Midnight Encounters (25 page)

She slid the soft cotton down over his hips and his heavy cock. The briefs landed at his feet and he stepped out of them. And finally he stood before her in all his glory. His long, muscular legs she wanted tangled with hers. His taut buns she wanted to touch with her trembling fingers. His magnificent arousal she wanted to take into her eager body.

She was amazed that she stood naked before him and felt confident and sexy and powerful. How did he do that to her? Or did she do it for herself?

Or maybe the two of them made the right combination. In the back of her mind, a voice told her she should be upset with that thought, but at the moment she didn’t know why.

“Lay back on my bed,” Daniel said softly. “Fulfill my fantasy.” She spread her arms out and fell backward, her body cushioned by the soft mattress and silky comforter beneath her. She slid back on the bed, until her head sank into the soft pillow. Her eyes never left Daniel’s. He was gazing at her as if she were the most precious thing on Earth and she could almost believe it.

“I’ve pictured you like this,” he told her. “No, not exactly like this. My imagination never came up with anything as wonderful as you are right now.”

Her breath caught in her throat. No words would come, at least words he would want to hear, so she bit her tongue and smiled.

He took off his glasses and set them on the nightstand before he joined her on the bed. His weight on the mattress sent her rolling toward him and she wrapped her arms around him. He stretched out beside her, the heat from his body warming her through and through. When he leaned over to suckle at her breast, she suddenly sat up.

How could she have forgotten the most important thing of all? “Wait a minute.” He frowned. “What?”

“Be right back.”

She jumped off the bed. Where did she leave her coat? She ran out of the bedroom. It was lying in a mound on the sofa. She turned it upside down, trying to get her hand in the right pocket. Pennies flew everywhere, but she left her poker winnings where they lay. Finally she found what she was looking for and turned back to the bedroom.

“What’s the matter?” Daniel stood in the doorway. “Are you all right?” She smiled and sauntered past him into the bedroom. “Oh, yeah.” He followed her back into the bedroom. “Roxy?”

She dropped a handful of colorful condom packages onto the mattress. “I came prepared.”
There’s more to life than playing make believe.

The Role of a Lifetime

© 2008 Jennifer Shirk

Sandra Moyer has a good reason to distrust actors. She was once married to one who left her and her child. However, she’s desperate for publicity to help her struggling preschool. Hollywood playboy Ben Capshaw’s request to access her classes to prepare for a role is an offer she can’t refuse.

Sandra second guesses herself on that decision until she sees Ben in action with the children. Her apprehension turns to wonder, and then to feelings she’d thought were closed off forever. Yet how can she trust that what she’s seeing is real?

As a boy, Ben learned that acting was the answer to everything. The role he’s up for now will enhance his career and, he’s sure, secure his happiness. But spending time with Sandra and her daughter stirs up emotions that—for once—aren’t pretend.

Ben’s ready for a lifetime role as husband and father—if he can convince Sandra not to typecast him.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
The Role of a Lifetime: Ben had the nerve to pop his head in her office exactly two hours later. “Uh, do you mind if I wait in here while the parents pick up the kids?”

Still angry with him—and herself—Sandra didn’t bother to look up from writing at her desk. “You mean hide in here while the parents pick up their kids?”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I mean hide,” he said with a trace of defeat.

She finally put her pen down and lifted her head. Ben was doing one heck of a personal repentant show for her, hovering in the doorway with wide eyes and his hands folded. She practically saw the halo hovering over his golden-brown head. “Okay,” she said. “Then no, I don’t mind.”

“Great. Thanks, Sandals.”

She looked at him sharply as he stepped in. Five seconds had barely gone by and he already had her back on the defensive. “That I do mind. My name is Sandra—not Sandals.”

“Yeah, I didn’t figure you for a nickname type of woman,” he agreed, looking pleased with himself.

“Good.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back against her door. “Ah, but you need to loosen up.

That’s why I’m going to call you Sandals.”

“You know, typically a nickname is shorter than the given name.”

“Is it?” he asked in mock seriousness. “Oh. Well, tell you what, you can call me…” She waited several beats, thinking of more than a few unkind examples. “I can call you what?” she finally asked.

“That’s it.” He shot her his bone-melting smile. “You can just call me. Anytime.” She rolled her eyes, refusing to give in to the smile that threatened. “That sounds like a line from one of your movies.”

He shot her a triumphant look. “Ah, ha! I knew you were a fan.”

“Please. Don’t flatter yourself. I just meant that it sounds like a very generic line from a very generic movie,” she lied.

“Ouch.” He played wounded and made a show of sticking in and taking out a pretend knife from his gut.

She’d seen better performances by him.

“You know, it’s okay to admit the truth,” he told her. “It means you’re human.”

“I know I’m human, thank you very much.”

He chuckled. “Okay, if it makes you feel better, I’ll give you a truth. That’ll show you I can be human too.”

“I doubt one piece of trivia will accomplish that enormous feat.”

“Come on,” he cajoled, undaunted by her attitude. “It’ll pass the time while we wait for the kids to be picked up.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean, like that twenty-questions game?” He shrugged. “I was thinking more along the lines of truth or dare, but okay. We can play whatever game you like.” His gaze traveled over her body, slow and thorough, giving her an idea of where his thoughts were going.

A mixture of curiosity and excitement had her swallowing hard. But she hid her emotions with an amused huff as she stood and walked over to her filing cabinet. Ben was worse than Hannah, always wanting to play games. She didn’t have time to entertain his childish whims, even if they did seem…a little enticing.

But she needed to find the number of a handyman. The building was falling apart, and a coat of paint might gloss over the many imperfections of it. Unfortunately, she was so intent on finding an old invoice, she didn’t notice Ben come up behind her until his hands braced the filing cabinet on either side of her, caging her in.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, feeling her heart slam up against her chest so hard she jerked forward.

“Waiting to find out what game you want to play,” he whispered in her ear.

She felt a shiver and whirled around. “I…uh…Game?” She couldn’t think—or even breathe. He was standing so close he seemed to snatch up all the air around her, and for a split second, she almost felt faint because of it.

He smiled, and her throat constricted even more. “It looks like I’ll have to pick for you,” he said.

“I don’t—”

He kissed her then.

She couldn’t believe he kissed her. And what a kiss it was.

Feeling his hands travel up her arms and cup her face created an unfamiliar sensation she wasn’t prepared for. That’s why she kissed him back. It had nothing to do with the man himself. Or the incredible scent of his skin. Or the addicting taste of his mouth.

He pressed his body—the one she’d been so preoccupied with lately—against her, hard and firm, and she nearly died. His arms dropped and wrapped around her, holding on to her as if he were dangling off a bridge. He felt so good. It didn’t matter that she was kissing a famous movie star or what he must be thinking at that moment. Their tongues touched briefly, and it was all she could do not to open her mouth further. So she did.

How could she resist that kind of blatant physical hunger? It had been so long since she had felt or incited that kind of reaction. She found herself wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing herself further into him, enjoying his response. If Ben was just acting again, he was doing a fine job of it. Maybe too fine. However, she gave in to this small, reckless moment of a kiss anyway, willing her better judgment to take a short hike—for once.

Tracking her was easy. Staying out of her bed—that’s the hard part.

Dance of Seduction

© 2008 Elle Kennedy

On the run from her past and her overprotective brother, Ellie has had a taste of freedom—and likes it.

Nothing can make her go home. Not even when the man she’s always longed for shows up to drag her there. His wicked grins and irresistible dimples won’t work.

But she knows something else about Luke: He doesn’t give up easily. Luckily, Ellie’s not above resorting to naughty tactics. Seduction, she’s certain, will make him so uncomfortable he won’t be able to flee fast enough.

And boy, is it going to be fun.

The last thing Luke expects is for his best friend’s sister to launch an erotic assault. He’ll go along with her sexy games, but he’s sure that when things get too hot, she’ll come to her senses and come home.

Except resisting her isn’t as easy as he thought it’d be.

And suddenly he’s wondering if maybe there can be more than one winner in this dance of seduction…

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Dance of Seduction Luke stood up and unbuttoned his shirt, then dropped it on the chair. As he took a step forward, Ellie’s voice stopped him.

“Would you rub some suntan lotion on my back first?” she said, her big eyes focusing on his. “I burn easily.”

His throat went dry. “Uh…”

“Please, Luke? You don’t want me to get a sunburn, do you?” He found his voice. “Of course I don’t.”

“Good.”

He thought he saw a whisper of a smile—a satisfied smile—sweep over her mouth, but he must have imagined it, because when he looked at her again her lush lips were closed in a straight line.

“Is that what you’re wearing in the water?” he asked, gesturing to her shorts and halter.

This time she did smile. “I’ve got my suit underneath.”

She jumped up from the chair and reached for the tie that held her halter together. Quickly, she undid the knot and pulled the top over her head. The second she did that, not only did thick cotton fill his entire mouth, but a rush of heat pooled in his groin.

A string bikini. She wore a fucking string bikini.

He tried not to stare, but his foolish eyes kept darting toward her chest. Small, perky breasts barely covered by the tiny green triangles of her bikini top. He was pleased to see that he’d been right—the corset
had
made her breasts appear larger.

But those small luscious mounds still looked just as inviting.

“Here.”

He unglued his gaze from her, wondering if she’d caught him staring. If she had, she didn’t comment on it, just handed him a tube of sunscreen and flopped down on the chair, offering her back to him.

He stared at the flimsy string at her back and noted that he could probably tear it off with his teeth with no trouble.

Josh’s sister.

“That’s the only thing I hate about living on the beach,” she said. “My skin is far too sensitive. Two minutes in the sun and I turn into a tomato.”

The sensitive comment stayed in his head. He wondered which parts of her were most sensitive. Her lips? Her nipples?

“Luke? The sunscreen?”

He forced his mind out of his swim trunks and unscrewed the cap of the tube. Squirting a glob of sunscreen into his hands, he rubbed his palms together and stared at her golden skin.

He took a breath.

Then he touched her.

The second he made contact with her delicate shoulder blades, a jolt of electricity coursed through his body and settled in his crotch. Damn, her skin felt like silk.

“So, are you still with the same bodyguards-to-the-rich-and-famous agency?” It was impossible to hold a normal conversation while his hands rubbed sunscreen on her back. He managed a short, “Uh-huh.”

Ellie suddenly leaned back, filling his palms with more of that soft skin. “Mmmm, that feels good. You should give up life as a bodyguard for a career as a masseur.”
Josh’s sister. Josh’s sister.

The mantra grew louder in his head, desperate, as he fought back a barrage of sensual thoughts.

You think this feels good? Well, come to bed with me. You’ll feel even better.

He swiftly dropped his hands from her back and wiped the excess sunscreen on his own chest. Okay, this was bad. Normally he exercised a hefty dose of restraint, yet in the past few seconds, he’d lost every bit of control he’d ever managed to maintain around Ellie.

“Okay, all done.” His voice sounded too high to his ears, and he cleared his throat. “Let’s go for that swim.”

Cold water. That’s what he needed. Being submerged in cold water would shoot some sense into him.

Ellie stood up and flashed him another endearing smile. “Thanks for doing my back. Let me just get my legs before we go in.”

She wiggled out of her denim cut-offs, revealing a pair of green bikini bottoms. He almost sighed with relief. High-cut, but modest. He could handle these bottoms, no problem.

He watched as she slathered sunscreen on her bare legs, and then tossed the tube on the sand.

“I’ll race you,” she said with a grin.

He was about to accept the challenge and start dashing down the sand, but the second she took a step forward, all the breath sucked out of his lungs with one swift whoosh.

She was wearing a thong.

“Are you coming?” She broke into a slow jog, smiling at him over her shoulder.

All he could do was stand there, stare at her ass and will away his erection.

This was really bad.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

It’s all about the story…

Action/Adventure

Fantasy

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