A Scandalous Melody by Linda Conrad Page B

of his tongue. And tasted in his mind the sweetness of the silky flesh covering the pulse beat right above her breasts.
    Oh, God. He poured himself a shot and slugged it back. The fiery liquid burned all the way down as he perversely savored the pain roaring in his gut. He deserved to ignite in hell.
    He couldn’t get her out of his mind. So many nights since he’d last seen her ten years ago had been spent dreaming of those dark eyes, sparkling in the glow of moonlight as she reached out for him.
    Now he would never be rid of the picture of her standing there before him tonight, half-naked, shivering and hanging her head as she removed her dress. Even in the flickering light, he had clearly seen her distress. And he damned himself for it.
    Pushing her too far had been his objective. Making her squirm the way he had years ago had been the goal. But he hadn’t counted on seeing the grown-up Kate, looking so erotic and earthy and so made for sex—flaming under the blush of embarrassment.
    It had thrown him. Made him think.
    He’d ached for the pleasure of her body. Her longlegs had seemed to go on forever, her porcelain skin just begged to be stroked. But he would not take her…or anyone, against their free will.
    Swearing under his breath, Chase tried to examine the emotion that had overcome his desire for revenge and that had even managed to push aside his lusty urges. The emotion that had shocked him…driving him right out of the house and into this bar.
    Need. Pure gut-wrenching need—to protect her. To hold her and keep her safe in a dangerous world.
    What a fool he’d been to think he could tease Kate, bring her to desperation and then casually take her. There had never been anything casual about the way he felt about Kate. And now he knew there never would be.
    Chase reached for the bottle, poured another shot and downed the bourbon without ever tasting a thing past his own desolation.
    â€œTrying to outdrink your old man, Severin?”
    Looking up and focusing on the ancient bartender for the first time, Chase plastered a furious scowl across his face and narrowed his eyes. “Robert Guidry? I thought you’d be dead and buried by now. Leave me alone.”
    â€œYeah,” the old Cajun chuckled. “That’d be just exactly what Charles Severin would’ve said. How y’all are?”
    â€œGo away.”
    The bartender studied him for a moment. “You got the look, boy. Sure enough. Lost love, same as Charles. It’s bad medicine, you coming back here just to become a drunk.”
    â€œThat’s not why I’m here,” Chase mumbled. But something the old bartender said got him to thinking. “You knew my father when he was young, didn’t you?”
    The bartender swiped a cloth across the sleek wood and nodded. “All of us raised up in the same parish. You included.”
    â€œDid my father always drink too much? What was he like when he went to school? Was he a hell-raiser?”
    â€œCharles Severin was smart as a whip, he was,” the older man said through a half smile. “His mother was widowed young and Charles became the man of the family as a boy. Never knew him to touch a drop of the liquid madness. He worked. Went to school. Most everybody liked him.”
    â€œThen what happened? Why did he start drinking?”
    Shaking his head sadly, the bartender lowered his voice to a rasp. “I remember the day Charles came home from college, toting along his pretty young wife. Never saw any man so crazy in love. He worshiped that woman. They planned on building a good life here in Bayou City.”
    â€œSo what changed?”
    â€œYour momma died. She wasn’t strong enough for childbirth like the other women round here. From that day forward…well…Charles, he just couldn’t seem to face the days—or the nights without her.”
    Of course that was it, Chase thought. His father had loved his