To stop Maria before she ruined everything, he grabbed her about the waist, hauled her against him, and sealed his mouth to hers.

At first she seemed too stunned to do anything. When after a moment, he felt her trying to draw back from him, he caught her behind the neck with an iron grip.

"Oh," Gran said in a stiff voice. "Beg pardon."

Dimly he heard the door close and footsteps retreating, but before he could let Maria go, a searing pain shot through his groin, making him see stars. Blast her, the woman had kneed him in the ballocks!

As he doubled over, fighting to keep from passing out, she snapped, "That was for making me look like a whore, too!

Auteur: Sabrina Jeffries