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

by Milly Taiden

  “You promised,” she said.

  “Lust and love. Two very different things,” I said, regretting the words even as they slipped out. Idiot, that won’t get you a piece of her. She’s not looking for lust.

  She surprised me though; she tipped her head to one side and nodded, seemingly unperturbed by my crass observation. “True enough. But to this,” she waved the paper at me, “why am I signing a waiver?”

  “You’re going to need it.”

  “I’m not doing anything dangerous.”

  “Of course not.”

  “I mean it.” She gripped the edge of the door with one hand, the door jam with the other.

  “Spitfire, I won’t do anything terribly dangerous with you. I want you to see that sometimes things might seem dangerous, but they really aren’t. They’re fun. And they can make you feel alive like nothing else. But I need you to trust me.”

  Her lips twisted to one side and she started to close the door. I put a hand out to stop her and she pushed on my chest. “I have to get dressed.”

  “We’re just friends now,” I said, doing my best to keep a straight face, “and my friends get dressed in front of me all the time. Every day.”

  Green eyes narrowed and I could almost see her thinking. Again, she surprised me. “All right. Come on in.”

  9

  Jasmin

  If Jet thought for one minute I didn’t have it in me to get dressed in front of him, he was about to get the shock of his life. I’d known he’d been at the door when I’d heard the knock. He hadn’t even questioned why I’d been wearing nothing but my panties and a tank top.

  I fought the grimace that wanted to mar my face, Lily’s words from the night before still fresh in my mind.

  “You can’t be serious. You’re staying there, with Jet, in Mexico, to be friends? You might lie to me, Miss Jasmin, you might even lie to him. But don’t you dare lie to yourself. You’re there to get laid now. It’s only a matter of time and then you’re going to lose your job, your house and Ryan’s car. All because you couldn’t keep your panties on.”

  I’d argued with her that wasn’t the case, but without sharing Jet’s secrets with her there was no way to get her to see that he wasn’t just some guy after me for a quick lay. At least, I didn’t think so. If that was all I was to him, he would have taken me there by the waterfall, and I’d have let him. But he hadn’t; he’d kept his promise to me. Lily didn’t understand that whatever was going on between Jet and me, as much as it terrified me, I craved it too. The feel of him beside me, the softness in his eyes and smile that only showed through when he looked at me. The shared pain of our pasts was something I never expected out of anyone, most especially him. I wouldn’t sleep with Jet, I couldn’t. Lily was right about that much. But I could have everything else. The friendship, the laughter, the sweet tender moments . . . and then I’d go home and I’d take my pictures out and remember him when I was on my own again.

  But with him sitting on the bed, watching me as I pulled out clothes, I had the sudden urge to torture him. Why? Because he’d said that love and lust were two different animals, and he just lusted after me—which he thought he could control, did he?

  There was far more than lust between us; though even I couldn’t rightly define what it was I was feeling. So if he was going to lie to himself about this, then he should have to suffer a little. Liars should be punished, right?

  I picked out my shorts and the tank top I planned on wearing, and spread them on the bed alongside the lacy green bra matching the panties I already wore. Jet plopped himself onto the edge of the bed, one eyebrow quirked up.

  I pointed at the clothes. “Will those work for whatever it is we’re doing?”

  He looked them over, picked up the bra and ran his hands over it, eyes half-closed as he fingered the lace and satin. “Yup, this will be just fine.”

  With a laugh, I snatched the bra from him, and turned away, giving him a clear view of my almost bare ass, the thin strap of green material covering nothing but the line between my cheeks. Never had I felt so aware of my own body, my skin and the clothes that shivered across it. Curling my hands around the lower edge of my shirt, I lifted the tank top over my head. Jet sucked in a sharp breath as I bent at the waist to tuck the tank top into my suitcase at my feet. Necessary? Nope, not for one instant. Peering back at him through my hair, over my shoulder, my plan to torment him didn’t seem like such a good idea. In fact, it looked as though it might just backfire on me.

  His eyes dilated as they roved my body and it was obvious from the bulge in his pants that he wanted me. Badly. Achingly.

  My mouth dried up and I stood, quickly scrambling into my bra, tank top and shorts. Teasing him—what hell had I been thinking? Idiot. I was no seductress to be able to tease and flirt and then pull back. I knew better, but I’d done it anyway. What was wrong with me?

  I pulled my hair into a rough ponytail. “Okay, I’m ready.” My voice was light and airy, like I’d not just given him a clear view of my body from head to toe.

  Jet sat there, staring up at me. He rose, slowly, stiffly. “Woman, you keep doing that to me and no promise is going to keep me from tearing your pretty green panties right off your delectable ass.”

  His words shot straight to said panties, warmth and wetness singing his praises. My body screamed at me to take him up on his offer. Let him rip my panties off with his teeth; let his lips graze my skin and hands caress my body. I swayed on my feet and drew in a shuddering breath as the images assaulted me. A word, the crook of one finger, was all it would take and he’d be on me. We were here; the bed was here.

  “Got it,” I said.

  “Good, cause you are seriously making it hard for me to walk like a normal guy.” He shook each leg as he took a step. As if that would help calm his libido.

  I giggled, grabbed my camera, and followed him out of the hotel room. Once downstairs, he hailed a taxi and we climbed in. The car wasn’t air conditioned and smelled of sweaty bodies, cinnamon, and cigarette smoke. In unison, Jet and I cranked our windows down as he gave instructions to the driver.

  “Ah,” the dark haired, swarthy man exclaimed. “Zeeplining. Great time you will have.”

  I almost gave myself whiplash as I spun toward Jet. “Zeeplining? That doesn’t mean what I think it does. Does it?”

  Jet grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together once more. “I’ll be there with you. We’ll do a tandem run first. Then you can go by yourself, if you want, afterwards.”

  As we drove, our cabbie pointed out the sights and things to do while we were in Mexico. The list was long and most of the things on it were things I would never do. Not in a million years. Bungee jumping, parasailing, skydiving, surfing. Actually, surfing might be fun.

  Jet must have seen my interest as the cabbie talked about the great waves the area had. “We’re going surfing tonight.”

  “Is that a good idea, with sharks? Don’t they feed at night?”

  He smiled. “Just trust me. I keep my promises. I’ll keep you safe.”

  The zip-line started at the top of a hill and sped down through the treetops of the jungle for almost two miles. Two miles of high speed flying through the air, hanging by a cable and pulley system made God knows how many years ago, with no way to stop. Or better yet, if you didn’t have enough momentum you’d get stuck in the middle of the line and they’d have to send someone out to get you and drag you in—if the rusted, swaying line didn’t snap in half and drop you to the jungle floor.

  Jet strapped into the harness first; he didn’t even check to see if the straps and buckles were tight or not. Then it was my turn. The guide helped me; I double-checked every strap and buckle, tugging at them to make sure they were indeed tight.

  Oh my God, I can’t believe I actually agreed to this. Jet came up behind me and whispered in my ear. “Just breathe, Jazzy. This will be fun. I promise.”

  “My brother said that once.”

  “What happened?”
>
  “He pushed me out of the tree fort and I broke my arm.”

  Jet burst out laughing and wrapped his arms around me, pulled me tight against his chest. “I think I would have liked your brother. I pushed Jasper out of a window once.”

  I gasped. “That’s horrible! Why do big brothers do crap like that?”

  He shrugged, but didn’t let me go. “I did it to toughen him up. I bet Ryan did it to make you stop bossing him around.”

  I gave a huff. “Are saying I’m bossy?”

  “I seem to recall reading somewhere that all little sisters are bossy. And brats.”

  The guide beckoned us forward before I could say anything else, and we shuffled to the head of the line together. They were explaining how to do things, but a buzzing in my ears kept me from hearing anything other than the beating of my heart. Fear washed through me and finally I heard something. It was the click of the carabineer locking us to the cable, which sat at a forty-five degree angle, and would send us ripping through the treetops at high speed.

  “I don’t think I can do this,” I said, pushing backwards into Jet. His hands were on my upper arms, his voice in my ear.

  “It’s only scary the first time. Your heart will race, you’ll sweat and feel like maybe you’re going to die, but then . . . then the rush kicks in and you’ll be screaming just for the hell of it, wishing it would never end. You’ll beg to do it again, and again, your body craving the moments like it craves air.”

  I turned my head just enough to look him in the eye. “Are you still talking about zip-lining?”

  His eyes went wide and innocent. “What else would I be talking about?”

  “Well—”

  Jet took that moment, with me distracted, to step forward off the ledge, sending us out into open air. I screamed and snapped my eyes shut as our bodies hurtled forward.

  “Look around you, Spitfire.”

  I reluctantly did as he said, seeing as this was the only time I’d ever go zeeplining. Opening my eyes a sliver, I gasped. The wind made my eyes water and the speed made my fingers curl into Jet’s upper thighs. The view was stunning and while we were moving fast, I could see so much from here, even the ocean sparkling like a sea of diamonds in the distance. A panorama of beauty and nature I would never have thought possible.

  “This is amazing!”

  “Scream for me, Spitfire.” He whispered right into my ear and the hot curl of desire trickled from his breath down my spine. But his lips never touched me, didn’t make a move toward my earlobe even. Friends, we could do this, I could pretend.

  I leaned my head back and let out a scream, then lifted my arms above my head as I screeched into the wind, feeling a total sense of abandon. Jet put his arm around my waist. “All right, Spitfire. You’ve got some lungs on you, beautiful.”

  Laughing at him, I stared out into the beauty around us. Had I been wrong all these years? How much had I missed out on because I’d been afraid of the ‘what ifs’ I couldn’t control?

  The laughter left me in a rush of realization; Jet’s arm tightened around me in response. “You okay? You didn’t pass out on me, did you?”

  “No, I just . . . I was just thinking.”

  We slowed, the lower platform we would land on at the end of our run came into view, and I finally lifted my camera to get off a few shots. The guide on that end helped us down, and unhooked me and Jet, but I shimmied out of the harness before anyone could help me with it.

  “Hey, slow down. Lunch is waiting for us,” Jet said, hopping on one foot to get out of the harness.

  I swallowed hard, finding it difficult to get past the lump in my throat. All these stupid years I’d been hiding behind my camera, too afraid. Now I was with the one person who was afraid of nothing, and could finally see what I’d been missing—but I was still afraid to take the leap, to chance my life on anything.

  Well screw that.

  It wasn’t hard to smile up at Jet as he made his way beside me. “Hey, that was amazing,” I said. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

  He air kissed at me, like blowing a kiss without using his hand. On impulse, I did the same back at him. “That doesn’t count. It’s not a real kiss.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Besides, I kiss at my friends like that all the time.”

  I punched him lightly on his arm, “Oh, sure, I could totally see you and Hugh blowing kisses at each other. Do you help him shave his legs, too?”

  His voice grew husky. “If I did, would that mean I’d get to help you shave yours?”

  I grabbed the top rung of the ladder that would take us off the platform and got a few steps down before looking up and giving him a wink. “I don’t shave, I wax. Keeps the skin smooth from my ankles all the way to the top.”

  He sucked in a sharp breath and with a speed I’d only employed in the past when Ryan was chasing me, I scrambled down the ladder. Jet followed at a much slower pace, not chasing me at all. Which a part of me reminded my heart was a good thing.

  We had lunch, laughing and talking over the food with the other tourists, and then took a cab back into the main town. Before we went back to the set for Jet’s shoot, we stopped at my hotel and I changed out of my sexy green lingerie and into my black and white bikini. This time I changed in the bathroom, away from any extra temptations.

  Shimmying into my clothes for the second time, I caught a glimpse of myself in the smoky mirror. It showed me a very different girl than the one who’d flown here just a few days ago.

  For the first time, there was light in my eyes, the shadows of grief dispelled with laughter and the touches of a man I shouldn’t be falling for. Putting my hands on the counter, I leaned closer, my breath fogging the mirror. “Falling for” was an understatement. I had fallen and it was only a matter of time before something terrible happened. But until that moment, I would live my life as if I didn’t believe fate would throw me a twist for once. As if I believed the lies my parents had told me growing up, that my life would be okay, no matter what happened. At least while I was in Mexico, I could pretend I was someone else, a braver girl who could throw caution to the wind. At least, a little bit.

  Jet worked on set for the afternoon and I watched, made myself see that although it looked dangerous, it wasn’t really that bad. There were lots of mats for the stuntmen to land on, a huge crew whose only job was to make sure the stuntmen were safe. And of course, Reggie, who seemed to be part mentor, part boss, and part father to the stuntmen on set. He barked and ordered his people about, a cigarette dangling from his lips that bobbed as he spoke. There was actually a lot less danger than I’d originally assumed. Lots could go wrong, but it wasn’t the free for all I’d thought it was.

  As the scene prepped, I made my way next to Rodney where I was well out of the camera’s way. Rodney assured me Elise was tucked away in a mental institute, and her family was on their way to take her home.

  “That’s so sad,” I said. “To be so confused by everything around you, to not be able to live in reality. She must have been scared a lot of the time, I bet.”

  The young director shrugged. “Lots of crazies in this business, you’ll see that the longer you’re here. Beauty and crazy often go together. Present company excluded, of course.” Rodney tapped his fingers on the edge of his chair. “So you and Jet are an item now?”

  “Oh, no. Just friends,” I said, lifting my camera to get a shot of the scene behind the scene.

  “That’s good. You and me, dinner, tonight at eight. I’ll send a limo to pick you up at your hotel. And wear something sexy, none of this low key stuff you’ve been wearing around here.”

  Before I could answer, he got out of his chair and strode across the set, barking an order at Reggie and another member of the stunt crew.

  What the hell was that? Did he really just say what I think he did? Crap, I was going to have to nip this in the bud. I strode after Rodney, catching up to him just as Hugh and Jet joined the small group of me
n.

  “Excuse me, Rodney.” I tapped him on the shoulder.

  “I’m working here, baby.”

  Stunned surprise turned into a full on belly laugh. “You did not just call me baby, did you?”

  Jet’s brows dropped dangerously low over his eyes, but it was the stillness of the crowd that should have warned me to ease off.

  I moved to stand in front of Rodney, my back to Jet. “You’d better get something very clear in your head. You did not ask me to dinner, you ordered me. Neither of which will get you the pleasure of my company. Ever. And if that’s the way you treat and talk to women, I can see clearly why you’re single.” I paused. “And if that wasn’t clear enough, let me make sure you understand. I’m not going to dinner with you.”

  His face slowly tightened, jaw twitching. “Get off my set, you snotty little bitch.”

  “Gladly.” I spun on my heel. A slow steady clap began from behind me, and in a matter of moments the whole crew was clapping and cheering. Good grief, I’d caused a rebellion.

  “You apologize to her, right now.” Jet’s voice carried to me and I turned around, my mouth dropping open.

  Jet had Rodney by the collar and was holding him a good foot off the ground.

  “I said, apologize to her.”

  Rodney spit at Jet. “You will never get a job again.”

  “APOLOGIZE!”

  The crowd went even more still, the group stepping back with some unspoken understanding that it was about to get ugly. I ran back, camera cradled tight against me, and put a hand on Jet’s arm, feeling his muscles shake from holding Rodney up, almost to his eye level. “Just breathe. He’s a prick, that isn’t something I haven’t dealt with before.”

  With a huff, Jet dropped Rodney and the director sprawled out on the ground, rolling to one side in order to get up.

  “Never, you will NEVER work in this business again.”