That slow, slow, smile. “Yes, ma’am,” he said before moving to get out of the truck.
She waited for him to open her door just so she could enjoy him taking her by the waist and lifting her out. She ran her hands over him as he did so, stole a taste of the strong column of his throat. Skin privileges with him felt so effortless, so easy. As if they’d been meant to be doing this all along.
A frown wrinkled her brow again as he went to grab the picnic basket from the back seat. This, she realized all at once, could never be a playful vacation fling—no matter what. Even putting aside the fact he was her friend’s cherished big brother, there was already too much between them. Too much heat, too much affection, too much liking.
“We’re going to get in trouble,” she said solemnly when he returned with the basket in one hand. “I’m a city girl, country boy. If you don’t want me to break your heart, we’d better just eat breakfast and go home.” Her cat hissed inside her, not liking that particular idea. At all.
Taking her free hand, he leaned in to press the sweetest kiss to her cheek. “No, I think I’ll just keep on kissing you, city girl.”
Well, she’d tried.
Of course the speed with which she’d abandoned the effort told her that Tanner wasn’t the only one risking a broken heart. Zara De Lêon was on the cusp of making a very serious mistake with Tanner Larkspur. “We’re playing with fire.”
“Well now, kitty cat,” Tanner drawled, “I always did like a good blaze.” Stopping in a pretty green clearing surrounded by trees and blooming wildflowers, he set down the basket, then grabbed the picnic blanket she hadn’t realized he had folded under his arm.
He snapped it over the ground in a checkboard pattern of green and blue, then bent at the waist like a fancy waiter. “Your table, my lady.”
Laughing and oh-so-charmed by him, she felt her eyes change as she took a seat, her cat surging to the fore. This man… Exhaling hard, she watched as he began to take food from the basket to put onto the blanket. Watched his strong shoulders, his powerful thighs, his muscled arms. But more than that, she watched the lines of his face.
Strong, caring, protective lines.
Tally’s big brother.
Noor’s favorite uncle.
The Larkspur’s eldest son.
The kind of man on whom dynasties were built and families founded.
Exactly the kind of man to appeal to this particular wildcat’s yearning heart.
When he sat down next to her and lifted an enormous bread roll filled with fried egg to her mouth, she took a bite. After swallowing, she said, “Interesting idea of picnic food.” Two of those giant rolls, what looked like breakfast biscuits, a couple of random pieces of fruit, and a slice of pound cake. To wash it down was a thermos filled with what she guessed was coffee.
“Hey, you want tiny food, you got the wrong man,” he said, that smile easy on his lips.
Despite his tall, dark, and gorgeous looks, this was a man who smiled often, and who was rarely moody or angry, she thought. Laugh lines flared out from his eyes, curved his lips. “What do you know about tiny food?”
“I had sisters,” he said. “And back in school, Sam was really into a girl, and he looked up how to make perfect picnic lunches—and he begged me to help him.” Tanner rolled his eyes. “By the time you cut off the crusts and cut the sandwiches into triangles, it’s like a bite. Why even bother?” He fed her another piece of his breakfast roll creation.
Grinning even as she chewed, she listened to the song of a bird, the rustle of the wind. But most of all, she listened to the rumble of Tanner’s voice as he told her stories of growing up on the farm, and of where his family saw it going next.
At some point, she realized he wasn’t mentioning his own plans. “Where are you in all this?" She wanted to know his dreams, wanted to know him. "Aren’t you the logical person to take it into the next generation?”
“That’s just it, Miss Wildcat.” Food finished and basket set aside, he lay back on the blanket. When he patted his chest, it felt natural to fold her arms on the firm muscle of it and half-lie on him, while she looked down at his gorgeous square-jawed face. “I’ll always be a farmer. But this farm? As far as who’s going to take it over—has to be the twins. It’s in their blood. They love how everything’s run, and they’re really good at doing what needs to be done.”
“You don’t?”
“I love it because of my family.” Tanner ran one big hand down her back. “But I want to try new methods, do things on a smaller scale so I can experiment and develop innovative techniques. I could just ask for part of the farm here to run as I see fit, but I don’t want to go around breaking up the Nest.”
Generous heart, she thought, adding that to the list of all the things she liked about him. Loyal, generous heart.
“I’ve got money saved up,” he said, playing with her curls as he spoke. “I’ve spoken to my folks, and they know I’m looking for my own piece of land to farm.” Dark eyes held hers. “Thing is, kitty cat, I now have another qualification for said piece of land.”
Her heart thundered. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” His voice vibrated against her. “It’s gotta be close enough to a city that a woman who does city-type work could commute.”
Zara swallowed. “We just met.”
“Funny,” he murmured. “Feels like I’ve known you my entire lifetime.” When he shifted, she rolled with him, ending up underneath him while he braced himself above her on one forearm, his other hand cupping her hip with possessive familiarity. “You fit something in me.”
Her chest hurt, his words hit so true. “I’m not
