Sinful Rewards 6 Page 9

  But I needn’t have worried—he doesn’t break it. His expression is just like mine when I finally dare to look, full of shivering wonder at the idea that something so small could be so powerful. We barely touched and yet everything is suddenly different. My body is alight. I think his body is alight.

  How else to explain the hand he suddenly pushes into my hair? Or the way he pulls me to him? He does it like someone lost at sea, finally seeing something he can grab on to. His hand nearly makes a fist in my insane curls, and when he kisses me this time there is absolutely nothing chaste about it. Nothing cautious.

  His mouth slants over mine, hot and wet and so incredibly urgent. The pressure this time is almost bruising, and after a second I could swear I feel his tongue. Just a flicker of it, sliding over mine. Barely anything really, but enough to stun me with sensation. I thought my reaction in the movie theater was intense.

  Apparently there’s another level altogether—one that makes me want to clutch at him. I need to clutch at him. My bones and muscles seem to have abandoned me, and if I don’t hold on to something I’m going to end up on the floor. Grabbing him is practically necessary, even though I have no idea where to grab.

  He put his hand in my hair. Does that make it all right to put mine in his? I suspect not, but have no clue where that leaves me. Is an elbow any better? What about his upper arm? His upper arm is hardly suggestive at all, yet I can’t quite bring myself to do it. If I do he might break this kiss, and I’m just not ready for that.

  I probably won’t be ready for that tomorrow. His stubble is burning me just a little and the excitement is making me so shaky I could pass for a cement mixer, but I still want it to carry on. Every new thing he does is just such a revelation—like when he turns a little and just sort of catches my lower lip between his, or caresses my jaw with the side of his thumb.

  I didn’t think he had it in him.

  It could be that he doesn’t. When he finally comes up for air he has to kind of rest his forehead against mine for a second. His breathing comes in erratic bursts, as though he just ran up a hill that isn’t really there. Those hands in my hair are trembling, unable to let go, and his first words to me blunder out in guttural rush.

  “I wasn’t expecting that to be so intense,” he says, and I get it then. He didn’t mean for things to go that way. They just got out of control. All of that passion and urgency isn’t who he is, and now he wants to go back to being the real him. He even steps back, and straightens, and breathes long and slow until that man returns.

  Now he is the person he wants to be: stoic and cool. Or at least, that’s what I think until he turns to leave. He tells me good-bye and I accept it; he touches my shoulder and I process this as all I might reasonably expect in the future. And then just as he’s almost gone I happen to glance down, and see something that suggests that the idea of a real him may not be so clear-cut:

  The outline of his erection, hard and heavy against the material of his jeans.

  An Excerpt from

  CAN’T WAIT

  A Christmas Novella

  by Jennifer Ryan

  (Previously appeared in the anthology All I Want for Christmas Is a Cowboy)

  Before The Hunted Series, Caleb and Summer had a whirlwind romance not to be forgotten . . .

  Caleb Bowden has a lot to thank his best friend, Jack, for—saving his life in Iraq and giving him a job helping to run his family’s ranch. Jack also introduced Caleb to the most incredible woman he’s ever met. Too bad he can’t ask her out. You do not date your best friend’s sister. Summer and Caleb share a closeness she’s never felt with anyone, but the stubborn man refuses to turn the flirtatious friendship into something meaningful. Frustrated and tired of merely wishing to be happy, Caleb tells Jack how he feels about Summer. With his friend’s help, he plans a surprise Christmas proposal she’ll never forget—because he can’t wait to make her his wife.

  Caleb opened his mouth to yell, Where the hell do you think you’re going?

  He snapped his jaw shut, thinking better of it. He couldn’t afford to let Jack see how much Summer meant to him. He’d thought he’d kept his need for her under wraps, but the too-observant woman had his number. Over the last few months, the easy friendship they’d shared from the moment he stepped foot on Stargazer Ranch turned into a fun flirtation he secretly wished could turn into something more. The week leading up to Thanksgiving brought that flirtation dangerously close to crossing the line when he walked through the barn door and didn’t see her coming out due to the changing light. They crashed into each other. Her sweetly soft body slammed full-length into his and everything in him went hot and hard. Their faces remained close when he grabbed her shoulders to steady her. For a moment, they stood plastered to each other, eyes locked. Her breath stopped along with his and he nearly kissed her strawberry-colored lips to see if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.

  Instead of giving in to his baser need, he leashed the beast and gently set her away, walking away without even a single word. She’d called after him, but he never turned back.

  Thanksgiving nearly undid him. She’d sat alone in the dining room and all he’d wanted to do was be with her. But how could he? You do not date your best friend’s sister. Worse, you do not have dangerous thoughts of sleeping with her, let alone dreaming of a life with a woman kinder than anyone he’d ever met. Just being around her made him feel lighter. She brightened the dark world he’d lived in for too long.

  He needed to stay firmly planted on this side of the line. Adhere to the best-bro code. This thing went beyond friendship. Jack was his boss and had saved his life. He owed Jack more than he could ever repay.

  “Can you believe her?” Jack pulled him out of his thoughts. He dragged his gaze from Summer’s retreating sweet backside.

  “Who’s the guy?” He kept his tone casual.

  Jack glared. “Ex-boyfriend from high school,” he said, irritated. “He’s home from grad school for the holiday.”

  “Probably looking for a good time.”

  Caleb tried not to smile when Jack growled, fisted his hands, and stepped off the curb, following after his sister. He’d counted on Jack’s protective streak to allow him to chase Summer himself. Caleb didn’t want anyone to hurt her. He sure as hell didn’t want her rekindling an old flame with some ex-lover.

  He and Jack walked into the park square just as everyone counted down, three, two, one, and the multicolored lights blinked on, lighting the fourteen-foot tree in the center of the huge gazebo, and sparking the carolers to sing “O Christmas Tree.”

  Tiny white lights circled up the posts and nearby trees, casting a glow over everything. The soft light made Summer’s golden hair shine. She smiled with her head tipped back, her bright blue eyes glowing as she stared at the tree.

  His temper flared when the guy hooked his arm around her neck and pulled her close, nearly spilling his beer down the front of her. She laughed and playfully shoved him away. The guy smiled and put his hand to her back, guiding her toward everyone’s favorite bar. Several other people joined their small group.

  Caleb tapped Jack’s shoulder and pointed to Summer’s back. Her long hair was bundled into a loose braid he wanted to unravel and then run his fingers through the silky strands.

  “There she goes.”

  “What the . . . Let’s go get her.”

  Caleb grabbed Jack’s shoulder. “If you go in there and demand she leaves, it’ll only embarrass her in front of all her friends. Let’s scout the situation. Lie low.”

  “You’re right. She’ll only fight harder if we demand she come home. Let’s get a beer.”

  Caleb grimaced. Hell yes, he wanted to drag Summer home, but fought the compulsion.

  He did not want to watch her with some other guy.

  Why did he torture himself like this?

  An Excerpt from

  THE LAWS OF SEDUCTION

  A French Kiss Novel

  by Gwen Jones

  In the fi
nal fun and sexy French Kiss novel, sparks fly as sassy lawyer Charlotte Andreko and Rex Renaud, the COO of Mercier Shipping, race to clear his name after he’s arrested for a crime he didn’t commit.

  Center City District Police Headquarters

  Philadelphia, PA

  Monday, September 29

  11:35 PM

  In her fifteen years as an attorney, Charlotte had never let anyone throw her off her game, and she wasn’t about to let it happen now.

  So why was she shaking in her Louboutins?

  “Put your briefcase and purse on the belt, keys in the tray, and step through,” the officer said, waving her into the metal detector.

  She complied, cold washing through her as the gate behind her clanged shut. She glanced over her shoulder, thinking how much better she liked it when her interpretation of “bar” remained figurative.

  “Name . . . ?” asked the other cop at the desk.

  “Charlotte Andreko.”

  He ran down the list, checking her off, then held out his hand, waggling it. “Photo ID and attorney card.”

  She grabbed her purse from the other side of the metal detector and dug into it, producing both. After the officer examined them, he sat back with a smirk. “So you’re here for that Frenchie dude, huh? What’s he—some kinda big deal?”

  She eyed him coolly, hefting her briefcase from the belt. “They’re all just clients to me.”

  “That so?” He dropped his gaze, fingering her IDs. “How come he don’t have to sit in a cell? Why’d he get a private room?”

  Why are you scoping my legs, you big douche? “It’s your jail. Why’d you give him one?”

  He cocked a brow. “You’re pretty sassy, ain’t you?”

  “And you’re wasting my time,” she said, swiping back her IDs. God, it’s times like these I really hate men. “Are you going to let me through or what?”

  He didn’t answer. He just leered at her with that simpering grin as he handed her a visitor’s badge, reaching back to open the next gate.

  “Thank you.” She clipped it on, following the other cop to one more door at the other side of the vestibule.

  “It’s late,” the officer said, pressing a code into a keypad, “so we can’t give you much time.”

  “I won’t need much.” After all, how long could it take to say no fucking way?

  “Then just ring the buzzer by the door when you’re ready to leave.” When he opened the door and she stepped in, her breath immediately caught at the sight of the man behind it. She clutched her briefcase so tightly she could feel the blood rushing from her fingers.

  “Bonsoir, Mademoiselle Andreko,” Rex Renaud said.

  Even with his large body cramped behind a metal table, the Mercier Shipping COO had never looked more imposing—and, in spite of his circumstances, never more elegant. The last time they’d met had been in Boston, negotiating the separation terms of his company’s lone female captain, Dani Lloyd, who had recently become Marcel Mercier’s wife. With his cashmere Kiton bespoke now replaced by Gucci black tie, he struck an odd contrast in that concrete room, yet still exuded a coiled and barely contained strength. He folded his arms across his chest as his black eyes fixed on hers, Charlotte getting the distinct impression he more or less regarded her as cornered prey.

  All at once the door behind her slammed shut, and her heart beat so violently she nearly called the officer back. Instead she planted her heels and forced herself to focus, staring the Frenchman down. “All right, I’m here,” she said en français. “Not that I know why.”

  If there was anything she remembered about Rex Renaud—and he wasn’t easy to forget—it was how lethally he wielded his physicality. How he worked those inky eyes, jet-black hair and Greek-statue handsomeness into a kind of immobilizing presence, leaving her weak in the knees every time his gaze locked on hers. Which meant she needed to work twice as hard to keep her wits sharp enough to match his, as no way would she allow him the upper hand.

  An Excerpt from

  SINFUL REWARDS 1

  A Billionaires and Bikers Novella

  by Cynthia Sax

  Belinda “Bee” Carter is a good girl; at least, that’s what she tells herself. And a good girl deserves a nice guy—just like the gorgeous and moody billionaire Nicolas Rainer. Or so she thinks, until she takes a look through her telescope and sees a naked, tattooed man on the balcony across the courtyard. He has been watching her, and that makes him all the more enticing. But when a mysterious and anonymous text message dares her to do something bad, she must decide if she is really the good girl she has always claimed to be, or if she’s willing to risk everything for her secret fantasy of being watched.

  An Avon Red Novella

  I’d told Cyndi I’d never use it, that it was an instrument purchased by perverts to spy on their neighbors. She’d laughed and called me a prude, not knowing that I was one of those perverts, that I secretly yearned to watch and be watched, to care and be cared for.

  If I’m cautious, and I’m always cautious, she’ll never realize I used her telescope this morning. I swing the tube toward the bench and adjust the knob, bringing the mysterious object into focus.

  It’s a phone. Nicolas’s phone. I bounce on the balls of my feet. This is a sign, another declaration from fate that we belong together. I’ll return Nicolas’s much-needed device to him. As a thank you, he’ll invite me to dinner. We’ll talk. He’ll realize how perfect I am for him, fall in love with me, marry me.

  Cyndi will find a fiancé also—everyone loves her—and we’ll have a double wedding, as sisters of the heart often do. It’ll be the first wedding my family has had in generations.

  Everyone will watch us as we walk down the aisle. I’ll wear a strapless white Vera Wang mermaid gown with organza and lace details, crystal and pearl embroidery accents, the bodice fitted, and the skirt hemmed for my shorter height. My hair will be swept up. My shoes—

  Voices murmur outside the condo’s door, the sound piercing my delightful daydream. I swing the telescope upward, not wanting to be caught using it. The snippets of conversation drift away.

  I don’t relax. If the telescope isn’t positioned in the same way as it was last night, Cyndi will realize I’ve been using it. She’ll tease me about being a fellow pervert, sharing the story, embellished for dramatic effect, with her stern, serious dad—or, worse, with Angel, that snobby friend of hers.

  I’ll die. It’ll be worse than being the butt of jokes in high school because that ridicule was about my clothes and this will center on the part of my soul I’ve always kept hidden. It’ll also be the truth, and I won’t be able to deny it. I am a pervert.

  I have to return the telescope to its original position. This is the only acceptable solution. I tap the metal tube.

  Last night, my man-crazy roommate was giggling over the new guy in three-eleven north. The previous occupant was a gray-haired, bowtie-wearing tax auditor, his luxurious accommodations supplied by Nicolas. The most exciting thing he ever did was drink his tea on the balcony.

  According to Cyndi, the new occupant is a delicious piece of man candy—tattooed, buff, and head-to-toe lickable. He was completing armcurls outside, and she enthusiastically counted his reps, oohing and aahing over his bulging biceps, calling to me to take a look.

  I resisted that temptation, focusing on making macaroni and cheese for the two of us, the recipe snagged from the diner my mom works in. After we scarfed down dinner, Cyndi licking her plate clean, she left for the club and hasn’t returned.

  Three-eleven north is the mirror condo to ours. I straighten the telescope. That position looks about right, but then, the imitation UGGs I bought in my second year of college looked about right also. The first time I wore the boots in the rain, the sheepskin fell apart, leaving me barefoot in Economics 201.

  Unwilling to risk Cyndi’s friendship on “about right,” I gaze through the eyepiece. The view consists of rippling golden planes, almost like . . .

  Tanned skin pu
lled over defined abs.

  I blink. It can’t be. I take another look. A perfect pearl of perspiration clings to a puckered scar. The drop elongates more and more, stretching, snapping. It trickles downward, navigating the swells and valleys of a man’s honed torso.

  No. I straighten. This is wrong. I shouldn’t watch our sexy neighbor as he stands on his balcony. If anyone catches me . . .

  Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 available now!

  An Excerpt from

  SWEET COWBOY CHRISTMAS

  A Sweet, Texas Novella

  by Candis Terry

  Years ago, Chase Morgan gave up his Texas life for the fame and fortune of New York City, and he never planned on coming back—especially not for Christmas. But when his life is turned upside down, he finds himself at the door of sexy Faith Walker’s Magic Box Guest Ranch. Chase is home for Christmas, and it’s never been sweeter.

  Chase had come up to stand beside her and hand her more ornaments. While most of the influential men who visited the ranch usually reeked of overpowering aftershave, Chase wore the scent of warm man and clean cotton. Tonight, when he’d shown up in a pair of black slacks and a black T- shirt, she’d had to find a composure that had nothing to do with his rescuing her.

  She’d taken a fall all right.

  For him.

  Broken her own damn rules is what she’d done. Hadn’t she learned her lesson? Men with pockets full of change they threw around like penny candy at a parade weren’t the kind she could ever be interested in.

  At least never again.

  Trouble was, Chase Morgan was an extremely sexy man with bedroom eyes and a smile that said he could deliver on anything he’d promise in that direction. Broad shoulders that confirmed he could carry the weight of the world if need be. And big, capable hands that had already proven they could catch her if she fell.