Last night fulfilled all my fantasies about being intimate with Kase. We’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms, and I’d slept as soundly as I ever had. But waking up to an empty bed makes me miss him in a way that nearly hurts in its intensity.

On his pillow rests a note and a tiny bouquet of wildflowers. I bring them to my nose, inhaling the sweet aromas. I push up to my elbows and unfold the note.

June Bell, the girl who makes my dreams come true…

I could hardly bring myself to leave you this morning. I think I could watch you sleep for hours. Thank you for a night I’ll never forget and for letting me wake up to you in my arms.

See you tonight. (Let me help with dinner.)

Kase

I roll to my back and hold the note to my chest. I’m hardly awake and my heart is tripping. I close my eyes and let the memory of last night wash over me. Kase was, in a word, perfect. He was slow and tender. Careful and sweet. Then he was so much more. The way he transformed, knowing what I needed without me even knowing it myself, was so unexpectedly perfect.

How on earth am I going to survive an entire day without seeing him? I glance at the clock. It’s nearly ten. Kase gets up at the crack of dawn, so he could be ready for lunch soon enough.

Another day spent inside missing Kase will be nothing short of torture, so I decide today’s the day to start seeing the McCasker farm past these walls. I’ve scarcely left the house since arriving.

I jump up and get dressed. I choose a red sundress and a pair of worn leather boots. I toss my hair up into a ponytail and put on a little makeup, even though I’ve been wearing a permanent flush all morning. Every time I think of last night with Kase, my body temperature skyrockets.

Downstairs I make a plan for dinner while I sip my coffee, trying not to let my thoughts wander. I put Kase’s flowers in a little vase on the counter and mill around the house, spotting an old basket by the door that will be perfect for a picnic lunch if I can steal Kase away from his work. Emptying it of magazines and junk mail that have accumulated, I bring it to the kitchen and pack sandwiches, fruit, drinks, and a blanket.

It’s just past eleven when I can’t bring myself to kill any more time waiting. I need to see Kase.

Outside, the summer air is mild. The sun is warm on my bare shoulders, and the breeze is just enough to cut the heat. I journey through the large field in the back of the house toward the bright-red barn in the distance. Behind it are several more buildings, flanked by two silos.

At the first building I reach, I peek inside, hoping to find Kase. My heart leaps when I see someone sweeping out one of the dozens of stalls that line the long room. I can’t see his face under his hat.

“Kase?” I walk deeper inside.

The man looks up and turns my way. He’s not Kase. He’s dressed head to toe in denim that match his smiling blue eyes. “Can I help you?”

“I was looking for Kase. Is he around?”

“He’s been in the office for a couple hours. Want me to get him for you?”

“If you can point me in the right direction, I’ll bring him his lunch.” I lift the picnic basket.

The man grins and leans on the broom. “Well, well. That’s nice of you. What’s the occasion?”

I shrug and look down, knowing my cheeks are probably as red as my dress. “Just lunch.”

He comes toward me in a few strides, slipping off his glove before extending his hand. “I’m Chad, by the way. I help out around here a few days a week. You must be the new lady of the house.”

I shake his hand. He’s taller than Kase, a short blond fuzz covering his head. “Nice to meet you, Chad. I’m June. I’m just staying with Kase for a little while.”

He nods and gives me a quick once-over before averting his eyes. “You two an item?”

I laugh nervously. “Something like that.”

What are we? Is Kase my “boyfriend,” or are these two weeks a fling that’s destined to end when my father buys the land? That familiar feeling of dread settles over me, but I push it away. I don’t have to think about that yet. Our time isn’t up, and as long as I’m here, I’m determined to make the most of it.

“He’s a lucky guy,” Chad says with a wink. He points to the door I came through. “The office is in the next building over, in the back. Don’t make him too late. I need him back here to milk the cows at three.”

I laugh and turn for the door. “I won’t keep him too long. Good to meet you.”

“You too, June.”

I leave and enter another building with a similar layout. The stalls are already clean and everything seems in order. In the back, there’s a door with a shiny silver sign that reads Office. I knock.

“Come in.” Kase’s voice is muffled on the other side.

I open the door slowly. He’s seated behind a metal desk, its surface covered with paperwork. Behind him are several filing cabinets and shelves overflowing with binders and folders. He doesn’t look up when I enter.

“What do you need, Chad?”

I clear my throat.

He lifts his gaze, and his jaw drops a little. “Oh hell.”

I smirk. “I brought you lunch.”

He slams closed what looks like an executive checkbook and pushes away from the desk. He rounds it and comes to me. I expect him to say something, but he takes the basket from me, drops it to the floor, and folds his arms around me. Then his lips are sealed over mine. A small moan leaves my lips and disappears between our mouths.

He kisses me like we’ve been apart for days, not hours. I curl my arms around him and return it with all I have.

“I missed you,” he whispers when we break apart.

“I missed you too.” I look deeply into his eyes, and in that moment I ache to tell him how much he’s beginning to mean to me.

Before I can consider it, he leans down and grabs the basket. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

He takes my hand and leads me outside. We walk for several minutes across a hilly pasture toward a patch of trees. As we get closer, I recognize the small unripe fruit clinging to the branches.

“You have an apple orchard?”

“Just a small one. Enough to sell some produce at the farmers market for a few weeks in the fall.”

He leads us to a shady spot between two trees. “Here good?”

“Perfect.” I reach into the basket. “I hoped we could eat outside. I brought a blanket just for this.”

I shake out the folds and the breeze ripples the material before it settles on the grass. I sit on the edge and unpack our lunch. “Are you hungry?”

Kase lays behind me, feathering his touch up my spine and kissing my arm. “I’m starving.” His tone is low and suggestive. “I don’t usually eat during the day. You’re spoiling me.”

I turn toward him with a frown. “You don’t? That’s crazy. You need to eat, Kase. Especially with how hard you work.” I shake my head. “I’ll start making you lunch.”

He pushes me to the blanket with a growl. I’m sprawled on my back as he covers my body with the perfect weight of his. His thigh rests between my legs, and his lips journey up and down the column of my neck.

“Kase.” His name escapes my lips, falling somewhere between objection and invitation.

“What?” He flickers his tongue over my collarbone.

That quickly I’m consumed. Wrapped in his heat, drowning in his touch, aching for more of everything. I fist my hands to keep from grabbing at him. “Aren’t we going to eat?”

“Maybe later,” he says against my skin. “You didn’t expect to show up here like Little Red Riding Hood and not let me eat you, did you?”

My breath rushes out of me.

Fine. To hell with lunch.

I arch against his mouth as it comes over my breast. He brings his teeth firmly around my hardened nipple through the cotton, making me whimper and sigh. I’m learning to love the unexpected rush of his touch. The way he takes me right to the edge, right to the place where I think my limit is, only to make me fly past it in a matter of seconds. I sift my fingers through his hair and move my hips. Rubbing myself on his thigh, I drag my heel up his calf.

He slides his hand up my leg, reaches between us, and teases his fingertips over my panties.

“Why are you wearing panties?”

His eyes are dead serious, but I can’t help but giggle.

“Just think of the things I could do to you if these panties weren’t in the way. I could feel how wet you are for me.”

I bite my lip and buck slightly into his slow, torturous slides against me.

“I could sink into you,” he whispers, delving his tongue into my mouth, dueling with mine. “Could make you come right here.”

“Bad habit, I guess,” I say, overwhelmed with the visions that come with his lusty threats.

He nips at my lips. “I think I can break you of it.”

Suddenly, he rolls me to my belly and lifts my dress up past my hips. The rough feel of his palms against the backs of my thighs prickles my desire. I don’t know what he has planned for me, but that makes me want it even more.

Then the sound of his hand on my ass slices through the air. A hard slap that steals my breath. Instinct drives me to protect myself. I bring my hand to the place where he made contact, the skin already searing. He grabs my wrist and pins it against the small of my back.

“Kase,” I say breathlessly. “What are you doing?”

He massages my sore bottom, cupping and squeezing my cheek in his palm. “Teaching you a lesson.”

The pain is sobering. I’m no longer lost in the haze of lust. I’m tempted to squirm away and let him know what a good hard slap feels like, when his mouth touches my skin. He traces his tongue along the edge of my panties, slowly, until all I can feel is his warm breath against my pussy through the fabric. Okay, panties truly are an evil invention.

The anger that boiled within me moments ago has reduced to a simmer I can’t separate from my desire. My hips seem to move on their own, lifting, seeking more warm temptations from Kase’s mouth.

“You want me to do that again?”

I tense, bracing myself for it. “It hurts.”

“Yeah,” he says, lowering to kiss and lick against the pulsing heat. “Then what does it feel like?”

I shake my head, because I’m all mixed up. I’m uncomfortable but still impossibly turned on somehow.

I want to turn you on so much it hurts.

His fingertips press against the wetness in my panties. I push back against him with a moan. I don’t know why I want it, but I do.

“Do it,” I say, flinging the last of my worry into the wind.

“You sure?”

“Ye—”

His hand comes down, no softer than before. I bite my lip to suppress a whimper as he begins the same treatment on the other burning cheek. Warm, soft kisses. Trails of his tongue that cool in the open air. My God, if anyone were to find us out here…

“You going to wear panties anymore?”

“No. Never,” I say quickly.

He’s made his point. Underwear has never been a hindrance for him before, but now he’s honoring the barrier with a conviction that makes me want to scream in frustration. The way I ache for his mouth and touch everywhere I’m covered is all the reason I need to ditch them for the rest of time.

“Good girl,” he says, flipping me back.

Sunlight dances through the branches in the apple trees above us. He wears a hungry stare, a dark-gray T-shirt, and blue jeans. His erection strains against the zipper. I reach for him, but he catches my hand.

“Wait.”

My eyes widen. “Wait for what?”

A smile curves his lips. “Patience, June. I wasn’t expecting you. I need to get a condom from the house. Can you wait for me?”

I hesitate a moment. “You don’t have to. I’ve been on the pill,” I say.

His smile fades. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

I swallow. “It’s more intimate. I had to be sure I wanted that with you.”

“Do you?”

The minute he came last night, I knew I didn’t want anything between us again. I nod. “I do.”

He lowers down over me, kissing me softly. “I know it pisses you off, but I haven’t been living as a monk. I’ve always been safe, though.”

I tense beneath him. He’s right. The thought of him being with another woman makes me crazy. I try not to dwell on that. Instead, I let the idea of him being inside me take over. I reach for the button on his jeans again, and this time he lets me unzip him.

Then I hear someone yelling. We freeze, staring at each other and then in the direction of the sound. In the distance I see the shrunken figure of a man in the field behind the house. Then another yell. It sounds like my name.

I push Kase away and scramble to sit up. “Oh my God. It’s my dad.”