That wasn’t a situation she needed to be in, especially so soon after getting divorced. It also wasn’t the man he wanted to be. He’d chosen a mate once before, and it had brought out the very worst in him. His ambition. His greed. His anger. He’d made a vow to avoid getting that close to anyone ever again. He needed to remember that.

Not to mention that Jess wasn’t looking for anything serious. Even if he would allow himself to lose control and give over to his incredible attraction for her, with a passion so fierce it felt like it was stretching his skin, she wasn’t ready. She felt the electricity, she felt the pull, but she wasn’t ready to handle what came next.

He had to be the brakes. He needed to be stronger than this!

After a few more turns, the cart slowed as they reached the first plateau, the tracks about to curve around a corner and plunge deeper into the ground. He eased the brake forward until the cart stopped. Sunlight filtered into the tunnel from a partially covered grate above, dappling Jess as she twisted to look back at him, her beautiful face flushed with excitement and wonder.

How the fuck was he supposed to be the brakes with a woman like her?

“That. Was. Ah-mazing,” she said, beaming.

“Fun, right?” He smiled at her and unhooked his legs from hers.

“Tell the truth: you were planning that all along, weren’t you? The potential spies watching the house were just an excuse.”

“Can I lie and say yes?” He helped her get out before heading to a control panel on a pole sticking out of the rough-hewn ground. In no time the chains engaged under the cart and began pulling it back up to the top of the hill. He’d had that installed a handful of years ago, which was why he wasn’t the only one who knew about the mine shaft. But the few people who’d done the work were trustworthy. “So.” He helped her through a small exit in the side, over some wood and bricks and out of the natural canopy that concealed the opening. “Do you want to ride on me to our next destination, or would you prefer to fly? It’s about ten miles from here.”

“But…what about your car? Are we going to go back and get it?”

“Jasper will take my Jeep back to Ivy House. It’ll make it a little harder for your admirers to track you down. I can run us home afterward, or you can fly. Same choice.”

He paused, waiting for her decision. Her eyes flicked down his body and red infused her cheeks.

Heat pulsed through him with the knowledge that she was thinking impure thoughts.

“I’ll ride you—ride on you. If you don’t mind.” She put her hands to her hips and then slid them down, as though suddenly unsure what to do with them.

He pulled a plastic bag out of his back pocket and handed it to her. “Will you be the keeper of my clothes?”

“Sure, yeah.”

She took his phone next, and he started stripping. There wasn’t much he could do about the hard-on, especially since he got another shock of arousal when she glanced down at him and then released a slow breath while her eyes sparked fire.

She turned away.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “Didn’t mean to look.”

“I should’ve warned you.” He laughed, not sure why. “I guess I don’t have to ask you to keep my shirt clean. The back is all dirty.”

“Why’d you wear white if you knew we were going in the dirty cart?”

He shrugged, handing his clothes over. “You always seem to notice and comment when I wear white shirts. I thought you might like this one.”

“I do like this one. Definitely. You look really good in white. But I notice and comment on the T-shirts because they are tight and show off your physique, not strictly because they are white.” She grinned mischievously. “If we’re being honest.”

“Ah.”

“But I do like the white, as I said.”

“Okay, ready?”

She nodded, and he shifted to his animal form, the discomfort short-lived and barely registering. He flattened onto his belly until she crawled onto his back, the only person he’d ever let ride him like a pony. Once he was up, he launched forward, reveling in her squeals of delight.

The ride was fast, faster than he might’ve expected, his focus less on his footfalls and more on her kneading hands, seeking out the soft inner fur in his coat and stroking it to distraction. The climb up the mountain was nothing, only worrisome when he basically crawled over a ledge to get to the rock shelf that was their destination. Finally there, seeing that Earl had set everything up as requested, Austin flattened to his belly again so she could get off.

Only she continued to sit there on his back, still kneading, utterly silent. Not able to ask her what was wrong, or to change—worried he’d burn her and her clothes with the release of energy—he just waited.

He’d never tried to give a woman her perfect date before. He hadn’t ever thought it was in his wheelhouse. But he really wanted to please her. Maybe he’d totally screwed up.

Sixteen

Mouth open, utterly gob-smacked, I just stared. My fingers moved through Austin’s soft inner coat, thick and luxurious, as I let my gaze travel from one side of the beautiful tableau to the other.

He’d set up my dream picnic.

I meant to pull my leg over his back and slide off, but instead I actually lay down for a moment, my chest on his back and my hands at his sides, seeking out his soft undercoat again.

We sat on a little shelf about midway up a mountain overlooking an absolutely gorgeous meadow awash with mostly blue flowers. It looked like a softly moving sea, the breeze rolling through and gently moving the flowers. The yellow buttercups were intermittently sprinkled amidst the blue, splashes of color only a true artist could render.

This was option C. He hadn’t been asking me which flowers I liked best—he’d been asking which meadow.

A wide cream blanket had been set out on the shelf of rock overlooking it, the back half covered in various pillows to lean against, and the front holding two TV trays, each set with a plate, utensils, a wine glass, and a water glass. A crystal carafe between the place settings contained what looked like sparkling water, and in front was a large array of cheeses, fresh fruits, nuts, and charcuterie items. A large box of wine bottles waited to the side, along with extra wine glasses, and behind that sat an additional tray with an array of chocolate items and a few cookies.

It was perfect. Utterly perfect.

I smiled, finally sitting up and throwing my leg over his back to get off. “The cookies are for you, I take it?”

The startling light and heat of his change radiated outward, and I turned my face away. The next thing I knew, Austin was standing next to me in human form with an adorable smile. “Yeah. I’m more of a cookie guy.”

“This is…” I stared out at the scene as he got dressed. “You nailed it. All of it. Are you sure you didn’t get this out of your ‘woo a woman’ playbook?”

After fastening his watch, he took my hand, his palm a little rough, which, thankfully, meant he wouldn’t notice that I had yet to adopt a stringent hand lotion routine.

“I’m making a new playbook: ‘Things that put Jess in a good mood.’ I’ll use it for the many times I piss you off in the future.”

I rolled my eyes as he paused before the blanket. “You haven’t pissed me off once in all the time we’ve known each other.”

“It’ll happen, don’t worry. One day, I will rub you the wrong way, and I’ll need to pull out all the stops to get you to forgive me. Or even just tolerate me again.”

“If I can handle Mr. Tom and Edgar, I can handle you.”

“This is true. The bar is set awfully low.” He bent and put his hand out for my foot. “Milady, may I have your foot? I must remove your glass slipper so that I can defile you while Prince Charming isn’t looking.”

I laughed, bracing my hand on his shoulder for balance. “I’d eat Prince Charming for breakfast.”

“Not before you stole all his crap, you wouldn’t. You’re smarter than that.”

I let him take off my boots, belatedly realizing he hadn’t put on his shoes a moment ago when he was changing. He lowered me to sitting and took his place beside me.

“You knew I’d choose the blue and yellow flowers?” I asked, looking over the beautiful picture. It was like a fairytale.

“No. I texted Earl ‘C’ as I was getting into the Jeep. He delivered everything and set it up. He is also loitering around the area, even though I told him you’d be safe with just me up here. I can smell him.”

I chuckled. “He trusts no one.”

“So.” Austin pulled out a bottle of wine from the box. “Shall we taste?”

“Oh my God, and it’s a wine tasting? You really pay attention.”

He grinned, opening the bottle and pouring a little for each of us. “I do have to rain on the parade a little bit.” He corked the bottle and put it back in the box. “These are actually samples from various winemakers. I’m obviously going to need a new one for the winery.”

I lifted my eyebrows, looking at the wine. “Oh, wow. How many samples did you bring?”

“Twelve. A case.”

“I’m not sure I’ll still taste the wine when we get to the twelfth bottle.”

He shrugged and swirled the wine in his glass. “We can always do a part two with your mom while we’re sitting in Ivy House, waiting to be attacked.”

I blew out a breath as I picked up my plate. “Has Niamh heard anything from Agnes yet? She shooed me off her porch earlier when I asked, telling me I was getting on her nerves.”

“They’re all worried about you. They don’t like to see you this stressed. Obviously they’re all handling their worry in different ways…” He popped a nut into his mouth. “Agnes and team are still working on it. She says they have some good ideas, but nowhere near enough power to re-create it.”

“Sounds about right.” I loaded my plate before sitting back against the pillows. “Edgar is muttering to himself all the time now, but I don’t think he’s any closer.”