by Nikki Duncan
From the moment she sets foot in Dark Water, nothing goes as planned. Anderson’s family wants her to drop the story—especially surviving son Des. A man who ignites sizzling heat even as he stands firmly in her way.
Laboring under his father’s crushing legacy and his grandmother’s iron resolve to get rid of the nosy writer at any cost, Des struggles to save the self-destructive sister who once saved him. There’s something honest and forthright about Shayne, though, that tempts him to help her get to the truth. Even if it means double-crossing his powerful grandmother.
Despite their resolve to keep it strictly business, sexual sparks quickly set fire to tangled emotions. And threads of a fragile bond that someone with a vendetta could use to weave their death shroud…
Warning: This story contains a feisty writer, a sexy younger man and a mystery with enough twists and turns to cause vertigo.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Blood and Bone:
Shayne’s head spun as Des’s mouth, rough and hungry, moved over hers. His hand at her cheek raked through her hair, grasping the strands in his fist as if to keep her from moving away.
He needn't have worried.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Craving the feel of him pressed against her, she arched forward, but the seat belt held her in place, driving her half-crazy with frustration. His hand at her hip slid under her backside, gripping and kneading, as his tongue darted into her mouth, tasting her, letting her taste him.
Heat pooled low in her belly, making her wet. God, she wanted him. The force of her need slammed into her like a truck, leaving her weak.
She nipped at his lower lip and he drew back with a sharp hiss. The memory of his battered face had the same effect as a bucket of ice water.
“I’m sorry,” she said, dropping her arms back to her sides. “I forgot your mouth.”
“I don’t care,” he growled, lowering his head and trailing nibbling kisses along her jaw line.
Her skin tingled where his lips touched. If they didn’t stop now, she’d tear off his clothes and take him right there in the passenger seat, battered or not.
What was wrong with her?
“We have to stop.” She pressed against his chest with the flats of both hands.
When he lifted his head, his eyes, dark like a storm at sea, held hers. “Why?”
“Aside from the book I’m writing about your father—” the mere mention of the book had Des back in his seat, “—I just got divorced. You’d be a rebound.”
That smirk she was becoming all too familiar with curved his mouth, and he leaned forward, his lips nearly brushing hers. “Rebound, huh?”
Would he kiss her again? A tiny thrill pulled tightly in her belly.
“That’s right.” Her voice was hoarse.
“We’ll see,” he murmured instead.
Des left the car and sauntered across the empty lot, then slid behind the wheel of the station wagon. The engine roared to life and he honked once before pulling out onto the road and driving away.
With his car out of sight, Shayne rested her forehead against the steering wheel, closed her eyes and released a slow breath.
What had she been thinking? Obviously, she hadn’t been, that was the problem.
His image lingered behind her closed lids as if burned onto her retinas. His too-long hair falling away from his face, high forehead, straight nose, and square chin.
So he was extremely attractive with a certain cynical charm, that still didn’t explain her making out with him in her car like a horny teenager. She knew better.
Maybe she hadn’t been that far off calling Des a rebound. God knew her ego had taken a beating when Travis hooked up with Sandy so fast. She couldn’t deny the painful surprise at finding herself replaced, as though all she’d ever been to Travis was a walking uterus—and a defective one, at that. No doubt the attentions of an attractive, younger man assuaged her wounded self-esteem.
She sat up and opened her eyes. She could analyze the situation until the sun came up—which coincidentally was less than an hour away—but the bottom line was she had a book to write. Whatever strange attraction she was experiencing was completely inappropriate. Des was a source for a story, nothing more. She needed him to help her find Julia at the very least, and in a best-case scenario, to agree to an interview himself. She couldn’t afford to blur the line between them because she was flattered, or because he was a damned good kisser.
From this point forward, her behavior where Des was concerned would be nothing less than perfectly professional.
Illicit Intuitions
Nikki Duncan
Love could be their greatest liability.
Sensory Ops, Book 3
Ava Malia knows three things. She was once a kickass covert operative. She will eventually adjust to her new team, the FBI Specialized Crimes Unit. And the only way to finally be free of her professional past is to solve her first case and get her hands on a game-changing technology. The only problem? Success rides on her ability to swallow her distaste for the persona she must adopt in order to earn the trust of a mysterious scientist.
Dr. H escaped childhood captivity with three things. His sister. Complete control of his gift. And an engulfing distrust of anyone in the government. Adjusting to a life of freedom hasn’t been easy, but he’s found peace in solitude. The sexy woman auditing his empathic studies, though, has a way of getting under his skin that’s both arousing and disturbing. Plus, his psychic ability warns him of secrets so deeply buried in her psyche, they’d be better left alone.
Yet their instant attraction strips away all their protective barriers, down to the foundation of a new, fragile trust. And a vulnerability that, when an old enemy opens fire, could blast away any chance of a future.
Warning: If you don’t like mysterious heroes who can see into strong heroines, sexy love scenes, empaths, or quirky characters… Oh come on, who doesn’t like those things?
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They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.
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.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Illicit Intuitions
Copyright © 2012 by Nikki Duncan
ISBN: 978-1-60928-640-8
Edited by Tera Kleinfelter
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: April 2012
www.samhainpublishing.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
About the Author
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