Chapter One

Images of the sexy bad boy from the next cottage haunted Marie as she stepped outside onto the wooden deck and glanced across the tranquil lake. She took a deep breath of fresh country air as she walked down the stairs and headed toward the water. She wanted to sit on the beach and enjoy the sunrise in quiet solitude before other cottagers were up and about. Maybe take a refreshing dip in the calm water.

Of course, if she happened to run into the gorgeous guy from next door, that would be quite fine.

She liked his name. Zeke. It was different from the names of the other men she dated. Of course, Zeke was a completely different type of man. The men she'd dated were very nice. Dependable. Confident. Pleasant. Although she'd only spoken with Zeke briefly, and it had been friendly and pleasant, she could sense in him an aura of… danger. No, that wasn't quite right. She felt safe around him. Protected almost. It was more as if he would like to… dominate her. That he would take control and totally master her. Which sent tingles through her.

It wasn't anything he'd said. In fact, it was probably more a matter of how she reacted to his extremely masculine presence. And a result of their first encounter.

Marie's friend Sylvia had invited her to the cottage for the Labor Day weekend. They'd arrived last night and had been enjoying a quite evening under the stars roasting marshmallows and talking. As much as they could with a wild party going on at the next cottage with a tough looking crowd. Marie had never seen so many tattoos and body-piercings in one group of people. As the evening progressed, the music had gotten louder and the party-goers more drunk. When tempers flared and a fight broke out, Zeke had shown up out of nowhere.

At first, Marie and Sylvia had thought Zeke was one of them, in his tight jeans and black T-shirt, a tattoo along his arm and the two spike piercings in his eyebrow, but he'd turned out to be more like a knight in shining armor. He'd settled them down, promising to bust their butts if they acted up again. He had an air of authority that they couldn't ignore.

Nor could she. A knight in shining armor was nice, and she was glad he'd been on hand, but the bad-boy aura was a total turn on. He'd stopped by their cottage afterward to see if they were okay, explaining he was in the cottage two doors down. He'd come to the lake to enjoy some solitude. They'd invited him in for a drink and chatted for a half hour, then he'd headed out.

She sighed as she walked past a clump of bushes toward the secluded patch of beach Sylvia had shown her yesterday. Birds chirped in the trees, the water swished against the shore, and the haunting cry of a loon sounded in the distance.

Her beach towel draped over her shoulder, she slipped between the bushes to the quiet inlet… then stopped cold. A man was wading into the water. He had a large tattoo of a fierce-looking dragon arched along his back, another tattoo coiling along his arm and over his shoulder, and a black tribal band around the other bicep.

And… he was completely butt naked!

And a fine butt it was. She couldn't help watching the muscles ripple as he stepped forward. As if sensing her presence, he stopped and turned around. She felt her cheeks burning at having been caught ogling him, but he simply smiled, revealing beautiful white teeth. That square jaw and those rich olive green eyes… it was Zeke.

How could she not have recognized the golden serpentine body of a dragon tattooed along his upper arm and disappearing over his shoulder? Of course, she had been busy admiring those hard tight buttocks.

The whole time they'd chatted at the cottage last night, Marie had wondered what the rest of that tattoo, which had disappeared under the sleeve of his T-shirt, looked like. In fact, she'd wondered what it would be like to see him naked, as well as what it would feel like to have his lips pressed hard to hers. Now, she knew. At least, the naked part.

As he watched her, his cock hardened and rose. Man, his butt was fine, but his cock was absolutely sensational! Enormous. She'd love to…

"Join me." His words, almost matter of fact, held a spine-tingling tone of authority.

Mesmerized, she dropped her towel and walked toward him. Tremors rippled across her flesh as she got closer. He held out his hand and she took it, then he tugged her toward him and drew her into his arms. She sucked in a breath as her bikini-clad body came in contact with his hard masculine body. Naked flesh to naked flesh. He smiled a devilish grin, then captured her lips.

His mouth, firm and confident, moved on hers with quiet authority. When his tongue brushed her lips she opened and he invaded her firmly and thoroughly. Breathless, she stepped back and stared at him in awe. He scooped her up and carried her into the water, his lips merging with hers again.

It was sweet heaven. He was so… masculine. So… powerful. Yet she felt totally safe with him.

The water caressed first her bottom, then more of her… cool… but she barely noticed. As he continued deeper, the water surrounding them, he released her legs and she curled around until she faced him, then she wrapped her legs around him. His hard cock nestled between them, pressing against her. Oh God, she wanted this man. She didn't care that they'd just met. That she never had sex with a man until at least five dates. She wanted him. Here and now. What was wrong with being a little wild and crazy every now and again? Why couldn't she do something totally out of character?

She reached down to her bikini bottom and untied the strings holding it together at the sides, then tugged the scrap of fabric away. He grinned at the obvious invitation.

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