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  “No thanks, cuz,” Junie said, stretching her arms high above her head and causing the hem of the T-shirt to rise . . . exposing that she was sans underwear and quite bushy below.

  Lisha closed her eyes and held up a hand. “Hey, put the lid back on the cookie jar,” she snapped.

  Junie laughed. “I left quite a few hard inches back in my apartment to come check on you.”

  Lisha opened her eyes and took another sip of her wine. “My date was over before it even began,” she said, her grip on the goblet tight as she made her way past Junie and into the living room to plop down on the sofa.

  Junie started to sit down beside her. She paused with her uncovered ass poised above the cushion as Lisha’s eyes widened in horror. She rolled her eyes and remained standing. “Look, I just wanted you to know that if I didn’t have company I would be over drinking wine and making sure you had company to your pity party.”

  Lisha sighed. “I just want to meet someone who feels like I’m worth the wait. As soon as sex is off the table they are out the door.”

  Junie pouted. “Then to hell with ’em because you are worth it,” she said.

  Lisha eyed her over the rim of her glass before she laughed into it. “You’re really trying to get back to those inches tonight, huh? You’re not trying to convince me to take the lid off the jar anymore?”

  Junie shrugged a little. “Listen, I know that you want to remain pure until you’re married. I don’t agree with it for me, but I understand it’s your choice. But that’s the thing. It’s up to you to give it up freely because you are ready to finally enjoy the wonders of a dick . . . but not just to get or keep a man.”

  Lisha handed Junie the rest of her wine to swallow down quickly. She rose to her feet. “Go on back to the wonders awaiting you and call me in the morning when you kick him out,” she said, gently guiding yet another individual to her front door.

  “Trust me, I’m getting enough for the both of us,” she joked before turning in the open doorway to hand the goblet back to Lisha before giving her a soft smile and a wink.

  Lisha leaned her head out the door to watch Junie’s petite frame until she disappeared into her own studio apartment down. She shook her head at a brief vision of Junie whipping that T-shirt over her head and then climbing her naked body onto her futon to join her waiting lover.

  Lisha was a virgin but far from a prude. She understood just what happened between a man and a woman when they were between the sheets. She was ready for it all. The heat. The chemistry. The kisses. The licks. The strokes. The fast and deep strokes. The climaxing. Over and over again.

  Lisha made a little noise in the back of her throat as she crossed her legs and fanned herself. Oh, she wanted it. She was just saving it all up for her husband.

  What’s wrong with that?

  Plenty according to Julian, Marc, Keenan, Josh, Harris . . .

  I’ve been called everything from a tease to a blue ball specialist, she thought, snorting in derision and shedding her clothes as she made her way back to her bedroom.

  She was in nothing but her red lace bra, matching high-waist panties, garters and thigh-high fishnet stockings when she stepped over the threshold. She moved over to the mirror above the eight-drawer dresser and tilted her head to the side as she eyed her reflection. With her high and full breasts pressing against the lace of her bra, the deep curves of her waist and the wide breadth of her hips and thighs, Lisha knew she shattered the myth of the docile, asexual virgin afraid of her own shadow and her own sexuality.

  She twisted and turned her pin-up girl body a bit in the mirror as she traced her finger along the edge of her bra and gently tickled the full swell of her breasts. Her nipples hardened against the lace and her mouth opened a bit as she licked her bottom lip.

  Celibacy wasn’t always easy. The flesh could be very weak. Temptation was strong.

  But her will was stronger.

  The end of relationships was a hard enough blow to a woman’s heart and Lisha refused the added heartache of adding another notch to her belt. Her last relationship ended four months ago and lasted just three months. Lisha shook her head remembering how she’d gotten lulled into thinking Jase could be the man she would love, marry and bed . . . until his true fiancée walked up to their table where they were having dinner and introduced herself.

  That embarrassing-ass moment would have only been topped by having her body—as well as her trust and her heart—used up by him and his deceit. Her choice was more about her own set of beliefs than her strict Christian background. And it had been strict in rules but abundant in love and family. No doubt about it. Her father was every bit the clichéd fire and brimstone preacher, but he left all of that in the pulpit when it came time for his family. Although she loved her parents, Lisha hadn’t found her first bit of freedom until she left home for college to obtain her associate’s degree in physical therapy.

  But her feelings were less about the purity ring she received at thirteen when she swore to remain a virgin until marriage and more about her own choice to save herself for the man who felt they were worthy of each other to wed.

  But how will I ever get married if I can’t even find a boyfriend willing to abstain?

  The catch-22 was frustrating as hell.

  Closing her eyes, Lisha released a long stream of breath through pursed lips as she let her hand ease down her body to the warm seat of her panties. She pressed her fingers against her intimacy and purred like the kitty she stroked.

  She bit deeper into her full bottom lip as she side-eyed the top drawer of her nightstand. Turning, she eased her panties over her hips and let them fall to the floor to step out of before moving over toward her queen-sized bed. Her heart beat a little faster in anticipation as she opened the drawer and pulled out her vibrator.

  She climbed under the covers onto her back and spread her legs wide. “Hell, I’m a virgin, but I ain’t dead,” she muttered dryly, before reaching to pull the covers above her head.

  Soon the bzzzzzz of the vibrator and the hmmmmm of her moans floated up through the covers and blended in the air.

  Chapter 2

  “Home sweet home.”

  Kael Duncan Strong briefly looked over at his Realtor, Frieda Young, before casting his deep-set brown eyes back on the property before him. The six-bedroom, three-bathroom two-story plantation-style home was being sold “as-is,” and with boarded windows, dilapidated stairs and peeling paint it was clear that it was badly in need of renovations to bring it back to its former beauty.

  “Let’s walk through it. Trust me, Mr. Strong,” Frieda said, stepping a little closer to him to comfortably grasp his wrist with a friendly smile. “Come on.”

  His eye looked down at her shortbread-colored hand before shifting back up to her slender and pretty face surrounded by a short pixie cut that emphasized her large green and hazel eyes. Eyes that softened as her smile deepened and took on a new flirtatious intent.

  Kael waved his hand toward the steps, accepting her offer to look inside the home and ignoring her subtle offer for things that had nothing to do with purchasing of the property. “After you,” he said.

  She moved ahead of him to climb the stairs. Kael did allow his eyes to dip down and take in her buttocks in the close-fitting flare-leg pants of her suit. He smiled a bit at the extra sway of her hips as she crossed the wide expanse of the porch and unlocked the front door.

  Kael shifted his eyes and instead focused on the home as she led him from room to room on both levels. Although the home needed work, he liked the hardwood floor, oak mantels of the fireplaces and the large light fixtures. There were plenty of windows to draw in the sunlight and allow a 360-degree view of the surrounding lands.

  He saw past the things needing repair and instead focused on the potential. The home could be restored to its former beauty with lots of elbow grease, paint, polishing and a few major construction repairs that he figured he could do himself.

  “It’s a lot of home for a . . .
single man,” Frieda said as they came down the stairs, careful to avoid clutching the weakened and loose banister.

  Kael moved past her to stand at one of the windows flanking the large fireplace of the den. It was definitely a home meant for a large family with a wife to decorate and kids to enjoy being able to get into mischief inside. A home filled with lots of loyalty, love and laughter.

  That was something he foolishly believed he had been working toward for the last five years of his life with Donna . . . until he discovered the rumors of her infidelity over the years were confirmed.

  Kael’s gut clenched and he winced, wishing he could forget . . .

  Kael was bone-weary from nearly a month working on a ranch farm in North Carolina. The short-term work as a ranch hand had included long strenuous hours of physical work but paid well, and he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to increase his savings as he focused on his goal of owning and operating his own cattle ranch one day.

  But just as ready as he had been to leave his hometown of Holtsville, South Carolina, to make money and gain even more experience in cattle ranching, he was even happier to steer his battered blue and white Ford F-100 pickup past the large sign welcoming him to Holtsville.

  Welcoming him back home.

  It felt good. Damn good.

  And getting into the arms, the bed and between the thick thighs of his woman would feel even better.

  Kael felt his dick stir as he pictured the look on her face when he walked through the door of the mobile home they shared. They’d finished the cattle roundup a week early and Kael had tore up the road back to Holtsville with his bonus check in his pocket. Rushing home. To hold her. To kiss her. To love her. To make love to her. To feel his dick pressed between her lips—both of them.

  He sped up.

  A light rain began to fall just as he was turning down the unpaved dirt road leading to the half an acre of land where their singlewide mobile home sat. He sang along with the music on the radio as he drummed his fingertips against the steering wheel and surveyed the homes of his neighbors, taking note of anything new and surprising in the neighborhood.

  Kael turned into the yard, passing Donna’s powder blue Volkswagen Beetle. The sight of her little car made him smile. It was over ten years old and the paint was peeling in spots, but she refused to let the little Bug go and kept him busy under the hood making sure it still ran.

  “What the—”

  Kael pressed down on his brake pedal at the sight of a motorcycle parked behind the mobile home. He frowned deeply. Donna didn’t ride motorcycles . . . and neither did he. Still, there had to be a reason.

  Forcing himself to relax, he pulled up next to her Beetle and hopped out into the rain that was now a quiet but steady downpour that dampened the denim shirt he wore. He moved up the stairs with his keys ready in hand, but he paused just before he unlocked the door.

  As the rain soaked his clothing to the hard contours of his body, all of the rumors of her infidelities over the years flooded him.

  “Kael, I heard Donna was fooling around with some dude in Summerville.”

  “Kael, I saw Donna at the drive-in with some dude.”

  “Donna’s messing around on you, man.”

  So many times over the last five years, rumors had floated to him about Donna. Whether he held his peace, questioned her gently about her whereabouts or just flat-out asked her, each time he walked away believing that Donna was faithful and loved him—and his dick—too much to betray him.

  “What the fuck am I about to walk in on?” he wondered aloud, unlocking the door and finally stepping out of the rain and inside the foyer of their home.

  As soon as he closed the door behind him the sound of the rain lessened and the sounds of mingled moans of pleasure echoed through the house. His heart pounded furiously before it felt like it stopped in his chest. Twelve steps down the short hall and he walked right into the scene of his woman being sexed by another man against the wall of the den.

  There was no denying her cheating now.

  Kael stormed across the room and the couple jumped apart in shock just as he grabbed the unknown man by the throat and literally shoved him across the room where he stumbled into the fireplace. Not finished with him, Kael moved quickly and grabbed the man by the throat again. In just seconds he took those same twelve steps and threw the man out the door with ease before slamming the door closed and locking it.

  “Kael,” Donna screamed, running up to reach out to him.

  He glared at her as he swiped away her touch roughly. “Get out,” he roared, as his anger swirled like a tornado inside his chest along with his shock and his hurt.

  “I’m sorry, Kael. Please,” she begged, her eyes filled with tears.

  Kael ignored the beauty of her face and the supposed anguish in her eyes. He loved this woman and she was everything people had warned him about. Everything. “You’re damn right, you’re sorry as hell,” he told her, his voice as cold as the freeze he felt enclosing his injured heart.

  He reached behind him and unlocked the door, pushing it open before he put her out of the house as well.

  “Kael.” She gasped in shock as she fought to cover her nakedness with her hands.

  He closed the door and locked it again as he spotted her lover riding away in the rain, butt naked on his motorcycle.

  Donna knocked loudly on the door.

  Kael closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it of the image of the woman he loved betraying him in the home he worked hard to provide. He had to fight the urge to punch the wall where her lover had pressed her body as he screwed her.

  “No good—”

  BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM.

  “Kael,” she cried out.

  He jerked the door open as she squeezed past him, soaking wet and shivering.

  “Kael, let me explain, baby,” she began.

  His eyes raked over her body before he locked intense eyes on her. “You have one hour to pack your shit and get out,” he said.

  Donna swiped away the hair plastered to her face. “Kael—”

  “One hour,” he repeated, holding his hand to stop her from coming close to him. “Don’t be here when I get back.”

  He slammed out of the house and rushed down the stairs to climb into his truck. His heart hammered so hard in his chest that he might have an attack. Biting his bottom lip, he pounded his fist against the steering wheel before letting his head drop onto it.

  The pain of it had him captured.

  In that moment he wondered if he would ever fully recover.

  He loved that woman, devoted himself to that woman, remained loyal—even in the face of temptation—to that woman, trusted that woman, looked like a fool for that woman . . . only to discover that she was unworthy. Just how many men had been between her thighs . . . in their bed . . . in their home?

  It was fucked up. Period.

  “Kael, please.”

  He looked up as Donna, now dressed in her robe, pulled on the door handle of the truck. For a moment he allowed himself to look at her, but the pain of her betrayal caused all of his emotions to tighten his throat. Fuck love and fuck her.

  With a growl of pure pain and frustration, Kael accelerated forward even as he used his left hand to roll down the driver’s side window with jerking motions. “One hour,” he yelled to her before speeding away from a life he wondered if he’d ever been clear about.

  “Mr. Strong . . . Mr. Strong. Everything okay?”

  He felt his thoughts focus on the present as he briefly looked down at the pretty Realtor standing closely by his side. Forcing a smile, he pushed away thoughts of Donna’s betrayal and the pain he still felt at times. Four months wasn’t long enough to get over a five-year relationship that ended in explosive flames.

  And that day had been the end for sure. Kael could forgive, accept or deal with many things, but infidelity—especially an infidelity that had been so disrespectful—wasn’t one of them. There was no coming back from that.


  He changed the locks and phone number that day, packed up anything Donna left behind—inadvertently or not—placed the house up for sale the week after that and moved back into his childhood home with his father when it sold three months after that.

  Kael definitely felt like he was starting all over again.

  Frieda lightly touched his arm again. “Kael,” she said softly, using his first name for the first time.

  His male instincts honed in to her attraction for him. He wasn’t quite sure whether it was good for a quickie on the dusty floor where they stood or something she hoped would blossom into love and commitment. He was game for one but not the other. And since he wasn’t sure, he stepped away from her and moved to the window on the opposite side of the fireplace. “I was just thinking through some things,” he finally said, taking in the line of pear trees on the property before shifting his gaze to the acres of land beyond them.

  “It is the condition of the house that makes the price of the home so competitive, but the amount of remodeling is enough to not make it worth your while,” Frieda said, her tone now crisp and professional with the slight twang of her Southern accent. “I really think the property suits everything you requested and could easily become worth more than its current asking price.”

  Kael nodded in agreement even though his thoughts and plans for the property had already moved beyond the house to the ten acres of land surrounding it. The house was in tatters and the land needed a big overhaul. For him the value was in the land and in his plans to create his own cattle ranch. Kael had every intention to use every bit of the blood, sweat and tears he had to build a ranching legacy that he could one day pass on to a son.

  He turned away from the window to face her. “Can we ride over the lands?” he asked.

  She nodded and headed toward the peeling front door. “As you know, there are ten acres that are excellent for hunting, including a small hunting cabin on the rear of the property,” she said.

  Kael followed her toward the door, giving the house one last long look before stepping out onto the wide wraparound porch and closing the door behind him.