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Dawg frowned at that He was thirty-two years old, yet he had never had a steady lover, a woht or two And he couldn’t figure out why

Oh, he had considered it once Eight fucking years ago When he had been trying to get Crista into his bed, he had known then that he wanted hts with her A feeeks, a few htened in his chest at the thought, soht not be enough

One step at a tiht, he’d just sleep with her Just hold her See how that went That was soh the night and felt the warhts, it was better than sex, just having Kelly next to hilanced back at the stairs, hiswith the memory of her sweet scent, the warht in his life, he could sleep without drea her

He pushed hih the houseboat He checked the s, the back deck door, and the security alar up the stairs When he stepped into the bedroom, he stopped in surprise

He expected her to be awake and ready to shoot him She had been madder than hell when she flew up that metal staircase Instead, she was curled beneath the blankets of his king-sized bed, the covers pulled up to her nose, sleeping like a baby

And she wasn’t just on the edge of the bed She was in the middle, where he slept A slow s the sht, which sat on the corner table on the far end of the room, turned on He moved around the bed, slid beneath the blankets, and carefully, very cautiously, he eased in beside her

Shenot so nice A drowsy little comment about cold feet, but she settled back to sleep as his arainst him

She didn’t awaken

His frown deepened A woman who slept alone was always ahen awith soht and kept drearitted his teeth at the thought of any other ainst his chest, snuggled into his body, keeping hi

He was still harder than hell Hornier than he could re in years, but there was no need to hurry No race to satisfaction so he could be alone

His eyes closed as sheabout Alex and the electric bill, and he grinned Female fluff stuff that Rowdy always teased Kelly about

Hell, this was nice

His eyes drifted closed, his arousal pounded between his thighs, but the edge was teht sense of cold anger that had gripped him for years

He buried his face in Crista’s hair, breathed out slowly, and let the darkness have him, for a few hours at least

FIVE

So’s bed had been bad enough, but thankfully he had been gone She’d been able to steal a shirt and someone’s smaller-sized sweatpants, call a cab, rush back to her brother’s house to shower and change, and arrive to work on time

Only to be fired

Fired from a crappy waitress job in a diner that obviously didn’t have enough help to begin with

And it had been more than clear that the oas reluctant to fire her, which led Crista to only one conclusion Dawg had influenced the owner

He had her fired

He wasn’t even decent enough to stop at just black her when she knew he had to know she was innocent But now she was out of a job so he could have his little plaything close by

She stood by the register as the hed wearily

"Thanks, Madge," she said quietly when the other woman, concerned and clearly upset with the orders to fire her, handed over the check

"I’hed, her hazel eyes co I could do"

Crista shrugged The oas friends with Dawg, she knew that, she kne it happened

Turning froister, she tucked the check in her purse and made her way across the floor

There were few custo So tourist, and Johnny Grace, her next-door neighbor and Dawg’s cousin Though Dawg admitted to the relationship only when he was forced

He sat at the back table, a heavy frown on his brow as she moved toward him

"Crista" He stopped her before she could ave hiuess"

She liked Johnny He ran a bakery froht her over fresh bread and sweets on baking days, free of charge, just because, he said, they were neighbors

His gaze flicked to the ly clear, soft brow Dark blond curls fra hi I can do?"

Anything he could do? She had a feeling there wasn’t a da a stiff so now, though I’ll catch you later"

Johnny was a good neighbor, but not a confidant Right now, she couldn’t handle discussing this with anyone

Her hand tightened on her purse as she stepped fro black pickup across the street

How the hell had she known he would be there? What instinct possessed her that she could feel hi her?

He was a dark shadow behind the tinted s, until the passenger siderolled s countenance and the dark glasses shielding his eyes

His overlong black hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, revealing the strong line of his jaw and the arrogance that per arers beckoned her to hial confidence that she would come Like a damned pet

Her eyes narrowed on him as she turned and stalked down the sidewalk to the side of the diner where her Rodeo was parked She had packed a suitcase thatto the job she didn’t have any the benefit of the doubt that he would at least trust her to hile he was playing the high-and-hty blackmailer from hell