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wimpy asshat, huh?”
    Lifting her chin up, she didn’t back down. “Yeah, that’s right.”
    For several moments, he did nothing but stare at her, and the intensity in his eyes made her twitch. Finally, he nodded, as if coming to terms with his new title. “Fine, I made an assumption. I’m an asshat.”
    â€œHappy we agree on something,” she said.
    â€œBut I didn’t come here today looking to hook up. I planned to drink some beer, chill with my friend, and eventually head home to bed—alone.”
    Violet flushed. “Well, it’s not like I was trolling for just anybody. If that were the case, I would be dragging Robert off to have my way with him in the parking lot.”
    â€œAre you saying I’m special?” he asked.
    It was a loaded question, and her answer could be taken a hundred wrong ways. Why was it that the first guy she’d actually actively pursued had to be so complicated?
    â€œNope, you’re absolutely right. Nothing special about you. There are still a few hours left for me to meet someone who doesn’t make snap judgments and would love to make out with an attractive single woman who hasn’t been kissed in six months, so if you’ll—”
    Dean’s mouth closed over hers, stopping her tirade with the sheer heat of his soft, deep kiss. Violet melted on impact, her eyes rolling back as her lids closed. She opened her lips to the thrust of his tongue and felt a pool of joy bubbling up in her lower abdomen.
    Holy shit. And you thought the sunshine was hot.
    Violet could blame her weakness on the multiple glasses of wine, but it wasn’t just that. It was about wanting something in the deep, visceral sense, regardless of the fact that she barely liked him. In fact, it was better this way.
    If there was no attachment, then she couldn’t get hurt.
    For the last ten years, she’d played it safe. After her mother’s suicide and the night her father, Jack, had left, she’d been sure she was numb to any more pain, but why risk it? It was partly why she put all of her energy into Casey and Daisy; she was prepared for them to leave, to not need her anymore, and she was okay with that. They would still be hers. It was them against the world.
    Letting someone new into that dynamic could ruin everything and cause a disturbance that might cost her the only constants she’d ever had. Trust and loyalty took years to build, and even if she did eventually meet someone, she could never be sure. It was better to never know than to let someone in and have him destroy her.
    But that didn’t mean she couldn’t participate in a little casual recreational fun every now and then.
    Dean pulled away, breathing hard. As she opened her eyes, she found his own to be burning.
    â€œI hope you’ll take that as an apology.”
    â€œSure.” Reaching up behind his head, she pulled him to her once more. “How about you apologize again?”

Chapter Four
    H OW THE HELL did you get here?
    Dean wasn’t sure. He’d had every intention of letting her go, but then he was kissing her again, tasting the sweet, minty interior of her mouth, and it had been one hell of a fight to stop the first time.
    But as she pulled him closer, he groaned in surrender. He threaded his fingers through her thick hair and cradled her head, angling it to give his tongue better access. He loved the fact that she was tall, that he didn’t need to break his neck to kiss her, and as he pressed his leg harder between hers, he felt her moan in his mouth.
    He couldn’t remember the last time he’d just kissed a woman, gotten caught up in the scent of her skin or the tight nubs of her nipples pressing against his chest through their clothes. The way she arched her back and thrust her hips against him as her hands slid into his back pockets. She actually squeezed his ass through the rough denim, and his cock twitched against her,