Red Hot Lovers: 18 Contemporary Romance Books of Love, Passion, and Sexy Heroes by Your Favorite Top-Selling Authors

by Milly Taiden

  But he still felt the soft slide of fabric as she unbuttoned her clothes. Heard the hiss of hot water as if he was standing in the room watching her bathe. Felt her rejection as if he’d actually followed her and asked to join.

  No, Finn. I want more than you can offer. I want everything.

  He shook it off, checked the doors to make sure they were locked, and slowly followed her upstairs. When he got to the executive offices, he passed the closed door to Ty’s office and walked straight to the end.

  Finn liked Evan’s office. Dark, modern, pristine. A large wooden desk dominated the room, but tucked against the wall closest to him was a black leather couch. Beth had set a pair of cargo shorts and a white Go West t-shirt there. She’d also turned on the light in the en suite bath, a fact that gave Finn an instant hard-on. You’re pathetic. But it didn’t feel pathetic as he stripped down to his boxers, stepped into the room, and heard the rush of water on the other side of the wall.

  He turned his own shower on. The steam quickly lifted the day’s work off his skin, the salty scent mingling with a mint body wash he found on the shelf. Next door, Beth turned off her water and he took his erection in hand.

  Wet footprints on the tile. Stroke. An oversized towel wrapping around her skin, blotting it dry. Squeeze. He visualized each step of her post-shower ritual, the impossible nearness of her bringing him quickly to the edge. Smoothing moisturizer over her lush curves. Pump. Lifting the towel higher to work on her long, dark hair. Baring her bottom. Jerk.

  With a strangled cry, Finn filled his hand, legs almost buckling in his release.

  Heart pounding in his chest, he tried to make out what was happening on the other side of the wall. Had she heard him? Do you want her to know what you just did?

  He took his time rinsing clean. It would be a long night, no need to rush toward more awkward silence. Maybe his laptop battery would last long enough to do some work.

  He turned off the water. For once, working didn’t appeal. Too bad what did appeal wasn’t on the table.

  A clean white towel hung just outside the shower. Had she put it there? As he scrubbed it over his skin, harder than he usually would, he thought of her hands on the fabric. Her hands on him. He snorted. He could play that cycle of fantasy and wanking off all night. It wouldn’t satisfy his urge to be inside Beth. Nothing would. He pulled his boxer briefs back on and strode back into the main part of Evan’s office, still towel drying his hair.

  He didn’t realize he wasn’t alone until Beth cleared her throat.

  He snapped his gaze to the doorway, where she leaned against the frame. Barefoot, damp hair, and touchable cotton, t-shirt and snug shorts, in between. He was doomed. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said sweetly, and he suspected that was a lie. “I managed to scrounge up some dinner for us, if you’re interested.”

  He should say no. He knew that was the right answer. The distancing, protecting both of them answer.

  But the disappointment in her gaze as he dropped the towel to cover his midsection—the obvious loss of what she’d been enjoying—fed an ugly part of him that wanted to be wanted. On his own terms, as a man. Without any strings.

  This was a winery and they were alone for the night. The dinner would surely involve opening a bottle or two. And he was a pathological charmer. He’d turn it on. Turn her on. Because he wouldn’t be able to help himself.

  She’d hate him for it.

  But then she licked her lips as she lifted her gaze to his now bare shoulders and he made a new deal with the devil. One night, if she wanted. If she initiated. And damn the consequences.

  “Sounds great. Let me just get dressed.”

  She made some quiet noises about being in Ty’s office when he was ready and disappeared.

  *

  She’d seen Finn almost naked and hadn’t fainted. That was success of a sort. He really did have a perfect body. Broad shoulders, lean waist, powerful thighs. Strong, corded arms that could easily pick her up and toss her onto the nearest flat surface for ravishment. Dark hair dusting his tan skin in enough places to tease and tantalize. And was it possible that he was taller without his clothes on?

  The picnic dinner she’d pulled together from the kitchen and Ty’s bar fridge needed more wine. And she needed to dim the lights. Enough waffling. She was going to seduce Finn Howard. In all his naked glory.

  As Ty had promised, there was an unopened box of condoms in a drawer in his bathroom. She left it there—no need to show her hand too early—and moved restlessly around the office. A movie. She fired up the TV and was navigating through the movie files Ty had pre-loaded onto his media player when Finn stepped silently through the door. She willed herself not to blush again. Most of his good bits were covered, but her imagination had more than enough fodder from earlier.

  Wind and rain lashed the window, and she used that excuse to mumble about the weather while she scrolled through action movies. “How about The Avengers?”

  He curved one eyebrow up at the nervous tone in her voice. “You want to watch a movie?”

  “You don’t? He’s got TV series as well—”

  “Why don’t we eat first?” He nodded to the food she’d spread out on the low coffee table.

  Anticipation fluttered in her chest, but she needed something to fill the silence and mask the thud of her heart in her chest. “Do you want to open the wine while I find some music?”

  A slow, seductive grin spread across his face. “That sounds nice.”

  God. Wine, food, music, and Finn. It sounded dangerous and delicious. Not nice. And from the look on his face he knew it. She slid her phone out of her bag and thumbed through her playlists. Most of her country music didn’t feel right for Finn. Why didn’t she know what he listened to? You don’t know him that well. She frowned slightly. He was smart, urban, liked nice things…Well, let’s see how he feels about Feist. She hit play and docked her phone on the stereo on the wall.

  As the first strums of guitar music and strong female vocals surrounded them, Finn dropped to the floor and patted the space next to him. He’d uncorked a bottle of Riesling, but he waited until she was sitting to pour an ounce into her glass.

  She smiled at the offer. “You don’t want to have the first taste?”

  Half a foot separated them, but as he twisted to look at her, biting his lip and searching her face with his dark eyes, that space vanished. “I wouldn’t want to presume it was my right to taste.”

  Her breath caught in her throat and he extended his index finger just far enough to touch the base of her wine glass. Ever so slowly, he nudged the bowl up to rest on her bottom lip, then tipped, flooding her tongue with tangy, subtle sweetness. She rolled the wine around in her mouth before swallowing, and when she did he made an appreciative noise that made her thighs clench together.

  “Your turn,” she whispered, pouring him a similar serving. She offered him the glass, not trusting herself to actually help him drink, and again he offered her a wicked smile. Stop knowing so much. He swirled, sniffed and tasted, then refilled both their glasses.

  She pointed around the table at what she’d found: prosciutto, a cheese plate, and some cherries from the kitchen; pretzels, olives, and chocolate truffles from Ty’s kitchenette corner.

  Finn looked around the space and Beth knew what he was thinking. It was more mini-apartment than office. Where Evan filled his suite with work, Ty used this space primarily for play when he wasn’t making wine downstairs. He had a mini living room set up in the bulk of the space, leaving only a small corner for a workstation. She grinned and held up a pretzel. “His oddity works to our advantage when stranded!”

  Finn leaned forward and snagged the pretzel between his teeth.

  “Hey, no biting.”

  His eyes flared bright as he snapped it in two and swallowed. “You don’t like biting?”

  “You’re full of double entendres tonight.” She licked her lips and reached for an olive, sliding it into her mouth. His gaze followed and stuck
there, his eyes growing more hooded as she took her time savouring the snack. When she finished, she leaned forward, licked her lips again and whispered against his cheek, “I love that burst of salt on my tongue.”

  He groaned and leaned forward, his upper arm pressing into the side of her breast as he crowded against the table. “Here,” he said, his voice rough and heavy. He dangled a small piece of proscuitto in the air as he shifted back. This time the rub was more deliberate and it was her turn to groan. “Open up like a good girl.”

  She gasped at the simultaneous offence and turn on, and he took that opportunity to dance the smoky ham across her tongue. She giggled and went with it, wiggling her tongue in the air to capture the paper-thin ribbon of meat.

  “That’s more like it,” he murmured. “Salty and silky at the same time.”

  She reached for her glass of wine and took a sip, watching him over the rim the whole time. “Delicious.” She set her wine glass down and slowly leaned in. “We should talk about what happened earlier.”

  He traced the edge of her face with his index finger and smiled. “Us kissing? Or you telling me to stop?”

  She swallowed hard. “I won’t tell you to stop tonight.”

  He shook his head slowly. “Nothing’s changed.”

  She laughed. “Everything’s changed. We’re stuck here all night and we’re both…”

  He wove his hand back into her hair, sending tiny, delicious electric shocks into her scalp and down her back. Tugging her closer, he licked her lower lip. “Both what?”

  The wet stroke against her skin made her throb between the legs. “Distracted,” she gasped. “And grumpy. Because we need—”

  He nipped her lip, and as she groaned and shifted closer, pressing their upper bodies tight together in an erotic tangle, he licked his way to her neck. “Yes? What do we need?”

  “Oh damn you, Finn.” She shoved her way between him and the coffee table, straddling his thighs. He stared at her from under eyelids heavy with lust and between them his erection made a prominent tent in his shorts. She walked her fingertips up his chest. “You were right all along. We need to get this out of our system.”

  “Terrible idea.” He skated his palms up her thighs to the edge of her shorts.

  “The worst,” she agreed as she spread her legs wider and arched her back. “Have a better one?”

  “Having a little trouble thinking right now, I’ll be honest with you.” He held her gaze, filthy intentions blazing in his eyes, as he slid his hand into the leg of her shorts and teased the skin at the top of her thighs. “A gorgeous woman writhing on my lap has that effect on me.”

  “Happens to you often?” She heard the bite in her words and didn’t care. They both knew they cared more than they should. That they’d be hurt by this in the end. It didn’t change anything.

  His hand stilled for a moment, then he curved up and over her thigh, jerking her core hard against his. “Never like this,” he growled.

  Fear fluttered like a moth in her chest and she shoved it down. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

  “Liked what you saw earlier?”

  “You know I did.”

  “We should finish dinner.”

  “We can eat after.”

  He slid his hands under her shirt, teasing the bare skin at her waist, then higher on her back. “After what?”

  “Finn Howard, do you like hearing me say dirty words?”

  His hands tightened against her back, then scooped around to cup her bare breasts under her t-shirt. He grunted something incomprehensible that she still understood as an instruction to take it off, and as she tugged it up and over her head, he sucked first her left nipple into his mouth, then her right, leaving a wet trail of hunger across the valley between her breasts and making her slippery with need further south.

  She whimpered as he loved her breasts with his mouth and hands, his thumbs working her nipples in ways that made her cry out and see stars.

  “I like whatever you’re offering,” he rasped against her skin. “But yeah, I want to know what you want.”

  “I want another kiss.” The wish surprised her even as she spoke it, but even though she’d meant to say something naughtier, he seemed to like it. He wrapped his arms around her and twisted, sliding her to the floor and rolling on top of her in one fluid motion, pausing just long enough to shuck his own shirt.

  And then they were touching, skin-to-skin, and she was wrapping her legs around his waist to deepen the embrace beyond just a kiss. But he still took his time, savouring her mouth, using his hands to lavish attention on her breasts and all the other skin he could touch.

  Just when she thought she might scream if they didn’t lose their bottoms, he twined his fingers into hers and tugged her hands up above her head. He held both wrists in one hand and traced the other down her torso, circling her navel before teasing at the waistband of her shorts. A nervous flutter started in her belly as he got closer to discovering she wasn’t wearing any underwear. She’d pulled on her cotton exercise shorts after her shower with uncharacteristic glee, but now she wasn’t sure about that call.

  Any doubts quickly vanished as his fingertips reached the curls on her mound and he groaned. He breathed out her name and shifted closer still, pressing a hard brand of appreciation against her side.

  “Now what do you want?” A husky demand she had no interest in denying.

  “Touch me. I want your fingers inside me.”

  A fierce, wolfish smile was her first reward, and then his palm rolling over her clit was her second as his fingers parted her cleft and discovered just how ready she was. He slid through her desire, spiralling her wetness up and around her clit before sliding first one finger, then two and finally three into her core.

  She whimpered and rocked against his hand, and he shifted to the side, stretching out beside her. She reached blindly between them, fumbling like a teenager for his erection, and he slipped his hand out of her shorts just long enough to help with his button before sliding back in with a groan.

  She found him hard and straining against his boxer briefs and couldn’t resist teasing him for a minute, dancing her palm over the head. He bucked his hips toward her and growled against her mouth, then broke their kiss.

  “Damnit, woman.” He hissed as she pulled away.

  She was panting and breathless, but she wasn’t ready to give up control yet. “Tell me what you want,” she teased.

  “Touch me. Wrap your hand around me right now or I’ll spank you.”

  The image of that made her gush against his fingers and he rocked into her welcoming hand.

  “Like that idea?”

  “I like you,” she whispered. And then they were done talking.

  *

  Finn set the pace, stroking and teasing enough to keep her in that animalistic head space where writhing on the floor half-naked seemed like a really good idea, but he wasn’t in a hurry to make her come. First he wanted her fully naked. Then he wanted to taste her. He wanted her to come with her legs clenched around his head, her hands pulling on his hair, and then he wanted to slide so far into her that she’d never forget him.

  When she started clamping her thighs around his hand, wanting more but maybe being on the edge of too sensitive, he slowed his kisses and whispered for her to stand up.

  She pushed up with nervous eagerness, like a new filly finding her legs, and he rewarded her with whispered praise.

  “So beautiful, Beth,” he said as he kissed her thighs. “Gorgeous,” as he pulled down her shorts and pressed his face into the soft swell of her belly right above her mound. She shook under his hands and he rose to join her, tangling their hands and tongues and hearts, before tumbling backward onto the couch as she pushed him and took over.

  “I want to eat you out,” he whispered as she slid their sexes together, and he wondered when he’d lost his shorts and where the fuck they were because he needed the condom he’d stashed in the pocket and he needed it now.

/>   “Inside me,” she answered, and that was it. There was no more foreplay. He flipped her over, and she canted one knee high on the couch and slid one hand lazily between her legs as she watched him rear up, find his shorts and fumble for protection.

  He felt ten feet tall as he loomed above her, taking in her curvy paleness and the dark curls obscuring her sex. Nothing had ever felt quite like this moment, knowing they’d be joined intimately, that he would fill her up. He shook at the realization that this was the one and only time he’d be inside Beth. He clenched his jaw and stifled that thought. Here, now. Man and woman. All that he was capable of, so he’d better make it good.

  As she reached for him, as he let himself fall forward, bracing one hand by her head and the other cupping her ass, he realized it was already good.

  It was perfect. And in the morning, it would be the most bittersweet memory.

  *

  Beth rocked her hips, aching to feel him move. Wanting him to lose control because of her, but Finn held his ground, rock hard all over. Sweat dampened his back where she pressed her hands and faint tremors wracked his body.

  “I need a minute,” he muttered, and her heart cracked open. Her cocky man was just as affected as she was. He’s not yours. But he was for the night, and like women had since time began, she held him to her breast and whispered in his ear, filling him with confidence before sending him off to war.

  “We can do it again,” she promised. “And again. I don’t need to sleep tonight. I just need you. Please take me, Finn. I want you to fuck me into oblivion.”

  His eyes glittered as he curled himself over her body and started thrusting in and out. Even as he wavered on the edge of control he seemed to know what she liked and wanted more of, and as she loosened her vocal cords and let herself just feel, he sped up.