Tempt Me

by Cali Caliente

  Pachelbel’s Canon in D drifted across the lavender fields and in through the open windows of the Bridal Cottage. The wedding was about to begin. This was the last quickie rehearsal before the real thing—mainly because of the delay with a fistfight and two tossed strawberry pies. Soon this day would come and go, and be complete in the hearts of everyone attending. A beautiful memory.

  Danielle intertwined her fingers with Brent’s where they sat on the fainting couch. She had a confession to make, and she wanted to do it now. One stupid thing from her past hung between them and it wasn’t right. It was impossible to answer all questions and be totally carefree of the past. But this was important for one special reason—her pregnancy.

  The need to respect each other’s privacy was null. There should never be secrets in a relationship. The desire to tell everything was present, yet she didn’t want to lose this man. But if telling him her secret made him walk away, he wasn’t her dream lover after all.

  “A penny for your thoughts.” Brent’s voice eased her concerns.

  “How about a quarter?” She brought his hand up to kiss his fingertips, one by one. “I have something to tell you, but I don’t want you to get mad.”

  “You can tell me anything, mia bella. I will always understand. We have no secrets, eh?”

  “It’s about Jon.”

  His hand clenched in hers, but she already sensed he didn’t like the subject. “Okay.”

  She settled into a comfortable position, took a deep breath and dove in. “I met Jon at a wedding planner convention. He was a travel agent selling honeymoon packets. We hit it off because of our similar interests. I planned weddings, and he planned honeymoons. We started dating soon afterward and made plans for a future together.”

  Brent caressed her cheek and placed a tender kiss there. “He dumped you at the altar?”

  “Not really. I was down here at the lavender farm setting up for a wedding. Jon walked out of the office with his arm around my client, and she introduced him as her groom. It was the most horrible moment I’ve ever experienced. To be deceived and humiliated, and have to carry on as though nothing was wrong.”

  “I’m sorry. What a shitty thing to do.”

  “Yes, it was. It hurt a lot at the time but not now. I was never in love with Jon. I told him so when I first ran into him again, but he didn’t want to believe it was true. Nothing happened between us this time because I have feelings for someone else. Someone very special to my heart.” She slipped her arms around his neck and played with his dark curls. “I’ve never felt like this before, Brent. The past is in the past, and I’m looking forward to the future.”

  “Could that future be with me?” He caressed her face with his fingers and kissed her on the lips, soft and sweet.

  She kissed each side of his mouth in return and pressed her forehead to his, looking at him up close and very personal. “Perhaps.”

  He held her hands, and their fingers entwined automatically. A twinkle of delight lit his dark eyes. “Dani, I can’t tell you we will never have bad times. I can’t promise we will never argue. But I can promise I will hold your heart in my heart for the rest of our lives.”

  “Is this a proposal?” If it were possible for her heart to literally skip a beat, it just did.

  He looked down at their clasped hands and back up at her, meeting her gaze and holding it under his power. “Danielle Comb, will you stay with me until the sun no longer rises in the sky…and the wind no longer blows? Dani, will you be my best friend, my soulmate, my wife?”

  Happiness filled her to the point of bursting into a gazillion pieces. This was unexpected and yet, she’d hoped he loved her like she loved him. She’d stuck her heart out on the line with this man, and he just gave her his heart in return.

  She was in blissful heaven. “If you will be mine forever too, together always.”

  He kissed her and a grin spread his lips. “Today, right now?”

  “Yes!” She’d never been more excited. He loved her and wanted to be with her.

  How cool is that?

  “I never loved a single word so much, mia bella.” He pulled her into his embrace and lowered his lips to hers, softly brushing them. He deepened the kiss until she was breathless. Nothing was ever more perfect.

  Life together would be beautiful. Or how did Antonio say it? Bellissimo!

  Oops, I almost forgot.

  There was one more tiny secret she had to share.

  ****

  Afternoon passed to evening as the sun lowered in the western sky, a trickling afterglow of pink and orange streaks fading into dusk. There would be additional reception guests arriving after the ceremony. More noise and laughter, more wine and champagne, and a toasting of not one couple but two.

  The bride and groom. And the maid of honor and the best man.

  Bryce and Aurora held hands on one side of the gazebo podium. Brent took Danielle’s hand and squeezed it tenderly as they stood on the podium’s opposite side. Maybe this wasn’t the ideal wedding she would have planned for herself, but the desire to be Brent’s wife and make her dream come true was much more important. She’d always wanted a short ceremony on the beach. Somewhere quiet and peaceful, away from crowds, with only the closest family and friends in attendance. But when Brent asked her to marry him, whatever she had wanted in the past paled to becoming his lawful wife.

  Right now, no waiting.

  They’d rushed to the courthouse in town, signed and swore before a magistrate that they were who they were, and were handed a marriage license. So simple. So perfect.

  “Welcome family and friends of the brides and grooms…” The justice of the peace’s voice faded into the crowd’s hushed chatter as they witnessed two couples being wed at the same time, surrounded by fields of lavender in full bloom. Twin brothers and their brides.

  Danielle couldn’t erase her smile. She was glowing from within.

  A soft breeze whispering through the lavender fields sent waves of the luscious scent to surround them in their love. Fresh stalks of lavender and roses were a gentle reminder of how everything could turn out perfect given the right elements, and if fate lent a hand.

  She was ready for this. A wonderful celebration of two couples who loved each other with the intensity only true lovers find. This wedding was only the beginning of their lives together. Bryce and Aurora were already a family with the twins born last month, and it wouldn’t be long until they became a family too.

  What was it Antonio had told her once?

  Make him happy—make lots of bambinos to spoil and love—because that is life. Questa è la vita!

  ****

  Long before the crowds faded away and the closing crew arrived to take care of the after-wedding clean-up, Brent drove Danielle back to the hotel. He’d sent two young servers over to fill their room with blue daisy bouquets, scattered white rose petals, and a bottle of the finest champagne to toast their wedding night.

  Their first night together as husband and wife.

  “We had to change rooms, Dani.” He took her hand as they stepped out of the elevator.

  “Why?”

  “The manager insisted.” Before he opened the door to the bridal suite, he picked her up to carry her over the threshold and broke into his favorite song.

  “Brent, shush!” She kissed him to prevent him from singing.

  He opened the door to their room. “For you, Danielle.”

  “It’s beautiful, Brent. Did you do this for us?”

  “Yes, because you mean so much to me.” He carried her inside, kicked the door shut behind them, and laid her on the king-sized bed amid all the rose petals. She was beautiful, and she was his. “This night I will undress my lovely bride.”

  “And I get to undress the sexy groom?”

  “Always, cara mia.” He removed her high heels, running his hands up and down her legs. He loved the feel of the satiny stockings, but he wanted to feel bare skin, touch and caress this woman he would love for the res
t of his life.

  She raised her hips so he could access the pantyhose easier. “I love it when you undress me, but it would easier if you removed the dress first.”

  “It doesn’t seem as naughty as getting little peeks of what is to come.”

  She pushed his busy hand from her nub. “Don’t cheat. We both get to play.”

  “I’m going to make love to you all night, la mia bella sposa—if you will let me.”

  He undid the side zipper on her off-shoulder dress, the one she wore as Aurora’s maid of honor and most importantly as his bride. A soft lavender dress with cups to hold her perfect breasts and just enough satin to fit snug around her sexy curves. He lifted the dress over her head and kissed each nipple with a slow lick to make her blush even more.

  “My turn.” She pushed his jacket from his shoulders, undid the cummerbund, the dress pants, and his shirt. Slipping her hand inside his jock shorts, she smiled a Cheshire cat smile. “Just so you know, I can’t wait for him to fulfill my desire.”

  “Wouldn’t it be easier if you undressed me all the way first?”

  “It doesn’t seem as naughty as getting little peeks of what is to come.” She pushed his shirt aside and sucked on each of his nipples, repeating what he’d done.

  His stomach tightened in anticipation of making love. “You’re right. It’s much more fun this way. You in your panties and me half-dressed. Can I at least take off my shoes and pants?”

  “Everything but your jocks. Then we play.”

  He stretched out on the bed beside her and ran his finger from her cheek to her neck, along her shoulder and down her side to her hip and slowly, ever slowly back up again. She shivered and scooted closer. He covered her mouth in a tantalizing kiss. A kiss that held promise for many more times exactly like this.

  “There is something that could make our lives complete,” Danielle offered as she trailed her fingers up his arm, copycatting his actions. She slipped her hand into his shorts and held him, gently caressing his heated flesh.

  Brent tugged her fingers to his mouth and kissed them. “What could be better than what we have now, cara mia?”

  She smiled a sexy, well-satisfied smile. “Babies.”

  He swallowed hard. She wanted to start a family right away? He wanted her all to himself for a while. Why hadn’t they discussed this earlier? “Babies? How many babies?”

  She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. “Two…maybe more later.”

  He didn’t hear her right. He wasn’t ready to be a daddy. Or was he? He enjoyed playing with his son, or what he was told was his son. God, the kid was adorable and he’d almost fallen for the trick Janie played on him. Thank God for DNA. Bryce saved his ass on that one. But what were twins for if not to be there for each other?

  He laughed to ease his nervousness and hugged Danielle to his chest, enjoying the feel of her naked breasts against him. “How about one right now and more later?”

  “Impossible.”

  “Impossible? Why?”

  “I’m pregnant, Brent…with twins.”

  It hit him in the gut first, and he didn’t know what to say. His heart rate increased, his throat tightened, and he might throw up. He shook his head and gazed into her soulful blue eyes. She meant the world to him. He could handle anything with her by his side. Bryce and Aurora were happy with their little family. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. It was sure to happen eventually, the way they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. And apparently, it already had.

  “Twin sons? I think I can handle it.”

  “Twin daughters. A whole new set of double trouble. Just you wait and see.” She kissed him long and slow, making his groin ache to have her. “Brent, what do you think?”

  “I think nothing is more beautiful than my bride, except maybe the mother of our daughters. I love you, Danielle.”

  She traced his lips with her fingertip. “I love you too, Brent.”

  This time when he kissed her it was more than a kiss, it was a bonding of their hearts for the journey through life they had agreed to make. Together. Always.

  Che bella la vita!

  About the Author

  Cali considers herself a California Girl and romantic at heart, and a cat magnet who loves all animals and long lazy walks on the beach.

  ~*~

  Visit Cali at

  http://christinepoe.com

  ~*~

  To chat with Cali Caliente and other Wild Rose Press authors of erotic romance, join us at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/thewilderroses.

  Also Available

  from The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  and major retailers.

  Taste Me

  By Cali Caliente

  One impulsive tryst. One unforgettable fling.

  Culinary columnist Aurora Daring adores creating desserts with fresh fruit and dreams of becoming a pastry chef. Always on the lookout for new food places to review, she visits Love’s Farmer’s Market, an old barn converted into a ‘green store’ with all the wonders a gourmet cook could possibly want. She finds something else as well—a ruggedly handsome man who fulfills all her sexual fantasies in one impromptu encounter.

  Bryce Lovella loves his family’s farm. His idea of expanding the farm to include a produce market is just the beginning of his aspirations. He also wants to start a family. When his twin brother, Brent, challenges him to find the perfect woman in two weeks’ time and get her to say I love you, Bryce eagerly agrees to play. He’s already seduced the woman of his dreams. There’s only one problem—he never got her name.

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  from The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  and major retailers.

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  Games People Play Book Two

  By Cadence Vonn

  Perception is a sizzling reality that inflames two hearts.

  When it comes to sex, school teacher Camille Weatherby considers herself an exhibitionist. She refuses to allow anyone to control her life, and relationships are out of the question. Any affairs are one-night stands, and the only thing that matters is the pleasure she garners from the thrill of possibly being caught. But an encounter with a hot stranger at a costume party leaves her disregarding that rule.

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  this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

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