He moved his hands to her back and lowered her onto the cot again. She brushed her bra to the floor. Jack jerked his shirt out of the waistband of his jeans then quickly unfastened the buttons. When he shrugged free of the garment, she stared at his bare chest, at the hard muscles defined beneath a light dusting of dark hair.

“I never saw you before,” he said, lowering himself until his chest barely touched her nipples. “All those years ago. You’d let me slip my hand under your shirt, but I wasn’t allowed to look.”

He moved back and forth, teasing her sensitive buds with the tickling friction of his chest hair. She shivered, nearly unable to bear the erotic caress.

“I wondered what you’d be like,” he continued, his voice low and hoarse. “The color of your nipples, the shape of your breasts, how they’d shift in my hands and how they felt pressed against my chest.”

His words sucked her into the past, to a time when she’d been scared to do much more than kiss the boy who had stolen her heart. She remembered the thrill of having him slip his hand up her shirt and how she’d thought about doing more. Now, with him on top of her, their bare skin brushing and touching, she wondered how she’d resisted him.

“I guess I had more backbone then.” She managed to speak.

He grinned. “I like you better spineless.”

He shifted, kneeling between her thighs, then bent and took her left nipple in his mouth. His tongue swept over her. Katie clutched his head, holding him to her. She cried his name as his fingers matched the movements on her other breast. It was too perfect, she thought, feeling herself sink deeper into the madness of passion. Deep tugs low in her belly responded to his gentle nibbles. When he sucked, she felt her hips arch. Her legs moved restlessly. Tension grew. If he touched her, even for a second, she knew she would climax instantly. The aching was unbearable.

She dug her fingers into his hair and inhaled the scent of him. It was too much. She couldn’t believe how aroused she was, and so quickly. She’d always been something of a slow starter, requiring concentrated effort to get ready. But it had only been a few minutes and she was so prepared that if they didn’t do something soon, she was going to explode.

Finally he straightened and stepped off the cot. He tugged off his boots and socks, then shoved down his jeans and briefs. His arousal sprang free, hard and ready, jutting toward her. She studied his body-the broad shoulders, narrow hips, long legs. He was everything she’d ever imagined a man to be.

He reached for her boots and pulled them off. The rest of her clothes followed. He loomed over her, looking at her. In a moment of self-consciousness she pressed her hand against her stomach to cover the silvery lines that were a legacy of her pregnancy. She was short and curvy and far from model perfect.

Jack pushed her hands away and bent to kiss the slender marks. “How could you think I wouldn’t want all of you?” he asked.

His casual acceptance made her eyes burn with unexpected tears. “Good line,” she said softly.

“Not a line. The truth.”

He returned to the cot, sliding next to her. His mouth lowered onto hers while his fingers moved between her thighs.

She told herself to be relaxed and adult about the whole thing. Control was important. She took deep breaths and swore to herself that she wasn’t going to make a fool of herself.

She was wrong.

The second he slipped into her waiting dampness and found that single spot of surrender, she actually screamed. Out loud. No doubt the horses were startled. Katie felt heat flare on her cheeks, but before she could try to explain or apologize, he was touching her in a circling rhythm that made her both tremble and tense.

She clutched him, needing to hang on. She wanted to explain that it wasn’t usually like this for her. That she could be unresponsive on occasion and for him not to take it personally. But speaking would have required more effort than she was willing to make. Because his fingers were pure magic and she didn’t want to think about anything else except the steady movements around and over, drawing her deeper and deeper into herself. Closer to that place of perfect pleasure.

Even as he kissed her, his fingers slipped inside her waiting warmth. He stroked slowly, making her legs fall open even more. Then he returned to the core of her femininity and began the dance again.

But this time was different. Her feeble attempts at control were useless. She was so incredibly close that she wasn’t able to prepare herself. One minute she was trying to catch her breath and the next the world dissolved into a million wonderful sensations. Everything felt exactly right-as if this was what she’d been born to do. Be with Jack, have him touch her and take her to paradise.

Even as she shivered from the last lingering contractions of her climax, he moved over her. She reached down to guide him inside. He filled her, stretching her slightly, making her draw her knees back. Their arms came around each other, and his mouth lowered to hers.

There was no awkward moment of discovery. Their movements were instantly correct, as if they’d always been intimate. The weight of him, the heat of him, the feel of his skin-everything was so right.

Their kiss deepened, tongues matching the thrusting movements of him inside her. The tension returned. Katie moved her hips to bring him in deeper, then felt the first flutter that promised another release. Delight filled her. She’d rarely been one to climax this way, yet she couldn’t imagine it not happening with Jack. Her body tensed in preparation. She reached down to grasp his hips. Muscles tensed and bunched with his movements. The combination of sensations was too much for her, and suddenly she was caught up again. Her muscles contracted in pure ecstasy.

He raised his head. She opened her eyes. They looked at each other. More pleasure swept through her. Despite the intimacy, she couldn’t turn away. Then he tensed. His face tightened, and his body shuddered. He gave one last, deep thrust and was still.

Jack lay tangled in Katie’s embrace. Their hearts pounded in unison as the heat from their bodies combined to blanket them in the warmth of surrender.

Home, he thought hazily. He’d finally come home. For the first time in his life he felt completely at peace. As if she was the one place he’d always belonged.

He rolled onto his side, pulling her with him. She opened her eyes and stared at him. Color stained her cheeks, neck and chest, more proof of her release. His hands sought and found the gentle curve of her hip, then moved to her rear. The feel of her silky skin made him want her again.

“Impressive,” she said with a slight smile. “And wouldn’t we give the town gossips something to talk about if they were to see us right about now?”

Not just the gossips, he thought. Members of both their families would be unamused. His mom wouldn’t care, but Nora would want blood, as would Aaron.

Reality returned with a thud that made him roll away from her. He sat up and stared at the pile of clothing on the floor. He didn’t want to get involved with anyone, he reminded himself. And if he had to sleep with a woman, Katie was the worst choice possible. Relationships didn’t last-he had plenty of proof of that. He was tired of the people in his life leaving him. No way was he going to fall for Katie a second time.

“This was a mistake,” he said bluntly, sitting with his back to her. “Getting involved would be a disaster for both of us.”

There was a moment of silence. He didn’t turn around because he didn’t want to see the expression on her face. Hurting her hadn’t been part of his plan, but he wasn’t about to take the words back.

“I don’t know which part of your comments to address first,” she said at last. “The part about this being a mistake or that getting involved would be a disaster.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll admit this wasn’t especially well thought out, but ‘disaster’ seems harsh.”

He finally forced himself to look at her. Something dark flashed through her eyes, but otherwise she didn’t give anything away.

“You don’t want to get involved, and neither do I,” he said. “And you’re not the sex-only type.”

“Are you?”

He sighed. “No.” This wasn’t going well. He tried a second time. “Katie, making love with you was terrific, but we can’t do it again.”

She sat up and slid past him. “I don’t recall asking you to,” she said as she grabbed her clothes and quickly put them on.

He watched her, knowing this was ending badly and not sure how to make it better. When she was dressed, she gave him a quick, insincere smile.

“Thanks so much for the afternoon delight. It was a thousand thrills and all that.”

“Katie, don’t,” he said, standing up and grabbing her hand. “Don’t leave like this.”

She glared at him. “How do you want me leave? We had something pretty special, Jack. Don’t panic. I don’t mean a rekindling of our relationship, just that the lovemaking was incredible. At least it was for me. I wasn’t expecting a marriage proposal at the end of it. Just a few minutes of sweet talk, a hug or two, then a chance to go our separate ways. But you couldn’t let that happen. You had to make it into something ugly.”

He was lower than a snake’s belly. “I didn’t-” He swore. He had meant to send a message, which she got. So why wasn’t he happy? “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“You’re flattering yourself. I’m not hurt, I’m angry. Although you should be thrilled to know that I now agree with you. This was a mistake. One I have no intention of repeating.”

She walked out and slammed the door behind her. Less than a minute later, he heard her horse cantering away.

“Sleeping with the enemy,” Stephen Remington teased two days later. “Whatever do the neighbors think?”

Katie fought hard not to blush. Stephen didn’t know what had happened between her and Jack at the line shack. He was joking about the fact that she was living at the Darby ranch. Word had spread in the small town, and her current situation was all the buzz.

She looked up from the chart she held, pausing in the act of pretending to write notes. She raised her eyebrows. “They’re all a-twitter, as you can imagine, but they’ll recover. Some faster than others.”

She glanced out the big front window. Stephen’s medical offices were directly across the street from the Clip ’n’ Snip Hair Salon-Nora Darby’s place of business. No doubt Jack’s sister was there now, telling her many customers exactly what she thought about her brother and the oldest Fitzgerald woman sharing a ranch, if not a roof.

“All joking aside,” Stephen said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her. “How are you holding up?”

She set down the chart and looked at her friend. They were seated in the reception area of Stephen’s medical suite. So far the afternoon had been quiet, with only a couple of appointments. They were alone, and Lone Star Canyon’s new physician was a kind man who was genuinely concerned about her welfare. Who better to talk with?

“I’m doing okay,” she said, knowing that it was nearly the truth. “Shane adores living with the Darby clan. Hattie spoils him and Jack is the father he never had. There are horses, dogs, video games. What’s not to like?”

Stephen studied her. He was tall and lanky. The white lab coat he wore identified him as a medical professional, but he would still garner respect and authority without it. His reddish blond hair came to the top of his collar. He had freckles and hazel eyes. He looked like a candidate for a cereal box-the all-American boy makes good.

“You told me all about Shane,” he said. “But what about Katie?”

“Katie is a mess,” she announced, thinking about the last time she’d spoken with Jack. The man had made her so angry, she’d wanted to put her fist through the wall. Fortunately she knew the consequences for the hand’s many delicate and necessary bones, so she’d resisted.

“What seems to be Katie’s problem?”

She smiled. “I’m not comfortable talking about myself in the third person.”

“Okay. Then what’s wrong with you?”

That made her laugh. “Wow. Talk about blunt. What is wrong with me?”

Stephen waited patiently, a look of expectancy on his face.

“It’s hard to explain,” she said, in part stalling and in part telling the truth. “I’m having some issues with Jack. He makes me crazy, but not in a good way.”

“How does he make you crazy?”

“He’s difficult and stubborn.” She couldn’t believe all the things he’d said to her after they’d made love. That it was a mistake. How could he? They were both still naked, and he was spouting that getting involved would be a mistake. She wasn’t sure she wanted to get involved with him or not, but it was as much her decision as his.