Santa Fe Fortune & How to Marry a Matador

yes. Yes, I was.”
    “You’re very special Gwen. I’m sorry you missed this round of campers. I know the kids would have loved you too. Maybe we can see about it some other time?”
    Some other time? Was Dan indicating a future, or merely being polite? “Yeah,” she said uncertainly. “That would be great.” Then the deeper part of the reality set in. No camp plus no campers meant that they would be alone. “So, nobody else will be there, then? Out there on Paradise Ranch?”
    “Gwen, if you’re starting to change your mind…” he said kindly. “I honestly don’t mind driving you back.” He checked his BlackBerry. “If we rush, you can probably still make your plane.”
    “No! It’s not that…” she started badly, then was totally unsure about how to finish. What could she say? I don’t trust myself around you and that hot body, when you’re bound to also have a hot bed? Her fantasies about becoming intimate with Dan had been so wonderful up until now, mostly because that was just what they were. Was Gwen really ready to face that reality? Her plump little…uh…large rear matched with his hard-toned thighs, nothing but skin between them?
    Dan knitted his brow, looking gloomy. “It’s the money thing, isn’t it?”
    “Money thing?”
    “You read what those other women said about me. You probably think I’m some kind of playboy and don’t have intentions that are sincere.”
    Actually, Gwen was more worried about herself than him. While his good looks and wealth might make him appear to be the playboy sort to the general public, Gwen had gotten to know Dan privately. She trusted her instincts when they said he was nothing of the sort. He wasn’t the type to take advantage of people. Everything she’d learned about Dan had shown him to be caring and kind. When she first met him, he’d also had a completely guarded heart. His heart seemed to be opening up just as much as hers. She could tell by the hurt in his voice and the pain in his gaze. He couldn’t stand for Gwen to think poorly of him, for whatever kind of reasons he might imagine.
    “I don’t think that about you at all,” she assured him. “I may not know you as well as I’d like to, but I’ve definitely seen enough to have a sense of who you are.”
    Relief washed across the lines of his handsome face. “Then, you haven’t changed your mind?”
    Butterflies alighted in her stomach as her heart galloped into overdrive. “I’m yours for the night,” she said, smiling softly. The tips of Dan’s ears flushed crimson again, and she quickly turned away, directing her gaze at the stunning New Mexico landscape. “Or the rest of the afternoon,” she continued hastily. “Or until whenever you decide to book my new reservation.”
    When she turned back toward him, he shot her a smile and a brief glance. “I should think you’ll have some say in the date of your return reservation as well.”
    “Why, yes. Sure. Of course.” Gwen mentally kicked herself and vowed to quit babbling. Maybe if she sat extra still to enjoy the view, Dan would magically forget how moronic she’d sounded.

    Dan kept his view on the road, not daring another glance at the sensuous woman beside him. Had she intimated what he’d thought? Was Gwen hinting that she’d sleep with him? It wasn’t like it hadn’t crossed his mind. From the moment he’d tasted Gwen’s ultra-hot lips, he’d known that kissing wouldn’t be enough. He longed to hold her and take her completely, losing himself to her feminine warmth. Dan couldn’t wait to get home and slip into a pair of jeans and a comfortable shirt. He tried not to envision Gwen taking them off slowly, disrobing him as he watched.
    “Look out!” Gwen shrieked.
    Tires squealed as Dan swerved to avoid a jackrabbit. “Sorry about that.” He grimaced, steering them back on the road. Gwen had her hands pressed to her heart like she thought he was about to drive them off a mountain. Maybe he was. Perhaps this whole thing was crazy. Him and Gwen alone on Paradise Ranch, his big bachelor bed just sitting there—empty, cold, and lonely. He’d be damned if he didn’t want to, but could he really do that to her? Gwen was so wholesome and trusting. He doubted she’d been with a man since her divorce. It wouldn’t be right of Dan to take advantage of that, with the future between them still so uncertain.
    A lump welled in Dan’s throat as he thought the whole thing through. He couldn’t stand the