into shadows. His sexy, thickly lashed bedroom eyes guaranteed easy conquests and his full lower lip hinted at sensuality.
When she looked at his thick, wavy brown hair that was neatly trimmed above the strong column of his neck, she knew she was openly staring, but he was the handsomest man she had ever known. Only she didn’t really know him and she was wary of his flirting. All her life the only men she had dated were men she had known as friends. She never had blind dates, had never had a flash encounter that resulted in something more.
A short-sleeved navy sport shirt revealed this man’s impressive muscles that indicated he either worked out daily or was into a job that took a lot of physical labor.
She already knew his broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist and trim hips. The sexy, charismatic man was dangerously appealing.
Unaccustomed to alcohol in any degree, she knew she should stop drinking wine, because she needed her wits to deal with such a heady combination of male sexuality and charm. And she suspected he was intent on seduction.
Her day had been dreadful. When she had flown into town, she had been exhausted and hungry only to be accosted in the hotel parking lot, adding to the miserable day. Encountering her dinner companion in the elevator with his cocky charm had made her smile and relax. All his talk about how gorgeous she was—she was certain he heaped the same compliments on any woman he dated. Still it was nice to be the object of those compliments.
She had wanted to get off the elevator and forget about him, but the man was too handsome to easily erase from memory. And in the elevator there had been sparks of attraction between them. She had felt it and she knew he did, but then, he probably experienced sparks with most of the females he encountered.
The moment she had stepped into the restaurant and spotted him across the room, her pulse had leaped.
Maybe it was the wine, but she felt exhilarated. All her tiredness and worries of the day had evaporated, and she had appeased hunger with a delicious steak dinner.
He stood and held out his hand. “Let’s dance.”
Taking his hand, tingles sizzling from that impersonal contact, she went with him to the dance floor, stepping into his arms and onto dangerous ground. Now she was in his arms, and every nerve in her body quivered. She could detect a tangy aftershave. Her thighs brushed his thighs. She was held lightly against him and she could feel the warmth of his body.
Giddy and breathless, she told herself it was the effects of the wine, but she knew it wasn’t. It was the man.
Dancing was paradise, and her partner was fascinating. How long since she had danced? She couldn’t remember. Probably last Christmas’s barn dance at the Kellogg ranch.
His arm tightened slightly, pulling her closer. They danced together with an ease that surprised her. At five-eight, she usually didn’t have to look up to men she was with, but she did now. He was well over six feet tall.
The next song was a fast number, and he swung into it without asking her. She danced around him, caught in the intensity of his blue-eyed gaze, knowing she enticed him just as he excited her. He caught her and spun her around, leaning over her, and for an instant they were frozen as she clung to him and gazed up into his eyes and saw the longing in their depths.
He swung her up, and they finished the dance and then began a slow dance.
“My head is spinning.”
“It’ll stop spinning with this music. Now it’s slow, deliberate, languid,” he drawled softly, his breath fanning her hair as he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her.
She should push against him and step back to keep the dancing as impersonal as possible, but it was heaven to be held in his arms. She closed her eyes to enjoy herself without reservation. She was dancing with the most handsome, appealing man she had ever known. And the sexiest. She didn’t even know his name and they would soon part and never see each other again, but right now she was going to dance and enjoy another hour with him.
How long since she had been on a date and had experienced as much excitement? She knew the answer had to be calculated in years, not days or months. Which made her all the more vulnerable to the man’s magnetism.
He wanted to know her name, and instinctively she realized for her own well-being, she should keep a barrier between them. The wine had been a mistake because she knew her judgment had slipped or she wouldn’t be here, wrapped in his arms, slow dancing with him.
His arms tightened just a fraction, and they were barely moving now.
Why couldn’t one of the locals who wanted to date her have been like this? Excitement bubbled in her, and she kept telling herself to be careful, to resist this charmer whose name she didn’t know.
“I’ve thought of a list of names that might fit you—Laura, Emily, Katherine, Kate, Patricia,” he whispered, his warm breath tickling her ear.
“None of the above,” she answered, leaning away to look up at him. The moment their gazes locked, her heart thudded. He wanted her and he wasn’t hiding it.
“I’ll tell you my name,” he said quietly, and she put her fingers against his mouth to stop him.
“Don’t tell me,” she whispered, intending to be emphatic, but her voice wavered as he kissed her fingers. Her stomach clutched and desire became a low flame inside her.
She sucked in her breath. “No names—remember?”
“I remember and I intend to win our bet.” He took her hand in his again and pulled her close and they danced. She moved with him, her fingers on his shoulder.
“I intend to figure out your name and to take you out again,” he declared.
While her pulse skittered, she leaned away to look up at him. “You don’t know where I live.”
“The world is a small place, and I get around a lot.”
“I’ll bet you do.”
“And for you, a man would be willing to go to the ends of the earth.”
“For a date? I don’t think so.”
He danced to the French doors and opened a door. Outside on the terrace, water ran from downspouts and dripped from the eaves, but the rain had stopped.
“Where are you going?” she asked as cool, damp air enveloped her. When they danced through the door onto the terrace, she felt a light mist.
“Out here where we can be alone,” he said, still dancing with her and closing the door behind them. He waltzed into the shadows.
“I think we’re getting rained on,” she remarked.
“Have you ever been kissed in the rain?”
Her heart pounded as she shook her head. “No, I haven’t.” She met his gaze squarely. She should look away, move away, do a thousand other things besides stand in his arms, but his compelling eyes held her. When his gaze lowered to her mouth, she couldn’t get her breath.
His hand tangled in her hair while his arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer against him. When he lowered his
