Getting Hotter (39 page)

When footsteps thudded from the vicinity of that corridor, her pulse kicked up a notch, then took off in a mad sprint at Cash’s appearance.

Oh boy. He was as gorgeous as she remembered. Actually, even more gorgeous, because instead of a leather jacket, today he wore a black T-shirt that clung to his massive chest and revealed his bulging biceps. Jeez, he had great arms. Tanned, sinewy, roped with muscle. The kind of arms you wanted pinning you down while those trim hips pumped into you.

The rest of him was equally appealing. Long legs encased in camo pants, strong jaw dusted with stubble, black-brown hair cut in a short military style. Her nipples tightened involuntarily, her core clenching at the sight of all that manly goodness. Lord, the man was sexy as hell.

And shocked as hell, judging by the way those piercing blue eyes widened when he spotted her. Recognition splashed across his face, and his voice came out in a startled rasp. “Oh. Hi.”

She met his gaze, her mouth drier than a desert. “Hi.”

Carson swung his head from her to Cash. “Do you two know each other?”

After a moment of hesitation, during which Jen transmitted a silent warning with her eyes, Cash visibly swallowed and turned to her brother. “No. I was just…I, ah…” He stuck out a hand in her direction. “It’s nice to meet you, Jenny.”

“Jen,” she corrected, moving forward to shake his hand.

The second their palms touched, heat seared into her like a bolt of lightning, spreading through her body and warming every inch of her skin. Their gazes locked again, and the fire inside her burned hotter. Desire pulsed in her veins, making her dizzy and breathless. Holy mother of God. She craved this man on a basic, carnal level she hadn’t known existed.

Sucking in a breath, she jerked her hand back. Touching him was too big a temptation. It only intensified the crazy urge to strip him naked.

“So we’re all cool with this, right?” Carson spoke, oblivious to the tension hanging in the room. “Jenny will stay here until Psycho McGee leaves town?”

Cash’s blue eyes rested on her before turning to Carson. “Yeah, it’s cool. Matt’s room is all ready.”

“Good.” Carson focused on her. “Jenny?”

She sighed. “It’s fine. But only until Brendan is gone.”

Carson nodded in agreement, then picked up her suitcases. “I’ll put these in Matt’s room.”

The second her brother disappeared, Jen cast a slightly embarrassed look in Cash’s direction. “I had no idea you were the one I was coming to stay with.”

“I figured,” he said wryly.

An awkward silence settled between them, bringing a jolt of annoyance. She hadn’t expected him to greet her with a passionate kiss or anything, but did he have to look so unhappy? As he fidgeted with his hands, his chiseled features creasing with discomfort, her self-esteem took a couple of hits. Couldn’t he at least pretend to be pleased to see her?

“Jen—” he started, only to be interrupted by Carson, who sauntered back into the living room as if he had no care in the world.

Well, of course he didn’t.
He
wasn’t the one who had to spend the next three weeks with someone who wanted nothing to do with him. Oh no. Carson just got to drop her off, leave her in the clutches of the man she’d almost fucked, and be on his merry way.

“You’re all set,” Carson said. “I guess I’ll head out now.”

Panic flitted through her. “Now?”

“Don’t worry. McCoy will take good care of you.” He frowned as he turned to his teammate. “Remember what I said—she doesn’t leave the house unless someone is with her. You, preferably, but any of the other guys are acceptable alternatives. Annabelle and Holly, too, since they’ve taken self-defense classes. But not Savannah—I don’t want her corrupting my little sister.”

Jen waved her hand around. “Hello? I’m right here, you know. Quit talking about me like I’m a five-year-old.”

As usual, Carson ignored her. “And make sure she stays away from her usual haunts. Psycho McGee might be lurking around, waiting for her to show up.”

“Got it,” Cash said with a nod.

“Good. Okay, I’m out.” Her brother didn’t rumple her hair again, probably because he could see the murder in her eyes, but he did lean in and plant a loud smack of a kiss on her cheek. “Don’t give Cash any trouble.”

He strode toward the door, then paused to shoot Cash a sharp look over his shoulder. “And remember what I said, McCoy. There’s a pool right downstairs.”

After Carson left, another silence fell over the room. Smothering a sigh, Jen studied Cash’s face, wishing she could make sense of that indescribable expression. He obviously wasn’t happy to see her, but she refused to spend the next three weeks tiptoeing around without clearing the air between them.

Her brows puckered into a deep frown as the silence dragged on. Finally, unable to stand it, she crossed her arms and said, “So why didn’t you call?”

A second chance at love is worth fighting for.

Afternoon Rhapsody

© 2012 Jess Dee

Bandicoot Cove: The Wedding, Book 1

Bianca Rogers is one signature away from finalizing her divorce. And she
will
finalize it just as soon as she gets home. But for this weekend, she’s putting her troubles aside and enjoying the gorgeous, sunlit luxury of Bandicoot Cove, the resort where her brother is getting married. The last thing she expects is to be knocked off her feet—literally—by gorgeous Brody Evans.

The fireworks are instantaneous. Brody is just her type: sexy, warm, friendly, and in the same boat as her: in the process of getting a divorce.

Spending time together is a mutual no-brainer. Attraction quickly grows to full-blown lust. But flying sparks come with increasingly personal conversations, and soon neither of them can ignore their past mistakes or the circumstances that have led them to the island.
 

Now it’s time to determine whether old hurts and sudden doubts will prevent love from leading them to a whole new happily ever after.

Warning: If you don’t believe in second chances, never thought it was possible to fall in love again and aren’t interested in scrumptious, hot love scenes, then this story probably isn’t for you. You’d be missing out—big time—but yeah…it’s probably not for you.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Afternoon Rhapsody:

“I have a beachside bungalow, not far from where we met this morning,” Brody told her as he quickened his pace.

She needed no encouragement to match his steps, although she had to take two for every one of his. “Me too.” Excitement fizzed inside her. “Whichever one we get to first, we go into.”

“Deal.”

Dripping wet, they scooted through the gardens, their steps increasing in speed from a brisk walk to a gentle trot to an all-out run. Bianca was about to shift into sprint mode when Brody took a sudden left and nipped behind an oasis of trees. He took her with him.

“What the…? What are you doing?”

He pressed his finger to her lips. “Shh.”

That was when she heard it. Footsteps and animated chatter. She couldn’t identify the voices, there were too many of them, but the words
wedding
,
groom
and
bachelor
party
drifted her way, and she was suddenly jolly appreciative of Brody’s quick thinking.

Just like she wasn’t ready to face her parents, Danny or Great Aunt Alberta, so she wasn’t ready for anyone she knew to see her with Brody. Wasn’t ready for the speculative glances or raised eyebrows. Wasn’t ready for Rick’s name to come up while she was with him.

“Good thinking,” she whispered.

“Selfish thinking,” he whispered back, and kissed her again.

And just like that, Bianca forgot all about the people walking by. Hidden from view, she forgot all about everything except the man who crushed her to him. The man whose back was bent so he could reach her mouth with his. The man whose erection seemed to have grown in the time it took them to cross the hundred meters from the pool to here.

And she knew it had grown because she could feel it. Her hand was on the front of his boardies, cupping him. She had no memory of placing her hand there, just a vague recollection of needing to touch him so badly, she thought for sure she’d die if she didn’t.

Brody growled into her mouth but did not release her lips. Which suited her just fine, because she wouldn’t have let him go had he tried. Not when his tongue did deliciously naughty things to the inside of her mouth. Not when his lips pressed so enticingly against hers. Not when she inhaled the air he breathed.

Brody’s soft growl changed to a ragged groan when the barrier of his wet boardies proved too annoying, and she slipped her hand beneath the sodden material, taking his hot, pulsing cock in her palm.

Then it wasn’t just Brody groaning. Bianca let out a soft moan, the feel of his hard flesh enough to set fire to her loins.

Satin-covered steel.

She wrapped her hand around him, stroking up and down. Not easy. Not within the confines of his shorts, but God help her, she wasn’t letting go. Not for anything. Not when her actions made him shiver as they kissed.

Not when liquid heat filled her pussy, her stomach clenched with desire and her heart pounded fiercely beneath her breast. Not when the throbbing vein lining his dick made her aware of how alive she felt with him. How her own blood roared in her ears.

Pearls of moisture beaded on the tip of his erection. She stopped breathing. Ran her thumb over the wetness. Moaned.

He tore his lips from hers. “Bee…”

Her name was both a salutation and a plea. His eyes blazed with passion.

Their bungalows suddenly seemed very far away. Unreachable.

Didn’t matter. They could make it. If they walked really fast. Okay, sprinted, they could do it. Get there before the passion overwhelmed them.

“Room,” she gasped. “We can make it if we hurry.”

Brody stared at her with wide eyes.

“Not too far,” she muttered, her heart slamming into her ribs. “Not far at all.”

“Y-you’re serious?”

“Dead serious.”

Disbelief filled his gaze.

“We can run,” she assured him.

His only response was a hoarse laugh. Hoarse and sexy.

Bee would have replied but she couldn’t. Her mouth was otherwise occupied. As she’d presented Brody with her best verbal argument, she’d slid to her knees and yanked at the tie on his waistband, torn at the Velcro and finally gotten his boardies undone. Tempting and hard in her hand, his erection now pulsed before her eyes, its tip sodden.

Bee couldn’t wait. No longer wanted to. She didn’t care where they stood. Trees surrounded them, their thick, lush foliage hiding them from view. She’d been a teenager the last time she’d done anything this bold, this daring. Last time she’d been giddy on fresh air and the great outdoors and a man she desired.

She felt like that teenager all over again. Reckless. Hot. Free. Ravenous.

She licked the moisture off the head of his cock.

“Ah, fuck, Bee.” Brody tried to stop her. Grabbed at her arms, attempted to lift her back up, but she nuzzled her mouth against his belly, licking at the sensitive skin there before once again tasting the precome he produced for her.

Instead of lifting her, Brody ran his hands over her shoulders, caressing, massaging. Logically he might have known they shouldn’t do this here. Physically he was in the exact same boat as her—powerless to fight the lust that had sparked between them this morning, flared during lunch and exploded in the pool.

Salt, chlorine and musk flavored her lips. The spongy tip of his cock pressed on her tongue, and Bianca could not restrain herself. She opened her mouth and devoured him. Sucked him deep inside, luxuriating in the sensation of his hard length pulsing between her cheeks.

Her release was slow. A sensual exploration of satiny skin as she pulled off him.

“Bee…honey…” Brody’s voice was a low rasp. The vibrations of his words rippled down her spine, making her shiver.

She sucked him back in and then lost track of her actions. She simply enjoyed him, feasting on his succulent flesh, relishing the gasps and muttered curses that filtered through the air above her. She palmed his testicles and stroked the soft skin just behind as her mouth made love to him.

Brody began to sway his hips, fucking her lips. No, not fucking. His actions were too gentle for that, too controlled, but Bee followed his lead, hollowing her cheeks, relaxing her tongue, and allowed him to direct his penis in and out of her mouth.

She wrapped an arm around his thighs, let her hand slide over his firm arse cheeks and continued to tease his scrotum.

Brody’s fingers tunneled into her hair, tightening and relaxing reflexively, as though he was unaware he moved them in time with his thrusts into her mouth.

Wet heat flooded her pussy. Her breasts ached. Her clit tingled. But most of all, her heart filled. Warmth settled deep inside it, along with a sense of contentment. Of rightness.

Getting Hotter