Dan All Over Again: Dan All Over Again / The Mountie Steals A Wife

She was sitting on the bench along the back, her legs tucked beneath her, going over her notes and lists. So, she’d become Miss Organization. She reached over and primped Sammy’s hair, and he caught himself smiling. There was a part of her, though, that defied logic, scoffed at sensibility and went with her impulses. That was the part he’d fallen in love with, the part that affected his impulses as well as getting them into marital bliss before they’d had time to pick the china pattern.

Hurricane Cassie was back, sweeping through his insides and flooding his cautions. Even if she was trying to be something she wasn’t: sensible. She still had feminine willies, that was for sure. He stretched, catching her glance up at the movement with a glint of appreciation in her eyes. Geez, when had he last felt so alive? Standing half-naked in the cabin with her, he’d been more than tempted to take her in his arms.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her glance at him again. He shifted so she couldn’t see his traitorous organ standing to get her attention. The damned thing would have jumped up and down waving if it could.

After she had swept back out of his life, he’d been devastated not only by her loss, but by his failure at keeping her. For a long time he sought ways to prove to himself he wasn’t a failure, including winning every fishing tournament he entered, then starting his own business. He didn’t consider his current love life a failure; he dated whom he wanted and broke it off when he wanted. But the damned of it was, none of those women left behind the gut-wrenching feeling of loss Cassie had.

Here they were again, and it felt the same as when they’d first met. The chemistry was still there, and so, for him, was the desire to make her his. Was the old Cassie really gone? He’d never get this new Cassie-with-her-lists to fall for him again.

“Aw, isn’t he cute?” she said.

“Oh, no, now what do you have Sammy doing?”

She giggled. “It’s not Sammy.”

Thor was snuggled into Cassie’s big tote bag, his head the only part of him sticking out. He perked one of his floppy ears at Dan’s frown, then looked at Cassie.

“You’ve corrupted my dog! Thor, come here, boy!”

Thor reluctantly pulled himself from the bag—and jumped right into Cassie’s lap.

Dan slapped his forehead. “Oh, no.” In less than five seconds, Thor was on his back, legs skyward as Cassie rubbed his tummy. For a moment, Dan was jealous of his dog. “Thor! Stop being a wuss!”

Thor’s big brown eyes shifted to Dan, then back to Cassie. He wasn’t going anywhere. Another Mc-Dermott male falling prey to Cassie’s feminine willies.

DAN NUDGED THE BOAT a few feet closer to the island a while later. He had put on a white cap, which offset the masculinity of his broad, tan shoulders. And made him look cuter than all get-out. Cassie had the overwhelming urge to hook him right in his tantalizing butt and reel him over.

Tsk, tsk, those impulses again. She’d had such a good rein over them until Dan came along. She overcame the insanity and aimed for the dark water beneath the mangrove branches where he said the fish liked to hide. On her third cast, she felt something jerk her line in a big way.

“Dan!” she whispered, trying to remember the fishing lingo. “I’ve got a hit!”

He seated his rod and came over. The line went taut, and then her rod bent. She held on tight, determined to put up a fight and see it through.

“Just start reeling him in, nice and slow.”

Her heart was pumping as she fought the fish. It jumped out of the water with a horrific splash, bringing shouts of excitement from some of the nearby fishermen. A gaping yellow mouth thrashed in the water, and she caught a glimpse of teeth. Even the dogs, who had jumped up on the side to see what the commotion was about, jumped back to the deck.

“What is it, a piranha?”

“I doubt that.” He leaned over the edge of the boat. “Holy schmoly, Cassie, I think you got yourself a gator trout.”

His excitement was contagious, and she fought even harder. “Is that good?”

“It’s excellent, and it’s also dinner.”

“Cool!”

Dan hovered just behind her, but let her reel in the fish. “Atta girl,” he’d say. Or “Great job, Cass.”

Those words were as gratifying as catching the fish. Finally the scaly devil gave in, and she reeled it up to the boat. She was determined to land the bugger on her own. With his words of praise singing through her veins, she used all her strength to jerk her rod upward.

The toothy fish sailed gracefully through the air, catching the sunlight as it…headed right at her!

“Eek!” She ducked, but the fish’s tail caught her in the cheek. She batted it away, and the fish batted her back. “Yuck!”

If Dan didn’t have such a wonderful laugh, she might have been agitated. Instead, she laughed with him.

He removed the hook with a pair of pliers and put it in the scale. “Damn, Cassie, you caught yourself an eight-pound trout.”

“Is that good?” she asked, coming up behind him. She could already tell it was by the tone in his voice. Why his pleasure gave her a thrill was beyond her. After all, it was just her ex-husband, just a fish.

“It’s great,” he said, though he wasn’t looking at the fish. “You’re giving me a case of fish envy.” He tossed the trout in the live well and flopped down beside her, landing a little too close for comfort. “So, you still sleep in the nude?”

And there went the rest of her comfort. “Pardon?”

“Since we’re going to be sharing close quarters tonight, I wanted to know what I was getting myself into. Er, so to speak.”

She stood, already getting too much of close quarters and not liking his wicked gleam at all. “What are you talking about? I’m not sleeping on this boat.”

“You going to hang over the side all night like a bait bucket?”

“No, you’re going to take me back to the docks tonight.”

He stretched out on the bench and propped his feet on the back of the transom. “I thought you knew the tournament was all weekend.”

“Yeah, but I figured you went back at night.”

“Nope, it’s a marathon tournament. We’re on the boat all weekend. Just you, me, the dogs…” He nodded toward the bin. “And your trout.”

Sammy barked, and Thor jumped in, too.

“No way, uh-uh.” She started pacing. “You’ve got to take me back. It’s not that far.”

“No can do, Cass. No one’s allowed to leave the vicinity.”

“I don’t have any clothes. Just my bathing suit underneath this.”

He was smiling, his hands behind his head. “I don’t hear a good reason to take you back yet.”

“Dan!” She threw down her hands in frustration. “I have no toothpaste, no food. I’m not prepared to spend two days on a boat.”

“Then you should have read the brochure more closely, Miss Prepared-with-her-lists. It said right in the rules that contestants are required to stay on their boats the whole weekend. It’s part of the fun. And even though I’m not an official contestant, I have to abide by the rules, too. You know, sportsmanship and all that.”

“For your information, Mister-no-rules-at-all-so-I’m-surprised-you-even-read-them, I only found out about this tournament late yesterday. I had a few minutes to read the brochure and get the pertinent details. This is exactly why I don’t like to act impulsively.” She shot him a meaningful look. “It gets me into trouble every time.” She picked up Sammy, plopped down on the other end of the bench seat, and fussed with his hair. She made sure his bell jingled sufficiently. A minute later, Thor jumped up and settled next to her. Dan’s gaze flicked from him back to her, and she didn’t much like that fire in his eyes as he leaned toward her.

“You know what I think? I think you’re afraid to spend the night on this boat…with me.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Am not.” Are, too.

He was enjoying this. He had a lazy grin as he leaned closer yet. The bill of his cap touched her forehead. “I think you’re crazy about me all over again, and you don’t trust yourself to be around me in that little cabin.”

She moved back. “And I think you’re a few peas short of a casserole.”

He leaned closer. “I think you want to see if making love with me would still be as hot as it used to be.”

She pressed her hand against his chest and pushed him away. “You’re a few clowns short of a circus, too.” His bare skin was warm beneath her touch, not to mention solid as a mountain.

His mouth twitched, but he removed his cap and leaned closer yet. Just as Sammy started to jump up, Dan put his hand over his head. Dan’s nose nearly touched hers, and that hint of aftershave mixed with his own scent. “I think you’re afraid you wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off me.”

“You’re surfing in Nebraska, buddy boy!” she said, pushing him back, getting to her feet and sending dogs sprawling everywhere. She took a deep breath of salty air, realizing she’d had her hands on him a few times already. Needles of sensation prickled through her, and she took another breath to clear them. “And you’re one feather shy of a whole duck to boot.”

He had an infuriatingly smug grin on his face. “Then why are you running away from me?”

“Puh-leeze!” She pulled a butter rum from her tote bag. “You were crowding my zone.”

“If I’m wrong, prove it. What’s the big deal about spending the night on the boat with me?”

“There is no big deal.” She put her hand over her mouth when she heard the sucking noises.

“Got a date? Boyfriend who might get jealous?”

She wanted to tell him yes, a big, strapping attorney or corporate tycoon or someone completely opposite from Dan. But the word, “No,” leaked out instead.

“Then?”

“Fine, as long as you have something I can sleep in.”

Ooh, the look that came over his face. He cleared his throat. “I’m sure I can come up with something.”

And he said she had feminine willies! He had the male version. She wasn’t going to admit she couldn’t handle spending the night with him, because it wasn’t true. Okay, there was a spark, a…something. But not some irresistible force. Dan was…well, Dan. The guy who fished all the time with no goals or game plan—like she used to be.

“Pam’s coming by to pick me up. I need to let her know I won’t be back tonight.”

He pulled out a cellular phone from another compartment and tossed it to her. “Be my guest. I’m going to catch me some fish.”

She left a chagrined message on Pam’s machine, then turned to find Dan casting from the back of the boat. His muscles moved and flexed beneath his tan skin, and his cute little derriere wiggled as he reeled in his lure. Cocky son of a gun. She was going to show him. If he had any notions of a fling to, uh, refresh her memory, he had something else coming. No, he had nothing coming!

And all this talk of coming…not a good idea. No way, uh-uh.

6

AS DAN SENT THE LURE OUT over the water again, he glanced over at Cassie. She was sitting there with Samuel in her lap, Thor curled up at her feet. Her little notepad sat next to her, its chain draped over her ankle. Was that where she kept that compatibility list of hers? The criterion she would use to stay married to the next man. The next man who would hold her at night, warm his mouth with her kisses, nibble that place behind her ear and hear that little meowing sound she made…

Why did that bug him so much? If she’d had such a list back when they’d dated, she probably wouldn’t have married him in the first place. And despite everything about the divorce, even losing Samuel Kent, he wouldn’t trade those days for anything.

Cassie picked up the notepad. Oh, no, more notes. He’d no doubt added several more criterion to her compatibility list, things her perfect male couldn’t have.

But she put the pad in her tote bag, pulled out a tube of sunblock and started slathering it on her shoulders and face. He watched her fingers slide over her skin and the way the sun glistened over the slick areas. The breeze lifted the hair from her shoulders as she tilted her neck to rub lotion down the length of it. That reminded Dan of the massage to come.

When she was finished, he rolled his shoulders and asked, “How about putting some of that on my shoulders?”

“I don’t suppose this would count as the massage, would it?” she asked, coming over.

“Babe, you’re surfing in Nebraska if you think I’m letting you out of that one.”

“You’re a hard man, Daniel McDermott.” She closed her eyes. “Oh, brother, did I walk into that one. Okay, go ahead. Give it to me. I mean, say whatever it is you’re going to say about being hard. I know you want to. Let’s have it.”

He could only stare at her. “You lost me after you asked me to go ahead, give it to you, and knowing I want to, much less letting you have it.”

Her face flushed red. “You have a dirty mind. Now turn around.”

“Me? My mind’s as pure as the Hudson River. You’re the one assessing my hardness, not to mention the string of invitations afterward.”

“Augh! They were not invitations.”

“Were, too.”

“Were not! Just because you have sex on the brain, so like a typical male, you think every word out of my mouth is some kind of invitation, but let me tell you, buster, I have no intention of falling for your charms or innuendoes…”

Blah blah blah. He wasn’t sure he could use her skimble-scamble against her, so he tuned out her words and concentrated on those soft, sweet lips of hers. The way they moved around her words, the way the bottom edge of her top teeth showed once in a while, and every so often the tip of her tongue would peek out to tantalize—

“Dan? Are you listening to me?”

She ducked down to the level of his eyes. Well, at least he wasn’t gazing at her chest. “Of course I am. I was paying quite a bit of attention to your mouth—I mean, the words coming out of your mouth.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I ought to…”

“You’ve already thrown me off my boat and hooked me in my butt. What else can you do?”

“Maybe I should throw you off your boat again. The guys seemed to enjoy that.”

He pressed the tip of his finger to her collarbone. “You are not throwing me off my boat again, understand?”

He didn’t like the devilish grin on her face as she saluted. “Aye, aye, captain. Now turn around.”

He closed his eyes the moment her hands made contact. The lotion was cool on his hot skin, and it smelled light and airy. Her touch was soft and slow as she swirled the lotion on his shoulders. When she reached up to his neck, he felt goose bumps rise all over his body, accompanied by an involuntary sound coming from his throat.

“Remember when you used to rub my back when we went grocery shopping together?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“And when I made spaghetti sauce, I’d be at the stove and you’d just come up behind me and start doing what you’re doing now?”

“Yeah.”

She sounded noncommittal, so he added, “You couldn’t keep your hands off me, could you?”

And then he felt a big glob of lotion slide down his spine.

“Oops.” She cleared her throat. “Well, I did admit to being flaky back then, didn’t I?”

He squirmed as the lotion dripped lower. “I think I liked you better when you were flaky.” He could have sworn more lotion dripped down into his shorts.

“Why, because now I can resist your charms, and keep my hands off you? Because rubbing sunblock on you doesn’t have to be a sensual experience?”

More lotion puddled in his shorts. He would have complained, but she kept right on kneading his back with her fingers. He could live with the puddle, he supposed.

“Don’t you worry about becoming boring with all these rules and lists?” he asked.

“Boring? I’m not boring, I’m sensible. Like right now, it’s sensible to put lotion on you, since you can’t reach your back.”

“So what you’re doing now is strictly industrial?”

“Strictly. You think I’m enjoying this? Running my hands across your broad shoulders, feeling your biceps tighten beneath my touch, feeling all that smooth, warm skin and the way—” She cleared her throat again. “Turn around, and I’ll put some on your nose. You always did get a pink nose when you went fishing.”

He sat in the chair and positioned his face inches in front of hers. Those sparkling green eyes of hers met his, and her mouth went slack. That’s what happened right before she knew he was going to kiss her. And since he didn’t want to let her down, he decided to oblige. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly. She wanted this kiss, too. His mouth was only a hair away from hers. A hair away from heaven.

And then she creamed him with a palm full of lotion. Her eyes were still wide and slightly startled, but she busied herself with smoothing in the lotion as though the most delicious experience wasn’t about to happen between them. He could smell the butter rum on her breath, speaking of delicious. Those sucking noises weren’t helping things, either. Her eyes were on his the whole time she smoothed on the lotion, rubbing it in over and over. He felt her finger run along that fine scar on his cheek the way she’d done a thousand times. The scent of her, the lotion and those candies, combined with her touch and close proximity were doing heady things to him. When was the last time he’d felt like this?

When he was married to her.

“Can I have one?” he asked, making her fingers stop.

“One what?”

“Candy.”

He could see it in her eyes, the memory of the times he’d asked for one when he really meant he wanted the very one in her mouth. He didn’t waste another second, didn’t want to lose the moment.

He leaned forward and moved his mouth against hers in a slow back and forth motion, testing the waters, seeing if there were any nibbles. Her eyes fluttered closed, and her mouth molded to his. Warm, sweet lips that were soft beneath his. She was going to have to break the kiss, because he wasn’t going to give her an out.

Somewhere in the logical part of his mind, he became aware of a cool sensation in his lap. He wasn’t cool down there, that was for sure. He pushed away those thoughts and focused on the heat of her mouth and the texture of her lips.

My, but she felt good, even this small bit of contact. He didn’t know where he was anymore, or why he was there. All he felt was her mouth against his, hers slightly open. When he inhaled, he tasted butter rum. Ah, that’s why he was there, to steal her candy.

He opened his mouth on the next kiss, pushing a little harder. She made a hoarse sound, and he wanted to capture it, swallow it. Her mouth opened to his so easily, almost as though she’d been anticipating this kiss as much as he had. The candy was anchored to the roof of her mouth, and he left it there for the time being. He slid his fingers up into her hair, his thumb grazing the edge of her ear. He felt her teeth scrape his tongue as he slid inside. She made another sound, and he moved closer and dived deeper inside her mouth.

Pure, sweet delight filled his senses. Not just the butter rum, but all the textures and tastes of her mouth, all the memories that assailed him. He even heard bells ringing as though a thousand angels blessed this kiss. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest, and realized he was breathing heavily, too. Her tongue traced the length of his, pausing at the tip before going down the other side. He could lose himself in her, but he’d come on a mission. His tongue scooped up the small, smooth ring.

He heard the bells again. Barking penetrated his consciousness, and then a little furball jumping up and down. With a sigh, he finished the kiss. “I see Samuel still barks when we kiss.” He’d done it since the first time he’d kissed Cassie in front of the little pipsqueak, and every time thereafter. And now he had Thor joining in.

She looked dazed, reminding him of the way she looked after they made love. She blinked, wavering a little before catching her balance.

“I…could have given you a new one,” she said in a light voice.

He positioned the ring on the tip of his tongue and stuck it out to show her. “I wanted thith one.”

She shifted her gaze to Samuel, who was jumping up and down between them. But her gaze went back to the front of his shorts, and a look of sheepish embarrassment washed away the daze. “Oh, my.”

“Well, Cass, you just do that to me.”

She lifted an eyebrow at him, trying hard to hide a grin. “I think you’d better look.”

The front of his shorts was covered in white sunblock. And at the same level, gripped in her fisted hands, was the incriminating bottle. As he’d kissed her, she’d been squeezing the bottle.

“Oops,” she said.

“Oops. Is that all you can say?”

“Sorry?” she offered with a shrug. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”

He glanced around. A few of the guys were watching their little display, getting their chuckles at Dan’s expense. Great. Just great. When he turned back to her, she was staring at the white blob that at least camouflaged the effect of his desire. The only thing that mollified him was that she’d been so swept away by their kiss, she’d involuntarily squeezed the tube. She set the sunblock on the side of the boat and gave it a little pat.

Then she shook her head. “Dan, what are you—we doing?”

“Marveling at the condition of my crotch?”

“No! The other thing.”

“The kiss, you mean. Can’t you even say what it was?”

“All right, the kiss.”

“What about it?”

Her eyes grew wide. “It, er…I forgot what I was going to say.” She gave him a nudge. “That’s what I’m talking about. What are we doing here? This is crazy.”

“What’s your point?”

She gave him an exasperated look. “What are we doing?”

“If you mean right now, we’re standing here analyzing our current activity. If you’re talking about a minute ago, we were, uh, let’s see.” He moved closer and kissed her again, murmuring, “Ah yes, this is what we were doing. Had to refresh my memory.”

It felt just as wonderful the second time, even better when she sighed in surrender. He held her face in his hands, tilting it just right.

He heard bells again. Then Sammy’s yapping intruded, and little paws pushed against his legs. Dan nudged the pipsqueak away with his foot.

He blinked, feeling as though he’d just downed a six-pack of beer. “Maybe we should get some fresh air.”

“That’s all we’re getting.”

“Oh. Yeah.” He gave Sammy a pet on his head. “Does Sammy—Samuel bark when you kiss other guys?” He didn’t really want to know, but the question had popped out anyway.

She picked up the dog and nuzzled his head with her nose, looking at Dan through his hair. “He growls at the other guys.”

He wasn’t comfortable at all thinking about her kissing anyone else. Though he liked the growling part. He suddenly felt restless, and then remembered he’d been feeling that way before Cassie arrived. Since then, he hadn’t had that unnerving feeling he’d forgotten something. “Wanna go for a spin? We can stop at Biff’s Waterside Store and get you what you need for tonight.” And he’d pick up some condoms, just in case.

“Sure.”

“But first I’d better change into another pair of shorts. At this rate, I’m going to be naked by tomorrow morning.” He enjoyed her look of surprise before disappearing into the cabin.

A few minutes later, they were cruising. She watched all of the contestants studiously casting and reeling, but her thoughts were still back when Dan had kissed her something silly. She stole a glance at him, his hair slicked back from the wind, his gaze trained forward. Thornton was in position next to his captain, head up in the same way. Sammy twisted in her hold, and she put him down. He took a place next to Thornton and Dan, his head also poised. The blast of wind and thump of the waves beneath them coincided with the emotions twisting inside her.

She fought the desire to touch her fingers to her lips. Kissing Dan had always been nice, but now…wow. Maybe it was because she hadn’t been kissed like that for a long time. But it couldn’t happen again. And she still had that massage to give him. Good grief, why had she agreed to that, anyway? How was she supposed to maintain distance when she’d be touching his body? She’d lost her mind just putting sunblock on him.