He shook his head. He wasn’t a stupid man. He had watched Terrie at that wedding. Watched her expressions, the curiosity in her eyes. She was willing, but uncertain. Needy, but frightened. She was a woman searching for an end to the needs that tormented her, a woman almost willing to reach out.

Almost. His lips quirked into a smile. Terrie couldn’t be ordered. She couldn’t be persuaded. It had to be her choice. How could he convince her to choose?

Damn. As he stared at her he was amazed once again at what the very sight of her did to him. How it clenched his chest, engorged his cock, had emotions springing to life that he knew he would be much more comfortable without. He didn’t need to love this woman. He didn’t need to be tormented with her fiery will, her insatiable curiosity and her smart mouth. But there he was. Where he had been since before his brother’s death. In love with the one woman he knew he shouldn’t want.

He could very well be a fool. He could be making the biggest mistake of his life. He watched her sleep, entranced by her shifting expressions, wondering what dreams filled her head. Was it nightmare or sensual pleasure that had her sighing roughly as she shifted beneath the blanket?

His throat tightened at the thought that nightmares could be visiting her again. That the past could be haunting her with decisions and mistakes not her own. She was too willing to take fault onto her fragile shoulders. Too willing to accept blame when it lay with others.

He lifted his hand, his fingers pushing back a silken strand of red gold hair from her sleep flushed cheek. Her lips parted. Pouty pink curves that he could too well imagine moving beneath his, or enveloping the head of his cock. He grimaced, fighting a groan at the thought of that.

“Terrie?” he whispered her name gently. A soft intimate whisper that he wished he had the right to use. He was taking that right. He was tired of waiting.

The soft moue of her lips at the disturbance had him watching her in amusement. She must have been up late the night before. She shifted again, causing the light blanket to slip further along the full curves of her breasts. Her nipples were peaked, pressing hard against the cloth. On one, the outline of a small gold loop could be seen. The presence of the nipple ring never failed to make his cock jerk in a hungry response. He stared down at it, watching the peaks hardening slowly, becoming engorged as she shivered within whatever dream held her. Sensual pleasure.

“Terrie. Wake up.” He spoke louder this time, touching her cheek as her eyes flew open.

She blinked for a second, her gaze drowsy at first as she focused on him. Sensual heat lit her gaze as her lips parted in surprise, her eyes darkening with drowsy sexuality.

“Jesse?” she whispered, her voice husky and dark as she watched him.

She shifted lazily, unaware of the blanket slipping as she did so, the edge catching then falling away from the loop that pierced her nipple. God help him. His whole body tightened. Beaten gold lay against the dark rose areola, looping into the nipple, providing a decadent temptation to his hungry senses. He wondered if she would whimper when he gripped the little loop in his teeth and tugged at it sensually.

“Wake up.” He tucked the blanket over the swell of her breasts. Out of sight was not out of mind, though. “We need to talk.”

She blinked again. “Talk?”

Her awakening senses were lazy as hell, he knew. Terrie didn’t just jump out of the bed. She was like a kitten, drowsy, stretching, accustoming herself to reality before stepping into it.

“Come on, lazy bones. Coffee should be ready, and we can talk.” He patted her thigh. He wanted to pat something else instead.

She frowned slowly. “I thought I was angry with you?”

Yep, that was his Terrie. Bright-eyed and raring to go.

“You were?” He kept his tone deliberately casual. “Well, you might be madder before the morning’s out. Come on, darlin’, rise and shine.”

He rose to his feet as she thought about that for a minute. She rubbed her eyes then yawned softly behind her hand as she struggled to sit up. He gave her another minute then turned and headed quickly to the kitchen for the coffee.

“Hey,” her voice echoed through the house just seconds before she stomped into the kitchen.

He was waiting. He met her at the table, pressed her back into a chair then placed the mug before her. The scent of rich, addicting coffee steamed in temptation beneath the cute little twitch of her nose.

She was still buttoning the overlarge man’s shirt that had lain by the couch as she slept. His shirt. His body clenched in reaction at the thought of her lounging around in the shirts he had forgotten here. This one he had used while helping her paint one of the rooms. The paint still stained it.

“You’re still in trouble,” she muttered as she wrapped her fingers around the mug. “Why the hell are you here anyway?”

Disgruntled, drowsy and clearly remembering exactly why she was angry with him, Jesse thought as he hid his smile. He didn’t care much for the welling tenderness that tightened his chest, though. Damn if she couldn’t disarm him as quickly as she could arouse him.

“Because you’re so cheerful in the morning.” He grinned as he carried his own cup to the table and sat down across from her. “My little ray of sunshine.”

She shot him a look that was anything but light and uplifting. He hid his smile behind his cup, watching her carefully.

“Cut the crap, Jesse.” She pushed her fingers through her hair, sending strands of silk flowing behind her shoulders. “Tell me what the hell you want so I can go back to sleep.”

Yep, that was his Terrie. So sweet and gracious she could melt the hardest heart. She had his. Years ago. But it wasn’t his heart that needed relief at the moment; it was his cock. Through the long, sleepless night he had come to several decisions where Terrie was concerned. First and foremost being he was tired of waiting. He wanted her with an intensity that bordered on obsession and, by God, he was about to do something about it.

Chapter Four

Silence descended between them as Terrie slowly fought her way past the drowsiness that often made it difficult for her to wake up. She was not a morning person. And if she wasn’t mistaken, it wasn’t much past daylight right now. She could have sworn she had stated her dislike of early mornings.

She finished the first cup of coffee and rose from the table to get another. As she did, she was aware of Jesse coming to his feet as well. He paced to the doorway, sighed, turned back and watched her. She fought to ignore what his look did to her.

“I want to fuck the hell out of you, Terrie.”

The smooth, cultured voice broke through the silence of the early morning light and her drowsiness.

Terrie placed the coffee pot back on the counter and fought to still her trembling hands, certain that she couldn’t have heard him correctly.

She blinked, staring at Jesse in shock. Despite the confrontation in his office the day before, despite her knowledge that he did want her, she hadn’t expected this. Not this soon.

“How very romantic,” she snorted, her temper sizzling at his attitude. “Let me just bend over for you now.”

Jesse merely watched her coolly, though, with those deep green eyes.

“If you wanted romance, you picked the wrong way to bait me for it,” he said as he leaned against the doorway, watching her carefully. “It would be a beneficial arrangement for both of us. And it would sure as hell take care of this frustration we’re both fighting tooth and nail. It’s stupid to fight something we both want.”

She shook her head, aware that her expression must be comical with disbelief. After their confrontation the day before, this was the last thing she had expected.

“Jesse, are you drunk?” she finally asked, narrowing her eyes at him. He had shown up a few times, more than a little relaxed after some party or another he had gone to, but he had never said anything so shocking before and certainly not so early in the morning.

“No, I’m not drunk.” He frowned fiercely, his bright green eyes too hot, too dangerously sexy for her peace of mind. “Come on, Terrie. You knew I’d show up after that little dare of yours.”

Terrie felt her face flushing. She had expected him, but not this early or this demanding.

She licked her suddenly dry lips nervously, all too aware of how she was dressed now. The large man’s shirt covered her okay, but she was completely naked beneath.

“Maybe we should talk about this later.” She took a deep breath, fighting for composure. “You know, when you’re sane again. And I’m awake.”

His frown grew heavier now.

“I’m perfectly sane, just as I’m perfectly aware of how naked you are under that damned shirt, and that fucking nipple ring is driving me crazy. Just as I’m aware of a lot of other things, Terrie. What the hell are you so afraid of anyway? You said you wanted it, now here I am.”

Her face flushed. She wondered what he would think of the small ring that pierced the hood of her clit as well. Or the tattoo that stretched across her back. She wasn’t nearly as unadventurous as he thought she was. He thought she was too timid, too frightened to accept the things he wanted from her. He had proven that before she met Thomas. And to be honest, she hadn’t been certain herself. Hell, she had been terrified at the time. But never once had he had given her the opportunity to try.

Nerves turned to anger at that thought. “I’m not afraid of anything,” she said furiously. “But who says I want to have sex with you now? It’s not like you’re the only man around, Jesse.”

Bad question. A sensual smile tipped his lips as his expression took on a brooding carnality that made her cunt clench in arousal. She really wished he wouldn’t watch her like that.

“Your nipples are hard,” he said softly, his gaze flickering to her breasts.

Her breath caught in her chest. They were hard and aching, just like they always were around him.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” she told him desperately. “The house is chilly.”

“Your pussy is wet.” His frank, graphic words had her eyes widening in shock.

“It is not,” she lied through her teeth. “Go home, Jesse. I’ve had enough of this conversation.”

But her pussy was wet. Wet and hot and pleading with her to spread her legs and beg him to fuck her. Fuck her hard and deep to relieve the blistering torment of arousal she suffered through. She had to get away from him before she did just that.

“I haven’t.” He blocked her as she attempted to leave the room.

His tall, leanly muscled body moved in front of her at the last minute, stopping her from reaching the doorway. Terrie stopped; trembling in what she hoped was anger.

“I decided something about this whole situation last night, baby. You’re right; you don’t need to be warned. You know the facts of my life, and evidently you’re willing to chance what’s coming. And I’ve decided something else,” he told her softly, maneuvering her until her back came against the wall and his body could press against hers heatedly.

His hands gripped her hips then, his thick, hot erection pressing against her stomach as he moved in closer.

“Like what?” she gasped, her system rioting with heat and arousal.

“Like, maybe you need to be fucked as badly as I need to fuck you,” he said softly.

“I’m abstaining,” she snapped. “And I’m changing your mind.” He pressed his hips against her, and her legs nearly turned to jelly. Oh Lord, his cock was so hard, so hot, even through his slacks.

“You know, Jesse, there’s something to be said for seduction. Romance. You remember the concepts. Right?” she reminded him breathlessly. Surely he did. She’d watched him practice it on plenty of other women.

“You want seduction, Terrie? Romance? Show me how it’s done, baby. Because right now, all I can think about are the years I’ve waited to touch you. And I’m damned tired of being patient and waiting.”