nb1 by Lora Leigh

innocent it made his guts clench.
    “Kelly, I’ve always loved you,” he told her, meaning it. Knowing he meant it. “In one way or the other, you’ve always been a part of me.
    You’re old enough to decide if you want to settle in with one man, forever, or not. I figure I can give you this summer to decide for sure if I’m that man. If not, then I’ll let you go. It won’t be easy. I’ll be a son of a bitch with an attitude for years to come, but I’ll let you go.”
    “But, Rowdy, I’ve always loved you.” She watched him in confusion now, hope and fear in equal parts shadowing her eyes.
    He tapped his fingers against the wheel, turning it until it swung into another waterway leading to the private cove. Natches’ family owned the small property that bordered the bay. It was on the back side of undeveloped land, and completely private.
    “Yeah, I know you have,” he finally answered as he pulled along the tree-shaded bank and cut the engine.
    He didn’t say anything more as he moved beyond the sliding doors, throwing out the heavy front anchor weight before moving to the back
    -70-

    NAUTI BUOY
    and doing the same. As he returned to the living area, he paused by the table.
    “I came back for you,” he said, leaning against the small bar, forcing himself to stand away from her. “That’s why Dad was so pissed. He knew I came back for you. And the rumors are fact, baby. So don’t push me where the games are concerned.”
    “I don’t need you or your dad making decisions for me,” she snapped, her gray eyes flaring in defiance. “If we’re going to try for a relationship, then we’ll meet in the middle. Somehow. But not if you think you can plan my life for me.”
    His lips twitched. She was a bundle of fire, that was for damned sure.
    “Take off the pants,” he whispered. “Let’s go one step at a time, Kelly.
    See what your limits are together.”
    “Our limits,” she retorted. “Not just mine.”
    His lips curled into a frankly sexual, wicked smile.
    Kelly licked her lips nervously. The action had the head of his erection pounding with need. Damn, he wanted that little tongue there laving the thick crest, licking around it as though it were a favorite treat.
    She bit her lower lip and glanced away before breathing in deeply.
    Her hands moved, pulling out of the jeans pockets before moving beneath the shirt to unsnap the pants. She kicked off her sandals then pushed the jeans over her hips and down her legs.
    Within seconds she was laying them over the chair with his shirt before turning back to him.
    “You used to tease me like a brazen little hussy,” he whispered, staring at her legs, dying to feel them around his hips. “It was one of the things I looked forward to most when I thought of coming home.” He watched her move toward him, her eyes becoming cloudy with passion as he kept his voice low, carefully teasing.
    -71-

    Lora Leigh
    “You didn’t act as though you enjoyed it,” she murmured as she drew up to him. He jerked as she placed her small hand on his bare chest and ran it slowly down to his tight abdomen. “You stayed away from me.”
    He lifted his hand, moving it to her arm, feeling the softness of her skin as he ran his fingers to her elbow and back again.
    “If you knew the things I wanted to do you over the years, you would have run screaming.” He stared down at her uplifted face, his gaze on her lips. The soft, candy-pink perfection of those full curves had him aching.
    “You’re still too damned young for the things I want to do to you. With you.”
    “What did you want to do to me, Rowdy?” Her hand slid from his abdomen to his chest again as she stared at him, her eyes reflecting the same hungry need she had shown for years, but it also showed a shadow of fear, of hesitation.
    “Everything.” He wasn’t going to lie to her. Now wasn’t the time to hide any part of who or what he was, or the hungers he could unleash on her. If there was a time to be