Natural Born Trouble by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

inside her. Slowly she slid her hands into his thick, silky hair and opened her mouth to the endless, provocative kiss.
    It might have gone on forever. She certainly wanted it to and Duke showed no signs of relaxing his embrace. It was the sound of voices nearby thatforced them apart, both of them breathing hard and looking dazed. She was pleased to see that he looked at least as shell-shocked as she felt.
    That was her ego talking, of course. When she managed to get her brain functioning again, she realized that she didn’t want him getting any crazy ideas from that kiss. One kiss, well, that was just a kiss. It didn’t have to lead to anything more. It couldn’t lead to anything more.
    If she’d doubted that for an instant, the sight of his sons barreling around the corner of the house at full throttle, shouting for him at the top of their lungs would have convinced her. They were cute kids, wonderful, exuberant kids. Duke was quite obviously a great father. There was no room for her in that mix. She wouldn’t risk it for the boys. She didn’t dare risk it for her own peace of mind, either.
    â€œDad, we’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Zack shouted.
    â€œAnd why is that?” Duke asked, his hand discreetly but possessively resting on her waist.
    â€œIt’s time for the fireworks,” Joshua explained, excitement sparkling in his eyes. “Can you believe it? They’re going to have their own show right here. Grandpa Harlan—he said we could call him that—he said we could sit with him and the guy who sets them off and see how they work. Come with us, okay?”
    â€œYou run along,” Duke said. “I’ll be there in a minute. If they start before I get there, do not touch anything. Understood?”
    â€œOkay,” they chorused. The two boys regarded him worriedly. “You will be there in just a minute, right? Promise? I don’t think they’ll wait forever. It’s almost dark now.”
    â€œI promise.”
    When they’d gone, Duke drew Dani back around to face him. “Come with me.”
    She shook her head. “No, you go. Share this with your boys. Obviously, they can’t wait to see the fireworks with you.”
    â€œI don’t think they’d mind sharing them with you, too. In fact, once the show begins, I doubt they’ll even know I’m around.”
    â€œPlease,” she said. “Just go.”
    He regarded her with concern. “Dani, do we need to talk about what just happened here?”
    â€œNothing happened,” she insisted.
    â€œIf you believe that, we don’t need to talk, we need another demonstration.”
    She held him off this time, just as she should have done the first time he bent toward her. To her relief, he didn’t argue. He released her slowly, then trailed his knuckles gently down her cheek.
    â€œLater, then,” he said, proving that it was only a temporary reprieve from the storm of emotions he’d set off inside her. He tucked a finger under her chin and lifted it until their gazes were even. “No fireworks could possibly match the sparkle in your eyes, darlin’. Remember that, okay? Remember, too, that I’m the one who put it there.”
    Remember it? Dani thought it was quite possibly the most romantic, most dangerously seductive thing any man had ever said to her.
    Her sigh was heavy and filled with regret. She was going to have to work very, very hard to pretend she’d never heard him.

Chapter Four
    D uke could still feel the tentative movement of Dani’s mouth under his, could still feel the shudder washing through her body and the sweep of her fingers through his hair when she finally surrendered to that Fourth of July kiss. The memories alone were enough to leave him hot and cranky with frustrated longing.
    He’d never experienced such an instantaneous response to a woman before, at least not one that posed so many