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likely.”
    How ironic could life be? For the first time in five years, Paisley had decided to open her heart to the prospect of letting another man into her life, and here came her mother, intent on tearing Paisley right back down.

Chapter Four

    [The rest of their conversation had been interrupted by a call from her dad, who’d arrived back at Knight’s and wanted Paisley found now. Bare had informed her their conversation was far from over, hauled her close then kissed her until her entire body tingled. Afterward, he’d led her back to the bike and headed back toward town. Paisley clung tightly to him and second-guessed herself.
    It was easy to pull Lance’s face to her mind. She could still see his light brown hair, carelessly finger-combed, and his brown eyes, so warm and inviting. He’d almost always worn a smile, and she’d loved him. He’d been the first person to really listen to her, to understand she might be young but that didn’t make her gullible. She could imagine them now, where they’d be if that night had never happened. Happily married, her writing while he transitioned from television to movies as he’d wanted. Their baby would be four, and maybe, they’d be thinking of having another. Happy. Content. That’s where she’d be.
    But that night had happened. Lance was gone and so was their baby. Did that mean she needed to insulate herself from life and do little but go through the motions? No. The answer was an easy no. She would have wanted Lance to move on, to find love and happiness, to smile and laugh and live again. How could she think he’d want anything less for her?
    That didn’t mean her heart didn’t feel a nudge of pain at the thought of moving forward. It did. But Bare was impossible to ignore and hard to resist now that she’d taken that first tentative step. He was bigger than life, and she wasn’t referring to his size, though he was a big guy. It was his commanding presence. He walked into a room, and you couldn’t help but glance his way. His smile, his laughter. God, his touch on her skin. He made her burn with desires she hadn’t expected to feel again.
    The two men were so different. Lance had been shorter, more leanly built, where Bare was over six feet of hulking muscle. It wasn’t just the physical differences. Their personalities were complete opposites. She’d never seen Lance angry. Looking back now, that seemed odd. She should have seen his temper at least once, but he hadn’t seemed to have one. He was easygoing, laidback and everyone had loved him. Bare, on the other hand, was as volatile as they came. If he was pissed, everyone knew it. He was as quick to temper as he was to laughter. When she thought of all the times she’d made love with Lance, she remembered soft touches, slow and easy. He’d always treated her as if she were the most special person in the world to him.
    Bare? When she imagined him in the bedroom, she pictured him as an aggressive lover. Taking and demanding while giving her exactly what she didn’t know she wanted. She was willing to finally admit she wanted him though. Would he be too much for her to handle? She refocused on the hard frame she clung to, and her choice was cemented in that moment. It was time to leave the past behind her. She’d known it for a while, and that was why she’d gone to Knight’s in search of Bare.
    “Shit!” She heard Bare grumble as he stopped the bike. “Call Levi. Tell him to have someone hold the front doors open.”
    She fumbled her phone from her pocket and made the call, keeping her eyes glued to the crowd of reporters in front of the Knight’s Watch building. Her mother had told them where they could find her. Exactly where to find her. Her days of hiding were over.
    “Hold on tight,” Bare ordered, pressing his hand briefly against hers. “Close your eyes and trust me.”
    She squeezed tighter, pressing her chest and pelvis against him like a second skin. Her thighs gripped the