Prince of Fire: Black Phoenix, Book 1
Page 17
Rachel stared at Gerald, her gaze narrowing with suspicion as it lit on Burke. “Are you saying Mr. Chastell wants my aunt’s property? And that she steadily refused to sell it?”
Burke had a sudden ache in the pit of his belly, a feeling that often preceded something bad about to happen.
“That’s what I’m saying.” Gerald stacked his papers and squared them. “Charlotte’s property and the Chastells’ border one another. They’ve always been friendly, don’t get me wrong. But it’s no secret Burke and his brothers want to reclaim the land that their great-great grandfather gave to one of your relatives so many years ago.”
“I see.” She glared at Burke, and he stared back, confused.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she snapped. Turning back to Gerald, she pasted a sugary-sweet smile on her face. “So the house is mine, and the property is split how?”
“It’s a bit complicated. I’ll drive you out to the property so I can show you both. Charlotte was very clear about this.” Gerald turned sharp eyes on Burke, as if willing him to listen.
Burke, however, didn’t understand what the hell had crawled up Rachel’s ass. He couldn’t deny her fury made him hot, but he didn’t understand what he’d done wrong. Was she suddenly blaming him for their time together in the alley? It wasn’t as if he’d staged that fight with those knuckle-dragging wolf Shifters. And he sure as hell hadn’t planned to come in his jeans while dry-fucking her against a dirty brick wall.
“Burke, I said I’ll drive Rachel out to the property now. Perhaps you’d care to follow, so I only have to do this once?”
Burke nodded. “Fine, sure. Look, why don’t you go file your papers or something? I need a word with Rachel.”
“Yes, Mr. Winter. I’d like a word with Mr. Chastell as well.” Rachel’s glare could have cut steel.
Gerald glanced from Rachel to Burke and unsuccessfully masked a grin. “Fine. I’ll be waiting outside when you’re through.” Grabbing his papers and shoving them in his briefcase, he left the room, closing the door behind him.
The minute he left, Rachel stood ramrod straight and glared down her sexy little nose at Burke. “You arrogant asshole.”
“What’s your problem?” Burke honestly had no idea why she’d grown so upset.
“You thought screwing me would sway me into selling my aunt’s place to you?”
Burke scowled. “Now wait a minute, Rachel. I—”
She leaned down and poked him in the chest, hard, stirring his instincts to fight back. Or perhaps, to turn their tussle into something more…intimate. “You wait a minute, Chastell. If you wanted to buy the place, all you had to do was ask. That scene in the alley was totally unnecessary. And not that good to boot.”
He launched himself out of his chair to glare down at her. “Not that good, Miss Penny? First of all, that ‘scene’ in the alley, as you put it, was not staged. Second, that was anything but a real fuck. We had all our clothes on, for Christ’s sake. And third.” He paused to close what little distance remained between them. Staring directly into her eyes, nose to nose, he growled his last words. “The orgasm we shared was more than good, it was explosive. Lie to yourself if you want to, but you came hard, like a shot.” He licked his lips, unable to help how turned on she made him in her anger. “And I can still smell your come creaming your panties. Hell, right now you want nothing more than a hard fuck right on Gerald’s desk, isn’t that right?”
Her pupils dilated with lust, and her scent filled the room. Pure, unadulterated sex.
“Fuck. You.”
“Sure thing, honey. You just name the time and place.”
He watched in amazement as her pupils began to elongate. He could smell the familiar scent of feline musk flooding the room and waited, his breath held, as Rachel amazingly began to turn.
Her hair began to rise as her body was covered in a field of static energy, and her teeth grew sharp as she hissed at him in anger. God, she made him burn. The mixture of mountain lion and woman was almost more than he could take. Glancing at Gerald’s desk, Burke figured he could have it cleared in one swipe of his arm. He’d bend her over the solid oak on her belly and yank those jeans and panties off her legs. Within seconds he’d lower his own clothes, just enough to spring his cock free before he’d shove it hard and deep into that honeyed, wet pussy.
Rachel’s hands fisted into paws as she raised one arm as if to strike.
Do it. Please, touch me and I swear I’ll mark you as one of mine in a heartbeat. The choice, even unknowingly made, had to be hers.
Gerald, damn his ass, chose that minute to knock at the door. “Hey, is everything all right in there?”
Son of a bitch. Burke knew Gerald could smell the passion raging in the room, the scent of a female in heat overpowering enough to easily reach the lawyer outside the office.
Rachel blinked, and that suddenly her shift vanished as if it had never been. She swayed and righted herself, still miffed enough not to want Burke’s touch. “Come near me again and I’ll geld you.” Sniffing, she turned on her heel and stalked out the door, nearly knocking over Gerald, who waited impatiently on the other side.
Gerald watched Rachel go with amusement, his lips quirked in an aggravating smirk.
“Not one word.” Burke stormed through the door, knocking Gerald into the wall as he passed, heading for the bathroom to finally clean up. “Not one fucking word.”
Desire can strike without warning.
Storm Warning
© 2008 Sydney Somers
Shadow Destroyers, Book 3
Journalist Blair Murphy is on the trail of a hot lead when she meets an even hotter stranger. Charmed by Drew Reid’s sexy smile and intrigued by his evasive answers, Blair puts aside her undercover investigation of a corrupt politician for an under-the-covers investigation of every inch of his incredible body. But even after Drew satisfies her in every possible way, he refuses to satisfy her curiosity. Especially about the mystery woman who keeps calling his cell phone.
As a burnt-out demon slayer, the last thing Drew needs is an inquisitive woman complicating his life, especially when she turns out to be the one woman who’s strictly off limits—his partner’s sister. He knows firsthand why it’s important to keep loved ones at a distance, yet the fierce desire Blair arouses makes it impossible to stay away.
Just as Drew prepares to hang up his sword for a normal life, a vicious attack on Blair awakens a storm of powers inside her that rage beyond her control. As her emerging abilities become increasingly unstable, their searing passion could be her salvation—or destroy them both.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Storm Warning:
“I think he’s gone,” Blair whispered against his mouth.
Drew wasn’t interested or likely capable of responding, and offered no more than a half-hearted grunt in acknowledgement. He caught her mouth again, the exquisite softness, the addictive taste of her, filling his senses. He’d stay right here all night if she’d let him.
He moved his hand from where the strap of her dress fell temptingly over his fingers, and cradled her jaw as he adjusted the angle, taking the kiss a little deeper. She slowed things down, but she didn’t pull back, allowing him to linger a little longer. The men following them had hopefully given up on identifying who had been near the golf course and assumed they were just a vacationing couple enjoying the scenery—and each other.
“Drew,” Blair murmured against his lips.
“Yeah?” He coaxed another lazy kiss from her, dragging it out until she made the same sexy, breathless sound as before.
“Shouldn’t we—” She threaded her fingers into the ends of his hair.
He groaned at the possessive touch and kissed her again. One of her knees bent, hugging his hip and creating the perfect place to settle between her thighs.
“—get up?” she finished half a minute later when he had to take a deep breath to ease the pressure on his chest.
He wanted this woman. Bad. Wan
ted to tug her dress down and fill his palms with her breasts. Wanted to tug her dress up and discover exactly what she wore beneath it.
He gripped her thigh, nestling his throbbing arousal tighter against her. She dropped her head back and arched her spine. A breathy plea he didn’t understand tumbled from her parted lips. Drew opened his mouth over the hollow of her throat, pulling the tender flesh between his lips.
“Only if we have to,” he finally answered.
He stared down at her, the moon slipping from beneath the clouds to illuminate her face in a silvery glow. Her eyes glittered with the same need that drummed inside him, and his whole body clenched.
She gave him a playful shove. “What happened to wanting to get a drink?”
“After this, I don’t think a drink is gonna do much for me.” He ducked his head for one more taste of her lips, then helped her up.
It took serious effort to think about anything other than how incredible she’d felt tucked beneath him. “Will you leave if your senator wannabe splits in the morning?” Any man with something to hide would likely be too spooked at the possibility of unwanted spectators to stick around.
“Probably.”
Unable—and unwilling—to let her get out of reach, he grabbed her hand, linking their fingers. “Any way I can tempt you to stick around and spend the day with me tomorrow?”
“What’s on the itinerary? More romps through the woods?”
“If I say yes, will you stay?”
She laughed.
“I was actually thinking about starting the day off with a swim. Clothes are entirely optional though.”
She pursed her lips, and he was beginning to recognize the inquisitive expression on her face. “Do women say no to you very often?”
“I’ve had years to perfect my technique.”
She rolled her eyes, trying not to smile.
He stooped to bring them to eye-level. “Is that a yes?”
Blair nibbled on her bottom lip, looking uncertain.
“You need to follow new leads on your story,” he guessed, rocking back on his heels at the uncomfortable pressure of disappointment that squeezed between his ribs.
“Tonight just proves I’m on the right path.”
He nodded in understanding, falling into step with her as they made their way back to the resort’s main building. He was all too familiar with the need to see a job through to the end. That didn’t stop him from him from taking one more stab at convincing her to stay. “Just a couple of hours then? Breakfast at least? Every good journalist needs to start the day off right,” he pressed, unaccustomed to the almost desperate need to see her again.
“And if I say no?” she teased, turning the corner that brought them back to the main building.
He opened the door and followed her up to the second floor. His own room was on the third. “Then I’d have to think you’re one hell of an actress, pretending to be into me back on the beach like that.”
She shrugged dismissively. “Could be that I’m a woman of many talents.”
Not caring that anyone could step into the hallway at any moment, he backed her up against the wall. He leaned in, grazing her cheek with his. “Is that your way of saying you’re not attracted to me?”
Blair exhaled slowly. “No matter how I answer that I’m screwed, aren’t I?”
“How do you figure?”
“If I admit that I am intensely attracted to you—”
“Intensely?” he mused, nipping her bottom lip.
“—then I’m overplaying my hand. And if I deny it—” She moaned into his mouth as he kissed her.
“Then I won’t believe a damn word,” he finished for her, easing back only a fraction. “I see your dilemma.”
“Good,” she breathed. She trapped his face in her hands and rocked up, delivering a feverish kiss that nearly knocked him on his ass. “So I’m sure you’ll understand that this is where I say goodnight.”
She ducked under his arm and he grinned.
Blair pulled a keycard from her purse and with a sexy half smile shoved it into a slot three doors down, and ducked into her room.
He strode to the closed door, then turned away to brace his hands on the opposite wall, a little overwhelmed by his own senses. He could still taste her on his lips, hear the soft pants of her excited breaths, feel the grip of her fingers as she clung to him. He should have coaxed her into staying on the beach instead of leading her back here.
The door opened behind him.
“Must have been all the excitement, but I’m actually not tired.”
He turned around slowly.
Blair opened the door a little wider. “How about that drink?”
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