Maddie gasped. “Has Jake ever been shot?”
“Half a dozen times, at least. Ask him to show you the scars—he likes bragging about them.”
He immediately regretted the remark as he remembered that several of his twin’s scars were in places Maddie had no business looking. That weird jolt of possessiveness startled him, and the following rush of jealousy didn’t help much either. He wished she didn’t look so damn good in that yellow dress. She was no longer cross-legged, she now had her legs stretched out, and they were so long and smooth he curled both hands into fists to refrain from reaching out and touching all that silky skin.
He forced his eyes back to her face, noticing the faint blush on her cheeks. “Were you just checking out my legs?” she demanded.
Of course she just had to go and point it out, didn’t she?
“You’ve got nice legs,” he said lightly, feeling his own cheeks go hot.
She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, her lips tightening in a harsh slash. To his disappointment, she got to her feet and headed toward the file cabinets. He heard her mumble something under her breath, but didn’t catch a single word.
“What did you say?” he asked.
Maddie began rifling through the S files, thoroughly ignoring him.
Owen’s shoulders stiffened as he marched over to her. Her muttered remark hadn’t sounded all that pleasant, judging from the tone of her voice, and he got the feeling it had been directed at him. She bent down, and her long brown hair fell over her shoulders like a silk curtain, a few strands disappearing in her cleavage.
He gritted his teeth. “If you have something to say to me, just say it.”
She lifted her head and shot him a cool look. “I’d rather not.”
As irritation gathered in his gut, he reached out and clasped his fingers over her arm. Instantly, heat suffused his palm. “Say it,” he ordered.
Brown eyes flashing, she met his gaze head-on. “I was just commenting on the fact that my nice legs are being wasted here, in this office, when I could be having drinks with someone who actually appreciates them.”
His mouth fell open.
“But you took care of that, didn’t you?” she said with an annoyed huff. “One question, Owen—why don’t you want me going out with Wyatt? And don’t give me that employee-fraternizing bullshit.”
Owen just gaped at her, unable to come up with a single argument in his defense. She was right, of course. He’d purposely ordered her to work late so she would miss her date with Wyatt. But he’d done it for her own good. Wyatt Killington was a sleazy player—Maddie deserved way better than that.
He opened his mouth to explain, but she didn’t give him the chance. Her cheeks were flushed with anger as she unleashed one of her infamous Maddie Wilson attacks.
“You know what? I don’t care what your reasons were,” she burst out, slamming the drawer so hard the metal cabinet rattled. “You had no right to purposely sabotage my date. That was a total asshole thing to do—and mean, damn it! It was mean and I don’t appreciate you interfering in my love life. It’s none of your damn business who I go out with, and if you pull a stunt like that again, I will quit. For good, this time, and trust me, Owen, without me, you’ll…”
He tuned her out. Maybe he was an asshole, but he was far too fascinated with her mouth to focus on the furious words coming out of it. Why hadn’t he ever noticed that her bottom lip was so much fuller than the top?
“I swear to God, Owen, if you do something like this again, I’ll—”
“Shut up,” he said hoarsely.
Her eyes widened. “Did you just tell me to shut up?”
“Yes,” he shot back. “I told you to shut up. Wanna know why?”
“No,” she yelled, taking a step to the side. “I don’t want to know why you would have the nerve to—”
He decided to answer anyway. “So I could do this.”
And then he kissed her.
Dirty desires, dark secrets…deepest love
Hidden Fire
© 2012 Jess Dee
A Red Hot Weekend Story
Well, this is an unexpected twist. Jenna Brooks is all set to spend the weekend wallowing in misery, repairing the cracks in the façade she’s maintained for twelve years. Instead she’s…tied to a chair. Kidnapped by her own twin brother and her so-called best friend.
It’s for her own good, they say. She’ll thank them later, they say. But when they reveal her partner in captivity, she shores up her emotional barriers. It’s Garreth Halt. The one man for whom she let her guard down. What a fool she was.
For one electrifying moment, Garreth had Jenna naked in his arms, on the edge of losing her legendary control. Could have kept her there forever, too, if he hadn’t felt honor-bound to tell her the truth. Before she’d heard the whole truth, though, she’d retreated behind the fortress around her heart.
Now they’re knee to knee, with no escape. While he’s irritated he let his alleged best friend get the drop on him, a small part of him is thrilled. With one final chance to show her his love is real, Garreth methodically, wickedly, sets out to dismantle her defenses.
One dirty word at a time.
Warning: Garreth may have charmed you in Winter Fire, but this time around, his blatantly sexy demands, even sexier actions and heart warming love for his heroine are gonna make you fall head over heels
Enjoy the following excerpt for Hidden Fire:
“You can’t hide your reaction to me now, can you, Jenn? Not bound and helpless. I can see you want me. Can’t tear my gaze away.” He licked his lips wolfishly and was rewarded with an indignant squeak from her.
“Your shirt’s wet. It’s clinging in all the right places.”
The indignant squeak turned to a howl of dismay.
“Clinging to your nipples, showing me exactly how tight they are.” As he spoke, they poked harder at the cotton of her blouse, making his vision blur with lust.
“You’re an arrogant sod,” she snapped. “My shirt is wet and it’s wintertime. If my…breasts are tight, it’s because I’m cold and can’t put on a jumper.”
“You’re aroused because you want me as much as I want you,” Garreth corrected. “I know how you feel. I’m aroused too, and it has nothing to do with the weather. I get turned on every time I see you. Think about you.” Even as he spoke, the rope rubbed against his skin, torturing him. He wanted her hands on his chest, not these freaking binds.
“Christ, Jenn, I’m sitting here, wishing I could touch you. I’m ogling your breasts, wishing they were in my mouth. Wishing I could roll my tongue around them, suck your nipples between my lips and feast. Wishing I could make you come, with my mouth on your tits and nothing else.” He raised his gaze to hers, noted the shocked look in her eyes, and amended his confession. “Wishing I could make you come in every possible way known to mankind.”
It took her a good few seconds to react. Her eyes glazed over, and her lips parted as she puffed air in and out.
Knowing his words had affected her, and knowing they’d affected him just as much, if not more, made him gasp for air.
She blinked, clearing her gaze. “Why are you saying these things?”
Garreth went straight for the truth. “Because I want you, and you want me, and now the pact is broken there is nothing standing in the way of us being together.”
She raised a brow. “Nothing?”
“Not a single, damn thing.” Especially with Sam out of the picture. Rachel had shared that interesting detail with him in the mountains.
Once again Jenna pasted her sweet, soulless smile on her face. “Apart from the fact that you fucked my best friend, you mean?” She paused, looked down at her trussed body, sighed and corrected herself. “Ex-best friend.”
Garreth sucked in a deep breath. Not because of her attack, but because of her choice of words. Jenna never swore. Ever. It was all part of her self-discipline. Her carefully controlled manner. Swearing showed emotion, weak
ness, and Jenna wasn’t weak. Not anymore. Once she had been, and it had almost crushed her.
She’d accused him of fucking her best friend—not sleeping with Rachel. Which told Garreth two things. One, she hadn’t gotten over it—not that he’d believed for one moment she had, and two, her control was slipping.
Good. He wanted her control to slip. Wanted her wall down. Not so she’d be vulnerable, but so he could get in, tell her the truth about his actions last weekend once and for all, and bond with the part of Jenna she kept so well hidden.
Garreth chose his response carefully. “I fucked Rachel, but I love you.”
Her sweet smile turned into an empty laugh. “Ah, Garreth, what a charming way you have of expressing your love. No wonder women fall at your feet.”
“I’d have fucked you, if you’d ever given me the chance. I’d have fucked you every day for the last two years. I’d have done it so thoroughly and so well, you’d have begged for more.”
“Not very discerning, are you?” Jenna mocked. “Me, my friend. Would you like an introduction to my cousin? My clients perhaps?”
Had her reaction to his deed not already torn his heart out in the mountains, her words might have hurt more. But he’d had a week to brace himself. He was more than ready to tackle the issue head on. “Jealous, Jenn?” Please, be jealous!
“Why should I be? Because you can’t keep your pants on? Because you can’t see that fucking the best friend of the woman you love may be a little…selfish? Or that fucking the woman your housemate loves is even more…perverse? I’m not jealous, Garreth. I’m appalled.”
Appalled, maybe. Contained? Not so much. She was trying, he’d give her that. Giving it her best shot. But the fact she kept swearing told him she was losing control just a little more with every passing minute.
Time to push a little harder. “Appalled? Or angry?”
“I’m disgusted,” she hissed.
“You’re furious. Because no matter how immoral my actions might have been in your book, the bottom line is I fucked Rachel, not you.”
She glared at him. “You fucked the woman Jackson loves.”
He nodded. “I did. And that makes me the selfish prick. But have you seen your brother this last week? Have you seen Rachel? Have you seen what’s happened as a result of my sleeping with her? They’re together. They’re in love. And they are finally happy! Very, very happy.” He eyed her warily. “Can you say the same for yourself? Are you happy?”
Jenna pursed her lips. “They’re happy. I’ll concede that. But that doesn’t justify your actions.”
Ah, no surprise she’d avoided the question about her own happiness. If she answered honestly, she’d be giving him some insight into her deepest thoughts and feelings. “You rejected me, Jenna. What did you expect? That I’d remain faithful to you? That I’d let my life rot while you fucked another man?”
“I never asked you to be faithful. But I sure as hell never expected you to fuck my best friend.”
“Why not just acknowledge the truth? You wish it had been you, not Rachel.”
“I hate you.” Her eyes flashed.
“Correction. You hate that I never fucked you.”
“No. I hate you.”
“You hate that you begged me to make love to you in the mountains, and I didn’t.”
“I was wrong. I don’t just hate you, I fucking despise you.”
There it was again. The very word she never used. “You despise that when we finally had a chance to be together, I pulled the plug.” Didn’t she know that had nearly killed him? Jenna, naked in his arms was not something he could easily have passed over. But he’d had no choice. If he hadn’t stopped her, she would really have ended up hating him. And herself. And he’d never, ever have risked that outcome.
Even if it had left him with a serious case of blue balls for the past week.
“You, Garreth Halt. I despise you. I despise you more with every word you utter.”
“You love me, Jenn, and acknowledging it is driving you insane.”
“Knowing I stripped naked in your arms is driving me insane.”
Why? Because she’d exposed herself to him? Shown him her vulnerabilities? “You should have stripped naked in my arms long before Jackson broke the pact. I’d never have slept with Rachel then. I’d never have needed to.”
Her mouth tightened and her shoulders stiffened.
Born to Be Wild
Elle Kennedy
Being bad never felt so good…
Welcome to Paradise, Book 3
Bree Lockhart was always the good girl—on the surface. During her senior year of high school, however, her inner bad girl was lured out to play by reckless, carefree Jake Bishop. Her parents’ worst nightmare, and the man she’s never forgotten.
Twelve years later, she’s home for a charity event and up for auction. The highest bidder? Jake. This time around, he wants more than a wild ride—he wants it all. But she’s not about to risk her heart on another fling that’ll just leave it in pieces.
Jake once reveled in showing Bree how good it is to be bad. But convincing her he can be good for her is going to take some very special tactics…
Warning: This book features a bad boy soldier determined to chip away at a good girl’s resistance with hot sex, hot sex, and…more hot sex.
eBooks are not transferable.
They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Born to Be Wild
Copyright © 2012 by Elle Kennedy
ISBN: 978-1-60928-966-9
Edited by Lindsey Faber
Cover by Kendra Egert
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: April 2012
www.samhainpublishing.com
Elle Kennedy, Born to Be Wild
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends