seen Linc in over twenty years, but he never stopped looking for you.
Family is important, Monroe.
Please come. Love Ali
Good thing the first line of the return address had been rubbed off the back of the letter months ago. He might have been dumb enough to go knocking on his brother’s door, if he’d had the right house number. Of course, the minute he got to Oceanside Drive, he knew he shouldn’t have come. Guys like him only came to neighbourhoods like this one if they were doing yard work.
Monroe crumpled up the letter, shoved it back in his pocket. At least now he could throw it away. He’d seen the way his brother and sister-in-law lived. No way was he ever going to follow up on their invitation. He didn’t belong here. He had his Harley, his battered box of oil paints, spare clothes and a bedroll, and he had himself. That was all he needed; that was all he was ever going to need.
Alison Latimer was wrong. Family wasn’t important. Not to him. He’d been free to do what he pleased, when he pleased, for the last fourteen years and that was the way he intended to keep it. Family was just another kind of prison and he’d had enough of that to last him a lifetime.
He pushed away the familiar bitterness. He could hear the rustle of a sea breeze through the flowerbed by the pool. Angling his head, he caught the fresh perfume of sweet summer blooms mixed with the chemical scent of chlorine—and grinned. Well, hell, at least he’d gotten a swim in a ritzy pool in one of the most beautiful homes he’d ever seen.
He’d been turning the Harley around, ready to head back to the interstate, when his artist’s eye had spotted the wood and glass structure rising out of the sand dunes. Situated on its own at the end of the chunk of land that jutted out into the Atlantic Ocean, the modern structure had seemed to beckon him. Like all the other houses in the area, the grounds were surrounded by deer fencing and a high privet hedge, but Monroe had spotted the edge of the pool, winking at him in the sunlight as the bike had purred over the rise and down into the driveway. He’d been grimy and dog-tired, had been on the bike since daybreak in Maryland and he still had another few hours to go until he hit New York. The place was hidden from the road. He’d pressed the door buzzer to make sure no one was home and a quick check of the security system had told him it wasn’t armed. So he’d boosted himself over the main gate and enjoyed the luxury of an afternoon swim. The thrill he recalled so well from his childhood of doing something forbidden on a lazy summer afternoon had been a nice fringe benefit.
Better hit the road now, though. The owners could return any minute and call the cops. With his record, it wouldn’t go easy on him if he got caught trespassing. Time to move on.
Keeping her breathing slow and steady, Jessie tiptoed across the patio. She stopped dead when her trespasser shoved whatever it was he’d been staring at back into his pocket. When he didn’t turn around, but reached for his T-shirt, she let go of the breath caught in her throat.
Humming some tuneless melody, he sat down on the sun-drenched tiles, rubbed his feet with the T-shirt and picked up a sock.
Sticking her two fingers out, Jessie shoved the points between his shoulder blades and shouted out in her most authoritative voice, ‘Don’t move. I have a gun.’
He stopped humming, his back went rigid and he dropped his sock.
‘Okay, don’t get excited.’ His voice was gruff and tight with annoyance. He sounded American, but there was something else about his accent she couldn’t quite place.
‘Put your hands up, but don’t turn around.’
His skin felt warm, but the muscles beneath were hard as rock, flexing under her fingers as he raised his arms. Up close, he looked a lot more dangerous. Jessie spotted a faded tattoo across his left bicep. Ridged white scar lines criss-crossed the tanned skin of his back. But then she noticed something else. Despite the impressive muscles across his shoulders and upper arms, he didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. He was so lean, she could make out his ribs. A Goliath who didn’t eat properly? How odd.
‘Listen, put the gun down and I’ll get out of here. No harm, no foul.’
He started to turn. She prodded her fingers harder into his spine. ‘Don’t turn around, I said.’
‘Easy.’ He didn’t sound scared, just really pissed off. Maybe this hadn’t been such a great idea after all. ‘I’m putting my hands down,’ he ground out. ‘I’ve been on the bike all day and I’m beat.’ He lowered his arms.
The seconds ticked by interminably.
‘So what do we do now?’ he asked.
Jessie’s heart hammered against her rib-cage and sweat pooled between her breasts. Hell, she hadn’t thought this far ahead. Where was Linc? Her fingers were starting to hurt.
‘Where you from? You sound English?’ he said.
‘I think where you’re from is probably a more pertinent question,’ Jessie shot back. No arrogant trespasser was going to charm her.
He leaned forward. Jessie’s heart jolted in her chest. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Grabbing my socks. Any objections?’ The response was measured, calm and condescending.
Jessie bristled. ‘Fine, but next time ask permission.’ Just as she issued the order her tightly clamped fingers twitched.
The trespasser’s back tensed and his head swung round. Oops!
‘Damn it!’
Jessie jumped back, yelping, as her prey shot up and grabbed her in one quick, furious movement.
‘Let me go,’ she shrieked, struggling to pull her arms free as his large hands clamped on them like manacles.
‘The finger routine. I got to hand it to you, I never thought I’d fall for that one.’
Striking blue eyes stared daggers at her out of a face that would have done Michelangelo proud. The man was quite simply beautiful. Jessie gulped, momentarily transfixed, taking in the high, slashing cheekbones, the rakish stubble on his chin and the dare-devil scar across his left eyebrow. Adonis or not, his face was as hard as granite. He looked ready to murder someone and, from the way his fingers dug into her arms, she knew exactly who it was.
Her heart rate shot up to warp speed. Don’t pass out, you silly cow. This is no time to panic. Twisting, Jessie kicked out with her bare foot and connected with his shin.
‘Ow! Stop that, you little…’ he yelled, yanking her towards him and wrapping his arms around her.
‘Let me go. You—you trespasser.’ With her face pressed against the soft, curling hair on his chest, the demand came out on a muffled squeak. The smell of fresh, wet male was overpowering. She lifted her knee, intending to stamp on his foot, but before she could make contact he tensed and shot backwards.
‘Watch out!’
His hands let go. Jessie turned, poised to bolt for freedom, but he grabbed her from behind. Strong arms banded under her breasts, he lifted her off the ground as if she weighed nothing at all. She kicked, frantically, but he was holding her so close, so tight, she couldn’t get any leverage.
Okay, now was the perfect time to panic.
‘My sister’s in the house with a shotgun,’ she squealed.
‘Yeah, right.’ His arms tightened, cutting off more of her air supply. ‘You’re a danger to society, you know that?’
The buzzing in Jessie’s ears became deafening. She was going to faint. His whole body was wrapped around her. His size, his strength, overwhelmed her. Why hadn’t she listened to Ali? How the hell did she always get into these situations? And how was she going to get out of this one?
The whisper of his breathing against her ear made her shudder.
What would Bruce do now? Think, woman, think. ‘I’m warning you,’ she said, through gritted