STORY EXCERPT

Ava took in a deep quiet breath, held it for a count of three, and then exhaled, readying herself for whatever was about to happen next.

Both front doors of the huge black SUV opened at the same time, and two very large men stepped out onto her recently paved driveway.

Shit. They looked exactly like government agents, too.

Mr. White certainly hadn’t wasted any time ratting her out to the authorities again. She watched them carefully, thinking they didn’t seem like they were in any hurry to approach.

The two men were both well over six feet tall in her estimation. One with dark hair and the other blond, each man was very, very attractive. Chiseled square jaws, clean shaven, and with muscles galore from shoulders to thighs. In fact, the two hunks could have been models for the annual Mr. Hottie G-Man calendar. Perhaps they already were.

Chiding herself for the fanciful notion, Ava stiffened her resolve and remained where she was. Centered on her porch at the top of the stairs that she’d whitewashed herself, clutching a shotgun she wouldn’t have the nerve to fire at a living person, and wishing she didn’t feel like she was about to lose such a hard-fought battle to keep a frightened woman and her child safe, Ava waited for them to come to her.

She watched as each of them stretched beside their respective sides of the vehicle. Had they come a long way? They looked good, but handsome or not, they were going to do an about-face and leave, or the birds would scatter out of the trees for a second time today when she put another shotgun blast into the air. Unless they had a warrant. She dearly hoped they did not.

Each man also closed their vehicle door exactly at the same time as if they’d choreographed it in advance. She thought they hadn’t seen her yet. They hadn’t reacted in any way to a pissed-off woman waiting impatiently and holding a weapon. She watched from her porch, still as a statue, for them to get closer. With the shotgun loaded for bear, Ava tightened her hands around the barrel and grip.

The two approached together, walking straight and true to the bottom step of her porch.

“Are you the owner of this house?” the dark-haired one asked. His deep voice sent a shiver from her nipples to her pussy. Damn. She hadn’t had such vivid lust for a man in quite a long spell. She was a bit out of practice. Her libido piped up with a sincere desire to hear him speak again.

He was a bit taller than the blond, but that wasn’t saying much. They were both giants. His overall expression seemed to say, Don’t fuck with me. And he hadn’t once glanced at her gun. He kept his focus on her face. More specifically, he looked into her eyes.

Could he see to the depths of her soul? She mentally shook her head and tried to focus on the problem at hand. She wasn’t going to trust him just because she suddenly had the hots for an attractive stranger. She fixed her gaze on his icy, light blue-gray eyes, too. His mesmerizing stare relaxed her. She needed to find some backbone and get rid of these two intruders.

Deciding not to answer his question regarding the ownership of her home, she said, “If you all are selling something, I’m not interested. You can just turn around, and go back the way you came.” Lie. Lie. Lie. She’d buy his entire stock and beg for more, if he merely spoke again.

The blond cracked the briefest of smiles when she said the words selling something.

The dark-haired man simply looked further annoyed. “My name is Declan Westfall. I’m a private investigator working in connection with a federal agency on an immigration case. This is my partner Troy Markham.” The other man nodded once politely.

Damn it all to hell. Marisol wasn’t an immigration case. She was hiding from a drunken, wife-beating bastard. Marisol wasn’t sure what action her husband had taken in the wake of her sudden absence. Was she listed as a missing person? Or had her husband filed a complaint against her for taking their son away? Either way, if a federal case were opened to investigate her, Ava feared Marisol’s husband would find her and Javier very easily. The truth would keep her in the states, but her husband would have her again.

“I can’t imagine what an immigration officer wants all the way out here in these parts.” Her spine went rigid with panic. They’d ask about Marisol, and she’d have to decide whether to lie about her presence inside.

“We’re looking for a woman named Ava Campbell. Do you know where she is?”

They’re looking for me? Ava relaxed a notch. Her grip loosened around the shotgun. She lowered the weapon to one side, and studied them each once more. Still gorgeous.

“I’m not saying that I do or don’t know her. But what do you all want with this Ava Campbell anyway?” she asked.

Declan drilled her with a livid glare hot enough to melt iron into liquid steel. “None of your business. Do you know her or not?”

“Maybe I do. And maybe I don’t.” She wasn’t about to volunteer any information on her identity until she knew exactly why they were here. Gorgeous or not, one of them might whip out tax papers and declare that she owed big money to the government or something. They’d haul her off to jail until it was sorted out and she was vindicated, but what would happen to Marisol and her son in the meantime?

The blond man named Troy chuckled once, seemingly at her uninformative response. Declan, however, took a step forward and continued up the wide whitewashed stairs so fast, Ava couldn’t lift her weapon to threaten or even fend him off. He hit the top stair, towered within six inches of her spot, and stopped. She was riveted to the place where her sandals touched the floor.

ADULT EXCERPT

Ava couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so turned on that she wanted to strip naked in front of strangers to feed her rapacious desires. But that was exactly how she felt. Troy shifted his body so she wasn’t trapped against the cushion.

His hand slid slowly up her side from hip to torso. She sent a mental message to please play with her breast. The carnal kiss continued. His sensual, amazing mouth rubbed and tasted her lips as if he couldn’t get close enough. Her nipples tingled at the mere prospect of his touch. She arched her back forward, pushing her breasts closer to give him whatever silent permission he needed.

Ava heard moaning and realized she was the one making noise. Distracted by her embarrassment, she was suddenly surprised when Troy’s hand clamped over one breast. Her nipple came to attention against his palm. He flicked his thumb over the sensitive bud, and another moan escaped from her throat.

Hands buried in the soft tendrils of his hair, Ava raked her nails along his scalp. Troy’s body had hovered over her up to now, but suddenly he pressed his hips between her open legs. The decadent feel of his huge cock burrowing between her thighs sent a pulse of lust straight to her pussy. She wanted to have sex more than she wanted to keep breathing.

A gush of moisture shot into her panties in readiness. The idea that his cock was hot, hard, and capable of immediate penetration sent her arousal zooming sky-high. She curled her hips and pushed her pussy against his rigid arousal. He responded with a few thrusts until Ava was convinced she might not need to take her clothes off to experience the best orgasm ever.

They moved in tandem, kissing and rubbing against each other until she wanted to violate him repeatedly. She’d never felt so crazy good or aroused before this unexpected backseat make-out encounter.

“Keep your heads down. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Declan said and opened his car door. Noises of the night in the form of nearby highway traffic and the buzz of a streetlight above the car filtered into her lust-saturated brain before the door closed again, and the quiet resumed.

Ava broke the kiss. Damn. She hadn’t even felt the car slow down or stop. A narrow shaft of light from the dim overhead light illuminated a small place in the backseat and also part of Troy’s face.

He drew back a few inches. He stared down into her eyes. He looked as hungry as she felt. Both of them panted.

“Are we stopping?” he asked in a whisper.

She shook her head. “I don’t want to.” She wanted sex. Soon. Now. The euphoric feeling she had pushed out any thoughts of practical reasoning. This was crazy. Outrageous. And she wasn’t stopping until she was satisfied.

He grinned. Oh, my, those delicious dimples. “Good. Neither do I.” His lips captured hers in sensual abandon once more. The acute arousal in her body picked up the beat as if they’d never stopped. He kissed the corner of her mouth and then kissed her cheek.

He pulled away again. “Unbutton your shirt.”

With trembling hands she quickly did as he asked. When she finished and opened her shirt to him, he smiled. “I love front-closure bras.” He nodded at her. “Undo it for me. I want to see you.”

She complied. Ava had never felt so utterly sexy and desirable in her life. She pulled the cups away so he could see her bare breasts. He sucked in a sharp breath the moment she was revealed.

His head dipped down toward one nipple. “Beautiful,” he whispered and took the pert bud into his mouth. Her back arched in bliss the moment he sucked her nipple deeply between his lips. The ripe pleasure of his suction made her mindless with arousal. Ava wanted to climax. Soon. She also wanted his cock buried all the way inside her pussy when she did.

“Ohmigod. Ohmigod,” she chanted over and over. Her body was ablaze in vibrant sexual sensations.

The driver’s door opened again. and Declan climbed in. “Stay down.”

Even the sudden intrusion didn’t dampen her lust. Ava was in some dream world where she had to complete this tryst or die trying. Troy lifted his head from her breast and kissed her mouth again. His tongue darted between her lips hard and fast then slow and seductive until Ava didn’t know if she’d be able to leave the vehicle without being satisfied first. The best she could do was not moan, pant, or scream in pleasure while Declan moved the vehicle.

Seconds later, Declan opened his door again. “We’re in number seven. Let me get inside the room first. I’ll leave the door unlocked for the two of you.”