She made a soft sound, like a sigh. “She’s right, you know. I’ve screwed up my love life, over and over again, because of how I felt for you. I think I compared every guy to you.” She shook her head and let out a low laugh. “It was real nice of you to pretend you didn’t know how I felt back then.”

Catching her arm, he pulled her around to face him, unhappy to see the look in her eyes, the one that said she felt a little defeated, a little down, and definitely wary. “I wasn’t pretending. I was really that slow, especially that night when you came to my apartment.”

“Well of course you were slow that night. You were deep in the throes of getting…pleasured.”

He let out a breath. “That’s actually not the part of that whole nightmare of a night that I was referring to.”

She crossed her arms. “Well, there’s no other part of that night that I want to discuss. Ever.” She looked away. “Certainly not why you felt the need to come after me if you didn’t want me.”

He stared at her bowed head and felt an unaccustomed squeeze in the region of his heart. “You were sixteen.”

“I want to go back to the no-talking thing.”

“I cared about you, Rainey. But you were off limits to me, with or without the girl in my bedroom that night. I didn’t allow myself to look at you that way, and with good reason.”

“I wasn’t a child.”

“You were a felony.”

She seemed to stop breathing, which he took as a good sign. She was listening. “As for what happened after, I’m not sorry about that. He was drunk and being aggressive with you, and I don’t care what you think of me now, surely you know I’d never walk away from that.”

She said nothing.

“Never, Rainey. As far as I knew, you were innocent-”

She made a soft moan of protest, and he paused, taking in her profile, which wasn’t giving much away. “And I’m not sorry I kicked his ass either.”

At that, she looked up. “You did?”

He hesitated, knowing she wasn’t going to thank him for this part. “After I made sure you got home, I went after him. I threatened to kill him if he ever went near you again.”

Her eyes narrowed, and he raised a brow, daring her to protest. Finally, she blew out a breath, and even gave him a little smile. “Thanks.” Pushing away from him, she headed for the kitchen.

Catching her by the waist, he turned her around and had to duck to look into her eyes. “And I didn’t desert our friendship, I went to Ontario for a job. When I left, you weren’t speaking to me.”

“I’m not speaking to you now either.”

He pulled her up against him. “I liked you,” he said quietly. “A lot. You were fearless and a little wild, and a whole lot determined.”

She snorted.

“I liked you,” he repeated quietly, firmly. “But let’s be honest. I liked all women back then. I wasn’t much for commitment or a relationship beyond what I could get in the hours between dinner and breakfast. It was day-to-day for me.”

“By all accounts, that hasn’t changed much.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “I still tend towards the day-to-day. It suits my lifestyle.” He hadn’t given a lot of thought to having a deep, serious relationship in a while. He’d been there, done that, and it was more trouble than it was worth. He didn’t play with women, he didn’t lead them on. He enjoyed them. Made sure they enjoyed him. And then when things got sticky or uncomfortable, or too much to handle, he moved on.

Day to day…

“With my job, having a deep, meaningful, heavy relationship just hasn’t been on my radar.”

She nodded.

“None of that doesn’t mean that I don’t like the woman you’ve become,” he said. “Because I do. Very much.”

“Even though I’m different?”

“Especially because you’re different.”

Her eyes lifted to his, revealing a vulnerability that cut him to the core. “Doesn’t hurt that you’re smart and smoking hot,” he said.

“I’m a sure thing, Mark,” she said on a low, embarrassed laugh. “You don’t need to-”

“And fiercely protective about those you care about,” he murmured. “And strong. So damn strong. I think that’s what I like the best. Watching you run your world and make a difference while you’re at it.”

She shook her head. “If it’s my turn to say I like you now, you’re going to be disappointed. I got over liking you.”

He grinned. “Aw, Rainey. You like me. You like me a whole hell of a lot.”

“We really need to work on your self-confidence.” But she blew out a breath and relaxed into him a little. “You’ve read your press, right? You know they call you a hard-ass.” She lifted her hand and touched his face. “But they’re wrong.” She pressed her face to his throat and inhaled him in, like maybe he was her air and she needed more. And when her hands slid around his waist, beneath his shirt, and up his back, he knew he was a goner.

12

RAINEY WAS LOST in Mark’s kiss when her phone vibrated.

Mark groaned.

“I’m sorry,” she gasped. “I have to look.” She pulled out her phone and eyed the text from a number she didn’t recognize.

Are you up for a walk on the beach and dessert? Cliff

One of Mark’s big hands cupped the back of hers and his thumb hit delete.

“Hey. Maybe I wanted dessert.”

“I’ve got your dessert,” he said, moving her backwards until the couch hit the backs of her knees and she dropped into it.

Following her down, he took both her hands in one of his and slowly drew them up over her head, pinning them there as he pressed his lower body into hers before hooking one of her legs around his waist, opening her up to him.

She moaned and he breathed out her name as he cupped her breast, his thumb gliding over her nipple, causing her to arch up into him like a puppet on a string.

His mouth nipped at her ear, her jaw, then finally, oh God, finally, her mouth, and when he started to pull away, she whimpered.

“Shh,” he murmured, and then her clothes were gone, and their hands were fighting to rip off his. He tackled the buttons on his shirt, shrugging out of it, revealing a torso and chest she wanted to rub her face against like a cat in heat. His short hair was mussed, his mouth wet, his eyes at half mast, a sexy heat to them that said her pleasure was his. She pushed him and then followed him to the floor, straddling him.

“And you say I have to be in charge,” he murmured, chuckling low in his throat as his hands went to her butt. “You have a serious queen bee issue-Jesus!” he gasped when she slid down his body and licked him like a lollipop. She couldn’t fit him all in her mouth but she gave it the old college try, and given the rough, raw sounds coming from him and the erotic way he writhed beneath her, she was doing more than okay. After a few minutes, he gasped, “Rainey, stop. I’m going to-”

She didn’t stop. Swearing, he hauled her up his chest and rolled them again, pinning her beneath two hundred pounds of very determined Latino sex god. “You don’t listen very well.”

“Maybe I just wanted you to wrestle control away from me again.”

He laughed roughly, then sank his teeth into her lower lip and tugged. “Rainey?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re done playing.”

“About time.”

He produced a condom, then slowly entwined their fingers and drew her hands above her head, then he kissed her long and deep and hot. When they eventually tore apart to breathe, he stared down into her face. “Still mad I deleted Cliff’s text?”

“Cliff who?”

With a smug smirk, he kissed her again, then slid into her. Pleasure flooded her, so intense it arched her back and had her crying out, clutching at him. The teasing and fun vanished in a blink, replaced by something so intense she could hardly breathe. Mark’s eyes were dark and sultry, and she reared up to press her mouth to his. He took control of the kiss, making her melt into him all the more as he buried himself in her over and over, deeper, harder, faster, the entire time holding her gaze with his, letting her see everything she did to him.

It took her right over the edge. She was still quivering when he grabbed her hips and thrust one last time, holding himself tight against her as he came hard.

When she could think again, she realized he’d lain down beside her and was holding her close, running a hand over her heated, damp skin, waiting while she caught her breath. His wasn’t all that steady either. It was her last thought before she drifted off to sleep, comforted by the sound of his heart beating wildly against her ear.


RAINEY WOKE UP entangled in a set of strong, warm arms. Dawn had come and gone. The sun crept in the window, highlighting the form of the man lying next to her.

His eyes were closed, his decadently inky black lashes brushing against his cheeks. His dark hair was tousled, his jaw shadowed by a night’s beard growth.

They hadn’t slept much. Damn testosterone. In spite of herself, the need for him had called to her, over and over again.

It’d been an amazing night. She could replay every touch, every moan he’d wrenched from her, each moment of ecstasy.

And there’d been lots.

The sheet rode low on his hips and she soaked him up, the broad shoulders and wide chest tapering to that stomach she still, after licking every inch of him last night, wanted to press her mouth to. His chest was rising and falling steadily, but as if he sensed her perusal, he drew in a deep breath. The arm he had curled around her tightened, drawing her in closer. “Mmmm.” The sound rumbled up from his chest as a hand slid into her hair. He had an obsession with her hair, she’d noticed, he loved touching it, burying his face in it.

His other hand slid down her back and gripped her butt, squeezing. She arched into the touch and felt herself practically purr with contentment.