Hot & Bothered
The Heat Is On…When Trey Marbury receives an erotic anonymous note, he knows only one woman could have written it–Libby Parrish. As teenagers, he and Libby had once gone skinny-dipping to escape the South Carolina heat–and ended up generating even more heat in each other's arms. Twelve years later, Trey is worried about how she'll react to his return. But her steamy invitation tells him she's more than ready to pick up where they left off…Libby has spent the past twelve years trying to get over Trey. But once he shows up on her doorstep, she can't stop herself from falling into his arms and his bed. Still, Libby can't help wondering if Trey intends to love her–then leave her–again. Luckily a letter shows up in her mailbox, a red-hot message that makes all her reservations melt away….It looks like the start of a beautiful relationship–until they realize the letters were written by somebody else….
Читать Hot & Bothered онлайн беплатно
âIâve been thinking about touching you all day,â Trey murmured
He gently teased at her nipple through her silk blouse.
Libby thought back to the night theyâd spent together twelve years ago, to the trust heâd broken. If she let him touch her again, then sheâd be doomed to suffer that humiliation all over again.
âPlease donât do this to me,â she begged.
âWhat is this, Libby? Just because you deny the desire between us, it isnât going to go away.â Trey took her face between his hands and kissed her. âI was there in your bed the other night,â he murmured against her mouth. âI know what I made you feel.â
She drew a ragged breath and backed out of his embrace. âThat was lust,â Libby said, her voice thin and tight. âOne night was enough.â
He stared into her eyes, as if searching her soul for answers. âOne night every twelve years? Hell, if thatâs all I can hope for, then I guess Iâll see you in another twelve.â Then he turned and walked out.
Dear Reader,
Iâve traveled back to the South for the setting of my newest Harlequin Temptation novel, Hot & Bothered. And while you might be reading this book on a warm summer day, it was written in the midst of a snowy Wisconsin winter.
Trey Marbury and Libby Parrish are caught in both a meteorological heat wave and a heat wave of their own making in the fictional town of Belfort, South Carolina. Those of you familiar with the Low Country might recognize the real town that Belfort is based upon, although Iâm not sure that a real Southern town would have quite so many charming and eccentric characters living within its limits. Or maybe it would. Maybe thatâs exactly what I love so much about the South.
In any case, I hope you enjoy the ideas Trey and Libby come up with to beat the heatâ¦.
Happy reading,
Kate Hoffmann
Books by Kate Hoffmann
HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION
795âALL THROUGH THE NIGHT
821âMR. RIGHT NOW
847âTHE MIGHTY QUINNS: CONNOR
851âTHE MIGHTY QUINNS: DYLAN
855âTHE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRENDAN
933âTHE MIGHTY QUINNS: LIAM
937âTHE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRIAN
941âTHE MIGHTY QUINNS: SEAN
963âLEGALLY MINE
Contents
Prologue
A BUMBLEBEE BUZZED in lazy circles around a potted jasmine, the sound breaking the silence of the oppressive midday heat. A few steps away on the wide veranda of the house on Charles Street, the Throckmorton sisters stirred the heavy afternoon air with rice-paper fans. A silver tray rested on the table between their two wicker chairs, holding a pitcher of iced tea and two sweaty glasses.
âWeâre doomed,â Eulalie Throckmorton said, her fan fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird.
Eudora Throckmorton took in the morose expression on her twin sisterâs face and sighed. âItâs just the heat, Lalie. When Iâm drenched in perspiration, I donât feel like chatting. Neither do the rest of the ladies of the Thursday Ladiesâ Bridge and Luncheon Club.â
âBut it was as quiet as a Quaker wake.â
Eudora shifted in her chair. âIf youâd just agree to install air-conditioninâ in the house, then we wouldnât have this problem. Grace Rose Alston just had air-conditioninâ put in her house and she says itâs been a godsend with this mid-summer heat.â
âWe donât need air-conditioninâ, Dora. We have this lovely veranda. Mama and Papa lived here for over fifty years and they never had air-conditioninâ. Besides, weâd just shut ourselves up in the house and never see our neighbors strolling by. Out here, weâre part of the world. Good gracious, if I wanted to live in the cool and dark, Iâd run down to Wilbur Varnerâs funeral home, buy myself a nice coffin and move in next to Mama and Papa at the cemetery.â
âThereâs no need to get all dramatic about it,â Eudora replied. âI swear, youâve always had a way of pilinâ on the agony. You should have taken up a career on the stage. You could have given that Driving Miss Daisy lady a run for her money.â
âAnd you should be sellinâ gadgets on the Home Shopping Network, with your fondness for new-fangled inventions. Need I remind you that we have an electric juicer sittinâ in our kitchen that youâve never even used?â
âAir-conditioninâ is not a new-fangled invention,â Eudora countered. âSome would argue itâs a necessity in the heat of a South Carolina summer. And we are approachinâ an age where personal comfort is all we can look forward to on a good day.â
âLetâs be honest, Dora. It isnât our lack of a temperature-controlled environment that will spell the end of our beloved bridge club. Itâs the shortage of decent gossip. Thereâs just nothinâ left to talk about in this backwater town!â
The Thursday Ladiesâ Bridge and Luncheon Club was nearly a century old. Founded by Eulalie and Eudoraâs grandmother and a group of her friends, members were all prominent socialites in the town of Belfort, South Carolina. The club was a Belfort institution that had weathered two World Wars, Prohibition, the Great Depression and an attempted seditious coup by several members who wanted to replace the bridge games with gin rummy. But through it all, the ladies had always shared lively conversation among the sixteen members. Eulalie might call it gossip, but Eudora preferred to think of it asâ¦illuminating discourse.
