“You’re one hell of a woman.”

She looked up at him, ran her fingers over the strong lines of his face. She thought of all his kindnesses. With Hobo. With the vets. With the children he’d met today.

“Ditto,” she said. “I mean, if I substitute you for me, and woman for man and...”

She stopped abruptly and analyzed what she’d just said. “That doesn’t make sense, does it?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, it does.” He leaned down and his lips trailed kisses down her face. Heat was growing between them again, their eyes locked on each other. “I would love to take you to bed,” he said, “but it’s too soon for that, isn’t it?”

She didn’t answer. She didn’t have an answer. Her body was betraying her. Maybe she could steal a few days of pleasure.

“You should go,” he said softly, “before we do something we both might regret.”