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  “Are you making me remind you about the hundreds of movie stars and super models you’ve bedded in order to have your obviously fragile ego stroked?”

  “Fragile?” he cried, turning away with a snide laugh that bordered on repulsion. “Dozens, by the way. Not hundreds, unless –.” He gaped at her while pointing to the purple box again. “You mean to tell me you’ve slept with hundreds of men?”

  Liv shook her head, pouting at him. “Thousands, you ass.”

  She left the bed and grabbed the red sundress she’d worn to the party. “I had no idea you were this childish, Neal.” She pulled the dress over her head and started for the door when Neal grabbed her by the wrist and forcibly turned her in his direction. “Forget it!” she shouted. “I wouldn’t have sex with you now if you were the last –.” Before the tired cliché could leave her lips, Neal pressed his mouth against hers.

  As soon as his warm hands cupped the sides of her face, Liv could feel her anger slowly melt away. She resisted for as long as she could before touching him, setting her trembling hands against his sides. She was dressed, but he stood naked before her, and she couldn’t help but still want to feel him inside her; to find out what it was like to make love to him. To hear him struggle to maintain his control while she sang his praises in ecstasy.

  Like hell, her mind grumbled before she pushed him away and slapped his handsome face, liking the startled look he offered while slowly setting a hand against his throbbing cheek. “I said I’m not interested anymore.”

  “Like hell,” he growled, roughly yanking her against him for another, more possessive kiss.

  Liv was startled to feel the dress suddenly pool at her feet, and the soft moan that entered his mouth from hers after his hands cupped her breasts made her blush. She wanted him so badly it wasn’t funny anymore, and yet his attitude still upset and frustrated her.

  She pushed him away again and set the back of her hand against her numbing lips. His angry expression made her too nervous to look into his eyes when she said, “You think I’m a tramp now.”

  “Are you?” he asked, shocking her enough to make her try and slap him again.

  That time, Neal caught her by the wrist and continued to glare at her. “I never said any such thing, and I’ll let you know now, I don’t like having my words misconstrued. Not by you or anyone else. Now,” he said, locking an arm about her waist and almost smiling to know his erection against her flat stomach was causing her all kinds of discomfort. “Are you using me Liv, or do I stand a chance at being your one and only?”

  “I . . . I don’t . . . know,” she breathed, swallowing hard after she involuntarily latched onto his erection while gazing dreamily into his darkened eyes. “Relationships . . . scare me.”

  Liv couldn’t wait anymore and rested her hands behind his neck, “Let’s do this, Neal. We can fight about this after.”

  He smiled, but it hurt to see the mock amusement behind those sexy, green eyes of his. Was he going to stall or even deny her on purpose, she wondered?

  “We’ll do it,” he cooed, leaning close enough to her so that their noses touched. “Just not with those damn things.”

  Liv faintly gasped and barely shook her head against his forehead while he smiled as sinister as he pleased. “You’re crazy,” she whispered, another thrilling shiver coursing through her to imagine how it would feel to have Neal climax inside her and know it. “I’m not on the pill.”

  “In the old days,” he crooned, sliding his hands beneath her breasts and gently bobbing them. “It was the ideal way for a man to hook a woman.”

  “Good thing those days are long gone,” she grumbled, trying to push him away but not succeeding. “This has turned into something sordid and ugly. I really hate and despise you now.”

  “Do you?” he asked, smiling before his lips touched hers, making her shiver again. “Then why are you still trying to make me jack off even before we’ve begun?”

  Startled, Liv released his erection and stumbled away from him while he laughed low.

  Without the need of having to keep her inside the room anymore, Neal eyed the bed and winked at her, making her blush.

  Shrieking with surprise for the third time, Liv landed atop the bed without notice, and Neal’s big body hovered over her before she had time to react. Her hands pressed against his pecs on impulse, and she eyed him as he gazed at her with a startling mix of intense anger and desire. The same look she’d come to love, but with enough emotion behind them to make her tremble.

  He kissed her, and she dueled with his tongue the way she wanted to duel with him in reality. Swords or even pistols; anything to gain the upper hand and show him his antiquated notions about love and romance weren’t going to fly with her.

  Actually, the more she thought about it, the more she realized just how little she knew or understood about either of those emotions. She had never been in love before to know what it felt like or how she was supposed to behave, and she hadn’t yet met a man who behaved even slightly romantic.

  A majority of the men she had met and dated in the past never made it past first base. There were a lot of minor and a few major reasons why. Under dressing for the date, expecting hot sex after buying her fast food, dropping f-bombs every other word of every sentence spoken, constantly checking their phones, and expecting her to get naked instead of spending any amount of time getting to know her first.

  “Neal,” Liv whispered, setting a hand against the side of his gorgeous face. Tears stung her eyes to realize he may be as good as it gets. She could feel him using a knee to spread apart her legs, and instead of being repulsed, her body quivered with excited need. She still couldn’t wait for him to enter her fully and finally show her what she had wanted to find out since he first arrived to turn her life upside down. “Neal, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t,” he growled. “Hush Liv,” he warned, resting on a hip and using a hand to open her legs wider. “I wouldn’t dream of hurting you, and if I felt you weren’t as interested as I am, we’d be downstairs now ignoring each other.”

  She giggled, letting the tears slide down the sides of her flushed face. “I’ve only done it with –.”

  “No.” Neal set a hand against her mouth, snarling at her while she giggled behind his hand. She used both hands to free her lips and pouted at him. “Just don’t push me into anything I’m not ready for. I like you. I know I do. I don’t get what it is you make me feel, but I will eventually. And stop being such a baby. It’s a turn-off.”

  Neal exhaled a rough bit of laughter before eyeing her in a way that made her eyes bug out. “One more word and the Johnson is liable to deflate. Now . . . are we going to do this or would you rather go downstairs?”

  Liv was still chuckling at his named appendage, but when it didn’t seem as if Neal got the joke, she pouted again. “I like it rough.”

  Neal growled, biting his tongue so his thoughts about her with other guys wasn’t able to spoil the mood. There was little danger of his hard-on dissipating any time soon, and he knew if he didn’t do something it would be like he’d serviced himself instead. That wasn’t an option, so he mounted her exquisite body and eyed her with every ounce of feeling for her that slowly crept to the surface.

  The front door slammed, and Carmen’s angry voice filled the room. Worried that he might back out, Liv sat up fast and gripped Neal’s arm, shaking her head.

  Gritting his teeth with a frustration Neal didn’t think he had ever experienced before, he pushed Liv onto the mattress and shoved himself inside, making her cry out in a way that wasn’t expected.

  His ego wasn’t as fragile as Liv had assumed, but to hear the way she reacted to his being inside her made Neal feel like he could conquer the whole world. It was no surprise at all how great it felt to be this intimate with the woman he had never forgotten about.

  “Oh Liv,” he crooned near her ear, gently rocking his body against her while her fingernails scraped against his sizzling flesh and driving him mad. “I
always knew you’d be amazing.”

  Liv cooed, wrapping a leg about his hip and arching her back before another wave of desire filled her body and she filled the room and Neal’s ears with her pleasured song. It was a first for her, to feel this way with a man.

  Knowing that he was still upset, Liv decided to tease him as a way of getting payback for making her so angry. She talked dirty, telling him what she liked about sex and suggesting things that he do to make her enjoy the experience all the more.

  “Stop,” Neal warned her, but Liv giggled seductively before she let out a third whine that sent Neal over the edge. Gripping her shoulders, he gazed into her wide eyes, his body throbbing inside her with enough intensity to make her want to scream.

  With her lips parted that way, Neal couldn’t resist sticking his tongue down her throat. Then he leaned back, grunting as he shoved his body a bit harder against hers. The song Liv produced that time made him want to smile, but he closed his eyes and let out a dull, agonized growl instead before eventually collapsing beside her.

  Shit, Neal thought while Liv curled up at his chest and continued to purr, still squirming with lingering desire for him. I was supposed to pull out.

  He pressed his lips against Liv’s head, knowing it was probably wrong to smile, but he couldn’t help it.

  “Good?” he asked, smiling brighter when Liv nodded and purred at his chest.

  “The best,” she whispered. “Let’s do it again.”

  Neal exhaled quiet laughter. “Give me a minute love. We’ve got all night.”

  Chapter 13

  Neal didn’t think he was dreaming when a giant of a man yanked him out of Liv’s bed and punched him hard enough to make him see stars. He didn’t fall, but the blow did send him back a few paces, knocking a leg against the nightstand. Before it could topple over and awaken Liv, who slumbered peacefully, Neal quickly reached for the nightstand while keeping a wary eye on the over-sized and dark-featured intruder.

  His only thought was Liv’s safety, so he slowly backed his way to the open balcony window with the intention of luring the man outside.

  The giant with a body unlike any Neal had ever seen before glared at him with golden eyes that appeared to glow in the dark.

  Neal started to ask who he was when a big foot against his corded stomach sent him stumbling backwards and through the sheers, onto the balcony. With his bare back against the wooden railing, Neal gripped it with one hand and used the other arm to wipe the taste of blood from his mouth. He kept a narrow eye on the stalking giant as he made his way slowly onto the balcony and never once took those mysterious, glowing eyes off of Neal.

  Glowing eyes, he thought, and as it registered in his mind, Neal looked at the man again only to be punched a second, even harder time. The blow sent Neal to one knee, and after shaking his head to regain his composure, anger rose up along with the adrenaline rush he sorely needed just then. Springing to his feet, Neal clenched his fists, prepared to go however many rounds he could with the giant.

  The giant smiled, and then he folded his powerful arms at his amazingly broad chest, forcing Neal to study him a bit closer. The stranger stood with his long, muscular legs spread apart. Neal’s eyes returned to the glowing, golden orbs.

  “Who the hell are you, and what right do you have barging into a private room?”

  Xalan glanced aside and scratched the side of his face, returning an angry glare that made Neal catch his breath. Xalan pointed in Liv’s direction and slowly approached Neal.

  “I ask the questions, bud.” Xalan poked Neal’s chest, his forehead nearly touching Neal’s. “Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in that cutie-pie’s bed?”

  “Cutie –.” Neal’s jealousy surfaced, but he tamped it down expertly. “She’s my woman now. Are you, by any chance, the man who owns the B&B?”

  “I am,” Xalan lied, standing tall and puffing his already broad chest. “Did she tell you about me?”

  Neal furrowed a brow, not liking the proud smile the man wore when he talked about Liv. “Was she supposed to say anything in particular?”

  That Xalan appeared dumbstruck helped to relieve a bit of the anxiety Neal felt to think that Liv might have somehow been involved with a man like the giant. It couldn’t be helped that his gaze zeroed in on the man’s crotch, and then Neal frowned at the wooden deck beneath their feet. Closing his eyes, he shook the ego-deflating thought from his mind, remembering the way Liv behaved with him in bed and how wonderful she made him feel. He scowled at the giant.

  “She said you and your wife are not of this world. Is that true?”

  Xalan's face was devoid of emotion as he stared at Neal. Then he grinned and shrugged in response.

  Neal left the railing and flexed the fingers that had held the wood so tight, blushing inwardly to feel like a coward when it had never occurred before. He studied the giant again, convincing himself that the strongest man alive would likely feel the same way in this guy’s awesome presence.

  “Wait,” Neal said and almost smiled. “I think I know you,” he said. “Kick boxing? Las Vegas fights. It is you, isn’t it? Xalan the Almighty. I’ve seen you in the ring a few times.”

  “Xalan?”

  In a wink, the giant removed his tight, striped shirt and threw it in Neal’s face, quietly ordering him to cover his naked body.

  Neal set the shirt at his stomach and curiously eyed the giant, who turned toward the bedroom but didn’t speak. The delightful sound of a woman’s voice filled Neal’s ears again, and as he tied the shirt’s sleeves behind him at the waist, he tried not to smile.

  Anise appeared, causing Neal to stand tall, dumbfounded by her beauty.

  After setting an arm around his wife, Xalan turned to face Neal.

  Not wanting to get hit again, Neal averted his gaze and swiped his nose, afraid to look at Anise directly.

  “My wife,” Xalan said before he pressed his lips against Anise's temple.

  She smiled and took a step toward Neal. Her jealous husband drew her back against his side and shook his head, making her frown. “He’s got nothing on under my shirt,” Xalan explained.

  Neal was gaping at Xalan's bared chest now. The man was huge in every sense of the word, and after averting his gaze again, Neal tried to recall where he was seated at the fights he had mentioned attending. It seemed impossible to forget how big Xalan actually was; and intimidating in person, too. The last time he could recall being in Vegas was at Christmas time. He glanced at the attractive couple again when Anise's big, green eyes met his, taking his breath away.

  “Do you love our adorable Liv?” she asked while pointing over her shoulder.

  Neal’s gaze started to follow that hand when he saw Xalan's big paw on Anise's shoulder and his eyes shifted to the kickboxer. Neal nodded in reply and glanced aside, at his wits end and not liking the way it actually felt to be intimidated; least of all by perfect strangers.

  “That’s wonderful,” Anise said and cupped her hands at her ample breasts, causing Neal to look away as quickly as he had glanced at her. Liv was the only woman to cause such instant and intense arousal, or so Neal thought. Closing his eyes, he envisioned Liv and fought against mounting guilt when it suddenly occurred to him that Anise and Liv looked a bit alike.

  Startled, Neal gazed at Anise without fear of being pummeled by the giant. Anise was tall and thin, like Liv. She also had wavy blond hair, and big, green eyes. Like Liv.

  “Are . . . are you . . .” Neal frowned, glancing aside. It wasn’t possible for them to be related when Liv didn’t even know her real family. It would also mean that Liv was an alien when he hoped she wasn’t.

  Before any amount of shock could take hold, the sound of Xalan's voice filled Neal’s ears, distracting him from a host of bothersome thoughts.

  “He’s slow,” Xalan grumbled, barely moving when his wife shoved him and quietly warned him to behave. Xalan's tone both caused Neal to feel heat rise up his throat and cheeks. It made him angry. “She r
eminds me of my wife,” he added. “I see her as a younger sister-in-law.” Xalan smiled as he pointed at Anise and then over a broad shoulder. “That’s why I like her so much.” Xalan’s glowing eyes became a bit more intense. “And why I’m here. To check on her.”

  Neal nodded in response while frowning at the wood deck.

  “She’s sweet,” Anise said, smiling at Neal in a way that made him uncomfortable and forced to avert his gaze as innocent as it was. “A lost soul in need of a good man to treat her well so she’s able to figure everything out without becoming frustrated or blue.”

  “Don’t encourage this guy,” Xalan snarled, gritting his teeth at Neal. “I still say we take her back with us and let her find a real man. Tõn is still single, and so is –.” Xalan grunted that time, after Anise had elbowed his side.

  “You’ll look after her for us, won’t you, Mr. Neal.”

  “Hendrix,” Neal corrected, shifting his anxious gaze from the smiling woman to the floor. “Neal Hendrix, and it would be my pleasure, ma’am. If she’s willing, that is.”

  Xalan snorted, but before he could say anything derogatory, Anise pinched his arm and made him laugh. She smiled at Neal. “And, you’re a patient man, Mr. Hendrix? You aren’t the selfish type who only thinks about himself and what he wants or needs?”

  “She’s not implying anything by that,” Xalan pointed out with a silly grin, waving a finger between himself and his wife. “I’m the greatest guy a woman could ask for in a husband, and she knows it.”

  “Neal?”

  The three on the balcony collectively held their breath, and then Anise smiled at Neal while setting a finger against her lips. She pointed to Liv and whispered for him to go back to her. “We’ll expect you two for dinner tomorrow.”

  Neal nodded, making sure there was more than enough space between him and Xalan's wife as he passed by on his way inside the bedroom.