“But you agree with them about my opening a business here.”

She sat up to look at him. “Not in principle, I don’t. But the real reason they don’t want me marrying you is that they’re afraid I’d sell Kent Caskets and move toNew York . As soon as they realized that if you opened a business I’d stay in Keelstone Cove, they did an about-face and decided I should fall in love with you.”

“I see. You’re afraid that more than wanting to see you happy, they really only want you sticking around?” He pulled her back against his chest and tucked her head under his chin. “So, fire the whole damn bunch of them.”

“I can’t,” she muttered into his shirt.

Sam smiled, unsurprised. “Okay, then sell Kent Caskets, and let some new boss deal with them.”

“I can’t do that, either.”

“Then quit. Give them the entire business—lock, stock, and caskets.”

“No.”

“Then I guess that leaves you only one option.”

She lifted her head to look at him. “What’s that?”

“You’re going to have to forgive them.”

“I will not.”

“Then you tell me what you’re going to do. You can’t fire them, because you’re too softhearted; you can’t sell your business, because it’s a big part of who you are; and you can’t quit, because that would mean they’ve won.”

“Forgiving them would mean they’ve won, too.”

He tucked her back under his chin. “Hmm,” he murmured. “Do you suppose that’s why you’ve never been able to forgive yourself? Because if you did, it would mean fate has won?”

“What are you talking about?” She wriggled to get free.

“I was just thinking out loud, trying to work something out for myself. I’m sorry they disappointed you, Willa.” He started rubbing her back in long, soothing strokes and felt her slowly relax. “So, does this mean you will support my new business venture?”

“You’ll just get stabbed in the back by your workers.”

“No, I won’t.”

She tilted her head back. “What makes you so sure?”

“Because, unlike you, I don’t trust people. That way, I’m never surprised or disappointed.”

“But you must trust your brothers. And Abram. Surely, you trusted your grandfather.”

“If I had trusted Bram, what do you suppose my reaction would have been to his will?”

She looked thoughtful, then laid her head back on his chest.

“I trust you,” he whispered into her hair.

She popped back up and blinked at him. “You do? Why?”

“Because I love you.”

She tried to scramble off his lap, but Sam tightened his arms and held her against his chest. “I’m sorry if that bothers you, honey, but it seems to be one of those fate things I don’t have any control over. I tell you what. I’ll try my damndest to stop telling you I love you, if you’ll try to stop seeing me as the enemy.”

She muttered something, and Sam realized he had to loosen his hold so she could breathe. “What was that?” he asked with a chuckle.

She scowled at him. “I agreed to go to dinner with you tonight, didn’t I? And I do not eat with my enemies.”

“So, that means Barry Cobb is your new best friend?”

Her scowl intensified. “How come you never confronted me about that? I went out with him five times.”

“Because I trust you.” And because as long as Cobb was with you, I knew exactly what he was up to . Sam cupped her face and pulled her mouth to his, giving her a big, noisy kiss before holding her so their eyes were only inches apart. “And because your going out with him to make me jealous actually gave me hope that you do care.”

She looked ready to smack him, so he kissed her again.

This time, she took his face between her hands and kissed him like a woman with something to prove. Sam was torn between wanting to shout hallelujah and groaning. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t make love to her again until she quit seeing him as a casual fling and started seeing them as a couple. But surely he could indulge himself a little bit. She was so soft and pliable, her body filled with promise…and she wanted him, dammit!

She darted her tongue into his mouth and pulled him closer. Sam sensed the world tilting on edge, not realizing that Willa was repositioning herself to straddle his lap until he felt her thighs gripping his. Her feminine heat sent shock waves coursing through him, every muscle in his body going instantly taut. He quickly grabbed her hips, stopping her maddening movements. She broke their kiss, her mouth moving over his jaw as her hands attacked the buttons on his shirt. Her lips soon followed, and Sam struggled to catch his breath against her passionate assault. She made little impatient sounds, her hips fighting his hold, her fingers fumbling with his buttons as she rocketed from zero to sixty in four seconds flat.

If he didn’t get her under control, he would spontaneously combust. “Willa. Honey. I’m not sure we—”

He yelped when her mouth found one of his nipples.

Then she lifted her head to look him in the eyes. “Please, Sam, make love to me.”

How in hell was he supposed to hold his ground against please ?

He framed her face with his hands. “I can’t take advantage of you like that. Not tonight,” he said, wondering whose voice was coming out of his mouth. “You’re upset and vulnerable right now.”

“No, I’m aching to feel you inside me again,” she whispered, feathering her fingers over his exposed chest. “It feels so good when you fill me up, Sam. Please make love to me.”

He groaned softly in defeat. He wrapped his arms around her, slid off the couch, and laid her beside him on the rug in front of the fire. She immediately went to work on his belt buckle. He captured her hands and lifted them over her head. “I believe you asked me to make love to you . That means I’m the captain on this voyage.”

The woodstove was producing just enough light for him to see her expression, which went from intense desire to trepidation as she obviously remembered how she’d nearly killed him on their last voyage together.

He went to work on her buttons, and as each one came undone, more of her beautiful breasts came into view. Sam prayed she didn’t realize the firelight was enough for him finally to see what he’d only been able to feel on the RoseWind .

Her skin was creamy alabaster and as soft as silk. She was wearing a lace bra that pushed her full breasts together, and as he parted the edges of her blouse, he could see her nipples straining against the lace.

She stirred restlessly, and Sam leaned down and kissed her, using his free hand to undo the zipper on

her pants. He stripped her down to her bra and panties about two seconds before she realized she was completely exposed to him.

She immediately tried to hide against him.

“You’re beautiful, Willa,” he murmured against her mouth, and kissed her again. He gently caressed her skin above the lace of her bra, running his thumb across her raised nipple. She responded with a sweet, feminine moan and slid one of her legs up his. Sam kissed her chin, her throat, her collarbone, then delved into her cleavage, which turned her moan into a soft shout of approval. He felt her trembling beneath him as he continued on, moving his lips over the lace to her nipple. He suckled her through the material, causing her to arch her back with another encouraging shout. He finally released her hands so he could take off her panties and bra. She immediately attacked his shirt, pushing it down over his shoulders, growling in frustration when she couldn’t get it off his arms.

“Help me, Sam. I want to touch you.”

He stopped undoing the front clasp on her bra long enough to shed his shirt; by then, she had already moved on to the buckle of his belt. Sam knelt upright, watching her lick her lips as she studied his chest and undid his belt, sliding his pants down to his knees.

Her gaze dropped, her eyes widened, and the hands that had been reaching for his chest suddenly headed for his erection. Apparently, she had just discovered a major advantage of having light during lovemaking. Sam jerked his groin out of her reach, capturing her hands and raising them back over her head. He used his knees to open her legs to him, then settled between her thighs. He smiled, seeing her trepidation return. “A bit disconcerting, is it, to find yourself lying naked under a man you took blatant advantage of a couple of weeks ago?”