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

by Milly Taiden

  I turned around and my heart nearly dropped. Right there, on Adrian’s leather love seat, was Amanda. She sat cross-legged, flipping through a magazine. Her make up was, as always, flawless, and the short skirt she wore—well, she may as well have left it at home because the hem rose so high, I’d see her nether regions if she so much as inhaled. And the low-cut blouse she wore… I couldn’t stop staring. I think I had more on underneath my parka than she had on her in total.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” At first, I didn’t realize I’d said that out loud.

  “I’m here for lunch,” she smirked.

  All of a sudden memories from a few years passed began rushing through my mind, including her fleshy white legs wrapped around my husband’s waist.

  No, this couldn’t be happening again. Adrian wasn’t Dan. He wouldn’t… he couldn’t… I wouldn’t let it!

  “Get the fuck out,” I said under my breath. Was that out loud as well?

  “Excuse me?”

  I stepped closer, this time making sure she’d hear me. “If you think I’m gonna let you dig your dirty claws into my man, you have another thing coming.”

  “No one’s digging any claws.” She eyed me from the bottom up before adding, “Not yet at least.” She uncrossed her right leg, flashing me her bare flesh. Oh no! I thought only Hollywood actresses pulled that ‘no panties’ crap.

  And that’s when I lost it. Feeding on the years I’d had to put up with Amanda’s bullshit, and letting the idea of her even touching Adrian brew in the back of my mind, turned me into a Neanderthal bitch ready to drag Amanda by her extensions and throw her off a cliff. Adrian was mine, and I would die before I would let her do as much as shake his hand.

  My thoughts seemed to play out in my mind in slow motion as I imagined that scene. As I neared her, I saw her mouth open slightly, obviously shocked at my aggressive attitude.

  Didn’t see that one coming, did ya? I thought while launching at her, only to be pulled back by a strong body.

  “Hey, baby. What’s going on?” Adrian asked, somewhat amused. I tried to tear myself out of his grip, but his hands may as well have been handcuffs.

  “What is she doing here?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, T. Ms. … ?” Adrian asked.

  “I’m sorry Adrian,” a voice sounded from behind us, “But I asked Amanda to join me for lunch so we could go over some house listings. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

  “That’s all right, Blair. No trouble caused.”

  Amanda sank back into the couch with relief.

  “Blair’s looking for a house,” Adrian whispered. “T? Would you like to join me in my office?”

  It wasn’t a request, and so I nodded as Adrian led me toward a wooden door which I assumed was to his office.

  “That was fucking sexy,” he said as soon as the door closed behind us, crushing his mouth to mine.

  Oh, my!

  His hands held my face steady, tilting it slightly for a deep and delicious kiss. Nope, it wasn’t even a kiss. This was definitely tonsil hockey. And all my tension, including thoughts of the crying secretaries and Amanda at his workplace dissipated—simply because with Adrian so hot and all over me, nothing else mattered.

  “What was?” I finally asked when he let me take a breath.

  “You, all protective of me,” he said against my mouth, forcing his lips harder to mine.

  “What did you expect?” I turned my head to the side, cocking it slightly to allow the access he sought to my neck. As he drew his hot mouth over my skin, nibbling at it, I began to feel the softness between my legs cream. His lips felt so good on me, I was beginning to forget that I was the one who had come here to seduce him.

  “I don’t know what I was expecting, but definitely not my little Thumbelina’s hands flying out at another woman’s throat,” he grinned against my skin. Pride blossomed through his voice. Adrian pressed harder into my body, and I was already feeling his arousal against my belly. The thought of him so horny so fast had me dripping with desire.

  “I wanted to surprise you.” My breaths became shallow.

  “You have,” he said while continuing the downward path to my cleavage, pausing when he got to the bottom of the V in my parka.

  Adrian backed away completely, taking in my outfit. He slowly pulled on the belt holding the two sides of the coat together. The fastening loosened, revealing my skimpy red lace underneath.

  “Ah, fuck me.”

  “That’s what I was thinking.” I bit my lip, watching him adjust his fitting pants. He seemed to be growing every second. Adrian lowered the parka off my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. He then reached behind me, clicking the lock on his door, and drank me in again. For the first time in my life, I had caused Adrian to be speechless.

  I reached forward and pulled down his zipper, drawing his thickness and overfilled sack out of his pants. Stroking his hot flesh with my hand, I licked my lips. With one swift pull Adrian lowered his hand and ripped the crotch in my panties.

  Holy shit, that was hot!

  He then lifted me up into his arms. I held onto his neck as he guided my wet core right over him, burying himself inside me, until I felt his pelvis touching my thighs. I pulled him in closer, wanting his mouth on mine, but he denied me a kiss. I narrowed my brows as he grinned.

  “You can’t expect to walk into my office, nearly naked, and make love to me.” The warning that came out of his mouth was nothing like I’d heard before.

  “Oh, no?” I asked. “What should I expect, then?”

  “A fuck. I want to fuck you. I need to fuck you. Hard.” He thrust his hips forward. The cold metal buckle of his pants struck against my heated skin.

  “And raw.” He pushed in again.

  “Ah!” I screamed out. My gaze flew toward the door. My back was now against the wall. With the white sleeves of his shirt rolled halfway up his bulky arms, his hands supported my ass as his words stirred lust deep inside my belly.

  “Until you won’t be able to stand on your legs. And I don’t care who the fuck hears us.” Adrian plunged again, his green eyes dark with desire.

  The swell inside me was becoming unbearable. This was exactly why I’d come here. I needed him the way he needed me. Not gentle or cautious. I needed him the way I’d never had him before—I wanted to be fucked, truly fucked, for the first time (and hopefully not the last) by Adrian.

  He paused for a moment, watching my face as I whispered, “Fuck me, please.”

  His jaw clenched and I felt him pulse deep inside me, as he began throwing his hips forward faster and faster, hitting my throbbing clit on each advance, sliding my body up and down that wall.

  “You’re so slick, T.”

  I tightened around him. The sound of my squished essence and the smell of us, together along with Adrian’s grunts, was beginning to push me over the edge. I leaned my forehead against his. There would be no kissing, no fondling—only fucking.

  And just before he came, Adrian looked into my eyes as if wanting to draw my own orgasm out of me with his gaze, and he did. As if on command, my body shook underneath him, and my walls clenched around him as he spilled his warmth inside me.

  Slowly, Adrian lowered me to the ground and pulled out. He reached to the side for a tissue box and wiped the dripping seed off my inner thighs before cleaning himself. Only then did I notice that we were beside his mahogany desk.

  “You never cease to amaze me, T.”

  “I wanted to surprise you.”

  “You have.” He finally kissed me. “Are you all right? I didn’t use a condom.”

  “It’s not that time of the month.”

  “Well, this is definitely a first, isn’t it?” He laughed taking off his shirt.

  “What are you doing?” I asked as he pulled the large sleeves over my arms.

  “I’m not letting you out of my office knowing you have nothing on under that parka.”

  “No one else will know.”

/>   “The men will know. They always do.”

  I doubted that, but I didn’t want to argue. I was too happy to argue. He strolled toward a door on the side wall and pulled out a crisp shirt from within.

  Adrian took my face between his hands saying, “I love you, T. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, Adrian.”

  And that’s how we conquered another one of our baby steps. A little bit of courage proved that I could be much more than a mother or a girlfriend. I could once again be a lover.

  CHAPTER 26

  I’d been counting the days until I would see Adrian again. My mother had agreed to stay with the kids on Friday night so that I could have “adult time.” The statement made me feel like a teenage girl all over again. And as always, she’d hinted for me not to come back until the next day. The weekend seemed too far away.

  On Tuesday afternoon I returned Dan’s car keys to him. Apparently he’d had another set and had asked Kayla to drive him around to keep his promise to me. He hadn’t asked for them, nor complained, but I knew how difficult it had been for him to commute via cab. And given that he had those big deals to prepare, I didn’t want to jeopardize a possible income stream. Dan had also registered with a local AA group and sought therapy.

  As I lay in my bed that Tuesday night, I couldn’t help but feel like time wasn’t passing fast enough. I wished I could close my eyes and wake up three days later. How in the world would I make it until Friday?

  A loud moan startled me and I shot up. I rushed into the hallway and stood between Christa’s and Jonathan’s bedrooms, when another aching moan sounded.

  Turning on the nightlight in Christa’s bedroom, I sat on the bed’s edge. Her eyes watered; her cheeks were flushed and her lips cracked and dry. I touched my hand to her forehead. The heat burned me. Her pajamas had been drenched, and her breathing was deep and inconsistent.

  “I don’t feel well.” Her whimper was low and full of pain.

  “You have a fever, honey. Let’s get these off you for a moment.” I pulled her duvet aside, changed her into a fresh pair of pajamas, and covered her with a sheet. “I’m gonna get some medicine and come back up, all right?”

  “OK, Mommy.”

  Hurrying downstairs, I dove into the medicine cabinet above the fridge in search of children’s Tylenol or Advil. I checked through each bottle and container, fumbling, but couldn’t find it.

  “Come on, come on. Cough syrup, antihistamines, gravol, lozenges. Where the hell is the Tylenol?”

  And then I recalled asking Dan to pick up a pack when he went to the pharmacy a week or so ago. Apparently he never got it. I grabbed the thermometer and an ice pack and ran back upstairs, praying the fever wasn’t too high. By the look of her flushed cheeks and swollen lips, my hope might as well have been a wish upon a star.

  “Put your head to the side.” I placed the thermometer in her ear. It registered 103. What? My heart skipped a beat before I remembered to turn it over to the metric side: 39.4.

  Shit!

  “OK, lie down and hold this on your head. I need to step out to the pharmacy to get your medicine, but Mrs. Mayfield will come over to stay with you. You think you can do that for me?”

  “Yes, Mommy.”

  Fortunately Mrs. Mayfield was one of those neighbors whom the kids loved. And most importantly, it took her all of thirty seconds to come to my house. In her fluffy robe she sat by Christa, holding her hand.

  “I should be back in fifteen minutes,” I said as I pulled on a sweatshirt. I couldn’t bother with changing and had no time for a bra, so loose clothing would have to cover me enough.

  Yellow tape and orange cones surrounded the front parking lot of the plaza. Paving equipment took up the last available spots and I was forced to park around the corner. Cursing under my breath, I pulled into the shadow of the building, turned off the ignition, and rushed inside.

  By the time I ran into the drug store it was already eleven at night. The twenty-four-hour pharmacy was the only one open in town at this hour. I grabbed the Tylenol and Advil, paid for my purchase, and hurried back to my car. My feet couldn’t move fast enough.

  From a side glance, I spied two young men headed my way. I hurried toward my car but they matched my pace. With each step I took, my car appeared to be further away. They were within a few feet of my vehicle, and as I reached it, they blocked my way.

  “Can I help you?” My nerves threw a shaking party inside me. I didn’t have time for this crap; I needed to get to my daughter quickly. I reached in my pocket in search for my phone, but one of them caught my hand before I reached in.

  “Get your hands off me!” I ripped away from his tight grip.

  “Whoa, whoa! Just give us your wallet and we’ll be on our way.” The taller one stepped toward me again. He couldn’t have been more than twenty. And at that brave and irresponsible age, there was no room to doubt his intentions.

  “Look, I paid with debit. I don’t have any cash on me, and I need to get to my daughter who is sick.” I tried to weasel in between them toward my car.

  “A lady like you can pay up in other ways.” They looked from one another, stepping closer. I was squished between them like a fucking boob in a mammogram.

  Shivers ran over my skin and my stomach turned. They wouldn’t, would they? I was too old for both of them. But their pressing groins against my hips began to harden. As dread grew inside me, a deeper voice sounded from nearby.

  “Step the fuck away from her, now!”

  Adrian?

  “What’s it to you, asshole? This is private business.”

  It was a warmer evening, and Adrian wore a white t-shirt and ripped jeans. His tattoo showed from underneath the sleeve, and I had to say that barbell in his brow and disheveled hair added an extra layer of danger we so desperately needed. Someone must have been looking over me to send him my way.

  Dad, if you can hear this, thank you, I thought.

  “And what private business do you have with my wife?” he asked more loudly, while lengthening his steps toward me. His palms were clenched into tight fists and the strain of his muscles pulsed from underneath his t-shirt.

  I held my breath. Adrian’s statement felt so wrong and so right at the same time. The thugs beside me didn’t budge, and Adrian took a swing at one and then the other before I got a chance to scream. The loud crack of something echoed, and I hoped it wasn’t Adrian’s hand. They fell to the concrete squirming.

  But Dumb and Dumber wouldn’t give up so easily and bounced back up to block our way.

  Adrian stood beside me, holding my hand, squeezing it tightly.

  “Fucking get out of our way, or I swear to God I will not stop until you’re down on that ground with your balls shoved down your throats.” His threatening tone brooked no room for discussion, and when Adrian clenched his fists again and stepped forward, they finally moved away and ran off into the darkness.

  “Oh, my God!” By this time I was visibly shaking and my heart was acting as if it had a time-bomb attached to it.

  “Are you OK?” He cupped my face.

  I nodded feverishly, fumbling in my pocket to get the keys.

  “You’re all right now, T. Let’s get out of here. I’m driving.” He took my keys without waiting.

  Adrian got into my car and turned on the ignition. My hands trembled and I found it difficult to buckle up. Adrian reached over to help me, exuding the calmness I so desperately needed. “You’re okay. No one’s going to hurt you. You hear me?”

  I quickly nodded, asking, “What about your car?”

  He clicked on his phone before buckling up himself.

  “It’s parked by the bank across the street. Don’t worry about it.”

  Adrian shifted my Sienna into gear and pulled out of the parking lot, adding fuel to the pedal as he turned into traffic.

  “I texted the police to check out the plaza. They were looking for trouble, and if they didn’t succeed with you, they would with someone else
.”

  Texted the police? Since when could you do that?

  “Tyler’s at the station tonight,” he answered my unspoken question. Something odd stirred inside me. Adrian and Tyler must have exchanged phone numbers while at the fundraiser.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked as he turned onto Main Street.

  “I cut my hand with a knife peeling a lemon and needed some bandages.” That was when I noticed the deep wound there. “Why are you here? Is everything okay?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Christa has a fever. Mrs. Mayfield is watching them.”

  “You should have called me, T.” He turned into our neighborhood.

  “Mrs. Mayfield lives next door. I needed to get the Tylenol quickly.”

  “Are you all right? I mean, after what happened back there?”

  “I’m not sure I can process it now. I just need to get back to Christa.”

  Adrian didn’t say another word and paid attention to the drive, going well over the speed limit. I prayed whoever had sent him to the plaza would get rid of any cops on the way so that we wouldn’t be pulled over.

  I yanked the door open, nearly jumping out of the car before Adrian had fully stopped in my driveway.

  “Make yourself at home.” I called back before rushing upstairs. Mrs. Mayfield was sitting on a chair beside Christa’s bed. My daughter was awake, shaking from the army of chills consuming her. I told my neighbor I’d be all right and she left. Christa swallowed the medicine and lay down, curled up in a fetal position.

  “It’s not working,” she complained. “And my mouth is hurting.”

  “It will take a few minutes, honey. Open up, let me see.”

  I peeked into her mouth. Her upper gums on one side were reddened and sensitive. A white piece protruded the skin. “You have that last tooth coming in, baby. That’s why you have a fever.” I hope that’s all. “Stay down, you’ll feel better soon.”

  “Will you leave?”

  “No, I’ll be right here.”

  Half an hour later, Christa’s shaking calmed and she finally fell asleep. I let a long breath out as my eyes got heavier.