"You're unbelievable, Quinn."

"Not yet, but I will be."

"Arrogant. Cocky. Uncouth." She jutted out her bottom lip and glared at him. "I'm thinking of pushing you overboard."

One of his brows arched high, the grin widening. "And I'd take you with me. I think I'd like seeing you in a wet T-shirt."

And then something happened that shocked Audie as much as it did Quinn. Her eyes filled with tears and her chin trembled and she said very softly, "Please stop teasing me."

Quinn thought his heart would break. The heat rushed through him, his knees felt weak, and he groaned out loud at his stupidity. Apparently, he had a lot to learn about this woman.

She could kick the hell out of a soccer ball, put on a show for the world, make him laugh, kiss him hard-yet her heart was fragile, and apparently, he'd just stomped all over it.

"Jesus, Audie." Quinn held out his hand to her. "If I go over there, I might crash your boat, so please come here to me."

Audie brushed away her tears with the back of her hand and stood close to him, melting as his arm wrapped around her waist.

"I was just having a little fun with you. I'm sorry."

She nodded and leaned against him. "I think it just got too close to the truth, is all."

"Which part?"

"Oh, I don't know… the part about me being sexually frustrated, not having the right lover-the part about me looking good in a wet T-shirt."

He tilted back a bit to gauge her expression. They started laughing together and he gave her a friendly squeeze.

"Let's go in," she said.

"You got it, Skipper."

"You actually did good today, Detective."

He looked down at her again. "Really? And here I was thinking I've got a hell of a lot to learn."

Audie smiled sweetly at him and dropped her gaze to his mouth and back up to his eyes. She rubbed his back. "You're doing OK, Quinn. The wind can be kind of fickle out here sometimes."

Quinn let go with a deep, satisfied chuckle, keeping his eyes locked on hers for a few moments, his arm snug around her waist. "Come over here, Audie," he said softly, guiding her in front of him. He pressed a hand to her stomach and pulled her against him while he headed for shore.

Audie closed her eyes, feeling the wind on her face, the heat of Quinn against her back, the pressure of his hand on her belly. The truth was she wanted to know exactly how unbelievable this man was. She wanted to be in his bed. She wanted to find out if there was a man who could love her for who she was, not who he wanted her to be-and she wanted to know if Quinn was that man.

But she wasn't sure she could handle one more disappointment. She didn't know if she had it in her.

Audie inhaled deeply and felt Quinn's hand rise and fall with the movement of her breath. She felt him press closer to her. She wondered what he really wanted with her.

Tim Burke wanted arm candy for his political career. Will Dalton wanted to write a book about her and her mother. Kyle Singer wanted to convince the Greater Chicagoland viewing area that he was straight. Russell Ketchum wanted control over the business.

And Audie wasn't quite sure of everything Darren Billings had wanted, but she was sure it didn't require clothing or a college degree.

Something was different about the man she felt so solid against her back. He made her laugh. He could be sweet. He could be blunt. He was tidy. He was sentimental. And the force of his physical presence was overwhelming-a new experience for her entirely-because Quinn filled her senses, made her blood pound and her skin tingle.

He just felt good to her. He felt right.

Audie opened her eyes to the evening light on the water and felt Quinn's lips brush her hair. She snuggled back against him a little tighter.

There was no way to predict all the things he'd ask of her. But right at that moment, it seemed all he wanted was to be with her-just plain Audie-and that was a good place to start.

The sun had disappeared by the time the sails were neatly folded away and the Take a Hint could be tied down for the night. Quinn took a long time meticulously wiping down every bronze fitting on the boat with a shammy skin. Drew would be shocked.

They carried their gear and walked side by side up the wooden dock. The imposing house loomed in front of them, lit up from the inside and rising high and wide on the crest of the lawn.

The sensation was so soft at first that she thought a moth had brushed against her skin-but it was Quinn's hand, reaching for her in the twilight.

"Audie…" He smiled sweetly at her. "I wanted to say thanks for today. And I wondered if I might kiss you."

Quinn laid down the things he was carrying and took the lunch basket and towels from Audie's frozen hands. She stood breathless, waiting.

His hand swept up along her cheek and came to rest in the soft hair at her temple. She didn't push him away. She didn't turn her face from him. She returned his gaze, and in her soft, dark eyes Quinn saw the permission he sought.

"You make me fairly crazy, Homey," he whispered, bringing his lips to hers in softness-such softness-as his fingers played along her cheek.

The gentleness of it stunned her. They weren't smashing heads on sidewalks or crashing into porch furniture this time. Quinn's kiss was tender and full of sweet questions, and it shattered her.

She closed her eyes and let him touch her, let him explore her mouth with his lips, her body with his hands. She felt his palm flat at the small of her back, but it didn't piss her off this time. And at that moment, somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she decided that she'd go wherever he was taking her. Maybe not today-but someday.

Audie tilted her head to yield to the tentative requests from his tongue, and the emotion welled up in her belly and spread hot through her, and a helpless little squeak came out of her mouth.

Quinn pulled away, watching her shut her eyes and smile, holding on to the shadow of his kiss. Then her dark lashes fluttered and she looked right at him.

"Nice kiss, Quinn."

"There's more where that came from."

The way he grinned down at her made him look like a little boy, Audie thought, cute and afraid and shy. But this was no little boy, she knew. Quinn was a man, with a man's desires.

Was she willing to get closer to all of him-the little boy's sweetness and the man's needs? Was she willing to try with Quinn?

"I need to be careful," she whispered.

"I know you do."

"I'm a total failure at this. You saw the list."

"Think positive."

"No. Quinn, listen. I suck at relationships. I'm trying to be honest here."

He laughed softly. "Honesty is good."

She grinned at him and sighed. "OK. You've been warned. Now what about you, Stacey Quinn? You're the cautious type, aren't you?"

He reached for her hands and held them in his. Quinn wanted to look at her, so soft and beautiful, so close. He wondered why this extraordinary woman stood here with him, scared but willing. He wondered if she had any idea how his heart was cracking wide open in his chest.

"Usually I'm cautious. But with you… " He pulled on her hands. "Oh, hell, Audie. Not with you. Come here to me."

He gathered her up in his arms and she felt him cradle her, protect her, give her a place in the world to stand for a moment, a place where she seemed to fit just fine.

Audie tucked her head into his shoulder and heard the lake stop rippling and the breeze stop blowing and her own heart stop beating. There was only Quinn, and he was a heady mixture of scents-water and wind, beer and sunscreen, and Quinn himself-and his body was warm and steady and sure against hers. She let the feel of Stacey Quinn sink into her bones.

"Thank you," she whispered. "It's been a long time since someone just… hugged me."