Two-Step Temptation (7 page)

She thought she would go off the minute he touched his tongue to her, but she rode the ridge of pleasure, held her breath as she held his gaze. He glided his touch over her opening, wetting his fingers before sliding them down to her ass, teasing the sensitive nerves there.

And she came, came hard in an orgasm that tore through her, tore her apart. He didn’t release her, continued his intimate kiss, sucked her clit until she was limp.

For just a moment, he pulled away to sheath himself. He returned and rose over her, pressing his hips forward, entering her slowly so that all her senses came alive again. Her body opened to him, her heart, until he was fully seated inside her, his groin pressed against her, his hands in her hair, his gaze on hers until he lowered his head to kiss her. As their mouths met, molded, she moved with him, into him, angling her hips to bring him deeper, her fingers stroking his hair. He lifted his head and she caught her breath at the intensity in his eyes. Pleasure creased his face and she traced her fingers over his temple, his cheek, his jaw. He grasped her hand and pressed his lips to her palm as he thrust, muscles flexing with the power of the movement before he stopped, flush against her, emptying his cock in strong pulses that she felt to her very core. With a shift of his weight, his groin pressed against her clit. She parted her legs wider, sliding against the rasp of his pubic hair, the pressure of his body, until she came too, rolling her hips to clasp him deep inside her as she rode out the pleasure. She’d been so wrapped up in watching him, in feeling him, she hadn’t realized she was close.

But now she held him, stroked him as his heart pounded with hers, as his sweat-slick body slid along hers. As their breathing evened out, so much she wanted to say bubbled up. But before she dozed off, she managed only one.

“Glad I wasn’t wearing my armor for that one. It might’ve gotten in the way.”

He chuckled and drew her closer to his side.

A couple of hours later, her heart was pounding for another reason. They’d slept until after ten, which meant everyone would be awake. She’d be facing her friends with Eric, the first time she’d ever done so with a man. She was nervous about their reaction, and maybe a little defensive that they’d known about their relationship all along and had let her stress about hiding it. To be honest, though, she hadn’t given anyone much of a chance to fill her in. Eric seemed to understand the significance, because he folded his hand around hers and opened the hotel room door.

“We don’t have to do this today,” he’d said as they’d dressed after their shared shower. “We can wait.”

She’d considered it, as she waffled between anxiety over letting everyone know about their relationship and the urgency to have it done. “No. I’ve put it off too long. The wedding’s over, we won’t be a distraction now.” So why was she so nervous?

They headed down the stairs, hand in hand, and she wondered if he was nervous too. It was wrong of her not to know—what kind of girlfriend did that make her? She glanced up at him before they stepped into the cafeteria. He grinned and lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing it.

Before she could catch her breath, a shout of greeting echoed through the room.

“We wondered where the two of you got to,” Mr. Padalecki said from the table by the window.

“No, we didn’t.” Jill approached from the buffet and leaned in to kiss Haven’s cheek.

Haven struggled to regain her balance. Jill backed off with a smile and, balancing a full plate and a cup of coffee, turned to the table where Colleen and the others sat. Haven scanned the gathering to see others smiling, but most of their attention was on their food, not on them.

Okay, then.

“So when were you going to tell me?” Jill asked, her voice pitched low.

“I didn’t tell anyone.”

“You might have mentioned that he was yours when I was flirting with him, let me know he was taken.”

Haven flushed at the light reprimand. “I didn’t know he was taken.”

“Do you know now?”

Haven reached across the table and found Eric’s hand unerringly. She heard him making plans with Brian for them to go to dinner together. Her heart full, she turned and smiled at him. “Oh, I know. I know.”

About the Author

Emma Jay has been writing for longer than she’d care to admit, using her endless string of celebrity crushes as inspiration for her heroes. She discovered her husband has way more tolerance for screensavers and hunk-decorated blog posts when she calls them her heroes. Emma, married twenty-four years (wed at the age of eight, of course) believes writing romance is like falling in love, over and over again. Creating characters and love stories is an addiction she has no intention of breaking.

He never thought his next wildfire would be wearing a red dress.

Lipstick on His Collar

© 2010 Inez Kelley

“Make me your goddess and I’ll take you to heaven.”

This sultry promise sparks a scorching, unforgettable one-night stand. The next morning Bram Winters awakes with a hickey and a head full of wicked memories—alone. His nameless goddess is gone without a trace, along with his shirt. And his heart.

Five months later, he stumbles across his mystery lady in a Laundromat, but she still won’t give up her name. Worse, she begs him to leave, no questions asked. Once he catches the spark of terror in her eyes, though, his firefighter training takes over—and he digs in for the duration.

Lady never wanted Bram to see her life’s ugly underside, but it’s too late—his socks are already in the washer. He was supposed to be her declaration of independence from her unstable ex, a bittersweet memory to carry into her new life.

Except the ex continues to stalks her. And Bram’s reappearance sends her emotions and desires tumbling over the edge. As the minutes wear on, sexual tension rises faster than the steam from a hot water wash.

And Lady’s ex watches from the shadows, growing more furious by the minute…

Warning: Scorching sex, icy scissor play and an anonymous woman taking a wet slide down one hot ex-fireman’s pole. Beware of hot flashes and spontaneous combustion. Correct change not required.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Lipstick on His Collar:

Behind her, Bram cleared his throat. Her eyes slid closed and she drew in a slow, empowering breath before turning. Both his arms were crossed and one thick ebony brow quirked at an inquisitive angle. “Well, that was interesting. Ex boyfriend or husband?”

“Boyfriend. Bram—” Pushing a stray hair off her forehead, she blew the breath away. “Look, I’m sorry—”

“Just break up?”

Her braid must be too tight. And the broken ventilation system had baked her brain. And maybe the bagel she’d had for lunch was past its due date. That was why her head was throbbing. It had nothing to do with the Jerry Springer-esque turn of her life.

“No. I left him back before we…in June. I broke up with him in June. He just doesn’t get the message. He always comes in about this time and I didn’t want…when you came… I never expected…I just… Seeing you again knocked me off-kilter. Sorry. I didn’t want you involved with something so…ugly.”

A twitch along his upper lip warned her of his gentle smile before it appeared. He relaxed his stance, leaning back on the counter and crossing his ankles. “It’s okay. I didn’t think I’d see you again either. But I’m glad I found you.”

She couldn’t breathe. He’d found her, they’d found each other again. It had to be a great big cosmic joke, right? Stuff like that doesn’t just happen in real life. Life didn’t hand out dreams and wishes like candy. Yet, there he stood.

Damn, he was fine. Half the time, she convinced herself that she’d prettied him up, made him more attractive in her memories, but staring at him now, she knew that mental picture was Kodak-clear. For one night, she’d been the center of his world. They’d shared more than sex; he’d listened, focused on her and heard what she had said. Being his lady, even for a brief moment, had been a precious gift. It had almost been too hard to slide from his bed the next morning. She’d learned to be careful what you wished for because letting the wish go once you’d held it sucked.

“How
did
you find me?”

“I needed clean socks.” His smile should be listed on the CDC website because it sent her stomach into shivers and set her skin to tingling. “I’m working on the new 911 center over in Millerton. I didn’t know you’d be here. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather when I saw you.”

Feather? Yeah, that is not the force that slammed into her when he’d walked in the door. More like she got whapped with a horny stick. His china-blue gaze fringed with coal-black lashes caressed her from toe to nose and her nipples tightened. A warm pulse formed between her legs. How many sex acts had they done that night? She’d lost count and was sure that shower thing was a new position he’d dreamed up. God knows, he’d filled her dreams nightly for five months. She woke every morning sweaty, empty, and with a gnawing hunger only he had ever satisfied. Her libido growled, demanding to be fed, but she slid around him, waving goodbye to two customers.

He caught her just in front of him, his arm halting her path and drawing her closer to his frame. “So what
is
your name?”

The sultry purr in his tone drew her gaze up and vivid sexual longing sizzled between them. Oh yeah, he was hungry too. His eyes dropped to watch her tongue slick across her lip. Her mouth watered at memories and the buffet she saw unfolding in front of her now. No one said she couldn’t she go back for seconds. She licked her lips again just to feel his chest rise with a deep inhale. Feminine power filled her, and she returned his purr, gliding her fingers along his biceps.

“Now, where’s the fun in telling you that? I like being mysterious.”

“Mysterious? You are that.” Deep, dark and thick with desire, his voice melted like chocolate and a craving gripped her. Bram in the throes of orgasm was a luscious, intoxicating sound. God, he was delicious and she wanted more. He angled closer, until his warm breath whispered on her cheek. “You’re not going to tell me?”

“No.” If she leaned two inches in, she could kiss him.

“That’s not fair.” Bram shifted one inch closer.

“All’s fair in…whatever.”

“It wouldn’t take me three seconds to find out your name. All I’d have to do is go next door to the”—he turned his head and read through the window—“Flower Power Florist and ask.”

She poked his ribs. “That’d be cheating. Play my game, Bram.”

“Come on, you owe me. You stole my shirt.”

A smile curved her mouth. “Fair exchange. You ripped my dress.”

“So I did.” His low chuckle was tinged with sinful temptation. “Should I apologize?”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Good. I don’t want to.”

She could plant her lips right on his and dip her tongue into his mouth. If she moved. One inch. A scant distance. He smelled of coffee, brisk wind and pure male. Her heart galloped in her chest, echoing a sudden pulse in her pussy. He oozed sex appeal like an over-wet sponge and she wanted to suck every drop. One damn inch was all she needed. She closed the gap.

Lust exploded. Her ears popped with the force of the attraction, and a low sigh heated her mouth before he deepened the kiss to indecent levels. She could distinctly recall three kisses in her life—Bobby Allegro behind the gym in fifth grade, Cliff Meyers on prom night and Bram, on a makeshift fire-department parking-lot dance floor.

In the long months they’d been apart, she hadn’t forgotten his kiss. She was so screwed.

Summer just got a whole lot hotter.

What She Wants

© 2010 Anne Rainey

Summer Chase has loved and lost, and she has no intention of ever going through that pain again. But when a Camaro-driving hunk shows up at her B&B looking for a room for the week, she sees something more than a hard-bodied guest. For the first time since her husband’s death, her sexual interest is awakened—and she’s not about to hit the snooze button.

P.I. Gage Knight is in desperate need of a vacation. An impromptu trip to Cape May, New Jersey is just what he needs to relax and unwind. But when he knocks on the B&B’s door and comes face to face with its sexy owner,
relaxing
drops to the bottom of his to-do list. Now all he wants is a tasty Summer treat, and he plans to savor the curvaceous beauty one delectable inch at a time.

Gage’s smoldering kisses turn Summer inside out, not to mention what he does to the rest of her body. But when it’s time for him to drive off into the sunset, she comes to a horrifying realization—she’s lost her heart.

Warning: This story contains a hard-as-nails, ornery, demanding, tattooed PI eager to please, a widow ready to get back to the business of living
and
loving, and the kind of hot summer sex that you just might want to bookmark for later.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
What She Wants:

As the hostess led the way through the crowded restaurant, Summer turned back to Gage and whispered, “I really can’t think of a better beach restaurant. Their crab cakes are fantastic.”

When they reached their table, Gage held her chair for her and murmured, “I trust your expert judgment, sweetheart.”

They were seated in the covered rear garden terrace. Summer’s heart beat erratically, nearly drowning out the simple romantic beauty of the moment. It’d been so long since she’d enjoyed a meal with a member of the opposite sex in any kind of romantic way.

Though Summer had guy friends, friendship couldn’t replace her need for intimacy. Tender touches and warm kisses—she hadn’t realized how much she missed those things until Gage had shown up at her door. Sparks had flown. Being with him, even in such an innocent way as having dinner, caused Summer’s juices to stir.

“So, Summer, do you come to this restaurant often?”

“I wish, but no, I’m usually too busy.”

He leaned across the table. “You should never be too busy for fun.”

Man, he was sexy. Summer’s mind blanked as she gazed at him. In the muted light, his smooth, tan head shone. She’d never known how sexy a bald man could be until Gage. She had the urge to run her fingers over his scalp. His five o’clock shadow only added to his dark, masculine appeal. If she were bold like Tory, she’d reach out and stroke his firm jaw. Too bad she wasn’t. He was so damn good-looking, and she really wanted to touch him. All over. For hours.