South Beach: Hot in the City (8 page)

Because the biggest truth here, the biggest one of all, suddenly slapping her in the face, was that maybe she was a fool. A fool to have walked away from the only man who had ever really cared for her. A fool to be letting
him
walk away from
her
now.

You can spend your whole life putting up walls, trying to keep your heart safe…but where has that really gotten you?
What was so great about her life the way it was now anyway? After all, she’d been the one who’d decided she needed to make changes, that it wasn’t what she wanted for herself
.

Or…you can actually, for once in your adult life, be brave, do something scary, do the scariest thing you’ve ever done.

She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. And—oh Lord, this was so hard, so frightening—but she let her heart begin to guide her. And that had been tricky enough in the dark of night, but it was much more terrifying now, in the bright light of day. And in that acoustically perfect lobby, her voice rang out, “Trey! Wait! Please!”

And when he just kept walking, nearly reaching the entry to a hallway that would lead him out of sight, she called again, more frantically this time, “
Please
!”

It was then that he drew to a halt, turned to face her again.

Their eyes met across the distance that separated them, and even as aware as she was of the audience still tuned in to their drama, she knew she had to take a chance on this. If she didn’t, she would never forgive herself. She couldn’t hold the past against him forever.

“I still love you, Trey. I still love you and I’m sorry I started to run away. You just…scare me to death.”

Across the lobby, he blinked, then took a few steps toward her. She did the same without even thinking, abandoning her suitcase.

“
I
scare
you
?” he asked. Then, to her surprise, he let out a short laugh. “I hate to break it to you, fishie, but you scare me, too. In so many ways. Only I don’t care. Because I still want you and I still love you and I think we could be really great together if we give each other an honest chance.”

Thoughts raced through Holly’s brain. She hadn’t planned on this, after all. She hadn’t planned on any of it. But Trey was telling her he loved her—he loved the old her and he loved the person she’d become. And it dawned on her for the first time that maybe everything she’d done in the ten years they’d been apart had been exactly right, for her, exactly right to lead her here to this precise moment in time. And she knew with her whole heart now that she had to just roll with this, go with it and see where it led.

“Then…maybe we can figure out how to stop scaring each other so much,” she said softly.

And he answered just as quietly, still moving toward her. “That sounds damn good to
me
, fishie.”

They met in the lobby’s center, next to the fountain, though both had forgotten there was anyone else around them. Trey lifted both hands to her face, and as he lowered his mouth to hers for what she thought was the most wonderful, life-affirming kiss she’d ever received, she pressed her palms to his chest, felt the strong beat of his heart, and knew—as she had briefly last night—that somehow she’d ended up exactly where she belonged.

“Um, miss, will you still be needing that cab?”

It took a minute for the doorman’s voice to cut in on her thoughts, and by the time she was ready to summon an answer, Trey did it for her, telling the man with a smile, “Nope—because my little fishie’s not going
anywhere
.”

About the Author

Lacey Alexander’s books have been called deliciously decadent, unbelievably erotic, exceptionally arousing, blazingly sexual, and downright sinful. In each book, Lacey strives to take her readers on the ultimate erotic adventure and hopes her books will encourage women to embrace their sexual fantasies.

Lacey resides in the Midwest with her husband, and when not penning romantic erotica, she enjoys history and traveling, often incorporating favorite travel destinations into her work.

Check out her website at
www.laceyalexander.net
for more information about Lacey and her books.

Look for these titles by Lacey Alexander

Now Available:

Hot in the City

French Quarter

Sin City

Key West

Coming Soon:

Hot for Santa

The key to sun, sand, and sin is total surrender…

Key West

© 2011 Lacey Alexander

Hot in the City, Book 3

Carrie Marsh is on her Key West honeymoon—alone. After discovering her fiancé fooling around with a bridesmaid on her wedding day, she figures the trip will help her clear her head and move on. But she doesn’t expect inspiration to appear in the form of a tan, sexy boat captain ready to introduce her to the island’s legendary, free-spirited debauchery.

Carrie isn’t the first beach bunny that hard-working, harder-playing Chris McCann has partied with, but peeling away her innocence to find her inner bad girl affects him like no one has before. Her sexual awakening burns hotter than the Key West sun, melting his resistance and incinerating any hope he has of keeping their relationship casual.

All too soon, Carrie’s return to reality is a plane ride away and neither of them is ready for the fantasy to end. But Carrie has a business to return to, and Chris’s livelihood is on the island. And besides, Carrie is just beginning to recover from the wedding that wasn’t, and Chris isn’t a settling-down kind of guy. So it only makes sense to leave the sun, sand, and sensuality of the island behind. But can she walk away from her hedonistic week with Chris without looking back?

Warning: Contains a ticket to a party cruise where anything goes—the rum punch is flowing, inhibitions (and clothes) disappear, and the captain (and his crew) are ready to cater to every erotic desire. Come as you are…

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Key West:

Upon their arrival, Chris had pointed out to everyone the area in the turquoise blue waters that appeared slightly darker, more shadowy, indicating it was the reef. Carrie swam toward it, following the other snorkelers—but she hadn’t traveled twenty feet when a warm hand closed around her ankle. “Wait up, angel.”

Looking back, she blinked behind her mask, surprised Chris was already in the water. “How’d you get here so fast?”

“Secret maneuver.” He grinned. “I jumped off the side.”

She smiled in reply. “Well, where are those great fish spots you bragged about?”

“Follow me.”

He was a good, swift swimmer, and Carrie had trouble keeping up with him until she grabbed onto the bottom hem of his dark green trunks and let him pull her along. When they reached the reef, she followed his lead, putting her snorkeling tube in her mouth and immersing her face in the water. The simple act opened a whole new underwater world as her eyes fell on mounds of brown and golden coral growing up from the ocean floor. Fish of all sizes swam beneath them, some darting about haphazardly, others looking as if they were out for a leisurely journey, and with the help of Chris’s pointing finger, she saw countless tropical fish over the next hour. She spotted a number of beautiful fish in iridescent rainbow colors—schools of yellow and black fish swam just beneath them repeatedly, followed by a large green one that ducked in and out of coral arches in search of smaller fish to eat. Her favorite find was a lobster crawling across the ocean floor, which she’d never have noticed without Chris’s help.

Of course, just feeling his presence next to her in the water kept her sexual nerves on edge, and the instances when they bumped together in the waves were like wonderful little teases, tastes of what might be to come. Even as she enjoyed the snorkeling, she found herself thinking of later, wondering what would happen—if anything. But given all the attention he was paying her—not to mention his sensual application of sunscreen—she had a feeling something more
would
definitely occur, and this time she’d welcome it without worry.

Still peering down into the gnarled coral, she followed Chris’s pointing finger to something that looked like…a shark. She grabbed his muscled arm, hard, and he looked up.

“
Was that a shark?
”

He nodded—and she panicked, her every nerve going spastic as she threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his torso, as if she could somehow climb up his body to safety.

His arms closed warm around her waist beneath the water, but he didn’t even look worried. “Just a nurse shark, angel. Nothing to be alarmed about.”

“What do you mean, nothing to be alarmed about?” she spat, still clinging to him.

“Look at me. Do I look worried? Do you see me screaming ‘Shark! Shark!’ to the other snorkelers? Everything’s fine. That little shark won’t hurt anybody—we see them all the time.”

Pulling her even closer now, though, he seemed to realize just how intimately embraced they’d become. “Not that I mind you climbing all over me. In fact, I like it.” He flashed the seductive grin she was getting used to and she realized his cock was growing hard against her pussy, which somehow felt supercharged as he rubbed against her beneath the water.

She forgot all about the shark when he began caressing her hips, his hands soon kneading her ass. Instinctively, she raked her breasts over his chest just beneath the ocean’s clear surface—then glanced down to see her nipples, hard and grazing his skin, the water seeming to cocoon them now. Everywhere the water touched her felt like a small, light caress—it felt more as if they were wrapped in velvet than H
₂
O.

She wished like hell she wasn’t wearing her silly flippers or mask. Reaching up, she yanked the mask off her face, looping it around her wrist, then did the same for him. Ah yes, so much nicer to look into those blue eyes without anything in the way.

Disentangling her fins from his, she drew her legs back. “Fins are in the way,” she murmured. His mouth was so close, she wanted to kiss him.

“Mmm,” he said. “That’s all right.” He slid his thigh between hers, beginning to rub her cunt through her bathing suit, sending waves of pleasure echoing out through her body like sonar. Her leg naturally ended up between his as well, and she relished the feel of his hard shaft against her thigh.

Without her permission, her body began to respond, moving against him, riding his leg. She drew in her breath, wishing she could stop.

“Don’t fight it, angel, if it feels good.”

“But…the people.”

Chris looked around them, so Carrie did, too. Fortunately, no one was nearby, and they were fairly far from the boat, which made her think maybe she
could
kiss him, maybe she
could
ride his thigh to hot ecstasy, until…

“Hey, Chris!” Jake yelled from onboard.

“Shit,” he murmured, but he didn’t disengage from her, only looked to his crew member and yelled, “What?”

“Fifteen minutes!”

“Okay, thanks.” He looked to Carrie, his big hands still gently caressing her hips, back, ass. “It’s almost time to call everybody in.” He let out a sigh. “Which means I need to head in
now
to help take gear and get lunch ready.”

Carrie nodded, waiting for him to separate from her and end their sexy water play. But he didn’t.

“Come to the Lazy Lizard tonight,” he said instead.

“The what?” she asked.

He flashed his usual grin. “The Lazy Lizard. It’s a bar just off Duval, a block up from the Conch Train Depot. I tend bar there a couple nights a week.”

She blinked, incredulous. “How many jobs do you
have
?”

He laughed. “Several. But payments on that thing,” he said, pointing to the boat, “aren’t cheap.” He looked back at her, his face serious again, his blue eyes filled with slow heat. “Anyway, come to the Lizard tonight. I don’t get off ’til two, but Monday nights are slow, so I might be able to leave early. Either way, we can hang out and…” With both hands, he slowly squeezed her ass tight, his fingers thrillingly close to her tingling pussy.

“And?”

He glanced down at her breasts and ran his palms gently up her sides until his thumbs stroked the outer curve of the sensitive mounds. “And remember, on the party boat, how I told you I couldn’t touch you there?”

She nodded.

“Well, I can’t touch you quite as much as I want to
here
, either. But at the bar, angel, I can touch you as much as I like.”

She wants a piece of his rock. He needs her, rock steady, in his heart.

A Little Wild

© 2011 Kate St. James

Tess Sheridan won’t let anything stop her from making partner at a prestigious law firm, especially her notoriously soft heart. The result? She’s a handful of clients away from getting her name on that brass plate. And she hasn’t had sex in over a year.

When her best friend dares her to test-drive her erotic fantasies with a gorgeous stranger, she figures, why not? Loosening the reins will give her inner nympho some well-deserved pampering without jeopardizing her career goals.

Zach Halliday has enjoyed his bad-boy reputation to the fullest, but now it’s time to leave the relative safety of the family corporation and prove he can stand on his own in the business world. That doesn’t mean he’ll pass up an opportunity for some incredible phone sex with the beautiful strawberry blonde he met in a bar.

When business overlaps with the bedroom, Zach sees something special in Tess and is determined to convince her he’s the man she needs, anytime, anyplace. She can backpedal, but come hell or high-climbing-wall, he wants the fascinating, complicated sex bomb in his bed. Over and over again…

Warning: This book contains explicit, melt-your-panties sex (phone and otherwise), and inappropriate use of wild cherry ice cream. Insights on rejuvenating your own inner nympho may be inspired upon reading.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
A Little Wild:

Jack Halloran’s hands were all over her, caressing her breasts, her tummy, her thighs…parting her legs, slowly, deliberately…nearly there, nearly touching her clit…ohhh…then drifting away again, teasing, tormenting, filling her with unquenchable lust.