Seduced in Sand (8 page)

About the Author

Heart-stopping chaos, triple-tongue fluting, vocal practices of Diva proportions, boy crushes and girl drama are all in a day's work for Nikki Duncan. This athletic equestrian turned reluctant homemaker turned daring author is drawn to the siren song of a fresh storyline.

Nikki plots character mayhem over breakfast, scandalous exposés at lunch and the sensual turn of phrase after dinner. Nevertheless, it is the pleasurable excitement and anticipation of unraveling a character's motivation that drives her to write long past the witching hour.

The only anxiety and apprehension haunting this author comes from pondering the outcome of her latest twist.

Nikki loves to hear from her readers. She can be found at all the predictable online places.

Twitter
@NDuncanWriter
and
@TulleTulips

Facebook
/NDuncanWriter

Pinterest
/NDuncanWriter
and
/TulleTulips

Website
www.nikkiduncan.com
and
www.tulleandtulipsweddings.com

Look for these titles by Nikki Duncan

Now Available:

Sensory Ops

Sounds to Die By

Scent of Persuasion

Illicit Intuitions

A Killing Touch

Taste Me Deadly

Cyber Illusions

Tulle and Tulips

Tangled in Tulle

Twisted in Tulips

Handcuffed in Housewares

Debauched in Diamonds

Whispering Cove

Wicked

Burned

Serenades

Fiery

Her Miracle Man

Coming Soon:

Controlled Burn

Under the knife, under the gun…and under no illusion he'll sacrifice everything for her.

Taste Me Deadly

© 2014 Nikki Duncan

Sensory Ops, Book 5

After five years in Witness Protection, Greycen Craig's life of careful routine is upended when she learns her sister is the victim in a hit and run, hospitalized, unconscious, and needing a kidney only Grey can give.

Despite warnings that this “accident” is a ruse to draw her out into the open, Grey risks everything to race back to Miami—where she comes face to face with the one man she aches to trust.

FBI agent Liam Burgess thinks he's prepared for the moment Grey walks into her sister's hospital room. But the moment the woman who holds his heart appears, his tongue is almost too tied to remember to ask one burning question—why she disappeared in Las Vegas two years ago.

As Grey struggles with what to tell him—everything or nothing—the danger that drove her underground resurfaces, threatening everyone she loves. And the only safe place to run is the arms of the one man she can't tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Warning: This title contains a hero who knows who he wants and isn't afraid to fight for her and a heroine with secrets she fears hold the power to unravel all their dreams.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Taste Me Deadly:

“No. I'm not joining your merry little band of whatever you all are.”

“Sweetheart.” He stopped at the first door in the upstairs foyer and pressed a kiss to her temple. “You're already a member.”

“Liam, I hope you're not expecting this
thing
between us to last.”

“I have just as much reason to think it will work out as you do to think it won't.”

“I don't even know how to respond to that.”

“Then don't try.” He leaned around her and opened the door they stood beside. His arm brushed her breast and set tingles racing through her. She lifted a hand, set it on the back of his forearm.

His jacket felt creamy against her fingers. He angled his head, met her gaze.

So many things needed to be said, discussed. She owed him an explanation. He deserved to know why she'd left, to know it had nothing to do with him. The trouble was that she'd leave again when Ruby was safe, so anything she said would be little more than empty platitudes.

“Liam.”

“Grey.”

They spoke at the same moment and they both sounded out of breath. Screw explanations. If burning in Miami's fiery pits of despair rested in her near future she may as well enjoy the trip.

Curling her fingers into the back of his arm she leaned into him. Slow and dreamlike, Liam eased forward. Grey pushed up to her toes and touched her lips to his. It was a tentative touch and she kept her eyes open, locked on his, not that the thoughts behind the brown shields to his soul were readable.

Retreating, she swept her tongue across her lips. Liam placed a hand on her stomach and pulled at her shirt. He made no move to untuck it, yet each tug pulled on the yearning to belong that breathed inside her. Then she grabbed his jacket and began to pluck at the fabric.

“This is wrong,” Grey whispered, more for her benefit than his, a way to remind herself how things would end. She didn't belong in his world that was resplendent in perfection. She didn't know how to be the kind of person he surrounded himself with, openly supportive and instantly loving. She was more comfortable in her one-bedroom apartment filled with mismatched furniture that could only be called shabby chic in a dream. Differences aside, she had no desire to be involved with someone tangled up in the law. Either side.

“Seems right to me.” He breathed a kiss across her lips again. Nothing more than a rush of warmth backed by the lightest caress of softness, the kiss sent her rationalizations scurrying for cover.

“Things are complicated.”

“Easy is boring.” He kissed her again.

Her knees trembled. Her other hand drifted up and grabbed the front of his jacket. “Boring is safe.”

“Safety and excitement can dance on occasion.” His next caress was a nibble kiss at her jaw, just in front of her ear.

She licked her lips and tightened her hold on his jacket. He unraveled her restraints. “What kind of dance?”

“The oldest kind.” Demonstrating, he gathered her close and began to move. They stood in a large foyer at the top of the stairs with no music playing and he was luring her into a dance.

Then she heard it. Music, deep and throbbing like a heavy heartbeat. The stunning strains of sweeping notes played in each touch. His palm at her hip. A finger at her throat's pulse.

Her blood hummed. Desire swelled.

Applying almost no pressure, he moved her hips forward and back, wrapping her in warmth and comfort and arousal. Grey rested her temple against his jaw and craved the strength to allow herself to be carried away.

Complications underscored Liam's efforts to simplify the moment. Grey just didn't know how to accept the simplicity.

“I can't.” Lifting her head she forced clarity into her mind. The fog of fantasy lingered, though.

Liam surprised her when instead of arguing or ignoring her, like he did every time she insisted his help wasn't needed, he set her down. She wasn't sure when he'd picked her up but the instant his hands released her she missed them.

“Do you promise not to run away in the middle of the night?”

“Are you really that worried about my safety?” The idea of him caring enough to worry was novel, which was nothing more than a dream she couldn't entertain.

“Yes, but let's not pretend you haven't mastered your disappearance act.”

Guilt, an emotion she'd once thought she squashed, showed its traitorous head, which it seemed to be doing a lot lately. It had been bad with Ruby, yet standing in Liam's home it mixed with regret and overflowed.

“My promise probably means nothing to you, but I will not leave in the middle of the night.”

“Good.” He leaned in and kissed her again. This time it was almost chaste, as if he was simply saying “good night, sleep tight”, but as she breathed easy he tugged her bottom lip between his teeth, swiped his tongue over the puffy spot she'd made bleed earlier with chewing nerves, and then pulled back.

He pointed to the end of the hall. “I'm just around the corner if you need me.”

Her knees shook as she watched him walk away. She'd been so certain he would seduce her into his bed. The weekend in Vegas had been the first and last time in five years she'd slept dream free and the prospect of repeating the pleasure was stark.

He was rounding the corner when she called out. “Liam.”

When it comes to hand-to-heart combat, no hold is barred.

Two in the Afternoon

© 2014 Cora Cade

A Day of Pleasure, Book 2

Molly Ryan survived one attack, and she's not about to be a sitting duck for another. With her attacker harassing her from his jail cell, she packs up her life in Chicago, follows her Delta Force brother to North Carolina and gets work in a pub.

Men in uniform are definitely off her menu, but her boss's friend, Army Ranger Callum Eversman, is one hot hunk she'd like to sample.

Home on a two-week furlough, Cal has agreed to watch over Molly as a favor to fellow Ranger Noah Harper. Accomplishing his mission without her noticing? That's going to be tough, as any idiot can see their sparks of attraction from a mile away.

Despite her hands-off-military-men policy, Molly is tempted to indulge, just this once, in a no-strings-attached fling. No dating, no kissy face, no hearts involved. But when her past threatens her future, there's only one man to turn to. The one who'll risk everything—body, heart, and soul—to protect her.

Warning: Contains an Army Ranger with a gruff exterior and heart of gold, a heroine with a sassy attitude, and some hot borderline-public sex.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Two in the Afternoon:

Callum Eversman kissed like a man on fire. His lips seared a path to every erogenous zone on her body, particularly straight to her panties. He cradled her face gently, reverently, as he nipped at her bottom lip, drawing her taste within his mouth.

She was gripping his forearms when he suddenly pulled away. Taking in her dazed expression, he let his gaze fall to her lips before dropping his hands from her face.

For a brief moment, Molly thought that was the end of their scorching interlude. It certainly wasn't enough to satisfy her needs, but she wasn't going to throw herself at Callum. No matter how ridiculously hot the man was.

Instead of backing away from her, as she expected, he dropped his massive hands to cradle her ass and lifted her from her feet. Pressed against his bare chest, with his hands cupping her, she felt the impressive ridge of his erection slide along her belly when he raised her up. The distance to the couch was only a few feet, and he made short work of it, perching her ass on the back of it and fiercely taking her mouth again.

This kiss was hot, an exploration into how wet and ready this man could get her in thirty seconds or less. This kiss was demanding, ordering Molly to surrender and cling to Callum.

A hand gently tugged her head back, bringing her into a position that deepened their kiss. Bringing her closer to complete and total submission.

Instead of allowing Callum to run the show, she took charge the only way she could. Curling a hand around his straining erection, she felt the tension in his body through the soft cotton of his boxers. As she gripped him, barely getting her fingers around his girth, he let a low growl escape from the back of his throat.

Controlling him with her touch was intoxicating. His movements had stilled and he stood before her, hot and heavy under her fingers, poised on the edge of release. Every muscle and tendon was pulled tight. His face was raised to the ceiling, eyes tightly closed as he absorbed her touch.

“Callum.” She said his name quietly, softly, as she kissed his rock-hard abdomen. His muscles contracting under her lips brought another heady rush of excitement.

He hissed in a breath and when he spoke his voice was strained. “Cal. Call me Cal.”

An open-mouthed kiss to the skin just above the band of his boxers brought his hands to her face with a soft touch. He caressed her cheeks with his thumbs and encouraged her to raise her face.

She knew what was coming, and it wasn't going to be her anytime soon, if the look on his face was any indication. He caressed her neck, where his grip had been tight.

Cal chuckled and placed a kiss on her temple and placed her on her feet. “Come on. We've got thirty minutes to pull ourselves together before Chris gets here. I'll even let you have the bathroom first.”

Molly grabbed her bag from the floor a few feet away and practically flounced into the bathroom, not bothering to glance back at Cal. She refused to consider how close she'd come to stripping him naked. Temporary insanity. It had to be. They'd only met a few hours ago, and though he might be ridiculously hot, she had never just jumped into bed with some random guy. But damn did she wish he hadn't put the brakes on their interlude.

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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

Seduced in Sand

Copyright © 2015 by Nikki Duncan

ISBN: 978-1-61922-547-3

Edited by Tera Cuskaden

Cover by Kanaxa

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: March 2015

www.samhainpublishing.com