Amy slowly opened her eyes. There were thoughts in her head, things she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him that she got it, that it all made perfect sense, that she understood him, that for the first time since her mother died, she had finally caught a glimpse of a future that didn’t feel so overwhelmingly bleak. But Amy couldn’t muster a single word because all she wanted to do was kiss him.

And it seemed he wanted to kiss her too.

His warm blue eyes were circling her face, drifting low, down to her mouth. Amy leaned in. The rock fell from her hand and hit the floor with a thud. Neither of them noticed or even blinked. She put her hand around the back of his head and pulled him in closer, so close that only a whisper of a breath separated their lips. Her inhibitions melted away. Surrendering to the moment, she closed her eyes and she did it, she kissed him, and for the next few seconds thought of nothing else but the heady sensation of her lips pressed against his.

With the same longing and desire, Ryan kissed her back. He pulled her toward him, drawing her body against his. She let him. She folded her leg over his and let his fingers brush her face, let them trace the contours of her cheek, her jaw, down her neck, lower. She opened her mouth wider. As she ran her fingers through his wet hair and down the back of his neck, she began kissing him harder and hungrier. Her craving was so deep that she didn’t stop—she couldn’t stop, not until there was a roar of thunder outside, loud enough to split their lips apart.

Amy sat up in a hurry. “This is a mistake,” she said as she disentangled her legs from around his. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

Ryan let the question settle in the air for a moment. His expression was soft, his eyes quiet and still. “Why shouldn’t we?”

“Because we only just met. Doesn’t this feel a bit crazy to you?”

“Not particularly.”

Amy watched his mouth as he spoke, only an inch away from hers. She felt like she could still taste him, could feel his warm breath mixing with her own. “It’s not that I don’t want to . . .”

“I don’t not want to either,” he replied, his lips curling into a smile as he kissed her again, tenderly, softly.

“But it’s not that simple, Ryan . . .” Her words came out in broken whispers, straight from her lips to his, straight into his mouth. “Think about the bigger picture, think about the ranch. The next few days are important for you, too important for you to be thinking about anything else. I’m not sure a distraction is what you need right now.”