She nodded as she walked over to the fireplace and ran her hand along the smooth stone. “On my way here, I kept winding down this back road, and I thought for a minute that you were luring me out into the middle of nowhere.” She tossed him a grin.

“I did.” He smiled back.

“All this land is yours?”

He nodded.

“You must work very hard.” There was seriousness and respect in her voice, and Ryder clung to it. He did work hard. For every damn thing. But usually what he got from women were questions.

How much land do you have? How much are you worth?

But Whitney looked at his home and complimented his work ethic. She didn’t want to steal a piece of him or his family. And that made an ease settle over his skin.

She was different. He’d known that. There was something grounded about the tumbleweed before him. She’d said she didn’t come from anywhere, but the way she looked longingly at his home, as if she could take warmth from it, made him think she was desperate to have something stable in her life. Yet he also saw the vibrant wild-child in her eyes, the soul of a woman who refused to be tied down to things.

The timer went off on his stove. He took out the Bagel Bites and turned off the oven.

She came to stand by him and looked at the ramen and mini pizzas. “You didn’t tell me you were breaking out the fancy cooking skills. How am I supposed to resist you now?” She smiled.

“Told you this is part of my plan to—”

“Polite me to death?” she said. Just like she’d said the other day. Maybe that was what he was doing. It was all he could do, because he wanted to be around her, but he needed his control. So this was how he got both. He mentally made a note to take yet another cold shower tonight.

Yep, control…totally worth sexual frustration and freezing water. Totally.

“These are actually my favorite,” she said, lifting her chin at the mini pizzas.

“Don’t fib,” he said.

“I’m not. I had these almost every day after school when I was a kid. My sister and I lived on these.”

Her eyes shot down like she’d said something she hadn’t meant to.

“You have a sister?”

“Had,” she said, then walked toward the big window again. “So…” she said with a large smile. But it didn’t reach her eyes. “Now that you’ve lured me out here, how about a grand tour?”

She was changing the subject, and Ryder let her. Whatever memories her sister brought up looked like painful ones. Maybe he could eventually get some kind of history out of her. In the meantime, he’d stick with what he did know for certain.

“Actually, there is something I want to show you,” he said.

She took several sultry steps until she was back within reach. She glanced at his belt and bit her lip. “I like where this is going.”

Damn, she was hard to resist. Especially when just her hot chocolate stare at his cock made it start to harden.

Maintain.

“Come with me,” he said, and then grabbed her hand to stop himself from grabbing something else. The woman had a power over him that was hard to beat. But he had to.

With her hand in his, he led her outside and around to his shop, where several pieces of equipment were housed. He’d brought out one piece of machinery earlier and parked it in the middle of the field in anticipation of Whitney’s visit.

“What is that?” she asked, looking at the black and yellow machine.

“That is an excavator. Otherwise known as a heavy piece of machinery.”

Her eyes shot up to his. They were wide with happiness and a look like that made him feel like a superhero. He just smiled down at her. “Key is already in it.”

“Are you serious?” she asked around a growing smile. Looking between him and the rig.

“I never joke about heavy machinery,” he replied. “Just like I take your ‘I’ve Nevers’ seriously.”

What sounded like a thrilled giggle burst from her, and she hustled toward the machine and climbed up. She looked so excited, and pride boomed beneath his rib cage that he could give her something so simple—an experience she’d never had.

He was right behind her, standing on the edge of the machine and holding on to the side while he explained the controls.

“Turn over the key there,” he said as she wiggled in her seat. She twisted the key, and the machine started up with a loud rumble.

“Now, these levers here move the bucket back and forth.” He reached in and showed her. “Then up and down is like this.”

She watched him work the levers and studied how the machine responded.

“Then if you want to drive forward, just push on the gas and do this…” He showed her how to steer and move. Her eyes were fixed on his movements, and her smile seemed to grow even larger throughout the quick tutorial. “You ready to handle this rig yourself?”

“Yes!” she said and clapped a little.

He hopped down and yelled, “Go on then, girl. Give it some gas.”

She drove the excavator slowly, lifting the bucket and lowering it as she went. There were acres and acres of open field she could drive through, so she could feel free to run as wild as she pleased. She drove in circles, only pausing to mess with the jaws of the bucket.

“This is so cool!” she yelled over the loud machine and continued to move the joystick around. Ryder smiled, and when she caught his eyes on her, she smiled back. And then her look turned form happy to intent.

She killed the engine and moved to get out of the cab. Ryder was right there, hands ready to grab her hips and help her down. But instead of lowering her, he brought her into his body, and she threw her arms around him and yanked him in for the hottest kiss of his life.

She moved her mouth against his in what felt like lust and gratitude all mixed into one. He chanced a look at her face, and her delicate brow was knit and her eyes squeezed shut like she was lost.

If he wasn’t careful, he might get lost, too.

“Thank you,” she whispered against his mouth. The sun fading over the horizon gave off light purple colors that made the woman in his arms glow like a dream.

He set her on her feet, and she looked up at him, her hands sliding down his chest and over his stomach, until finally she took his hands in hers.

“Now it’s your turn to follow me,” she said with a saucy grin, and headed toward the lake.

Ryder let her pull him along, realizing that he would, in fact, follow her into the pits of hell, likely with a smile, if she simply looked at him the way she just had.

Whitney did the one thing she’d been dying to do since she’d met Ryder Diamond.

She bossed him around.

“Shirt, pants, boots, off. Hop to it, cowboy,” she said, coming to stand by the lakeshore.

“Still not a cowboy,” he said, then reached behind his neck and tugged the T-shirt over his head and off. The moon was shining bright and high in the sky, coming down on them like a spotlight. Thank God she could see him. The man was incredible, with large, hard chest muscles that tapered to even harder abs.

He kept his eyes on her when he reached for his belt clasp. Those biceps flexed as he worked the metal open, and the deep V of his hips made her salivate with anticipation.

“You have your own private lake, and you’ve still never gone skinny-dipping?” she asked, tossing off her sandals and standing in the thick grass, just a few meters from the lapping water.

“Like I said…never had the opportunity.”

“Or maybe you didn’t have the right company,” she teased.

But he looked serious. “Agreed. But I’m set to change that.”

She raised an eyebrow. The fun side of Ryder was starting to come to the surface. Which was good, because a moment ago, when he’d fulfilled one of her “I’ve Never” moments, she’d been ready to hug him and kiss him and…like him. Like, really like him. For more than a night at a time. Which was why she not only would return the favor and resolve his “never gone skinny-dipping” issue, she’d remind herself that this was just one experience at a time.