After that kiss, everything happens so fast. Within a couple of hours, we land at an airfield in California, then another driver whisks us to Harlan’s cabin in the woods above Lake Tahoe. It’s hard to keep up.

It’s a magnificent home in a magnificent spot with a magnificent view – all glass and steel – that somehow blends into the environment, as though the sparkling, translucent glass has become a part of the forest itself, reflecting and concentrating and redoubling the view.

Yet I barely see it.

I’m still spinning, spinning, spinning from the kiss, and spinning from everything that Harlan has shared with me.

He had A Wife! He had A Wife who died. I knew he was hiding something, I just never expected it to be so…

… heartbreaking.

I understand now how he became the man he is today. His wife’s death drove him to build walls around himself – to protect his mind from any more hurt.

So now I’m forced to confront a painful question.

Am I the right person to tear down those walls?

Am I just using Harlan for my own purposes? Am I only with him so I can get the elusive orgasm that I hope will break down my own walls? Do I want the man he is, or just the thing that’s dangling between his legs?

I don’t know. Until I know, I can’t give myself over to him, not completely. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us.

Harlan strides into my bedroom and throws a small pack onto the manicured array of cushions and pillows and bed sheets. The room itself is perfect – including, somehow, a fully stocked wardrobe, all in my size.

“What’s that supposed to be?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“What does it look like?” Harlan chuckles. “Come on, princess, we’re going hiking.”

“Hiking?” I say with genuine shock. “I thought we were going skiing, or something?”

“Skiing? What, you think I’m made of money?” Harlan winks at me. “Besides, look out the window and tell me how much snow you see. It’s June. The white stuff melted weeks ago. Don’t worry, though,” he says, taking a pace towards me and lazily stroking his palm down the side of my torso. “I’ll take you next year…”

Next year?

For some reason, that thought shocks me. I know I shouldn’t react that way – after all, I was the one who coaxed Harlan into opening up. I just didn’t expect it to happen so…

Fast.

“Besides, you’ll love it, I know you will. The mountains around here are like nothing you’ve ever seen. Meet you out front in ten?”

* * *

I don’t know why, but I was surprised to realize that Harlan is into hiking. That’s silly, really. After all, he was in the Navy SEALs. If you join an elite organization like that, I guess you better be prepared to do a lot of Bootpacking!

“That’s what they call it, right?” I ask Harlan as we’re sucking in air after a particularly steep section of trail.

I’ve kept a couple of paces behind him this whole time. The man has a magnificent rump, and I’m not afraid to admit that a part of me is happy we’re out here all alone. Together. I don’t want to share either of these views with anyone else!

“Huh?”

“Bootpacking. That’s what you do in the military, right? It’s your fancy word for walking.”

Harlan grins. “Uhh… right. So you’re a Frog Hog now?”

I frown, racking my brain for the term. “Frog hog?”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, “it’s what they call women who go after us Navy SEALs. You wouldn’t believe how many hang around bars down by Coronado, just waiting to get their hands on a sexy, unshaved –”

I make a face. “I really don’t want to know what you got up to back when you were younger, Harlan,” I wink.

But you can call me a Frog Hog if you like. You can call me any kind of hog, as long as I get stuffed!

I flush a touch at the filth passing through my mind.

“I had my own woman, remember,” Harlan says with a wistful smile.

It doesn’t bother me that he’s talking about his dead wife. It’s a good thing, really. That kind of emotion is the last thing I’d ever ask a man to bottle up.

I’m not so fragile that I feel the need to be in competition with a woman like Ashley Wolfe. In my line of work, I’ve seen jealousy sink relationships enough time to know that it’s just not worth it.

“Hey, you’re looking a bit red,” Harlan says, unintentionally referencing the effect my embarrassment is having on my cheeks. “Want me to cream you up?”

“Oh yes,” I say with unexpected vigor. “But not like that. Don’t worry – I think I’m just a bit … a bit out of breath.”

Harlan gazes at me for a couple of seconds. That’s the only way I can describe how he’s looking at me.

I kind of like it. I never expected to be in the middle of this – I don’t even know what to call it – holiday? Affair? But whatever it is, it’s like a dream. And I don’t want to wake up.

“See,” he says. “I told you you’d like hiking.”

I laugh. “We’ll see. I’m happy as long as you keep walking out front, and as long as I get to watch…”

Harlan mock salutes me, spins and jogs ahead.

“I didn’t say you had to run,” I mutter with fake sourness.

But I follow him without complaining.

We hike – sometimes laughing, sometimes engaging in deep conversation, sometimes just in companionable silence. Harlan hauls me up treacherous sections of rock, and sometimes he doesn’t let go of my hands.

I don’t argue.

We hike until my arms have sprouted a thousand new freckles from the sun, and then some more. We hike until my legs are bone tired, and I’m practically ready to swoon into Harlan’s muscular arms and just let him carry me home.

Not that I would, of course. A girl’s got to seem at least a little self-reliant… although the thought of Harlan cuddling up to me is – I’ll admit it – hard to resist.

“Tired?” Harlan asks, hiking – no pun intended – his eyebrow up as we near his cabin on the route back home.

“No,” I lie, sticking out my tongue. “I could go on all day…”

“Sure,” Harlan laughs, rolling his eyes. “I can head inside, if you want? Pick up some night vision goggles, a couple of sleeping bags and we can keep on going?”

“You’ve got night vision equipment in there?” I ask, frowning. “What the hell for?”

“Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies,” Harlan replies with a teasing smile on his lips.

I can’t tell if he’s being serious. After all, Harlan Wolfe strikes me as the kind of man who leaves nothing to chance. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s got half a military surplus store stocked up somewhere in the cabin.

“It doesn’t matter,” I groan as I turn my attention back to my sore, swollen feet. “All I can think about right now is a shower.”

Harlan cocks his head to one side. “Now that,” he says, raking his eyes up and down my body without even bothering to pretend to be subtle, “is a fantastic idea. But I’ll do you one better…”

He leads me to a hidden creek a couple of hundred yards away from his cabin. It’s a peaceful place, only disturbed by the sound of water burbling into a small, clear, yet deep pool, and the occasional twittering of birds overhead.

Every now and then the fading sun glints off the hidden glass structure and reflects a sparkling diamond pattern on my skin.

“Don’t tell me you want to get in?” I exclaim, eyeing a small waterfall and pool – but still unconvinced. “I told you, I’m more of a city girl…”

“Trust me,” Harlan groans, shooting me a grin. “You’ll enjoy it.”

Without bothering to wait for my response, he pulls his sweaty T-shirt over his head, kicks off his hiking boots and dives off a nearby ledge into the pool. I get a brief glimpse of his perfectly manicured, muscular body flashing through the air.

Even damaged by the marks left behind by bullets and shrapnel, it’s more than enough to steal a girl’s breath away.

“Oh, hell,” I mutter. There’s no way I can back out now, not after he’s dived in headfirst!

And besides, the way my feet are feeling after a long day in the heat, some cool water would probably do them a world of good.

Tell yourself what you want, I think. You just want to get in there with him, don’t you …

As Harlan’s head breaks through the surface of the water, reappearing once again, I chew my bottom lip. What the hell am I supposed to do now – just dive in fully clothed, or –

“What are you waiting for?” Harlan yells, pushing his hands through his hair to clear them from his vision. “The water’s nice!”

“I’m coming!”

I follow Harlan’s lead. I kick off my own boots, pull my top off over my head and dive in – leaving my bra firmly fastened. Harlan might have seen it all before, but that doesn’t mean he’s suddenly entitled to boobs on demand…

Maybe I could charge a subscription fee…

I walk up the creek, until I’m standing above the waterfall. “How deep is it down there?” I yell. “Is it deep enough to dive?”

“Plenty deep enough for a little thing like you,” Harlan calls back. I notice that even as he treads water, he can’t tear his eyes away from my bare skin. A trail of goose bumps suddenly sprout on my skin that have nothing to do with the slight chill now decorating the air.

“On three,” I say to myself.

I wait until the count of two, and then throw myself off the ledge, headfirst. I hit the water at a slight angle – not exactly graceful – and the impact stings my skin. I feel like a floundering well – except nowhere near as graceful.

Harlan swims over to me in just a couple of long, easy strokes. “Nice dive,” he chuckles. “You practice much?”

“You know, I don’t have my own private waterfall,” I shoot back. “We can’t all be so lucky…”

“No,” Harlan muses quietly, shaking his head, “…apparently just me.”

I get the sense that he means a whole lot more than just his wealth. His gaze is unsettling, and I tried to duck it. I splash water in his face.

“What are you looking at?” I tease.

“You,” Harlan growls.

The look on his face is hungry, now. It’s the look of a man who has waited long enough. It’s intoxicating enough, knowing that I can be wanted this badly by anyone, but knowing that it is Harlan looking at me like this feels like the rush of some drug.

“Oh,” I whisper.

Apparently that’s enough. Harlan is evidently done waiting. His muscles bulge as he cuts through the last couple of yards between us with another powerful stroke, and water streams through his hair.

I can’t take my eyes off him. I can barely concentrate enough to tread water to stay afloat.

And then Harlan’s arms are on me, around me. He holds me tight, and I feed off his warmth in the cold pool.

“Do you know how fucking much I want you right now, Skye,” he growls. “I’ve been staring at you all day. I can’t tear my mind away from you, not even for a second.”

My mind goes blank. All I can think of is Harlan’s closeness, the heat of his skin, the feel of his powerful muscles.

And I say it again. Not my finest moment.

“Oh.”

“Is that all you’ve got?” Harlan says. Apparently it’s his turn to tease me. “Then I guess you won’t complain if I do this.”

His arms close on me for a second time in the water, pulling me tight. Our bodies are on each other now, and I lock my legs around Harlan’s hips. Despite the cool water that surrounds us, I’m on fire – and nowhere more than the slit that’s currently pressed against Harlan’s crotch.

Harlan kisses me.

It’s a fierce, hungry, aggressive kiss. It’s the kind of kiss you don’t even read about in romance novels, the kind you never experience in real life.

It’s the kind of kiss I’ll never forget.

I moan as Harlan’s hands roam my body. Is this going to be it, I wonder? Is this going to be where it finally happens?

Harlan’s cock grows between us, sluicing through the water – an arrow of heat. I feel it pressing against me, and I push my hips into it. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s like there’s something inside me – a demon driving me on, a fire burning inside that I’ve never felt before.

I rake my fingernails down Harlan’s back. More than once I encounter gnarled, hard scar tissue, and a tear prickles at the corner of my eye. I’m grateful that the water that surrounds us hides it.

Then sadness is the last thing on my mind.

Harlan bites my lower lip. Not hard, just enough to let me know he’s there. As if I need any reminder!

“You’re so fucking hot, you know that, Skye?” He pants, squeezing my ass in his massive, powerful hands. “The last few days have been unbearable.”

“You shouldn’t have made a promise, then,” I pant right back. “You know what they say. Don’t write checks your body can’t cash.”

“Oh, I can cash it,” Harlan growls, kissing me hard, “…again and again and again.”

His hands dive to the canvas belt around his waist, freeing his shorts, and setting his cock loose. I feel it spring into me like a wild animal.

“We can’t do it here!” I yelp. But even in my worry, I feel kind of turned on by the prospect of Harlan screwing me outside. “What if someone sees?”

“I own all the land for miles,” Harlan says, scraping his fingernails down my side and sending a delicious thrill of pain ricocheting around my body. “Besides, I think it sounds like a turn on, don’t you?”

I freeze. I’ve never considered anything so crazy, and yet… And yet Harlan’s right. The thought of someone watching us is exhilarating. It makes a tingling sensation break out on my skin.

Harlan half-walks, half-swims with me over to the waterfall, ramming my back against the soft, smoothed-down cliff face. I’m almost numb to the cold now, and my nipples are like diamonds pressing into my bra.

“Touch it,” Harlan orders me, “Now.”

I don’t have to be told twice. I know exactly what he’s referring to – His Cock. I haven’t touched a man’s penis in so long I’ve forgotten how. But when I reach down between us, I find it’s like riding a bicycle.

Except this one is harder. And much, much thicker.

Harlan sighs with pleasure, and closes his eyes. Mine, by contrast, dart around the small clearing we’re in, searching for any unexpected voyeurs. I don’t see anyone, but still, I can’t relax.

“Harlan,” I pant. “We can’t …”

Harlan’s eyes spring open. “What do you mean ‘we’…?”

“Do it out here,” I continue hurriedly. “I can’t. I’m just not… Ready.”

“Then I’ll take you inside. And then, I’ll take you, inside.”