Manhunting in Mississippi

“I’ve wanted you since I saw you lying in a puddle of water in the parking lot,” Ian murmured.

Piper laughed softly, then pushed gently at his chest. “Speaking of puddles…my cake!” She stepped away from him and walked toward the refrigerator. “Do you want whipped cream?”

At his nod, she added, “Cherries, too?”

“Sure,” he said, swal owing. The woman was kil ing him. “Why not?”

She carried the cake to the table. “Wel , dig in.”

Although he’d been craving something sweeter, Ian took a mouthful, then nodded appreciatively. “It’s great. Have a bite.” He held a spoonful to her lips, managing to drizzle sauce on her chin. She moved to wipe it away, but he stopped her hand. “Let me.” He leaned forward and licked the sauce from her chin, nipping along her jaw. Reaching past her, he dipped his finger in the chocolate, then stroked it down the side of her neck. “Oh, look,” he murmured, proceeding to lick it off, inch by delectable inch.

The dessert abandoned, he stood and pul ed her closer to him, burying his face in her cleavage. She moaned, swaying into him, and his body leaped in response. “Piper,” he whispered against her skin, “I
need
to make love to you.”

Praise for these bestselling authors

“
Stephanie Bond
delivers laugh-out-loud humor with this oftentimes bawdy comedy.”

—Romantic Times

“[A]n erotic fantasy…In a word…yum.”

—
All About Romance
on
Too Hot To Sleep

“
Two Sexy!
was an exciting book. I couldn’t put the book down.”

—The Romance Reader’s Connection

“[Julie] Kenner
has a way with dialogue; her one-liners are funny and fresh.”

—All About Romance

Stephanie Bond

Manhunting in Mississippi

BONUS: An original story by JULIE KENNER

CONTENTS

MANHUNTING IN MISSISSIPPI

Stephanie Bond

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

Mississippi Malted Mud Puddles Recipe

WRAPPED AND READY

Julie Kenner

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

Books by Stephanie Bond

Harlequin Temptation

Manhunting in Mississippi #685

Club Cupid #718

About Last Night…#751

It Takes a Rebel #769

Too Hot To Sleep #787

Seeking Single Male #805

Harlequin Blaze

Two Sexy! #3

Harlequin Love & Laughter

Irresistible?

Kids is a 4-Letter Word

Wife is a 4-Letter Word

Naughty or Nice?

Harlequin Books

Midnight Fantasies
anthology—
After Hours

MANHUNTING IN MISSISSIPPI

Stephanie Bond

This book is dedicated to Brenda Chin,

my adventurous editor,

who trusts me to run with my stories.

CHAPTER ONE

ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID …
and always broke. Fighting the phone cord, Piper Shepherd glanced in the mirror at the yel ow satin dress she held draped over her torso. With her cropped, dark hair, the ruffled netting around the shoulders made her look like a molting bird in a nest, but it would do. “Personal y, Justine, I think lemon yel ow would be stunning for an August wedding.”

Her friend sighed at the other end of the phone, obviously unconvinced. “Mother says yel ow won’t stand out in the outdoor photos. Besides, didn’t Barb have yel ow for her

bridesmaids’ dresses?”

Piper winced. “Did she?” She tossed the dress on her bed, then withdrew a long, off-the-shoulder lavender gown from the closet and held it under her chin. A sloshed usher had ripped off a ribbon rosette during someone’s reception, but the dress was serviceable. “How about lilac?”

“Hmm,” Justine mused, tapping her fingernail against the phone. “Nah, I don’t think it would complement Stewart’s carrottop. Besides, didn’t Sarah use lilac?”

Piper frowned. “Did she?” She tossed the dress on top of the other one and withdrew an emerald organza mini with a sequined cape. “Green would look great next to Stew’s

red hair—maybe something short and snazzy to catch the sunlight?”

“I don’t think so,” Justine said slowly. “Green makes me look sal ow. Besides, didn’t Joann use green?”

A low throbbing started in Piper’s temple. “Did she?” She discarded the dress, then pivoted back to her closet and flipped through the hangers. “Mauve?”

“Carol.”

“Fuchsia?”

“Cindy.”

“Sapphire?”

“Hmm, wasn’t that your mom’s color?”

Piper grunted. “For which wedding?”

“To Roger, I think.”

Biting back a disrespectful remark, Piper forced her fingers to travel on. “Ruby? Teal? Metal ic gold?”

“Jan, Tina and Jennifer.”

Piper jammed her hand through her short hair. “My God, Justine, how on earth do you remember who used which color in what wedding?”

“I just do,” Justine said, and Piper could picture her friend’s thin shoulders shrugging. “But then I’ve always loved weddings—unlike you, Piper. If you’d spent less time moaning about the high heels and more time checking out the groomsmen, you’d be getting married, too. Out of twenty-three of us, you’re the last one, you know.”

Piper frowned. “Not true—Til ie is stil single.” Not that being in the same company as their chubby, hypochondriac sorority sister was anything to boast about.

“Uh-uh, she got engaged three weeks ago—haven’t you heard?”

Piper yanked down the phone cord, unaware she had managed to wind it around her neck. “Who to?” she croaked, then unwound herself with an impatient twist.

“She spent so much time at the clinic, she managed to snare a doctor—her diamond is a freaking boulder.”

For an instant, Piper experienced a pang of panic. Even al ergic, insomniac, headachy, PMS-ing Til ie had snagged a man—and a rich one, to boot. She sighed and glanced

at her watch. She’d promised her grandmother she’d be over to help box up some things for her upcoming move.

“Piper, are you there, or is your life passing before your eyes?”

“I’m here,” she snapped. “And thirty-one doesn’t exactly make me eligible for a discount at the bingo parlor.”

Justine sighed dramatical y. “People are beginning to talk, Piper. You would tel me, wouldn’t you, if you were, um…you know.”

“I don’t know what the heck you’re talking about.”

“You know—gay.”

Piper dropped the phone, then chased it across the floor as the spiral cord contracted to pul it home. “No, I’m not gay!” she yel ed as she dived on the handset, juggled it and final y wrestled it to her ear. “How could you even
think
such a thing?” she barked into the phone.

Her friend tapped her fingers against the receiver again. “Piper, I can’t remember you ever having a lasting relationship with a man. A few dates, yeah, but were you ever

serious about anyone?”

Piper pursed her lips and fidgeted with the cord. “I guess I’m picky.”

“I’m tel ing you, Piper, you’d better start hunting for a man before al the good ones are gone.”

“Justine, you’re two hundred miles away in Tupelo where the men are plentiful
and
passable. I’m in Mudvil e—when you visited, did you happen to see anyone who would put me in the manhunting mood?”

“You’ve got a point.” Her friend hummed in sympathy. “You real y should move to the city—any city.”

“Except Blythe Industries can’t find cheap labor to run their plant in the city.”

Justine scoffed. “Oh, and no other company in al of Mississippi could use a food scientist?”

Piper pursed her lips. “Maybe—but then I’d be farther away from Gran, and you’ve got to admit, I have a terrific job.”

“True—most women wouldn’t
have
to be paid to design desserts.”

“Wel , it’s not al fudge sauce and whipped cream, Justine. It’s harder than it sounds.”

“Yeah, yeah…bottom line, Piper, you can’t let your career or your family get in the way of finding your soulmate, your dream man—your hero.”

“The only hero I’ve seen in Mudvil e, Mississippi, is the sandwich special at Limbo’s Deli.”

“Oh, come on. There has to be at least one eligible man in that podunk town. You’re going to have to extend yourself a little, you know. See and be seen.”

“I’m not so sure I want to see and be seen at a tractor pul .”

“You’re going to have to work for this one, Piper. You need a man plan.”

Piper laughed. “Which comes first—the man or the plan?”

“Do you have a good-looking co-worker? Boss?”

Her assistant, Rich, was good-looking. But it was a wel -guarded secret that he was gay, too. And her boss, Edmund, was a married man, besides being old enough to be her

father. “No one remotely eligible.”

“Neighbor?”

“Nada.”

“UPS man?”

“He’s a woman.”

“Wel , you’ve got three whole months to come up with a dance partner for the wedding—al the men in the wedding party are taken.”

Piper flopped down on top of the dress pile, sending the hangers clanging. “Oh, wel , that should be a cinch. After al , bal room dancing is
such
a popular pastime in Mudvil e.”

“You’l think of something. Cheer up—I’l bet every happily married woman had a strategy to snag their man. Take Stew, for example. He dragged his feet for three years. Then, when I told him I had a job offer in Tennessee, he fel to his knees.”

Piper frowned. Her bedroom ceiling needed to be painted. “I didn’t know you had a job offer in Tennessee.”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh.”

“Piper, it’s
our
job to convince men they can’t live without us. Keep your eyes open for someone older—maybe a divorced man.”

“I’m not so sure I want a retread.”

Justine clucked. “Sophie says men are better husbands the second time around—you don’t have nearly as much training to do.”

“This is starting to sound like a lot of work.”

Justine sighed noisily. “Piper, do you want to grow old alone?”

Shutting her eyes against the wel ing misery, Piper relented, puffing her heated cheeks. “No.”