Angus basked in the honeysuckle perfume of her hair. He threaded his hands through Gwen’s thick riot of curls, stirring up more of the intoxicating scent. Then slid his hands down to her middle, across her naked back, the plunging neckline of the dress making it all too easy to touch her silken skin. How easy it would be to slide the straps over her shoulders. The dress would glide over her body and pool around her waist. A quick flick on the zipper would send it floating to the ground around those sexy stilettos.

He brushed his lips across her temple and prayed for patience, something his body seemed short on. Like a stallion sniffing a mare in heat, he wanted to bust through fences and take her as his.

Through years of taming skittish fillies, he’d honed his craft and now drew on that knowledge to woo this beauty back to his arms for good.

Cupping the back of her head, he tipped her face to the moonlight and drank in her features. “You’re even more beautiful than the first time we made love.”

“You’re not half bad yourself.” She traced the lines beside his eyes with the tip of her finger. “A few more wrinkles.”

He wished he had all those years back that they’d lost between them. “I’m getting older.”

“More distinguished,” she corrected.

“That’s what women say when they really mean old.” He bent to nibble at her earlobe.

“And you’ve had many women say you look distinguished?” She tipped her head to the side, giving him free rein to trail his lips along her long, slender neck.

“Only you,” he responded, his breath stirring tendrils of hair across her skin.

“Uh-huh.” Gwen captured his cheeks in her palms and forced him to look at her. “Are you going to kiss me properly, or do I have to ask again?”

He stared at those full, lush lips, enjoying the way they pouted when she didn’t get what she wanted. Especially when what she wanted was him. “Do you want me to kiss you?”

Her gaze fell to his lips, and he could see her answer before she spoke in a soft whisper that stirred his blood more than making love. “Yes. More than I want to take my next breath.”

Her words lit a fire deep inside Angus and it exploded within, his senses flaming to life. He crushed her to him, curved his hand behind her head and kissed her like it would be the last kiss he’d get before the world ended.

When he broke away, he struggled to regain control, realizing he would lose that battle. “You can say no now, and I’ll walk away. But, by God, if you say yes, there’s no going back. I can’t resist you anymore.”

Gwen’s nostrils flared and her eyes darkened. For a long moment she stood in the moonlight, her gaze locked with his. Then she dragged in a shuddering breath and pushed aside one strap of her dress, exposing a shoulder. The strap slid lower, revealing one full breast, the nipple already tight and distended.

Angus held her hips, pressing his rock-hard cock against her soft belly. He reached up to slide the other strap off her other shoulder, and watched as it slid over her skin and down to her waist where the skirt fit snugly on her hips. She hadn’t been wearing a bra and nothing but the moonlight covered her skin, giving it a soft-blue tone, caressing her breasts with the cool color.

He slipped his hands over her bottom and down the back of her thighs, then lifted her.

Gwen wrapped her legs around his waist and took off his cowboy hat, throwing it through the open window of the truck. Then she threaded her fingers through his hair and leaned close to take his mouth with hers, darting her tongue past his teeth to connect with his. Her naked breasts pressed against his chest, heating his skin through the fabric of his shirt.

The rush of blood to his groin nearly crippled him as he strode with her to the rear of the truck. He popped the catch on the tailgate and lowered it with one hand and then perched her bottom on the edge, stepping between her thighs.

She cradled his head in her hands and drew him to her breasts.

He took one of the turgid peaks between his teeth and flicked his tongue across the nipple.

Gwen gasped and arched her back, offering more.

He accepted, drawing her into his mouth, sucking hard on the nipple and twirling his tongue around the areola. Angus slipped his hands beneath her skirt and skimmed them up the outsides of her thighs.

Spreading her legs wider, she grasped one of his big hands and guided his fingers to her center, pressing one long digit into her dripping channel.

Ah, she was so wet for him. Angus’s control shredded. He hooked a finger around her panties, dragged them down her legs and threw them over his shoulders.

Gwen grabbed for his belt buckle, ripping it loose, then struggled with the top button on his jeans.

Angus brushed her hands aside and ripped the line of buttons open. His cock spilled out into her hands, her warm fingers wrapping around his hard length.

“Hold that thought.” Scooting to the edge of the tailgate, she dropped to the ground, landing smoothly on her stilettos.

“Are we done?” The thought of blue balls made him cringe.

“Not hardly.” She flicked the buttons of his shirt open all the way down his front and pushed it over his shoulders. Once his chest was bared to the moonlight, she trailed her fingers across the muscles between his small brown nipples. Leaning forward, she captured his left nipple between her teeth and bit down softy.

He jerked back. “Hey. Those are attached.”

“Umm. I know.” She sank lower, settling onto her knees, trailing her tongue and lips across his torso and abdomen stopping when she reached his stone-hard shaft jutting straight out.

Angus moaned as she took him into her mouth, teasing the rounded head of his cock with the tip of her tongue, darting into the small hole at the center already dripping come.

She took the hooded bulb into her mouth and sucked gently.

Angus surged forward, unable to resist the animal inside.

Her jaw adjusted to his girth, accepting him, taking in his full length until he bumped against the back of her throat.

“Sweet Jesus, Gwen.” Threading his fingers into her hair, he guided her head back and forth to match his thrusts into her wet, hot mouth.

The faster he thrust, the hotter he became. His body tensed. If he continued down this path, he’d come in her mouth. Angus jerked back, gripped her arms, pulled her up his body and lifted her to sit on the tailgate.

Without missing a beat, she wrapped her legs around him and drew him close by pressing her heels into his buttocks.

“Uh-uh.” Angus shook his head. “My turn.”

“Your turn?” she gasped.

“I want you ready.”

“Any more ready and I’ll explode.”

“That’s my line. Trust me, you aren’t there yet.” He pulled her to the edge of the tailgate and dropped to his knees between her legs.

The first time he tongued her clit, her body spasmed and she cried out, “Holy hell.” She reached for his head and pulled it back to her. “Again.”

This time he slipped a finger into her channel as he stroked the tightly strung bundle of nerves.

Her fingers curled into his scalp and her thighs squeezed against his ears. “Sweet Jesus, Angus. You’re setting me on fire.”

He blew a stream of warm air over her heated center.

“I need you inside me,” she moaned.

“Not yet.”

“Yes yet,” she said, pulling his hair in an attempt to bring him up.

He flicked her clit and dove in to swirl, tease and relentlessly torment her.

Her body tensed, she dragged in a ragged breath and let out a long, sexy groan. “Oh. My. God. Angus. You’re fuckin’ killin’ me.” Her body convulsed and her hips jerked each time he touched her.

“I can’t believe you still talk dirty during sex.” Angus slipped another finger inside her channel, then another, stretching her, preparing her.

“Okay, okay. You have to come inside me now. I don’t know if I can live through much more.”

He chuckled and rose to his feet, pressing his cock to her entrance.

“Oh fucking hell!” Gwen cried out, and not in a good way.

Her expletive jerked Angus off course. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” Her brows dipped in a V. “I forgot the damned condoms. Mona gave me a month’s supply, and I didn’t have time to put them in my purse.”

“I’ve got it covered.” Angus reached into his back pocket for his wallet, his hands shaking with the intensity of his need. When he finally found the single condom he kept inside, he held it up. “Is this what you were looking for?”

“Yes.” She snatched it from his fingers, tore it open and rolled it down over his cock. “Now, please, come into me now.”

He obliged, her desperate cries more than he could handle. Angus drove into her, thrusting long, hard and all the way home, his balls slapping against her bottom.

“Again.” She threaded her thumbs in his belt loops and dragged him out then back in again, pulling so hard he rammed into her.

Angus slid in and out, banging harder and harder until his nerves all lit on fire and exploded, sending him rocketing into orbit. He thrust one last time and held her against him, his fingers digging into her rounded ass.

For a long moment he stood in the moonlight reliving every wet dream he’d had of Gwen for the past seven years. When he came back to earth and reality, he captured her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly, brushing his lips across hers, sucking her lower lip between his. When he let go, he leaned his forehead against hers. “Want to lie out and watch for shooting stars?”

“No,” she said, her voice shaky, her eyes downcast.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” A tear slipped down her cheek, the moonlight glinting off the moisture.

Angus brushed his thumb across Gwen’s skin, capturing the tear. “Then why the tears?”

“It’s nothing. We should go.”

He drew out of her, disposed of the condom and tucked himself into his jeans. Then he pulled her straps back up over her shoulders, straightened her skirt over her thighs and rested his hands on her knees. “You want to talk about this nothing that’s making you cry?”

“Not really.” She slid off the tailgate and onto her feet. “I’m just really tired.”

It was more than that, but damned if he knew what had gone wrong when everything had felt so incredibly good, and natural and right. This was where they were supposed to be. In each other’s arms, not living separate lives.

He’d never stopped loving Gwen. That was why he hadn’t been interested in dating, why he’d buried himself in the ranch and working with the horses. He’d been trying to get over his broken heart.

Now…

She was here. They’d made love. He refused to think they would go their separate ways. How could he let her go again?

He couldn’t. It would kill him.

Gwen sat in silence the entire ride down the hill, along the bumpy dirt road and all the way back to Temptation. When they arrived at the bed-and-breakfast, she got down from the truck before Angus could come around and assist her. She was afraid if she let him touch her again, she would completely fall apart.

And she didn’t have the luxury of falling apart this time. Dalton was her world. Her focus had to be on providing him a loving home until he was grown and living on his own. Until then, she had to walk away from what her own heart yearned for, the overwhelmingly beautiful thing she and Angus had just shared.

Angus reached for her arm, but she stepped away. “I can see myself to my door. No need for you to stay.”

“I’m not leaving until I know you’re safely inside.”

She stiffened, hardening her heart to what she couldn’t have. “I live on my own in Dallas. I know what to look out for, how to take care of myself.”

“So? You’re not in Dallas. You’re here with me,” he said between gritted teeth. “I’m taking you up to your room.”

Without responding, she turned and marched toward the house, entering the lobby. She hurried up the steps, almost running by the time she reached the top. Angus kept pace, no matter how fast she moved. His longer legs took the steps two at a time to her one.

Gwen didn’t know why she was running. No matter how fast she moved she couldn’t hide from her feelings for this tall, strong cowboy. Her first and only love.

At the top of the stairs, she dug in her purse for the key and dropped everything. When she bent to pick up her things, Angus bent too, their heads bumping.

He reached out and steadied her. “Are you all right?”

Hell no, she wasn’t all right. Her heart was breaking into a million pieces and she didn’t know how to make it stop. “I’m fine.” She found the key, opened the door and fell inside.

Before she could close it behind her, Angus stuck his foot inside and grabbed her arm, dragging her up against him. “Tell me what’s wrong. I’ll fix it.”

“Nothing’s wrong. You’re freakin’ perfect,” she said, her voice catching on a sob and locking down her throat. “It’s me. I can’t do this again. I can’t fall in love with you knowing we won’t be together.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” He shook her gently. “We’ll be together.”

“We can’t,” she said. “I live in Dallas. I have Dalton. You and me…we just were never meant to be together.”

“Bullshit.” His fingers tightened on her arms. “We were meant to be together. If ever there was a reason to believe in fate, it was last night at the Ugly Stick Saloon.”

She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. “No. Fate teased us again. She brought us back together, knowing I couldn’t stay and you couldn’t leave what you have here. Dalton is my life. He’s all I have, and I’m all he has. I won’t force someone else on him or him on someone else because of my selfishness. Just leave.”

“I’ll leave for now, but this isn’t over. It’s far from over.” A ruddy flush rose up in Angus’s cheeks. “Because, you see, I’m a McFarlan and McFarlans don’t give up on the ones they love. Do you know what that means?”

By now Gwen was sobbing, shaking her head as she stood before him, her world coming apart, her heart breaking.

“It means,” he said, “that I love you, and I’ll be damned if I let you get away again. I will be back and I’ll, by golly, woo you until you can’t say no. You can’t shut me out of your goddamned life.” He yanked her into his arms and kissed her hard. Then he shoved her away from him and left, stomping down the steps and all the way out to his truck.

Gwen stood staring at the door, her heart squeezing hard, the pain so intense it almost brought her to her knees. Tears flowed down her face in an unending stream. She crumpled to the ground and curled into a fetal position, wrapping her arms around her knees, the dress swirled around her hips, her lack of panties a vivid reminder of the beauty of what she’d just experienced.

How could she push him away? It had to be the stupidest thing she’d ever done in her life. On the other hand, how could she expect Angus to take her and Dalton into his life? What man would understand that her son would always come first, and the man’s needs would always be second?

A soft knock on the door barely penetrated the darkness of the hell she’d sentenced herself to.

“Gwen? It’s me. Mona. Let me in. You promised me all the details.”

“I don’t feel like it,” Gwen moaned from her position curled up on the floor.

“Gwen? What’s wrong? Open the damn door.” Mona banged louder.

If Gwen didn’t answer the door, Mona would wake the other residents in the building.

Gwen pushed to her feet, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her so that she didn’t have to take another breath that only made her hurt worse. Then she thought of Dalton. She had to keep moving for him.

Gwen twisted the doorknob and stood back.

Mona burst through, took one look at her and engulfed her in a huge hug. “What did he do? Was he hateful? I’ll send Grant after him. Hell, I’ll kill him myself.”

“No.” Gwen laughed, the sound coming out of her throat on a sob. “He was…perfect.”

“Are those tears of joy?” Mona brightened, then her face fell. “Not with that look on your face. You resemble a kicked puppy.” Her friend smoothed the damp hair out of her face. “Tell me what happened.”

Blubbering like a fool, Gwen gave Mona the lowdown on what happened, skipping much of the sexy details. When she finished, her tears had dried, but her heart still hurt.

Mona crossed her arms and glared at her. “For a corporate-savvy woman with a great company and clients who swear by your business acumen and intelligence, you’re pretty damned stupid sometimes.”

Gwen reeled back as if she’d been slapped. “Mona, I thought you understood.”

“I understand that you’re being stupid.” She cocked her head to the side. “Do you love the man?”

“We can’t be together.” Gwen swallowed in an attempt to clear the lump lodged in her throat. “How I feel has nothing to do with it.”

“Like hell it doesn’t.” She stared hard at Gwen. “Do you love the man?”

“The sex was incredible, but I have to think about Dalton.”

“Pull your head out of your panties. Do you fuckin’ love the man?” Mona persisted.

“Yes.” Gwen threw her hands in the air. “I never stopped loving him. All these years, I haven’t thought of anyone else. There. Are you satisfied?”

Mona’s face softened. “Then cut you and him a break, sweetie. Don’t throw away something beautiful because you’re afraid.”

“I’m not afraid. I can’t do this to Dalton.”

“Bullshit.” Mona shook her head, her look softening her words. “Dalton would love having Angus in his life.”

“Maybe, but Angus could never love Dalton as much as I do.”

“How do you know? You haven’t even given the man a chance. You pushed him away as soon as it started getting hot.”

“After it got hot,” Gwen corrected.

“Right. Which is even worse. You led Angus on by making him believe you had feelings for him.” Mona held Gwen’s hands in hers. “Did you ever think that by pushing him away, you’d break his heart? Again?”

“Oh God.” Gwen buried her face in her hands and tears sprang to her eyes. “No matter what I do, someone is going to get hurt.”

“Not if you let Angus in. You win, he wins. Dalton gets a great man as a father.” Mona spread her arms, palms up. “You’d have a complete family.”

All her fears for the future, her mother-bear need to protect her son and her own raging desires piled in on her, swirling in her normally structured head. “I can’t do this. I can’t think about this right now.”

“Meanwhile, you let Angus get away. The man who admitted he hasn’t stopped loving you. The man you admitted you haven’t stopped loving. Geez, Gwen, wake up. You don’t get second chances like this every day.”

A knock on the door jerked Gwen’s attention away from Mona. Had Angus returned? Was he there to sweep her into his arms and smooth away all her doubts?

“Answer it.” Mona pointed to the door, her jaw set firm. “It’s probably Angus, come back to call bullshit at what you just did. You better answer that door, take him into your arms and tell him you love him before you lose him again.”

Gwen took one step, then another. The next thing she knew, she was flying toward the door, her heart in her throat, hope surging out of control.

“Angus, I’m so sor—” she cried as she flung open the door. Gwen stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth falling open as she stared at the man leaning against the doorframe.

“Hey Gwendy baby, how’s my favorite girl?” Wayne Kent, her ex-husband and the father of her little boy, strode through the door like he owned the place and turned. “Where’s my kid? I’ve come to take custody of him.”