“You’re excited about this idea, aren’t you?”

  “I am.”

  “You’re hoping to get a job with Badger Air, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I can see you having fun working with those teenagers. If Ryker and Badger go for the concept, maybe you could be the liaison for the photography project.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “So would I.” No mistaking the undercurrent running through her words. “Where are we going, by the way?”

  “Oh, just out in the country, away from the lights of town so we can see some stars.” Far from Aaron Donahue Land and the box of condoms in his bedside table drawer.

  Maybe he was splitting hairs. If he was, so be it. Making out in the boonies carried a lot less weight than renting furniture and inviting her into his bed. That was his story and he was sticking to it.

  “Raven, are we going out parking?” She sounded amused.

  “I guess you could call it that. Do you think it’s a lame idea?”

  “I think it’s sweet and romantic.” She reached over and squeezed his thigh. “Like you.” She left her hand where it was.

  The warmth from her hand spread over his thigh and traveled inevitably to his family jewels. From the frying pan into the fire….

  Chapter Ten

  What a fascinating man, this Raven. When he’d come to the door freshly shaven with his shirt hanging open, Caitlin had almost swallowed her tongue. Muscular pecs decorated with a sprinkling of jet-black chest hair? Yes, please.

  She’d longed to get her hands on all that masculine yumminess ASAP. The unlit fire had been a clear signal that he was ready to light hers.

  Pheromones had swirled. She’d stroked his jaw and he’d sucked in a breath. They’d seemed to be on the same page, ready for that walk down the hall in search of Nirvana.

  Then he’d suggested this drive, clearly plucking the idea out of thin air. Whatever the plan had been, he wasn’t following it anymore. Ravens were inventive. He’d told her so the first night and demonstrated it the second night with his unexpected invitation to dance.

  On night three, instead of taking her to bed, he was behind the wheel of his truck, spiriting her away to a night of stargazing and hot kisses. She couldn’t wait to find out what happened on night four.

  Sitting in the passenger seat gave her a new perspective, though. In the easy chairs, she’d studied his profile from the left. She had the right-side view tonight.

  The light from the dash revealed a small mole on his right cheekbone, not far from his hairline. A tiny dot of dried blood marked the spot where he’d nicked himself. No doubt he’d rushed to shave so he could kiss her with those sculpted lips.

  While messing with the photos of him, she’d enlarged the image, traced the outline of his mouth and relived his wild, passionate kisses. Surely he wouldn’t insist that she get rid of the pictures.

  “Mighty quiet over there.”

  “I was thinking about the shots I took of you yesterday. You were a reluctant subject.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Have you always been camera-shy or is that a more recent thing?”

  “More recent.”

  “Well, thank you for indulging me, then. I’m hoping I can talk you into letting me keep those shots. I wouldn’t do anything with them without your permission.”

  “I know you wouldn’t. You can hang onto them. It’s okay.”

  “Yay! Thank you. I think you’ll like what I’ve done with one of the shots. It suits you.”

  His cheek creased in a smile. “Now I’m curious.”

  “Good. That’s my goal.” She gazed at his profile. That darned cap did an excellent job of throwing the top third of his face in dark shadow. “What color are your eyes?”

  “Brown.”

  “Light brown or dark brown?”

  “Light, I guess. My mom says they’re almost golden.”

  “I understand that you need to protect them, but I look forward to a time you’re healed enough that you don’t have to wear either the cap or the shades. It’ll be a big day when I can look in your eyes.”

  His chest heaved. “Yes, it will.” He put on the left turn signal and slowed the truck. Ever since leaving the outskirts of town, traffic had been almost nonexistent.

  “You seem to know where you’re going.”

  “I do.” He swung the truck onto the dirt road and the rough surface crunched under the tires. “You might have missed the sign a ways back.”

  “Guess so.” She’d been too busy looking at him.

  “About a half-mile down this road is a trailhead. There’s a pretty little meadow at the base of the trail.”

  “How did you know about it?”

  “Aaron’s a hiker.” He slowed the truck to a crawl. “He found it.”

  “I didn’t know he liked to hike.”

  “Yeah, he gets teased about that a lot.”

  “I’m sure. Cowboys prefer to ride.”

  “But he does both, so some of the guys give him a hard time about not being a true cowboy.”

  “To heck with them. If he likes both, he should do both.”

  “That’s what I say. When—” He stepped on the brakes. “Fox just ran across. Did you see it?”

  “I did! A night hike would be fun, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yeah. Wearing my boots tonight, though.”

  “Me, too. I didn’t mean now. Do you hike?”

  “I do.”

  “On cloudy days, probably.”

  “Cloudy days are nice. And the exercise is great for my leg.”

  “Do you ride, too?”

  “I love to ride.”

  “When you’re ready to reveal that you’re here, you need to go out to Wild Creek Ranch and ride there. Aaron’s probably already told you that, but I’ll add my vote. Kendra has the best horses and the prettiest trails in this area.”

  “Sounds great.”

  “I’d go with you, if you want company.”

  “Absolutely.” He pulled into a clearing and drove around it so the nose of the truck faced the road. “We’re here.” He shut off the engine and turned off the headlights.

  “Now that’s what I call dark.”

  “The moon’s not up over the mountains, yet. Do you have your phone?”

  “In my pocket. How about you?”

  “Yep. We’d better use the flashlight so we don’t trip. That’s assuming you want to get out.”

  “Of course I do. How else will we see the stars?”

  He chuckled. “Right.” The click of his seat belt indicated he’d soon be on the move.

  She’d already unbuckled. “Meet you by the tailgate.”

  “I’ll be right there. I want to see if I can find something.”

  “Okay.” She opened her door, turned on her flashlight app and hopped down.

  Dry grass and fallen leaves crackled under her boots as she walked around to the back of the truck. She hadn’t been parking with a guy for years and never with someone as interesting as Raven.

  What was his last name? He must have one, but Badger hadn’t mentioned it and neither had Raven when they’d met. Maybe it was dull and boring or long and unpronounceable. That would suck the cool right out of being called Raven. Better not to ask.

  But what was he doing? Rummaging around for some reason. “I’m getting lonely back here,” she called out.

  “Sorry.” He closed the driver’s door. “Thought I had a blanket behind the seat. I don’t. Should’ve planned better.”

  She laughed. “It was perfectly obvious you didn’t plan this at all.”

  “That’s a fact.” He came toward her, his flashlight pointed at the ground. “Acted totally on impulse.”

  “It was a good impulse.” Now that he was here with his flashlight, she switched hers off and tucked the phone in her pocket again.

  “A blanket would have been nice, though. We’re not gonna lie on the cold, hard ground.”

  “You could put down the tailgate. We could sit on that and…look at the stars.”

  “Is it possible you’ve done this a time or two?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Then a tailgate party it is. Hold this for me, please.” He handed her his phone.

  She kept the light pointed toward the ground as he lowered the tailgate with a thump. She glanced at it. Kind of high off the ground. She might have to step on the back bumper to—

  She squeaked as he grabbed her around the waist and swung her up. Didn’t groan or gasp while executing that move, either. “Thanks!”

  “You bet.” He pulled himself up beside her. “I can take the phone back.”

  She handed it to him, making sure she directed the light away from his eyes. “You’ve been keeping in shape.”

  “I’d get frustrated about my leg not healing as fast as I wanted, so I’d work on my upper body.”

  “You do good work.”

  “Glad you approve.” Turning the light away from him, he propped the phone against the wheel well creating a soft, ambient glow. “For atmosphere.”

  “Lovely.”

  “Well, here we are.”

  “Here we are.” She glanced up. “And look at all those stars.”

  “Can I tell you a secret?”

  “Sure. I love secrets.”

  “I don’t give a damn about the stars right now.”

  She turned to him. Thanks to the glow from his phone, he’d become a vague outline, differentiated from the dark cluster of pine trees surrounding the clearing. “Are you saying that you dangled the prospect of stargazing so that you could get me alone and have your way with me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?”

  “I was hoping you’d climb into my lap and put some moves on me.” Laughter rippled through his words.

  “I can barely see you. I could miss your lap entirely and end up on the ground.”

  “Guess I’ll have to help the process along, then. Maneuver you over here.”

  “Okay. Any stacks of books lying around?”

  “Nope. Wait. Let’s take off our jackets so our phones are safe.”

  “If I take off my jacket, I’ll need someone to keep me warm.”

  “All part of the plan.”

  “I’m beginning to think you’ve done this a time or two, yourself.” She shrugged out of her jacket, folded it and laid it nearby.

  “Could be. First I need to get a good grip.” He fumbled a bit before grasping her by the waist. “Gotcha.”

  “That was fun.” Heat radiated out from the point of contact. She quivered in anticipation.

  “Not my smoothest move, but things will improve from here on. When I pick you up, hold onto my shoulders and slide your legs around my hips.”

  She gripped his broad shoulders as he lifted her neatly onto his lap. “Your upper body strength is truly impressive.”

  “If I’d known I was in training for this, I would have worked twice as hard.”

  “Speaking of hard, I just came in contact with—”

  “I’m aware of that.” Bracketing her hips, he adjusted her position so she rested on his thighs instead of being tucked right up against his package. “Ah, that’s better.”

  “Years ago I would never have mentioned it.”

  “Years ago I wouldn’t have, either.”

  “Now I’m wondering, since you hustled me out of the house so fast, if you brought—”

  “I didn’t. Kinda on purpose.”

  “Trying to slow things down a bit?”

  “I am.” Sliding his hands up her back, he gently massaged her shoulders. “Do you mind?”

  “I don’t mind, but I’m surprised. Last night we almost ended up in your bedroom.”

  “Because my brain had totally checked out. I wasn’t sure how tonight would go, but I was hoping I’d figure out a way to postpone that step a little longer.”

  She cupped his bristle-free face in both hands and smoothed her thumbs over his cheekbones. “Because it’ll mean more if we do?”

  “Exactly.”

  “You’re an unusual guy, Raven.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “Please do. I’m attracted to that quality. I like the idea that we’re holding off. That said, I sure hope we’ll have full-throttle, mind-blowing sex eventually.”

  “If I have anything to say about it, we will.”

  “You’ll have plenty to say about it.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” Cradling her head in one hand, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. “But when that time comes, I hope you’ll remember this.” He dipped his head and laid claim to her mouth.

  Chapter Eleven

  With a groan of pleasure, Aaron gave himself up to the joy of kissing Caitlin. Even if this crazy episode ended in disaster, he’d have a night under the stars when she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

  She kissed him back with such energetic gusto that he lost his balance. Laughing, he broke their fall as best he could. Thank God the truck bed had a rubberized surface. Now they were horizontal, which was more convenient, anyway. “You okay?” He drew her close.

  “I will be once you start kissing me again.”

  “Same here.” In seconds, they were plastered together as if they were magnetized. He fumbled with her clothes and she reached for his shirt buttons. He got hers unfastened first.

  “No fair.” She grabbed handfuls of his partially open shirt. “Take this off before I rip it off.”

  He sat up, pulled it over his head and tossed it aside. By the time he turned back and reached to unfasten her bra, he touched only warm, silky Caitlin. No bra, no shirt.

  “Mm, nice.” He explored slowly, reverently, cupping and releasing the weight of each plump breast. “Wish I could see.”

  “Me, too. But I can finally touch.” She splayed both hands over his chest. “Feels even better.”

  “Better than what?”

  “Better than I imagined when you came out with your shirt hanging open. Remember that?”

  “Well, yeah, but—”

  “I almost attacked you.” She pressed her fingers into his pecs. “When a guy with a chest like yours leaves his shirt open…let’s just say it activates a hormonal response.”

  His breathing roughened. “I didn’t have time to button it.”

  “Likely story. You were trying to get me hot.”

  “I wasn’t, but if that’s what works…” Leaning down, he feathered a kiss over her lips.

  “Like a charm.” She slid her arms around his neck. “Bring that hot body down here, big guy. I’m feeling a chill.”

  “Can’t have that.” Balanced on his forearms, he eased down until he lightly touched her soft breasts. Swaying from side to side, he created a sensual friction. “Warmer, now?”

  Her breath caught. “Much warmer.”

  “Let’s try this.” Shifting his position, he cradled one breast in his palm and circled her taut nipple with his tongue. Then he raked the tight bud with his teeth.

  She gasped and arched her back, silently begging for more…and more she would have. Kneading gently with his fingers, he drew her sensitive nipple into his mouth, rolling it over his tongue, sucking rhythmically, building the tension.

  Her hips moved restlessly beneath him. Slowly but surely, she was coming undone. With him. Fierce joy swelled in his chest.

  His groin throbbed, but he ignored it as he kissed a path to her other breast. Her labored breathing turning to panting desperation. “Raven…please…”

  While continuing to caress her with his lips and tongue, he unfastened her jeans. She made a low, humming sound deep in her throat. He pulled the zipper down and slipped his hand under the elastic of her panties. She dragged in a breath.

  His cock strained against the restriction of unforgiving denim. But he’d made his choice when he’d left the house. Not tonight. Ah, but she was ready. How sweet it would be to sink deep into…. Never mind.

  He reached lower and slid his fingers through her damp curls. She was drenched. Pushing two fingers deep, he pressed his thumb against her trigger point.

  Didn’t take long. A few strokes and she came, gasping and crying out his name. Raven.

  His jaw clenched. Aaron. He gulped in air. It was okay. Fine. If fortune smiled on him, if he was given the privilege of taking her to bed…Aaron Donahue would be the man loving her.

  Would that ever happen? No telling. For now he’d hold her until her trembling stopped and she relaxed in his arms. Her skin was damp, so he’d cover her with his body so she wouldn’t get chilled. He had enough heat coursing through his veins to keep her warm all night long.

  Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a long, satisfied sigh. “That was so wonderful.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “One-sided, though.”

  “Nope. I enjoyed every minute of making you happy.”

  She combed his hair back from his forehead. “Then how about letting me enjoy making you happy?”

  “That’s a tempting offer, but we’re not going there.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m not sure I can answer that in a way that makes sense.”

  “Please try.” She cupped his cheek. “It seems unfair that I’m lying here blissed out while you have a case of blue balls.”

  He laughed. “Boldly stated.”

  “I said that just to make you laugh. But since the subject is on the table, I always wondered. Do they literally turn blue?”

  “Not that I could tell. I’ll be fine.”

  “I could make you finer.”

  “I’m sure you could, but…”

  “Are you shy about having a woman do that?”

  “Hell, no.”

  She wiggled against him. “Then let me.”

  “No, thank you.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  He cleared his throat. “I wrote that letter asking you to spend some time with me. The idea was that we’d have some nice conversations, get to know each other.”

  “Which we did.”

  “We did, and we sailed way beyond that.”

  “I’m thrilled about that! These evenings with you have been so special.”