“It’s late,” he said. “You should probably be in bed.”

She didn’t know what to say. However she might want to believe that was an invitation, she had her doubts. Still, a girl could dream.

“I’ll walk you back.”

“Okay.”

She waited for him to take a step, or to bend down and pick up her flashlight. Then he did bend, but not toward the ground. Instead he bent just enough to brush her mouth with his.

The soft, gentle contact took her breath away. Warmth flowed through her like a sigh. His hands settled on her waist at the exact second she raised herself on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck. She tilted her head as he angled his. Her mouth parted just as his tongue swept along the seam.

The first taste of him made her want to moan as he explored her, delighting her with every caress. She arched against him, wanting to feel his hardness against her curves, his strength surrounding her. Their kiss was all hot surrender. Need burned through her body, making her breasts swell as her nipples tightened in anticipation.

He kissed her deeply, sucking on her tongue when she darted into his mouth. His big hands slipped from her waist to her rear where he rubbed and squeezed. The movements both aroused her nerve endings and soothed the sore muscles. She groaned.

He raised his head. “You like that?”

The unexpected question blanked out her brain. It took her a second to catch up.

“Well, um, yeah. It feels good because you’re touching me and because I was on a horse all day.”

Apparently he was done talking because he didn’t respond to her comment. At least not with words. When she’d finished speaking, he lowered his head so that he could kiss the side of her neck. Phoebe had never considered that much of an erogenous zone, but then she’d never had Zane pressing his damp lips against her skin. Nor had he ever licked the suddenly sensitive skin or nipped right below her ear.

Goose bumps broke out all over her body. She wanted him to keep doing that kissing, nipping, licking thing pretty much everywhere. If he could make her feel that delicious with just a few kisses on her neck, imagine what he could accomplish on bare breasts and—

She froze. His hands had moved from her backside to the button of her jeans.

Okay. The kisses were good. Better than good. They were extraordinary, but this was a little fast. They were outside. She wasn’t sure she knew him that well.

But before she could figure out exactly how to explain that they’d exceeded her comfort level, two things happened. The first was that he drew her earlobe into his mouth and sucked. It didn’t sound like much. Had someone described the event to her she would have been mildly impressed, but not overly so. However, having it actually happen was very different.

The combination of his teeth gently grating on her skin and his tongue flicking back and forth was the most erotic experience of her life. A sad statement on her sexual experiences, but still true. At that point, ground or no ground, she was willing to go all the way.

The second thing that happened was that Zane slid his hands inside her panties. Yup, those big, warm, manly man hands were right up against bare skin. But instead of slipping between her thighs, he moved his hands over her behind and dug his fingers into sore muscles.

It was heaven. Pure and simple paradise. Even as he kissed his way along her neck, his palms circled, his fingers kneaded, and she sent up the white flag of surrender.

“Don’t stop,” she breathed, meaning both the kisses and the massage. It wasn’t supposed to be this good. They weren’t even doing anything that bad and yet she was melting from the inside out.

He shifted slightly and returned his mouth to hers. She reached for his head and dug her fingers into his hair. She kissed him with a franticness that defied reason. It shouldn’t have been sexy, but it was. Intensely so. The sensations were beyond believing.

The sound of laughter cut through the night. Phoebe tensed slightly, suddenly aware of their surroundings. Zane must have heard it as well, because his hands stilled, and he broke their kiss.

Reason returned and she wanted to wince. Had she really begged him not to stop?

“I, um, want to tell you—” She broke off, not sure what she wanted to say to him.

She looked at his face, but the night was too dark for her to be able to see what he was thinking. Besides, how was she supposed to think when the man’s hands were still down her pants?

“I have to know,” he murmured.

Know? Know what?

Before she could ask, he moved his right hand across her hip to her belly, then slipped it down between her legs. His fingers slipped across slick, swollen flesh. They both sucked in a breath.

He pulled his hand free and carefully zipped and buttoned her jeans.

About fourteen thousand questions flashed through her brain, but she settled for the most important one.

“What did you have to know?”

“That you wanted it, too.”

He took her hand in his and brought it to his crotch. She had a good idea of what she would find there, but even so, the thickness, length and hardness of his erection made her want to whimper.

All righty, then. They both liked the kissing and touching. An interesting fact that should have absolutely no bearing on their lives. Really.

“Go to bed, Phoebe,” he said.

She had a feeling he meant by herself.

Zane bent down and collected her flashlight, which he pressed into her hand. Then he turned her in what she guessed was the direction of the camp and gave her a little push. She felt dazed. As if she’d just been given laughing gas, and some kind of potent sex drug. She felt giddy and giggly and light enough to float. Zane Nicholson might not be big on conversation, but the man obviously knew his way around the bedroom...not to mention her body. She couldn’t wait for morning, when she got to tell Rocky all about it.