Five Exotic Fantasies: Love in Reverse, Book 3 (45 page)

Trust was a leap of faith, but it didn’t matter. Laura was one of those people who saw the best in someone until they proved her wrong. Bryan had done nothing to betray her trust, so…he had it.

“You wanna come in?”

“For coffee?” he asked.

She leaned back and slapped him on the upper arm. “No, not for coffee. What the hell have we just been talking about?”

Bryan laughed. “I was kidding, Laura. I’d love to come in.”

“Good.”

They walked to her townhouse, bundled together against the brisk, winter wind. After spending nearly thirty minutes in the sauna-like conditions in his car, the cold air went through her like a knife. She struggled to put her key in the door, her hands suddenly shaking.

She wanted to blame the frosty air, but she feared reality was setting in with a vengeance. She had invited a man into her apartment with the intention of sleeping with him. What the hell was she thinking? Dressed Laura looked a hell of a lot better than naked Laura.

Bryan placed his hand on hers, helping her guide the key into the slot. “Slow and easy, hotshot.”

The nickname gave her a much-needed boost of confidence. She was forty-three years old. If she wanted to fuck a man on the first date, it was her call to make.

They walked inside together. Bryan closed the door, then looked at her.

She pointed to the deadbolt. “Lock it.”

Catching the one that got away could be the ultimate ride.

Unforgettable Summer

© 2013 Sami Lee

Wild Crush, Book 1

Champion surfer Ty Butler is living the dream—a great career, a globe-trotting lifestyle, and his pick of women. Then a visit to his hometown forces him to face Summer Campbell.

A decade on, she still gives him an adrenaline rush to beat the biggest waves. She’s also as unavailable as ever, or so he thinks. When the truth comes out, Ty decides it’s time to lay old ghosts to rest—and lay Summer flat out in bed.

Ten years ago Summer committed the ultimate sin by falling for her sister’s boyfriend. She rejected Ty’s love out of duty, even marrying another man in an attempt to move on. An attempt that failed. She never forgot Ty—or the havoc loving him wreaked in her life.

Her body wants to finish what they started long ago. Her head tells her she can indulge in a wicked affair with no regrets. But when the pro-surfing tour inevitably calls him away, her heart could crumble like a sandcastle beneath his feet.

Warning: Book contains hot sex with a hot surfer. Might warm your heart and heat up a few other parts, as well. Might even inspire you to chuck it all in and chase the endless summer.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Unforgettable Summer:

Ty hooked an arm over the back of his chair, assessing her from his seated position. “Hello, Summer. I thought that was you I saw the other day.”

The implication that he might have been unsure of her identity when she’d been instantly certain of his increased Summer’s discomfiture. “Ty, what are you doing here?”

Ty lifted his cup and drawled, “Grabbing some coffee.”

He might as well have said,
asinine question, woman.
Summer’s mortification intensified. “I suppose I meant here in Leyton’s Headland.”

“Back for a visit.”

He didn’t say he was planning to buy a house and move back to his hometown, but for all Summer knew he simply didn’t feel like telling her his business. He’d definitely been interested in real estate when she’d seen him.

“I see.” She looked at the staff working behind the counter, recognizing from the small crowd of people hovering that they had several orders to fill. How long before hers was done?

“Do you need somewhere to sit while you wait for your drink?”

Turning back to face Ty, Summer saw the way his brow kicked up and wondered if he found her inept attempts at conversation amusing. What had happened to all those cool lines she’d secretly rehearsed over the years? Part of her had wanted, if she’d ever seen Ty again, to appear aloof and sophisticated, as though she wasn’t still occasionally haunted by thoughts of him and what might have been.

Seeing no way of refusing his offer without looking ridiculous for standing right next to his table instead of sitting at it, Summer murmured a thank-you and took the seat opposite him. After an awkward silence during which Ty eyed her over the rim of his coffee mug, he remarked, “It’s been a long time.”

Summer forced herself to let out a breath. “It has. Ten years I think.”

“How have you been?”

“Fine.” Summer gave the standard response, hardly able, or willing, to condense the last decade into a five-minute conversation. “Not as well as you from what I hear.”

Summer almost winced when Ty’s brows hiked. “What is it you’ve heard?”

“Oh, only the sound bites. You’ve won the world title three times, scored several high-profile sponsorship deals and dated as many models as you’ve caught waves.”

Ty laughed. “That’s an exaggeration. Only a couple of my sponsorship deals are high profile.”

Ignoring his deliberate insinuation that the stories of his dating history were not inflated, Summer noted, “You’ve done well for yourself.” She’d always known he would. That his skill and personality were too big for a place like Leyton’s Headland, that they would take him places far away from here. Far away from her.

Ty merely lifted a careless shoulder in response. “So have you. Your own business and all.”

Summer tried to ignore the strange thrill she experienced because he’d noticed that achievement. “I’m a naturopath now.”

“Naturopathy. I bet your dad’s impressed.”

“You mean Dr. Rex Campbell, purveyor of all things western medicine? I think he’s finally taken the attitude that when it comes to his daughters, things could be worse.”

“Sounds like glowing praise.”

Summer shrugged at Ty’s drawled comment. What could she say about her dad? He was a demanding man who had expected his children to make full use of the educational opportunities afforded them. While he didn’t exactly think practicing herbal “mumbo jumbo” was making full use, he’d finally stopped verbalizing his thoughts on the issue. “Dad remarried last year. Dianne is a psychologist with two sons, both very successful in finance. He’s relaxed a bit with me and Jasmine, now that he has the sons he always wanted.”

Summer had meant the remark as an offhand joke, but Ty’s frown made her fear it had come out sounding bitter. Remorse niggled. She had no wish to malign her father, he’d done the best he could with the hand he’d been dealt when Joy Campbell died. He’d never asked to be a sole parent any more than Summer had asked to lose her mother.

“My dad loves me.” Summer felt the need to come to Rex Campbell’s defense. “Everything he’s done has been because he wants what’s best for me.”

Including making sure she didn’t throw her life away on a nomadic type like Ty Butler. The derisive turn of Ty’s lips made Summer wonder if he had made the same connection between her statement and what happened in the past. If so, he didn’t say. Instead he steered the conversation away from her family altogether. “So what do you do at the clinic?”

“Everything from aromatherapy to acupuncture.” Summer relaxed a fraction at the change of subject. She’d decided to study naturopathy despite the fact Duncan had shared her father’s disdain for the practice. After the divorce, it had given her something to focus on, to work toward. Now, she was proud of her job and the business she’d built all by herself. “I do sports massage too. I’ve treated your mother a few times.”

“Yeah, she’s still doing those triathlons. Not bad for an old bird.”

“I’ll tell her you called her that next time she comes in.”

“No you won’t.”

His smile was knowing, and Summer bristled. Okay so clearly Ty was making an affectionate joke and there was no way Summer would repeat it to his mother, but she didn’t much appreciate that he seemed so certain of how she’d behave. She wasn’t that predictable.

“Here’s your chai latte and cookie, Summer.”

Having apparently noticed her involved in conversation, Patrice chose that moment to appear at the table, delivering Summer’s order instead of having her pick it up. Summer’s regular order, the one all the cafe staff knew by heart.
Not predictable, eh, Summer?

Smiling a thank-you, Summer silently cursed the missed opportunity to make her exit when her order was called out. It would have been the perfect excuse to leave the table, depart the cafe altogether so she could catch her breath. Instead she was still sitting here, part of her jittery with the urge to flee while her pride told her not to give away how strangely nervous she actually was.

For God’s sake, why are you nervous?
Summer was dismayed to discover being in Ty Butler’s presence still had the power to do peculiar things to her heartbeat. Dismayed and…oddly relieved.

You’re divorced, not dead.
The line Penny had delivered more than once echoed in her head. Summer had never told her employee how her flippant words saddened her, made her mind careen away from a truth she didn’t want to acknowledge. For a long time it had felt like a part of her
had
died somewhere along the way, the part that could still be physically affected by a man’s presence. The part of her that could still be exhilarated by
anything.

She wasn’t miserable by any stretch of the imagination. But if she ever took time to examine her life, Summer couldn’t say she was exactly happy either.

“This is weirder than I thought it would be.”

Ty’s rueful statement made Summer lift her gaze from where it had been fixed on the plastic lid of her takeaway cup. Her eyes connected with Ty’s, making Summer aware she had been avoiding direct eye contact since she’d first seen him sitting in the cafe. Now, she forced herself to hold Ty’s gaze. That unexpected spike in her heart rate occurred again. She had once known those whiskey-hued eyes so well, and for a fleeting moment she was transported back in time, to those months of teenage longing and anguish.

And the lust. Dear God, the lust. A remnant of it passed through her like a ghost, sending tingles up her spine before common sense returned and Summer forcibly tamped the reaction down. His eyes were the same, but so many other things about him were different. The careless stubble that graced his jaw, the hard lines of his mouth that lent a sardonic edge to his smile. His shoulders and arms were more solid, more roped with muscle. He was more of everything, like nature had taken the boy he used to be and multiplied his physicality, his persona, by a thousand, creating a man who was both innately congenial and overtly intimidating at once.

Five Exotic Fantasies

Serenity Woods

Her head reminds her he’s not for keeps. Her heart isn’t listening.

Love in Reverse, Book 3

Between caring for her disabled mother and taking over as McAllister Dell law firm’s office manager, Coco Stark has zero room for one more thing on her precariously balanced plate.

Enter “one more thing”, a hotshot lawyer who’s defending one of the partners in a sexual harassment case. Coco has her own reasons to hope the partner is found guilty—reasons she doesn’t want Mr. Hotshot Fancy Pants to find out.

The moment Felix Wilkinson sets foot in his client’s office, the 1950s vibe grates on his idealistic, modern sensibilities. Only the strict, sexy Miss Stark captures his attention, and he’s determined to free the wild woman trapped inside her buttoned-down persona.

In spite of herself, Coco is captivated by Felix’s killer combination of sensual and smart, finally free to explore the exotic fantasies that freaked out her ex. But when Felix inevitably discovers the truth, she has trouble reminding herself that he was never for keeps. And Felix must choose to follow his head, or listen to his heart.

Warning: Contains wandering hands, mind-blowing kisses, a bit of bondage, and sexual fantasies that run the gamut from Hawaiian beach to Siberian igloo.

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Five Exotic Fantasies

Copyright © 2013 by Serenity Woods

ISBN: 978-1-61921-725-6

Edited by Imogen Howson

Cover by Kendra Egert