Two sexy, sassy stories from New York Times bestselling author Vicki Lewis Thompson. In one volume for the first time!

Pure Temptation

Growing up in a small town with four very big brothers means Tess Blakely might as well be wearing a chastity belt. This has to change before she moves to New York. She’s read loads of books about sex, but she needs some hands-on training. And her best friend, “Mac” MacDougal, looks like the perfect teacher to set things on fire….

Old Enough to Know Better

Accepting a dare to hit on the gorgeous new landscaper is Kasey Braddock’s chance to prove she can entice a man and leave him drooling. After all, she’s old enough to know what she wants—and she wants Sam Ashton…badly. The chemistry between them is powerful, explosive. Still, she plans to keep their past connection her little secret!

VICKI LEWIS THOMPSON

New York Times bestselling author Vicki Lewis Thompson’s love affair with cowboys started with the Lone Ranger, continued through Maverick and took a turn south of the border with Zorro. Fortunately for her, she lives in the Arizona desert, where broad-shouldered, lean-hipped cowboys abound. Vicki has won numerous awards including the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from Romance Writers of America. Visit her website at www.vickilewisthompson.com.

Pure Temptation & Old Enough to Know Better
Vicki Lewis Thompson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CONTENTS

PURE TEMPTATION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

EPILOGUE

OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Pure Temptation

Vicki Lewis Thompson

To Alex Comfort, MB, DSc,

for celebrating the beauty of love and play.

CHAPTER ONE

Summer Project: Lose Virginity.

TESS BLAKELY ROCKED gently on her porch swing, a yellow legal pad balanced on her knee, a glass of iced tea on the wicker table beside her. She gazed at what she’d written and sighed. The beginning of a quest was the hardest part.

It was pitiful that a twenty-six-year-old, reasonably attractive woman found herself saddled with the handicap of virginity, but there it was, on paper. And her status had to change before she left for New York at the end of the summer, or she’d risk her credibility with the high school girls she’d been hired to counsel. Besides, she wanted to experience sex. She longed to experience sex.

She took a sip of iced tea and continued.

Goal One: Find knowledgeable candidate willing to deflower me.

Goal Two: Swear candidate to absolute secrecy.

Goal Three: Get it on.

Tess sighed again. Writing out her goals and objectives had been her cherished method for getting what she wanted, beginning at the age of eight when she’d yearned for her very own pony. But although she wanted to lose her innocence much more than she’d wanted that pony, her current project seemed about as likely of success as a personal rocket trip to the moon.

The little town of Copperville, Arizona, wasn’t exactly crawling with “knowledgeable candidates,” but even the few that she’d consider had been scared off long ago by her four very large, very overprotective older brothers. And not a one of those beefy brothers had moved away or relaxed his vigilance. They all expected their little sis to save herself for her wedding night. They were stuck in the Dark Ages, as far as she was concerned, but she loved them too much to openly defy them.

That was the reason for goal number two—for absolute secrecy. Now there was a definite sticking point. Even if she found a man her brothers hadn’t intimidated, how could she ever expect him to keep a secret in Copperville? This was a town where you could wake up with a sore throat in the morning and have three kinds of chicken soup at your doorstep by noon.

Which meant she might never arrive at the third step—Getting It On. And she was ready for number three. Extremely ready. She’d driven all the way to Phoenix to buy research books, knowing that she couldn’t be caught thumbing through One Hundred Ways to Drive Him Wild in the Copperville Book Barn, if the local bookstore even carried such a thing, which she sincerely doubted.

So much for her list. The goals were unreachable. She tossed the legal pad on top of the stack of books lying next to her on the swing. A list might have worked for the pony, but it was probably dumb to think it could cure a resistant case of chastity.

And to be honest, a list might have helped get her that pony all those years ago, but her best friend, Jeremiah “Mac” MacDougal, had been the real key. Her family lived in town and had no room for a horse, but Mac had talked his folks into keeping Chewbacca on their ranch. Tess’s older brothers had always thought they had first claim to Mac, being boys, but Tess knew better. Ever since Mac, who’d been only five at the time, had saved her from a rattlesnake, she’d known he was the best friend she’d ever have.

Mac. Mac could help her find the right guy! She mentally slapped her forehead and wondered why she hadn’t thought of him before. Unlike her brothers, Mac understood why she needed to take the job in New York and prove herself an independent, capable woman. Her brothers might have laughed at her when she asked for a light saber for Christmas, but Mac had saved his allowance and bought her one.

Surely Mac would also understand that she couldn’t go to New York a virgin. Coming from a small town was enough of a handicap. If the girls she’d be counseling figured out that she was sexually inexperienced, she’d be a real joke. Mac would see that right away. And he’d help her find the right man to solve her problem.

* * *

THE SUN HAD barely crested the mountains as Mac saddled two horses. He’d left his bed this morning with a sense of anticipation. He hadn’t had an early-morning ride with Tess in months. When she’d called to suggest it, he’d been happy at the prospect, although lately he’d been feeling a little jealous of her.

As kids they’d spent hours talking about the places they’d go when they were older. This September she was actually going to do it, while he was stuck on the ranch. His folks expected him to stay around and gradually take over what they’d worked so hard to build. As the only child, he couldn’t foist off that obligation on anybody else.

Tess had it easier, although she was forever complaining about how hard it was for a woman to “go on a quest,” as she put it. But she was doing it, and he wasn’t. Her mom and dad hated having her leave town, especially for some faraway place like New York City, but they still had four sons, their wives and seven grandchildren. With such a slew of Blakelys around, Tess didn’t have to feel guilty about grabbing her chance at independence. Mac envied her that freedom.

“Top ’o the mornin’ to ye, MacDougal.”

He buckled the cinch on Peppermint Patty and turned to smile at Tess. She used to greet him that way for months after she’d starred in Copperville High’s version of Brigadoon, and hearing it again brought back memories.

They’d rehearsed her lines in the tree house in her folks’ backyard. At one point he’d almost kissed her, but only because the script called for it, of course. Then they’d both decided the kiss wasn’t necessary for her to learn the part. He’d been relieved, of course, because kissing Tess would seem weird. But at the time he’d kind of wanted to try it, anyway.

“Aye, and it’s a fine mornin’, lass,” he said. She looked great, as always, but there was something different about her this morning. He studied her, trying to figure it out. “Did you cut your hair?”

“Not since the last time you saw me.” She used her fingers to comb it away from her face. “Why, does it look bad?”

“No. It looks fine.” In twenty-three years of watching Tess create new looks with her thick brown hair, he’d lived through braids, kinky perms, supershort cuts, even red streaks. Once he’d given her a haircut himself after she got bubble gum stuck in it. Neither set of parents had been impressed with his barbering skills. He liked the way she wore it now, chin-length and simple, allowing her natural wave to show.

“Is there a spot on my shirt or something?” She glanced down at the old Copperville Miners T-shirt she wore.

“Nope.” He nudged his hat to the back of his head with his thumb. “But I swear something’s different about you.” He stepped closer and took her chin in his hand. “Are you wearing some of that fancy department-store makeup?”

“To go riding? Now that would be stupid, wouldn’t it?”

He gazed at her smooth skin and noticed that her freckles were in full view and her mouth was its normal pink color. Her eyelashes were soft and fluttery, not spiky the way they had been in high school when she’d caked on the mascara. Nope, no makeup.

But as he looked into her gray eyes, he figured out what was bothering him. They were best friends and didn’t keep things from each other, or at least they hadn’t until now. This morning, for whatever reason, Tess had a secret. It changed her whole expression, making her seem mysterious, almost sexy. Not that he ever thought of Tess as sexy. No way.

Despite himself, he was intrigued. Even a little excited. He didn’t associate Tess with mystery, and it was a novel concept. He decided to wait and let the secret simmer in those big gray eyes of hers. It was fun to watch.

He tweaked her nose and stepped back. “I guess I’m seeing things. You’re the same old Tess. Ready to mount up?” To his amazement, she blushed. Tess never blushed around him. They knew each other too well.

“Um, sure,” she mumbled, heading straight for Peppermint Patty without looking at him, her cheeks still very pink. “We’re burning daylight.”

While he stood there trying to figure out what he’d said to make her blush, she climbed quickly into the saddle and started out. As he mounted he continued to watch her, and he could swear she shivered. With the temperature hovering around eighty-five on this June morning, he didn’t think she was cold. This might be the most interesting morning ride he’d ever had with Tess.

* * *

MAYBE ASKING FOR Mac’s help wouldn’t be so simple, after all, Tess thought as she headed for the trail leading to the river. Here she was blushing over some offhand remark he’d made about mounting up. Or maybe she’d spent too much time reading those books, and every conversation had sexual overtones now. She certainly couldn’t go to New York keyed up like this. It would be good to get this whole business over with.

Ducking an occasional overhanging mesquite branch, she rode at a trot ahead of him on the dusty trail. He knew something was up. She never could keep anything from him, so she might as well lay out her plan as soon as they got to their favorite spot by the river. As kids they’d used the sandy bank for fierce battles between their Star Wars action figures, and when they were older, they’d come out here to drink colas and talk about whatever was going on in their lives. Tess had never shared the hideaway with anyone else, and neither had Mac, as far as she knew.

The riverbank was where they’d gone after Chewbacca died. They’d talked about heaven, and had decided horses had to be there or they weren’t interested in going. They’d headed out here after Mac broke his arm and couldn’t try out for Little League, and the day Tess had won a teddy bear at the school carnival. Before either of them knew anything about sex, they’d spent time by the river talking about whether men and women made babies the same way horses and dogs and goats did.

Later on, Mac had put a stop to their discussions on that topic. Now Tess wanted to reopen the discussion, but she wasn’t sure if she had the courage.

“So what’s your summer project this year?” Mac called up to her. “I know you always have one.”

A perfect opening, but she didn’t want to blurt it out while they were riding. “I’m still thinking about it.” She drew confidence from the familiar rhythm of the little mare, the friendly squeak of saddle leather and the comfort of breathing in the dry, sweet air of early morning.

“Really? Hell, you usually have something planned by April. I’ll never forget that summer you got hooked on Australia—you playing that god-awful didgeridoo while you made me cook shrimp on the barbie.”

“How did I know it would spook the horses?”

Mac laughed. “The sound of that thing would spook a corpse. Do you ever play it anymore, or are you taking pity on your neighbors?”

“Watch yourself, or I’ll be forced to remind you of the time you mooned my brothers.”

“That was totally not my fault. You could have told me the bridge club was coming out to admire your mom’s roses.”

Tess started to giggle. “So help me, I tried.”

“Sure you did.”

“The boys stopped me! I felt terrible that it happened.”

“Uh-huh. That’s why you busted a gut laughing and why you bring it up on a regular basis.”

“Only in self-defense.” She barely had to guide Peppermint Patty down the trail after all the times the horse had taken her to the river. The horses flushed a covey of quail as they trotted past.

She could smell the river ahead of them, and obviously so could Peppermint Patty. The mare picked up the pace. As always, Tess looked forward to her first glimpse of the miniature beach surrounded almost entirely by tall reeds. The perfect hideout.

As the mare reached the embankment and started down toward the sand, her hooves skidded a little on the loose dirt, but she maintained her balance, having years of experience on this particular slope. In front of them the river gurgled along, about fifty feet wide at this point. Other than a few ducks diving for breakfast and a mockingbird trilling away on a cottonwood branch across the river, the area was deserted.

There was no danger that anyone would overhear their discussion, and she trusted Mac to listen seriously without laughing as she laid out her problem and asked for his help. She couldn’t have a better person in whom to place her confidence. Yet no matter how many times she told herself those things, her stomach clenched with nervousness.

* * *

MAC LET HIS gelding, Charlie Brown, pick his way down the embankment as Tess dismounted and led Peppermint Patty over to the river for a drink. This morning was exactly like so many other mornings he and Tess had ridden down here, and yet he couldn’t shake off the feeling that this morning was like no other they’d ever spent together.

He watered his horse, then took him over to the sycamore growing beside the river. He looped the reins around the same branch Tess had used to tie Peppermint Patty and went to sit beside Tess on a shady part of the riverbank.

He picked up a pebble and chucked it into the water. “Did you hear from that teacher at your new school?”

“Yep.” Tess plucked a stem of dry grass and began shredding it between her fingers. “I got an e-mail from her and she’ll be glad to let me stay with her until I can find an apartment.”

Mac glanced at Tess. He’d wondered when she’d suggested the ride if she had something specific on her mind. Maybe this move had her spooked. She’d been renting a little house ever since she got the counselor’s job at Copperville High, but living on her own in a small Arizona mining town with her parents three miles away was a lot different than living alone in New York City, two thousand miles from everyone she knew.

“Would this teacher rent you a room in her apartment?” he asked.

Tess shook her head. “She doesn’t have the space. I’ll be on the couch until I can find an apartment of my own. Besides, I want my own place. After growing up in a houseful of brothers, I’ve discovered I love the privacy of living alone.”

“You just think you’re living alone. Your family drops in on you all the time.”

“I know.” She sighed. “I love them, but I’m looking forward to being less convenient for a change.”

Mac could understand that. It was one of the reasons he’d decided to get a private pilot’s license. He looked for excuses to fly the Cessna because it was one of the few times he could be alone. “You might get lonesome,” he said.

“I probably will.” Tess began shredding another blade of wild grass. “But after living in a fishbowl for twenty-six years, lonesome doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Yeah.” Mac tossed another pebble in the water. “I hear you.” He breathed in the familiar mixture of scents—the dankness of the river, the sweetness of the grass, the light, flowery cologne Tess had worn for years, and the washline smell of sun on denim. Dammit all, he was going to miss her. He’d avoided facing that unpleasant fact ever since he found out that she’d gotten the job, but now it hit him all of a sudden, and he didn’t like it.

Tess had been part of his world for as long as he could remember. So had the rest of her family, giving him the brothers and sister he’d always longed for. But Tess had always been the one he’d felt closest to. Maybe it was all those Halloweens together when she’d insisted he be Raggedy Andy to her Raggedy Ann, Han Solo to her Princess Leia, Superman to her Lois Lane. Or maybe it was the Easter-egg hunts, or the Monopoly games that lasted for days, or tag football—Tess had been there for everything. Every Christmas she dragged him out to go caroling even though he couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.

He’d die before admitting to her how much he’d miss her. In the first place, they’d never been mushy and sentimental with each other, and in the second place, he didn’t want to be a spoilsport right when she had this exciting chapter opening in her life. He was happy for her. He was jealous as hell and he’d have a hard time adjusting to her being gone, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t glad she had this chance.

“I’m glad you got the job,” he said.

“Me, too. But I asked you to come here with me because I have this one problem, and I think you can help me.”

“Sure. Anything.”

“It’s a different world there in New York, and I don’t feel exactly…ready for it.”

Her voice sounded funny as if she was having trouble getting the words out.

“You’re ready.” He broke off a blade of grass and chewed on the end of it. “You’ve been working up to this all your life. I’ve always known you’d go out there and do something special.” He turned to her. “It’s your ultimate quest, Tess. You might have butterflies, but you’ll be great.”

“Thanks.” She smiled, but she looked preoccupied and very nervous.

He hoped she wasn’t about to break their code and get sentimental. Sure, they wouldn’t be able to see each other much, but they’d survive it.

She cleared her throat and turned to stare straight ahead at the river, concentrating on the water as if she’d never seen it flow before. God, he hoped she wouldn’t start crying. She wasn’t a crier, for which he’d always been grateful. He’d only see her cry a couple of times—when Chewbacca died and when that sleaze Bobby Hitchcock dumped her right before the senior prom. Good thing he hadn’t had a date that night and had been able to fill in.

They’d had a terrific time, and he’d even considered asking her out again, for real. She’d looked so beautiful in her daffodil-yellow dress that it had made his throat tight, and to his surprise he’d been a little turned on by her when they’d danced. He’d almost kissed her on the dance floor, until he’d come to his senses and realized how that would be received by the Blakely brothers. Then, too, he might gross himself out, kissing a girl who was practically his sister.

She continued to gaze at the river. “Mac, I—”

“Hey, me, too,” he said, desperate to stave off whatever sappy thing she might be about to say. If she got started down that road, no telling what sort of blubbering he’d do himself. He chewed more vigorously on the blade of grass.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said in a strained voice. “The thing is, Mac… I’m still a virgin.”

In his surprise he spit the blade of grass clear into the river. Then he was taken with a fit of coughing that brought tears to his eyes.

She pounded him on the back, but the feel of her hand on him only made him cough harder. Ever since he’d discovered the wonders of sex, he’d made sure that he and Tess didn’t talk about the subject. Life was a lot safer that way, and he wished to hell she hadn’t decided to confess her situation to him this morning.

As he sat there wondering if he’d choke to death, she stood up and walked toward the river. Taking off her hat, she scooped water into it and brought it back to him. She held it in front of his nose. “Drink this.”

He drank and then he took off his hat and poured the rest of the cool water over his head. As he shook the moisture from his eyes and drew in a deep breath, he felt marginally better.

She remained crouched in front of him, and he finally found the courage to look at her. “So what?” he said hoarsely.

“I’m twenty-six years old.”

“So?” His response lacked imagination, but she’d short-circuited his brain. If he’d ever thought about this, which he’d been careful not to, he’d have figured out that she was probably still a virgin. The Blakely boys had fenced her in from the day she’d entered puberty.

“I can’t go to the big city like this. I can’t counsel girls who’ve been sexually active since they were twelve if I’ve never, ever—”

“I get the picture.” Much too graphically for his tastes. His mind had leaped ahead to a horrible possibility—that she would ask him to take care of her problem. And the horrible part was that he felt an urge stirring in him to grant her request. He pushed away the traitorous thought. “I think you could certainly go to New York without…experience. Chastity’s catching on these days. You could be a role model.”

“Oh, Mac! I don’t want to be a role model for chastity! I didn’t choose to be a virgin because of some deeply held belief. You know as well as I do that my brothers are the whole reason I’m in this fix.”

Her brothers. God, they would skin him alive if he so much as laid a finger on her. “Well, your brothers aren’t going to New York!” He knew the minute he said it that he’d stepped from the frying pan into the fire.

“No, they’re not. And that’s another point. I’ll be clueless about sex and unchaperoned in a city full of sophisticated men. Is that what you want for me, to be swept off my feet by some fast-talking city slicker who’ll play me for a fool because I don’t know the score?”

This was a trap made in hell. And damned if he wasn’t tempted. “Of course not, but—”

“I need a nice man, Mac. Somebody who can take care of this problem for me before I leave.”

Oh, God. She was going to ask him. His heart hammered as he wondered if he’d have the strength to refuse her. “Listen, Tess. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know exactly what I’m saying. And you’re the only person I trust to help me find that man.”

CHAPTER TWO

“ARE YOU CRAZY?” Mac leaped to his feet so fast he knocked Tess over. The only thing worse than imagining him involved in this dirty deed was imagining some other guy involved. “Sorry.” He reached down and gave her a hand up. Once she was steady on her feet, he released her hand quickly.

She dusted off the seat of her jeans. “Mac, please. I can’t stay a virgin forever.”

“Why not?” So he was being unreasonable. He couldn’t help it. And dammit, now he’d caught himself watching her dust off her fanny and thinking that it was a very nice fanny. Dammit.

She sighed and lowered her head. “I was so counting on your help.”

“Aw, jeez.” Not only was he having inappropriate thoughts about her, he also felt as if he’d abandoned her. But he couldn’t imagine how in hell he could diffuse either situation. “Tess, you know I’d do anything in the world for you, but I can’t see how this would work.”

Her head came up, and hope gleamed in her gray eyes.

He backed a step away from her. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Here’s how it will work. We’ll brainstorm the possibilities and come up with a shortlist. Then you can find out if any of the guys are seeing anyone, because I don’t want to break up any—”

“Whoa.” Panic gripped him. “I never said I’d do this.”

“You said you’d do anything for me.”

“Anything but find you a lover!” Just saying it gave him the shivers. He’d worked so hard to keep from thinking of Tess in a sexual way, and now the barriers were coming down. For the first time he acknowledged the sweet stretch of her T-shirt across her breasts and the inviting curve of her hips. “I think that’s a little more than a reasonable person should expect, don’t you?”

“This is perfectly reasonable! Why should I search around on my own and end up with some clumsy nerdling who makes my first experience a nightmare, when I can rely on your advice and have a really nice time instead?”

There had to be a good answer to that one. He just needed a moment to think of it. And he couldn’t think while he was picturing Tess having a “really nice time.”

“See?” She gave him the superior little smile that she reserved for the times she’d won either an argument or a game of Monopoly. “You have to admit it makes sense.”

“I don’t have to admit anything. And why me? Why not one of your girlfriends? I thought women exchanged notes on guys all the time.”

“They do, but you’re a better source of info.” She stuck her hands in her hip pockets. “You’ve dated more people around here than anyone I know. You’d know what women say about a guy, and you’ve had a chance to get to know the guys themselves and what they’re really like. You’d know if they brag in the locker room, for example. Besides all that, there’s not a single person, man or woman, I trust to keep my secret as much as I trust you.”

He gulped. When she put it that way, he didn’t know how he could refuse. And he wished she wouldn’t stand like that, with her hands in her hip pockets and her chest thrust forward. He didn’t like it. Okay, he liked it too much.

“Mac.” She reached out and put her hand on his arm.

He tried not to flinch. Tess had put her hand on his arm a million times. She’d grabbed him for various reasons, usually to inflict injury, and he’d grabbed her back. He’d held her hand when she was a little kid and they’d gone trick-or-treating, and they’d clutched each other and screamed when they rode the Twister at the state fair. Touching had never been a big deal. Until now.

“Listen, Mac,” she said. “You pulled out my first tooth, remember?”

“Different case.”

“And you taught me to drive.” She grinned. “You also gave me my first drink of whisky.”

“You begged me for it, and then you threw up.”

“And you held my head. You see, at all those important moments in my life, you were there to guide me.”

“This is way different.”

“Not if you stop being a prude.”

“I’m not a—”

“What about Donny?”

“Donny Beauford?” He snorted. “You can’t be serious.”

“Why? What’s wrong with Donny?”

Mac couldn’t say exactly, except that when he thought of Donny in an intimate embrace with Tess, his skin began to crawl. He passed a hand over his face and gazed up through the leaves of the sycamore. Finally he glanced at her. “He wouldn’t…take care of you.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks grew pink, but she faced him bravely. “You mean sexually?”

“In any way.”

“Oh. Now, see, that’s exactly what I need to know. How about Stu?”

“Oh, God, he’s worse.”

“Buck?”

“Nope.”

“I know who. Jerry.”

“Definitely not! Jerry’s a dweeb. He’d probably—” Mac thought of some raunchy revelations he’d been privy to and decided to censor them. “Never mind. Not Jerry.”

“Okay, then you make a suggestion.”

He gazed at her as the silence filled with the sound of the river and the shuffling hooves of Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown. The horses were becoming restless in the growing heat. Moisture trickled down his back, but he didn’t think it was only the weather making him sweat. “I can’t think of anybody.” The truth was, he didn’t want to think of anybody.

“Maybe you just need some time. I caught you by surprise.”

“You certainly did that.”

“Tell you what. Let’s postpone the discussion. Maybe we could meet for dinner tonight.”

“It’s poker night.”

“You’re right. I can’t, either. I’m playing pinochle at Joan’s. Okay, then tomorrow night.”

He decided a delay was the best he could hope for. He couldn’t imagine what would occur to him to get him out of this mess in thirty-six hours, but maybe he’d stumble onto a miracle. “I’ll meet you at the Nugget Café.” He smiled. “It’s meat-loaf night.” Meat-loaf night at the Nugget was one of their shared treats.

“So it is. About six?”

“Yeah. Sounds good.” He glanced up at the sun. “It’s late. We’d better get back. I’ve got tons to do today.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

“Like what?”

“Research. I bought some books in Phoenix.”

Mac had a feeling he shouldn’t ask the question, but he did, anyway. “What sort of books?”

“On sexual techniques. When the time comes, I want to make sure I know as much as possible.”

He felt as if somebody had kicked him in the stomach. “This is your summer project?”

“As a matter of fact, it is.”

Mac groaned. It was even worse than he’d thought. When Tess settled on a summer project, a truckload of dynamite wouldn’t dislodge her from her chosen path. If he knew Tess, and he thought he did, she would not be a virgin by the end of the summer. He could help her or not, but she would persevere until she’d checked off everything on her list.

* * *

TESS REALIZED HOW lucky she was that she liked each of the women her brothers had chosen to marry, and they liked her. When the guys got together for poker every Wednesday night, the wives hired babysitters and met at one of the other brothers’ houses for pinochle. Tess was always invited. She’d miss the friendly, raucous evenings when she went to New York, but some sacrifices had to be made if she planned to live up to her own expectations.

Tonight the women were meeting at Rhino and Joan’s. Rhino, originally named Ryan but indelibly stamped with a macho nickname in high school, was Tess’s oldest brother and the acknowledged leader of the five siblings. He’d been the first to get married, buy a house and have kids.

From the moment Tess’s niece Sarah had arrived in the world, Tess had decided being an aunt was the coolest thing in the world, although she was a little tired of being a maiden aunt. She arrived at Joan’s early so she could see Sarah, who was now eight, and six-year-old Joe before Joan tucked them into bed.

After giving each of the kids the game she’d bought for them in Phoenix and joining in as Joan sang them silly good-night songs, she followed her dark-haired sister-in-law downstairs to the kitchen to help her get out chips and drinks for the party.

“Thanks for bringing them the game,” Joan said as she took glasses out of the cupboard. “They’re really going to miss you when you go to New York.”

“I’m going to miss them.” Tess emptied tortilla chips into a bowl and opened the refrigerator to search for the homemade salsa Joan always kept on hand.

“Oh, I don’t know. You’ll be living such an exciting life, I don’t know if you’ll miss anything from back here.”

“Sure I will. I love this place, and my family and friends.”

“Me, too.” Joan turned to look at her. “But I’d give anything to be in your shoes.”

“Really?” Tess gazed at her sister-in-law. With Joan’s Hispanic, family-oriented background and her obvious dedication to her home and children, she seemed to have found her dream. “I thought you were the original Earth Mother.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m very happy. But the challenge has gone. When we first got married, everything was new. Sex was new, and then having kids was new, and then buying this house and fixing it up was new. But now it’s all just a comfortable routine. And I want—” she paused to laugh “—more worlds to conquer, I guess.”

“I so understand. That’s the whole reason I’m going to New York. It’s my Mount Everest.” She hesitated, then decided to risk a suggestion. “Have you thought of going back to school?”

“I’ve already got the catalogs. I’m thinking—now don’t laugh—of becoming a marriage counselor.”

“No kidding! Joan, that would be wonderful. Obviously you know what goes into making a good marriage.”

Joan gave her a rueful glance. “I wouldn’t call me an expert. But I understand what happens when a couple gets to this point and sort of loses interest in each other.”

Tess’s jaw dropped. “You mean…”

“I mean things are getting really dull in the bedroom. I’ve been thinking of driving to Phoenix and getting some how-to books. I wouldn’t dare buy anything like that in Copperville or the whole town would think I’d become a nymphomaniac.”

“Amen to that. You know, I—” Tess stopped herself before she offered Joan a couple of her research books. She loved and trusted Joan, but she wasn’t quite ready to tell her sister-in-law about her summer project. “I think that’s a good idea,” she said.

“I figured you would. Listen, I’m not saying anything against your brother. He’s a great guy. It’s just that we could probably both use some pointers.”

“Sure. Most people can.”

“I mean, you know how it is. You get used to a certain way of doing things, and then it all becomes mechanical.”

“Absolutely.” Tess felt like an impostor, having this discussion with Joan, who assumed Tess had some experience. If she needed any further proof she was doing the right thing, here it was.

Joan came over and gave her a hug. “Thanks for listening and encouraging me. Even though you’re younger than I am, I always think of you as being more sophisticated, for some reason. Maybe it’s your college degree.”

Tess returned the hug. “Book learning isn’t everything.”

“No.” Joan stepped back and smiled at her. “The ideal thing would be to have both.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” And if Mac would help her, she would have both, at last.

* * *

THE POKER GAME was held at Tiny Tim’s, the youngest and the largest of the Blakely clan. Tim was a newlywed, proud to show off the new digs he shared with Suzie in an apartment complex near the edge of town.

Mac had spent the entire day worrying the subject of Tess’s virginity, and the hell of it was, he could see her point. Her small-town background might make her seem unsophisticated to native New Yorkers. And if the kids she was counseling found out she had no sexual experience, either, that might become a credibility issue. Then there was the other problem—the very good possibility that some city dude, some fast-talking greenhorn, would take her virginity. Mac really didn’t like thinking about that.

“Hey, Big Mac, are you in or not?” called Rhino from across the poker table.

Mac’s head came up with a snap. Then he realized the question had to do with the cards in his hand, not whether he would help Tess find a lover for the summer. She’d sure ruined him for poker night. One of the things he loved about these weekly games was the simplicity of them. But nothing was simple tonight. No question was innocent. Even the name of the game, five card stud, had overtones he’d never noticed before.

He tossed his hand facedown on the table. “I’m out.”

“Let’s see what you got, Rhino,” said Dozer, whose given name was Doug. Nobody called any of the brothers by their real names anymore. Doug and Hamilton, the two middle boys, had become Dozer and Hammer when they’d formed the heart of the offensive line for the Copperville High Miners.

The brothers were Mac’s closest buddies, not counting Tess. Their mother and his were best friends, so the kids had naturally grown up spending a lot of time together. In high school the Blakely boys had literally covered his ass when he quarterbacked the Miners. But he saw them with new eyes tonight as he evaluated how each of them might react if they learned about the conversation he’d had with Tess this morning, and the fact that he hadn’t turned her down flat.

“Read ’em and weep, Dozer,” Rhino said, laying out two queens and three sevens. At the tender age of thirty he was starting to lose his hair, and so he wore baseball caps a lot, even inside. Tonight’s was a black one from the Nugget Café.

Rhino didn’t miss much, which made him a damn good poker player. He’d likely be the first one to figure out if Mac had lined up some guy to initiate Tess, and he’d probably organize the retaliation against Mac and the poor unfortunate guy Mac had brought into the picture.

“Aw, hell,” muttered Dozer, a redhead with a temper to match. He acted first, thought about it later. He’d been known to deck a guy who so much as looked at Tess wrong. “You must be living right.”

“Nah,” said Tiny Tim, pushing back his chair. “He’s ornery as ever. Just lucky. Who needs a beer?” Tim didn’t have a mean bone in his huge body, and couldn’t even go hunting because of his tender heart. He’d do anything for anybody and never took offense—except when it came to somebody bothering his sister. Then all his tenderness evaporated. Mac had seen it happen.

“Hit me,” said Rhino with a tug on his cap. “And don’t be bringing out any of that light crap, either.”

“Yeah, he wants something to put hair on his head,” said Dozer.

“Funny,” said Rhino. “Real funny.”

“Don’t blame me for the light beer,” said Tim as he headed for the kitchen. “Suzie bought it. Said I needed to watch my waistline.”

“Yeah, Deena’s been giving me that old song and dance, too,” said Hammer, the third and smallest of the brothers, although at six-three he was no midget. He was Mac’s age and they’d been in many of the same classes in school. Logically he should have been Mac’s best friend in the family, but Hammer wasn’t a thinker, and Mac had always found more to talk about with Tess. Mac had often suspected Hammer was a little jealous of Mac’s special relationship with his sister. This new development could really set him off.

Hammer glanced at Mac. “You don’t know how good you’ve got it, with no woman to nag you to death about your diet.”

“That’s the truth,” added Dozer. “It’s getting so bad that if I haul out a bag of chips for Monday Night Football, Cindy tries to grab them away.”

“And you let her?” Rhino asked. “You wouldn’t catch that happening in my house. I lay down the law with Joan.”

Mac led the chorus of hooting laughter. “Are you kidding?” he said. “Joan’s got you wrapped around her little finger!”

Rhino grinned sheepishly.

“In fact,” Mac continued, “I’ve never seen guys crazier about marriage than you four. You could hardly wait to march down that aisle. Don’t give me this bull about nagging wives. You love every minute of it.” And he envied them, he realized. They’d all found happiness.

Rhino took the beer Tim handed him and popped the tab. “So when are you gonna round out this ugly bunch and make it five for five?” He watched Mac over the rim of the can as he took a drink.

Mac gave his standard answer. “When I find the right woman.”

“Hell, you’ve had a passel of right women.” Dozer brushed back a lock of red hair from his forehead. “Jenny was great. I dated Jenny, and there was nothing wrong with her.”

“So why did you end up with Cindy?” Mac asked.

“Cindy knows how to handle my temper. But you don’t have much of a temper, Mac. Jenny would’ve been fine for you.”

“Yeah, she would,” said Hammer. “Cute figure.”

“Obviously I should have taken a poll before I broke up with her.” Mac picked up his beer.

“And Babs,” Rhino said. “I liked Babs, too.”

Mac swallowed his beer. “Me, too. Just not enough to last forever.”

“Aw, you’re too picky, Mac,” said Tiny Tim. “That’s your problem. Nobody’s gonna be perfect.” He grinned. “Although Suzie’s close.” He ducked a shower of peanut shells.

“The newlywed nerd might have a point, though,” Rhino said. “Maybe you are too damn picky. What kind of standards are you using, if you eliminated two nice girls like Jenny and Babs?”

Mac shelled a peanut and tossed it in his mouth. Then he glanced around the table. “You know, I’m truly touched that you all are so worried about my marriage prospects. Maybe we should hold hands and pray about it. Maybe, if we concentrate real hard, I’ll see the light, and grab the next available female I run across.”

Rhino’s bushy eyebrows lifted and he glanced at Tiny Tim. “Seems to me this apartment complex has a pool.”

“Sure does.” Tim pushed back his chair, as did the other Blakely brothers.

Mac saw the look in their eyes and pushed back his chair, too. “Now don’t get hasty, guys. I was just making a joke.”

“So are we,” said Hammer. “Right, Dozer?”

“Yeah.” Dozer grinned, revealing the tooth he’d chipped in the state championship football game eleven years earlier. “I love jokes.”

As he was carried unceremoniously out to the pool and thrown in, Mac thought he probably deserved a dunking, but not for the reason the guys were doing it.

CHAPTER THREE

TESS HADN’T SPENT much of her life in dresses, but tonight’s dinner with Mac seemed to require one. She didn’t want to wear anything too fussy, not when the late-afternoon temperature had topped out at a hundred and five. She ended up choosing a sundress with daisies on it because she knew Mac liked daisies.

As she stood in front of the mirror wondering if she needed jewelry, she remembered the single teardrop pearl on a gold chain that Mac had given her as a high school graduation present. She’d been touched that he’d bought something so delicate and feminine, considering the rough-and-tumble nature of their friendship. Because she saved the necklace for special occasions, she seldom took it out of the black velvet box it had come in. Tonight seemed like the perfect time to wear it.

Once she was ready, apprehension hit her again. If Mac had willingly fallen in with her plan, she would have been calmer at this point. Her project was nerve-racking enough even if Mac agreed to help. If he continued to drag his heels, she’d need to gather her self-confidence to stay on track.

Her rented bungalow wasn’t far from the center of town, so she decided to walk the two blocks to the Nugget and work off some of her anxiety. She slipped on her sunglasses, hooked the strap of her purse over her shoulder and started out. A block into the walk, she knew she’d made a mistake. She’d arrive at the restaurant more cooked than the meat loaf.

Mac pulled into a parking spot in front of the Nugget as she passed the drugstore two doors down from the café. As she walked, she watched him climb out of his white pickup. Although the truck was dusty from a day spent on ranch work, Mac wasn’t. He’d obviously changed into a clean shirt and jeans, and he was wearing a dove-gray Stetson she’d never seen on him before.

He looked damn good, with his cowboy-slim legs encased in crisp denim and his broad shoulders emphasized by the cut of his gray plaid western shirt. Every so often in the years they’d known each other, she’d paused to notice that her best friend was a hunk, but she hadn’t done that lately. She was noticing it now.

Maybe all her reading was affecting her. She suddenly wondered what sort of lover Mac would be. Then she quickly put the thought out of her mind. Mac was like a fifth brother to her. She shouldn’t be having such thoughts about him. He’d be horrified if he knew.

As if sensing her eyes on him, he glanced in her direction before going into the Nugget. He paused. “Did your car break down?”

“I decided to walk.”

He scratched the back of his head as he stared at her. “But it’s June.”

“So I discovered. I have to admit I’m a little warm.” Up close she could smell his aftershave and noticed there was no stubble on his square jaw. For some reason the fact that he’d showered and shaved for this dinner made her stomach fluttery.

He looked her up and down from behind his sunglasses and then shook his head. “I thought I taught you better than this. Now after that hot walk you’ll hit that cold air-conditioning. It’s not good for your system.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. You sound like my mother. Could you at least mention that my dress looks nice? I wore it because you like daisies.”

“Your dress looks nice. And you’re going to catch your death of cold in that restaurant.”

It wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. As her irritation grew, she realized she’d secretly hoped he’d be dazed and delighted by her appearance, the way guys in movies reacted when a tomboy type like her showed up in a dress. “Let me worry about that.”

“Fine. Just don’t come crying to me when you catch a summer cold.”

“I promise it won’t be your responsibility.”

“I’m glad to know at least something’s not my responsibility.” He held the door open for her and the brass bells hanging from the handle jangled.

She stayed where she was. “Look, if that’s going to be your attitude, maybe we should just forget the whole thing.”

“And then what?”

“In or out, you two!” called Janice, a waitress who’d been working at the Nugget ever since Tess could remember. “We don’t aim to air-condition the entire town of Copperville!”

Mac let the door swoosh closed again and turned back to Tess, his expression impassive. “What’ll it be?”

She didn’t really want to call the whole thing off. She needed Mac to help her, and besides, he’d shown up for dinner all shaved and showered. It would be a shame to waste that effort. “Let’s have some meat loaf,” she said.

* * *

MAC HELD THE door for Tess a second time and tried not to drool as she walked past him trailing her cologne like a billowing scarf. When he’d seen her coming down the street in that flirty, daisy-covered dress he’d almost swallowed his tongue. Then she’d gotten close enough that he could see the moisture gathering in her cleavage, right where the pearl nestled.

He fought the crazy urge to lean down and lick the drop of moisture away before it disappeared into the valley between her breasts. He must be out of his mind. Fantasies like that didn’t apply to Tess, the girl who could ride her bike no-hands down Suicide Hill, a girl who could throw a baseball so hard that it stung when it hit his glove. But the girl is a woman now. He couldn’t ignore the truth any longer. He’d had glimpses of the fact over the years, like the first time he’d seen her in a bikini and she actually filled the thing out. And the prom had been another revelation, but he’d come to his senses before he’d done something stupid like kissing her. Sure they’d kissed when they were little kids, just to see what all the fuss was about, but it hadn’t meant anything.

Funny, though, he still had a vivid memory of the spring day down by the river when they’d decided to try kissing. If he concentrated, he could still feel her soft little-girl’s mouth that had tasted like pink bubble gum. When he’d pulled back to get her reaction, she’d looked sort of dreamy and sweet. Then she’d grinned at him and blown a big bubble that popped all over her face, destroying the moment.

He followed her through the restaurant to the back booth, the one they always took at the Nugget. Along the way he managed to return greetings from the others in the café, people he’d known all his life. But his attention was claimed by the sway of Tess’s hips under the flared skirt covered with daisies. The dress zipped in the back, and he figured she had nothing but panties on under it. The combination added up to what he and his buddies used to call a good make-out dress.

Damn. He had to stop thinking like this. Late this afternoon he’d finally decided maybe he should try to fix her up with someone. He’d come up with a couple of possibilities and had told himself he’d rather have Mitch or Randy be the lucky guy than some sleaze in New York.

Now he didn’t want Mitch or Randy anywhere near her.

But if he didn’t help her, no telling what harebrained thing she’d do. He’d seen her get a bee in her bonnet enough times to know she wouldn’t give up her summer project easily. The year she’d decided to learn how to use in-line skates, she’d sprained her ankle and bloodied both knees, but she hadn’t given up. And she had learned.

He slid into the booth across from her and tried to pretend this was like all the other times they’d shared a meal or a milk shake at the Nugget.

“Hungry?” she asked.

“You bet,” he lied. He wondered if he’d be able to force anything down. He’d never look at her the same way again, he realized in despair. No matter what happened, the friendship had been changed forever. He’d made the mental leap and begun to think of her as a desirable woman—more desirable than he ever would have imagined. He could hardly believe that all these years he’d managed to screen out her sexuality.

“Have you been thinking about…what we discussed?”

“Some.” He blew out a breath. “A lot.”

“Any ideas?”

Yeah, and all of them X-rated.

Janice sauntered over to their table, notepad in hand. “Hey, you two.”

Tess smiled at her. “Hey, Janice. How’s that grandkid?”

Janice reached in the pocket of her skirt. “Take a look.” She tossed a snapshot of a baby down on the table.

“Oh, Janice, she’s gorgeous.”

“Isn’t she?”

“Cute kid,” Mac said, although he was more interested in the look on Tess’s face than the picture of Janice’s grandchild. As Tess gazed at the photo, her expression grew soft and yearning. Only a fool would misinterpret that expression, and Mac wondered if Tess knew how much she wanted a baby of her own. Hell, that was another thing he’d never connected with Tess, but she’d make a great mother. Which meant she had to find somebody who’d be a great father. The whole idea depressed him.

Janice scooped the picture up and slipped it back in her pocket. “So, are you guys having meat loaf or something else?”

“Meat loaf for me,” Tess said.

“Same here.” Mac hoped he’d feel more like eating when their order arrived.

“The usual on the salad dressing?”

“Yep,” they both said at once.

“Iced tea?”

“Yep,” they said again.

Mac thought about Tess going to New York, where the waiters wouldn’t automatically know she liked honey-mustard salad dressing, coffee in the winter and iced tea in the summer. He thought about her eating alone at a restaurant, or worse, eating with some guy. Some guy who would be having the same thoughts Mac was having right now.

“I’ll be back with your tea and salads in a jiff.” Janice headed back toward the kitchen.

Mac stared at Tess, not sure what to say for the first time in all the years he’d known her. They’d always been able to talk to each other. They’d been able to hang out without talking, too. She was the sort of girl you could take fishing, because she’d sit, her line in the water, and let the peacefulness of the day wash over her. But there was nothing peaceful in the silence between them tonight.

“It was pretty hot today,” he said. Then he rolled his eyes. They’d been reduced to talking about the weather. “Forget I said that.”

She smiled. “Okay.” She leaned forward, which made the pearl shift and dip beneath the neckline of her dress. “Remember the time we put pennies on the train tracks?”

He gazed at the spot where the pearl had disappeared. Then he glanced up again, aware that he shouldn’t be looking there. They were in a public place. Anyone could walk in and catch him at it. One of the Blakely boys, for example. “Yeah, I remember.”

“I never told anybody.”

“Me, neither.”

“That was twenty years ago, Mac. You and I have kept that silly secret for twenty years, because we both have the same sense of honor. That’s why I’m asking you for help. I know you won’t tell.”

“I swear, you two look like you’re hatching a plot,” Janice said as she set down two iced teas, then plopped a salad plate in front of each of them and a basket of rolls in the center of the table. “Aren’t you a little old to be painting water towers and such?”

“My folks’ anniversary is coming up,” Tess said. “Thirty-five years.”

“Aha! And you’re going to give them a surprise party.”

Tess looked secretive. “Could be.”

“My lips are zipped,” Janice said. “But be sure and invite me.”

“I will.”

After she left, Mac leaned closer to Tess. The scent of her cologne worked on him, giving him ideas he shouldn’t be having, but he didn’t want anyone to overhear him. “You see how complicated this can get? Now you’re going to have to give your parents a party to cover your tracks!”

She shrugged, and the straps of her dress moved. “No problem. It’s a good idea, anyway.”

His fingers tingled as he imagined slipping those straps down. Slipping the sundress down. With a soft oath he leaned back against the booth. “I’ll bet you’re freezing in here, right?” He wasn’t freezing, that was for sure.

“Not really.” She reached up with both hands and combed her damp hair back from her face with her fingers. The motion lifted her breasts under the cotton of the dress, and there was no doubt that she was braless.

Mac told himself he wasn’t getting turned on. Definitely not. “Let me get that old flannel shirt I keep in the truck.”

“I don’t need your old flannel shirt. I’m fine.”

But he needed her to cover up. “I could get it anyway, just in case.” He started to leave the booth.

“Mac, I don’t want the blasted shirt, okay? I want to get this project going. So sit down and tell me what you’ve got.”

He stared at her, his mind in turmoil. He should tell her about Mitch and Randy. He really should.

“Meat loaf’s here!” Janice announced. “Goodness, you haven’t touched your salads. Must be some party you two are cooking up.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Tess said. She moved her salad plate to one side. “Just set it down there, and I’ll eat everything together.”

“Me, too,” Mac said, following suit.

“Better clean your plates,” Janice said. “Or no dessert for you. And Sally made fresh peach pie today.”

Mac patted his stomach, which was in no mood for a meal, let alone dessert. “Sounds great. You know I love peach.”

Once Janice had disappeared, Tess leaned forward again. “That reminds me,” she said in an undertone. “I’ve been learning the most amazing things from my reading. For example, the use of flavored oils. Did you know they make peach?”

“No.” His jeans started growing tight. Mind over matter wasn’t working.

“Have you read any books on the subject?”

“No.” He stabbed his salad, determined to get through some of this food if it killed him.

“There are some wonderful ideas in there. You might want to take a look.”

He lost control of his fork and it clattered to the plate. “I don’t think so.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Men and their egos. I’ll bet even you could learn something.”

He picked up his fork and returned to his meal with a vengeance. “Thanks, but I think I’ll just blunder along on my own.”

“Okay, but this is a perfect opportunity to check the books out without anybody knowing you’re doing it. When I leave, I’ll be taking those books with me and you’ll be SOL.”

“I won’t be likely to forget you’re leaving.”

The light of amusement faded in her eyes. “Oh, Mac. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that. I know you’d love to do the same.”

He clamped down on his emotions. There was no point in wanting what you couldn’t have. “I wouldn’t say that. And somebody has to take over the ranch. I noticed this past winter that my dad’s already slowing down.”

“Have you ever given them the slightest hint that you don’t want to take over?”

“I do want to take over. They’ve struggled so hard to build that place and keep it going. It would kill them to have to sell it to strangers when they can’t work it anymore.” He looked into her eyes. “If you were an only child, would you be heading for New York?”

She seemed about to say yes, when she hesitated. Then she sighed. “Probably not. It really helps that my brothers look like they’re going to stay in Copperville forever.” She sent Mac a look of deep sympathy. “You can come and visit me anytime you want. I’ll show you New York in style.”

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll take you up on that.”

“We could have a great time. The top of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Times Square. Promise me that you’ll come to visit me, Mac. It would be so wonderful to have that to look forward to.”

“Okay, I promise.” His heart wrenched at the thought of how much they probably would enjoy themselves. And then he’d have to come home again and leave her there. Well, he’d just have to get over it. His life was here, and hers would be there, and that’s the way it was meant to be.

“I feel so much better, knowing that you’ll come to visit me.” Her eyes glowed. “I guess I always pictured seeing some of those things with you. Maybe I’ll wait until you get there before I do some of that tourist stuff, so we can both experience it at the same time. I’ve heard Ellis Island is very moving. And the Metropolitan Museum of Art will be beautiful, and we could save our money and eat at one of those pricey restaurants, at least once, and—”

“I’m not taking you to a pricey restaurant unless you can do better on the food than you’re doing here.”

She glanced at her plate and picked up her fork. “I guess I’m distracted. I can’t seem to think of anything except this move, and getting ready for it.” She pushed her food around and glanced up at him. “Mac, I know you think I’m crazy for wanting this one thing before I go.”

“Not crazy.” He laid down his fork and gave up all pretense of eating. God, she was beautiful. Not cute, not attractive, not passable. Beautiful. He’d never admitted that to himself before, but he’d probably always known it on some unconscious level. He’d been entranced watching her talk about their future adventures in New York.

“Then you understand?”

“Yes.”

She sagged against the table, and her sigh was heavy with relief. “Thank goodness. I wondered if I’d ever convince you.”

“I’m convinced.”

“Then you’ll help me? You’ll find someone and introduce us?”

Maybe he’d known all along what he had to do. Maybe he’d just needed time for the inescapable truth to settle upon him. But now he could see no other way. It was dangerous, extremely dangerous. A great deal was at stake. Still, it was the only answer, and he was man enough to accept that, along with the consequences.

He took a deep breath. “I don’t have to look for someone. I already know who will do it.”

“You do?” Her eyes grew bright, her cheeks pink. “Who?”

“Me.”

CHAPTER FOUR

TESS GASPED AND put her hand over her mouth. She felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of warm water over her. Oh, God. Mac. Could she do it? Her imagination quivered and danced around the idea, unable to focus on the possibility. Her heart beat so loudly she thought he might be able to hear it. Mac. Oh, dear. How delicious. How impossible. How frightening. How lovely.

“Unless you don’t want me to.”

She was having trouble breathing, let alone talking. “I—I—”

“It’s okay if you don’t. I might not be…what you want.”

“I…have to think.”

“Sure.”

Although she was caught up in her own turmoil, she sensed his vulnerability. “I’m honored,” she choked out.

“Honored?”

“That you’d even consider…that you’d even be willing…”

“Better me than anybody else I can think of.”

“Is it…” She paused and squeezed her eyes shut. “Such a sacrifice, then?” At his astonished laughter, she opened her eyes.

“Are you kidding?” He stared at her in wonder. “If word got out that you were in the market, the line outside your door would stretch all the way to the Nugget.”

“You think?” He’d never, ever given her such an extravagant compliment about her sex appeal. His compliments on that score had been nonexistent, come to think of it.

“You could have your pick,” he said. “You don’t have to settle for me. I just thought—”

“That I’d feel more comfortable with you. Thank you, Mac. And I probably would. Once I get over the shock.”

“Take your time.”

“You won’t change your mind?”

He shook his head.

“But what about my brothers?”

He let out his breath in a great gust. “I won’t pretend that won’t be tough. But I’ve kept our secrets from them before.” He gazed at her. “I guess I can do it again.”

She’d never been so impressed with another human being in her life. “I don’t deserve such a good friend.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “Don’t go giving me too much credit. This wouldn’t be the worst assignment I’d ever drawn in my life.”

“So you think you could have…fun?”

“I think I could manage that.”

Tess leaned back in the booth and fanned herself with her hand. “Wow. This blows me away.” She glanced at him with his fresh shower, shave and clothes. “Did you decide this before you showed up tonight?”

“No. I honestly didn’t know what I was going to say to you when I got here. Then, while we were talking, I finally decided this was the only solution I could live with.”

She hesitated, feeling unbelievably shy. “The reason I asked is that I wondered, considering that you’re all cleaned up, if you thought that we’d just…take care of it.”

He coughed and cleared his throat. “Is that what you want?”

She couldn’t seem to control her racing pulse, and every breath was a struggle. “I don’t know. I realize this is my project, but I’m not feeling very much in charge right now.”

He gazed at her. “I have a suggestion.”

She swallowed. He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen in her life. How had she missed that in all these years? “Okay.”

He leaned forward and beckoned her to do the same. He lowered his voice and his eyes grew smoky blue. “Maybe we need to work up to this. We could take a drive, park somewhere, do some old-fashioned making out and see how it goes. And to take the pressure off, we’d agree not to go all the way this first time.”

He was so close that his breath caressed her face. His hands—hands that had positioned her grip on a baseball bat, picked her up when she fell off her bike and pinched her when she’d dropped the frog down his back—had taken on a whole new significance. And they lay less than an inch from hers on the Formica tabletop. As she looked into his eyes, her heart beat so fast she thought she might have a heart attack. This was a Mac she’d never met before. “I g-guess we could do that, but…”

“But? And how were you envisioning the process?”

Her cheeks grew hot. “Honestly?”

“Honestly.”

She kept her voice to a low murmur, which increased the sense of intimacy in the booth. “If you’d set me up with someone, I envisioned a one-night stand, to get it over with.”

He winced. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“It is?”

He held her gaze with those electric eyes. “I thought you wanted to have a nice time.”

“I do.” She drew a shaky breath. “But couldn’t I have a nice one-night stand?”

“Not you. Some women, maybe. Not you. You need to ease into it.”

“That’s why I’ve been reading all those books. And I’m a quick study.”

His eyes twinkled and his mouth twitched as if he wanted to smile, but he didn’t.

“What?”

“It’s just so you, to thoroughly study a subject before you get into it.”

He had her totally off balance, and she wasn’t used to feeling that way with Mac. She tried to equalize the situation. “I could probably teach you a few things, Mr. Know-It-All!” she whispered a little louder than she’d meant to. Then she glanced around quickly to see if anyone was listening. Nobody seemed to be paying them any attention, which wasn’t surprising. Seeing the two of them huddled over the table in the back booth of the Nugget was commonplace.

Mac leaned back against the worn seat, amusement in his eyes. “No doubt you could.” As they continued to gaze at each other in silence, his expression became more guarded. He picked up his spoon and balanced it on his forefinger. “The question is, do you want to? Last time I checked, the ball was still in your court.”

“I don’t know, Mac. This is very…personal.”

“That’s a fact.” He concentrated on the perfectly balanced spoon.

“You know me so well.”

“About as well as anybody.”

“Things would never be the same between us.”

He laid the spoon down. “They’re already different.” He glanced at her. “Am I right?”

Oh, yes. The blue eyes she’d always taken for granted now had hidden secrets, and she was already wondering how those eyes would look filled with passion. Passion for her. The thought made her body tighten and throb in ways that had nothing to do with friendship. “You’re right,” she said.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Anticipation leaped in her, making her shiver. “What about your dinner?”

“I wasn’t hungry to begin with. But if you want, we could have Janice box it up.”

“Let’s not bother. It won’t last in this heat.”

“Probably not.” Mac reached in his back pocket for his wallet. “We don’t need a bill. As long as we’ve been eating this Thursday-night special, we should know what it costs.”

“Right.” Tess opened her purse.

“Put your money away, Tess.”

She glanced at him. “But we always split the bill. I don’t want you to think that just because—”

“New game, new rules. You’re my date tonight, and dinner’s on me.”

The gesture thrilled her more than she was willing to admit. “Aren’t you taking this a little too literally?”

“Nope.” He slid out of the booth. “I would expect any man in my position to have the courtesy to buy you a meal.”

Her feminist conscience pricked her. “What, as some sort of barter arrangement?”

He took his hat from the hook at the end of the booth and settled it on his head. “No, as an expression of gratitude.”

Her breath caught in her throat at his gallantry. No wonder he’d had women falling at his feet. She’d never quite understood it, but then, he’d never turned the full force of his charm on her.

Janice ambled over toward them. “Leaving so soon?” She glanced at their plates in surprise. “Was something wrong with the meat loaf?”

“No,” Tess said. “We—”

“Goodness, you’re flushed.” Janice put her hand against Tess’s cheek. “You’re feeling feverish, child. I’ll bet you’re coming down with the flu.”

“I think she might be, too,” Mac said. “That’s why we decided to leave.”

“My Steve came down with the flu last week. You wouldn’t think a bug could survive in this heat, but it seems to be going around. Best thing to do is stay in bed.”

Tess felt her face heat, and she didn’t dare meet Mac’s gaze. “Right.”

“Look at you!” Janice exclaimed. “You’re burning up! Better get on home.”

“What’s wrong with Tess?” called Sam Donovan from his stool at the counter.

“Flu!” Janice called back.

“Flu?” asked Mabel Bellweather, popping up from the booth where she’d been sitting with her sister Florence. She hurried to Tess’s side. “Should I call your mother, honey? She’d want to know if you’ve come down with the flu.”

“I’ll call her, Mrs. Bellweather,” Mac said.

Mabel patted his arm. “You’re a good boy, Jeremiah MacDougal. Anybody’d think you were kin to Tess, the way you’ve watched out for her over the years. I know she’ll be in good hands.”

Tess looked at the floor, at the walls covered with Frederic Remington prints, at the golden light of sunset outside the café windows. Anywhere but at Mac.

“Just get along now,” Janice said, guiding them toward the door.

Although she wanted to run out the door, Tess made herself walk like a sick person as she preceded Mac through the restaurant. They exited to a chorus of get-well wishes.

Mac helped her into the truck. “Well, at least we’re being inconspicuous about this.”

“We can’t go through with it,” Tess wailed. “Soon everybody in town will know that you took me home from the Nugget, and—”

“And what?” He started the truck and switched on the air-conditioning. “You’re letting a guilty conscience run away with you. They aren’t the least bit suspicious of us being together.” He backed out of the parking space and headed down the street toward her house.

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. You saw the way Mrs. Bellweather patted me and told me I was a good boy.”

Tess glanced over at him. “And is that what you intend to be?”

He pulled up at the town’s only stoplight and gave her a look that threatened to fry her circuits. “Depends on your definition.”

* * *

STAY COOL, MAC told himself. He was supposed to be the experienced stud, the one who knew the score. If he gripped the wheel tightly enough, Tess wouldn’t know that his hands were shaking. And if she noticed he was sweating, then he’d blame it on the hundred-degree temperature.

The reaction they’d gotten at the Nugget had convinced him of one thing—nobody would suspect that he and Tess had progressed to more than friends for the same reason he’d taken so long to come around to the idea. It was totally out of character for both of them. Even the Blakely brothers wouldn’t guess, if he and Tess could keep from tipping them off.

But oh, God, what had he done? His whole world was turning upside down. If Tess agreed, then they would become lovers this summer, assuming he didn’t turn out to be like his old dog George, who’d been taught to stay out of the living room when he was a puppy and now couldn’t be dragged in there. Mac wasn’t sure how deep his hands-off conditioning ran, but he might find out soon.

He’d already discovered he was more possessive about Tess than he’d ever dreamed. If he made love to her this summer, that possessiveness could get out of control. And he couldn’t allow that, because she was going to New York, and she’d meet other guys there. And that would lead to…he didn’t even want to think about where that would lead. He was setting himself up to go crazy, that’s what he was doing.

But he couldn’t see any other way around the problem.

“Are you really going to take me to my house?” she asked.

He glanced at her. She still hadn’t committed to anything. “Do you want me to?”

“Not really.” She was staring straight ahead, holding on to her little straw purse for dear life. Sunglasses hid her eyes, but her cheeks gave her away. They were the deep pink of the sunset lining the horizon. Her chest rose and fell quickly, making the pearl quiver in the valley where it lay against her golden skin.

The air in the cab grew sweet and thick with desire, until Mac felt as if he could lick it like a cone of soft-serve ice cream. “So you want to take that drive?” His voice was slightly hoarse.

“Yes, but I’ve figured out what we should do. Let’s go to my house and sit in the driveway for a little while, in case anybody notices. Then I’ll get down on the floor of the cab, and we can drive away to…wherever you had in mind.”

Instantly he became aroused. Apparently the old dog would be able to learn new tricks. “All right.”

She still didn’t look at him. “You know, we might not be able to do anything. We might start laughing or something.”

“Laughing’s okay. Laughing usually means you’re having a good time.”

“I mean because we feel ridiculous.”

That hadn’t occurred to him. “Do you think you will? Feel ridiculous?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I should pretend you’re someone else.”

“Don’t do that.” The idea incensed him more than it probably should have. “That would be insulting.”

“Okay.”

He pulled into her driveway and glanced at her. The pretending statement had him going. “Who would you pretend I was?”

“Nobody, because you don’t want me to.”

“Yeah, but if I didn’t care, who would you superimpose over my face? Brad Pitt?”

She turned to him and took off her sunglasses. “I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it. Forget I said anything.”

“Tom Cruise?”

“Mac, I won’t be doing it, so let’s drop the subject.”

He couldn’t drop it. He had to know who she thought was sexy. “Antonio Banderas? Mel Gibson?”

“All of them!” she said, clearly exasperated. “In a rotating sequence! With Leonardo DiCaprio thrown in for good measure! There, are you happy now?”

He stared at her. Good Lord, he was jealous that she’d imagine a movie star making love to her instead of him. He was in big trouble. “Sorry,” he said. “Feel free to imagine anybody you want.”

She looked at him as if he’d gone around the bend, which was pretty much true. “Okay.”

“Just don’t tell me about it.”

“If you say so. But if you’ve never tried it, you might want to reconsider. Some men get very turned on by hearing their partner’s fantasies about other men.”

“Somehow I don’t think I’d fall into that category.”

“If you say so,” she repeated. She seemed to be relaxing, if her superior little smile was any evidence. It was the kind of smile that told him she didn’t think he had the foggiest notion what he was talking about.

Maybe he’d have to take a look at those books of hers, after all. She definitely had him at a disadvantage. Sure, he’d glanced through his share of sexy magazines when he was a teenager, but he’d been concentrating on the pictures, not the text. He’d thought he’d be the teacher and she, the student, the way it had been all their lives. The idea that she might know more about sex than he did wasn’t entirely comfortable.

She unsnapped her seat belt. “I guess I’d better get down on the floor of the cab now,” she said.

“Wait a minute. It’s all dirty down there. You’ll mess up your dress.” He opened his door and reached around behind the seat where he always kept a soft blanket. He handed it to her. “Put that down first.”

“I remember this! We used to make a tent with it in your backyard!”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

She arranged it on the floor at her feet. “It’s like meeting an old friend, seeing this blanket again, still so soft and blue. The binding’s getting a little worn, though. What do you use it for, now?”

“Uh…different things.” Suddenly he didn’t want to tell her that he’d made love to several girls on that blanket. He kept it washed and tucked behind his seat to have handy if the weather was nice and the woman in his truck was willing. And now, dumb as it seemed, he felt as if he’d betrayed Tess by using the blanket that way.

She gazed at him. “It’s all right, Mac. I know you’ve had a lot of women.”

He shifted in his seat. “I wouldn’t say I’d had a lot.”

“Then my brothers must be lying. According to them, you’ve been to bed with more women than—”

“Does it matter?” He didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking.

“I guess not. In a way it’s a good thing. You’ve had lots of experience, so I assume you’ll know what to do.”

“And what I don’t know, you’ll be able to teach me.”

She looked at him, eyes narrowed. “You don’t like that idea much, do you, Mac?”

Damn, but she could read him like a book. She was the only woman who’d ever been able to do that. “Hey, I’m always open to new things.”

“I know you. You like to be the one who has all the answers.”

“That’s not true. I can take suggestions as well as the next man.”

“The experts all warn that sex is a sensitive topic, especially for guys. Maybe it would be best if I didn’t mention any of the things I’ve learned. I wouldn’t want to give you a complex.”

That did it. “A complex! Hell, woman, make all the damn suggestions you want! My ego can take it!”

“See? You’re already upset.”

“I am not upset!”

She always seemed to know when to stop arguing and just gaze at him quietly, reflecting his behavior back to him.

Finally he gave her a sheepish smile. “Okay, so I’m a little intimidated.”

“Wouldn’t you like to learn more, if you could?”

“Sure. Only a fool wouldn’t.”

“Good.” She looked extremely pleased with herself. “Then I can contribute something, after all.”

That made him grin. “You think your biggest contribution will be from a book?”

That seemed to shake her poise and she blushed bright red. “Well, um, I guess not.”

“I guess not, either.”

She met his gaze for a fraction longer before she glanced away, obviously rattled. She took a deep breath. “I’m scared to death, Mac.”

“Even with me?”

She nodded. “Especially with you. I know you have high standards. What if I disappoint you?”

He reached out and took her hand. It was different from any other time he’d held her hand, and they both knew it. He waited until she turned her head and looked into his eyes. “I wouldn’t have offered to do this if I didn’t want to, Tess. There’s no chance that I’ll be disappointed.”

The uncertainty eased in her gray eyes. “Thank you.”

He squeezed her hand and released it. “We’re giving each other the jitters, sitting here thinking about it. We’ll be better off once we get started.”

“You’re probably right. So here goes.” She turned on the seat and started hunching down so she could fit on the floor. “Take a look and make sure nobody’s around to see me doing this.”

He scanned the tidy little neighborhood. “I don’t see anybody. Most people are probably inside having dinner right now.”

She tucked herself down onto the blue blanket. “Punch it, cowboy.”

And so it began. He took a deep breath and put the truck in Reverse. He’d done some wild things in his life, but this had to be the granddaddy of all risks he’d ever taken. He hoped that this time he hadn’t finally bitten off more than he could chew.

CHAPTER FIVE

KNEELING ON THE BLANKET on the floor of the truck, Tess felt more wild and crazy than she had in years. She had developed a taste for reckless adventure after tagging along after her brothers and Mac when she was a kid. Lately she’d been missing that adrenaline rush.

She rested her arms on the seat and pillowed her head on her arms. She had two choices—either she could look at the passenger-side door on her left or Mac’s thigh on her right. With her feeling of adventure still running strong, she looked to her right.

His muscled thigh flexed as he stepped down on the gas, making the denim of his jeans move in subtle and tantalizing ways. Just beyond was the ridge of his fly. Her pulse quickened as she contemplated the ramifications of her decision. Of course, if they discovered they had no talent for making out with each other, they could call a halt to the whole program.

Mac clicked on the radio and a soft country tune filled the cab. She’d ridden in Mac’s truck with the radio on hundreds of times. They’d sung along with the music, even rolled down the windows and turned up the volume when they were feeling really rowdy and wanted to stir up the neighborhood. She realized now that she’d always felt more alive when she was with Mac.

She certainly felt alive right now. Every nerve ending was checking in and registering the soft blanket under her knees, the tweed fabric of the seat beneath her arms, the waft of the air-conditioning over her bare back. The scent of Mac’s aftershave used to be a comforting presence, letting her know her friend was nearby. Now it signaled something else entirely. The man who would soon take her in his arms was sitting very close to her.

“We’re going to be on a dirt road in a minute,” he said. “I’ll try not to jolt you too much. Once we’ve gone a ways, you can probably sit up again.”

“Where are we going?”

“A little road I found a couple of years ago. It goes out to the edge of a plateau where you have a nice view of Anvil Peak. Hold on. Here’s comes the turnoff.” He touched his booted foot to the brake, causing the denim to ripple again.

Watching Mac drive from this vantage point was quite an erotic experience, Tess decided.

He turned the wheel with one hand and reached over with the other to grip her shoulder as the truck bumped down off the pavement and onto the dirt. His hand was warm and sure as he held her steady. There was nothing seductive in his touch, and yet her heartbeat began to thunder in her ears and her whole body reacted to that point of contact. When he took his hand away, she wanted to have it back. Maybe his embrace wouldn’t feel as awkward to her as she’d feared.

“Okay, I think you can sit up now. Nobody ever comes out here.”

“Except you. You seem pretty familiar with the place.” She crawled up to the seat and straightened her dress.

“I’ve been here a few times.”

“Making out?”

“Now don’t start asking me questions like that, Tess. You’re going to spoil the mood for sure.”

“Making out,” she concluded.

He sighed and switched on the headlights.

“Well, I’m not dumb, you know. I understand the reason guys search for lonely roads.” She looked around. Sure enough, there were no signs of civilization, just a road stretching to a point in the distance where the scrub-covered ground dropped away. Across the green swath of the river valley, Anvil Peak was silhouetted against a brick-red sky. To the right of that, the smokestack of the Arivaca Copper Mine sent a gentle plume into the air. “This is very pretty.”

“I think so.”

“So who did you bring out here?”

“Tess!”

“You pestered me about movie stars.”

“And I shouldn’t have. When two people are together, they should be concentrating on each other.”

“Unless they want to explore the fantasy angle.”

“Could we forget the fantasy angle? For all you know, being out here with you is my fantasy!”

She caught her breath and stared at him. “Is it?”

“No. Or at least I don’t think so. I don’t know what made me say that. Forget it.”

But of course she couldn’t forget it. And she remembered a dream she’d had about five years ago, one she’d put out of her mind as being silly. “Have you ever dreamed about me?”

“Of course I’ve dreamed about you. We see each other all the time. I dream about all the people in my life. Everybody does that.”

“No, I mean, have you ever dreamed of me in a sexual way?”

He hesitated. “Yes. Once.”

“So have I. About you.”

He kept his attention on the dirt road. “That’s probably normal.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t. What did you dream?”

“I… I can’t remember.”

“I don’t believe you. Are you going to tell me what it was?”

“Nope.”

“Do you want to know what I dreamed?” When he didn’t answer, she smiled. “I’ll take that as a yes. We’d gone out for ice cream at Creamy Cone one summer night, and mine was melting all over the place, and you’d forgotten to get napkins, like you always do.”

“Not always.”

“Most of the time. Anyway, I was a mess, and I didn’t want to go home like that, so you decided the only solution was to lick the ice cream off me. We’d magically gotten down to the river by that time, and we were sitting on the sand in our special place. You started cleaning me up, like a cat would, and then…you started kissing me instead of licking, and…then you took my clothes off…” She wondered how much detail to include, but she felt dishonest leaving anything out.

“You kissed my breasts,” she continued quickly, “and I said I was surprised you wanted to do that. You said you’d always wanted to, and you kissed them some more, and then you kissed me…all over.” She decided to leave some details to his imagination. “Then right at the moment you were finally going to…well, you know… I woke up.”

Her heart was pounding by the time she finished, and she had total recall of what she’d felt like in that dream, all warm and melting like the ice cream. She was definitely in the mood for a kiss. For more than a kiss.

Mac stopped the truck and switched off the lights and the engine. “That’s…quite a dream.” His voice sounded strained.

“Now you tell me yours.”

“Maybe later.”

“Was it anything like mine?”

“No.”

She sat in the truck as the silence grew more and more intense between them. The air-conditioning was off, but the outside heat hadn’t penetrated the cab yet. The warmth she felt was all coming from inside her, and she was ready to do something about it, but she didn’t know whether she should make a move or let Mac be the first one. From the corner of her eye, she could see him sitting there, staring into space. He seemed hypnotized. At last she decided to say something. “What next?”

“Give me a minute. Then we’ll take the blanket in the back.”

She peered at him. “Are you feeling sick or something?”

“No, I’m feeling aroused.”

“You are?” She glanced down at his jeans but it had become too dark to see much. “Cool. Was it my dream that turned you on?”

“Sure was. But then you probably knew that would happen, after all your reading about fantasies.”

“No, I didn’t.” She felt thrilled with herself. “I wondered if you’d laugh.”

He groaned. “I guess you don’t know me as well as you think you do, then.”

“Then you…really want me right now?”

He looked over at her. “Yeah. I really do. What a surprise, huh?”

“Oh, Mac.” She put a hand against her racing heart. “That makes me feel so good.”

He gave her a slow smile. “I guess this isn’t going to be as difficult as we thought.”

She smiled back. “I guess not. Want me to put the blanket in the back and wait for you?”

He took a deep breath. “I’m okay now.”

“Are you ever going to tell me your dream?”

He took off his hat and laid it on the dash. “Not right now. It’s a little more graphic than yours.”

“And you said you didn’t remember!”

“I’ve tried my damnedest to forget all about it. I thought I had, until you started talking about dreams.” He opened his door. “Stay there. I’ll come around and help you out. I don’t want you stepping on a snake in those sandals.”

“I’ve lived here all my life, Mac.” She picked up the blanket from the floor. “I certainly know enough to check for snakes before I get out of a vehicle after dark in the middle of nowhere.” She opened her door.

“Hey.” He turned back to her. “Could you pretend that you’re a timid female for a few minutes and give a guy a chance to be a big brave he-man? It’s good for the ego.”

“Oh.” She grinned and pulled her door shut again. “All right, but I think it’s stupid.”

He shook his head. “Maybe this will be exactly as difficult as we thought.”

Tess sat obediently while Mac rounded the truck and opened her door, although waiting for him to take care of things wasn’t her style. But if that made him feel more romantic, then she was all for it.

He held out his hand. “I’ll take the blanket first and then come back for you.”

“I can take the blanket.”

“Tess.”

“Oh, okay, here’s the blanket, Mr. He-man, but this is dumb. We could make it in one trip.”

“Yeah, if we’re going for efficiency. I was after a different effect.” He walked around to the back of the truck, pulled down the tailgate and climbed in.

She listened to him arranging the blanket. A couple of years ago, he’d installed an all-weather cushioned pad in the bed of his truck. At the time she’d wondered if it had anything to do with his love life, but she’d decided not to ask. Now she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

He hopped down from the truck and came back to where she was waiting.

“Can I put my dainty foot on the ground yet?” she asked.

“Not yet.” He gazed up at her. “Have you ever been lifted down from a pickup?”

“Not since I was six years old. Once I could manage by myself, it seemed silly when I was perfectly capable of—whoa!” She gasped as he took her by the waist and lifted her out of the truck. Instinctively she put her arms on his shoulders, which was a good move because her feet still dangled in midair.

Balancing her against his chest and looking into her eyes, he let her slide down in a slow, sensuous movement. Warmth rushed through her as the friction of his body against hers gave her a complete and thoroughly arousing caress. At last her feet rested on the ground, and she let out her breath.

He held her close and gazed down at her. “Did that seem silly?”

Completely absorbed in the experience of being tucked so intimately against him, she shook her head.

“Think you’re ready for a kiss?”

Oh. She gulped. “I…don’t know.”

“Let’s try it.” Holding her close with one arm, he reached up with his free hand and gently combed her hair back from her face.

She’d seen this tender side of him, usually when he was working around animals, or the times when she’d hurt herself and he’d been the one to doctor her up. But now she wasn’t hurt, and his sensitive touch was meant to excite, not soothe her. He was succeeding admirably. She was trembling so much she wondered if she’d be able to stay upright.

“You’re nervous.”

“Yes.”

“Me, too.” He continued to comb her hair back, lightly massaging her scalp with his fingers.

“I can’t tell.” His touch felt awesome.

“Macho guys learn to hide their nerves. I’m hoping you like this.”

“So am I.”

He chuckled. “Do you remember the bubble-gum kiss?”

“Yes,” she murmured. The more he stroked her hair, the less capable she felt of standing on her own.

“Did you like it?”

She took a shaky breath. “So much it scared me. So I started goofing around.”

He began tracing the contours of her face with the tip of his finger, ending with her mouth, which he outlined slowly and with great care. “I still remember how your mouth felt that day.”

She held as still as she could, considering the fine quiver that seemed to have taken over her body. She focused on his touch, wanting to record every subtle variation in pressure.

He brushed her lower lip with his thumb. “Your mouth is still as soft as it was then.”

She gazed up at him, trying to make out his expression in the shadowy twilight.

He cradled her cheek. “The last time I touched you like this, I was putting an ice pack over your eye, where you got hit by a baseball.”

She could barely see his smile in the darkness. “You didn’t touch me like this,” she murmured.

“Sure I did.” He slid his hand along her jaw and leaned closer.

“No. You were rougher.” Her heart thudded with anticipation. “You were mad at me.”

“I was mad at myself.” He tilted her head back ever so slightly. “I was the one who hit that ball.”

“And I’m the one who bobbled it.”

“Mmm. Your mouth looks sexy when you say bobbled.”

“You can’t even see my mouth.”

“Yes, I can. There’s a little bit of light left over. That’s why I tilted your head back, to catch that light. I wanted to see your mouth, to know I’m going to kiss it soon. Say the word again.”

Desire curled and stretched within her. “You’re crazy.”

“Yeah.” He drifted closer. “Say it for me, Tess.”

“Bobbled.”

“Again.”

She felt his warm breath on her mouth. “Bobble—”

His lips touched hers, and in that instant, she knew that the world as she’d known it had ceased to exist. For she was really, truly kissing Mac, and now nothing would ever be the same.

* * *

TESS HAS BEEN forbidden fruit for so long that when Mac placed his mouth on hers, he half-expected a lightning bolt to strike him dead. Instead, her velvet lips welcomed him so completely that he drew back, his heart racing. Damn, this was going to be good. Too good. A man could lose himself to a kiss like that. If he’d ever secretly wondered if she was a virgin because she wasn’t sensual, he’d been dead wrong. She was on fire.

“Mac?” she whispered. “Is something—”

With a groan he returned to her full mouth, committing himself to the kiss, to what would follow the kiss. To hell with what it might cost him. But he had a sinking feeling it would cost him more than he could ever guess.

For her mouth was a perfect fit for his. He didn’t have to think about kissing Tess—it happened as effortlessly as breathing. She opened to him as if they’d been doing this for years, and although his body pounded with excitement, her invitation to pleasure seemed natural, almost expected. And he accepted without hesitation—tasting her richness, probing her heat, shifting the angle so he could deepen his quest.

Joy surged within him as she responded, pressing closer, moaning softly as he made love to her mouth. He thought of all the wasted years when she’d been there, only a touch away. But she was here now, so alive and warm in his arms, so ready.

Very ready. As she molded herself to him, he could feel her nipples, tight and aroused, pressing against his chest. His erection strained against his jeans. If he didn’t slow down, he’d violate the terms of tonight’s agreement and make love to her out here in the desert. That couldn’t happen, first of all because he believed what he’d said about not rushing the process, and second because he had no birth control with him.

With great regret he drew back, breathing hard. The sun had gone down, and the stars didn’t allow him to see her expression very well. He wished he could, but maybe it was for the best. Tonight promised to be intense enough without being able to see desire written all over her face.

“I…liked that,” she said. Her breathing was about as ragged as his.

“Yeah.” He rubbed her back and took a deep breath as a chorus of crickets started up in the nearby sagebrush. “Me, too.”

She wound her arms around his neck and leaned back to look up at him, although she probably couldn’t see his expression, either. “You’re aroused again. I can tell by your voice.”

“Any guy would be aroused if you kissed him like that.”

“Was I too…uninhibited?” She sounded genuinely worried.

“God, no. You were great.”

“I wondered, because I don’t usually get so…” She paused. “Excited.”

Man, he loved hearing that. “Really?”

“Especially the first time I kiss someone. You’re, um, very good at this kissing business. I guess it’s all your practice that gives you such good technique.”

“That wasn’t technique.” He loved running his fingers through her hair. “That was… I don’t know. You inspired me, I guess.”

“Oh.” There was a world of self-satisfaction in that tiny syllable.

He began itching to kiss her again. And he had all the rest of the territory labeled as “making out” to enjoy. Even knowing he wouldn’t have the ultimate experience tonight didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for the next step. “Ready to climb in the back of the truck?”

“I’ve been thinking. Are you sure you should?”

He laughed. “I think we dispensed with that a while back. No, I probably shouldn’t, but I will anyway, because it’s still the best solution.”

“No, I mean, with the way you react when we kiss. I’ll bet you’re not used to just making out with a woman and not finishing the job. You’re liable to get awfully frustrated.”

He grinned down at her. “So are you. That’s the idea—to build up to the main event, so we’re really ready for it.”

“I can understand that strategy for me, because of my lack of experience, but I’m afraid I’ll be torturing you. I know from my reading that some men are able to draw out foreplay for a very long time, but I’m sure they extend that time gradually, so their bodies are used to delayed gratification. You wouldn’t be in that category.”

He sorted through that little speech until he thought he understood. “Are you saying you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for my benefit?”

“I…yes, I am. We don’t have to stop with just making out if you find that you’re too…uncomfortable.”

Oh, God. Heaven was within reach and he’d been caught unprepared. He took a deep breath. “Well, as willing as you are to make the supreme sacrifice for me tonight, it won’t be possible. I don’t have birth control with me.”

She met his declaration with stunned silence. “You don’t?”

“Of course not. What, you think I carry a supply around with me at all times, just in case I get lucky?”

“Not even in your wallet?”

“Not since high school. These days I have a much better idea of what will and won’t happen with a woman, and I plan accordingly.”

She seemed to be digesting that. “What about in the glove compartment of your truck?” she finally asked.

“Are you kidding? My mom’s been known to borrow my truck, and she’s also been known to get a speeding ticket now and then. I can imagine how much she’d love finding condoms in the glove compartment when she’s digging for the registration papers.”

She gazed up at him. “You know, I’m glad to find out you don’t keep some around at all times.”

“You had me pegged as some sort of sex machine, didn’t you?”

“Not exactly a machine, but everybody thinks you installed that spongy mat in the back of your truck so you could have fun with your girlfriends.”

He let out a sigh of exasperation. “I put that mat in the back of the truck when Mom started refinishing antiques, so she could haul them around without damaging the finish on the furniture.”

“Not for making love?”

“No.”

“And so you’ve never—”

“I didn’t say that. And this discussion’s over.” He swung her up in his arms before she traveled down that road any further. Of course he’d made love in the back of the truck, but he didn’t want to talk about it now.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking charge and carrying you to the back of the truck. It’s the manly thing to do.” She didn’t resist, so he concluded she had faith in his self-control. He was putting a huge amount of faith in it, himself.

“Then I guess you don’t want to talk about your love life anymore,” she said.

“You’ve got that right.” Specifically he didn’t want to talk about or think about any other women he’d been involved with, in the back of his truck or anywhere else. They’d been wrong for him, but he hadn’t realized how wrong until a few moments ago…when he’d kissed Tess.

CHAPTER SIX

TESS SAT CROSS-LEGGED on the blanket and waited for Mac to crawl into the bed of the truck and join her. The night was still very warm, but she felt shivery with delight. Maybe it was partly the blanket, reminding her of the tent she’d shared with Mac as kids. They’d hauled comic books and snacks into their hideaway, and there had been nothing sexual about the cozy intimacy of being stretched out beside him in that tent.

Or maybe there had been, and she had been too innocent to realize it. At any rate, she had a delicious sensation now that reminded her of that intimacy, only magnified a hundred times. They were alone, closed off from the world, and ready, in a sense, to play.

“The sky’s so clear,” Mac said as he crawled up beside her. “Let’s lie on our backs and look at the stars, like we used to.”

“And not do anything?” She was hungrier for him than she cared to admit.

He gave her a swift kiss on the mouth. “I’ll tell you my dream.”

“Oh, all right.” She pulled the skirt of her dress down underneath her as she settled back on the blanket and looked upward. “Big Dipper, Little Dipper, North Star,” she said automatically as she searched them out.

Mac lay down beside her, his arm touching hers, his thigh against hers. “Orion’s Belt, and the Seven Sisters,” he added.

“And?”

“And nothing. That’s all I ever learned.”

“Still? I thought you took an astronomy class.”

“I learned things for the test and then forgot it. I only remember what we figured out from that kid’s book you had on the constellations.”

“Slacker.”

“Yeah.”

Tess felt as if they could still be seven and nine, lying on their backs in the cool grass of the park on a summer’s night. Tess’s brothers would be racing around playing tag, and the grown-ups would be sitting in lawn chairs complaining about being stuffed. Meanwhile, Mac and Tess would be off by themselves looking at the stars, probably because they’d been the ones most captivated by Star Wars and galaxies far, far away.

She could almost imagine they’d gone back in time…until Mac reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. Memories of childhood faded. They definitely weren’t kids anymore, and the emotions coursing through her at the barest touch of his hand weren’t the least bit childish.

But the basis of those feelings had been there all along, she thought. What was happening between them now had been simmering within her for years, waiting for a touch, a word, a gesture, to make passion flare to life. He rubbed his thumb along hers, and although it might have been an unconscious movement, she didn’t think so. He had to realize that what they’d taken for childhood play had been more sensual than they’d ever admitted to each other, or themselves.

“Tell me your dream,” she said.

He was silent for a moment. Then, with a little sigh that sounded like surrender, he began. “You’d been invited to a Halloween party, and you asked to borrow Peppermint Patty because you wanted to go as Lady Godiva.”

“What? I would never do such a thing.” She thought of riding bareback with no clothes on. It didn’t sound comfortable, but it was sort of erotic. “Did I have long hair?”

“Down to your hips. You wanted to practice riding with no clothes on to see how it felt before you tried it at the party, so you talked me into riding along the river trail with you. You rode bareback, and you had this loose dress on with nothing on underneath. Halfway along the trail you took off the dress and tossed it into the bushes.”

Tess shivered. It was a sexy image. “But my hair covered me up, right?”

“Not that well. And you know how the trail winds, so even though I was behind you, I got some side views. You were…” He cleared his throat. “You were beautiful. And riding like that, rocking back and forth on the horse, was turning you on.”

“How could you tell?”

“Your skin was flushed, and you were breathing faster, and…your nipples were hard.” Mac clutched her hand a little more tightly and cleared his throat again.

“Oh.” Which described exactly the way she was feeling right now. When Mac didn’t continue with the dream, she prompted him. “Did you wake up then?”

“No.”

“What happened?”

“You had an orgasm.”

“Oh!”

“Which turned me on, and I pulled you off the horse and made love to you right on the ground.”

Tess wasn’t sure who was holding on tighter, her or Mac, but they had each other in a death grip. “Was it…nice?”

His voice was hoarse. “It was a dream. You can’t put dreams up against the real thing.”

Disappointment shot through her. “Then it wasn’t nice.”

“No, it wasn’t nice. It was wild and primitive, no holds barred. I bit your neck and you dug your fingernails into my back. It was…fantastic.”

“Wow.” She wondered what he’d think if he knew how her body was throbbing this very minute. Being thrown to the ground and ravished sounded perfect. She loosened her grip when she realized she might already be digging her nails into his hand.

He released her hand and turned on his side to face her. “I don’t want you to be scared by that description, Tess. I would never be that rough in real life.”

She turned on her side, too, pillowing her head on her arm. But her casual posture belied her racing heart. “Too bad.”

He sucked in his breath. “You’d want that?”

“Would I want you to be so overcome with desire that you’d pull me from my horse and make love to me on the ground? Of course I would. But as you said, it was a dream. In real life—”

“In real life I want you even more than that.”

She gasped. “You do?”

He lifted a hand to her cheek, and as he caressed her, his hand trembled. “In real life, I want to rip that dress away and take you now, right now. But I won’t. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“It would so be fair!”

His laugh sounded strained. “No, it wouldn’t.”

She’d never heard that edgy tone in his voice, and it was more exciting than the tenderest of murmurs. She almost wished he would be that reckless, but of course he wouldn’t, which was why she was lying here with him now. She trusted him. “But taking it slow doesn’t seem fair to you,” she said.

He slid his hand to the nape of her neck, massaging gently. “Fair doesn’t even come into it. I never imagined I’d be lying here with you like this. It’s like getting a present I didn’t have sense enough to know I wanted.” He fingered the clasp of her necklace. “What made you decide to wear this tonight?”

“It seemed right.”

“It was,” he murmured. His lips found hers and his kiss soon brought her to a fever pitch.

She didn’t realize he’d begun unzipping her dress until the material loosened over her breasts and he drew back slightly, gently ending the kiss. She opened her eyes. His face was in shadow, but she could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he eased the zipper the rest of the way down.

“Stop me whenever you want,” he said in a husky voice.

“I don’t want to stop you.” Her heart pounded as the thin strap of her dress dropped from her shoulder.

“Just know that you can.” He took the strap carefully between his fingers and pulled it down, bringing the bodice of the dress with it, gradually exposing her breast. His breath caught. “Oh, Tess.” He eased her to her back and expertly drew the dress down to her waist. Then he groaned and shook his head.

“What are you thinking?”

“That you’re even more beautiful than in my dream. And that you’ve been right there, all along….”

Her mouth moistened with desire. “All covered up.”

“Yeah. Damn. All these years.”

“Aren’t you going to…touch me?”

“I’m still caught up in looking.” But at last he traced the aureole of one nipple, causing it to tighten even more. Then he cupped her so tenderly, so carefully, that she felt like precious china. She loved being cherished, but she wanted more. Perhaps she needed to show him. Arching her back, she pressed forward, filling his cupped palm.

“Ah, Tess.” Taking a shaky breath, he dipped his head and brought her tight, aching nipple into his mouth.

Yes. She cupped the back of his head and lifted into his caress. Oh, yes. His was the touch she’d been waiting for—the swirl of his tongue, the nip of his teeth, the sweet pressure as he sucked, nursing the flames that licked at the tender spot between her thighs. Shamelessly she offered her other breast, and he lavished the same loving attention there while continuing to give a sweet massage to the damp nipple he’d just left.

As she twisted on the soft blanket, her skirt rode up. Or maybe he pushed it up, in that subtle way he had of making her clothes disappear. He slipped his hand between her thighs, pressing against the damp silk of her panties. The heel of his hand found the spot that ached, and pushed down. She trembled.

He kissed his way back to her mouth, then lifted a fraction away from her lips. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” she said, panting. “But I don’t… I’ve never…”

He paused, breathing heavily, too. “No man has ever had his hand there?”

“They didn’t dare.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “But you must have done this…yourself.”

“No, I—read about it.”

“Not the same.”

“I know but—promise not to laugh—I didn’t want to be alone when it happened.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” He didn’t laugh. Instead, he tenderly kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, and finally her lips. “You’re not alone now,” he whispered between kisses.

And sometime in the midst of those bewitching kisses, he eased his hand beneath the waistband of her panties. When she felt his fingers slip through her damp curls, she gasped.

His hand stilled and he lifted his mouth away from hers. “Is that a no?”

She began to quiver and fought the urge to press her thighs together. His hand resting there felt wonderful, but frightening, too. “Just a…reaction.”

“Should I stop?”

“No. But Mac, this is so personal.”

“Yes, ma’am.” There was a definite smile in his voice. “About as personal as you can get.” He eased his hand down and began a slow massage.

Breathing became more difficult as her body responded to that easy stroke. “At least…it’s almost completely dark.”

“That can help. The first time.”

She felt as if he was transforming her into a liquid, flowing state. “What if I make a fool of myself?”

“I hope you do.”

“I hope I don’t. You’ll never let me forget it.” She gasped again as one of his very talented fingers sought out the sensitive nub that sent shivers zinging through her.

“No, I probably won’t,” he murmured as he kept up the maddening, electrifying rhythm.

She felt like a watch being wound too tight, but she wanted him to keep on winding. “Oh, Mac.” She clutched his shoulder as the tension grew.

“Won’t be long now.” He leaned down and feathered a kiss against her lips. “Let go, Tess.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Your body knows. Get out of your head and live right…” He pressed down a little harder. “Right there.”

She moaned as the pressure became unbearable and her body arched and quivered beneath him.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear as he deepened the caress. “Remember my dream? You rode naked to the river, becoming so aroused that you climaxed, and then I pulled you down, spread your legs and—”

She cried out as the convulsions swept through her, wave upon wave of glorious release. And all through it, she held on to Mac, the man who had offered to lead her into this land of magic, and then had made a miracle happen. And he held on to her equally as tight, covering her face with kisses and laughing softly in triumph.

* * *

MAC HELD TESS and listened with pride to her sighs of satisfaction as she nestled in his arms. He was tense with unfulfilled need, but he could stand the pressure. “So you liked it.”

“I adored it.” Her voice was lazy and sweet, an after-the-loving voice that didn’t sound like the Tess he knew, but like a Tess he’d like to know. “Mac, you used fantasy on me, after all.”

“Had to get you past that wall.”

“See?” Her voice was whisper-soft. “Fantasy can work.”

“You made a believer of me.”

She sighed again. “I’m so glad you were the one, Mac.”

“Me, too.” Even when Tess had announced she was still a virgin, Mac had never dreamed that she’d never experienced what he’d just given her. Knowing that he’d introduced her to her first orgasm made him feel like a king. Of all the accomplishments in his life, this might be the one he was the most proud of.

On the downside, he was in real agony. Tess had been right that he was used to finishing something that started this way, and his body was demanding that he take care of things. Even without birth control, there were ways to gain mutual satisfaction. But she couldn’t be expected to do that for him, considering her lack of experience. He wouldn’t even ask.

Then he felt her fingers working at his belt buckle.

“Tess? What are you doing?”

“If you’d move back a little I could do it better.” She fumbled her way through the fastenings of his buttonfly jeans. It was obvious she’d never undressed a man in her life.

Suddenly he felt protective of her innocence. “Look, you’re new at this, so please don’t think that I expect you to—”

“Want me to stop?” She paused. “It’s just that, in the dark, I feel…braver. And I want to, Mac. I really want to.”

She’d nearly released him from the confines of the denim, which left only the cotton of his boxers between him and paradise. Consideration warred with urgent need. “Uh…”

“I’ll confess I’m a complete novice when it comes to giving a man pleasure, but I’ve read extensively.” Her words might be scholarly, but her tone was sexy as hell.

The combination of sex and innocence was dynamite. His erection stiffened even more, thinking of her untutored hands on him, practicing.

She rubbed him through the cotton. “Well?”

With a sigh, he kissed her deeply. “Considering it’s dark and all, I’d love it,” he murmured against her lips.

“Then lift your hips so I can push your clothes away. I’m too much of a beginner to deal with impediments.”

His skin flushed with anticipation. He’d never in his life been approached this way, and he found it damn exciting. “Okay.” He lifted up and she shoved his boxers and jeans down in one efficient movement.

“Goodness gracious.” She sounded intimidated.

Well, at least he wasn’t a disappointment to her. He took some satisfaction in that. “Change your mind?”

“No. I’m just…impressed. Lie back and let me get used to the idea.”

He did, and realized he was quivering—like a first-timer. When she finally circled his shaft with one warm hand, he squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He would not explode this very minute. He would not. Talk about making a fool of yourself. But even the thought of Tess holding on to him like that was enough to make him climax. The reality was so stimulating that he wondered how long he’d survive her attentions.

“Your skin here is so soft.”

“Mmm.”

“Let me just moisten it.”

Before he realized what she was up to, she’d leaned down and started using her tongue. “Tess!”

She lifted her head. “Am I shocking you?”

“Yes! You’re not ready for that stage yet.”

“I’m not?” She moved her hand up and down his shaft. “Or you’re not? Are you okay? Your face is all scrunched up.”

“I’m trying to control myself. And when you do unexpected…things, I find it difficult.”

“Oh. So you don’t want this to be over too quick?”

“Right.” He groaned as she settled into a rhythm that was uncannily good for someone who had never engaged in this activity. She must have some good books.

“Do you suffer from premature—”

“No!”

“Because there are techniques for that.”

“Tess, I’m fine…usually.” He clenched his jaw and fought the urge to erupt as she explored the tip of his penis with fluttering fingers. And he knew in a flash of certainty he was reacting this way because these were Tess’s fingers touching him so intimately. “Maybe it’s because I’ve wanted you for so long, without knowing.”

“That’s a nice thought.” She leaned down and flicked her tongue back and forth against the spot she’d been caressing with her fingers.

He worked so hard to hold back his climax that he thought he might pass out. “Where…did you learn that?”

“A book.” She blew on the damp spot. “Do you like it?”

He gripped the blanket in both fists and stared blindly up at the night sky. He’d never had an experience to equal this one. “Yeah. I like it.”

“Too bad we don’t have some ice.”

“Ice?” He definitely had to get a look at those books. “What—what for?”

“It’s supposed to feel fantastic during an orgasm if you put some right here.” She pressed against a spot below his family jewels.

He didn’t know about ice, but the pressure she was exerting was having a fantastic effect. He moaned softly.

“Having trouble holding back?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“Then let’s try this.” She held him snugly at the base of his shaft with one hand, pushing down slightly, and took the tip in her mouth.

The effect was unbelievable. Intense pleasure poured through him from the action of her mouth, but her firm grip on his shaft kept his climax at bay. He moaned. He groaned. He thrashed his head from side to side.

Then she released her grip, took him completely into her mouth, and his control shattered. He tried to pull away from her, sure this wasn’t what she meant to do, but she wouldn’t let him. His world came apart as he surrendered to the most cataclysmic orgasm of his life. As his spinning universe slowly came back into focus, he drew her up and gathered her close to kiss her passion-flavored lips.

He felt as if he’d been poleaxed. This evening had started out to be an educational session with him as teacher and her as pupil. Somehow, in the past few minutes, she’d completely reversed their roles. And in the process she’d made him her slave.

“We can try the ice another time,” she whispered.

“Sure.” He held her close, unable to find the energy to do more than breathe.

CHAPTER SEVEN

TESS HAD NEVER SEEN Mac so still, not even the time he rode all day without a hat and ended up with sunstroke. He was usually brimming with energy, yet he lay slumped against her like an unconscious person, his eyes closed. On the other hand, the experience of loving Mac had stirred her up again. She’d finally experienced activities she’d only read about, and she felt as if a whole new world had just opened up for her. She was ready for…more. She wasn’t sure exactly what form that “more” would take, but she was ready for it.

She peered into his relaxed face. “Mac, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

His mouth curved in a faint smile. “Nope.”

She stroked his hair back from his forehead. “You’re awfully quiet.”

His lips barely moved enough to form the words. “Your books should tell you why.”

“It was that good?”

“Yeah, Tess, it was.”

“Cool.” She smiled to herself in the darkness. “I was wondering if I’d done everything right.”

“Extremely right.”

“Good.” She adjusted her position. “Is it okay if I kiss you again?”

His eyes drifted open. “Where?”

“On your mouth. Where did you think?”

“I wasn’t sure. For a virgin, you have some amazing ideas.”

She brushed her lips against his. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It was.”

She settled her mouth over his, coaxing his tongue into slow love-play with hers. At first his response was lazy, almost nonchalant, but gradually the tempo of his breathing picked up. As the temperature of his kiss changed from warm to sizzling, he cupped her breast, kneading it with sure fingers. Her body throbbed with new knowledge, and she whimpered and moved closer to his heat.

He drew his mouth back a fraction. “Oh, Tess. I’m getting hard again.”

She reached downward. “Let me—”

“No.” He captured her hand. “We have to stop. I thought I was so drained that I could just play around for a while more without getting too worked up. I was wrong. I don’t trust myself if we get started again.”

Her body tightened in anticipation. “You’d ravish me?”

“There’s a good chance.” He reached for the strap of her dress. “Let’s put this back on.”

“Mac…” She could hardly believe that she was about to make such a bold suggestion, but she wanted this night to continue forever. “I’m sure you have birth control stashed somewhere at home. You could take me back to my house, go get it, and then come back to my place.”

He paused in the act of pulling the bodice of her dress back up over her breasts.

“You see, I want you, too,” she murmured.

He trembled and bunched the material in his fist.

“There’s still a lot of time before the sun comes up.”

He drew a long, shaky breath and continued his task, reaching for the zipper of her dress. “It’s probably stupid, but I want to stick with what I promised you. You’ll only have the experience of giving up your virginity once in your life. I think…we should make it special.”

“We could make it special tonight.”

“Not special enough. Give me a chance to woo you a little. Let me bring you flowers, maybe a bottle of good wine.”

Despite her frustration, she liked the picture he was painting. “Should I buy lingerie or something?”

“Lingerie would be very nice.” He arranged the pearl in the cleft between her breasts. “But wear this. I love watching the way it nestles right there.”

“I’ll bet when you gave it to me you never imagined a scene like this.”

“Not consciously.” He ran a finger over the gold chain. “But maybe subconsciously. When I saw the necklace in the jewelry store, I knew immediately I wanted to get it for you for graduation.” He looked into her eyes. “Maybe I wanted something that would touch you where I wasn’t allowed to.”

She smiled. “We seem to have overcome those restrictions without too much trouble. I’d say our makeout session was a success.”

“Yeah, but now we have to go back and face the real world with all its guilt trips. And we still have the big hurdle to jump.” He gazed at her. “Maybe when it comes to that final moment, I won’t be able to do it.”

Her smile widened. “Oh, I think you will, judging from tonight.”

He grinned back. “You could be right.”

“So, when?”

“Tomorrow night? Oh, wait. Damn. I promised to fly my mom up to an antique show in Flagstaff tomorrow. Dad’s going along, and he and I have appointments to look at some horses while we’re up there.”

She wrestled with her impatience. “How long will you be gone?”

“Three days. Until Sunday. Damn. I don’t think there’s any way I can get out of it, either. It’s been set up for months.”

“Three days sounds like an eternity.”

“Tell me about it.”

She traced the line of his jaw. “We could go back to my original plan and have you come back to my place tonight.”

He gazed at her for a long moment and finally shook his head. “No. I really want this time to be one you’ll remember.”

“I don’t think there’s much doubt about that, no matter when it happens. And to tell the truth, I’m…afraid you’ll change your mind in three days.”

“After tonight? Are you kidding?”

“You had a good time tonight?”

He cupped her face in both hands. “I had the best time I’ve ever had in my life. And I promise you I won’t change my mind.”

Her heart swelled with an emotion she couldn’t name, but it was strong, and it brought happy tears to her eyes. “Thank you, Mac. You’re a true friend.”

“I do my best.”

“What time of day will you be home on Sunday?”

“Probably around noon.”

“So you could come over that night.”

“I could do that.”

Her heart thudded in her chest. “Then I’ll expect you about eight.”

* * *

LEAVING TESS AT her door that night was the toughest thing Mac had done in a long time. He hadn’t told her, but he wouldn’t have had to drive clear back to the ranch for birth control. He’d made it a practice to know where he could buy condoms on short notice, and there was a convenience store still open only five minutes from her house.

He was probably a fool for not taking her up on her suggestion and making love to her all night long. The thought of doing that made him ache. Now he had to wait three days for the chance. No matter that he’d been waiting all his life.

Wait a minute. Waiting all his life? Where had that come from? It couldn’t be true. Surely Tess didn’t have anything to do with his fruitless search for a wife. He just hadn’t found the right woman yet. Oh, God. Maybe he had.

On impulse he swung into the Ore Cart Bar’s parking lot and climbed out of the truck.

Suddenly a cold beer and a game of darts sounded like an excellent idea. He was still a young carefree bachelor. Bachelors were free to stop in for a beer whenever they wanted to, and he cherished that freedom.

Maybe tonight he sort of wished he could go back over to Tess’s house instead of stopping for a beer, but that was only natural, considering how new the situation was. But the novelty would wear off with Tess, the way it had with all the rest.

That’s what you think, taunted a voice that sounded a lot like Tess when she was bound to prove herself right and him wrong. Over the years she’d infuriated him, made him laugh until he could barely stand, and worried him sick. But she’d never bored him. Mac walked into the bar, hoping a beer would silence that know-it-all voice that told him he’d started something that he had no idea how to finish.

The bar was fairly well deserted on this weeknight, but it had one patron that made Mac consider ducking back out the door. Unfortunately Dozer Blakely saw him before he got the chance.

“Hey, Big Mac!” he called from his bar stool. “Come on over and let me buy you a cold one.”

Mac walked toward the row of stools and glanced around. “Where’s Cindy?”

“At home.” Dozer shoved a wayward lock of red hair off his forehead with a beefy hand. “Waitin’ for me to cool off. Hey, Dutch, set the man up with his favorite brand, okay?”

“Will do,” the bald bartender said. “How’re you doing, Mac?”

“Can’t complain.” Mac sat down next to Dozer, but he would have liked to put more space between them. He could still smell Tess’s perfume on his clothes, and he was afraid Dozer might recognize it. “Listen, should you be fighting with Cindy, her being P.G. and all?”

Dozer smiled. “When we fight, I’m the only one who gets upset. Cindy’s cool as a cucumber.” His blue eyes twinkled. “Hot date tonight?”

This would be tricky, Mac decided. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, you look a little mussed up. I figured you might have been out parking.”

“Could be.”

Dozer smiled and took a sip of beer. “So, did you take that dunking last night to heart and decide to make up with Jenny?”

“Uh, no.” Mac grabbed the beer Dutch scooted in front of him and took a big swallow.

“Babs?”

“Nope.”

“Somebody new?”

“You could say that.”

“But you’re not talking, are you, Big Mac?”

Mac grabbed the opening. “No, Dozer, I’m not. I don’t want you guys riding herd on me with this one, pestering me as to when we’re going to tie the knot.” He glanced at the hefty redhead and decided to go on the offensive. “And speaking of the knot, you’re a sorry poster boy for the institution of marriage, sitting down here at the Ore Cart nursing a beer while your wife sits at home.”

“I’m only doing what she told me.” Dozer shook his head. “She’s something else. I fly off the handle, just itching for a fight, and she won’t fight. She tells me to go grab a beer and come back when I have something nice to say. In the meantime, she works on her cross-stitch, calm as you please.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I usually sneak back and peek in the window to see if she’s pacing the floor or banging things around, at least. You know, upset because I left the house. The hell of it is, she’s not. So I come down here, drink my beer, and go home. She takes me back like nothing happened, and that’s the end of that.”

“What was the fight about? Or I should say, the fight she refused to have with you.”

“Damned if I can remember.” Dozer grinned sheepishly. “Knowing me, it was probably over something dumb. I tell you, I picked the right one when I hooked up with Cindy. Any other woman would have divorced me by now, with my short fuse. But Cindy knows it’s just a passing thing, and she sends me off until I get over it. I love that woman something fierce.”

“I’m glad for you.” Mac picked up his glass again. “Here’s to you and Cindy, and your diamond anniversary.”

Dozer raised his glass in Mac’s direction. “I’ll drink to that.” He took a long swallow, draining the glass before he set it down.

“Another beer, Dozer?” Dutch called.

“Nope. One’s all I need, thanks.” He turned to Mac. “Of course, if she ever threw me out for good, I’d drink the place dry.”

“Sure.”

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something, Mac.”

“What’s that?”

Dozer fished for his wallet and pulled out some money. “All kidding aside about Babs and Jenny, I can see why you didn’t end up with them. They’re both nice and all, and Jenny’s built real sweet.” He jiggled his cupped hands out in front of his chest. “Real sweet.”

Mac didn’t want to think about women’s breasts, either. “And your point is?”

“You’re a smart guy. You need somebody with brains. Babs and Jenny could never have kept up with you. You’d have been bored in a month or two.”

“So I figured.”

“Well, good. So, is this new girl smart?”

“Yeah, she’s smart.”

Dozer nodded. “Did you score yet?”

Mac winced. The type of evening he had planned for Tess didn’t even begin to fit the definition of “scoring.” He tried to imagine Dozer’s response if he knew they were talking about his sister.

“Guess not,” Dozer said, undisturbed by Mac’s reaction. “Otherwise you would’ve grinned when I asked that.” He laid his money on the counter and slapped Mac on the back. “Well, good luck with her, buddy. You deserve to find yourself a real nice lady. Maybe this is the one.”

“Maybe.” Not. As Dozer headed home to Cindy, Mac sipped his beer, determined to think of something else besides Tess lying alone in her bed. He even carried on a conversation with Dutch about the Arizona Cardinals’ chances this year. When the beer glass was empty he added another bill to what Dozer had left and walked out into the warm night thinking how great it was to be a free man. He drove home with the windows down, a song on the radio…and Tess on his mind.

* * *

THE EVAPORATIVE COOLER had reduced the heat in Tess’s little bungalow by the time she walked inside that night, but the place was still plenty warm. She closed the front door and with a sense of deep regret, listened to Mac’s truck drive away. If only he still carried condoms in his wallet, then he could have stayed.

To make matters worse, he hadn’t even kissed her goodbye. She understood why—nosy neighbors might have seen them and passed the word. She could spend all the time she wanted in Mac’s company without arousing any suspicions, but one public minute in his arms would start every tongue in town wagging.

This particular business they had between them had to be kept private. She could still hardly believe he’d offered to take care of her problem himself. He was running a big risk that could potentially ruin his relationship with her brothers. And because she appreciated that so much, she intended to protect him as best she could. So she kept their goodbyes on the porch deliberately nonchalant.

But once she was inside the door and he was truly gone, she ran her hands over her breasts and closed her eyes, lost in remembering. Then she lifted her arms over her head and turned slowly in a circle, executing a subtle dance of celebration. By touching her and arousing her the way he had, Mac had given her a completely new sense of her body.

In the carefree days before puberty, she’d run and played with Mac and her brothers with no thought to the fact that she was a girl and they were boys. Then the changes had begun, and for the most part, she’d thought of them as a nuisance. As she developed, her body seemed to get in her way more than it helped her enjoy life. But now…now she understood what all those changes had been for. For this. Laughing in delight, she flung her arms out and whirled until she grew dizzy.

Feeling slightly drunk with the wonder of it all, she wandered into her bedroom, shedding her clothes as she went. She kicked off her sandals and padded barefoot into the bathroom, where she turned on the shower, adjusting the temperature until it mimicked the warmth of a lover’s caress. She craved bodily sensation in a way she could never have admitted to anyone, least of all Mac.

She stepped under the spray, letting it beat down on her. Then she flung back her head and lifted her breasts to the coursing water. Her nipples tightened and she touched them gently, reawakening the memory of Mac’s loving.

Then she slid both hands down her water-slicked body to the juncture of her thighs, where she throbbed for him still. Her erotic books had been very clear—she didn’t need Mac or any man to give her the kind of release she’d found tonight. She could take charge of her own pleasure.

And maybe someday she’d follow that advice, she thought, skimming her hands back up over her rib cage to cup her breasts once again. But tonight she wanted to savor the remembered sensation of his hands caressing her, coaxing her to enjoy the wonders of her body. Perhaps she was being silly, but it seemed to her that to work the miracle herself at this moment would dilute that precious memory.

She turned off the shower and toweled dry, paying careful attention to the task. Her body was no longer exclusively her domain, and the thought made her shiver with delight. She smoothed lotion over every inch of skin she could reach, taking her time, anointing herself as if she expected Mac to return.

He probably would not. He was, as she knew from years of experience, a man of his word. Once he’d decided that her initiation should proceed a certain way, he would follow through on that decision, ignoring his own needs, and even her arguments to the contrary. She wouldn’t see him again until three days from now, at eight o’clock on the dot.

And perhaps he was right about this, she thought as she rubbed the scented lotion over her body. Perhaps there should be some ceremony and ritual to what they were about to do. She had three days to prepare. Three days to find tempting lingerie and turn her room into a lover’s bower. Setting down the lotion, she returned to her bedroom and surveyed the situation. Most of it would have to change.

Grabbing a yellow legal pad and a pen from her desk drawer, she sprawled naked on her bed and began making a list.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE NEXT AFTERNOON as Tess pulled packages from the car after her shopping trip to Phoenix, her neighbor, Hazel Nedbetter, came hurrying over with a florist’s vase full of daisies. Tess quickly shoved the Naughty But Nice lingerie box under the front seat.

“I took these into my house so they wouldn’t wilt on your front porch,” Hazel said.

“Why, thank you, Hazel.” Tess took the vase and stared at the cheerful bouquet of white and gold daisies, exactly like the ones on her dress. They could only have come from one person.

“It isn’t even from the Copperville Flower Shoppe. The van was from some big florist in Phoenix. Can you imagine? The delivery fee must have been huge!”

“Probably was.” At least Mac had taken some precautions, Tess thought. If he’d ordered from the local flower shop, the news would have spread by now. She was thrilled that he’d sent a bouquet, but she didn’t know how in hell she’d explain it to Hazel. And Hazel would need an explanation. The more mysterious Tess was, the more Hazel would speculate and the wilder the gossip would become.

The sun beat down on them, and Tess needed to buy some time to think of what she’d say. “It must be three hundred degrees out here. Let’s go into the shade,” she said, starting toward her front porch. Doggone Mac, anyway. He’d put her in a precarious spot, but his reckless gesture made her smile. She could just hear him—I wanted to send you flowers. I figured you’re a smart girl. You’ll think of something to tell the neighbors.

Setting the vase on the porch rail, she turned to Hazel and used the first explanation she could think of. “I’ll bet they’re from my new principal in New York.”

“Really? How fancy! I don’t think Mr. Grimes ever sends flowers to the people he hires at Copperville High. They must do things differently back East.” Hazel eyed the small white envelope secured in the arrangement with a plastic holder. Clearly she wanted Tess to take the envelope out and open it to prove that the flowers were indeed from Tess’s new principal, as she’d speculated.

The envelope wasn’t sealed shut, so Hazel could have looked at the card, but Tess didn’t think she had. Still, it was possible, so Tess decided to go for broke.

She could pull this off, although Mac had given her quite a challenge. He knew good and well that the neighbors would notice flowers arriving at her doorstep and he was probably sitting in Flagstaff chuckling as he imagined her predicament. Even if she’d been home, the delivery van would have attracted attention. Most of her neighbors in this older section of Copperville were retired and had plenty of time to observe the activities surrounding them.

Determined to convince Hazel, Tess boldly plucked the envelope from the plastic holder. “Let’s just see if I’m right.” She opened the envelope, figuring whatever Mac had said, she’d tell Hazel it was indeed from her principal.

As it turned out, Mac had come to her aid. The cryptic card read Wishing you the best as you explore new worlds—M. Tess knew exactly what new worlds he was talking about, and they all involved the bed she was about to redecorate. But Hazel wouldn’t realize that.

“Yep, it’s from my principal, all right,” Tess said. She repeated the greeting for Hazel and on impulse decided she could even nail her story down a little tighter. “My principal’s name is Emma Kirkwood, but most people call her Em, or they use the initial M for short. See?” She turned the card around for Hazel’s inspection. Tess had no idea if anyone called Emma Kirkwood Em, let alone abbreviated the nickname to an initial, but the chances of Emma appearing in Copperville were remote.

Hazel adjusted her bifocals and peered at the card. “Sure enough.” She glanced at Tess. “That’s real nice, sending you a bouquet like that. Although I would have thought maybe roses or carnations would be more likely than daisies.”

“M likes daisies.”

Hazel nodded. “Been shopping?”

With the change of topic, Tess knew she was home free. The daisies were explained. “Yes. Picked up some things for the trip.” And it would be some trip, considering the supplies she’d found today. She thought Mac would be pleased. Maybe more than pleased. She wanted him to salivate, actually.

“When does Lionel plan on putting up a For Rent sign in front of your house?” Hazel asked.

“Not until next month, I think. Don’t worry, Hazel. Lionel is very particular who he rents this place to. You’ll get good neighbors.”

“I suppose, but I’ll miss you, anyway.”

“I’ll miss you, too, Hazel.” Tess lifted the hair off the back of her neck. Even the shade of her porch was darned warm, but if she invited Hazel in she might be there for another hour. She was a dear lady, and another time Tess might not have minded visiting with her, but at the moment she was eager to get her purchases inside before someone else showed up and noticed the lingerie box or the satin sheets.

“Your poor mother’s going to cry her eyes out when you go.”

“I know. I’ll probably cry, too. But I have to spread my wings, Hazel. My brothers all got to be football heroes. This is a chance for me to shine.”

“Oh, yes, your brothers. They might act like they don’t care about such things, but they’re going to hate having you so far away. And then there’s Mac MacDougal. That boy’s going to miss you something terrible. I noticed you two were out last night. I was surprised at that, because Mabel Bellweather told me you were feeling sick when you were at the Nugget for dinner.”

Tess began to wonder if she and Mac had any chance of keeping their secret, after all. Copperville was a hotbed of gossip. “I was feeling sick, but after I left the restaurant I started feeling better, so we took a long drive. He, um, wanted to discuss the breeding program he and his father are starting. They’re going to look at a few studs during that big horse show in Flagstaff this weekend. You did know they’re in Flagstaff?”

Hazel nodded. “I heard. Nora’s at one of her antique shows up there.”

“Right.” Tess decided she needed to prepare Hazel for Mac’s next move. “I made Mac promise to come over when he gets home and tell me all about the trip,” she said. “So you’ll likely see his truck here after they get home.”

“Now, see there?” Hazel wagged her finger at Tess. “You two have always been close like that, sharing your news. Who’s he going to tell about his goings-on when you’re in New York City?”

Tess hadn’t wanted to face that, herself. “I guess we’ll have to use the phone. Well, Hazel, I’d better let you get to your dinner preparations.”

“Guess so.” Hazel seemed reluctant to take the hint. “How was Phoenix?”

“Hot,” Tess said.

“I’ll bet. These nights have been so warm I can barely sleep.”

Which means Mac and I had better close the blinds good and tight, Tess thought. “I know what you mean,” she said. “Well, see you later, Hazel. And thanks again for preserving my bouquet.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy it.” Hazel headed back over the path worn in the grass between the two houses.

Tess picked up the flowers and went inside. The phone rang the minute she set the vase on her coffee table. She walked over to the little telephone table next to the sofa and picked up the cordless receiver. “Hello?”

“Where have you been?” Mac asked. “I tried about six times today and kept getting your machine.”

The sound of his voice made her nipples tighten. He’d never had that effect on her before, but times had changed. “I was in Phoenix.”

“Oh, really? Buying more books?”

“Not this time. This trip was for other things.” Her first impulse, because it was the way they’d always interacted, was to tell him everything she’d bought. But the dynamics had changed and secrets were very appealing now.

“Anything to do with… Sunday night?”

“As a matter of fact.”

“What did you buy?”

She smiled. “Oh, something very, very brief.”

“Really.” The timbre of his voice changed. “Care to describe it?”

“I’d rather surprise you. Use your imagination.”

“That’s been my problem today. I can’t seem to use anything but my imagination. I’ve been so spaced out my dad keeps asking if I overdosed on allergy medicine, even though he knows I don’t have allergies.”

“So you’ve been thinking about me.” Her body reacted, moistening and throbbing as if he were right there beside her.

“That would be an understatement. I keep thinking about that daisy dress of yours, and…everything that happened last night.”

“Me, too.” She stroked the petals of her floral arrangement. “But the daisies were very hard to explain to Hazel Nedbetter, Mac.”

His laugh was low and sexy. “I’ll bet you came up with a story, though, didn’t you?”

“I told her they were from my new principal, whose name is Emma, but she often goes by just the initial M.”

He laughed again. “Damn, but you’re clever. I wish I’d been there to hear you spin that yarn.”

“Me, too.”

His voice lowered, became soft and seductive. “I wish I could be there right now.”

Tess sighed. “Me, too.”

“What are you wearing?”

“A sleeveless blouse and shorts.” Scenarios from her reading flashed through her mind, and she had the urge to experiment with her newfound power. “But it’s very hot, Mac.” She picked up the vase of flowers. “I think I’ll just walk back into the bedroom and take my blouse off.”

“Now?”

“Well, sure, unless you want me to hang up.”

His tone was strained. “No, I don’t want you to hang up. I might not get another chance to call you today. But Tess—”

“Just unfastening the buttons will help.”

In her bedroom she set the vase down and started unbuttoning her blouse. “Ah. I can feel a little breeze from the air conditioner right here, blowing on my bare skin. By the way, did you find any good studs?”

“Uh, yes. No. Maybe. Have you got your blouse off yet?”

“I’m getting there. These buttons aren’t the easiest in the world. I tell you, it’s so warm here, Mac. This little trickle of sweat just rolled down between my breasts. I’ll bet I’d taste really salty right now.”

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