it. She'd given him enough for one day.
'No. There's too many other things we can do.'
'I like the sound of that,' she murmured.
He locked their hands together and brought her fingers to his lips, kissing the ring he'd bought that first day. Such a simple ring for people with such complicated lives, he thought. But it was that simple twisted band that made Samantha happy.
He pondered the irony of finding a woman content with sentiment instead of show and wondered how she'd react when he told her he could afford much more than the small ring that had captured her heart.
He'd tell her. After the rest of the week had passed and once he was back on his own turf. A woman who desired the fundamental things in life would surely understand why he'd omitted mentioning his wealth before getting to know her first.
One thing he knew for certain. She cared more for him than anything he could buy her.
Rolling onto his back, he brought her with him, so her body fit tight against his. His erection settled between her thighs.
'Ever make love in the great outdoors?' Her eyes glittered in the afternoon sun.
He laughed. 'Does a balcony count?'
She shook her head. 'Afraid not.'
'Then the answer is no.'
'I could rectify that.' She shifted so his erection sat poised for entry, the only barrier between them their clothes.
Her sensual moan shook his common sense, but he managed to swallow a groan of assent. She smelled like his Samantha, a scent that aroused him beyond reason. Her hands shook in his and he knew she felt the same. Her body, hot and wanting, ground against him. For a woman filled with embarrassment in the beginning, she'd grown comfortable around him fast.
His gut told him this maneuver was meant to dodge emotional intimacy. His body, near to bursting, asked him who the hell cared. From somewhere, and he had to dig pretty damn deep, he found a remnant of self-control. 'It's tempting, but I have to say no.'
'Because we don't have protection? There are other ways to enjoy ourselves.'
Because no matter how much he wanted her, he refused to let her hide her feelings and emotions behind sex. Again. 'There's something I'd rather do,' he told her.
She raised an eyebrow in eager expectation. 'And that is?'
'Hold you.' With a jerk of his hips, he dislodged her from her perch and rolled so he could capture her in his arms again. She squealed her displeasure, but he ignored her protest. Grasping her slender hips, he pulled her against him, her back solid against his erection.
'At least I know you want me,' she whispered.
'Wanting isn't the issue.'
'What is?'
'Being with you in the time we have left.' Silence greeted him. Well, what had he expected? An undying declaration of love? An admission that she didn't want to leave? The honesty they'd shared today had been enough of a start.
The sun beat overhead. A breeze that grew warmer by the hour blew around them, and a bird chirped in the distance. Bit by bit, her tense muscles slackened and relaxed.
'You make me happy, Mac.' Easing herself onto her back but not out of his reach, she grasped his hand and held on tight.
The truth from her heart. As a gift, he'd accept it. He reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. 'I try.'
She smiled and he raised her hand to his lips, kissing each of her knuckles in turn and then the ring that would bind them forever. Whether she knew it or not.
8
Two days had passed since he had held her in his arms so tenderly. Other guys would have jumped at the chance for easy sex, but not Mac. The man she loved. Damn him, anyway. Why did he have to be so chivalrous? So irresistible? So very hard to walk away from.
The last forty-eight hours had been spent in an almost unbearable combination of dialogue and cuddling. No sex. After he'd rejected her advances, she knew better than to try again. And he hadn't, either. The white knight she'd met that first night had reasserted himself. And she loved him for it.
Sam hustled between the tables, serving customers and taking orders, but even the loud crowd at the bar couldn't take her mind off the war raging inside her. What did she owe her father? More important, what did she owe herself?
Although Mac had never mentioned a future, he had forced her to take a long, hard look at the woman named Samantha Josephine Reed. What she discovered amazed her. She'd never known she was capable of intense passion, the kind that meant tossing aside her inhibitions and letting go. With Mac, she could be wild, wanton and not the least bit embarrassed.
Okay, maybe a little embarrassed, she thought, remembering the red marks she'd left on his shoulders and the shriek that echoed throughout the Arizona countryside. But he really did do amazing things to her body with that mustache. Just the thought had her clenching her thighs together with need. She shook her head to dislodge the memory before she spilled the drafts of beer on her tray.
He'd also taught her the meaning of love. Soul-deep, touch-your-heart, burning love. The type she'd believed existed only in fairy tales. The kind a woman was lucky to experience once in a lifetime, and even luckier if she was able to keep it.
Well, Sam had found it. Not that she had any idea whether Mac's feelings echoed her own. He certainly acted the part of a man in love, but that was the point. How much was real, how much fantasy?
Though he'd encouraged her to open up to him, every time she thought she caught a glimpse into his heart, he retreated. Because she'd intentionally pushed him in that direction? Or because he too had wanted to leave reality behind for a short time?
A time that was almost over. Sam had to walk out of this bar tomorrow, hopefully with more dignity than she'd had walking in.
She served a small table of customers by the front door and ducked outside for a breather. She inhaled deeply. Now that she wasn't an underdressed hiker, the cool night air was but one thing she'd grown to love about this place.
'Hey, Sammy Jo.' Mac's voice broke the stillness of the night and interrupted her thoughts.
A good thing, considering the direction they were taking. Good heavens, was she even considering breaking her engagement? Who would believe good, well-behaved, sensible Samantha Reed would do such a thing? Well she'd never believed herself capable of seducing a stranger, either, but that's exactly what she'd done.
She'd gone and fallen in love with him, too. Old-fashioned, head-over-heels, happily-ever-after in love. But did she have the nerve to act on her feelings when it meant going back on her word to Tom, breaking her promise to her dying mother and most important, betraying the father who was counting on her? Could she risk losing what sense of family she'd managed to find? In essence, turning her back on every honorable ethic that had been instilled in her since birth?
But where were her father's ethics when he'd allowed her to accept a marriage proposal that bordered on extortion, a little voice asked. Since meeting Mac, she'd done a lot of unique things, and talking to herself ranked right up there. It seemed to be becoming a habit, she thought. An annoying one, especially when that voice seemed to make more and more sense.
'What are you doing out here by yourself?' Mac asked.
'Taking a break. Waitresses get a couple a night, don't they?'
He swung himself onto the wooden porch railing. 'Mine do.'
