"Why do the police think she's a possible suspect?" Annabelle asked, pushing herself upward so she could talk and think rationally, something she couldn't do when Vaughn was kissing her senseless.

He exhaled hard and forced his eyelids open. "It seems her businesses are failing."

Annabelle clapped her hands together with glee. "Oh, that's rich! I love it," she said, laughing.

"Pardon me?"

"Don't you see?"

Vaughn scowled. He didn't see anything except a woman he desired more with each passing breath sitting on his straining groin and making him talk about his ex-wife. The one thing guaranteed to kill any erection. "Don't I see what?"

"The woman who accused you of being stupid and unable to read the fine print ran the business into the ground. Success or failure has nothing to do with reading ability, Vaughn. And you of all people should understand that. But in case you don't, Laura's just given you proof."

He shook his head, amazed at her insight. "Good point," he said, then gave her a suggestive smile.

"Now I think we can let the police follow up, don't you?"

She nodded. "Which leaves us free to do…other things " A hopeful note rang in her voice.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Other things that don't involve talking,"

"I like the sound of that."

Within seconds he had her flipped to her back, their positions switched. He glanced down. The jersey had hiked up her thighs revealing a hint of lace and expanse of skin that had him drooling.

Suddenly a saucy glint sparkled in her eyes and she stretched her arms above her head, deliberately, slowly, arching her back and pulling the hem of the jersey upward, inch by tantalizing inch.

"You're a tease," he said, his voice gruff with desire.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Unable to resist her blatant dare, he slid downward, placing his hands on her thighs. Never breaking eye contact, he eased her legs apart and watched her tremble.

He took immense satisfaction from knowing he had this effect on her and it made him want more. He wanted to make her climax and watch her as she came. He had a hunch the vision, would be enough to make him follow suit.

He bent over and, hands still holding her thighs open wide, he licked his way up first one inner thigh, then the next. Her muscles shook and her hands clenched the sheets at her side.

It wasn't enough. He eased her panties down her thighs, revealing a blond triangle of hair and dewy moisture. Moisture he'd caused. He inhaled her essence and inched closer.

"Vaughn-" She turned her head from side to side, yet she remained open for him, waiting for whatever he'd do next.

"Relax, baby." He exhaled, blowing on the swollen folds of her sex.

Her hips jerked off the bed and she let out a low moan. "You really don't play fair."

He chuckled, though the noise sounded strained with desire. "Since you're not really the opposing team, let's see what I can do to change that."

"Hurry," she said, drawing out the single word.

So he dipped his head and began to torture her with long, slow laps of his tongue. First up, then down, then up again, until he latched on to the full nub and teased gently with his teeth. Her body began to shake and tremble, the muscles in her thighs contracting around him.

"More, Vaughn." She thrust her hips upward, a silent plea backing up her spoken desire.

A desire he wanted to fulfill, but his own body was near to bursting. He held his breath, then tried counting backwards from one hundred to distract himself and his body begging for relief. It didn't work, the need to thrust his hips forward and bury himself deep inside her was overwhelming.

But so was the urge to watch her come, to know he could control her response as she enjoyed his ministrations. Lord knew it'd been forever since he'd cared about a woman's pleasure. Oh, he'd always wanted to make a woman come but that was ego. This was about Annabelle and how deeply and easily she responded to him. This was about making Annabelle all his.

He thrust his tongue deep inside her hot, wet body and when she moaned in sheer pleasure, he caressed her outer folds with his fingertip, then inserted his finger deep inside.

Her inner muscles clenched around him and his body couldn't take it anymore. And obviously neither could she. "I don't want to come unless you're inside me," Annabelle pleaded, her voice cracking, her body racked with tremors that felt good but didn't quite take her up and over.

To hell with wanting to watch. He needed to be an active participant. Vaughn had never shed his jeans and boxers so quickly. Shaking with desire, he came over her and looking into her eyes, he thrust deeply inside. In, out, and all the while she milked him, drawing out of him every last drop of passion, and emotion as well.


CHAPTER THIRTEEN


ANNABELLE TOOK BORIS for a walk around the lodge grounds, admiring the landscaping along with the expanse of land Vaughn owned. She paused by the tree where she'd had a picnic with Nick and settled in, releasing the leash and letting the dog run free and get enough exercise so, with any luck, he'd pass out later on.

Two days had passed since Lola's ultimatum to Yank and her subsequent departure. Her uncle had remained, sulking and finding excuses to call the office and Lola, though Annabelle knew Lola wasn't giving in on her ultimatum. But with her sisters both away on business, Annabelle had nobody to talk to back at the office to find out what was really going on. All of which left her to focus on her current job and her life here in Greenlawn.

Since Mara had followed up the promotional mailing with an e-mail offer, calls were coming in accepting the free night and confirming holiday reservations. True there'd been a fair share of cancellations from people not willing to risk not having a place to go for vacation, but according to Mara, most of the calls praised Vaughn and the summer program. They were all too willing to take a chance on Vaughn's lodge, and of course the free night incentive helped.

In addition, the electrical damage was nearly fixed, thanks to the crews working double shifts. All in all, things were looking up and Annabelle had just one more suggestion for Vaughn before she returned to New York. In fact, she could probably return home soon, but a desire to make the most of her time here stopped her from suggesting an early departure.

Closing her eyes, she too easily recalled the last few nights with Vaughn. He had obviously decided his hands-off policy wasn't working for either one of them, and the nights they'd shared had been spectacular. The stuff of fantasies, Annabelle thought.

Waking up safe and secure in his arms after a dreamless sleep was nothing short of pure bliss. Careful, she warned herself. Short-term was still the rule of the day. Falling for the lush, green landscape of the lodge or the big empty house that begged for a woman's touch wasn't part of the deal.

Time to focus on business. She whistled and Boris came running. She scooped him into her arms and headed back to the main building. She was about to walk into the office when she heard the laughing and hushed voices of Nick and Mara, and from the sound of things they weren't working.

Not wanting to interrupt, she turned away and bumped directly into Vaughn's solid chest.

"Whoa." He grabbed her forearms and steadied her, while Boris scrambled to escape confinement in her arms in exchange for licking Vaughn's face.

"Guess you'd better take him," Annabelle said, laughing.

She handed him the pooch and he grabbed him awkwardly, clutching Boris around his middle so his legs dangled and his head bobbed as he tried to get closer to Vaughn.

Annabelle shook her head. "I don't know which one of you is more pathetic. Here. You hold him like this." She adjusted Vaughn's large hands so he held Boris' bottom in one palm and supported him with the other.

"I've got his butt in my hand," he grumbled.

The dog squirmed up and licked his face in reply. Next thing Annabelle knew, Vaughn let Boris snuggle into his chest as he cradled him in his arms.

She grinned. "See? That wasn't so hard. Now, I wanted to talk to you."

He stepped around her. "Then let's go inside."

"No!" She cleared her throat. "I don't want to interrupt Nick and Mara," she explained. "I think they're…busy."

"Aaah." He nodded in understanding. "Then let's take a walk and talk?"

"I just came from doing that, but you can never get too much fresh air in the summertime." She tipped her head toward the exit. "Let's go."

They took a different route, this time toward the parking lot. Since Boris refused to go down, Vaughn was forced to hold him while they walked. Annabelle couldn't help but notice his discomfort with the dog, though he had come a long way since he'd yelled at her in front of her apartment building about bringing the animals.

"What did you want to talk about?" Vaughn asked.

"What's your real problem with pets?" Annabelle wondered aloud at the same time.

He stopped and leaned against a parked car. His dark gaze met hers. "What is it that you like about animals? Besides the unconditional love?"

She narrowed her gaze, unsure of where this was headed. "I don't know. I suppose I like taking care of them," she said. "I like that they need me," she slowly admitted.

Vaughn nodded. "Exactly. Remember the fish I told you about?"

"T.D." Annabelle said, surprising Vaughn.

"I'm shocked you remember his name."

She shrugged. "It seemed important to you. What about him?" she asked.

"A kid wins a fish at a carnival. He has to read the instructions to feed him properly, doesn't he?" Vaughn winced at the memory, the pain of discussing this episode harder than he'd ever imagined.

"Or he can ask an adult to read it for him…" Annabelle's voice trailed off.

No doubt she'd just recalled the grown-ups in Vaughn's childhood and drawn the obvious conclusions. "Right," he muttered. "And after I killed my first pet, I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to let anyone rely on me again."

She reached out a hand and caressed his cheek, offering him the kind of understanding and caring he'd never been given before. Not even, he knew now, by Laura. In his first wife, he'd mistaken education for understanding. The realization now helped him put some of his anger and resentment to rest. Something else for which he owed Annabelle.

"You need to trust yourself more," she said softly. "I trust you." She leaned close and brushed her lips lightly over his.

Boris barked madly, forcing them apart.

Annabelle jumped back fast. "He's jealous," she explained.

Vaughn scowled at the dog. "Are you sure you're male? Cause if you were, you'd know where I was coming from."

Annabelle chuckled, lightening the mood and he took the opportunity to change the subject. "Since I know you didn't come here to talk about my childhood pets, what did you want to discuss?" he asked.

"A charity to correspond with the lodge. I don't know your financial situation of course, but I thought if we booked an appearance or something big for you, we could donate the proceeds and create a scholarship for children suffering from dyslexia. We could discuss ages and requirements later, but I was wondering if the idea appealed to you at all?"

He paused in thought. He'd flatly refused to do any publicity on the summer camp, then Annabelle had taken charge and turned things around for him. She was making sure the lodge didn't suffer while they finished construction and the police investigated. Her instincts were strong. Yank had every right to exude pride in his nieces.

This niece in particular. "Yes, the idea appeals to me."

Annabelle let out a pleased and shocked whoop of glee. 'Thank you!" She started toward him for a hug, then catching Boris's glare, she backed off, laughing. "I'll just save that for tonight." She winked at Vaughn, then ran off to do her job, just one of the things she did best.

Unfortunately she left him alone with Boris, who'd decided he loved Vaughn and wanted to express it with licks and kisses, every chance he could.

Vaughn groaned, yet he ended up laughing. The dog made him laugh just like Annabelle made him smile. All things he'd done too rarely before she'd come into his life.

AFTER AN AFTERNOON of making phone calls regarding advertising opportunities for Vaughn and catching up with her sisters by cell phone, Annabelle leaned back in her chair, exhausted.

She raised her arms over her head and stretched backwards, feeling the pull on her cramped muscles. "Boy it's been a long one."