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Excerpt: Tantric Storm by Kali Willows

ebook, erotic, Host: FMB Blog Tour, Kali Willows, m/f, paranormal, Publisher: Decadent Publishing, Series: 1Night Stand Add Comment

Tantric Storm by Kali Willows

Tantric Storm

1Night Stand (multi-author series)
by Kali Willows

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 9781613334843

Therapist Laura Wellington is eager to end her sexual dry spell. Her skill of helping couples achieve personal happiness is illusive in her own life. Through the services of 1NS, she jets off to a small island in Spain for a spectacular night of mind-blowing pleasure, but her match has a challenge that might make her goal unreachable.

Declan Tempest hasn’t had a climax in years. Not because he can’t, but because he won’t; his dire fear over the consequences of fulfillment deter him. Declan turns to the aid of Madame Eve to create a match that can allow him the satisfaction he desperately needs, despite the challenge he deems a dark curse.

Can the two of them find release while they battle a tantric storm?

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Excerpt: Virgin Under Ground by Kate Richards

contemporary, ebook, erotic, Kate Richards, m/f, Publisher: Decadent Publishing, Series: 1Night Stand Add Comment

Virgin Under Ground by Kate Richards

Virgin Under Ground

1Night Stand (multi-author series)
by Kate Richards

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 9781613334621

Doctorate in hand, Jane Ann Summers is ready to return to the South Seas paradise of her youth, when the director of the institute—her mother—drops a bomb. She cannot return until she experiences more of life…a social life.

Determined to waste no time, Jane searches for a shortcut and discovers the 1Night Stand dating service. A single night with geologist Dr. Lukas Gerard, and she can go home and get on with her fascinating study of world weather trends. The only question is whether to have sex with him…after all, it would be her first, and maybe only, time.

Lukas’s own field of study has shown him some alarming trends. He believes a killer earthquake may rattle the western half of the United States in the near future. In preparation, he converts an abandoned gold mine to a secret bunker, loaded with supplies and all the comforts of home. Only thing he needs now is company in his hideaway. Unsure how to find the right companion, he turns to 1Night Stand, but neither he nor Jane are prepared for the sudden impact of one of Madame Eve’s connections.

One night teaches them there is more to life than science…for both of them.

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Excerpt: Fool’s Gold by Cassandra Dean

Cassandra Dean, Christmas, ebook, erotic, historical, holiday, m/f, Publisher: Decadent Publishing, western/cowboy Add Comment

Fool's Gold by Cassandra Dean

Fool’s Gold

Western Escape, Book 12
Diamond Series, Book 2
by Cassandra Dean

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 9781613334386

Christmas in Freewill

Christmas Eve, the Diamond Saloon is empty of its people, and Pearl la Monte has a hankering to retire early. A pounding at the door rids her of such a fool notion. Her irritation rises when she sees the prissy, polite-like Garrett standing outside.

Ethan Garrett has a powerful need to gain succor. When the saloon’s voluptuous redheaded singer scowls at him from the threshold of the Diamond, he doesn’t stop to think on how his ire at her has disappeared. Or how he just wants to spend some time in her company.

When a blizzard storms in, trapping them, will they spend their time arguing or discover their irritation disguises something more?

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Excerpt: Fractured Paradise by Alexa Bourne

Alexa Bourne, contemporary, ebook, erotic, Host: FMB Blog Tour, m/f, Publisher: Decadent Publishing, suspense/mystery Add Comment

Fractured Paradise by Alexa Bourne

Fractured Paradise

Honor Guard, Book 3
by Alexa Bourne

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 9781613333891

Technical analyst for the International Protective Network, Rachel Grant arrives in Sunderland intent on tidying up her grandmother’s cottage, but the disaster she discovers requires more than a gentle sweep of a dust rag. Determined to please the most important person in her life, she trades her computer keyboard for a hammer and nails to make the repairs. She doesn’t count on the chilly reception from the locals who want to claim Nan’s home as their own.

Tour guide Aidan Camden wants to buy the cottage. He’s determined to acquire the property no matter how attractive he finds the current occupant. However, when tragedy strikes, throwing them both into a tailspin, he discovers he wants more than the house. He longs for the sexy American as well. Can Aidan put his own ghosts to rest in time to save the woman who’s claimed his heart?

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Hot Winter Kiss by JoAnne Kenrick

Christmas, contemporary, cougar, ebook, erotic, holiday, Host: FMB Blog Tour, JoAnne Kenrick, m/f, May-December, Publisher: Decadent Publishing Add Comment

Hot Winter Kiss by JoAnne Kenrick

Hot Winter Kiss

by JoAnne Kenrick

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 9781613334058

Hot winter kisses to warm broken hearts….

Sick of tending to everyone else’s needs around the holidays, divorced barmaid and granny Sandra ferries it from London to Belfast. All she wants for Christmas is some peace with a romance story in front of a roaring fire in a remote Irish castle. What she gets is a most unexpected Christmas present from her friends at Bell’s—A 1Night Stand with a young Irishman.

Can she hack it in the real world of romance, or are life’s complications and treacherous snowstorms best left to the pages of a book?

Newly widowed Ardan Draighean owns Ballygalley castle. Once run as a hotel with his late wife, the stone building now serves as a home for him and his son. After hearing about Madame Eve’s matchmaking skills, he contacts her in search of the perfect match. Although much older than him—by fifteen years—Sandra is his ideal woman. Be damned if he’ll let a good story get in the way of his happy ever after with her.

Hot winter kisses are all this couple needs to stay warm this Christmas, but will the heat stay long after the magical season of mistletoe has finished?

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White Wedding by Ursula Sinclair

contemporary, ebook, erotic, interracial, m/f, print, Publisher: Decadent Publishing, suspense/mystery, Ursula Sinclair Add Comment

White Wedding
Guardian Agency, Book 1
by Ursula Sinclair

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 9781936394050
Print ISBN: 978-1613331699

It’s Shanna’s dream to have a white wedding. But her dream becomes a nightmare when, just before she walks down the aisle, her fiancé is seen kissing his best man. She looks to Ross for protection and comfort, and it turns out he may be exactly what she needs.

Chapter One

The day had gotten away from him. After checking his watch, Ross Marshall decided to walk back to his office anyway. It was only a few blocks; besides, a little fresh air — at least, as fresh as it could get in Los Angeles — never hurt anyone.
His meeting that evening had been successful, and he’d agreed to take the job. There would have been a time his security firm, The Guardian Agency, would have taken any job that walked through the door. Not anymore — now he could afford to pick and choose. He employed fifteen men he hired out as bodyguards to Hollywood’s elite, and another five whose specialty was commercial security. It was his area of expertise, but he wouldn’t be able to start the new job for another week. He had to follow up on some previous work. One requiring him to travel to a sunny, less smog-filled location, and the building he had to evaluate happened to overlook the Caribbean Sea.
Yeah, at times his life was hard. He grinned.
As he neared the church on the corner, his footsteps slowed. A white Hummer limousine was parked at the curb in front of the church. Curious, he slowed down even more as he approached the car. He wasn’t alone. A handful of people had stopped on the sidewalk to watch the partially open door of the church.
“I think it’s a wedding?” he heard the woman in front of him say. She might have been correct because right beside him, the words ‘JUST MARRIED’ were spray-painted across the back window of the limousine.
“No one famous,” someone else said. “I don’t see any paparazzi.”
A man chuckled. “Probably hiding behind a bush.”
Ross grinned at the man, but a sound from the doorway had him swinging his head back in that direction.
“Oh, I hope we get to see the bride,” another woman said.
“Wait, I think that’s her.”
The door opened wider, and a woman in a wedding dress ran out of the church. The lights flanking the walkway illuminated the garment, causing it to sparkle against her warm brown skin; a trail of white floated like a cloud behind her over the stone steps. His lungs stopped working for a second at the picture she created. It took another second for his brain to register what he had seen.
She ran out of the church alone.
“Wait!” The shout came from a woman in a long emerald dress clutching a small suitcase in her hands. She made her way quickly down the steps. The would-be bride had reached the sidewalk, but stopped and turned to wait for the woman to catch up to her.
Ross heard her say, “Here, you’ll need this.” Then she shoved the suitcase and a purse toward the bride.
“I…I’ll call you in a few days.” Her voice was soft, shaky. They hugged; the bride’s
back was to him, but he could see tears in the other woman’s eyes. Whatever had happened, he was sure no wedding had taken place. He felt something stir in his chest for the woman in white. She turned around and, for an instant, their gazes collided.
Her lush mouth trembled in an oval face. Large, dark eyes were red from crying, but her makeup remained intact. She was close enough he could reach out and rub the tear tracks from her face. His hand rose to do just that, but instead of touching her he turned his arm and opened the rear door of the limo.
“Thank you,” she whispered, still watching him.
“You’re welcome.”
She glanced away before climbing in, pulling her dress and train up and out of the way. He shut the door and stepped back. A woman near him on the sidewalk said to no one in particular, “I wonder what happened to the groom?”
To his surprise, an angry voice behind them answered.
“The bastard was kissing the best man in the damn dressing room.”
He turned toward the voice. It was the woman who had come out of the church bringing the suitcase, and who closely resembled the would-be bride.
She snorted before continuing.
“Thank God, before the ceremony.” After making that announcement, she turned and ran back up the stairs. By then, other people drifted out of the church.
“Show’s over,” Ross said, and continued on his way back to the office to retrieve his car.
But even after he’d arrived home and packed his bags for his early-morning flight, he wasn’t concentrating on work. Instead, he couldn’t get the image of the sad, soulful eyes of the beautiful almost-bride out of his head.
***
The cab pulled up in front of his hotel on the island of Margarita, but he wasn’t
tired after his long flight. It had been a few years since he’d last visited the island, and it hadn’t changed much. The sun was hot and the water looked inviting. He took a deep breath; now this was fresh air. The myriad and flavorful scents of the island filled his lungs.
The office building requiring his services was located just a few blocks down the street from his hotel, but he didn’t have to be there until tomorrow. After checking in and putting his suitcase in his room, he took off his jacket, changed into Keen sandals, and headed for the elevators. His destination—a closer look at all that blue water from the beachside bar, and the babes in barely-there clothing. He had to walk through the pool area to get to the beach access, and he did it slowly.
There were a few bodies worthy of a second — okay, maybe a third — look. Movement in his peripheral vision had him turning his head to see a body poised on the diving board — a body he’d like to more than look at. Her skin, a natural, honey brown, glowed with health against the bright orange strips of cloth covering strategic areas on a beautifully sculpted body. A body curving in perfectly where it needed to and out again, without an ounce of unnecessary flesh. The woman raised her hands above her head, bringing his attention to her taunt stomach, and pulled her full breasts—which were neither too small, nor so large they had to be fake—up and almost out of her top. She took one hop off the diving board and executed a perfect dive into the pool, barely causing a splash.
She swam underwater for half the length of the pool before surfacing and swimming above to the other end. Walking up the inlayed steps, she got out and headed over to a lounge chair. Drawn to her, he retraced his steps. As she toweled off her hair, he observed her. Her back seemed to be a study in curves, and he grinned at the two dimples peeking at him above her bikini line. They sat in the middle of the handles of a scissors tattoo. Ross wanted to dip his tongue into each indentation and trace the tattoo lines. His grin widened in appreciation of a rear as perfectly proportioned and enticing as the front.
She turned and, glancing up, spotted him staring at her. Her eyes widened an instant before he recognized her.
“Do I know you?” Her voice was husky, sexy and sweet at the same time. His balls tightened just thinking about her whispering his name like that into his ear. Her lips were wet from the pool, cranberry-colored and puckered like she was already preparing for his kiss. He stifled a groan.
“We met last night,” he said, holding out his hand. “But weren’t introduced. My name’s Ross Marshall.”
“Oh, yes.” Her dark chocolate-colored eyes closed briefly and then reopened to look right at him. “Yes, I remember. Are you following me?”
“I could be, but I’m not—not yet.”
She smiled, showing no fear of him, and took his hand. The neurons in every cell of his body fired on contact, right down to the ones in his toes. Her beautiful eyes widened, and the touch of sadness he’d read in them disappeared for a moment. Meanwhile, his heart thudded against his ribcage in a bid for release. God, she was lovely. He silently swore to himself he’d do whatever he could to continue to banish that look of sadness from her eyes. She pulled at emotions in him no other woman ever had. Hell, his heart never beat like this for a woman, and he would find out why her.
He took the end of the towel she held in front of her. “May I?” he asked.
She released it and sat down on the side of the lounge chair, turning her back to him so he could finish drying her hair. He sat beside her and rubbed the towel from her scalp to the ends of her hair until it was as dry as he could get it. When he finished, he ran his fingers through her tresses to get the tangles out. Her hair was soft and curled around his thumb. He gathered it all together and pulled it back to make a short ponytail resting at her nape.
He lifted the wet tip to his nose. “I can smell the chorine in your hair.” And it turned him on. Damn. Chorine, of all things. Hell, everything about her led him to one thought. Staking a claim, one without an expiration date. Her ex-fiancé was a fool.
He wasn’t.
“I know,” she said, unaware of his thoughts. “I think they dump the stuff in there by the boat-load.”
She twisted around and he reluctantly released her hair, dropping his hand to rest on the lounge chair near her waist. Her thigh brushed up against his, but he didn’t move or stand up to give her room. They were so close — if he leaned forward, even a little, his shirt-covered chest would rub against her bare arm.
He captured her gaze instead, silently wanting her to give him a chance. At what, he wasn’t sure. But he had to try.
“You still haven’t told me your name.”
“Shanna Stiles.”
“Would you like me to help you wash it off, Shanna?”
Her eyes flickered wider in surprise. Not giving her an opportunity to respond, he stood up and offered his hand. Without taking her gaze from his, she wrapped the damp towel around her waist and raised her small hand to his. He liked the color of the nail polish painted on the tips of her nails. Instead of the white he’d seen before, it was frosted orange to match her bathing suit.
With a smile on his face, he closed his hand around hers and expelled the breath caught in his lungs, and realized she did the same. Whatever was going on between them, she must have felt something, too. He tugged her hand gently to pull her up. She bent down and stood up with a matching beach bag. The top of her head reached his chin.
“Come on, let’s go,” Shanna said.

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Surrender to Love by Sascha Illyvich

BDSM, contemporary, ebook, erotic, m/f, Publisher: Decadent Publishing, Sascha Illyvich, Series: 1Night Stand Add Comment
Surrender to Love by Sascha Illyvich

Surrender to Love
1Night Stand (multi-author series)
by Sascha Illyvich

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 978-1-61333-216-0

In order to cure the dreaded creative rut she’s in, Livia ends up in Las Vegas by suggestion from her therapist. Oh and there’s a catch. Livia‘s been set up to have a one night stand with a very handsome man who promises her freedom through submission. Can she surrender to more than just passion?

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Handcuffs & Silk by Mary Quast

BDSM, contemporary, ebook, erotic, m/f, Mary Quast, Publisher: Decadent Publishing, Series: 1Night Stand Add Comment

Handcuffs & Silk
1Night Stand (Multi-author Series)
by Mary Quast

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 978-1-61333-002-9

Stephanie Johnson, a tough Las Vegas cop, turns to 1 Night Stand to find a man who could be the yin to her yang. Hunter Morgan left behind years of living as a sub is looking to sample his options. One night opens a whole new sensuous world to both.

Note: Prologue omitted.
Chapter One

The blades of the chopper sliced through the heat of the night as it flew over the City of Lights. Casinos glowed in various hues of blue, plum, gold, green, and silver, casting a magical aura. Spotlights danced in the night, graceful fingers tickling the sinister side of Vegas. Unsuspecting people moved about, flitting from place to place, searching for excitement and fulfillment while cars in traffic jams occasionally brought the pulsing arteries in the heart of the city to a temporary halt.
Being a Las Vegas cop, Steph recognized the evil lurking in the shadows of the beautiful city, also known as Sin City. As the chopper made a turn, she viewed the vast landscape as an artist’s canvas. The awesome structures designed and built by nameless men. So many lives below. Where there is sin and sadness, one will also find love and happiness.
With a deep sigh, Steph continued to gaze at the site, wondering where she fit into the street party of existence. Not a single malicious bone in her body, yet a monster lurked inside, crying to be set free. And, despite the desire to have a special someone to share a lifetime of love and happiness, meaningless one-night stands never filled the emptiness inside. Lately, living and breathing her job had become her reason for lack of a social life. That, and always being looked at as one of the guys and a hard ass.
Some of the cops‟ wives had made it their mission to fix her up with someone. Despite their efforts to feminize her, she intimidated the men they’d found for her. Not considered butch—she had all the right curves in all the right places and could wear sexy clothing that normally only looked good on a model—but everyone knew how tough she could be.
Controlling the power hidden deep inside her proved to be difficult and had ruined many relationships. Her last boyfriend liked to try kinky things, but had his limits. She’d gone out with a guy who’d insisted she be submissive to him, but that felt completely false and ended shortly after it began.
What’s wrong with me?
Frustrated at her inability to escape her reputation, she’d applied with an online dating service, 1NightStand. Not a regular matchmaking site, but more upscale; the mysterious owner, Madame Evangeline, had an amazing ability to find just the right person to satisfy one’s needs. Or so Steph had been told.
Her cell phone vibrated. Glancing at the screen, she noticed an email from 1NightStand. Instinct told her Eve was probably letting her know the dating service could not match her up. To avoid disappointment until back on the ground, Steph put the phone back in its holster.
The chopper began its descent.

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Ginger Snaps for Two by L.C. Dean

BDSM, contemporary, ebook, erotic, GLBT, interracial, L.C. Dean, m/m/f, menage, Publisher: Decadent Publishing 1 Comment

Ginger Snaps for Two
by L.C. Dean

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 9781613331613

Neil and Selleck see the truth in Ginger’s expressive blue eyes despite the hard edge she shows the world. Once the guys decide to break through her shell to the sweet center, they won’t let up until she joins them for the ideal holiday, perhaps even the perfect forever.

Chapter One

Ginger Burke stared at the twenty-something, department manager sitting in the chair across from her desk. She longed to whip his ass for the juvenile cockiness emanating from him. “I shouldn’t have to repeat myself, Les. Get your reports in when they’re due. If you’re late once more, you’re gone. I don’t have time to deal with someone unwilling to do his job.”
Leslie Wayans sat up straighter as if suddenly realizing he’d screwed up…again. “But it’s almost Christmas and—”
“I don’t want excuses. I need your damned report on my desk in the next half hour.” Dropping a glance to the time on her computer, she shook her head. “Make that twenty minutes.” A wave of her hand dismissed the man before she picked up her phone. “Karla, get Trygstad Technologies on the line.”
The junior manager restrained himself and didn’t slam her door, but a distinct bitch floated to her before he was fully out of earshot. The kid’s attitude would land him in the street if he didn’t watch it.
“Trygstad Technologies, how may I direct your call?”
“Selleck Mathews.” After grabbing a quick swallow of coffee, she waited for the company manager to answer while an instrumental version of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” played in the background. When had the holidays become an excuse for a month and a half of personal time? Every year the Christmas season seemed to get longer, and everyone expected her to cut them slack because they had family crap to do. Life didn’t work that way. Her father had taught her early on—business was business. Family had nothing to do with it.
What the hell is taking Mathews so long? She had better things to do than sit on hold waiting for people to do their damned jobs. Pulling up her calendar, she studied the schedule. Four video conferences within three days, one in less than two hours, and still the system wasn’t ready.
“This is Mathews.”
“Mr. Mathews. Ginger Burke. Remember me?” He could not have missed the sarcasm.
“Ah yes, you’re hard to forget, Ms. Burke. Is everything running to your satisfaction?” His deep voice rolled through the line like a Barry White song, too sexy for a technology geek.
“No, because I haven’t seen anyone.”
“Are you serious?” She didn’t bother to answer that, and the sound of his fingers flying across the keyboard drifted over the line. “Here you are…Tim called in sick.”
“That is unfortunate, Mr. Mathews, but not my problem. How do you plan to ensure I can communicate with Tokyo in an hour and forty-five minutes?”
He cleared his throat. “It will be ready, Ms. Burke. Don’t worry.”
That’s it? Didn’t anyone know how to kiss ass anymore? At least the man intended to step up, which was better than most people. “It better be. If I lose this account, I will send you the bill.”
***
Selleck hung up the phone and paged his secretary. “Lynn, tell Neil to get in here, will you, please?” He tipped back in his chair and visualized the woman who’d tried to put him in his place repeatedly over the two months they’d interacted. His groin tightened. The combination of her sultry voice and the image of the fiery redhead the techs had described sent blood rushing between his legs. He turned the gold bracelet on his wrist as he imagined what she would look like with an Irish name like Burke. Pale luscious skin to spank pink with the lightest touch, to glow against his dark cock while her delicate hand circled him, pumping him toward release.
“You rang?” His partner sauntered into the office with his usual devil-may-care attitude, but he automatically locked the door behind him. A grin teased his lips and sparkled in his green eyes when he leaned on the corner of the old metal desk and dropped his gaze to the bulge in Selleck’s lap. “Hungry for a little afternoon delight, my love?”
“No time.” He had to laugh at his partner’s disappointed scowl. “I think I found her.”
Neil played with a pen, pretending he didn’t care that his assumed treat had been denied him. “Found who?”
“Our third.”
Neil sat straighter. “No shit? Who?”
“Ginger Burke.”
Tossing the pen aside, he lifted a questioning brow. “As in the second Burke of Burke, Collins, and Burke? You’re kidding, right? I heard she’s a raging bitch.”
“I don’t think so. I haven’t met her in person, only talked to her on the phone several times, but she sounds more stressed than anything else, like she needs someone to help her relax. A specialty of yours, I believe.”
Neil glanced again at Selleck’s lap. “So that’s for her then, a woman you’ve never met in person?”
“It started that way, but now that you’re here, not so much.”
Sliding off the desk, Neil braced a hand on either arm of Selleck’s chair. His eyes swirled with passion as he leaned close. “What do you want from me?”
Selleck’s cock hardened further in automatic response to his lover of two years. The man never failed to set his heart pounding. He breathed in Neil’s scent, spicy yet subtle aftershave and the mints he tended to pop after his morning coffee. The thought of Neil’s skillful mouth, cool from the peppermint, nearly had Selleck coming in his pants, but they didn’t have time to play. “Go fix her video conference system and feel her out. See if she’s what we’ve been missing.”
“And if she is?”
“We’ll find a way to make it happen.”
Bracing a knee on the chair seat, Neil nibbled behind Selleck’s ear, his tongue drawing lazy circles, which fed arousal. “Are you sure I have to go right now?”
Selleck caught Neil’s face in his hands and pulled him in for a deep and satisfying kiss. He tasted like he smelled, masculine and sweet. When Selleck finally ended the kiss, they both breathed heavily. “She’s on a deadline and seems hassled as hell. Go make it all better for her, babe, and I’ll thank you properly when you get home.”
“Promises, promises, love.” With a quick press of his lips to Selleck’s mouth, Neil shoved upward and strolled from the room with the same nonchalance he’d had when he entered.
“Keep me posted!”
Neil flashed a grin and disappeared.
Adjusting himself to ease the ache of desire, Selleck returned to the work on his desk and tried to block the image of Neil on his knees before a beautiful, uptight redhead—broad hands gripping a curvaceous ass, talented tongue busily licking and flicking. With a groan he adjusted himself again, and anticipation rippled through him. Damn, I hope I’m right.
***
Less than twenty minutes after the infamous Ms. Burke had hung up on his partner, Neil strolled into the law offices of Burke, Collins, and Burke. It had been more than a year since he’d run a service call personally. Usually, the techs guided the customers over the phone, or they went on calls themselves, but considering it was three days before Christmas Eve, his team was stretched tight as everyone hurried to wrap things up before the holidays. The fact that Selleck wanted him to test the waters to see if the woman might soften their lives, maybe even bear their children, could make the trip interesting at least.
A pretty, soul-eyed receptionist flashed him a killer smile when he walked in. “May I help you, sir?”
“I hope so. I’m here to set up the video conference.”
“Oh, thank God. The Fire Queen has been on a tear all morning.” Suddenly, the woman seemed to realize she’d spoken to someone outside the company, and a sheepish blush darkened her cheeks beneath her spray tan. “Not that she…I mean….”
He took pity on the girl, wondering again why Selleck had decided they wanted the high-strung woman. If she were anything like her reputation, the derogatory nickname was well-deserved. “Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”
“Thank you. I really didn’t mean to imply….”
“Why don’t you show me where the equipment is, and I’ll make her day.”
“Oh, of course!” Leaping up, the receptionist hurried down the hall without another word.
He followed. The state of the art system should have been a no brainer for the company’s IT guy to handle. Maybe the firm didn’t have one, although that seemed implausible. He smiled and waved the girl back to her desk after she pointed through a set of double doors.
The conference room was typical though pretty high end. The long, oval table had been constructed from a wood he didn’t recognize. Considering old man Burke’s reputation, it was probably something rare or nearly extinct for the sake of uniqueness. Twenty-four ostrich leather chairs surrounded the long expanse, and microphones had been spaced every two feet with exacting precision, as if whoever set them up had used a ruler.
Let me guess—Ms. Burke. He didn’t doubt for a minute the uptight woman demanded impossible standards from herself as well as her staff.
Locating the server and video equipment, he performed a quick once-over. Everything seemed correct except for a missing cable that would allow conference participants to appear on the screens via the Internet. The audio was fine, but Ms. Burke and her staff would have seen no one. A factor certain to send her into an utter frenzy.
He crouched behind the equipment center and dug through his supply pail for the proper fittings, wire stripper, and a length of cable. Within minutes he had everything in place.
“Are you the IT guy from Trygstad Technologies?”
The sensual voice, richly feminine yet husky, drifted around Neil along with a hint of subtle perfume that reminded him of spring. He dropped his tools in the bucket and stood. Desire, sudden and unexpected, seared through him. She was stunning. Golden red hair, scraped back in a no-nonsense bun at the base of her neck, emphasized piercing blue eyes and skin so fair it was nearly translucent. A chocolate-colored suit jacket barely skimmed her waist while a pencil skirt followed her luscious hips and clung to long, gently rounded thighs that made his dick ache. The thin line of her wide mouth and the set of her shoulders screamed, don’t piss with me, and every single hormone in his body urged him to do exactly that. “Ah, the famous Ms. Burke, I assume.”
She glared, hands on her curvy hips. “I don’t have time for chitchat thanks to your boss.” When he met her stare straight on, she glanced away. Gold-tipped lashes brushed pale skin, her lower lip caught for the briefest second beneath white teeth, then her spine stiffened. “Have you fixed the system?”
“Of course.”
“Not ‘of course.’ I have been trying to get someone out here for days.”
He chuckled. She made it sound like Selleck had been derelict in his duties. Like that would ever happen. “I believe you called yesterday morning and spoke to the business manager directly. Had the tech not been out sick, the problem would have been corrected already. I’d hardly call that days.”
“It is now the following afternoon. That’s two days.” Her hand trembled as she smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle in her skirt. The subtle sign of anxiety took the edge off her tough façade before she practically stomped her foot. “Nearly a half-million dollars are riding on the next three days of meetings. I won’t tolerate less than perfection.”
Did people really not see past that bitchy exterior to the gooey center? Selleck had heard the insecurity and innocence in her voice over the phone. In person, her little-girl need for reassurance shone in her eyes and every, deliciously bratty action. He strolled around the instrument table and encroached on her space just to watch her squirm. “I believe that’s only a day and a half at most, Ms. Burke, for a problem so simple a middle schooler could have fixed it.”
“Then what took you so long?”
Ginger stepped back and the man laughed again, moving in on her like a tomcat stalking a mouse. A wicked grin teased the corner of his enticing mouth, and his eyes glittered with mischief. What the hell? Why had the serious-sounding Mathews sent her this joker? Admittedly, the guy was cute as all get-out with rich, blond hair that swept across his forehead. A navy blue, Trygstad Technologies T-shirt and snug jeans clung to broad shoulders and narrow hips. His full bottom lip mocked desires too long repressed while his cologne conjured fantasies of dark steamy nights and satin sheets.
Get a grip. She hadn’t reacted so strongly to a man since she’d been a freshman in high school drooling over the senior quarterback.
Masculine spice and everything so very nice flowed from him, teasing her senses to new heights. Again, he edged closer. “Why didn’t you have your IT guy fix the system? I would bet money he’d have saved the company a service call.”
His arrogance made her bristle. “Since it was not set up correctly in the first place, why should I waste our company’s time fixing it?”
“According to our records, it was working fine when the guys left Wednesday—signed off and approved by you personally, in fact. Perhaps one of your people borrowed the cable.”
She glared at the man. He tested her authority and continued to encroach on her personal space, pressing until she stepped back and her butt hit the conference table, leaving no place to run. Up close, his eyes were the most amazing green she had ever seen, clear and sharp without other colors to muddy them. Her heart rate accelerated despite her efforts to remain aloof. “Don’t lay your incompetence on this company.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, sweets.”
Her spine stiffened. Without her heels, she would probably stand a couple inches shorter than the tech, but with them she met his unsettling gaze straight on. Despite his height, or lack of it, nothing seemed small about the muscular man, and she wanted to curl into his arms like a contented kitten. Drawing a shallow breath to avoid sucking his intoxicating scent deeper into her lungs, she fought the urge to lean against his wide chest. “I am not nor would I have any desire to ever be your ‘sweets.’”
His eyes dropped to her mouth, lingered a moment, then rose again. “Why not?” He lifted a tanned hand to trace her cheek with a single finger. “You seem like you could use someone to treat you right, Ginger. Someone to make you forget all the reasons you keep that stick wedged so far up your ass. It has to be difficult to even breathe at times.”
Of all the arrogant…. Words eluded her. The gentle stroke of his finger on her face stole some of the starch from her backbone, but she pretended she didn’t crave his touch or long to cross the few inches between them and snuggle her head on his broad shoulder. She glared, desperate to back him up so she could regain the upper hand. How had she lost it to a service tech, and how the hell should she even respond to his you-need-to-get-laid type comment?
“I didn’t give you permission to use my given name.”
If he took one step forward, his dick would bump against her. His sexy mouth hovered too near to hers. A shiver skipped down her spine, feeding the desire to press her lips to his. If anyone walked in, her father would know within the hour she had been pinned to the conference table by a muscle-bound geek. The office piranhas would have a heyday, and her dad would give her the proper conduct speech—again.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled up her courtroom scowl, but his scent filled her nose like she’d feared it would, threatening her ability to stay strong. “And I sure as hell didn’t give a total stranger the right to invade my personal space.” Her voice squeaked despite her attempt to sound firm.
A short, sharp laugh erupted from him, and he braced one wide palm on either side of her hips. “You’re right. We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Neil Trygstad.”
Trygstad? As in the young man who within two years of opening Trygstad Technologies had catapulted it to one of the top twenty tech companies around the world and practically owned a monopoly on business security and communication in half the U.S? No wonder he was so cocky. Something inside her softened. Surely, everyone would understand the need to yield to such a man. The instant the thought rose, she shoved it down. “I think you should leave.”
“Have dinner with me.”
She swallowed her frustration. If she moved in any direction, she would have to brush against him. Desire hummed in her chest and swept lower to warm her body and melt resistance. Would he taste as good as he smelled? Feel as firm and manly as he appeared? “You’re out of your mind.”
“Lunch tomorrow?”
“No?”
The irresistible grin returned in full force. Good God! She wanted to smile back, to savor that impulsive delight, to lick the curve of—
“How about a late supper and even later breakfast?”
She bit the bullet and risked touching him. He resisted her hand on his arm a moment before he stepped aside with a small bow. Heat flared at the power beneath her fingertips. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, reminding her of the coming meeting. Everyone would filter in soon and she’d be caught unprepared. She scowled and pointed toward the door. “I have too much to do to play games, Mr. Trygstad.”
“Neil.”
Ginger shrugged off the reminder and stepped farther from his broad, welcoming chest. She didn’t have time for a cute guy with an adorable smile regardless of how much she wanted to spend the day doing nothing more than tasting his lips beneath her own. “I don’t care if you’re freaking Santa Claus, I want you out.” Her voice shook and she had to clear her throat. She would have shoved him into the hall, but that required putting her hands on him. Her last shred of clear thinking panicked. Really bad idea. She crossed her arms to prevent reaching for him anyway. “Now. My staff will be here any moment, and I have to be prepared.”
An expression she didn’t understand darkened his features before he took her wrists and pulled her arms down. His thumbs stroked her knuckles almost absentmindedly while he kept her close. “Everything’s fine. The system’s set. All you have to do is turn it on and log in when you’re ready. No need to stress. I promise.”
The compassion in his eyes pissed her off, and she jerked her hands from his gentle caress. She was a partner in a multi-million dollar firm. She didn’t need some techno-geek to feel sorry for her even if he could buy and sell her father’s company three times over or hold her so close she never wanted to escape. “Do your damned job and get out of my way. I don’t need a fucking thing from you.”
He caught her around the waist and swept her against his hard chest with one arm. A scowl drew his brows together and tinted his eyes emerald as he cupped her cheek with his free hand. “I’ve never met anyone who needed fucking more than you do, Ms. Burke.”
His arrogant statement shot through her, shoving her off balance. No one dared talk back to her. She’d worked too damned hard to make sure of it. Before she could protest, he tugged her forward and his mouth closed over hers, sensual and demanding, overwhelming resistance with the sweep of his tongue and the hot force of his kiss. Need coiled in her mind and body, defeating years of resistance with barely a battle.
Well hell!

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Sweet Irish Kiss by JoAnne Kenrick

contemporary, ebook, erotic, JoAnne Kenrick, m/f, Publisher: Decadent Publishing, Series: 1Night Stand Add Comment
Sweet Irish Kiss by JoAnne Kenrick

Sweet Irish Kiss
1Night Stand (Multi-Author Series)
by JoAnne Kenrick

Decadent Publishing

eBook ISBN: 9781613331064

Shaun Bell, a divorced workaholic, spends all his time tending bar in his Irish Pub. Rachel Taylor has issues. A match seemingly made in heaven…until morning rolls around and Shaun can’t bring himself to say good-bye. Can he win her over with his secret weapon, a Sweet Irish Kiss, or is Rachel still too scared to love?

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Chapter One

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