Tempting Sydney

by Corbett, Angela

  I spread her fingers out, splaying them over me. I’d been hard the minute I saw her in that little pink skirt, but with her hand and total attention focused right where I wanted it, I felt harder than I’d ever been in my life. I needed to feel her on me, skin on skin. I let go of her hand, and she kept rubbing, just like I’d taught her. I held her eyes as I popped the button on my jeans and the zipper teeth clinked as they unlatched.

  Her face was flushed, breasts swollen with need, and that just made me want her even more. I took her hand and slowly slipped it under the waistband of my boxers. Our fingers slid down, down, down, until we both hit my cock. She gasped, her eyes blinking up to me. A jolt of pleasure ran through me at her touch, and her response. This was what I wanted—for both of us to stop thinking, and lose ourselves completely in each other. I inhaled a rattled breath as I took her soft hand and wrapped it around my length. And then, I started to stroke. Up and down, guiding her. And then I had to immediately start thinking of sports statistics, because after less than thirty seconds of a hand job, she’d made me so hot I was ready to explode. Syd’s breath was ragged as she touched me, her eyes flitting back and forth between my face and my pants. I’d never been this turned on, or wanted anyone so much. Against all manners and my own better judgment, I was ready to take her right there, in the middle of the theater. Judging by her flushed cheeks and shifting in her chair, she was ready to let me.

  And just like that, I saw her face shutter. I took a deep breath, inwardly shaking my head. She was thinking too much. Shutting me out. Abruptly, Syd pulled her hand away. She got up, whispering a hasty excuse that she needed to use the bathroom. I watched her sexy little ass all the way down the stairs, and didn’t miss her eyes flit back up to me as she exited the theater.

  Bathroom my ass. It was either that, or have sex on the theater floor. And Syd was way too controlled for that kind of spontaneity. I shifted in my seat, trying to readjust for the situation still going on in my pants. No help there. The only thing that would remedy this problem was currently hanging out with toilets. I knew Syd was freaking out. She kept her life carefully organized, and planned for all contingencies. But she hadn’t planned for me. I wasn’t going to let her run away from this—us—just because she wasn’t prepared for it. I stood up, and walked down the stairs.

  The hallway was deserted thanks to the lack of attendance at the old theater. I opened the door to the women’s restroom and looked around. The space was empty except for one closed stall, and that’s where the person I wanted was. I leaned against the countertop, my palms resting behind me, and watched the stall, and Syd’s heels. I had no doubt she was leaning against that door, trying to calm down. As soon as she came out, though, I’d make sure calm was the last emotion she’d be feeling. I wanted her to feel as crazy as I did.

  The lock on the door clicked. Syd looked up as she exited the stall, then froze when she saw me. Various emotions crossed her face, but the flush across her chest and darkened eyes let me know she was interested in more than going back to watch the movie. Good, because movies were the very last thing on my mind. She attempted to move, but stumbled. I knew how much I unnerved her, and I liked it. I flashed a wolf-smile as I caught her. “Slippery, eh?”

  I wasn’t talking about the floor.

  She blew out a breath, and seemed to be doing some serious contemplation as she stood there, trying to decide what to do next, no doubt. She had that problem with me frequently. “If we’re both in here, neither one of us will know what’s happening in the movie,” she finally said.

  I tilted my head to the side and cocked a brow. If she thought a movie plot was more interesting than her, she needed an education. “I’m sure neither one of us cares.”

  I could tell she was still anxious, and she tried to take some of the edge off with a joke. “Did you make a wrong turn and not see the girl wearing a dress on the door?”

  I held her eyes as I answered, “The girl I want to see out of her dress is in here.”

  I held her gaze as I took two long steps toward her, and she sucked in a breath as I pushed her up against the wall. I wanted to take her, claim her, in every way. My lips pressed into hers, the kiss hard and deep. My dick felt like granite against her thigh, and I wanted nothing more than for her to unzip my pants and pull it out again. I wanted her to look at me, see me, and find out what she’d been missing. Her hands raked down my stomach, and stayed there as my tongue slipped into her mouth, licking and caressing.

  I’d managed to undo several of the buttons on her black shirt. Her lacy black and white bra peeked out beneath her top, threatening to drive me insane. I wanted to watch her strip it off, and leave it with the rest of her clothes on the bathroom floor. I cupped one hand over her breast, stroking the hard tips of her nipples through the lace with my thumb, while the other hand pushed up her skirt, running light strokes over her thigh. I was so close to being able to slip inside her. I wanted to touch her, feel her silky warmth. She sighed as I broke away, moving my lips down her body to take her nipple in my mouth. The rough fabric and soft skin was an intense combination on my tongue. Her hands went to my jeans and I moaned as she popped the button, slowly sliding the zipper down.

  Yes.

  This.

  Syd.

  She was exactly what I wanted. What I needed. In every way. Her hand was poised over the waistband of my boxers when the door creaked open and a teenage girl walked in the bathroom, surprise written on her face when she noticed my presence. Well, fuuuuck. Of all the damn times to be interrupted! I looked down, taking a deep breath to try to calm down, and contain my annoyance. Syd scrambled away from me faster than I thought anyone could even move. I almost laughed. Running away wasn’t going to improve the situation. The girl was a teenager, not an imbecile. I knew what she’d seen when she walked in. The next step was about damage control.

  I looked up, raking a hand through my hair as I flashed the girl a winning smile, trying to put her at ease. “My date was sick. I came in to check on her.”

  The girl gave me a once over, taking in my disheveled clothes and kiss swollen lips. Then she did the same to Syd, stopping on her unbuttoned shirt, flushed face, smeared lipstick, and messy hair. She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right,” she said, snorting. “You know, they have stalls for that.” Then she stepped into a stall of her own and locked the door.

  I bit my lip and held back a laugh. Syd put her hand over her mouth to try to hold in her own giggle—which surprised me. I thought she’d be embarrassed and probably pissed. Apparently a little action was beneficial to her mood. Noted. We both quickly rearranged our clothes and hair before I took her hand, holding the door for her as we walked out of the bathroom together.

  Neither of us had any interest in the movie. I was mostly interested in getting her in my truck, and then somewhere a little more private to continue improving her mood—and mine. We started toward my truck. “Thanks for making out with me in the light this time,” Syd said, her tone teasing.

  My lips curved up, remembering the kiss in the dark corridor of the haunted mine. Damn, that was a great kiss. If I hadn’t been falling for her already, that kiss would have sealed the deal. “I thought about killing your date that night, but decided I’d much rather kiss you.”

  She lifted a brow. “It was an incredible kiss. You should have claimed it. Drew got credit as the ninja kisser for a while.”

  I snorted, completely annoyed. No one could kiss her like I could. I was offended she’d ever thought otherwise. “He wouldn’t have been able to find the broad side of a barn in that dark hallway, let alone your mouth.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “And Syd, if we hadn’t been interrupted in the bathroom just now, I would have found a lot more than your lips.”

  Once again, there are so many people I couldn’t have done this without!

  My incredible production team! Ali Cross at Novel Ninjutsu; Rachel Morgan at Morgan Media; Ashley Argyle, Ph.D, at Inktip Editing
; Laura Hidalgo at Bookfabulous Designs; Brad Olson Photography; and my super hot cover models, Sarah Singleton and Kevin Fulgham. Also, a massive thank you to my marketing/PR company, Bernard Books. And to Jean at Book Nerd Tours, I can’t even thank you enough! You're always so supportive of me, and such a wonderful friend!

  Jennifer Miller and Gypsy Rae Choszer, who heard my crazy idea and wanted to go nuts with me. I love having inappropriate discussions with you! And thanks to Gypsy, who provided very important jewelry-making info. Huge thanks to M. Clarke, LP Dover, Rebecca Ethington, and RaShelle Workman.

  Dr. Ashley Argyle, my fantastic editor who pretended to be disappointed after first reading this book, and almost got a cookie thrown at her. Now I’m not allowed to have cookies at editing sessions. I absolutely couldn’t do my job without her.

  And of course, Dan, who makes me happy, and always makes me laugh…especially when he’s turning my books into his own version of Mystery Science 3000 Theater. Yes, Jax actually can make dinner with nothing but the heat coming off of his abs. :p

  And my most important thank you goes to you, my readers! Without your support, I couldn’t do what I do. Thank you for taking the time to leave reviews, and tell people about my books. Thank you for all of the kind words, notes, and posts on my social media pages. I treasure every single one of them! <3

  Adult

  The Devil Drinks Coffee

  Devilishly Short # 1

  Young Adult

  Eternal Starling

  Eternal Echoes

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  If you enjoyed reading Tempting Sydney, please help others enjoy this book too by lending it, recommending it, or reviewing it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Goodreads. If you do write a review, please send me a message through my website so I can thank you! www.angelacorbett.com

  xoxo,

  Ang

  Angela Corbett is a graduate of Westminster College where she double majored in communication and sociology. She has worked as a journalist, freelance writer, and director of communications and marketing. She loves classic cars, traveling, and listening to U2. She lives in Utah with her extremely supportive husband and their five-pound Pomeranian, Pippin, whose following of fangirls could rival Justin Bieber’s.

  You can find Angela online at

  angelacorbett.com

  @angcorbett

  Excerpt from

  Intercepting Love

  A Second Chances Standalone Novel

  by L.P. Dover

  Prologue

  Kate

  “So how does it feel to be done with school for the summer?” Evan asked.

  With my phone propped up on my shoulder, I shoved the last of my belongings into the back of my Jeep and smiled. “It feels amazing, but I’m having a hard time believing that I’m actually done … well, at least for the time being. It went by so fast,” I replied.

  It was like one minute I was a freshman struggling to make ends meet, and now I was about to do my hospital rotations, making my way to graduating with a medical degree. My rotations, however, weren’t going to be in Raleigh—where I’d spent the last few years at Chapel Hill—they were going to be back at home in one of our local hospitals in Charlotte. Luckily, I already had a job lined up to be one of the private physicians for my hometown NFL team, the Carolina Cougars. I had my brother to thank for it since he was their star wide receiver and it was his idea that I apply for the job. I couldn’t wait to get my medical degree and get started. I’d be able to travel with the team and see new places, all while doing what I loved. It was a dream come true.

  “Yes, it did fly by,” my brother agreed. “Hopefully, I have a few good years left on the team before I have to retire. Oh yeah, just to give you a heads up, I already warned the guys to keep their hands and eyes to themselves when you start coming around. The last thing I want is for one of them to break your heart.”

  Chuckling, I started up my Jeep and pulled out of my apartment parking lot. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. I’m taken, remember?” I hesitated for a second before adding, “Or … at least, I think I am.”

  “How long do you think it’s going to last, Kate?” he asked. “Your boyfriend does know that you’ll be travelling everywhere with the team, right? You two will never see each other. I’m sorry, but I don’t see it working out for very long.”

  “I know that, Evan,” I murmured sadly. “I think Scott knows it, too, but we’ll take it one step at a time. I’m on my way to see him now to drop off some things he left at my apartment. I’ll see you at Mom and Dad’s house for dinner tonight, okay?”

  I knew he could hear the trepidation in my voice because the phone went silent. My brother was younger than me by only eighteen months, but ever since we were little he had always been more of a big brother to me. I had a strange feeling I was going to see that side of him a lot when I started working with the football players.

  “All right,” Evan muttered, finally breaking the silence. “Just be careful on your way home.”

  “Will do.” I hung up the phone, setting it in the center console of my car.

  The closer I got to Scott’s house, the more the pain in my chest grew; I knew nothing was going to help the ache go away. I’d always known that leaving was going to be an issue, and when I tried to talk to Scott about it over the past couple of months he would always change the subject. Being the coward that I was I never pressed the issue; I let it slide knowing I had more time to address it. That time swiftly approached and here I was on my way to say good-bye.

  Even though Scott never wanted to talk about it, I could see it in his eyes that he wasn’t happy. Maybe I wasn’t good at relationships. I had no clue how to make things better between us or how to make him smile again. Something was wrong with him, but I had no clue what it was.

  I’d met Scott during my first year of college, and we went out on a few dates every now and again. He was always busy with baseball and I was busy studying, so we never got too serious. At least, not until he became my patient after a torn rotator cuff put him out of commission for a while. It was then we were able to actually spend time together, and it wasn’t long after that when I fell in love with him. I had to believe things would work out between us, even with the distance.

  Pulling into Scott’s driveway, I parked my car and blew out a nervous breath. He lived in a moderately sized, brick ranch style house in a nice little neighborhood not far from campus. I basically lived with him and only ventured to my apartment when I needed something of my own. Squeezing my eyes shut, I desperately tried to hold back my tears, but I couldn’t. Come on, Kate, pull yourself together. Scott and I love each other and that’s all that matters.

  The box sitting in my passenger seat had a few of his shirts, a pair of his sneakers, and his laptop. I was tempted to keep it all just so it wouldn’t feel like we were breaking up. Opening the car door, I threw my blonde hair into a ponytail—so that it wouldn’t stick to my shoulders from the summer heat—and grabbed the box beside of me. Box in hand, I waltzed up to the front door and pressed the doorbell.

  The sound echoed through his house and as I waited for him to get to the door, my heart literally felt like it was being ripped out of my chest. I didn’t want to leave him.

  After about three minutes of silence, I rang the doorbell again and knocked as loud as I could. “Where are you, Scott?” I mumbled to myself. Surely, he’ll want to see me before I go, right?

  Setting the box down, I marched over to my Jeep and grabbed my phone from inside. I dialed Scott’s number and could hear it ringing inside his house, but no one picked up.

  “You better not be ignoring me,” I grumbled.

  Even if he was pissed at me for leaving he would never intentionally ignore me; he wasn’t the type of person to do that. Blowing out an angry breath, I placed my hands on my hips and stalked over to his garage. I knew I shouldn’t do what I was about to do,
but I had to see him. No one was around to see me punch in the five digit code to Scott’s garage and sneak inside. His shiny, black Ford Mustang was in its usual place, and normally my Jeep would be beside his … but not today.

  Taking a deep breath, I slowly walked past his car and opened the door that led into his kitchen, nervously biting my lip the entire time. “Scott,” I called out hesitantly. “Look, I’m sorry for barging in, but I didn’t want to leave without saying good-bye. Will you please talk to me? I know things haven’t been the best between us, but I want to see you. I don’t want to leave without knowing we’re okay.”

  I waited for him to speak, but there was no answer … only silence, except for the sound of the television coming from the living room. “Scott,” I called again, standing awkwardly in the kitchen. “Please, talk to me.”

  When no reply came, I decided to seek him out. If he was that angry with me for leaving then he needed to say it to my face so we could work things out. He had always told me how he felt, but for the past couple of months he’d kept his feelings and his anger bottled up. I didn’t know how to get him to talk to me, so I buried myself in my school work and figured it would all work out in the end. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to.

  The living room was vacant when I peeked around the corner, so I slowly made my way down the hall, looking into each room as I passed. Nothing. All that was left was his bedroom, and immediately I faltered, freezing in the middle of the hallway. Dread crept up my spine and my skin broke out in chills. It almost reminded me of the feeling you get when you’re watching a scary movie and something’s about to jump out at you.