Laura stepped out onto the deck, not knowing what to expect. Smoke had been so sweet afterwards. He'd held her close for a long time. He'd been the gentle Smoke, not the cocky one. He'd even told her he'd missed her this week. But then he'd said he had some work to take care of, a few phone calls to make, and he'd see her on the deck in a little while. She'd taken a shower and pulled on some yoga pants and a t-shirt, then fiddled with her designs for a while. There was no point, though. She couldn't concentrate. She'd decided to come out to enjoy the air, and the view. The days were getting shorter now and the sun would be setting soon.

No sooner had she sat down than she heard Smoke's door slide open. He peeked around the partition. He was so damned handsome! He took her breath away. He took everything else away too as he stepped around the screen.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he murmured.

“Who are you calling gorgeous, gorgeous?” Sexy-as-sin, unbelievably gorgeous in his case! He must have showered too, his hair was still damp. He wore only an old pair of faded jeans that hung low on his hips. His broad chest and shoulders were beautifully naked. Even his bare feet were sexy.

He came and squatted in front of her. Putting his hands on her knees, he pecked her lips. “You! Gorgeous. What are you up to?”

“I just came out to enjoy the view.”

He smiled and fixed his eyes on her breasts. “Me too!”

She laughed. “Not much to see there. Definitely no mountains.”

He scowled at her and cupped them in his hands. “How dare you! They're perfect!”

She closed her eyes enjoying the feel of his hands on her.

“And besides,” he continued, “they're mine!”

That opened her eyes in a hurry. When he'd said it in bed, she'd thought it was something muttered in the heat of the moment. She raised an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged. “Okay, so they're yours. Can they dance?” He flexed his pecs. “Mine can.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Men and their muscles! Honestly!”

His face darkened and he stood, pulling her to her feet to face him. “So you're used to men with muscles are you?” He wrapped his arms around her, holding her so close she had to look up to see his face.

“As a matter of fact, I'm not.”

His face relaxed as he nodded. “I didn't think so.”

“Why?”

“It's another reason you wouldn't normally sleep with a guy like me, isn't it?”

She had to think about that for a minute. Damn, he was right! What did bookish really mean? If she was honest, it meant weak and weedy. But why? She looked up at Smoke, he seemed to have had her figured from the beginning. “Why do you think that?”

His face softened. “Because you're afraid to make yourself vulnerable. And the best way to avoid being vulnerable is to be the strong one.” His eyes gleamed with mischief now. “So...you normally go out with little skinny guys that you can push around, right? Do you put 'em over your knee and spank 'em?”

“Watch your mouth, Captain, or I'll start pushing you around.” She put her hand to his chest to give him a shove. Somehow though, before she knew what was happening, he'd scooped her up and thrown her over his shoulder. He had a firm grip on her legs and she was face to face with his ass.

“Put me down!” she laughed.

“Nope! You can't push me around.”

She couldn't help laughing, this was ridiculous. She slapped his ass. “I said, put me down. Or you'll be sorry.”

His whole body shook under her as he laughed. “We'll see who's going to be sorry, lady.” He slapped her ass.

“Ow!” She wriggled to get down, but he just held her tighter. She giggled and paddled his backside with both hands now.

“That does it, lady! Now you're really going to be sorry.” He tightened his grip on her legs and strode around the partition to his side.

She watched the upside down lake bounce by in wonder. This was a first. He'd never invited her to come in here before.

“How about I put you over my knee and spank you?” he asked as he slid the door open and headed for the sofa.

He wouldn't, would he? She wriggled for real now. “Smoke! No!” He was laughing. She was too, but he wouldn't really, would he? “Don't you dare!”

He stopped at the sofa and dropped his shoulder so she slid down his front to stand facing him.

“You!” She put both her hands on his chest and shoved as hard as she could, but he stood his ground, still laughing

“You'd better get used to it, lady. I told you, you can't push me around.” He pulled her down to the sofa with him and somehow he was on top of her. Her hands were pinned and her legs were spread and he was still laughing. “I'm bigger than you and I'm stronger than you.” The laughter faded from his face as he looked down at her.

His mouth came down on hers and her arms came up around his neck. It was the sweetest kiss that deepened into something so much more as their tongues danced in some ritual of permission sought and granted. Eventually he lifted his head, his eyes serious now.

“I'm bigger than you, and I'm stronger than you, and like I just told you, I will never ever push you around.”

She knew he spoke the truth, but wasn't really sure what he was getting at. “I do trust you, Smoke.”

He smiled and brushed his lips over hers. “And I trust you, lady.” He sat up and pulled her into his arms. “So, say you'll have dinner with me?”

She frowned.

He tightened his arms around her, contradicting his words. “Of course, I'll let you go now, if you don't want to.”

“I want to, but I said I'd go over to Missy and Dan's.”

He grinned. “I bet they'd be happier to know you're with me.”

She laughed. “You have a pretty high opinion of yourself, don't you?”

“Yes, I do. But I've earned it. And before long, you'll have a higher opinion of me too. I'm a great guy once you get to know me.” His cocky smile was back to full beam as he swaggered his shoulders.

“Are you saying you're going to earn it?”

“Yep, right after you call Missy and tell her you're not coming, because I invited you for dinner and you couldn't resist.” He picked his phone up from the coffee table and handed it to her.

“I'm not calling her from your phone!”

“Why not? If you don't you'll have to go all the way next door for yours and I don't want to let go of you for that long.”

“You'll survive.” She tried to stand up, but he held her tight.

“I might not. And wouldn't you feel terrible if I didn't?”

Why was it that all her life she'd felt claustrophobic—or just plain creeped out when a guy tried to hold on to her in any way, yet now that Smoke was doing it, she was loving every minute of it? Was it just because between the two of them it was only a game? She looked at his face; there was still something much more serious lurking behind the laughter. She wasn't sure it even was a game anymore—to either of them.

“I'll have to risk it. I'm going next door, I'll call them and get changed. Where are we going for dinner?”

He released her and leaned back to look at her. “Okay, go call them, but don't get changed. You look so hot just the way you are.”

He wasn't playing. He meant it! The way he was looking at her proved it. She couldn't help but smile, knowing she was doing that to him. “I'm glad you think so. But I can hardly go out like this.”

“Who said anything about going out? We can have dinner right here. That way I can have you all to myself.” He reached out and touched her cheek. “How does that sound?”

She nodded. It sounded like the perfect evening. She stood up quickly, needing to break the spell. “It sounds wonderful, but I'm still going next door to call them. I'll be right back.”

***

Smoke watched her step out onto the deck and disappear around the screen. Jesus! What the hell was he doing? He lay back on the sofa and blew out a big sigh. Whatever it was, he couldn't help it! When she'd told him she hadn't been with Michael, the relief had been overwhelming. When she'd admitted that she'd thought he'd been with Rochelle—and that she'd been jealous? That had blown him away. How the hell could she have thought that? She was so damned hot—how could she ever think she'd have any competition? But knowing that she had had softened something inside of him. He'd felt some instinctive need to reassure her, to tell her, show her, that he wanted her and only her. That he wanted all of her, all for himself. And that was the dumbest thought he'd ever had! He couldn't ask her for anything, because he couldn't give her anything. Not any of the things that women wanted anyway.

Damn! He'd come back in here to get away from her, knowing he shouldn't stick around too much. But all he'd done was make the few bookings he'd needed to for next week's travels, then sat trying to talk himself out of going back over there. He'd lost that battle as soon as he'd heard her step out on the deck. Then when he'd seen her sitting there looking abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous, he'd lost another battle with himself. No way was he going to be able to get out of here for the evening and stay away from her like he'd decided he needed to. He'd known the second he'd squatted down to look into her beautiful blue eyes that he was going to have dinner with her. Spend the whole evening with her—and the whole night too.

His phone rang—Jack! No way!

“If you need to fly tomorrow, I'll find you a pilot. I'm taking the day off.”

Jack laughed. “Yo, bro. I take it that means you caught up with my little bitty cousin?”

“I'm saying nothing, Benson. What do you want?”

Jack laughed again. “Chill out Smokey! Em and I were talking about the fundraiser—our table is getting all kinds of crazy this year, and you never let me know if you're coming.”

Smoke thought about it. “Is Laura going?”

“Yes. Does that mean you're more likely to come—or to stay away?”

“It means I'm coming. And....” Smoke made a decision. “It means I'm not working it.”

“Huh? Now you're fucking with me, right? How are we supposed to get there?”

“I'll have another pilot on staff by then, Jason. He can fly.”

“Oookay. Want to tell me what's going on?”

“No.”

“Smoke! Talk to me, man? This is so not you, you're worrying me!”

He heard Laura coming out onto the deck. “I've got to go. We will talk soon, okay?”

“Is she with you now?”

“Yes. Not that it's any of your business.”

She was coming around the partition.

Jack sounded serious now. “Talk to her, Smoke. Get her to talk to you.”

“See ya, Jack.”

He hung up as Laura came in. She arched an eyebrow. “Jack?”

He nodded.

“At least he waited ’til afterwards this time!”

He let out a short laugh. “Yeah, listen, Laura. About that....” What could he say? How could he explain to her?

“That was last weekend,” she said. “This is this weekend. You just invited me to dinner. I just canceled my plans so I could accept. Clean slate, right?”

Wow! That was easy. “Thanks.” No point going there if she didn't want to. They had the evening ahead of them. Why spoil it by getting into heavy stuff? He grinned and patted the sofa beside him. “Sounds good to me. Clean slate it is.” As she sat down and he closed his arms around her, Jack's voice echoed in his mind. Talk to her, Smoke. Get her to talk to you.

Right now, all he wanted to do was hold her. He raked his fingers through her hair, tipping her head back as he lowered his lips to her. She tasted so damned good. Her kiss was so sweet, intoxicating. Soon they were lying on the sofa, legs entwined, bodies pressed together. Lips telling each other everything, without any need for words. His mind vaguely registered that she could only mean trouble. But trouble had never tasted so good.

***

She smiled as he handed her a glass of wine. “Are you going to make me dinner, or are you just planning on getting me drunk and taking advantage of me again?”

They'd made out on the sofa like teenagers until his need to have her again had become too much. He'd broken away, suggested a drink. He wanted her badly, but they had the whole night. He didn't want this to be all about sex. It wasn't, for him—as strange as that felt. He needed to know that it wasn't for her either. He met her gaze. “I'm not making you dinner.”

She laughed. “So, just taking advantage of me, then? That's fine, as long as I know.”

He took her glass from her and set it down. Leaning back against the counter, he drew her to him so she was standing between his legs. “Remember I told you I will never push you around? I need you to know I will never take advantage of you either, in any way.”

She put her hands on his shoulders and planted a kiss on his lips. “Thank you, Smoke, but let's keep it light can we?”

Jesus! Maybe she was only in it for the sex—and he was the one going all heavy on her! What was she doing to him? He recovered quickly and squeezed her ass, playfully. “Okay, but I'm still not making you dinner.”

A look of...something—what, panic, horror?—crossed her face. “You're not expecting me to make  you dinner?”

“I am not. I thought we could order from that Italian place. They deliver.”

“Oh, great.” She was smiling again, but he wondered why she'd reacted like that.

***

They sat out at the table on the deck. The setting sun had turned the sky and the lake red and gold while they'd eaten. The food had been amazing. Giuseppe's had a wonderful menu once you got past all those pages of pizza.

Smoke went inside and returned with the Tiramisu, more wine and some candles. He lit the candles and refilled her glass.

She smiled at him. “Is this one of your standard moves? Do you do this with all the girls?” she teased.

“I do. I do it with every single girl I bring home.”

She covered the disappointment quickly, but he saw it before her smile was back in place. Good! He was getting to her. He was going into all kinds of dangerous territory for her—he needed to know he wasn't going alone.

“You must go through a lot of candles.”

“You'd be surprised.”

She shook her head. “I doubt it.”

Yep, definitely getting to her . She didn't like it. He didn't want to be an asshole about it though.

“Do you want to know how many candles I've used?'

She laughed, but it sounded too brittle. “You keep count? What do you do, buy them in bulk?”

He shook his head. “I have used a sum total of three.”

She looked at the three candles on the table, then back up at him. “Three each time, right?”

He shook his head again and reached for her hand—what was it about her that made him do that? He'd never been a hand holder, even with.... Laura's long slender fingers closed around his, reminding him of the very first time they'd met. Maybe that was it? She was looking at him, bringing him back to the moment, waiting for him to answer. “No. Three ever. I've never brought anyone home before.”

She laughed. “Now I do feel special. Don't worry, you haven’t been here long. I'm sure you'll put up some good numbers soon.”

He dug a spoon in the Tiramisu and brought it to her lips. She smiled and licked it seductively before taking it. Jesus! She was still playing with him! If her mouth was as talented as it seemed to be, she could win this game every time! He watched, transfixed, as he slid the spoon out of her mouth.

Damn, Smoke! Focus!

“I don't mean just here, Laura. I have never brought a woman home. Anywhere.”

She couldn't speak with her mouth full, but her eyes widened in shock.

“Apparently you are special.” He watched her swallow. “I keep breaking my own rules for you.”

“Why?” she whispered.

He shook his head. “I'll tell you when I figure it out.”