STORY EXCERPT

“What on earth are you talking about?” Riley asked.

“Problems of my own, lass. This shouldn’t have been a problem. You practically bit me when I came off that ship.”

“I did no such thing! I may have thought of it but…”

The man was distracted and not listening to her. His generous lips tried to form a tight line across his face, an almost impossible task. His stare grew harder though, roaming the dock as though something hid just beyond his sight. When he turned back to her, he gave her a lazy smile. He seemed to be two distinct people at times.

“I’m not afraid of work, Mistress Sullivan. I’ve avoided it if possible, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do it. I may be here a while, so I’ll lend a hand till we tie up the loose ends. Your brother implied there wasn’t much in the way of profit, so I assumed—”

“Assumed what? That I’d whore myself for a man’s help?”

“Brian wasn’t specific, lass, but he seemed pleased with my look. I’m willing to take what you offer. It’s not whoring. It’s barter at this point, and when more needs to be said, I’ll say it. You need a man, and I need a place to stay while I find my prodigal brother.” The man’s gaze roamed the crowd again. He jammed his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Christ, he’s an impossible man. I shouldn’t have sent him here ’cause it’s obvious I can’t trust him. If his purse is empty, I’ll kick his ass back across the sea.”

“Would I know your brother?”

He grinned. “Doubtful, lass, or we would be having this conversation in a different sort of setting. It’s obvious Michael’s found himself some trouble. Doesn’t surprise me.” Riley shook her head, thoroughly confused, but he didn’t explain, and when he continued, she had lost the thread of his conversation entirely. The man talked in circles. “If you choose to accept, you won’t be disappointed.”

“Disappointed in what?”

He smiled.

“In bed, lass.”

Riley’s legs buckled, and she dropped into the pile of sacks. She should not be allowed in public if she couldn’t handle one conversation.

He shrugged. “I’ve had no complaints.”

A man like this would never hear a complaint, in bed or anywhere else. Oh, she should have stayed home in bed this day and drawn the covers so securely over her head she couldn’t possibly have caught a glimpse of this man. What had she gotten herself into? Her glance roamed over his boots, up his long lean muscular legs, across the narrow hips, and, for one excruciating moment, lingered on the bulge swelling inside his breeches. Long. Thick. Tight against the fabric. She wanted to see it. She’d never seen a man’s cock before, and this man, this impossibly perfect man, seemed a good place to start. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Would she ever be able to pay a man with her own body? Was she that desperate or wanton? She was afraid to find out.

God help me. I want this man.

He had his hands on his hips, waiting on her decision, staring down at her with a look implying she was the most foolish woman on earth for even having to consider such a proposal. He had just arrived in a new world, dirty, tired, and eager to be anywhere that didn’t smell of the sea. She could offer him a bed, a meal, and an occupation while he settled into a new life however temporary he thought it might be. He was willing to work for her, laboring in her shop to help her turn the chaos of her life into a viable future.

A single aye, and she could give her body to this dark archangel. If the decision trapped her soul in purgatory for eternity, she thought it might be worth it for another touch of this man’s hands. Brian had been right. He was perfect and all she’d ever wanted.

She glanced up at his face. He gave her an impatient shrug. Though still unsure, what she saw spurred her to action. She leaped to her feet, clutched the man’s shirt, and pushed against him. The bulge in his breeches twitched then lunged against her, and she nearly collapsed under the barrage of sudden heat that flashed through her body. She wondered once again at what moment in the last six months she had lost every ounce of her sanity.

“Kiss me. Right now!”

ADULT EXCERPT

“Do you want my cock, Riley?”

All she could do was nod, a slight dip. At least she thought she nodded. She meant to nod. She wasn’t sure she had moved, but she must have because he tilted his head and asked her another question. The man would not be happy until she crawled on her hands and knees toward him.

“Since this is our first time together, I should ask. I know what I’d prefer, but where do you want it?”

She gasped. “There are choices?”

Logan laughed. “Maybe not yet.”

He searched between her legs and dipped his thumb back into her. Just a tender swipe along the outer edge.

“You’re very wet, Riley. Very hot. Very ready. Do you want me to fuck you now?”

She shuddered as she pulled in a long breath and tightened her hand around him.

“Bloody hell, Logan, what have you done to me?”

“You want it as much as I do.”

“No,” she whispered.

“Aye,” he said softly. “You do. There’s no shame in that, Riley Sullivan. I’ll speak to no one of what happens here. It’s between us. Now, for the first time in your life, let yourself have what you want.”

“I don’t know what I want.”

“Aye, you do. You want me.”

“Aye,” she said quickly. “I do.”

He moved closer, his body forcing her thighs farther apart. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down toward the table. When she resisted, he pushed harder. He swept out with his arm, and Brian’s books and papers fluttered to the floor. The ink bottle struck the boards in a shatter of glass, and Riley felt a tear prick the corner of her eye.

“I’ll get him more,” Logan said.

She tried to rise. “His books will be ruined.”

“If they are, I’ll replace them,” he said. “Remind me later.”

He grabbed her hips and yanked her to the edge of the table, locking her legs around his hips. She felt his hands under her skirt again, and suddenly there was a hard prodding between her thighs. She wanted to close her eyes, but it seemed important that she watch what he did. She bit down on her lip, tense, waiting for the stab of pain. But he didn’t drive into her. She felt his cock slide across the wet folds of her skin, a gentle motion that spread moisture across the tiny hills and valleys between her legs. His cock flickered across that throbbing piece of her, her clit. How did he know more about her body than she did? She shivered at the incredible sensation. She waited in anticipation until it came again, and when it did, her eyes fluttered closed.

“You like that,” he said.

She shook her head furiously.

“There may not be trust between us, but when I fuck you, Riley, there will be honesty. Tell me the truth, or I’ll stop.”

“Aye,” she breathed. “I like it. Don’t stop.”

He rubbed the soft tip of his cock across her pussy, stroking up and down in slow, almost tender, movements. She felt more moisture drip against her and thought it might be coming from him. Her body had begun to quiver, and her skin felt hot as though she gripped in a fever. Her heart thumped a thunderous beat, and she had to stifle a moan that roared through her from nowhere. She could not give him the satisfaction of hearing what he could do to her.

She concentrated on the pleasurable flutters between her legs, and when his hand covered her breast again, her eyes flew open. He rolled the rigid nipple between his fingers, tugging hard while increasing the pressure against that spot, her clit. How on earth could touching such a small place send such sensation through her entire body? Her legs tightened around him as her hips lifted off the table, and a swell of some unnamed feeling flooded through her.

“Oh, no…” she whispered.

“Aye, Riley. Don’t fight it.”

“This isn’t right,” she whispered. “I can’t do this. I can’t feel this way, not ever, but especially not with you.”

“Only with me,” he murmured. “Let it come, Riley. It’s the truth between us.”

A fire burned somewhere inside of her, an ache, a longing for something. As the wave of excruciating pleasure ground through her and stole her thoughts, her body began to tremble. Every muscle in her body quivered simultaneously until she thought she would die unless he kissed her. She wanted his entire body against her, wanted to feel the hard muscles beneath his flesh, and wanted something to calm the pulsing inside of her. The muscles insider her pussy contracted on emptiness. She needed to be filled with something, and he had what she needed. She wanted him to put his cock inside her. She wanted to tell him to do it.

She squirmed on the table, and her hand reached toward him. Yet, still he continued to torture her. The tiny nub he rubbed hardened when his cock slid over it and pounded with an extraordinary pulse.

She bolted upright and wound her arms around him. She could barely get a breath. Each flicker of his cock against her tight, hot skin made her gasp. She pressed her face against his chest and nuzzled against the hair, pressing hard, open-mouthed kisses against his skin.

“What’s happening to me?” she whispered.

“You don’t know?”

He raised her face, and she shook her head.

“Oh, lass, you’ve barely lived. We can take care of that."