With or Without You

by KyAnn Waters

“I think you’d regret not going.”

  Tessa smirked then smiled. “And we both know I’m living with enough regrets.”

  “Do you want a cup of coffee? I’ll make it while you change.”

  “That sounds heavenly.”

  Tessa took the dress from the hanger. After stripping off her sweats, she slipped the dress over her head. There wasn’t much to it. The simple curve-hugging halter top dress left her back bare. The hem swished around her thighs and the neckline plunged between her breasts.

  She turned to the mirror. What was she doing? “I’m dressing for Matt and he won’t be there.” She sighed and went to the kitchen to find Brianna.

  Tessa’s knees wobbled as she crossed the crowded parking lot. Several people she didn’t recognize clustered together in small groups. They wore name cards that had the school crest in the corner.

  Not even her high heels and fabulous dress were able to tamp down the anxiety heating her blood. Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath, she fortified her nerves.

  She stepped into the elegant restaurant. A few nametags were on a small table to the side of the hostess. Tessa’s heart skipped a beat and her tummy fluttered. Her nametag was placed next to Matt’s.

  Smiling at the hostess, she picked up her card and carefully pinned it to her dress.

  “There is an open bar in the private banquet room if you’d like a cocktail before dinner.”

  Tessa nodded. “Thank you. I’d like that.” She followed the hostess.

  The banquet room was large with tables elegantly decorated with service for twelve. Several tables were occupied. People sipped their drinks and chatted in small groups.

  Not much changed. Tessa recognized the cheerleaders around one table and the sports heroes of the class of 1988 sitting with them.

  “Red wine,” she said to the bartender. “Thank you.”

  She turned and surveyed the room, deciding on a vacant table to the left. She didn’t want to be in the center of the room, and sitting close to the doors would make for an unobtrusive departure if the dinner became uncomfortable. Hopefully she wouldn’t be sitting alone all night. She should’ve taken the opportunity to look through the yearbook while she had the chance.

  She’d had friends in high school. She just hadn’t kept in touch over the years. College, career, kid—she had too many obligations to keep track of high school classmates.

  Sipping her wine, watching the people, she let her mind wander…to Matt. She remembered his surprised expression when he’d stepped onto the stage of the television show. Terror had frozen her breath and stopped her heart. She’d never expected to see him again.

  Now inevitably their lives would intertwine. One day Brianna would marry, have children and Matt would be a part of that.

  “May I join you?” a deliciously deep voice asked. “Or is this seat taken?”

  Tessa startled, tipping over her wine glass. “No!” She quickly righted the glass, but her hands still trembled. “I mean, yes, please sit.” She dabbed at the red stain on the maroon tablecloth.

  “At least the spill won’t show.” Matt set his bottle of beer on the table and sat next to her.

  She tried to laugh, but her mouth wouldn’t work. She didn’t know what to say. Her heart hammered. Shivers chased up her spine. All she could do was smile. He had come. Had he known she’d be here too?

  Matt wore a stunning black suit, cut to perfection. A tan dress shirt turned his eyes to a hypnotizing copper color. The enticing scent of his cologne floated across her senses and initiated a hunger deep in her soul.

  “You look surprised.” His lips tilted into a playful yet sexy smile. “Sort of puts the shoe on the other foot,” he teased. “You’ve been surprising me since I walked onto the stage of a talk show.”

  “How did you know I’d be here?”

  “Our daughter.” He chuckled. “I think she’s playing a bit of a matchmaker. You’ve done an amazing job raising her. She’s wonderful.”

  Tessa blinked but couldn’t stop tears from moistening her lashes and slipping onto her cheeks.

  His face neared. Warm breath caressed her skin. She closed her eyes and his lips brushed hers.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  “I know.” He sighed and sat back in his chair. “We’re all sorry, but circumstances being what they were, I don’t blame you for the choices you made.” He took a sip of beer. “But that doesn’t change that you denied me almost twenty years with Brianna.”

  She bowed her head. “I know.”

  “And with you.”

  “Huh?” She met his stare.

  “You’re a woman of few words. But that’s okay. Let me talk.” He took her hand in his. “I want to explore whatever this is between us. I have options with my work. Rebecca is going to Europe for a year. I thought I’d spend the year here. I’ll take a temporary position with CompHealth.”

  “Why would you relocate, change your life, to come here? We hardly know each other.”

  “I know I’m in love with you.”

  She shook her head. How could he love her after the lies and deceit? Yet Brianna was grown. He didn’t have to say anything, didn’t have to pretend. “How can you be sure? After everything I’ve done.”

  “Yes, twenty years ago you put my future before your own. Brianna told me about her childhood, the sacrifices you made. Most women would have married, had more children, thought of their own needs. Instead you told her about me.” He touched her cheek. “Thank you.”

  Delicious warmth filled her chest as the words she never expected to hear spilled from his lips. His eyes glistened with moisture.

  She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you,” she whispered then kissed him.

  Lips matched, tongues mated. Hot flames of passion blazed through her center. Suddenly, she was lifted. Matt’s arms circled her waist and held her tightly. Shifting his head, he dipped into her mouth, swept the inside with carnal voracity.

  Fierce hunger drove her to press closer. The rigid length of his cock ground against her pelvis. Heat blazed her flesh where his hands roamed. She sucked his tongue into her mouth, eliciting a deep groan from Matt.

  He slowly broke the kiss and her tiptoes touched the floor again. Suddenly, Tessa was aware that they’d drawn the attention of everyone in the room.

  Matt kissed her jaw then whispered in her ear, “The dress is fucking fabulous.”

  She was ravenous, but not for the meal about to be served. “Take me home.”

  He stared into her eyes and her knees weakened.

  “You have no idea how good that sounds.”

  About the Author

  To learn more about KyAnn Waters, please visit www.KyAnnWaters.com. Send an email to KyAnnWaters@hotmail.com or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as KyAnn! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EroticCravings

  Can friends become lovers…can lovers remain friends?

  Photo Opportunity

  © 2008 Jess Dee

  Daniel Tanner’s through with being loved like the proverbial brother. He intends to make his best friend, Amy Morgan, blaze with the same desire he feels for her. The plan? Initiate a series of escapades that will have Amy falling into his arms—and into his bed.

  When her trusted buddy suddenly turns up the heat, Amy finds it impossible to resist his sexy advances. But as his best friend, she knows a thing or two about Daniel. While he may be charming and gorgeous, he’s also commitment phobic.

  If she trusts her heart to him, she’s sure he’ll leave it—and their friendship—shattered in a million pieces.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Photo Opportunity:

  There was something incredibly intimate about drawing a bath for him. As she ran her hands through the heated water, she couldn’t help but imagine Daniel lying here, his head resting against one edge of the bath, his feet stretched out against the other end. Visions of steam as it swirled around his chest and face r
aised her body temperature. It spiked even higher when she saw his cock float just above his balls. A moan escaped her throat and echoed throughout the bathroom at the vivid vision.

  It was a good thing she closed the door. The last thing she needed was for him to hear her fantasize about him. She turned off the taps, walked to the sink and threw a little more cold water over her face and chest. Better. Much better.

  Composed and body temperature lowered, she went back to Daniel.

  “My mother always claimed a bath’s the perfect place to soak away your aches and pains.” She offered him a hand to help him up. “I want you to go and climb in. The water’s hot and I’ve turned down the lights. I guarantee by the time you get out of that bathroom, you’ll feel like a new man.”

  The question was, how would she feel, knowing he lay meters away from her, submerged in steamy water, naked as the day he was born?

  Just fine. Just bloody fine, thank you.

  “Thanks, Morgan, that’s pretty decent of you.” Daniel limped towards the bathroom but stopped before he went in. “Just one question.”

  “What?”

  His smile revealed an evil flash of dimple. “If I have trouble washing all those difficult-to-reach places, will you come and help me?”

  Choosing to ignore him, she switched on the TV, sat down and spent the next twenty minutes obsessing about which places would be difficult for him to reach, and how she would use the soap to make sure she got them really clean.

  Fortunately the phone rang, interfering with her increasing obsession. This time it was Lexi and Amy assured her Daniel was just fine—his ego more bruised than his body.

  When she hung up, she heard Daniel ask, “Who was that?”

  “Your sister.” She turned around. “She wanted—” Her tongue hit the floor, making intelligible speech pretty much impossible.

  He stood before her wearing nothing but a white towel. It was wrapped low around his hips, the color accentuating his tanned skin. Below it, beads of water clung to the golden hairs curling on his long, muscular legs.

  Water ran in tiny rivulets from his shoulders down his chest. Mesmerized, she watched a drop trickle over his nipple and slide down his hard, flat stomach only to disappear into the towel. Warm heat hummed in her belly and she repressed the urge to quench her sudden thirst by catching one of those droplets with her tongue.

  God. He looked good enough to eat.

  Desire shot through her. She wanted him. Wanted to run her hands over his wet torso, rip the towel from around his waist and devour him in all his naked, very male glory.

  “Like what you see?”

  “Huh?” She jerked her gaze up to meet Daniel’s and saw amusement dancing in his eyes.

  “Just asking if you like what you see.”

  Shit! She was ogling him and he had busted her.

  What was she supposed to say? She loved what she saw? So much so she was almost as wet as he was? Not likely.

  “I was looking to see if your, um…bruises were more visible than earlier.” To reinforce her point, she lowered her gaze to his knees. The only problem was that her downward gaze snagged on the towel. Was it just her imagination or was there a bulge there? Did he have an erection, or was it just the way his towel hung against his hips?

  “Are they?”

  It certainly looked like an erection to her. “Are they what?”

  “More visible now?”

  “Huh?” It was most definitely an erection. A substantial one at that, given the way the towel just moved.

  “The bruises, Morgan, can you see them now?”

  “What bruises?” He was hard. That meant he was aroused. And if she was aroused and he was aroused, then—

  She heard him chuckle. “A little distracted, are we?”

  Bruises. Damn, they were talking about his bruises. Focus. She looked him dead in the eye and lied. “Not distracted, no. Just trying to make a point. I can’t see any bruising.” Well, at least that part was true. “Not on your shoulder or your knee. I’m sorry.” She shrugged. “They’re just not there.”

  He said nothing, raising his eyebrow instead. Her gaze hadn’t taken in either knee or shoulder. The lift of his brow told her he knew exactly what she was thinking. But how could he not? Her tongue was still plastered to the floor. “You gonna stand there dripping all over the carpet? Or are you going to get dressed?”

  “That depends.” He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get his clothes on.

  “On what?”

  “On you.”

  “On me?”

  “Yes. On you. Do you want me to get dressed?”

  Hell, no! “What kind of a question is that?”

  “A logical one. I saw you watching me. You just don’t seem particularly eager for me to put my clothes on. In fact—” again with the infuriating dimple, “—you seem to have developed a certain affinity for my towel.”

  It wasn’t the damn towel she had an affinity for. If he could just lose the towel, she’d be happy.

  No. She wouldn’t.

  “Yeah, Dan. What can I say? I’ve fallen for the towel. I’ve always been a sucker for a good towel.”

  Daniel looked surprised. “You have? Well, I tell you what. I’m a nice guy and I’d hate to get in the way of you getting what you want. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m gonna go get dressed and I’m gonna leave you with my towel so the two of you can have a few minutes alone to get acquainted.”

  Ever so casually, he pulled the terry cloth from around his waist and handed it to a dumbfounded Amy.

  “It’s a little wet,” he said apologetically and shrugged. “Sorry.”

  Amy was sure she’d have responded appropriately if she hadn’t been so busy confirming her erection suspicions. The man had the granddaddy of all hard-ons.

  “Wet?” she muttered. Forget the towel. The wettest thing in the room right now was her. She wished she had a pair of super-industrial-strength panties, because the longer she stared at Daniel’s cock, the wetter she got.

  Well, don’t stare, then.

  Easy for you to say.

  Lift your eyes upwards, to his face.

  I swear, I’m trying. It’s just not working.

  Daniel saved her from further self-debate. “I’ll be back in five, Morgan. Enjoy getting to know the towel.”

  He turned around and sauntered off to his room, leaving the towel dangling uselessly in her hand.

  He can run, but he can’t hide

  Reckless

  © 2008 Maya Banks

  A Red Hot Summer story.

  Sheriff J.T. Summers promised to keep an eye on his best friend’s little sister. What could possibly go wrong? A lot. “Little” Nikki Durant isn’t so little anymore. She’s sex on a stick, and she’s pointed right at him.

  Nikki has always loved J.T., and she’s through waiting for him to come around. The soaring summer temperature is nothing compared to the heat generated when she sets fire to his senses. With a take-no-prisoners attitude, she’s out to get her man. But no matter how many ways she offers it, J.T.’s not buying.

  What’s it going to take to get him to realize her love for him isn’t a passing fling? Get herself arrested? Hmm…

  Warning: This title contains one very frustrated hunky sheriff, one very determined heroine, sex by the pool, sex in the office, and yes, they do make it to the bed. Eventually.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Reckless:

  J.T. pulled to a stop in front of the ranch and wiped the sweat from his brow. He couldn’t wait to jump in the pool. There weren’t too many safe places left in Barley for him to hide, but he was safe here.

  He climbed out and strode to the house in his swim trunks, flip-flops and T-shirt. He knocked then rang the bell, but when no one answered, he opened the door and let himself in. Jasmine had said they might not be here. Which was fine with him. He could use the alone time to work off some serious sexual frustration.

  He made his way through the living room and t
o the glass patio doors. Beyond, the pool shimmered a sparkling blue, and he nearly groaned as he imagined how nice it was going to feel to immerse himself in its coolness.

  He shut the door behind him, kicked off his flip-flops and made a beeline for the deep end. But when he got there, his gaze drifted to the lawn chair situated just a foot from the diving board. And to the beautiful, naked woman stretched out, sunbathing.

  Fuck me. Fuck him. Fuck a duck.

  Nikki was laid out, butt-ass naked, her gorgeous tanned skin glistening in the sun. There wasn’t an inch of pale skin anywhere on her, which told him she was no stranger to tanning in the nude.

  Her slender legs were slightly bent at the knees and parted, just enough to give him a prime glance at her pussy. He groaned. Dear God, this was so unfair.

  His gaze drifted higher to her trim waist and the diamond teardrop ring at her belly button. It glittered in the sun and lay in the hollow of her taut belly. Then he settled on her pert breasts. Perfect. Just fucking perfect. Not too large but not small by any means. Just big enough that they stood erect. Not a bit of sag. If he didn’t know better, he’d say they were fake, but he’d been up close and personal, and they were way too soft, too fleshy to be silicone.

  Her nipples were dark, maybe from tanning, but they were mouthwateringly erect. Brown, darker than her skin. Puckered and pointed. He closed his eyes and tried to stop the inevitable meltdown.

  “I expected you a half hour ago,” she said lazily.

  His eyes flew open to see her watching him with hazy contentment.

  Jasmine. Hell. He’d been royally set up and screwed. So much for friendship. Damn women stuck together like thieves.

  “I’ll just be going,” he muttered. How the hell was he supposed to go for a swim with a woody the size of a tree trunk and her lying in the sun gloriously naked?

  “Coward,” she said bluntly.

  He blinked. “Excuse me?”

  She sat up, and he couldn’t help but watch the way her breasts swayed with her motion. Or the way he’d caught the most spectacular glimpse of her pussy when she’d spread her legs to put her feet down on either side of the lounger.