LITMIR.BIZ

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welcome to keep trying.”

      He chuckled. “Okay, let me see if I can come up with a way to say it that makes sense. It’s like you’re sneaky sexy. A stealth vixen.”

      “A stealth vixen. I like that.” She also liked the way he’d brought her closer until she was pressed tight against his warm body. Even with the layers between them, she knew for a fact he wasn’t making this up. He really did want her.

      “It’s taken me awhile to evolve, but I think I’m finally learning to appreciate subtlety.” He paused in midstroke. “How am I doing? Is any of this making sense?”

      “Sort of.”

      “Where are we on your dating chart?”

      “Is this your way of asking if I’ll go to bed with you when we get back to the house?”

      “I wish.” He hugged her a little bit closer. “Much as I would love that, all we can do is fool around a little. No grand finale tonight, I’m afraid. I wasn’t expecting this and I’m completely unprepared.”

      She had a genius IQ, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was talking about. She debated telling him what she knew and finally decided that keeping the information to herself might not be right. He should have all the facts, too.

      Besides, she liked the idea of rocking him back on his heels. “Actually, that’s not a problem.”

      His sharp intake of breath was gratifying. “Why not?”

      “There’s a box in your bathroom.”

      “You’re kidding.”

      “I would never kid about a thing like that, Ben. That would be cruel.”

      “And you just happen to know this?”

      “I had a headache yesterday and I forgot to bring aspirin. There wasn’t any in my bathroom, so I looked in yours.”

      “I see.”

      Honesty made her amend that statement. “Actually, I found the aspirin right away, but once I was in there, I wondered what else was tucked in the drawers, so I checked everything out.”

      “God almighty, you’re like a little cat, poking your nose in everywhere. And I love it.” He hesitated. “But I’m still trying to get a bead on where we stand. Are we at yes, no or maybe?”

      “We’re at maybe. I still think we need to slow down a little. Don’t you?”

      “Truthfully? No. We’re two consenting adults and what happens upstairs stays upstairs. We’ve both proven we can keep a secret, and we only have four nights before you leave. By denying ourselves tonight, we’ve taken a potentially great experience off the table.”

      “What if it doesn’t go well?”

      “Then I’ll leave first thing Saturday morning. You’ll only have to put up with me another twenty-four hours and I’ll be gone.” His voice dropped to a sexy murmur. “But it’ll go well.”

      Her heart beat faster. “You’re sure about that?”

      “Yes.” And he kissed her again.

      The second his mouth covered hers, he proved that he knew what he was talking about. A man who could kiss like this, who could use his tongue with such devastating effect, a man who knew exactly the right angle for maximum pleasure—that man would bring the same originality and expertise to lovemaking. She’d be a fool to miss out on even one night of sharing his bed.

      When he released her, he didn’t let go right away, which was a good thing because she might have collapsed onto the cement floor. She was just that unsteady. Mentally, though, she was extremely focused on returning to the house. So much so that she forgot both the uncovered saddle and her dropped phone. “Let’s go.”

      Laughter rippled in his voice. “First I have to cover the saddle.”

      “Oh. Right.”

      He turned on his flashlight app and aimed it at the floor. “And there’s your phone.”

      “Thanks.” She leaned down and picked it up. The screen was cracked, but the phone itself might be operational. She activated it. “Everything looks fine. I just need a new screen.”

      “Good.” He took his hat off the saddle horn and put it on. “Would you please hold the light for me?”

      “Sure.” She tucked away her phone and took his. “It really is beautiful. Now I wish I’d had a chance to contribute to the fund, but my trip up here was kind of a last-minute decision. I’m sure Jack had it handled long before I arrived.”

      “He did.” Ben arranged the blanket so the saddle was completely concealed. “He took up a collection back in October and gave me half my fee then.” He turned back to her. “You mean you almost didn’t make it here?”

      “Almost. Christmas is special at Mom and Dad’s house, and I usually spend the first part of my Christmas break helping cook and decorate. Plus the weather’s dicey this time of year. Originally I planned to wait until summer.”

      “Then we wouldn’t have met.”

      “Probably not.”

      “What made you change your mind and come before Christmas?”

      “Aunt Sarah’s birthday party tomorrow, for one thing, but then she told me about this set of diaries that her mother-in-law, Nelsie Chance, had kept for years. I was very eager to read them, which I have, and they’re wonderful. I even found mention of me in there. But I could have put that off until next summer, too. I just had this hunch that I should come up here now, for some reason.”

      “Hmm.” He adjusted the fit of his Stetson. “Listen, do you think...” Then he shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t believe in that stuff.”

      “What stuff?”

      “Fate, kismet, that kind of thing.”

      She didn’t say anything because she did believe in it and was beginning to wonder if her hunch had been about him. But she wasn’t ready to announce that thought. She might never admit it to him. So much depended on how the next few days went for them. Or the next few hours.

      But apparently he was over there interpreting her silence. “You believe in it, don’t you?”

      “A little.”

      “Well, I don’t.”

      That made her smile. He was the one who’d brought it up in the first place, but she wouldn’t point that out to him. The instant attraction between them excited him, but it probably made him nervous, too.

      Not surprising. It made her nervous. Going to bed with him tonight was so far out of her comfort zone it was in the next zip code. But that didn’t mean she’d decided not to. She was still thinking.

       7

      AS THEY HURRIED from the tractor barn back to the house, Ben still wasn’t clear on whether Molly wanted to have sex with him or not. She hadn’t specifically said she would, but her kiss certainly tasted like yes.

      Yet he should probably give her a little more information before they took that step. Her dreams had to include a family of her own, but all he could share would be this brief time with her. Then he’d bow out of her life.

      She didn’t realize that, and he should be straight with her before anything happened between them. Someday she’d settle down with a man who wanted a family, but in the meantime, here they were, crazy for each other. If she was willing to share her warmth for a long weekend, he’d take it.

      On the porch they quietly brushed off the snow that clung to their jackets. The porch stretched the length of the house, and according to Jack, rockers lined it during

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