Five years ago

Dorothea Gale gripped Tim's cotton T-shirt, and her fingers tingled at the feel of firm muscles. She'd seen him without his shirt in the field, but actually touching the hardened flesh made her fingers thrum with electricity.

The tractor vibrated beneath her, and she tried to convince herself the machine was causing the sensations between her legs.

No, it was the feel of the body under the cloth that did that. But if she let go of Tim at this speed, she'd fall off. Who was she kidding? Even if the tractor moved slower than drying paint she wouldn't want to let go.

Abruptly the tractor jolted to a stop. Thea jerked forward slamming into Tim, his back solid and unyielding as the earth beneath them. The impact forced her hands to loosen and fall to his thighs.

Apparently oblivious, he turned the key, slid off the seat, and headed for the nearest row of corn.

The throbbing that coursed through her body continued after the engine shut down. Before her breathing steadied, Tim returned, his smile bright like the sun. Standing in front of her, he husked the corn and held the large yellow vegetable out to her.

She stared at it, mesmerized. Long. Thick. Hard.

"Taste it, Thea." The raw male sound of his voice caressed her already sensitized skin.

She took it in her hands and tentatively bit. Warm. Mouth-watering.

Tim's hand brushed loose corn from her face. "Nothing like corn fresh off the stalk and warmed by Kansas sunshine. Delicious, isn't it?"

Thea licked her lips and nodded.

What she didn't say, what she couldn't say, was that she'd prefer to taste him, not some ear of corn. Maybe by the end of her week-long visit to her Uncle Hank and Aunt Emily's farm she'd find a way to steal a taste of his lips.

Not that she knew what to do with her emotions or what to do with Tim, for that matter, if he decided to make a move. She'd had boyfriends, but this was her first real dance with desire.

Being close to him tortured her sensibilities, pitting brain against body. Her mind yelled that a week wasn't long enough to establish any kind of relationship, and a smart girl would run. But this close to Tim, she was struck dumb by the same electricity.

Her eyes remained locked on target, focused only on his. The thumping in her chest beat so loud she felt as if she was in the middle of the school marching band.

She took a small step forward so she had to look straight up to see him. "Aren't you going to taste it too?" She held up the corn, keeping it close to her face. If he bent down to take a bite, he'd be within kissing distance.

He looked at her long and hard, as if weighing his options. Each delayed second made her dream more elusive.

Tim cleared his throat and took a step backward. "I'd better get back to work. I can't afford to lose this job. I need to save every cent so I don't have to work when classes are in session."

So he decided on the royal kiss off instead of a kiss.

Fine. For now. The week was still young. She might be a few years younger than Tim and their time might be limited, but her intuition told her she was meant to kiss those perfect lips.