Nick's heart suddenly expanded. Could a man choke to death on love? He kissed Daisy on the cheek. She turned and pressed her lips against his. It was a soft yet powerful kiss. There was no urgency in the embrace; it was fresh, assured, and filled with promise.

She wasn't going to like what he had to say, yet he had to say it. She was too extraordinary to let slip through his fingers. He cleared his throat. "I know you don't want to think about a real future between us."

Her body shuddered against him, but she didn't raise her head from his shoulder. "I can't," she muttered.

"I know. And I'm not pressing you. I just want to be clear on one thing right now. We've kidded each other about you being the student and me the sex education teacher." He chuckled softly. "Thankfully, there have been numerous occasions when those roles were reversed."

She smothered a laugh. At least he had her attention. "You seem to have come around to the idea that we're lovers."

Her head moved hesitantly on his shoulder. She was so still he feared she might break. "All I want is for us to be clear that we're in a committed relationship."

Again he felt her muscles go rigid. "I'm not talking about living together or anything else. Just that there are no other partners." She softened; he was on target.

"And that if either one of us desires to move on we have the good graces to inform the other and break it off with as much dignity as we can muster." He paused. There was silence.

"Well, what do you say about that?"

"Fine with me." Daisy shrugged. "It's not like I have a bunch of guys knocking down my door. YouÕre the only man I've ever slept with." She grew silent.

Nick could hear gears turning in Daisy's brain while she sorted out the implications of what he'd said. "Have there been other women...since that night in Shakopee?" she whispered.

Nick's response was quick and firm. "Absolutely not. You are actually the first woman I took to bed in three years. There never seemed to be much of a point. Oh, I was fairly active for a while after the divorce. Proving myself, I guess. But then I sort of lost interest. Until you came along."

"If I remember correctly, I had to almost beg you to make love to me that first time. It was quite embarrassing at first." Daisy leaned back and looked at Nick. He was afraid he'd lose himself in those smoky orbs. "So would you have hit on me, if I hadn't come to you first?"

Glancing at the fire, Nick shook his head. "I don't really know. God, I wanted to. I wanted you from the moment I saw you bent over working on Blaze. Have I ever told you, you have the cutest, tightest ass I've ever seen or held?"

Daisy placed a finger across her lower lip and gave him a pensive look. "Yes, I believe you have, several times. How about if you'd known my age?"

Nick recoiled. "No way."

"Yet here we are."

A hint of triumph colored her words. She was beginning to drive him nuts. If he even hinted at a long term future, she'd withdraw. Yet, their relationship was much more than frantic coupling, even for her.

"Can you tell me what kind of wood we're burning?" Nick asked.

"I think it's a combination of willow, ash, and birch. It's what I could find that was down."

"You know I've never told you my nickname for you is Willow."

"No you haven't," she said, turning to stare softly at him.