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He released her

She surfaced, blinking, out of breath and not sure what she’d been thinking She was the one who didn’t find sex satisfying Ever Why on earth would she be fantasizing about doing it with Ford?

"Okay, then," he said, his voice slightly strangled "I thought that would be a little h his hair "Next ti?"

She started to rabbed her "Not so fast I need aabout Then her gaze dropped to his jeans and she saw a ainst his fly

Consuelo had warned her that Ford liked all women and he obviously kne to kiss So the fact that he was aroused wasn’t so she should take personally Still, it was nice to know he’d been caught off guard, too

"I know that srumbled

"What?"

"You’re feeling srinned "I aet you so about kittens Kittens aren’t sexy"

She rested her palrabbed her by the wrist and pulled her hand away "Don’t do that Not doing that would help"

She giggled, inspired by her newfound power He sighed heavily, then put his arm around her

"Why did I think you’d make this easy?" he asked

"I have no idea Because it’s so much more fun to make it hard"

DESPITE THE FACT that it was late afternoon, the festival was going strong Consuelo hadn’t planned to come to it at all, but somehow she’d been unable to walk away from the music and crowds She wandered over to a booth where a pretty young wo handmade jewelry

The stones were old and silver had been wrapped around the froled from delicate chains

Despite the fact that she was on the short side and small boned, Consuelo didn’t think of herself as petite Nothing in this booth would suit her, she thought glumly It was all too ethereal She was sturdy, in her soul if not in her appearance Prag for whiers moved on the coolher

She’d seen them several booths back, when she’d stopped to look at a display of birdhouses Mid-twenties, out of shape, a little drunk One wore a baseball cap and the other had on a T-shirt featuring a gun logo Good ol’ boys, she thought

They’d noticed her then She’d slipped away but they’d caught up with her and now they were getting closer She was going to have to deal with theht of itto eviscerate them physically or verbally This was a family-friendly event and there were pros and cons to both plans of action

She turned, prepared to take theuy in the baseball cap walked directly toward her

"Hey, pretty lady" His ses "My friend and I thought we’d go soet to know each other better"

A uy in the cap

"I don’t think so," he said,next to her "You need to leave the lady alone"

Consuelo stared up at Kent Hendrix Was he seriously trying to protect her? She was so startled by the thought she just stood there stupidly

T-shirt Guy grinned at Kent "Is that so? You gonna make us?"

"If necessary," Kent said firer than the other two His voice was quiet, yet there was an air of confidence about him that impressed her

The friends looked at each other Then, like the bullies they were, they immediately backed off when confronted Baseball Cap Guy dipped his head

"No offense meant, ma’am"

"It would probably be best if you two left the festival," Kent told the

Consuelo put her hands on her hips "What was that?"

"I noticed the you I wanted to make sure you were okay"

Okay? Okay? Her? "There isn’t a man in a fifty-mile radius I couldn’t destroy in hand-to-hand combat, and that includes your navy SEAL brother"

Kent nodded slowly "I have no doubt"

"Then ould you try to help?"

"It’s the right thing to do"

She opened her mouth, then closed it She started to speak, then stopped Was he from this planet? This century? She should be annoyed as hell, yet she felt oddly touched by his idiotic gesture

He could have been hurt, she thought There were two of thehtly touched her arm "I know you could have taken them I just didn’t think you should have to deal with them on your own"

She’d always been on her own Even as a kid Her brothers had been involved in their gang, and herhours to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads For Consuelo, friends had coes of a book

Once she’d joined the arone into covert ops Her assignments put her in harm’s way by herself There was always extraction but rarely backup After a while she’d gotten used to looking out for herself and not expecting ed at last

"You’re welcolanced at his hands They were smooth, with neatly triun or even a knife She doubted he’d ever killed anyone No doubt he talked to his ularly, cared about his family, paid his taxes and drove less than five et an ice cream?" he asked "It’s homemade This time of year, they have all the fruit flavors Pear ice crea, but trust me, it’s delicious"

She faced hiht