She licked her lips and replied. And already, her mind was burning. If he thought he’d keep her on pins and needles much longer, he was out of his mind.
* * *
He’d brought her to the mountains.
Abigale sighed as she climbed out of the car and stared at the little cabin in front of them. It was perched on the mountainside with a view of the mountains spread out around Flagstaff.
After the heat of Tucson, the cool air was a welcome change, but the skimpy tank top she had on wasn’t much protection against the chill in the air. It was closing in on nine o’clock and at this elevation, it could go from mild to outright cold all too fast. Shivering a little, she wrapped her arms around herself as she moved off the path to stare around her.
The wind blew her hair into her face but before she could brush it back, Zach was there. He caught it and tucked it behind her ear. “You need a jacket,” he murmured, sliding his arms around her waist.
“Hmmm. I don’t know if I packed one.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “You didn’t say we were going to the mountains.”
“I’ve got one for you.” He pressed his lips to her neck. “But then again, you might not need it. Once I get you inside . . .”
She rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh.” She’d been living in a state of near-constant arousal for a week, and hovering just under that for the past few weeks. She didn’t see him changing his tune just because he had her at some pretty little cabin in the mountains.
The wind kicked up and she shivered, despite the warmth of his embrace.
“Come on . . . let’s get our stuff and head inside,” he said. “We can look around later.”
She glanced over toward the west, watching as the sun dipped closer and closer to the horizon. “It’s going to be a gorgeous sunset, though.”
A grin tugged at his lips. “Come on. You won’t miss it.”
A few minutes later, she understood. Huge windows dominated the back of the cabin, facing out to the west, leaving it impossible to miss the sunset. It was also impossible for her to miss the rather lush feast spread out on the table in front of those windows.
A tantalizing scent filled the air and her belly rumbled. “You sneak,” she said, sliding him a look. “How did you set this up?”
“I have my ways.” He took her bag from her and then caught her hand. “You hungry?”
* * *
The trick, Zach had figured out, was to keep her off balance. He knew Abby too well. If she got comfortable enough to think, she was going to try and work all of this into some nice, neat little place in her head and that wasn’t going to happen. Not until he’d had time to make her fall in love with him.
She already loved him. And he knew that. Half the time, that hurt more than anything, knowing she needed him, knowing she loved him. Just not the right way.
But now she wanted him . . . the attraction was there. If they had the friendship and they had the attraction, could he get her to fall for him?
He was betting everything he had on it, including his heart.
Right now, with the lights in the cabin off and nothing but the setting sun to illuminate the room as they ate, he just hoped he wasn’t fucking this up. So far, nothing seemed terribly different. Except the way she’d watch him. They’d be talking the way they always did and then she’d get this look in her eyes, this hot look that just about drove him insane. Then there was this other look . . . this puzzled, bemused sort of expression, kind of amazed, kind of pleased. He couldn’t decide which one he liked more, but he liked seeing them both.
Most of all, he just liked being able to be there with her without having to completely hide everything he felt. As she leaned back from the table with a satisfied sigh, he decided all the wrangling, hassling, and begging he’d done to get this thrown together at the last minute had been worth it. Very much worth it.
When she went to pick up her plate, he caught her hand. “Just leave them. Somebody’s coming to take care of the dishes in