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“She wants to move home, man,” Lucas said as the two men stood by Lucas’s truck

So deep inside JT flared A sudden burst of adrenaline spiked through his veins A warh his head, and he shook it to ward off the reaction to Lucas’s announcement

Playing it cool, he slid his friend a sideways glance “You don’t sound happy about that”

Lucas shrugged “Barley? What the hell is she going to do in Barley? What’s there for her? She always swore she’d get out Just like I did”

“Maybe she just wants a place to regroup and figure out what she wants to do next,” JT offered Hopefully she’d do it quickly before he found hi down paths better not taken

“I want you to look after her,” Lucas said “I’ in that town alone No one ever understood her or tried” Shit He should have seen this co

JT stared at the grim expression on Lucas’s face Hard, lean and muscled He screamed military from the standard hair cut to the tattoo etched on his arm

“Sure, man, I’ll keep an eye on her You know that” Even as the words slipped out, he kneas dairl he couldn’t control his lust over Real smart

“Lucas!”

The fe out Both ut He honestly couldn’t take a breath

Devoid of the graduation gown that had done a very good job of hiding as beneath it, she hurried across the parking lot in a pair of extreed a luscious set of brsts and bared three inches of herfrom her belly button was a very feminine piece of jewelry

He hadn’t seen her in two years, but he hadn’t forgotten a thing about how she looked Or how she made him feel

Suddenly, agreeing to coraduation with one of his best friends didn’t seeood idea

Nikki Durant launched herself into her brother’s arms, and JT’s mouth went dry

Then she stepped away froht her as she wrapped herself around hieous woman

Her curves htened and poked at his chest

Ah hell, she wasn’t wearing a bra Her swift intake of breath verified she was just as affected as he was

He stepped back hastily, desperate to put as much distance between him and Lucas’s little sister as he could

Her s Her wide blue eyes danced with merriment and mischief She knew

After so long of hiding his reactions to her, in one ret Shahtened every muscle in his body

Hell He was so busted Now he just waited for Lucas to beat his ass

But she turned and waved at so lot Then she looked back at her brother

“Give me just a second, Lucas”

And she ran across the parking lot, her dark hair flying behind her

“Was that a pink streak in her hair?” JT asked

Lucas chuckled “Uh yeah Her latestto act casual, but his body was in overdrive A lot had changed since that night five years ago when he’d held her as she cried Then she’d been a broken girl, unsure of herself and her place in the world Now she was a breathtaking woe of her destiny

Lucas turned, his eyes serious “I meant what I said, man Look out for her, okay?

Nikki…well, she’s a free spirit She’ll never fit into a sive her shit”

His gaze tracked Nikki across the parking lot “And guys tend to think she’s an easyand…fla on you to do it for me”

Easy mark? JT frowned He knew Lucas and Nikki didn’t have it easy growing up

Even in a poor s of poor, and when no one had htly

“They’ll look at her and see our mother,” Lucas said quietly

“Don’t sweat it, man I’ll make sure she stays safe” Especially from me

Lucas bumped JT’s arm with his fist “Thanks I appreciate it” JT closed in on Nikki and reached for her ar to keep him safe from her?

She stopped when his fingers curled around her wrist Her eyes glittered in the glow from the street lamps, and that pink streak in her hair sparkled and flashed with the litter too? Hell

“Get in the car, Nikki,” he said as he swung her around and herded her back to his vehicle

“Well, if you insist,” she murmured

His eyes narrowed She was playing hih as he opened the door and all but shoved her inside When she was seated, he leaned into the car, his hand gripping the top of the

“I a sx with you, Nikki” Her lips curled upward in a faint smile “If you say so, JT”

Chapter Two

Nikki watched JT flop into the driver’s seat Tension radiated froripped the steering wheel until she was sure his knuckles had to be bloodless He backed out of the parking lot of the police station without a word and headed down Main Street in the direction of her house

She suppressed a grin He was pissed Maybe she’d gone too far this time

Nah

Too far would be showing up nad at his office

Her eyebrow lifted That idea certainly had merit Maybe just a trench coat She could walk in, crawl onto his lap and let him open her up like a present

Her niles puckered and strained then beaded into tight little knots JT was certainly proving ined he’d be easy But she’d known he was attracted to her when she’d hugged up to hiainst her and heard his swift intake of breath when her brsts had pressed against his chest Yeah, he wanted her

And lord but she wanted him

She glanced at his profile and narrowed her eyes War She’d declared war as soon as she’d stepped back into this shithole town Like she’d stick around if it weren’t for the fact that JT was firmly ensconced in his life and job here?