Free Reckless Hearts: A Billionaire Romance by Lucy Lambert

through the canopy so that I pulled the visor down to keep from squinting.
    The dirt road led to a large cleared area with a few temporary buildings set up. Logging trucks, their trailers empty, sat off to one side. Logging equipment—big yellow vehicles with lots of hydraulics and the word CATERPILLAR all over them waited silently for their crews to come back.
    Owen pulled up to the main building, a double-wide trailer with its windows shuttered, and parked.
    The world seemed very still now that the vibrations of the engine and the bumps of the drive stopped.
    "Why am I not surprised that people are afraid of you?" I said, grimacing when I let me body relax.
    "That's not my point at all," he said. He got out and started around to open my door. I beat him to it, hopping down to the ground before he could reach the handle.
    "Then what is it?" I said, making a slow turn, the gravel crunching beneath the soles of my boots, to survey our surroundings. The sapling rows stretched on for miles, giving me a good view of the sky and the actual forest in the distance.
    "You aren't afraid of me. I don't intimidate you. You don't try to flatter me or win my favor. In fact, I don't believe you've said a single non-critical word to me."
    I turned to face him, aware of how close we stood. He kept the top button of his shirt undone, and it gave me the most tantalizing glimpse of his deep chest. It begged me to reach out and start popping the other buttons out of their loops one at a time, nice and slow, while I looked into those warm eyes of his.
    "And that's something you like?" I said.
    But I was afraid of him, I knew. Afraid, and curious. How couldn’t he see just how scared I was?
    "It's refreshing and interesting. A man in my position, he gets used to people becoming yes-men. People jumping as soon as he looks at them, never questioning anything he might say or do."
    The distance between our bodies closed again, and that look of desire flashed over his face again. The same one as back in the elevator in Manhattan, when I thought he might kiss me.
    Except then we'd been interrupted by the doors opening. As far as I could tell, we were completely alone out here. Probably the only people around for miles.
    I swallowed against the sudden dryness in my mouth and throat. "So what you're saying is that you find me interesting because I don't immediately bow down before you as soon as you step into a room?"
    "Something like that."
    He was magnetic. Even as my mind rebelled, my body yearned for him. My fingers yearned to tear his shirt open. I trembled at the thought of his hands on me.
    I didn't know how this was possible, how I could go from pretty much not even thinking about guys to wanting someone like Owen. Someone I made a point of not liking.
    That point of no return approached. That point of finally stepping off the cliff and letting the darkness at the bottom swallow me up. My point of balance at the edge shifted, inertia and gravity pulling me forward.
    I took a step back from Owen, hoping my jeans disguised the way my knees trembled.
    "Well you're going to have to keep your interest to yourself," I said. I wanted to hug myself, to wrap my arms around my ribs and squeeze. So I pushed my hands into my pockets. "So why are we here? Won't the logging company want us gone?"
    "They shouldn't. I own their company."
    "Of course you do."
    That earned me another smile from him. My defiance amused him, and that pleased and angered me at the same time.
    "I hope those boots of yours are good. Follow me."
    He didn't wait to see if I agreed or not. He turned and started towards the closest of the saplings. I considered climbing back into the Jeep and waiting for him to drive me back, but I thought that he might like that.
    Of course, he might also like me following him. I would be doing as he asked then, letting him control me. Either way, he won. I didn't like how alone we were out there, so I followed him.
    The gravel changed to fresh dirt, the