Desmond didn’t flinch at her foul language.
What he did was remove his sunglasses and lower his head closer to hers.
Jess caught her breath. Her pussy contracted again. Her heart continued its attempt to break free of her body via her throat.
Oh god, his eyes. They were…they were…who had eyes so blue? So—
“That’s not the situation I’m referring to, Captain,” he said, an enigmatic light burning in those eyes of his as he bent his head even closer to hers. Close enough for her to see the indigo flecks in the mesmerizing arctic-ice blue of his irises. Close enough for her to feel the soft kiss of his warm breath on her lips. “And you know it.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” She swallowed, incapable of tearing her stare from his. Or putting more distance between them with a simple backward step. In the junction of her thighs an exquisite, traitorous heat began to bloom. Bloom and throb and pulse and grow impatient with wanton greed.
“The way I see it,” he said, his smooth poise driving her crazy with both lust and furious irritation, “you’re behaving this way towards me for one of three reasons: one, you despise me because of who my father was; two, you feel professionally threatened by the very fact I’m here; or three, every fibre in your body wants to surrender to what you are so desperately trying to deny right now. And I would lay my very sizeable income on it being option three.”
Jess stared up at him. A maelstrom of insane emotions broiled inside her.
Lust.
Hate.
Contempt.
Hunger.
Frustration.
Want.
Need.
Desire.
Submission.
“Y-you…” She stopped. Licked her dry lips. Swallowed. “You really are a conceited wanker, aren’t you?”
The insult fell from her in a rasping whisper.
Her belly churned. Her pussy fluttered.
Desmond’s lips curled in a slow, arrogant smile. “And yet, there’s something you really want to do to me now, isn’t there?”
Jess’s breath stuck in her throat. An image of them both utterly naked and dripping in sweat flashed through her head. Desmond was pinning her wrists to a wall with one hand as he yanked her leg up beside his hip, pumping deep and hard inside her with long, powerful thrusts.
A soft whimper escaped her at the thought.
Desmond’s pupils dilated at the sound. His nostrils flared. He held her imprisoned with his blue gaze, not moving, not drawing closer to her or touching her in any way. Just holding her with the potent force of his stare.
And the dominating hunger in his eyes. “Isn’t there, Captain Montgomery?”
Oh god. Oh god oh god oh—
“Submit to it,” he murmured, his voice a smooth caress, like velvet and whiskey and everything male she’d ever fantasied about. “Do what you want to do and do it now.”
“And if what I want is to knee you in the balls?” she whispered, even as her breasts grew heavier with the need to be touched…sucked.
“It isn’t.”
“What do you think I want to do, Des?”
His nostrils flared again. “Kiss me.”
Her pulse pounded in her ears. Her sex throbbed in perfect harmony, a rhythm of undeniable, wanton desire.
And surrender.
Oh god, was she really going to—
“Kiss me, Captain.”
It was the raw urgency she heard in his voice that undid her.
Before she could question her sanity, she gave herself over to the elemental desire searing through her. Surrendered to the unexpected need he awoke in her.
Submitted to it.
And kissed him.
Note from Lexxie
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About Lexxie
Award-winning romance author Lexxie Couper started writing when she was six, and hasn't stopped since. She's not a deviant, but she does have a deviant's imagination, and a desire to entertain readers with her words. Add the two together and you get erotic romances that can make you laugh, cry, shake with fear, or tremble with desire…sometimes all at once.
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eBooks by Lexxie Couper
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http://www.lexxiecouper.com
Stimulated, a Contemporary Romance series
1. Blowing It Off
2. Revving It Up
3. Switching It On
4. Plugging It In
Dangerous Desire, an Erotic Contemporary Romance series
1. The Bad Boy Next Door
2. The Good Girl In My Bed
3. The Bad Boy In Cuffs
Farpoint Creek Cattle Station
1. Outback Princess
2. Outback Cowboy
3. Outback Master
4. Outback Lovers
Heart of Fame, a Contemporary Romance series
4.5. Compliance
5.5. A Single Knight
9. Balls Up
10. Lust’s Rhythm
Outback Skies, a Contemporary Romance series
1. Bound By You
2. Breathless for You
3. Burn for You
4. Bare for You
5. Better With You
The Boundaries, a Science Fiction Romance series
1. Assassin
2. Agent
3. Animal
Spaceport Mercy, An Erotic Science Fiction Romance series
1. Highest Bidder
2. Deadly Pleasure
Savage Australis, a Paranormal Romance series
1. Savage Retribution
Fire Mates, a Paranormal Romantic Suspense series
1. Sera’s Dragon
2. How to Love Your Dragon
3. Tigress and the Dragon
4. Scorched Desire
Stand-Alone Titles
The Stone's Soul
Shadow Whispers
Copping a Feel
Kat and Mouse
Lexxie recommends … Sami Lee
“If you like this book, you'll love the work of my fellow Aussie author, Sami Lee. Her Aussie heroes are sexy, hot and oh so Australian. Think Chris Hemsworth and Hugh Jackman are hot? They're nothing compared to Sami's Aussie heroes.”
Burning Up
Ashton Heights Fire, Book 1
Sami Lee
Chapter 1
Pam Spencer drove slowly down the street, searching for a parking space far enough away from the house her friend Erica Shannon shared with her two boyfriends so her car wouldn’t be seen. Erica was throwing one of her men a surprise birthday party and everyone was under strict instructions not to give any clues.
Pam could still hardly believe Erica had two boyfriends, not that you could call either Dale Griffin or Corey Wachawski boys. They were firefighters and just about as manly and buff as you’d expect men who fought fires for a living to be. Although their three-way relationship, which had been going on for eighteen months now, seemed so natural and beautiful, Pam still shook her head on occasion when the reality of it hit her anew. As a striking redhead, Erica had the looks to get a man’s attention, but she was also the shy, quiet type. Pam had no ide
a how she managed to snag herself two such fine specimens of manhood, let alone how she managed to keep them.
You wish you knew. Then maybe you could get a bit of that kind of action for yourself.
Pam laughed as she found a spot around the corner from the party house and quickly nosed in. Keeping men was not her strong suit, and she wasn’t much better at snagging them. At thirty-two, she was beginning to wonder if a stable, long-term relationship was in the cards for her.
Pam threw her keys in her handbag and climbed out of her Toyota. She started when a voice called, “Hey, Pammy.”
She turned to find Steve Waller walking towards her in the late afternoon light. Pam barely managed to stifle a groan. Figures the only spot on the street would be directly behind his car. Steve was a firefighter too, a friend and colleague of Corey and Griff’s. And he was a giant pain in her behind, a monkey in her wrench, a black fly in her Chardonnay. Pam was sure he only called her Pammy because he knew it annoyed the shit out of her.
Steve flashed her the smile that he thought was killer and gave her appearance the once over. “You’re looking good.”
Pam glanced down at her casual ensemble of blue jeans and a white cami top beneath a loosely buttoned black cardigan. Griff’s surprise birthday party was only a casual evening barbecue, so she hadn’t even bothered with high heels, instead choosing her black patent-leather ballet flats. “Yeah, right.”
Steve, of course, did look fantastic in a pair of jeans and a grey T-shirt he’d probably pulled out of the laundry basket. With his thick brown hair, firm, ultra-fit body and twinkling baby blues, he didn’t have to do a damn thing to look good. Bastard.
Steve rolled his eyes. “You try to give a lady a compliment.”
“It’s not what you say, Waller, but how you say it.”
“And just how did I say it?”
Like you thought one casual compliment would be enough to melt my knees. No way were her knees melting for Steve Waller. Yes, he was good looking and his swagger could be downright sexy if she let herself think about it, but she was not interested in being another notch on Steve’s bedpost. He acted like he could have any woman he wanted, and from what Pam had witnessed at the Sovereign Hotel—the local pub she and Steve both happened to frequent—over the past eighteen months, his confidence was probably justified.
Which made it all the more irritating.
Before Pam could launch into a speech about his attitude towards women, the passenger door of Steve’s car opened and Rob McConnell got out. Pam straightened hurriedly, trying not to look like such a slouchy grouch. With the curly blond hair that gave him his nickname of Curly and his broad, toned body, Rob was a golden god who made her want to display herself in the most attractive way possible. At twenty-five, he was too young for her, but she couldn’t help her reaction. It was pure instinct.
Rob smiled when he saw her, presenting her with his cute dimples. “Hi, Pam. Wow, you look pretty.”
Pam beamed, heat flushing through her. Talk about a knee-melter. Rob was one for the ages. She couldn’t imagine how many hearts the boy had broken. “Thank you, Rob.”
“Oh, so Curly gets a thank you and I get sarcasm?”
Pam sent Steve a sharp glance. “He said it the right way.”
“And what way is that?”
“Like he meant it.”
Steve walked between the cars and joined her and Rob on the grass. He looked down at her and for a moment she thought she saw something serious in his blue eyes. “I meant it.”
For some reason, that look made her heart jump. Why, she had no idea. She and Steve Waller had been trading insults at social events for over a year now. He teased her for resorting to online dating and she accused him of being a manwhore. The light-hearted acrimony was kind of their thing. The only thing she was ever going to have with Steve Waller. Her heart had no business jumping because he was looking at her like she was something he wanted to eat for dinner.
What was going on here?
“Jeez, woman.” Steve shook his head, breaking the momentary spell that had settled over her. “You’re painful.”
“And we’re back,” Pam muttered, turning away from Steve and smiling at Rob. “Robert, would you like to escort me to the party?”
Rob bent down a little to accommodate her lesser height and stuck out his elbow. “I’d be honored, Pamela.”
Pam giggled and hooked her elbow through his. They began walking the short distance to their destination. Soon enough, Steve caught up with them, walking on Pam’s other side. “Now you’re making me look bad, Curly,” he grumbled and stuck out his elbow too.
When Pam didn’t immediately take him up on his implied offer, Steve grasped her hand and curled it around his biceps. Hard muscle flexed beneath her fingers and once again her heart performed a gigantic leap. This time the acceleration of her heart rate was accompanied by a host of warm squishy feelings in her stomach and, shockingly, down lower.
She was turned on. Her panties were getting wetter with each step she took, and her nipples beaded against her cami top. Thank God, she’d worn a cardigan even though the late March weather didn’t really require one. One of the few advantages of being small breasted was that she could go without a bra most days, something she’d chosen to do today.
If she hadn’t been wearing her cardigan, all of Erica’s neighbors, not to mention Rob and Steve, would have gotten one hell of a show.
“Thanks for walking me, guys.” Pam’s voice came out raspy and she cleared her throat before she continued. “I can take it from here.”
But they wouldn’t let her escape so easily.
“It would be rude not to take a lady as far as she needs to go,” Rob said.
Steve chimed in with a droll, “I always finish what I start, Pammy.”
Pam had to fight to breathe. Was it her imagination, or where they speaking in innuendoes? Their words put images in her mind, images of having Rob take her as far as she needed to go while Steve finished her off, neither of which was improving her situation.
Pam had no idea what was going on. She liked Rob—had had more than one fantasy about being carried to bed in his strong arms. But they were just fantasies, ones she indulged in because she knew nothing would ever happen between her and the tall, godly blond. He was seven years younger than her for a start, and so good looking he could have anyone. What would he want with an ordinary-looking English teacher with a flat chest and too many freckles?
As for Steve…she detested Steve. Although her interactions with Rob up until now had been no more than friendly, Pam could understand suddenly finding herself in physical turmoil over him. But Steve? No way was she going there.
So it had to be Rob. Rob was turning her on. Yet…hooking her arm through Rob’s had been funny. It wasn’t until she’d found herself flanked by him and Steve that her hormones had run riot.
Oh dear, Lord. Did she want them both?
She let out a wry sound, something between a groan and a laugh. “Now I get it.”
“Get what?” Rob asked.
“How Erica feels. A girl could easily get used to this.” At their blank looks, she elaborated. “You know, two men. Double trouble. A bit of sandwich action.”
She’d meant it as a joke, a little humor to ease the tension. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. It was an inadvertent admission that she was aroused, and when she saw a look pass between the two men, she knew they’d interpreted it clearly.
“I’m just saying. Not that I want that, but I can see why someone might go that way. That’s all.” Pam laughed, and it sounded awkward in the stillness of approaching evening. “I’m not making a pass, guys. Seriously.”
She was babbling. She was a giggling, babbling breathless mess and the guys still hadn’t said anything. They continued to escort her, continued to wind heat all around her as they walked. And she saw that look pass between them again, as if they were asking each other a question through telepathy.
<
br /> When she glimpsed Erica’s place up ahead, she jumped at the chance to extricate herself from the embarrassing situation. “Look, we’re here.” She pulled her hands away from each man and increased her pace, putting distance between her and them. “I’m going to find Erica and ask if she needs a hand in the kitchen. See you in there.”
Damned if her voice didn’t rise three octaves on that last word.
Where was a great gaping hole in the ground when you wanted one to swallow you whole?
* * * *
Once inside the large open-plan house, Steve Waller scanned the group of party guests. It only took a couple of seconds to find Pam. She was in the gleaming stainless-steel kitchen talking to Erica.
Steve’s groin tingled again at the sight of her. She’d left her straight, pale-blonde hair out so it brushed against her shoulders, which he loved. Her grey-green eyes had the same over-bright look in them that they’d had outside and her cheeks were as flushed as they had been then too. No doubt about it, the woman was turned on.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.”
He’d been talking to himself, but Rob, who’d followed Steve into the house, heard him. “What?”
“Oh. Nothing.”
Steve wasn’t going to admit to Rob that he’d been more than a little preoccupied of late with Erica Shannon’s slender blonde friend, a woman he’d given very little thought to when he’d first met her. He’d seen immediately that she wasn’t the type to be dazzled by a quick smile and a pair of impressive biceps, so he’d dismissed her as a possible bedmate and moved on to more willing women.
Yet sometime over the past few months, something had changed. Steve could only pin it down to a night at the Sovereign Hotel when Pam, Erica and a few other teachers from Ashton Heights High had come in for Christmas drinks. Pam had been wearing a slim black skirt, spike heels and a fitted red singlet top with lace trim at the cleavage. Until then, Steve hadn’t even been aware Pam had cleavage, but that night she’d worn some kind of wonder bra and wham, there they were. Her pretty little breasts all dressed up, inviting him to take a long, slow, appreciative look.
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