Moving to her suitcase, she rooted through her belongings and caught the corner of her journal peeking out from beneath her clothes, having hidden it in there last night when she and Mac returned from the club. Normally, she’d spend the night tucked under her covers writing out a forbidden fantasy, but last night, she’d indulged in one instead.

She dressed quickly and grabbed her yoga gear. Mac shifted on the mattress. As she stared at him, taking in the stubble shadowing his jaw, she couldn’t help but grin and notice how close she felt to him, their open lovemaking and the way they both laid themselves bare taking them to a whole new level of intimacy, one she’d never experienced before. Everything in what they did left her feeling sexy and adventurous, but it also left her yearning for so much more.

She sucked in a breath to pull herself together. Hadn’t she lectured herself on enjoying this for what it was—sex—and keeping her emotions out of it? With that last thought in mind, she tiptoed from the room and made her way outdoors. Breathing in the fresh air, she walked past the horse stable. Inside, she heard a rustling sound and wondered if it was Blake moving about and getting ready for his day.

She thought back to last night, to the way Mac had sandwiched her between him and Blake. A fine shiver moved through her as she considered being with two men, both of them touching her, pleasuring her, putting their mouths all over her body. She tightened. Good God, she could hardly believe how much that excited her. But even after all she’d done with Mac, she’d never have the courage to share that seductive fantasy with him.

She made her way toward the eastern mountain. After finding the path Mac had taken her and Eleanor up, she climbed to the top. She dropped her towel, put her earbuds in, and turned on her iPod. She tipped her face to the sun and took a moment to concentrate on her breathing. She lifted her arms above her head, stretching out her well-used muscles. Shelving all her work worries and concentrating only on the slow, relaxing music, she let the sounds soothe her soul.

Halfway into her routine, completely lost in the moment, a strong male arm slipped around her body from behind, pinning her arms to her sides as he pulled her against his chest. She froze for a second and then let loose a strangled cry.

“Hey, baby, it’s just me,” Mac whispered, pulling one of her earbuds out and dangling it in front of her face. “I called out but you didn’t hear me.”

She whipped around to face him and yanked the earpiece from his fingers. “You scared the life out of me.”

He gave her a sheepish look. “Sorry.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

“I guessed.” He held up a backpack. “I brought breakfast. Does that get me off the hook for scaring you?”

She drew a breath to gather herself. “I suppose. But first, I need to finish my routine.”

He put the backpack down and rubbed his hands together. “Let’s do it, then.”

She arched a brow. “You’re going to do it with me?”

“I told you last night I wanted to, but you didn’t wake me.”

“I thought you needed your sleep.”

He gave her a wink and teased. “Oh, now I see. You let me sleep so I’d be good and rested for tonight?”

She laughed and cocked her head. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“Yeah, as long as you take it easy on me.” When she folded her arms in challenge, he said, “We’ll save the hard stuff for later.”

“Be good or I’ll make you do downward dog pose.”

“As long as we can do it my way,” he murmured playfully, but clamped his mouth shut when she cast him a warning glance.

She proceeded to show him a few basic moves, and she had to admit, as he practiced his breathing exercises, she could almost feel the tension drain from him, filling his type-A personality with a new kind of calm.

She spoke in soft tones, drawing him into her peaceful, tranquil state. She continued with the poses, and he mimicked them, although he didn’t quite have her flexibility or stretch. Regardless, she was sure he’d never been more relaxed in his life.

She taught him to clear his mind as the sun warmed their muscles, and they listened to the animals and the soft whisper of the wind drifting by on a breeze.

By the time they finished the routine, his stomach started grumbling, and Jess laughed. “I think we’d better feed you.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” He found a nice, flat grassy spot near the edge of the cliff overlooking the ranch. As Jess looked out over the view, her body so warm and relaxed, Mac opened his backpack to pull out fruit, a thermos full of coffee, and bagels and blueberry cream cheese.

“Do you come to the ranch often?” she asked.

“As much as I can.”

“What made you all buy a working dude ranch in the middle of nowhere?”

“Coop’s mom isn’t well. We all went splits on the ranch because this is where Coop thought she’d be most comfortable since she grew up in farm country.

Surprised that he’d go to such extremes for a friend, warmth and respect moved through her. “I had no idea.” She went quiet for a moment, thinking more about the boy from her youth. “You’re a good friend.”

And an amazing man…

Mac shrugged the compliment away and spread some cheese over a sliced bagel. “It was a sound investment,” he said, handing Jess the bread. ”Come on, let’s eat, I’m starving.”

“Thanks.” Jess took the morning treat and bit into it, savoring the explosion of flavors on her tongue. She didn’t comment on the gruffness in his voice or the flush on his cheeks. He was a man who did things for others out of kindness and uncomfortable with compliments. To lighten the mood, she bumped shoulders with him and took another bite. “You can really build up an appetite doing yoga.”

“Yeah, well, I was hungry before we started. Watching you did that to me.”

She arched a brow. “Oh? And just how long were you watching me?”

His grin was wolfish. “Long enough to make me ravenous.”

The gleam in his eyes told her he wasn’t talking about food.

She grabbed the Styrofoam cups and divided up the coffee. When he rolled one shoulder she asked, “How do you feel?”

“Pretty damn good, actually.” He looked over his body. “And I don’t think I ruptured anything. You’re a great teacher. Your students must love you.”

At the mention of her work, and the possibility of losing her business because she had no idea how to market herself or the skills to bring in new clients, her stomach clenched.

“What?” he asked.

She immediately wiped away the sadness, not wanting to spoil the calmness of the moment. “Nothing.”

As she sipped her coffee, he spread cream cheese onto another bagel and handed it to her.

“Mmm,” she said and took a generous bite. “These are so good.” He placed his hand on her leg and gave it a squeeze. Feeling completely comfortable with him, she said, “I’m glad you joined me.”

He leaned back on one elbow and said, “So am I.”

“And last night…the club…well…” she began, as she toyed with her cup.

“What about it?”

“I’m glad you took me.” She bit the corner of her lip. “Was that…what you read…in my journal?”

“Maybe, or maybe I just know a lot more than you realize.” He took a huge bite of his bagel and washed it down with a swig of coffee.

She chewed and then nodded slowly. “I’m beginning to believe that.”

“You have an adventurous spirit, Jess. I’ve always known that about you.”

“How?”

He smiled. “I have a confession to make.”

“You do?”

“Last night at the club, it wasn’t just your reactions to what was going on around you or the heat between your legs that told me what you wanted.”

“No?”

“No. Years ago, I kind of sneaked a peek over your shoulder and glimpsed what you were writing in your journal.” He touched her face, running the rough pad of his thumb over her cheek. “Plus I saw the kinds of books you were reading when you weren’t writing.”