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PROLOGUE

Kara

Six Years Back

That night it rained It had been so hot and so dry for so long I’d al, hoping for a while now You didn’t live off the land in Montana without realizing you were at the mercy of Mother Nature

I felt at theNot just for the rain For Declan Hunt

My father hired hi and summer The first ti on its axis Strong jaw, broad shoulders, and a big old belt buckle on those sli eyes, his cowboy hat tipped do, and I’d just about forgotten to breathe

He barely noticed hter of the bossabout that I was 18 and had just graduated Not a kid anymore

But so far he’d hardly looked my way, even when I strutted around in short shorts and tank tops Hell, I’d even washed s up nice and slow, sloshing ood with soapy water inI’d been trapped in a long, hot, dry spell

But that night it rained It caught me by surprise Seven o’clock, Daddy and I had finished supper and I’d boxed up so on our ranch as long as I could rele thing, but he sure appreciated ave it to him

I didn’told barn before the deluge began Like ling and shushing each other until they all-at-once upturned their filled buckets on the unsuspecting people below Soaked in a heart-stopping instant, I started running,in the mud

I ducked into the barn, shocked, drenched, exhilarated, and stood there in the dark watching out theAll hell breaking loose on us, just e’d least expected

I didn’t realize he was there, too, standing in the shadows Until he took a step forward into the dih theI started at his presence, gasping and bringing my hand up to my chest

“Takes your breath away, doesn’t it?” His deep, ru tones, the sexy hush of his voice, I knehat took ht be Nothing raged stronger than the stor inside me for Declan

“You’re all wet” He drew closer and damn if he didn’t describe me in more ways than one In the shadows, the lines of his cheekbones, the strong cut of his chin, the hollow of his neck all stood out like an artist’s sketch I could smell him there in the darkness, so virile andoff of hi me to him as I started to shiver

“You cold?” he whispered I bitthat asbecause of the cold Not because he was so close to me, in the dark, the way I’d wanted for months now My overprotective father wasn’t there to find us, neither were the other ranch hands Just us, alone, in the shadows

He brought his large hand to my shoulder, the touch of his palm felt so electric I drew inHe seee between us, his eyes fixed at the spot where he touched ainst flesh My breathing started co faster, shallow

With one finger, just one, he traced a line across my shoulder up over to the strap ofI’d taken to wearing in the pathetic hope I’d catch his eye But he’d never looked irls who looked like they ran a lot wilder than irl like me, I didn’t exactly have a wealth of experience under et it

Until now

The feel of his finger, thick and calloused from hard work, powerful as he toyed with rasp, as if he could tear it right off of me

“What are you wearing?” he asked, his voice harsh and strained I squirmed, nervous, shy and aroused

“A tank top,” I ? Did he not like it? Did he think I looked dumb?

He rowl, and in two steps he had h on the bare skin of my back He pinned aze fixed ondusk light of the

“Fuck,” he swore as if angry, frustrated, furious about so, what he th, the fir ht where he wanted me

“Declan?” His name came out of my lips, half-question, half-plea So close, I could see the stubble along his chin, his full, sensualsoled down my spine

“You’re soaked” His voice sounded strangled with need as he stared at aze and sahat he was fixated on: every inch of h, the light gauzy lace ofno cover My breasts were on full display, the fabric plastered to the, and ent, erotic, begging for him

“Why’d you co his eyes off of ht, coiled, tension lacing through hi to hold himself back

“I… it started raining” I squirslick “I needed shelter”

“You ca the his head lower, he dropped in close, his mouth so near tohis lungs as if he could sustain himself on that alone The feel of his br

eath against my bare throat made me start to pant

“You thought you’d found soerous His lips traveled the length ofThen, so slowly, such a light whisper of a touch, he flicked out his tongue to taste He pressed it againstme

I gasped His tongue felt so teasing, so irresistible Unable to stopmy throat for him

“Instead, you found ruff In an instant, his mouth was on me, hot and full down around my breast

“Ah!” I cried out, eyes closing, engulfed in sensation as his hhis teeth down lightly, right on the tip A jolt of pleasure and pain rocketed directly tohis shoulder

At h hands up to cup and ht into his mouth where he enclosed it in his heat