Afternoon Rhapsody
A second chance at love is worth
fighting for.
Bandicoot Cove: The Wedding,
Book 1
Bianca Rogers is one signature
away from finalizing her divorce. And she will finalize it just as soon as she
gets home. But for this weekend, she’s putting her troubles aside and enjoying
the gorgeous, sunlit luxury of Bandicoot Cove, the resort where her brother is
getting married. The last thing she expects is to be knocked off her
feet—literally—by gorgeous Brody Evans.
The fireworks are instantaneous.
Brody is just her type: sexy, warm, friendly, and in the same boat as her: in
the process of getting a divorce.
Spending time together is a
mutual no-brainer. Attraction quickly grows to full-blown lust. But flying
sparks come with increasingly personal conversations, and soon neither of them
can ignore their past mistakes or the circumstances that have led them to the
island.
Now it’s time to determine
whether old hurts and sudden doubts will prevent love from leading them to a
whole new happily ever after.
Warning: If you don’t believe in
second chances, never thought it was possible to fall in love again and aren’t
interested in scrumptious, hot love scenes, then this story probably isn’t for
you. You’d be missing out – big time – but yeah…it’s probably not for you.
A new
lover, an old flame, sultry moonlit nights. Why let inhibitions stand in the
way?
Copyright © 2012 Jess Dee
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
“A pool?” He looked from her to
the water and back again in disbelief. “This is your idea of exciting and
stimulating?”
She grinned at him. “A cool dip
on a hot day. Stimulating, for sure.”
He held up his hands in defeat
and gave a soft snort. “Okay. I’ll admit it. You got me good with that one. A
swim was the last thing on my mind.”
She gazed at him with wide-eyed
innocence. “You thought I was referring to something else?”
He didn’t gaze back, exactly.
No, she’d never describe the smoldering, sensual look he shot her as a gaze.
Devastating, perhaps. A jumpstart to her libido, maybe, but not a gaze.
“Not thought. Hoped.”
“Brody…” Without realizing it,
she’d placed her hand on his chest. Suddenly her palm was smoking, burning
against his firm pecs and smooth skin.
Sheesh, what was it with her and
touching him? She just couldn’t seem to help herself. But then his chest did
feel incredible beneath her palm. Hot. Strong. Appealing.
So very, very appealing.
“Yeah?” He placed his hand over
hers, holding it close to that warm, strong and appealing chest of his. His
heart beat a steady rhythm beneath her hand, reminding her again of how alive
she’d felt since barreling into him.
Bianca shook her head. “I have
no idea what I wanted to say.” His eyes were so blue and so green and so
beautiful, she found herself getting lost in them.
The air between them crackled.
Well, not really, but it sure felt like it did to Bianca. Felt as if something
electric zipped between them, from his chest into her hand. An awareness, a
connection.
She liked the feeling. It heated
her blood. Made her breasts perk up with interest and her belly flutter with
anticipation.
It was Brody who broke the
connection, but only to let his gaze wander away from her eyes, down past her
neck and breasts…although it settled there for a few brief seconds before
continuing on.
He might as well have run his
hands over her skin, the way his gaze burned wherever it landed. It gave her
both goose bumps and shivers at the same time, and she knew he’d see the
telltale signs of her arousal in the millions of fine hairs standing to
attention all the way down her arms.
What would he make of them?
His gaze landed on her left hip,
and he did a double-take. “You have a tattoo?”
Bianca’s hand found it an
instant after his gaze did. She yanked her fingers from his chest and traced
them lightly over the stem of the tiny red rose, lying just below the strap of
her bikini bottom.
“I do.”
She’d had it done a few months
back, after she’d been living alone for a while. She’d wanted to do something
crazy, impulsive. Something to show her life was changing, show she was moving on.
She’d gone and done the last thing she’d ever have thought she’d do, the last
thing Rick would ever have thought she’d do. “It’s new. I’m still not used to
having it.”
Brody kept staring. “Is that
a…bee on the petals?”
She smiled. “It is.” Her
symbolic bee, with its wings spread while it stood steadily on the rose. Free
to fly, yet happy to have found its feet in a safe place. “I was never into
tattoos before, and the idea of getting one always scared the bejeepers out of
me, but now that it’s there, well, I kinda like it.” She stroked the petals.
Brody’s face filled with
appreciation. “I kinda like it too.”
“You do?” His expression made
her mouth water.
He nodded. “It’s sexy.” His
voice dropped about six tones. “Bloody sexy.” When he looked back into her
eyes, his were the color of a polished aquamarine. They took her breath away.
Or maybe the way he looked at her did. As though he’d like to get to know her
tattoo a little better. A whole lot better. Quite intimately, in fact.
She couldn’t help it. She pictured
him on his knees, his face by her hip, his mouth nuzzling the rose, tracing the
outline of every petal.
“Brody.” His name was a whisper.
“Did it hurt?”
“What?”
“The tat. The needle.”
“A little.” More than that. But
pain was not topmost on her mind right now. Desire was. Her belly was a
swirling mass of lust. Wet heat pooled between her legs. More than anything she
wanted Brody’s tongue on her hip. Wanted to feel the scrape of his beard
against her bare skin as he explored the bee.
“I would have kissed it better.”
Now his voice was a whisper.
“You still could.”
“It still hurts?”
“Oh, yeah,” she lied. “Heaps.”
He reached out, brushing his
fingers over the tattoo, over her fingers. “I’d kiss it here.” He traced the
lone leaf on the stem. “And here.” She almost shuddered in ecstasy as he drew
his finger along the tiny stem. “And perhaps I’d lick it, just…here.” He
stopped at the part were petals met stem.
“Y-you’d have to concentrate
real hard. The rose is small. You m-might miss the spot.”
“I’d give it my full attention.
I promise.” He stepped closer, caressed the bee and rose from top to bottom.
And maybe caressed a little bit of her hip as well.
“It would…” She cleared her
throat. “It would require your full attention.”
Desire, red-hot and
lightning-quick flooded her body. It swept her away on a tide of passion,
clouding her thoughts, fogging her brain. Brody stood so close his scent
drifted through her nose, his aftershave sinfully seductive: mellow notes of
the outdoors and subtle suggestions of man and musk. If she could bottle his
scent she would. She’d keep it beside her bed to sniff at night. And in the
morning. And perhaps once or twice during the day, as well.
Then she heard it. The booming,
familiar laughter. The unmistakable sound of a man’s mirth, followed by a
higher-pitched feminine chuckle.
Panic hit her full in the chest.
Look at this
pretty Print copy of all three stories in one!!
9 comments:
Hot excerpt. Can't wait to read Afternoon Rhapsody
Wolphcall(at)bellsouth(dot)net
Thanks for the great excerpt. Can't wait to read the book.
e.balinski(at)att(dot)net
I haven't read anything by this author yet. All of the books sound great.
Jess sounded very cool on a Yahoo chat a few weeks ago, and the books look wonderful!
vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Can't wait to read this :)
cassandrahicks1989@yahoo.com
Now, I want to know who was smirking behind her!!
delivery.RN at gmail dot com
I love everything I have read from Jess! I love the covers!!
mel
bournmelissa at hotmail dot com
Sounds great. Would love to read this and many more by her. Thanks for this opportunity.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
Whew Jess, went over and looked at your backlist after reading about this collaboration and I think I have been missing out! Will have to fix that soon.
bas1chsemail at gmail dot com
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