"You're lookin' a little grungy." At Ian's voice, she lifted her head.

"I'm feeling it, too." A quick check found no other places to sit. Taylor rose. "I could do for a hot bath and some dinner."

Ian moved in a step closer and pushed her hair up under the cap she wore. A hunger filled his eyes as his hand slid down the side of her cheek, sending shivers through her. Her eyes closed on their own, leaving her defenseless and filled with desire, awakening every nerve.

She opened her eyes. Her hands reached for his shirt and pulled him against her. Ian didn't even push away. Their lips merged as dirt and grime met with refined New York elegance. Taylor chuckled, pulling herself out of the moment. "You do realize we look a sight, right?"

"I'm sure we would if anyone were looking."

"Someone's always looking in a small town, Ian." He bristled under her touch. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." His hand slipped to hers. "Let's go have our date."

"I need to clean up first."

"Um ... okay."

The simple answer had Taylor narrowing her eyes. "Where to?"

"Home."

Good. She followed Ian back out through the house, locked up and stared at her truck in the driveway. "Why-"

"Because I knew you'd be grimy and not want to get the soft leather of Tripp's Jag dirty."

"But you're wear-"

Ian touched her lips with a finger. "Tonight, you are not to ask questions about how I make stuff happen. I have a phone and a laptop. And money. Tonight, is about you."

With a giant smile, she slid into the pa.s.senger seat of her truck. A sniff of the air had her turning her head as he joined her. "What's been in here?"

"What do you mean?" He started the engine, his lips tight.

Taylor breathed in deep, inhaling the scents of grilled meats and vegetables. "Food, Ian. It smells like food."

"Maybe I ate. Or, maybe you should stop asking questions."

She pursed her lips together and clamped them with her finger, watching as the scenery between the house she'd been renovating and her own house pa.s.sed. Trees, shrubs, small and large neighborhoods filled with houses, families and kids running around in the late evening springtime. A longing tugged at her heart. I want that, and I feel like I've wanted it forever.

Ian pulled into the driveway with a b.u.mp over the gravel covered ditch.

Taylor gasped. She drew her hands to her lips, turned to Ian and spun back. As the truck came to a stop, she jumped out and ran to the middle of her yard.

A small, white awning ruffled in the breeze, covering a single table with two chairs. A fire burned in the pit she'd made just for that purpose, and tiki torches lit the s.p.a.ce, prepared to ward off the evening's more irritating creatures.

Ian appeared at her side. "It's all I could do on short notice."

Taylor turned into him, drew her hands up to his face and pulled him down for a kiss. "Can I change before we sit?"

"Yeah. I'll be waiting."

"Ten minutes. Ish." She added a small smack to his lips and darted off to her house, stripping her clothes in the process, knowing with Agnes gone, no one, anywhere, would see her.

Under the hot water, the grit and dirt of the day as well as the tension drained away. Water sluiced over her, down her body, sending licks of heat to every nerve ending. Ian had created a picnic over the very spot that had messed up her life and brought back the security and love she had with her house. She couldn't have asked for a better start to their future, as he'd put it, and to get Tanner out of her mind.

a a a Taylor stepped from her home, after spending only five extra minutes, to find Ian stoking the fire, his back to her. He turned as she walked down the three steps onto her gra.s.s, his soft, green-collared shirt opened at the top but tucked into khaki slacks. Blades tickled the underside of her bare feet as her white, summer dress waved in wind she created just with her own movement.

The sun dipped below the tops of the trees at the back of her property and set the entire area aglow in a warm, orange light.

Something took hold of Ian's expression, keeping him a solid, stone wall Taylor couldn't read. She flattened her hands along her sides, wiping the perspiration that acc.u.mulated under his stare.

He held out his hand, and Taylor noted he, too, had gone barefoot. "You're beautiful," he said as she said, "Slumming it, Ian?"

Their smiles matched as they kept their gazes fixed on each other. The sounds of nature filled the s.p.a.ce, mixing with the small laughter of children from somewhere Taylor couldn't see.

Ian shifted toward the table where a silver platter sat in the center. A lift of the lid revealed two plates of steak, sizzling as if they'd just been taken off the grill. Taylor whipped around and found the grill on her back deck pulled out. "You cooked?"

Ian lifted a bottle of Merlot from an ice bucket and filled their gla.s.ses. "I warmed ... with explicit instructions."

Taylor couldn't help the laugh or the overwhelming love that flowed through her.

Ian motioned with his fork for her to begin.

A hint of chocolate came through as she sliced a piece of steak. "You got this from Dulces, didn't you?"

A half-smile graced his face. "Where else would someone go on a first date?"

"But, you made it a picnic." Juices from the meat coated her tongue.

"I thought coming here, being a part of what started it all and hoping it would be positive would be a good thing. You know ... overshadow the bad."

Taylor waved her fork, a red potato stuck to the tines. "It is. This couldn't be more amazing."

In the distance, a coyote made its first call of the night, and the crickets around them buzzed their evening tune. Ian scooped up a forkful of rice as Taylor dove into grilled vegetables. She savored each bite, each morsel, wanting more, as much as she wanted Ian in her life.

Their gazes only strayed as they piled their forks. Few words pa.s.sed between them. His presence seemed enough.

The last of their natural illumination disappeared as they finished, and Ian leaned toward the ground. A second later, twinkly bulbs lit the interior of their tented roof.

He held out his hand and stood as soft music carried on the breeze. "May I have this dance?"

A check of her plate showed it empty, the flavors continuing to tease her tongue. Her palm slid against Ian's as naturally as if they'd made the same move for centuries. His body hugged hers, swaying to the slow rhythm of a symphonic orchestra.

Taylor laid her head onto his shoulder, basking in the atmosphere, in the moment, and in the truth. She'd known Ian, in a way no one could describe, from the moment their hands shook at Tripp and Lexi's wedding. That their lives entwined in some game no longer mattered. He held her in his arms, and she wanted him.

Ian's lips found her lobe. Taylor's sigh contradicted the gooseb.u.mps up her arm. She stretched, giving him access. He trailed soft kisses to her shoulder, brushing the single strap down. Their bodies moved in unison, she letting him lead.

Dusk darkened the surrounding light, bringing with it the chill of evening, though heat seared between their bodies. Each of Ian's touches scorched Taylor. Each kiss branded her as his.

Taylor's strap slid lower until she pulled her arm from it. His hands slid around her back as their lips played against each other. His press forward leaned her back. Trust kept her in his arms until she lay against the soft gra.s.s.

Ian ranged over her until he fit along her body, his weight lightened by the propping of his elbows on either side of her. Taylor worked at the b.u.t.tons of his shirt, one by one, undoing them.

Muscles jumped as she caressed. A finger under the collar and a push had his shirt falling off his shoulders. Ian slipped his arms out, leaving his torso exposed.

His arms shook.

"Tired?" Her own tone came out a lazy drawl.

"Aroused."

The mere mention spurred her forward. A twist and a zip freed him from his pants. "You sure you want to do this out here?" More sultry s.e.xuality made her smile at herself. Only with Ian had she ever been the one to make the move.

"Here seems to be the right place." Ian nipped at her chin, moving up to her lips.

Taylor wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down upon her. His hand slid down her side, a finger-walk over fabric brought it up until his palm met the flesh of her inner thigh. She moaned her desire, spurring him to torment closer to her center.

Her lips explored every inch of his face, delighting in the fact that she recognized him under her own touch. Fingertips traced his cheekbones, his ear and down his shoulder to his chest, teasing until he shivered.

His hands slid up to her breast, down to her inner thigh and back, eliciting lines of heat from the core of her body to her head.

A suckle arched her back.

A nip elicited a groan of pleasure.

A kiss relaxed.

Their touches continued, tormenting each other until Taylor's need for him overwhelmed. She drew herself up, transposing their positions.

A tug of his pants lowered them.

A lift of her skirt raised it.

A descent merged their bodies into one.

Ian's thrusts speared her with sensations, bringing to mind years of time spent together that could only be imaginary-the lake, dust-covered ground, the hayloft of her parent's barn. Each a moment they should not have come together, tempting fate, testing even time itself.

Taylor rocked against Ian's hips, drawing him in as deep as possible, wanting their connection to remain.

Never to sever.

Memories played out in Taylor's mind with each draw from or rise to Ian. Against a rock wall. In a grove of trees. Amidst the sunshine in a field of daisies.

The harder his thrusts, the more those snippets, those momentary windows into their prior lives surfaced and faded. She leaned forward, laying her lips against his as he continued to provide the pleasure she'd always dreamed she'd be able to accept-from the right man.

Tension surfaced in his legs, driving Taylor toward her own peak.

No words need have been spoken.

No thoughts need have been shared.

No memories broke what remained between them.

Together.

Forever.

Pleasure consumed Taylor, sending a dizzying array of sound, movement, light, darkness, joy and happiness through her-a cacophony of life as in that moment two became one.

32.

Taylor trailed lazy fingers along Ian's side as their breaths slowed. A light breeze moved through, causing a shiver.

"Cold?" Ian's rough, sated voice didn't mask the happiness.

"A little." She laid a small kiss at the side of his lips. "But, I would like to stay out here. Want me to get a blanket?"

His hands slid low. "I'm good."

Taylor chuckled as she pushed herself up. "You stay here."

Ian yanked her back down. "But, I'm going to be cold."

She nuzzled her nose against his. "Ian?"

"Yeah?" His fingertips traced along her back.

"I think all our lives merged tonight. I didn't have that out of body experience I've had before. I just ... it was just you and me."

He turned until their gazes met. "Really?"

She nodded against him. "Every other time has kinda taken me with it, but this was ... different. This was ... today-real, if that makes sense."

"I think I get it, yeah."

"So ..." She walked her fingers up his chest again. "I have a feeling. A gut feeling, since you like to listen to yours. That we won this time. Like maybe it's over. Really. I feel it inside."

Ian tilted up her chin and touched his lips with hers, but he didn't comment.

A deeper breeze blew over them. He may not have believed, but she did. On a sigh, she said, "Let me get us a blanket. I'll be back in two minutes." Taylor lifted her body from Ian's, bringing herself to a stand and holding her dress to her chest. On a second thought, she let it fall to the ground. "More for you to think about until I get back."