Return of the Secret Heir by Rachel Bailey Page A

this much. There had to be the same person deep down inside her. “You’re wilder, more creative, more dangerous than this.”
    She shivered but her step didn’t falter. “That was your influence. It was never the real me.”
    His influence? It’d been part of what attracted him to the teenaged Pia when he’d spied her at school on his first day. She’d been so free, so beautiful, so unpredictable.
    They came to a greenhouse and he guided her inside to the hothouse flowers that scented the air with their ripe sweetness. “I think you’re overestimating my ability to influence you. Sure I did some crazy things, but you werethe one who had us both breaking curfew to watch the sunrise from the top of my apartment building. And it was your idea to make love in the rain on my birthday.” His blood heated at the memory of that wild afternoon— Pia’s hands all over him in a secluded part of her parents’ garden, the chill of raindrops on his back, the heat of her body beneath his.
    Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, a faraway look in her eyes, and he wondered if she was having the same stream of visual memories as he was. He slowed his steps until he came to a halt amid lush, damp ferns, and turned her to face him. The pulse at the base of her throat was chaotic.
    â€œIt was only when I was with you,” she denied. “That’s not the real me.”
    â€œThen why do you want to kiss me right now?” He stroked a fingertip lightly down the edge of her cheek, and a flush spread from her neck up to bloom across her face. “There might be no one around, but it’s a public place. And you told me I’m off limits. The good girl you claim to be wouldn’t be craving that forbidden fruit the way you are this very second.”
    â€œI’m not craving you, JT,” she said. Her voice was resolute, but her mouth told a different story—her lips were parted, her breaths coming too fast. Oh, yeah. She was no good girl.
    His heart thudded in his chest. “You want me so bad that you’d let me take you here if I tried.”
    Her eyes flicked around their semiprivate enclosure and back to his mouth. “I wouldn’t,” she said, her voice heavy with desire.
    â€œYeah, you would. Without a second thought.” He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. “And God help me, I want you as much.”
    He dipped his head beneath the brim of her hat and cradling her face in his palms, pressed his mouth to her soft lips. Without hesitation, her mouth opened to him as he’d known it would, her tongue met his, sliding decadently. A delicious shiver raced down his spine. As her hat slipped to the ground, her arms wound around his back, holding him tight, just where he wanted to be.
    The heat of her mouth made all the blood in his body head south. The scent of her skin filled his head, her name resounded in his mind. Everything was Pia. And Pia was everything. Her hips swayed infinitesimally from side to side, setting every inch of him alight.
    He couldn’t get enough. He’d thought after making love to her three weeks ago that she’d be out of his system by now, but instead she’d been on his mind every waking moment. Thoughts of her lush curves in his hands—the same curves that were pressed against him now. There were too many clothes in the way.
    As he reached for her shoulder strap, her kisses became gradually lighter. He groaned his protest, then she pressed a hand to his chest. His head began to clear from the fog of desire and he was thankful for her presence of mind—he’d been in danger of forgetting they were in a public place and someone could walk into the greenhouse at any time. Taking his cue from her, he moved to kiss the edge of her jaw, then he leaned his forehead on hers, breathing heavily.
    â€œJT,” she murmured.
    He loved the way she said his name. “Yeah,