Taste Me Deadly (Sensory Ops) (23 page)

There, in the parking lot of the shop that had set her on the path to him, he pulled her into his lap and kissed her. She’d become his wife two years ago to the day and she’d just given him the most perfect gift.

About the Author

Heart-stopping puppy chases, childhood melodrama and the aborted hangings of innocent toys are all in a day’s work for Nikki Duncan. This athletic equestrian turned reluctant homemaker turned daring author is drawn to the siren song of a fresh storyline.

Nikki plots murder and mayhem over breakfast, scandalous exposés at lunch and the sensual turn of phrase after dinner. Nevertheless, it is the pleasurable excitement and anticipation of unraveling her character’s motivation that drives her to write long past the witching hour.

The only anxiety and apprehension haunting this author comes from pondering the mysterious outcome of her latest twist.

Nikki loves to hear from her readers. She can be found at all the predictable online places.

Twitter:
@NDuncanWriter

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/NDuncanWriter

Website:
www.nikkiduncan.com

Look for these titles by Nikki Duncan

Now Available:

Sensory Ops

Sounds to Die By

Scent of Persuasion

Illicit Intuitions

A Killing Touch

Tulle and Tulips

Tangled in Tulle

Twisted in Tulips

Handcuffed in Housewares

Whispering Cove

Wicked

Burned

Serenades

Her Miracle Man

Coming Soon:

Whispering Cove

Fiery

Tulle and Tulips

Debauched in Diamonds

Sensory Ops

Cyber Illusions

Some couples just click. Others require a hard hat and a stud finder.

Handcuffed in Housewares

© 2013 Nikki Duncan

Tulle and Tulips, Book 3

Monday mornings have a reputation for sucking, and today is no different for Burton Anderson. One year ago, his “perfect” life full of prestige, money, success and travel crumbled in the glaring light of betrayal.

This morning?
This close
to making his new construction business a success, a date gone awry has left him handcuffed to a toilet in a housewares store. Naked. And the first customer of the day is coming down his aisle.

Planning and shopping for other couples’ Big Day is about as wild and crazy as buttoned-up Leigh Schyuler gets. Until she gets an eyeful of Hearth and Home’s daily special. He’s definitely a “designer” temptation while she’s “off the rack”.

But there are risks, and then there are
risks.
Burton isn’t sure he can once again trust his heart to a woman who holds the power to ruin him. And Leigh discovers too late that indulging in a little no-strings sex is tying her dream of Devoted Love into hopeless knots…

Warning: Contains a hard-hatted, hard-bodied hero who’s good with his hands, and a woman who’d like him to build a bridge over her sexual boundaries. Nuts and bolts never had it so good.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Handcuffed in Housewares:

I enjoy working with my hands.
Leigh stood in Burton’s office, the place where he planned his jobs and made business decisions. Dark furniture and cream-colored walls with gorgeous sconces that offered a soft light. An efficiently organized set of shelves and file drawers backed the masculine desk. A large window overlooked the immaculately landscaped and solar-lit lawn. The space was appealing enough to let her know she’d thought of the right man for Jace’s project, but as appealing as the room was it didn’t appeal to her as much as the man who’d created it.

“You accomplished a lot in a month.”

“I’m efficient when I’m not locked to toilets,” he said with a wink.

He was kind, fun and funny, but there was a hesitance in him. Something that held him back from completely opening himself up, even as she suspected he was opening himself up more with her than he normally did. He was a mystery she wouldn’t mind trying to solve.

“So you plan on buying, fixing up and selling house after house?”

“The idea’s occurred to me.”

She sat on the edge of the large executive desk that held only a laptop, phone, notepad and pen all precisely placed to be within easy reach. “You don’t want to put down roots?”

“I have roots in family.”

“Are they around here, or did you move around a lot as a kid?” That could explain his detachment to a house, because most people formed an attachment when they invested as much time and effort in a place as he already had.

“They’re here. How about you? Where are your roots?”

“I’m still trying to figure that out. My foster family is here, and I know how I fit with them, but…” She took a long drink and sat the beer beside her.

“But?” He sat his mug on the desk. His arm brushed hers as he moved back to lean against the wall across from her. “There’s something still missing?”

His eyes, piercing and soulful, met hers and silently encouraged her to share her innermost feelings. She’d talked about her professional dreams with Lori and the other planners. Misty knew some of her past because they’d been in college together for a while. She didn’t normally talk about personal stuff with people.

“But, I…” She wasn’t entirely sure what her dreams were, but somehow, facing Burton, she suspected he’d play into her figuring them out. “Do you ever feel like you haven’t found your place? Like maybe you’re close, but haven’t quite gotten there?”

“Sounds familiar.”

“Ever figure out what’s missing?”

“Nope.”

All evening he’d been talkative and fun. Now, when they were alone and she especially wanted to know what he thought, he grew quiet… Then he stepped forward. “I’m beginning to wonder, though…”

The spanning distance between them was minimal, but he closed each step with determination and strength.

“Wonder what?” Energy pulsed along the air. The headlights from a car turning the corner shafted through the open blinds, illuminating Burton even more than the soft light coming from the wall sconces.

“If maybe you’re part of what’s been missing.”

Leigh’s heart jumped with the dull thud of each of Burton’s footfalls. It soared with the suggestion in his tone.

Burton stopped with a foot still separating them. He scooted his feet across the hardwood floor until the toes of his shoes bumped the toes of hers. Leigh straightened off the desk so she stood before him, her pulse pumping harder.

He reached out and pressed his palm against her cheek. The pressure of his palm was as light as the brush of his thumb beneath her jaw and as intense as the look in his brown eyes. She swore she felt him touch her soul with the look. Then, with the softest hint of flexion he pulled her to him.

Neither of them blinked or shifted their gazes as he lowered his head and rested his forehead on hers. Staring. Breathing.

His breaths brushed her lips with a silent encouragement to part for him. Resistance, like breathing steadily, was almost impossible. Her regular breaths became tiny inhales and with each burst of air the oxygen built up in her lungs until she feared the expulsion.

“You’re so beautiful.”

She’d never thought of herself as overly pretty. Her hips were too wide and no matter how closely she watched her calories or how many crunches she did she couldn’t get rid of the bulge in her tummy. The way he called her beautiful, intently and intimately, and the way he looked at her, steady and starved, had her believing him.

“I thought you were attractive the moment I saw you.” His thumb brushed rhythmically along her jaw. “Then you rescued me and saved my reputation, though you were clearly against how I ended up where you found me.”

Her skin heated beneath his touch. She angled her chin a little higher, rubbing her forehead against his and wishing he would kiss her. Freedom was something she’d never felt with a man, especially not a man she barely knew. That she didn’t feel the need for guards with Burton, that he aroused a sense of security in her, was enlightening and scary all at once. “It wasn’t that big a deal.”

“It was to me. So much so I hated that I regretted not finding out how to contact you.”

“Then you found me in the hardware store.”

“And realized you’d told your friends about me.” He rubbed the side of her nose with his.

If he was trying to draw out the tension, to make her want him more, he was succeeding. Her belly fluttered and then coiled with excited tension.

“The idea that one of them would know Mark as well as you and that they’d say something terrified me.”

“Are you still worried about that? Because they’ll keep your secret.”

“No. I know that now.” Burton buried his free hand in Leigh’s hair and with a gentle tug had her bun falling from the carefully placed bobby pins.

She exhaled a shaky breath of relief when the pin that had shifted and been pinching a hair too tightly fell to the floor. The weight of her hair tumbling around her shoulders was a luxury she only allowed herself in the privacy of her home. It made her feel sexy. He made her feel sexy.

“They’ll give you crap every chance they get, though.”

“Does that mean I’ll be around them more? That you want to see more of me?”

“I think I’d like that.” He had to have heard the squeak in her voice, just as he had to know she wasn’t referring to another date.

His fingers massaged her head, moved to the base of her scalp to the spot the bobby pin had been pinching. His touch, so heavenly, had her arching her neck. Her lips pressed against the soft flesh just below his mouth. It seemed to be all the encouragement he needed.

Burton stooped lower and kissed her. He didn’t push or dive or plunder. It was a simple moment of lips against lips. In the simplicity rested a liberty she’d only known in her dreams. Emboldened, Leigh cupped the back of his neck and urged him to take the kiss deeper.

He needed no more encouragement. With his right hand he continued to massage her head. With his left, he applied a smidge more pressure. She parted her lips, allowing deeper access.

An image of him gripping her hips and planting her more firmly on the desk before plundering snapped into her mind. Instead, heartbeats stretched into long moments of exploration. She moved her hands to his neck and hair. He shifted so both hands framed her face.

Time vanished as the intricacies of Burton’s kiss entwined Leigh. She shifted on the desk and spread her legs. He stepped in, never breaking the kiss. As much as she enjoyed kissing him, and she really enjoyed kissing him, she wanted to discover more. She wanted to discover the boundaries of her new freedom. Its sustainability.

Releasing another reservation, Leigh put her hands at his waist and untucked his shirt. Her pinky touched his side and he shivered. His shiver thrilled and encouraged her.

She slipped her tongue between his lips and slid it along his. On a moan that vibrated from his throat and moved through Leigh, he moved his hands to her hips.

Another car rounded the corner. Its lights shining into the room reminded Leigh that the blinds were open. With the inside lights on anyone who passed could see them. She’d never had sex outside of her bedroom with the blinds and windows closed.

“Burton, do you have a bedroom?”

“Yeah.” Holding her immobile, he molded his body to hers until she had little choice but to lay back. “We’ll go there next time.”

For a woman he can’t touch, he’ll turn Hell inside out.

The Innocent

© 2014 Shiloh Walker

FBI Psychics, Book 2

There’s only one reason Jay Roberts would set foot in a middle-of-nowhere town like Hell, Georgia. She’s got a bone to pick with her sort-of boyfriend. They only met online, but things got hot and heavy before their cyber link went silent.

She’s here to get in his face for an explanation. But no touching. Her psychic abilities make physical contact…complicated. Yet something about this relationship made her think things would be different. She’s not in Hell twenty minutes before bad vibes have her skin crawling.

Corruption has stained the very fabric of Linc Dawson’s town, and now it’s stolen something very dear to him. The last thing he has time for is nursing Jay’s broken heart.

But Jay isn’t going anywhere. Not only because she’s not giving up on him, because she’s got access to the kind of backup nobody wants on their bad side. And Linc discovers the woman who’s afraid to touch him could actually be his best chance. At salvation, at hope, at life. Maybe even love…