Because You Love Me (21 page)

“I have no idea where I belong right now.”

Bridget grinned. “Well, I may not know much, Rodney, but I do know the answer to that. You belong here. With us.”

Her words soothed his weary soul. “Here sounds pretty good.”

“This is a good place. I knew it the first night we arrived. I don’t know the answer to your problem, but I do think you’ll find it here. You might even find a bit of happiness along the way.”

“Happiness sounds good.”

She laughed, her face painted with sheer delight. “Happiness is very good.”

About the Author

Writing a book was number one on Mari’s bucket list, and on her thirty-fourth birthday, she set out to see that goal achieved. Now her computer is jammed full of stories—novels, novellas, short stories and dead-ends. A
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestseller as well as winner of the Passionate Plume, Mari found time for writing by squeezing it into the hours between 3 a.m. and daybreak, when her family is asleep and the house is quiet.

You can visit Mari’s website at
www.maricarr.com
. She is also on
Facebook
and
Twitter
. She blogs at
International Heat
and hangs out on the Heat Wave Readers
Yahoo group
.

Look for these titles by Mari Carr

Now Available:

Because of You

Black & White Collection

Erotic Research

Tequila Truth

Learning Curves

Rough Cut

Happy Hour

Power Play

Slam Dunk

Compass Brothers (with Jayne Rylon)

Northern Exposure

Southern Comfort

Eastern Ambitions

Coming Soon:

Western Ties

Dangerous Curves

Love’s Compass

Who says you can only score on the court?

Slam Dunk

© 2011 Mari Carr

A story from the
Black & White Collection

Trey Donovan is mourning the end of summer with fellow teachers when Ellie Hunter walks into Tully’s Bar. Better yet, she’s now a
former
rival basketball coach and the newest science teacher at his high school. He can’t think of anyone better to fill the vacant assistant coach job. In fact, if he plays his cards right, she might end up his perfect match off the court, too.

If she stops holding him at arm’s length long enough to give him a chance.

Coming off a year of bad decisions that not only broke her heart, but cost her a job, Ellie has good reason to swear off workplace romances. Her undeniable—and undeniably mutual—attraction to Trey is a serious threat to her resolve. Especially since Trey’s too-easy capitulation to her boundaries stings just a little too much.

Funny thing, though. When she sees Trey dancing with someone else, the edges of her vision turn decidedly green. And when another man tries to kiss Ellie, Trey sees red.
 

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to fudge the rules. Just a little. After all, casual sex doesn’t count. Right?

Warning: Lots of red-hot, half-dressed court presses complete with sex toys, food, bubble baths, strip poker and, oh yeah, balls.
 

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Slam Dunk:

As they walked into the house, Ellie pulled off her coat and hung it on the hook by the door. She’d been to his house several times since the night of the break-in—to watch football on Sundays with the gang or to meet for a quick dinner before a late practice. He liked having her in his home. She fit here.

“Do you have any playing cards?”

He looked at her and wondered for a moment if he’d heard her correctly. “Cards?”

She nodded. “Yeah. You know, ace, king, queen. Cards.”

“Very funny, smartass,” he teased. Trey walked behind the bar in the corner of the room and pulled out a new pack. “I want to celebrate and you want to play rummy.”

She laughed. “Not rummy. Blackjack.”

Trey opened the cards and led her into the living room. “How about strip poker?” He’d expected her to laugh at his joke, so her response caught him by surprise.

“Hmmm. I think you’ll find my idea runs along those lines.”

He gestured for her to take the couch, while he pulled a chair opposite her, putting the coffee table between them. “So maybe you should lay out the game plan.”

She smiled, reaching for the cards and shuffling them like a Vegas dealer. “I like the sound of that.”

“Of what?”

“Me—laying out the game plan. You realize I’ve offered quite a few suggestions to you about things the girls should be doing on the court.”

Trey released a deep breath. He’d been expecting this. Ellie was used to being top dog and deciding exactly what happened with her team at Harper’s Ridge. No doubt it was difficult for her to take direction from him. It had been his main concern about her taking the assistant coaching job. So far, he’d thought things were working out fairly well. She’d made a couple of proposals of different ways to handle things and he’d listened.

Tonight she’d advised they should move from zone to man-to-man defense. He’d made the switch and the tide had turned in the game. He wasn’t arrogant enough to think he always knew the right way. However, she needed to understand that as far as decisions about the team went, the buck stopped with him. “Ellie,” he started.

She raised her hand to halt his words. “You’re the head coach, Trey. I knew that going in and I’ve worked hard not to step on your toes. Not to usurp your authority.”

He nodded. She’d been absolutely professional. Always deferring to him whenever they had a disagreement. “I know that. And I know it’s not easy for you, but—”

“Let me finish. You said you wanted to celebrate and I know exactly how I want to do that. For tonight, I want a chance to be equals. To get my way. No questions asked.”

He swallowed heavily. What the hell was she suggesting? “Um, okay.”

She laughed. “Don’t look so grim. I’m not going to put you before the firing squad. Just a simple game of Blackjack.”

“What’s the wager?”

“Winner gets to do whatever they want to the other person, but the loser can't join in. When I win, you have to sit there and take whatever it is I do to you.”

He frowned. “What exactly are we talking about here? Give me an example of something you might do.”

She rose and Trey’s mouth went dry as she walked around the coffee table to stand in front of him.

“For example,” she said, bending over until he could smell the sweet scent of her shampoo in her hair. “I might do something like this.” She cupped his cheek, turning his face until her lips met his. She kissed him—the touch soft, gentle, and nowhere near enough. Trey reached up to grasp her hair, to deepen the kiss, but Ellie pulled away.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Still trying to take control. My kiss, my way. All you can do is sit there and take it.”

She wanted power. Trey tried to wrap his head around that concept. He was used to being in charge—on the court and in the bedroom. “Fine. We’ll play. Just so long as I get the same reward when I win.”

“
If
you win, you can do whatever you want to me.” She smiled and walked back to reclaim her place on the couch. As she sat, she added the two words that told him while they could play, they wouldn’t finish. “Within reason.”

He wanted to protest the limits, but he didn’t. He wanted Ellie Hunter more than he’d ever wanted another woman. She wasn’t ready for what he was offering. However, this game gave him hope. She was definitely initiating some dirty foreplay and he didn’t intend to turn down the offer. After all, his mother didn’t raise a fool.

She dealt the first hand and he looked at his cards—a three and an ace. “Hit me.”

She handed him another card—a five.

“Dealer’s sticking,” she said.

He nodded. “Me too.”

They flipped over their cards. He had nineteen. She had two face cards—twenty.

“My hand wins.” She rose once more and Trey anticipated another of her too-soft kisses. While there was nothing he enjoyed so much as her lips on his, it was going to be torture not to pull her onto his lap and fully explore the depths of her mouth.

When she got to his chair, she gestured for him to turn it so that he faced her. He followed her command, his curiosity overriding his pride. She was definitely going to push the control card tonight.

As she bent at the waist, he leaned forward slightly, expecting her kiss. He was surprised when she ignored his lips altogether and, instead, reached for the hem of his T-shirt. Before he could consider her actions, she pulled the shirt off completely.

Her eyes devoured his chest and he soaked up her appreciation. She’d never seen his bare chest before. She dropped to her knees, pushing his legs apart so that she could kneel between them. Her gaze never rose above his neck. She ran her hand over his chest to his upper right arm, tracing the barbed wire tattoo there. “I’ve only ever seen glimpses of this tattoo.” She continued to touch him as she spoke. “I wondered what it was.”

Trey felt the breath leave his body when she leaned forward to press a soft kiss on the tattoo, her tongue brushing his skin. His body was overheated, his cock on red alert, and all he could do was sit while Ellie seduced him with her lips, her tongue and those soulful dark brown eyes.

Jesus. What had he signed on for?

After a few moments of soft touches and light kisses along his arm and chest, Ellie stood and returned to her seat. “Next round?”

She gave up stripping to go legit…until three Kiowa cowboys bring on the down-and-dirty.

Boots and Chaps

© 2012 Myla Jackson

Ugly Stick Saloon, Book 1

Jackson Gray Wolf is turning thirty, and what does he have to show for it? A ranch. No wife, no kids, no dates. He’s had his eye on the pretty owner of the Ugly Stick Saloon, but their one accidental encounter was interrupted before he could get her out of her take-me-now red cowboy boots.

Audrey Anderson isn’t in the market for a man. Been there, done that, has the scars to prove it. She retired her pole-dancing boots after purchasing the Ugly Stick Saloon, and now manages a stable of strippers. When she winds up one stripper short for a private party, she’s forced to slip on a mask and into the role of the mysterious Kiki.

Jackson didn’t want the birthday bash his twin brothers are throwing him, but his vow to ignore the rented stripper goes awry when she shows him exactly how far she’s willing to go—for all three of them.

Audrey can’t forget the sizzling heat between her and one sexy Kiowa in particular. Jackson. Trouble is, she’s not sure if he wants the bold, brassy Kiki, or if he’s ready for the wounded woman underneath.

Warning this title contains hot scenes with multiple partners, with a little BDSM on the side. Caution—it could melt your e-reader!

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Boots and Chaps:

Audrey couldn’t believe she was getting away with her charade. Her body burned, her pussy wet with her juices. Having Jackson watch as she strutted her stuff in front of his brothers had been so much of a turn-on, she’d broken most of her rules of stripping, and she was raring to break all the rest.

Luke let go of his grip on her pussy and backed up a step, allowing more room for big brother.

A thrill of adrenaline shot through Audrey, her core heating to molten hot. The twins were handsome with their dark Kiowa skin, high cheekbones and jet-black hair, and she wouldn’t mind making love to both of them. At the same time. But Jackson…

She sucked in a long, deep breath and let it out slowly. This was a man’s man. Strip him down to a loincloth and he’d fit right in with his ancestors, hunting buffalo, fighting wars and making love with his woman. His broad shoulders flashed in and out of the strobe, the light casting shadows, emphasizing the distinct muscular definition of his chest and arms.

Her gaze dropped to the top button of his jeans, flipped casually open as if he’d been in the process of undressing when she’d begun her little dance.

She drew him near and flicked the other three buttons from their bindings with quick, desperate strokes. As the last button poked through the hole, his cock sprang free, slipping easily into her palm.

“Knew you weren’t immune to Kiki.” Luke laughed. “Hey, Mark, check out that boner.”

Jackson jerked back, sliding out of Audrey’s grip.

Mark swung a wooden stool into the center of the floor and shoved Jackson toward it. “Sit. And no jerking off.”

He sat and growled at his brothers, his hands going to his open fly and the shaft jutting straight upward.