Rule #13: A lady would never initiate advances on a manâ¦
Carly couldnât explain what came over her. âIâm tired of following the rules, Coop,â she whispered in a husky voice as she slipped into his arms.
She held her breath, then moaned softly when he traced his tongue over her bottom lip.
âYouâre bad news,â he said roughly as he captured her mouth in a kiss so deep and wet she trembled.
His tongue slid across hers. He tasted like peppermint, and a whole lot like man. Tiny shivers of delight rippled through her. Her nipples beaded against the satin of her bra, the sensation adding to the heat Cooper so effortlessly fanned into a three-alarm blazing inferno.
He lifted his head and she looked into his eyes, feeling a wealth of pleasure ribbon through her at the heat in his gaze.
âMake love to me, Cooper,â she murmured. Another rule broken. But she was beyond caring.
âMaybe I have rules about things like thatâ¦. Weâve only known each other a short time, sweetheart.â
The smile curving her sexy, very kissable mouth was filled with sass. âWell, then we better make up for lost time!â
Dear Reader,
Have you ever wondered what you would do if you suddenly found yourself completely free? Would you break every rule youâd ever learned and establish your own laws? Most of us wouldnât dream of doing anything quite so rash, but thatâs exactly what Carly Cassidy does when she runs away from her own wedding and the man she doesnât love.
Carly runs right into The Wilde Side, a local Chicago tavern, and Cooper Wilde, a man convinced Carly has more brass than brainsâuntil she devises an outrageous plan to help him save the place from bankruptcy, and steals his heart in the process.
I hope you enjoy Carly and Cooperâs ârule-breakingâ romance! And I hope last month you enjoyed meeting Carlyâs sister Jill and her sexy hero in #793, Rules of Engagement.
Happy reading,
Jamie Denton
P.S.: You can write to me at [email protected] or P.O. Box 224, Mohall, ND 58761-0224.
Rule 1: A lady never cries in public.
FOR THE FIRST time in her life, Carly Cassidy broke the rules, and what had it gotten her? Nothing but trouble, she realized, sitting in her defunct Ford Escort in an unfamiliar city where she knew absolutely no one, and harboring more guilt than any motherâJewish, Catholic or otherwiseâcould possibly inflict.
Knowing that sheâd disappointed so many people did that to a person, she thought. Her gaze slid to the open doorway of a corner bar. If they had a pay phone, she could call a tow truck. Guilt and regret were tough enough to swallow without adding desperation to her already overloaded emotions. But then again, she had run away from her own wedding and spent hours gazing out at the sailboats on Lake Michigan. Sheâd bet not a single one of the occupants soaking up the warmth of the midday sun experienced one iota of the shame and disappointment she felt. By the time the sun started to set she still hadnât found the relief that she had made the right decision.
Raucous rock music drifted from the open doorway of the neighborhood tavern, snagging her attention. The only other sign of life in the older section of Chicago came from a closed market halfway down the block with a dim light spilling onto the pavement. She turned in the seat and looked behind her toward the market for a pay phone, seeing nothing more than a stretch of pavement and darkened storefronts. She couldnât very well sit in the car all night.
âOh sweet Mary,â she muttered. She was an adult. She had every right to walk into that bar and use the phone, and even order a drink if she wanted. So why was she hesitating?
She let out a sigh. Because twenty-four years of following rules told her a preacherâs daughter didnât enter a bar without a male escort. Especially if the daughter in question was wearing a wedding gown!
With a lift of her chin and a determination to break her second rule in the same day, she scooped her little white satin bag from the passenger seat and climbed out of the car, thankfully without tripping over the voluminous yards of white satin.
She tugged hard on the train she hadnât had time to detach before her abrupt departure from her own wedding, ten feet of satin spilling from the driverâs seat onto the asphalt. Not bothering with the elastic wrist-band, she bunched the fabric in her hand, slammed the door to her uncooperative Escort sedan, and walked resolutely toward the entrance below a green, flashing neon sign.
Blaring music and the stench of stale smoke and alcohol hit her when she slipped inside the bar. All she needed was a telephone to call a tow truck, and then sheâd be on her way. Where, she hadnât decided, but she planned to stay as far away from Homer, Illinois, as possible.