Tangled Hearts (Passion in Paradise) by Sarah O'Rourke Page A

self-sufficient woman capable of taking care of her own life. 
And finally, you aren’t my boss; you’re just the guy my big brother has
convinced to stalk me.  I won’t be blindly obeying you, Cal.  I also refuse to
give any man control over my decisions.  I think I need to be real clear about
that.”
    “Your objections are
duly noted, Princess, but you never know.  You might enjoy handing the reins of
that control you’re intent to hang onto over to me.  I could take you some
pretty interesting places.” Cal returned evenly though his eyes danced with
amusement.  Damn, but this woman got his blood pumping.  He hadn’t been this
excited in years.  She made his heart race and his dick hard.  Two things that
he found he liked.  A lot.  Agreeing to do this favor for RJ might have been
the single best decision of his life.
    Melody blushed, ignoring
the suggestiveness of his statement.  “I know RJ said you’d retired, but don’t
you still need to find some kind of job?  I mean, you aren’t gonna be able to
live entirely off your retirement check.  RJ says that when he gets out, he’ll
need to get a job to supplement his income.  I know you are a higher rank and
all, but…”
    “I’ll look into finding
some kind of work eventually, but honestly, I don’t really need to be in any
kind of a hurry.  I’ve been a single guy all my life, Melody,” he began to explain
when she frowned at him in confusion.  “That means no ties, no commitments.  Just
me and my career in the Army.  Because of that and the fact that single guys
don’t need much to live on, I was able to nurture quite a nest egg during my
twenty something years in the service.  But your concern for my finances is
touching.”
    “I wasn’t worried about
your cash flow,” Melody grumbled under her breath.  “I was just hoping that if
you had a job, you’d get out of my hair.”
    “Sorry, that’s not
gonna happen anytime soon, Sweetness,” he apologized though, in actuality, he
wasn’t the slightest bit remorseful.  He liked Melody Reardon.  He liked her a
whole lot.  She might have had a rough go of things lately, but she still had
spirit, and he was a guy that valued spirit.  “I’m around at least until I’m
sure that your ex-asshole has moved on and we find out that those hang-ups
you’re getting are indeed just hang-ups.”
    Melody made a face. 
“You heard that?  Were you eavesdropping on me?”
    “Babe, you were
standing in front of me, talking on the phone while you stared out the window. 
I wasn’t trying not to hear you, but saying I was eavesdropping would be
a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?” he asked reasonably.
    Melody growled, her
face thunderous.  “You…. You’re going to be a problem for me,” she proclaimed
severely, thumping her closed fist against the arm of the chair with enough
force to make Goose raise his head and look at her.
    “Problems have
solutions, darlin’,” he returned pleasantly.  “And I don’t think that I’m the problem.  I think the feelings you get when you look at me are the
problem.”
    “Yeah, that’s true,”
Melody drawled.  “These homicidal urges I’m having are distracting as hell,”
she informed him primly, her pink lips pursing in displeasure as she narrowed
her eyes at him.
    “Uh huh, and the fact
that you’re turned on as all fuck isn’t a problem for you at all, huh?”
    Melody’s eyes widened
as she gasped.  “You did NOT just say that!  Out loud.  Where I could hear you.”
    “Sure did,” Cal
confirmed with a slow, lazy smile as he eyed Melody’s now heaving breasts
though the thin pink tee shirt she’d changed into when they’d finally come
inside the house.  “Babe, your nipples are hard as diamonds and you’ve licked
your lips no less than ten times since you sat down in that chair in front of
me.  You, Princess, are very, very turned on.”
    “I am not,” she
exploded, her blush deepening as it descended down