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to erupt.
    “I haven’t had sex with anyone, Cade. And Greg is a nice guy. He’s very lonely, and he’s my friend.” Marly heard the tremble in her voice and hated being so weak in front of him.
    The pupils of his eyes dilated at her announcement. A hard breath racked his chest and his hands clenched.
    His gaze speared into hers. “Never?” He asked her harshly.
    “Never, Cade.” She shook her head.
    “Are you going to have sex with him?” He turned away from her as though he couldn’t bear to look at her.
    Marly felt tears well in her eyes. He was so handsome. His jeans rode low on his hips, belted with wide leather, and emphasizing his hard stomach and broad shoulders. Lora Leigh
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    His legs were long and muscular, and he had a smooth, rolling walk that made her crazy. She needed him, wanted him, but he still saw her as a little girl.
    “I’m a woman,” she whispered again, ignoring his flinch. “I don’t know how to answer your question. If I fall in love with him, yes I will. Do I love him now? No, I don’t, except as a very dear friend.”
    Cade sighed deeply, running his hands through his hair as he turned to her. The look on his face was agonized.
    “Marly, don’t cry,” he groaned, and only then did she realize the tears were running down her face.
    She was dying. Marly knew she was. She wanted him so desperately she couldn’t stand the ache. She wanted him to touch her, hold her. How much longer did she have to wait? She had waited a lifetime already.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she wiped at her cheeks, shaking her head. “Maybe I should go back to school. I don’t cause any trouble there.”
    She had been causing trouble at home since she had started dating. As though Cade expected any minute to walk into his home and encounter an orgy.
    “God no. Baby, I’ve missed you so much.” He pulled her into his arms, and the pain of needing him was like a physical blow to her stomach.
    Her arms wrapped around his waist, her hands holding tight to his back. He was so warm and hard. So male she wanted to scream out her need for him. His scent, a combination of spice and pure male heat wrapped around her, infusing her. She felt her breasts swell beneath the lace cups of her bra, her nipples hardening. She held onto him tighter, knowing how desperately she had missed his rare hugs in the past two years, the feel of his hands stroking over her head.
    “The belly ring was a surprise,” he whispered at her ear, his lips barely caressing the lobe, making it nearly impossible to suppress her shiver. “And that chain is decadent, Marly.”
    Cade’s voice was husky and deep. It pierced her stomach, and beyond, making the ache all the more sweeter. His hands caressed her back slowly, his fingers running over the thin gold at her waistline. His hands were hot, setting fires along her body wherever he touched her. She needed. God help her, how much longer could she live with this aching need?

    * * * * *
    Marly was soft and warm in his arms, her hands clenched at his back, her breathing rough as he tried to calm her. Slowly, he stroked her back with one hand, then both. His palms smoothed easily over the soft material of her sweater. He could feel the chain at her waist, and the sight of it flashed before his eyes. The glitter of gold against pale skin, the waist of her jeans riding low, the little gold ring drawing his gaze as surely as a bolt of lightning would have.
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    Cade had become so enraged, so furious that she would have bared her stomach for a stranger, endured having such a sensitive area pierced, that he had barely been able to contain the violence already flowing through his system. Her soft, husky voice inviting that little turd of a boy into her room, where she was naked and ready, had already brought red to the forefront of his vision. He had wanted to kill that boy. Slowly, surely. And Marly’s confusion, the hot flare of