“You have about two seconds to snap the damn pictures.”

As the crew hurried to get the shots, Boone called himself everything but an intelligent man. The familiar scent of Becky’s hair teased his nose and the warmth of her body pulled at him to hold her closer. For ten minutes that seemed like an eternity, he followed the directions yelled at him. Just when he thought he could take no more, the photographer said the angle of the sun had changed and so must Becky.

“Can you drop me at the house, Boone?”

Boone looked into Becky’s upturned face. Her rounded cheeks were softly flushed, her eyes filled with smoky heat. She wanted him. He’d bet a dollar against a donut that she thought it didn’t show, but he’d had enough women to know the tell-tale signs. Her breathing was raspy and shallow and her body melted into his as though she couldn’t help herself. And those damned eyes.

Nodding, he gently clicked his heels into Diablo’s sides and the great horse took off. She settled more firmly in the saddle – and against him, and his blood stirred anew. How could it not when he’d had nightly dreams and daily fantasies about what it would be like to bed her? He’d pictured her in his bed, her wild curls covering his pillow as she lay beneath him, that same smoky look in her eyes as he loved her.

Now, knowing that she was just as attracted to him drained away his already shaky resolve. Again, he wondered what it was about this one woman that made him so weak. That made him think for the first time that his life lacked something. He didn’t like that thought at all. He’d worked harder than most men his age to accomplish what he had in such a short amount of time. The success of Leland Farms would be the payoff. He didn’t have time to go skirt-chasing after some dewy-eyed princess from New York.

Still, as he brought Diablo to a stop in front of the house, he found himself reluctant to let her go. When she again lifted that beautiful face up to him with quietly murmured thanks, he reacted with his body and not his brain. His head bent and her eyes went wide as she perceived his intent. Her expression changed from gratitude to oh-yes, kiss me please, as his lips touched hers.

Boone’s breath slid from his lungs as his lips met hers. Was that the earth moving?           “Shit.” Boone pulled back, quickly taking note of Becky’s dazed expression as he calmed the animal beneath them. Diablo was pawing the ground, impatient to run off some energy. He knew exactly how the big horse felt. He wanted nothing more than to take Becky upstairs, remove the sexy lingerie piece by piece, and love her until they were both too exhausted to move.

Instantly, he shut the door on such thoughts. He didn’t want her – or any of the movie crew – here any longer than they had to be. He had to hold onto his sanity for just a day or two more. Then she’d be gone.

For some reason, the thought unsettled him and he turned to anger as a defense.

“I’ve got work to do.”

Becky came back from rainbow land with a thud. The kiss had been nothing more than a swipe of his lips over hers, yet she’d felt it in every nerve ending in her body. Her legs felt like Jell-O as she slid to the ground and she wondered what he’d do if she landed in a heap at his feet. Luckily, she didn’t disgrace herself and managed to look up at him without giving away just how much his kiss had affected her. “Then go. I can manage just fine without you.”

“Ditto, Princess. So don’t go weaving any fairy tales about that little kiss. You were handy, that’s all.”

Becky watched him ride away, his back ramrod straight as clumps of dirt and grass flew beneath the horse’s hooves. She wished she could run away. Maybe that would save her heart. She had a feeling that by the time the shoot was done, it might just be broken beyond repair.

If anyone had told her love could happen this quickly, she’d have laughed in their face. Now all she wanted to do was cry.