Killing the messenger is frowned upon. Okay, then... What about laying the messenger on the nearest flat surface and making her scream with pleasure? From the moment Hayden Reynolds approaches Griffin Sutherland in the local, Florida dive bar, all he can think about is fisting her dark curls and stroking those gorgeous curves. But hell would freeze over before she allowed him to touch her because she’s the woman he left behind five years earlier. And now she’s there to deliver a message—an ultimatum—from his estranged father. Blackmail forces Griffin, black sheep of his powerful Texas family, back home to play nice. But the terms of his bargain say nothing about not satisfying his need for the woman he’s never forgotten…never stopped wanting… Hayden is no longer the naive girl who once fiercely loved a golden Sutherland and believed he and a maid's daughter could live happily ever after. Griffin broke her all those years ago, but she forced herself to pick up the pieces and move on. Now he’s back in Texas, acting the part of the proper, dutiful son. But there’s nothing proper about the detailed—dirty—descriptions of how he wants to touch her…take her… Though her body heats every time he’s near, she refuses to surrender to his special brand of passion. Griffin may have returned home, but he's leaving again. And this time he won't take her heart with him… Author’s This book was originally included in The Sutherlands anthology, published in 2016. New content has not been added to this erotic contemporary romance novella.