Crystal Lakes, as exclusive and ritzy as it was, sat only about twenty-five minutes from the lower east side. It was one of those areas where you could feel the gradual change as you left hell and entered heaven. The grass started looking greener, the business district slipped away, and eventually everything was clean and untainted. Bonnie pointed out her house, a small white one, with a front porch. It looked as if it had been standing there for more than a hundred years, and was surprisingly different from the newer, immense homes recently built in the area. There were lights in every window, providing a sense of warmth. All in all, the place was impressive, but not quite what he’d expected. Somehow, he’d envisioned her stationed in real money. Any truly successful businessperson could afford this house. David stared around the isolated grounds. “So you decided to live here by yourself?” She nodded, not quite looking at him, her hands clasped nervously in her lap. “And th

He hesitated another moment, then stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind him. Bonnie watched through the window as his car drove away, wondering where he was going, or what he was going to do, but knowing she didn't have the right to ask. Perhaps he had a lady friend waiting for him. Of course he does, Bonnie, she told herself. A man like him probably has dozens of women. But they're not ladies. He wouldn't want a lady. And for some reason, that thought sent a small, forbidden thrill curling through her insides. ________________________ Anger and frustration were not a good combination. David didn't understand himself. Or more to the point, he didn't understand his reaction to Bonnie. He'd been a hairbreadth away from kissing her. Not a sweet little peck. No, he'd wanted his tongue in her mouth, his lips covering hers, feeling her urgency. He'd wanted, dammit, to devour her completely. And she would have loved it, he could tell that much from her racing pulse and he

She glanced around the room, taking in the apartment's minimal furnishings: a couch, a small table with two chairs, a few lamps, a stereo, but no television. His bedroom sat off to the right, where the open door allowed her to see a small night table and a rumpled bed. The kitchen was merely a room divided by a small, three-foot bar. He liked the place, even though the neighborhood was rough and the tenants noisy. It wasn't home, but then he'd never really had a home, at least not one of his own. He'd lived with Rick Sanchez a while, and that had seemed as close as he'd ever get to having a family. But that was before Rick died. Ever since, his life had been centered on taking care of Rick’s daughter. Where he lived was a trivial matter. He waited to see Bonnie's reactions to the apartment, but she didn't so much as blink. After a brief smile, she set the basket on the table, then opened it with a flourish. David had to say something…. “I know it’s not really a hotel as i said

Bonnie forced a small smile and tried to pull her hand free, but David wouldn't let her go. He wouldn't let her look away, either. His gaze held her as securely as his fingers held her hand. "I want to do this, David, and I'm not going to let you stop me." she said "Is this a way to get back on your parents… To get them to notice you?" he asked. She cleared her throat and tried to change the subject. "That is ridiculous. It doesn't have anything to do with anyone noticing me." Panic began to edge through her. Not for anything would she let him see her this way. “This has nothing to do with my family. I’m going…and if you are really determined to do your job right, then you will come with me, but i’m going…with or without you" Once she said that, she decided to leave, knowing she had to do something, occupy herself somehow. A display of emotions wouldn't serve her purpose. But before she could move away, he had tugged close. The morning whiskers on his jaw felt slightly abrasive

They both stepped out of the car and headed toward the entrance of the bar. Even in her heeled slippers, her head barely reached his collarbone, which made her shorter than the women he usually dated. At six foot four, and with a muscular physique, he generally preferred women who didn’t make him feel like a giant. But while the size disparity had concerned him before, now he found it a turn-on too. —------------------------ …’It’s not a date…It’s not a date…You are not on a date’ Maybe if she kept repeating it, she might remember it….Bonnie kept telling herself that. Because David’s jerk credentials had become harder and harder to remember through supper, every time he smiled at her with desire darkening his gaze; every time he offered her a taste from his plate like the Pied Piper of seduction; every time he murmured some wry observation and made her laugh; every time he made her heart thunder, or her pulse race or the hot sweet spot between her thighs throb. David might be a j