would lean back into him
and moan—
    “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
    Hunter’s voice broke me from my
reverie, and I blushed, quickly looking away at the landscape to try
to hide it.
    “Yes, it is.” We had come
to the edge of a sloping hill that gave a long view of nearly all of
Hunter’s land, just in time to see the last bit of the sun slip
below the lake, a faint memory of a glow still lighting that sapphire
strip. “This place…every time I think I know it, it
surprises me.”
    Without looking away from the sunset,
Hunter reached out and took my hand.
    “This was my whole world when I
was a child,” he said softly. “I thought Heaven itself
could be no more beautiful than the land we had here, my family and
I. Before they died, my grandfather used to take me fishing down by
the stream, taught me how to watch for catfish and tickle their
stomachs. My mother taught me to sail on that lake, how to taste the
breeze and catch it, riding the power but not letting it overpower
you. My father—” his voice caught slightly. “He
liked to sit in the shade of the trees, and read Flannery O’Connor.
Sometimes I walk by and I remember that so strong, it’s like I
can still hear his voice.”
    “You’ll always have those
memories,” I said. I didn’t know if it was the right
thing to say. I wanted it to be the right thing to say, wanted to
comfort him, but there was so much I still didn’t know about
Hunter, so much still to learn.
    And I wanted to learn. I wanted to
learn everything about him.
    I wanted to give him the comfort he had
lost, so long ago.
    “But will I?” Hunter asked.
“Oh, I know I can’t lose the land, and even if Chuck
takes over the company he’ll have to lease the factory from
me—but will the memories stay unsullied? Will I even deserve
them if I let the company go?” His face twisted in what was
almost agony before he twitched, shaking his melancholy off with
visible effort. He turned to me, with a smile that was only a little
strained. “But look at me, hogging all the good brooding for
myself. Any dark secrets you want to get off your