He slanted his head, his dark eyes full of heat and humor as they moved over her face. “You really don’t remember me?”

“No,” she lied, not wanting to admit to anything or let him think she was going to play into his fantasy. She cleared her throat and tried for normal. “Should I?”

He took another step forward, and apprehension surged inside her as the clean, spicy smell of his skin drowned out the aromas inside the barn. She filled her lungs with his scent. If he smelled this good, how would he taste? Her mind raced, envisioning her tongue on his hard body, licking, teasing, and savoring the saltiness of his skin. Oh God… Her sex clenched, and she shifted uncomfortably. In an attempt to take the edge off, she squeezed her thighs together, cursing her body for its unwanted reactions. When her attempts proved futile, she starched her spine and worked to purify her thoughts before she became completely unhinged.

What the hell is wrong with me?

“I used to sign the club’s audiovisual equipment out to you back in high school,” he explained. He watched her for a moment, like he was waiting for a lightbulb to go off inside her head. She folded her arms and stared at him, hoping to give him the impression that she had no idea what he was talking about. “That’s okay,” he said. “I’m not that guy anymore.” He paused and pressed his thumb into a muscular chest that her traitorous fingers suddenly itched to touch. “I’d really like for you to get to know the guy I am today, anyway.”

Too bad really, because the Jag from her youth was sweet and caring, always going out of his way to sign out expensive video club equipment to her when she needed it for one of her student council functions, or simply because she wanted to borrow it for her own personal use. But because he was from the wrong side of the tracks, and she had a reputation to uphold in society, her parents forbade her to associate with him, even though he was so much nicer than the privileged boys from her circle.

Tired of being yanked around by everyone in her life, she said, “No games, Jag. Tell me why you really invited me here.” She held his gaze and smoothed down the bodice of her designer dress that belonged nowhere near a ranch, but she’d raced to the airport so fast she had no time to go shopping for something more appropriate.

“We were sort of friends once and I was thinking about you a few weeks ago.” He gave a casual shrug. “I thought we could reconnect, get to know each other better.” His lips twitched, but there was something very honest and open in his eyes as he looked at her.

“How will we do that?” she asked bluntly.

He waved his arm toward the towering Rocky Mountains with all their riding trails. “Ride the trails, go rock climbing, swimming. Whatever you want,” he said.

She was no fool—or maybe she was. Either way this was about sex. And as tempting as his offer sounded, she couldn’t do this. She had obligations and responsibilities. As the mayor’s administrative assistant and daughter, she had duties to uphold at home and shouldn’t have run off without letting anyone know. She shook her head. Dammit, she never should have tucked tail and gotten on that plane.

“I need to go home.”

She stepped outside the barn and panned the huge estate. God, it really was beautiful, but she didn’t belong here. No more than he belonged at one of her political functions.

As the midday heat engulfed her, she folded her arms to shade her pale, unprotected skin. Wouldn’t Mother have a fit if she knew I was standing in the sun unprotected? She could almost hear the lecture now. Appearances are everything, Alix.

“When is the next plane?” she asked.

Instead of answering, Jag stepped up behind her, pulled off his Stetson, and settled it on her head. Shaded by the wide brim, she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. She was about to thank him, but the second their gazes collided she caught the heat and hunger in his eyes. Every reason she had for leaving suddenly seemed so insignificant.

He squinted against the sun, all traces of humor gone from his face. “Why did you come?”

Angry tears pricked her eyes as she thought about the events that led up to this moment. She turned, offering Jag her back. She didn’t want him to see her cry. Hell, the last thing she wanted to do was cry again. She pinched her eyes shut, but there was nothing she could do to expel the image of her fiancé kissing another woman.

There they were, arms around each other and lips locked in a way that left no mistake the two were lovers—or that she was pregnant. Yeah, she saw the bump, the way his hand rested on it in a protective manner. Tucked under a towering tree, in a secluded area of the park, they hadn’t seen her taking pictures at first. Alix had been snapping photos of the sunset, enjoying nature at its best, until she spotted them. Her chest tightened, squeezing the air from her lungs. She’d never felt so betrayed, so used. If it weren’t for her and her father’s connections, Nelson wouldn’t even be a member of the legislature.

Her hand went to her stomach. She’d been nothing but the dutiful fiancée and had given him everything she could. The one thing she couldn’t provide, he went ahead and found with another woman. It was just last week they’d talked about the venue for their wedding. Did he really think he could have her and a mistress and child on the side? She wiped her face, swatting at the liquid on her cheek. The lying, cheating bastard didn’t deserve her tears.

When his glance met hers, she should have confronted him. She should have smashed her camera over his head. But she ran home and swore off men as she threw her clothes in a suitcase. And now here she was, halfway across the country. Her life was a total freaking mess as she faced a man who’d always been so damn sweet to her—one who already had her reconsidering her vow to avoid the opposite sex. But wouldn’t that just complicate her life more than it already was?

A strong palm landed gently on her shoulder and turned her around. “Why did you come?” he asked again, the tension between them palpable as he dipped his head to meet her gaze unflinchingly.

“I just…I was…” She exhaled slowly and looked at the ground. “Look, Jag, you asked the wrong girl for the wrong thing on the wrong day.”

A rough, calloused hand cupped her chin and lifted it until she was looking directly at him. “I didn’t ask you for anything.”

She drew a shaky breath and eyed him suspiciously. “You just said you wanted us to get to know each other better, so I assume that this”—she stopped to wag her hand back and forth between them—“this setup is about sex. Some juvenile fantasy you must have been harboring about me.” She shook her head, panning him from head to toe. “I mean, come on, look at you. Everything about you screams sex.” As soon as the words left her mouth she gulped and tried to get them back. “Wait. I mean…” Ugh.

He grinned, but it wasn’t conceited or egotistical. In fact, it was warm and tender, full of gentle understanding. She stared up at him. The Jag from her youth was no longer that awkward boy with a camera permanently strapped around his neck, nor did he wield his good looks and magnificent body like a weapon or think he was above reproach. He certainly wasn’t a man from her world. Which made him that much more appealing.

Her purse began buzzing. She unzipped it and pulled out her phone. Caller ID revealed it was her mother. She squeezed the phone until her knuckles turned white, and with eyes tired from all the tears she’d shed since catching Nelson, she stared at the screen.

“You don’t have to answer it,” Jag said quietly.

She grunted. If only he were right. But he just didn’t understand how things were done in her world, especially with her mother. Dutiful daughter that she was, she slid her finger across the screen and tried not to sound as shaky as she felt. “Hi, Mom.”