“But you aren’t...are you?”

“No.” Damn it, he should have been. That would have showed both of them that all he needed was a warm, willing body, instead of wanting Sophie with an urgency that was nearly driving him insane. “But that doesn’t mean I was waiting for you.”

The corners of her mouth moved up at the words waiting for you. “Stop trying to deny what happened between us, Jake. You’re not going to convince me that our connection isn’t real.”

She was right—the sparks between them had practically set the vineyard on fire. Convincing her he didn’t want her wasn’t going to work. He’d have to make her run a different way.

He’d kill anyone who harmed even one hair on Sophie’s head. Already, he knew it was going to be a very long time before he forgave himself for that kiss...and for what he was about to do to her now.

Just because pushing her away was a necessary evil, didn’t mean it wasn’t evil, damn it.

He purposely raked his gaze down her body, lingering on her br**sts and hips far longer than he needed to. “You’re too innocent for me, princess. Why don’t you leave before something happens that you’ll regret?”

It was partly that innocence that drew him to her, of course, but she didn’t need to know that. Not when he was on a mission to get her to leave before his control shattered.

But instead of rising to his taunts, she simply smiled at him. “One of the perks of being a librarian is endless access to books.” She licked at her lower lip, slowly, deliberately. “All kinds of books.”

Suddenly, Jake couldn’t get past the image of Sophie poring over the Kama Sutra, memorizing all those variations on lovemaking with her big brain. It was wrong. So damn wrong.

And yet, his body seemed to think it was impossibly right.

“Reading about sex doesn’t mean a damn thing, princess.” He forced the sneer, hating himself more with every word out of his mouth. “It’s what you’ve done,” he dropped his gaze to her incredible br**sts again, “and what you’re willing to do that counts.”

“I’ll do anything.”

Oh, hell no. That wasn’t what she was supposed to say.

Jake had never been backed into a darker corner. Not even with his drunk father had he felt so helpless, so out of control. He needed to pick the reins back up, rather than let the beauty standing before him keep taking him for a ride they shouldn’t be on in the first place.

“Anything, huh?” She nodded, but her face was flushing again, a flush that moved down her neck to the soft swell of her br**sts rising up above the top of her dress.

“I already told you,” she reminded him in a soft, but firm, voice, “you’re not going to scare me away, not matter how hard you try. You can’t scare me because I already know the real you.”

The real him? He’d show her the real him, all right.

“How many times have you been blindfolded? And I’m not talking about Pin the Tail on the Donkey.”

“I know you’re not,” she shot back.

“How many, princess?”

She looked him straight in the eye. “Are you sure you want to know?”

Damn it, he hadn’t seen that coming. Knowing he could barely handle the thought of Sophie in bed with another man, before she could actually give him her answer, he tried again with something she couldn’t possibly have done.

“What about sex in a public place?”

Sweet, nice Sophie Sullivan smiled at him. “Define public.”

Jake sucked in a hard breath, feeling like he’d just been punched—repeatedly—in the gut. Still, he had to try one more time, one last-ditch effort to make Sophie see what a mistake she was making with him.

“Okay,” he said as easily as he could between clenched teeth, “so you’ve played around a little bit. But you and I both know what a guy like me needs isn’t something a girl like you wants to give.”

“Wanna bet?”

The last thing he expected was for her to throw the same words back at him that he’d said before he grabbed her and kissed her. He shouldn’t want to do it again, shouldn’t be a heartbeat away from shoving her up against the front door and ripping off that silky dress so that he could make good on showing her he meant every word he’d just said.

“I’m not a soft, gentle lover like the guys you’ve been with before. You make the mistake of taking one step inside this house,” he warned her in a hard voice, “there’s no going back.”

As if in slow motion, Jake watched as Sophie reached for the doorknob, turned it, and took that fated step into the house. He was paralyzed, couldn’t do anything but stare at her as she moved further into the house, her hips swaying with every step she took. When she reached the living room, while still in full line of sight from the front step, she paused for a moment before turning around to face him.

Her face held hope, desire—and something that looked too much like love—as she reached for the zipper on the side of her dress and began to pull it down.

No.

God, no.

He needed to put a stop to this right now. But instead of barking out an order to stop acting crazy, instead of turning away as if he didn’t care one way or another if she undressed in front of him, he was struck stupid yet again. It was as if she’d cast a spell over him, one he couldn’t break if it meant he missed one single second of her shockingly gorgeous unveiling.

He’d guessed earlier she wasn’t wearing anything under the dress, but he hadn’t ever expected to confirm it in person. In seconds, the dress would fall and he wouldn’t have a prayer of doing the right thing.

“Sophie,” he said, her name a ragged plea from his lips.

A plea to stop...and a plea to let him finally see all of her.

A plea to leave...and a plea for her to promise she’d never, ever give up on him, no matter what happened.

The zipper came all the way down and she held the dress in place with steady hands. Her eyes were huge, but he didn’t see fear, didn’t see nerves in them.

Only anticipation.

And a desire strong enough to match the lust eating him up from the inside.

A moment later, she let her dress drop to the wood planked floor, and stood before him wearing nothing but a pair of pink heels.

“I’m yours, Jake.”

Chapter Eight

“Holy hell, you’re beautiful.”

Jake’s words took the chill away from her naked skin just moments before the front door was slamming shut and she was in his arms. His mouth covered hers, taking, claiming, branding her with a kiss that blew every other kiss away. His hands cupped her hips and as the kiss spiraled more and more out of control he dragged her naked body into his. He trapped her legs between his spread thighs, the thick bulge behind his zipper throbbing and pulsing against her belly.