BOOK 2

“Damn thing’s stuck,” someone muttered with disgust, trying the handle one last time.

Finally, footsteps faded away, leaving a tense silence.

Then came Jussie’s shaken, released breath.

Mitch had surfaced abruptly, but he still had to shake his head to clear it. Gulping in air, he stared down into the darkness to make out the faint outline of her stiff body. Her blouse had been pushed, by him, off her shoulders, and was open to the waist. Her skirt rode high up on her thighs. One shoe had been kicked off.

He’d nearly mauled her like a reckless, sex-starved teen.

Mouth grim, body uncomfortably hard and hot, he reached down and pulled her to her feet. “Jussie,” he whispered with regret, tugging her clothes back into place. God, he’d nearly taken her right there. Their first time in two years, and he’d ... he couldn’t even think about it. She deserved candles, soft music, sweet words, and hours and hours of loving.

Instead she’d gotten a cold concrete floor against her back, fast, desper