Tempt Me

Tempt
Me

A
Contemporary Romance

By
Shiloh Walker

Published
by Shiloh Walker

Cover
Art by Angela Waters

Editorial
Work by Erin Witschey and Sara Reinke

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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.

Dedicated…as
always with love to my husband and kids. Love you…

A
note from the author…Do you know? The corset on the model
isn't exactly worn…right, I don't think. Still,
she's lovely and ‘suits' Rocki rather well.

I
figured out the corset thing through a whole bunch of reading and
through buying a corset or two of my own, and wearing them. The book
itself came from an idea for Rocki's character. Rocki's
character was kind of inspired by a model I saw on a website called
Hips & Curves.

Yeah, writers get
their inspiration even while shopping…

C
hapter
One

Silk, satin and
candlelight. Decadence and romance. That was the image she was going
for in the window display of her lingerie store,
Lush & Lace
.

They still had some long
winter days ahead, perfect for cuddling in front of a fire, perfect
for candlelit dinners. With just the right amount of dim light and
the heavy, red velvet drapes, she knew she could get the right feel.
It was all there, in her mind's eye.
Silk, satin and
candlelight.

In Roxanne Monroe's
mind, there wasn't anything sexier.

Well, maybe silk, satin
and the feel of a man's hands as he stripped them away...in the
candlelight.

But she didn't have
that now, hadn't had it in quite some time. At least not
outside her imagination or the pages of a book. She wasn't
bitter anymore. After all, she'd had more love in a few years
than some women had in a lifetime. She wasn't entirely aware of
the sad smile curling her lips as she stood in the window, fitting a
corset around the waist of a mannequin.

It was a glimmering,
lustrous ivory, pale and perfect. As she fastened the busk, she
paused to stroke the silk and smile. She'd spent weeks trying
to find the perfect material—it had to be the right shade, the
right weight and the right cost. Everything had to be just right.

Being sexy shouldn't
break the bank, not in Rocki's mind, but a real corset wasn't
cheap to make, especially the steel-boned ones.

A soft, musical tone
filled the air, signifying that someone had just come through the
door. “Just a minute!” She did a quick fix on the corset
and then hopped out of the window, a smile set firmly in place.

“
Welcome to
Lush
& Lace
.”

Back in high school and
college, she'd had some idea of going into theater. Then it had
changed to costume design. But it was the background in drama that
served her well in these moments.

Because the first look
she got at the man was almost enough to lay her low. It hit her like
a fist in the heart… and lower, all heat and shock. She
ignored the little tug she felt in her heart and instead focused on
the way her belly went all hot and tight. That was lust, pure and
simple.

Let's hear it
for lust
, Rocki thought, biting her cheek to keep from smiling as
she studied him.

He was, in short,
beautiful.

Blond hair—the kind
a romance writer might call
wheat blond
because it wasn't
just one shade of gold, but hundreds—tumbled into his eyes as
he glanced down at the woman with him. His skin was tanned, even this
far into winter, and somehow Rocki didn't think it was from a
tanning bed or anything artificial like that. She wondered just what
he did he to stay so sun-kissed. Speaking of kissing, he had a mouth
that was made for that, for kissing all sorts of things. Another
mental image that made her knees go weak.

Fantasy material.

That's what he was.

Fantasy material.

And she firmly pushed him
into that little mental niche—he needed to be there, anyway. He
had a woman with him, right?

Rocki shifted her gaze to
the woman just as she gave Rocki a dismissive glance.

Rocki felt her spine
stiffen, barely resisting the urge to narrow her eyes and give the
bitch a scathing once-over. The woman wasn't even bothering to
give Rocki one—she'd already made her decision and done
her dismissal—rude, that. It wasn't anything Rocki hadn't
dealt with before and she didn't give a damn.

But if the bitch was
going to be
that
condescending, why was she in here?

Maybe it was hormones.
Maybe it was the woman's snide attitude.

Maybe it was the
oh-so-sexy guy at her side. Rocki didn't know. But something
pushed her to do it. Something pushed her to ignore the woman,
something she
never
did, focusing on the gorgeous guy instead.

Leaning against the wall,
she hooked her thumbs in the front pockets of her jeans and gave the
man a whimsical smile. “Is there anything I can help you find,
sir?”

She had the darkest,
brownest eyes Cole had ever seen.

An elbow jabbed into his
side and he looked down, meeting his fiancée's gaze. By
society's standard, Mara O'Keily was a beautiful woman. Hell,
even he had to admit that she was.

Sometimes, though, she
left him cold. Lately, it was getting worse. It wasn't so much
a case of pre-wedding jitters—they hadn't even set the
damn date yet. Mara wouldn't exactly say
why
, either.
First, they had to find the right ring—the one he'd
chosen hadn't been. Then, she couldn't find the right
dress—that had been an ongoing ordeal for over a year now. She
also wanted them to have their own home built. But after Mara started
showing him some of the ideas she had, Cole had decided that would be
a better project left 'til after the wedding.

He had no problem
investing money in a house, but she wasn't thinking in terms
that simple.
Mansion
was more like it. And outrageous and
expensive didn't even cover the potential cost. Yeah, he had money,
but that didn't mean he wanted her throwing it away.

Especially because
lately, she was making him wonder just
when
there was going to
be a wedding. Or
if
.

Still, he was engaged,
and Cole didn't take that lightly. He stroked a hand down
Mara's back and tried to remind himself that he wasn't
there to ogle the brunette salesclerk.

Although, damn…

Get it together.

He'd seen her when
they were walking down the sidewalk. Hell, he'd noticed her
before today. Weeks ago, really. But today, Mara had insisted on
coming into the store,
Lush & Lace
. Cole had tried to talk
her out of it, with no luck.

Mara was determined to
get a look inside because her own lingerie store was opening a couple
of blocks away next month. She wasn't quite hitting the
ambience the owner here had managed, either. Mara's store,
Divine
, was sleek and silver and modern—hell, just like
Mara, it was cold.

This place, though, it
was just like its name.

Lush.
He glanced
back at the brunette and couldn't help but think it described
her as well.

“
We'd like to
speak to whomever is in charge,” Mara said, her voice taking on
that tight, prissy tone she managed just a little too well. And a
little too often lately.

The brunette lifted a
slim brow and her mouth curled in a smile. She had a mole, Cole
noticed. Right by her mouth. And damn if it wasn't sexy as all
get-out. Dragging his gaze away from her mouth, he made himself focus
on her eyes. And he wasn't the least bit surprised when she
said, “I'm in charge.”

Mara stiffened, then
recovered fast. She always had. She gave the brunette a polite smile
and said, “I really need to speak to somebody other than the
manager. When will the owner be in?”

“
You're
looking at her.” She pushed off the wall and held out a
ringless, manicured hand. “Rocki Monroe. How can I help you?”

Mara just stared at her.

Rocki continued to wait,
that cool little smile on her pretty mouth. Whether it was because
Cole couldn't keep standing there while Mara was so rude or
whether it was because he had some strange desire to touch her—
or
both
—he reached out, closing his fingers around hers. “Cole
Stanton.”

“
A pleasure to meet
you, Cole.”

He had the insane urge to
bend down and press his mouth to that mole, then shift his mouth to
the left, just a little, and cover that wide, soft mouth with his
own. “The pleasure's mine, Miss Monroe.”

“
It's
Mrs.
Monroe.”

Although he was standing
there with his fiancée at his side, Cole felt something wither
a little as she tugged her hand away. “Mrs. Monroe, then.”
He glanced around the store, once more noticing the warmth, the
simple elegance. No, he wasn't much into shopping for lingerie,
but this wasn't the sort of store that would make him run away
screaming. “You've got a beautiful shop here.”

There were portraits on
the walls, and he eased around her to study one. It displayed a woman
from the neck down. Facing away from the photographer, dark hair
swept into a loose knot, the model wore an ivory corset and a long,
maroon skirt.

It was simple. It was
elegant. And erotic. Understated, but so very erotic.

Shifting his gaze
downward, he saw the ivory corset displayed for purchase, along with
the maroon skirt, what looked like garter belts and other stuff he
wouldn't have recognized before Mara had roped him into being a
silent partner for her store. Cole looked at the next portrait and
saw a similar theme—a dark-haired model, again photographed
from the neck down. This time she was wearing something that looked
like a corset, sort of, but it went under the breasts and was worn
over what looked like an old-fashioned set of underwear. There was
something of innocence and vulnerability captured in the photo. And,
again, the clothing she modeled was displayed for purchase under the
portrait.

One hell of a marketing
tactic, he had to admit.

He looked back at Rocki
and realized the red thing she had on was similar to what the model
was wearing in the second picture. “What's that you're
wearing?” he asked.

Mara sniffed. “It's
an underbust corset. The fuller-figured woman likes that device
because it makes her look skinnier.”

“
Actually, the
fuller-figured woman likes it because it shows off her assets,”
Rocki drawled easily. She glanced at Mara's chest and then
smiled. “A lot of women like them, regardless of their figure.
We cater to all sorts of clients, and this is a popular design. It
accentuates the female figure—hips, waist, breasts. I like my
assets.”