STORY EXCERPT

Haylie breathed the subtle scent of Blake’s cologne mixed with the salty breeze off the gulf. The warm air sizzled between them, and the shock of his hand as it grazed her arm ripped through her like lightning. Familiar doubt crept into her mind. How could she have been so wrong about him? How could she still want to forgive him, even now?

“If you’re leaving, let me give you a ride.” His confidence and the whisper of a smile nearly did her in.

She refused to so much as blink or brush away the hair the gulf breeze had whipped into the corner of her eye. “Is that your standard pick-up line, or a special one just for me?”

His cocky smile widened and he grabbed her hand. He would take anything as a yes.

She held her ground, digging her heels deeper in the sand. “If I followed you out of here, what would we be doing a half hour from now?”

“We’d be finding all kinds of ways to forgive one another.” Humor danced in his eyes. “Or we could spend a little time catching up with our clothes on.”

Her heart sped up and heat spread through her. Everything about him still got her humming from head to toe, and even though she knew better, she wanted him to take her back to that place she couldn’t forget. Just for a minute. She stepped close, wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed her lips against his ear. “And if we had our clothes off. Tell me exactly how you’d be changing my mind about you.” She barely breathed the words, but the way his hands tightened on her waist told her she’d come across loud and clear. “Don’t leave out a single detail. I really want to know what you think it would take.”

His heated breath connected with her skin, but he didn’t speak. She closed her eyes and melted into his arms again. She had craved this since the day she left him. No matter what he’d done to her heart, her body longed for how he’d always made her feel.

“What do you want me to say?” A hint of laughter rode his voice, but something more ragged clung to his words.

She let her tongue slip just far enough through her lips to graze his earlobe and snuffed a smile as he responded with a low groan that tripped her nerves and shot straight to her womb. Somewhere deep in her soul, she wanted him to convince her she’d been wrong all these years. Even if she knew he couldn’t.  

“Start out with something simple,” she said. “Imagine you got me to wherever you were just ready to go. We closed the door or slipped between the dunes or… whatever…” His chest moved beneath her hand. His heart pumped hard against her palm. “What happens next? Where are you going to touch me? What part of me will you taste first?”

His hands slid down to grip her hips so hard there’d probably be a bruise. He didn’t know his own strength. As rough as he was gentle, the opposing sensations could do a number on her that left her limp as a noodle and begging for more. His lips and tongue came down soft and warm on her neck and sent wet heat scampering between her thighs. Holy hell. Not exactly the move she’d been prepared for.

“God, Haylie, I want you. Let me take you home.” Kisses heated his words and stole her breath.

Her body caved completely, begging for everything he could give her. She clung to him, sinking deeper with every brush of his tongue against her skin, but common sense finally kicked in. It didn’t matter how Blake could make her feel. If she didn’t stop this now, she’d never forgive herself tomorrow.

She owed herself more than that. She wouldn’t give in to him tonight, or ever again.

ADULT EXCERPT

Passion bit at him, but he eased her onto the bed. His hands fisted on the mattress. He slowly uncurled one to stroke a long strand of hair away from her face and trace her bottom lip with his fingertip while he fought for control.

“Are you just going to look at me?” Breath clung to her words and her eyes glistened in the darkened room.

“I’ve got bigger plans than that.” The words ground out of him, every minute he spent outside of her was an effort. He spread her thighs with his knee and lowered himself onto the bed above her. He hadn’t forgotten how it felt to sink into her, and anticipation rattled his nerves.

He lowered his head and drew his tongue slowly over one sweet nipple and then the other. Her nipples drew tight and her back arched, pushing her breasts toward him. He looked up to see the passion in her eyes, but she murmured his name and pulled his head closer to her chest. Her skin burned hot beneath his tongue and hands.

Breath poured from her lungs and she squirmed beneath him as he sucked and licked, savoring the flavor of her skin. His cock jumped against her thigh begging to feel her wrapped tight around him. Blake couldn’t hold back any longer. He had to have her.

As if she read his thoughts, her hand dipped to his back, and her fingernails bit into him, pulling his body closer, demanding more.

His mouth followed the soft mound of her breast to the valley between that pulsed with the beat of her heart. She trembled as he pressed his lips against the rhythm and kissed a line down her abdomen. Moving his attention to the fevered skin on the inside of her thigh, he focused first on one leg then the other. She shifted, inviting him to taste the very essence of her desire and giving him the only permission he needed to tear down the wall between them.

“Please,” she whispered.

 He spread her nether lips with his tongue, and a moan wrenched free from deep in her throat. His cock throbbed and strained under its own weight. The scent of her bore deep into him. He gripped her thighs, probably too hard, but he needed her so bad he couldn’t hold back. He sucked her little swollen bud into his mouth and teased it with short quick strokes.

Her cries filled the room and she moved beneath him, begging for more. He slipped one finger and then another in her tight little hole, getting her ready. His dick swelled again in anticipation. He pumped and stroked inside her while he licked and sucked her clit.

He didn’t think he could hold out any longer. His whole body shook, but he fought the urge to climb on top of her and bury himself deep inside. She tensed. Her voice rose, and then she convulsed, calling his name and circling his head with her thighs. Her soft, trembling flesh covered his shoulders and her juices poured over his fingers. Damn she still came hard.

He couldn’t hold back anymore. He moved over her, dipping down to plant a kiss on her mouth before bracing his arms above her shoulders.