"You're beautiful you know that?" he asked brushing a kiss at the side of her neck.
"Flattery will not get you anywhere mister." she teased him.
"A man can try." he grinned then patted her butt when she stood up.
Miranda sent him a playful glare before helping herself to breakfast.
"Y'all are so sickeningly cute," Bethany commented quietly enough for just Miranda to hear.
Miranda bit her lip to try and hide her smile but failed miserably when instead a soft giggle escaped. Joseph looked over at her and smiled and she smiled back and walked back to him as though she were compelled.
"Did you get Zeke off to school on time?" she question as she took a bite of pancakes. She couldn't get over how tasty they were.
"He drove him to school today, he wanted father-son time," Joseph explained.
"Oh?" said Miranda looking at him over her cup of steaming peppermint tea.
"It seems our son has a crush and a certain girl in his class. He needed advice." Joseph replied
"A crush!" Miranda exclaimed
"Yep, don't make a big deal of it alright? It will only embarrass him." Joseph told her.
"I won't, I promise," she said looking away from him.
"What's wrong?" asked Joseph reaching for her hand across the table.
"Before you know it, he will be dating, then he will be off to high school and college and university, and then he will be married. I'm losing my son and I don't think I'm ready for all that," she replied sniffling.
"Don't jump the gun sweetheart, it's just a crush," Joseph said softly squeezing her hand.
"That's easy for you to say," she complained.
"Come on, eat up and come take a walk with me?" Joseph offered.
Miranda smelled at him and dug into her pancakes. They left a few minutes later holding hands and said hi to some of the ranch hands when they passed the barn. The expansion of the barn was being done quickly and Mira dame was glad when Jordan told his wife he was hiring more workers so he could spend more time with her and their baby.
Miranda and Joseph walked until they reached a small clearing in the woods. It was a small lake that she use to steal away to when she was younger. She never felt comfortable going to the public pool in a bathing suit when she was young but here she could pretend to be as sexy as she felt. She always pictured Joseph finding her here one day and giving her, her first kiss. It never happened then so it was so surreal it was happening now, years later.
He let go of her hand and pulled his shirt over his head.
"What in the world are you doing?" she asked staring at his rock-hard chest.
"Going for a swim, care to join me?" before she could give her answer he dropped his pants and ran off into the water.
"You're a crazy cowboy." she laughed.
"Come on, live a little, don't leave me all by my lonesome," he complained.
When that didn't work he started pretending to drown so she rolled her eyes and stepped out of her summer dress and followed him into the water.
She loved the heated look in his eyes, he made her feel sexy and desirable. He made her feel like a woman.
As soon as she was close enough he pulled her into him, the evidence of his arousal pushed against her belly. She wrapped her hand around his neck and her feet around his waist. He walked them further into the water until they were just about waist level, all the while kissing her.
Miranda whimpered against his neck when he rubbed his hard member against her heated core.
When he backed her up against a large rock and rocked against her, she kissed him with all her pent-up feelings.
She lost it when his movements became more frantic, the bulge in his pants rubbing against her feminine parts. Before she knew it they were both shaking with their release.
"I don't think I've dried humped with anyone since high school." Joseph laughed as he lifted his head from the side of her neck to look at her.
"Technically it was very wet humping since we're in the middle of the lake. I would have been equally wet of dry land anyway." Miranda replied cheekily.
Joseph growled and captured her mouth again just as the ringing of his cell phone pierced the quiet serenity.
"It could be important," she told him.
"So is this," he complained.
"Go answer it, give me a minute?" she asked
He looked at her and sighed before walking away to answer his phone.
She watched his back as he walked away, she was debating whether or not she was ready to go all the way with him again.
Just as she was about to go after him and tell him she was indeed ready he turned to her and hung up.
"Something wrong?" she asked
"That was Nathan, I need to fly back to the city, seems he's found the culprit," Joseph explained pulling on his pants.
Miranda hurried out of the water and quickly pulled on her dress. They walked back to the house holding hands, neither said anything.
