The Curvy Vet and the Billionaire Cowboy (He Wanted Me Pregnant!) by Victoria Wessex Read Free Book Online Page A

clothes on,” I said quietly.
    “See? You’re funny, too. And I think maybe you like me. So all you have to do…is take a chance. And get into the water.”
    “I can’t,” I said again.
    He locked eyes with me, and there was something in his gaze that lent me confidence. “Yes,” he said. “You can.”
    My heart seemed to give a gigantic thud, as if all of the beats had been stored up. Which made sense, because I was pretty sure it had stopped beating a few minutes ago.
    I stood up. My hands lifted to the shirt and I pushed it back and off my arms, dropping it to the floor. I watched my fingers doing it, but it was almost as if I wasn’t controlling them, as if I was watching someone else undressing. I lifted the tank top and pulled it over my head, then stood there panting in my bra.
    “Attagirl,” said Russ. He was transfixed, staring at me. I could see his eyes go from my chest to my face, back and forth, again and again. I reached back and unfastened my bra. Then, before I could change my mind, I stripped it off and dropped it to the ground. My breasts swung free, throbbing in their sudden nakedness.
    The moment stretched out as he gazed at me. I wanted to scream, my fingernails digging into my palms. Please, please, say something!
    “You’re gorgeous,” he gasped. And it was like a wave of relief had hit my full in the face, soaking into every pore. I wanted to drop to my knees and just absorb it.
    I barely had to think about stripping off my jeans. I just wanted to get into the water with him, now. My panties gave me a brief moment of hesitation, but I steeled myself and pushed them down my thighs, dropping them on the pile of clothes. And then I was naked and standing there under his gaze, every inch of me exposed. Please like me. God, please like me.
    He didn’t speak. He just gave me that look, the same one he’d given me before, and I knew. He didn’t just like me: he wanted me. Needed me.
    I ran into the water, yelling as I dived in and letting the cry carry away the shock of it. It was cold at first, but as soon as I was moving, plunging beneath the surface and swimming towards him, it was just pleasantly cool. I surfaced, gasping, about four feet from him, and then we were staring at each other, just our heads and shoulders out of the water.
    “Thank God,” he deadpanned. “I really thought for a second you were going to turn and run. And then I would have had to chase after you. Naked.”
    I giggled. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d giggled.
    “Amanda,” he said. “You’re beautiful.”
    The word detonated in my head. Beautiful. He’d said gorgeous before, but gorgeous isn’t beautiful. “No, I’m not,” I said, a warning tone in my voice. I looked down at my body through the water. “Look at me.”
    He swam closer and put his hands gently on my shoulders. “I am looking,” he said. “And you are.”
    I searched his face for any sign that he was lying, blinking again and again.
    “Why are you crying?” he asked, rubbing my tears away with his thumb.
    I sniffed, unable to speak.
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    “Yes,” I whispered. “Very okay.” And then I leaned my head into his and we were kissing.
    Our lips bumped at first, and the shock of it, after all that time, was so much that we both drew back a little. Only his hand, sliding up through my wet hair to the back of my head, kept me from pulling fully away. We stared at each other again, those dark, chocolate eyes burning into mine, and then I let him pull me forward again. I closed my eyes and felt our lips just touch, the firmness of his mouth just grazing the softness of mine in a way that made my whole body stiffen. I twisted my head and fitted myself to him, and as he pressed his lips down on mine I heard him growl in satisfaction. He was tasting me, exploring me, his lips sucking at mine oh-so-gently and then, as my lips slowly parted, the kiss changed. He claimed me with his mouth, taking what was