Could she do that? Could they start again fresh? In order to do that, she’d need to let go of her bitterness and resentment over him sleeping with Leia so fast after they’d broken up.

Bitterness was a cold bed partner. And as long as she held onto it, Leia won.

Well, she wanted a future, the future she’d always dreamed about. A future with Ash.

She tilted her head back and gazed up into his warm, brown eyes. “You feel right in my arms too. I’ve never dated anyone else because I couldn’t see myself with anyone but you.”

“Oh, God, Sorene,” he said, his voice raspy with emotion.

She traced the side of his face, loving the scrape of a new beard. She needed to talk him into keeping it. The dark stubble gave him a rakish appearance. “Take me home, Ash.”

“Home?” He stopped swaying and stood still in the middle of the empty dance floor. “You want to end our date?”

“On the contrary, I want dessert.” She gave him a sly smile. “Take me home to the lake house. I want to be alone with you.”

“Uh…do you mean?”

She nodded and bit her lips.

“Wouldn’t a hotel room be more comfortable?”

“Probably, but when have we ever made love in comfort?”

He gave her an answering grin. “I’m game, if you are?”

“It’s my invitation, isn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am, that it is.”

She took his hand and led him back to the table for their coats.

Like horny teenagers, they touched and stroked each other on the long drive to the lake house, teasing and flirting until they both were a bundle of frayed nerves.

Ash grabbed her hand when it inched too far south, the SUV swerving. “I can’t take anymore and keep us alive, and I really want to be alive for what happens next.”

Sorene laughed, the tone of her voice sounding free and reckless. It had been forever since she’d felt this way. It was heady stuff.

When they reached the turnoff for the lane leading to the lake house, it started to snow in big, fluffy flakes, turning the night into a winter wonderland. Ash braked hard, the vehicle rocking from the sudden stop. “I have some blankets in the back, and the fireplace is sound for building a fire, isn’t it?”

“It should be, but I have a better idea.” She stepped out of the SUV and started toward the steaming lake, unbuttoning her coat. “Are you coming?” she asked, when she noticed he stood still in front of the SUV.

“I’m praying I won’t come too fast. You have a way of making me feel like this is my first time again.”

“You lasted long enough that time.”

“It took a lot of willpower, let me tell you.”

“You don’t think you’ll have the willpower tonight?” She cocked a brow in question and let her coat puddle to the snowy ground at her feet.

“The jury is still out, which is why I’m praying. Christ, what are you doing?”

“Taking off my clothes.” Her sweater followed her coat, leaving her in a red bra and scarf. She grabbed the end of the scarf and slowly pulled it free, letting it flutter away. Next, she unbuttoned her jeans and slowly slid down the zipper.

He visibly gulped. “It’s freezing out here.”

“And your point is?”

“We can’t make love out here. Cold temperatures have a way of bringing a man down to size.”

She giggled and shimmied her jeans down over her hips, kicking them off with her boots and socks. “Where’s you sense of adventure? Did you leave it in some foreign country?”

Goosebumps rose on her flesh, hardening her nipples to glass, but she didn’t lose her nerve, unhooked her bra, and stepped out of her lacy underwear, the matched set Cat had given her for her birthday hoping she’d put them to good use. She couldn’t think of a better use than stripping them off in front of Ash.

“There’s adventure, and then there’s suicide. I’m very fond of your body and don’t want to see anything frostbitten. Let me get a fire going, warm up the cabin.”

“I already have a fire burning inside me. Are you going to stoke it or put it out?” Laughing, she ran for the lake, loving how Ash swore behind her as he tried to catch up.

The heated lake felt heavenly as she dived in and swam in the bathwater temperature created from the underground hot springs. Damn, but she’d almost called a halt to her stunt when she’d shed everything and the snowflakes hit her skin, melting instantly.

Arms suddenly snaked around her and yanked her back against an even hotter source. He spun her around. His chest was wide, muscled, with a spattering of hair. So different from ten years ago, so much more impressive, and she relished how safe she felt in his embrace.

“You are a siren, Sorene,” he growled.

“No, I’m a thunder goddess.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “That’s what my mom said my name meant.”

“Then you are aptly named.” His mouth took hers, and she locked her legs like a vise around his waist, loving how his body couldn’t deny how very much he desired her.

He groaned and tore his mouth from hers. “I can’t wait to have you.”

“Who’s asking you to?”

There was no time for gentle caresses, tender words, not with need gnawing at them with sharp teeth. Her body hungered for his, wanting him hard and fast. Another time they could cherish each other, with soft touches, longing looks, and quiet possession.

Ash stilled in her arms, his eyes closing in pain. “Shit, we can’t.”

She arched against him. “Oh, yes, we can.” She froze. “Unless you…already…”

He choked out a laugh. “No, I did not.” He stressed his words by rubbing against her to make his point. “I have protection in the pocket of jeans. Back on shore.”

She paused and met his eyes. “Guess I didn’t think this all the way through.” She licked her tongue slowly across her lips. “I’m willing to risk it, if you are. The only babies I ever wanted were yours.”

“Christ,” he said in a strained voice, and then he entered her in one hard push that took him all the way home. She cried out, not in pain, but in the glory of having him deep inside her once again. Vaguely, she thought she heard him say, “I hope I give you one tonight.”

Comprehension was beyond her as his body fully joined with hers, making them one beating heart.

Their lips fused into a desperate and greedy kiss, his fingers digging into her hips, as he rocked hard inside her, his control unraveling.

She bucked against him, wanting him deeper, faster, harder. “Take me, all of me,” she demanded against his mouth.

“All of you. God, yes, all of you,” he chanted as he did exactly as she commanded.

She cried out as the first wave crested, glorifying in the pleasure she denied herself all these years, savoring the intoxicating power her body held over his. The orgasm ripped through her, cutting away everything, the past, the future, until it was only him, only her, together as they were always meant to be.

His harsh shout followed, echoing around them on the still air, and he convulsed inside her, his head falling to bury his face in her neck as his body heaved with exertion.

They held each other suspended in the heated water while snow lazily drifted down on them, melting instantly at the touch of their skin.

“Marry me, Sorene, my wild heart,” Ash said, his voice thick with emotion.

Her heart swelled until she was surprised it didn’t burst from her chest. Slowly and softly, she kissed him, and then smiled. “Yes, Ash, I’ll marry you.”