nb1 by Lora Leigh Read Free Book Online

protection. But what he could do to her baby’s heart was almost more than she could bear.
    She breathed in deeply, realizing she had pressed one hand against her chest at the surprise that had gone through her. She just hadn’t expected it. Kelly was so skittish, so wary since the attack that Marie hadn’t truly expected her to trust Rowdy, not after the amount of time he had spent away in the last eight years and the changes the Marines had wrought. He was tougher, harder. More determined. The steel in his eyes had come in the first year, and had only grown stronger. And Kelly knew what Rowdy was. She knew the man he was and the men his cousins were.
    As she stared at the two, Rowdy’s frown darkened, his gaze narrowing at her. “What?” he mouthed.
    Ray had warned her, she had known herself what was coming.
    “We’re going to the marina.” She mouthed the words back at him, hoping her daughter would continue to sleep.
    He nodded with a subtle shift of his head, never really moving.
    Content. That was how he appeared. Content where he was, holding Kelly close.
    She backed slowly from the room, her hand lingering on the door panel for a moment as she fought the worry building within her. Maybe Ray was right. Maybe Rowdy was all Kelly truly needed to get past the rape and the explicit phone calls they tried to shelter her from.
    -42-

    NAUTI BUOY
    They were worse than Kelly knew. To the point that Maria and Ray turned off the phones and the answering machines whenever they knew Kelly would be home alone. She didn’t need to know the filth that bastard was spouting. Or the threats. It was bad enough that Maria knew the calls were still coming.
    Rowdy was home now though, they could protect Kelly more effectively. And if Ray was right, Rowdy would eliminate the threat altogether. She prayed Ray was right. Just as she prayed that her daughter could handle what Rowdy was sure to ask from her.

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    Kelly came awake slowly, her senses alive, her skin tingling beneath her clothes at the warmth that surrounded her. There was no momentary fear, no surprise. Rowdy was holding her. She could feel him wrapped around her, spooned against her as though she had been made for the position.
    Languorous pleasure suffused her, a drowsy, dreamy sensation of erotic promise. It wrapped around her, veiled her within it, and heated her from the inside out. It sent fingers of warmth to race over her breasts, hardening them, peaking her nipples as hunger raced through them. She wanted to feel him against her there, his hard chest rasping over them, the light mat of hair creating erotic friction. She wanted his mouth there, his lips, teeth and tongue. She wanted everything, wanted all of him.
    She was aware of something else as well as she lay there, her body tucked into his. He was hard. His erection pressed against the crevice of her buttocks, a thick intruder, waiting. It was hot, thick, pressing against her in erotic promise, or an implied threat. The barrier of the
    -43-

    Lora Leigh
    blanket between her and Rowdy did nothing to stem the feel of him, or the heat.
    She bit her lip, stiffening in his arms, her muscles tightening.
    Pleasure and fear combined inside her. And the pleasure was stronger.
    The culmination of what felt like a lifetime of fantasies and needs rose inside her, blocking the fear, pushing it back until nothing mattered except Rowdy.
    “Easy, baby.” His voice was drowsy, calm. “It’s just a hard-on.”
    He snuggled against her, tucking her closer to his chest as her hands gripped the bedspread and she fought to level her breathing. His voice held an edge of teasing indolence and carnal delight. As though it were an everyday occurrence for her to wake up with a man’s hard-on pressing into her ass.
    “I hate to say this,” she wheezed. “That’s not a hard-on, Rowdy.
    That’s a baseball bat.”
    His snorted chuckle vibrated against her back, and only pressed his erection closer against her rear. She