Defying Desire
Authors: A. C. Arthur
“I want you in my bed, tonight,” she said without further hesitation. “Do
you
understand what
I’m
saying?”
He stood then, picking her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist. His lips crashed down over hers, his tongue plundering hers with deep thrusts and smooth strokes. His hands cupped her bottom, gripping each mound with the promise of more to come. Tia instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her aching center into him, wanting more, needing it all.
She felt him move, turn in the opposite direction, but his hands were now pushing her dress up farther until he touched the bare flesh of her bottom, skimming the thin wisp of her thong. Her entire body shivered at the brief contact. She sighed and nipped his bottom lip.
“Which way?” he rasped.
Tia couldn’t speak, but pointed toward the bedroom.
Books by A.C. Arthur
Kimani Romance
Love Me Like No Other
A Cinderella Affair
Guarding His Body
Second Chance, Baby
Defying Desire
A.C. ARTHUR
Artist C. Arthur was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, where she currently resides with her husband and three children. An active imagination and a love for reading encouraged her to begin writing in high school, and she hasn’t stopped since. Determined to bring a new edge to romance, she continues to develop intriguing plots, racy characters and fresh dialogue—thus keeping readers on their toes! Visit her Web site at www.acarthur.net.
Defying
DESIRE
A.C. Arthur
To the readers who couldn’t wait to see Trent fall.
Dear Reader,
It’s finally his turn!
The infamous, arrogant, sexy, domineering Trent Donovan is now in murky waters as his desire for Tia St. Claire has him doing the exact thing he’d ragged his brothers about: falling in love.
Trent is a good man; I think that was obvious in the way he showed his love and devotion for his brothers in
Love Me Like No Other
and
A Cinderella Affair.
He just had to find that special woman, one who could give him what he needed—in all areas. Tia is that woman. She can do a one-night stand, she can do nonchalant, she can take him or leave him. But she can also touch a part of him that no other woman has.
Defying Desire
was an emotional story, but one with such a heartfelt ending that it had to be told. So enjoy Trent and then be on the lookout for the rest of the Donovan clan to find their love as well!
AC
Contents
Chapter 1
“Y
ou give new meaning to the word untamable,” Lincoln Donovan said, chuckling as he opened the door to his truck and stepped inside.
“What?” Trenton Donovan opened the back door to his older brother’s Suburban and tossed his bags on the floor. “You can’t trust women. Adam’s crazy ex Kim proved that point.”
Trent climbed inside on the passenger side and pulled his seat belt across him as his older brother started the engine.
“All you had to do was have her checked out like you do everybody else. You didn’t have to sleep with her and then walk out on her. And you said she had a child?” Lincoln asked.
Trent defended himself. “First of all, I didn’t sleep with her and walk out. Lynn knew that I wasn’t looking for anything long term. I told her as much when I realized we
were feeling each other. And as for the kid, Jeremy was pretty cool. But where there’s a child there’s bound to be a daddy and that leads to trouble.”
“Like I said, you could have just checked her out. You were working with her brother on a case so you probably shouldn’t have messed with her in the first place. Sam Desdune is never going to ask for your help again,” Linc chided.
Trent had thought the same thing himself after the one night he spent with Lynn, but by that point it was too late. To her credit, Lynn hadn’t taken the night they’d celebrated the capture of her younger sister’s stalker any more seriously than Trent had. Her own issues with her runaway ex-husband and her young son were her priorities, not trying to build something with Trent.
It had been an impulsive act, one that he regretted only in the sense that he’d used Lynn Desdune as a replacement for the one woman who continued to elude him.
They were driving down the highway on their way to the Donovan family estate. Henry and Beverly Donovan were fanatical about their family. And since Trent was the middle child, the renegade of the three sons formally dubbed the Triple Threat Donovans, they paid special attention to him.
After a two-month assignment in Connecticut, he’d recently returned home to Vegas and was welcomed by sonogram pictures of the twins growing in Jade’s stomach. Jade and Linc had been married for almost six months and already she was pregnant. Linc was so excited he practically had father-to-be tattooed on his forehead.
Once at the estate Trent was sure that his younger brother Adam and his fiancée, Camille, would be there. Noelle, Jade’s younger sister would come along sharing her
latest escapade. Noelle was a burst of energy in the low-key Donovan household. However, Trent had to admit that her reckless nature was beginning to subside. He suspected Linc and the trust he showed by hiring her at the Gramercy Casino was the reason for that.
At any rate, the hot shower, spicy wings and stack of
Sports Illustrated
magazines waiting for him back at his townhouse would have to wait. Family was very important to him and he wanted to spend quality time with everyone especially since he’d just witnessed two close-knit families almost torn apart by revenge.
That reminded him that he needed to really give some thought to Sam Desdune’s offer. Partnering with Sam and opening a P.I. agency on the West Coast was something he needed to seriously consider.
Trent and Sam had met years ago on an assignment for the military and remained close afterward. A former police officer in the sleepy town of Greenwich, Connecticut, Sam now owned his own P.I. firm. Trent had flown to the East Coast to assist Sam and one of his high-profile clients with a particularly sensitive investigation.
For twelve years Trent had been a Navy SEAL putting his life on the line to protect and serve his country. He loved his job and though he had officially left the Navy, he still accepted special assignments. That worried his mother, which he didn’t like, but it was his life. If he didn’t help fight everyone else’s battles, what good would he be?
“Heads up,” Linc said pulling into the driveway of the estate an hour later. “Camille’s got a bone to pick with you.”
“Camille? What did I do to her?”
Linc only shook his head laughing as he parked and stepped out of the truck. “Man, you just don’t know. Women don’t forget a thing.”
Trent stopped listening to Linc’s warning as they walked into the house. He was happy to be back in Vegas but there were some things he could do without.
Tia St. Claire’s head pounded with what she knew would be a hellacious headache. She realized it was because the two-year “anniversary” of her accident was fast approaching. She couldn’t help but count down these last dreaded days.
Last year at this time she’d been working, doing a runway show in Paris one night, then flying to Milan for one there and then coming back to L.A. for a photo shoot. In between she’d done promo shots to update her portfolio and met with her agent. She’d worked from January first straight through and past March second, the day of the accident. That had been the only way to cope with the pain—and using the jet lag as an excuse to sleep every hour that she wasn’t modeling.
This year she was working again, but she wasn’t traveling back and forth. And whenever she wasn’t in front of the camera she was feeling the pain.
When she was finally alone in her apartment she slumped down into the nearest chair. With the backs of her hands she wiped her face clean only to have warm tears slip from her eyes again.
It wasn’t her fault, she knew that. Jake had been driving and she’d been in the passenger seat. As if it were yesterday she heard the squeal of the tires, felt the uncontrollable spin of the car, the lurch of her heart in the precise moment the car slid into the tree. In an instant the two people that she loved most were gone—her fiancé, Jake, and their unborn daughter, Jessica.
Her life was spared although she had no idea why. Work was her only solace.
At least it had been.
She’d been modeling for so long that it was almost like breathing. So even though the photo shoots were normally filled with photographers, hairstylists, designers and the other people who just always seemed to be around either backstage or in the studio, Tia would usually sink into herself.
While her body moved, her mind functioned on autopilot and her thoughts and feelings were her own. That may seem weird to a novice but, for her, even walking down the runway provided solace to her tortured soul. The crowds were blurred out so that all she saw was the darkness, the same darkness that had engulfed the ones she’d loved. When she was on the runway, she was with Jake and Jessica.
Camille Davis was the phenomenal woman behind CK Davis Designs. Tia had been ecstatic when her agent had booked her for their fall fashion show. From there Camille had specifically requested her for other assignments until the bulk of Tia’s time was now spent working for Camille and modeling her fabulous designs.
That, of course, was not the bad part. The irony came when Camille had introduced Tia to Adam and the rest of the Donovan family. They were a lively bunch with the seniors, Henry and Beverly, still madly in love after years of marriage. Jade and Linc were almost sickening to watch together, their happiness pouring from them in heavy waves. Then there was Camille herself and the infamous Adam Donovan. Their love was pure, of the fairy-tale type, the kind that little girls dreamed of.
Soon after they’d met, Camille had shared the story of how Adam had swept her off her feet like her very own Prince Charming, helping her to defeat her wicked step
mother and all. The love between the two of them was more than crystal clear, the fantasy, for them, more than real.
The dream Tia had once had.
