“We’re not sleeping in a tipi, are we?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Fletch sighed. “You really went there, Tanna?”

She laughed. “Kidding. I just wanted to hear that exasperated sigh. It’s sexy as hell.”

“I oughta turn you over my knee and paddle your ass. Those yelps you make are sexy as hell.”

“I’m on board—but only if you pull my hair too,” she cooed. “I love it when you go all he-man large and in charge on me.”

“Remember you said that.” Fletch brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “This cabin is rustic. But it does have running water. And a decent dock.”

“A boat?”

“An old fishing canoe.”

“So no waterskiing? Damn.”

“You water-ski?”

Tanna shook her head. “I’ve always wanted to try, but it’d just be my luck if I wiped out and tore the crap out of my knee again.”

“Motorized watercraft aren’t allowed anyway.” He waggled his eyebrows. “You’ll just have to lay on the dock in a bikini.”

“While I’m holding a fishing pole. Because I’m a damn good fisherwoman.”

“Glad someone is,” he muttered. “I brought steaks just in case.”

“Buffalo steaks?” she snickered.

“Y’all are fixin’ for me to open a can of whoop ass for them Indian comments, ain’t ya?” he shot back, imitating her twang.

She laughed. “I deserved that.”

With no beach or motorized boats, the small lake didn’t attract many people, so the area had remained unchanged since Fletch’s childhood. They turned off the main road onto a bumpy, overgrown path one step below a fire trail. The pine trees were sparse. Not much green grew on the forest floor. The road took a sharp curve and they reached the back side of the cabin.

“Here we are.”

Tanna bent forward and squinted through the front window. “Where’s the outhouse?”

“No outhouse. It has a septic system.”

“Whoo-ee Jim-Bob! Then this here is right uptown.”

If Fletch had his way, he would’ve carried in everything. But Little Miss I Can Do It insisted on helping. He kept an eye on her to see if she favored her knee after her recent return to riding.

She set the sleeping bags on the floor and looked up at him, smiling. “This oughta be cozy.”

“Let’s test it.” Fletch pulled Tanna against his chest and landed on the mattress on his back. He took her mouth in a ravenous kiss, keeping her arms trapped between them so he could tease and coax—devour her however he pleased and she couldn’t do a damn thing about it. By the time he slowed the kiss, his dick was hard.

He pressed his lips to her forehead. “We’ll fit, but one of us will have to be on top. All night.”

Tanna angled her head to bury her face in his neck. “Sounds like something fun to try.”

He loosened his hold on her, but she remained curled into him. He trailed his fingers up and down her back, more than content to just lie with her like this.

“Fletch?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks.”

“For?”

“Bringing me here. For wanting to spend time with me.”

There’s no place I’d rather be. No one I’d rather be with.

“My pleasure. I hate that my vacation’s about over.” He twisted the ends of her ponytail around his finger. “I wish this was longer than two days.”

Tanna kissed the pulse point in his neck. The corner of his jaw. The tip of his chin. “Me too. So we’d better make the most of the time we have.” She pushed up and stood beside the bed, offering him a hand to help him up. “Let’s go explore.”

“You go ahead. I’m right behind you.”

Her white cover-up blouse fluttered to the floor. She kicked off her flip-flops and grabbed a beach towel.

Fletch stopped at the cooler and snagged two beers.

Barefoot, Tanna wandered to the end of the dock, looking delectable in cutoff jean shorts and a bright yellow bikini top. She sat and dangled her legs over the side. Resting back on her elbows, she aimed her face toward the sun and closed her eyes.

He nearly stumbled over his own feet; the woman was such a vision. He just stared at her while drool formed in his mouth and icy water dripped off the bottom of the cans.

She cracked an eye open. “Why you standing there, breathing hard, blocking my sun?”

Because I love you.

His little Texas cowgirl would run if he confessed that, so he plopped down beside her and said, “Just admiring the view, sugar twang.”

“Of the lake?”

“Nope. I’ve seen that dozens of times.”

Her lips curled into a smirk. “You were looking down my top, huh?”

“Yep. Don’t suppose I could convince you to sunbathe topless since no one’s around today?”

“But what if I burn my ni**les?”

“I’ll kiss them and make them better.”

She laughed. “We’ll see.”

“Want a beer?”

“Always.”

He sat beside her, close enough to touch but not too close to crowd her, and cracked open both beers, sliding one to her.

“So, how often did you come here growing up?” she asked.

“Once a year. Twice if we were lucky.”

“Does your dad still come here?”