“A good wine goes with everything.”

She followed him into the kitchen. He’d already picked out a bottle. Heidi stared at the label.

“Col Solare. Is it Italian?”

He reached for the bottle and removed the foil. “Washington State. It’s a blend made in partnership.” He smiled. “How many details do you want?”

“I think we’ve reached my limit. Is it expensive?”

“Define expensive.”

“More than twenty dollars a bottle?”

“Yes.”

“More than thirty?”

“Do you really want to know?”

She tilted her head. “It’s just wine.”

“You can’t use the words ‘just’ and ‘wine’ in the same sentence. You live five miles from a vineyard. You should support the local industry.”

“I’m more of a margarita kind of girl. What’s the difference between a ten-dollar bottle and a hundred-dollar bottle?”

“This wine is mostly aged in new French oak barrels. The best grapes are used, and the barrels are washed out during the aging processes. That’s a lot of expense and labor.”

“Why do they wash out the barrels? And how? There’s wine in them.”

“The wine is moved to stainless-steel containers, and then the barrels are cleaned out. It gets rid of sediment. The wine is then returned to the barrel to continue aging.”

He removed the cork and then got two wineglasses from the cupboard.

“Stainless steel because the wine won’t react with it?”

“Right.”

She took the glass he offered and sniffed. “It’s nice. You’re not going to talk about chocolate and black cherry are you? I’ve never understood that. It’s grapes, not chocolate. And if you say it’s pretentious, I’ll throw this at you.”

On his Nina-arranged date, he and the other woman had discussed wine because they’d had little else in common. That conversation had been slightly tedious and filled with “I know more than you” stories. He found he preferred Heidi’s honest assessment of wine.

“Tell me if you like it,” he said. “That’s what matters.”

“Do I swirl? Red wine drinkers like to swirl.”

“It aerates the wine.”

“I thought oxygen hurt wine.”

“In the bottle, yes. Once it’s opened and ready for drinking, oxygen opens up the flavors.”

She dutifully swirled her glass, then took a sip. She let it sit on her tongue for a second, then swallowed.

“Oh.” Her green eyes widened. “That’s nice. Smooth, but with a lot of flavor. I thought it might have that weird bite, but it doesn’t.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

They walked out onto the porch and sat on the steps.

They were a couple of hours from sunset. The days were getting longer and warmer as they inched toward summer. Buds had given way to leaves and flowers.

He and Heidi had brought the goats back for the evening. He could see the sheep and llamas grazing contentedly. He’d resisted coming to Fool’s Gold, but looking around now, he had a hard time remembering why.

“It’s Saturday night,” Heidi told him. “What would you be doing if you were back in San Francisco?”

“Working.”

“Not out on a date?”

“If I was dating, I wouldn’t need Nina.”

“There must be tons of women where you work or hang out.”

He shifted on the step, uncomfortable with the topic, but unclear on how to change it. “I’m not interested in going out with someone I do business with. I also won’t date an employee. There aren’t a lot of other women in my life.”

“You have a lot of rules.”

“I’m not looking to get sued for sexual harassment.”

“Good point. No likely candidates at your monthly tycoon meetings?”

He grinned. “No. All the good ones are married.”

“What about your season tickets to the opera or ballet?”

“I’m more a baseball guy. But I do like theater.”

“Musicals, where people randomly break into song?”

“Sometimes.”

“You’re full of surprises.” She put down her wine and grabbed his free hand. With her fingertips, she traced the calluses on his palms. “What will your tycoon friends say about these?”

“To tell you the truth, they’ll be envious.”

Heidi released him, which made him want to put his arm around her and pull her close. He liked when they touched. Lately he wanted to do a lot more than just touch, which made for some timing issues. He did his best to be gone before she stepped into the shower in the morning. The last thing he wanted was to spend fifteen minutes listening to the water running and imagining her na**d. Not that leaving the house erased the image, but it made dealing with it easier.

“You’re a better cowboy than I would have thought,”

she admitted.

“I like the work. I can look out and see what I’ve accomplished in a day. I don’t get a lot of that in my regular life.”

“Be careful. This kind of life can be seductive.”

He glanced at her and found her looking at him. She had beautiful eyes, he thought, staring into her green irises. A great smile. Her blond hair hung past her shoulders, all wavy from the braids.

He found himself wanting to touch the soft-looking strands, to pull her close and kiss her. But kissing would lead to other things, and that would be a mistake. Heidi might not be the enemy anymore, but she stood in the way of what he wanted. Sleeping with her would make an already complicated situation more difficult. But, damn, she was a temptation.

“Coals,” he murmured, not quite ready to turn away.

“What?”

“I should check the coals.”

“Oh, right. I’ll get the burgers.”

For a second, neither of them moved. Rafe knew he was seconds away from not caring about the consequences. But just as he was about to set down his glass and reach for her, she scrambled to her feet and walked into the kitchen.

Probably for the best, he told himself, ignoring the need building in his body, and the voice in his heart that whispered he was a fool to let Heidi be the one who got away.

* * *

HEIDI HAD A HARD TIME with dinner. The meal was great—there was no bad with hamburgers and potato salad—and she enjoyed the wine. Rafe was his usual, charming self. A funny, intelligent companion who could speak on any number of topics and still surprise her with his unexpected views on everything from the British royal family to his belief in renewable energy.

Her confusion came more from wondering why on earth any woman would have left Rafe. He was the kind of guy she would hold on to with both hands. Which led to the second problem… Unruly girl parts.

She’d moved past the tingling-in-anticipation stage and was firmly in “take me now.” Every time he smiled, she felt a tug in her belly. When his hand casually brushed hers, she wanted to whimper. If the man took her in his arms and kissed her for longer than thirty seconds, she would probably have an orgasm.

With dinner finished and the dishes washed, the rest of the evening stretched before them. May and Glen planned to go to a movie after their meal, which meant they wouldn’t be coming home for another three hours. Maybe more. The night was young, the sun just setting, and Heidi was terrified she was going to say or do something humiliating. Her only option seemed to be escape.

She swallowed the last of her wine, possibly a mistake considering she was already a little buzzed from her first glass, and stood.

“I, ah, should get some paperwork finished.”

Rafe rose. “You sure? I thought we could go for a walk.”

“In the dark?”

“I’ll protect you.”

She wanted to say yes. Wanted to spend time with him, talking to him and maybe more. But her fear was greater. With her blood pumping and her hormones doing their best to convince her to be wild, she was very likely to say or do something humiliating. Escape was the safest route.

“Maybe another time,” she murmured, moving back, anxious to get to the door. Once there, she could run for the stairs and make it to her room before disaster struck.

“Are you all right?”

“Fine. Great. Better than great.”

She gave him what she hoped was a brilliant smile and turned. Unfortunately she’d gone back farther than she’d realized and, in her haste, plowed directly into the cabinets. Her momentum was such that she staggered back and started to trip. Rafe caught her before she could tumble. He took hold of her arms and turned her so she was facing him.

His eyes were dark as night. His face all hard planes and sharp angles. Her gaze settled on his mouth as she remembered how good the kissing had been.

Then, she didn’t have to rely on memories, because he drew her close and pressed his lips against hers.

He tasted of the wine. Strong arms surrounded her, making her feel both secure and delicate. Female to his male. Her body nestled into his, her br**sts flattening against his chest, her thighs pillowing his. She lifted her arms to wrap around his neck, her fingers burying themselves in his hair.

The kiss was everything she remembered. Tender and demanding at the same time. Taking and yielding. She parted her lips and waited a heartbeat for his tongue to brush against hers. Wanting turned liquid. Hunger swept through her, like the tide coming in.

She tilted her head so they could deepen the kiss. He moved his hands up and down her back before sliding them to her waist. He paused there, as if waiting for her to decide what happened next.

There were options, she thought hazily. She could step back, say good-night and run away. The safe course, the sensible course. Or…

There it was. That delicious word. The road to possibilities. Or. Or she could give in to the need, find out if Rafe was as good as he looked, if she could satisfy him, if they were as well matched as she imagined. And she’d imagined a lot.

In truth, there wasn’t a choice. She’d made it the second she’d kissed him back. So why pretend otherwise?

She dropped her hands to his shoulders and squeezed. A silent invitation for more.

He responded immediately, moving his hands higher. Even as his large hands closed over her breasts, he shifted so that he was kissing her jaw, then her neck. He trailed his mouth to her ear, where he nipped at the lobe before licking the sensitive skin beneath.

At the same time, his hands closed over her breasts. He took the weight of her in his palms, using his fingers and thumbs to tease her tight nipples.

The combination of sensations overwhelmed her. Pleasure poured through her, making her want to cry out. Her legs trembled. The sensitive flesh between her legs swelled. She ached for him to touch her everywhere.

He continued to kiss his way down her neck to her collarbone. When he reached the edge of her T-shirt, he dropped his hands to the hem, drew back and pulled it off in one easy tug. Her bra followed as quickly.

Heidi was startled by the progression, but before she could figure out if she was comfortable or not, he bent down and closed his mouth over her right nipple. He drew in the tight bud and sucked. His tongue circled and flicked, sending jolts of need directly to the center of her being. At the same time, he cupped the other breast, his fingers matching the movements of his tongue.

She found herself growing weaker by the second. Her head fell back, her hair brushing against her bare skin. She hung on to him for balance, and because he was the only stable part of her rapidly spinning world.

He switched places on her breasts, replacing his fingers with his mouth, and vice versa. Her breathing increased as she hung on to him. With each tug of his mouth, she found herself more and more aroused. Blood became sluggish; wanting grew. Every inch of her was sensitized, so that even the brush of his arm against her belly was erotic.

He moved his hands to her shoulders and pulled her hard against him. His mouth covered hers. She kissed him deeply, meeting him stroke for stroke. Their bodies strained together. She felt his erection, hard and thick, and rubbed herself against him.

He reached between them, fumbling with the waistband of her jeans. She felt his fingers tremble as he undid the button, then pulled down the zipper.

He turned her so her back was to his front. As her rear nestled his arousal, he cupped one of her br**sts in his left hand and slipped his right inside her jeans and beneath her panties.

He found his way between her legs, to the wet, swollen heart of her. She felt as if she’d been ready for days, so the first stroke of his fingers caused her to gasp in both pleasure and approval. He circled and rubbed, moved his fingers back and forth.

Each stroke was perfection, every brush of skin on skin taking her higher and closer. Through the haze of need, she was pretty sure he considered this the play portion of the evening, that things would get serious later. But it had been too long, or maybe it was because of the man himself. Either way, about forty seconds in, she felt herself reaching for her release.

She pulsed her h*ps a couple of times and tried to hold back. But he touched her so right, and then there was his other hand on her breast, and the way he played with her nipples. When he bent his head and kissed the side of her neck, she lost what little self-control she had. Her muscles tensed and then released as her orgasm poured through her.

She came with a quiet cry and shudder, hanging on to him. He continued to rub her, drawing out her pleasure until she went limp in his arms.

Heidi stood there, her back to Rafe, humiliation blending with satisfaction. How could she have done that so fast? With hardly any effort on his part. She wasn’t completely sure he’d even expected things to go that far. What if he’d just wanted to make out?