âIf you want to kiss me and make people think weâre together again, nowâs the time,â he muttered.
âAre you sure?â
âNo, but do it anyway.â
Sometimes it simply suited a woman to do as she was told.
The touch of a tongue, the remembrance of a taste once savoured and never forgotten. One stunningly erotic kiss to fill the need inside her. One steamy open-mouthed caress to make all those years of loneliness fade away. She wanted that from him.
She took it.
Jake thought he could control this. Here on the pavement in front of strangers Jake figured he could curtail his response to the woman whoâd once held his heart. But he hadnât counted on Jianneâs absolute surrender to the moment. The way she fed the passion that flared between them. Savoured it. Savoured him. With lips and with tongue and a single-mindedness that left no room for holding back. The deeper he fell, the hungrier he got, and the more she gaveâuntil finally he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers, his heart thundering and his senses reeling from her taste.
He closed his eyes and kept them closed. Kept one of his senses firmly closed to her as he struggled to regain his mind and some small measure of control. âPut your helmet on,â he whispered. âWeâre leaving.â
Accidentally educated in the sciences, Kelly Hunter has always had a weakness for fairytales, fantasy worlds, and losing herself in a good book. Husbandâ¦yes. Childrenâ¦two boys. Cooking and cleaningâ¦sigh. Sportsâ¦no, not reallyâin spite of the best efforts of her family. Gardeningâ¦yes. Roses, of course. Kelly was born in Australia and has travelled extensively. Although she enjoys living and working in different parts of the world, she still calls Australia home. Visit Kelly online at www.kellyhunter.net
Kellyâs novel SLEEPING PARTNER was a 2008 finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA>® award, in the Best Contemporary Series Romance category!
Recent books by the same author:
UNTAMEABLE ROGUE
>*REVEALED: A PRINCE AND A PREGNANCY
>*EXPOSED: MISBEHAVING WITH THE MAGNATE
PLAYBOY BOSS, LIVE-IN MISTRESS
TAKEN BY THE BAD BOY
SLEEPING PARTNER
Dear Reader
My first Mills & Boon>®, WIFE FOR A WEEK, featured a heroine with four over-protective big brothers. That heroine helped launch a new editorial stream called Modern Heatâ¢. Those brothers helped keep my writing on track, and every now and then one of them would declare his story ready to be told. I left the hardest story âtil last, but eventually I took a deep breath and put Jake on the page.
Did I save the best âtil last? I suspect I did.
Am I a little wistful now that Jakeâs story has finally been told and there are no more Bennett stories left to write? I am.
But mostly Iâm just thrilled that readers enjoyed the stories and that I had the opportunity to finish what Iâd started.
With thanks
Kelly Hunter
The five titles in theBennett Familyseries are:
WIFE FOR A WEEK
PRICELESS
TAKEN BY THE BAD BOY
HONOURABLE ROGUE
RED-HOT RENEGADE
IT was all about saving face. From the tailor-made dinner suit and austere white dress shirt he wore, to the antique gold cufflinks at his wrists, to his hard-won air of indifference. Every breath Jake Bennett took this evening was directed towards getting through his brotherâs engagement party without incident and with honour intact.
âWhereâs your tie?â murmured his soon-to-be sister-in-law as she stopped beside him, her eyes sharp and her smile wry. âThe one I gave you earlier this evening. The one youâre not wearing.â
âIn my pocket.â Where it was staying.
Not what Madeline Mercy Delacourte wanted to hear. âSomething wrong with it?â she enquired ever so sweetly.
âMaddy, itâs lilac.â He liked Madeline. He did. But lately sheâd gone a little insane.
âItâs lilac for a reason, Jacob. Seriously, if you looked any more formidable this evening I wouldnât have any guests left.â
âWell, I try,â he murmured. âAnd stop trying to corrupt my apprentice.â
âPo?â Maddyâs eyes narrowed with concern. âWhatâs he done?â
âYou want to know what I found in the dojo showers this afternoon?â
âXena warrior princess?â
âSoap.â
âThe horror.â
âLavender soap. Little squares of it, imprinted with fat naked cherubs. Have you any idea what sort of message soap like that sends a class full of black belts?â A snigger from Madeline. Clearly she did. Clearly Jakeâs formidable façade needed work. âPo said he got them from you.â
A peal of laughter this time. âSorry,â murmured Madeline once sheâd managed to collect herself. âHave you enlightened Po as to the soapâs unsuitability for that particular bastion of rampant masculinity?â
âI thought you might have a word with him.â
âWhat? And deny you the opportunity? What sort of future sister-in-law would I be if I did that?â
âA helpful one?â
âThatâs me,â she said. âIâm all about the help. Tell you what. You manage a smile in the next twenty minutes and Iâll find Po and talk soap. Deal?â