Mandy paused.

  “I don’t want my broken leg to change your plans. I’ve told Jo that she can’t let my accident keep her here, but I’m not sure I got through.”

  “Zane said you’d feel that way.”

  “That boy knows me well. I have no idea if Jo should move in with you or not, but my situation can’t be part of the equation. I want you to understand how I feel so if she uses me as an excuse…whoops, didn’t meant to say it like that. It’s the meds talking.”

  “Do you think she’s looking for an excuse not to go?”

  “No. I mean, probably not. Damn, I’m messing this up.” She shook her head. “I never wanted to be part of this decision and I definitely don’t want my infirmity to be part of it.” She gazed at Mandy. “If you can relay that to her, I’d appreciate it.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  Soon after that Zane escorted Deidre, Christine and Judy up to the aviary and Mandy went home with her mom. She didn’t bring up the subject of the move to New York while on the drive. When her mom mentioned that she was exhausted and looking forward to a shower, Mandy almost postponed the discussion.

  Except they needed to have it out. Either her mom was coming to New York or she wasn’t. Mandy had to know.

  But walking into the house where she’d shared intense lovemaking with Zane was distracting. The memories were scattered over the house like confetti. They’d made love in front of the fireplace and on the deck. They’d kissed passionately in the hallway and snuggled in the kitchen.

  Her mom tossed her purse on the sofa. “You two left the place in pretty good condition.”

  “We, um…we tried to.”

  “Something’s on your mind, sweetie. I can see it in your expression.”

  “Okay, yeah, you’re right. Although we’ve talked about New York a lot, you’ve never actually said whether you’d be willing to move there. I figured Aunt Kendra’s accident would affect your decision, but she doesn’t want it to.”

  “I know. She told me.”

  “Mom, if you really want to stay until Aunt Kendra’s better, that’s fine.” Mandy became aware that she was shaking and tried to hold herself still. “But if you don’t want to go at all, just say so.”

  “Oh, Mandy.” Her mother wrapped her in her arms and rocked her back and forth. “I’ll move to New York. I was waiting until we’d both showered and had a moment to catch our breath.”

  “Really? You’ll go?”

  “Of course I’ll go. I need a couple of weeks to tidy things up and get Zane’s loan approved so he can buy this place.”

  “He still wants to?”

  “Kendra wants him to, and we’ll both work to make sure it happens. The Whine and Cheese Club will adopt his program as their designated charity. We’ve always thought we needed one.”

  Mandy stepped back and tried to sort through her mom’s comments. “But you won’t be here. How can you be part of the Whine and Cheese Club?”

  “I talked it over with Deidre last night. I’ll be a long-distance member.”

  “You decided last night that you’d go?”

  “Not for sure.”

  “When did you?”

  “Today, when you mentioned ice skating.” Her mom’s gaze was gentle. “You’re right. We need to spend more time together doing stuff like that. Life’s short.”

  Mandy swallowed the lump in her throat. “I loved that just the two of us used to go. Dad didn’t like it.”

  “Your father didn’t like a lot of things.”

  “Mom, I have to tell you something awful.”

  “Okay.”

  “After the divorce, when I realized he’d abandoned me for his new family, I…wished he’d died young, like Aunt Kendra’s husband.”

  “That’s not so awful, sweetie. I wished the same thing.”

  Mandy grabbed her in a fierce hug. “Thank you for telling me. And for going to New York.” She let her go and smiled. “I promise it’ll be awesome.”

  “I know it will. After all, you’ll be there.”

  “We’ll both be there.” Energy flowed through her, washing away any misgivings. “I can’t wait!”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zane paced the floor of his cabin. All evening he’d resisted the urge to text Mandy and make sure she was coming. She’d promised. When they were kids, a promise had been a sacred thing, but she might have made this one in the heat of the moment only to forget it later.

  No, she wouldn’t forget. Not after last night. They’d bonded, damn it. She wouldn’t forget the promise she’d made this morning. She’d be here.

  He’d built a fire and kept it going so the cabin would be warm and cozy when she arrived. At least ten times he’d opened the refrigerator to get a beer and had changed his mind. This wasn’t anything like the first time she’d knocked on his door when he hadn’t been expecting her.

  That had been better, in a way. He’d had a relaxing evening and then bam! She’d shown up and turned his world upside down. But now he had time to anticipate and worry about how things would go. He’d also had time to beat up on himself for worrying because in the end she’d leave, which meant nothing that happened tonight mattered. He should be more casual about it.

  But then she tapped on his cabin door. To hell with being casual. She’d see right through him, anyway. Hurrying to the door, he wrenched it open.

  “Mom’s moving to New York!” Her voice vibrated with excitement.

  He got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Great!” She seemed happy but there was a nervousness about her, too, as if she hadn’t quite processed the news. He drew her into the cabin. “When?”

  “Soon. She wants to make sure your loan goes through.” She quickly unwound the scarf from around her neck and tossed it on his easy chair.

  “Oh.” That put him in a bit of a bind. He’d thought about postponing that plan until the end of the summer. He’d been positive Aunt Jo would stay until his mom was mostly recovered, and by then he’d have time to get the headquarters up and running.

  “Don’t look so worried. It’ll work out.” She pulled off her knit hat and unbuttoned her coat, her movements jerky.

  “Easy for you to say.” He took her hat and helped her out of her coat before laying them over the back of his chair.

  “It will work out. You’ll have backup.” She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans and rocked on the balls of her feet as if needing to work off excess energy.

  “What sort of backup?”

  “Mom and Aunt Kendra want you to go through with it. I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you so don’t say anything, but the Whine and Cheese Club is adopting you as their official charity. Isn’t that great?”

  “That’s terrific, but –”

  “I haven’t spent much time around those women, but they strike me as people who get things done.” She took a quick breath. “If you need funds for a capital improvement project, I think you’ll have them.”

  “So they’ll be like the Raptors Rise Auxiliary?” The mix of good and bad news unsettled him. Aunt Jo was leaving but he had a support team coming on board.

  “Something like that.” She continued in a rush of words. “My mom said Deidre’s full of creative ideas and your mom’s an excellent motivator. Christine and Judy have fundraising experience from years of PTA and Girl Scouts. You’ll be in good hands.”

  “I’m sure that’s true. I just never thought of them as a resource. I should have.”

  “Mom’s going to consult long-distance. She’ll crunch the numbers.”

  “Makes sense.” He used to sit at Aunt Jo’s dining table while she helped him with math homework. He still couldn’t picture her living in New York. It made no sense to him. But she would be soon. If she’d promised Mandy, that sealed the deal.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  He glanced up and realized he’d been staring at the floor. “Yeah, sure.”

  “I dreaded telling you.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know you’ll miss her like crazy.”

  Reaching for her, he spanned her waist with both hands and gazed into her eyes. “An old cowboy once told me you could cure a headache by smashing your thumb with a hammer.”

  “I don’t get it. I mean, I get it, but I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

  “I’ll definitely miss your mom. She’s been a big part of my life and I can’t imagine not seeing her all the time. But something special’s going on with you and me and I’ll…” He paused to clear his throat. “I’ll miss you more, Buttercup.”

  She didn’t say anything for several seconds but she looked about ready to cry.

  “Hey, that doesn’t mean I’m sorry about any of it.”

  “Are you sure?” Her voice trembled. “Because maybe it would have been better if we’d never –”

  “Easier.” He drew her close. “But not better. I’ll never regret making love to you, no matter how much it hurts when I have to let you go.” He leaned down to kiss her, but the misery in her eyes made him hesitate. “But that’s just me talking. You promised to show up tonight. You didn’t promise we’d make love. If you’d rather not, then –”

  “I’d rather.” She cupped the back of his head and drew him into a deep kiss.

  With a low moan of appreciation, he savored her lush mouth. The erotic dance of her tongue, lazy and sensuous against his, nearly made him come. He clamped down on that urge. Mandy was a feast for the senses and he intended to draw out the intense pleasure of loving her.

  Slowly he peeled off her clothes, pausing to nibble and kiss whenever he uncovered a new expanse of satin skin. But inevitably he reached the challenge of her boots. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to the bed and settled her on the edge of it so he could drop to his knees and pull them off.

  “I love it when you do that.”

  Her husky comment fired his blood. “Do what?”

  “Pick me up like I’m a feather.”

  “You’re more like whipped cream.” He set the boots aside and eliminated her jeans and panties in one smooth motion. “Light and sweet on the tongue.” Still on his knees, he grasped her hips, scooted her closer to the edge of the mattress and moved between her thighs. Then he lifted his gaze to hers. “Do you love it when I do this?”

  She trembled. “Lord help me, I do. But you’re spoiling me.”

  “Good.” And he settled in.

  * * *

  With a soft moan of surrender, Mandy gave herself to the incredible pleasure of being loved by Zane. He was spoiling her, all right, spoiling her for any other man. He knew exactly how to…yes, like that…like that. Clutching his head, she cried out as a climax rolled through her with waves of sensation that left her limp and gasping.

  She offered no resistance when he gently drew back the covers and guided her beneath the cool sheets. Dazed, she lay very still and watched him undress. Firelight danced over his muscular torso as he sat in his chair to take off his boots.

  The potent image would stay with her forever – Zane, shirtless in his worn easy chair, pulling off his boots so he could make love to her. She didn’t know why she found that so touching. It just was.

  Then he stripped off his jeans and briefs. That arousing sight affected her in a totally different way. The proud jut of his cock sent the beat of jungle drums through her entire body, but the rhythm was most insistent in the moist recesses that would soon receive all that bounty.

  He made quick work of rolling on the condom and he was there, the mattress dipping under his weight as he slipped under the covers and gathered her close. She felt dainty and delicate nestled against his solid bulk, but when he began stroking her with his big hands, her earthy Amazon emerged.

  She pressed her palm against his broad chest. “Lie back.”

  His mouth brushed hers. “Feeling the urge to be in charge?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sounds like fun.” He stretched out beside her and turned his head in her direction. “Your move.”

  “Hold still.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Straddling him, she flattened her palms on his chest and gazed into his eyes as she slowly lowered her hips, taking his sheathed cock deep.

  His blue eyes darkened to navy and his chest heaved as he sucked in air. “Sorry.” His voice rasped in the silence. “But you get to me.”

  “You get to me, too.” Her heart hammered in reaction to the intense connection they’d created, that she’d created. He’d done nothing to initiate their joining and that made it more significant to her. She’d chosen to be linked with him in this intimate way.

  He swallowed. “I could come just by looking into your eyes.”

  “Same here.” She pressed her hands against his chest. “I can feel your heart pounding.”

  “Is yours?”

  “Put your hand there and find out.”

  He placed it gently over her heart. “Going pretty fast.”

  Taking a quick breath, she began to move. Not a lot, but she didn’t need much. She figured he didn’t, either. Holding his gaze, she kept up a gentle rhythm.

  His fingers tightened over her breast. “Your heart’s going faster.”

  “Yours, too.”

  “I can feel you squeezing…my cock.”

  “Because I’m almost there.”

  He gulped for air. “Me…too. I can’t wait.”

  “Now.” She shoved her hips down at the same moment he yelled and thrust up. Her vision blurred as a powerful orgasm rocketed through her. She could no longer see him clearly but he was there in every cell of her body as she shuddered and cried out his name.

  When she could focus again, she discovered he looked as shell-shocked as she felt. She took a shaky breath. “I don’t know what that was, but I’ve never come like that.”

  “I thought I was dying.” He reached up and stroked her cheek. “But what a way to go.”

  “No kidding.” When she braced herself on her outstretched arms, they began to shake from weariness. “I’m…I’m wiped out.”

  “I hate admitting it, but so am I.” He hesitated. “Do you want me to take you home?”

  “Not really. I might not be much fun if I stay, though.”

  “You’ll be all the fun I need, Buttercup, just by being here. Let me get rid of the condom and we’ll snuggle and sleep. I’ll set my phone so we’ll wake up in time for me to drive you back.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  After he left the bed she missed his warmth. But moments later she was comforted as she listened to him moving around the cabin shutting everything down for the night. She was safe, cared for.

  He banked the fire and switched off all the lights except the one on the table beside the bed. Then he brought his phone over and sat on the side of the bed. Setting the alarm, he laid the phone down, turned off the lamp and climbed in beside her.

  “Zane, it’s really dark in here.”

  “Not completely dark.” He drew her into his arms. “There’s a nightlight in the bathroom.”

  “You don’t have any security lights outside, do you?”

  “No. I figure it’s better for the birds if I don’t have lights shining all night.”

  “I couldn’t make my apartment in New York this dark unless I got blackout curtains for every window.”

  He stroked her back. “If it bothers you, I’ll leave a light on.”

  “I kind of like the dark.” Despite his gentle caresses, she was beginning to doze off. “It’s like we’re the only two people in the world.”

  “And you’d want that?”

  “Mm.” She nestled closer. “For a little while.”

  “I just remembered something.”

  She struggled to stay awake. “What?”

  “Kyle came over. I can release the golden anytime. I thought I’d do it tomorrow.”

  “’kay.”

  “Wanna be there?”

  “Sure.”

  “About ten in the morning?”

  “Sure.” She drifted in and out of sleep.

  “I’ll saddle Eeyore for you.”

  “Great.” Relaxing completely, she fell asleep in his arms.

  She woke with a sense of loss. The cabin was still dark and Zane’s side of the bed was warm but he wasn’t in it. A soft, flickering light came from the fireplace. She sat up, confused. “Zane?”

  “I’m here.”

  She saw him, then. He sat in the easy chair wearing his jeans and a t-shirt. He must have stoked up the fire because it was burning, although not very energetically.

  “Is it time to get up?”

  “Not quite.”

  She slipped out of bed and pulled the quilt off so she could wrap up in it. Then she climbed into his lap. She didn’t have to ask what was wrong. Saying he didn’t regret anything was all well and good until he came up against the reality of the situation.

  He put his arms around her and let out a deep sigh. “I’d hoped we could spend at least one more night together and maybe two, depending on when your plane left, but…”

  Her heart ached. “It would hurt too much.”

  “I’ve never felt a connection like this before. I’ve been sitting here wrestling with the fact that your life is in New York and that your mom is moving there to be with you. I think I’ve accepted it and then I look at you sleeping in my bed, and everything in me rebels.”

  “Then I need to stay out of your bed.”

  “But that’s just it. I don’t want you to.” He sounded desperate. “Soon you’ll be gone and this is my last chance to hold you and kiss you. The world makes sense when I’m deep inside you, and I don’t want to give that up until I have no choice.”

  “You may not want to, but it’s for the best.” She started to slide off his lap. “I’ll just get dressed and we can –”

  “Wait.” His grip tightened. “Don’t get dressed yet. Once more. Then we’ll call it quits.”

  “That’s not a good idea.” But her resolve wasn’t strong to begin with.

  “You’re right. It’s a terrible idea. Let’s do it anyway.” He pushed out of the chair, taking her with him.

  “You’ll only make things worse.”