“Sugar, where I come from, when a man is attracted to a woman, he lets her know by kissing her,” John Lee said.

Before Merideth could stop him, he closed his mouth over hers.

 

The capture was so complete, so unexpected, she felt her knees weaken, her heart slam against her ribs.

 

“And sometimes even touching her,” he murmured against her mouth as he pulled her body against his.

 

Willing herself not to respond, she took in a shuddering breath. “If you think I’m going to spend the next several months playing nanny while being pawed by you, you’ve got another think coming.”

 

He drew his head back just far enough to meet her eyes. “You Yankees might call it pawing,” he said, his eyes burning into hers, “but down here in Texas, we call it something else....”