Max rose before six in the morning, having slept uneasily. He couldn't shake the feeling the sword of doom was about strike him. Those damn pictures. If only he'd been able to push the woman away, but she'd been worse than a vulture. As soon as the clock hit a decent time, he planned to call Tony Warren and ask him to help. You just never knew when a picture would show up on someone's phone and make its way out into cyberspace. Unfortunately, he didn't think the Warrens would be taking any calls before noon today.He downed two cups of coffee while he watched the clock. Valentine's Day. He had big plans for Stacy, along with a special event tonight, before the magazine party. Maybe that was why he was so nervous. By eight o'clock, he was ready to jump out of his skin. Showered and dressed, he hurried down to the bakery in the nearby strip center and bought the cinnamon rolls she told him she had a real obsession for. At eight forty-five, he rang her bell, excitement at the upcoming da
By the time she left her place, in the red dress and the sexy lingerie, gold hoops dangling from her ears, and her feet shod in high-heeled sandals, she almost had herself believing she could have a good time.Almost.She just needed to get rid of the heaviness where her heart was.The party was always held in one of the high-end downtown hotels. Adam Devereaux, who owned the magazine, liked to make a splash. Besides the staff, the guest list would include advertisers, media, and major influential people. Adam always preached that image was all.Parking her car in the hotel garage, she rode the elevator down and took a deep breath before she stepped into the lobby.And walked right into Adam Devereaux."Ah, Stacy. There you are. I need you to come with me for a minute.""I…you…what?""Over here." He took her by the arm and quietly guided her across the lobby to one of the smaller private rooms."What are we doing in here?" There were chairs stacked against the walls, a table a
Part Two: Unnecessary Roughness"Did you see this? Are you actually looking at this?"Ryan McCabe leaned back in his chair, aviator shades covering his eyes, and wished his agent, Walt Alston, would disappear. And take his tablet with its vicious headlines with him.They were sitting on the back patio of Ryan's home on Davis Islands, an archipelagos formed by two small islands at the mouth of Hillsborough Bay and minutes from Tampa's bustling downtown area. The rest of the property sloped down to the bay, a scene that up until today had given him a great deal of pleasure. Today he was wondering how many of the pleasure boats cruising past his house were doing so with their sole purpose being to get a glimpse of a headline-busting football player."Ryan?" Walt's voice increased in volume and frustration. "Will you please open your eyes and take a look at the mess you made?"Ryan lifted his shades enough to see the words leaping off the screen.Shit. No, double shit.RUNNING BACK
"I'm sorry, Ed, but I just can't do it."Kaitlyn Reese faced her editor across his desk, her hands curled into fists, her body vibrating with repressed rage. "You might not have any scruples, but I still have a few.""I think I resent that, Kaitlyn." Ed Middleton stared at her, his eyes like two black weapons boring into her. "Are you saying I have no principles? No morals?"She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, digging for her control. "What I'm saying is, I don't think it's good for our reputation to do a story on someone based on nothing but innuendo that could ruin that person's reputation and destroy his business.""We have a source. I told you that."She bit down hard on her tongue and chose her words carefully. "The source is a disgruntled employee who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar," she reminded him. "I don't consider that person's information very reliable.""James Renzulli does, and that's good enough for me. The man, I might remind you, who ulti
Ryan stretched and blinked his eyes open, squinting. No wonder. Sunlight was pouring in the window over the bed. Apparently he'd forgotten to close the curtains last night. By the time he got to the cottage on Pelican Lane, all he'd wanted to do was strip off his clothes and fall into bed.He lay there, letting his body wake up, revisiting the circumstances of the trip down here. He had to give Walt credit for this. He'd pulled this off like a real superspy. Ryan had certainly felt like he was in a covert ops movie. At five o'clock in the afternoon, a black windowless van had rolled up his driveway and into his garage. The same van had made a trip earlier in the day so the assholes camped out in the street would write it off as nothing newsworthy. But, on the last trip, it delivered Rich McClellan, who Walt referred to as the fake Ryan Calhoun. Then they'd hustled Ryan himself, along with his suitcases, into the van and rolled out of the garage and into the street with the paparazzi
Last night, in the dark, he had not been able to take note of his surroundings. Now he got a better view of the cottages on the short street as he passed them. Colorful, with blooming bushes of all kinds surrounding them. At the end of the street was a park, dotted with benches and tables and more tropical shrubs. And, beyond it, the beach, and the waters of San Carlos Bay.Ryan jogged around the park twice before heading for the beach. By the time he finished, he'd clocked five miles and was ready for that coffee. When he hit the sidewalk of Pelican Lane, he slowed down, taking in more of the environment.Which was how he spotted the woman carrying a trash bag down the stairs of one of the cottages. And stopped to take a look at her. And nearly swallowed his tongue. Cutoff shorts and a very baggy T-shirt should have hidden most of her assets. Not a glamorous outfit at all. But the very nature of them made her look all the sexier. Her golden hair was pulled up in a ponytail and, when
Kaitlyn pulled a bottle of water from the fridge, uncapped it, and leaned against the counter to take a long swallow. With the bottle half empty, she dribbled a little onto her palm and splashed it onto her heated cheeks. She wondered for a moment if she should pour the rest over her entire body, which seemed to be carrying the temperature of a well-stoked furnace.Holy mother!The last thing she ever expected to see when she took her trash out this morning was to see Mr. Sex on a Stick jogging down the sidewalk and pausing to catch his breath in front of her cottage. He certainly was a mouthwatering bit of masculinity. Broad shoulders framed a lean muscled body with narrow hips and long legs. Every muscle was toned and well-defined. Shaggy dark brown hair framed a face with a square jaw, high cheekbones, and dark-chocolate eyes that looked out at the world from beneath lush, thick lashes. And damn! Right at one corner of his mouth, a dimple that winked when he smiled. He was most de
Ryan finished his morning run and dropped onto one of the benches in the little park bordering the beach at the end of his street. He rubbed his hand over his face, gathering the beads of sweat, and wiped them on his shorts.I have to start wearing a T-shirt or bringing a towel.He'd finally remembered to hook a water bottle in the loop on his shorts. Now, as he sat catching his breath, he opened it and drained half of it before stopping. Slowing his breathing, he looked around the little park. It was a beautiful area, with lots of trees and shrubbery, benches for sitting, and places to set up a grill. He was sure people came here on the weekends or even late in the day to picnic. Only by then he was shut up again in his cottage.He sighed.Four days.Ryan looked at his watch, the one with all the bells and whistles, to make sure he was right. Yup, four days since Walt dumped his disgraced self here in Margaritaville and he was already getting bored. He could only spend so much ti
"I'll get some more coffee." Sarah started to rise from the couch. "No." He held up a hand. "I'm fine. No, not fine," he corrected himself, "but I don't think I should drink more coffee."She was silent for a long moment. "That must all have been so devastating for you, Beau," she said at last. " He relaxed an infinite amount when her voice sounded softer, warmer."And humiliating." he went on. "All the world could see how stupid I'd been." He clenched his fists then relaxed them. He hadn't let any grass grow under his feet that time. "But one thing money can buy you is a damn good lawyer." He started pacing again. "Mine was a shark. Before I could blink I was divorced, Lacey had a hefty property settlement and I had sole custody of Toby.""Lucky for him," she said.He could almost see a smile on her face. Still, he knew he was not out of the woods here yet. Far from it. "The divorce decree stipulated she have no contact with him," he went on, rubbing the back of his neck to
Beau knew he'd taken a big risk coming over here like this. He was afraid, though, if he called first Sarah would hang up on him. Getting rid of Lacey had taken some doing, especially when he forcibly escorted her out to her car. What a nasty scene that had been, especially when he threatened to have the cops come and haul her off.All the way over here he'd alternately prayed and beaten himself up for his stupidity. He had no idea what he'd find at Sarah's but he was determined to deal with whatever was going on. He couldn't lose her. That just wasn't an option.At least she'd opened the door for him. The sight of her rumpled in her sleep shirt made his cock stand at attention. He sent it an urgent message to stand down. This wasn't the time for sex, not until he made her understand what was going on and how he felt about her.He took a good look at her, framed in the doorway. She hadn't been crying, thank god, but he didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one. Hopefully she
For a moment Sarah's stomach muscles tightened. He had told her that. He'd said he'd see her in the morning. And…he'd come home early, just like Lacey had said he would.Had he really planned to spend the night with Lacey and then act with her, Sarah, as if nothing was wrong? Or was breakfast the time he would tell her it was over? Wait, no. He'd said they'd spend tomorrow night together. Something wasn't quite right her. But then, what about the damn codes and the key? She and Beau had divorced long before he moved to Tampa."Cat got your tongue?" Lacey's sharp words cut the air."No." Babs broke in, her voice was like ice. "But I wish it would get yours. I don't know how you got the codes to get in here, or the key to the house, but if you value your life you'll get gone before Mr. Perini gets back." She took a step toward Lacey. "And I mean now.""Beau," she stressed the word, "gave them to me. He expects me to be waiting for him when he gets home. So you'd better get out of the
"So you still plan to get back tonight?" Sarah leaned back in her desk chair, cell phone to her ear. She tried to squash her disappointment at Beau's information. He'd been gone a week doing stuff for one of his sponsors and she really missed him."I do, sugar. Promise." He sounded so weary she wanted to reach through the phone and give him a hug."Rough trip?" she asked."Not bad. Just busy and tiring. I was hoping to catch a flight out about four this afternoon," he explained "but the sponsor is insisting he wants to set up this dinner for me so it looks like I won't be out of here until later." "No chance you can get out of it?""I'm hoping to be able to settle for drinks but we'll see. Rich is working on it now."Rich was a representative from his agent's office along to oversee the activities, Beau had told her. Apparently he'd accompanied Beau on several of these trips over the past couple of years.Sarah held the phone a little tighter. "I wouldn't mind waiting at the house for
Before the spasms had fully subsided he had yanked off his pants and boxer briefs, rolled on a condom and was back on the bed between Sara's very exquisite thighs. Placing his hands beneath the cheeks of her ass he lifted her so he could position his cock right at her opening."God, Sarah," he breathed taking in her very wet, now rosy pink pussy. If he hadn't wanted his dick inside her so badly he'd have gone down on her again. What a dilemma to have—a woman whose body appealed to him on so many levels and in so many places.She was still shuddering slightly, her breathing uneven as he drove into her with one solid thrust."Beau!" She practically screamed his name. "Ohmigod! Beau!""Yeah, sugar. Let me hear you, Jesus, that feels so fucking good."And it did. She was so tight around him it nearly made his heart stop. He allowed himself a moment to lean down and take one more lick at her gorgeous nipples. Then, bracing himself, he began the rhythm that would take them over the edge
Beau did his best to keep himself under control but as soon as they were inside Sarah's condo he pulled her into his arms and kissed her as if he was a starving man and her mouth the only thing that would ease him. There was nothing gentle about this kiss. His mouth came down hard on hers and his tongue pressed insistently for entrance. Sarah stood on tiptoe and tunneled her fingers through his hair as she let her own tongue answer his need and duel with his. Jesus, she tasted good. Beau wasn't sure which part of her he liked to lick the best, her warm wonderful mouth or her very sweet pussy or maybe all that satin-smooth skin in between. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against him, pressing his very aroused cock against her mound. He knew not even two layers of clothing could disguise how hard and swollen he was. Pulling his mouth from hers with great reluctance he trailed his lips across her cheek and down the slender column of her neck. He couldn't resist taki
The gated community Beau lived in was about half an hour from the Rough Riders headquarters, and fortunately against the wave of traffic. She gave her name to the guard on duty who waved her through the gates. At the house she punched in the gate code Beau had given her, waited while the ironwork gates slid smoothly open and drove on up the curving drive and parked at the steps to the front door. She climbed out of the car and took her first good look at Beau Perini's residence.The architecture was slightly Mediterranean, as were a lot of the buildings in Florida. Exquisite landscaping surrounded the two-story home that soared up to a red barrel tile roof. The elaborately carved front door opened and Beau jogged out to meet her. She stopped a moment, the sight of him taking her breath away. He was dressed in khakis and a shirt almost the exact shade of chocolate as his eyes and the sun caught the highlights in his blond hair. He could have stepped off the cover of a magazine about s
Sarah closed out the contract she was reviewing and leaned back in her chair. An alert from her calendar flashed in the upper corner of her screen and she smiled. 5:30 Dinner at Beau's HouseDinner at Beau's house. Wow! Had it only been one short week ago since the afternoon of the press conference and the incredible dinner at Jake's After Dark? If someone had told her that morning the two of them would be together riding high on their feelings for each other she'd have smacked them down and called them stupid. Yet here she was, so deep into this relationship after only seven days that she couldn't imagine being without him.Slow down, she kept telling herself. Trust came very hard to her and while she wanted to believe him when he told her this was it for him—that after six years he was where he was supposed to be all along—she still wondered if, or when, it would all fall apart. When he'd trade her in for the next woman."I'm going to make you believe in me no matter what I have
When they were seated in the dining room Beau noted that Sarah switched her drink to iced tea so he did the same."You don't have to change just because I did," she pointed out.He shrugged. "Two beers were plenty for me. I'm good."And he was, in more ways than one, He'd just spent more than an hour in a dark corner booth with the woman of his dreams. What could be better than that except to take her to bed, something he hoped to accomplish before too long but not tonight. No, this time he was going to do it right. He had a sense that she was doing this to get him out of her system. Well, there was no getting her out of his system, so it was up to him to make sure this thing stayed on track.He deliberately pushed any obstacles from his mind. Tomorrow he planned to call his attorney and have him contact Lacey's attorney. The message? Stay out of my life or I'll go to court and renegotiate the financial agreement. He was iffy about introducing her to Toby until he saw where this th