Footsteps sounded on the outside stairs and panic crawled sickly through her stomach. This was it, her last chance. If he rejected her now…

Forcing any negative thoughts to the back of her mind, Desiree flew to the kitchen and stirred the alfredo, trying desperately to look as normal as possible under the circumstances. As if it was in any way normal for her to be cooking in Jesse’s house, dressed to the nines.

She heard the door open and his footsteps come to an abrupt halt. Taking a deep breath, she turned, smiling, to greet the man she was determined to spend the rest of her life with.

He was frowning, his eyes narrow and suspicious as he examined the small table set for two. His eyes met hers from across the room, dark and stormy and anything but welcoming.

For a second her courage deserted her and she had to fight the urge to run as fast and as far as her skinny heels would carry her. But then she noticed the quick flicker in his eyes, the spark of desire that came and went so quickly she was almost afraid she had imagined it.

“Hey, Jesse.” She smiled and walked toward him.

He inclined his head, staring at her with his midnight eyes. “Desiree. What are you doing here?”

“We haven’t said more than ten words to each other since I got back from school a few months ago. I thought it was past time that we caught up.”

He raised a brow sardonically. “Caught up, huh?”

She flushed, fought against the panic skating up her spine. “Absolutely.” She gestured to the kitchen. “I made dinner. I thought we could talk while we ate.”

He stalked toward her, a sleek, dangerous leopard with prey in its sight. “What is it, exactly, that you want to talk about, Desiree?” His voice was low, silky, unnerving.

She shrugged, forced a laugh, tried desperately to look and sound unconcerned. “You. The horses. The ranch. Whatever.”

This time both brows rose. “Whatever?” He continued to cross the room with slow, deliberate steps. She knew she should hold her ground, knew she shouldn’t let him see that he intimidated her. But she found herself backing up despite herself. Retreating one step, then another and another, as he drew closer.

Before Desiree knew it, she was backed against the kitchen counter, Jesse’s long, lithe body only inches from her own. He smelled like horses, like fire, like sweat-a combination that should have been unpleasant but wasn’t. She took a deep breath before she could stop herself, savoring the sexy, seductive scent of him.

Electricity crackled between them. She wanted to touch him, to run her fingers through the silky darkness of his hair as she pressed her body against his and begged him to take her. She wanted to feel his lips on her, needed to touch and taste him everywhere at once. Her nipples peaked beneath her lace bra at the thought and an ache started low in her belly as her breathing grew ragged. She watched his eyes darken to ebony, felt the heat coming off of him and knew, finally, that he wasn’t nearly as unmoved as he wanted her to believe.

“Jesse.” She was breathless, restless, aching for him in every cell of her being. Her hips moved restlessly against the wall as her nipples plumped and hardened even more.

She watched his eyes drop to her breasts, felt his sudden intake of breath as he stared at the tight buds pressing against the thin silk of her dress. He leaned closer, crowding her, his chest scant inches from her own as his lips hovered over hers.

“Jesse.” It was a plea and both of them knew it. Her eyelids fluttered closed for a moment, then lifted as seconds stretched into a minute. And then he was reaching for her, past her, snatching a carrot slice from the salad and turning away.

“I need to take a shower before we eat,” he commented as he headed towards his bedroom, his breathing level and his long stride relaxed. “I’ll make it quick.”