Read Croc's Return for Free Online Page B

what had he expected?
    I expected her to wait for me.
    Yet, while he might have harbored that foolish fantasy, he’d certainly not abstained from the opposite sex. I might have sated some needs, but I never loved them.
    Not like he’d love a certain golden-haired girl.
    A girl who’d grown into a woman.
    A woman determined to ignore him.
    If only he could do the same, but he wasn’t having the same kind of luck. In his defense, he wasn’t the only one checking out the hot chick serving drinks in short shorts, getting her ass slapped and taking it with a smile while he seethed.
    “Dude, that is a serious brood you’ve got going,” Daryl said, waving his hand before Caleb’s face and breaking his stare.
    “I don’t brood.”
    “Fine, glower. Scowl. Whatever. You need to stop. Renny’s not interested, dude, so give it a rest.”
    But Caleb didn’t want to give it a rest, which was why, when Daryl insisted on driving him home, he got out a few miles from home and claimed he needed to walk the rest of the way to clear his head.
    Caleb wasn’t lying completely. He did walk. Just not home.

Chapter Four
    Still shaken after her encounter with Caleb, after the club closed just after one, Renata took her time wiping down the tables and gathering her things.
    Being warned Caleb was in town and seeing him in the flesh were two totally different things. For one, she’d not expected the sharp pang of longing when she saw him again.
    How can I still want him?
    He’d changed so much. Definitely not the same carefree guy she’d known years ago. Yet, for all the cynical hardness in his features, the sneer on his lips, all those signs he bore that showed he’d faced danger and hardships, drew her even more.
    It didn’t hurt that he had a rocking body.
    A fit guy when they dated, he’d passed in shape into superbly toned. His snug T-shirt had hugged his upper body, revealing broad shoulders, a defined set of pecs, a flat stomach, and arms that could squeeze the life from her.
    She almost wished he’d try. How long had it been since she’d enjoyed a hug from a male other than her son?
    But Caleb was the wrong person to be craving a hug from.
    I hate him, remember?
    Right. Hated.
    Yet craved.
    Abhorred.
    Yet her senses tingled.
    Wanted to kill.
    Yet he made her feel alive.
    Even now, with him gone for hours, awareness tickled all of her nerves, a hyper-sensitivity that initially let her know where he was at all times when he was in the club. She might not have an inner beast like most folks in town, but that never stopped her from knowing when Caleb was nearby. Melanie used to call it fate.
    Now Renny had to wonder if it was a warning?
    Whatever the cause, it made it so hard to ignore him. It didn’t help that he kept watch on her while she worked. If she happened to turn and peek, there he was, staring at her, hunger lighting his gaze, stark longing drawing lines in his face.
    It might have made a weaker woman melt. Not her. He wasn’t going to win her back with either his looks or his attention.
    Too bad. So sad. This ship has sailed. You had me once and look at what happened.
    Caleb had dumped her ass and gone to war. So what if he returned? So what if he’d obviously suffered judging by the scars he bore? Being only human, she wondered what happened to his face. The scar with its distinctive flat shine spoke of a terrible burn, one that went down his cheek, spotted his neck, and disappeared into the collar of his shirt. How far did it extend?
    I wonder if he’d let me find out.
    For curiosity’s sake, of course, not sensual.
    Did it still hurt? She had to wonder if it was why he acted so jaded. So prickly.
    Is he trying to keep people away from him?
    That wasn’t the Caleb she knew, who thrived on hugs and snuggles.
    Given the direction of her thoughts, she wasn’t too surprised when she exited the building to see Caleb leaning against her car.
    She halted in the doorway, torn with indecision. Am I ready to deal