Page 8 (1/2)

She stared back at him in surprise

"You don’t believe ers reaching out to lift a strand of curls frolanced quickly at where he held her hair, biting at her lower lip as she tried to still the pounding of her heart She had dreaed for him Oh God, this isn’t fair, she wailed silently She had waited for this for so long, now her own insecurities were eating her alive It didn’t matter that her therapist had warned her to expect this She felt as frightened, as off balance as she had the first htened as she fought herself, the fear and need warring inside her

"It’s real easy, baby," he crooned, his dark velvet voice washing over her "You just lift your arers curling around her wrists as he lifted her ar them up until they curled around his neck "Then you co you back" His arainst hio"

She was shaking, but was it fear or so, didn’t kno to assih her

"I ca her ear as she jerked against him "I came home to touch you, to taste you, to claim you Do you knohat I would have done if I had known you were ho?"

She shook her head, a jerky ood A ood, powerful yet protective, hot and so blessed sexy

"I would have come to your room and kissed you awake I would have seen your pretty eyes opening, knowing it’syours I want that real bad, Kelly Even though I know if Dad caught hly; the feel of his chest rasping against her breasts sent a shudder racing through her "Now," he whispered, "I really don’t care if he does skinto draay, needing to get closer to hi her back, hated not knowing, not understanding the eh her mind and body

"Rowdy--"

"Shh" He stilled her protest as he rubbed his head against hers "Just settle here against me, baby Let me hold you for a minute; let me know you’re okay Just that"

"But I’m not okay" Her hands clenched in the fabric of his shirt as she finally admitted it to herself "I’ainst his chest, the words slipping free after nearly a year of burying them She was terrified

"I know, baby" He kissed her head, his hands running over her back "But I won’t let you be scared of hten her chest No, Roould never hurt her, but fear was an insidious disease, and fighting it tookto take this nice and easy," he crooned "We’re going to go upstairs and you’re going to sleep, baby I’et to you, no one can hurt you as long as I’ up at him "Ray will skin us both alive"

"Dad will deal with it" His expression hardened, deter in his eyes "He already is You’re not sleeping; you’re not eating We’re going to change that, starting tonight"

"Oh, are ?" The high-handedness in his voice pricked at her

"Kelly" He tilted his head, staring down at her, a sht ot into?"

"You put another snake in las," she sniped "I can’t believe you’d threaten aze drowsy, his expression so sensual it was enough to make her panties damp And they were daht of touching hi him touch her, but he couldany to lie beside you, that’s all," he whispered "If you can’t sleep, then I’ll lie on the floor But I’ll be there, Kelly Will you trust , baby? You trusted h to al hly; the realization of it forced her to try to regulate it She hated this weakness, this fear Even the sessions with the psychologist hadn’t been able to erase it

"I would trust you withshe did

"Come on then" His aro on up and see if we can get some sleep I don’t know about you, Kelly, but I’hthts and led her upstairs She wasn’t sleeping well, but when she did sleep, she wasn’t waking screa as she did in those firstshe had always drea his war her Surely she could handle that?

SIX

Kelly wasn’t really surprised when Rowdy stopped at his bedrooray cotton sweats similar to her own He slept in the nude, so the concession he waswasn’t lost on her

"Okay?" He led her to her bedroo in ahead of her

Kelly drew in a deep, sustaining breath, battling the confusing eh her She had waited for Rowdy for so long that she wasn’t certain how to adapt to this abrupt shift between his careful distance and his sudden closeness

"I’ the tension in his body

"I’ll change in the bathroom" He closed the door behind her

Kelly fisted her hands in her T-shirt as she bit her lip, fighting to hold back her nerves as Rowdy disappeared into the other roo in the frilly curtains over the dark shades, the white lace of her comforter It wasn’t exactly a man’s room

Yet, Rowdy hadn’t flinched at it He had filled it, overpowered it, and pulled all focus toward hi less