Summer Fling: Compass Girls, Book 3 (27 page)

Franklin didn’t respond to Brant’s greeting, so he ignored the painter too and instead focused on Marilyn. She was unloading her shopping basket onto the counter. Bags of beans and rice, a small amount of ground beef. A candy bar and a bag of sunflower seeds.

The corner of Brant’s mouth tugged with a smile. Sunflower seeds?

When she presented her profile, he studied her delicate jaw and upturned nose. The cashier gave Marilyn the total, and her long lashes swooped over her cheeks as she turned her attention to her purse. Her face, devoid of makeup, was country girl Marilyn before Hollywood dolled her up.

She dug through her purse and came out with a bank card. When she swiped it, Brant swore she shivered.

Gazing at her openly now, he fought to control the feelings she aroused in him. He wanted to throw himself in front of her, shield her from the leering Franklin Worthy and the frowning cashier.

“I’m sorry, but your card’s been declined. Do you have another form of payment?”

Marilyn’s face mottled red, and Brant’s heart strained toward her. Eyes averted from the cashier and the customers in line behind her, she flicked through her wallet and came out with a few bills.

“Take these off.” She pointed to the sunflower seeds, the beans and the candy bar.

“Sure thing.” The cashier gave her a new total, and Marilyn passed her the bills.

When the cashier dropped a few coins of change onto Marilyn’s open palm, Brant’s throat tightened. Suddenly, the urge to fill that little hand up was so strong, it dizzied him.

Had he ever felt this way? The need to protect, possess, care for and claim all at once?

Marilyn grabbed her single shopping bag and hurried toward the exit. Everything in Brant’s body screamed to stop her, to ask her name and to buy her sunflower seeds.

But Franklin Worthy blocked his path, gaping at Marilyn too.

Brant nudged his shoulder with more force than necessary. “You’re next, Franklin.”

The man shot him a narrow look and began to move down the line.

In the parking lot, Brant realized he’d missed Marilyn. She’d vanished from his life as quickly as she’d come. Except she’d left him with that burning loneliness and the yearning to be more to someone.

Summer Fling

Mari Carr & Jayne Rylon

Summertime and the lovin’ is easy...until it’s not.

Compass Girls, Book 3

Too much love and loss taught Jade Compton to protect her heart and her sanity by steering clear of all that romance nonsense. She’s doing just fine, working two jobs, hanging out with her cousins and her best friend, Liam.
 

But when a combination of unbearable heat wave and a case of the boredom blues knocks her down, she longs to do something spontaneous…maybe even a little bit reckless.

Liam Harrison met Jade when she was sixteen—in the local cemetery. If he’s learned anything after eight years of friendship, it’s that Jade has a wild streak a mile wide. And while he doesn’t want to tame the adventurous woman, he wouldn’t mind showing her a few sexy ways to channel some of her impulsiveness. With him. In the bedroom.
 

When he proposes a sexy, no-strings-attached summer fling, Jade jumps at the chance to spice things up and indulge some pretty kinky fantasies. Then summer ends…and Jade comes to the uncomfortable realization that there’s only one place she’s comfortable in her own skin—Liam’s arms.

Warning:
 
Excessive heat in this story—in the bedroom, the barn, the kitchen, the bar. Drink lots of water. Stay hydrated!

are
not
transferable.

They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Summer Fling

Copyright © 2014 by Mari Carr & Jayne Rylon

ISBN: 978-1-61921-608-2

Edited by Amy Sherwood

Cover by Valerie Tibbs

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: February 2014

www.samhainpublishing.com