And she was not going to let this man ruin the first truly wonderful date she’d ever had, because she was not going to let him kiss her at all.

But before Sadie could complete her thought, one of Morgan’s large hands came around the back of her neck and slowly drew her closer. With his other hand, Morgan lifted her face toward his. “I’ve been wondering if you taste as good as you look,” he whispered just before he touched his lips to hers.

Sadie stopped breathing as he completely engulfed her in his embrace, tightening his hand on her hair, wrapping his arm around her back with fierce intent. He canted her head and deepened the kiss, urging her mouth open, sweeping his tongue inside.

Sadie was so overwhelmed she completely lost all train of thought save one: she didn’t want him to stop.

Because her arms were being held at her sides, she could only move her hands to grip the back of his waist. And, glory of glories, she actually had to stand on tiptoe to kiss him back.

The guy rumbled an earthy, approving growl at her tentative action and tightened his hold on her, taking her breath away again. Their tongues introduced themselves, forgoing the pleasantries and getting immediately down to business. Sadie kneaded her fingers into his back, wondering if she might simply crawl into his skin beside him.

He broke the contact suddenly and tilted her head to expose her neck. Sadie whimpered the moment his mouth touched her throat.

Light flashed in the back of her eyes, and she wiggled her arms free to reach up and grab his shoulders. He lifted her then, bringing her feet completely off the ground, and stepped forward until her back was pressed against the side of the house. He moved even closer, nestling himself between her thighs.

With only the fleeting worry that she might burst into flames, Sadie wrapped her legs around his waist and welcomed the storm brewing deep inside the pit of her stomach.

His mouth trailed a path of fire down her throat, to the opening of her blouse. His teeth rasped against her skin briefly, and then a button popped. Sadie felt his hot mouth touching the sensitive skin at the base of her throat.

“Morgan,” she whispered, closing her eyes, letting her head fall back against the house.

She pulled at his hair, tugging it free of its ponytail, running her fingers through the length of it. She finally gave in to the urge she’d had all evening and fingered one of the small, thin braids that now ran loose down the sides of his face.

He lifted his head and stared at her, then took possession of her mouth again, just as deeply and far more intimately than before. The vision of evergreen eyes swam through Sadie’s dizzily reeling mind.

Her hands trembled with building passion as she held Morgan to herself, savoring his taste. Their tongues sparred. Their lips molded together. And their pounding hearts beat against each other.

He tore his mouth free, taking a shuddering breath that rocked her like a small earthquake, and blew it out harshly as he rested his forehead on hers.

“Two choices, Mercedes. We make love right now, right here on this porch, or you run like hell into your house and lock the door.”

He thrust his hips forward, forcefully, backing up his ultimatum with hard, blatant evidence that clearly said which choice he preferred.

Heat scorched her cheeks, and Sadie couldn’t decide if it was radiating from him or from inside herself, as she realized just how close she was to committing emotional suicide.

And just how much she wanted to.

She immediately reversed her grip on his shoulders and pushed at him frantically as she unwrapped her legs from around his waist and dropped her feet to the porch. She pushed him again when he continued to hold her tightly, staring down at her with a look that said he wanted to take the choice out of her hands.

He suddenly let go, dropped his arms to his sides, and took a step back.

Sadie shivered. With his hair loose and tangled in waves, his face harsh from lust denied, and his dark eyes unreadable, her date had lost his mask of civility.

He was that same madman again who had chased her through the woods four days ago.

And she suddenly felt just as vulnerable as she had then.

Sadie spun around and groped for the knob, twisting it violently and throwing her weight against the door until it opened and she could run inside and slam it shut behind her. And, as he had so kindly suggested, she threw home the bolt with a desperate twist and backed away into the safety of the kitchen shadows.

She stood there in the dark, breathing heavily, listening for his footsteps on the porch stairs. They were five minutes in coming, and in that time every touch, every sensation, every emotion his kiss had evoked ran through her head like sparks of energy gathering strength. Sadie touched her trembling fingers to her lips and shivered again.

Holy heck. That had been one hell of a sympathy kiss.

But it wasn’t until she was lying in bed later that night, stark naked because every inch of her skin was super-sensitive, her heart still pounding in her chest and her mind still reeling with confused emotions, that Sadie realized Morgan MacKeage hadn’t simply kissed her socks off—he’d blown them clean past the summit of Fraser Mountain.

Chapter Nine

It had taken Sadie most of the morningto wiggle gently out of her mother’s clutches.

Charlotte had wanted to know how Sadie could have lost one of her shoes, why Morgan’

s jacket had been found crumpled in a ball on the kitchen floor, and what she thought of her date last night.

Sadie still couldn’t believe the lame excuses and raving praises she’d come up with to appease her mother.

She was glad she’d made Eric open his store early this morning, so she could pick up her new GPS and cell phone, backpack and supplies, as well as a new, overpriced camera.

Now she was finally back at her cabin. She was going to miss Ping, though. She had left the cat at her mother’s house, afraid the wolf might return and decide Ping would make a tasty lunch. No matter what the priest had said, she wasn’t trusting Faol with her pet.

Sadie opened her cabin door and set her new backpack and supplies on the table. She walked over to the model of the park and studied the eastern mountain range.

Morgan MacKeage had built his house halfway up Fraser Mountain, he’d told her last night. He owned a good chunk of land there that ran all the way down to Prospect River.

Which meant he owned the southeastern corner of the proposed wilderness park.

Sadie pulled out the map she’d been given the day she took this job. She spread it on top of the model and studied it again. The boundary of the park, traced in bright green marker, definitely included the western slope of Fraser Mountain. It was nearly five thousand acres—a small part of the park but a very important part. The south access road would be going across the MacKeage land, bringing people in through Pine Creek.

Sadie suddenly straightened from looking at the map, pushed her hair behind her ears, and listened. She heard it again, a gentle, barely audiblewoof.

She closed her eyes and dropped her head. Damn. She’d been hoping that damn wolf would be gone by now. Had he been hanging around for three whole days, waiting for her to return?

And now he wanted her to come out and say hello?

Sadie moved to the window and peeked out. And there he was, sitting just on the edge of the forest, staring at the cabin. With a gasp, Sadie ran to the door and threw it open.

He was holding her old backpack his mouth.

The one she’d lost.

And it looked to be full.

Faol stood up and took several steps forward, his tail wagging. Sadie slowly walked down the steps and stopped a good ten paces from the wolf when he let out another muffledwoof.