Were his hands shaking? No way. That was impossible. After a couple of tries, he got the corkscrew to line up and then managed to get the cork out of the wine. He poured them each a glass. He brought them over to her along with the strawberries before taking a seat next to her.

“Where are we going tonight?” she asked as she took a sip of the wine and sighed.

“Italian.”

“Yummy.” She reached forward and picked up one of the strawberries. She nibbled on its sweetness and let out another sigh. “You’re spoiling me, you know.”

“Hardly. I want to give you the world, and this doesn’t even touch that,” he said, realizing he actually meant it. There really wasn’t anything he didn’t want this woman to have—including himself.

Why did he have to complicate it? And why did he have to have a timeline on their romance? Wouldn’t it be so much easier if he just went with the flow and let things progress naturally?

It probably would. But then he might get so involved he wouldn’t know how to stop. And though everything seemed nearly perfect at the moment, it wouldn’t be in a few months—that was a given.

He pushed those thoughts away as he looked at the beautiful woman next to him. She was perfectly content to sip her wine and delicately eat her chocolate-covered strawberry. He held up his wine glass.

“There are challenges in life, some of which are harder to get up from than others. But you are beautiful, talented, kind, strong, and sexy. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life,” he said as he reached the glass toward hers.

“Thank you for helping me to feel like me again. And for showing me that it’s okay to live and not just exist,” she said before clinking her glass against his and taking a sip.

There was a slight sheen of tears in her eyes that made him want to reach across the small space dividing them and pull her close. But she looked down for a moment and took a few breaths. When she met his eyes again, the telling sparkle was gone.

“Are you ready for a night of romance?” he asked, suddenly in a hurry to get away from the cottage. The intimacy was too great.

“Romance, huh? What about excitement?” she asked with a smile.

“I have more than one layer to me. I’ve taken you on exciting adventures. Sometimes it’s also nice to slow down,” he said as he stood and held out a hand to help her up.

The moment her fingers laced with his, his good intentions of leaving for dinner were pushed aside. He pulled her into his arms and tasted her sweet lips. Before he could devour her whole, he pulled back. He moved over to her closet where he grabbed her jacket.

Standing behind her, he helped her put it on, unable to stop himself from leaning forward and running his lips across the smooth skin at the base of her neck. Her scent made his knees tremble.

“I want to take you into the bedroom and kiss every inch of your skin,” he whispered before running his lips across her ear.

He felt her shiver against him as she sighed and leaned back.

“I’m not all that hungry,” she said.

“Oh, I’m certainly hungry,” he replied before turning her and taking one more taste of her lips. “But I promised you a night out first.”

With that, he took her hand again and opened the door. When she stepped out and saw the limo he had waiting for her, the smile on her lips made his agony of waiting to touch her worth the wait.

“What’s this?” she asked as she tugged on his hand and stepped toward the car. The driver quickly opened the back door.

“I want to spoil you tonight,” he replied as he helped her inside.

“You’re off to a really good start.”

They got comfortable in the backseat before he poured them each another glass of wine. He leaned back, enjoying her look of joy as she faced him. She was too far away, but he figured that was probably the safer position at the moment considering his libido was revved up.

“How do you always know what to do each and every time?” she asked, a glow in her cheeks from the good wine.

“I seem to know how you’re feeling and what you need,” he answered. It was odd, but true.

“And how am I feeling right now?” she asked in a teasing voice.

His pants tightened as he grew even harder looking at her. The outfit she was wearing didn’t hide much from him. Her ample chest was rising and falling as her breaths came out in excited little pants. Her legs were shifting as she squeezed her thighs tightly together.

There was a glow in her eyes, and her lips were moist. She was as excited as he was.

“You’re anticipating the night ahead and counting down the minutes until I can strip away that sexy outfit you’re wearing,” he responded before drinking down the rest of his wine. He needed a lot more to keep his libido in check.

“I guess you are pretty observant, then,” she said, her cheeks heating a bit more as her eyes drooped the slightest bit in her aroused state.

They arrived at the restaurant just before he lost control and leapt across the seats to devour her whole. His desire for this woman was relentless, and he feared he would never feel this way again about another.

To let her go seemed so foolish, but she wasn’t his to keep—no matter how much he might want to change that fact.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

The place Maverick had chosen was small and intimate, the tables lit from above with dim chandeliers, accented by flickering candles as centerpieces. He and Lindsey were led to a table in the back corner, where they would have even more privacy.