"Give that back," she ordered.

He tossed it over one shoulder, daring her to go for it.

"You want to act like someone else, not the woman you're supposed to be, but the woman you want to be. In fact, I think..." His voice trailed away, leaving her hanging, edgy, wanting more.

"You think what?" she prodded.

"I think you want to scream."

"I am not going to scream," she said firmly. "I don't do that. It's not dignified."

"Maybe Katherine Whitfield is dignified, but Kat-Kat is all woman, wild and wonderful."

He smiled, his mouth s.e.xy and full, his lips showing a trace of wetness where he'd run his tongue over them. Katherine wanted to put her tongue right there, to follow the wet line, to slide between his lips.

"I could make you scream," he said softly, dropping down to his knees in front of her.

Eye to eye, mouth to mouth, chest to chest. It was exactly what she wanted, what she needed, what she'd come here for.

"Zach."

"Yes?"

She put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. His lips were just a breath away from hers, and she wanted to taste him more than she wanted to breathe. "Make me scream."

He stole the last word as his mouth covered hers, his tongue sweeping inside. His hands molded her b.r.e.a.s.t.s through her thin T-shirt. She made no protest when he lifted the shirt over her head. She helped him undo her bra, impatient to have his hands on her skin, his mouth on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

And he did exactly what she wanted, burying his face in the valley between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, then sliding his tongue around her nipples in long, slow swirls that drew closer to the heart of her desire. She felt like she'd go mad with wanting him. Her whole body tingled at every stroke, every touch.

He pushed her back so she was lying half on the sofa, half off, and when he pulled her pants off her legs, she kicked her way out of her panties, almost begging him to touch her there where she needed him.

She pulled the shirt off his back and reached for his pants, feeling the hardness packed into his jeans. But she couldn't reach the snap or the zipper, because Zach was trailing kisses across her stomach.

"Zach, help me," she pleaded, wanting him to take off his jeans, wanting him to hurry, to bury himself inside her.

But Zach wasn't listening to her. He wasn't paying attention. Oh, Lord! His mouth had moved down to the juncture of her thighs. She felt his breath, a whisper of pure tantalizing torture. Then his tongue descended on the most private part of her.

She tried to fight the desire, the loss of control, but the tension in her body reached a fever pitch as his hands held her in place, as his relentless tongue drove her higher and higher.

"Scream, Kat," he urged. "Scream."

And with the next sweep of his tongue, she did exactly that, letting go of everything as her body convulsed over and over again, until she felt like she'd touched the moon and come back.

Zach crept back up her body, smiling down at her. "Very nice, very undignified, Miss Whitfield. You show great promise."

She stroked the side of his face. "You're very generous."

"Are you kidding? That was for me as much as for you."

"Liar."

She pushed him up so he was sitting on the couch, then knelt in front of him, pulling his jeans down to his ankles. When he was as naked as she was, she climbed on top of him.

"You're very demanding," he complained as she straddled his legs with hers.

"Because I want you inside me, Zach. I want to feel you here." She put a hand over her heart.

"I'm not sure I'm that-"

"Oh, you are. Believe me, you are." She reached down to touch him, stroking the silky hot hardness that brought a golden glitter to his eyes. "Maybe I should torture you now."

"You already are," he murmured, locking his arms behind her waist as he pulled her down onto him with a deep groan of satisfaction.

She moved up and down on him, watching the emotions chase across his face, the honest need that he couldn't hide. When he drove into her one last time, he cried out her name. It wasn't a scream, but for a man like Zach, it was as close as she was going to get.

Chapter 18.

A short while later Katherine lay wrapped in Zach's arms on the long, narrow couch.

"Do you have a bed?" she asked.

Zach nibbled on her ear. "Mm-mm, I think so. Why?"

"Just wondering if we might ever make love there."

"That depends on how long you're planning to stick around."

She squirmed around in his arms so she was facing him. "Am I invited?"

He didn't say anything for a long moment. "I could kick you out, Kat, but somehow I think we'd find ourselves right back in this same position tomorrow night."

"Would that be so bad?"

"I guess not."

"That's what I like, a definite answer." She studied the hard lines of his face, noting the deep tan of his skin, honed by hours in the sun, the laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, and the tiny scar that cut across his chin. She traced it with her finger. "Where did you get this?"

"I don't remember."

"That's convenient."

"What can I say? I'm horribly flawed."

"You're not exactly a monster."

"Sometimes monsters come in pretty packages," Zach said somberly. "You can't let a nice face fool you."

"Then I'm safe, because you're not a very pretty package, especially with that perpetual scowl you wear."

"I don't scowl," he grumbled.

"Sure you do, especially when you look at me. I bet Rogue can recognize it, too."

He twirled one strand of her hair around his finger and let it go, watching it take to a momentary curl.

"What are you going to do if Rogue wins the Derby?" she asked.

"Drink a magnum of champagne."

"After that," she said, poking him in the ribs.

"Ouch. Okay, okay. I'm going to keep him in training and try for the Triple Crown."

"And after that?"

"Jesus, Kat, I don't know. What are you asking me?"

"What's your long-term goal-to have your own stud farm, to travel around the world, what?"

Zach didn't say anything for a minute, and she wondered if he'd really confide in her.

"I told you, I'd like to take over this place," he said.

Katherine stiffened. She didn't want to hear Zach talk about Stanton Farms. She didn't want to talk about the Stantons or even think about them.

Unfortunately, Zach seemed oblivious to the turmoil in her head, and the one time she wanted him to shut up, he surprised her by talking about his life at the farm. She knew she had to tell Zach what she'd learned, but she couldn't find the words. Zach thought he knew the Stantons so well, but she doubted he had any idea what secret they were harboring.

"Harry is one of the best people I've ever known," Zach added, stabbing her painfully with each innocent word. "He saved me, Kat, saved me as if he'd gone into a burning building and pulled me out. Before I met him I thought everyone was bad, liars, thieves, cheats. I had no one to look up to, but he showed me a different world. He and Sam. They kicked my a.s.s into shape. If I could run this ranch for Harry, if I could make his legacy into something special, it wouldn't be nearly enough of a thank-you."

"You're very loyal."

"To the people who deserve it."

"How do you know who really deserves it?" she asked, a hard note in her voice as she thought about Harry Stanton sending her mother away, alone and pregnant. How could she tell Zach about that? He had so few heroes in his life. How could she take away the last one he had?

"Are you referring to someone in particular?" Zach asked curiously.

"Never mind." She rested her head on his chest. "Maybe we should go back to talking about that magnum of champagne and whether or not you'd be willing to share it with a city girl."

"I might be convinced."

She lifted her head and sent him a wry smile. "As long as I don't go getting any ideas, right?"

"I don't think I could stop you from getting ideas. Judging by the look in your eyes, you already have at least one."

She saw the teasing light in his eyes and knew that no matter what else felt wrong, Zach felt right. "It's never been like this for me before," she said haltingly. "Not just the way you touch me, but the way I feel when you touch me. It's almost like you know me better than I know myself. How can that be?" She searched his eyes for an answer, sorry she'd asked the question when the amus.e.m.e.nt fled his eyes. "Never mind. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Kat..." He touched the tip of her nose with his finger and shook his head. "You're a very dangerous woman."

"Me? I work as an investment banker. I live with a cat. I make endless lists so I'll make the right decision. Not exactly mad, bad, and dangerous to know."

His lips curved into a half smile. "So you made a list before you came to visit me tonight?"

"No. If I had-"

"You wouldn't have come."

"You didn't exactly welcome me in the door."

"Because I knew where we'd end up."

"It's not so bad," she said, tracing his mouth with her fingertip. She suddenly wanted to end the conversation, to stop thinking, to kiss his warm, inviting mouth and lose herself in his arms. "Kiss me, Zach."

He raised an eyebrow. "Kiss me, Kat."

Indecision ran through her, and even though she didn't have a pen and paper handy, the pros and cons of kissing Zach ran through her head.

"Do it," he ordered. "Don't think about it. Don't worry what will happen next. Live in the moment."

"I want to," she said, contemplating his mouth. "You know I'm not asking you for anything, no promises, no commitment."

He stroked her hair with a gentle hand. "Don't promise something you can't deliver."

"What do you mean?"

"I told you before. I can see it in your eyes, everything you want. I just wish I could give it to you."

"Maybe you can."

"I don't know how."

"I could show you."

"Then show me. Show me all night long and then again in the morning."

Katherine touched his mouth with hers, and the heat touched off between them like a rocket blast. She explored his mouth with a pa.s.sion, a need, that would have shocked the h.e.l.l out of her if she'd given herself time to think about it. But she wasn't going to think, she was going to feel and enjoy all the wonderful spine-tingling sensations that kissing Zach Tyler created in her body.

She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him again and again and again, until he groaned deep in his throat. He grasped her waist with his big strong hands and rolled over, attempting to pin her beneath his body. Unfortunately, his sudden movement landed them flat on the floor instead.

"Oops," Zach said with a wicked smile, as his leg parted her thighs.

"Nice move. Did you practice that one?"