Her mouth opened and she sucked in a quick breath at the hot look he raked over her, as if he knew he was being aggressive—threatening—but didn’t give a damn. Both anger and awareness dripped off him. Sex—thick and raw—hung in the air between them. They were both thinking about it, hinting about it.

  “Tell me what you really want, Allie, I’ve got things to do.” A thin smile widened his mouth, completely devoid of humor. And warmth. “I’ve been on the lookout for the local woman I’m going to spend this week with.”

  She shivered. Damon was different tonight…a little rough. A little mean. This wasn’t the nice guy she’d walked with in Trouble. She’d liked that man…but this one made her shiver in pure, primal hunger. This was the dangerous Roma King she’d fantasized about from the minute she’d seen his image on the side of that truck. And she wanted him desperately. Whether he had a woman in every town or not.

  Too late, too late, too late, a voice screamed in her head.

  Licking her lips and mentally reminding herself it wasn’t polite to leap onto a guy and ride him like a pony unless he asked you to, she focused on her mission, the reason she’d come here tonight. “I need something from you.”

  A half smile curled that sultry mouth up on one side, and he crossed his arms, watching her. “Oh, yeah?”

  Not your body. Well, yes, your body. But something else, too. “I need to know exactly what I said that night.”

  His sudden start proved she’d taken him by surprise. “What night?” he asked warily, shifting back, creating more distance between them, which was probably just as well for her sanity but didn’t do her tingling breasts or quaking thighs any good.

  “That night on the stage, when you hypnotized me. Strange things have been happening since then, and people are talking about me. But I don’t know why—I don’t know what I said.”

  His eyes shifted away. “So ask them.”

  “I have. Nobody will tell me a thing.” Grunting in disgust, she added, “Women whisper about me and I’ve been propositioned by more men than a prison nurse.”

  Grabbing her arm, he asked, “Has anyone hurt you?”

  He said it as if he cared, which made an absurd gurgle of optimism leap around in her stomach. “No, of course not.”

  He nodded. “Good.” In a move so blatantly casual it had to be calculated, he dropped her arm, shrugged and moved away. Damon obviously didn’t like that he was reacting to her again. He didn’t like it one bit.

  She liked it a lot.

  “I…well, I wouldn’t want something that happened during one of my shows to cause anyone problems.”

  “But it has. I’m being whispered about.”

  His remoteness—his refusal to unbend as much as an inch—infuriated her and she stuck an index finger in his chest. “Tell me what you did to me.”

  That finally got a reaction. He not only unbent, he stepped in close and kept stepping until Allie had to back up for fear of being knocked down. It was only when her butt hit the edge of the stage that she could stop, and then she found herself entirely trapped. Blocked by the stage behind, by his hard body ahead. And by his strong arms, which snaked around either side of her to rest on the stage floor behind her. “What I did to you?”

  Allie somehow found the strength to nod, even though every molecule in her body was firing and exploding. Her fight-or-flight instinct kicked into high gear, though fighting him was the last thing she wanted to do. No. If he put his hand on her—his lips, his mouth—she’d do anything but fight or run.

  She’d take. Have. Indulge. She’d grab whatever she could get and be grateful for every bit of it.

  “Tell me,” she urged, wanting him to go over the edge.

  “You know, maybe I will,” he whispered, his voice throaty, almost a purr. His mouth was beside her temple, his breaths brushing her hair. He was crowding her, touching her with every part of himself except his hands.

  If she were so inclined, she could lift a leg and wrap it around his thighs, tug his groin to hers and rub against him like a feline in heat. Could use his strength and his arousal to gain her own satisfaction. Because of those clingy, satiny pants, every woman in his audience knew not only that he tucked to the left but that he had a lot to offer.

  She cast a quick look down and let out a low gasp. Because those pants that provided a glorious bulge when he was unaroused could barely contain the long, hard erection that stood straight up, disappearing under his red satin waistband.

  She gulped. Good lord, did penises really come that big?

  But before she could react other than to drop her jaw and gape, he started to talk. And Allie realized she might very well get the climax she needed just from the hot, sultry words he whispered in her ear.

  Chapter 6

  “YOU WANT TO be touched. Intimately. Sexually.”

  As Allie’s head jerked up and her eyes widened in shock, Damon steeled himself against falling yet again into their fathomless blue depths. Her eyes lied. Allie Cavanaugh, despite her sweet face and innocent smile, was as dangerous as a piranha. She’d bitten him, hard, with her game-playing. Her showing up here tonight—despite her claims of being on a business trip—could only mean more scars for him.

  That didn’t mean he couldn’t give her a little taste of her own medicine…by giving her exactly what she’d asked for.

  Leaning down, he scraped his teeth along the edge of her ear, nibbling, threatening to bite. His every move was calculated to heighten the tension—the sense of danger. “You want a man’s hands on your body and his mouth devouring you. Someone so aroused he’ll shake as he removes your clothes, piece by piece.” He didn’t say the words so much as growl them.

  “Damon….”

  He crowded closer, crushing his body against hers. Demanding her silence and her acquiescence. “You want someone who will be sweet and tender at first,” he said, trying to focus on the point of this—a bit of payback—and not on the way her softly whispered words had been pinging around in his brain for the past two weeks. It was easy to throw them back at her because he hadn’t forgotten a single one. “But who will eventually lose control and go wild with his intense need to have you.”

  She was hauling in deep, choppy breaths now, her pupils blown, her lips wet and parted. Her full breasts pressed into his chest, her erect nipples stabbing at him, telling him he was getting to her. “You want him to touch you, taste you. Experience you absolutely everywhere.”

  “Oh, God.” Sagging slightly, her legs growing weak, she braced her hands on the stage behind her.

  He dropped his beside hers, boxing her in. “You want someone out of control in his hunger for you, with no games, no agendas.” His own heart beating faster, Damon strove to regain his anger, which was oozing away, sucked out of him by her closeness. Unable to manage it, he wondered if he’d already lost this battle of wills when his tone segued from angry to seductive. “You need a strong man taking you on a steamy night when your hot bodies are cooled only by a gentle breeze.”

  Her eyelids fluttered, and she whimpered.

  “Admit it. It’s what you want.”

  “Yes.” She whimpered helplessly. “It is.”

  Pulsing desire now surged through his body, in his blood, settling in his groin. He ground his rock-hard erection against her until she began to pant. Then she arched against him, taking the heat, rising on tiptoe to fit him more intimately between her soft thighs, beautifully bared by the short, filmy skirt she wore.

  Through their clothes—his pants, her barely-there panties—he felt her warmth and nearly lost his mind with the need to plunge into it. He reached for her waist, lifting her until she wrapped her legs completely around him. She jerked and gasped in pleasure as she rode his hard cock toward her own release.

  She was magnificent, wanton. Her hair fell from its clips to hang around her face as she twisted and writhed. Damon watched for a moment, getting off on seeing her get off, but he couldn’t take it for long. Damned if he’d remain an observer.

  Lowering her to sit on the edge of the stage, he twined his hands in her hair and tugged her mouth to his for a deep, ravenous kiss. She opened to him immediately, kissing him back with frantic thrusts of her warm tongue. Her cries of delight burst against his lips as she rocked up, tugging him down to lie on top of her. He memorized the taste of her, explored her mouth and gave himself at least a full minute to savor the feel of her body beneath his and her legs wrapped around him.

  Ending the kiss, he moved his mouth to her jaw, tasting the softness of her skin, licking a path to her vulnerable throat. Her breaths growing shallow and a flush rising through her body, Allie signaled her approaching climax. Damon knew he could make her come by going down a little further, to her breast. Or going down all the way. And he almost did it.

  Sanity, however, said he couldn’t. They were under a spotlight on a stage. From right outside came the laughter of fair-goers catching one last ride for the night. Anyone could walk in on them. Anyone could already have been watching them.

  He slid off her, dropping to the dirt floor at the base of the stage. She followed, shimmying close, her legs still parted in a blunt, unmistakable invitation. He couldn’t accept it, even though his mouth immediately went wet and hungry at the sight of her dusky curls hidden behind her silky white panties.

  Not happening. Even if they weren’t risking exposure, he knew better than to proceed. Whether Allie had come here to finish what she’d started two weeks ago or not, he didn’t know that he wanted to travel that road with her again. To get involved with a woman who’d played games with him, led him on, stood him up, then possibly stalked him from another state.

  A voice deep inside told him she wasn’t that person, that there was a reason, an explanation for her hot-and-cold behavior and her multiple disappearing acts. But he wasn’t sure he could trust his instincts about anything anymore.

  “Enough,” he murmured. Dropping his hands to her soft thighs, he forced himself to push them closed. What he really wanted to do was drop to his knees and put his mouth against her core. To suck, bite, eat her until she was screaming and then sink into all that sweet wetness that had dampened his pants and filled the air with her musky, feminine scent.

  “Damon?” Allie whispered, looking confused. Still panting, her eyes wide and her face flushed.

  He shuffled back. “I gave you what you asked for.”

  “Well, you came close.” She hopped off the stage and followed him, as if unwilling to end their physical closeness.

  “You didn’t ask for that,” he said, not sure whether to laugh at her determined expression, or groan at his own weakness, which urged him to drop to the nearest chair and pull her down on top of him. “You asked what you’d said on stage that night.”

  As understanding washed over her, the color fell from her cheeks and her mouth opened in dismay. That finally got her to stop her pursuit. “I said all those things?”

  “And more.”

  “That’s…why you said them to me? You didn’t mean it?”

  He steeled himself against the hint of hurt in her voice, telling himself she’d only gotten what she’d asked for. But still feeling like an ass for giving it to her the way he had. “Look, I’m sorry. I should have just come right out and told you what you said when you were hypnotized.”

  She met his eyes, hers bright and moist, then looked away and lifted a hand to her brow. “My God, no wonder everyone was looking at me like I was a sex addict.”

  If the townspeople had seen her three minutes ago, they would have concluded she was a sex goddess. Though he suspected she could become addictive. Which was why he needed to get out of there before he did something stupid, such as dragging her by the hair to his camper and doing her all night long.

  Well, why not?

  Because, he reminded himself, she was dangerous. Trouble. She was also a coward—having to be hypnotized before admitting what she wanted, and not having the guts to act on it. Plus, judging by the way he hadn’t been able to drive her out of his brain in the past few weeks, she was already someone to whom he could be too susceptible. He needed to get back in the saddle—not tangled up in any kind of relationship. His heart could end up crushed just when it had finally started to heal. Falling for the wrong woman could be as dangerous as letting himself care too much about a kid again whose fate he couldn’t control.

  His decision made, he still wondered if he’d really be able to walk out on her. He still gave it his best shot, heading toward the exit. And though he heard her softly call his name, he somehow managed to walk out into the night and leave her behind.

  IT TOOK ALLIE a good ten minutes to pull herself together enough to leave the tent. Not only did she have to bring herself back under control sexually—since she’d practically been a walking orgasm a little while ago—but also emotionally, because Damon’s rejection had hurt. A lot.

  She’d blatantly offered herself to him and he’d walked out. But isn’t that exactly what he thought you did to him two weeks ago?

  Yeah, he might see it that way. After all, she’d only mumbled an “I’m sorry” tonight, not any explanation. At the time, she’d been convinced it didn’t matter, that he didn’t want her and had moved on. Now, though, she knew better. He wanted her, all right, despite what he said. He was letting his anger and hurt pride determine his actions.

  She needed to tell him the truth. Now.

  Frankly, though, she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to do it to his face and risk getting tossed out on her butt. Reject me once, shame on you…reject me twice, I might just shoot myself.

  Reaching into her purse, she grabbed an old receipt and scratched a quick note on the back of it. It was simple, to the point: “I have a ten-month old son. The night I was supposed to meet you, my babysitter called to tell me she’d taken him to the E.R. That’s why I didn’t come. I’m sorry.”

  At the bottom, she scrawled one more thing—her cell phone number, then crammed in the letter A; it was all the signature she had room for. Hopefully, Damon wasn’t the kind of man to immediately be turned off by a woman with a child. If he was…well, better that she find out now, anyway.

  Exiting the tent, she made her way through the fair, which was shutting down for the night. A few last, thrill-seeking kids were getting their stomachs turned inside out on the Volcano ride, and some weary-looking parents were dragging their high-on-candy-apple kids toward the parking lot. Most of the games were closed and dark, the concession stands offering late-night specials on popcorn that would be stale in the morning.

  Searching for the mobile homes where the performers and workers slept, Allie soon found them on the other side of the grounds. The long line of vehicles backed up to the dunes, close enough to the beach that she could hear the lapping of the waves over the sounds of soft laughter and conversation. She had no idea which camper was Damon’s but planned to ask someone.

  As she cut between the first camper and a tractor trailer painted with bizarre images of sideshow oddities, a short, dark-haired man emerged from the darkness ahead of her. “Oh, jeez,” she muttered, immediately clutching her chest in surprise.

  “Sorry, lady, didn’t know anybody was back here. Fair’s closed, though, and this area’s for cast and crew only.”

  Stepping out of the shadows, into an open area lit by a string of lights, she took stock of the man. He wasn’t tall, had thick, black hair, and an elvish face with deep dimples. Not exactly threatening. “I’m looking for Damon Cole’s trailer.”

  The man’s brow shot up. “Why?”

  Lord, this was embarrassing. She felt like a school-girl passing a note in class. Do you like me, yes or no? As tempting as it was, she would not compound the feeling by asking this guy to deliver it for her. “I just need to tell him something.”

  He frowned. “Why don’t you tell me, and I’ll let him know?”

  “Look, I’m not some stalker. Damon and I met a few weeks ago in Pennsylvania. I wanted to tell him…to let him know…”

  A huge grin appeared. “Are you the broad from Trouble?”

  Broad. Not a word she’d ever heard in connection with herself. But the guy looked as if he might be inclined to help her, so she wasn’t about to argue with him. “Yes. I’m Allie.”

  “I’ll be damned.” That grin never fading, a sparkle appeared in his eyes. His violet eyes.

  “Are you related to him, by any chance?”

  Walking briskly away and beckoning for her to follow him, he said, “Yeah. His cousin.” As they reached a small, dusty camper, its white color now spotted with primer and rust, he pointed. “That’s Damon’s.” With a wink, he spun around and walked away.

  She eyed the camper doubtfully. It was hard to believe a man as big and vibrant as Damon lived in such a place, even if only while on the road. It certainly hammered home the reality of what she was doing…chasing after a poor traveling carny who claimed he had a woman in every town. That was his anger talking. She knew that and wanted him to admit it.

  Beyond that, though, what could she hope to gain by trying to work things out with him, other than a few nights of incredible sex? Hmm. Incredible sex. That sounded like enough.

  But even if it wasn’t—if the crazy emotions she’d been experiencing about the man signaled that she felt more for him than just lust—well, his modest lifestyle didn’t matter. She was no snob. She lived in a tiny apartment herself and would never judge anyone by their salary or the home in which they lived.

  Decision made, she proceeded with her admittedly rather lame plan. Mentally calling herself a chicken for not knocking on the door and dealing with Damon face-to-face, she forced herself to remember how it had felt to lie on that stage, legs spread, lips parted, hair wild around her face…and be turned down.

  The note idea sounded better all the time.

  The camper was lit from within, meaning Damon was probably inside. She had to be quick, or else risk being caught and having to admit she really was stalking him. A sizable sliver of light was visible along the edge of the door, and there was more than enough space to slide the note through it. So she did.