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  Mel shook her head and tried to regain her good sense. Hard, very hard. He had the darkest, deepest, sexiest voice, a low rumble of sound that sent chills racing over her body. Oh, boy. She was pathetic. He was asking to help and she stood here thinking about down and dirty sex with the hottest man to ever don a Stetson.

  Clearing her throat, she stared him dead in the eye. “No thank you, T. I’ve got it.” She dug the keys to the gym doors from her bag and tugged the long, wide strap over her shoulder. Trying for all she was worth to be composed when inside she was shaking like a leaf, she headed toward the afternoon heat outside, knowing he followed closely behind.

  T helped her close the heavy doors and when she locked the gym up and slid the keys into her bag, his hand gripped her shoulder, pressing her to the big metal doors. “T,” she whispered. “Don’t.”

  “Why not, Mel? Don’t you know I’m dyin’ to kiss you again? This time without an audience?”

  “Why’d you do that? In front of everyone?”

  Could she sound like any more of an insecure fool?

  He dragged the tip of his finger over her cheek, his gaze narrowed on her lips. “Still my shy girl after all these years.” The gently whispered words made her shiver but when he trailed the edge of his thumb along the curve of her mouth she regained her senses and jerked her face away.

  “I’m not your anything, T. What do you think? Think you can stomp back into my life like some kind of badass from a movie and sweep me off my feet? You know I don’t like scenes.”

  “Aw, honey. I just figured maybe I’d shake things up a little bit.”

  “Well, don’t. I like my life just fine without any ‘shaking up’ from you.”

  Liar! She was such a liar! Her life sucked and right now, this moment, was the most excitement she’d had in years.

  T’s wandering thumb traced her bottom lip and when she shivered, he smiled. “Tell me about this biology guy. Bradley. Are you two an item or something?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Not yet? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s not any of your business after all these years but it means he has been asking me out and I’m thinking about it.”

  “Don’t. Not yet.”

  T’s scent, his heat wrapped, around her and she called herself every kind of dumbass for succumbing to him like a love-struck idiot. “Why?” she breathed. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t, T?”

  His eyes lifted from a seductive study of her lips to focus on her eyes. Slowly, he leaned closer to brush his mouth over hers. “How about I give you a dozen reasons, honey? Don’t you know I’ve been wanting you for years? Don’t you know that I’d cut off my right arm before ever hurting you again?”

  Tears filled her eyes but her arms were trapped by T’s body and it was impossible to brush the drops away before he saw them. Blinking furiously, trying so hard to stop them, she nearly died of embarrassment when several fell from her eyes and trailed over her cheeks. Desolate, terrified of all these things he made her feel, Mel closed her eyes.

  She felt T’s breath against her hot face, felt his fingers touch the tracks of her tears and wanted to die.

  “Ah, sweetheart, you’re killin’ me here. I didn’t mean to hurt you all those years ago. You know that, don’t you? We were just kids, honey. I’m a grown man now. Let me make everything up to you.”

  She shook her head. “It’s too late. You have a life and so do I. You’ve made it clear that Delight isn’t your home anymore. The time for us is over and I just don’t trust you. I can’t.”

  “Uh-uh. I’m not going to accept that, darlin’. Let me prove it.” T pressed her body to the door of the gym, every firm muscle, every toned inch of his body settling over her in a display of both power and sexual heat. Melanie sank against him, feeling those old sensations she remembered so well ratchet up a delicious notch until she was lost. Absolutely lost.

  He took her mouth with a devastating hunger she’d never experienced with any other man. His tongue swept deep, teasing her senseless and suddenly fighting him wasn’t an option. Mel wanted him. She always had. The press of his hard cock against her pussy sent the flame of passion roaring higher. Melanie went still. It was too much too soon but then that was T’s way. Temperamental and more than a little bit naughty, he wasn’t a man who took things slow. He reached for what he wanted and right now he seemed to want her.

  She was in big trouble here. Sinking fast and rapidly reaching the point of no return. With one smooth move, T Dobbs brought her lonely body back to aching life. When he finally broke the kiss, drawing back enough to gaze hotly into her eyes, she recognized an emotion swimming there but was too afraid to evaluate it. What if she was wrong? It was too soon to build up her hopes only to watch him walk away again.

  T swept his lips over hers again, taunting, teasing, rubbing them lightly with his own. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  “Dinner?”

  His sudden teasing grin prompted her own smile. “Yeah, you know. We both get something to eat and have a nice conversation.”

  “Think I’ve heard of the concept.”

  “Pick you up at seven?”

  “Um. Okay.” It struck her that it had always been this way between them. T wanted and she gave. Thrusting her worries to the back of her mind and cursing her own tendency to think everything to death, she nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”

  Chapter Two

  “Aw, T, please tell me you did not do that! Thelma couldn’t wait to tell me how you stormed into the gym and had Mel in a liplock in twenty seconds flat.” Harley Baker, his brother Cooper’s fiancée, leaned back in her chair and scowled at him. She looked awfully cute when she was riled but he understood loyalty and admired it. Mel was, after all, Harley’s best friend in the world. Cooper, older than himself by a couple of years, shook his head and T suspected he was gonna stay out of this fight. Currently most of them were seated around the massive kitchen table at the Double D Ranch, nursing frosty glasses of sweet tea. His older brother Ransom stood with his hip propped against the kitchen countertop, wearing a scowl that was quite a bit more ominous than Harley’s.

  T grinned. “Yep, I did. I saw what I wanted and I took it. Got a problem with that? You used to be fun, Harley. Maybe hooking up with Cooper here wasn’t such a good idea after all.”

  Ransom, the most un-fun man on the planet, straightened and stalked toward him. He was a giant of a man and though Ran might resemble him and Cooper in hair and eye color, that’s where the similarities ended. There wasn’t a tougher, harder man anywhere than his big brother. “You’re an idiot. You’d better not be playing with this woman. Melanie Honeycutt is as sweet as sugar and she deserves better than some jackass messing with her emotions. You left here years ago without a backward glance and broke her heart. As far as I’m concerned that makes you not worth shootin’.”

  T went still, any hint of teasing evaporating like smoke. Anger and regret burned through his belly. Ransom had never denied his disappointment that T had, once upon a time, chosen a life other than ranching. “You think I’ve somehow forgotten, Ran? There’s not a day when I don’t remember her and how I tore out of Delight like a fire was lit under my ass. But hell, I was just a kid and I’m not about to start apologizing for my choices. I figure that’s over and done with but now I’m home to stay. I’m sick of that life. I want something more. Something better. The way I see it, Mel just might be my future. She’s the reason I came back to Delight and back to the ranch. Figure you’d better start believing me about that.”

  That might’ve been the longest speech of his life but he meant every word. Ran could choose to believe him or not. He was tired of constantly trying to prove himself to the man.

  Ransom, who’d raised him from the time their folks had died, gave him a hard look and, apparently satisfied that T wasn’t bullshitting him, nodded. “Fair enough. Got some chores to do.” He stalked from the room without a backward glance.

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nbsp; T watched him go then looked at Harley. “Wipe that worried look from your face, honey. I just wanted to get her attention. That’s all. Believe me I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Mel.”

  “You already did that. Jerk!”

  He hadn’t meant to hurt her. Hell, he’d always loved Melanie but Harley wouldn’t believe that now. Even now bittersweet memories of the two of them together rolled through his belly. He’d made a mistake and looked like it was time to pay up. T had never been a judgmental man and to face this particular firing squad made his hackles rise. Throwing stones at glass houses was never a good idea.

  “Are we really that different, Harley? Think about it. You couldn’t wait to leave Delight all those years ago.”

  “Watch your step, little brother.” Cooper leaned forward, aggression in every line of his body and he appreciated the fact Coop was protective of the woman he loved. An admirable trait in a man, he figured.

  T held up a hand. He wanted peace. He wanted home and for the first time in longer than he could remember, he was exactly where he wanted to be. Of all things, he didn’t want to fight with his brother. “I don’t mean this badly. Calm down now. I left here needing something, anything that wasn’t Delight, Texas. As nice a town as it was to grow up in, I knew there was more out there in the wide world. I didn’t want to be an old grandpa bouncing grandkids on my knee and wishing I’d lived a little when I could. Anything wrong with that?” He saw Cooper’s shoulders relax and a small smile appear on Harley’s face. “When that movie producer saw me in the county rodeo and offered me a way out of here, I jumped at it. Hell, how old was I? Twenty-two? All those years of the same old thing day after day wasn’t appealing. I had to see what was out there. Can you really fault me for that?”

  “I understand that, T,” Harley said slowly. “I had the same problem, I guess. Cooper and I have talked about it a lot.” She exchanged a look with Coop and T’s heart tightened at the open expressions of love they carried for each other. Maybe one day he’d have the same. “I thought I knew what I wanted and it sure as hell wasn’t here. Boy, was I ever wrong about that. Now nothing else feels better than being right here.”

  T smiled. “Got you a good one here, brother. Have you two set a date yet?”

  Cooper settled his hand over Harley’s. “We’re thinking early September. Everything happened pretty fast once we got back together again. Now with construction on Harley’s new shop and planning the wedding, we’ve got a lot on our plates. Could use your help over at Harley Baker Brand Boots when you have some free time.”

  “I’m pretty handy with power tools. Let me settle in a bit and then I’m all yours.”

  “Good.” Cooper nodded. “Figure you’ll be helping out a lot here at the ranch now that you’re home but I thought you might be able to spare an hour or two. Harley is hoping to have the shop up and running in a month or so.”

  Harley was a premier custom cowboy boot designer who’d left a reputable outfit in Houston to set up shop in Delight. “I’m really proud of what you’ve done with your business, Harley. Feels good to go after what you want, doesn’t it? Looks to me like you have the best. An ornery man who loves you and a great rep in your chosen field. I’m really happy for you.”

  Harley grinned from ear to ear and looked between the two of them. “Thanks for that, T. Have to say I’m happier now than I ever imagined. And you? Look at you! You’ve had such an interesting career.”

  It had been.

  He thought about that several hours later as he drove into town to pick up Melanie. He’d mingled with movie stars, directors and just regular folks who worked hard for a living. As a stunt man, working mostly in western films, he’d kept plenty busy over the past years and most would be shocked if they knew it wasn’t really all that glamorous. In his line of work, more often than not, he was lying around convalescing from one injury or another. Fact was, he was sick of the cracked ribs and broken bones. He was sick of the fake women who only wanted a quick fuck and a quicker introduction to the real stars, namely actors and directors. He’d been pursued plenty, and yeah he was good-lookin’ enough, he supposed but usually folks had an ulterior motive when wanting to get up close and personal with him. Everything about the business was pretty damn useless and in quiet moments, he thought of home. And he thought of Mel.

  Even small towns had areas where the wealthier folks lived and he headed that way, knowing Mel still lived in her childhood home. Dusk was well upon him when he pulled up in front of the big, red brick house he’d revisited a million times in his mind over the past ten years or so. Since he and Mel had been a couple throughout their school years, he’d practically made the place his own. Lots of memories. Smiling, he stepped from the cab of the big white truck he drove and walked up the driveway. There over the garage doors hung a basketball hoop and when he spotted the lonely basketball nearby he picked it up and bounced it a couple of times before sending it sailing toward the hoop. The ball rimmed the hoop twice before falling through.

  “Not bad. Sure you aren’t up for a game of one-on-one?”

  T looked up and every bit of blood ran straight to his cock at the sight of Mel propped against the front door of the house, looking like the sex star of every erotic dream he’d ever had. The spit dried in his mouth when he took in the pretty, soft-blue dress that hugged curves he was dying to settle his lips against. Her wildly curling hair looked like a Texas sunset. At least to him. Setting the ball aside, he walked toward her, climbed the shallow steps and gave her a slow once-over, noting her bare feet and the girly pink polish on her toes. “One-on-one? I think we can work that out. How about now?”

  Red flagged her cheeks, prominent against the fairness of her skin. She was, without question, the prettiest woman on the face of the earth and he’d met plenty of beauties in his former occupation. None had ever compared to Melanie Honeycutt, who seemed to not realize how truly gorgeous she was. She ducked her head and T was helpless to resist catching her chin on the edge of his thumb. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

  Mel looked at him, her blue eyes emphasized by heavy dark lashes. She smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry about that. Come on in, T. Thought maybe you’d like a beer or a glass of wine before we head out.”

  Wanting to put her at ease, he followed her into the living room, looking around at the classic elegance of Melanie’s home. “Things look the same around here.”

  Mel glanced at him over her shoulder, laughing. “Some things never change, T, and they sure don’t alter much here in Delight. When Mom married and moved away she deeded the house over to me. She said Dad would have wanted it that way.”

  “Doesn’t seem right to be here and not see your folks.”

  “I know what you mean. I miss Mom to pieces and as you know Dad died long ago. Things change and eventually we adjust. Hang on for a sec and I’ll get us something to drink.”

  T swept the black Stetson from his head and set it aside, breathing in the familiar scents of the house as he raked his fingers through his hair to restore some order. From a distance he listened to the sounds of Mel rattling around in the kitchen and heard the clink of glasses. Feeling restless and edgy, he followed the familiar route to the massive yet homey kitchen that he recalled from his youth. The room was still as he remembered in both size and structure but there the similarities ended. Mel had added creamy granite countertops to the space along with copper accents. A round table sat in an alcove that overlooked the backyard pool and patio. But truth to tell, he wasn’t all that interested in checking out the house. Plenty of time for that. Instead T was as fascinated as hell with the sexy, barefoot woman who stood near the sink, pouring red wine into two long-stemmed glasses. He glanced at the wall near the light switch and spotted the intercom system. It was an elaborate deal that included a radio. Reaching out, he flipped a switch and immediately a slow country song swept into the room. Mel turned at the sound, clutching a green bottle in her hand, her eyes wide and surprised for a moment onl
y to go all soft. Something about Mel just flat-out made his heart ache.

  Needing to touch her, T walked across the floor and took the bottle from her hand. “Let me,” he murmured. Next to him, Mel went quiet as he filled the remaining glass. She watched him as she did everything in her life, thoughtfully and with purpose. T had always liked that about her. She was a careful woman. He, on the other hand, had been a wild man from the moment of his birth. No wonder he was crazy about her. The old adage about opposites attracting sure applied in this situation, but winning a woman like Melanie Honeycutt might just prove to be the biggest challenge of his life. T was ready to face the fact that she didn’t trust him. He didn’t blame her a bit and making things up to her was a mighty tall order. He’d fucked up big-time. Would she learn to trust him? T planned to make sure of that. “When’s the last time you danced barefoot in this kitchen, honey?”

  Mel frowned and shook her head, making those ginger curls bounce. “I-uh…”

  “I’ll take that as a never. Think it’s about time we changed all that, don’t you? Come ‘ere, sweetheart.”

  Smooth as silk, he pulled her into his arms and twirled her around the shiny hardwood kitchen floor. Mel sank against him with a little sigh, resting her head against his chest. Her warm breath penetrated the cotton of his pearl-buttoned shirt and just like that his cock turned as hard as stone. Groaning low, unable to stop the desperate sound, he drew her close enough to insinuate his thigh between hers as he twirled her to the strains of a Keith Urban ballad. Bending his head, he settled his mouth near her ear. “You feel so damn fine, Melanie. Think I’ll keep you right here in my arms for a while. How does that sound?”

  “Aren’t you hungry?” She sighed a little, sliding her hand along the length of his back and T thought he might howl in frustration. Needing her, aching to his bones, he spun her once more until finally he had her pressed against the nearest countertop.