Wyatt turned and stalked off into the darkness. He needed to get away from Erin, fast. Tap signals? For just a moment, his heart had leaped with wild hope only to crash at his feet when reality sank in again. What did she think, that certain numbers of taps could signify different messages? One for stop. Two for don’t touch me. Three for that hurts. Did she think a guy could count when he was having sex? Wyatt had heard of men mentally reciting baseball stats to avoid premature ejaculation or just to perform longer, but that was a tactic to dampen their ardor and deal with a bedroom failing. Definitely not a pleasure enhancer. He could almost picture himself staring stupidly into the darkness, trying to remember what the hell three taps were supposed to mean.

And he had to keep his head on straight about what had happened tonight. He’d been upset and hadn’t sensed the presence of the wolves until it had been almost too late. He’d made it around the lake in time, but if it hadn’t been for Domino, he wouldn’t have found Erin soon enough to help drive off the wolves. And even then, the only weapon he’d had was a big stick when anyone with half a brain would have been carrying a rifle.

He felt both exhausted and heartsick when he returned to the fire and found Erin still sitting near the flames as if he’d only taken a break from their conversation. He didn’t want to talk anymore. He didn’t even want to be near her. Why test his willpower when he didn’t have to?

He hunkered by the fire and stared into the flames. One good thing about being deaf was his ability to shut other people out by simply not looking at them. He was still congratulating himself on that when a pine cone hit him on the shoulder. He glanced up to find Erin grinning at him.

“Give me this week,” she said. “I’ll never ask for anything more, only this week, Wyatt. If I haven’t changed your mind by the time we leave this mountain lake, I’ll cut my losses and accept that there can never be anything more between us.” When he said nothing, she added, “Think of it as a dare. Maybe even a double dare. Throw caution to the wind and just make love with me. If it’s awful, the cure for that is simple. We just won’t do it again. What do you say?”

“I say you’re nuts.” She had no idea how badly he wanted to take her up on the proposition. What guy alive could turn his nose up at an offer of a week’s vacation in the arms of a beautiful woman, with no strings attached? “And I say, no, thanks. You weren’t there that night. It was horrible, and I’ll never go there again. I care about you. I want you. Don’t think my refusal has anything to do with you or your desirability, because it doesn’t. This is only about me.”