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COME UP AND SEE ME SOMETIME.
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Alex had been totally silent since tucking Isabel into the passenger seat of his car.
She had tried valiantly to focus her attention out the window. She wanted to ignore him. To pretend that the whole evening had never happened, but she kept stealing glances at him out of the corner of her eye.
It just wasn't fair. She'd been attracted to him from the moment he'd entered her office, and it hurt to find out that the only thing about her that interested him was her client list, or rather the name of one client in particular.
He pulled into a parking spot in front of her condo and killed the engine.
“I could have lied.” His voice startled her, coming as it did after so many minutes of silence.
She opened her car door. “What would be the point? You must have already figured out that you weren't going to get what you wanted from me.”
She stepped out of the car, proud of her exit line.
Alex followed her to the door, standing motionless as she searched for her key. “What exactly is that, Isabel?”
Her head snapped up and she stared at him. The question, asked in far too soft a voice, sent a sensual thrill skittering down her spine that had absolutely no business being there after what she'd learned about him.
The man was definitely acting dangerous again.
“We've been all through this. You want my client's name.”
He reached behind her and she went motionless, unable to function with his nearness.
He started pulling out her hairpins. “Are you sure that's all I want from you?”
She wanted to yell at him not to do this to her but refused to give him the satisfaction. “Of course. It's not as if you're attracted to me or anything.”
The way he was looking at her belied that comment, and the feel of her hair falling from its French twist set off alarms inside her. “Even if you were,” she said in a breathy voice, “you must realize that after the way you attempted to use me, I couldn't trust you.”
He shook his head and moved closer. “I didn't lie about my reasons for taking you out when you asked about them. Why would I lie about being attracted to you now?”
She found herself crowded against her front door and had to fight the urge to pull him the final few inches until their bodies touched. Her skin felt hot and tight, while a heavy sensation pooled in her belly.
“Maybe you are somewhat attracted to me, but we both know that isn't why you asked me to dinner.” She'd tried to sound firm and cool this time, but once again managed only to reveal her physical reaction to him through a voice way too soft and inviting.
He put his hands against the door, one on either side of her head, enfolding her in his presence, overwhelming her with his male scent and the heat emanating from his big body so close to her own. “Is that so important?”
She swallowed. “Yes.”
His eyes devoured her while he brushed one finger down her cheek. “I don't agree.”
Warm, firm lips drowned her protest as he moved his hands from the door to cradle her head.
His mouth slanted over hers in a sensual assault. She told herself that she should not respond to his kiss, but his mouth was so hungry. His passion fed her own.
Her body started to melt as he sucked her lower lip into his mouth and nibbled on it.
Had she ever kissed before? Really kissed? If this conflagration of her senses was a kiss, then nothing she'd shared with her former dates counted as such because this was unique. This was passion. It felt too good to even think about stopping. She heard a moan and realized that it was hers.
Her defenses were completely helpless in the face of such sensual mastery and her reaction to his kiss.
Her moan acted like a catalyst for him and his hard-muscled body squashed her into the door, the evidence of his arousal pressing against her as they made contact from chest to tangled legs. The rough passion-filled movementâat odds with the tender way he cradled her head and the now gently nipping kisses he was giving her lipsâaffected her body in an unexpected way.
She felt warm everywhere, particularly in her most feminine place. Not only was she hot there, but she felt empty and swollen at the same time. She tipped her pelvis toward him, seeking some sort of connection that would assuage the ache growing in her innermost being.
He made a harsh sound and his mouth moved over hers, demanding that she open her lips to his invasion. Unable and unwilling to deny him, she let her lips part. He swept inside with his tongue and she tasted tiramisu and masculine ardor. The combination was both erotic and overwhelming.
Her new favorite dessert. Even chocolate didn't taste this good.
Running her hands over the raw silk of his shirt, she gloried in the textured fabric and the hard muscles underneath. She wanted to touch him everywhere, to have him touch her.
She had the first half of his shirt buttons undone and one spaghetti strap was perilously low on her arm when he tore his mouth away from hers. “Key.”
Key?
Her mind was lost in an unprecedented sexual frenzy. Nothing made sense except the feel of his body against hers.
Since he wouldn't kiss her, she kissed himâalong his jaw, down his neck. She had made it to his chest when he shoved himself away from her.
“Baby, you are killing me.”
The chilly evening air buffeted her with the loss of the heat generated by Alex's body. She shivered with unsatisfied desire and cold, trying to understand why he'd pulled away.
“Your key. Isabel, give me the key to your door.”
She was so disoriented that she did just that.
Alex rammed the key into the lock and shoved open the door. He turned and lifted her in his arms and carried her into the hallway, pushing the door shut with his foot.
“Lock it,” he ordered.
She did.
“Where's your bedroom?”
The flat question finally broke through the passion dulling her brain's activity.
She vehemently shook her head, fear slicing through her. And not fear that this man would take more than she willingly offered but rather fear that she would offer too much. If she'd ever had this volatile a reaction to a man before, she would not be such an inexperienced twenty-eight-year-old woman.
She was sure of it.
That inexperienced status was not going to end tonight, however. She had allowed herself to get carried away on the porch, but she wasn't about to make love with a man who had tried to use her.
“No, Alex. You can't take me to bed.”
Lucy also has a wonderful story appearing in
STAR QUALITY, an anthology from Brava
currently on sale.
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Meet three people with a little something special whose love lives are about to turn wild, crazy, sensual, and oh-so-hot. Blame it on the moon? Sure. But who's complaining, anyway . . .
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STAR QUALITY
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New York Times
bestselling author
Lori Foster
Once in a Blue Moon
It's all because of that stupid blue moon. That's
what Stan Tucker thinks as he walks through
Delicious, Ohio, suddenly privy to everyone's
innermost thoughts, a gift courtesy of a rare blue
moon. What most people have on their minds is
boringâgrocery lists, work woes, appointments.
But not Jenna Rowan's super-private thoughts.
The pretty, shy bookstore owner is having decid-
edly hot thoughts about Stan . . . naked, sweaty,
not-for-primetime thoughts. Stan's lusted after
Jenna for ages, but he never thought the proper
lady was interested. Now that he knows, he
intends to do something about it, and this time,
he won't be the only one howling at the moon . . .
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Lucy Monroe
Moon Magnetism
Ivy Kendall dreads the full moon. For generations, women in her family have been extremely magnetic on that dayâwhich was fine fifty years ago but not in the age of hard drives and cell phones. That's why the hotel manager has resisted the technological improvements her boss wants her to implement. Now, the sexy, dynamic Blake Hawthorne is coming to insist on the upgrades in person. Shoot, he'll probably fire her. Being around Blake makes her body go as haywire as a full moon, maybe even more. And as long as she's going to be out of a job soon, there's no reason not to use a little of that magnetism to her advantage, luring him into an elevator where the only electricity that will work is the kind they generate themselves . . .
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Dianne Castell
Moonstruck
For years, Julia Simon has had the worst luck, married to a man who cheated on her left, right, and center. Now, the pretty divorcee is ready for her luck to change, and it is . . . big time. Ever since she unknowingly performed a Blue Moon ritual, Julia's wishes seem to be coming true. So why not wish for wild, unbridled passionate sex with hunky P.I. Marc Adams? Well, because when it happens, it's so amazingly good, that's why. Now, with the blue moon due to end in three days' time, Julia can only wonder if it's just a spell or the start of a whole new life . . .
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Be careful of wishful thinking. It just might get you everything . . .