Seduced and Betrayed (27 page)

Willow pursed her shiny red lips at him in an exaggerated kissing motion. "Promises, promises," she taunted and turned to stroll toward the bar ahead of him, giving him a good look at the back of her snug black dress, which came to a V just below the curve of her waist.

"Good God Almighty, woman," Steve rasped
hoarsely, and she knew she'd hit her mark. "I'll get even with you for this," he growled.

Willow laughed and kept on walking. "You're certainly welcome to try," she taunted.

He caught up with her and turned her around to face him. "You want to yank on my chain a little more, fine. But this is between you and me, sweetheart. Let's keep it that way."

He bent down and pressed a hard, possessive kiss on her astonished mouth, then whirled her around again and, hands firmly on her shoulders, headed her toward the bar.

"You can let go of me any time now," she said as they threaded their way through the crowd.

"Are you going to behave yourself?"

"Define behave
,"
she retorted.

"Willow..." he said warningly and tightened his hands.

"All right, tough guy. I'll behave."

He let go of her.

"But only because I wouldn't want to be responsible for a bar brawl," she added.

He grinned at her. "God, you're a piece of work," he said admiringly.

Willow bent her head, refusing to let him see her smile, and dug into her evening bag. "Here," she said and handed him a tissue. "Wipe your mouth off. You've got lipstick all over it."

Passion & Scandal

The Hollywood Nights Series

Book Three

by

Candace Schuler

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Passion & Scandal

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Page forward for an excerpt from

ONE NIGHT WITH YOU

The Heart of the City Series

Book One

Excerpt from

One Night With You

The Heart of the City Series

Book One

by

Candace Schuler

Bestselling, award-winning Author

ONE NIGHT WITH YOU

Reviews & Accolades

"Top read of the month... nicely executed.”

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"Candace Schuler is a maestro at developing real characters."

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Affaire de Coeur

"I want you, Desiree."

"I want you too, Jake," she said clearly, and offered him her parted lips.

He kissed her, taking her offered mouth with a fevered eagerness that excited her already aroused emotions to an almost unbearable point. She strained against him, making a small sound of unmistakable need.

Jake cupped her buttocks, lifting her from the floor, and her slim legs locked themselves obligingly around his waist. He took three steps and then turned and fell backward onto the bed, taking her weight on top of his.

The short fall dislodged their lips and hands and Desi lay still for a few moments, panting lightly, her hot face hidden in the curve of his neck. She felt his hands in her hair, smoothing it through his fingers and down her back. Her tongue snaked out experimentally to taste him, and then her lips opened to feed greedily on that vulnerable place where his neck began to curve into his broad powerful shoulder.

Jake groaned and his hand stilled on her hair. He made a movement as if to roll over but Desi sat up abruptly, her wild hair foaming over her shoulders like a coppery cloud, and he lay still, waiting to see what she would do, staring up at her with hungry passion-glazed eyes.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"About how beautiful you are," she said. "You're the most beautiful man I've ever seen." She smiled a siren's smile of pure provocation. "And for tonight—all night—you're mine." Her hand trailed over his mouth and chin and throat to the top button of his shirt, "And I want to see more." She had the first button undone. "Much more," she said teasingly.

Slowly, then, and in a tense, tingling silence, she finished unbuttoning his shirt, running her fingers lightly over his broad furred chest as she went, and tugged it free from the waistband of his slacks. Her slim fingers hovered uncertainly over the buckle of his belt.

She could see the smooth muscles of his stomach tense in anticipation, waiting for her next move and, perversely, instead of doing what he expected her to, her hands went to the buckle of her own belt. She unbuckled it, tossing it carelessly to the floor and, in one swift movement she grasped the hem of her tunic in both hands and pulled it off over her head.

The peach-colored, lace-trimmed camisole she wore beneath her tunic, with tiny bows at the shoulders and between her breasts, was an intriguing contrast to the almost boyish appearance of her outer clothes. Her hands went to the first bow between her breasts and pulled it loose. The look in Jake's eyes began to burn hotter. Not melting, now, or even smoldering, but a raging inferno of desire as he lay there, very still, watching her undress for him.

The look in his eyes scorched her, making her clever fingers suddenly clumsy with nervousness and trembling excitement. The second bow snarled, refusing to come undone. "You do it," she invited him, leaning forward so he could more easily see the tiny bows. One hand held her hair back out of the way and the other touched the middle of his broad chest lightly, balancing herself as she leaned over him.

It took several seconds—an eternity—to untangle the second bow, and she realized that his chest was heaving under her hand, as if he had run a long way, his heart thudding against her palm. A faint sheen of perspiration glistened across his powerful shoulders as he worked impatiently at the bow. Suddenly it came free under his fingers. Then there was only the third and last bow on the front of her camisole and the tiny ties on either shoulder. The silky garment slid slowly down her body, revealing to his avid, hungry gaze the creamy perfection of her pale breasts with their small reddish-brown nipples puckered and straining for his touch.