Sand Angel (23 page)

She was still stewing over Reece’s rejection when she missed a broken stone in the road. The pothole caught the heel of one of her knee-high boots and she stumbled.

A peel of laughter greeted her. “Too early for you, sis?”

Glancing over a steaming cup of coffee, Reece muttered, “Perhaps you shouldn’t have stayed out so late.”

Well, crap. If the day began like this, it was sure to get worse in a hurry.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” So she wasn’t at her best in the mornings. “Any coffee left?”

“No.” Devon smirked. “Should have gotten here sooner.”

Ohhhkay. She saw what was going on here. The fact that she wasn’t needed during this phase of building hadn’t escaped her. But if they thought she was falling for their scheme to make it rough on her so she’d quit, they’d better think twice.

She squared her shoulders and smiled, an action she didn’t quite feel up to at the butt-crack of dawn. “So what do you want me to do?”

“Well, since it was your idea to use scrap lumber from around here,” Devon’s shifty gaze darted toward Reece and then back at her, “we thought maybe you could pull the old nails out of that stack of plywood over there.”

Pulling nails—she could do that.

Turning toward the large pile of wood, she paused.
Hmmm.
The nails didn’t look all that old. Surely they wouldn’t have— Nah, even Reece and Devon wouldn’t go to all the trouble of hammering nails in just so she could extract them, especially since they were working against time. She pinched her lips together, wondering where to start.

“Here. You might need this.”

She pivoted, running right into Reece. Her startled gaze caressed up his broad chest, swept past his obstinate chin to settle on hazel eyes, more blue than green. A sharp inhale pulled the fresh scent of shaving lotion and cologne, a woodsy aromatic fragrance, deep into her lungs.

“Do you know how to use a hammer?”

“Hammer?” He smelled so good she couldn’t help moving closer. When his offensive remark finally struck home, she placed her palms on her hips and her eyes widened. “Uh. Yes.” But her irritation didn’t last long.

There had always been a magnetic attraction when it came to Reece, a need to be near him, even in childhood. When she had fallen in love with him, she couldn’t quite place a finger on. Yet as his voice and body changed, so had her sexual awareness. Now, all he had to do was look her way and desire sprang to life, raising havoc with her hormones and libido. Like now, with each shallow breath she inhaled, her nipples were sensitive peaks rasping against her T-shirt. But the icing on the cake was the incredible warmth spreading through her veins. Not to mention the moisture building between her thighs.

He grinned down at her as if he could read her mind as well as her heart, and she had the good sense to blush.

“Did you want to see the blueprints before we begin?”

She blinked, hoping her expression wasn’t one of a lovesick puppy. “Blueprints?”

“You know, those paper things containing technical drawings that document an architectural design.”

Fighting a grin that tugged at the corner of her lips, she hissed, “Smartass.” One of the things she loved the most about him was he could always make her laugh. “I know what blueprints are. I just didn’t know you had any for this project.”

“I didn’t until last night.”

So that’s why he left Hauk’s so early. “Sure. I’d love to see them.” The man was meticulous, something else she loved about him.

From his back jeans pocket he extracted a set of plans and placed them atop the plywood. Plucking a tape measure off his utility belt, he placed the weight on one edge of the vellum, spreading it out before laying the hammer on the other end to keep the paper from rolling.

“Is this what you were thinking?” he asked.

“Yes!” Chills raced across her arms beneath the light hoodie she wore as she stared at the exterior of a late medieval Tudor cottage with a steep gable roof and a porch. She turned the page, admiring the different views, skimming over the simple floor plan. “Reece, this is exactly how I imagined it. How could you have known?”

His eyes darkened. “I know how you think.”

Taken aback, she cocked her head. “No you don’t.” He couldn’t possibly or she would be in utter embarrassment every time she was around him.

Clearing his throat, he stepped away from her. “You’re a romantic—a daydreamer, Tabby.” He pressed the hammer into her palm, her fingers curling around the cool metal. For a moment he just stared at her, then eased farther away. “If you need anything, let me know.”

Oh, she needed something all right. His body pressed tight to hers for a start. But instead of speaking her deepest, darkest desires, she said, “Wait! The thatch roof. It’s just the right touch, but where are we going to get the materials?” It was the little details in a project that made it come to life. There was nothing like taking a white-walled empty room and transforming it into something magical.

“About a week ago I saw some thatch lying around the Talismans’ yard. Evidently Mrs. Talisman purchased it before speaking to her husband. After hearing what a fire hazard the material is, she agreed to tile for their new gazebo. They donated the roofing to the festival.”

“Thank you, Reece.”

He nudged her chin up with a single finger. For a moment she thought he would lean down and kiss her. Instead, he released her and took a step backward, before saying, “You’re welcome.”

As he turned and walked away, she allowed herself the freedom to really appreciate his physique, especially his sexy tight butt. Reece looked yummy in low-slung jeans. His long legs, firm thighs, and that perfect ass warmed her all over, made her pulse race. What would it feel like beneath her hands?

The racy thought vanished when her brother hollered her name. He frowned, approaching on determined footsteps.

“Dammit, Tabs, you have to stop looking at Reece like that. He doesn’t think of you in that way. You’re like a sister to him.”

Ouch. That stung. But the truth was, no matter what Devon thought, she and Reece were not siblings.

She tore her eyes from Devon, choosing to ignore him. Instead, she placed the claw of the hammer beneath the head of a bent nail and pulled down on the handle, wrenching the nail out. Metal against wood screeched, raking across her nerves as much as her brother’s words.

“Tabs?”

“I’m busy here.” She focused on the next silver disc protruding from the plywood.

Devon shadowed her for a little longer before he gave up, pivoting and walking away. When his footsteps disappeared, she paused.

Could her brother be right? Maybe Reece would never consider her as more than the little tomboy who used to follow him around. But maybe in time he would. That small sliver of hope was what she held on to as she settled in and got busy. One thing she’d learned early in life, anything worth having was worth working for.

Reece McGrath was definitely worth the time and effort.

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.