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“I’m no different than I’ve ever been and you know it. ” His voice hardened. “You don’t like the fact that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to protect you. You want everything tied up in roses and sweet promises. I can give you that, to a point. But I won’t ignore the danger. And you have to accept that. This will be taken care of. ”
He wasn’t angry; he wasn’t trying to convince her. He was telling her.
“You’re talking about using me. Me and whatever we share between us sexually, flaunting it in front of him to provoke him. ” That terrified her more than she wanted to admit.
“It’s the quickest way to finish this. ”
“Maybe the quickest way isn’t always the best. ” She didn’t know if she wanted to take that step, if she wanted to force a madman’s hand.
“Or maybe you think you can hide whatever this relationship brings. ” His voice hardened. “Do you believe that’s possible, Kelly? Whether you make the choice to immerse yourself in everything I can give you, or not, doesn’t make a difference. Everyone is going to believe you are. He’ll believe you are. My plan will just flush him out quicker, that’s all. But we’ll play it however you choose. ”
She didn’t like the easy, matter-of-fact way he said that. She could feel a “but” in there somewhere, she just had to find it.
“You could have at least tried to hide that part of your sex life from the world,” she finally sighed with an edge of irritation.
“Why?” He sounded genuinely curious now. “Kelly, I’m who I am. I don’t hide that, from anyone. I don’t flaunt it. I don’t advertise it. Others have. What happens between you and me I expect will stay between you and me. You don’t advertise yourself, and you won’t advertise our relationship. Why should we do without something we might enjoy because of what others suspect, or think?”
She hated it when he pulled logic into his arguments with her. He had always done that.
“Because I’m scared,” she whispered, rolling away from him to sit on the side of the bed.
“Of me?”
“Of myself. Of what could happen. ” She moved to her feet, pacing away from the bed as she rubbed at the chill that rushed over her arms. “You’re talking about pushing someone who isn’t sane. And in the same breath…” She shook her head.
“I’m asking you to make a decision,” he finished for her. “Not about your safety but about something much more important to you. Your sexuality. ”
“I’m still a virgin. ” Her laughter was self-mocking. “I expected something a little more romantic, Rowdy. ”
“And you deserved something a hell of a lot more romantic, Kelly. ” He sighed. “But catching this stalker is more important than romance. And I’m not going to play games with you. From the beginning, we won’t be alone. If it doesn’t happen for you with Dawg and Natches, then we have to at least give the impression of it. We can’t afford to let this guy catch us unawares, I can’t afford to let him hurt you again, because God as my witness, my sanity won’t survive it, Kelly. ”
“God!” She pushed her fingers through her hair, turning from him, trying to ignore the fact that she wasn’t insulted, wasn’t offended or furious. “You’re not talking about this thing with your cousins being a one-time deal, are you?” She kept her back to him, kept her expression hidden.
“No. I’m not. ”
The rumors had started when they were in their teens. Three young men with charisma and sexuality, who had been the downfall of a local divorcée. It had begun then, at an age that none of the three men would reveal. Too young, Rowdy knew. But damn, it had been hot that summer, and not just from the sun. Loren Barnes had been a quiet, schoolmarmish lady on the outside, but inside she had been hotter than fireworks in July.
She had taken three uncertain virgin boys and, in a few short months, taught them to be men well before their time. All together. All at once. One soft female body, her approval and cries of pleasure penetrating their lust-hazed minds as they took her lessons and drove her to the brink of passion with them.
She taught them how to romance, how to tease, how to cajole, how to subtly drive a woman crazy and make her so wet the slick essence of her would dampen her thighs. She had taught them how much more pleasure they could bring together than alone. And to the Mackay boys, that was what it was all about.
Women were treasures, precious gifts of never-ending excitement, sweetly scented flesh, and mysterious motives. They were a challenge and a comfort, a balm to the soul, and an adventure like nothing else ever created. They were infinitely strong, and yet infinitely vulnerable. Rowdy, Dawg, and Natches had realized years before that alone they couldn’t give the pleasure they could together, but also, they couldn’t protect as well.
Ironically, it was Kelly who taught them that lesson. As a kid, keeping up with her had been practically impossible for just one of them. It took the three of them to keep her safe, to keep her happy as she grew up. Watching for the bullies who liked to pick on her because she was poor, because she was pretty as a picture and sweetly gentle. And they wanted to keep her that way.
She was also impetuous, defiant, and smart as a whip. There had been nothing sexual involved. She amused them, made them laugh, and challenged them to keep up with her with an innocent thirst for life and adventure that appealed to the teenagers. After her mother married Ray, she was then “family,” as well.
As she grew older, as they grew older, things had slowly shifted for all of them. Four years ago it had come to a head. She had just turned twenty, hotter than fireworks and as tempting as sin itself. The three of them had been a little too drunk, a little too wild that night. And she had been there.
“Make up your mind, Rowdy. You don’t put a claim on her, one of us is going to. ” Natches’s eyes followed her as she laughed and danced beneath the brilliance of the full summer moon.
“She’s still too young. ” He denied the need, as well as the challenge.
“Keeping the local boys off her ass is getting harder,” Dawg muttered. “I’m tired of bruising my knuckles on their thick skulls. Make up your mind. If you don’t intend to keep her, one of us will. ”
Rowdy grimaced, finished his beer, then crumpled the can as he fought to hold onto his control. It was getting harder each time he came home, to stay the hell away from her.
“She’s too fucking young and the two of you know it,” he snapped. “She’s not ready for it. ”
