Holly furtively unbuckled her seatbelt, holding it in place with one hand as her other one inched toward the door handle. When Greer braked in front of Mrs. Langley’s garage, she opened the truck door and released the belt so fast the metal clanked against the roof.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, she took off at a run. She then dug her house key out of her pocket before she was halfway up the sidewalk.

The sound of Greer’s truck door slamming closed had her giving a small scream of fright. She practically pounded the key into the lock before turning it and jerking the door open with all the strength she possessed.

Turning, she tried shutting the door, but Greer was already there, pushing on it.

“Let me in,” he growled from the other side.

“No. Go away!” she yelled, using her shoulder to close the door before he could get inside.

“Hell fucking no!”

Holly screeched when her feet started sliding along the floor.

Realizing the futility of what she was doing, she released the door and took off toward her bedroom. If she could make it, she could possibly lock him out long enough to call Dustin or Tate for help.

Running down the hallway, she heard the front door close and Greer’s boots following her. Skidding into the kitchen, she turned the corner that led to her bedroom. Hearing his curse, she knew the slick floor had almost claimed him as a victim, too.

She ran through the doorway of her bedroom, grabbing the door and starting to close it, only to see Greer behind her, blocking her with his hand on the door.

Panting, she took a step back as he came farther into the room, closing the door with a soft click.

She looked toward the bedroom door, but before she could make a move toward it, Greer grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall beside the door. His chest crushed her as he panted from running.

She jumped when he pounded the wall right beside her head with his fist.

“Don’t hit me!”

“Woman, you need an ass whipping, and you’re going to get it. But first, I want some answers.” Greer hit the wall again, and she cringed when she saw he had left a gaping hole in it.

“Let me call Tate or Rachel, and we can sit down and talk about this calmly.”

“You think they’re going to protect you from me?” From the pft sound he made, she reckoned they wouldn’t.

Staring up him fearfully, she then closed her eyes. When she felt him release her, she opened her eyes to see him standing in front of her.

“Start talking.” His grim face didn’t make it easy.

“Can I sit down?”

“No.”

A fire of rebellion had her no longer cowering against the wall. Straightening her jacket, she buried her nervous hands into the pockets, realizing her cell phone was in her pocket.

Greer’s eyes raked hers as if he could read her mind. “You’ll be buying a new one,” he warned.

“Remember when you killed Talon?”

“That scrawny rooster that kept pecking you and Logan every time you tried to feed the chickens?”

“Yes. One minute, I was feeding my chickens and trying to get that one off me, and the next, you were wringing his neck. I liked that rooster.”

“You hated that rooster.” He gave her a look that said he doubted her sanity.

“I didn’t. I didn’t like him pecking me, but I was dealing with it. He didn’t deserve to die over it.”

“Woman, that stringy ass wasn’t even good enough to eat. What does that have to do with you pretending to be someone else and contacting me to talk?”

“I’m trying to explain! Right after you killed him, you went inside to shower before you took Diane out. You didn’t care that I was crying. You just went on your merry way. The next day, Diamond and I were joking around during our lunch hour. She was trying to cheer me up. We were looking at the singles in our area, and your picture came up.”

“Why were you searching men in our area to cheer you up?”

“I don’t know. We were just bored, I guess.” Holly refused to give him the details that she had confided to her friend—that she had feelings for him, that it was the idea of him dating and becoming serious with Diane that had been the most upsetting.

“Go on.”

“Anyway, when your picture came up, Diamond clicked on it and messaged you.”

If his face hadn’t been frightening before, it was now.

“Has she been the one I’ve been talking to?”

“No! She just did it that first time. I was the one who answered. We always did it at lunch time, but gradually …” Holly took a small puff of air, trying to catch her breath. “Then I kind of started talking to you on my own. She didn’t even know I was still talking to you until a few weeks ago.”

“Why did you keep talking to me?”

“I don’t know.” She clenched her hands in her pockets.

“Don’t fucking lie to me.”

She glared at him. “Because on the computer, you’re half-decent to talk to. It’s only in person you’re mean.”

“I ain’t mean.”

This time, he was the one receiving the look he had given her.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he started pacing back and forth. “All of this started because of a fucking joke.”

Holly felt terrible. “I was going to tell you tonight.”

He stopped pacing. “Were you? Were you just going to stop talking to me?”

The guilty thought flashed across her face. It was what she had intended before he had taken her out to Rosie’s. From his angry expression, she didn’t think he would believe that she was about to tell him on the dance floor.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

“What do you want me to do? You want me to be the one to tell Dustin and Tate that I was the woman you’ve been talking to?”

“Oh, hell, no. They’d never let me live it down that I was catfished by you.”

Holly flushed.

“You don’t want me to say anything?” she asked, dumbfounded. She had thought he would enjoy humiliating her in front of his family.

“You’re going to keep your trap shut, and I’ll tell them I quit talking to Kentuckygirl.”

She leaned back against the wall in relief that she was getting off so easily. “Thank you, Greer. It would have been so embarrassing. Dustin, Tate, and Rachel would have never let me talk to Logan again. I’m so—”

“Save your apology. You’re not getting off that easily.” His cold voice told her that he wanted retribution.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve had me dancing to your tune for months. It’s my turn now.”

Holly paled. “I don’t understand.”

“I’ve been looking for a wife. You’ll do.”

“Are you insane? I’m not going to marry you!”

“Why not? You think if Dustin finds out you catfished me, he’d ever let you near Logan again? Do you think Diamond would get hired for another case if it came out she was involved?”

“She wasn’t involved! It was only that one time—”

“How do I know that? I’ll make sure to spread it around town she took part. How do you think Knox would deal with his wife being a laughingstock around town?”

Holly knew how he would deal with anyone gossiping about Diamond. He would kill them. All the time she spent working to pay Diamond back for placing her trust in her would be for nothing.

“I can’t marry you,” she whispered.

He didn’t look away. He would do it. Without a shred of mercy, Greer would destroy her world.

“Okay, you win.”

“Now you’re using that brain of yours.”

Clenching her hands, she stabbed her nails into her palms to keep herself from scratching that smug look of his face. Then she started to leave the room, only to see him unbuttoning his shirt.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting undressed.” Greer unbuckled his belt.

“I’m not—”

Greer’s cell phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “What in the hell do you want?”

He didn’t seem happy at whatever the person was saying on the other end of the phone.

He looked down, pressing a button on his phone. “Knox wants to know if he needs to come over?” Giving her a mocking look, he didn’t seem concerned about her answer.

“I’m fine. I don’t need you.”

“You sure?” Knox’s voice came through the speakerphone.

“I’m sure. Thank you, anyway.”

Greer disconnected the phone without another word.

“Why’d he call?”

Greer pulled his belt out of his belt loops then placed his phone and the belt on the nightstand. “I guess someone saw you running from my truck.”

“Oh.”

He sat down on the side of the bed, toeing off his boots. Then he stood up and pulled down his underwear and pants.

“I’m not going to force you to get in that bed; that’s on you. You agreed to marry me, engaged couples fuck. Are you going to change your mind?”

“No, I said I would.”

“Then get naked.”

“I need to go to the restroom first.” With that, she rushed into the bathroom.

Taking out her phone, she set it down on the sink. Then she sat down on the side of the bathtub and tried to decide what she was going to do.

She could call Diamond, but she really didn’t want to drag her friend further into her mess. She knew Rachel would be mad, but she would take her side. She could go out there and tell Greer she wouldn’t marry him and take her chances that the Porters wouldn’t hate her. Or, she could do what she had dreamed about doing—being with Greer.

Was he forcing her hand? Yes. Was he blackmailing her? Definitely.

He was everything she didn’t want in a man and everything she did want. He was strong, didn’t take anyone’s bull, loved Logan as much as she did, and had never treated her like a body with big boobs. However, he did have a lot of faults. He sold pot, had a vicious temper, and he didn’t care when he made her cry.

She had dreamed of one day finding a man who would do anything to alleviate her tears. Greer would call it being a pussy, but she thought it would make them sensitive to her needs. Something that, unless Greer got a brain transplant, he wouldn’t be capable of.

What ultimately got her off the side of the tub was his good qualities outweighing his bad. She wasn’t going to lie to herself, either. The sight of him naked was like throwing kerosene on the lust she had tried to fan out since she had met him.

His body was solidly built without being overly muscular like Knox’s. His chest tapered down to a six-pack she didn’t know how he maintained, since she knew he didn’t go to the gym or watch what he ate.

Taking off her clothes, she put on her nightgown and housecoat that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Then she brushed out her hair again before going toward the door, whispering a low prayer before opening it.

“Jesus, I know this isn’t the thing I should pray to you for, but please … please let this be good.”

As she stepped out of the bathroom, she watched as Greer’s face dropped when he saw her wearing her nightgown.

“Woman, I didn’t tell you to get dressed when you were in there,” he complained.

Holly came to a stop, her hands going to her hips. “Let’s get one thing straight; when we’re in the bedroom, being a jerk stops at the door.”

His lips tightened, but he nodded in agreement.

“And another thing; I want in writing before we get married that if you cheat on me, I get custody of any children we have and your truck.” She wanted him to hurt if he ever cheated on her.

“I ain’t no cheater. Besides, what if you get tired of doing your wifely duty in twenty years?”

“The children will be grown by then and it won’t matter.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Well?”

“Fine,” he snapped. “But I want it in writing that if you don’t keep your wifely obligations, I get to keep my truck.”

Unable to put it off any longer, she unbelted her housecoat and took it off, laying it across the bottom of the bed.

Greer lowered his lashes when she shyly lifted up her nightgown, letting it slip from her fingers to the floor.

“Holy mother of God,” he said, lifting his eyes to hers.

Embarrassed, she started to lift her hands to cover her breasts, but he snapped his hands out, catching her wrists and pulling her toward him. She self-consciously put her hands on his shoulders.

“This is so strange.”

“What’s so strange about it?” He didn’t lift his eyes to hers, staring at her breasts fixedly.

Holly buried one of her hands in his hair that reached his shoulder, tugging it backward and forcing his eyes to rise. “Us doing this. It seems strange to me. I keep waiting for you to tell me you’re doing this to pay me back for pretending to be someone on the Internet.”

“It’s called catfishing.” Greer brought his hands to her hips. Lifting her, he twisted his body until she was lying on the mattress with him over her. “A man could get whiplash from those.”

Holly started hitting his shoulders. “I knew you couldn’t help being a jerk.”

“I was only teasing you to get you to relax.” He took her wrists, raising them over her head.

“Men always joke about my breasts! Another five hundred dollars, and I’ll finally have enough to have the breast reduction I scheduled for next month.”

His teasing look disappeared, replaced by one of horror. “Over my dead body.”

She gave him a smug look. “You don’t have any say over it. It’s my body, and I can do whatever I want with it.”

“Not anymore. It’s mine.”

“No, it’s not. It’s just a breast reduction—”

“Woman …” Greer lowered his head, pressing his lips in the V between her breasts and releasing her hands. Parting his lips, his tongue traveled up the slope of her breast to twirl around the nipple before sucking it into his mouth.

Holly arched as he bit down on the sensitive tip, and his hair fell over her breast, so she couldn’t see what he was doing. Her desire escalated as she watched his profile while he played with her nipple.

Blinking, she raised her head so she could get a better look at the lobe of his ear.

“I didn’t know your ear was pierced.” If she hadn’t been so close to him, she would have never seen the silver cross earring.

“No one ever notices it.” He rolled over onto his back, levering her over him until she was sitting on his hard stomach. Then he reached out, squeezing one breast into a plump mound. “You can’t deny a husband this sight. It would be sacrilegious.” He released her breast, trailing his fingers to her flat stomach that trembled at his touch. “Your waist is tiny.” He slid his hand across her waist to her curvy hip, which always kept her from fitting into the slim jeans she kept promising herself she would be able to fit into one day. Following the outline of her body to her thighs, his eyes grew sultry. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he sensuously stretched out beneath her. “If I could draw Venus, she would look like you.”

At first, she thought he was teasing her, but the appreciation in his eyes told her otherwise, bringing a lump to her throat.

“Don’t you dare change a thing about your body.”

“I won’t,” she whispered.

He put one hand behind her neck, lowering her lips to his. She sucked in her breath, terrified it wouldn’t be as good she had imagined.

If she hadn’t loved him before, she would have when she experienced his kiss. Since she was sixteen and experienced her first kiss, men had always given her only a peck before focusing on her breasts. Greer, however, held her in place as he explored the outline of her lips in the manner he had her body before sliding his tongue into her mouth, stroking hers with his until her breasts flattened against his chest as she tried to prolong the breathtaking kiss.

She smoothed her hands over his shoulders as his mouth enticed her to lose all inhibitions that were holding her back. She knew what the strange feelings she hadn’t been able to explain were. She had battled her attraction to Greer for so long that, when she had actually been touched by him, she was afraid he would turn into the mean Greer who would insult her and not care how she felt.

The first time a man and a woman had sex, it involved trust. Therefore, when she had touched Greer intimately for the first time, she had her barriers up, expecting him to show the same scorn for her he had always shown. In the bathroom, she had decided to take a chance on him, and when she had actually touched him, her body hadn’t received the same message of trust. The feel of his hands on her flesh relieved her of that worry.

She had assumed he would make love like his personality—raunchy, rough, and devil may care. Instead, he was showing a different side of himself.

Then he flipped her over to lie beside her, tugging her leg over his hip so his cock could nestle between her thighs.

“Are you on the pill?”

She had been so enraptured by what he was doing to her that she now castigated herself for not thinking about it.

“Yes.”

Pulled out of the dizzying fog he had created, she felt a pinch of regret. She wanted a baby, one who looked like Greer. He had told his family he wanted children, which was why he was searching for a wife. That he was concerned raised a suspicion that he wasn’t serious and was pretending to exact his revenge.

He swept his fingers upward, nudging her thighs farther apart with his forearm. Finding her damp center, he rubbed her clit until she wanted to scream at him to stop teasing her.

She started to reach for his cock to give him his own share of the torment he was giving her, but he caught her hand, folding it behind her back. Then he used his shoulder to press her down on the mattress. She tried to struggle out of his hold.

“If you touch my dick, I won’t be able to keep from coming.” Greer taunted her with his mouth, his lips lingering over hers, letting his breath play over hers. “It’s hard trying to concentrate when you’re trying to fuck perfection.”

“I’m not perfect.”

“A rose isn’t perfect, but it’s still beautiful.”

Holly stared into his eyes, trying to find the truth behind his words. Did he really mean them, or was that what he had told all the other women he had been with?

He sunk his fingers into her with a soft motion, as if she would tell him to stop. When she didn’t, he thrust them deeper, and her leg curled around his hip tighter, her heel riding the curve of his ass.

She tried again to release her hand, wanting to pull him closer. As if he knew what she was trying to do, he rubbed his chest back and forth across her breasts and slipped his tongue into her mouth.

Overwhelmed by the determined assault on her body’s erogenous zones, she gave in to him. This was a part of Greer she didn’t recognize. He was the master in his bed, and his woman was expected to follow his lead.

“Greer!” Frustration and desire had her heel pressing down on his ass. She had lived with him long enough to know how to get him to do what she wanted. “If you don’t quit teasing me, I’m going to come without you.”

“That’s okay. I can start again.” His kiss grew lusty as his tongue mimicked his plunging fingers.

“I’m a one-and-done kind of girl.”

Greer stopped kissing her, his fingers stilling. “You’re joking, right?”

“No.” She tried to wiggle her hips down on the fingers that had stopped moving.

“Woman, you won’t know what you’re capable of until you fuck me. I’ve been known to make blind women see.”

Holly burst out laughing.

“You doubt me?” He moved his hand away and then rose to his knees. Then he reached under her, twining his fingers together at the base of her back and arching her hips so he had the perfect angle to thrust inside of her pussy. Driving home in one lunge, he sent her moving upward in the bed. “That feel good?”

“God, yes!” she gasped.

Greer snapped his hips back then forward. “That feel better?”

Her high-pitched screams filled the room as his thrusts sent her body rioting. Her pussy throbbed from how hard he was driving into her.

She looked up to see him staring at her and bit her lip to keep from crying out again. Goose bumps rose on her arms when he didn’t seem as aroused as she was. His storm-filled eyes narrowed on her, not missing that she was pulling back, trying to bring her excitement to a more manageable level like his.

“Am I doing something wrong?” She heard the hurt in her own voice.

He lowered his mouth to the curve of her ear. “Woman, if you do it any better, I won’t be able to finish you off.”

Holly didn’t believe him, but his pounding dick drove her higher until she couldn’t think, much less watch the reactions crossing his face.

He steadily kept rocking into her until she felt a drop of sweat drip between her breasts. Greer’s tongue laved it. Then he licked the globe of her breast, finding her nipple and twirling his tongue around it until her pussy clamped down around his hard dick.

Gripping his shoulders, she could only hold on as he moved within her, alternating between slow and fast strokes until she no longer cared about anything except to bring an end to the torment he was putting her through.

“Please, Greer, please … please …” She begged, trying to find the orgasm that was eluding her grasp.

“You want to come?” he grunted out.

“Yes!”

He brought his hands to her butt, lifting her higher. “Woman, I’m going to send you where no man has sent you before.”

She bit her nails into his flesh to make sure she was still with him and hadn’t imagined him making love to her. The wave of sensations storming through her body was unlike anything she had felt before.

When the euphoric feeling vanished and Greer stiffened over her, his cock throbbing inside of her, it was like he had thrown her up into the air and she was breaking into pieces before coming back to earth and finding herself in his arms.

She blinked up at him, dismayed that she was still lying on her bed in one piece.

“What was that?”

He grinned down at her wickedly. “Told you I would.”