“He snorted. "They were probably scared.""Scared!" For some reason, that hurt, just a little. She felt her lower lip wobble. "I'm not that bad, am I?""Worse," he said cheerfully. "You're hell on wheels. You're just lucky I like hot rods”

“He lifted the arm covering his eyes and turned his head to glare at her. "I knew you were trouble the first time I saw you.""What do you mean, trouble?" She sat up, glaring back at him. "I am not trouble! I'm a very nice person except when I have to deal with jerks!""You're the worst kind of trouble," he snapped. "You're marrying trouble.”

“Okay, you're right; she's so hot I could walk on three legs every time I see her.""Now you're talkin'.""I'll break your back and chop off your legs if you call her.""That's my boy!”

“I'll tell you what's wrong!" he roared, "I'm trying to quit smoking!" Then he strode angrily to the truck, leaving her standing there.She blinked her eyes, and slowly a smile stretched her lips. She strolled to the truck and got in. "So, are you homicidal or merely as irritable as a wounded buffalo?""About halfway in between," he said through clenched teeth."Anything I can do to help?"His eyes were narrow and intense. "It isn't just the cigarettes. Take off your panties and lock your legs around me, and I'll show you.”

“He unsnapped her jeans and said, “I want you just like this.” Then he kissed her.There was nothing romantic about Diaz, no murmured sweet things, no gallant gestures, just this kiss that went on and on, deep and voracious. She’d never been kissed like this before, with an intensity that stripped everything down to the simplest components: male, female. He held her with his hand burrowed into her hair, her skull gripped in his palm, her head tilted back while he fed from her mouth. That was what it felt like, a taking. And yet he gave, too. He gave pleasure. She burned with it, the flames fueled by nothing more than his mouth and tongue.”

“She felt both relaxed and protected with him, at least from outside forces. Nothing, it seemed, could protect her from him, and tonight she wasn’t even certain she wanted to be. Claimed, and mated. She was his, but was he hers? And if he was, what in hell did they do about it?“I don’t even know what you want,” she said fretfully, beginning to lose herself in rising sensation.“This,” he muttered in a dark, rough tone. “You.Everything.”

“I’m really not hungry,” she repeated, lifting the coffee cup and inhaling the fragrant steam before sipping.“Just a few bites,” he cajoled, taking his own place beside her. “You need to keep up your strength for tonight.”She gave him a heated, slumberous look, remembering her fantasy. “Why? Are you planning something special?”“I suppose I am,” he said consideringly. “It’s special every time we make love.”