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Prologue
A little spice and sweetness packed into a gorgeous body was going to cost Darryl Wilson his job as a camp counselor at River Rock’s Wilderness Camp. A job he needed since he was paying his way through his criminal justice diploma at the college. For as long as he could remember, he wanted to be a cop. He’d always followed the rules; had a good sense of right and wrong engrained in him by his single-parent mom. But the brunette with the tight pony tails and pretty green eyes, and green camp T-shirt tied beneath her breasts—showing her midriff that he couldn’t stop looking at, made him want to break every rule in his rulebook.
“You’re going to get me fired,” he said to Penelope, slowly striding toward her while she backed away, giving him a sexy grin. Across the lake were the cabins that housed the tweens all tucked away for the night, the nightlights in the cabins casting a warm glow out into the darkness.
“We both could get fired for this.” Penelope had been hired on by the camp five days ago for the arts and crafts cabin, and there was a very strict no-fraternizing-with-staff rule.
“It’s fun to live on the wild side,” she practically purred, tempting him and teasing him the way she had been since she arrived, slowing walking back until she leaned against a boulder. “And I know you want me as much as I want you.”
Damn did he ever. He was rock hard as he licked his lips, watching her mouth, then he took her hand and pulled her up until she stood closer to him. “You’re right. I do want you.” He’d never wanted anything or anyone more in his twenty years on this planet.
She nibbled her bottom lip then crossed her legs, bringing his attention to how gorgeous they were. “Then what are you waiting for? Kiss me.”
His dick twitched at the blatant heat in her expression. Screw the job.
He closed the distance then pressed his lips against hers. She let out a soft moan that unraveled him as he wrapped one arm around her waist, tugging her even closer. He opened his mouth and she followed his lead, letting him have a taste of her. His other hand threaded into her hair, and she wiggled against his throbbing erection. He’d never heard of or experienced this type of need before. He felt every single brush of her lips until he didn’t know where she began and he ended. And he was hungry. Starving, in fact, for her.
He forced himself to break the kiss, reminding his raging hard-on he didn’t really know this girl well enough to take anything more than a kiss from her. He knew she was the cousin of the Carter sisters, Clara, Amelia, and Maisie, and that she was seventeen years old, but that was it. When he got a good look at the desire in her gaze, he had to step back so as not to grab her and make her his right then and there.
“Not bad for our first kiss,” she said, breathless, pressing herself tighter against him, bringing heat and electricity pinging in the air.
Jesus Christ. “Believe me, Penelope, stick with me, and I’ll make our first everything incredible.” He cupped her face, overwhelmed by what he felt with her, this girl he’d only known for a handful of days. He never broke the rules. He’d never risked a job before. And no girl had ever made him so turned on and so drawn in. With Penelope, everything felt different. Intense. The biggest difference between her and the other girls he’d kissed, he didn’t want to let her go.
Desperate to have more of her, he sealed his mouth across hers again, and her soft needy whimper blazed heat through him. He fisted her ponytail, driven by the intensity burning between them. Every swipe of her tongue and hard press of her sweet body against his only made him want more. Hot, hard, and ready to take her in any and all the ways she’d allow, he drew away and then met her hooded eyes. “Damn, girl, you make me want to kiss you every day for the rest of my life.”
When Darryl woke in his cabin the following morning, she was gone. For the next ten years.
Chapter One
“He knows if you’ve been bad or good…” the long-haired brunette with the sparkling green eyes sang.
These days, not much gathered a crowd large enough to warrant a call to 911, but tonight was definitely not an ordinary night. The wrought-iron streetlights beamed soft light down on the sidewalk along River Rock’s historic Main Street, revealing large snowflakes fluttering down as Officer Darryl Wilson strode up to the large fountain in the center of town. The small town nestled into the Colorado mountains saw less crime than Disneyland on any given day. There hadn’t been a murder in River Rock since sometime in the 1970s, and most crime was either teenagers stirring up trouble, shady businessmen, domestic disputes, or more likely, drunk tourists getting into shenanigans. This time, just before eleven o’clock at night, the trouble was an intoxicated woman skating on the fountain in her high heels. And as he stepped closer, Darryl couldn’t believe his eyes.
Penelope Carter. He’d heard she’d come back to town a few days ago, but he wasn’t expecting to see her like this.
The girl who’d blown his mind at summer camp with the hottest kiss of his life when he was a camp counselor and then abruptly bailed, leaving him to never hear from her again, was skating before him. She’d been a pretty girl back then. She’d grown into a gorgeous woman with curves in all the right places that had his full attention.
“Santa Claus is coming to town,” Penelope continued singing, pushing off one heel and lifting her hands in the air as if she were a figure skater and the music was real, not in her head.
Impressive, really. She skated better on heels than most people did on skates.
Darryl sighed and took in the crowd next to her with their cell phones out filming Penelope. She was going to regret this in the morning, especially if her little skit went viral. “All right,” he said, stepping forward. “Tuck those phones away. The show is over.”
A few grumbles later, the glow of the cell phones faded, and the crowd began to dissipate. Darryl turned back to Penelope, who sang, “You better watch out.” At least if the clip went viral, she could carry a note.
“Penelope,” he said, closing in on her, experiencing the same building heat he’d felt with her all those years ago.
She did a little twirl. “You better not pout.” She pushed off one heel, wobbling slightly then quickly righted herself. “Something, something, somethin
