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fool of a brother, Jordan. But he sure was feeling frustrated, and taking it out on her was as good a cure for both of them as anything he could think of.
    He loosened his hand and lifted one to smooth her hair away from her forehead. His fingers followed the curve of her cheekbone, coming to rest beneath her chin.
    “Don’t touch me,” she said, but her tone was soft and hushed.
    Jesse bent down and held her gaze for a painful instant, then touched his lips to hers. April’s mouth quivered betrayingly. What an innocent, he thought, wrapping his arms around her small waist, dragging her against the hard outlines of his body. His mouth crushed down demandingly.
    April almost choked on a gasp. She’d never been kissed like this! Lance’s attempt had been somewhat bashful and over eager, easy to control. But this! His mouth slanted over hers, moving persuasively. His hands were tight and his body was rigid. Her blood crashed in her ears, and she knew a moment of real fear.
    But then the moment passed. Sliding through her veins was a new kind of sensation, something sweet and hot and dangerous. Tentatively she returned that devastating kiss, and her heart flip-flopped at the probing touch of his tongue against her teeth.
    She was afraid to think what was going through his mind. Her own was a jumble of impressions. She opened her mouth, allowing him entry, and the swift thrust of his tongue made her knees tremble and give way. She slipped forward, but his right arm held her easily, as if she were a feather-light ragdoll. His tongue made swift, stabbing motions that wrung a moment of pure pleasure from her throat. She was powerless. Weightless. Even the touch of his hand, moving up her rib cage against the silk of her dress, stopping just beneath her breast, couldn’t bring her back to sanity.
    “Princess,” he muttered furiously against her lips. But even hearing the revulsion in his tone, April wasn’t about to let him stop now. She wanted too much. She wanted him. Her chest heaved. She wrapped her arms around his neck. If she could have, she would have wriggled until his hand was forced to cover her breast.
    The moment spun out. Breathing fast and wanting more, April clung to him. But it was as if he’d turned to stone. She realized distantly that he was fighting for control.
    Suddenly he pulled back, his fingers accidentally brushing the underside of her breasts. Her nipples actually pulsed and tingled. April was too bemused to do more than stare up at him, her lips parted and her breathing unsteady. Her whole body throbbed with unfulfilled longing. She saw Jesse thrust a hand through his blond hair and regard her through fierce eyes. “You’re playing with fire,” he said softly, a muscle working in his jaw.
    She didn’t answer. What was there to say? He was right. But he’d shown her something she hadn’t believe existed. Oh, sure, Carrie rhapsodized about Phillip and the way he made her feel, but April had sincerely thought that sex was highly overrated. She’d never felt any desire to continue past a kiss. Until tonight.
    “I’m going,” he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. He strode off toward the entrance.
    As soon as he was twenty feet away, April felt the ominous silence of the deserted park. She hurried after him across the cool grass and caught up with him at the rhododendron bushes. “Would you have really left me there?” she asked breathlessly, following him across the road to his motorcycle.
    “Yes, if I had any sense.”
    “That’s not what you said earlier.”
    He half-laughed, flinging a leg over the leather seat, then he kick-started the engine until it popped and roared. The noise filled the quiet streets.
    “Your coat,” April reminded him, slipping her arms out of the sleeves and handing it to him.
    Jesse tossed it on without a word, tightened the strap of his helmet and sped away from her, but he watched in his rearview mirror, needing to be assured she was safely