True Heart: A Red Hot Winter Story

by Delilah Devlin

  “I don’t want you to leave. Not ever.”

  Her lips parted. Her eyes filled. “It’s crazy, you know that? How fast this is happening.”

  True had enough of the distance, even if she was snuggled up to his side. He pulled her over his body until they were perfectly aligned.

  Honey rested her chin on her hands. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  “I’m not thinkin’. I’m already there.”

  A tear slipped down one cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. “I’m not an easy man.”

  “You’ve said that before and you still don’t scare me.”

  True tucked his hands under her arms and pulled her higher. Their mouths met in a slow, steamy kiss.

  When they drew apart she was smiling and her eyes held a wicked glint.

  “What’s going through your mind?”

  “Ways to keep my dirty mouth busy.”

  He laughed and felt a blush flood his cheeks.

  Honey’s chuckles didn’t stop. They gusted against his chest and then his belly as she disappeared beneath the covers. As her hot, dirty mouth went to work on warming the parts of him she seemed to like best, he lay smiling at the ceiling, wondering just when he’d let his control slip—for he’d ceded it completely to the woman mouthing his shaft. He might bluster and shout. And he was sure he’d have to take a firm hand to her backside now and then, only because she’d demand it, but he was pretty sure he knew exactly who’d rule this roost. Not that he would complain.

  He wouldn’t mind that she probably couldn’t cook, didn’t know how to stoke a furnace, or that he was going to have to follow her up slippery stairs for the rest of their lives.

  Honey Cahill was the cure for his loneliness. A ray of the sweetest, brightest sunshine. He smiled at the flowery language and wondered if she might be rubbing off on him.

  A slim, warm hand stroked his sex, coaxing it to lift and thicken. A wicked, hot tongue laved his balls and shaft. He reached beneath the blankets, sank his fingers in her hair and guided her over the tip. Only when she sank her mouth on him and began to suck could he find the words to express what she gave him.

  Her pure, true heart.

  About the Author

  Until recently, award-winning erotica and romance author Delilah Devlin lived in South Texas at the intersection of two dry creeks, surrounded by sexy cowboys in Wranglers. These days, she’s missing the wide-open skies and starry nights but loving her dark forest in Central Arkansas, with its eccentric characters and isolation—the better to feed her hungry muse! For Delilah, the greatest sin is driving between the lines, because it’s comfortable and safe. Her personal journey has taken her through one war and many countries, cultures, jobs, and relationships to bring her to the place where she is now—writing sexy adventures that hold more than a kernel of autobiography and often share a common thread of self-discovery and transformation.

  To learn more about Delilah Devlin, please visit www.delilahdevlin.com. Send an email to delilah@delilahdevlin.com or join her Yahoo! group to enter in the fun with other readers as well as Delilah: DelilahsDiary@yahoogroups.com

  Look for these titles by Delilah Devlin

  Now Available:

  Saddled

  Stone’s Embrace

  Unbridled

  Unforgiven

  Four Sworn

  Breaking Leather

  Guilty pleasures can heat the coldest winter night…

  Winter Fire

  © 2010 Jess Dee

  A Red Hot Winter Story

  There’s never been any question in Rachel Ashberg’s mind. Jackson Brooks is the one, and they both know it. The problem? Thanks to his unbreakable rule—never date his twin sister’s friends—he’s completely off-limits. Even if they can’t imagine being with anyone else.

  It’s been over two years since their last encounter, when they gave in—just once—to their passion. Now, as the Brooks twins’ milestone birthday approaches, Rachel and Jackson are about to meet again at a gorgeously mountain resort. Needing something to take the edge off the desire that has never faded, she indulges in a fling with sexy stranger Garreth Halt. He even makes her forget Jackson for a while. Or…maybe not.

  When she mentions Jackson’s name in passing, Garreth picks up on all the hidden undertones in her voice. And he brings Jackson into their bed, if only in a fantasy they play out together. Funny thing about Garreth’s fantasies, though. Even the most improbable, impossible ones have a way of becoming reality…

  Warning: Warning: Enough heat is contained within these pages that you won’t even notice the winter cold. You might fall in love with Jackson—the real-life hero, determined to protect his sister from further pain—but it’s the handsome stranger, Garreth, who’ll take your breath away.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Winter Fire:

  “It’s good to escape from the city for a while though. Isn’t it beautiful here?”

  He grinned at her. “Let’s just say the mountains became a whole lot more interesting in the last few minutes…”

  She laughed out loud. “You really are flirting, aren’t you?” And was she ever responding. A tingling awareness flowed through her, an open recognition of the energy that crackled between them.

  “Is it working?” he drawled earnestly.

  She pretended to think about her answer. No need for him to know just yet that her belly was already quivering in anticipation. “I’m not sure. Maybe you should try a little harder.”

  “You know, we could skip the flirting part altogether and head straight into heated kisses beside a roaring fire.”

  Damned if her heart didn’t miss a beat. “We could.” But she couldn’t be that easy. Could she? She and Paul had only split up six weeks ago. “Or I could read my book and pretend you’re not really here.”

  “You could.” He nodded. “But heated kisses beside a roaring fire would be a lot more entertaining for both of us.”

  Entertaining? Hell, forget the fireplace, the two of them would probably ignite flames of their own together. “For all the other hotel guests too. I bet they’d get a kick out of watching.”

  Humor sparkled in his eyes, and something else. Desire? Hunger? Or maybe raw lust?

  Nah, the raw lust was radiating from her, not him.

  He lowered his voice. “If it’s privacy you’re wanting, there’s a fireplace in my chalet.”

  Heated kisses beside a roaring fire in the privacy of his hotel room? With a Canadian she’d never see again? A man she could spend her passion with and move on. Damn, there was very little that appealed more.

  Okay, so maybe there was something that appealed more. Jackson.

  Yeah, didn’t matter how much Jackson appealed, nothing else could ever happen between them. Not without causing Jackson’s sister untold heartache.

  “If I’d wanted privacy, I’d never have invited you to sit here,” she pointed out logically.

  “Tell me you’re not regretting the invitation?”

  She nibbled on her lower lip. “Well, you do talk a lot…”

  He shot her a purely wicked look. “Not when I’m in the middle of a heated kiss.”

  “You talk a lot about kissing.” She didn’t mind one bit.

  He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Since I first spied you in the lobby earlier.”

  “You saw me earlier?” How could she not have noticed him?

  “While I was checking in. You were on your way out. Dressed for a blizzard I might add.”

  He’d noticed her attire? “I went for a walk. It was so cold there may as well have been a blizzard brewing.”

  He shook his head. “You Australians have no idea about cold and blizzards.”

  She let her gaze slide away from his face and down to his chest and shoulders. “We have no idea? Mate, you’re wearing a T-shirt.” A T-shirt he filled out beautifully. It hugged his broad shoulders and ended halfway down his upper arms, showcasing muscled biceps and golden fle
sh. “It’s three degrees Celsius out there, the mercury’s plummeting, and you’re wearing a T-shirt.”

  “We’re indoors. There’s a fire. It’s warm.”

  Was he nuts? “It’s warm here and now. But the sun’s going down. Soon as it sets, the temperature will drop below freezing.”

  “Not a prob. I have a sweater for when I go out.”

  “A sweater?” One sweater? She had two jackets, an assortment of jumpers, three sweaters and a cardigan—and those were just for a three-day trip.

  “It’s enough.”

  “You’re crazy.” Gorgeous, ridiculously sexy and crazy.

  “You’re cold?”

  “I’m always cold in winter.” God, she missed the sun-drenched days of summer.

  “You know, in Canada we have a brilliant system for keeping warm.”

  “Ducted heating. I know.”

  “Actually, I was talking about sex.”

  His answer was so unexpected she laughed out loud. “Sex, huh?” Dear Lord, she wanted to keep warm with Garreth, Canadian style. For sure it would take her mind off Jackson’s imminent arrival—and their checkered past. “Nope, sorry. We don’t have sex in Australia.”

  He looked aghast. “Not even in the Blue Mountains?”

  “Especially not in the Blue Mountains.”

  He nodded gravely. “Ah. That’s a damn pity.”

  “Don’t let it worry you. You’re going back to Toronto in a couple of weeks. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of sex then—even if it is summer and there won’t be any need to keep warm.”

  “Maybe, but I was hoping to have sex with you, here in the Blue Mountains.”

  Again she laughed, enjoying his witty repartee. Enjoying it almost as much as she enjoyed the tantalizing sparks that flickered between them. “Would you settle for a drink by the fireplace?”

  He considered her question. “Depends which fireplace.”

  “This one, right here.”

  “How about the one in my room?”

  She shook her head. “Nah. Too risky. I might have to fend off your heated kisses.” Yeah, right. If anything, he’d be the one fending her off. The longer they chatted, the more appetizing his lips became.

  He grinned devilishly. “No might about it. Another red wine?” He motioned to her empty glass before signaling to a waiter.

  She nodded and he ordered wine for her and a scotch for himself. “So, Rachel,” he said as soon as the waiter had left, “what is it you do when you’re not seducing men into kissing you beside roaring fires?”

  For a couple of seconds she hesitated to tell him. If he knew about her job, she’d lose some of her anonymity. And if she were to entertain ideas about kissing Garreth beside the fire, she knew she’d have to maintain that sense of them being strangers. A fling appealed no end. A brief affair with a stranger to take the edge off before Jackson arrived. A little something to distract her from her obsessions about the man she could never have.

  A one-night stand.

  Garreth was the perfect stranger. Gorgeous, charming and sexy to boot. He’d be a perfect distraction. Exactly what she needed.

  But then she forged ahead. She’d never see Garreth again after tonight. He lived on another continent. What could it hurt to tell him a few things about herself?

  Two men, one woman, one momentous dare

  Triple Dare

  © 2010 Lexxie Couper

  Serious and determined, Joseph Hudson isn’t Australia’s businessman of the year for nothing. So now he’s asking himself, how did he get himself lost on the side of a mountain in the Colorado Rockies—in the middle of winter—with night fast approaching? Three simple words. I dare you.

  Fear isn't in Rob Thorton's vocabulary. Life is for the taking, and Rob uses both hands. Challenging his best mate to take an impromptu snowboarding trip to the U.S. is just the latest in a lifetime of dares. Besides, he has an ulterior motive for the trip. And a plan…

  Park Ranger Anna McCarthy knows what trouble looks like, and it’s written all over the two Aussies she first encounters in the ski lodge. Instinct has her following them onto the mountain, and sure enough, they end up needing her winter survival expertise. But not even her skills can stop her body from responding to the sexy muscles she finds beneath their ski suits.

  Stuck in a remote cabin until the storm passes, the temperatures rise until all bets are off. And a double dare turns into a triple threat—to their hearts.

  Warning: Contains lots of scorching boy-on-girl-on-boy action, a heroine who knows what she wants and two sexy-arsed Australian heroes to really work up a sweat over. Oh, and a soul-deep love story with a revelation that may make you cry.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Triple Dare:

  “So, you’re the one with the money.”

  Her question, delivered in the form of a statement, sent a rush of warmth to his face. He hated talking about his money. True, he had a lot of it, a bloody lot of it, but it didn’t define him.

  “And Rob is the one without the sense,” she finished, the smile on her lips curling wider. She titled her head to the side, crossing her ankles in front of her. “Yeah, I can see that.”

  Despite himself, Joseph grinned. His cock lurched again in his trousers, enjoying their tête-à-tête almost as much as he was. He liked her dry wit. And her accent. A drawling caress of vowels and consonants that made him wish she’d say his name.

  “I guess I should ask your name,” he said, removing his own gloves and shoving them into his back pocket. “I should at least know who to address the thank you card to.”

  She laughed again, and Joseph decided there and then he could seriously become addicted to the soft, throaty sound. “Anna McCarthy. Your local saver of lost Australian lunatics, yeah, that’s me.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “All Australian lunatics? Do you get many here?”

  Her direct grey gaze leveled on his face, a small smile playing with her lips. Lips he wanted to kiss. Soon. Real soon. “No, you’re my first. But depending how it goes tonight, I might have to find some more to save.”

  A low growl rumbled in Joseph’s chest at the idea of Anna McCarthy saving any other Australians but himself. “Hmm,” he said, “I think you’ll find saving Aussies is an exhausting, sweaty business.”

  She cocked her own eyebrow, the finely arched line of dark blonde hair moving up her forehead with smooth ease. “Is it now? Then perhaps I should take it slow to start with? Saving too hard and too quickly at this altitude could be hazardous to my health, is that what you’re saying?”

  Pulse pounding in his ear, dick so hard he thought it was about to explode, he held her gaze with his own. “Too hard and too fast definitely not the way to begin. Slowly, steadily. An exploration of the terrain, followed by a well-executed penetration of the area, that’s the way to begin when saving an Aussie.”

  Her lips parted and Joseph could see the ragged way she drew breath into her body. “Then after the beginning it gets hard?”

  He unzipped his jacket and shucked it off, placing it on the seat beside him as he took a step closer to her. “It’s already hard. Very hard.”

  She swallowed. “Hard is good. I’m always up for a challenge. It’s why I like saving Aussies so much.”

  “Glad to hear that,” Rob said, stepping into the cabin and swinging the door shut behind him. He looked at them both over the armful of broken branches and twigs he held against his chest. “Wait. We’re talking about sex, aren’t we?”

  Anna held her breath, trying—in vain, she realized—to slow her heart rate down to something close to normal. Her pussy throbbed and pulsed and generally carried on in the most disturbing of ways, telling her in no uncertain terms she was horny. Damn horny.

  She swallowed again, her mouth dry, her throat thick. The sexual tension mounting between her and Joseph Hudson hadn’t abated a bit with Rob’s unexpected arrival. No, to the contrary, the moment he’d entered the cabin and made his presence known, she’d almost come there and
then.

  She studied both of them, knowing one of them was going to make the first move.

  Joseph.

  Her gaze slid to the taller man, her pulse quickening when she looked at him. Damn, he was stunning. He made Brad Pitt look ugly. Not just tall and lean, but broad shouldered and slightly scruffy, the bristles on his jaw and chin adding to the overall charm, the messy tumble of sandy-blond hair falling over his forehead heightening that charm until the crotch of her panties were sodden.

  Oh boy, Anna. You got it bad already.

  The loud thud of branches hitting the floor made her start, and she blinked, her gaze snapping to Rob just in time to see him remove his gloves and step over the pile of dead wood at his feet to close the distance between them. “Let me begin to show our appreciation for saving us,” he said, his fingers skimming her cheek as he cupped her jaw in his hand.

  A flutter of disappointment danced in her belly for a brief moment, like a hundred butterflies had suddenly taken flight, but she forgot it as soon as Rob’s lips brushed hers.

  The kiss was gentle and yet, at the same time electric. His breath mingled with hers, the tip of his tongue touching the inner edge of her bottom lip, a slow caress charting a path deeper into her mouth.

  She parted her lips, meeting his tongue with hers, her nipples growing hard, her pulse racing away from her.

  Oh…

  She’d been kissed before. Many times, in fact. As far as looks go, she knew she’d been generously smiled upon. But there was something about the Australian’s kiss…a delicate passion she hadn’t expected. Almost sad.

  The notion made her heart quicken. She moaned, the sound vibrating softly in her throat only to be swallowed by Rob’s kiss.

  He slid his hands up into her hair, his fingers tangling in the strands, her ponytail preventing him from doing anything more than hold her head. It didn’t matter. At this point, the feel of his lips on hers, his tongue on hers, was enough to make her pussy weep.

  “Ah, fuck.”