LITMIR.BIZ

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want either of us wandering off alone. Okay?”

      His cajoling tone and apologetic expression must have gotten to her. “You’re expressing yourself much better this time around, Stone.”

      He grinned. She obviously didn’t know how badly it scared him to think of her getting hurt. “I’m naked, horny as hell, and you’re running around in this sexy little outfit, looking good enough to be breakfast. How do you expect me to act?”

      Her mouth opened and closed twice, then she looked down and started toying with his chest hair again. He liked her like this, all sweet and innocent and shy. His hands slid over her hips, appreciating the feel of her firm softness beneath the slippery material.

      “I looked at you this morning.”

      Adam froze while kissing her neck. “Is that right?”

      She nodded, bumping his chin. “You’re very...sexy, too.”

      Grinning from ear to ear, he put one finger beneath her chin and lifted her face so he could see her eyes. “Am I hearing this right? You took advantage of my exhaustion to sate your curiosity on my poor body?”

      A blush exploded on her cheeks and her long lashes drifted down to hide her expression, but she smiled. “Yes. And I enjoyed myself, too. You...affect me, Adam. Once I woke up and saw you, it was impossible to go back to sleep. I had to find something to do so I wouldn’t attack you, but I knew you needed your rest after hurting your head.”

      “My head is fine, feeling better by the second.” He kissed her long and deep, his tongue tasting her, enticing her. “You should have wakened me,” he growled between nibbling on her lips.

      “You’re awake now.”

      “And you’re overdressed.” One small tug, and her halter dropped to her waist.

      This time was no less frantic than the night before, and afterward, as they both lay sated and hot and damp from their exertions and the rising humidity, Adam frowned. He couldn’t quite reconcile the way she made him feel, complete but still hungry, at peace but still turbulent. He’d always known there was something there, an irresistible chemistry that drew him in, but he’d thought it all one-sided. Now, seeing her naked beside him, panting for breath, her scream of pleasure at the time of her climax still ringing in his ears, he realized how wrong he’d been. She’d moved with him, kept pace with him, every step of the way.

      Yet she’d been a virgin.

      Laying a hand on her damp belly, relishing the fact that she still trembled, he said, “Tell me about yourself, Mel. What you’ve been up to.”

      She cocked one pale blue eye open to peer at him, and groaned. “I think you’ve killed me.”

      He laughed. “With pleasure.” Leaning down to kiss her, he added, “You’re one demanding little lady.”

      “You’d make me blush if I had the strength.”

      “You want me to show you exactly how much strength you still have?” He drifted his fingers down her belly.

      Melanie caught his wrist and moaned. “No, I’ll talk.”

      “Good. Start with this idiot fiancé of yours.”

      “He’s not my fiancé, not anymore, and he’s also not an idiot. In fact, he’s very intelligent, successful—pretty special, really.” She sighed, then tilted her head to the side to smile at him. “Jerry Marshall is actually considered quite a catch. He’s not as tall as you, but he’s handsome. Hair as black as my own, great teeth.”

      Adam made a sound of disgust. “I don’t give a damn about his teeth. Why the hell haven’t you slept with him?”

      There was that seductive blush again, making his muscles twitch and his heart pound. When would her potent effect on him diminish? Never? He couldn’t accept that prospect and determinedly pushed the problem from his mind. They were still eons apart, and he had a hell of a lot yet to accomplish before he could even begin to think of settling down, especially with a woman like Melanie Tucker.

      But she’d given him her virginity. In too many ways to count, he felt she was his already.

      “I don’t know, Adam. The time just never seemed right.” She wouldn’t look at him, choosing to stare at the sky. “Jerry’s practice kept him pretty busy, and our time together was usually spent at social gatherings or working. I guess I wasn’t overly anxious to get intimate, and Jerry seemed content to wait.”

      “What an ass.”

      She smiled. “Well, I’d expect that attitude from a hound dog like you.”

      “I told you last night, I’m not nearly as insatiable as you want to think I am.”

      Her eyes widened and she leaned up far enough to look at their naked bodies. “Could have fooled me.”

      “It’s different with you.” He kissed her nose and spoke in a whisper. “You make me crazy.” Maybe he was a hound dog, after all, because he sure as hell couldn’t look at her, couldn’t even think of her, without wanting her in the most elemental ways possible. “How long have you been broken up with this guy?”

      “About a month.” She cuddled closer and rested her head on his chest. “I wanted to get a different job, something more challenging. He didn’t want me to. My parents agreed with him.”

      “What kind of job did you want?”

      She tipped her head to look at him. “I don’t know. Something fun, exciting. Working for Jerry was...well, it was boring.”

      “Maybe that’s because Jerry was boring.”

      “Most women don’t think so.” She smiled slightly, then admitted, “I made a lot of money on the stock market, and by investing in real estate. I wanted to get more involved with that. I seem to have a knack for it.”

      “Real estate?” That was one of his big interests.

      “Yes.” She leaned on one elbow. “Adam, my money is all my own, separate from my parents.”

      That surprised him. Somehow he’d always figured she’d simply live off an inheritance, like every other pampered rich kid. “So you’ve made your own fortune?”

      She nodded. “I have a way with numbers, and with property. Some day I’ll inherit my parents’ money, but for now, I don’t want it or need it.”

      Ridiculously, he felt proud of her. She was more independent than he’d thought, and it pleased him. “Why not take what’s coming to you? You get along with your folks, don’t you?”

      “Yes. I just like it better when I’m not answerable to anyone but myself.” She turned her face toward him, and her smoky eyes nearly did him in. That is, until she spoke. “I want to buy your resort, Adam.”

      Her words felt like a punch to the chest, making him clench his teeth. After his mother had been forced to accept charity from the town to bury his father, he swore it would never happen again. Taking refuge from his painful memories, he moved on top of Melanie and parted her thighs.

      She clung to him, accepting him. “Adam, please just let me explain what I—”

      “Be quiet, Mel.” He gently, inexorably pushed himself into her, his groan mingling with hers, their gazes locked.

      Melanie waited until he was completely buried inside her, then whispered, “Adam, I’ve made up my mind. I’m buying the resort. From what you’ve said, it’s a good deal, so—”

      “Damn it.” He began to thrust, and she held on tight, her fingertips digging deep into his shoulders. He wanted to drown out her words, the fact that she could do what he couldn’t, that she had enough money and he still didn’t. It proved her right; nothing and neither of them had really changed, after all. They were each older and wiser, but their placement in the world was the same; they were

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