The Italian's Passionate Return Read Free Page A

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 given him a punch to the gut he’d never forgotten. Nor had he forgotten the intense passion between them that they’d generated with just a touch. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off of her that night. Every time they had satisfied their mutual, aching need, she would touch him, or laugh at something he said and he’d want her again.
    And damn! She’d been so responsive. Every touch, every sigh, every writhing moment was permanently imprinted on his memory.
    Even now, looking at her in the beaten up jeans that were too big for her slight frame and the baggy sweatshirt that did nothing to hide those full breasts underneath, he wanted her.
    “I came to buy a puppy for my niece,” he finally explained, forcing his mind to start working again. “She’s three and I’ve been told by multiple sources that you are the person who has the best puppies.”
    Jemma thought about shaking her head, telling him that she didn’t have any puppies. But he’d already seen them in her barn. That didn’t mean she was going to let him get one though. “They are fifteen hundred dollars,” she finally said, tripling her normal price for a yellow lab puppy.
    Damien didn’t even blink. “Do they have all their shots?”
    Jemma thought about telling him he was an idiot for paying that much for a puppy but she stopped herself just in time. If he wanted to pay that much, she’d let him have a puppy. Lord knows she and Dylan could use the money!
    “They have all their shots – I have the documentation.” She nodded towards the barn. “You can pick one out, write the check and I’ll pull the records for that particular puppy.”
    Damien almost laughed. “Will you help me pick one out?” he suggested and almost threw back his head with delight when she practically stomped her foot with frustration because he wasn’t doing what she wanted.
    “Fine,” she finally said. With jerky movements, she walked over to the barn, making a wide circle so she didn’t get too close. When they were standing in front of the stall with all the wiggling puppies, most of them golden but a few of them more white than yellow, she stepped inside, picking one up and smiling as the little guy immediately tried to lick her nose. “They are all great little puppies, but none are house trained yet,” she cautioned. “You said this was for your niece?”
    “Yes, she’s three. Or she will be in a few days. This is her birthday present.”
    Jemma pulled the dog back, almost hiding him from Damien’s reach. “Have the