âThis is about that damned wedding again, isnât it?â
Marc strode toward her, until he was so close Melanie could smell his aftershave. âAnd you want me to believe that in three months you found someone who could replace what took us three years to build?â he continued. âTell me something, Mel. Does he make you pant the way I did?â
The brush of his palm against her right nipple caused a massive shudder to travel the length of her body. She knew she should move away from him, protesting the familiar intimate touch, but she could only stand transfixed, wanting him to touch herâ¦and more. âHe makes me happy,â Melanie said.
Marc frowned. âOutside of the bedroom. Howâs he going to make you feel inside?â He cupped her breast, very obviously avoiding contact with the straining tip.
She stifled a moan and tried to stop herself from leaning into his touch. âI donât think thisâ¦is a good idea, Marc. We should, umââ Melanie licked her lips, her gaze fixed on his mouth. âWe should be discussing how weâre going to catch the guy whoâs after me.â
Marc slowly shook his head. âSweetheart, the only thing Iâm interested in catching right now is you.â
As his mouth came down on hers, Melanie knew he already had.
Dear Reader,
Who can resist a sexy, rough-around-the-edges hero with a heart of gold? If youâve read our first Temptation novel, Constant Craving, you know we canât. So we decided to try it again. And this time, not only is our hero, secret agent Marc McCoy, totally irresistibleâ¦heâs got four dangerously attractive brothers cut from the same cloth. Is it any wonder weâre calling them THE MAGNIFICENT MCCOY MEN?
In License to Thrill, our intrepid hero, Marc McCoy is up against his ex-partner and former lover, Melanie Weber. Not only has she got another fiancé and a substantial secret thatâs bound to show up in say, seven monthsâsheâs also got a madman after her. But the story doesnât begin and end there. Oh, no.
We hope you enjoy Marc and Melâs adventurous journey to the altar. Weâd love to hear what you think. Write to us at P.O. Box 12271, Toledo, OH 43612, or visit us at the web site we share with other Temptation authors at Temptationauthors.com. And be sure to watch for upcoming books featuring those oh-so-tempting McCoysâ¦.
Hereâs wishing you love, romance and happy endings.
Lori & Tony Karayianni
a.k.a. Tori Carrington
This one is for our remarkable editor, Brenda Chin, who led us to the cliffâs edge, then encouraged us to fly. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
JUST THINKING about Marc McCoy made Melanie Weber tingle with need. Even now. Especially now.
She slid her palms over the thick silk of the traditional wedding dress she was being fitted for. It was ironic, really. She had never thought of her relationship with Marc in the traditional sense. Still, she had expected theyâd always be together. Always be partners. Always be lovers.
But that was three months ago. Before she realized Marc could never love her. Before she was injured in the line of duty. Before she found out she was pregnant.
Melanie reluctantly opened her eyes, then tugged her hands away from the wedding dress. A pinpoint of guilt started in her stomach and slowly spread through the rest of her body. The last person she should be thinking about was Marc McCoy. Sheâd carefully tucked him in the past the day Craig had generously offered to solve both their problems by proposing to her. She owed it to Craig to keep focused on their plans for the future. She owed it to herself to keep her thoughts away from the past and all that could never be.
Still she recognized the churning signs of panic that had been swirling in her since she and Craig had picked up their marriage license that morning. Sheâd felt the same way the day she had faced her mother to tell her that she wasnât majoring in business, as her mother so wanted. Only now she suspected hormones were more to blame for her anxietyâshe hoped.
She turned slightly to view her profile. Funny, her jumbled thoughts didnât keep her from longing to wear a dress with an open décolletage neckline. But that was impossible. The fresh scar just below her left collarbone was difficult to look at, even for her. She could imagine what would happen if she flashed her gunshot wound to one hundred of Bedford, Marylandâs, prominent citizens, much less her own mother. She shook her head. The seed-pearl-studded mock turtleneck that covered nearly every inch of her skin would have to do.
Melanie sucked in her stomach. If she didnât have the dress let out just a tad, she would split a seam in front of Craig Gaffney, God and everyone halfway down the aisle two days from now.
âWouldnât that fuel Bedfordâs gossip hot line for at least a month?â she whispered to her reflection. As it was, sheâd already given them enough to talk about. Scary, since they didnât even know the half of it.