More, her instincts seemed to scream. She wanted more.

She ran her fingers through his damp, dark hair, loving how the strands felt. Loving al the emotions swirling through her, over her, making her feel so alive, so new.

Her breasts pressed against his chest felt ful er, and maybe it was the dream driving her, but she wanted to feel him touch her. It wasn't until she heard voices nearby that she came to her senses. She pul ed her mouth from his and pushed up a few inches off his chest. His eyes opened and he stared at her with a hooded gaze. She saw the wildness in his eyes, a hunger like she'd never seen before. More than anything, she wanted to be the one to feed his hunger and taste the wildness. Then the voices drew closer. And right then, everything she felt was just too much. She moved off him, as unsure of these new emotions as she was of her ability to stand up on her own two feet. "We should ... I heard..." She stood.

"They're not coming this way," he said. He sat up and glanced up at her through his dark lashes. Exhaling, he scrubbed his palm over his face.

"Damn," he muttered, then looked back up at her. "I probably shouldn't have done that, should I?"

"Probably not," she agreed, even thought she wouldn't give the moment back for anything.

He slung back his wet hair, sending the drops of water reflecting off the sunlight spinning out. "Then forget it happened, okay? Just forget it ever happened."

"I don't think I can forget." She'd be remembering this kiss and this moment years from now. Because as much as she liked kissing Trey, it was as if this was her very first grown-up kiss. Her first real taste of passion. This kiss, the thing she'd felt was somehow more. And God help her, because while she wasn't ready for "more," she stil wanted it. And that, she supposed, was the true meaning of passion. Aware of the awkward silence building between them, she looked around. "Where are the tracks?"

"There." He pointed her to the edge of the creek.

She moved over there, slowly. Staring down at the prints, she pretended an interest in them. He suddenly stood beside her, casting a long shadow. When she looked up, she caught him staring at her chest.

She glanced down and saw that the water had made both her satin bra and white tank top practical y invisible. Her nipples, stil tight and tingling, pushed against the fabric.

She crossed her arms.

"You should wear my shirt." He tugged his wet blue T-shirt up. Kylie watched as his shirttail shifted upward, exposing a very hard abdomen. The hem of his shirt inched higher, and she took in the cutest inny bel y button she'd ever seen. And then his chest. Solid. Hard. A few drops of water glistened against his skin. Her heart beat to the sound of passion again.

Realizing she stared, she turned away. "Maybe you should just promise not to look and keep your shirt on."

"I might be able to do that. But the six guys that are about to arrive in less than thirty seconds might not be so cooperative. Then I'l have to teach each of them a lesson."

"I thought they weren't coming this way?"

"They turned around." He started putting the shirt over her head. She raised her hands and helped him. With the shirt in place, he offered her half a smile. His gaze lowered to her chest.

"Much better." He reached out and brushed a wet strand of hair off her cheek. "You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?"

The voices were at the bank of the creek now. Not that Kylie cared. Every instinct she had was zeroed in on the man standing in front of her and the compliment he'd just given her.

He made her feel beautiful. He made her feel sexy.

"You ready to head back?" Lucas asked.

She nodded, but right before she turned, she heard her name.

"Kylie?"

Damn if she didn't recognize the voice, too.

She looked back to the bank and found herself staring at a very puzzled-looking Trey.

Chapter Thirty-two

"Do you know him?" Lucas asked, his bare arm brushing against hers in a protective manner.

Too stunned to speak, Kylie managed to nod. And then Trey started over, splashing through the water.

"Everything okay?" Trey asked.

He didn't look at her. Instead, he kept his gaze riveted on Lucas. Or rather, on Lucas's bare chest.

"Yes," she said, final y finding her voice. "We ... we were just looking at the dinosaur fossils."

"Is this Derek?" Trey's tone was ful of accusation. Not that he had a right to accuse her of anything, considering everything that had happened between them. But the hurt in his eyes was genuine and it tugged at her heart.

"Trey, this is my friend, Lucas. Lucas, this is Trey."

Both boys stared at each other. Instead of exchanging handshakes, they offered each other cold, unfriendly nods.

"We should go," Kylie said to Lucas, and nodded a good-bye to Trey.

She started walking across the stream. Lucas fel in step beside her. She almost slipped again, but Lucas caught her, bringing her ful y against his chest as Trey watched from the other side of the stream.

"Boyfriend?" he asked, releasing his clasp on her waist.

"Ex." She got to the other side and sat down to put on her shoes, but she could stil feel Trey watching her. She knew al too wel how he felt. The same way she'd felt seeing him and that girl at the party. Poetic justice, just dues, turnabout was fair play-a bunch of emotional qualifiers skipped around her head, but truth was, she felt none of them.