Twice Tempted (Holland Springs)

by Marquita Valentine

  ***

  The ride into the backwoods town of Holland Springs wasn’t as bad as he thought. It was worse. Every pothole and bump served to remind him of how his new motto of “Just say no” got the living hell beat out of him.

  However, there were just some things a man didn’t do. Like be a sperm donor for some eighty-year-old nutter with a twenty-year-old trophy wife because he needed an heir for his empire. No matter how painful the consequences.

  Now that he’d been properly punished, he’d get some time off before his uncle tried to persuade Sasha to his way of thinking again. And next time, Sasha knew, Vladimir would pull out the big guns.

  “I need to change, and you need a shower,” Rose said, wrinkling her nose as she parked the Jeep behind her store. “There’s a bathroom on the second floor you can use. The store used to be a house. One of its former owners remodeled it and put a studio apartment upstairs. We mainly use it for storage.”

  “You can wash me up next time, dear.” He gave her a suggestive smile and tried to wiggle his brows, but it hurt too damn much to follow through. Moving his shoulder experimentally, he opened the door and braced for a sharp pain, but there was only a dull ache.

  She had propped open the back door by the time he managed to get out of her Jeep. Exhausted, he waited for her to come to him, her sweet body his personal rock of Gibraltar.

  “Lean on me.”

  Lean on her? He wanted to crawl all over her, caress every curve and take her to bed. “Give me a year or two thousand.”

  “It’s only a few steps,” she coaxed. “You can do it.”

  Eventually, they made it up the stairs and to the bathroom. He leaned against the wall as she prepared the shower and brought in a chair from the other room.

  “Thought you might need this.” She stood there, one hand on the chair and the other at the base of her throat.

  He sank down in it gratefully, almost too weary to undress himself. But pride made him shoo her from the room, then he texted his uncle and got a reply a few second later. He had forty-five minutes to be ready. Quicker than Sasha thought it would be.

  Grimacing, he made his fingers work the buttons of his shirt and pants. Getting his damn trousers off was the hardest part and he almost asked Rose to help him.

  “I need to go get you some clothes. I’ll be right back, okay?” she called out as he stepped into the tub, one agonizing limb at a time.

  “Brilliant.” Hot water hit his face, making the cut on his lip sting. He stood under the shower head until it become a dull throb. Until his battered and bruised body began to relax. He must have fallen asleep standing up, because the next thing he knew, Rose was calling his name and his eyes popped open.

  “Sasha?”

  “I’m fine, Rose.”

  He didn’t sound fine, Rose thought as she peeled off her muddy clothes and shoved them in a plastic grocery bag. She dropped the bag by the door to the stairs and shivered in the air-conditioning. Quickly dressing in the middle of the makeshift storage room, she pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a green t-shirt she’d found in the back of her jeep, not quite sure what do with the very naked man showering only a few feet away.

  “Rosebud, I need you,” he yelled at the same time she heard a loud thunk.

  Throwing open the bathroom door, she skidded to a halt when she saw his wavy outline through the shower curtain. She placed a hand on her chest. “Good grief, I thought you fell.”

  He slid the curtain to one side, a mischievous grin on his gorgeous face. “I dropped the soap. Care to get it for me?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Pick it up yourself.”

  “Didn’t you need to take a shower, too?”

  “No.”

  “You had mud all over your very nice bottom,” he pointed out, the compliment making her flush.

  “I changed.”

  “Shame, I was so looking forward to you joining me,” Sasha said as he bent over to pick up the bar of homemade soap. He stood, propping himself against the window above the clawfoot tub and gingerly moved the soap over his skin. Steaming hot water ran down his body, washing away the suds, blood and grime, revealing his lean, muscular form. The large cross tattoo on his bicep contracted and expanded with his movements. Gold nipple rings flashed in the morning sun.

  Heat flared in the pit of her stomach. She’d kissed those rings. Put her lips around them and tickled his nipples with her tongue. She whirled around to face the sink. And the conveniently placed mirror above it.

  “Generally, I shower alone.” Generally…Really, couldn’t she have just said I always shower alone or—better still—remained silent?

  He raised his brows, a slight smile at his lips. “And the other times?”

  “It’s none of your business.”

  “Smart woman to play it close to the vest. I’ve always loved an intelligent female.”

  “You love women—period.”

  He turned, giving her a full view of his tight bum and she ogled him in the mirror. Most of what she’d thought to be bruises on his body turned out to be dried mud, but all the shallow cuts needed to be treated.

  “Like the view?”

  Yes! She wanted to lick him up one side and down the other. “I’m only making sure you don’t pass out. Do you know how hard it is to get blood stains out of woven rugs?”

  “Your concern is heartwarming,” he drawled.

  “Just hurry up. I’ve got other things to do.” She crossed her arms. Apparently, it was her go-to gesture of the day.

  “It was your idea, remember?” Their eyes met in the mirror and he chuckled when she looked away, the sound making her heart flip. “I think you like watching me.”

  “I think you like being watched,” she grumbled.

  “By you? Absolutely.”

  She rolled her eyes. A small pot of ointment containing calendula flowers and almond oil sat on the edge of the sink. It was one of Carolina Dreams’ biggest sellers for the men and women who worked two towns over at the paper mill. They swore by its healing properties.

  He turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping a towel around his lean hips. “You can towel me off if you’d like,” he said, peering through his lashes at her and making her fingers itch to do just that.

  Did he ever quit being so…him? “I’d like for you to hurry up.”

  “Repetition is a sign of distraction, you know.”

  “Sit.” She pointed to the chair she’d brought in earlier.

  He gave her a lazy smile, doing as she asked. “I’m ready for your tender ministrations.”

  She grabbed the small jar, determined to approach him in a completely clinical manner. “Tristan—Dr. Reed gave me some clothes and a pair of shoes for you to change into. He said you could keep them.”

  “Boyfriend?” His mouth flattened.

  “Nice guy.” Rose stepped closer and applied the lightly scented ointment to his shoulders first, following the lines and contours of sinew. He was pure muscle, smooth skin over iron. She wanted to touch him everywhere he didn’t need the ointment. She traced the cross tattoo on his bicep. The broad planes of his back were next. After reapplying more ointment, she gently kneaded it in, and he made small sounds of pleasure. She took her time, rubbing and kneading from left to right. Up, then down.

  But she knew she’d eventually have to face him. She peeked over his shoulder. His hands were clenched into two fists and rested on his muscular thighs. Her eyes widened when she saw the outline of his very large erection under the towel.

  Swallowing, she rubbed harder.

  “Nails, love, watch your nails,” he grunted. He bent over slightly and put his hands in his lap.

  “Sorry.” Taking a deep breath, she walked around to the front of the chair. She expected a flip remark or even a smug grin, but he remained utterly silent and wore a serious expression as she positioned herself between his legs.

  The first pass over his chest had her blood racing through her veins. On the second, her kn
uckles skimmed one of his nipple rings and her blood turned to molasses. Nothing could stop her from touching him again. Her fingers lightly stroked his chest. A soft dusting of toffee colored hair tickled her skin as she traced the ever narrowing trail that disappeared under…Her hand froze. She looked away, willing herself to leave the room. Or even step away from him.

  But she couldn’t move. The realization that his large hand had clamped around her wrist hit her and she almost dropped the jar. “Did my nails get you again?” she managed to ask, her voice hoarse.

  “No,” he said thickly, “I can manage from here.” He plucked the jar from her hand, and she ventured a glance at his face. His cheeks were flushed and his nostrils flared slightly. His talented tongue licked at his bottom lip.

  She inched closer, wanting to kiss that full bottom lip. To take it between her teeth and tug.

  “You can go now, Rose,” he said, breaking the spell she was under.

  Somehow she managed to straighten and walk out of the bathroom without looking back.

  Fifteen minutes later, she was helping him down the stairs and to the back door.

  “Be sure to thank your doctor friend for the clothes and shoes,” Sasha said as he held the door open for her. Dismissing her help with a shake of his head, he limped only slightly to the sidewalk.

  Despite the grimace of pain he didn’t mask quickly enough from her view, Rose knew better than to feel sorry for him.

  He cursed and leaned over, resting his hands on his thighs for a moment before standing and turning to face her. The lines around his mouth were white. Well, maybe she felt a tiny bit sorry for him. “Here’s your phone.” She held it out and he grabbed it, sliding the cell into the back pocket of his borrowed jeans.

  “Amazing how my mobile made it through the, er, row I was in.”

  A black Mercedes idled at a discreet distance, but in the small town of Holland Springs an unfamiliar and expensive car at any distance warranted gossip.

  He took her by the hand, his eyes mysterious and compelling. “I know this is a month too late, however, I want to apologize, Rose. You deserved better than silent treatment I gave you. It was rude and uncalled for. I—”

  “Just the silent treatment?” She cocked her head to one side.

  His jaw worked for a moment. “No, I’m sorry for ending our date so abruptly. But I won’t apologize for what happened before then. I enjoyed spending time with you. It was…” His eyes shifted, looking behind her and becoming hard as olivine gemstones. “Anyway, you’re an extremely generous woman to help me.”

  She might have helped him, but she wasn’t ready to forgive. Or forget. “I would have helped anyone in that situation.”

  He gave her a wry smile and his thumb stroked the pulse of her wrist with a lazy glide. “So, this is good-bye.”

  “You won’t be coming back?”

  “I think two holidays spent in Holland Springs is enough, don't you?” He winked.

  “Have a safe trip.” She gently tugged her hand away and left him standing there. She walked inside her store, closing the door and leaning against it, her heart pounding in her chest. Blowing out a breath, she nodded once and sank to the floor, the dissipation of adrenaline leaving her body limp.

  It really was for the best that he wouldn’t be back. No more surprise visits or using his siren’s voice to ensnare her like she was one of those sea-faring sailors of yore. No more spontaneous dates or kissing, or…She let out a heavy sigh.

  Sasha Romanov was completely out of her life. For good.

  Excerpt from Third Time’s a Charm Copyright © 2012 by Marquita Valentine

  MARQUITA VALENTINE writes small town romances that are anything but small. Lisa Kleypas, Carly Phillips and Rachel Gibson are her favorite contemporary authors. Marquita met her husband aka Hot Builder at Sonic when they were in high school. She suggests this location to all of her single friends in search of a good man -- and if that doesn't work, they can console themselves with cheesy tatertots. She lives in North Carolina in a very, very small town with Hot Builder and their two children.

  She loves hearing from her fans. Please email her at marquita.valentine@yahoo.com. You can also find Marquita all over the internet:

  Website: http://marquitavalentine.blogspot.com/

  Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15730301-twice-tempted

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMarquitaValentine

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/marquitaval

  Blog: http://ladyscribes.blogspot.com/

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  C hapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  C hapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty- Seven

  Ch apter Twenty-Eight

  C hapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  C hapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Epilogue