“…Ooooh is this hot! So very descriptive in the sheer need to be loved, to be not only desired sexually by the other. Proving to Katelyn that all men aren’t like her ex, Daniel gives of himself without any hesitation. What a man! This is a keeper, fellow readers, and not just for those dedicated ‘sexy cowboy’ fans.” ~5 Hearts, The Romance Studio

 “…This is one book I could not put down from beginning to end!…I have to compliment Ms. Devlin on her writing prowess. She roped this reviewer with her playground of words, expertise of emotional perception, and exceptional writing ability.” ~5 Kisses, Romance Divas

Katelyn Carter came to rural Texas to lick her wounds and start over after her failed marriage, but a sexy young cowboy seems determined to show her that love is still in the cards for this single librarian.

Sheriff’s deputy Daniel Bodine answers a 911 call to remove a rattlesnake from his new neighbor’s bedroom. What he finds is an embarrassed Katelyn, dressed in little more than her pretty pink blushes. One little omission later, and he’s working for the lady as her handyman.

Burned once by a man, Katelyn fights her growing attraction but finds Daniel more temptation than she can resist. When he shows her he knows his way around a woman’s body as well as he does a hammer and a saw, she takes a walk on the nasty side, vainly hoping she can keep her heart free of entanglement.

Daniel stubbed his toe against the top step of the back porch and cursed under his breath as he set down his toolbox. Deciding he’d better remove the solid door to get it out of the way while he worked, he reached for a hammer to tap the pins from the hinges. As he worked, he let his mind stray back to his beautiful employer.

Katelyn Carter had thrown him for a loop—again. No woman had a right to look that good with dirt smudging her cheeks and sweat dampening her hair. Looking into those baby blue eyes brimming with suspicion, he’d almost talked himself into believing that showing up on her doorstep so soon was a very bad idea. And letting her think he was a handyman didn’t sit right.

Uncomfortable with subterfuge, he still couldn’t think of a better way to spend time with the lady. He needed to get his foot in the door before the rest of the unattached males in Tierney, Texas discovered this exotic flower of womanhood. He knew he didn’t possess a glib tongue or a pretty face, but usually he was satisfied with what he did have. This morning, however, Katelyn made him wish he was so much more.

Daniel sensed if she knew what kind of hammering and painting he really had on his mind she’d probably run screaming. As he tapped at the pins, he imagined himself alone with her in the moonlight. He’d start with stripping that tiny excuse for a T-shirt from her body and lick the sweat from between her plump breasts—

“Mr. Bodine?”

Her voice startled him, causing him to jerk, and he nearly mashed his thumb with the hammer. “Yes, ma’am?”

She stood beside him, so close his ears began to burn. That T-shirt clung to her skin like he’d imagined doing. She licked her lips nervously, drawing his gaze upward to follow the pink tongue as it flicked once around her lips.

Daniel lost track of the conversation.

“Mr. Bodine?”

He blushed when he realized he hadn’t heard a word she’d just said. “Pardon me, ma’am?”

“Um…” She blinked and her glance fell to his lips.

Was she thinking about kissing him too? He pushed back his cowboy hat and leaned toward her. “Ma’am?”

She shoved a glass into his hand and slipped back inside the house before he had a chance to say thanks. Grinning, he was heartened to realize she was just as disturbed by his presence as he was by hers. He chugged down the sweet tea and reached into the kitchen to set the glass back on the counter.

Slipping the hammer out of his belt loop once more, he tapped at the bottom of each hinge to unseat the pins and freed the door from its frame.

When he looked around, she was standing next to him again, a frown creasing the soft skin between her eyes. “I’m sorry. I forgot what I came to ask you in the first place.” She blushed, and twirled a curl of her blonde hair around her finger. Definitely disturbed.

“Shoot,” he said, leaning the door against the side of the house.

“I was wondering if you’d help me bring in some of the heavier items from the U-Haul trailer.”

“No problem.” He wiped his hands on his jeans and walked toward her.

She backed away hastily. “Oh, I didn’t mean right this minute.”

“No time like now.”

They met at the door that separated kitchen from living room, and she stood sideways to let him pass. He inhaled her scent, a heady mixture of lemon furniture polish and her, and tried not to notice when their chests met. The startled awareness that bloomed red in her cheeks had him hardening in an instant. Walking through the house, he was conscious of her shadowing his every step.

He stepped out onto the front porch, noting that she’d moved the trailer in front of the porch steps. “You’ll have to tell me where you want me to put everything.”

“Oh no, I didn’t mean for you to unpack it all by yourself.” She moved to unlock the trailer, but when she reached inside to grab the first box, he gently placed his hands on her waist, eliciting a gasp from her. Picking her up, he deposited her back on the porch.

His hands burning from that quick contact, Daniel hefted the box high. Her waist had felt taut, the muscles strong. “I’ll let you know when I need your help,” he said, his voice gruff. “You just point me in the right direction.”

A frown knitted her eyebrows and her chin rose. “They’re all marked. That one says bedroom, so take it on back to my room. You know where it is.”

He gave her a sideways glance, careful not to let his face show his amusement at her irritation from his taking charge. “Yep, I’m not likely to ever forget that.”

Her face flamed red, and she stammered, “Well…well, I’ll just leave you to it then,” before she escaped.

Chuckling, he continued on to her bedroom. Katelyn Carter was mighty cute when she blushed. Fact was there wasn’t much about her that he didn’t find attractive. She was just the right size—she could rest her cheek right over his heart. She wasn’t too fat or too thin—just soft and sexy. Daniel had every intention of finding out just how soft and cushiony those womanly curves, above and below, would feel pressed to his body.

He knew instinctively the real pleasure would be getting to know the parts of Katelyn not visible to the eye.

Whistling to himself, he returned to the trailer again and again. Never a man to question the vagaries of fate, Daniel knew his life had forever changed the first moment he saw her. Tierney was a small town, and he knew most of the unattached women in a hundred-mile radius. None had ever made his heart skip a beat, or tempted him to wrap her in cotton wool and take every care off her slim, but capable, shoulders. There was something fragile and wounded in her expression that was at odds with the defiant tilt of her chin.

He wondered if she’d realized just how transparent her attire had been that morning…

Katelyn tried to ignore Daniel’s presence in her kitchen as she continued to labor, unpacking boxes throughout the afternoon. It was getting late when she heard the creak of the floorboards behind her.

He once again had his hat in his hands. “Ma’am, I’m finished. I’d like you to take a look at that door.”

She followed him back to the kitchen. The new door was in place, and he had painted the casing surrounding it to match the rest of the frame. He opened it and allowed the door to close shut again.

“It looks fine,” she said quickly, wanting to put more space between them. Standing so close with darkness encroaching around them created an intimacy that undermined her discipline. “How much do I owe you?”

“How about you just run a tab?”

Katelyn nodded, at a loss for anything else to say. He was doing it again—staring at her with that look that made her tremble inside. She touched her hair. “I know I must look a mess,” she said, and bit her lip. God, did I sound like I was begging for a compliment?

He raised his hand toward her face, slowly, as though letting her get used to the idea before his touch settled on her skin. His thumb smoothed over her chin, rubbing. “You’ve got a smudge here,” he said, his voice a low, sexy rumble that produced a prickling deep inside her pussy.

Her mouth parted around a tiny moan and his thumb slid over her lower lip. Before she had a chance to think better of the idea, her tongue slipped out and lapped the calloused pad, tasting salt, feeling the roughness that made her nipples tingle.

Daniel’s chest rose and his jaw tightened. His thumb pressed inside her mouth and she sucked it. With a sharply drawn breath, he bored his gaze into hers. “Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you, Katelyn.”

He’d said the words—torn away the flimsy barrier between unspoken yearning and surrender. She shook her head. “I…can’t.”

His hands cupped her face, gentle and reverent, as he leaned closer. His breath was sweet and brushed her lips first, prompting her to open her mouth. When his lips slid over hers, he murmured and closed his eyes.

Now, Katelyn had shared many kisses in her life. But Daniel’s tasted sweeter, made her feel cherished, even beautiful. His fingers threaded through her hair and he pulled her head closer for a deeper joining.

She stood still, letting the sensation of his mouth, pressing and molding hers, draw heat like a small, smoldering ember into a flame that licked over the places he hadn’t yet touched—her breasts, her pussy…her heart.

He raised his head, dragging in a deep breath. “I should go.”

“Yes, you should,” she whispered, staring into his heated gaze. Katelyn stood at a crossroads, her destination hers alone to choose. Her body yearned for more of his soft caresses, but she wasn’t sure she was strong enough not to want more.

Contrary to what her mind was thinking, she lifted her hand and placed it on his chest, molding her palm to fit the curve of hard muscle that flexed as she caressed.

His body went rigid beneath her touch. “Be sure,” he rasped, his chest rising and falling faster.

Be sure? Kate wasn’t sure of anything except she needed to be touched, filled—by Daniel. Katelyn stepped closer, aligning herself, chest to hip with his body. In an instant, stinging delight drew her nipples into tighter, distended points. She swallowed and lifted her gaze to his. “This doesn’t mean a thing,” she said, her voice tight. “I don’t want you to tell me sweet lies and this isn’t about forever.”

His nostrils flared and his head dipped, his lips hovering above hers. “Katelyn darlin’, who said anything about forever? What about just having fun?”

* * * * *

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