His palms were sweaty and the collar of his black T-shirt itched. He left the show wardrobe in his dressing room two doors down, but even in his own clothes he felt…off.
Her door opened and Kat walked out. She chucked him on the chin in what Nate could only assume was girl code for “don’t break her heart.” No chance of that. As far as he was concerned, both he and Lily were off the market. For good.
“See ya later, sport. Nice job with the press corps earlier.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I know. Good job.” She continued around the corner, leaving him standing outside Lily’s door, staring at Lily’s backside. Her adorable backside.
The mini-dress and boots were gone, replaced by what he considered Lily-chic: jeans, camisole and sexy sandals. These had spiky red heels and straps that made his cock jump inside his jeans. She finished with the ankle strap and turned around, caught her breath and froze.
“Hi.” Great line, Nate. You must be a chic-magnet.
Lily offered a half wave and a whisper-soft, “Hi,” of her own.
Nate took a step inside and closed the door behind him. You are the biggest rock star on the planet, whether she loves you or not, you’ll survive. Somehow, he doubted that. Nate took a breath and stepped over the threshold into her room. “I meant it, you know. I think of us as a couple.”
She was quiet, taking him in, making that itchy feeling intensify. Nate rubbed a hand across his neck.
“I think of us as a couple because I love you. Always have. And now I’m in love with you and I don’t want you to think it’s because we got caught by that photographer after that first night. Or because us being a couple is going to keep people interested in the show. I fell in love with you over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when we were ten. And that feeling got stronger over brie and Goldfish a couple of weeks ago. I think about you when you’re off with Kat or prepping for work. I dream about you when you’re already in my arms.”
Lily was across the room a second later. She threw her arms around him and snugged her head into the space between his neck and shoulder.
“I love you, Nate Lansford. I don’t care about your rocker image or who loved who first. I care that I’m going to love you for the rest of my life.” She raised her lips to his, touching briefly and then rubbing her thumb over her mouth. “I love you, Nate Lansford. A smart, sexy man told me, not too long ago, that we’d figure out the rest as we went along. So we’ll figure out tour schedules and careers. As long as you come home to me, that’s all that matters.”
And just like that, his world was righted. On course for the first time in more years than he cared to count.
Nate pressed his lips to hers and fire ignited in his veins. He buried his hands in her hair, drinking from her mouth like a dying man. “I love you, Lily MacIntyre.”
She kissed him back, her fingers playing with the hair at his nape. The temperature in the room soared as he pushed her down onto the couch.
“I don’t think I’m going to make it home to do that temperature thing.” He talked around the kiss, nipping her lip, tasting the sensitive at her jawline. His heart sped up when his tongue encountered the hammering pulse at her neck. “You lit my fire, Lil, and the fever isn’t low-grade.”
Lily fisted her hands in his T-shirt, pulling him down on top of her. Nate wedged his knee between her thighs and allowed his lips to wander, following the plunging neckline of the camisole to the soft swells of her breasts. Lily arched her back, as if she needed more. He gave it to her.
Nate pushed the top over Lily’s breasts, liking the way her belly trembled at the touch. He lowered his head to take her breast into his mouth, tonguing her nipple as she gasped in pleasure. His free hand played her ribs down, down, until he hit denim. Nate worked the button fly quickly and sought out her heat.
She was hot, ready for him and he pushed two fingers inside as her hips bucked beneath him.
“More. Oh, God, Nate, more.” She pressed her hand to his head, anchoring him at her breast.
While his fingers caught her rhythm, he pushed his thumb up to find her clit and flicked it. Lily ground her hips against him and he quickened the motion of his hands while he switched his mouth from one breast to the other. Her body tensed, but Nate didn’t let up as the orgasm crashed over her. He pushed faster, harder with his hands until Lily’s grip loosened on his head and her body went limp.
Nate looked up, liking the sated look on her face. But he still didn’t stop. He kept up the pressure and Lily’s pupils began to dilate once more.
He removed her jeans and his own quickly, rolled a condom over his length and returned to the sofa. He pressed his finger, still slick from her heat, to her mouth and Lily licked, mewling softly as she tasted herself on him.
She scraped her nails down his chest and reached between them, guiding him to her center and Nate sank down. Deep. He kept the rhythm slow, wanting to make this moment last. In. Out. Lily kept the pace, her green eyes watching him. Inviting him in. Nate pressed his forehead to hers. Lily arched, taking him even deeper and he was lost.
With a shout Nate flew over the edge.
A long time later, his breathing even and still coiled around her on the sofa, Nate said, “I love you, Lily.”
She drew her finger over his chest and smiled. “I’ll tell you a secret.” She paused and Nate watched her closely. “I always wished the someone to fall in love with…would be you.”
He saw the honesty in her gaze and his heart beat a little faster. “Let’s go home.”
About the Author
Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crashes to fires to meetings with local police—no, she wasn’t a troublemaker, she was a journalist. Her career took her all over the United States writing about everything from a serial killer’s capture to the National Finals Rodeo. Along the way she found her very own Knight in Shining Cowboy Boots and an abiding love for romance novels. And just like the characters from her favorite books, she’s living her own happily ever after.
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoy our second collection of contemporary romance.
Summer is probably my favorite season because the bright blue skies, beautiful flowers bursting into full bloom and strains of wedding music floating on the gentle breezes give a sense that all is right with the world—and everything is possible. Even finding true love.
Well, we at Harlequin decided to flip this around. Anyone can think they’re in love in that setting. But what if it’s sleeting outside, you’re looking less than your best and stuck in a stalled car in a convenience store parking lot? Could you meet Mr. Right in that setting? Or what if you are dressed to the nines surrounded by mics on Hollywood’s red carpet? Would you even have time to pick out Mr. Right in that sea of faces? Even better yet—you’re standing over a barrel of produce in the blazing sun or over a washing machine full of dirty laundry. It’s pretty unlikely that Mr. Right is right under your nose, as well, isn’t it?
You get the picture. It doesn’t have to be a picture-perfect setting—or even romantic for that matter—for love to find you. After all, isn’t that the beauty of love? Finding Mr. Right when you least expect it.
This next set of romance stories is all about finding love in the most unlikeliest of places. I hope you enjoy this collection and all the delicious possibilities it presents as much as we loved creating it.
Best,
Ann Leslie Tuttle
Senior Editor, Harlequin E Contemporary Romance
Looking for variety, experimentation, innovation and a good quality story?
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Pride, Prejudice and Popcorn by Carrie Sessarego
Movie Bliss: A Hopeless Romantic Seeks Films to Love by He
idi Rice
Darkening Around Me by Barbara J. Hancock (April 2014)
Legacy of Darkness by Jane Godman (April 2014)
The Devil’s Eye by Dawn Brown (April 2014)
Black Rose by Jenna Ryan (April 2014)
Coming in from the Cold by Sarina Bowen (May 2014)
Maid to Fit by Rebecca M. Avery (May 2014)
Calling his Bluff by AJ Cousins (May 2014)
Baker’s Law by Denise McDonald (May 2014)
Escaping Christmas by Charlotte Ashwood
Christmas Nights with the Polo Player by Susan Stephens
And don’t miss Harlequin E’s first serial, 36 Hours, a story told in 36 parts. A pounding rainstorm hits the town of Grand Springs, Colorado, causing blackouts and mudslides. As the people of Grand Springs are forced to come together, find out who will find love, family and each other.
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eISBN: 978-1-4603-3627-4
HARLEQUIN E CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE BOX SET VOLUME 2
Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
MAID TO CRAVE
Copyright © 2014 by Paula Eby
ALL I HAVE
Copyright © 2014 by Nicole Helm
THE LAST FIRST DATE
Copyright © 2014 by Margaret Ethridge
LIGHT MY FIRE
Copyright © 2014 by Kristina Knight
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
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Harlequin E Contemporary Romance Box Set Volume 2: Maid to CraveAll I HaveThe Last First DateLight My Fire Page 50
