She felt exposed, yet safe. It was an intoxicating combination.
The sharp sound of crunching gravel nearby roused Olivia. She froze, acutely aware of her semidressed state. A womanâs voice cut through the night air. âItâs cold out here. Letâs go back inside.â A man murmured something intelligible and the sound of retreating footsteps left Olivia alone with Adam once again.
Olivia had no intention of squandering even a minute of this night. She smoothed her palms over Adamâs chest, and rising on tiptoe, she whispered in his ear, âI donât think itâs cold at all. In fact, I think itâs very, very hot.â
âHoney, youâre killing me.â Adamâs low murmur stirred her hair and her feminine self-esteem.
Her thighs quivered and clenched in response to the need in his voice. She reached between them and touched him. âWe could go to my house.â
âAre you propositioning me, Olivia?â Was that a hopeful note underlying his incredulity?
She knew sheâd steppedâmake that leaptâbeyond her self-imposed boundaries. But it was just for one night. Hopefully one incredible night. She drew a fortifying breath. âYes, I believe I am.â
âThank God,â he whispered roughly, just before he crushed her lips with his.
Dear Reader,
Iâve had the time of my life writing my first book for Temptation. Especially since it offered me the chance to combine two of my favorite thingsâsizzling sensuality and humor. After all, itâs not every day a girl finds herself in the wrong bed. Or, in this case, the right bed. With the wrong brother. Or is he?
Olivia Cooper, daughter of the town drunk, has spent a lifetime trying to rise above her inherited reputation. Sheâs carved a respectable niche for herself as the local librarian and head of the literacy council. And as long as she manages to control her occasional reckless impulses, all is right with her world. But not for longâ¦.
Luke Rutledge is the black sheep of his family and the local bad boy. As a rule, the lofty Rutledges donât sport earrings or tattoos, and they definitely donât ride around on a Harley. Except for Luke, that isâ¦. So when Olivia finds herself having the best sex of her life with the resident rebel, itâs the last place she should be. And itâs exactly where her wild side urges her to goâagain and again!
I hope you enjoy Luke and Oliviaâs story. I sure enjoyed writing it and Iâd love to know what you think. You can write to me at: P.O. Box 801068, Acworth, GA 30101. And donât forget to look for my next book, Barely Decent, coming out in November.
Enjoy,
Jennifer LaBrecque
Books by Jennifer LaBrecque
HARLEQUIN DUETS
28âANDREW IN EXCESS
52âKIDS + COPS = CHAOS
64âJINGLE BELL BRIDE?
In tribute to all the victims of the September 11th massacre at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the empty field in the Pennsylvania countryside. We continue to laugh and love in honor of your memory, which is the greatest refutation of terrorism known to man.
OLIVIA SHIFTED on the cold concrete bleacher, and closed her eyes in bliss. Snuggling deeper into a sweater delivered earlier in the week by the church charity group, she absorbed the moment. The bite of a brisk autumn night. The rallying charge of the marching band overlaid by the cheerleadersâ chant. The glare of lights illuminating the field in an otherwise dark night. The smell of popcorn, hot dogs, and the occasional waft of hot cocoa. The collective surge of excitement in the stands and on the field.
âEarth to Olivia.â
She blinked her eyes open to find her best friend Bethâs freckled hand waving in front of her face. âI love football games.â
Beth sighed and dreamily eyed the second string quarterback parked on the sidelines. âYeah. Doesnât Chuck Lamont look cute in his uniform?â
Olivia rolled her eyes and grinned. The question was purely rhetorical. Beth didnât expect an answer.
A frisson of awareness tingled against the back of her neckâthe feeling that someone was looking at her. She turned her head. A rowdy group hovered at the edge of the bleachers, drawing several disapproving glares from parents in the booster section. Her gaze skidded to a stop as it locked into the bright blue eyes of Luke Rutledge who stood slightly apart from his crowd. Tough. Wild. Older. Her stomach flip-flopped and her pulse ran amok, even as a wave of self-consciousness washed over her. He quirked one corner of his mouth in a smile.
If she absolutely didnât know better, she might, for one wild flight of fancy, think one of the sexiest bad boys in the senior class was flirting with her mousy, bookworm self. She attempted to smile back. Her awkwardness produced something much closer to a grimace.
Burning with self-consciousness and an attraction much more intense than the benign crush sheâd had on Barry Elwell last year, she glanced away before she made a total fool of herself.