Wynne Carter’s one-night-stand with Hollywood bad boy Derek Shaw resulted in life-changing consequences in the form of her precious daughter. Years later, she isn’t prepared to face him or his questions when he returns to her small town seeking answers. 

With his acting career on hiatus thanks to his wild past, discovering he has a daughter is reason enough for Derek to stick around. Spending timing with her mom isn’t too shabby either, and soon he can’t keep Wynne or her long legs off his mind.

Wynne knows a man like Derek is made for sin, not happily-ever-afters, but resisting him proves pretty darn impossible. For a while, it looks as if the unlikely pairing of the single mom and the heartthrob might make it after all. Until Hollywood wants its leading man back, and their new relationship threatens to fall apart forever.

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His arm slid around her waist, pulling her snugly against him. His cock was hard, pressing against her in a tantalizing promise. “What is it?” He angled his head, dipping it so their lips almost touched. Almost, but not quite.

“I don’t know.” She inhaled and exhaled slowly, aware of his breath fanning her lips. “Forget about it.”

“No, finish your thought,” he said, his eyes burning into hers. “It must have been important.”

Wynne couldn’t speak. He hadn’t even kissed her yet and she was trembling, falling into him. She wanted to kiss him so desperately she physically ached.

But he didn’t kiss her. Instead, the knot at the front of her robe came undone. Startled, she looked down to find Derek’s hands pulling it apart. Her fingers closed over his in protest.

“What are you doing?” Her voice was a scant whisper of sound.

A wicked and purely sexual smile curved his delicious lips. “I warned you that if you didn’t get dressed I’d take this off you. Your thirty seconds are up, Wynne. Time to pay the forfeit.”

“I don’t think you should,” she protested, but it didn’t sound very convincing even to her. Secretly, every part of her screamed over and over again for him to hurry up and strip her already. Her common sense—the rational portion of her brain that had been all but silenced by raging lust—warned her that allowing him to get her naked wasn’t a complication she wanted in their relationship. But she wasn’t listening.

“Why not?” He tugged until the front of her robe gaped, revealing most of her breasts.

His hot gaze lowered, then rose to meet hers. “I need to touch you. Please.”

She swallowed. Wasn’t that what he had said five years ago when she had given herself to him? I need you, Wynne. She had been stupid enough to believe him, to believe what they shared had been somehow different. Instead, she’d seen him the next day practically devouring the woman who would become his wife. He had left her with a daughter to raise. Wynne wouldn’t make the same mistake again. She couldn’t trust him.

She turned away and yanked her robe together, tying the knot so firmly it felt more like she was wearing a corset than a bathrobe. “I can’t do this.”