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

by Milly Taiden

  Adrian was right. If I hadn’t moved on, I wouldn’t have had my children. I wouldn’t have experienced the midnight cries, morning laughter while tickling them in bed, and the unconditional love they filled my heart with. And I couldn’t bear the thought of having children with Adrian instead, but that was where my mind went and guilt swept through my entire body. Would we have had kids if we’d stayed together? Once I’d looked forward to that, but I wouldn’t change my kids for anyone else’s.

  “Don’t think about what could have been. Think about what could be.” He tugged at my shirt, drawing my attention to my drenched, frozen limbs. “And if you don’t get these off yourself, I’ll rip them off you.”

  The deep sound that came out of his throat awakened my goose bumps. It drew my attention back to the man in front of me.

  “You’re kidding, right?” I looked down. My nipples poked through the shirt, right against his chest.

  “Oh, come on, I’ve seen you naked.” He hooked his thumbs into the loops of my shorts and pulled me closer. Every delicious curve of him pressed into my tummy.

  “Twenty years ago,” I swallowed through my tight throat.

  “So?” he shrugged. “To be honest I’ve already pictured you naked too. Really, there’s nothing to hide.” His hands slid lower and back, gently grasping my ass.

  “There’s plenty to hide.” My voice was not my own. The nearness of Adrian was messing with my head, making me hot and needy. And since when had he become so candid? I liked that forward nature he seemed to have developed out of nowhere. It excited me and kept me on my toes.

  He scanned my body, his gaze resting on my cleavage. “Maybe you’re right. There’s much more there than I remember.”

  Adrian practically ate me alive with his eyes. I had no doubt of the thoughts running through his mind, but as much as my body was ready to act on impulse, I wasn’t sure that I was.

  “Come on, I don’t want you getting sick on my watch. Here.” He pulled out a fluffy blanket from the backpack and draped it over my shoulders. “It’d be a shame to get this wet too, so please, take your clothes off. I won’t look.”

  “Turn around,” I whispered, removing my olive top. I caught the smile on his face before he spun and lowered his shorts. My breath stilled. His boxers clung to his skin, outlining every curve of a perfectly taut behind. And every emotion and urge I tried to suppress surged through my mind like an electric current needing to find an outlet. I imagined his buttocks tightening and my legs wrapping around his torso, forcing him deeper inside me. My tummy tingled with warm lust—a deep desire I hadn’t felt in a long time. I remembered us together so vividly. Our first time was so fresh in my mind. And the memory of feeling him still inside me the next day after he took my virginity moistened my panties.

  “Keep going, T.” His voice startled me.

  Holy shit!

  I whipped my body to face the forest and fumbled with my tank top and shorts, pulling the drenched clothes off. My skimpy underwear and bra weren’t the ones I would have chosen if I’d known I was going to be stripping in front of Adrian, but perhaps they could dry if I lay down in the sun. I wished I’d picked something sexier than the simple bra and boyshort panties that were so comfortable for hiking. There was nothing worse than a g-string stuck up your butt when you walked. As a Pilates instructor, I knew the comfort of my undergarments made a difference between a good workout and a sore one. They were still nice, but definitely not the undergarments of choice. And how could I just lie down with him around? I could hardly contain my wanton thoughts while dressed.

  Pulling the blanket around my body, I plopped down on the chair. “I’m done.”

  He turned around. Oh, my! Adrian captivated me all over again. Half wet, half dry, the body of this mouth-watering man in front of me nearly begged to be exploited. The sun grazed his bronzed skin with its rays and my gaze followed the trail between his chiseled abs, down the happy valley and onto the outlined curve. The clinging boxers didn’t leave much to the imagination.

  He pulled on the elastic of his underwear. “I’d remove these too, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

  “Nothing I haven’t seen before.” I felt my sensitive muscles pulse, fully aware I’d just used his words.

  “But much more talented.” He winked. That simple comment woke up another wave of exquisite heat that flowed right into my core. I didn’t doubt him and wondered what sorts of new things he had learned over the years.

  Adrian set up the table in the middle, popping the sunflower he’d cut for me into a water bottle.

  “You should lie down in the sun. I need to catch our lunch anyways.” He unlocked the little fishing box he brought with him. “I’m sorry, but the fish will need all my attention for now.”

  He crouched to the ground and started setting up his gear.

  Once his back was turned and he cast his rod, I strolled over to the area where the sun shone through the canopy in an oval and spread the blanket out, lying face down. At least my front was covered. Somehow I was feeling shyer than when we’d dated. Back then, neither of us had declined to admire the other, inspecting the shape of every curve, stroking the most sensitive spots for the first time in our lives.

  The rays warmed me instantly. I swept my hair to the side, exposing my neck to the heat, and closed my eyes. The sounds of the forest lulled me. Birds chirped and leaves rustled in the soft breeze. The constant flow of water soothed my tension and I let my muscles relax. My limbs, splayed out in the sun, absorbed every ounce of heat. A life with Adrian could be so simple like this, with just the two of us, and I wondered what held me back. Why couldn’t I jump into a new relationship feet first, the same way I had jumped into the creek? Because it wasn’t about just the two of us any longer.

  A blue jay twittered in the distance. I took another deep breath and dozed off.

  CHAPTER 6

  Succulent smells of burning wood, spices, and fish woke me. I opened my eyes to be welcomed by Adrian’s green gems looking right at me. His penetrating stare did things inside my belly I couldn’t control, nor did I want to.

  He lay beside me, his bare skin only inches away. My head rested on my arms. The sun had shifted, thankfully shading me and sparing me from a sunburn.

  “Hi, Thumbelina.” His mouth stretched up by a fraction. It felt like he’d been staring at me the entire time I’d slept, which I knew was impossible because from the smell of it he’d caught and made lunch while I was out.

  “Hi.” I prayed I didn’t have morning breath. “How long have I been out?”

  “Almost an hour.” He tapped my nose with his finger.

  “It smells good.”

  “It does. Looks good too.” That panty-tightening grin stretched on his face, and something told me he wasn’t referring to the food.

  Adrian propped himself on his elbow. I bit my lip. Everything inside me mixed into a delightful puddle of desire. His hand grazed from my shoulder, down my arm, and back up toward my chin. Time stood still. The leaves no longer flapped above us. No birds chirped, and the creek silenced.

  He tilted my chin up with his finger and his face came closer. The tickle of his lips hovering above mine was excruciating and exciting. I closed my eyes. His warm breath wrapped around my face, and the tickle disappeared as he touched his lips to mine. The smooch hardened with every second and I opened my mouth, letting his tongue sneak inside me. I had a difficult time concentrating on anything else other than the luscious lips moving against my mouth. He tasted so fresh and new and enticing; everything about our kiss became a delicious surprise as his mouth bonded with mine, encasing my bottom lip between his, and then moving higher to venture deeper into my mouth.

  And that soft and skilled tongue explored me like he wanted to get to know me all over again. Every. Single. Nook. I turned on my side and pressed into him. A quiet yelp escaped my mouth as I grasped his arms.

  My hands grazed upward toward the back of his neck. Adrian’s body mov
ed over mine, hovering just above me as he supported himself on his arms. His weight overpowered me and I pressed into him, pulling him lower. He held my face in his palms, steadying my mouth, deliberately holding our angle for a deep kiss. The movement of my skin against his was fevered. The energy of our grinding limbs sizzled with the heated lust of young, innocent, rekindled love. His hardness dug into my pubic bone and reminding me that I needed him inside me. I rubbed against his erection, circling my hips, letting myself get lost to the building arousal.

  The rhythm in my chest neared closer to a heart attack each passing second. My nipples grazed against him, aching to be touched and fondled, begging for him. The world spun around me, and that wonderful lightheaded feeling you get when you don’t have enough oxygen lifted me off the ground and into his arms.

  No, I was actually in his arms, all of me caged by the man who made my world seem like it was a different planet, and I had to pull away, sucking in as much air as I could. With my mouth wide open, I drank in Adrian’s wanton expression.

  “I’m sorry, that was too fast.” He set me back down onto the blanket.

  “No, it wasn’t.” I propped myself up on my elbows, my nipples poking through the thin fabric of my bra.

  “I want to kiss you all day.” He lay down on his side beside me, stroking his finger from under my cleavage down the slim valley of my abs. These were the times I was so thankful my job helped me keep my body in shape. Did he even know what he was doing to me? With that one touch he might as well have had his fingers inside me. Every muscle between my legs tightened.

  “Just kiss?” I felt my chest rise with hope, watching his fingers draw lower.

  “No. I want to do things to you I wish I could have known about when we were young.” He kissed my shoulder.

  I closed my eyes, feeling his warm breath trail further down.

  “I want to touch and discover every inch of your body all over again.” Adrian leaned into the soft part of my cleavage and kissed me there. “Feel those warm places, taste all the pink shades of your skin.”

  I held my breath. He looked up from below.

  “And give you the kind of pleasure you’ve only dreamed of.”

  Wow! No one had ever talked to me like that.

  “Looks like I’m not the only one with new piercings.” He lowered his head to my belly button before kissing the hollow that held the gem of my ring.

  My abs tightened as his tongue traced around the blue jewel. The wonderful pull on my skin contracted every tendon that held me together, and I feared if he kept going I’d snap in half. Shivers covered my arms as heat consumed me.

  “Now, that’s too fast,” he said, lifting his lazy gaze that begged for more than I could offer. I feared he’d push me over the edge sooner than I wanted him to.

  But my entire body seized under pressure. The reaction wasn’t one I expected. Every fiber of my being wanted and needed what he’d said, but I just couldn’t. I wasn’t ready for what he offered. As much as the urge to throw myself at Adrian grew with each tender stroke, the logical part of my brain didn’t want to jump into anything that I knew could break me if it didn’t work out. The free way of loving I had once known was gone. I had others to think about beside myself too—life as an adult wasn’t as simple as when we were young and frivolous, without responsibilities.

  He lifted me up to sit and scooted behind me, wrapping his legs and arms around me. His naked chest pressed to my back, and it felt so good I wanted to forget all the sensible thoughts running through my mind.

  “No, it’s not you.” I said.

  “Ah, the famous it’s not you, it’s me.”

  I lowered my head to my knees.

  “Hey, talk to me, T.”

  “I’m scared of what I’m feeling and what that means. You’re like a fantasy that’s going to be over by the time the sun sets. I’m afraid you’ll finish your business here and go back to Vienna, and I’ll have to go on without you, which would be torturous. I guess part of me still cannot believe you’re actually here. And then there are my kids. I want them to accept you, but I’ve never thought about a man other than Dan, who’s still so important to me, entering their lives.”

  Where did all that come from? Perhaps during the years we’d been apart I’d changed? I no longer wanted to wonder what the future held. I needed to know whether he would be there with me or not. I needed to plan my life and allow him to be part of it.

  “Even if my business doesn’t work out, I won’t go back. At least not while you want me here. I’ll figure out a way to stay until you tell me to leave.”

  “You’d do that for me?”

  “I’d do that for us.”

  I couldn’t risk saying anything reckless that would make him leave. My heart would never let him go. Yet my mind kept wondering about the practical side of our relationship—my children; Dan; Adrian’s son.

  “How are we going to make this work? There’s nothing more that I want right now than you. All of you. But I’m afraid.”

  Adrian tightened his lips. I knew it was taking all the will he had not to take me down right there. I could feel it in the deep pulse of his veins and his erection pressing from behind me. But like the gentleman I knew he was, he continued listening.

  “And what if this”—I pointed between us—“doesn’t work out?”

  “Being afraid is normal, T. And I don’t want to toot my own horn, but so far we’re working out quite well together, and it’s only day one. Give it a chance. Don’t over analyze it. Let go of the stress and follow your gut.” He leaned his chin on my shoulder from behind me. “You’ve always had good instincts. Listen to them.” His smooth hands grazed down my arms to my ribcage and he tickled me until I laughed and squirmed in his grip. How in the world did Adrian manage to make me feel so carefree? He finally stopped, still holding onto me from behind, and asked seriously, as if he hadn’t been tickling me just a few seconds ago, “What’s so funny?”

  My hormones were way off and I was beginning to act like a newly pregnant woman on steroids. The waves of feelings swelling inside me turned from one end of the spectrum to the other.

  “We need to be responsible, but I’m feeling like a horny teenager around you. And you’re acting like one.”

  “Don’t tell me things like that. It’s difficult enough for me to control myself as it is.” His face was beside mine again. I breathed in his scent, wanting to lose myself in his luscious lips. “Is it so bad for me to want to make love to you?” he asked.

  “No, but we just met—again.”

  I absolutely adored how open Adrian was with me. There were no games or pretending. Although so much time had passed, he was still my best friend, the way he had been so many years ago.

  “T, I understand I’ve only known you as a boy, but there’s nothing I’d like more than to get to know the beautiful woman you’ve grown to be. And I’ll take as much time as we need. I promise. People go through divorces, separations and reunions all the time. They don’t all work out, but some of them do. And I think we have a solid foundation for a good start. If I do anything to make you uncomfortable, you just let me know. I’m not going to push us into something we’re not ready for. I will not screw up again, and I will take as much time as we need.”

  “Thank you. It’s so easy to talk to you.” I said, my stomach rumbling.

  He kissed my cheek. “You’re welcome. And Ditto. You’re hungry and the food’s getting cold. Come on.”

  I wished the human necessities of life could disappear so I could be connected with him all the time. I didn’t want to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom. I just wanted to stay in his arms for as long as I could, to learn not only about his new skills but about the man he’d become. So far he appeared perfect; but as life had taught me, perfect men didn’t exist – even the ones we loved the deepest had flaws. But my stomach began making more embarrassing noises.

  “Are the clothes dry?” I asked.

  “Not yet.”


  “Are we eating nude?”

  “You’re not nude, but if that’s what you’d like, I can accommodate.”

  And with a swift flick on my back, he unfastened my bra. He’d always been so talented at opening the clasps without a warning.

  “What are you doing? Clip it back on, please.” I cupped my boobs with my hands.

  “The back is dry, but I’m sure your front is wet.” The double meaning in his voice made me squeeze my thighs together. He sat up, fumbling in the backpack near the blanket.

  Adrian was still wearing only his boxers, which must have been very tight at the moment given what I could feel poking into my back. But I didn’t dare look below his navel, at least not when he could catch me.

  As he turned around, reaching deeper in the backpack, I got a chance to examine his rear muscles once again. Wide and strong, his back had been worked as if he’d been carrying sacks of sand every day. The lean skin wasn’t shaped the way I’d seen at the gym when I taught Pilates. Whatever workout Adrian had done, it came from hard labor. The skin tightened with every move, and the muscles worked like little balls of steel every time he twisted. His well-formed physique had the same cramping effect on my body as if he’d touched me. My mouth felt dry. He turned his head, looking right at me, and I felt like I’d been caught stealing candy. I tightened my grip around my knees.

  “Put this on.” He handed me a t-shirt.

  “You had a spare one? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “And miss admiring your velvety skin?” He leaned forward, kissing me gently on the lips.

  Everything inside me melted again. I quickly yanked the shirt over my head, removing my wet bra from underneath. I let the fabric hang on a branch when his cell phone rang.