Tessa's Treasures Read Online Free Page A

the sides of her throat. She had the unsettling urge to purr like a contented cat.
    His voice lowered to a husky whisper. “Tell you what. If you sell anything, you can take me to dinner. Deal?”
    Hmm. He was asking for dinner, but his eyes glowed with a savage inner fire, inviting much more . No, please, don’t ask. I’m not ready. Won’t ever be ready.
    “Deal.” The word came out before she even thought it. Every inch of her body went high alert. If I don’t move away from him soon, I’ll melt into the ground like a puddle of mush or run screaming into the night.
    He cupped her face and slowly bent his head. “I have to do this,” he murmured before he captured her lips. The smell of musky aftershave, clean cotton, and Lucas, along with the faint taste of beer, made her nostrils flare.
    Tessa’s heart sped up till she feared it would choke her. Lights flashed behind her eyelids. Too quickly he pulled away, ran his knuckles over her cheek. “Good night.”
    He walked her to the driver’s side and opened the door. She stepped in, reached behind her and pulled the strap down to hook her seat belt. Lucas closed the door, leaning his forearm on the door frame. “Drive carefully.” He stepped back.
    In a daze, Tessa started the car and pulled away. Three blocks over her brain kicked in. Big trouble. Big, big trouble.

Chapter Three
    Lucas stood in his kitchen, sipping a cup of coffee. His thoughts, as always, centered on Tessa Jordan. He’d searched her out with the full intention of discovering if his feelings were the same as twenty-five years ago. They weren’t. They were ten times stronger. At twenty-two he’d been a horny young man, fully aware that a seventeen-year-old was jail bait. And if he touched her, Mason would have beaten the hell out of him. So he played around, waiting for Tessa to grow up. But Patty and the pregnancy got in the way.
    Patty. Twenty-four years of marriage to the wrong woman. His wife felt it. She was as unhappy as he, but chose to soothe her unhappiness with a number of affairs. Guilt at not loving her as he should, and his need to be an important part of the twins’ lives, kept him from considering divorce. By the time he’d actually considered it, she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer, and there was no way he would’ve abandoned her then, unlike her latest lover. But now he was free and so was Tessa. He finished his coffee and put the mug in the dishwasher.
    There was something going on with her. It troubled him that she almost seemed afraid of him. Good God, he’d grown up with her, had spent more nights sleeping in Mason’s room than his own. At times she had that deer in the headlights look about her. Every time his brain started to sort it out, he shoved it to the back of his mind. He refused to go down the path his thoughts wanted to take him.
    He inhaled deeply of the fresh spring air as he jumped into his Jeep. A strong sun warmed his arm resting on the window. Sunglasses on and baseball cap pulled low, he left the driveway. A perfect day to check out the boat. His twenty-seven foot cruiser had been shipped from Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City to Adams Marina yesterday. Although a 1984 model, he’d maintained it scrupulously for the fifteen years he’d owned it.
    Never a favorite form of recreation for Patty, he and the boys had enjoyed overnight trips and hours of fishing from the boat. Retirement would allow him to take his dream trip. Haul the boat to Corpus Christi, and cruise the Gulf. After that, he’d be ready to accept the teaching job at Cameron University in Lawton.
    As soon as he hopped out of the Jeep, Mike Adams, owner and top-notch mechanic, sauntered over, wiping his hands on a rag. “Mr. Raven, how y’all doing this morning?”
    “I’m good. How’s my boat looking?” They strolled behind the lengthy flat building past a dozen or more boats with “For Sale” signs in front.
    “There she is.” Mike waved at the Amore Perduto, shining