Too Much: A Loveswept Contemporary Erotic Romance (All or Nothing) Read Online Free PDF Page A

she cursing? Jeremiah or herself?
    He’d left her no note, nothing but the buzz in her body and the hole in her heart as if he’d never even been there. She had to gain back the ground she’d lost in her fight to stay away from him.
    She cursed his brother. Why the hell had he left his ring on her doorstep? She’d known from the second she’d seen the heavy gold class ring that she’d have to deliver it to Jeremiah. The name engraved on the inside had confirmed it was David Copeland’s.
    She’d called Jeremiah but he’d never called back. Daly had no choice but to go to him. The ring was a call for help. If David left it on her doorstep, that meant he couldn’t contact Jeremiah directly.
    God, how she’d fretted!
    Jeremiah had been left alone on the streets at the age of twelve with a ten-year-oldbrother and a seven-year-old blind sister. He’d gone through hell to take care of them and keep them out of the system.
    Daly had been with Jeremiah the last time that damn ring was sent to him. She’d experienced firsthand exactly how his brother took precedence over everything, including Jeremiah’s relationship with Daly.
    As a criminal justice major in college, she’d known it when Jeremiah crossed the line. It had been intolerable to witness. He’d worked so hard to pull himself out of the back-alley deals and criminal activity he’d participated in with the Dixie Mafia, the largest crime syndicate in the southeastern United States. And then he slid back in so easily. She hadn’t mattered enough to him. What they had together hadn’t been enough.
    So Daly left. Two months later he’d shown up at her new apartment, demanding she return. She’d asked him if anything had changed. He responded by asking if she would just trust him. To this day she remembered the agony on his face as she shook her head. And she remembered the razor blades across her soul as she shut the door in his face.
    Three years passed. She hadn’t dated, hadn’t made love, hadn’t even kissed another soul. She’d become a cop, given it up, then turned to social work in the juvenile justice system. Her nights she’d spent as a recluse. The thought of opening herself up to a man and possibly experiencing that pain again hadn’t been an option. It was easier to be alone.
    Until the fucking ring showed up.
    She should really be honest with herself. She hadn’t risked seeing Jeremiah to give him the ring because of any trouble or danger David was in. David wasn’t important in the equation. She’d done it for Jeremiah. The thought of him hurting because his brother was in danger and he might not have known it in time was more than Daly could bear.
    She paced for long minutes. The reasoning behind her actions didn’t matter. She’d given her body to him too easily. She’d fallen back into him too fast. There had to be something she could do to resist his pull—to take back control of her responses. Some way to show Jeremiah he couldn’t break into her house, touch her body, bring her to orgasm on demand, and walk back out.
    She’d show him—that was it!
    The idea hit her hard, and once it took root there was no way to get past it. When she left their loft three years ago without his collar, she’d taken back her love and caring. She’d taken back her body and her emotions.
    She’d damn well show him nobody owned Daly but Daly.
    * * *
    Toby looked at her from his post at the entrance of The Underground and cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not letting you in.”
    Daly had anticipated his reaction to her presence. He was her brother, but he was also Jeremiah’s loyal employee and best friend. So Daly took her time and planned accordingly. It was ten P . M . now. Toby’s phone rang at precisely that moment.
    Daly uncrossed her fingers behind her back, silently thanking Jose for his help. He had once been one of her kids when she first started work at the Department of Juvenile Justice. She’d discovered him going through the