âI really need a shower.â
Simonâs husky words tripped down Marcyâs spine and she swallowed. Hard.
âOkay, but be quick about it. I have things to do,â she said, just to remind them both where they stood.
Disappearing into the bathroom, his voice floated back out at her, âLike more dancing? I wouldnât mind sticking around to watch that show.â
âNo. No sticking, no show.â Her face flushed hot.
âThatâs a shame. I could use some entertainment.â He stuck his head back around the corner.
He was naked. At least what she could see of him. All wide shoulders and taut, tanned skin. The swell of well-defined pecs and just the hint of sculpted abs. A sprinkling of golden hair narrowed to a line down the center of his chest to disappear behind the dark wood of the door frame.
His heavy-lidded eyes searched her face, for what she wasnât sure. But whatever it was, he found it.
Simon wanted her.
And what Simon wanted, Simon got â¦
When not working as an office manager for a project management firm or juggling plot lines, KIRA SINCLAIR spends her time on a small farm in north Alabama with her wonderful husband, two amazing daughters and a menagerie of animals. Itâs amazing to see how this self-proclaimed city girl has (or has not, depending on who you ask) adapted to country life. Kira enjoys hearing from her readers at her website, www.kirasinclair.com. Or stop by writingplayground.blogspot.com and join in the fight to stop the acquisition of an alpaca.
Dear Reader,
Have you ever read a book where a secondary character caught your attention and just wouldnât let it go? For me, thatâs what happened with hero and heroine, Simon and Marcy.
I knew the minute Marcy hit the page in Bring It On, sheâd have her own story. She was feistyâthe way I like my heroinesâand therefore needed a really strong man. And, oh, Simon fit the bill. He is the epitome of âlooks can be deceivingâ and I fell a little in love with him myself. Please donât tell my husband.
My favorite relationships to write about are those where the characters strike sparks off each other the moment they meet. I donât mean arguing, although these two do plenty of that. But that combination of friction and attraction that you know is just a smoke screen hiding so much underneath. Itâs a lot of fun watching the haze clear.
I hope you enjoy reading Simon and Marcyâs story! It was a pleasure to write. And be sure to check out Bring It On and Take It Downâthe first two books in my ISLAND NIGHTS trilogy. You donât want to miss the fireworks leading up to Rub It In. Iâd love to hear from you at [email protected].
Best wishes,
Kira Sinclair
Iâd like to dedicate this book to a group of women who have become sisters of my heartâKimberly Lang, Andrea Laurence, Marilyn Puett and Danniele Worsham. Without you guys this journey wouldnât have happenedâand it sure wouldnât have been as enjoyable even if it had. It seems like youâve been a part of my life for as long as I can remember instead of only a few years. Yâall mean the world to me and I hope you guys know that. Love you!
âNO, I CANâT WAIT until next week for the delivery. You promised it would arrive today,â Marcy McKinney snarled into the phone. Taking a deep breath, she pasted a smile on her lipsâbecause you really could hear it and her dad had always taught her you catch more flies with honey than vinegarâand said, âIf you canât have the building supplies here by tomorrow then I want you to cancel my order and Iâll get what I need somewhere else.â
Slamming the phone back into its cradle would have felt good, but Marcy resisted. Barely. She had no idea where sheâd find a store that could fill her rather large order, but sheâd figure that out if the dissolute man on the other end of the phone actually called her bluff.
It wasnât as if hardware stores were thick on the ground in the middle of a secluded island in the Caribbean. Escapeâthe resort that she worked at as general managerâwas actually the only thing on Ãle du Coeur. St. Lucia was the closest major hub, and it was forty-five minutes by ferry.
Getting the supplies from another island would probably double the cost ⦠but that wasnât her problem. It was Simonâs.
She should probably feel bad about making Simonâs life difficult. She didnât. It was his turn, damn it.
The resort would be closed for the next two weeksâtheir off-season hiatus. In two days she had a job interview for the general manager position at a boutique hotel in New York City. This could be her ticket off the island and back to civilization.
And nothing, not Simon or lost building supplies, defecting security personnel, not evenâ
âMarcy!â
âwhatever was the latest disaster to hit her desk could keep her here.
Tina, the front desk clerk, bellowed down the back office hallway again.
âComing,â Marcy hollered back, modulating her voice to a pleasantly official tone. Scrambling out from behind her desk, she tried not to panic at the piles of paper, messages she still had to return and color-coded folders that needed her attention. She had so much to handle before she could walk out the door.