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  Return of the Daredevil

  Regina Carlysle

  Scrumptious scoundrel. Daredevil T Dobbs, the sexiest cowboy to ever walk the streets of Delight, Texas, headed out of town, taking Melanie Honeycutt’s heart with him. But now he’s back and hotter than ever. Trust him? Her head says no but her body has other ideas.

  Stubborn woman. She was the girl T never forgot and the woman he yearns for in the deepest part of his heart. But what’s a man to do when she doesn’t believe he’s home for good? T knows his way around dangerous curves, and Mel’s are hot enough to burn a man. He figures it’ll take a slow hand and some downright smokin’-hot sex to melt her reserve but he’s definitely up for the challenge.

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing

  www.ellorascave.com

  Return of the Daredevil

  ISBN 9781419935701

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Return of the Daredevil Copyright © 2011 Regina Carlysle

  Edited by Helen Woodall

  Cover art by Syneca

  Electronic book publication August 2011

  The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

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  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

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  Return of the Daredevil

  Regina Carlysle

  Chapter One

  Melanie Honeycutt stood at the entrance to Delight High School’s gymnasium, one hand resting on one of the heavy double doors and braced herself. Closing her eyes, she listened to the cacophony of sound, voices of giddy high school girls and inwardly cringed. How her mother could have left her with such a hideous task was beyond her. Moms were supposed to love their daughters. Right? Instead Brenda Honeycutt had gotten herself hitched to Buck Wylie, a retired local banker, and the two of them had hightailed it out of Delight, Texas, to a new life in Scottsdale, Arizona, leaving her with the dubious task of ramrodding the annual Miss Peach Delight contest.

  Sending up a quick prayer to her maker, she sucked in a breath and stepped bravely into the lion’s den armed only with her coach’s whistle and a smile. “Good afternoon, ladies!”

  Several dozen pairs of eyes turned her way, dismissing her almost instantly as the laughter and chatter began again. Her court shoes squeaked on the hardwood floors as she headed toward a long table set up near the bleachers and, ignoring the contestants for the Miss Peach Delight crown, laid out a stack of sign-up sheets along with a box of number two pencils. Turning back to the girls, already feeling a tad irritated, she fingered the ever-present whistle around her neck and finally gave up. Mel wrapped her lips around the whistle and blew. Instantly the girls went still and wide-eyed.

  “All right, girls. I need each of you to grab one of these forms and fill them in completely. Make doubly sure you add your talent and any special props you might need for the talent portion of the contest. I assume several of you will need use of a piano?”

  Almost three-fourths of the girls lifted their hands and Coach Mel smiled a bit. The folks of Delight better prepare themselves for lots of singing and piano playing during the event. There might be a baton twirler or two but most of these would-be divas would do something musical. Pretty typical for this type of small-town event but people would be nice, they would applaud loudly for each contestant for the whoop-de-do crown and hundreds of pictures would be taken to preserve in perpetuity in dozens of family scrapbooks. That was small-town life and all Mel had ever really known outside her brief collegiate stint at Texas Tech University where she’d learned to teach and played some hoops for the Lady Raiders. Once all was said and done, she’d come right back home to Delight where she taught high school English and coached the girls’ basketball team.

  Since there wasn’t much to do but wait for everyone to arrive and do their thing, Melanie took a seat on the bleachers and looked around. At the far end of the gym, two sets of double doors were thrown open wide, allowing a blanket of July sunshine to sweep across the wooden floors of the court, turning it bright gold. Those doors being open was a blessing, for sure. The school district didn’t like running the air conditioners during the summer so it was hotter than hell in the gym and Mel blew a quick breath upward as she fanned herself with a couple of sign-up sheets.

  “Hey, Coach Honeycutt, looks like you could use one of these.” Bradley Moore, the high school biology teacher, strolled up and, smiling, held out a frosty, cold soft drink. Beads of condensation rolled over the plastic bottle and she instantly settled it against her hot cheek.

  “Oh wow. That feels so good,” she said. “Thanks. How did you know I was dyin’ in here?”

  Bradley laughed and took a seat next to her. “Just a wild guess.” He was really a nice-looking man, she thought, as she took in his compact body and neatly groomed light-brown hair. He was nice, polite, intelligent and he’d asked her out so many times, she often wondered why she didn’t take the plunge and accept.

  Well, she knew the answer to that question.

  He deserved a whole lot more than a woman who was still stuck on her first love.

  Heywood T Dobbs.

  Just the thought of T made her hot and this time, she couldn’t blame the atrocious heat of a July day in Texas. The sad thing was that he’d left Delight years ago without a backward glance and nary a single thought of her as he’d made a life for himself in California. Around these parts, he was pretty much a famous, favored son, and whenever he appeared as a stunt man in a television show or in a movie, groups would gather around in their living rooms or in the local bar to watch him and ooh and ahh over what a star he was.

  Sometimes the whole situation made her mad enough to spit.

  Part of her was thrilled that he’d made what seemed to her a glamorous life for himself and the other part, the selfish bitchy part, hated that he was so far away and oblivious to her. Yeah, Mel really hated herself for feeling that way. He’d broken her heart but just watching him at work got her hot enough to melt.

  Mel took a swig of the soft drink and tried like hell not to think of T Dobbs and how he’d broken her heart by hightailing it out of town as he’d done. It was all just too pitiful for words. She was thirty now, a grown woman and maybe it was time she did something about getting over stuff that had occurred when she’d been a young, starry-eyed girl. Over the years she’d become a master at reliving unrequited love and she was sick of it. Glancing over at Bradley, she figured maybe it was time she got on with her sad and lo
nely little life. “So is everything gearing up big-time on the town square?”

  Bradley smiled. “Yep. The banners advertising the Peach Festival are strung across Main and the local ladies are setting up vending booths all along the parade route. Hot dogs, burgers, barbecue, lemonade and every kind of peach product you can wrap your brain around.”

  “I feel my butt expanding just thinking about it.” Mel sighed around a smile and watched Bradley’s eyes take her in from top to toe. Heat sank into them and Mel thought…uh-oh.

  “Your butt looks pretty fine to me, Coach. Do you have a date for the street dance on Friday night?”

  Mel had just opened her mouth to jump all over the suggestion of a little street dancing with him when one of the girls ran up with a question about something. Giving Bradley a smile, she stood and walked partway onto the gym floor to take care of business. She turned to him and pointed her finger. “Hold that thought.”

  Bradley’s smile turned slow and sexy. What the hell was she doing? Oh yeah. Getting on with her life. But was it right to lead on a man who she might never develop an interest in? Melanie mentally rolled her eyes. She’d always been an athlete, a competitor so why was she so scared of taking a chance on love?

  She knew the answer to that. T had ruined her for other men and that was a fact. Getting involved and getting hurt again wasn’t tops on her priority list. But there was a time when a woman had to grow up and move on and maybe today was that day. She only knew she was tired of being lonely. Surely there was more to life than withering away in this little town. She aimed to find out.

  Just then, Thelma Raymond rushed through the doors. She was all of five feet nothin’ and dressed pretty much like the Lone Star Flag in an ensemble of red, white and blue. Red and blue stars dangled from her ears and she wore a rhinestone-studded Texas flag pinned to her tee shirt. Waving her pudgy hands, she practically skipped over the gym floor in her mad rush. “Melanie. Oh Melanie! You’ll never guess, oh my, you’ll never guess in a billion years who just rode into town.” Thelma stopped directly in front of her, dramatically fanning herself with one multi-ringed hand while simultaneously patting her ample chest with the other. “Lordy, lordy! It’s T! T Dobbs is back in town, bigger than life. I just can’t believe it after all these years. The scamp. That wild, wild boy. Well, not a boy. Definitely not a boy but you know what I mean.”

  Melanie sucked in an audible breath as a wave of heat blasted over all six feet of her body. She went still. No. Not now. Not when she was ready to move on after all this time! A bizarre combo of anger and elation rushed through her and if this was a battle of emotions, then the elation part was definitely winning. Then she looked up and froze to see T silhouetted in the doorway of the gym.

  The sun was at his back, casting him in shadows, and the entire room went still. Heavy air seemed to hover like a living thing in the gym and even the teenaged girls didn’t make a peep as he filled up the room with his presence. But even cast in shadow, it was impossible to mistake that long, lean frame or the swagger in his stride as he finally began to cross the room. T’s bootheels rapped sharply on the carefully tended hardwood. He moved like a man who did what he pleased and took what he wanted. Determination marked his every step and as he drew closer, the shadows lifted, showing Mel the glint in his storm-colored eyes. They were hungry eyes. Sexy eyes. Heavily lashed, they narrowed dangerously beneath the brim of a straw summery cowboy hat that had definitely seen better days. T’s hair beneath the battered hat was long, thick and black, brushing the tops of sturdy shoulders that she practically itched to stroke with her fingers. The hint of a five o’clock shadow covered the lower part of his sexy, masculine face. Oh boy. T for trouble. Suddenly he grinned, throwing her even further off guard as he tipped back the brim of his hat and moved in close enough to touch.

  “Hey, darlin’,” he drawled. Before she could blink, T Dobbs wrapped a muscular arm around her, hauling her close, and breathed against her lips. “Damn, woman. I missed you. Kiss me hello, sweet thang.”

  The world instantly melted away.

  Just like that he stole every bit of good sense she’d ever possessed as his lips took hers in a savage kiss that quite simply rocked her world. There was nothing tentative in T’s mouth slowly devouring hers. His tongue cruised over her lips, tasting thoroughly before dipping deep until she could taste all the complex flavors of this man she’d always loved. If anything his kisses were even better than they’d been all those many years ago. A flash of jealousy whipped through her as she wondered about how he’d gained all this expertise but then the anger was dashed away under the seductive lash of his tongue.

  She was lost. Taken under. Obliterated with just one touch.

  One big hand cupped the curve of her jaw as a twitter of sound swept the room. Giggling and applause and chatter came at her as if from a distance but, truth be told, she could barely hear it over the roar of blood in her ears. Her nipples went hard against the practical cotton of her bra and she gasped at the sensation.

  “Hey! Get your hands off her. What do you think you’re doing?”

  Bradley’s voice intruded on the moment and T lifted his head slightly to peer at her would-be suitor. T’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Kissing my girl, and who the hell are you?”

  “I’m…um…Bradley. I’m the biology teacher.”

  T grunted once then leaned close to Mel’s ear, the whisper of his breath hot and sexy as hell. Melanie shivered in his arms and T’s teeth flashed white against his tanned skin. “Does this man have some kind of claim on you, Mel?”

  “N-no,” she whispered, hating her weakness where T was concerned. “I mean. Yes. I mean, I don’t know.” She shook her head as he nuzzled her ear. Confusion swamped her but then T was a confusing man.

  T lifted his head to look around at their audience while clutching her possessively against his work-hardened body. She was feeling a little dizzy but then he smiled again and kissed her quickly, just once more, before spinning her out as if they’d just been engaged in a dance instead of a panty-drenching kiss. T nodded to the giddy group of wildly cheering girls, a grinning and madly clapping Thelma and the scowling Bradley. “Thanks for letting me borrow the coach for a minute, ladies,” he said, a slow, sexy smile curving his lips. “Couldn’t resist getting a little welcome home kiss, ya know.”

  Before Mel could breathe, much less think, Bradley stormed from the gymnasium and T was surrounded by giggling fangirls. Someone produced a pen and soon the prodigal son began autographing the backs of tee shirts.

  “I have the most wonderful idea,” Thelma said, smiling brightly. “You must be one of our guest judges, T. You can’t say no and I mean it.”

  He looked momentarily alarmed, then looked right at Melanie. “This is your show?”

  Mel could only nod since the spit had practically dried in her mouth but speaking wasn’t necessary because Thelma dived right back into the situation. “Oh yes. She’s the chairman of the Miss Peach Delight competition. Such a hard worker.”

  A slow grin pulled at T’s lips and she hoped to hell he wasn’t laughing at her. She might just have to knock that smirk right off his face. He might have roughly four inches on her but she wasn’t a delicate little flower. She could hold her own. Even against a too-sexy scoundrel like T.

  “Well now, I would have to agree with you about that, Miz Raymond. I’d be happy to serve as judge.”

  Thelma gasped, clutched her hands over her heart, then jumped up and down until the Texas stars dangling from her ears started to swing. “Oh my. Now isn’t that just wonderful. Welcome aboard, T.”

  Once things quieted down and the more than twenty local girls had signed up for the chance to win the coveted Miss Peach Delight crown, Melanie found herself alone with T. Obviously, he wasn’t a man to kiss and run because after he’d melted her bones with that hotter than hell, very public kiss, he’d planted his sexy ass on the bleachers. Apparently he wasn’t going anywhere. For the next twenty minutes or so,
she felt those smoky gray eyes watching her every move. She’d never been a giddy woman nor a big talker and she was uncomfortable in most social situations but this went beyond discomfort. Bone-deep worry gnawed at her and her brain swam with a million questions. Her best friend, Harley June Baker, was engaged to T’s older brother, Cooper. Surely she would have given her a heads-up if she’d known T was coming into town for a rare visit? Yes, without a doubt, Harley would’ve. What brought him back to town? Was he hurt? Bored? Yeah, right. Bored. Ha. He led an exciting life where he traveled and schmoozed with high-falootin’ movie-star types. Laughable! Who could tire of all that glamour? And why had he kissed her as if he wanted her?

  Melanie was no fool. She was an overly tall woman with far too many curves to be considered fashionable. Yes, T might very well be playing some kind of cruel game with her but that wasn’t like the T she knew and loved. Yes, loved. He might be bold as brass but he’d never been mean.

  Snapping the stack of entry forms on a wooden bleacher bench, she bent to tuck them into a folder and gathered up the dozen or so pencils that were scattered around. A loop of her super-curly, ginger-colored hair escaped from her ponytail to fall into her eyes. Nervously pushing it back, she glanced up to see T watching her quietly, this time with nary a hint of teasing in his eyes. Straightening, she shoved the mess of papers and pencils into the oversized tote she’d carried today and gave him what she hoped was a steady look in return.

  T stood and climbed down the bleachers until he stood almost toe to toe with her. “Need some help with this stuff, darlin’?” Intensity burned in his eyes, a heat that was impossible to miss and Mel hated the way her body got all hot and shivery.

  He might have said instead, “Come ‘ere, darlin’, and let me strip off those clothes so I can fuck you.”