The Seduction of Arabella Quinn

by Caryn Carter

  Like put clean sheets on the bed. Check the linen closet to be sure there were enough bath towels. Clean the head. Stock the refrigerator with enough food and wine so there'd be no excuse to leave for two whole days.

  He wanted no interruptions, no interference of any kind to cut into the time he and Bella had carved out for themselves. This weekend was theirs. They'd both earned it. Especially Bella.

  Not only had she been forced to endure a terrifying ride captive to a man she had once planned to marry, but she had watched him die at her feet.

  The only thing she had kept repeating later that night, when the initial shock of everything had begun to wear off, was that she hadn't yet told him she loved him more than anything in the world.

  And, oh yes, she needed to hear him clarify the 'maybe' of his love for her.

  Silly woman. He had fallen in love with her the first night they met.

  He looked over at her now, bundled in her London Fog, her face silhouetted in the darkness, the matching rain hat pulled low on her brow, making her look like a female James Bond. A very sexy, female Bond.

  As they stepped onto the pier, a gust of wind, heralding an unseasonably early cool front that was quickly moving in, caused Bella to shiver and pull the raincoat closer around her.

  "Cold?" Nick asked. He found the chilly wind invigorating. Hot as he was for her tonight, an iceberg wouldn't cool him off. The word cool wasn't even in his vocabulary this weekend.

  For the past week, they'd had to limit their visits with each other mainly to phone conversations. He'd been grateful for the few times he'd been able to see her long enough to give her a hug and a quick kiss.

  Each of them had independently made a few trips to the police station in the past seven days to help with the reports and to answer all the questions the police had for them. Bella also had visits to the hospital and her mother's recovery to handle and he'd had to deal with the total confusion of the business and the medical arrangements for Gloria. At the moment, he was thinking of anything but cooling off.

  "I am a little cold," Bella said, in answer to his question, "I didn't realize it was going to be so nippy. Good thing I don't have far to walk."

  They were close to the end of the pier by then, getting ready to step on board, when Bella stopped abruptly.

  "What's wrong?" Nick asked, as if he didn't know.

  "You've already changed the name."

  "Surprised?"

  "Very. Especially since my last name isn't Fuller yet."

  "It would be, except we have to wait for your mother to recuperate so she can attend the wedding." He gave her a brooding look. "You're not thinking of changing your mind, are you?" He didn't really believe that. If he had even a hint she might change her mind, he would have drowned himself on his visit here this afternoon.

  "You're not hoping I did, are you?"

  Was she kidding? He already had the names of their firstborn picked out. One for a boy. One for a girl. Of course he hadn't discussed them with her yet. Come to think of it, he hadn't even asked her if she wanted kids. He'd do that tonight. But somehow he already knew the answer would be a resounding yes.

  The rain came down harder, but they stood where they were, where it was easy to see the lettering on the side of the boat.

  "How does it look?" Nick asked.

  "I've never had a boat named after me before."

  "I've never named a boat after anyone before."

  He could swear she was sniffling. Bella crying again. Would he ever get used to the contradictions in her nature? He hoped not. That was one of the things that made her so damned irresistible.

  He stepped down to the deck first, keeping the umbrella high as he helped her board.

  By the time they reached the door to enter the main saloon, the umbrella was useless and they hurried inside, shutting the rain out and letting the warmth of the cabin seep into their bones.

  "A hot cup of tea would be wonderful about now," Bella said, as Nick snapped the umbrella shut. He snatched a magazine off the small table in front of the leather couch, spread it open on the floor in a corner and used it as a drip plate for the umbrella. Had he heard her correctly?

  Tea, to warm up? He had a hell of a lot more interesting ways than that to take her chills away. Surely she must be as anxious as he was to get things heated up. Male and female things. Body parts. Fingers and hands. Lips. Mouths. Tongues. Oh, Jesus. His brain had forgotten to tell his cock to wait. Already the first drop of unchecked desire had found its way into his new, black, Made For Love briefs.

  "Tea?" he asked, thinking surely she was jesting.

  "Or coffee if you don't have tea." She sounded serious. He watched as she took the rain hat off and shook out her curls. All that did was make him want to run his fingers through her other curly part. He blew out noisily. She didn't seem to notice.

  "I'll go look for some tea." He was going to make her pay for this. Pay dearly.

  "What's going to happen to Vince's wife?"

  Shit. Was she doing this on purpose? He sighed noisily again, but he put his own needs aside to tend to hers. She was still having a difficult time dealing with everything that had happened.

  "I'll see that she has the best medical care possible with the money she has. There's the money from the sale of Vince's business stock to me. We had that contingency written in our business agreement, thank goodness, and Vince had a decent life insurance policy. The money should last as long as she lives, which, according to Vince, is only a few more months. After that, well, I don't know. They had no children, no other family but each other."

  "How sad," Bella said, and after a breath asked him, "And how are you holding up? We haven't had much time this past week to talk about the effects of all of this on you."

  "I'm still a little dazed--and hurt. I trusted Vince as much as I would have trusted my own father. I guess that's what he counted on."

  He was still reeling from the fact that as the officer in charge of the Evidence Room, Vince had teamed up with Kevin and turned a blind eye to the shortage Kevin turned in from the drug bust for a cut of the stolen money.

  He shook his head in an attempt to shake away the still painful memory of what Vince had done. He didn't want to think about Vince tonight. He'd spent the better part of the week coming to terms emotionally with his friend's betrayal. It was time now for some R & R with the love of his life.

  And she wanted tea.

  "I'll go see about the tea," he said resignedly, "if that's what you really want."

  "Okay, but first let me get out of this wet raincoat."

  She loosened the button at her neck. Then the one below it. When she got to the belt, she hesitated. "Maybe you could slip my rain boots off first." She lifted one foot.

  "Sure." He'd do anything to put off making the damned tea.

  He slipped the boot off while she balanced herself with a hand on his shoulder. Then she lifted the other foot. She lifted it a little higher than the one before. Jesus. Was he seeing what he thought he was seeing? He lowered her foot.

  "You look a little strange, Nick. Maybe you need something stronger than tea."

  She was grinning at him now, her hands working at the belt.

  The coat opened and slipped to the floor. Linking a sultry gaze with his she draped the belt across her shoulders in an elongated V. It was the only clothing she wore.

  He took her boldness as an invitation and reached down and slipped his finger into the wet, hot, depth of her.

  When she moaned softly and tipped her head back, giving him access to her neck, he kissed his way up to her mouth and slid his tongue inside as deep as his finger was in that other slick vessel below.

  She loosened her tongue from his. "I guess I won't be needing tea after all," she said, grasping the bulge in his pants.

  "You were playing with me," Nick said, catching her neck between his teeth.

  "Was I? I'm not sure. But I am playing with you now."

  Oh boy, was she ever.
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  He ran his free hand over her body, moving aside the belt from the puckered tip of her breast so he could pluck the delicate pink bud with his fingers. She whimpered from pleasure as his other finger strummed her swollen clitoris. When she was just about to climax, he slowly withdrew his finger.

  She fell back into the curve of the arm he had slipped around her waist and he could feel the rebellion in her body as her climax ebbed. She drew her lower lip between her teeth, threw him a dirty look, then quickly replaced it with a smile as he did the fastest one hand strip since the beginning of time.

  When at last he stood before her as naked as she was, he shrugged. Two could play this game. "On second thought, a cup of coffee is beginning to sound mighty good right about now."

  She looked about ready to deck him, but must have realized what he was up to because she quickly replaced the surly frown with yet another smile that upturned her pouty lips.

  "Make up your mind. Coffee? Tea? Or me?"

  He pretended to consider the options, knowing damn well he didn't fool her one bit.

  Slowly, she slipped the belt from her shoulders, caressed its length with her fingers, draped the cool fabric around his engorged, jutting cock and fashioned a loose knot. Then, with the ends of the belt in her hand, she took a step forward, toward the stateroom. When he didn't move, she gave the belt a gentle tug and winked at him over her shoulder.

  "Coming?"

  "Not yet, but I will be in about five seconds."

  She grinned and led the way.

  He followed.

  Damn. She was some woman.

  His woman.

  Forever.

  About the Author:

  A native New Orleanian, where the weather is hot and the food, hotter, Caryn Carter likes her romance novels as spicy as her food. THE SEDUCTION OF ARABELLA QUINN is Caryn's first romantica, but she intends to write many more sizzling stories set in the steamy, deep South.

  We invite you to visit Liquid Silver Books

  http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com

  for other exciting literary erotica romances.

  Waiting For You -- Glenda Diana

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