Adventure Lover: Take Me, Lover, Book 3

by Charlene Teglia

  She had to leave, before he did something insane like begged her to stay.

  “Well, I’m not happy.” She wasn’t budging, wasn’t leaving. “I live alone, I answer to nobody, I have a job I love, and when I’m not doing my job, I can please myself. And it pleased me to get on an airplane and then rent a car so I could hear your voice and see your face because I miss you.”

  Not happy. The words hit him like a fist to the gut.

  “Why aren’t you happy?” He wanted her happy. If he’d thought he could make her happy, he wouldn’t have stuffed her back into her rental car and sent her home that last morning instead of showing her what they could do when they had a mattress to cushion their bodies.

  Her expression turned incredulous. “Do you have short-term memory problems? I said I miss you. I love you and I miss you. Maybe you don’t love me. Maybe you haven’t missed me, either. But I had to come here to see if there was a chance for us. Because if there is, I want to take it.”

  God, why didn’t she just tear his beating heart from his chest and stomp on it? Everything he wanted in the world was right there within reach, and he couldn’t take it. “I don’t love you.”

  As he spoke the words, he knew he was lying. She was right, damn her. His blood had turned to ice when she was in danger, and then to water with relief when the danger was past and he held her safe in his arms. He’d held her all night, guarding her sleep. Then he’d sent her home while the loss cut him, while he wanted nothing more than to keep her for that last day they were both owed. And which he could be glad they hadn’t had, because it would have been that much harder to send her away.

  That wasn’t chemistry. It was something more.

  “Oh.” She actually stepped back as if his words had struck her. “Oh,” she repeated in a softer voice, sounding dazed. “I guess… I’m sorry, I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have come.” She started to charge past him on the porch. His arm shot out and caught her without his conscious control.

  “Wait.”

  She shook her head, face down, not looking at him. “I’m all right. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I just thought, well, something like this had to be mutual. I didn’t think it was all just me. I’m sorry.”

  The acid of guilt burned him with every word. “Wait,” Ryan repeated. “You didn’t make a mistake.”

  He reeled her into his side and walked her to his door. He managed to get the key out and get it open with his free hand so he didn’t have to let go of her. Part of him feared that if he let go, she’d bolt.

  He kept his hold on her as he led her to the overstuffed couch that faced the woodstove and sat beside her. “You didn’t make a mistake,” he repeated. No matter what happened, he couldn’t let her go thinking that. It wasn’t fair to let her think she’d fallen alone. It wasn’t right. She deserved to know she meant something to him.

  Her face tipped up toward his. Her eyes had a liquid sheen. “Then it isn’t just me?”

  “No.” He captured one of her hands with his, and that gave him two holds on her. “It isn’t just you.”

  “Then why did you let me think there was no chance we could work something out?”

  Her voice was tremulous. Coupled with the unshed tears in her eyes, he felt like he was kicking a kitten when he answered, “Because there isn’t.”

  “Why?”

  The pain in her voice undid him. Ryan gave in to weakness and pulled her into his arms. He needed her closer, needed to breathe her in and feel her heart beat against his. “Because you couldn’t be happy living here with me, and I couldn’t be happy living in the city with you, and neither of us could be very happy trying to make it work long distance.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Been there. Done that. Bought the divorce.”

  He felt her go still. “You were married?”

  “In my early twenties, yes.” Ten years and a lifetime ago.

  She pulled away from him so she could glare into his eyes. “I’m not your ex-wife.”

  “No, you’re not,” Ryan agreed in a gentle tone. “But she was a lot like you. A city girl who couldn’t be at home in a place like this.”

  “I’m not her,” Jill repeated stubbornly. “And deep down I think you know that. I think you’re afraid of getting hurt again.”

  Ryan shook his head. “I’m afraid of you getting hurt.” Afraid of failing her, smothering the light in her eyes, stealing the easy way she smiled with the misery of a hopeless mismatch.

  “Fine.” Her lips drew into a straight line while her gray eyes pierced his soul. “Tell me you don’t want me. Tell me you want me to leave.” She undid her jacket as she spoke and dropped it to the couch behind her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Stripping. That shouldn’t bother you, though, since you’ve already seen what I’ve got and it doesn’t interest you.”

  Like hell it didn’t interest him. He stared with hungry eyes as her sweater and bra followed the jacket. She kicked off her boots and peeled away her jeans and panties next, and stood there naked, her hands on her hips, daring him to do something.

  What, Ryan couldn’t say, because his brain had stopped working and his hands had decided to act on their own, stripping off his clothes so he could match her.

  “This doesn’t change anything,” he told her before he got his hands on her again and lost his ability to speak.

  “Tell me that in the morning.”

  Then Jill was naked in his arms, arms wrapped around him, her legs locked around his waist, and his hands were cupping her bare ass to hold her there while he walked her down the hall to his bed.

  She undulated against him as he moved, her sex pressed to his shaft, slick and hot. He wanted to be inside that heat with an urgency that made him crazed. Her breasts felt soft against his chest. The chill in the air pulled her nipples into tight, tempting rosebuds he wanted to taste again. Her satin-smooth skin made him want his hands everywhere.

  “This isn’t going to last long,” Ryan warned her as he lowered her onto the bed and followed her down. He groped for a condom in the bedside table and managed to get it on before he settled on top of her.

  He’d wanted her just like this, under him, open for him. He’d imagined it more than once in the past weeks. Now she was here, and he hoped she was as close to the edge as he was.

  “Ryan, please, now,” she whispered, rocking her pelvis up to meet his. “I want you. I can’t wait.”

  His penis probed her sex, found her willing and ready, and with a low groan, Ryan thrust deep, burying himself in her. Her arms and legs wound around him and her nails raked his back as he ground his hips against hers. “So good,” he grated out. “You feel so good, so hot and tight.”

  Her sex gripped his shaft as he withdrew, only to thrust deep again and again. She met his fast, driving rhythm, matching him until her hips began to buck wildly and he felt her inner muscles contracting sharply.

  “That’s it,” he muttered. “Come for me.”

  Her back arched and she gave a little gasping cry. Then he let go, pumping himself into her while her orgasm went on and on.

  “So,” Jill said a long time later as she sprawled on her belly in his king-sized bed. “Reunion sex. Intense. Pretty good argument for long-distance relationships.”

  Ryan ran his hand over her bare bottom, loving the feel of her. “I don’t want a long-distance relationship. I want you in my bed every night.”

  “Well, then, I guess I’d better move my business,” she said into the pillow.

  “What?” His hand stilled.

  “I’d better move my business,” she repeated, raising her head so her voice would carry more clearly. “It’s not like I don’t already do ninety percent of it online and over the phone. If I can get Internet and phone service, I can work here.”

  Just like that. “You might hate it here.” But she wasn’t his ex-wife. She’d been right about that. Jill was her own person, and maybe what they wanted wasn’
t so different. She’d proven her ability to cope with the isolation and the dangers the wilderness presented, and she’d come back for more. She’d come back for him.

  She rolled onto her back and eyed him with blatant skepticism. “I doubt that. You’re here.”

  “There’s no mall,” he pointed out. “You’d have to drive to the Kitsap Peninsula to find the nearest one.”

  “Malls are overrated.” Jill gave him a cheerful smile. “They’re crowded and noisy. I can shop online.”

  “There aren’t a lot of people.”

  “Good. That lowers the odds that I’ll stumble across another crime in progress.”

  He eyed her naked body and thought about having it every night. Having her to come home to at the end of every day. But it seemed only fair to remind her of what she’d be giving up. “This is pretty much the direct opposite of city life.”

  “That’s not exactly a deterrent,” Jill said, her face turning serious. “Funny thing, but after I went home, the air tasted wrong and so did the water. Everything looked dirty and the buildings blocked the horizon, and I couldn’t see the stars at night. I felt closed in, like I couldn’t breathe.”

  Since that was how cities made him feel, Ryan could sympathize. “Don’t go back,” he advised. “We’ll hire movers to deal with everything. Stay here where you can breathe. Stay with me so I can breathe.” His lungs constricted at the thought of her being so far away ever again.

  She gave him a slow smile that reached to her eyes, gray and luminous and shining with love. “Sounds like the adventure of a lifetime.”

  “It will be.” He said the words like a promise.

  About the Author

  Award-winning author Charlene Teglia loves penning tales of romance and adventure. Among other accolades, Charlene has been presented with the prestigious Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Erotic Novel and nominated for Best Erotic Romance. When she's not writing, she can be found hiking or opening and closing doors for cats.

  For news and excerpts, please visit www.charleneteglia.com, or follow Charlene on Twitter http://twitter.com/CharleneTeglia.

  Look for these titles by Charlene Teglia

  Now Available:

  The Gripping Beast

  Night Music (Beginnings Anthology)

  Night Rhythm

  Miss Lonely Hearts

  Take Me, Lover

  Redline Lover

  Undercover Lover

  Coming Soon

  Dangerous Lover

  Red Queen

  Kiss of the Demon

  Hardwired for all kinds of action…

  Undercover Lover

  © 2009 Charlene Teglia

  Take Me, Lover, Book 2

  When Anne Parker yanks open her front door, she’s armed and ready to aim cold fury at her ex. Instead, she finds herself staring up at Pete Crenshaw, a man as disarming as he is dangerous to her battered defenses. A man whose touch sends her I-remember-sex hormones soaring into the red zone.

  Those hormones sure have picked a hell of a time to surge, though—with New Year’s around the corner and the ex suddenly making noises about worming his way back into her life.

  Pete’s been biding his time. More accurately, lying in wait for precisely the right moment to take their relationship from friends to lovers. He’s aware of Anne’s trust issues, but it’s time to make a move before she has a chance to do what she does best—overthink it.

  Her ex isn’t just back to make another play, though. He’s after secrets Pete and his partner hide under the cover of their garage business. Pete finds his heart caught between Anne’s safety and the secrets he’s sworn to keep—unless he can find a way to preserve both…

  Warning: This friends-to-lovers tale contains graphic and explicit episodes of mattress dancing, caveman sex, jeopardy (not the game show), Bad Words, Ninjas, ex-husbands and a happy ending.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Undercover Lover:

  Pete grinned at her and secured her in his lap. “You’re falling for me.”

  “Because you tripped me.”

  “As long as it works.”

  “Don’t try to change the subject,” Anne said. “You looked dangerous for a minute there. He missed it. I didn’t.”

  “I can be a very dangerous man.” Pete palmed her breast and squeezed gently. “I may prove a serious danger to your bras.”

  “You won’t be serious about this, will you?”

  “About sex? Hell, no. If there’s ever a time you need to keep your sense of humor, it’s in bed.” His fingers moved, and her desire to finish the conversation warred with more carnal desires.

  “Pete.”

  He put both of his hands up in a gesture of mock surrender. “Okay. I don’t like him coming around. But I’m not afraid of the competition.”

  “Some competition.”

  “He might just have the holiday blues.” Pete wrapped his arms around her again and rocked his hips under her in a suggestive move. “Or he might be feeling sentimental.”

  “You mean, maybe he’s bored, in town over the holiday break, and hoping I’d miss sex enough to do him one last time?”

  “Seems likely. How was he to know you had me?” He nuzzled the curve of her neck.

  “I don’t see how he could have, since I didn’t know I had you.”

  “I’m subtle.”

  Anne burst into laughter and gave in to the urge to slide her hands up Pete’s chest and around his neck. “You’re subtle like a sledgehammer.”

  He gave her a look of deep suspicion. “You’re not going to sing Peter Gabriel when we get naked, are you?”

  “If the tool analogy fits…” Anne grinned, feeling lighter now that the Brad problem had been put into perspective.

  “I’ll be your sledgehammer.” Pete waggled his brows at her and hugged her closer. “Anytime you want, my tool is yours.”

  “It’s a good thing Joey doesn’t understand all these words yet.”

  He glanced over at the small boy who’d dozed off shortly after being put down. “It’s a good thing Joey takes naps and goes to bed early.”

  “You really don’t mind, do you?” Anne pulled back and looked into his eyes. “I have a baby, stretch marks, and an annoying ex who’s suddenly decided to hang around, and it doesn’t bother you.”

  The humor smoothed out of his face, leaving a very different expression from the one she was used to looking back at her. This was the man who’d been shaped by the Army, the one she’d glimpsed when his body shifted to ready for action if Brad posed a problem.

  “No. It doesn’t bother me.” Pete cupped her face in his big hands, thumbs caressing her cheekbones. “You’re not a girl. You’re a woman. My woman.”

  The focused intent in his eyes and voice sent a shiver of sensual anticipation through her. “That’s so Neanderthal, the way you say that.”

  He gave her a knowing look. “Neanderthals make you hot.” Then his mouth covered hers and, since he was right, she gave in to the heat.

  The first time he’d kissed her, she hadn’t known what to brace herself for. This time, she knew and didn’t even try to resist the urge to curl her fingers into the thick muscles of his shoulders, hold on, and open her mouth to invite more. His tongue didn’t need any more encouragement to slide inside and tease hers while his hands smoothed and shaped her body as if they hungered for tactile exploration the way she hungered for his touch.

  “Pete,” she whispered his name against his lips and shuddered, pressing her breasts against his chest while his palms moved down to cup her ass.

  “Anne.” He squeezed and pulled her body into his, letting her feel the hard shaft that proved they were equally affected. “I want you.”

  “I want you too.” The admission left her feeling slightly stunned. She wanted Pete, of all men. With an intensity she hadn’t thought anybody past eighteen was capable of. “Are we still going to be friends tomorrow?”

  “Better friends. Friends wh
o like to get naked together.” He smiled at her and ran his hands up under her sweater to unfasten her bra again.

  “Would you really wait until next year?”

  “Sure. That’s only two days from now.” He peeled off her sweater and stripped the bra away, leaving her naked from the waist up. “We can spend the time fooling around.”

  She giggled, then sobered. “I don’t think I could handle a few days of fooling around with no conclusion. I’m pretty ready to go, here.”

  “Then let’s go to bed.” He hooked an arm under her knees, wrapped the other around her back, and stood with her in his arms. He left her sweater and bra where they’d fallen as he carried her off.

  He's lured her to paradise...and she's about to discover the price

  Luck Be Delanie

  © 2009 Shelli Stevens

  A Chances Are Story

  Long ago, Delanie made one gigantic mistake. Or committed one small felony, depending on how you look at it. Stealing a coin from a sexy stranger was just a prank to help a sorority sister get revenge. The sleeping with him part was totally unplanned. Yet she holds the memory of that one intense, passionate connection close to her heart—like the coin she still wears around her neck.

  Six years later, she’s invited to a beautiful resort in the San Juan Islands to not only accept a donation for an abused women’s shelter, but to consider a job opportunity as well. Instead, she finds herself face-to-face with her past.

  Grant has always suspected Delanie stole his rare, lucky coin. He just never knew why—or why she disappeared the morning after their hot night together. After spending years looking for her, he’s lured her right where he wants her. He’ll have his answers, come hell or high water.

  And, if things go his way, he’ll have Delanie, too.

  Warning: This book contains lost lovers reunited, male masturbation, “You could have died” sex, and overall hot lovin’.