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  Stick to the subject at hand, she told herself as he slowed to a stop at a signal. “Like I told you before,” she said calmly. “I have three brothers. I don’t need another one.”

  He gave her a smoky look that would’ve curled her toes if they weren’t so cold. His blue bedroom eyes were at half-mast, one side of his sensual mouth was lifted up in a sexy smile, his wet hair dipped over his forehead carelessly. Then he leaned over and whispered into her ear, his voice whiskey deep, “Believe me when I tell you that being brotherly was the last thing on my mind.”

  Then her toes really did curl.

  Don’t go there, her slim grasp on sanity warned as he turned onto their street and the wind blew a fresh sheet of rain violently into the windshield. Whatever his reasons for following her today really were, they were not to be interpreted as anything more than him sticking his nose where it didn’t belong out of some misguided sense of duty. What was happening here was that Alec was drenched, dirty and spoiling for a fight. And she was just the girl to give it to him.

  “Alec,” she said, “you’re the one that spreads yourself as thin as melted butter, using women and throwing them away like dirty Kleenex as fast as you can. That’s not Troy. That’s you.”

  A cloud passed over his expression briefly as he steered the cart into the Hotel Margarita’s parking lot. Then he gave her a look that had “And your point is?” written all over it, which ratcheted up her ire about a dozen notches.

  “Given that you seem to think a satisfying ending to a relationship is to dodge phone calls until they give up,” she continued with undisguised impatience, “you may find this impossible to understand. But I’m an optimist so I’m going to say it anyway. Troy is my friend. A friend, who, I can assure you, is not interested in me in the way you think.”

  His laughter came out in a short bark. “Women always say that. You haven’t got a clue who’s interested in you.”

  But I sure know who’s not interested, she thought as he cut the engine just outside their room and her anger reached boiling temperature.

  “Trust me,” he said, “when I tell you that Troy is interested in you. You just don’t see it.” Then he jumped out of the cart and ran through the rain to the relative safety of their front door.

  Infuriated, she followed. When they reached the shelter of the bougainvillea-covered trellis that arched over their entry-way, she said, “I think I’d know, Alec.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.

  “Yes, I would.”

  “Wouldn’t.”

  With a vicious stab, she stuck her key in the door’s lock. “Would.”

  She was so engrossed in the argument that she almost jumped out of her skin when Alec, in lieu of a comeback, clamped his hands down on her shoulders and turned her toward him roughly. In the glow of the porch light, his gaze was fiery, evangelical.

  “You know why I’m sure you wouldn’t see it if someone was attracted to you, Daisy?” He paused, his fingers tightening on her shoulders. “Because you don’t even know that I’m about to kiss you.”

  The last thing Daisy remembered thinking before thinking became way too much trouble was, “He’s absolutely right.”

  She never saw it coming, never would have guessed it would happen, and yet Alec was pulling her close and his demanding lips were capturing hers in a hungry kiss that swept away any rational thought with the first, hot thrust of his tongue.

  His haste thrilled her, filled her with resolve. This is what she’d waited for, what she’d longed for, what she’d imagined a thousand times when she closed her eyes. And while her fantasies had often kept her warm at night, this moment was infinitely better because it was real. So she let everything go and fell into him, giving every bit as much as she was getting.

  Years of longing rolled through her as their lips tangled and her soft breasts molded to his hard chest, as her thighs touched his all the way down their muscled length and as her stomach—oh, glory—pushed up against his hips where she found all the evidence she needed that he was, indeed, attracted to her after all.

  When she let out an involuntary moan of pure, undiluted desire, he dragged her impossibly closer and deepened their kiss until her back bumped up against the front door with a thump.

  “You okay?” he said against her lips as he dropped one hand to fumble with the doorknob.

  “Oh, yes,” she breathed and felt him shiver as the door gave way behind her. She pulled back to look at him. “You’re cold.”

  “Not anymore, I’m not.” And then in one smooth move, he picked her up, stepped inside and kicked the door closed behind them.

  The gloom of the storm made the room dim but neither of them made a move toward the light switch. Instead, Daisy wrapped her arms around Alec’s neck, slanted her lips against his and boldly used her tongue to gain entry to the place that up until a few days ago, she’d only tasted in her dreams. Then she forgot all about her dreams because he was stroking her tongue with his own, sending her senses into a fabulous, frantic dance.

  It wasn’t until they reached the doorway that led to their rooms that he paused and drew away from her. “Your place or mine?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “Anywhere,” she said. “Take me anywhere you want.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Anywhere?”

  She nodded, excitement and anticipation pooling in her stomach. “Gentleman’s choice,” she said, praying he’d kiss her soon to keep her lips from trembling.

  “Oh, I’m no gentleman, sweetheart,” he said, and his voice was husky and low, carrying with it an implication that all but set her on fire. But then, like a dark cloud marring a sunny day, his mood shifted and she saw that the desire in his eyes had been muted by concern. “You can still change your mind, Daze. We don’t have to—”

  “Shh,” she said, then showed him exactly what was going on in her mind by silencing him with her lips.

  “Good answer,” he whispered and, with Daisy still in his arms, he turned right and headed to his bedroom.

  He lowered her feet to the floor slowly and as every inch of her slid along every inch of him, he gave her a look so chockful of sinful possibilities that she blushed. Her heart was hammering, loud and riotous, but as soon as her toes touched the floor, she reached out and pulled his hips close. She felt the muscles in his back tense under her touch, and an incredible, shimmering excitement moved through her. He smelled wonderful and familiar, like grass and rain and something that was uniquely Alec, a deeply male scent that she knew could not come from a bottle.

  Flushed with desire and longing, Daisy pulled at the bottom of his drenched polo shirt with impatient hands. He went for the hem of her sweater at the same moment but she was faster. After she pulled his shirt free, she let it fall to the floor.

  He was flawless, she thought as she reached out to touch him with tentative, inexperienced fingers. A sculpted, muscled masterpiece. He felt electric beneath her exploring hands, his heart beating a hard, strong staccato against her palms that matched the chaotic rhythm of her own heart almost perfectly. She let her gaze follow the line of dark hair that trailed over his hard, six-pack stomach and disappeared into his waistband, then she let her breath out in one long, appreciative rush.

  “You’re beautiful, Alec,” she said and let her fingers trace the line her gaze had followed only moments before. She tucked her fingertips beneath the fabric of his khakis and felt a sudden surge of power when he sucked in a sharp breath and tightened his hold on her.

  “So are you,” he said, his molten gaze meeting hers as he slid his hands higher and let his thumbs brush up against the swell of her aching breasts, making her nipples harden into tight, tender, yearning peaks.

  The sensation he triggered with his simple touch was so exquisite she had to bite her bottom lip to keep from crying out. Even so, a little moan slipped out as he pushed her sweater up and off. The soft fabric hit the floor silently, and then Daisy stood there in her bra, trembling with anticipation and wishing for divine guid
ance to tell her what to do next.

  Fortunately, she didn’t have to do a thing. Alec reached for her and let his fingers sketch the lacy vee of her brand-new, light-blue silk demicup bra. Oh, thank you, Virginia, she thought, and her breath went shallow as he released the front clasp with one deft move.

  As her bra fell away, a powerful tremor passed through her from head to toe, though whether from the cool air on her breasts or from the heat of his gaze, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she thought she’d die if he didn’t touch her soon, felt herself arch forward, willing him to do just that. And then he did, filling his hands with her breasts, caressing them gently and pulling and teasing her nipples with his clever fingertips.

  Bliss. Daisy let her head fall back as arrows of fire shot through her body and landed achingly between her legs, warm and wet. As his attention to his task intensified, she gasped softly and dug her short fingernails into his skin, instinctively pulling him closer.

  “Wait,” he said as he dipped his head, let his lips slide up her neck, kissing and nipping, let his hands bury themselves in her hair.

  “But I’ve waited for you so long already,” she whispered, her voice intense.

  She could hardly believe she’d said that out loud, but there it was. It was out there, and all there was to do was wait and see how he’d react.

  He pulled away to look at her, his brows drawn together with confusion. The moment seemed to stretch out between them, thick as taffy. Then she saw his impossible, midnight-blue eyes darken, saw the corners of his mouth slip into an inscrutable smile. “It’ll be worth the wait,” he said softly as he reached for the drawstring of her shorts. “Trust me.”

  And she did. Trust and love and need welled up within her, and suddenly she didn’t feel as if she could stand it another minute. She toed off her shoes as she went for his still-wet khakis. He peeled off her shorts as he shucked his socks. And then, after a momentary flurry of snaps and buttons and zippers, they stood naked before each other, breathing hard.

  “My imagination didn’t do you justice,” he said, his voice reverent.

  She tumbled into the depths of his eyes and forgot to be self-conscious of her nakedness. “You imagined this? Imagined me?” she asked, breathless at the very idea.

  Smiling, he pulled her close, and she thrilled at the feel of his bare skin against hers, at the feel of his warm breath fanning across her cheek. “Of course. Why do you think I have these dark circles under my eyes?”

  “Good answer,” she said, smiling.

  He laughed then and kissed her fiercely as he backed up to the bed and pulled her down on top of him. Together they spilled onto the soft down comforter and rolled over until she lay beneath him. Alec murmured her name against her bruised and willing lips as he began to touch her everywhere, setting her skin ablaze and her heart to drumming furiously.

  Her body hummed with need as she slid hungry fingers over his shoulders, down his thickly muscled back and then headed further south until she reached his perfect butt. All of it was shockingly wonderful, it was all far, far beyond her fantasies and yet it wasn’t nearly enough.

  “Alec,” she moaned, letting instinct be her guide. “I want—” She tightened her hold on him, draped one leg around his thigh, pressed her hips closer, felt his arousal pulse against her. “Please—” She didn’t know what she was asking for but whatever it was, she knew she needed it more than she needed her next breath.

  Alec knew exactly what she wanted. He knew because he wanted it, too. But for reasons he couldn’t possibly fathom, he desperately needed to hear her say it.

  “Tell me,” he murmured as his hands roamed freely over her incredible, silky skin and his tongue played with her swollen, tempting lips. “Tell me what you want,” he said, cupping her sweet, round bottom and pulling her against him. His arousal pressed into the taut expanse of her stomach and he nearly came undone from wanting her. He’d been a fool. How could he have failed to see what had been sitting right there in front of him?

  When she spoke, her voice was low, pleading. “I want,” she began. “I want…” She kissed him deeply, thoroughly, as if she were starving and he was sustenance, and then she tried again. “Dammit,” she said, and he almost smiled at the frustration in her tone. “I need you. All of you.”

  Need. And even as his mind said, “Oh, damn,” his heart started to…well, his heart started.

  How long had it been since a woman had wanted him like this? When a woman’s desire for him had been so tangible he could feel it surrounding him, thick and warm and wonderful? The answer descended on him like a clap of thunder. After a tiresome, endless stream of pointless encounters with beautiful but soulless women, the answer was never.

  He knew this was dangerous and crazy—hell, she drove him crazy—but he knew he’d never wanted any woman as badly as he wanted this woman right now.

  The wicked, reckless look in her eyes had his heart slamming against his ribs. It was official. The respectable, bespectacled Daisy Kincaid was history. The beautiful woman lying beneath him with the light of both innocence and sin shining in her eyes was the new and improved Daisy: bold and sexy, a gorgeous temptress.

  She pulled his head down to her and renewed their kiss with a passion that sent an intense streak of pure desire sweeping through him in hard, hot waves. She moaned quietly as he abandoned her lips to burn a trail of kisses from her temple to her earlobe and down the sweet, enticing length of her neck. Oh, how he’d wanted to taste her again, he thought as her scent, heavenly and sweet, surrounded him. She sighed and her fingers played in his hair as she held him to her and, with an urgency that bordered on desperation, he moved lower, using his lips to taste her shoulders and his hands to savor her firm, round breasts.

  Breathing hard, she tipped her head back against the pillows, and her fingernails grazed the hot skin of his back, leaving a shadow of her desire in their wake. His lips skimmed the smooth skin of one perfect breast before he pulled the rosy, hardened nipple into his hot, searching mouth and rolled his tongue over the sensitive bud again and again. She shook sweetly beneath his mouth and hands, moaning his name and pulling him closer, and his heart tripped and skipped and struggled to regain its natural rhythm.

  He turned his attention to her other breast and deliberately took his time as he let one hand move lower, over her hard, flat stomach and down to where he slipped his fingers into the hot, wet, velvet core of her. At his touch, Daisy’s hips bucked up and she began to gasp out heated little sounds of impatience.

  “Alec,” she whispered. “Now…”

  “Soon,” he answered, even though his restraint was stretched tighter than he could ever remember, tighter than he’d ever thought possible.

  She whimpered in frustration when he rolled off her and reached into the nightstand to find their protection, but a moment later her bottomless dark eyes softened with understanding and appreciation for what he’d just done. And then he moved over her again and her softness yielded to him, their bodies fitting together easily, so damn easily.

  She whispered his name and kneaded his back with demanding hands as he entered her slowly and teasingly and felt her stretch around him. It took every shred of self-control he had left to go slow. But then she put her lips to his neck and nipped at a sensitive spot above his collarbone and murmured her need in hushed tones, and he was lost.

  He’d wanted to make it last, to let this terrible, wonderful tension spark and smolder, but he knew now he’d wanted her for too long. His control snapped and their desire collided in one amazing, blinding moment that drove him to push his way into her in one hard, heated rush.

  He stilled as he met resistance and she stiffened, clutched at him, cried out softly in…was that pain? He tried to think, to clear his mind, but she made it all but impossible by writhing beneath him, trying to pull him more deeply inside her.

  Daisy was a virgin, he thought, his mind a wild tangle. How could that be? “Daisy?” he choked out, reining himself in
with a discipline he wouldn’t have thought he could muster.

  “Please, Alec,” she pleaded, pushing her hips upward again. An arrow of pure pleasure pierced him as her muscles gripped him hard, pulling him deeper inside her. “Don’t stop.”

  “Daisy…” His brain was fogged from wanting her, from the sheer paradise of being inside her, but he knew he had to make her see…something. But what was it?

  “Please,” she said again, pulling his head back down to hers and confusing him further with a kiss that torched his very soul. “I don’t want to be an old maid.”

  “Old maid?” he repeated, his voice hoarse. What was she talking about? “You’re only twenty-something years old—”

  “But I’ve been wanting this.” He sucked in a sharp breath when she kissed his neck, then let her lush, sweet lips flit over his stubbly chin and cheek. “This. With you.” Her fingers curled into the hair at the nape of his neck. “Make it come true.”

  And then she crushed her mouth to his, thrust up once again to take him more deeply inside her, and he buckled. Nothing mattered but the miracle of this feeling, the wonder of what she was doing to him right this moment. And so he welcomed the hot tide of hunger and desire that washed over him as he followed the rhythm of her slow, seductive movements, followed her until he forgot everything he’d ever known or ever would know and just lived in that moment, inside Daisy.

  When she reached the limits of her own passion, she cried out again, only this time her cry was filled with joy and awe and pleasure. Her legs shook as she convulsed around him, hard and insistent, and with his whispered name on her lips, she pulled him with her tenderly until he, too, fell over the edge and into her warm, waiting arms.

  Nine

  It seemed to Daisy that if she lay there very quietly, she could make this moment last long enough to memorize every detail of how it felt to have her dream come true.