Her chemise fell over the linen and covered her. But still, the entire situation was indecent. He needed to walk out of the building and get away from the heat that was undeniable between them—especially at this moment.

He loosened his hold. And as he started to take a step back, she grabbed his hand. “Reckon you should finish what you started.” She lifted her long lashes and met his gaze with a dare, her brown eyes a dark melted molasses, hot and sticky.

His stomach flipped. And when she started to turn again to continue unwinding the linen, he gently guided her, unable to do anything else. She moved slowly, pausing when she faced the opposite direction.

He had a perfect view of her neck and part of her back, and he knew he’d never seen anything in his entire life more elegant. He couldn’t keep from reaching up and skimming the lacey top hem of her chemise and brushing away a few tendrils of her dark hair that had come loose from the knot at the top of her head.

She stilled. But didn’t protest.

He spun her around again. This time, the unraveled linen fell away altogether, completely undone. Just like him.

Her breathing was rapid and shallow. And when she looked up at him again, her eyes were even darker. Welcoming. Even beckoning him.

Did she want him to kiss her?

Her attention shifted to his mouth, almost as if she’d heard his question.

Oh, blazing smoke. He almost closed his eyes to block her out so he could regain his sanity. But her fingers lifted to graze the arm still holding the linen strip. At the caress, heat sparked along his nerve endings so that he dropped the long cloth and reached for her.

He only meant to touch her arm in return, but somehow his hand slipped behind her to the small of her back. As soon as his hand landed there, he guided her closer. The touch was light. A part of him was giving her the opportunity to put an end to this sudden madness between them.

But she came to him all too willingly, which only fanned the growing need inside him—the need to taste her, kiss her, have her.

When he bent closer and angled in, he paused, giving her another chance to break free. But she tilted her head as though readying herself. The slight movement was a summons he couldn’t ignore.

He swooped down and captured her mouth with all the power and decisiveness of a cowhand roping a steer. He knotted them together, tightly, tautly, with no room to breathe.