“All right.” He nearly invited her to sleep over but didn’t. He told himself he’d see how things went over the rest of the trip first, before taking any more steps.

“You don’t need to make dinner, though. Why don’t I bring up something? I’m working on my pizza dough skills, so I can bring some dough and we can make pizza.”

Mary had apparently worked up some fantastic menu with Natalie, but he figured if she brought up the dough they could make pizza the next time they were together.

“Are you good at everything or what?”

“Ha. No. April, that’s my big sister, she’s so good at baking. I do all right, but she’s got some sort of magic touch. I was totally intimidated by yeast for years so I never made bread until earlier this year when we had pizza when April and her kids and husband were up visiting my parents. I just like being able to make it exactly how I want it. The size I want. The thickness of crust, toppings, all that. It’s not that hard and it’s really so much tastier when you make it yourself.”

He wasn’t sure why this in particular pushed him past all his limits, but it did. “I want to fuck you.”

Her grin was quick, but sensual, too. “I can make you pizza on Friday, as well.”

He stood up, still holding her, his hands cupping her ass as she wrapped her legs around his waist and held on while he got out. Though it was nearly June, it was still cool, especially after dark at that elevation. Steam lifted from her bare skin as he put her down and wrapped a towel around her.

“Go on inside, I don’t want you to get cold. I’ll turn everything off and put the cover back on.”

“You’re a very nice man who is about to come really hard.” She leaned in, kissed him and sauntered inside.

* * *

TUESDAY HUSTLED INTO the house, grateful for the towel she clutched around herself against the cold.

She headed into the bathroom to rinse off, stripping free of the suit, trying not to think too deeply on how much they just exposed to one another out there. Or about how tenderness filled the cells she’d figured were long dead since Eric had died.

Sex was stable ground between them. There were no misunderstandings about it. She wanted it, he wanted it, they had it. He was fantastic in bed. Inventive. Dirty and darkly sexual. He knew where everything was and what to do with it—boy did he—and she never held back physically. Not ever. Because he’d earned that trust.

Feelings were something else. It was a lot harder to share those than her body.

He’d protected her from the cold. He’d invited her to ride horses. He’d been giving and wonderful and it had filled her with contentment.

But he was still scared and held back. Or maybe he was too guilt laden to accept that he had a right to be happy. It was frustrating, but it was who Ezra was. She had to be patient because the longer she knew him the more she believed he was worth it.

He came in as she exited the bathroom wrapped in a robe. The long, leisurely look he took from her toes to the top of her head. A caress of a look that made her knees rubbery.

“I’ll be right back. Going to hang these trunks up in the tub and rinse the chlorine off.”

“I’ll go out with Loopy if you like. So she can get settled for the night.”

He stalked to her and did that thing where he hauled her close. It was so physical and dominant but it made her feel cosseted, too, because the look in his eyes was pure appreciation for what he saw.

“You’re far too delicious, beauty. I want to gorge on you.”

Her breath caught wherever her words had gone to.

He kissed her and stepped back. “Loopy.”

The dog obeyed like everyone else seemed to. She looked up at him with that same silly expression they all did, too.

He knelt and got eye to eye with the dog, who licked him and Tuesday stifled an aww.

“Tuesday will take you out. Behave and obey her.”

Loopy licked him again and Ezra petted her head before he stood to speak to Tuesday. “Thank you.”

He headed to the bathroom, closing the door behind himself.

She put on some flip-flops and opened the sliding glass door. “Go on. There are so many bushes and trees out there, Loop. Let’s see how many of them you can mark before we go back home.”

Loopy gave a muted, but happy bark and trotted out with Tuesday, across the expansive back deck and down into the yard where she sniffed a lot of stuff and finally decided where the perfect spot was.

“Your dad is a big old softy,” Tuesday said quietly as the dog returned to her side, ready to go back into the house.

A furry head butt told her Loopy knew this already.

“Come on then. Don’t peek for the next hour. Okay, maybe two.”

Loopy headed to her bed, which Ezra had set up in the short hallway between the master bedroom and the back porch and mudroom. It was still private, but she wasn’t lying and staring up at Ezra and Tuesday getting down.

Two circles and Loopy settled with a happy sigh as Tuesday made sure her water dish was full. Her rawhide was in the bed with her, as it was a sort of comfort object.

As Tuesday started back toward the main part of the bedroom, it hit her that she was beginning to accumulate little factoids about Ezra’s animals. And about Ezra, too.

Before she could pretend not to think about it, the bathroom door opened and Ezra came out.

Totally and utterly naked.

“Honestly, Ezra.” She shook her head, motioning his way. “How can you constantly be this much? I don’t know if my heart can take it.”