by Lauren Dane
On the night the nature of his father’s illness becomes painfully, publicly apparent, Joe does the right thing—push Beth as far away as possible. But if he thought she’d go away quietly, he’s about to learn she’s made of sterner stuff.
Warning: Slow-talking, sexy mechanic with a drawl, looking to get a Murphy right out of her underpants. Quick-talking woman who knows what she wants and has a weak spot for the aforementioned slow-talking mechanic and his dancing dog. Bad words. Polly Chase behind the wheel again.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Lost in You:
What he needed to do was take a ride. He’d been dealing with his father, the move, getting all the stuff in place for the shop, and none of it was fun. Joe was tired of everything. He took a glance over to where Buck had sacked out, his face near his bowl should anyone try to take it. The dog snuffled his annoyance when Joe bent to stroke over his head but groaned a little when he got his ears scratched.
“I’ll be back in a while. Don’t sleep too much.”
Buck opened one eye and then closed it again on a sigh. The sound of Joe’s keys would have sent his normally high-energy dog jumping. But he’d been playing with the dog next door while Joe had been painting earlier and had taken several runs with Joe to the shop and out to his parents’ place and clearly had had enough.
Joe got that. He wished he could lie near his bowl with a bottle of beer and sack out for hours too.
Joe snorted as he stood, looking out his kitchen window over Main Street. He’d finally finished unpacking the last boxes earlier that morning, and while he wasn’t totally moved in, he’d already come home.
Petal had been part of Joe Harris for his entire life. Even when he’d been halfway across the world, he’d never been too far from Petal’s streets. So when he backed the motorcycle out of the garage and started it up, he knew exactly where he wanted to ride.
It was a warm day. Sunny and clear, and once he’d gotten a little out of the main part of town, the scent of grass and trees replaced everything else. The hum of the road beneath him soothed nearly as much as the full-throated growl of the bike. He might have turned his life around, but a guy still had to have some fun. The bike was part of that fun. He’d miss his every-Sunday group he had back in Dallas, but he had so much to do now that he’d moved back home he wasn’t sure when he’d be able to find a new group. But he would eventually.
He needed to remind himself of that. Right now things seemed overwhelming, but they’d mellow. He’d find a routine. Get his dad some help. Get his business up and running. Maybe even find some time to date around, or at the very least have sex.
For now, the road had to be enough.
For now, it was.
“You missed a spot.”
Beth sent a look to her brother William. “Volunteer labor is notoriously imperfect. It’s a sad fact of life.” She rinsed off the window she’d been washing on his truck.
“You want to borrow the truck, you gotta wash it. That’s the deal.”
“I did wash it.” She turned the hose on him, and he jumped with a hoot, sending kids hurtling into the yard, giggling and soaked. “And now I washed the owner. You want I should break out the soap and get behind your ears?”
He grinned and shook his head. “I’ll get even for that.”
“One day maybe. But for today, I am queen.” She tossed the cloth back into the bucket and bent to turn the hose off, pausing to squirt the kids again.
“Thanks for the truck wash. And for watching the kids last night.” Her brother winked before he looked over the yard. His kids were out there running through the sprinkler along with several of her nieces and nephews belonging to their other siblings. She’d had them all at her apartment the night before for a sleepover so their parents could have a date night. She loved each and every one of those munchkins, and it was a lot of fun to have been able to spend so much time with them.
Still, when she left William’s she planned to go back to her place and take a long nap.
“No big. We made cookies and had popcorn and watched Mary Poppins a few times over.”
“We still pretending you watched that one for the kids?”
“Plenty of sprockets young enough that I can keep that up a while longer.” She grinned. Mary Poppins was one of her favorite movies of all time. She hadn’t ever seen it as a kid. Her parents weren’t much for Disney movies for their kids. That and they never had a VCR or anything like that. She’d discovered it when William’s oldest had come along. By that point, years later, she’d seen it so many times it’d become a running joke in the family and she didn’t care.
There was something fine and lovely about Mary Poppins with her perfect voice and quest for happiness in whatever task set before her. Plus, dancing penguins.
A low-throated growl of a motor sounded before she caught sight of the motorcycle that pulled up at the curb out front.
William raised his hand to wave, smiling.
“Who is that?”
“Joe Harris,” William called back over his shoulder.
Holy sweet baby Jesus.
Beth stood still, unable to move or tear her gaze away from Joe as he swung his leg over the bike to stand. And that was before he took his helmet off and all that golden hair spilled out. Her parts came to life as she swallowed hard, taking in the bulging biceps, straining against the soft-looking blue T-shirt. Tattoos made her wonder if he had any hidden out of sight. Powerful thighs filled out faded and worn jeans. His boots were more work boots than cowboy boots, but they worked too.
Worked, much like the sunglasses hiding eyes she remembered were green. He looked dangerous. And hot. More hot than scary. Definitely hot.
He was the exciting older bad boy her brother used to run around with. In other words, total teenage-girl fantasy fodder.
“Hey, Joe Harris, what brings you here today?” William approached his friend and Beth had to rush to catch up.
She was glad she did because Joe smiled at William, showing perfect white teeth.
“Needed to get out for a ride. Thought I’d stop by when I came back through town to say hey.”
He looked to Beth and she licked her lips nervously. And that was before he slid his sunglasses down, exposing those intense eyes as he took her in.
“Welcome back to Petal, Joe.” She managed to talk to him like she’d talk to anyone else. Mainly because she was trying to pretend she wasn’t imagining him naked and bringing her cake.
Ha. She was totally imagining him naked bringing her cake.
“Beth?” She didn’t miss the way his gaze lingered on her breasts where her shirt clung. It wasn’t white so she missed giving off the wet T-shirt thing. And good, ’cause kids and all, and because she didn’t do wet T-shirt contests. But she was glad he found them nice enough to look at a while.
“Yep.”
He got that look. The one guys got when they liked what they saw. Then his gaze darted to William, and the look changed to oh yeah, that’s my friend’s little sister. Damn. She was clearly going to have to knock him out of that box.
“Nice to see you. Last time I did you were still in high school, I think.”
She was sure he never even noticed her as a person back then. “Probably.”
He really looked good. Like, really, really.
But before she could get warmed up enough to flirt, he turned his attention back to her brother and she hid her frown.
“Come on in. I’m planning on some time on the porch. Gotta keep an eye on all these sprouts.” William had pretty much forgotten about her now that his friend had arrived. Boys.
“I’m gonna run. I have an appointment in a while with my bed and a nap.” She tiptoed up and hugged her brother, who kissed her forehead when she stepped back.
“Thanks again for watching the kids.”
“Anytime.” She looked to Joe again. “See you around town, Joe.” And she totally would. Because now it would be her mission.
The kids all came runnin
g, laughing and squealing to give her hugs and kisses, and she told them she’d see them the next day at her sister Tate’s house.
She didn’t even try to pretend she didn’t throw some sway into her walk when she headed to her car.
He usually gets what he wants. What he wants is her…and all that comes with her.
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
© 2014 HelenKay Dimon
Men at Work, Book 1
Sex in the office? Lincoln Campbell knows better. His assistant, Thea Marshall, is off limits—until her back hits the door and her clothes come off. The next day brings more than morning-after regrets. It brings damning evidence that Thea stole business secrets.
Three months later, he can’t shake the doubts in his gut, so he heads for Thea’s family cabin by the lake, ready to talk. He’s not ready for the woman who answers the door. She was shapely before…and it won’t be long before she’s a totally different shape.
After Linc escorted her off company property while her protestations of innocence fell on deaf ears, facing off with him now isn’t exactly Thea’s idea of a good time. She needs a few more weeks to plan the drastically different direction her life has taken, but now he’s here—and refusing to leave.
With a storm rolling in and snow piling up, there’s nothing to do but face the past…and try to resist the real man behind the suit.
Warning: A hot businessman who usually gets what he wants. A strong woman who refuses to be pushed around—on the morning after, or any other time. And a cabin where the showdown begins.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Baby, It’s Cold Outside:
Thea Marshall’s back hit the wall. Words caught in her throat as strong hands skimmed up her skirt and along the bare skin of her upper thighs. A mix of heat and need pulsed through the office.
The breath rushed out of her and the room went wavy, but she welcomed the rush. She’d craved his touch, dreamed about this moment, since that first day she walked into the executive suite of Campbell Construction four months ago.
Everything about Lincoln Campbell worked for her. From the scruff over his chin to the short, almost military-cut brown hair and intense blue eyes. That simple black-band watch he always wore.
The chest, the face. And the hands. Those long fingers were pure perfection.
“This is a mistake.” He said the words against her neck, but his mouth kept moving. Licking and kissing while he hooked a palm under the back of her knee. With a tug her leg landed high on his hip, leaving her open and vulnerable to his touch.
“I know.” Part of her wanted to relax into him. Let those fingertips travel all over her until every cell screamed for him to push inside. She needed all the intensity he usually focused on the job to switch to her. Surround her.
But she didn’t plan to sit back and watch. She’d strip him, taste him. One by one she opened the buttons of his crisp white dress shirt, placing a kiss on each muscled inch she uncovered. Next went the aqua tie that highlighted his eyes.
No wonder her control had finally cracked tonight. She’d opened the door to say goodnight and let him know everyone, including the cleaning crew, had cleared the floor. Knocked right into him and now their mouths roamed all over each other.
One of his hands slapped against the wall next to her head as the other slipped past the elastic band of her panties. She angled her hips, trapping his fingers between them.
“I can’t stop.” His fingers mirrored his words. One rubbed against her. Slid right into her folds and brushed up and down.
Her head fell back as the room began a lazy spin. “Me either.”
“We should—”
“No.” Her head snapped back up when she heard the brief return of his hesitation.
She spared a second’s thought for the blaring HR warnings and all those mandatory workshops about undue influence at work. They were necessary, but not for them. Linc wasn’t using her. She wanted him and absolutely knew what she was doing.
“Thea.”
He was going to back away and go into emotional-lockdown mode. No way could she let that happen because she would never get him back to this place again. Not after all the months of waiting and hoping, watching him go out with a series of cool blondes in the evening after spending afternoon meetings looking away the second she glanced in his direction.
She put her palms against his cheeks and forced him to meet her gaze now, willing him to listen and believe. “This is my choice. I’m saying yes.”
“You’re my—”
“Kiss me.”
She pressed her lips against his. Before one breath could pass to the next, the kiss turned raw and hot. His mouth explored hers as her ankle snagged the inside of his thigh. This close his taste, his smell, seared her senses. Sensations bombarded her, and she grabbed onto those impressive shoulders to keep from sliding to the floor.
After a minute his mouth broke off. Instead of pulling away, his lips went to that tender place right at the back of her ear as his fingers maintained a steady rhythm, back and forth over her.
“I know better than this,” he said.
The shiver started in her chest and shook to her knees. “Stop talking.”
One of those amazing fingers pushed up inside her. Her internal muscles clung to him, bringing him in deeper. When she tightened her thigh until it locked their bodies together, a groan rumbled from his chest. It sounded as if it had been ripped out of him.
A sudden stillness fell over him. His biceps bunched and tension radiated around them. Slow and steady, he dropped his head until his forehead rested against hers.
No, no, no. “Linc?”
“Walk away.”
She shook her head, letting her hair drift over her shoulders. “No.”
“Please.”
“I want you.” She lifted his head and whispered the words against his lips. “Forget I’m your assistant and you’re the boss. Forget the rules. This isn’t about power and we both know it.”
He barked out a harsh laugh. “I should at least take you to dinner first.”
As if she could choke down a bite right now. “I doubt we’d make it to the elevator.”
He lifted his head. The steady gaze from those ice-blue eyes pinned her to the floor. “Then the wall it is.”
The words barely registered before he slid out of her arms. Frantic, she reached for him, thinking to draw him close again, but he had his suit jacket off and his shirt unbuttoned to his waist. His shoulders blocked her view of the rest of the plush corner office as the heat simmering between them caused her vision to blur.
She blinked to regain her focus. When it cleared, she saw a blank space in front of her. Looking down, she found the top of his head and her heart picked up in a crazy hammering beat.
She watched as his knees hit the floor. He tugged and pulled her skirt until the material bunched at her waist. Fingers danced over the lacey band of her thigh-high stockings. The ones she slipped on when she thought about him.
With his hands locked on the back of her thighs, just below her ass, he lowered his head and pressed a kiss against the damp crotch of her panties. When he did it a second time, her hips lifted away from the wall.
“Linc.” Her hands clawed at his back. “Do it now.”
His finger joined his mouth. “Not yet.”
The steady friction of silk against her sensitive skin had her insides clenching. The scrape against her thighs as he drew the panties down her legs to her ankles had her body shaking in anticipation. And when he traced his fingertip over the thin strip of hair that covered her, she almost shoved him to the floor and climbed on top of him.
“I want you inside me.” There, after weeks of thinking it and all those time she’d practiced telling him, she finally went with blurting it out.
“Soon.” He slid a finger just inside her.
“Now.”
“You’re so wet.”
Her hands went to his head as her palms smoothed over his hair. “For you.�
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He glanced up at her then. The corner of his mouth kicked up in a smile that promised nothing but pleasure. “I’m going to lick you until you scream.”
“Yes.” The word escaped her lips more as a breath than a word.
“After you come—and you are going to come, Thea, over and over—I’m going to drag you to my desk.”
The words ricocheted through her, setting a fire in their path. “Now.”
“With you riding my dick and these soft thighs tight against my sides, I’m going to enter you. Deep, in one long stroke, like I’ve been dying to do since that first day you walked in wearing that prim navy business suit and I spent all afternoon mentally stripping it off you.”
Her mind cleared for a second. “Wait, you’ve been dying to…”
“Later.”
Her fingers tightened in his hair and words jumbled together again when his tongue licked inside her. Her heartbeat hiccupped as she struggled to bring in enough air to breathe. “I think I’m going to fall down.”
“I’ll catch you.” He mumbled the words against her and the vibration had her gasping.
“Do it now.”
You can’t keep a bad girl down…at least not without restraints.
Irrepressible Jasmine
© 2014 Sami Lee
Wild Crush, Book 2
After an affair with a Dom turns sour, Jasmine Campbell returns to Leyton’s Headland to build up some good karma by keeping her sister’s business afloat. For that, she needs help from real estate developer Aaron Sanderson—an old school mate who’s grown up movie-star handsome.
When Jasmine knocks on his office door, Aaron can barely contain his triumph. In high school he had an unrequited crush on Jasmine, but ten years on he’s better at close encounters with the opposite sex. He thinks he knows just how to handle Jasmine—with an aloof demeanor and a firm hand.
Little does he know just how firm a hand Jasmine needs.
