The Italian's Passionate Return Page 0,4

onto the street but, other than the giant, yellow bus, the street was empty. This was rural Virginia, after all. Not many cars passed through this area. That was one of the reasons it was so ideal for her farm. It was quiet and remote, with enough cheap land to give her horses and dogs a chance to run around. She didn’t keep her horses trapped in stalls during the day. They came in for grain in the morning and evening, but other than that, they roamed the large, fenced in pasture where they could graze on healthy grasses and bask in the sunshine.

Looking back down her driveway, she squared her shoulders, gave herself a pep talk, and forced her mind and body to calm down. She wouldn’t be crazy, she wouldn’t lose her cool…she would just walk back, calmly tell him to be on his way and get him off her property.

And if he didn’t leave, she would call George, the sheriff, and ask him for help. She’d been on a few dates with George. He was a nice guy and she could picture a nice life with him. What was better, he took his job seriously. If she called asking for help, he’d be racing out here with sirens blaring. He was one of the good guys, she told herself as she forced her feet to move forward.

When she turned the corner of her driveway, she saw him there. Her feet stopped moving while they watched each other. Her heart, on the other hand, didn’t! At the first sight of his tall, muscular body, her heart and stomach both did little flips. Her heart was racing and she stood there, several feet away from him, just watching and trying to get her reaction back under control.

Taking a deep breath, she glared at him. “Why are you still here?” she demanded, not taking another step. She was actually afraid of him! He stood there, his dark eyes watching her, assessing. He couldn’t know!

Could he?

Suddenly, she was terrified for a whole different reason. Dylan! She had been so wrapped up in her fear of the attraction they had for each other that she didn’t realize how much he looked like Dylan. Had he seen the resemblance? Dylan was five, loving kindergarten. Damien was….well, she had no idea how old he was. It was pretty shocking that she’d been so intimate with this man but they had said very little to each other beyond exchanging names before falling into bed. Which was the whole reason she had snuck out the following morning. She’d been too embarrassed by her actions from the previous night and wanted to get away as quickly as possible.

But she was older and wiser now. And she wouldn’t let anything happen to her son!

“Why are you still here?” she asked, her stance shifting to belligerence.

One of his dark eyebrows went up and he moved closer. “I would think that was obvious,” he commented, his voice silky smooth. “Why are you not accepting it?”

She swallowed painfully, still not sure if he was talking about Dylan or this…thing…between them.

“Perhaps you should state your business and be on your way.”

Damien thought she was beautiful. The past six years had taken away the youthful innocence and left behind a soft, lovely woman filled with confidence and strength. He remembered her having long, brown hair that flew every which way and he’d liked it. Now it was tied back with one of those elastic bands which would normally make a woman look more tomboyish. But on Jemma, it only emphasized the beauty of her face: her high, prominent cheekbones and her beautiful, vulnerable, blue eyes. She was trying to stifle that vulnerability, but he could see it, could almost feel it. Jemma was worried about something and he hadn’t had a chance to protect her six years ago. He wouldn’t fail her this time.

Nor would he allow her out of his sight until they had worked through whatever had caused her to run away. No woman had ever measured up to this one. No one had ever created the aching, driving need that Jemma had done to him that one night. He remembered seeing her at the dance club, knowing that she was the one. He’d seen her first, had been struck by her long, slender legs and her tiny waist, her full breasts pushing against the thin cotton of her summer dress. And when she’d turned to face him, her eyes had