Hol-ee-hotness.

A tall, painfully attractive man with intense gray eyes and boy next door charm was staring her down. He might have a gentlemanly appeal that radiated off of him, but there was nothing gentlemanly about the obviously well-honed muscles he was rockin’ beneath that shirt.

“Candy?” she repeated. She frowned then glanced at her purse. Odd request, but maybe he’d seen her snag some and wanted a piece. She walked to her bag, trying to hide her smile. She’d happily give him a piece…anytime. Because the guy was seriously sexy.

She reached in and grabbed a Sour Patch Kid and walked it to the hottie.

He took the piece, looked at it, then at her.

“Cute,” he said. “Really cute.” He popped it in his mouth. “I’m Ryder.”

He reached out his hand to shake hers. Yep, gentleman. But she took it, and his grip instantly engulfed her smaller hand. His palm was thick with healed callouses.

Must be a hard worker…

What would those big hands feel like running up her bare back…

She just stood mute, struck by those hot gray eyes, while her mind churned out a wicked fantasy involving tall, tan, and sexy over there and the pool table behind her. A grin tugged at his perfect lips, as if he could read her thoughts. She blushed and pulled her hand away.

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

She just nodded, because he was the first nice thing to come walking into her world in a long time. It wasn’t until his gaze had fastened on her that she realized how rarely she interacted with people for any amount of time. Sure, she got out and lived it up when she could, but she never made friends because she was always moving.

Yet people fascinated her. Being a sociology major, she’d always enjoyed observing individuals and their interactions within their societal norms, what passed for prim and proper versus wild and wanton depending on the city. Nothing about this man struck her as prim and proper, though. The way he looked at her made her shiver, and she wanted to stand there and bask in the moment for a second.

He looked so damn put together that it made her examine herself quickly. She was in her favorite cutoff shorts and tank top that read put some south in your mouth—something it seemed Ryder couldn’t help but notice. Good. She’d gotten the shirt for its sass as much as for how it outlined the girls and got the attention of whatever man she put in her sights.

Because she was looking right back at him, wishing she had the power to melt cotton with her eyes. While she wasn’t sure on most things, she was certain that the man before her had an impressive physique, and she wanted to see more of it.

“So.” He glanced at the pool table before returning that smoldering gaze to her. He looked at her in a way that made her chest hitch and her breasts tingle. “Care for a partner?”

His eyes stayed on her, and she was ready to take him up on that offer in more ways than one.

“Yes, please,” she said.

Her night was suddenly looking up.

Chapter Two

“So you’re from around here?” the sexy brunette asked as she eyed her shot and bent over the pool table again.

Jesus Christ, Ryder needed to get a grip. He couldn’t stare all night at her perfect ass in those insanely short shorts. Her shirt was tied up and gave flashes of her tight stomach, and Ryder had to take a deep breath. Maybe Bass was right. It’d been too long since he’d gotten laid.

“It’s not a hard question, big guy,” she said, snapping his thoughts out of the gutter and back to reality. Where were his manners?

“I’m sorry, sweetness. Run that by me again?” He stood straighter, gripping his pool cue as her big, chocolate eyes flashed up at him with a smile.

“I asked if you were from around here.” She hit the five in the side pocket and straightened.

Was he from around there? Technically, the lodge was in Diamond County, but it wasn’t zoned in the town of Diamond. He’d have to hold onto that technicality. If he so much as gave his last name, the connection would be made and the questions would start. Was he rich? Was he married? On and on.

For now, he wanted to take advantage of what Bass had said. This woman was passing through for just one night, and for one night, he didn’t have to be Ryder Diamond of the founding Diamonds.

“Not exactly,” he finally answered. It was the truth, basically.

She nodded and looked at him. Those roaming eyes gave off what he knew was a look of interest. And damn, it was a mighty fine look.

“You’re a little mysterious, cowboy,” she said, her east coast accent kicking up just a hair.

“Not a cowboy.” He drawled the last word and dropped the vowel just enough to gauge her reaction. Judging by the quick intake of air, and those high perfect breasts pressing tight against that shirt, he’d guess she was toiling with the idea of what getting down and dirty with a country boy was like. And he’d happily show her. “You wanna tell me where you’re from?”

She glanced away. “I move around a lot. Not really from anywhere.”

Huh. So she was playing the part of a mystery as much as he was.

She bent over the pool table again, even though it was his turn. He happily let her have the shot.

“How about this,” he said, and came to stand by her. “Why don’t we skip all the personal questions? You just tell me about yourself, however much or little you’d like.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “The more mysterious, the better?”

He smiled. “You got it.”

With her pool cue perfectly aligned, she winked at him, and then, without taking her eyes off him, she nailed the shot and sank the three ball. She was better than good, and that had him instantly hard. She was young, hot, and stirred his blood in a way it hadn’t been in a while. Maybe ever. Because with her lush mouth and hypnotic eyes, it was hard keeping his manners at the forefront, especially when she represented everything easy, fun, and wild.

And good Lord, he would make sure tonight fulfilled every fantasy he’d denied himself. Just like a diabetic sampling chocolate frosting…only once Ryder had a taste, he’d consume the whole damn cake.

She’s bad for you…

The quiet voice whispered that familiar warning. She was a temptation that he should be struggling to resist, yet every beat of his pulse told him that she’d be worth the sin. A night of lust to scratch this damn itch, then he could go back to his normal life tomorrow.

He’d been burned by a woman before. A woman like the one in front of him. Sexy, wild, and looking for fun, not for serious. And Ryder was a serious guy. Had to be. The second he wasn’t, he lost control and paid the consequences dearly.

Don’t get sucked in… Resist.

“I like personal details,” she said. “But not the boring kind. I don’t want to know where you’re from or what you do.”

Ryder nodded. He could get on board with that. “Details, so long as they’re not boring. And how do we go about that?”

She gave a wicked grin and ran her teeth over her bottom lip. He watched every damn slide, wishing to hell he could taste what she was tasting.

“We play a game,” she said simply.

“What kind of game?”

He took a drink of his longneck, and she picked up her glass of citrus liquor. They were both now on round two, and he was convinced that she had to taste as sweet and tart as her drink.

“It’s called ‘I’ve Never’.” She stepped closer. “You say something you’ve never done. If the other person has done that, then they take a drink.”

He nodded. “I like it. Why don’t you go first?”

“We’ll start easy.” She shook the big barrel curls off her shoulders and glanced at the ceiling while holding her drink out. “I’ve never driven a heavy piece of machinery.”