It hit her square in the chest: She wanted to be close to him. But could she actually risk dropping the walls she'd erected to protect her heart to find out more about what was in Ty's?

"I've got to work out for a couple of hours. I'll grab my stuff so we can head to the gym." Just as quickly as he'd opened himself to her, he closed off, and she felt oddly alone in her warm and cozy kitchen.

Julie had a knack for hitting too close, Ty thought as he bench-pressed three hundred for ten reps. He was pushing himself, trying to work off some of the relentless energy pushing through him. Through the glass wall, he could see Julie sitting in the gym's cafe, talking on her cell phone, taking notes, and tapping on her laptop. She was always so focused, so driven. She didn't smile nearly enough.

She picked up a clear plastic cup with the green sludge the trainers insisted was "power" protein and took a sip. Her face scrunched up and her cheeks sucked in with obvious disgust. Yet another thing they had in common, he thought as she surreptitiously spit it back into the cup after looking around to make sure no one was looking.

She seemed distracted this morning, and he was hoping he knew the reason why. All night long he'd been falling in and out of triple X dreams of the two of them. Him on her, her on him. Doggy-style. Up against the wall. Sixty-nine.

In his dreams, he'd had her in every possible way. Was it too much to hope that she wasn't any more immune to him than he was to her?

He got off the bench and picked up an eighty-pound barbell to work on his triceps. How pathetic would he be if he got an erection at the gym? He had to stop acting like a teenage boy dreaming about getting his first piece of ass.

Dominic DiMarco, one of the veteran Outlaws, walked into the gym, and Ty watched him speak to Julie. When Julie laughed, jealousy drop-kicked Ty.

Dominic was one of the few guys on the team who went home alone after a game, who didn't burn it out with groupies hanging on to him. A girl like Julie was probably just what Dominic was looking for, the perfect gorgeous, smart woman to settle down with.

Whereas Ty was f**king around and wasting his time.

His triceps burned as he pumped the weight harder in jealousy and frustration. Dominic dropped his gym bag on the floor between them and picked up some weights. "Julie's with you?"

Fuck. They were already on a first-name basis.

"I'm living with her," Ty said, then felt like an idiot for trying to lay claim to her before his friend could. He'd never acted like such a pu**y before.

Dominic laughed. "Sean told me your new image consultant had you on a short leash." He did a curl, then winced in pain. "Good time to be a dog, I'd say." Then he asked, "You like being with her?" Ty grunted as he did his last rep. "Sure," he said in an offhand way. Time to change the subject.

"Your shoulder still giving you trouble?"

Dominic dropped to a lower weight. "A little," he admitted. "Julie said you knew each other in high school. Pretty girl."

Ty could think of a hundred better words to describe her than pretty.

"Thinking of settling down?" Dominic asked.

Ty forced a laugh. "No way. Not with all the action I get." It sounded empty, even to himself.

"I know you're not asking for my advice," Dominic said, putting down his weights and pinning Ty with a glance in the mirror. "Hell, you probably don't even need it. Forget I said anything." Ty sat down on the incline bench, figuring it wouldn't hurt to let Dominic say his piece.

"I'm listening."

"I made some bad decisions way back." Dominic shook his head. Ty nodded, wondering where Dominic was heading with this. He'd never been much for other people's opinions, but Dominic had the years, the experience behind him to back up whatever he was going to say.

"If you're lucky enough to meet someone special, don't let her go. You've got money and fame already. But you won't have her."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Later that afternoon, during the ninety-minute drive from San Francisco to Napa, Julie couldn't dismiss the feeling that something had changed. For some reason, Ty was going out of his way to be nice. Attentive. Even sweet.

She knew he desired her. And the clearer he made that, the less immune she was to it. Already, she was worrying about making it home fully dressed. And if she could barely keep her panties on during a ninety-minute car ride, how could she possibly last the next eleven days? With every passing hour, Ty was making it clearer and clearer that he wanted to be with her, sleep with her, give her pleasure.

If only she could trust him not to turn around and break her heart again. Fortunately, Ty misinterpreted her quietness.

"Are you afraid I'm going to act up at the party? Get all the woman to rip off their clothes and jump naked into the fountain?"

She took in the sharp planes of his cheeks, his strong nose, full mouth. Those dark brown eyes that knocked her right in the gut.

Surprisingly, what she saw in them reassured her. For some reason that she didn't understand, he was going to try to behave.

"Would it hurt your feelings if I said no?"

He kept his gaze on hers. "Don't worry. I'll make up for it later." Instinctively she smiled. "I have no doubt that you will." At last they pulled up in front of the vineyard estate. Ty held out his hand to help her out of the car, his heat enveloping her. As the limo pulled away, they stood together on the golden pavers, her hand still in his.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are?"

"Thank you."

"I'm not just talking about tonight."

No. He couldn't say something like that to her when her resistance was so low. She couldn't afford to let his admiration sink in.

"You clean up pretty good yourself. I like the suit."

"I'll tell them to blame you."

She cocked her head to one side. "Why?"

"They're paying for flash and trash. I usually put on my diamond-studded grill for events like this." She frowned. "You do not." Then, when he didn't say anything, "Do you?" He laughed. "You're too easy."

Their host suddenly appeared beside the Tuscan-inspired fountain at the top of the steps.

"There he is, the man of the hour. Ty Calhoun. And of course, a beautiful woman on his arm." As Gordon Montague made his approach down the steps, Julie tried to pull away from Ty. She wasn't his date, she was his employee. She'd stay just close enough to keep an eye on him. But he refused to let her go. Instead, he put his hand on the small of her back. Exactly where his hand always seemed to be.