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again.
    “Do it anyway.” Her tone strengthened. She advanced on him—slowly—no longer distracted to the point of wide-eyed speechlessness by his near nudity. “You have me planning your wedding. You shouldn’t be sending me gifts or trying to lure me into falling for you again.”
    Her voice rose fractionally with each syllable of her tirade.
    “What is so wrong with falling for me, Lori?” He raised a brow, thrilled at how quickly his gift had gotten her riled. Damn if he wasn’t going to poke the lioness a bit and dare her into revealing her feelings. “You never complained the first time.”
    “This is different. Randy wasn’t around then.” She blanched and rocked back as if she’d been struck. “Was she?” Disgust darkened her demand. “Was Randy around? Were you playing us both? Is that how you came to be engaged so soon? That’s it.”
    “It makes sense.” She shook her head and sneered. “You bastard.”
    She lunged, landing a solid uppercut to his jaw before he could defend against her. His teeth clacked together.
    “Lori.” He grappled for her wrists, barely thwarting a second hit when the towel slipped and he grabbed for it. “Stop.”
    “You son of a bitch.” She punctuated her driving words with punches, some of which he blocked one-handed. Others he let go for the sake of keeping the towel secure at his waist.  
    “I thought you were a better man.”
    More than a little surprised by her hand-to-hand abilities, and a little tired of defending against her, he released the towel, gripped her arms tightly just above her elbows and yanked her forward. The towel loosened, but until he let her go it would stay in place.
    “Stop.” He pinned her close, fighting the urge to roll his overly-aware-of-her dick against her.
    “You suck.”
    Not how I’d like. “You’re wrong.”
    “Bullshit. You’re only a player. A lousy, predictable, pus—”
    He seized her mouth in a kiss and held nothing back. He let his hurt and loneliness, love and confusion, desire and sadness pour forth. When she gasped for a breath, his tongue sought the inner haven of her mouth, where he found a slice of heaven he’d been missing, and thwarted any insults remaining in her arsenal.
    She’d misunderstood his intentions about the wedding, but the misunderstanding had led her here. Into his arms with fire flashing inside and igniting her spirit. Damn if he’d let her go.
    When the tension in her petite curves finally uncoiled and she relaxed into him, when she allowed herself to enjoy his touch, when she began to kiss him in return, he straightened. Only an inch or two separated their mouths, a space easily conquered again, yet it felt more like miles.
    Not sure he could trust her to resist wailing on him some more, he retained his grip on her arms. At some point she’d rested her hands on his hips, just above the towel. Though she probably gave the contact no thought, his body noticed and responded with racing tingles radiating from beneath her hands.
    “I’m not a player, Lori.”
    “Bull.”
    “Yes, I asked you to plan my wedding.”
    “No shit.”
    He rolled over her. “But Randy is only an employee.”
    “One you’re very friendly with.”
    “I’m friendly with all my employees, but I’ve never been friendly with any of them.” Definitely not as friendly as he’d been with her. Or wanted to be. Friendly enough to be rewarded with her smile, her laugh, the humor she shared with few. Friendly enough to be granted mornings, nights and stolen afternoons to pleasure her and make the birthmark on her hip dance with her quivering skin.
    She leaned her torso away to see him better. Suspicion glared up at him. “Then who are you marrying? I’ll have to meet her before we go much farther in the plans.”
    Here it was. The risk-it-all-though-the-house-didn’t-hold-the-strongest-cards moment. The moment he’d thought he’d be dressed for. Now, his vulnerability was huge. If she ran he couldn’t give