He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know everything.
“What used to be important to that old Samantha?”
“I cared about the kind of clothes a man wore or the type of car he drove or how much was in his bank account.”
He understood that mind-set. How could he not when Susan had only dated him in the first place because of his family’s prominence and because of the Honorable that had preceded his name in those days as a younger son, before David died and Ian became the viscount?
He wasn’t the kind of man likely to interest a woman like Samantha. He dressed comfortably but didn’t follow trends and in England he drove an eight-year-old car he had picked more because of its safety record than style.
“What matters to you now?” He found he desperately wanted to know the answer.
She gazed out at the lake. “I’m not looking for a relationship. If I were, I hope I would choose a man who is kind to his family, who respects and supports me and who makes choices based not on what the world might think but about what his conscience tells him is right.”
“Sounds like a boring prat.”
She laughed. “Apparently that’s what I need these days.”
He liked her, more than he’d liked another woman in a long, long time. Maybe ever. “Well, when you’re ready, I hope you find him,” he said, and was astonished that his voice came out gruff.
“Thank you.”
Her gaze met his and he was fiercely drawn to the laughter in her eyes, the smile that tipped the corners of her mouth. The intimacy of the night seemed to swirl around them, soft and sweet.
She swallowed, her smile trickling away, and he saw something flicker in her eyes, something that sent a hot ache coursing through him.
She folded her hands tightly on her lap but he thought he saw her fingers tremble.
He should get up from this bench, right now. A smart man would simply say good night, walk away and return to his house, where he was safe.
He couldn’t seem to make himself move, either unable or unwilling to do that. He wasn’t sure which.
Her gaze flickered to his mouth and then back to his eyes and that was it. He knew he had to kiss her.
He tried to talk himself out of it, even as he angled his body toward hers and set her dog down onto the ground. Nothing good could possibly come from kissing his next-door neighbor when he would be leaving in only a few weeks.
He couldn’t offer her anything but this, ever. When this summer idyll ended, he had to return to Summerhill and immerse himself in family concerns that seemed far removed from this little Idaho lake town.
Beyond that, she was his sister’s good friend. Gemma would kill him if he indulged in a summer fling that could end up hurting this sweet, perfectly nice woman.
This wasn’t a fling, he argued. It was only a kiss.
He knew it was a justification, but in that moment he didn’t care. As he lowered his mouth, all the reasons why this was a bad idea flashed through his head in rapid succession, but none compared to the urgent hunger inside him to kiss this soft, enticing woman.
When his mouth brushed against hers once, then twice, Samantha gave a sexy little intake of breath. He started to ease away but didn’t make it far before she wrapped her arms around him, returning the embrace with a heat and passion that sent all thoughts of salmon and Susan and the children completely out of his head.
The kiss was every bit as delicious as he might have expected. Her mouth was sweet, warm, and tasted like fresh-picked berries. He wanted to explore every inch of it.
She gave that delicious sigh again, her hands tight around his neck.
Bad idea, that warning voice said as he tightened his embrace. This was more than a simple kiss.
He ignored it. Right now, with a soft, enticing woman kissing him back like she couldn’t get enough, this felt like the absolutely best idea he had ever had.
THIS HAD TO STOP.
Right now.
The thought pushed through her consciousness but Samantha shoved it right back out. She couldn’t seem to think straight, lost in the magic of kissing a fascinating man in the pale moonlight.
He was warm, strong, his hair silky under her fingers, and he smelled so good, like some kind of masculine soap and a laundry detergent that smelled like a mountain meadow.
His mouth tasted like chocolate cake and she couldn’t seem to get enough. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist, that only this moment mattered.
She gave in for several moments, telling herself it was only a casual kiss and didn’t mean anything. The man was only here for a few weeks. She could indulge in a few kisses in the moonlight with him, couldn’t she?
No.
This was a mistake. She was not the kind of woman who kissed a man she barely knew. Or at least she wasn’t that kind of woman anymore.
She had to be stronger than this. As tempting as Ian Summerhill might be with those stunning blue eyes and that accent and the casually messed hair she wanted to smooth down, she could no longer afford to make decisions she knew deep in her heart were bound to turn out disastrously for her in the end.
Only a moment more, she told herself as he deepened the kiss, his tongue licking at the seam of her mouth, his body strong and hard against her. What was the harm in two unattached adults sharing a kiss on a cool summer’s night?
It’s not like she was going to fall in love with the man. She knew he was leaving in a few weeks. She might have been stupid about
