by Anne Rainey
“Perfect, thank you. So,” she said, “have you always lived here alone?”
It didn’t surprise him she would fish around to see if he’d ever had a woman living with him. Shayla was curious by nature. As he headed back into the living room, Vance hid a grin and decided to tease her a little.
“Actually, Elizabeth lives here with me.”
Shayla squinted. “Elizabeth? But you said you weren’t seeing anyone.”
“Elizabeth isn’t just anyone. She’s upstairs,” he said as he poured them each a glass of wine, “sprawled out on my bed.”
The look she shot him was downright lethal. “I see. Well, I hope I didn’t interrupt…anything.”
Yep, the woman was definitely jealous. Vance sat down next to her and took a sip of his wine. “Eh, Elizabeth doesn’t mind, but don’t expect her to come down and visit. She’s shy.”
Shayla tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, then started drumming her fingers on her thigh. Vance knew Shayla well. The twelve years she’d been gone hadn’t changed the fact that she only performed that little ritual whenever she was agitated—and without a doubt, right now she was agitated. “How long have you two been together?”
He swirled the wine around in his glass. “Ten years, give or take.” When her eyes grew wide, Vance added, “Shayla, Elizabeth is a cat.”
Her gaze narrowed. “A cat?”
Vance winked. “Yep. A pretty, slightly obese, gray-and-black-striped cat that I found at the animal shelter.”
She placed her glass on the coffee table and crossed her arms over her chest. “You were putting me on.”
Vance’s gaze zeroed in on Shayla’s breasts. She wore a high-necked, peach-colored blouse, and he could just barely make out the outline of her bra. God, how he wanted to see her strip. He imagined licking her nipples, and his cock stiffened. When an image of her naked and beneath him sprang to mind, he quickly pushed it away. “Yeah,” he said as he cleared his throat, “I was. Sorry.”
She chuckled. “You really don’t sound sorry.”
Vance had to tamp down the need to reach over and simply take what he so badly wanted. He needed to do something and quick, or Shayla was going to find herself sprawled out on the couch. To hell with crazy things like logic and good sense. “I’m really not.”
Vance put his wine next to hers on the coffee table in front of them, then scooted closer. When he took her in his arms, he noticed the shock registering in her eyes. “W-What are you doing?”
“When you came here, did you want more than a clear conscience, Shay?”
She closed her eyes tight and nodded. “Yes.”
Vance’s blood heated. “Do you still have feelings for me?” he asked, all but holding his breath.
Her green eyes opened and held his captive. “I don’t know, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about you over the years.”
It wasn’t a lot to go on, but it was enough that he wanted to shout in triumph. “Maybe we should get reacquainted, then. See where things go.”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
Vance cupped her face in his hand and drew her close until she was nestled against him. “Let’s start this off right, shall we?” he murmured as he dipped his head and tasted her for the first time in what seemed like forever. Oh, hell, yeah. The woman was made for him. God, he’d missed her taste. Her scent. Her sweet, bow-shaped mouth. No woman had ever gotten to him the way she did. It was as if with a single kiss the years melted away. His sweet Shay. It pissed him off that she got to him so fast, so easily.
Vance locked his thoughts away and devoured Shayla’s plump lips. He licked, torturing them both with ideas of more. Then he teased his tongue back and forth over the seam, thrilled when she parted them for him. Only him. It was a small sign of surrender, but Vance would take whatever he could get. She twined her arms around his neck, and her curves melted against him. He ached to sink into her hot pussy. To bury his dick deep and feel her shudder all around him as they loved each other.
He moved until she was lying back over the cushion, his body covering hers. He accidentally kicked the leg of the coffee table, and the wineglasses shook. Shayla stiffened. She began to push him away, and Vance let her, but only so he could taste the delicate skin on her throat. His hand wrapped around the slim column. He licked a spot behind her ear, and she moaned his name. His cock grew hard as stone, and he let loose a low groan of need.
“Wait,” she murmured. “Please.”
Vance pulled back and looked into her eyes. Her need tore him up, but there was a good amount of apprehension there as well. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“It’s too fast. Just this morning, you were ordering me to leave.”
Vance smoothed his palm down the side of her body until he was clutching her hip. He squeezed and felt her tremble. “Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?” He held himself in check, giving her the ultimate decision.
Her answer was pure Shayla. “I want you like crazy right now, but it can’t be merely sex. There has to be more between us.”
He frowned down at her. “It’s not just a quick fuck I’m looking for here.”
Reilly’s Wildcard
Anne Rainey
The most potent lover she’s ever had…and the morning sickness to prove it!
Blackwater, Book 4
Lucy Rice knew that a night of uninhibited passion with sex-on-a-stick Reilly Jennings would leave a lasting impression on her body. But never in a million years did she expect to see a plus sign appear on that little white stick.
Pregnant? She can’t believe her eyes. When a second test confirms it, Lucy admits the truth. She’s about to be a one-night-stand mommy. How’s that for luck?
Reilly never wanted the responsibility of fatherhood, much less tie himself to an infuriating, headstrong woman like Lucy. Still, his sense of honor won’t let him abandon his baby like his biological parents abandoned him. Yet it isn’t long before he’s captivated by the coming baby—and the mother carrying it.
Lucy is rocked with all sorts of conflicting feelings for the father of her child. Unfortunately, she’s been down that road before, and it left her a blubbering mess. Not again. No way, no how. Except Reilly seems hell-bent on keeping her close. Maybe it’s the hormones, but Lucy’s beginning to forget why that’s a bad idea…
Warning: This title contains a tender and romantic man bent on proving he can be more than a good time, and a woman in serious need of the love of an honorable man.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Reilly’s Wildcard
Copyright © 2013 by Anne Rainey
ISBN: 978-1-61921-552-8
Edited by Linda Ingmanson
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: May 2013
www.samhainpublishing.com
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
About the Author
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