I’m running TWO contests.
1) The one to celebrate the release of PLEASING SIR (with a $25.00 Amazon.com gift certificate as the prize) is ongoing, and you still have time to enter it! See details in Thursday’s post!
2) The second is my usual thing. You post a comment here today and you’re eligible for a free download of this story (or another if you’ve already read this one).

Released in September 2009, Unbridled was the first of my Lone Star Lovers books for Samhain. It starts with a girl who interrupts a tryst between her boyfriend and another man, and quickly goes straight to the gutter after that. 🙂

Four Sworn, which releases next Tuesday, is set in the same town, but can be read as a standalone novel. And for those of you a bit squeamish about m/m contact, Four Sworn is strictly all about the girl. Four guys. One Girl.

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“…In [UNBRIDLED]…we are following the sexy machinations of Justin, and he does sexy so well it isn’t difficult to picture him doling out love to his two subs. It’s also remarkably easy to see why they’d be eager to do his bidding. However, it is totally refreshing to watch Dani and Rowe slip the noose and insist on him obeying them for a change of pace…If you are seeking an intensely erotic short read, UNBRIDLED is the one for you…”
5 Angels, Fallen Angels Reviews on UNBRIDLED

Unbridled, Lone Star Lovers, Book One

Tough…or tender? If she plays her cards right, she won’t have to choose.

Dani Standifer arrives home at her West Texas family ranch a day early, ready to pick up where she left off with Rowe Ayers, her high school sweetheart. However, when she opens the door to their line-shack trysting place, it’s clear she waited a day too long. Rowe’s with someone else—another man. And not just any other man— Justin Cruz, the bad boy with whom she shared one wild encounter, years ago.

Justin’s waited a long time for this moment. He knows his reputation, but since he seduced Rowe, he’s been a one-man cowboy—waiting for Dani to return and become the delicious fulfillment of his and Rowe’s needs. If she’s up to the challenge.

To her own surprise, Dani finds she’s more than ready to have both men in her life—as soon as she and Rowe teach Justin a lesson or two about love.

Their small town may not be ready for their kind of relationship. And Dani’s brother Cutter’s mile-deep grudge against Justin throws in a complication that could break the foundation the three of them have built…

Warning: Hold on for the rodeo of your life with rough ridin’ male on male action; blazing hot m/m/f scenes; and melt-your-panties lovin’ as each of these sexy cowboys gives it the way they know best to turn their woman inside out.

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Note for Readers: You must be of legal age in your country of origin to read this excerpt. Also, there is m/m content in this excerpt. Read on at your own risk!

Justin stared at the silent house, taking in the understated wealth it represented. The Standifers were old money in these parts. Old money—and spoiled and unappreciative of their advantages.

Eyeing the pristine white Victorian, he thought about the crummy apartment in town that he’d kept after his mother had died—the only thing he could afford with the odd jobs he’d worked until he’d landed the job as a wrangler at the Ayers ranch.

He’d have liked to go to school, just like Dani and Rowe. He’d had the grades. Could have ridden a football scholarship, but his sister had needed him to provide a roof over her head until she’d finished school. Now that she was attending a community college in San Angelo, he was free at last to pursue his own path.

Funny how he’d always thought he’d leave Two Mule in the rearview mirror of his pickup truck first chance he got, but things hadn’t worked out that way. When he’d hired on as a wrangler on Rowe’s family ranch after high school, he’d been happy for the employment. He’d discovered an affinity for working with horses and cattle, skills that had quickly gotten him noticed by Rowe’s father, who took him under his wing and groomed him to assume more responsibility. Over the years, he’d thrived on the attention, enjoying the respect he earned that didn’t have a thing to do with how well he tossed a football or how popular he was with women.

When he’d been asked to step in as foreman when the ranch foreman retired and moved to Florida with his daughter, the promotion had been a mixed blessing. He’d liked the authority, the trust invested in him, but he’d felt bound to stay, especially after Rowe’s father died. He’d managed everything, moved into the house, so that Rowe could finish his education. After he’d returned, Rowe asked him to stay, saying his house was too big and lonely without the company.

When Rowe had snagged his lustful attention after taking over the ranch, no one would have been more shocked than he was. Justin had never known he could be aroused by a man, had run through a string of girls in high school and an equally impressive list of women afterward, but other than his very brief fling with Dani, no woman had ever held his attention long.

Catching his boss skinny dipping in a newly dug cattle pond on a particularly hot summer day had opened his eyes to whole new world of sensual pleasure.

Not that Rowe had intended to attract him. He’d grinned when he’d been caught, then motioned for him to join. Just a couple of guys cooling down after a hot day’s work.

When Justin had stripped to his skin, his cock had betrayed him in an embarrassing way. He’d tried to make a joke of it, but Rowe’s expression as he’d tried not to stare at Justin’s cock had inspired that pesky little devil who sat securely on Justin’s shoulder—the whoring side of his nature that was ready to fuck at the slightest invitation. The side that never knew approval unless he saw it in the happiness of a lover’s face at orgasm.

Justin had ignored his dick, knowing all the while that Rowe couldn’t keep his eyes off him. Rowe had been careful, too careful, to keep the edge of the water at his waist.

But Justin had known, just as he always did whenever a girl was interested. The air heated around them, and his heart reacted predictably, slowing into a steady, expectant thrum. He’d accepted his attraction, accepted that something was going to happen that would change his world.

The two men had swum, talking about football, plans to move the herd, anything but the fact they were naked and enjoying the unexpected freedom. They’d sat afterward at water’s edge as the sun dried their hair and skin, talking about women. Doing their manly best to lay the blame for the thickness of their cocks on their increasingly raunchy conversation.

Justin had carefully turned the conversation toward kinkier topics, ending with the very acts he knew were foremost on Rowe’s forbidden pleasures list. Without ever betraying the fact he’d watched Rowe and Dani a time or two, he’d said, “Ever tie a woman up?”

Rowe’s pained smile and quick shake of the head didn’t fool him.

“Come on. Never wanted to know what it was like to be in total control?”

Rowe cleared his throat before saying, “Have you…done that to a woman?”

Justin grinned, letting his eyelids drift down. “There’s nothing sweeter than bringin’ a woman along slowly, tying her up and making her feel helpless and a little scared, then watching as she comes apart.”

Rowe stared down as his hand skimmed the top of the water. “How do you know they like it…that you’re doing it right? I mean, without asking them outright.”

“Orgasms are easy for women to fake, but arousal’s not. Their nipples and cunts swell. Honey coats your fingers every time you dip inside to test how far along they are…” Justin leaned back on his elbows, uncaring that his cock was bobbing against his belly. His cock ached for a set of warm, wet lips to engulf him, and he was damn close to not caring whether the lips belonged to a man or a woman.

Rowe looked away. “I’ve done it a time or two. Didn’t think to check. But she told me when she’d had enough.”

“You see, there’s your mistake. You don’t ask. A woman that far along, you can push her farther, make her really beg. Make her cry. When you finally do let her come, she’s so grateful she’ll do anything for you.”

Rowe’s jaw tightened. “They don’t hate you afterward?”

“Not if you’re careful. Not if you aren’t mean about it. Have to make sure they know it’s all about their pleasure. That you’re only doing it, prolonging the sweet torture, to make it the best they’ve ever had.”

“I think Da—she’d like that.”

Justin had known instinctively that Rowe wasn’t really talking about Dani and her pleasure, but was imagining his own. “I could teach you how,” Justin had said casually, watching Rowe from the corner of his eye.

Rowe sat straighter, winding an arm around his bent knee. His growing arousal must have been threatening to peek above the water’s edge.

Justin suppressed the sly smile tightening his mouth. “Ever been with a man?”

Rowe choked and looked away. “No,” he said, so softly, Justin barely heard him.

Still, he hadn’t gotten all bent out of shape by the question.

“Me neither.” A long awkward pause followed, then Justin drew in a deep breath. “Ever been tied up?”

“What?” Rowe’s eyes were a little wild, like the conversation was going too fast for him to think what the right answer might be and not betray himself.

But Justin didn’t care whether Rowe was comfortable with the pace. He pushed, sensing Rowe needed someone to take command. “Ever let anyone bind you so you couldn’t move?”

A frown pulled Rowe’s brown brows together, but he stared straight ahead. Justin wondered if it was because he wanted to watch Justin from the corner of his eye too.

Excitement drew Justin’s balls closer to his groin, and he didn’t resist the urge to wrap his hand around his cock and slowly stroke it, just once, before he let it go and lay on his back, closing his eyes against the bright sun. He peeked between his slitted lids while Rowe gave him a hungry once-over, his gaze resting on his cock.

Justin liked the way the man’s strong jaw ground tightly when he stared, was growing excited simply by letting his own gaze rove over Rowe’s masculine frame. The more he let his imagination fly, the more sure he was that this could work, that he had something to give in this relationship, something Rowe wouldn’t be able to resist.

Rowe eased up the bank, at last exposing his cock to Justin’s view, his chest rising and falling faster as he settled back on his elbows. His cheeks billowed around a long exhalation.

Justin rolled his head to the side, raking Rowe’s cock with a glance. Thick and long, it curved slightly toward his belly. The cap was tapered, like a single-sided arrow.

Rowe’s cock pleased him, intrigued him, but so did the rest of the other man’s body. Long and lean, strong arms and thighs, light brown fur stretching between flat brown nipples then arrowing down…

“Have you ever…?” Rowe asked, his voice thick and guttural.

Justin forced his gaze upward and wondered which question Rowe was really asking, but decided that for his purposes, he should keep up the ambiguity. “Last time I was with a woman, I tied her face down. All that pale skin faced my way made my palms itch.”

“For what?”

“To leave a mark or two. Hear her squeal.”

Rowe licked his lips. “Sounds…dangerous.”

“Coulda been if she hadn’t been creaming after I told her what I wanted to do. Always have to ask first, you know. I paddled her ass until she came.”

Rowe swallowed hard, but by then, he wasn’t looking away. His eyes glittered with excitement. “Not something I’ve ever experienced. That can really happen?”

Justin gave up the coy innuendo. “Only if the partner wants it bad enough. And if you’re good. Rowe, I’m very good.”

“Shit,” Rowe said under his breath.

Justin stroked his shaft again, squeezing the tip as he came off, forcing a drop of pre-come to bead in the tiny slit. He dipped his pinky finger into the bead and smeared it on his lips. Justin knew Rowe couldn’t think of the line shack without associating it with sex, so drawled, “I’m headin’ to the line shack to make sure it’s stocked up for the winter.”

“You should do that,” Rowe said, his voice rasping.

Justin had given him a slow smile and rose, standing close enough his cock bobbed in front of Rowe’s face. Then he’d slowly dressed and left, confident that Rowe wouldn’t be able to resist the invitation.

Rowe strode into the cabin half an hour later, looking nervous and ready to puke.

“You don’t have to do this,” Justin said so casually no one would have known by looking at him that a knot of cold terror sat in his belly. Hands steady, he opened his belt and unsnapped his jeans.

Rowe’s gaze locked on Justin’s hands as he eased the zipper down and shoved his pants over his hips. His mouth pursed around a slow exhalation as Justin’s cock sprang free. Rowe’s wild gaze went to the door, but then he glanced back and his expression hardened. He took another deep breath and met Justin’s steady gaze, his own unwavering.

Justin had known how Rowe felt. And he’d known exactly what he needed. “I’ll say it again. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. But I’m thinkin’ you might like the decision taken right out of your hands.”

Rowe’s eyelids had flickered. He licked his lips. “You want me to fight you?”

“Only if you feel you need to.”

Rowe cleared his throat. “What if I want you to stop? For real.”

“Then you have to make me believe it.” Justin hadn’t given him any more warning than that, springing for Rowe and wrestling him easily—too easily—to the floor.

Face down, his knees under him, Rowe breathed harshly as Justin pushed his cock against his clothed backside.

With his forearm pressing the side of Rowe’s face against the planked floor, Justin gritted out, “I’m gonna let you up, just a little. Get one hand under you and open your pants.”

Rowe bucked against him. “Can’t breathe, you bastard.”

“Do you really need to?” Justin arched his back, just enough for Rowe to bow his back and get a hand between him and the floor. Then he waited.

Rowe shuddered beneath him; his breaths came in soft, ragged exhalations. But his jeans unsnapped, and his zipper scratched.

Justin smiled. He hadn’t asked for that, but now he knew how eager Rowe really was. He tugged down Rowe’s pants until his buttocks were bare.

Air escaped through Rowe’s tight lips as Justin’s cock grazed his backside.

“Never thought I’d be sayin’ this to a man,” Justin growled, “but my cock wants to sink right inside your ass.”

Rowe shook his head violently. “Can’t. Never done that before.”

“What do you want from me?”

“What you talked about…before.”

Justin’s lips twitched. “Want me to beat your lilywhite ass?”

Rowe grunted, but his body shivered underneath him.

Good enough for Justin. Backing away, he smoothed a hand over Rowe’s tight buttocks. Not so different from a very athletic girl’s. That he got a peek of a velvety ball sac only increased the tension winding like a spring deep in his belly. He lifted his hand and struck.

Rowe’s head turned, his forehead tilting against the floor. But he didn’t say a word or make a sound.

An ugly anger bubbled up inside Justin, directed at Rowe for tempting him but not having the guts to admit it out loud, at Rowe for having Dani at his beck and call, for having all the advantages and still not being satisfied…

Justin slapped Rowe’s ass until his hand burned and Rowe’s ass glowed a bright pink.

“Stop,” Rowe groaned.

Justin couldn’t stop, not to think anyway, he reached around Rowe and clutched his cock, ringing the base. “You can’t come until I’m damn well through with you.”

“Jesus,” Rowe hissed. “Fuck.”

“That’s what I want to do. Fuck your ass. Gonna let me?”

Rowe shook beneath him, but his head rocked up and down.

Justin leaned away, stripping open his own pants and shoving them down. A second’s hesitation was all he allowed as he donned a condom. Then he spread Rowe’s ass cheeks, and set the blunt tip of his cock against Rowe’s tight little virgin hole.

When he pushed, Rowe groaned. “Jesus, too much.”

Justin knew he’d never breach him without a little help. He spit into his palm and rubbed the moisture over the crown of his dick, then pointed it at Rowe again. This time, he didn’t relent until he was squeezing inside.

Rowe’s asshole was agonizingly tight. But slowly, the sphincter’s tight grip eased, letting his cap slip inside. When he was there, he paused, shocked to find himself buried in a man’s ass.

Rowe must have been equally as taken aback. “Shouldn’t be doing this,” he whispered.

“Can’t stop,” Justin ground out.

“God help us.”

“He doesn’t have a thing to do with it.” With a final, stubborn push, Justin glided deep. Where the strength came from he didn’t know, but he didn’t spill instantly even though his balls throbbed. The feeling was too indescribable and he didn’t want to lose it too quickly.

Triumph mingled with a tight-chested pain. He’d done something he’d never thought himself capable of, something he’d never be able to take back.

He hammered Rowe’s ass, holding the other man’s cock, until it swelled to bursting, but still he didn’t let him come. When his own release washed over him, he pulled free, turned Rowe and bent over him. His mouth opened, swallowing Rowe’s cock down, and then he eased the press of his fingers, and Rowe exploded inside his mouth.

He drank the hot, salty streams as Rowe pulsed helplessly against him, moaning—a jagged, torn edge to his voice. Justin felt the same. Like he’d taken a step off a cliff and was free-falling into a dark abyss.

Only the thought that somehow he’d make this work for them, make Rowe need him as much as he needed to breathe, kept him sane.

Today had been the first big test their shaky relationship had weathered. Having Dani stumble into the truth could have been a very bad thing, but it hadn’t stopped Rowe from begging Justin for release.

“Why don’t you ever let me fuck you?” Rowe had asked quietly after Justin had taken them to hell and back again. “Do you see me as a woman?”

Justin grunted. “As if.” Rowe lay inside Justin’s arms, back against his belly. Justin didn’t know the answer to that one. But then again, maybe he did. Maybe the fact he’d never let himself be fucked kept him feeling above the gnawing need. “Maybe I’ll let you fuck Dani’s ass. While I watch.”

Rowe had stiffened inside his arms. “Shit. We can’t do this anymore. She might not be able to handle it.”

“Think she’ll tell?”

“No. She’s not like that. But I hate hurting her.”

“I don’t think she’s hurting—not the way you think,” Justin drawled.

“You see something I didn’t? She looked like she’d swallowed poison.”

Justin smoothed his hand over Rowe from his belly to his chest. “You’re looking from a place of guilt. I’m not.”

“Because this doesn’t mean anything to you?”

Justin clasped Rowe’s shoulder and kissed the back of his neck. “Because I don’t happen to think we’re wrong. Just because this isn’t what everyone expects of you doesn’t make it so.”

Rowe sighed and edged away. “I’m going to see her in the morning.”

Justin came up on an elbow. “Won’t you just let it rest? Let her come around to you?”

“Might work better for her but I can’t stand her being angry with me.” Rowe sat on the edge of the mattress and raked a hand through his hair. “We’ve been friends a long time.”

Justin grunted. Friends. He’d never been friends with a woman. What was the point? “Do what you have to.” He’d do what he had to do.

Which is how he found himself outside her home as the lights inside blinked out one by one. With too much time on his hands and memories swirling in his head. He’d already figured out which bedroom on the second floor was hers. A light had blazed behind lacy curtains while her brother Cutter checked the horses in the barn then ambled back through the kitchen.

Justin watched in the dark like a thief, waiting for the house to quiet. Waiting for big brother to fall asleep. Then he leaned the ladder he’d scoped out in the shed against the upper floor balcony and silently climbed upwards.

Standing outside the French doors to her bedroom, he tried the handle, but found it locked. He knocked softly.

The curtains inched to the side. A wide-eyed gaze stared back. Then Dani’s face screwed into a fierce scowl.

He couldn’t help it—he chuckled.

The door flew open, a hand reached out and closed around his forearm and she pulled him inside. “Are you insane?” she whispered harshly. “If Cutter catches you out here, he’ll pepper your ass with buckshot!”

“Worried about my ass?” he asked, closing the doors behind him.

“No, just how I’ll break the news to Rowe that you got yourself killed trying to sneak into my bedroom. What are you doing here?”

“Thought we might talk.”

Dani crossed her arms over her chest. Had she just now noticed how thin her cotton camisole was? “You and I have never had a conversation. Why start now?”

Justin took a step toward her. “Want me to get down to business?”

Her eyes nearly crossed, and she placed a hand against his chest to halt him. “You’re crazy. Crazy and a pervert.”

Justin grinned. “Which turns you on more?”

She gave a high-pitched squeal of frustration, but Justin cut it short, covering her mouth with his hand and forcing her against the wall beside the door. “Hush now. I really did come just to talk.” Although her eyes glared daggers at him, her body stopped wriggling. “That’s better,” he whispered, slipping his hand slowly from her mouth and letting her slide down the wall.

Dani swallowed. “We can’t talk here. This is my bedroom, but it’s my brother’s house. Doesn’t feel right.”

Well, well… Little Missy wasn’t exactly telling him to get the hell out. “Wanna shimmy down the ladder with me?” he asked, dropping his voice to a sexy purr.

Her hand shot to her blonde hair, which pulled thin cotton taut against her beaded nipples. Her gaze slid away. “Are you crazy? I’m in my nightgown.”

Justin took a step closer, leaning down to whisper just above her lips. “I’ll wait while you change.”

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “You have to turn around while I get dressed.”

“Baby, I’ve already seen everything you’ve got.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Can’t you be a gentleman for five minutes?”

“No one ever taught me manners. Expect me to learn right now?”

Dani huffed away, stepping inside her closet and closing the door behind her.

He hadn’t expected that, but he grinned. He’d let her think she’d won this round.

By the time she’d changed and they’d climbed down the ladder, only ten minutes had passed. Justin led her to where he’d tied his horse off behind the barn and helped her into the saddle before climbing on behind her. “Scootch up,” he said, nudging her bottom.

“We’re not going far, hear me?” she said, but she scooted toward the saddle horn.

The hard-on pressing against the leather saddle had him silently agreeing. Justin reached around her, ignoring her stiffening spine, slipped the reins he’d looped around the horn and clucked softly to get his horse moving.

While Dani remained rigid, he relaxed. Sitting this close, inhaling her sweet, musky scent was heaven enough. For now.

He had a pretty good idea how Dani felt about him. They shared the same intense, animal attraction. But she’d always tried to resist it, aware of his reputation and wanting to remain loyal to Rowe.

Today’s revelation had to be making her nervous as she reassessed her feelings. If he could find a way to tap into her attraction for him, use her love for Rowe, maybe they could all be happy.

“Do you have to breathe down my neck?” she whispered, sounding grumpy.

“I can’t move back any farther and not fall off this horse. Tell the truth. I make you nervous.”

“I’m not nervous. But I don’t know why you thought this might be a good idea. We don’t have anything to discuss.”

“Rowe’s worried about you.”

“He could have picked up the phone.”

“I didn’t want him to. I thought maybe we should clear the air between us first.”

“How will that help? You’re the problem.”

“Yes, I am,” he said cheerfully, knowing it would put a kink in her tail.

Moonlight filtered through the live oaks framing the trail he chose. When they were far enough away from the house their voices wouldn’t be heard, he turned toward a rise that emptied into a dark hollow.

They both dismounted and he unsaddled his horse, stripping the saddle and the blanket from his gelding’s back.

Dani eyed him suspiciously.

Justin shrugged, widening his eyes innocently. “We may be talking for a while. Might as well get comfortable.”

Her eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. “So long as you stick to your side.”

He spread the blanket beneath a tree and took a seat, leaning back against the trunk and lifting one knee.

Dani sat cross-legged in front of him, staring at his boots. “All right, you have me here. What do you wanna talk about?”

Justin nodded then took a deep breath. “What you saw today…”

Dani shook her head. “It’s none of my business. You needn’t worry about me saying anything. I’d never want Rowe to be embarrassed or worse. I know how people are around here.”

The fact she didn’t give a damn what people might think about him stung. “You’re not shocked?”

“Just a little disappointed. I’d thought Rowe and I…” She shrugged and raised her head. “Guess you know.”

“Don’t be so hard on him, Dani. I don’t think he intended for things to go this far. He was just curious…at first. Like you.”

Dani’s sharp intake of breath said she hadn’t expected the conversation to drift back to their one encounter. “That was a long time ago.”

Justin paused, letting her remember. “And yet, you never told Rowe about it,” he said slowly. “Not something a woman who expects a ring should ever do.”

Her lips tightened. “So I’m not perfect. He never gave me a blow by blow of every girl he ever dated. Besides, we hadn’t made any promises.”

“Still haven’t.” Justin drew a deep breath and let his gaze trail over Dani’s hair. It shone as bright at the moon above them. “Maybe Rowe’s just sowing some wild oats. Think you can forgive him? Could you put this behind you?”

Dani’s haunted gaze lifted to his. “I could. But I don’t think Rowe can let it go. I saw his face, when you…were making him do those things. He wanted it bad, even while he was ashamed. How the hell can I compete with that kind of need?”

“Do you really want to?”

She gave a soft, feminine snort. “I always had this vision of myself, my future. On Rowe’s ranch, raising kids with him. It’s all I ever wanted.”

“Can’t be completely true. You stayed gone a long time.”

“I wanted to make myself the best possible partner. Run the business end of the ranch.”

Justin nodded although he remained dubious. “What about the married part? Him and you. Is that all you ever wanted? Can he give you everything you need?”

A bitter grimace stretched her mouth. “This the part where you tell me you know I hesitated because he couldn’t fulfill all my needs?”

“I wouldn’t say that to you.” When her eyes narrowed, he smiled.

Dani tilted her head as she stared at him. “What’s in this for you? Why do you care if I’m not happy married to Rowe? You want to be my little bit on the side if I keep quiet about you two?”

“Not what I was going to say, but interesting you went there.”

Dani’s mouth crimped into a sneer. “You’re impossible. Don’t know why I thought we might actually have a conversation without you ending up mocking me again.”

“But we are talkin’. Maybe it’s not all that civil. But I haven’t touched you.” Justin gave her a sly smile. “Is that why you’re gettin’ all worked up?”

“I’m not all worked up!”

Justin’s body hardened the hotter Dani grew. That he could get under her skin so quickly had to mean something. “No? Are you angry I didn’t comment on the fact you aren’t wearin’ a bra?”

Dani’s shoulders hunched. “Maybe I just didn’t want to take the time.”

“I think you’re still hot and bothered. You came because you hoped something would happen. That I’d take the choice of exactly what might happen right out of your hands. You’re not so different from Rowe, you know. You both like to pretend you’re better than this.”

Her eyes glittered in the darkness. “You’re so full of yourself. Do you get off on being the one in charge?”

Her defiance pleased him. And he almost softened toward her, but he knew instinctively this wasn’t the time to let her know she could trust him. Dani was stubborn. Liked to think she wanted to be in charge. “Tell the truth. The only reason you’re angry right now is because I haven’t made a move on you.”

Dani’s breath blew out, but she didn’t respond with a caustic comeback.

Justin lifted an eyebrow then eased away from the tree, coming to his knees in front of her. “Did I guess right?”

Her head bowed. “I hate you.”

Her softly muttered statement didn’t wound because he knew she lied. Eyeing her bent head, tenderness filled him. He took a breath, and forced steel into his voice. “No, you don’t hate me or you’d be backing up fast.” His hands closed around her upper arms and he pulled her to her knees. With his mouth hovering just above hers, he whispered, “Last chance, Dani-girl.”