Resist You (Unchained Attraction Book 3)

by K. L. Shandwick

  Resist You: James and Tricia, Part 1

  Unchained Attraction Series, BOOK 3

  K.L. Shandwick

  Resist You ~ James and Tricia, Part1 Resist Duet,

  Unchained Attraction Series Book 3

  K.L. Shandwick ©2020

  The author has asserted their moral right under the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

  All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  Disclaimer: This book has mature content and explicit reference to sexual situations it is intended for adult readers aged 18+.

  This book is a work of fiction, Names, places, characters, band names and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or names are used within the fictitious setting. Any resemblance to actual person’s living or dead. Band names or locales are entirely coincidental unless quoted as artists.

  This book is dedicated to my amazing author friend, Tracie Podger.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Social media links

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by K.L. Shandwick

  Chapter One

  My brother’s wedding

  “Excuse me, but I believe it’s my turn, they’re playing our song,” Tricia, the smoking hot, fiesty maid of honor advised my dancing partner.

  Gingerly, she squeezed between the pretty wedding guest and me. The tone of her voice left the girl in no doubt she was being excused.

  Without another glance, Tricia tucked my arm under hers, dismissed her, and dragged me away. Once we were alone, she wrapped her bare slender arms around my neck in an intimate gesture and pressed herself against me like she’d done that same move a thousand times before.

  My arms immediately behaved as if they had a life of their own and wrapped around her waist before my mind had fully engaged to my action. I wasn’t surprised by Tricia’s forwardness; I had known from the moment I met her she was a straightforward woman, who looked like she took what she wanted.

  Nestling her body close to mine, she tilted her head back to look at me with a satisfied sigh.

  Feeling her soft warm body close to me filled an immediate sense of longing and I instantly yearned for more. When her long fingernails grazed my scalp, she grabbed a handful of hair, sending small shivers of desire radiating through me. They strummed just above the nape of my neck, and with each cunning stroke, she made me crave her more.

  My body hummed as I played dumb and flashed her a look of amused confusion. While inside, my heart raced as I tried to mask my delight at finally being able to touch more of her.

  Mature and elegant, everything about her appealed to me, but nothing had prepared me for the electrical surge that charged through my body when we were first introduced.

  With my confirmed bachelor lifestyle in the past, I had figured there wasn’t much left to learn about women. That was until I encountered Charlotte.

  Right from the start, my sister-in-law Billie’s best friend unsettled me. From the moment I saw Tricia Mattison, I hadn’t known which way was up. It had only taken a few minutes of conversation with her to know she was an extraordinarily complex woman, and unlike any other I’d connected with before. Don’t ask me how I knew, it was nothing she said, just a way she had about her.

  Tricia wasn’t just a looker, she was exquisite, but how pretty a woman looked had never mattered to me if the chemistry wasn’t there.

  The connection we’d shared from that very first day was electric. It had only taken a few minutes in her company for my shirt collar to suddenly feel too tight and the temperature in the room became roasting. Being around her made me feel restless, thirsty, hungry, and horny all in one hit. The verdict? I was in lust.

  When our eyes met, the connection tested me as she held my gaze and my mind emptied of all other thoughts. For a moment, I lost myself in the unwavering challenge she silently communicated to me by way of an incredible piercing stare.

  At first when she spoke, it had sounded assertive—sassy even—and my pulse raced faster at the tone in her voice. But it was the way she looked at me, like she could see my inner thoughts, that unnerved me. A breath or two after that, the euphoria of that first connection came to a screeching halt when I saw her eyes narrow as she assessed whether to trust me or not.

  I glanced toward Billie and caught her watching me and instinct told me Tricia knew about my history with Sawyer’s ex-girlfriend, Charlotte Harrison. My heart sank that she had prior knowledge to judge me with.

  Sleeping with Charlotte was something I’d neither planned for nor had ever wanted to happen. In fact, I had done my best to avoid her. However, my best had been no match for a conniving bitch like her.

  My first mistake had been to think I could handle Charlotte’s unwarranted advances toward me in Sawyer’s absence. My second had been to get drunk to the point where Charlotte had seen her opportunity and had made her move to ensure she got what she’d wanted. My third was allowing her to blackmail me into continuing a relationship I’d felt trapped in, when I should have come clean from the moment the deed was done.

  At the time Tricia and I had first been introduced, I was still finding my feet in a tentative reconciliation with my brother.

  A romantic Adele song played as we shuffled around in perfect sync on the dance floor, our bodies were so close, every cell I possessed ached. Leaning back, Tricia looked up at me and when I stared into those eyes, I knew I could easily drown in them. Their vibrant green color drew me in and I couldn’t recall anyone I’d ever met who had eyes as mesmerizing as hers.

  Everything about her, and surrounding her, from the subtle sweet smell of lilacs present in the light fragrance she wore, to her long slender frame, appeared perfect to me. She was exactly my type: tall and leggy, with delicate facial features, and long silky dark blonde hair.

  As we danced slowly around the floor, I imagined letting her hair down and wrapping it tightly around my fist. That wasn’t the first time I’d had that thought. I had pictured doing that in my mind several times since I’d known her. Even during the wedding ceremony her hair had distracted me from the main event itself.

  While we shifted from foot to foot, her suspicious gaze held that same testing look in assessment of me. For weeks I’d fought hard to resist her, but since the wedding nuptials had been completed there was nothing holding us back from having some fun of our own.

  It had been a while since I’d been in the company of a female who was clearly determined to bed me, and I realized quickly I’d miss
ed that lust-filled look in a woman’s eyes. I was slightly nervous to make my move on Tricia, because I didn’t want to make waves that either screwed up the amicable vibe there was between everyone, or the progress Sawyer and I had made in the months before.

  I stole a look at my younger brother and his new bride, and I knew for sure he had moved on to a much better life without Charlotte. Seeing how happy he was made me wonder if I’d ever have that happy ending Sawyer had determinedly gone after.

  Dancing cheek to cheek, I watched how possessively Sawyer held his new wife, and my heart squeezed a little in envy for the love he’d found. Since I’d been around Billie and Sawyer as a couple, it had dawned on me, I wanted that as well. I had been single for months and since the wedding was out of the way, I figured it was time I shook off my dark past and lived my life the way I wanted.

  “You said it’s your turn?” I murmured, reminding her of her comment by ghosting the shell of her ear with my question. “I hadn’t realized there was a queue.” Tricia shivered in my arms and I hadn’t missed how goosebumps erupted over her skin.

  My eyes dropped to her perfect cleavage for a second or two. When I straightened my stance and looked at her again, I bit back a smile at how deliciously responsive her reaction had been.

  Reluctantly I dragged eyes away and I glanced over her shoulder toward the other guests dancing around us. I knew my brooding pauses were unsettling her. It had been obvious from the start; Tricia was a woman who was used to attention, and yet every fiber of my being told me to play it cool with her.

  Each second I held her in my arms, looking away from her felt like a moment too Iong so I glanced back, unable to resist her, and the look that passed between us morphed into another protracted stare.

  A reluctant smile immediately tugged at my lips and her eyes filled with desire. My smile grew bigger because couldn’t pretend how I felt about her. Tricia Mattison was gorgeous and I had tired of pretending I was hard to get, when she’d already snared me.

  “All evening I’ve watched you choose every other woman to dance with. Everyone except for me. Why?” Tricia’s fiery challenging gaze pinned me to the spot. Her tone carried more than a hint of annoyance at my lack of attention.

  I fought a smirk at how irritated she was by my deliberate neglect and raised an eyebrow in question, because the truth of the matter had been she’d made me hard the very second I’d seen her wearing it.

  Confident women like Tricia liked the chase as much as men, and I was pleased my offhand tactic had brought me the desired effect. I knew better than to show my hand to someone as forthright as Tricia. My plan of not making her the focus for my attention had clearly pushed every button with her, just as I’d hoped it would.

  I hadn’t been completely neglecting her during the day, because I’d secretly been watching her every move.

  “Were you saving the best until last?” she prompted when I never answered.

  God, I love a confident woman. I loved it even more that she had felt it necessary to bring me to task for not acknowledging her sooner. Tricia’s comeback challenge made her all the more alluring for it. It also let me know she hadn’t considered those other women as serious competition for her where I was concerned.

  In that moment, I was thankful the wait to make my move was over. I felt flattered by her lack of patience to wait and a little intimidated when I admitted to myself I had avoided her longer than I normally would have in such a situation. But I felt there was something about Tricia I couldn’t put my finger on. Despite that subtle red flag, my body still craved her.

  “Because I knew once I held you in my arms, I wouldn’t want to dance with anyone else,” I replied, with a shrug of my shoulders and a hint of a smile on my lips.

  A beaming smile lit up her face. “Excellent answer,” she gushed, satisfied, and lowered her gaze but not before I caught a smug little upturn at the corners of her mouth. Looking back up at me, she tilted her head to one side in consideration. That drew my hungry eyes to the peachy skin on her long slender neck. An urge to press my lips to it consumed me in a sudden wave of need.

  “Would you mind showing me the way back to my room? Your parents’ house is stunning, but I find the floors and hallways very confusing,” she asked, drawing my attention back to her face before I could act on that feeling.

  Tricia was lying about not knowing her way around my family home, she had stayed at my parents’ house several times with Billie during the planning of the wedding, and the room she’d been given was the same one she’d slept in before.

  When I saw her sporting a naughty grin, it said exactly why she needed me to escort her to her room. It had nothing to do with her sense of direction. Besides it was a ridiculous excuse, because although our family home was extensive, some would say imposing, it was a two-storey mansion house with a simple traditional H plan layout.

  Seeing how driven she was made me hesitant and I wondered if I’d misread what I’d felt there was between us, and all that was happening was an intense physical attraction on her part. However, despite my doubts, she held me captive and left me breathless at the same time. The only thing that had mattered in that moment was I had never wanted another woman more.

  Pure carnal need radiated between us, but I was disappointed when this looked mismatched by the conflicted expression on her face. I recognized the uncertainty in her eyes and my heart sank to my stomach. That was the moment I felt sure all Tricia was willing to give was her body and all she wanted was my body in return. It was as if from the moment she realized she didn’t have to try, she appeared less eager.

  There was a time when I’d have been happy to scratch her itch and not have given what we did another thought. In another decade in my life, she would have been the perfect woman to have that with. At one time I’d have felt relieved to be offered one night of passion upfront. I’d even have thanked her and walked away with a clear conscience, a sated body, and a satisfied smile on my face.

  I tried to keep the smile on my face and nodded, barely containing the mixed feelings I had about being used, but unable to contain the heightened sexual hormones circling my body. The pheromones between us were almost palpable.

  “Sure, the house can be a regular labyrinth if you don’t know your way around,” I replied with a note of sarcasm and a wink.

  Since Charlotte and all the agony I’d endured at her hands, I was a different man. I saw one-night stands as a thing of the past. Yet, I knew without touching her, one night with Tricia Mattison would not be enough… not with the insane sexual chemistry and blistering heat that burned between us.

  However, I knew how quickly Sawyer and Billie’s relationship had caught fire and how Billie had placed her trust in him, and I wondered if once we had gotten together the same might have occurred for us.

  Had I been stronger, I’d have insisted we took our time, sounded Tricia out, and gauged exactly how she saw us. However, we had both been fueled by alcohol, and as my palms slid over her bare back in exploration, any further restraint I’d been guarding quickly and decisively gave out.

  Without further prompting, I broke our dancing position, slid my hand to the small of her bare back, and guided her off the dance floor. My thumb subtly noting her skin felt as silky as I imagined it would. Billie had her back to us, but Sawyer’s eyes narrowed when they met mine.

  “Don’t fuck with her,” he mouthed as I passed him by, his warning momentarily took some of the spontaneity I’d been feeling out of the situation. A note of disappointment registered before I reminded myself, he was possibly nervous because Tricia was his wife’s best friend. The thought made me feel better and I tried not to read too much into his comment. That said, I knew he’d think it was me if she didn’t want to see me again.

  A surge of nervous energy shot through my body when I considered for weeks we had played a cat and mouse game of stolen glances, mildly flirtatious comments, and when we’d felt it safe to do so, more leisurely gazes toward one another. Du
ring those times I’d had some vivid fantasy images of all the dirty, filthy things I’d wanted to do to her. Yet, I’d hidden how she made me feel and silently struggled to resist her.

  Initially, I’d put my feelings down to her being the first woman I’d felt sexually interested in, since the incident with Charlotte had left me with a mistrust in women. Apart from this, being thrown together in the way Tricia and I were had felt somewhat forced, due to the circumstance. It was a cliché for the groomsmen to hook up with their counterpart bridesmaids, but at the back of my mind I knew clichéd did not necessarily mean something couldn’t turn out to be amazing, just it was somewhat predictable.

  Casting another eye toward my brother as we exited the ballroom, he smirked like he knew exactly what I’d been thinking, and I chuckled because he’d already figured out what we were about to do.

  Why am I settling for one night? What do I need to do that would make her want me more? “Doesn’t it concern you that we’re being a little obvious?” I asked in a playful tone.

  “What’s obvious? Don’t you think you’re being a tad presumptuous? I haven’t decided what’s going to happen between us, if anything. I mean it’s been a long day,” she replied curtly, like she was serious. However, I heard the thick sexual lust in her tone and figured she was a bad liar at least. Her response made me chuckle, and even though I knew she was full of shit, her snarky comeback had made me hard.