first ran her hands over bare skin. He'd thought he'd died and gone to heaven when her fingertips skated across his chest. She smoothed her hands along his sides, then stopped when her fingers brushed the leather hilt at the small of his back.

He swore at the distraction, wishing he'd had the foresight to disarm himself

first. "A knife," he said. "I found it in the fishing shed and... borrowed it.""I don't mind. It must be hard to be on protection duty with nothing to protect with."

He smiled. "Oh, you'd be amazed at what can be used as a weapon."

"I can only imagine." She raised a finger to his lips. "And I'd just as soon leave it at the imagination level, if you don't mind." She ran her hands along his sides, then looked him in the eyes as she boldly let them run over his

backside and around his thighs. "Any other... armaments I should know about?"He was torn between amazement and amus.e.m.e.nt. The sheer joy of her had him swinging her up into his arms. She spluttered and that just made it all the more enjoyable. "It's time to find that bower."

"What are you talking about?"But he merely held her tighter when she struggled, humming a tune as he looked for the right place. There was no perfect place-something he swore he'd correct next time-but he wasn't about to take her up against a fence.

"I can walk, you know."

"So can I. Now hush, I'm thinking."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, we all know how taxing that is for you."

That was another odd thing. The more biting and sarcastic she became, the

more he wanted her. Then the answer came to him. It wasn't perfect, but it was right. "Do you have blankets somewhere around here?" X "What for?"

"Just answer the question."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Put me down and I will."

"Can't you just let me be in charge of anything for more than five minutes?"

"I'm not good at delegating," she said. Then she winked at him when he

reluctantly set her on her feet. "But I promise to let you be in charge later."

He actually choked. "Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it." He tugged her against him and surprised her with another lingering kiss.

"What was that for?"

"You're more easily managed when you're breathless," he said.

She shot him an arch look, but couldn't maintain it. "You're probably right,"

she said, grinning unabashedly. "Wanna test that theory again?"

"As soon as you find those blankets."

"You drive a hard bargain."

"You don't know the half of it," he said under his breath.

She pulled free and turned toward her truck. He caught her hand. "Wait up."

"I'm just going to grab some blankets from my truck. I tossed some in the back

seat in case I needed them at the fair, but I never used them."

"You're not going anywhere without me."

She stopped and looked at him, uncertainty in her eyes. "Do you really think

there will be trouble tonight?"

He cursed himself. "Only if you don't hurry," he said with a grin, hoping to

distract her. When it didn't work, he moved in close to her. "We'll be fine tonight, Tali. I won't leave your side."

"Good." Her eyes were shining in antic.i.p.ation. She seemed to trust him to

make it all okay. It would have terrified him if it hadn't made him feel so d.a.m.n good.

All this trust was bound to lead to trouble. But the air was still warm, the sky

was full of stars, and Talia was his for the night.

He flipped the blankets over his arm, took her hand in his, and headed for the path circling the pond. He felt her stiffen slightly and paused. "Is it okay?"

"Yes," she said softly. "It's very okay."

And he discovered then that the rewards for pleasing her were even better than

he'd imagined. He vowed to find a way to do it again. As often as he could manage.

Talia's body was humming in antic.i.p.ation, but her heart hitched when he took

her hand in his. There was a different kind of intimacy in that palm-to-palm contact, a kind of implied trust. They were both in this together, equally, neither one leading the other. Her fingers tightened instinctively and he squeezed her hand in response.

Something inside her settled, then. She looked up to find him watching her.

His smile was so natural and heartfelt, it warmed her heart, even as it seemed to warm his. They rounded the bend in the path and the large flat rock loomed ahead, bathed so perfectly in the moonlight it was as if the celestial G.o.ds had bestowed a gift on them.

She laughed at that. G.o.d, her mind was reeling.

"What's so funny?" He let go of her hand so she could help him spread the

blanket. She missed the contact immediately and wondered if he'd hold her hand while making love to her.

"Nothing. Just silly notions." Very silly. This was about having s.e.x, not

getting all mushy. Best she remembered that, despite how the moonlight twinkled in his dark eyes, and how his voice slid over her skin like a warm night breeze, making her want... too much.

He pulled her up onto the rock and into his arms. "What sort of silly notions?"

She looked up into his eyes, eyes that were shining down into hers with surprising gentleness and fierce need. It was an electrifying combination and

yet somehow rea.s.suring. She felt fierce and gentle herself. And he'd laugh himself right off the rock if she started spouting stuff like that.

"Just that the moon seems so cooperative tonight, spotlighting our rock this

way."

"Our rock." He leaned down and kissed her. Not satisfied with claiming only

her mouth, he moved to her chin and along her jaw and down her neck until her knees simply refused to stay locked.Our rock. She liked the way he'd said it, with a touch of wonder, but no mocking amus.e.m.e.nt. She suddenly didn't feel quite so silly after all.

He took her weight against him and sank down until he was sitting with her sprawled across his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her

tightly into the cradle of his hips and they both groaned at the delicious contact.

She immediately reached for his open shirt, his waistband, anything that

would get them out of the tangle of clothes and closer to fulfilling the need

that was almost painful now.

His hands stopped hers. When she looked confused, he buried his face in her hair, then pulled back, dimple flashing in the moonlight. "I had a rather silly notion myself, I guess. Trying to be a romantic rather than the rutting stag you think me to be."

"I don't need romance, Devin." Which was such a lie. But she'd promised no emotional attachments and, no matter what she might feel afterward, it was a promise she had to keep.

He opened his mouth to respond, then apparently decided better of it.

"What? Tell me."

He stared at her for the longest time, his expression far too serious. "Don't you

know what I'm feeling?"