Heat It Up (12 page)

“Past tense?” he said, watching her carefully.

She met his gaze, and the hope and trepidation she saw there sent a rush of warmth flooding through her. “Present tense,” she said softly. “I
am
serious about you.” He didn’t speak for a moment, for so long, in fact, that she started to worry. But when he finally opened his mouth, it was worth the wait. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry for comparing you to Alice, for telling you you’re not my type, and most of all, for believing you’d jump into bed with the first warm body you came across.” He stepped forward, one calloused hand reaching out to stroke her cheek. “Can we start over?”

A part of her wanted to scream
yes!
But she tamped down the eager response, studying Becker’s handsome face. “How will we make a relationship work, Beck? We live in different cities.”

“Three hours away, that’s all,” he said quietly. “And I promise you, I’ll come up here whenever I can. I’ll spend every available second making you happy, Jane.” Pleasure skittered up her spine. “Wow. You actually sound like you mean that.”

“I do mean it.” He smiled. “We can figure this out as we go along. I’ll do the long-distance thing for as long as we have to. All I know is that I want to be with you. I’ll take whatever I can get.”

“What about the passive housewife you wanted?” she teased.

“Screw passive,” he said fervently. He bent his head close to her ear. “I want aggressive, Jane. I want fiery and bold and honest. I want
you
.”

And there it was. The three little words that made her melt. The three little words she’d wanted to hear since the moment Becker told her she didn’t fit his blueprint for an ideal woman. Well, screw the blueprint. She’d known all along that she was exactly what he needed. Someone who made him laugh, someone who challenged him and excited him and turned him on. And now he knew it too.

She offered an innocent grin. “Took you long enough to figure it out, huh?” Amusement danced in his eyes. “So I’m a little slow on the uptake. Don’t rub it in.” He planted his hands on her waist and yanked her toward him. The second their bodies met, a ribbon of heat uncurled inside her body, making her skin burn. “I missed you,” Becker said gruffly, no longer looking amused, but incredibly aroused.

Jane’s eyelids fluttered closed as he leaned in to kiss her. The moment their lips touched, a thrill shot up her spine. “I missed you too,” she whispered against his mouth.

They kissed again, a hurried joining of lips, a dueling of tongues. Jane was breathless when they finally broke apart. Her heart thudded wildly against her ribs, her nipples tingling, her panties soaked.

“For the love of God,” she squeezed out. “Help me pick up all these bags so we can go inside the apartment.”

Becker’s eyes twinkled. “If I help, do you promise we can do naked things?” She bit back laughter. “Oh, we’ll definitely be doing naked things.”

“Good,” he said, giving a satisfied nod.

And then he helped her gather up the fallen bags, followed her into the apartment, and shut the door behind them.

About the Author

A RITA-award-nominated author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager. When she’s not writing, she’s reading.

And when she’s not reading, she’s making music with her drummer boyfriend, oil painting or indulging her love for board games.

Elle loves to hear from her readers. Visit her Web s
ite www.ellekennedy.com
or send her a note at

[email protected].

Look for these titles by Elle Kennedy

Now Available:

Out of Uniform

Heat of the Moment

Heat of Passion

Heat of the Storm

Bad Moon Rising

Dance of Seduction

Midnight Encounters

Going for It

Red Hot Summer

Hot Summer Nights

Hidden Desires

Coming Soon

Heat of the Night

Don’t get even. Get everything…

A Proper Seduction

© 2010 HelenKay Dimon

Even before her bad marriage ended, Lauren MacDonald lost everything—her job, her friends, her self-esteem, and her sexual appetite. Now that she’s finally free, she’s struggling to regain control of a life her ex did his best to destroy.

The plan: sex with Justin Scott, her ex’s business partner. The man her husband invited into their marital bed, forcing her to realize it was time to get out. Justin was the star of the fantasies that helped her endure her marriage, so she can’t deny she wanted him—but not like that. She wants him like this—

alone. In her bed. For exactly three nights.

Justin screwed up with Lauren, and in the past she’s made no secret of the fact she loathes him. So when she walks into his office flashing miles of long, lean legs, his brain cells misfire. Three nights of meaningless sex? He’s all over it. Not only does he have the chance to unleash his desire for her, it’s the opening he’s been waiting for—to convince her to give him more.

Warning: This book contains a little revenge, some bargaining, a lot of sex in hotel rooms and an
inventive use for a bathrobe.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
A Proper Seduction:

“Any place I can’t touch you?” He took one step. Then another, until only two feet of thin air separated them. “Anything else you don’t want me to do?”

“Just the kissing.”

“Care to tell me why? I’m only asking because I happen to be a fan of that particular activity.” He reached out and trailed the back of his fingers down her arm until he found her hand. With one smooth move, he lifted her palm and touched her fingertips to his lips.

The caress nearly broke her. She wanted to lean in, to soak up every drop of his musky smell. But she forced her body to stay still. If he knew how many nights she’d dreamed about his hands brushing over her, about his hot breath whispering against her neck, he’d have the power.

Of course, all of those fantasies fizzled when she heard Gavin’s voice in her head, cheering Justin on. But this time would be different. She would be in charge. She just had to make sure Justin understood the parameters of their nights together first.

“No kissing—”

“Anywhere?”

She was tempted to agree just to keep an even keel, but didn’t want to give up the feel of his lips against her bare skin. “No, just kissing on the lips is out.”

“Because?”

“It’s intimate and there’s nothing intimate about what we’re about to do.”

“Well, I plan to get you naked and lick you all over.” His mouth closed in a soft kiss against the inside of her wrist. “Sounds pretty damn intimate to me. In fact, it’s hard to imagine how we could get closer than me being inside you.”

A picture flashed in her head and she blinked it right back out again. “Your dick, not you.”

“Interesting theory you have on sex.”

She pulled her hand away before his tongue could tickle her nerve endings again. “Look, if you can’t take this seriously—”

“You’ll go to the nearest bar and pick up a stranger?”

“Maybe.”

His smile disappeared. “No fucking way.”

“I see we understand each other.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

How had they gone from taking off their clothes to chatting? She wanted action not table conversation. “Enough talking.”

His eyebrow inched up. “What do you want me to do instead?”

“Strip.”

Justin hesitated.

“Now,” she ordered, relishing how good the word felt on her tongue.

“Yes, ma’am.” Without another word, he peeled off his tie and threw it on the bed behind her.

She tried to back up, put some distance between them, but her calves hit the mattress and she was stuck. She could duck and run for cover on the other side of the room. The gleam in Justin’s eyes dared her to do just that. Instead, she stood there, just a few inches away, and watched, mesmerized, as his fingers went to work on his buttons. A few twitches later and his shirt stood open, revealing the hard planes of his upper body where his collarbone dipped in a hollow at the base of his neck.

She longed to taste him there. Her fingers itched to help him, to rush in and make him move faster.

To rip those pants off and push him down onto the bed. But she waited.

His shirt hit the floor and his hands dropped to his belt. His eyes grew even darker as he slipped the leather out of the loops and let it fall to the carpet. Next came his zipper. Slow and sure, he pulled the tab down a few clicks. It took forever to descend, as if he was drawing out the striptease to torture her. Then he stopped. With his hands tucked inside his pants and his fly open, bulge on display, he stood there.

“What are you doing?” she asked, fighting the urge to scream the question.

“Are you sure?” His husky voice echoed through the still room.

Justin was giving her the choice this time. Last year, Gavin had called the shots. She had waited at home for Gavin that first night, naked on the bed as ordered, until Justin had walked in the room. His heated gaze had burned through her and she’d panicked. With her mind in a daze and embarrassment building, Gavin had soothed her with lukewarm kisses and assured her that she would enjoy the feel of another man as much as he would enjoy watching. The memory of her pathetic acquiescence chased away the heat building inside her now.

“Lauren?”

She shook her head in an attempt to wipe the scene from her mind. “Yes?” Justin smoothed his hands down her arms. “We go as fast or slow as you want.”

“I say we try very fast.”

“We could—”

“Get on the bed.” The words rushed out of her. Inside, her stomach churned and her head buzzed. If she could make this happen, she could erase the bad memories and crack the hard shell that had crusted over her sexual appetite.

Justin stared at her, his gaze searching her face before traveling down to her closed fists. He pried open one of her hands and threaded her fingers through his. “It’s not a race.”

“I want sex.”

“With me.” His eyes asked the question even though he phrased it as a statement.

“Yes.”

Give a SEAL an inch, and he’ll take your heart.

Heat of the Storm

© 2009 Elle Kennedy

An
Out of Uniform
Story

Lieutenant Will Charleston has waited fifteen long years to show up as anything other than a one-pixel blip on Mackenzie Wade’s romantic radar. If a powerful storm is what he needs to send her into his arms, he’ll take it. Once the hot sex is over, though, she seems determined to kick him right back into the friend zone.

Not this time. This time, he’s going to teach her the meaning of tenacious.

Mackenzie has always had feelings for Will, feelings she fights with all her strength. He’s her best friend, her safety net. The one man who’s not scared of her accursed psychic gift. No doubt he drives her wild in bed, but their night of passion was more than a mistake. It generated a tragic vision of the future, one that leaves her more confused—and afraid—than ever.

Problem is, Will knows her too well. Plus he’s a SEAL to the bone. And they don’t like to lose…

Warning: This book contains a Navy SEAL who knows exactly what he wants—ridiculously hot and
dirty sex with the woman he’s been fantasizing about for years. Stormy sex and graphic language await
you.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Heat of the Storm:

“Either we talk about what you saw, or we talk about the kiss.” Will’s brows were drawn together in a frown. “Your choice, Mac.”

Neither. She wanted to talk about neither.

She edged toward the oversized leather sofa, hoping he’d take her silence and attempt at creating distance between them as a sign to back off. But the words
back off
were not part of his vocabulary and he only stepped closer, so that she was trapped between his big, hard body and the arm of the couch.

“Why did you kiss me?” he asked roughly.

She found the courage to meet his gaze. “I was upset about the break-up with Dan. And drunk. Very, very drunk. I…wasn’t thinking.”

He didn’t answer for a long while. So long that she didn’t think he would even reply. And she was right. He
didn’t
reply. Instead, he grasped her chin with his hands and then his mouth covered hers.

The kiss was scarier than the vision. The kiss was
real
.

She was helpless to fight it, though the relentless ache between her legs wouldn’t have let her fight anyway. Will’s hot mouth rubbed over hers in a slow kiss, his lips firm but deliciously soft, his fingers warm against her cheeks. He deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue between her lips. He sought out her tongue and swirled over it, the taste of him assaulting her senses and making her knees wobble.

He immediately slid one hand to her waist to hold her steady, curling his fingers over her hip, his touch searing through the cotton material of her nightshirt and scorching her skin.

She couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. All she was capable of doing was sagging into his hard chest and drowning in those intoxicating lips of his.

The kiss grew harder, greedy, almost frantic. He licked her bottom lip then sucked it hard into his mouth, eliciting a whimper from deep in her chest. And his tongue…it was too demanding, too precise as it flicked over hers, thrust in and out of her mouth, mimicking what she knew he wanted to do to her with his cock.

Fire consumed her body, growing hotter and stronger when he shoved one hard thigh between her legs and ground against her throbbing core. The long ridge of his cock pressed into her mound. She could feel him pulsing, swelling, and the thought of having all that hard, male flesh deep inside her made her gasp with pleasure.