âI want more nights like last night,â Sam said
He knew he was probably a sucker for trying to nurture something that had âshort-term flingâ written all over it, but Kasey had turned him inside out in the space of twenty-four hours.
Heat flashed in her eyes. âBut youâreâ¦youâre a client.â
âIâll stay completely out of your office. Youâll take care of the account and no one has to know that weâre having mind-blowing sex at the same time. That will be our little secret,â he promised.
Her breathing quickened. âYou really wonât tell anyone?â
âNo one. Weâll just get together to discuss the PR campaign and have great sex, and no one will be the wiser.â Although that wasnât the way he would have preferred it, Sam could tell the concept excited her. Now, if only his suggestion was convincing enough to get her back into his bed. âWhat do you think?â
âI think youâd better take me back to the office.â
His heart sank. âThatâs a no?â
She smiled. âItâs a yes. And if you donât take me back to work immediately, I might jump you right hereâ¦.â
Dear Reader,
Whoops, I blinked and twenty years went by! How is that possible? It seems like only yesterday that I sold my first Temptation novel. Back when I was just a child. I guess that cliché about time flying when you're having fun must be true, because Iâm having so much fun that time hasnât merely flown byâitâs traveled at the speed of light!
And the fact remains, no matter how I flip the calendar around, that my first book, Mingled Hearts, Temptation #9, came out in May 1984. Writing for Temptation was a good thing then, and itâs an even better thing now.
So consider this book youâre holding as the official beginning of my next twenty years. Happy birthday, Temptation!
Warmly,
Vicki Lewis Thompson
The book is dedicated with gratitude to all the Temptation editors who for twenty years have helped make my books the best they can be, with special affection and thanks to Claire Gerus, Margaret Carney, Lisa Boyes, Susan Till, Birgit Davis-Todd and, of course, Brenda Chin.
âHOTTIE ALERT!â
Kasey Braddock glanced up. While the two guys in the office made remarks about female chauvinists, all the women hurried to where Gretchen Davies, a gutsy woman with a great laugh, had her nose pressed to the glass of the second-floor window. Moans of appreciation sounded in chorus.
Deciding from everyoneâs reaction that the view was worth checking out, Kasey punched the save button on her computer and walked toward the window. Sheâd been working on a PR campaign for a lingerie shop that wanted to shift its imageâmore Victoriaâs Secret, less Frederickâs of Hollywood.
Hours of careful research on the subject of lace teddies and thong underwear had reminded her that sheâd been seriously neglecting the goal sheâd set for herself: to become the woman sheâd always wanted to be. Sure, sheâd worked on her appearance but she had yet to launch her personal campaign to act as sexy as she now looked. The nerd that still lurked inside seemed to be giving orders to the babe sheâd become on the outside. Maybe ogling a fine example of Phoenix manhood would jump-start the new Kasey.
âOkay, my turn.â She approached the cluster of five women blocking her view. âTwo of you arenât eligible, anyway, so give a single girl a break.â
âI was only saving you a good spot.â Brandy Larsonâs fiancé, Eric Lassiter, was out of the office on an appointment, and she looked suitably guilty as she moved aside to make room for Kasey. âTry not to drool on the window,â she murmured.
âHey, Brandy, Iâm telling Eric.â Ed Finley leaned on the watercooler and observed the commotion.
âDonât go being a tattletale, Ed.â Kasey gave him a warning glance, hoping he wasnât serious.
âAw, Iâm just kidding, Kase.â Ed flashed her a peace sign.
âGlad to hear it.â Kasey held her own in this boisterous office, but she wondered if that would still be the case if everyone knew she was only twenty. Sheâd finished college at eighteen. After thoroughly evaluating all the PR firms in the Valley, sheâd targeted Beckworth, landing the job before her nineteenth birthday. Only the big boss, Mr. Arnold Beckworth himself, knew her age. She wanted to keep it that way, so sheâd continue to be treated as an equal.
âTen bucks says he takes his shirt off in the next five minutes.â Gretchen clutched a file folder to her ample chest as she stared outside.
Kasey finally took a look. âMy God, itâs Tarzan with a chain saw.â Right at eye level, a really cute dark-haired guy stood balanced in a large mesquite tree. As the pruned branches toppled to the ground fifteen feet below, a couple of other workers cut them into smaller sections and loaded them into the back of a trailer.