The door to the suite was barely closed and locked before Riley was unbuttoning her suit jacket, slipping it off her shoulders and working on the zipper of her skirt."I thought we were going to have lunch," she said, heat flaming everywhere his fingers touched her."We are." His voice was husky with passion. "This is the appetizer."His lips were tracing a warm line from her chin along the column of her neck to the upper swell of her breasts. As the filmy fabric of her blouse slid down her arms he followed its path with his lips, first one arm then the other. Every touch felt like the light kiss of a butterfly, barely touching her skin but lighting up every nerve in its path. Her skirt pooled at her feet as he slid it down her hips and his fingertips trailed down to her stomach and the lace band of her thong.He touched her everywhere, with his fingers and his mouth, one following the other, while he stood perfectly still, exploring her with one hand and holding her with the oth
"You like it, don't you, darlin'." It was a statement, not a question. "The spanking. The little nip of pain. The giving over of control." He unbuttoned his shirt. "I like my sex that way, Kari. And think you've just discovered you do, too." The shirt slid down his arms, exposing the hard-muscled chest and the fine pelt of dark curls. "But you know what you might find, Kari? That the person giving up control really has it after all. Because you're giving pleasure as a gift, and that's something that can't be compared."Kari kept watching him, licking her lips at the sight of him. She was so aroused her body begged for release."Here's what I want you to do," he continued in that same whiskey voice. "Take that thong off, spread your legs and play with yourself while I take off the rest of my clothes." His voice was a caress itself. "Come on, Kari. I know you're hotter than hell and want to come. I could feel how that spanking stimulated you. Show me your cunt, honey. I felt how wet it
The remains of lunch sat on the table in the living room of the suite. Now Kari lay on the bed, her wrists bound and fastened to the headboard, legs spread wide. Her pussy throbbed with incredible hunger, astonishing after the last orgasm she'd had. But there it was, grasping at every nerve in her body, arousing every erogenous zone. No man had ever made her feel like this. Ever. Not once in her life. No wonder she so willingly gave control of it to him. Riley knelt between her widespread legs, the remainder of the bottle of wine in his hands. He tipped it downward to dribble the liquid over her nipples, then took long, slow pulls to lap it up. The wine was cool, his mouth hot, and the contracts in sensation made her nipples pulsate. Streaks of sensation raced from the pebbled buds to heat her breasts, aching for his touch.His tongue, like rough velvet, flicked back and forth over one nipple at a time, making sure he captured each spicy drop. Each time he tilted the bottle again, h
Part Two: Man of My HeartJasmine Grey took off her signature white Stetson, ran a hand through the tumble of her auburn curls and gave a sigh of relief. "Done for the night." She grinned at Gary Lockwood, her tour manager. "But it rocked, didn't it?"Gary gave her a smile a mile wide. "It sure did. You were hotter than a pistol. Carson's gonna be real excited at the response you're getting.""It's hard to believe a year ago I was still playing any club in Austin where I could get a gig and sending out demos to anyone and everyone.""Then one night Carson dropped into that club where you were filling in," Gary reminded her, "and the rest, as they say, is history."Carson Wagner was one of the hottest managers in the business. Unlike many others in the business, he chose to make his base of operations in Austin, Texas, rather than Nashville. He told people Austin was rich with talent they hadn't even discovered yet. He'd grown up a big Willie Nelson fan and loved to tell people
"Hey. What about us?" Cobra asked."You know the score," Gary told him. "She succeeds, you succeed. And that could mean another album and more studio money for you guys." He paused. "And Cobra? Behave yourself.""Man." He laughed. "That's no fun.""It would be less fun to get kicked off of this gig.""Yeah?" The bass player's features were arranged in a sneer. "I'm the best fucking bassist you can buy, man. I'm not going' anywhere." ""Just behave. You ready, Jas?"Jasmine grabbed her little cosmetic bag and did a quick repair job, fluffing her hair and checking her outfit. She slapped her Stetson back on and turned to Gary."Okay?""We think you look gorgeous," Tony Baez, her lead guitar player called out. "Forget about him."There was another knock on the door."That'll be your cue," Gary said. "Let's move it, people."Jasmine tried to still the flock of butterflies swarming in her stomach. It's just another song, she told herself. She was glad she knew a lot of the Sweet
"Fuck." His voice was still slurred but now it was edged with anger. "You bitch. Okay, I wanted to make it nice for you but that's out the window. I'm gonna take what I want and fuck you blind."Jasmine could hardly breathe with his weight on top of her, and fear had nearly paralyzed her vocal chords. His fingers closed around her wrists in a painful grasp and he held her in place while he kneed her legs apart. When he grabbed the top of her sleep pants and yanked, tearing the fabric, she found her voice and screamed and kept on screaming.Suddenly the pressure of his body was gone. Voices surrounded her and she tried to focus on what was happening. There were people in the room, a lot of people, Gary and Hondo and some others she didn't even recognize. She curled onto her side, trying to hide herself. Oh god, oh god, oh god.Her breasts still hurt where Cobra had squeezed it so hard and she felt sick to her stomach. Then Gary was there."Ssh, ssh," he soothed. "It's okay. We've
"Libby, I'm fine, really."Jasmine leaned back in her chair and lifted her glass of sweet tea. She took a long drink of it, pleased to see that her hands weren't shaking. Her cousin, Liberty McCoy, was sitting across from her giving her the fisheye."You sure don't look fine to me.""But I am. Look." She held out her hand, forcing it to remain steady. "Not even a tremor.""You can't fool me, Jasmine Grey. I've known you too long. You always put on a good front."Jasmine leaned forward. "I'm doing as good as I can, Libby, and that's the truth. I get better every day."The women were sitting out on Jasmine's back patio, one of the few places in her new home that had any furniture. A soft breeze was blowing, tickling the leaves in the big oak tree whose branches hung over the patio. Two jackrabbits raced through the tall grass and in a grove of trees white tailed deer munched on the wild shrubs growing there. The scene was so peaceful she wondered if she'd ever want to leave it agai
Caleb Branam sat in the booth in the coffee shop and tried to smile at his friend."You trying to be a do-gooder, Aron?"Aron McCoy just looked at him. "I'm trying to help you get your head out of your ass."Caleb ran his hands up the sides of his face and across the top of his head. "Hmm. Seems like it's still in the right place."Aron snorted. "I should have known. A wiseass, just like at the University of Texas."Caleb chuckled. "Is that better or worse than being a smartass?" The smile disappeared. "You have to stop trying to 'fix' me, buddy. Some people are just permanently broken.""So that means what? You'll just hide away in your cabin up in the hills, relying on your disability funds to pay for your beer and skittles?"Caleb managed a chuckle. "I might if I knew what skittles were."Aron leaned forward. "I'm serious, Caleb. Everyonehas disasters in their lives, but they deal with it. There are a lot of people much worse off than you are."Last night when Libby told