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“Are you acknowledging I have it?”

“What? Naturally. Your chest hair doesn’t come from your rampant estrogen, and I know about your chest hair since I tried to make a pancake on it yesterday.”

“You did.”

“Thought maybe I could cook it on your skin. ’Cuz you’re so hot.”

“Ha ha.”

“See? I acknowledge your...” The light in his eyes changed and her sentence died on her lips. He looked so intense, so focused for a moment that she thought he might...that he might be intending to...

And now he was staring at her lips.

Oh no.

Oh yes.

No. No, no, no.

Her inner hedonist and her inner doomsday prophet were locked in an epic battle. One thrilled about the potential for a kiss. The other screeching about it bringing about the end of days. And unfortunately, the little bitch with the sandwich board was right. It was a recipe for doom. Dooooom.

“Your testosterone,” she finished, kicking her brain into gear and taking a step back from him. “It is in full working order. Beer andDie HardTwo! Let’s do this thing.”

She stalked into the living room, her heart beating so hard her pulse echoed in her temple. This time, it was all Jace’s fault. He couldn’t look at her like that and expect her to maintain sanity and purity of thought. She was on a two-year sex hiatus. And he was hot.

And she was a red-blooded woman with urges and needs. Urges and needs that were going to have to calm the hell down because she was not, under any circumstances, going to kiss Jace Colter.

No, she was not.

She sat down on the couch and closed her eyes, waiting for Jace and imagining warm summer days spent on a grassy hill. Away from home. Away from the crazy for Jace. Away from the empty for her. And she thought of mayonnaise and cheese sandwiches. And how no matter what, Jace had been by her side. How he’d supported her through everything.

Nothing was worth risking that. Nothing at all.

Chapter Five

Jace blessed the cold air as it washed over his body. But he cursed the fact that Sam was with him. Because she was negating the effect that the frigid surroundings otherwise would have had on him.

He’d been harder than hell and bound up in one big knot since last night.

He’d almost done it. He’d almost leaned in and kissed her sassy pink lips. And damned if he wouldn’t have regretted it. He regrettednotdoing it. And that was dumb as rocks.

But she’d gotten to talking about his testosterone. And then the pancake incident. The pancake incident that he should be irritated about. The pancake incident that made his blood run a little hotter and his pulse pound at an accelerated rate.

Because now, when he pictured the scene, batter all over his bare chest, he invited her to lick it off. A fair trade since she’d caused the incident. And then, when the altered memory went there, his chest wasn’t the only thing she licked.

And that was just sick. Who had those thoughts about their best friend? He felt like a complete bastard having fantasies about her lips on him, but dammit, he had them. Lots of them. Explicit, erotic fantasies.

He redirected his thoughts quickly—a necessity because his jeans were starting to get tight—and turned to face Samantha and her big black shadow.

“So,” she said. “What are we doing today?”

“We,” he said, “are going to move the cattle from one pasture to another. We have to keep the rotation going, especially through the winter so they have plenty of grass to eat.”

“We’re going to herd your cattle? That’s freaking awesome.” Her pale cheeks and nose were already stained cherry-red, her hair frizzing around her head thanks to the moisture in the air. She had on a berry-colored hat and gloves, which should have clashed with her coloring but somehow didn’t. She was so vibrant against the background of white snow and silver sky. The most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

And it wasn’t just his groin that tightened. It wasn’t just his stomach that felt strange. It was his heart.

Well, damn. That was inconvenient. Feeling these inappropriate Sam feeling were bad enough when they were below the waist. Bringing his heart into the equation made it all worse.

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