Emma raised an eyebrow, indicating for him to continue.
“I wasn’t going to put him down. I’m a vet, remember? He’s going to be a stud bull, comes from a great line.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Jez rejected him, and there you were, with your cow phobia and this sad look in your eyes. I thought it was too good an opportunity to pass up.”
Emma thumped him hard on his bare chest, unable to be angry with him, but still wanting to let him know he was in the wrong. “You manipulative bastard! What did you hope to achieve?”
Gabe’s expanding grin wiped any annoyance from her body. “Exactly what I did. You aren’t scared of him, and while it may take longer to trust the bigger ones, it’s a darn good start.” He ran a knuckle down her cheek. “Plus, it gave me an excuse to see you all the time, even though I didn’t want to admit it.”
The grin faded from his full lips as he contemplated her. “You know, I still don’t have much time to myself. If he comes back home, he’ll need someone to help care for him until he’s big enough to go in with the others.”
Emma’s heart stuttered and stopped, jumping right into her throat. “What are you saying?”
A nervous smile flitted at the corners of his mouth, disappearing and reappearing in rapid succession. “I’m saying I love you.” His eyes closed for a moment, his expression brightening once he opened his eyes again. “Whoa… Saying it like this is harder than last time. And, I’m asking you to come home with me.” Hope lit silver sparks in his storm-colored eyes. “Will you?”
Elation rushed through Emma, washing over her, from her toes right up to her scalp, widening an enormous smile on her lips. She tamped the happiness that hearing him say those words brought. She nodded slowly, pretending to think about it.
“I guess so. I mean, someone has to make sure Ralph gets fed.”
Squeals and giggles erupted into the air as Gabe’s hands found their target, tickling her. He grabbed hold of both her hands in one and held them above her head, leaning down to stare into her eyes.
“I take it that’s a yes, because I’m not accepting any other answer.” His mouth found hers, his kiss possessive.
Emma sighed with pleasure against Gabe’s firm lips. “That’s a yes.”
About the Author
My first attempt at writing a book was about my first love—horses.
But this was no ordinary horse, he was from Alpha Centauri and could talk. I also illustrated this book. I learned the hard way that my writing was far better than my drawing skills.
Growing up on a steady diet of romance novels and sci-fi and fantasy in a house where reading of all kinds was encouraged, I never tired of finding fabulous books in both Speculative Fiction and Romance genres, but none crossing over. I dreamed of the day when the alpha prince would not only get his princess, but would get the chance to bring their relationship to the fore, making it a major plot line.
After marrying and having two fabulous children, I decided to combine my two loves and write the books I wanted to read. I love writing both alpha and beta heroes, all of whom I torture and make fall to their knees before their heroines and beg for mercy.
I live in a (not so) sunny part of Queensland, Australia, with my human and fur kids, and harbor a strange love of UGG boots. K- and J-Pop feature heavily in my home, especially when drafting my novels, drawing inspiration for my heroes from the music videos and anime, much to my children’s delight and my husband’s sufferance.
~ Dakota x
Look for these titles by Dakota Harrison
Now Available:
Exhale
She is the one dream that never had a chance to come true…until now
Exhale
© 2013 Dakota Harrison
Takeshi is finishing up a brutal double shift in the ER when a familiar—and bloody—face erases all thought of heading home. The broken body of the woman fighting for her life belongs to Gabby, his best friend’s mother. A woman he has rarely seen since he turned nineteen and foolishly declared his love for her.
She’s not dying today. Not on his watch. And not with a promise left unfulfilled.
Gabby has never forgotten the taste of the kiss Taka gave her under the mistletoe all those years ago. Or the silly promise that surely by now he’s forgotten. She’s wrong. Taka remembers. And she melts as he uses every trick in his highly trained surgeon’s hands to heal her—and rekindle the heat between them.
But there’s a secret lurking in Gabby’s past. And when it follows her all the way to Seattle, it threatens to drag the one man she loves into the nightmare she thought she’d left behind.
Warning: Contains a reluctant cougar heroine with a planeload of emotional baggage, a hot Asian surgeon who knows how to kiss it and make it better, and smoking hot love scenes that’ll give you a new appreciation for the tenacity of younger men.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Exhale:
Gabby threw her keys down on the hall stand.
Lights blazed, welcoming her home. There was nothing worse than coming home to a dark house—it was so mournful. She kicked off her boots and padded through to the kitchen. Her jeans swished faintly on the timber flooring as she walked, the soft sound oddly reassuring. They were always a little too long when she bought them.
She flicked on the kettle and waited for it to boil.
The movie had been great. A nice little romantic comedy, the type that she could never seem to get Matt to agree to see.
She’d checked on them all only minutes ago. They hadn’t noticed her stick her head through the door and look around. Some had been dancing, some were already asleep in their sleeping bags, but most were still bouncing around having fun. So, she had decided to come up to the house and settle down in bed with a good book.
Untwisting her hair from the ponytail she’d forced it into, she dropped the heavy mass and rotated her head a few times to try and loosen up the kinks in her neck. She always came out of that cinema with a stiff neck. The seats were so old they must have been around with the dinosaurs.
The faint click of the kitchen door caught her attention. The smooth, firm line of Taka’s back muscles played under his tight-fitting tee shirt as he closed it. He looked at her and smiled.
“Past your bedtime?” She glanced at the clock. It was only two a.m.
He grinned nervously at her, a strange expression shadowing past his eyes. Gabby looked closer. What on earth had him nervous?
“Nope. I just wanted to catch you before you went to bed. You have a sore neck?” He motioned at her hand where she was rubbing at the base of her head.
Gabby pulled a face. “Mmm, yeah. Those seats at the Palace are a little on the old side.”
“Here. Let me.”
He walked over and turned her around by the shoulders. His long fingers shifted her hair and draped it over one shoulder, then gently cupped her head to tilt it forward. “Hold still.”
Taka leaned her body back into his, kneading the tense muscles of her neck. She sagged bonelessly back into him as he worked his fingers up her neck into her hair.
“Mmm… Oh, that’s real good,” she mumbled, chills running the length of her spine.
His hands worked their way up and down her neck to her shoulders and back again. A soft moan of pleasure wound its way from her throat. She heard Taka’s sharp intake of breath and his hands stilled.
“Please don’t stop.”
Goose bumps erupted down her back and legs as his hands went below her shoulders. She could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck, his forehead pressing against her hair. His hands massaged down to the flare of her hips, then one hand reached around her waist to stroke up to her ribs.
It felt so good that Gabby couldn’t think straight. His other hand reached up the side of her neck under her hair and started to massage her head above her ear.
She tilted her head into the sensation, the exquisite chills from his touch on her skin causing her to shiver. She vaguely felt his head move, then the t
ouch of his warm lips pressed against the tender skin of her neck.
His mouth skimmed over her skin up to her exposed ear. The sensation of his lips, barely touching her, tore a whimper from her throat. An answering sound worked its way out of Taka, sending shockwaves spiraling down her legs, leaching the strength from her knees.
Gabby reached up and worked her fingers into his hair as his mouth made full contact with her neck. His hand slipped beneath her shirt and up under her breast as he started kissing her neck and jaw openmouthed.
“Taka, what are you doing?” Her voice was a coarse whisper in the silent room. She felt his smile curve against her neck.
“I thought that would be obvious, Marishaten.”
Taka’s hand moved higher to cup her breast. His fingers massaged her through her lacey bra as he drew his thumb over her taut nipple.
Her back arched into the sensation his hand was creating. Her head fell back against his shoulder, pushing her breast harder into his hand. Her moan of pleasure sounded loud, even to her. She couldn’t control her reaction to him. She fought hard to think through the molasses that had drowned her brain. His touch was so damned nice, and she hadn’t been touched in so long.
Something tried to screech at her through the fog in her head.
This shouldn’t be happening.
“Takeshi, no. We can’t.”
His teeth nipped at the underside of her jaw then back toward her ear. She couldn’t remember for the life of her what she was trying to say.
“Why not? Don’t you like it?” he whispered, his hot breath scorching her skin where it trailed behind his kisses.
Gabby pushed her hand up under his jaw to push his delicious mouth away from her so she could think. She turned to face him and stepped back, her breath heaving, as she tried to gain some perspective. Being so close made it too hard.
She stared into his eyes. So beautiful. His desire for her was written all over his face. That kiss at Christmas hadn’t been a fluke after all.
Taka lifted his hand to her face. Her eyes closed as he rubbed his thumb over her cheek.
“Oh, Takeshi. I’d have to be dead not to like it. But—”
His thumb pressed against her lips, stopping her mid-sentence.
“No buts.” He moved closer, his lips a whisper above hers. “I want you. So much.”
He ran his hand up into her hair, his long fingers kneading her scalp. Her head fell back, exposing her neck to his mouth. The heat from his lips burnt her very soul as they grazed her skin again.
“You’re too young. We can’t do this. It’s not right.” She could barely speak through the exquisite reaction her traitorous body was having to him.
“We’re both consenting adults. What’s not right?” His muffled words rumbled against her hot skin. He tore his mouth from her neck, his black gaze burning through her. “Do you want me?”
She opened her eyes and blinked, confused. “What?”
Taka stepped back. Just enough that the heat from his body felt too far away.
“Do you want me? If you don’t, I’ll go. I’m not going to force myself on you. But if you do, please tell me.”
The touch of his mouth and hands had unleashed all the yearning for closeness that she had tried so hard to ignore for the last two years. Her body’s response to him since his kiss under the mistletoe had kept her awake more nights than she cared to admit. It had ignited responses in her she’d desperately tried to extinguish.
Responses she’d never thought she could feel.
Gabby closed her eyes briefly. “God help me.” She lifted her gaze to his. “Yes, I want you.”
It’s just pretend…but nobody wants to stop.
Maxie
© 2013 Kimberly Dean
Triple X, Book 2
Maxie’s quiet, predictable routine is shattered when she steps outside her flower shop and almost runs into two women. It’s not the near collision that’s startling. It’s the strangers’ faces. It’s like looking in a mirror times two, and it sends her into a dead faint.
Sheriff Zac Ford sees three identical copies of the woman who’s caused him more sleepless nights than he can count, and it stops him in his tracks. Maxie’s buckling knees snap him out of his trance, and he catches her before she hits the cement.
Two sisters she never knew she had? Maxie can’t deal with this turmoil, not on her own. She needs a shield, a rock. For the first time in her life, she takes a wild leap of faith.
When Maxie calls him her boyfriend, Zac has no trouble playing along. It’ll give him time to figure out what these “sisters” want. Soon, though, for-show kisses get hotter and playacting touches grow bold. And Maxie must choose to stay in her safe little world, or grab life by the horns.
Warning: Don’t lie. It only leads to more lies, hotter kisses, bolder touches, less bed space, strange looks about town, and a complete loss of shyness.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Maxie:
Maxie rubbed her temple. “If Roxie and Lexie are right about everything, we probably don’t need to pretend. To be seeing each other, I mean.”
“Let’s keep up the charade.”
“Why?”
His handsome face darkened. “Even if they are related to you, that doesn’t mean they’re good people. Give me some time to check everything out first.”
Maxie blinked in surprise. “They seemed like good people, though, didn’t they?”
“They did.”
She slumped in her seat. Right now, she couldn’t trust herself to judge up from down or right from wrong. Or sheriff from boyfriend. She fiddled with her skirt. There wasn’t anyplace to settle her hands. “Thank you for being here for me today.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He nudged her shoulder with his. “So back to the topic at hand. Right side or left?”
“Of what?”
“Of the bed, of course. Which side do you sleep on?”
The question was so outrageous, she laughed. “You are insane.”
“Hardly. Four months of dating? I’m the kind of guy who stays over, sweetheart.”
She was sure he was.
Suddenly, it wasn’t so funny, and she had to remind herself to breathe. Her thoughts were back on her bedroom, right upstairs. “They’ll never see that.”
He lifted one eyebrow. “Maybe not, but they’ll probably see this.”
Without giving her a chance to figure out what this might be, he kissed her.
Maxie was stunned when his mouth settled directly onto hers. She inhaled sharply, but he followed, leaning in as she pressed against the chair. For a moment, she was frozen with surprise, but with lengthening nips, he coaxed her into relaxing. When she moved towards him, he opened his mouth wider, eating at hers and tasting deeply with his tongue.
A long shudder went through her. He tasted like coffee and sex. She circled her arms around his neck.
“I don’t like seeing you upset,” he said against her lips.
He kissed her again, and her eyes fluttered closed.
This should be the last thing she needed, but it was exactly what she craved—someone strong, someone steady, someone delectable. Oh God, what they were doing felt so good. He wasn’t hesitant, but he didn’t overpower her, either. He tested new angles and tried different pressures, learning what she liked.
With him, she liked it all. It felt good to slip into fantasy, to drift away from the confusion and dismay.
She slid her hands over his shoulders and reveled in the bunch and play of his muscles. “Zac.”
She gasped when the arm behind her tightened. There was a quick tug, and before she knew it, he’d pulled her out of her chair.
“I was on my way to do this earlier, before we were interrupted,” he said, his voice gruff.
She was on his lap again, only this time she was wide awake.
The kiss intensified, growing hotter and steamier. Their tongues slid against one another’s, sending shimmers of excitement through her system. He s
pread his hand wide on her back, under her hair. She could feel every one of his fingertips stroking, skin on skin.
Heat poured through her, and her mind spun. Better than fantasy. She didn’t know what came over her, but leaning closer, she nipped at his lower lip. He went still, tension building around them, and she eased the sting with a lick of her tongue.
He groaned. “You’re not that shy, are you, Beauty?”
She hadn’t been until he’d mentioned it. Awareness gripped her, and she realized how close he was and how tightly she’d pressed against him. This wasn’t for pretend; it was real. As much as she wanted to keep rubbing against him like a cat starved for affection, that invisible hand was pulling her back, away from what she wanted to do.
Breathing hard, she stared at him with wide eyes. His were heavy-lidded and sensual. She was so close she could see dots of darker blue mixed in with the lighter blue of his irises. His cheekbones were flushed, and his mouth was damp.
She licked her lips, and the blue flecks in his eyes darkened. Her pulse jumped and her muscles flared, half of them pushing her up off him and the others straining towards him. She wanted…but she shouldn’t…but she needed…
He was leaning towards her when the mobile radio on his shoulder squawked. “Unit 64?”
She sprang off his lap as if it were spring-loaded, and a low curse passed his lips.
“Maxie.”
She couldn’t respond. All of a sudden, it was this morning all over again when she couldn’t even come up with the word hi.
“64?” the radio called again.
Zac clicked on the mike. “64,” he practically barked.
“We have a report of an accident on the Indigo Byway, close to your location. Are you available to respond?”
“Hell no.”
Maxie took another good three steps back and smoothed her dress. Her skin prickled everywhere, hot where he’d touched and chilled where she should be wearing more clothes.
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