It was time to call it a night. She’d sat forward, but her body was cold where she’d been leaning on him, and it felt unnerving, like she should simply lie back and resume her position. She knew, though, that she needed to give it some thought without Maverick being around.

She answered his question, finally. “I don’t know. I’m not saying no. I just need to think about it,” she told him.

“I can respect that,” he said, shocking her. He didn’t usually take no for an answer, and uncertainty on her part would be considered a no for Mav.

Standing, she tried sneaking away while he put out the fire. But she should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. With a very tired Princess at her heels, she didn’t even get ten feet away before Mav was magically at her side.

“You’re calling it a night early,” he said, the dim lighting along the path to the guest cottage far too intimate after what the two of them had just shared.

“It’s not early,” she told him with a smile.

“It’s only . . .” He looked down at his watch. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was nearly midnight. Thank you for staying with me. Thank you for letting me share. I liked it.”

“Thank you, Mav. I know that must not have been easy for you to do.”

“It was easier than I thought,” he told her. There was something in his tone she didn’t recognize and it scared her.

But wasn’t this fear so much better than the terror she’d suffered for so long? Even though letting a man into your heart without knowing where it would lead was dangerous, it was a risk she should be willing to take. The consequences weren’t life or death. Still, she hesitated.

“I don’t need to be escorted back to the cottage.”

“I can’t let a beautiful woman go home alone,” he told her before reaching for her hand. She didn’t even bother tugging against his hold this time. He was back to his usual self, his voice full of confidence. The meeker Mav hadn’t lasted long. She realized she enjoyed both sides of this man.

They were silent the rest of the way to her place, which didn’t take long at all. She stood in front of the door, feeling that first-date sort of awkwardness she’d hoped to never feel again. Of course, she reminded herself, it wasn’t a date.

This was simply her returning home after eating with her friends. Not that Mav was her friend . . . not exactly. But it almost felt like a date, especially the part where he’d held her so tenderly by the fire and shared so much of himself.

“I have a meeting tomorrow with some big clients for the fund-raiser. Will you come with me?”

“Mav . . .” She sighed. He’d promised to give her time.

“I’m not asking you to commit. I’m just showing you some of what we do and that will help you make an informed decision,” he said, sounding far too innocent.

She sighed again. The man was infuriating.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to go with you,” she said with a frown before she smiled. “Last time we went out together, I ended up with a dog,” she pointed out. “If we go somewhere again, I might find myself with a monkey.”

That made him laugh, and the rich sound of his natural joy was enough to warm her to the bones and shake off the rest of her melancholy.

“I promise not to get you attached to any monkeys,” he said as he crossed his fingers over his heart.

“Where would we be going then?” she asked.

“I can’t tell you. That would ruin the surprise,” he said as he took a step nearer to her. She leaned back against the door. It wasn’t locked. All she had to do was turn the knob and step inside. But the command wasn’t connecting with her hand.

“I’m not big on surprises,” she pointed out.

“That’s because you haven’t been surprised by me enough,” he said with a waggle of his brows.

“Hmm.” The buzzing sound on her lips made them tingle as she found her eyes straying up to his. Dang, she wouldn’t mind a kiss good-night. That thought annoyed her. She didn’t want to want his kisses.

Princess whined at her feet, which snapped Lindsey out of her reverie. She really did need to go inside. Just looking at her sweet new pet made her realize that Mav wasn’t completely off in the things he was doing for her.

“Even though you strong-armed me, I have to thank you for Princess. I sort of already love her.”

“She chose you,” he said, leaning just a bit closer. Now he was less than six inches away and she could feel the heat pouring off him. This man’s body temperature only ran on hot.

“Just don’t be giving me anything else,” she warned.

“I can’t promise that. I think I like seeing your face light up when you get a gift,” he countered.

“Well . . . refrain,” she squeaked. If only she sounded more convincing.

He didn’t say anything else, just closed the remaining distance between them so his body was brushing hers. She couldn’t breathe as she looked into his dark eyes and waited to see what he was going to do.

Slowly and without pause, he leaned down until his lips were whispering against hers. He brushed them across once . . . twice . . . three times, a light contact of his lips on hers, just enough to make her want to cry out in frustration.

Then he leaned in closer, his hard chest now pressing lightly against hers as his hand came up and cupped the back of her neck. She should be screaming and running, but she was feeling anything but fear. This man . . . oh, what this man did to her.