by Jess Dee
When she mentions Jackson’s name in passing, Garreth picks up on all the hidden undertones in her voice. And he brings Jackson into their bed, if only in a fantasy they play out together. Funny thing about Garreth’s fantasies, though. Even the most improbable, impossible ones have a way of becoming reality…
Warning: Warning: Enough heat is contained within these pages that you won’t even notice the winter cold. You might fall in love with Jackson—the real-life hero, determined to protect his sister from further pain—but it’s the handsome stranger, Garreth, who’ll take your breath away.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Winter Fire:
“It’s good to escape from the city for a while though. Isn’t it beautiful here?”
He grinned at her. “Let’s just say the mountains became a whole lot more interesting in the last few minutes…”
She laughed out loud. “You really are flirting, aren’t you?” And was she ever responding. A tingling awareness flowed through her, an open recognition of the energy that crackled between them.
“Is it working?” he drawled earnestly.
She pretended to think about her answer. No need for him to know just yet that her belly was already quivering in anticipation. “I’m not sure. Maybe you should try a little harder.”
“You know, we could skip the flirting part altogether and head straight into heated kisses beside a roaring fire.”
Damned if her heart didn’t miss a beat. “We could.” But she couldn’t be that easy. Could she? She and Paul had only split up six weeks ago. “Or I could read my book and pretend you’re not really here.”
“You could.” He nodded. “But heated kisses beside a roaring fire would be a lot more entertaining for both of us.”
Entertaining? Hell, forget the fireplace, the two of them would probably ignite flames of their own together. “For all the other hotel guests too. I bet they’d get a kick out of watching.”
Humor sparkled in his eyes, and something else. Desire? Hunger? Or maybe raw lust?
Nah, the raw lust was radiating from her, not him.
He lowered his voice. “If it’s privacy you’re wanting, there’s a fireplace in my chalet.”
Heated kisses beside a roaring fire in the privacy of his hotel room? With a Canadian she’d never see again? A man she could spend her passion with and move on. Damn, there was very little that appealed more.
Okay, so maybe there was something that appealed more. Jackson.
Yeah, didn’t matter how much Jackson appealed, nothing else could ever happen between them. Not without causing Jackson’s sister untold heartache.
“If I’d wanted privacy, I’d never have invited you to sit here,” she pointed out logically.
“Tell me you’re not regretting the invitation?”
She nibbled on her lower lip. “Well, you do talk a lot…”
He shot her a purely wicked look. “Not when I’m in the middle of a heated kiss.”
“You talk a lot about kissing.” She didn’t mind one bit.
He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Since I first spied you in the lobby earlier.”
“You saw me earlier?” How could she not have noticed him?
“While I was checking in. You were on your way out. Dressed for a blizzard I might add.”
He’d noticed her attire? “I went for a walk. It was so cold there may as well have been a blizzard brewing.”
He shook his head. “You Australians have no idea about cold and blizzards.”
She let her gaze slide away from his face and down to his chest and shoulders. “We have no idea? Mate, you’re wearing a T-shirt.” A T-shirt he filled out beautifully. It hugged his broad shoulders and ended halfway down his upper arms, showcasing muscled biceps and golden flesh. “It’s three degrees Celsius out there, the mercury’s plummeting, and you’re wearing a T-shirt.”
“We’re indoors. There’s a fire. It’s warm.”
Was he nuts? “It’s warm here and now. But the sun’s going down. Soon as it sets, the temperature will drop below freezing.”
“Not a prob. I have a sweater for when I go out.”
“A sweater?” One sweater? She had two jackets, an assortment of jumpers, three sweaters and a cardigan—and those were just for a three-day trip.
“It’s enough.”
“You’re crazy.” Gorgeous, ridiculously sexy and crazy.
“You’re cold?”
“I’m always cold in winter.” God, she missed the sun-drenched days of summer.
“You know, in Canada we have a brilliant system for keeping warm.”
“Ducted heating. I know.”
“Actually, I was talking about sex.”
His answer was so unexpected she laughed out loud. “Sex, huh?” Dear Lord, she wanted to keep warm with Garreth, Canadian style. For sure it would take her mind off Jackson’s imminent arrival—and their checkered past. “Nope, sorry. We don’t have sex in Australia.”
He looked aghast. “Not even in the Blue Mountains?”
“Especially not in the Blue Mountains.”
He nodded gravely. “Ah. That’s a damn pity.”
“Don’t let it worry you. You’re going back to Toronto in a couple of weeks. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of sex then—even if it is summer and there won’t be any need to keep warm.”
“Maybe, but I was hoping to have sex with you, here in the Blue Mountains.”
Again she laughed, enjoying his witty repartee. Enjoying it almost as much as she enjoyed the tantalizing sparks that flickered between them. “Would you settle for a drink by the fireplace?”
He considered her question. “Depends which fireplace.”
“This one, right here.”
“How about the one in my room?”
She shook her head. “Nah. Too risky. I might have to fend off your heated kisses.” Yeah, right. If anything, he’d be the one fending her off. The longer they chatted, the more appetizing his lips became.
He grinned devilishly. “No might about it. Another red wine?” He motioned to her empty glass before signaling to a waiter.
She nodded and he ordered wine for her and a scotch for himself. “So, Rachel,” he said as soon as the waiter had left, “what is it you do when you’re not seducing men into kissing you beside roaring fires?”
For a couple of seconds she hesitated to tell him. If he knew about her job, she’d lose some of her anonymity. And if she were to entertain ideas about kissing Garreth beside the fire, she knew she’d have to maintain that sense of them being strangers. A fling appealed no end. A brief affair with a stranger to take the edge off before Jackson arrived. A little something to distract her from her obsessions about the man she could never have.
A one-night stand.
Garreth was the perfect stranger. Gorgeous, charming and sexy to boot. He’d be a perfect distraction. Exactly what she needed.
But then she forged ahead. She’d never see Garreth again after tonight. He lived on another continent. What could it hurt to tell him a few things about herself?
Defying death is the ultimate dare. Defying love? Well, that’s just stupid.
Dare Me
© 2012 Lexxie Couper
A Red Hot Weekend Story
Back-to-back medical degrees took Emily Knox right where she planned to be: treating patients in an alternative cancer clinic. But nothing prepared her for a cocky, cheeky Aussie who strode into her life and dared her to cure him. She told herself it was his challenge she couldn’t resist—not his daredevil charm.
Eight months later, Rob’s out of danger…and Emily’s in trouble. She’s in deep, too deep. Worse, Rob has left the clinic against doctor’s orders. There’s nothing for it but to follow him across eleven thousand miles of land and sea to give him what for—as his doctor, of course.
Rob never expected to survive the brain tumor. Nor did he expect to fall head over heels for his very proper, very English oncologist. The problem? Her Hypocratic Oath h
angs between them, keeping her just out of reach. Now, with “cured” on his medical chart and his duty as best man for his best mate calling, he takes off for home to start getting his old life back.
Trouble is, while the good doctor cured his cancer, she seems to have inflicted him with something else—desire he just can’t shake.
Warning: Rob Thorton is addictive. Also, there’s scorching passion, undeniable lust, soul-shattering desire, heartbreaking angst, explosive sex and of course, Australian sarcasm. Did you really expect anything else?
Hidden Fire
Jess Dee
Dirty desires, dark secrets…deepest love
A Red Hot Weekend Story
Fire, Book 2
Well, this is an unexpected twist. Jenna Brooks is all set to spend the weekend wallowing in misery, repairing the cracks in the façade she’s maintained for twelve years. Instead she’s…tied to a chair. Kidnapped by her own twin brother and her so-called best friend.
It’s for her own good, they say. She’ll thank them later, they say. But when they reveal her partner in captivity, she shores up her emotional barriers. It’s Garreth Halt. The one man for whom she let her guard down. What a fool she was.
For one electrifying moment, Garreth had Jenna naked in his arms, on the edge of losing her legendary control. Could have kept her there forever, too, if he hadn’t felt honor-bound to tell her the truth. Before she’d heard the whole truth, though, she’d retreated behind the fortress around her heart.
Now they’re knee to knee, with no escape. While he’s irritated he let his alleged best friend get the drop on him, a small part of him is thrilled. With one final chance to show her his love is real, Garreth methodically, wickedly, sets out to dismantle her defenses.
One dirty word at a time.
Warning: Garreth may have charmed you in Winter Fire, but this time around, his blatantly sexy demands, even sexier actions and heartwarming love for his heroine are gonna make you fall head over heels.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
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Hidden Fire
Copyright © 2012 by Jess Dee
ISBN: 978-1-60928-685-9
Edited by Lindsey Faber
Cover by Kanaxa
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: January 2012
www.samhainpublishing.com