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‘Really?’

‘What, you think just because I have more experience than you, I’m incapable of being out of my depth?’

‘Yes,’ she replied matter-of-factly.

TJ nearly laughed. If she knew how out of his depth he really was with her, she’d probably laugh too. Or run fast in the other direction.

Skye caught the glint of it that he didn’t manage to hide in time. ‘It’s not funny.’

‘It’s a little funny,’ he corrected.

‘How?’

‘Well, here I am thinking: I’ve never felt this way about a beautiful woman before. She must be special. And there you are thinking: I’ve never felt this way about a hunky man before. I must be out of my mind,’ he teased.

‘Doesn’t it worry you?’

TJ sobered. ‘Well, sure,’ he admitted. ‘But if we meet up when we can, we’ll have time to figure it out.’

Because she had taken to pacing again, he walked to her, took her by the hand and spun her so that she tripped into his arms. ‘Is that not what you want?’

‘It is,’ she insisted. ‘That’s why I’m worried.’

TJ settled. Just hearing that they both wanted more was enough to calm him. ‘At some point, you’re going to have to start trusting people. Start with me. Trust me, Skye. I won’t let you down.’

‘What if it doesn’t work out?’ she asked.

TJ didn’t say What if it does? He was tempted, but Skye was too used to experiencing the worst of people to believe it. ‘If at any point it’s not working, we’ll be honest with one another. It’ll suck. And then we’ll move on.’ He sighed dramatically. ‘I’ll retire and marry an uber-rich Victoria’s Secret model for her impressive … portfolio. You’ll end up falling in love with a balding plumber from one of the I states. But you’ll probably be happier than me in the long run. That’s how it works.’

‘Stop trying to make me laugh,’ she demanded. But she’d lost that worry already. TJ could see it in the way her mouth tipped up and her eyes shifted from a deep, stormy blue-back to that familiar sea-ice that could sink an unsuspecting man.

His hands slid down her body to grip her ass. He nipped playfully at her bottom lip, said, ‘How about I make you moan instead?’

He’d been playing, so he almost tripped and took them both down when she looked over her shoulder at the stalls and asked, ‘Here?’

It wasn’t the single word that took him by surprise; it was the sexy, breathy tone she’d said it in, as if the thought of them having sex in the barn turned her on.

‘Would you like that?’ he asked quietly.

She tugged at her lip in that telltale anxious habit. But she didn’t reply, only blushed prettily and dropped her gaze, suddenly shy.

‘Hey.’ He tipped her chin. ‘Talk to me.’

She didn’t. Or, maybe, couldn’t.

In that moment, TJ was glaringly aware of the fact that the closer they got, the more vulnerable and shy she seemed. As if, the more she trusted him, the more that wildness in her softened, but in it softening, her defences fell and all those fears of hers started coming to the surface. It was the reminder he needed to go slow, to let her experience all those firsts in safety rather than the rush of greed that would have been so much easier.

So, he didn’t take her in the barn, although he desperately wanted to. He turned and gave her his back. ‘Hop on; I’ll give you a ride to the house.’

Skye affected superiority. ‘Really?’

TJ slanted her a grin over his shoulder. ‘Come on, you know you want to.’

She rolled her eyes, but after another three seconds, she gave in. She jumped on his back and laughed when he hooked his arms beneath her thighs. She roped her arms around his neck, and when he stepped back into the dark night and started for the farmhouse, she brought her lips to his ear and she set his heart to racing when she said, ‘You’re dangerously close to becoming my favourite person in the world, Jesse Jones.’

They locked themselves in the bathroom by mutual agreement and for one reason only: it was the room furthest away from where TJ’s parents slept, and the running water would lend them soundproofing.

‘You’re the first girl I’ve ever had sex with in my parents’ house,’ TJ told her as he stripped his long-sleeved black shirt with his sponsors’ logos printed on the sleeves.