The Italian's Passionate Return Page 0,1

of the puppies.”

Jemma perked up at that news. Selling one of the puppies would be wonderful! They were pure-bred yellow labs. The proceeds from just one would allow her to buy groceries for the whole month.

“You stay and eat your breakfast,” she told him sternly, wiping her hands on the threadbare dishtowel. “I’ll go see what this guy wants.”

Dylan almost rolled his eyes, but he was too hungry to put much effort into the expression. “I told you, he wants to buy one of Momma Dog’s puppies.” He looked up at her when she had one hand on the doorknob. “You’re not going to, are you?” he asked, his eyes instantly displaying concern.

Jemma sighed, the weight of her son’s worry on her shoulders. “We talked about this, remember? I know you love Momma Dog’s puppies, but they need to find their own homes.”

Dylan’s food was forgotten as his worry over losing one of his playmates surfaced. “Yeah, but that was last week. No one came to buy a puppy, so I thought…”

Jemma’s heart ached for her young son. “Dylan, just because no one has come to buy them yet, doesn’t mean they all don’t need a good home. You can’t take care of six puppies plus Momma Dog and all of your other chores.”

His face took on a disgruntled expression as he thought through the options. “I could forget some of my other chores!” he exclaimed. “That would give me more time to take care of the puppies.”

Jemma almost laughed out loud at his excited expression. But she somehow found the strength to hold back. “I don’t think so, young man. Eat your breakfast,” she told him and opened the door. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

Jemma walked out of the house and headed towards the barn. She looked towards the front and saw the long, black limousine. Nervous, she hurried her pace. It wasn’t the luxury of the vehicle that caused her heart to start beating frantically. Her reputation as a horse and dog breeder had people from Washington, D.C., Richmond, and as far away as North Carolina and Ohio coming to her farm to buy horses or puppies. The animals loved her farm, enjoying the freedom of the outdoors and the wide, open spaces where they could run around and bark to their heart’s content. But there was something about this limousine that hurried her footsteps towards the barn, she looked back at the house to ensure that Dylan was out of sight.

She tried to compose herself before entering the barn. Her thoughts were crazy. There was no way the man waiting for her was….

Jemma stepped into the darker barn area and stopped cold. The tall, dangerous looking man standing there in front of the stall filled with Momma Dog and her puppies once again took her breath away. She couldn’t believe he was here, standing in her barn and looking….well, more dangerous! How had he found her? Why was he here? Goodness, he looked marvelous! She tried breathing, tried taking deep breaths to regain her equilibrium, but it was hard. Memories of that one night came back to her, haunting her, causing her whole body to tense with anticipation of what he could do to her, what he could make her body feel. It wasn’t possible, she told herself. There was no way this man, this one man who had so completely turned her world around, could be here, standing in her barn not ten feet from her.

And then he turned around. As soon as her gaze collided with his, her knees went weak and her pulse raced. It wasn’t possible! Not this man! Not here! Not after all these years! No!

“Go away!” she almost yelled and spun on her heel, racing out the door again. She was torn between many emotions – fighting both tears and the urge to race towards him with her fingernails bared. She wanted to claw at his face, to hurt him so deeply, just as he’d done to her. But there was a part of her that wanted to throw herself into his arms, to feel that incredible strength surround her. To have him create that shocking, mind-blowing magic when he touched her, when he kissed her. And damn him! She also wanted him to do all those crazy, sensuous, pleasure-inducing things to her that they’d done together that one night.

No man, either before or after him, had possessed the power to drive her so out of control. No man had