Ten minutes ago, I would’ve said I didn’t know, because I hadn’t. Not since him. With his mouth on me though, there was no doubt. “Uh-huh, but I don’t want to.”

  He caught the tip of my nipple between his tongue and teeth, and a shock of sensation zinged straight to my core, making me gasp. “No?” he teased.

  “I want—”

  His fingers toyed with my other nipple, intensifying the ache between my legs until I squirmed.

  Jesus.

  “Want you…inside of me. Deep,” I finally got out.

  “I love your tits, Ava,” he said, then laved my nipple slowly, thoroughly. “They’re even more perfect than before.”

  “I need to be naked.”

  “I agree.”

  He laid me back on the mattress, my legs hanging over the side, and pulled my shorts and underwear down my legs. I braced my feet on the edge of the bed, bringing my knees up, opening myself to him. Cash feasted his eyes on my most private parts, and the heat in his eyes made the ache inside of me incessant, begging for him to assuage it.

  I took his hand and pulled him with me as I scooted farther back on the bed. He followed me partway, then dropped over my legs and kissed the inside of my knee. He trailed his tongue upward, along my inner thigh, laving, nibbling, kissing, driving my need for him higher. When he got to the juncture of my leg and my body, he licked it, one side, then the other, teasing me, not quite hitting the point that throbbed for him.

  Trying to divert myself from my impatience, I propped up on my elbows and watched him, the way his head dipped with each movement, and I marveled that we were together again, if only for today. He’d felt like such a vital part of me at one time. He wasn’t the same and yet he was in some ways, and beyond the crazy he was making me, there was a deep satisfaction in that.

  He spent ages kissing and teasing me with his tongue and lips and fingers. With every pass of his tongue over my center, my need heightened. Though I wanted his mouth all over me, making me come apart, what I wanted even more was for him to fill me. It was the only way to make this deep ache go away.

  I pulled at his arm, urging him higher. “Cash.”

  His gaze lifted and met mine, his eyes so full of lust and heat that I couldn’t speak for a few seconds.

  I tugged him closer. “Please…”

  “You don’t like that?”

  “I love it but I want…”

  He moved up my body with a predatory look in his eyes, his erection nudging my center. “This?”

  I answered by dropping my knee, opening more to him.

  As he braced himself over me on his forearms, he closed his eyes for a moment, looking pained. “I don’t have a condom. Do you?”

  I shook my head, slightly dismayed that I hadn’t considered that before this second. “I’m on the pill and clean.”

  He exhaled. “I’m clean too.”

  I ran my hands down his back to that delectable former-baseball-player’s ass and clasped him to me, running one of my feet up the back of his leg. His dick was cradled in my folds, the hardness and friction lighting up all my nerve endings. I rubbed myself against him, silently begging him.

  “I want to take this slow, but if I don’t get inside of you in the next two seconds…”

  “Get inside of me,” I said, then sucked in a breath of anticipation as I felt him at my entrance.

  Cash pushed inside, filled me up, drew a moan from me. He stilled and moaned himself, biting his lip as if he had to fight to get control of himself. The ecstasy of the moment meshed with memories, and a sense of rightness settled over me. This was Cash, the first man I’d ever been with. The best.

  We’d always been compatible in bed, and it seemed that hadn’t changed in nearly two decades, even though we’d both lived so much of life separately. None of that mattered, only this moment when we were as close as two people could be.

  With a low rumble in his throat, he withdrew slowly, making sure I felt every millimeter of him, every millisecond of pleasure. It was a familiar play between us, him trying to draw it out, me urging him to give me more, and he smiled down at me.

  “It’s like no time has passed,” he said.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Being with you again is incredible.”

  “Mmm.” I moved my hips slowly. “Cash?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “You don’t have to sweet-talk me into anything. You got me.”

  He thrust into me emphatically. “I got you.” The corners of his lips curved up in the sexiest hint of a cat-who-ate-the-canary smirk, and then he thrust again, and my eyes fluttered closed and my thoughts dissipated and I just…felt.

  Even after all these years, he still knew where to touch me, when to move faster, how to hold me on the precipice, when to push me over the edge until I cried out his name and clung to him and forgot how to breathe, no longer cared how to breathe.

  I was just starting to come back into myself when he ground into me harder, tensed, then let go. I watched the ecstasy wash over his face, burned it to my memory, loved that I could still do that to him.

  A few seconds later, he opened his eyes slowly, looking dazed but satiated and in as much awe as I was. We’d always been good together. Our sex life had been stupendous and toe-curling. After he’d broken up, though, there’d been so many times if I’d wondered if I’d only imagined how good it had been.

  I had my answer. I hadn’t imagined it.

  We were so damn good together. Physically, of course. Maybe that’s where I’d gotten confused in the past.

  Locking down on that uncomfortable thought, I brought myself back to the present and ran my fingers through his hair as we both tried to catch our breath.

  Cash kissed me slowly, tenderly, as if I were the most precious thing to him— No. As if I were a damn good lay. That’s what I was, all I wanted to be. All I could be.

  Again, I shut out the wayward thoughts that could only cause trouble. “Almost twice as old as we were before, and look at us.”

  “We’re fucking incredible.”

  “And incredible at fucking,” I said, keeping it light.

  He buried his face in my hair, let out a low growl, and said, “Just like I thought it would be.”

  After another kiss, he lowered his weight to the side of me, propped himself up on his elbow, and ran a finger over my lower lip as he gazed down at me.

  “So…you thought about us?” I asked. “About this?” I flicked a hand toward our naked, half-entwined bodies.

  “From the second I heard you were coming back to town. Whether I wanted to or not.”

  I grinned, possibly a little cat-ate-the-canary-ish myself. “And you said you were only concerned about me remembering to eat.”

  “You didn’t ask if I wanted to get you naked.”

  I thought back to that first night he’d visited me. “I couldn’t have handled it then.”

  “Timing is everything.” His cocky grin shouldn’t have turned me inside out, but it did.

  As we lay there quietly, an aroma besides that of Cash and sex eventually broke through to my consciousness. I sniffed a couple of times, trying to place it. I leaned up on an elbow. “Did you set the—”

  “Son of a bitch. The muffins!” He jumped out of bed and hauled his very sexy ass out of the room and down the stairs, naked as the day he was born.

  I’ll be honest; I watched him until he was out of my sight, and I reveled in every last second of it.

  Then I launched out of bed and grabbed my clothes from the floor, wondering if I was about to come face-to-face with Fire Chief Thomas for the second time in an hour.

  Chapter 14

  Ava

  Still naked, I hovered in the doorway of my bedroom, peeking down to the first floor. I didn’t see any smoke. “Cash?”

  “Everything’s okay,” he yelled up at the same time the smoke alarm started screeching. “Got it under control.” There was a pause and I heard commotion. “Just gotta get that thing turned off. It’s not connected to the fire department.”

  “Do you need help?”

  “I’ve got it,” he said after some swearing at himself or the muffins or the alarm, I wasn’t sure which, but it made me grin.

  Now that I knew the house wasn’t burning down, I couldn’t get the smile off my face. My smile was probably audible as I hollered down to him, “I’m taking a quick shower.” Or it would’ve been if the stupid alarm would shut up.

  As I hurried into the bathroom and turned the shower on, the alarm went silent at last. I looked at myself in the mirror as the water heated. The grin of a girl who’d been well loved reflected at me, and I let out a giggle. The sound was so foreign that I laughed again. That man made me stupid giddy.

  My lips were red and slightly swollen. My nipples showed signs of being ravished, the sensitive tips still protruding and the skin of my breasts pink in areas where Cash’s scruff had rubbed.

  Goofy grin still in place, I stepped into the shower and let the hot water cascade over my sensitive body. I poured shampoo into my palm and lathered my hair on autopilot, my thoughts consumed by the irresistible guy in my kitchen.

  He knew me still. Knew my weaknesses and preferences and most secret desires, just like he always had. He’d remembered, whether intentionally or instinctively, how to turn me inside out like no one else ever had. Seemingly without even trying, he made me feel as if he was made for me, made specifically to take me to the stars and back.

  I didn’t have the luxury of standing under the hot spray and daydreaming, but that didn’t stop me from remembering Cash’s touch on my skin as I rubbed body wash over myself. I couldn’t wait to get naked with him again, to take our time with each other, spend hours coming apart in each other’s arms—

  A text message alert sounded from outside the shower, jolting me back to the here and now and sending my heart rate up. I’d forgotten all about the front desk and the fact I could be summoned at any moment.

  “Shit.”

  I rinsed my head and stuck it out from the shower curtain, wondering where my phone had ended up. I saw the corner of it sticking out from my shorts.

  As soon as the soap was rinsed off, I flipped the water off, grabbed my towel, and frantically dried myself. I grabbed a brush and went for my hair, letting my body air-dry a little more before pulling my clothes back on. Throwing my hair up would be fast and make it less obvious I was straight from a post-sex shower as I tried to get my inn-owner face back on.

  When I was dry enough, I dug out my phone and unlocked it, expecting the message to be from an unknown number, which was how the inn guests would show up. It wasn’t though. It was from Willa, my incredible agent.

  Good morning, Ava. I ran into Sheldon Milano at a party in Malibu last night. He brought your name up before I could!

  My poor heart couldn’t catch a break this morning because now it took off galloping for altogether different reasons. Sheldon Milano was her friend from Stream, the one I was meeting with next week.

  He told me he’d talked to Pete Swain, who raved about your work ethic and your ability to think on your feet back when you were an intern under him. Sheldon said he and his partners are looking forward to meeting you Thursday. I’m taking it as a positive sign that he knew what day our meeting is without me reminding him. I have a really good feeling about this!

  “Oh, my god,” I whispered, setting my phone on the counter as I pulled my underwear on. I squealed to myself, then pressed my lips together, reining it in long enough to respond to her.

  I can’t wait to meet him and his team. Thanks for the update. You’re amazing!

  I finished dressing, then twisted my hair up on top of my head. I didn’t have time to put my mascara or eye liner on, but no one here in Dragonfly Lake seemed to care about that, not like they did in LA.

  My whole body buzzing with excitement from Willa’s message and lingering bliss from Cash, I hurried toward the stairs, thinking, Can this day get any better?

  I was halfway down the flight of steps when it hit me that the two things that had me flying high at the moment were not compatible. I paused at the sobering realization.

  I was going to have to give up at least one of them. Soon. And for once in my life, I was not going to sacrifice my career.

  My breath was shaky as I inhaled slowly. I was terrified that succumbing to the temptation that was Cash this morning might be the dumbest thing I’d ever done.

  Cash

  When I got to the first floor of the cottage, it was a little smoky, so I rushed to the oven, turned it off, and opened the window above the kitchen sink. I would’ve swung one or both of the outside doors open, but I was buck-ass naked and didn’t figure Ava needed her guests witnessing that.

  Now that I knew the house wasn’t burning down, I laughed to myself as I fanned the smoky oven with the towel I’d dropped earlier—or rather, Ava had dropped.

  Damn, but that woman could still turn me inside out.

  “Cash?” she called down.

  “Everything’s okay.” As if to make a liar of me, the smoke alarm went off, shrilling through the house. “Got it under control. Just gotta get that thing turned off. It’s not connected to the fire department.” I raised my voice to be heard over the damn alarm.

  “Do you need help?”

  I had half a mind to say yes just so I could watch her march down here naked. “Fucking hell,” I muttered to my ridiculous self. “I’ve got it,” I called out to Ava.

  “I’m taking a quick shower,” she called, and I thought briefly about leaving this mess and joining her.

  Instead, I pulled a chair from the kitchen table and climbed up on it to see if there was a button to shut the alarm up. It looked ancient, definitely not hooked up to the house electrical, and I ended up pulling the cover off and taking the battery out.

  A few minutes later, I was back up on the chair, trying to replace the battery now that the smoke was gone, standing there like a naked statue on a pedestal, when Ava reached the bottom of the stairs and met my gaze, her eyes wide and alarmed.

  “Everything’s fine,” I reassured her. “No fire department en route. No flames.”

  Her gaze lowered to my dick and that was enough to make me semi-hard again. That and seeing her all quickly thrown together, her hair pulled up and still wet, her lips still a little swollen. It made me want to get her all undone again.

  As I climbed down from the chair, she averted her gaze, still not smiling, and smoothed a hand down the side of her shorts, drawing my attention to her slender, gorgeous legs. They weren’t long legs, but they didn’t need to be. I could spend hours nibbling on them, running my tongue over them, showing my appreciation of her body. There were subtle changes from the past, like just a few more womanly curves at her waist, and I loved every one of them. Wanted to spend more time learning them in fine detail.

  Without saying anything, she went toward her shoes and slid her feet into them. I couldn’t help noticing she hadn’t looked at me again. I pulled the towel back around my waist, sensing she was uncomfortable, though I wasn’t sure why. What we’d shared upstairs had been fucking incredible, and I’d swear, just fifteen minutes ago, she’d agreed.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, stepping closer to her, stopping myself from dragging her up against me.

  Her phone sounded an alert, and she lifted it and read a message.

  “Fine,” she said as she read the message on her phone. “That’s from the Patels. They’re ready to check out, so I have to go.” She turned toward the door, then spun back to me, stood on tiptoes, and pressed a quick kiss to my lips, almost like an afterthought.

  My hand went to her waist as she did it, but she hurried off, leaving me grasping at air.

  “I’ll see you later,” she said, then hurried out the door, leaving me standing there, staring after her, wondering what the fuck had just happened.

  It was nothing good, no question about it. I understood we’d picked an inopportune time to get horizontal, but I couldn’t help but be aware of two glaring facts.

  One, she’d been rushed and bothered before she’d received the text from the inn guests.

  And two, she’d used the word fine. I had more than enough experience with women to know to never trust it when a woman says she’s fine.

  Chapter 15

  Ava

  Standing outside of the inn, I shoved my misgivings aside, headed to the door, and blazed inside as if I didn’t have a doubt in the world.

  “Hello,” I sang out to the Patels. “It’s been one heck of a morning.” Not. A. Lie. “Thanks for your patience. Let’s get you checked out and on your way as quickly as possible.”

  “Oh, we’re in no hurry at all,” Janie Patel said as she wrapped herself around her new husband’s arm. “We’re taking the scenic route home. Driving. No schedule at all. We’re going to enjoy the next three days of us before we get back to Bismarck.”

  “You two are so lucky,” I said as I went around the counter and pulled out their paperwork.

  Janie giggled, exchanged a look with her husband, Ari. “We think so.”

  I was a newlywed once. I hated to think of Wes now, but I’d loved him at one time—or at least I’d thought I did. If this was what love looked like, where two people couldn’t stop touching each other, couldn’t stop exchanging private smiles, then I wasn’t so sure I could’ve called it love even back then. These two seemed to have the type of connection everyone searched for.

  Cash’s image popped into my mind, taunting me, trying to make me confuse lust with love, so I got down to business.

  “Other than skipping the early-morning fire alarm, is there anything we could do better here at the Honeysuckle Inn?” I asked them, bracing a little for their response. This was my first time asking that, something I’d seen recommended in one of the hundreds of articles about running an inn I’d read over the past week.