Penny was having the most delicious dream.

She was warm and protected and turned on.

She snuggled closer to that warmth and sighed. A slight thump beat beneath her cheek, the sound steady and comforting.

The dream flowed in a series of disjointed pictures, but Diego Ramos featured prominently. Kissing her. Sexing her up. Chatting about their days. Working in the garden. Driving fast in his Porsche. His tenderness, concern, total hotness created a longing she couldn’t contain. His devotion to his assistant—and cousin, she had finally discovered—was extremely attractive. He didn’t abandon her like—

“Penny.” The rumble echoed throughout her. “Wake up, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart?

As much as she liked that, she didn’t have a sweetheart.

Dream. Must be a dream. She snuggled back into the bliss of sleep. So tired.

“Penny.”

She swiped her hand, trying to get the voice to go away. Instead someone heaved her. Disoriented, she peeled her eyes open.

Darkness. She blinked.

“I need your help getting Zinnia into her cabin,” the voice to her left said.

What? She shook her head trying to clear her brain. She was in her car, in the passenger seat, which never happened.

“You with me?”

She turned her head, and saw him in the dim light. “Diego?”

“Yeah.” He brushed her hair from her face and curled it behind one ear. She shivered at the light touch. “Can you help me get Zinnia inside?”

Penny shook off the last of her sleepiness. She’d crashed hard on the way home from the hospital.

Let’s hope she hadn’t drooled on his shoulder. And thank God he had no idea what she’d been dreaming about.

“Yes, sure.” Penny twisted around in her seat. Getting Zinnia into the back seat had been a challenge but she needed to keep her foot propped up and there wasn’t enough room in the front seat of the car for that. “Absolutely. Let’s get her to bed.”

Bed. And Diego and that dream. Penny’s face heated but it was pretty dark out so hopefully Diego hadn’t noticed. Focus, Pen.

Zinnia was passed out in the back seat, probably from a combo of exhaustion and the pain medicine they had given her.

Penny bolted out of the car.

It took twenty awkward minutes to get Zinnia into her cabin and resting in her bed.

The entire time Zinnia had rambled about a variety of things, touching on her worry that Diego wouldn’t participate in the activities tomorrow. Apparently he’d blown off the opening ice breaker.

They were just about to leave when Zinnia grabbed Penny’s hand. “Promise me.”

Penny blinked. She patted Zinnia on the shoulder. “Sure.”

Zinnia’s grip was tight on Penny’s fingers. She shot a blurred, hazy look at Diego. “Make sure he participates in all the activities, including the partner ones. He needs to set a good example.”

Penny didn’t know how she was supposed to do that. Especially since she barely knew him. But, “Sure.”

Zinnia wouldn’t let go of Penny’s hand. “Diego. I’m supposed to be your partner. You better still participate.”

“Yeah, Zin.” She snatched at his hand, missing the first time.

“On your word,” Zin demanded. “You won’t back out.”

He was silent, holding her hand loosely, looking as if he desperately wanted to argue.

“How do we turn this failure into a success?” Her words were slurred and her lids drooped. “See, I’m finally getting it.”

Penny started at the words. That’s what her father always said. Always. Until in the ultimate failure, he fled the country with her mother, leaving Penny behind to face the consequences of their failures.

She’d begun to think that Diego Ramos hadn’t really remembered the last time they’d spoken when they were kids. Because he’d never given any indication that he recalled the scene in the parking lot.

Penny flushed. Clearly, he hadn’t completely forgotten.

“I want this camp, this retreat,” Zinnia clarified, “to be a success.”

“The merger will go through no matter how the camp goes, Zin.”

“Don’t care about the stupid merger,” Zinnia’s words slurred even more. “Care about you. Participate. Have fun. Be happy.”

Penny wanted to slink outside when the conversation turned personal.

“Sure, Zin.” Diego pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I promise. Go to sleep. I’ll check on you in the morning.”

Diego Ramos clearly doted on his cousin. The expression on his face had been soft, affectionate.

They exited Zinnia’s cabin.

He handed her the car keys. The quiet pressed in. They were all alone in the hushed woods. “I’ll ride with you back to the lodge.”

“Oh, I’m not there now. I moved to an employee cabin.”

“Then I’ll walk you to your cabin.” The camp was quiet. The partiers and staff had gone to bed hours ago.

“I’d forgotten the silence of the woods.” He inhaled deeply.

“Yeah. Me too.” She loved the simple, reflective peace here.

They stood for a few moments, letting the reverent quiet surround them. She spent plenty of time outdoors. But his comment piqued her curiosity. “Where do you live?”

“Boston,” Diego replied. “It’s never quiet there.”

In tacit agreement, they walked toward her cabin.

She rarely visited the city anymore. Her life was in the western part of the state. Of course, if she got this side business off the ground, she’d have to be in the city more often. But right now, nature was her groove. “Chickens and roosters are a little different from traffic and sirens.”

“You actually live on a farm?”

She decided not to take offense. “Yep. Ride a tractor and everything.”

“That’s slightly slower than my GT,” he teased.

Soon they were at her cabin door. “Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do.” His mouth curved up in a tired smile.

Penny sighed. Damn, she was exhausted. And she was going to have to go get the plants tomorrow. Brad was still at the hospital with his boyfriend—she’d checked in on him while Diego was helping Zinnia in the emergency room.

And apparently she was participating in activities with Diego.

“Well.” Awkward silence filled the air. This felt more like the end of a date than a quick walk home. But she hadn’t been on a date in…forever. “I’ve got a really early day.”

He snorted. “On a mission to wake camp up early again and then stop?”

As if she’d planned this morning. “A farmer’s work is never done.” She infused her voice with a lightness she didn’t feel.

His face sobered. “By the way, your engine is running a little rough. You might want to get it looked at.”

“I know.” She rolled her eyes. If he started mansplaining, this convo was done.

Right now, she was pouring all her extra cash into getting this additional project off the ground. She couldn’t afford to spend money on a nonessential repair. As long as it ran, she was good to go.

What was she waiting for? Idiot. This wasn’t a date. They weren’t even really friends. More like slightly combative acquaintances…who kissed on the dock. She turned to open her door. Stopped to read the note attached to the little knocker.

Penny, call me when you get in. No matter the time. I need another favor.

—Michael Tully

Diego curled his fingers around her biceps and turned her around to face him. “Wait.” He pressed his other palm against the doorframe and leaned close. Caged between the hard door and his hard body, her heart thudded, picking up in rhythm.

“Thank you for helping me with Zinnia.” He bent his head, his mouth hovering over hers. His gaze asking for permission. The sexual tension simmered between them, heavy in the expectant night air as he waited for her answer.

Penny pressed forward up on her toes, their bodies a mere inch apart. Still she paused but it must have been enough encouragement.

He tugged her against his chest until she snugged tight to his muscles.

She melted against him. There was no other word for it. Her body buzzed with anticipation as she waited for his kiss.

Everything in her softened and readied for his exploration.

Diego pressed his mouth to hers, his soft lips a contrast to his hard body. His beard scruff tickled her jaw. Her eyes drifted closed and other senses took over. Crickets chirped in the background. Hushed air. Muted sighs. His leg pressed between her thighs as he pinned her to the door.

Their clothing rustled when Penny wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on for the ride.

She sailed on a cloud of lust when he pulled her closer. His kisses harder, she nipped at his mouth. Then he took over, the taste of hospital coffee and the mint from the waiting room subtle as he licked into her mouth. At the rough caress of his tongue against hers, her belly fluttered with desire.

In the growing cycle, there was always that one burst of growth as if all the elements combined in a perfect storm of fertile abundance, and plants budded, moving from the seed stage to an actual green living thing. Her body came alive in that same way with his nurturing commands.

He cupped her ass and rocked her sex into his thigh. Penny moaned, the sound loud among the crickets.

He pulled away from their kiss. Instinctively she wanted to grab him back and continue. But Diego had already backed down the steps. “Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome.”

“See you tomorrow, partner.”

Why did that sound more like a threat than a promise?

Summer camp crush.

She had one.

She shut the door and leaned against it, reliving that kiss. Apparently Diego Ramos was good at more than business. He excelled at more earthy pursuits too. He sure was good at kissing. A sunny smile broke over her face. Really good at it.

God, she was tired. Penny quickly changed into her pajamas, little booty shorts and a crop T-shirt. She opened the drawer next to the bed and oh em gee, there were condom packets emblazoned with “Camp Firefly Falls: For the Woody in You.” And another with the Red Cross symbol and the caption “Orgasm Donor.”

Penny wanted to lay those condom packets underneath her pillow like an adult waiting for the booty call fairy to deliver a sex god to her.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Except she wasn’t here to have a sex life. If this corporate retreat went well she’d be launching another business with multi-faceted goals of helping people reduce stress, promoting outreach to get people to eat healthier, and supplying food banks with fresh food. Win-win for everyone.

But without her permission, her imagination supplied Diego shirtless and sweaty. So she didn’t need the sex fairy to deliver someone. He was already here. And so totally off-limits that she shouldn’t even be thinking about him.

But those moments outside her cabin, laden with intensity and fraught with sexual feelings, overwhelmed her. Her nipples beaded and her core pulsed low in her belly as she imagined Diego naked and intense, sliding in and out of her body with the same effortless grace he’d used to help her this morning.

Then she shut down that line of thought. She was sex dreaming about Diego Ramos. The boy who’d changed her outlook on life once. She needed to forget about him. Now she changed her own outlook.

* * *

Diego woke slowly. Weirdly, he felt like whistling.

Yesterday, working outside, he’d settled into an easy rhythm with Penny. Even though he hit the gym every morning, his biceps and hamstrings were protesting the unusual use this morning.

He stretched, warming up his sore muscles, his body humming and ready to go. His morning wood had a surprising focus. Penny Hastings.

He’d barely kissed her and he had hardened as if she’d stripped naked and climbed on top of him. Diego took his cock in hand and pumped slowly as the image of Penny on top of him, those small breasts bouncing and head thrown back in ecstasy, took shape in his brain.

He wondered what color her nipples were. The pale pink of her lips or a darker red. He pumped again, his hand rough on his cock as he imagined sucking her into his mouth and playing with her body until she moaned like she’d done on the dock last night.

He really didn’t have time to be fantasizing about the farmer woman. His goal for the weekend was to finalize the terms of the merger with Jeffrey London and move forward with his long-term business plans.

But numbers and spreadsheets and mergers blurred as his mind wandered back to her tanned skin, and he imagined kissing her freckles one by one, dipping into her mouth, and lower.

His hand moved faster, as some pre-come leaked from the tip.

His meandering thoughts morphed as he pictured her sliding down his body. Her pink tongue coming out to lap that bit of pre-come up, then closing around his cock and swallowing him whole. Diego groaned and pumped faster.

He was deep in the fantasy blow job when someone knocked on his cabin door. Really? It was six in the morning. And he’d been up until around two a.m. so he ignored the knock. But the person knocking persisted.

When he’d gotten back to his cabin late last night, today’s camp schedule had been pinned to his door. And he suddenly remembered what was up for this morning.

Partner yoga? Ha-ha. No.

But since whoever was knocking wouldn’t go away, Diego trudged to the door in his boxers. Whoever was stupid enough to wake him up this early would get an eyeful.

He yanked the door open. “What?”

“Zin made me come get you.” His cousin Raul Jr., also his VP of shipping, stood in the doorway looking like Diego felt. His black hair stood on end, his indulgence last night evident in his bloodshot eyes and scruff on his face.

“What the hell for?”

Raul groaned. “Yoga.”

Diego yawned so hard his jaw cracked. He rubbed his bare chest with his hand and wished he was still deep in his fantasy BJ with the delectable farmer. “No.”

“She said you promised.”

Fuck.

“What the hell do I wear to yoga?” Diego shuffled to the dresser across from the bed.

“I have no idea.” Raul dropped onto the end of Diego’s bed. “Shorts, I guess.”

Diego found some basketball shorts and a T-shirt with the Ramos CAR logo on it. He tugged them on. “I thought it said partner yoga. I don’t have a partner.”

“Zin said she took care of it.” Raul groaned, dropped his head into his hands.

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you think? Hangover. Some of those London guys can really put it away.”

“What did you think of them overall?”

Ramos Classic Auto Restoration was privately owned, mostly by Diego and his pal Jason Hollingsworth the Fourth who was a silent partner. But his cousin had a stake in the business, so did every other employee. Nothing incentivized people to work harder than knowing that if the company did well, they earned extra money too.

“Honestly?” Raul’s gravelly voice made Diego pause.

“Sí.”

“I don’t know how the companies will mesh.”

Diplomacy wasn’t in his cousin’s wheelhouse. He usually spoke without thinking and Diego reined him in. He counted on Raul to give him the raw truth. So what was this?

“Why are you holding back?”

“You want to merge. You need to work less.” Raul looked away guiltily. “I’m not going to fuck that up for you.”

His cousin was protecting him? But that was Diego’s job. He was the one who started down this path. He was the one who took care of everyone. He was the one building a life that would mean they never had to worry about money again.

That habitual grinding in his stomach took him by surprise. He had been pain free since yesterday.

Diego glanced at his watch. “I don’t have time to discuss this now, I’ve got to go get my partner. But let’s talk later.” This wasn’t a conversation that should be rushed.

“Who’s your partner?”

“Penny Hastings.”

“The farmer?” Raul cat-called. “Hey, you don’t feel like getting out of bed, for her I’ll do any kind of yoga she wants.”

Possessiveness flooded him. Penny was his. Diego cuffed his cousin on the head. The surge of annoyance took him by surprise. “Get your own damn partner.”

Penny and yoga. Maybe this wouldn’t suck after all.