Page 73 of Prodigal Son

“It’s just a fantasy,” she whispered, slightly embarrassed after sharing so much.

He shook his head. “Perhaps it’s a premonition.”

His words teased her hope. There was no tempting her with the impossible. She laughed, breaking the spell and his grip loosened. When she tried to step around him, he pushed her back to the wall again, only this time he kissed her, deep and demanding, the kind of kiss that stole through a woman like a hurricane, touching everything and anything in its path.

His hands cupped her jaw, tipping her head back. Fingers sifted through her curls, soft with subtle tugs. His hard body ground into her, announcing his desire, and reminding her of his strength and power. Her muscles softened and she sank into him, accepting every drugging stroke of his tongue and existing solely for his touch.

When he broke away, she’d forgotten where they were and what she’d been saying. All she knew was the fact that this man kissed her better than anyone had ever kissed her before. He touched her like he worshiped her, and met her needs so completely she forgot what it was to want for herself.

He took her hand, lacing her numb fingers through his, and chuckled. “I’ll just hold on to you. You look a little unsteady.”

They walked for a while. He showed her the orchards and honey combs and where they kept the cows.

“You must love living here.”

He gave her a strange look. “Why do you say that?”

She shrugged. “What’s not to love? It’s beautiful, peaceful, and so much less stressful than…where I come from.”

“We have stress here too.”

She doubted it was anything like the outside world.

“You said you only have so much time off of work.” He led her to a fence that overlooked a corral of sorts. “Is being here causing an issue?”

“No, I actually have some time off right now.” She was still ashamed by the incident in the woods, so she glossed over the fact that she’d given her crew such a hard time they needed a break from her. “After my fall, my boss thought it best if I take a few days to recover.”

“But you’re healed now.”

Touched by his concern, she reassured him. “I feel incredible, considering the spill I took. It was a nasty fall.”

He studied her for a long moment and she suspected he wanted to tell her something. “You don’t remember any of it, do you?”

She looked down, embarrassed. “No. It’s the strangest thing. I remember my phone dying in the woods and skitzing out, then…nothing. I woke up at home in my bed.”

“But you found your way back here.”

“I thought I went to a convent. My memories are all jumbled. I remembered the woman Larissa, but I thought she was a nun. And there was a cave or something. I must have had some really vivid dreams when I got knocked out.”

“My sister is Larissa.”

Her jaw went slack. “Sister Larissa?”

“Yes. All of our females are addressed as such. You must have misunderstood when she was caring for you.”

There was no sense of familiarity with his words, so she had to trust that he spoke the truth. “That makes me feel so much better. All this time I was looking for a convent. So you’re saying you brought me here?”

“Yes. Then I took you home.”

She frowned. “Wait… How did we get from—”

“Back up.” He pulled her off the fence and pointed to an enormous bull wandering toward them.

Her heart rate spiked as the giant beast breathed tunnels of steam into the air like a dragon exhales fire. “Is this fence strong enough to hold him in?”

“He likes the fence as much as us. It keeps trespassers out. He only likes when we bring the cows to visit.”

She laughed nervously. “I never realized how big bulls were.”

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