Lori strained to press her mouth more fully against his. Her reaction was so fast and instinctive it took her by surprise. Where was this coming from? Why did she want him?

He groaned. “Just this once,” he muttered and really kissed her, shoving her questions far from her mind. Sliding his hands behind her back, he pulled her against him and devoured her mouth with his. His strength, physical and sexual, made her dizzy. He slid his tongue past her lips and demanded a response from her. She felt her nipples grow taut and her internal temperature ratchet upward.

Echoing his moves, she slid her tongue into his mouth and he gave another groan that vibrated all the way down to her toes. She’d been kissed nearly to the point of no return before, but no one had ever made her feel so hot she was certain steam would rise from her skin.

Something about him made him seem so much more like a man to her. Something about him made her wish she was more experienced so she could make him half as hot as she was.

She rubbed her achy breasts against his chest and he took control of the kiss again, sliding his tongue over hers. She suckled it, drawing him deep into her mouth, and she felt his thumbs brush the sides of her breasts.

More, more, more. She wriggled against him and lifted her hands to slide her fingers through his hair.

She felt his thumb move closer to her nipple and a wild, carnal need ricocheted through her like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. Touch it, touch me.

He moved his thumb away and she couldn’t quite swallow the whimper crowding her throat.

“Oh, you like that,” he muttered against her mouth. “You want more.”

He rubbed his palm over her nipple and she shuddered.

He swore. “I didn’t think you would be this hot.” He French-kissed her again, still rubbing his palm over her breast. “All it takes is a touch and you kiss me like you’d spread your legs and let me take you right here, right now. I bet you’re already wet.”

Lori felt her cheeks heat at his words. He was right. She was wet and wanting, but she didn’t want him to know. It wasn’t fair that he still sounded in control when she was hot and bothered.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled away from him. She cleared her throat. “That was educational. Now that we’ve done that once, we won’t need to do it again.”

He gave a nonchalant nod. “If you can control yourself.”

His attitude nettled her. “I didn’t start it.”

“The way you look at me started it. You look at me like you want to rip my clothes off and indulge your darkest, baddest thoughts.”

“I do not,” she lied. “You have an inflated opinion of yourself, but that’s no surprise. Your arrogance isn’t the least bit seductive.”

“Well, something about me works for you, because you were begging me to kiss you and touch you. You were begging for more.”

“Don’t take it so personal,” she said, feigning a breezy air although she still felt jittery. “It’s been a while for me. I’m going inside to see Virginia.”

Frowning, Jackson watched Lori get out of the car and walk across the rough parking lot. Although she wore jeans, she also wore heels, which were impractical as hell. The heels, however, did things to her gait that kept his gaze fastened to her backside.

He remembered how she’d felt and tasted and grew hard again. Swearing, he adjusted his jeans and narrowed his eyes at the woman who, just minutes ago, had acted like a scorching man-eater determined to consume and be consumed.

Kissing her had been a mistake. Knocked sideways by the strange conversation they’d shared about their families, he’d told himself and her it was just that once.

But now he knew how she felt and tasted. Now he knew she was hotter than black pavement in Dallas in August. He had the unsettling feeling that he’d opened Pandora’s box by kissing her.

She’d seemed cool as a cucumber when she’d stepped out of the car and left him with a lingering whisper of her French-perfumed scent, but the way she’d responded to him made him doubt her easy dismissal of her reaction to him.

“Actions speak louder than words, princess,” he muttered. No matter, he told himself, his arousal finally starting to wane. If she was determined to be Miss Cool, then all the better. As long as she didn’t toss him those I-want-you-now looks, then they would be just fine.

Lori climbed the slanting wooden steps of the large farmhouse. The house needed a new coat of paint and a few repairs, she noticed as she felt a board wiggle beneath her foot. As she approached the screen door, however, she smelled the scent of a fresh-baked pie. She inhaled and closed her eyes. Cinnamon, apples… Eager to see Virginia, she knocked on the door.

A moment later, a beautiful young Mexican woman, with long dark hair and a scar that slashed across her cheek, stood at the door. “Good afternoon,” she said and studied Lori for a long moment, her eyes hinting at disapproval. “You must be Lori Granger. I’m Maria. Come in. I will tell Virginia.”

Lori stepped inside the foyer while the woman disappeared to the back of the house. She heard a low voice followed by a peal of delight and immediately smiled at Virginia ’s response.

“Lori,” the older woman said as she rounded the corner, dressed in an apron, with Maria following slowly behind her. “You came! It’s been too long, sweetheart.”

Virgina’s hair contained far more gray than before, and she was thinner. Her eyes held a combination of sadness and weariness, but her wide smile was still full of magic. Lori immediately rushed into her open arms. “ Virginia, I’m so glad to see you. And I’m so sorry about Skip.”

Virginia sighed and gave her a squeeze. “You’ve had a tough time, too, sweetie, with your daddy passing.” She pulled back and looked at Lori. “We’re pleased as punch to have you, but I didn’t quite understand what that Jackson man was telling me. Your visit needs to be confidential? You’re not running from the law, are you?”

Lori laughed. “No, nothing like that. Jackson ’s just being protective.”

“He’s a bodyguard?”

Lori shook her head. “Not exactly. My accountant,” she said.

She noticed Virginia looking past her outside the door. “That’s your accountant?” she said in a lowered voice, and Lori didn’t have to turn around to know that Jackson was climbing the steps of the porch. Lori noticed Maria staring with an assessing expression that made Lori feel, well, weird.

The situation was strange enough, and she didn’t want Virginia or anyone else to pick up on the dynamics, whatever they were, between her and Jackson, so she took the high road of civility. “Virginia and Maria, this is Jackson James. He’s my accountant and advisor. I’m sorry we didn’t give you much notice for our visit, but both of us would like to help while we’re here. And if you don’t have room, I’ll totally understand.”

“Nonsense,” Virginia said. “Of course we have room. We always have room for you. And right now, I can offer you pie.”

Jackson entered the house and Lori introduced him to Virginia and Maria. He greeted each of them. “Thank you for letting us come on such short notice.”

“Lori is always welcome here. We loved her from the first summer she spent here at the ranch. She was great with the horses and the kids.”

“Really,” he said, surprised by the woman’s assessment of Lori. It was tough for him to visualize Lori doing such hard physical labor. “I’m hoping we won’t need to stay long.”

“Don’t worry about a thing. Now, as I was saying,” Virginia said. “The pie is ready. Would you like a piece?”

Jackson inhaled the mouth-watering scent. “I never turn down just-baked pie,” Jackson said as the four of them returned to the kitchen.

Virginia urged Lori and Jackson into kitchen chairs around a small breakfast table. “Do you have any campers?” Lori asked. “Are they out on the horses or resting?”