Penny slogged back to her cabin, wading through the early morning mist.

Exhaustion dogged her every step. She glanced at the watch on her wrist. If she skipped breakfast, she could catch a few hours’ nap before she had to help with the kayak races.

She’d talked to Michael Tully last night.

Heather’s flu had gotten worse and he didn’t want to leave her. Because this was a smaller camp than usual, he’d asked for her help. Instead of pitching in on food prep and serving, Penny was supposed to report to the assistant camp director, Tegan. Penny was going to help with the kayak races this morning, serve lunch, and then lead a nature hike and engage the teams for Camp Firefly Falls Bingo this afternoon. Instead of giving her spiel in the lunchroom before the meal, she’d combine her speech with the hike.

All that was good but Penny had personnel issues too, and she still needed to take care of her farm.

So she’d gone home, fed the chickens and pigs, mucked out some stalls, and talked to her neighbors about picking up her chores until Brad was back.

All before six thirty in the morning.

She had more tasks before the kayak races, but hopefully she could grab some sleep. Then as soon as the nursery was open, she was going to arrange for the plants to be delivered. Michael had agreed to pick up the extra cost of delivery so that she could stay here and help out with the camp. She could tailor today’s talk to the message that she’d been planning for the conference center. Being out in the woods would be more interesting than the indoor arena anyway.

Since this was her first trial run for implementing her program, she could roll with the changes.

A rustling off to her left had her searching the woods. It was still early. She thought there was some sort of event before breakfast but the only exercise she was getting was two hours of shut eye.

However, she’d prefer not to run into anyone. She’d rolled out of bed after two hours’ sleep and tugged on jeans, a flannel, and her work boots. Her braided hair was likely a mess after feeding the animals and pitching fresh hay. Not the proper image for someone trying to convince corporate folks to spend bucks on an experimental program. She had good ideas—if she didn’t say so herself—but no practical experience besides her senior thesis project eight years ago.

Penny tiptoed the last few steps to her cabin.

Stopped in surprise. Diego Ramos waited on her porch.

“Can I help you?” She dredged up a smile.

He leapt down the steps. “What’s wrong?”

“Not a thing.” She continued onto her porch. Her synapses weren’t firing on all cylinders because although she’d been up for hours, it was still way early. He followed. “What are you doing here?”

“Partners yoga.”

Oh, God. Her shoulders slumped. There went her nap.

“Where’ve you been?”

“Chores at my farm.” Penny rested against the front door and let her eyes drift closed. She’d promised Zinnia. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”

What she wouldn’t give for five minutes of sleep. Maybe she could fake savasana and sleep during yoga.

“What time did you get up?” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Dang, that felt nice.

“Umm, four-ish.”

“You got two hours’ sleep?”

“More or less.” She might have spent a minute or twenty—before she actually slept—thinking about Diego Ramos and those kisses and what good use they could put those condoms to.

He smelled so good, like man and a hint of cologne. His stubble had grown into a thicker dusting, darkening the stark line of his jaw and emphasizing his lips. The urge to just lean on his muscled chest and close her eyes and inhale his scent snaked through her with insidious warmth.

He opened her door and half carried her inside.

“Seriously, be good to go in a sec.”

“You’re asleep on your feet.”

Mmm. The cabin was warm and the bed beckoned like a lighthouse on the shore. Warm hands on her shoulders and then her neck. He tilted her head up. “Open your eyes.”

The whispered command held a note of domination. She blearily pried open her eyelids.

“So tired.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. God, he felt so good.

Solid. Warm. Masculine.

Diego snuggled her closer, until her head rested in the perfect hollow beneath his chin as if made just for her.

The cabin door closed with a loud thump, locking them inside and the rest of the world out.

The promise of sleep was fading as other impressions registered. His hard, masculine chest was solid beneath her cheek. His biceps cradled her close. The rapidly growing bulge of his erection nudged her belly.

A deep-seated, burgeoning arousal spread from her core, infusing her with a languid, intense desire. “Oh,” she breathed.

And the feelings from last night, from that amazing kiss, blossomed and spread through her as she melted against him.

She wanted to jump him.

She might be reading his signals wrong. Maybe he reacted this way to any woman. But as the air between them thickened and grew, a syrupy sensual arousal spread through her. She wanted to hibernate in this cabin and have a sex marathon. Hot, sweaty, physical sex.

Her breath stuttered.

“What?”

She certainly wasn’t about to confess that she’d been fantasizing about jumping him. But just thinking about them together, she was likely beet red.

“You got some sun yesterday.”

“Yeah, that crazy sun.” She determinedly didn’t look at him as she willed herself to stop blushing.

“Or maybe you’re red for another reason.”

Her gaze shot to him.

He smiled, his face transformed, his mouth ticked up on one side, revealing his white teeth and hinting at a wicked streak. He knew exactly what she was thinking about. And if the hard dick prodding her abdomen was any indication, he was thinking it right back.

Lust thrummed through her.

Her defenses down, her inhibitions low, she pushed him back against the solid wood of the cabin door and kissed the underside of his jaw. “This is what I was thinking about,” she said against his skin.

His arms tightened around her and he groaned.

She wanted that feeling of flying. The pure incandescence of sexual release. When was the last time she’d taken anything for just her? She’d visited Brad last night in the hospital. He hadn’t left his boyfriend’s side. And her second thought, after how beautiful his devotion was, if she was in an accident, no one would feel that way about her.

Was it a lack in her, or a lack of effort to find someone to share things with? Of course those thoughts took a back seat to her current obsession.

She didn’t have the time to find that someone right now, but here was a guy who, based on the boner prodding her belly, was interested in connecting on a physical level. She was going to take him up on the implied offer. Grab hold of him and make the most of this opportunity because who knew when she’d have the chance for sex again.

She was too busy. Too invested in everything else in her life to have time to make room for a man, a relationship, but sex? Sex she could do.

Mesmerized, she couldn’t look away. His essence wrapped around her and pulled her closer, like a tractor beam.

Her heart fluttered at how close he was with his dark hair and dark eyes and mysterious smile. She wanted to dive into that dangerous pool of attraction and drown in his sexual pull. In the hushed, intimate atmosphere of her cabin, neither said a word.

Suddenly her breath constricted. Hard to draw in enough oxygen, she huffed in air. Her heart beat harder, banging against her breastbone so loudly that she couldn’t hear anything but her own labored breath.

His gaze dropped to her mouth, lingered.

Penny licked her lips in the suddenly dry air. And his gaze heated, intensified.

Diego leaned closer.

She waited, held on the precipice. Would he kiss her or back off?

And what did she want?

What she should do was skedaddle out of this cabin. But that’s not what she wanted. She wanted him to kiss her.

She’d been thinking about it, and more, since their encounter on the dock during the welcome cocktail party. The yearning had only intensified after his care for Zinnia last night.

Diego Ramos was a good guy.

And it had been so very long since she’d had any guy in her life.

Penny reached out a hand, trailed her fingers along his biceps, watching the goose bumps rise on his skin as she feathered her fingertips over the muscles in his shoulder and then scraped her fingernails along his neck.

He studied her, clearly waiting to see what she’d do next.

And still he didn’t speak.

Penny threaded her fingers in the short hair at his nape and tugged him down to meet her lips.

He came willingly, a small smile on his mouth. His hips bumped hers, his impressive erection nudging her belly.

Her inhibitions down, and the silence weighing on her, she blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. “Is that a pickle in your pants or are you happy to see me?”

He grinned against her mouth. “Happy,” he growled.

They met in the middle. The kiss was sure, warm, luscious. Crazy.

But Penny thought, not for the first time this weekend, maybe she needed a little more crazy in her life.

* * *

Goofy. Inappropriate. Penny’s expression held a freedom Diego envied. He measured every word he uttered. Ever since he’d committed to expanding his business he’d been on guard.

He dated sophisticated, elegant women who were perfectly at home in NYC or at a Red Sox game but none of those women would have gotten their hands dirty or even thought her slightly raunchy invitation.

Her down-to-earth charm was doing it for him in a big way.

Her lips were soft and sensual. She carried the scent of fresh grass and honey.

And he wanted to eat her up.

Diego cupped her face in his palms and with the attention to detail of a traveler in a strange land, he explored her mouth.

The door was hard at his back and Penny was pressed up against him.

Lust, previously at a low simmer, exploded and accelerated like an out-of-control V-8. With the force of a .375 hemi engine and a light hand on the throttle, his body revved and shimmied.

He cupped her ass in his hands and rocked her softness against his hard cock. All pistons firing and revving to go, Diego slanted his head and dove into the suddenly carnal kiss.

The surge of lust took him by surprise. Lately he’d been a little disconnected, a little tired of the constant push for more. Right this moment he wanted to take something just for himself. To forget about the business, about his responsibilities, about all the people who depended on him, and just take.

And who he wanted to take was currently wrapped around him like a python.

He flung aside analysis and concerns and possibilities and went for it. He was spiraling into a place where stopping would be hard. He broke their kiss, needing to confirm they were on the same page. “I want you.”

Her breasts were pillowed against his chest, arms tight around his neck, head tilted back so she could stare into his eyes.

Her Rallye Green gaze snagged his.

The need there nearly brought him to his knees.

“Excellent,” she said huskily. “I want you too.”

That was his greenlight. He dove into the kiss.

Diego licked into her mouth, her lips parted and her tongue stroked his eagerly.

The kiss rocked his world.

When he pulled away, her freckles stood out in her flushed face, and her lips were reddened. Her breath puffed against his mouth. They both waited, hesitating on the brink of a change.

She gathered her energy, as though she was going to step back. Step away.

No, he didn’t want that.

His body buzzed with an excess of energy and deep well of fulfillment.

But instead of pulling away, she tugged him toward the bed.

Penny fell back onto the quilt. She parted her legs and he landed between them. Right where he wanted to be.

He propped on one elbow and skimmed his hand beneath the tails of her shirt, too impatient to unbutton the soft flannel, pushing the material up to bare her stomach. “So soft,” he murmured against her ribs.

Penny burrowed her hands beneath his basketball shorts and cupped his ass. Her questing fingers scraped over his skin, and fuck but he wanted those hands somewhere else.

She rocked into his cock. “So hard.”

He rolled so lay on their sides facing each other.

“Touch me,” he groaned, then nipped his way up her ribcage to her luscious breasts. They were small, perky, and begging for his mouth.

“Return the—” she gasped when his mouth closed over her pert nipple, “—favor. Oh holy manure.”

He bit back a laugh.

Goofy. And still so hot. He tongued her nipple against the roof of his mouth, sucked the tight bud inside while he caressed her other breast with his fingers. She fit his hand perfectly. He squeezed. Satisfaction thrummed through him when she arched into his touch.

Penny pushed down his shorts and curled her hand around his cock. She explored him tentatively, her thumb brushing the sensitive tip.

“Harder,” he begged.

He shoved her shirt over her head, exposing her breasts.

Her tan lines were sharply defined—she clearly spent a lot of time in the sun in just a bikini top. His hands were dark against the white skin of her breasts, the contrast ramping him up to another level.

“I want to devour you.”

“No one is stopping you,” she said breathlessly.

Diego pushed her jeans down her hips.

“Oh.” Her hand gripped his wrist, his pulse thudding frantically against her rough fingertips.

“Mierda. You want to stop.” He dropped his forehead to her shoulder, breathing deeply, trying to control his erection.

“No!” She flushed hard.

Fascinated, he watched the red spread over her chest and into her cheeks.

“Um, just don’t look at my underwear. It’s…not sexy.”

“Querida, I don’t give a damn about your underwear.” He shoved the plain white cotton off her hips.

He stroked his hands over her naked skin, learning her curves, learning what made her purr. Women were like engines—each had their own little idiosyncrasies and trigger points. He trailed his fingers over her hips, down her thighs, then drew his fingers up until he reached the apex of her sex.

She jerked at the first touch of his fingers. He threaded through her curls, found her wet, then began to tease.

But Penny paid him back in kind. One hand wrapped around his cock, the other struggled with his ribbed tank until he yanked it off one handed.

They were both naked now.

She scraped her fingernails at the base of his neck. Goose bumps peppered his skin. His balls tightened up, his body more than ready to take the plunge. Within seconds they’d gone from zero to sixty.

“Now,” she panted.

Shit. “Condom.” He didn’t have one.

She started laughing. The sound shifted something in his heart.

“Don’t think it’s that funny.”

“My own sex god.” She laughed even harder, tears leaking from her eyes.

She arched beneath him, her breasts pushed up into his face and he bent to suck a still-hard nipple into his mouth. She extended her arm to the little night table, moaning as he sucked harder.

She pulled open the drawer of the nightstand.

“Can’t reach.” She gestured to the bedside table.

He reached into the drawer and grabbed some packages. In his fist were several but the one that caught his eye was white with a familiar red cross.

He squinted. “Orgasm Donor,” was printed underneath the red cross symbol.

He suppressed a snort. “I’m happy to donate some orgasms to your cause,” he teased. Then his brain stumbled on that thought. She had condoms.

Thank God, because his cock had not gotten the message that stopping was imminent.

She had condoms.

She grabbed one from his fist and tossed the others onto the quilt. “Got it!” she said in triumph and waved the little packet in his face.

He rolled them again, so Penny was on top.

She took the latex and proceeded to sheath him.

He should slow it down, make her beg, make her moan, but she knelt over him, knees on the outside of his hips.

Like a goddess, her head thrown back, the tip of her braids brushed his thighs. Her pert breasts were pink with beard burn and her nipples wet from his mouth. The pagan goddess pose did it for him.

Arms filled with sexy woman and his cock covered and ready to go. Diego abandoned his thoughts of tasting her all over. Next time.

He cupped her hips in his palms and guided her onto his cock. So full he could burst, he wanted to move. But he held back, letting her sink onto his erection at her own pace, knowing once she started moving, he wouldn’t last long.

Once she was fully seated, her sex gloved him, her ass on his thighs, she tilted her head and met his gaze with glassy green eyes.

“Okay?” he asked.

“More than.” Her smile was a little wicked and a lot aroused. Then Penny began to rock into him. Every downward stroke her sex squeezed his cock. “Harder,” she demanded.

Diego grabbed her hips and thrust up. She threw her head back as they slammed together. Once they found a rhythm, the intensity increased. His cock was harder than steel as he pistoned his hips. With every thrust, her small breasts bounced.

Winded and flushed, Penny bent over him, her nipple even with his mouth. He craned his neck and sucked her inside. The change in angle was the trigger. With every thrust he rubbed the head of his cock against her G-spot, the bundle of nerves swelled and her body began to buck against his.

Her fists clenched against his shoulders, and her thighs tightened around his hips with each cataclysmic coming together, until Penny gave a cry, arching back. Her body tightened around him as her orgasm spread over her face. Her sex clamped around his cock, milking him. His balls tightened, and energy pooled at the base of his spine until he catapulted over the edge.

His vision whited out, sparklers flickering behind his closed eyelids as his body exploded. His come shot into the condom in intense jerks.

His heart thundered in his chest, as he stared up at the woman who tempted him to break his long held rules. Sweat gleamed on her skin, and her eyes were closed as pleasure waterfalled over her face.

With an oomph, Penny fell facedown on him. Diego shifted so Penny sprawled over top of him, and his cock loved the Penny blanket.

Did she just…fall asleep on him?

Her breath snuffled softly against his neck. She had.

How tired was she that she crashed on his shoulder? Wasn’t the guy the one who was supposed to fall asleep after sex? Diego huffed out a laugh.

His heart still thundered, and his body was still buzzing with the aftermath of explosive sex. Goddamn, he’d needed that. The grinding pain in his stomach had all but gone. His shoulders were more relaxed than they had been in months.

Sated, content, he wrapped his arm around her back and held her to him. She felt profoundly right in his arms. For a moment, he didn’t want to let her go.

He definitely didn’t want to wake her up. Two hours’ sleep? After the day she’d had yesterday, and their energetic round of sex, no wonder she was dead on her feet. And no way was he forcing her to go to partners yoga. He’d face Zinnia’s wrath. “Sweetheart. What time do you have to have to get up?”

“Kayak races at umm, nine.”

“Sleep. I’ll make sure you’re awake.”

She nuzzled his neck, pressed a kiss to his skin. The innocent touch buzzed through him and his dick, the bastard, got hard again.

She muttered something that might have been “Thanks.”

As if his reassurance popped the release on her restraint, her body went liquid, turning into a limp noodle.

Her chest expanded and contracted against his as she slept deeply. Her lips puffed breath against his neck, raising goose bumps and spreading tingles more across his naked flesh.

She was out.

Diego curled his arms around her body and rolled them onto their sides. He took care of the condom without shifting her from beneath his arm and then relaxed onto the mattress. He should get up, tuck her in, and leave. Staying around after release wasn’t usually his thing, but he didn’t want to wake her. So he set the alarm button on his watch, giving her a little bit of snooze time, and shifted her so that her head rested in the crook of his neck.

She threw one bare leg over his and her hand skimmed down his stomach, resting near his groin.

His heart thudded beneath her cheek, booming so hard he was afraid he might wake her up. But instead she settled closer, and curled her fingers against his naked skin. When was the last time he’d just hung out with a woman?

Usually he was too busy. Had too many meetings and action items taking up his day to relax. He was either working, working out, or sleeping. But now he was trapped on the relatively comfortable bed, arms full of sexy woman, and nowhere to go. The warm cabin, the female full of soft curves and sweet sighs, and his general fatigue all caught up with him.

His last cogent thought was Zin was going to kill him.

But what a way to go.