Look for Book 1 in the series, One Hot Fall Term, available now! See my website www.SharonPage.com.
Here’s an excerpt from One Hot Fall Term, Book 1 of the Yardley College Chronicles by Sharon Page...
One Hot Fall Term Excerpt by Sharon Page
Copyright © 2013 by Edith E. Bruce
It’s only the first weekend in September, but it’s cold out here on the dock. I undo my jeans and wriggle to push them down, exposing my butt in thong underwear to the frigid night air. I can see my breath, even though last week it was still summer. Goosebumps race over my bared butt cheeks. They already sprinkle my arms and chest, since I’ve stripped down to my bra and my t-shirt is lying on the planks of the dock, on top of my shoes.
I stop and rub my arms, trying to warm up. Am I covered in bumps because I’m cold or because I’m nervous? When I’m finally naked, I’m supposed to jump into the lake. And that rippling, black water looks freezing. Waves slap against the side of the dock. The smell of smoke from the cabin’s fireplace fills the crisp air. Music sounds faintly from the cabin and laughter spills off the deck. The sounds of an end of summer party and I have to bite my lip because tears are burning in the corners of my eyes. I’m nostalgic sometimes, and this weekend—my last before I leave for college—is killing me. In so many ways.
I have my back to Ryan, but I peek over my shoulder. In the pitch dark—clouds cover the sliver of moon—I can barely see him. I hear the boards creak under his feet and his fly unzip, and I hear his breathing. Ryan runs ten miles every morning and evening, and he never seems to be out of breath when he’s finished. But tonight, his breathing sounds fast and furious.
Just like mine.
“Whoa Jesus, that’s cold.”
I take another peek and hear his footsteps as he walks to the end of the dock, out of my field of vision. I suppose I can’t ogle him until I get everything off and let him get a look at me.
I’ve never seen Ryan naked. That’s funny and strange, coming from me, but I promised I was going to be different—everything was going to be different when mom and I came here to Milltown to live. It was like starting over again. And by some miracle I found something I thought I’d never find, something I was too screwed up to ever have.
An amazing, sweet, decent—not to mention uber gorgeous—guy. When Ryan went west to do his tour of his future military college in the summer, he sent me a rose. A single, perfect red rose in a crystal vase, delivered to my front door by courier. Why? Because he was going to be away from me for two days and he missed me.
Even remembering it, standing freezing on the dock, I start blinking. Damn, the tears are starting. I promised I would get through this one night without crying. I’ve got lots of time to cry on the trip to Yardley College—two days to do nothing but think about Ryan.
Tonight I get to see him. I’m not going to screw that up by being sad a couple of days early. Tonight I know exactly what I’m going to do. This is probably it for Ryan and I—he’s going to be in the state of Washington at a military school, I’m going to be at Yardley College in New Hampshire. For tonight, I’ve decided to ditch the good girl thing.
I’m going to make love to Ryan for the first and basically only time.
I’ve got one night to throw away all my promises to be sweet and good—the exact opposite of what I really am. I’ve thought about sex with Ryan for months now, and I’ve restrained myself. But I don’t want to go the rest of my life wishing I’d taken the chance to make love to a guy I love.
So I commit. I shove down my jeans and kick them aside. Undies next or bra? I guess the bra, and it’s a fight to unhook it. Bras are my addiction. This one is candy pink with white lace and even though it’s dark, the bra practically glows. My breasts bounce as it comes off and tighten as a wave of goosebumps wash over them. My nipples go hard at once and I cup my boobs with my hands in a desperate attempt to warm them.
Why—so the shock of the water hurts more?
I have to release my breasts anyway to ditch the thong. At least I can see my bra, shining like a beacon in the night—like a lighthouse for crazy females about to skinny dip in frigid water. I know where to toss my undies.
Clouds part above me and shafts of silver-blue moonlight fall on us and the water.
“Mia—” Ryan’s voice, deep and sexy and low, stops abruptly. Nineteen—like me—Ryan possesses the hottest vocals of any guy at Hubert J. Rory High. Baritone tones and a deep, throaty laugh. The first time I heard him read a section of Shakespeare in English class, I swear I almost had a climax on the spot. And that was for MacBeth.
I turn quickly. A spike of fear—this is going to be it. We’re going to be a thousand miles apart. He’s going to break up with—
I forgot I’m naked. My breasts swing, nipples perky, the curves limned with silver. But I’m staring at Ryan. Seriously, I’ve seen David Beckham’s underwear ads, and Becks didn’t begin to look as good as Ryan. Bulging muscle defines his straight shoulders, and his chest is broad and bronzed from the sun. A tattoo of a dragon perches on his left pectoral muscle. Just looking at his arm muscles makes me feel a tug deep inside. A hard, visceral tug telling me how much I want to wrap myself around him and take him deep inside me.
It is more intense when you’re in love. Now I know. The jolt of desire is so strong my legs shake. My gaze coasts down his amazing gut. His stomach is a flat plane, with an eight-pack instead of a six. Who knew there were that many muscles?
I let my eyes go a little lower—
“Mia, you’re beautiful.” Awe fills his voice. Awe that wraps around my heart and makes it feel warm and soft, like it did when I signed for my perfect rose.
He laughs. A rough, totally masculine chuckle that sends shivers through me.
“I—I’m freezing. You, however, are completely gorgeous.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to compliment him more. To say he’s huge. To gasp, or take another furtive look between his legs and marvel as though I’ve never seen a guy’s cock before.
I’ve never seen one like Ryan’s, I have to admit. It’s perfectly straight and points toward his navel. Blond hair skims down his stomach in an arrow then cuddles the hilts his erection with crisp curls.
He laughs, then sobers. “Do you really want to do this?”
I don’t know what he means. Get naked? We’ve just done it. Have sex? Oh God, yes I do. After all the times I’ve shut my eyes and pretended things weren’t happening, this time I want to open my eyes wide and savor every wonderful moment with Ryan.
“Are you sure you want to go swimming?”
Swimming. Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. “You did dare me,” I hedge. “I never turn down a dare.”
“That was something I never expected about you,” he says. “You look too serious and smart to give a crap about dares. But you’re crazier than me.” He grins, showing his dimples. “So you aren’t going to back down?”
“If you don’t want to jump and you want to let me win, I’m good with that.”
He holds out his hand. “No way, babe. We’re in this together.”
My heart gets utterly squeezed. Every girl loves Ryan’s hair, which is now buzz-cut short since he’s going to military college. It looks soft as velvet and every female in senior year wants to find out for herself by stroking it. I can’t resist, standing on tiptoe to try to run my palm over it now.
That lifts my breasts upward and he groans.
“I think I’m going to need to hit that cold water.”
No, I want to say, you don’t.
Ryan is like no guy I’ve ever known. We’re standing in front of each other naked, and he still is not completely certain this is going to lead to sex.
Sometimes I used to cry myself to sleep. I used to think: what if I meet a nice guy, the kind of guy who would be wonderful and romantic and who you’d want to be married to forever? How can I have that nice, perfect, beautiful guy after what I’ve done?
Now I think I can—as long as I don’t ever t
ell the truth.
Standing beside Ryan, I stretch and dip my toe in the water off the edge of the dock. I scream. “Oh my god, it’s freezing.”
I try to haul my toe out fast and I’m so stiff with cold I lose my balance. My arms flail. My heart stops beating—as if in preparation for the pain I’m about to endure. Ryan grabs for me. His fingers graze my arm and he tries to catch my wrist but my arms swing wildly, out of his reach.
For a moment, I hang in space, then icy water slaps my back, wraps around my arms and legs, and sucks me into the cold, black depths. God, it feels like my lungs seized and my heart really did stop, and I suck in water in a silent scream.
A splash beside me and a rush of bubbles. Strong arms wrap around me and I’m being lifted to the surface. It’s Ryan; he jumped in after me. I can swim, but when I hit the cold, it was like I forgot how to do it.
We burst through the surface. Ryan treads water, drawing me against him, my back to his chest, so I can cough out water and breathe again. “Thank you.” He jumped in after me, into icy water, without even thinking about it. That thought warms me. Also, my extremities are going numb.
There’s a parting in the dark grey clouds, letting moonlight spill down.
His arm is around me, strong and secure. “Are you okay, Mia?”
I tread water too. My ass bumps his cock, which is soft now. I imagine his balls must be sucked up tight in this cold. He leans back, pulling me with him. Powerful kicks glide us through the water to the ladder that hangs down the dock. My fingers are so numb I can barely make them curl around the sides. I start pulling myself out. A breeze rushes past. My nipples tighten so fast they almost jump off and run away.
Ryan’s hand is at my waist, helping me up. Then he cups my butt, giving me a push. “Stop pushing,” I say. “You know what we forgot?”
“Our brains?” Ryan asks. “I did a polar bear swim up here one drunken night in February and I swear the water was warmer than this. Come on, Mia. Get up the ladder and let me out of here.”
“We forgot towels.”
One Hot Fall Term is Book 1 in the Yardley College Chronicles series. Book 2 is One Hot Winter Break.
Want it now? Want to read more? Check it out here.
Look for book 3, about Winter Term, coming in early 2014.
More Books by Sharon Page:
A Gentleman Seduced
Diana wants one night of adventure before submitting to a boring marriage. Lucien, Viscount Pembroke, makes her an offer she can’t refuse: spend three days in his home, where he will introduce her to every exotic sensual pleasure under the sun.
Escape with a Rogue
Regency Prison Break - Lady Madeline Ashby must help a wrongfully accused man, Jack Travers, escape from Dartmoor Prison.
Sinful
Ruthless private investigator Trevelyan Foxton matches wits with feisty dressmaker Estelle des Jardins.
More Regency Erotic Romance:
Sin
Venetia secretly paints erotic art, and when she must confront a dangerous blackmailer, she turns to the decadent and delicious Marcus, Earl of Trent. At a scandalous orgy, her feisty naiveté captures the earl’s heart, but can they outwit a murderer to find love?
Black Silk
Maryanne secretly writes erotic novels. One night of wicked pleasure forces her to marry gorgeous Dash, Viscount Swansborough, a man with many dark secrets.
Hot Silk
Grace believes she has no special talents—until she captures the interest of a roguish highwayman, Devlin Sharpe and tames him with pleasure.
The Club
In London’s most secretive gentlemen’s club, where married couples go for exotic sensual games, Lady Jane Beaumont is searching for her missing friend, Del. To get information, Jane has procured a “lover” for the evening. But the man who enters her bedchamber is no stranger. He is Del’s brother, Christian, the Earl of Wickham, and London’s most notorious rake—a man on a rescue mission of his own.
Engaged in Sin
Anne Beddington is in a desperate situation—on the run for a murder she didn’t commit. Her only hope is to become the mistress of the Duke of March, Devon Audley. War has left him a recluse, and Devon wants only to be left alone. Until Anne barges into his life...and his bed.
The “Blood” Award-Winning Erotic Vampire Series:
Blood Red
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Silent Night, Sinful Night
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Deeply in You - Coming June 24, 2014 in ebook and print
Helena Winsome is a governess forced to spy on the gorgeous, naughty Duke of Greybrooke. She thoroughly disapproves of his scandalous ways. But when Grey decides to make her his mistress, wickedly seducing her and capturing her heart, how can she resist?
About Sharon Page
USA Today Bestselling author Sharon Page graduated with a degree in Industrial Design (School of Engineering) and worked for years, by day, in the structural engineering field. By night, her secret identity was “Erotic Romance Author”.
After selling her first book, Sharon has indie and traditionally published 20 novels and novellas. Her books have won many awards including two RT Bookreviews Reviewers Choice Awards, two National Readers Choice Awards, the Colorado Award of Romance, and the Golden Quill. Sharon was nominated by RT Bookreviews in 2013 for Career Achievement in Erotic Romance.
Sharon is married, with two children, and now writes almost full time. Please check out her website at www.SharonPage.com. Or visit her on Facebook.
Something Borrowed by Adriana Hunter
Copyright © 2014 by Adriana Hunter
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
Chapter One
“Dana, have you even heard a word that I’ve said?”
I forced my attention away from the breathtaking view, framed by the small airplane window. We were flying high over a beautiful blue ocean, bluer than anything I had seen before. The only ocean I’d ever seen had been the dull gray Atlantic, far off in the distance, through the hazy skyline of New York. It certainly was never this mesmerizing. Azure...cobalt...indigo...I tried to think of all the names of the blue crayons in my niece’s box of Crayola’s when Vienna’s voice cut through my musings.
“I’m sorry, Vienna. It’s just...the ocean is so beautiful. Hard to take my eyes off of it.”
“I realize that you’ve never seen the Caribbean before, Dana. And I understand there are many aspects of this trip that may be overwhelming for you, coming from... you know, where you do and all. But I need you to focus, pay attention to your job. This is your job, you know. It’s not a vacation.”
I swallowed the sigh that I was about to exhale. And I tried very hard not to roll my eyes. It was something I’d picked up as a kid and never outgrown. Vienna had zeroed in on that habit pretty quickly, chastising me more than once.
“It’s disrespectful to roll your eyes, Dana. Please stop doing that.”
So I’d learned to paste a smile on my lips instead. And bite my tongue. It was certainly a lesson in patience and in controlling my temper. I suspected that I looked quite silly and terribly fake, but the truth is, that’s exactly what it was. An illusion, a silly façade, but I was quickly learning a whole lot about “make believe” working with Vienna. One of my very first lessons in this business? Weddings, even ones you’d like to believe were “fairy tale” were actually one part reality and nine parts illusion, and as wedding planners we were charged with the challenging task of making it all
look oh-so-perfect, even if it were nothing but pure chaos beneath the surface.
Don’t get me wrong. I really appreciate the opportunity to work with Vienna. She’s giving me a chance of a lifetime, actually. As one of the up-and-coming wedding planners in New York City, in a fiercely competitive business, this was her first really big high-profile wedding and she invited me along to be a part of it all. Both families involved were part of the New York stratosphere, high society, names I only read about in the discarded New York Times or Wall Street Journal I’d picked up at Dominic’s diner as I cleared tables.
It was because of Vienna that I wasn’t waiting tables at Dom’s anymore, and was now seated on this private jet, heading to a gloriously secluded private island in the Caribbean, owned by a billionaire friend of the groom’s family.
And the truth was, I was finding it really difficult to quell my excitement, but I knew that I had to remain professional. Just as this was a huge career opportunity for Vienna, it also meant a lot to me. I was a new wedding planner, an assistant really, and if I handled this right it could mean a lot of future contracts. Not to mention, I’d finally be taken seriously.
Besides, some of the chaos surrounding this event was all in my head - exaggerated chaos as was common for me. I’m an over-thinker. I analyze everything and always prepare for the worse. I really wish I could just relax and go with the flow, but c’est la vie.
Vienna was right; I was extremely overwhelmed and I hadn’t even met the bride and groom yet. Since she had brought me onto the job so last minute it wouldn’t be until we had actually landed on the island that I’d get a face-to-face with the wedding party.
I was also completely exhausted. Vienna had hired me at the very last minute. She’d gotten my resume; with what little it contained, from the friend of a friend, and interviewed me over the phone. When I’d shown up at her office, expecting a second interview, she’d offered me the job right on the spot.
Seduction in the Sun: Adult Romance Box Set (9 Sizzling Tales with BBW, Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Alpha Males) Page 17
