Siren's Call. Debbie Herbert

paternal parentage. The physicality could come in handy.

      Jet pushed him out the door hard enough that he fell on his ass. Gary shook his head as if to clear his mind, obviously stunned he’d been manhandled by a woman. Jet locked the door behind him and pulled down the shades.

      “Wow.” Opal pressed her fingers into Jet’s biceps. “You’ve got muscles.”

      “Um...yeah. I work out a lot.” Jet went back to the desk and resumed working, head bent over the figures.

      “Do you get that a lot from old boyfriends?” Opal asked. “Must be scary.”

      “Sometimes. He was more forceful than most.”

      Opal clutched the plastic cape closer to her body. “Twyla might have done it to piss you off.”

      “Maybe. You think so?”

      “Sure. Could be a warning for you to cool it with the men awhile.”

      Lily studied Opal’s blue eyes. They were shot through with alarm. Nice to have someone outside of family actually give a damn.

      “You could be right.” Lily lifted her chin. “But my interest isn’t with a local man right now. That should keep me safe.”

      “Really? I wouldn’t be so sure.” Opal absently ran an index finger over the scar on her cheek. “If I were you, I wouldn’t see anyone for a few weeks. Let everything cool down a bit.”

      Lily lifted her chin. “No way. Nash will be gone by then.”

      “Okay, ignore the warning signs. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” She crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap. “Your decision.”

Chapter 6

      The red moon of August lay low and full, as if scorched and swollen from summer’s heat. Lily’s step skipped in time to the rhythm of her rapid pulse. It seemed like it’d been three weeks instead of three days since she’d seen Nash. She grinned at the sight of his truck and the light in the cabin. Even better, Sam Bowman’s vehicle was gone. She rapped at the door, feeling like the wolf descending on the innocent Little Red Riding Hood.

      The door flung open and she was eye level to Nash’s bare chest. She looked up and stared into verdant green. He registered no surprise at finding her on his doorstep. Casually, he leaned an arm against the doorframe.

      “You again,” he said, voice tinged with smoke and velvet.

      The low, deep timbre of sound vibration made her gut clench. Is that what her voice did to men? It was wonderfully disturbing.

      “What kind of welcome is that?” she purred, reaching up and laying a hand on the curve of his jaw.

      Nash stepped away from the heat of their touch and waved her inside. He shut the door behind her, and Lily was struck by the fact they were alone and sheltered from the world. A cozy company of two. Without a word, Nash walked into the den, snatched a T-shirt from the back of a chair and pulled it over his head.

      Darn it.

      “Why are you here, Lily?” he asked, plopping down on the sofa.

      She sat across from him and crossed her legs demurely. “To see you, of course.”

      “What do you want from me? I get the feeling it’s not to resume a childhood friendship.”

      She leaned into him, resting her hands on his bare knees. “Don’t you find me attractive?” Her lips curled upward, certain of his answer.

      “You’ll do, I suppose,” he said drily.

      Lily straightened. “Why are you so hostile? I thought after our kiss we were on more...friendly terms.”

      He frowned. “You know I’ll be leaving in a few weeks. I’m not the settling-down type.”

      But that’s because you haven’t known me. “So you say.”

      He crossed his arms, studying her. “I’m not in the market for a permanent relationship.”

      “Don’t flatter yourself, Nashoba Bowman. You haven’t heard me say I want anything of the kind.”

      “Then that leads back to my original question. What do you want?”

      You. I want you. “While you’re here, let’s see what happens,” she answered carefully. After what had happened with his past two girlfriends, she didn’t want to push too hard and scare him away. “Look, you used to be my best friend. Can’t we at least be friends now and explore if something else is there for however long you’re here?”