Next time I spend the night, he said in a low voice, I wont sleep on the couch, and we will actually have something to hide come morning.
I said not tonight, Dean said calmly. I didnt say never. I want you, Reva, but I want you unafraid. He traced a finger across her neck. When you ask me to make love to you, itll be because you want me, not because you dont want to be alone.
I wont ask you for anything, Reva insisted. Not ever again.
Yes, you will.
Dear Reader,
The days are hot and the reading is hotter here at Silhouette Intimate Moments. Linda Turner is back with the next of THOSE MARRYING MCBRIDES! in Always a McBride. Taylor Bishop has only just found out about his familial connectionand he has no idea its going to lead him straight to love.
In Shooting Starr, Kathleen Creighton ratchets up both the suspense and the romance in a story of torn loyalties youll long remember. Carla Cassidy returns to CHEROKEE CORNERS in Last Seen, a novel about two people whose circumstances ought to prevent them from falling in love but dont. On Deans Watch is the latest from reader favorite Linda Winstead Jones, and it will keep you turning the pages as her federal marshal hero falls hard for the woman hes supposed to be keeping an undercover watch over. Roses After Midnight, by Linda Randall Wisdom, is a suspenseful look at the hunt for a serial rapistand the blossoming of an unexpected romance. Finally, take a look at Debra Cowans Burning Love and watch passion flare to life between a female arson investigator and the handsome cop who may be her prime suspect.
Enjoy them alland come back next month for more of the best and most exciting romance reading around.
Yours,
Leslie J. Wainger
Executive Editor
On Deans Watch Linda Winstead Jones
LINDA WINSTEAD JONES
She lives in Huntsville, Alabama, with her husband of more years than shes willing to admit and the youngest of their three sons.
She can be reached via www.eHarlequin.com or her own Web site www.lindawinsteadjones.com.
For my nephew Alan Kimbrel, a true inspiration
and all-around good kid.
Contents
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 1
A man she didnt recognize stood close to the massive trunk of an old oak tree, motionless, his eyes and his unwavering attention on her little cottage. Shed left the kitchen light burning, so it probably looked to him as if someone was home.
All was quiet up and down Magnolia Street. It wasnt yet nine oclock, but dark had fallen a while ago, shrouding the old houses and thick-limbed trees in quiet night. Sporadically placed street lamps, porch lamps and the light glowing from the windows of homes cast illumination here and there. But Reva had found herself walking in more dark than light. She knew the way well, so the dark was not a problem. But then, she didnt usually
see strangers on her way home.
If not for the moonlight, she wouldnt be able to see the man at all. He was almost hidden in shadow, there beneath the oak tree.
If he was lost in shadow, so was she.
Shed walked home from Tewanda Hardys after dropping off Cooper at his friend Terrances, where he was spending the night. It was such a pretty spring evening, much too nice to be driving the mile or so to the Hardy house and then home again. When Cooper had said he was ready to go, Reva had pulled on her Tennessee Titans cap, stepped into her walking shoes and hit the sidewalk.
Good thing shed decided to walk. She never would have discovered the man spying on her cottage if she hadnt cut through the yard of the main house. She would have walked into her cottage without knowing someone was watching.
For a moment Reva stood very still and studied the man. Even though he was where he shouldnt be, she didnt feel threatened. He was wearing a suit, for goodness sake, and definitely didnt look like any burglar shed ever seen. He didnt look around to see if anyone might be watching, didnt display any signs of nervousness. Instinctively she knew he wasnt a threat to her. Indecision bubbled inside her, making her stomach clench. Her instincts had failed her before. She really shouldnt start trusting them now.
While she watched, he backed away from the tree, did a quick about-face and walked off.
And straight toward her.
Reva had a couple of choices, but she needed to make her decision now. Run. Hide. Confront.
The man whod been watching her house jerked his head around to stare in her direction. Okay, too late for hiding. He had long legs; she couldnt outrun him. All her neighbors were elderly. Screaming for help would eventually get the sheriff here, but would not do her any good in the coming minutes.
Reva searched the ground quickly, her eyes landing on a three-foot tree limb that had been trimmed from the Bradford pear but not yet taken to the street for pickup. She stepped to the side, dropped down and grabbed the limb, then stood and prepared herself for confrontation, the only choice she had left.