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No, that wouldn’t do, she hastily amended They would run him off That wasn’t what she wanted at all

"Perhaps I should discuss this with hi at her over the riaze roved over her froolden-brown eyes twinkled with laughter--at her expense, of course As though she didn’t know she was too ho She wasn’t the sexy, siren type, and she had no desire to be That didn’t mean he had to make fun of her

It was perfectly acceptable for her to toy with hi him turn the tables did not a," she infor now

The ratty jeans she wore hung low on her hips, not because of fashion, but more because they were a bit too loose The Tshirt she wore fit a bit better, but it was al for Fashions R Us

"I wasn’t trying to be a honest"

He was trying to get out of trouble She knew that look for what it was It wasn’t the first time he had pulled it on her

"I have three older brothers," she informed him coolly "I know all the tricks, mister…"

"Jordan Tarek Jordan," he reh she didn’t already know his name She had known his name from the first day he had moved in to his house with the honkin’ Harley he had ridden across her front lawn Daood, but he had looked even better sitting on it

"Mister," she repeated, "you are not putting anything over on me, so don’t think you are Now keep your daht have to show you how they are used and hurt all that ain "Go on On your own property now And leave ain This tied as well It beca But it wasn’t a comfortable expression, either It was an expression that assured her that an abundance ofready to kick in And he did ot all snarky and snarly and downright ill-teerously rough as he growled at her and attempted to berate her

She refused to back down

"Don’t look at me like that, either I told you I have three brothers You do not intimidate me"

His brow arched Slowly

"It was very nice to see you today, Lyra" He finally nodded cordially "Perhaps next time, you won’t be in such a badthe looks of the block would be nice," she snorted as she turned away frohbor with absolutely no landscaping grace How the hell do I e it?" She stomped away, certain now that she should never have let her father talk her into this particular house

"It’s close to the fa her eyes "The price is perfect," she hbors suck…"

Tarek watched her go, hearing herlittle voice all the way to the porch as she stomped up the sidewalk Finally, the front door slae of violence that would have caused any other lanced down at the weed-eater hanging frolance back at the lawn

The cut of the grass was fine, he assured hiht not look so great, but he had fun cutting it Hell, he even had fun using the weed-eater At least, until Ms Don’t-Attack-My-Roses cah he wasn’t well aware that all the feer He could smell her heat, her arousal, and her exciteht she was

He chuckled and glanced back at the two-story brick-andglass hoal on the outside, but with depth Lots and lots of depth He could see it in her wide blue eyes, in the pouty softness of her lips

She was a wildcat, though Well, she was as fiery as a wildcat anyway He cleared his throat, scratched at his chest thoughtfully, then hefted the weed-eater off his shoulders and headed back to the little metal shed behind his own house He liked his house better, he told hih wood two-story with the wraparound porch was… comfortable It was roomy and natural, with open roo about the house that soothed hiht for a hoestion to check out the house He had been looking for a rental, nothing more But as they pulled into the driveway, the fresh scent of a su with the s house, he had known, in that e for hi trees and bushes and the laughter of children echoing with it, called to him Six months later, this hoes of his soul He pulled open the door to the shed, pausing before stepping into the close confines of the little building to store the weed-eater He was going to have to replace the shed with a larger one Each tih it was closing in on hi different, though He paused as he stepped frohtfully

He hadn’t s For once, the s with memories It was because his senses were still filled with the soft scent of coffee, fresh-baked bread, and a warm, sweet female

Lyra Mason

He turned and stared back at her house, rubbing at his chest, barely feeling the almost imperceptible scars that crisscrossed his flesh there Coffee and fresh-baked bread

He had never eaten fresh-baked bread He had only s from her house in the past ure out what that smell was And coffee was, unfortunately, a weakness of his And she had both He wondered if she could make better coffee than he did Hell, of course she could, he grunted as he turned away and stalked to his back door Jerking it open, he stepped into the house, stopping to pull off his boots before padding across the smooth, cream-colored tiles

The kitchen was ed to figure out the stove Thankfully, there was a microwave or he would have starved to death Hesorimaced He could still smell the scent of Lyra’s coffee

His lip lifted in a snarl as a growl rumbled from his throat He wanted some of her coffee It smelled much better than his And he wanted soive him any He had cut her precious bush, so she would, of course, have to punish him This was the way the world worked He had learned that at the labs froe

Well, he had known it The scars that marred his chest and back were proof that it was a lesson he had never really fully learned

He propped his hands on his hips and glared at Lyra’s house He was a Lion Breed A fully grown male trained to kill in a hundred different ways His specialty ith the rifle He could pick off a man a half-mile aith some of the weapons he had hidden in his bedroo, learned all the labs had to teach hiht daily to escape His chance had finally come with the attacks mounted on the Breed labs seven years before

Since then, he had been atte to learn how to live in a world that still didn’t fully trust the animal DNA that was a part of him