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.Dario explained that though the pellets bounced off their fur, they stung and the more they shot the faster the boar would run out of the vineyard.After a long hour, the beasts had finally run off and the vineyard was eerily quiet again.It was over.Isabel’s knees wobbled and her hands shook even though she’d done nothing but watch and stalk.“I hope this doesn’t happen every night,” she said weakly.“Thank you.You saved me.Maybe they haven’t done too much damage.” It was too dark to see how many vines had been uprooted.“I think we caught them in time.”He said we but she hadn’t done anything but yell at them ineffectually from her window.She glanced at him.Now that her eyes were used to the dark, she could see his dark hair, a flash of white teeth, his wide mouth and his crooked nose clearly.“I’ll have to get a gun like yours,” she said.“And learn to shoot it.”“Another day,” he said with a glance at her nightgown.She’d almost forgotten she was wearing a long, sheer cotton gown.His eyes seemed to smolder as he surveyed her body.She could feel the heat right through the cloth and she was afraid she might catch on fire from the sparks between them.The smell of crushed ripe grapes filled the air and a soft breeze caressed her overheated body.She ached to feel his arms around her.She wanted to share the triumph of defeating the wild animals even though he’d done all the work.She had no idea how long they’d been out there.The first rays of sun were creeping over the hills.Impulsively she reached for his arms and pulled him towards her and kissed him.Kisses tinged with relief and gratitude and something else she didn’t want to name.His arms tightened around her and her body was pressed against his.She told herself to pull away though it felt so good to feel his heart beat in time with hers.She told herself to let him go.Thanks were enough.Falling for Dario was the stupidest thing she could do.He could never return her love even if she offered it to him.He’d made that very clear.But the voice of reason was drowned out by the pounding in her head.There was even a buzzing in her ears.She reminded herself she wasn’t falling in love.This was not love.It was lust.It was longing.Anything but love.She would never love again.She knew the painful consequences.She knew how humiliating it was to fall for someone who wasn’t available.What was happening now was that she was just having fun for the first time in a year.She didn’t want a serious relationship any more than he did.An affair.An affair to remember when winter came and there were no more grapes to pick and no more excuse to see Dario.That’s all this attraction could become.His kisses and the look in his eyes made her feel like the bravest and the most beautiful woman in the world.Made her want to rip off her nightgown and run through the vines and jump into the pond with him.Feel the cool water around their bodies.Finally it was he who broke the kiss and held her at arm’s length.He was breathing hard and there was a shuttered look in his eyes she couldn’t decipher.“I’d better let you get some sleep.”“Sleep?” She looked around.Sleep was the last thing she wanted.She was full of energy.“It’s morning.Would you like some coffee?”She noted his look of surprise and said, “Follow me.”The air was still cool and a fine mist hovered over the vines as they walked to the house, straight through to the kitchen where she lit the stove with the sparker.He took in the new propane cylinder, then picked up and inspected an ancient but well-scrubbed saucepan on the stove.“You’ve been busy,” he said.There was admiration in his voice and she treasured it.She opened the small packets of coffee she’d taken from her hotel room into the two tin cups she’d found in the pantry.When the water boiled she put both cups on a tray and carried them out to the picnic table prouder than if she’d been serving tea in china cups at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.The smell of the coffee mingled with the smell of the dew on the overgrown grass poking up around ancient stepping stones.Dario was watching her so intently she almost dropped the tray.“It’s just coffee,” she said modestly.“Next time I’ll make bread.Now that I have a working oven.”He sipped his coffee.“Not bad,” he said with a smile that melted her heart.She smiled in return, proud of herself for achieving a way to heat water.The coffee was hot and strong and on top of the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she was ready for a full day’s work.Then there was his smile.Another stimulant.With just his smile she needed no coffee.Not to mention his company.He kept her entertained with stories of how he learnt to make wine and the times he had had to chase off the wild boars.But when he finally left she sat on an old wooden chair on the patio, suddenly as limp as a rag doll, exhausted and light-headed and more confused than ever.They kissed each other again—beautiful kisses that made her feel amazing—but what did it mean? Had they begun a relationship, an affair? She didn’t ask when she’d see him again and he didn’t say.She wished she didn’t care so much.Dario drove slowly down the road toward town.He’d done what he had to do, what anyone would do for a neighbor, he’d chased off the boars.But Isabel wasn’t just any neighbor; she was like a magnet and it was hard to resist a magnetic force.He’d resisted for a few days, but he still hadn’t been able to push her out of his mind.He’d finally given in and come here and now he knew he couldn’t stay away
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