Read Online All Grown Up by Janice Maynard - Free Book Online Page A

successful businessman. Here, alone in a remote house, trapped by a winter storm, he looked like the kind of man who could keep a woman safe, no matter the circumstances.
    She didn’t need a keeper. As the lone Wolff female, she had grown up strong, resilient, entirely capable of steering her own life. But when it came to understanding the kind of feminine ways that drew a man in for the long haul, Annalise was clueless.
    Sam, by his own admission, was looking to settle down, to start a family. Even if he played house with Annalise until the blizzard abated, he’d be going back to Charlottesville soon, trolling for a nice, sweet, amenable kind of gal to cook him meat loaf, defer to his wishes and run his house barefoot and pregnant.
    Annalise had grown up in the South. She knew the stereotype. And she knew many wonderful women who could hold down full-time jobs and still be damned good mothers and wives. The problem was, Annalise wasn’t one of them.
    “I’m not a Puritan,” she said. “I love sex.”
    “Prove it.”
    “Oh, good Lord. Does that line work for you at your age?”
    He grinned. And the sexy flash of white teeth literally made her knees week. When he took two steps in her direction, she was trapped. Flames to the back of her, fire to the front. “Kiss me again, darlin’,” he said. “Let me keep you warm.”
    Impossible. Utterly impossible not to respond this time. He scooped her into his arms and whispered nonsensical endearments as he proceeded to kiss her senseless.
    Time. She needed time. How could she formulate a thought when his talented fingers were doing amazing things to her aching breasts? Breathing became problematic. Her lips felt puffy and bruised. All she wanted to do was kiss him more.
    He braced one hard, long thigh between her thighs, and the firm pressure there took every last bit of self-control she possessed and tossed it to the winds. She had never been one to second-guess her decisions. Confidence and boldness had taken her far in business and in life.
    But holy heck, what was she supposed to do in this situation?
    “Sam?” She leaned backward in his tight embrace as far as she could, trying to get his attention.
    He took advantage of the position to bend and capture one silk-clad nipple and nip it with his teeth. “Sam!”
    The moaning cry finally got through to him. He straightened, his face flushed, his shirt awry thanks to her frantic need to touch his chest. Everything about him was disheveled, earthy, intent on carnal pursuits. Even his eyes were cloudy and unfocused.
    “What?” he growled, his sexual frustration palpable.
    “We have to agree on something.”
    He released her, bent at the waist and stared at the floor, clearly in pain. “God give me strength. You are the most ball-busting female I’ve ever met. Make up your mind, damn it. Do you want me or not?”
    She rapped her knuckles on his head. “Don’t talk to me like that. You started this insanity. Yes. I want you. But only for the moment. Only while you’re in this house. Got it?”
    When he straightened and faced her, a shiver of primal feminine apprehension danced through her veins. Here was a man at the end of his rope. And he looked as if he would as soon strangle her with it than let go.
    “Are you seriously negotiating a relationship at this goddamn moment?”
    “There is no relationship,” she shouted, stung by his incredulity. “All we’re going to do is indulge in wild monkey sex. No strings.”
    “Strings…” He repeated the word, his mouth pursed as he tried to decipher her meaning.
    “Tell me you get what I’m saying.” She didn’t understand exactly why she was pushing so hard. Perhaps because she couldn’t bear the thought of another half-dozen years of heartache in the aftermath of an encounter with Sam Ely.
    His eyes narrowed, he straightened to his full height and his chest rose and fell with each harsh breath. “Here’s what I get,” he said softly, the words forced