The Heart - Kate Stewart Page 0,15

halo to his sharp perfectly drawn brows, down to his sculpted cheekbones and strong jaw, he was truly a work of art. He’d had no shortage of female attention throughout his life, of that I was sure.

“Seth and I have been friends for years, and I wouldn’t want to ruin our good standing for being the peeping pervert outside your bedroom door.” He winked before he sipped his own coffee.

“No harm, no foul. I’m not traumatized, and I stopped running to my daddy about boys a long, long, time ago,” I insisted in an attempt to drop the subject.

I’d always had an insatiable sexual appetite since I discovered it, and though those thoughts had been the last thing on my mind for the last few years, they were at the forefront now as sex stood in front of me. Scenarios and what ifs raced through my mind as I thought of what might have happened if he’d made an aggressive move last night.

Jack studied my face, but I kept my eyes averted, the air between us charged.

He broke the silence. “We’re installing all of the equipment today and tomorrow. I thought I’d offer to lead you through some of the fun stuff if you want.”

“Sounds good to me. And I really appreciate the coffee. I’m sure it was no easy feat to get it here on that Harley you ride.”

“You’d be surprised how much you can do with a bike.” He bit his lower lip with a quick nod of affirmation, and I found it sexy as hell.

I took another sip of my drink and set it down then picked my work gloves back up. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been on one.”

Suddenly, the heat was unbearable. I had the urge to rip off everything covering my body for any kind of relief. The sun was relentless, and the top of my head was beginning to burn. I’d realized I’d been distracted by my thoughts while I’d been working the field and now I was overheated and close to a meltdown. I was blaming it on the Texas sun but wasn’t so sure at that point that was the truth of the matter.

Jack bent down next to me as I gathered my tools, his knees touching mine. “We should remedy that. How about a ride today after I set up?” He brushed a stray strand of hair away from my face and wiped a smudge of dirt off my chin, forcing my gaze to his. Knees now planted in the dirt, I resisted the urge to pull him on top of me so we could roll around in it. I began to pant as he watched me start to melt into a pile of sweat and red hair. He was too close. I couldn’t think straight. And though any passerby who saw us wouldn’t see our posture as threatening or intimate, I could feel the tension between us. It was becoming more overbearing than the incessant sun. Jack seemed to be enjoying the dynamic, cool and confident as ever as he watched me squirm.

“I’m…not…”

Jack chuckled. “Surely you’re not scared considering you just bought one of the fastest sports cars out there? And by the way, when you’ve just gifted yourself a ride like that, you should be anywhere but digging in the dirt. That beauty needs her legs stretched.” There was nothing but sex in his voice. Intentional or not, I was suffocating under the weight of his words.

“I agree,” I said, throwing my tools back down in silent declaration that my punishment was over. “That sounds nice…the ride, I mean. I’ll take you up on that, but please excuse me for a moment.” I stood abruptly, forcing Jack up with me, then sprinted straight toward the pond. Not missing a step, I jumped high, gripped my knees, and cannonballed into the water, scaring the shit out of my ducks.

I resurfaced with an “Oh God, it’s wonderful!”

Jack bellowed with laughter behind me as I pushed drenched, wayward hair out of my face before turning to look back at him with a grin. He stood where I left him, tapping his cup against his leg, an amused smirk on his face. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

“Okay,” I said with renewed energy, loving the feel of the cold water. I watched Jack walk off and pretended not to notice the sun glinting off his gold-dipped hair. I stared in his direction several minutes after he was out of sight. Now that