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delivered the scent of cocoa butter and the sweet citrusy aroma that was
hers alone. A mumbled prayer tumbled from his lips as he drank in
nirvana.
Tate s sunglasses were perched on the end of her nose. She sang
along with the hard-rock music on the small boom box, tapping her
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pink-tipped toes to the beat. A beer bottle rested temporarily on the
captivating dent below her navel.
Oh yeah. Things were definitely looking up. Tate was sipping his
favorite brand of beer.
Nathan s grin came back full force. Hot damn.
Should he surprise her? Yell, Hey honey, I m home! Calmly toss the
flowers at her feet and plead forgiveness? Or ditch the normal approach
altogether and see if that chaise was sturdy enough to hold their
bouncing weight? When the song ended he cleared his throat.
Tate emitted a little scream. Her hand flew to her heart, bringing his
attention to the way her nipples peaked under her skimpy suit.
His every good intention sailed right over her eight-foot high fence.
Dammit, you scared me. She pushed the sunglasses on top of her
head and squinted at him. What on earth are you doing here?
Looking for you.
Well you found me. Now go away. I m hardly dressed for art
lessons. .
He grinned, giving her a slow once over. Tate, honey, finding you in
that extremely sexy excuse of a swimsuit is not a social blunder.
Her pink tongue flashed at him. Not funny. Don t you usually work
until midnight or something?
Usually. He wished for his own shades to hide the avid gaze he d
locked on her lush breasts. Sweat trickled down her flat belly until it
disappeared into her tiny bikini bottoms. Not knowing what else to do he
clumsily thrust the daisies at her. However, today I knocked off early.
For me? She stared at the flowers suspiciously. Why?
To apologize for falling into a coma Saturday night.
When Tate crossed her arms over her chest, blocking his view, he
nearly shouted, No!
I was more surprised you d vanished than that you d passed out on
my sofa after the long day you d put in. Why didn t you wake me?
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Nathan resisted the urge to shuffle his feet. Because I felt stupid and
didn t know what to say.
She measured him. Satisfied with his answer, she signaled for him to
hand over the daisies. Apology accepted. First time I ve had a guy fall
asleep before we had sex. But flowers weren t necessary. She frowned. I
told you I don t expect
It isn t about what you expect, it s about what I expect from myself. I
was tired and that s a lousy excuse. He watched her bury her face in the
blooms and inhale. When I saw these in the clearing
Whoa. Tate held the flowers straight-armed between them as if
they d turned into skunkweed. You mean you picked flowers for me?
Uh, yeah. Now his feet did shuffle at her narrow-eyed gaze. This
was where she d make him grovel. They reminded me of you. Innocent
looking on the outside, but you d never guess they were wild.
A beat passed. That is so sweet, she murmured. She stood and
kissed his chin. Come on. I ll put these in water before they wilt. You
seem a little wilted yourself. Want a beer?
Sure. When Tate turned toward the house, Nathan stumbled over
the chaise and his own tongue. Her barely-there bikini was no bikini in
the back. No triangular piece of fabric, just one section of string.
Running right up her&
Sweet Jesus, Tate was wearing a thong.
He squeezed his eyes shut briefly and swallowed hard. How was he
supposed to think of romance? Or landscaping schematics? Or anything
else when all he wanted was to get his hands and his mouth all over her?
Like right now. His jeans grew snug as the scent of hot woman
permeated his pores. Her scantily clad image burned into his brain. He
contemplated several illicit scenarios right there on the patio.
Nathan? What s wrong? You look ready to pass out.
A low growl rumbled from his chest. And you re surprised? You
about gave me a heart attack when I noticed you wearing that.
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You act like you ve never seen a thong before.
I ll let you in on a little secret. Those things might be the norm in
public in Denver, but they re pretty damn scarce around Spearfish,
South Dakota.
Tate s wrinkled nose reflected her annoyance. I don t care if you
don t like it.
Does it seem like I don t like it? His hungry gaze rolled over her,
making his pulse pound from throat to groin. Do you have any idea how
incredible you look? Very bad on my resolve to keep my hands off you.
I don t want you to keep your hands off me. Her gaze dropped to his
bulging fly and lingered, then cruised back up to meet his eyes. From
the looks of it, keeping your hands to yourself is the last thing you have
in mind too. She flounced into the kitchen.
Nathan waited, hoping his tender, romantic side would surface.
Because in about two seconds the aggressive, take-Tate-on-the-patio side
would fight to be free.
Think of the job, man.
Big surprise it didn t work.
He tried conjuring romantic situations. Candlelight glowing across
her petal-soft skin. Sultry music for slow dancing surrounding them.
Sweet nothings he d whisper in her perfect little ear. The innocent brush
of her short hair across his smoothly shaven cheek. How exquisitely her
feminine curves would melt into his hard body.
Hard. Yeah. Right now he had a hard-on that d break concrete and
he hadn t even touched her. What would happen when he did?
No time like the present to find out.
Inside the kitchen, erotic visions exploded; Tate bent over the table,
anchoring his thrusts from behind. Tate perched on the washer, legs
spread wide, while he dropped to his knees. Tate straddling him on a
kitchen chair, his face worshipping her breasts. Hot need pounded at
him from every corner of the room.
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Dirty Deeds
Even the cold beer on the butcher-block counter didn t cool off his
frenzied thoughts. He wiped the sweat from his brow. He had to be
strong, even in the face of his overwhelming lust. He could do this
romance stuff. Dammit, he had to do it this way. His future depended on
him retaining a cool head especially when the one in his pants burned
red-hot.
He inhaled her scent and followed the mix of coconut oil and heated
skin. She hadn t gone far.
In the doorway separating the living and dining areas, he watched
her sort mail into the slots of a battered roll-top writing desk. Mmm.
Mmm. Playing post office? He was game. Luckily she hadn t changed
from her swimsuit nor had she in a fit of pique bothered covering up her
near nakedness.
Good.
The muscles in his groin tightened as he stealthily moved closer.
Seconds later he spun her to face him before he pressed her against the
wall.
Tate blinked at the smoldering look in Nathan s eyes. What? His
sheer size dwarfed her. Made her feel a little afraid and completely secure
at the same time.
He held her gaze. Drank his beer. Bracing his left hand above her
head, he lightly traced the ridged bottom of the cold bottle across her
stomach from hipbone to hipbone. You know what.
The muscles in her belly quivered, sending a rush of heat south.
Nerves, nipples, throat tightened. Save your breath if we re going to talk
some more. I ve heard enough.
Me too. I finally got it.
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Lorelei James
She gasped when he zigzagged the icy bottle over her navel, rolling it
over her ribcage so every bone felt the stinging cold. The slow glide up
and down the valley of her breasts was pure torture. He outlined her
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