I’d expected more damage after yesterday’s tornado. But the fences on the farm seemed to have held up. Late spring was peak storm season in Iowa, and lately I’d been out riding the fields to check for wind damage at least once a week.

“Fence held. No escape. Looks like you’re stuck here with me, girl,” I murmured softly to Chestnut, my horse, before dismounting.

Chestnut gave an appreciative grunt in reply.

“You don’t mind being stuck on the farm with me, do you?” I asked as I patted her head, running my palm carefully over the white fleck that dotted her forehead. “This is home.”

The brown mare whinnied and leaned against my hand, as if asking for more pets. With a smile, I obliged.

“Good girl.”

I reached into my pocket and dug out a red apple, holding it out to her with my hand flat. Growing up on a farm, you learned fast that if you were going to feed the horses anything—carrots, apples, oats—you’d better dang well hold it out to them with your hand flat, or you risked getting a finger nipped.

Chestnut lipped up the apple and started crunching away, flecks of half-chewed fruit spraying from her mouth.

“Gosh, you’re a messy eater, Chestnut. Didn’t anyone teach you that a lady chews with her mouth closed?” I asked, giving her a kiss on the head.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be saving those kisses for me?” a deep voice asked from behind me.

I turned to find Owen, my boyfriend, surveying me and Chestnut with a smile. His blue eyes twinkled as he ran his hand through his sandy blond hair and then over his sculpted jaw. As usual, he had just a hint of a five-o’clock shadow—he always complained that it itched, but I thought it was sexy.

“Well, if you want kisses, you better come and get ’em,” I replied with a smirk. I tied up Chestnut to the fence post as I spoke, purposefully giving Owen a peek at my butt, before turning back to face him. Of course, he was staring at my backside when I turned back around. Boys will be boys, my mama would say.

“As you wish, miss,” Owen replied as he sauntered over to me, cool as any cowboy. Tall and broad-shouldered, he’d grown up on a farm, like me, and it showed: He had strong arms, built from years of lifting hay bales, carting wheelbarrows, and wrangling cattle.

I gave a happy sigh as I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into his body, tipping my head back to let him kiss me, soft and sweet.

“That’s better,” he drawled, his blue eyes locking on mine as he pulled back from the kiss.

Gosh he’s sexy. Even after years together, I could never get over it. In his white t-shirt and faded jeans, Owen looked like a model out of a magazine ad. But the calluses on his hands left no doubt that he was a working man, not a prissy pretty boy.

“I can think of a way to make it even better. Let’s go to the stables,” I whispered, taking his hand and pulling him toward the stables. The sweet smell of fresh hay greeted us as we stepped into the dim space. Inside, I pulled Owen close and kissed him again, pressing myself against him, letting him feel my bra through my t-shirt.

“That reminds me, time for a new pitchfork,” Owen said abruptly, pulling back. “I spent all morning mucking out the stables, and I noticed the pitchfork is missing a tine.”

I shook my head and suppressed a smile, amused at Owen’s earnestness. The last thing I wanted to hear about now was mucking out stalls.

“So it’s nice and clean in here,” I murmured, grabbing Owen’s hand and pulling him to an empty stall. “That’s perfect,” I added with a giggle as I flopped down onto a fresh pile of clean, crisp hay.

Owen shot me a grin and joined me in the hay, wrapping his arms around me in a big bear hug as he kissed me again and again. I wriggled my body against his, wanting to feel the firmness of his muscles against me. I was hungry for him.

Our kisses went from soft and sweet to deep and passionate as my tongue found his. A shiver of anticipation washed over me. Despite the warm spring day, goose bumps popped out on my body, and a new sensation—a throbbing desire between my legs—seized me. Finally, it was time. I was sure. Today was the perfect day.

I pulled back from Owen and looked deep into his blue eyes, smiling slowly as I said, “I’m ready. Let’s go all the way."