Tempt Me Tonight (43 page)

He answered with a playful grin, their faces close. “You ask a lot, woman.”

“This will be my only major request, I promise.”

“What do I get in return?”

“My inner biker chick?”

“Done. Next time I’m in the accessories store, I’ll see what I can find in a nice Yosemite Sam.”

She smiled. “Your biker chick thanks you.”

“She’s gonna have to do better than
that.
”

She heard a hot, sexy moan escape her—the first sign of the biker babe—but then found herself looking around the truck’s cab. “Hey, where’s Pepper?”

“He’s too young to drink, so I dropped him off with his mom before heading here.”

A soft smile stole over her, an incredible sense of
rightness.
“So he’ll be at home waiting for me when we get there.”

“Yep. Along with Midnight, Carissa’s cat, who I promised could stay. And the yellow twins—although Jana is adopting those two for her
own
twins, which are due sometime next spring.”

Trish’s eyes flew wide, and Joe simply said, “Lots to tell you, cupcake.”

And the rightness grew, because she knew Joe needed her just as much as she needed him. She kissed him again and felt a fresh burst of amazement deep in her soul. “I can’t believe this,” she said, growing more serious. “I can’t believe that finally, after all this time, I’m home, where I belong.”

“Everybody will be glad you’re back, Trish.”

But she shook her head. “I didn’t mean Eden. I meant…you.
You’re
home to me now, Joe.
You’re
home.”

“Oh
baby,
” he growled, “I love you. And I’m in the mood for a nice…moist…messy cupcake.”

She let a wicked smile unfurl as she made him a promise. “Mmm, Joe—I want to eat cupcakes with you all night long, every night, forever. And I want fudge, too. Lots and lots of fudge. Because I used to be allergic to fudge, but I’m not anymore, and I want all of it I can get.”

He drew back to look at her. “I know cupcakes mean sex, but I don’t have any idea what fudge means. Sounds like it might be kinky, though, so okay.” Then he shut her up with another kiss and they had cupcakes.

They say it takes a village to raise a child.
I
say it takes a village to help write a good book! My sincere thanks goes to:

Robin Zentmeyer, for early brainstorming, and for the idea of the chapter headings.

Attorney Glenda Edwards, for being my advisor and brainstorming partner about the legal aspects of the story.

Attorney Rodger Moore, for answering a few other quick questions.

My mechanic buddy Steve, for so kindly helping me provide accurate details about Joe’s work.

Lucia Macro and the fine folks at Avon Books, for all the great stuff they do for me.

Meg Ruley, for early feedback and also for just being a plain fabulous agent.

And finally, to Renee Norris, whose input on this book was vital. Thank you, Renee, not only for taking an early look at the first fifty pages and brainstorming changes with me, but for giving me thorough input after reading the rough draft—and then reading the whole thing
again
! And on top of all
that
, you introduced me to the Shelby Cobra, too. You rock.

TONI
BLAKE
’s love of writing began when she won an essay contest in the fifth grade. Soon after, she penned her first novel, nineteen notebook pages long. Since then, Toni has become a multipublished author of contemporary romance novels and had more than forty short stories and articles published. She has been a recipient of the Kentucky Women Writers Fellowship and has also been honored with a nomination for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. Toni lives with her husband in the Midwest and enjoys traveling, genealogy, crafts, and snow skiing.

Visit
www.AuthorTracker.com
for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.