Midnight Special Coming on Strong - By Tawny Weber Page 0,152

chest do yummy things against Belle’s breasts and shrugged. “It was bad enough her gunning for me. I mean, yes, her thinking was twisted, but there is some justification in her anger that I took her father’s business and not only made it mine but brought my entire family on board and left her out in the cold.”

“A cold she chose.” Belle repeated what Reece had told her earlier. “You offered her a board position. She’s the one who turned her nose up as if it wasn’t good enough for her.”

As Mitch considered her words, some of the tension left his shoulders. Then he nodded and told her, “She never really connected with my family. Grammy Lynn said it was because she was a snob and we weren’t upscale enough. I just figured she felt left out.”

Then his expression hardened. “But as much as I might try to understand her reasons for aiming at me, there is no excuse for her trying to incriminate you.”

Belle searched herself, but there wasn’t any anger left. The sight of Lena’s arrogant ass being hauled off in handcuffs had satisfied her need for revenge. Not wanting to waste any more time on Lena or her twisted motives, Belle shifted just a little so her breasts brushed Mitch’s chest. Smart man that he was, he slid one hand inside her blouse to cup her, his fingers doing a soft, easy swirl around her hardening nipple.

“No matter, it’s done,” Belle said, angling her bent leg over Mitch’s thighs so she could feel his erection hardening. “She doesn’t matter, she’s finished. We’re not, though.”

“And that’s what counts,” Mitch said with satisfaction.

Their lips met in a kiss that scared the hell out of Belle. Not because of the intensity of it, but because of the sweetness. She could so get addicted to this kind of kissing. It felt like the promise of forever.

“By the way,” Mitch said as he curled his fingers through hers and lifted her hand to his lips, “I talked to your father this morning.”

Nothing said cold shower on an intimate moment louder than the mention of a parent. Belle automatically tugged her blouse into place and shifted just a little so she wasn’t pressed against his erection.

“Daddy?” she asked with a confused frown. “Why?”

“I didn’t realize until Reece did some digging that your father was in a financial mess, in part because of that property we’d planned to develop. Although he did say that you’d done a fine job of bailing him out of most of his problems.”

Belle blushed at the impressed smile he gave her, but didn’t say anything. She wanted to know why he’d called her father. More important, she wanted to know how the two most important men in her life had gotten along.

“Your dad and I are meeting next week. Apparently we already have a dinner date,” he said, giving her a teasing look. “We’re going to go ahead with our original plans and develop that property.”

Belle had to forcibly refrain from clapping her hands and cheering. She did grin, though, and gave Mitch a tight hug. When she pulled back, she noticed a look in his cinnamon-brown eyes. Dark, intense, direct. It scared the hell out of her. She swallowed. She’d promised herself the days of avoidance were a thing of the past, so instead of distracting him with sex, she asked, “What else? You look like there’s something important you want to say.”

He gave a snort of laughter and nodded. Then, her hand still in his, he kissed her palm and held their entwined hands against his heart.

“Through everything that’s happened, you’ve believed in me, Belle. I’ve spent most of my life trying to prove myself, wanting to impress people. But you never needed proof and were impressed despite my mistakes.” He looked deep into her eyes and sighed.

“Belle, I love you. I’ve always loved you, even if I wasn’t smart enough to know it. I wanted to marry you six years ago for a million reasons. But love was definitely one of them.”

Joy spun through her system so fast she was dizzy with it. Her laughter rang through the trees as she pulled her hand free so she could hug him close. Her body pressed against his, Belle could feel the beat of his heart and gave a giddy thanks, knowing it belonged to her.

“I love you, too,” she said softly, pulling back to smile into his eyes. “I love everything about you. Your ambition and drive,