No Holds Barred

During a playful talk about fantasies, Caitlin's fiancé offers to give her a threesome—with his best friend, Liam, who's coming to spend the weekend. At first Cait is shocked that Nathan could entertain the thought of sharing her with another man, but once he's planted the idea her imagination runs wild, leaving her deeply aroused—yet still unsure about what the implications could be for her and Nate's relationship.

Nathan's watched Cait struggle to hide her attraction to Liam for years. He knows she's nervous, but he also knows that by making her most intimate fantasies come true he can bring her to heights of pleasure she's only imagined, and strengthen their bond. There's only one way to help her overcome her inhibitions—by planning a night of ecstasy she'll never forget...

17,000 words

No Holds Barred

By Callie Croix

During a playful talk about fantasies, Caitlin’s fiancé offers to give her a threesome—with his best friend, Liam, who’s coming to spend the weekend. At first Cait is shocked that Nathan could entertain the thought of sharing her with another man, but once he’s planted the idea her imagination runs wild, leaving her deeply aroused—yet still unsure about what the implications could be for her and Nate’s relationship.

Nathan’s watched Cait struggle to hide her attraction to Liam for years. He knows she’s nervous, but he also knows that by making her most intimate fantasies come true he can bring her to heights of pleasure she’s only imagined, and strengthen their bond. There’s only one way to help her overcome her inhibitions—by planning a night of ecstasy she’ll never forget…

17,000 words

Dear Reader,

What do you get when you cross summer with lots of beach time, and long hours of traveling? An executive editor who’s too busy to write the Dear Reader letter, but has time for reading. I find both the beach and the plane are excellent places to read, and thanks to plenty of time spent on both this summer (I went to Australia! And New Zealand!) I’m able to tell you with confidence: our fall lineup of books is outstanding.

We kick off the fall season with seven romantic suspense titles, during our Romantic Suspense celebration in the first week of September. We’re pleased to offer novella
Fatal Destiny
by Marie Force as a free download to get you started with the romantic suspense offerings. Also in September, fans of Eleri Stone’s sexy, hot paranormal romance debut novel,
Mercy,
can look forward to her follow-up story,
Redemption,
set in the same world of the Lost City Shifters.

Looking to dive into a new erotic romance? We have a sizzling trilogy for you. In October, look for Christine D’Abo’s Long Shots trilogy featuring three siblings who share ownership of a coffee shop, and each of whom discover steamy passion within the walls of a local sex club. Christine’s trilogy kicks off with
Double Shot.

In addition to a variety of frontlist titles in historical, paranormal, contemporary, steampunk and erotic romance, we’re also pleased to present two authors releasing backlist titles with us. In October, we’ll re-release four science fiction romance titles from the backlist of C.J. Barry, and in November four Western romance titles from the backlist of Susan Edwards.

Also in November, we’re thrilled to offer our first two chick lit titles from three debut authors,
Liar’s Guide to True Love
by Wendy Chen and
Unscripted
by Natalie Aaron and Marla Schwartz. I hope you’ll check out these fun, sometimes laugh-out-loud novels.

Whether you’re on the beach, on a plane, or sitting in your favorite recliner at home, Carina Press can offer you a diverting read to take you away on your next great adventure this fall!

We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to [email protected] You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

Happy reading!

~Angela James

Executive Editor, Carina Press

www.carinapress.com

www.twitter.com/carinapress

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Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

About the Author

Eyes wide, Caitlin set her wineglass on the granite counter and stared at her fiancé in disbelief. “You would share me? Actually
share
me with another man?”

Nathan chuckled as he finished washing the last pan in the sink. The sculpted muscles in his arms and back flexed beneath his T-shirt with his movements. “You make it sound like I’d give you away or something. I just meant I’d do that for you if
you
wanted to someday.”

Wow. She didn’t know if she was more outraged or hurt. This whole conversation had started in fun, but now she was sorry she’d brought it up in the first place. Talking after dinner was part of their routine, her time to relax. She cooked, then he cleaned up while she sat with him and enjoyed a glass of wine. But this latest turn in the conversation was like a cold dash of water in her face. Did he not understand what he’d just said? “I can’t believe you’d do that.”

Nathan arched a dark brow at her while he rinsed the pot and set it in the drying rack beside the sink. “I wouldn’t unless you wanted me to.”

“I don’t.”

“Okay. That’s fine.”

He sounded so damn calm about it. Like it didn’t matter to him one way or the other. But she knew better. She’d known all about his sexual past when she’d started dating him. Apparently he hadn’t lost that adventurous streak since hooking up with her after all. Part of her had secretly feared this would happen.

Her stomach pulled tight. “Are you…bored with us? In bed, I mean?”

Wiping his hands on a dish towel, he gave her a bland look. “Right. That’s why we still have sex at least five times a week even though we’ve been living together for six months. Because I’m bored.”

She didn’t appreciate his sarcasm. This was serious. If he wasn’t happy with their sex life, she’d prefer to know about it now so they could fix things before it was too late. And before the wedding. But what if he wanted a married life that included threesomes to keep things exciting? She didn’t think she could handle it. She loved him, but she could never do that. Not even for him. “You’d tell me if you weren’t happy, right?”

He frowned and closed the distance between them, grasping her hips to pull her to the edge of the island and settling between her jean-clad thighs. “You know I would.” His long, strong fingers slid into her hair, tipping her head back. “Baby, I love you, and I’m more than happy with our sex life.”

Okay. So why didn’t it feel like he was being completely honest with her? She sensed he was holding part of himself back, had been for a long time. “Tell me the truth.”

“That is the truth,” he whispered as he bent to kiss her. His warm lips settled over hers in a tender caress, those long fingers rubbing against her scalp. “God, Cait, I still get hard whenever you walk into the room. Here, feel.” He reached down to grasp her hand and pulled it between his thighs, where his erection bulged against his jeans.

Cait cupped him through the denim, feeling rather possessive when she stroked her palm over him. He gave a rumble of pleasure as his tongue feathered over her lower lip. Her nipples hardened in helpless response, and she sighed into his mouth. If he was trying to distract her, he was doing a damn good job. Too good.

She broke the kiss and leaned back, frowning. “Does this conversation have anything to do with Liam arriving tomorrow?” He and Nathan had been buddies forever, since college, and had served in the Marines together. But they’d shared a hell of a lot more than time in the military.

His deep gray eyes stared into hers. “No. You asked me if there was anything we hadn’t tried that I wanted to.” He shrugged. “I saw the book you’re reading, and if you ever wanted to try it, I’m okay with that, provided it’s someone I’d trust with you.”

“Like Liam.” She couldn’t keep the accusation out of her voice.

“I’d trust him, yeah. Because I know he cares about you and would treat you right.”

“How do you know he’d even be interested?” she shot back.

He snorted. “Trust me, he’d be interested.”

The conviction in his voice took her off guard. Liam had never made a move on her or done anything to suggest he was remotely interested in her that way. God, why was she even
thinking
about this? There was a big difference between enjoying a steamy book and climbing into bed with a third party. Let alone a good friend of theirs.

Had she thought about it? Hell, yes. It was easy enough to imagine, considering how sexy Nathan and Liam were. But the few times she’d begun to fantasize about it she’d stopped herself. It made her feel too guilty. Depraved.

“Just because I fantasize about something doesn’t mean I would actually want to do it.” If she did, what would happen afterward? She already knew the answer to that one. It would put a definite strain on their friendship with Liam, and worse, possibly ruin her relationship with Nathan. Not a risk she was willing to take.

“Okay,” he said easily and kissed the tip of her nose. “Just wanted you to know I’d do it if it was something you wanted to try.”

When he stepped away, she felt cold all of a sudden. She rubbed her arms, unable to shake the feeling of dread curling inside her. Maybe to him it was that simple. Just another exploration of their sexuality together. But how could he be so casual about letting her be with another man? “Would you want me to do it?”

He stopped at the kitchen doorway and turned to meet her gaze squarely. “If you wanted it and were okay with it, sure. But you’re not, and that’s fine.” He shrugged again. “Look, you’re making too much out of this. Forget I said anything.”

She couldn’t. Because she knew he would do it. Would actually allow another man to kiss her, get her naked, stroke her all over. Have sex with her. The last part made her cringe.

Unwilling to let it go, she followed him into the bedroom and watched while he peeled his snug shirt over his head to expose the muscular planes of his torso. “You wouldn’t be jealous watching that? Watching another man touch me, and me touching him?” She didn’t understand that. He was so protective of her, it didn’t make sense.

Nathan sighed, tossing his shirt into the laundry hamper. “I’d only be jealous if you did it behind my back.”

She drew up short. “I wouldn’t cheat on you, ever.”

“I know. And that’s why I’d be okay with a three-way if I was part of it.”

If she was honest, she had to admit the idea of it aroused the hell out of her. Having Nathan there, touching her, holding her while another man pleasured her. But acting on it would be too much like cheating. She’d be so embarrassed. How would she live with herself afterward? And there was something else that terrified her even more. Her throat tightened, but if he could be this honest, he deserved the same in return.

“What if I liked it? I mean,
really
liked it?” She flung the question at him to see how he’d react.

But there was no anger, no recrimination in his expression. If anything, his eyes glinted with amusement. “For not wanting to do it, you seem curious enough about how it would work.”

“I’m just trying to understand what you’re thinking,” she said, striving for a reasonable tone. “And what would happen if I wanted it again? Would you be jealous then?”

“Why? Do you think you’d want it again?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Just answer me.”

He raised one dark brow. “As long as I’m there, no.”

To him the answer was that uncomplicated. That certain. Because he trusted her so much. God, she didn’t even trust herself enough to entertain the idea, and he was giving her the green light to do it. She wasn’t a prude. Their varied sex life was testament to that. They’d experimented with different things; he’d pushed her boundaries with light bondage and anal sex. She’d loved it all. Until now, though, Nathan had never hinted at wanting to add another person into the mix.

But what if this was important to him, and he was pretending it wasn’t, for her sake? It would eventually wear on their relationship. He might even lose interest enough that he would wind up looking elsewhere for what he needed. The thought made her heart pound in denial. She’d already watched a few friends go through divorce after an affair ruined their marriages.

She’d never shared a lover before, like he had with Liam. A small, secret part of her wondered if she was missing out. She swallowed. “I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” He strode over to her and pulled her in close for another soft kiss. Soothing, reassuring. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Come to bed.” His seductive whisper brushed against her jaw. When she looked up into his eyes, they practically glowed with repressed hunger.

“I could never share you,” she couldn’t help blurting. It was important he understood that, because no matter what happened, she would never be okay with another woman entering the picture.

His lips quirked. “I know. But you never need to worry about that. You’re all I can handle anyway.”

She huffed out a breath at his attempt at humor, but tipped her head back when he settled his mouth against her neck. Her nerve endings tingled and the tension eased from her muscles. This was what she needed. To put the whole conversation out of her mind and enjoy the pleasure Nathan always brought her. His tongue stole out to leisurely lick the one spot guaranteed to make her shiver, and she didn’t disappoint him.

“God, I love the way you do that,” she whispered, eyes half closing. He smelled so damn good—soap and a hint of cedar from his aftershave.

“Not as much as I love how you melt for me when I do it.” He bent, scooped her up and carried her to their king-sized bed. He kissed her deeply while he pulled off her blouse and jeans, his fingers tantalizing her breasts as he unclasped her bra. Cait moaned into his mouth and wiggled closer to those talented hands, but he slid them down to her hips. His fingers teased between her thighs before he finally slipped her lacy thong down her legs. The flannel sheets were warm and cozy against her skin when he pressed her into them and came down over top of her to blanket her with his body.

Cait sighed, wrapping her arms and legs around him, relishing the heat and hard weight of him atop her. The effortless way he pinned her to the mattress instantly made her pussy dampen and throb. He never tried to control her in any other aspect of her life, but in the bedroom he was one hundred percent dominant, alpha male. It made her weak in the knees every single time they were together like this. Something he knew very well.

He rubbed his body against her, nudging the head of his cock against her pussy. She was already wet for him, and when he lowered his head to lick her breasts she shook her head and pulled him up. “I want you inside me.” She wanted to feel claimed by him. Taken. She needed that to chase away this scary feeling of insecurity welling up from somewhere deep inside.

His gray eyes all but glowed at her in the dimness, and she caught the surprise there. “You sure?”

“Yes,” she breathed, rolling her hips against him.

Nathan reached up to remove her arms from his neck, firmly pinioning her wrists against the sheets on either side of her head. Cait sighed and squirmed in delicious anticipation. Testing his strength, glorying in the way he rendered her powerless. She loved it when he did this. Loved surrendering to whatever he did to her.

He teased her with another slick caress of his cock, right against her open folds. “This what you want?”

She nodded, her throat too tight to speak. She didn’t want foreplay or anything fancy right now, just the feel of his hard length pushing into her. Right now, she wanted it forceful, a little rough. Not that he’d ever hurt her. But their earlier conversation had left her feeling uncertain, and she needed to feel his strength as he took her. To be branded by his touch and his body and have him burn away everything else but the feel of him inside her, claiming her.

“Open for me.”

The quiet command made her shiver. She understood what he wanted and was more than happy to give it to him. Releasing a deep breath, Cait consciously relaxed her muscles and widened her thighs, wordlessly submitting to his domination. He praised her with a low murmur and pressed his cock against her aching pussy. His hips pulled back and surged forward in a slow, firm thrust, pushing his hard length all the way into her with one inexorable motion.

Cait moaned and closed her eyes, allowing her senses to savor the heat and fullness of him stretching her body. He stayed like that, buried deep inside while her inner muscles squeezed and fluttered around his cock, adjusting to the size and width of him. Ripples of pleasure spread through her.

“Look at me, Cait.”

She opened her eyes and let him see she was all right. He was sexually dominant, but he could also be heartbreakingly tender when he chose to be. And he was always careful not to hurt her despite his size and power, even when she begged him to fuck her hard.

The grip around her wrists firmed. Her breath hitched in anticipation, knowing what was coming. He smiled a little at her reaction and began to move. Long, full strokes that soothed as much as they stimulated. She wriggled beneath him and tugged on her wrists, but his hold never lessened. He knew she loved that too, him forcing her inevitable surrender. His restraining grip gave her the freedom to struggle against his strength, all the while knowing he would keep stripping away her control until all she could do was surrender and
feel
. Give up all responsibility for her pleasure and let him take over.

It worked for her because she trusted him. Implicitly. And bringing someone else into their bed might threaten that trust. She didn’t want anything to break the precious intimacy they’d built so carefully over the past few months. An intimacy forged by trust and mutual respect.

“I love how far you let me unravel you,” he murmured, surging in and out of her aching pussy. His voice was so steady it drove her crazy. She might have believed he was unaffected by their lovemaking, but his eyes told a different story. They all but glittered with lust as he stared down at her.

She needed more, though. “Nathan…”

He kissed her. Soft caresses at the corner of her mouth, in delicious contrast to the firm strokes inside her. “What, baby?”