STORY EXCERPT

“I hope you’re having more than just coffee for breakfast?”

“I rarely eat breakfast. This is perfectly adequate for me.”

She could clearly see the disapproval on his face, and when Sascha returned with a plate loaded with ham and eggs, he spoke.

“Sascha, a plate of ham and eggs for Tess, too.”

“Straightaway, Mr. Brannigan.”

“Kyle, I’m fine.”

“Honey, we’ve got one hell of a day ahead of us. The food is here, so eat.”

Annoyed that he was treating her like a child, she voiced her disapproval at his interference. “I’m a grown woman. I make up my own mind whether I eat, or—”

He pointed a finger directly at her. “Listen to me and understand this. You may not get another chance to eat until this evening. Do you want to take the risk of passing out because you’re too stubborn to know what’s good for you? I don’t have the time or the resources to babysit you twenty-four seven. So if you do faint, it’ll be your own fault.” His words were uncompromising and a little unkind.

It seemed like her new boss hadn’t got a heart. “Your concern is duly noted, Mr. Brannigan.” She emphasized her displeasure by using his formal title, knowing full well that it pissed him off.

He sighed, resignedly, and placed his hand gently on hers. “I don’t mean to sound so harsh, honey. I just know from years of experience how things tend to pan out in the field. You don’t eat or drink properly, and you become dehydrated, and then—”

“Very well, I’ll eat the damned breakfast,” she retorted irritably.

“Good, that’s settled then.” His beautiful face broke into a smile as he flicked his gaze once more to her, making her wonder if this was all a game to him. Maybe he was testing her to see what made her tick. Well she would keep super cool in his presence, if only to annoy him. Then he said, “Say, honey, are you always this grumpy in the morning?”

“Only when I’m not allowed to choose what I want for breakfast,” she answered hotly, already forgetting her promise to remain ice cold.

“What’s up? Didn’t you get a good night’s sleep?” A grin lit up his face in amusement as he forked a large portion of ham and eggs to his mouth.

“I slept particularly well.” Once her vibrator had managed to banish him from her mind.

“That’s real good. So that wasn’t you I heard tossing and turning in the bed, and crying out?”

Tess squirmed on her seat. Jesus Christ, those cabin walls really were super thin. “Absolutely not,” she vehemently denied. “And if you did hear something, which you didn’t, you couldn’t have been sleeping either.”

He held up his hands in self-defense. “Okay, okay, just asking. No need to bite my head off.”

Sascha brought a huge plate of ham and eggs from the galley and placed it in front of Tess. “If you need any more, ma’am, just let me know.” She then turned her attention to Kyle and smiled a perfect smile. “Would you like more coffee, Mr. Brannigan, sir?”

“Mmm, yeah, thanks, Sascha, that would be great.”

Tess immediately felt a pang of unwanted jealousy when Kyle’s gaze fixated on Sascha’s perfect ass as she made her way back to the galley. Wanting to bring his attention back to her, rather than the waitress, she asked, “Kyle, you got any sisters?”

“Two, why?”

“I bet you bullied them mercilessly when you were younger.”

A warm smile drifted to his lips as he shoveled yet another forkful of ham and eggs to his mouth. After smiling and chewing for a few moments, he eventually replied, “If by bullying you mean pulling their braids, and cutting the heads off their Barbie dolls, then yeah, I guess I did.” He pointed his fork at her. “I’ll tell you one thing, honey. If this is how you usually act, then you must have given your kid brother hell when you were both growing up.”

“I was the perfect sister to my little brother.”

He raised an eyebrow in mock disbelief. “Somehow I doubt that.”

When he started laughing, she couldn’t stop herself from joining in and laughing, too. “Oh, Kyle, I can’t be angry with you for long. By the way this breakfast is delicious.”

“What did I tell you, honey?”

“Okay, okay, just this once I agree. You’re right and I’m wrong.”

Sascha returned with fresh coffee and placed it on the breakfast table. “Mr. Brannigan, sir, Captain Morales has asked me to inform you that the Quelinne Rig is now visible on your left.”

“Thanks, Sascha.” Kyle turned to the window and stared out. “Hey, take a look at this, Tess.” He placed a protective arm around her shoulder as she hunkered down to look through the porthole. “Ain’t that just about the most awesome thing you’ve ever seen?”

Being so close to a man like Kyle Brannigan made her aware of every inch of him. His masculine scent was unmistakable and highly arousing. In the distance she could just make out a huge plume of smoke rising unchallenged into the sky as the oil blowout belched acrid fumes into the stratosphere. She turned to Kyle.

“Wow, that sure is some sight.”

Kyle was in his element, all pumped up and macho. If he wanted her, would she refuse him, could she refuse him? She had to admit his sex appeal went right off the scale. He subtly moved his hand from her shoulder to her waist.

“There it is, Tess. Your first assignment with Brannigan Enterprises.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“Man, I love this job.” He turned to look at her, the vivid blue of his eyes a stark contrast to the sea of dirt that covered his handsome, rugged face. When his gaze drifted to her lips, a quiver of anticipation flooded her body. Was he going to kiss her? His deep voice rasped, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. “Tess, you shouldn’t look at a guy like that when his blood’s up.”

“Like what?”

“Like you want me. Like you want me inside you.”

I do. Oh how I do. I’ve seen this man risk his life, and it fills me with awe.

When she licked her lips expectantly, he roughly pulled her into his arms. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Tess.” He planted a possessive kiss to her mouth. Of their own accord her arms wound around his neck, her fingers threading sensually through his damp hair. He smelled of sweat, the sort a man got from hard manual labor. No guy who worked in an office ever smelt like this. Right at this very moment, Kyle Brannigan was a raw, uncompromising Alpha male, the kind who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Strangely, she didn’t care that he was dirty. In fact quite the opposite held sway. The smell of man sweat mixed with oil turned her on, making her pussy wet with need. He filled her with a sense of sexual longing she’d only ever read about. Kyle was so alive. Maybe being so close to death made a man appreciate life all the more.

Brushing his lips to her ear, he whispered, “The time for talking is over.” He roughly pushed her against the wall of the utility cabin, his body following hers as he pressed her deliciously against the creaking structure. Christ, it felt so damned good when his hips pinned her in place. The unmistakable bulge in his coveralls gave her a clear indication of just how much his blood was up.

She’d never wanted a man as much as she wanted Kyle right now. Tess raised her chin and stared into his eyes, daring him to go further. If she held her head firmly against the wall, it would stop the tremors that threatened to shake her body apart. Just the way he looked at her made her pussy moisten uncontrollably. He was a predator, pure and simple, and she was his prey. It was frightening, yet exciting, too.

Only the sound of their heavy breathing filled the small space until she finally broke the silence. “Someone might—”

“No chance.” Kyle kicked the door shut with a booted foot. He locked it with a resounding click, before turning his undivided attention back to her. As his eyes swept over her, he grabbed a handful of hair, twisting it firmly until she couldn’t move her head at all. It was a possessive act, an act of ownership, and one that turned her on. He was all male, and he wanted her. He made her feel like a real woman. Something Chad had been unable to do in the six years they’d spent together.

“You’re mine now. You belong to me.” He roughly cupped her chin, splaying his fingers wide, allowing his thumb to brush across her lips. For some crazy reason she couldn’t stop herself sucking it into her mouth.

This act of submission seemed to inflame him further, and he kicked her feet apart, spreading her legs wide. Her heart pounded relentlessly, and her breasts heaved as he trailed a hand between her legs, lifting her skirt as he raised it inexorably higher.

“Kyle.” The single word trembled from her lips.

“Shhh, honey. You’re safe with me.”

She stared into his vivid blue eyes, completely mesmerized and controlled by him.

He nipped her lips with his teeth. “You want this.”

“Yes.” The word didn’t struggle from her. It came easily, so very easily. Everything about Kyle excited her. The combined smell of oil and sweat, his prick hard and pushing against her belly. His heart pounding in perfect rhythm with her own.

The heat in his gaze intensified as he pushed her panties aside and slipped a finger deep inside her wetness, before caressing her clit. This most intimate of contact made her moan appreciatively. Kyle’s eyelids flickered shut, covering his gorgeous blue irises as he breathed deeply. “Oh, Tess, you’re so beautiful.” His mouth claimed hers, controlling and possessive.

When she heard the unmistakable sound of his zipper being drawn down, she knew there was no turning back.

Oh…my…God, he’s going to take me here and now, and I’m not even going to put up a fight. What the hell are you playing at, woman?