Tag: paranormal romance

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Wicked Wednesday – HONOR CALLS in print!

AWAKENING THE BEAST Collection of Nocturne BitesI know that some of you prefer a book in your hands to reading an e-book. I can totally understand. It’s tough to worry about getting suntan lotion or sand in your e-reader or computer.

So the good news is – HONOR CALLS – my novella for Nocturne Bites will be part of THE AWAKENING THE BEAST collection that will be out in October 2009 from Silhouette Nocturne.

I love the characters in this novella – Michaela and Jesus. They are opposites in so many ways and yet drawn to each other by their strength and honor. Their honor, however, is what one day may pull them apart.

I am so hoping I will get to further explore their relationship in the future in a full length novel, but for now, I hope you enjoy their very sexy and very conflicted time together in HONOR CALLS.

Today’s Wicked Wednesday is an excerpt giving you a hint as to Michaela’s troubled past. I hope you enjoy it. *Warning* It does contain violence.

New Jersey Shore
Twenty Years Earlier

Her mother was bleeding.

Michaela could feel the warmth and wet of it drip down onto her as her mother held her hand and dragged her through the tall marsh grasses along the edges of the dunes. The stalks, dry from a lack of summer rain, crackled, the noise overly loud in the silence of the night.

Too loud, she thought, recalling the creature that had attacked them. The creature who would surely hear them, pounding and crashing through the grasses as they tried to escape him.

Suddenly her mother stopped short and shoved Michaela away toward a larger patch of foliage.

She fell to the ground, the sharp edges of the grasses biting into the palms of her hands as the tall stalks swallowed her up. The saw edges of the plants cut her hands and arms, but she bit down on her lower lip to stifle her cry of pain, aware it would reveal where she was.

Aware that her mother was ready to sacrifice her life in order to hide her.

Holding her breath, she tried not to move and peered through the ever-shifting mass of dune grass stalks that had covered her.

Her mother stood there, her chin at a defiant tilt. Blood dripped down the side of her face from a large gash above her brow. The blood looked black thanks to the palette of the night. Her face was washed to a pale almost green ghostly hue by the light of the full moon.

“You didn’t think you could run from me again, did you?”

The tone of the creature’s voice was low, almost soothing except for the odd rolling sound beneath, like the purr of a cat.

Her mother said nothing for a moment, then picked up her chin another rebellious inch. “You will not take me again. I will not allow it.”

The odd rumble in the creature’s voice intensified as he laughed and said incredulously, “You will not allow it?”

Something flashed before her mother. A bright white blur so close to her . . .

A gush of dark liquid erupted from her mother’s throat and spilled down the front of her bright yellow sundress.

Her mother picked up her hand, brought it to her throat, but the creature yanked her hand away, laughing cruelly as he said, “I will have you now, as you die. I will have you after, as your body cools. But first . . .”

The creature wrapped an arm around her mother’s waist, holding her up as her knees did a slow motion buckle. Burying his head against her ravaged throat.

The horrible sounds of his sucking and her mother’s moaning carried across the still night.

Michaela covered her ears, but it was too late to avoid hearing him say, “But first I will have your blood.”

Curling up into a tight ball, she tucked her head against her knees, brought her arms up over her head and closed her eyes. Tried to escape from what was going on just a few feet before her. Imagined other places and times. Prayed for her mother to be safe. Thought about the yellow sundress her mother wore and how they had bought it at the thrift store just earlier that week.

The rough shake of the ground beneath her body pulled her back from where she had gone.

Only then did she realize the night was now almost quiet. The only sounds those of the stalks as the wind moved them and the far away susurrus of the waves washing up against the shore.

She was alone. Or at least she thought she was.

Peering through the brittle green stalks, she saw what had made the resounding thud that had snared her attention.

Her mother’s body lay less than an arm’s length away, staring sightlessly at the moonlit sky. Her dress torn, exposing her breasts and the bite marks on them. The cheery yellow of her dress bloodied from the hideous hole where her throat had once been.

She wanted to keen and cry, run to her mother, but instead she grabbed hold of her knees and forced herself to remain still, fearing that the creature lingered nearby. Knowing that her mother had given her life to save her. That she could not dishonor that sacrifice with her fear.

A second later the ground shook again and suddenly there were shafts of light piercing the night, moving back and forth across the dark sky. Another tremor of the earth came beneath her and she realized the tremors were footfalls. Coming closer and faster as the intensity of the lights increased until suddenly there were blue pants legs standing before her hiding place.

“Shit. Holy shit,” the man said and passed his flashlight over her mother. Across her still beautiful face and sightless eyes.

She cried then, a puny wheezing sound, but it was enough to snare the man’s attention.

He parted the grasses before her and the silver and gold badge on his chest gleamed brightly against the royal blue of his uniform.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” he said and reached for her.

Awakening the Beast
October 2009 – Silhouette Nocturne

A collection of sexy Nocturne Bites featuring:
Honor Calls, Return of the Beast, Mortal Enemy,
Immortal Lover, Claws of the Lynx and Wilderness
by Caridad Pineiro, Lisa Renee Jones,
Olivia Gates, Linda O. Johnston and Barbara J. Hancock

Pre-order your copy today!

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SINS OF THE FLESH
November 2009 – Grand Central Publishing
Click here for more on SINS OF THE FLESH

Caterina Shaw’s only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene therapy – a risk she willingly takes. Now Caterina has new, terrifying powers and she’s been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run. Mick Carrera is a mercenary and expert at capturing elusive prey. Yet the woman he’s hunting is wounded, vulnerable, and a mystery of medical science. Caterina’s innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both.

Preorder at Amazon
Preorder at Barnes & Noble
Preorder at Borders
Preorder at Books-a-Million
Preorder at Powell’s
Preorder at an Independent Bookstore

Want to find out a little more about SINS OF THE FLESH? Click on the links below to get a Behind the Scenes look at some of the locations in the novel as well as read some free excerpts!


Coming in October 2009

AWAKENING THE BEAST October 2009 Silhouette NocturneAwakening the Beast
October 2009
Silhouette Nocturne

A collection of sexy Nocturne Bites featuring:
Honor Calls, Return of the Beast, Mortal Enemy, Immortal Lover, Claws of the Lynx and Wilderness by Caridad Pineiro, Lisa Renee Jones, Olivia Gates, Linda O. Johnston and Barbara J. Hancock

Preorder your copy today!

Caridad’s Current Releases
FURY CALLS
March 2009
Silhouette Nocturne 		Click here for more info on HONOR CALLSHONOR CALLS
February 2009
Nocturne Bite
Click here for more info on SOLDIER'S SECRET CHILDSOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD
December 2008
Silhouette Romantic Suspense 		Click here for more info on MOON FEVERMOON FEVER
October 2007
Pocket Books
Click here for more info on SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICASSEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS
September 2006
Downtown Press 		Click here for more info on SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MANSOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN
September 2007
Downtown Press


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Fun Friday – Ninja Cat

This Fun Friday I have a very sneaky cat for you! It’s amazing how determined she is and how careful as she approaches her objective. It makes for a good chuckle. Also remember you have until midnight EST TONIGHT to leave a message on the Nancy Thayer blog to possibly win a SINS OF THE FLESH t-shirt.


Ninja Cat @ Yahoo! Video

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Wicked Wednesday – Behind the Scenes Philadelphia

SINS OF THE FLESH Grand Central Publishing Forever November 2009I love Philadelphia. Went to school on the Main Line and now have been visiting pretty regularly. There are so many interesting and fun things to do. Historical things like Constitution Hall and the Liberty Bell. Educational things like the Art Museum and Franklin Institute. Funky things like South Street and creepy things like the Mutter Museum. Tasty things like Pat’s Cheesesteaks and the Italian Market.

Loving Philly so much, I knew it was time to pay it homage in a novel and so I set some of the early scenes in SINS OF THE FLESH in Philadelphia.

Copyright has expired and work is in the public domainCaterina Shaw, the heroine, is a celebrated cellist who plays with an orchestra in the Kimmel Center and lives not that far away in a townhouse just off South Street. She also has spent time playing at the Academy of Music. The Academy is one of the oldest opera houses in America that is still in use for its original intent. It’s a National Historic landmark which sits on the corner of Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia.

One of the early scenes in the novel describes a chase through the Academy of Music building where the heroine has sought refuge. Here’s a little excerpt from that scene.

*****

He continued down the section of Broad known as the Avenue of the Arts until he stood in front of the plain red brick facade of the Academy of Music.

The building was quiet tonight. The only life was the muted glow of the gas lanterns glimmering light onto the empty sidewalks surrounding the building.

The gated entrance near the front of the building was too conspicuous, even though the recessed stage door lay in the shadows, providing some protection from prying eyes.

Mick had downloaded the blueprints for the building from the Internet and knew just where to go. Turning onto Locust, he proceeded to a narrow alley behind the building. The light from the street lamps illuminated the mouth of the alley, but beyond that only darkness lingered.

He looked around.

The cobblestoned street was empty of any pedestrians, so he slipped into the narrow alley and paused a few steps in to allow his eyes to adjust to the lack of light and to check for signs of anyone else.

The long slender alley was also empty.

Time for him to move in.

He stole down the alley while hugging the wall, the ground uneven beneath his feet. The area lit only by the small beam from a flashlight he pulled from his pocket. He moved quickly, every action efficiently cautious, until he located the entrance shown on the blueprints.

Pointing the flashlight at the door, he prepared to jimmy the lock but found that someone had beaten him to it. Rather inexpertly at that. Large sharp gouges along the seam of the door and at the lock gleamed silvery bright in the beam from his flashlight.

He reached behind him, withdrew his 9 mm Glock from beneath his leather jacket and released the safety. With a gloved hand, he slowly opened the door and risked but a sharp glance inside before he cleared the entrance.

The interior was almost as gloomy as the night outside, but since his eyes had adjusted already, he could make out the tangle of shapes before him.

Large lockers and an assortment of equipment lined the edges of a hallway, but a fairly wide and navigable path existed down the center. Slowly he inched along, pausing well before the low light cast by an illuminated exit sign so that he would remain hidden.

He recalled from the building plans where the stairs would be that led to the manager’s office and dressing rooms, as well as the stairs to the basement level and trap door area. Crouching, he rushed past the dim circle of light cast by the exit sign.

As he did so his foot brushed against a cable housing on the ground. It slithered and shook like an angry rattlesnake. The rattle bounced loudly off the walls in the quiet of the hall and he stilled, waiting to see if anyone would respond to the sound.

Only silence answered.

Mick released a low grateful sigh and proceeded, decidedly more careful of the objects littering the floor and sides of the hall. More cables. A Klieg light. A box brimming with colored gels for the spotlights.

Muscles tense, every inch of him on alert, he skirted all the items until he neared the stairs to the basement level.

Pausing, he peered down the darkened stairway, vigilant for any signs of life.

As before, the space was empty and the area down below was deadly quiet.

He took the first step down the stairs.

A muffled thud sounded in back of him.

Copyright 2009 Caridad Pineiro Scordato

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Wicked Wednesday – Behind the Scenes: The Pine Barrens

sinscoversmallOne of our last Wicked Wednesdays was a Behind the Scenes look at Bradley Beach where our hero, Mick Carrera, has his home in my November paranormal romantic suspense release, SINS OF THE FLESH.

This time I’m going to give you a little Behind the Scenes look at another pivotal location in the novel — The Pine Barrens in New Jersey, also known as the Pinelands. Also known as the supposed home of the Jersey Devil.

The Pine Barrens is an enormous area of coastal plain, over 1 million acres large in South Jersey. It contains one of the state’s largest water aquifers and is both a National Reserve and a United Nations International Biosphere Reserve.
Lake Atsion in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Taken by User:Mwanner, 9 September, 2005 Used under GNU Documentation License

Because of its size and location close to the Jersey Shore and Camden, not to mention its protected status, it became the perfect place for me to locate the buildings for Wardwell Laboratories, the company that is supposed to provide Caterina Shaw, our heroine, with her gene therapy. The Wardwell buildings are right on the edges of one of the Pine Barrens’ non-developed areas and because of that, there are several scenes which take place in the woods nearby.

Today’s Wicked Wednesday is about Mick’s first visit to the Wardwell offices and a meeting with one of the company’s founders.

Chapter 1

Mick Carrera understood what kind of man he was.

Ruthless.

Determined.

Skilled in the art of killing.

People came to him when no one else could handle their problems because Mick either solved them or eliminated them — if Mick thought elimination was justified. Some scruples remained buried in his soul, a secret he closely guarded. In his line of work, having scruples equated to weakness.

Dr. Raymond Edwards had presented him with the kind of job that possibly ended with elimination, although Edwards hadn’t come right out and said so during their short telephone conversation. The doctor had skirted around the subject with the skill of a ballroom dancer, insisting time and time again that all he required were the services of a security specialist to assist with a problem at their facility.

Mick’s initial misgivings made him wonder why he had even come to the doctor’s office for this additional discussion. His typical clientele preferred meeting places that were much less visible, but then again, maybe such transparency meant that the doctor had been truthful about the nature of this assignment.

He scoped out the office as he entered, taking note of the fact that there was only one entrance in and out. Not good in case of the need for a quick escape. As he passed a credenza located beneath a wall filled with diplomas, framed news articles and photos, he noticed a small bronze statue of a horse mounted on a heavy marble base.

The size and weight of the statue would make it a handy weapon for either cracking open a man’s skull or breaking through the plate glass windows which lined one long wall of the office. The clear windows were now darkening, the color becoming as deep and dense as squid ink and likely for the same reason – concealment.

Mick had noticed all the high tech security on his way through the entrance of the building. He had expected it even while worrying about it. He knew his image would end up saved on a hard drive somewhere from the assorted cameras throughout the offices, but if Dr. Edwards was on the up and up, this was one job that was too good to not consider.

“I thought you might like some privacy,” the man behind the desk said as he rose and offered his hand.

“Dr. Raymond Edwards,” the man said.

Mick shook his hand and with a nod said, “Mick Carrera.” As Mick sat, he caught a glimpse of another security camera behind the desk, aimed directly at his chair. When Edwards tracked his gaze, he said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Carrera. I’ll make sure all traces of you are erased from our systems.”

“I appreciate your understanding,” he said, even while wondering again why a supposedly distinguished scientist like Raymond Edwards seemed compelled to seek out the services of a man like him. Wondering what else the good doctor had erased from the company’s security videos.

Dragging his attention to the man seated behind the desk, he listened as Edwards offered a rather lengthy introduction about the work that his biotech company did and their many accomplishments. Edwards’ manner was outwardly confident and business-like, but Mick couldn’t help but notice how the doctor kept his right hand on the face of the file on his desk and fiddled with one corner of the thick folder, thumbing it again and again. The curled corner of the papers confirmed that Edwards had opened up that file more times than the good doctor wanted him to know.

When Edwards paused for a breath, Mick seized the opportunity. “Your mission is clear, Dr. Edwards. Your company specializes in developing gene therapies for the terminally ill.”

The man stiffened and immediately corrected him. “Our present group of patients is terminally ill, but we hope that what we learn from our current research –”

“Will help all of mankind in the future. So why do you require my services?”

Copyright 2009 Caridad Pineiro Scordato – All rights reserved.

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Wicked Wednesday – SINS OF THE FLESH

sinscoversmallThe cover gods have been very very good to me! Just look at the stunning front and back covers for my November release SINS OF THE FLESH. A big thanks to my publisher – Grand Central Publishing – and all involved with producing such works of art! And because its Wicked Wednesday, I’m giving you a little tidbit from SINS OF THE FLESH as well as the enticing back cover copy!

Back Cover Copy:
Caterina Shaw’s days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment – a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body — and she’s been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run.
sinsbacksmall
Mick Carrera is a mercenary and an expert at capturing elusive, clever prey. Yet the woman he’s hunting down is far from the vicious killer he’s been told to expect: Caterina is wounded, vulnerable, and a startling mystery of medical science. Even more, she’s a beautiful woman whose innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her exactly how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both . . . for a dangerous group is plotting its next move using Caterina as its deadly pawn.


Prologue

The day the music died, Caterina Shaw did as well.

Not physically, although she understood the death of her body was inevitable. She had come to terms with that reality some time ago. She had even managed to deal with the blindness caused by the tumor eating away her brain. But then the pain had become so great that it had silenced the music, stealing away the only thing that had made life worth the anguish.

“You understand this treatment is new and uncertain,” Dr. Rudy Wells explained, his voice smooth and comforting. The touch of his hand, warm and reassuring, came against hers as it rested on her thigh.

“I understand,” she said and faced the direction of that calming voice.

Another person abruptly chimed in, his tones as strident and grating as a badly played oboe. “We’ll begin with laser surgery to remove the bulk of the tumor followed by two different courses of gene therapy.”

Two? she wondered and sensed Dr. Wells’ hesitation as well from the tremble that skated across his fingers. He removed his hand from hers and said, “Dr. Edwards believes that we can not only shut down the tumor growing in your brain, but possibly regrow the portion of your optic nerve that the tumor damaged.”

Caterina’s only wish when considering the experimental treatment had been to stop the pain so that she could play her cello once again. So that her last months would be filled with the vitality her music provided.

It was through her music that she lived. That her mother lived, Caterina thought, recalling the passion she had felt as a small child when her mother had played the piano for her; the way her mother’s fingers had coaxed life from the keys much like she now did with a stroke of her bow and the deft touch of her fingers on the strings of her cello.

Or at least like she had up until the cancer had put an end to her music, bringing her life to a close. Except now she was being told something different.

Caterina had never thought about eliminating the tumor. Every prognosis so far had been that she was terminal. Now these new doctors told her not only that might she live, but that she might actually see again too. She didn’t dare believe that she would be able to get her old life back completely, as well as her sight but . . .

“You think I’ll be able to recover? To see again?” Caterina asked, needing to be sure she had understood correctly.

“The risks are great, my dear,” Dr. Wells urged gently.

“But you qualify for the human trials because of the advanced state of your illness, Ms. Shaw,” Dr. Edwards added, annoyance at his partner evident in the staccato beats of his voice.

Her advanced state which could possibly bring death even with this treatment, Caterina thought. Not that she feared her end. What she did fear was letting the pain in her head rob her of the one thing she could not live without.

Her music.

She knew without hesitation that it was worth any risk to regain that part of her. To drive back the illness so she could play her cello once more and reanimate her heart for as long as she had left if the treatments couldn’t stop the tumor.

“What do you need me to do?”

Copyright 2009 Caridad Pineiro Scordato

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Wicked Wednesday – Soldier’s Secret Child

SOLDIER'S SECRET CHILD by Caridad Pineiro Today’s Wicked Wednesday is a blast from the not so distant past – SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD, my December 2008 release from Silhouette Romantic Suspense.

This book was am immense change for me since it really made me focus on the family dynamic between the hero, heroine and their teenaged son. I hadn’t dealt with family dynamics involving children for many years. Not since BETTER THAN EVER, one of my early contemporary romances.

I loved dealing with the challenges of single mom Macy handling a troublesome, but basically good, teenager. Then there was the issue of the hero, Fisher, discovering he had a son and how he deals with that revelation.

I truly enjoyed this book and the change of pace from The Calling series and hope you will also! This excerpt is a flashback scene to Fisher and Macy’s first encounter.


They drove through the open meadows and fields surrounding Esperanza, the scented wind wrapping them in its embrace while bright moonlight lit the road before them until Fisher took a dirt road to one of the few nearby hills. He parked the CJ so it faced the lights of town and the wide starlit Texas sky.

She imagined she could see the lights of San Antonio, well to the south of their hometown. She and Tim had planned on going to college together there until Tim had said he was reconsidering that decision. She gazed at the lights of Esperanza and noticed the cars parked around Bill’s house where Jericho and Tim would be with the rest of the baseball team. Where she might have been a few weeks earlier if things hadn’t changed recently.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said and pushed back some strands of wind-blown hair from her face. The pads of his fingers brushed the sensitive skin of her cheek, sending a shiver rocketing through her body.

“Do you ever wonder if some things happen for a reason?” she asked.

“Meaning?” He arched one dark brow in question.

“Tim and me. His breaking it off.” She shrugged and turned in her seat to face him. “If it hadn’t been for that –”

“Being the nice girl that you are, you wouldn’t be here tonight.” He once again brushed the tips of his fingers across her cheek, then trailed them down to cup her jaw.

“Is that what you think I am? A nice girl?” she shot back, slightly perturbed which was ridiculous. She was a nice girl unlike many of the women with whom Fisher had been seen around town.

“Don’t get so riled, Mace. There’s nothing wrong with being a nice girl.”

The words shot out of her mouth before she could censor them. “And boys like you don’t think about doing things with nice girls.”

“Boys like me?” he asked with another pointed arch of his brow and a wry smile on his lips.

Macy fidgeted with her hands, plucking at the seat belt she still wore. “You know, love ’em and leave ’em types like you.”

He chuckled and shook his head, but he never broke the contact of his hand against her chin. Instead, he inched his thumb up to brush softly across her lips.

“Let’s get something straight, Mace. First of all, I’m not a boy, I’m a man. A man whose daddy would tan his hide for the thoughts he’s having right now about the nice girl who happens to be sitting next to him.”

The warmth on the pad of his thumb spread itself across her lips and with his words, shot through the rest of her body. “Thoughts? What kinds of thoughts?”

He chuckled again, only there was something darker and dangerously sexy there this time. “You always were the daring type.”

“He who dares, wins,” she reminded him.

The smile on his face broadened and he leaned toward her until the warmth of his breath replaced that of his thumb against her lips. “Then I guess I should dare,” he said and brought his lips to hers.

The shock of his hard mouth against hers was quickly replaced by a sense of . . . rightness which surprised her considering that this was Jericho’s brother. That up until a few weeks ago, she had thought she was about to embark on a life with another man.

Another man who had rejected her. Who had never made her feel the way Fisher was now making her feel.

The tip of his tongue tasted her lips, gently asked for entrance at the seam of her mouth. She opened her lips and accepted the thrust of his tongue. Joined it with hers until they were both breathing heavily and had to break apart for air.

Fisher turned away from her and clenched his hands on his thighs, struggling for control. This was Macy, he reminded himself, rubbing his hands across the soft denim of his jeans. Jericho’s best friend and Tim’s intended, he reminded himself as he held back from reaching for her again.

Only she wasn’t Tim’s anymore, the voice inside his head challenged and then urged, “And now she can be yours.”

He faced her and seeing the desire in her eyes, he asked, “Are you sure about this?”

She nodded quickly and he didn’t second guess her decision. Reaching into the back seat of the CJ, he grabbed a blanket he kept there and stepped out of the car. Swinging around the front, he met her by the passenger side door and slipped his hand into hers. Twined his fingers with hers as he lead her a few feet away from the Jeep to a soft spot of grass on the overlook.

He released her only long enough to spread out the blanket and then he urged her down.

For long moments they lay side-by-side on their backs, staring up at the late May moon. Listening to the rustle of the light breeze along the taller grasses and the profusion of wildflowers which perfumed the air.

Fisher rolled onto his side and ran the back of his index finger along the high straight ridge of her cheek. He had known her all his life and all his life he had thought she was the prettiest woman he had ever seen.

“You’re beautiful.”

Much like before, an embarrassed flush worked across her cheeks as she avoided his gaze. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Now why do you think I’m such a hound dog?”

“Because I’ve seen you around town with all those dangerous women,” she answered and the blush along her cheeks deepened.

“Jealous?” he asked, but then immediately confessed, “Because every time I saw you with Tim, I was jealous.”

A little jolt of excitement rattled her body before Macy turned onto her side and cradled his cheek. His five o’clock shadow tickled the palm of her hand. As she met his gaze, made a silvery green by the light of the moon, she detected no deception there, just honesty.

“Why didn’t you — ”

“You were Tim’s girl and Jericho’s best friend. I wasn’t going to be responsible for breaking up the Three Musketeers,” he said and shrugged.

“And now?” she asked, mimicking his earlier move by bringing her thumb to trace the warm fullness of his lips which broadened into a sexy dimpled smile with her caress.

“He who dares, wins,” he said and brought his lips to hers.

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