“That she’s in love.”
“I’m not in love.”
“You’re in love?” Gabby squealed and leaned forward to pat her leg. “That’s so great! Who’s the man?”
“I’m not in—”
“The owner of Athena’s Oasis,” Phoebe went on. “They met six years ago and apparently he never forgot her. And she shows up at the resort and they end up having mind-blowing sex all week. Well, until she left early.”
“Oh. My. God. It was just a fling.” Delanie threw up her hands, biting back a scream of frustration. “When did my life become a movie on some women’s network? This is completely—”
“Romantic. That’s what it is. I’m so glad I’m not the only one getting hit by Cupid’s freaking arrow.” Gabby sighed and twisted the end of her braid around a finger. “So when are you going to see him again?”
Never. The question was the final straw. Her eyes flooded with tears and her throat grew tight.
“Oh, no. Oh God. I’m sorry, I totally said the wrong thing,” Gabby said quickly. “I was just teasing you. I mean, flings are great. I used to have them before Justin and I got together.” She broke off, her cheeks bright pink. “So not what you wanted to hear… Umm, you know, I think I hear someone buzzing at that door. I’ll go check that out.”
She shot out of the room before Phoebe had even handed Delanie the box of tissues.
“Sorry, we probably overdid it a bit,” Phoebe said quietly.
Delanie grabbed a tissue and dabbed her eyes, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter. I mean, it never would have worked between me and Grant anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one, I committed a felony against him.”
“Hush. If he was going to press charges he would have done so by now.” Phoebe stood up and folded her arms across her chest. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”
“Okay…” Delanie swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Then there’s the biggest problem. He lives in Washington State.”
Phoebe stared at her for a moment and then shrugged. “And?”
Delanie blinked. Didn’t her friend see the problem here? “And I live in California.”
“What, you don’t want to move to Washington?”
“Move to…” she trailed off, her stomach in knots over the tempting idea. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. I have my life here. We helped this shelter get where it is today—”
“Delanie, sweetie, you know I love you. But let’s be real.” Phoebe sighed. “Working for an abused women’s shelter was my dream, and sometimes I feel like I suckered you into it. You helped me get up the nerve to get so involved and for that I’ll always be grateful.”
“But I love Second Chances, Phoebe,” Delanie protested, surprised at her friend’s words.
“I know you do. And I’ve selfishly kept you here for years.” Phoebe hesitated. “What I’m trying to say is that if you wanted to move to Washington for a guy you’re in love with, the shelter would be fine. Besides, didn’t you just tell me yesterday he’d offered you that job as marketing director for Athena’s Oasis?”
Just the idea of it sent a spark of excitement through her. The spark was quickly snuffed out with guilt. “I don’t know if he’d still give it to me. Besides, I’d hate leaving you here alone. Especially since you keep thinking you’re seeing your ex all over the place.”
“Completely my imagination. It’s nothing, I’m sure. Besides, I wouldn’t be alone,” Phoebe replied softly. “I have lots of friends here at Second Chances, and with Gabby getting promoted last month I’ve been spending more time with her.”
Delanie dropped her gaze, knowing her friend was right. She closed her eyes. Not that it mattered. There was still one part of the equation that made it impossible.
“You should go, Delanie.”
“Phoebe, I left him that letter. I made my feelings for him clear…”
“He loves you too.”
“Really?” The ache in her chest increased. Her lips twisted downward in disappointment. “If that’s so true, why didn’t he call me? Or come after me? He got everything he wanted from me, and that was the coin.”
“I don’t care about the coin.”
The blood drained from her head and she gripped the armrest of the couch. When she opened her eyes Grant stood in the doorway, his gaze locked on her.
“Okay. Wow,” Phoebe said. “That was weird. You must be Grant. Hi, I’m Phoebe, I work here at Second Chances with Delanie. I just have to say thank you for all you’ve done for us, and now I’m going to walk out the door and leave you two alone.”
Grant stepped to the side, letting Phoebe scoot past him through the door. Before she left, she turned around and grinned, giving a big thumbs up.
He shut the door the minute Phoebe disappeared down the hall.
Lanie blinked, half convinced she was dreaming. Her heart pounded in her chest and her hands began to tremble.
“Did you mean it?”
“Did I mean what?” Her pulse doubled.
“What you said in the letter.” He reached the couch and sat down beside her, his gaze searching her face.
She knew to which part he was referring. The part where she’d said she’d given him her heart.
“Look, you have your coin back.” Emotion became a heavy lump in her throat and she stood up. “Your good luck charm—”
“I don’t care about the damn coin.” He caught her wrist, halting her from walking away. “And I’ll keep saying it until you believe me.”
She stared down at him, heat spreading through her body where his fingers touched. “Grant…”
“If I had been honest with myself in the first place, I could have admitted the truth.”
“And what’s that?”
“That my searching for you for six years had nothing to do with the coin, and everything to do with you.” He held her gaze and his thumb brushed over the inside of her wrist.
“What are you saying?” she whispered, her breath catching as hope flared in her heart.
“I’m saying that losing you six years ago hurt,” he said with naked vulnerability in his eyes. “But losing you now would kill me.”
Relief raged through her, weakening her knees. She bit her lip, which began to tremble.
“Lanie.” He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close, pressing his cheek just under her breasts. “You’re the only woman for me. I suspected it back then, and I sure as hell know it now.”
Delanie closed her eyes against the tears of relief and joy. She threaded her fingers into his hair and tugged his head against her breasts.
“Oh, Grant…”
“I love you.” He sighed. “And I shouldn’t have taken off for three days the minute I saw that jackass senator show up at the resort.”
“He was out of line,” she agreed, toying with a strand of his hair. “It was all just P.R. to him. I gave my official response to the media when I got home.”
“I saw that.” He pulled her down onto his lap. “So, how do I persuade you to move up to Lopez Island and become my wife?”
Delanie’s pulse skipped, her future aligning quite nicely in her head.
“You could add a slash to it.”
“Slash?”
“I’m kind of holding out for wife slash marketing director of the resort.”
“Done. You know I wanted you to have that job.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chain, the coin pendant following. “I didn’t have a chance to grab a ring, but I brought this. I want you to have it.”
Her mouth parted, her started gaze locking on his. “But I just gave it back to you. It’s your good-luck coin.”
He fastened the chain around her neck and let the pendant drop against her breasts.
He touched her cheek. “If ever I had a good-luck charm in my life, you were it. And I don’t intend to let you go.”
Her stomach flipped and her knees weakened. “Good, because I�
��m head over heels for you, buddy. I love you.”
“I love you too,” His mouth curved into a mischievous smile. “Janie.”
Her eyes widened. Had he just called her—? She squealed as his hands shot out to tickle her sides.
“Gotcha,” he whispered and then his mouth closed over hers.
About the Author
To learn more about Shelli Stevens, please visit www.shellistevens.com. Send an email to Shelli Stevens at [email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Shelli Stevens or sign up for her newsletter here: www.shellistevens.com/contact
Look for these titles by Shelli Stevens
Now Available:
Trust and Dare
Dangerous Grounds
Tempting Adam
Theirs to Capture
Anybody but Justin
Coming Soon:
Protecting Phoebe
If you can’t stand the heat…don’t let go!
Anybody but Justin
© 2009 Shelli Stevens
A Chances Are story.
Gabby is serious about her search for Mr. Right, but no one can say she hasn’t had a good time looking. She enjoys her numerous dates and the sex that comes with them. Until she finds herself falling for the one man she vows to never love. Her best friend and roommate, Justin. A player in every sense of the word—and a reminder of her awful past.
One night, with the help of a bottle of tequila, things get a little too hot for comfort. She moves out, intent on removing him from the line of temptation.
Justin has different plans. The tequila did more than just change how he sees his good friend. It made him realize he doesn’t want to be just friends any more. He’s ready for something more intimate, and he’ll do whatever it takes to find out why she’s running. And convince her to stay.
Warning: This book has hot sweet lovin’ between friends who become lovers.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Anybody but Justin:
Justin’s heart thundered in his chest as the almost crippling desire he had for Gabby consumed him. She was going to let him make love to her. She’d given him the green light.
He slid his hands down to her ass, lifting her, and she immediately wrapped her legs around his hips.
His tongue plunged deep into the warmth of her mouth to explore the hot and moist interior.
The rub of her breasts against his chest had his cock hardening further, nestling snug against the softness of her bottom.
He moved them toward the bedroom, groaning when she sucked his tongue into her mouth and squeezed her thighs tighter around him. He kicked open the half-closed door to his bedroom, then kicked it shut again. He moved them toward his bed, stumbling over his work boots.
He fell onto the bed, rolling to take the brunt of the fall, which brought Gabby on top of him.
Straddling him, she tore her mouth off him and sat up. She reached for the hem of her shirt, jerking it above her head.
The V of her black satin bra pushed her breasts together to display an impressive amount of cleavage. His mouth watered and he lifted his hands to tug away the cups of the bra.
Her pert breasts fell free, the light pink tips already textured and hard for his mouth. She was so damn pretty, sensual in a subtle way. A way most men probably wouldn’t discover until they had her naked.
He opened his mouth, needing to tell her how sexy she was.
“What about Steven?” How the hell had he allowed himself to ask that instead?
She gave a soft laugh as she reached up to pinch her nipples lightly. His cock twitched and he drew in a harsh breath at the sight.
“I broke up with him.”
“You did? When? Why didn’t you say something?” he choked out.
“Last night.” She lowered her body downward, until her breasts were just above his face. “At dinner—”
He captured one pink tip between his lips, causing her to break off as he suckled her deep. Christ, she tasted sweet. He smiled, loving the way she gasped and writhed above him.
“At dinner,” she continued breathily. “Oh…told me why…oh God…oral sex could never be part of our relationship. He has a clitoris phobia.”
Her nipple popped from his mouth with a loud suctioning sound. He stared at her for a moment, astounded by her statement.
“Are you shitting me?”
She sighed and drew a finger down the center of his chest. “You think someone can make this stuff up?”
“What an idiot,” he growled and grasped her hips, rolling her again until she was beneath him.
Her green eyes narrowed slightly as she stared up at him and her tongue swept across swollen lips. “My sentiments exactly. So I immediately ended it.”
Justin drew in an unsteady breath, his chest tightening at the playfulness and desire in her gaze.
He ran the palm of his hand over her stomach, taking a moment to dip his finger into her navel.
“You should know that I’m nothing like The Suit, and am actually quite fond of the clitoris.” He skimmed his hand across the waistband of the jeans riding low on her hips.
Her stomach rose as she sucked in a breath, her lips curling into a challenging smile. “I know you are.”
“You do?” He dipped a finger below the waistband, smoothing it back and forth against her silky skin.
Her hips lifted slightly against his light touch. Further aroused and amused by her response, he moved his hand to cup her pussy through her jeans.
“Mmm. You told me.” Her lashes lowered, veiling her gaze. “And I heard you once or twice…with other women. It certainly sounded like you knew what you were doing.”
She’d heard him. The idea of it both intrigued him, and yet sent a rush of regret through him.
“Yeah? You didn’t get weirded out?”
“No. I got horny,” she admitted bluntly with a soft laugh. Her lashes fluttered upward again. “And then later I got jealous.”
Give a SEAL an inch, and he’ll take your heart.
Heat of the Storm
© 2009 Elle Kennedy
An Out of Uniform story
Lieutenant Will Charleston has waited fifteen long years to show up as anything other than a one-pixel blip on Mackenzie Wade’s romantic radar. If a powerful storm is what he needs to send her into his arms, he’ll take it. Once the hot sex is over, though, she seems determined to kick him right back into the friend zone.
Not this time. This time, he’s going to teach her the meaning of tenacious.
Mackenzie has always had feelings for Will, feelings she fights with all her strength. He’s her best friend, her safety net. The one man who’s not scared of her accursed psychic gift. No doubt he drives her wild in bed, but their night of passion was more than a mistake. It generated a tragic vision of the future, one that leaves her more confused—and afraid—than ever.
Problem is, Will knows her too well. Plus he’s a SEAL to the bone. And they don’t like to lose…
Warning: This book contains a Navy SEAL who knows exactly what he wants—ridiculously hot and dirty sex with the woman he’s been fantasizing about for years. Stormy sex and graphic language await you.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Heat of the Storm:
“Either we talk about what you saw, or we talk about the kiss.” Will’s brows were drawn together in a frown. “Your choice, Mac.”
Neither. She wanted to talk about neither.
She edged toward the oversized leather sofa, hoping he’d take her silence and attempt at creating distance between them as a sign to back off. But the words back off were not part of his vocabulary and he only stepped closer, so that she was trapped between his big, hard body and the arm of the couch.
“Why did you kiss me?” he asked roughly.
She found the courage to meet his gaze. “I was upset about the break-up with Dan. And drunk. Very, very drunk. I…wasn’t thinking.”
He didn’t answer for a long while. So lo
ng that she didn’t think he would even reply. And she was right. He didn’t reply. Instead, he grasped her chin with his hands and then his mouth covered hers.
The kiss was scarier than the vision. The kiss was real.
She was helpless to fight it, though the relentless ache between her legs wouldn’t have let her fight anyway. Will’s hot mouth rubbed over hers in a slow kiss, his lips firm but deliciously soft, his fingers warm against her cheeks. He deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue between her lips. He sought out her tongue and swirled over it, the taste of him assaulting her senses and making her knees wobble.
He immediately slid one hand to her waist to hold her steady, curling his fingers over her hip, his touch searing through the cotton material of her nightshirt and scorching her skin.
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. All she was capable of doing was sagging into his hard chest and drowning in those intoxicating lips of his.
The kiss grew harder, greedy, almost frantic. He licked her bottom lip then sucked it hard into his mouth, eliciting a whimper from deep in her chest. And his tongue…it was too demanding, too precise as it flicked over hers, thrust in and out of her mouth, mimicking what she knew he wanted to do to her with his cock.
Fire consumed her body, growing hotter and stronger when he shoved one hard thigh between her legs and ground against her throbbing core. The long ridge of his cock pressed into her mound. She could feel him pulsing, swelling, and the thought of having all that hard, male flesh deep inside her made her gasp with pleasure.
“I want you, Mackenzie,” he murmured against her trembling lips. “Now. Always.”
The words swiftly jolted her back to reality. She stumbled back, nearly tripping over the couch before regaining her equilibrium. She blinked wildly, trying not to look at his flushed face, the wild lust glimmering in his black eyes. This was Will. Her best friend since she was fifteen years old. For God’s sake, she couldn’t fall into bed with him, no matter how incredible a kisser he was, no matter how much her body shouted for her to do it.
Luck Be Delanie: A Chances Are story Page 9