Crazy for Lovin’ You by Teresa Southwick Page B

of hereyes. “Wow. If you’d been in command at the Alamo, Texas would still be part of Mexico.”
    â€œI don’t want to hurt you.”
    Her brown eyes flashed fire. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. I’m tough.”
    He couldn’t take his eyes off her mouth and remembered a night ten years before when she hadn’t been so tough. Since then, very few things had surprised him as much as what Taylor had done that night. She’d said she loved him, then kissed him—an innocent touch of her mouth to his. After leaving town, he’d put Destiny—and Taylor Stevens—out of his mind.
    Coming home again resurrected all the memories. Now the only thing that amazed him more than Taylor’s sweet kiss, was that he could still see the hurt in her eyes, the way her mouth had trembled. Just that morning, she’d confessed her busted engagement. He’d seen a familiar expression on her face, pain and betrayal mixed together. He didn’t ever want to be responsible for hurting her again.
    He swam to the side of the pool, his will to spar sputtering out. But she wasn’t giving up. She followed and tried to dunk him, putting all her weight into pushing on his shoulders. He braced himself and she couldn’t budge him.
    â€œThere’s more than one way to skin a cat.” She cupped her palms just at water level and pushed a wave into his face.
    Tossing his head to scatter the drops, he grinned. “Now you’ve done it.”
    â€œOh, yeah? I’m shaking in my boots.”
    â€œYou’re not wearing boots.”
    Then he started splashing, and his hands were twice as big as hers. She kept at him, though. She justwouldn’t give up. Definitely a tough cookie. He couldn’t help admiring her for that. But he could see she was tiring and took pity on her.
    He held his hand up and put the other on top forming a T for time out. “You win,” he said, knowing that was the only way to get her to stop.
    â€œYou give up?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œIt’s a trick, right?” she asked. “A ploy? Playing possum? Lull me into a false sense of security so I’ll let down my guard then you go in for the kill.”
    â€œI wouldn’t do that.”
    He hung on to the side of the pool, and she glided next to him, laughing as she grabbed hold of the coping and faced him. She rested her elbow on the edge and dragged in several gulps of air as she concentrated on catching her breath.
    Mitch looked at her mouth. He might go in for the kiss. In that instant he realized his mistake. But wild horses couldn’t make him look away from her full lips. Their faces were barely an inch apart. He could feel soft puffs of her breath on his cheek. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, drawing his attention to her breasts. She was no longer off-limits. At least not because of her age. He remembered the little girl she’d been. He wanted to taste the woman she’d become, see how she would feel. Would she respond to him or had he destroyed that by pushing her away ten years ago?
    Before he could talk himself out of it, he brushed strands of hair off her face, then threaded his fingers through the heavy mass. He encircled the slender column of her neck with his palm and gently urged her toward him.
    Surprise and something else leaped into her bigbrown eyes. She’d caught her breath from their tussle, but now her breathing was quick and unsteady. Again. He hoped she was winded for the same reason he was—an attraction he couldn’t seem to ignore no matter how hard he tried or all the reasons he reminded himself it wouldn’t work.
    Before he could think it to death and stop himself, he captured her lips with his own.
    Her mouth was cool, wet with droplets of pool water. More than that, she was soft and sweet. With his fingers threaded through her hair, he gently urged her forward to make the touch of their mouths