Brazen (Brazen 1) (26 page)

“I’m a married woman. I shouldn’t be doing stuff like this,” she teased.

He buried himself in her and took several long, shuddering breaths close to her ear. “Yes, but fucking my brother’s wife has such a forbidden quality to it, don’t you think?”

She sank her teeth into his neck and nipped him in retaliation.

“Ouch. Damn it, woman.”

A year ago, Jasmine wouldn’t have taken such a statement so lightly, but then Seth wouldn’t have made a joke of it either. When their relationship was in its infancy and the three struggled to forge a tenuous bond, Seth had suggested that Zane be the one to legally marry Jasmine.

Her heart softened all over again when she thought of how hard it must have been for Seth to make that offer. But he hadn’t wanted Zane to think he would ever take a backseat in the relationship.

So she and Zane had been married in J.T.’s office by the local judge. Then Seth and Zane had whisked her off to Paris for a honeymoon. Cherisse arranged a ceremony where Jasmine was wed to Seth and promised to both men. It had been beautiful, emotional and it was a night she’d never forget.

“It’s a damn big insult for a woman to leave the building when a man’s making love to her,” Seth said dryly.

She reached up to touch his face. “I was remembering Paris.”

His blue eyes sparked, and he kissed her hungrily. He eased forward again, and the cool water splashed up her sides. His arms tightened around her, his mouth fused hotly to hers as his hips met her flesh again and again.

A low moan tore from her throat as his mouth fed hungrily on her. His lips glanced down her neck and to the soft spot under her ear. She threw back her head and gave herself over to the pleasure he lavished on her.

The sun warmed her face, but Seth’s love warmed her heart.

He shuddered against her as her orgasm broke and splintered through her body. For a long moment, he held her there, buried between her legs, his taut muscles coiling beneath her fingertips.

“God, I love you,” he said raggedly.

“Carmen will be home soon,” she whispered. “And I love you, too.”

He pulled away and smiled. Bereft of his closeness, the water quickly chilled around her, and she shivered. He picked her up and waded to the steps.

Water fell from their bodies and splattered the concrete as he headed for the kitchen door.

“Carmen’s going to kill us if we get her floors wet,” Jasmine muttered.

Seth set her down inside the door. “Wait here and I’ll get us some towels.”

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms and bounced on her toes in order to keep warm as he dashed naked up the stairs. Seconds later, he enveloped her in a towel and dried her from head to toe.

He leaned down to kiss her. “Get upstairs and get some clothes on or Carmen will scold me for not taking better care of you.”

Jasmine snorted. “As if.”

But she hurried up anyway to shower and dress. Anticipation curled in her stomach when she glanced at the clock. In just a few more hours Zane would be home.

Seth watched Jasmine yawn and battle sleep as she struggled to remain focused on the movie they were watching. She glanced at the clock every few minutes, and he knew she was anxious for Zane to get home.

He smiled and shook his head. He should be out of his mind with jealousy but a year into his very unique relationship with Jasmine, he’d mellowed a whole hell of a lot. Learning to share the woman he loved with another man who loved her just as much—well, it hadn’t been easy. There were still times he could get mighty possessive, but for the most part, he’d learned to chill the fuck out.

He grinned when he saw her head meet the arm of the couch. So much for staying up for Zane.

Half an hour later, he heard the front door open. He looked up to see Zane walk in and drop his suitcase on the floor. Seth held a finger to his lips then motioned to the couch where Jasmine was sleeping.

Zane’s eyes lit up, and the fatigue that seemed etched on his brother’s face lifted and fell away as he looked at Jasmine.

“How was the trip?” Seth asked in a low voice.

“Good, but I’m damn glad to be home.”

“Jasmine tried to stay up for you,” Seth said with a hint of laughter. “She crapped out about thirty minutes ago.”

Zane smiled but Seth could see the hunger in his eyes. He got out of the recliner and pointed the remote at the TV to turn it off. “I’m going to head on up to bed. You should wake her and tell her you’re home. She’s really missed you.”

“Yeah, sure. We’ll be up in a while then,” Zane said.

Seth turned toward the stairs even as Zane walked to the couch and knelt in front of it. Jasmine opened her eyes, and he watched the joy that filled them when she saw Zane. Then her gaze found Seth, and he saw the same love reflected there for him. His chest tightened, and an odd sort of fulfillment settled around his heart.

This was right. Their love was right.

He headed up the stairs, determined to give Zane and Jasmine some privacy. He cherished his own moments alone with her, and he wouldn’t deprive his brother of the same.

Later when Zane carried Jasmine into the big bedroom they’d remodeled to accommodate the three of them, they both made love to her. And she showed them again, as she had so many times before, that there was room in her heart for both of them.

About the Author

Maya Banks is the pen name for Sharon Long, who writes for Samhain under both names. She lives in Texas with her husband, three children and assortment of cats. When she’s not writing, she can be found hunting, fishing or playing poker. A southern girl born and bred, Maya loves life below the Mason Dixon, and more importantly, loves bringing southern characters and settings to life in her stories.

To learn more about Maya, please visit www.mayabanks.com. Send an email to Maya at [email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Maya:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/writeminded_readers
.

Look for these titles by Maya Banks

Now Available:

Seducing Simon

Colters’ Woman

Understood

Overheard

Undenied

Coming Soon:

Love Me, Still

Into the Mist

Stay With Me

Forgiveness is the most difficult thing to give but the most cherished thing to receive.

Love Me, Still

© 2007 Maya Banks

Available December 18, 2007 at Samhain Publishing

Beloved mate to two wolves, Heather lived an idyllic life until hunters destroyed the pack's peaceful existence.

Believing their mate betrayed them and was responsible for their father's death, Cael and Riyu cut Heather from their lives. But when they realize their terrible mistake, can they ever gain her forgiveness and win back her love?

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Love Me, Still:

Cael pulled the heavy furs tighter around him as he, Niko and Riyu fanned out and trudged higher up the mountain. Their inability to shift and move faster frustrated him, but there was a human in the area. A trapper if he had to guess. They didn’t want to startle him by coming up on him in wolf form. It was a good way to get themselves shot.

For a week, he and the others had scoured the area around their old encampment. They could detect no trace of Heather’s scent. Then yesterday, when the wind had shifted and blew from the north, he had caught the faintest whiff of her.

They had charged up the mountain in the direction of the wind, anxious to find her.

Suddenly Riyu stopped ahead of Cael. He lifted his head and sniffed. A low growl emanated from his throat.

“What is it, Riyu?” Cael demanded as he surged through the snow.

Niko joined them and raised his head as well. “It’s her. I smell her. Much stronger now. She isn’t far.”

Cael inhaled deeply and closed his eyes as the sweet smell of his mate drifted through his nostrils. Longing, regret, so much sadness swelled within him.

He shoved past Riyu and Niko, increasing his speed up the mountain slope. Her smell grew stronger, and his body tingled with the anticipation of seeing her, even as his palms sweated in the frigid air at the thought of what he would say to her. How he would gain her forgiveness.

Then he stopped. Riyu nearly ran into him from behind. A low sob carried to them on the wind. Cael looked in the direction of the sound, and there he saw her. Poised on the edge of a drop off. Heather.

She took a step closer and stared down into the abyss. Terror clutched at Cael’s chest. Beside him, Riyu hissed in fear. She was going to fall.

Oh God. They’d never get to her in time.

In a flash, Cael transformed, lunging forward in the snow. He dug into the terrain, running as fast as his wolf shape would allow. Behind him, Riyu and Niko shifted and set out for Heather as well.

No!
He couldn’t lose her again.

Just when he thought she would step off the edge, she crumbled into the snow and lay still. His heart raced with relief, but still he flew the remaining distance, his need to touch her, to hold her, to reassure himself that she was okay was all consuming.

He reached her just seconds before Riyu and Niko. He gently nudged her with his snout, but she was unconscious. He nuzzled her cheek and licked at her skin, trying to get her to awaken.

She was burning up with fever.

Cael shifted then stared down at his mate. Tears stung his eyelids, threatening to unman him completely. She was so fragile looking. Pale, thin, so breakable. And she wasn’t well.

“Is she alive?” Riyu asked in a rush of fear.

Cael nodded grimly. “She won’t be for long if we don’t get her out of the cold. She’s burning up with fever.”

“There’s a cabin in the distance,” Niko said pointing. “It could be where she’s been staying.”

Cael picked his precious bundle from the snow and hefted her into his arms. She had always been a tiny thing, but her lightness, even amidst the furs she wore, was alarming.

He pressed his lips to her hot forehead and closed his eyes as he followed Niko toward the cabin.
I love you, my heart. I’m so very sorry for how I have wronged you. Please come back to me. I cannot live without you.

Riyu fell in beside him, looking anxiously over Heather’s unconscious form. He reached out a hand to touch her cheek, and Cael could see tears in his brother’s eyes.

“We failed her,” Riyu croaked. “When she needed us the most, we turned our backs. How are we ever supposed to get past something like that?”

Cael shook his head grimly. He didn’t have the words to offer comfort to his brother. Not when their mate was without.

One lucky woman…three sexy cowboys…she’s in for the ride of her life!

Long Hard Ride

© 2007 Lorelei James

Channing Kinkaid itches for a change; a wild western adventure with an untamed man. Determined to shed her inhibitions and embrace the steamier, seamier side of life, she sets her sights on hooking up with a real chaps-and-spurs-wearing cowboy.

Enter Colby McKay—bull rider, saddle bronc buster and calf roper. From the moment he sets lust-filled eyes on the sweet and fiery Channing, he knows he’s found the woman who’s up to the challenge of cutting loose. What rough and rowdy cowboy could resist a no-holds-barred sexual romp with a sassy young thing starring as his personal buckle bunny?

Intrigued by Channing’s bold proposition of horsing around on the road, Colby impulsively sweetens the deal; sexual escapades not only in his bed, but in the bedrolls of his rodeo traveling partners, Trevor and Edgard.

Although Channing’s secretly longed to be the sole focus of more than one man’s passions, Colby’s demand for complete submission behind closed doors will test her willful nature.

Can Channing give up total control? Especially when not all is as it seems with the sexy trio? Or will the cowboys have to break out the bullropes and piggin’ string to break in this headstrong filly?

Warning: This title contains the following: lots of explicit sex, going strong long after the cows come home, graphic language that’d make your mama blush, light bondage with bullropes, ménage a trois, and—yee-haw!—hot nekkid cowboy man-love.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Long Hard Ride:

Trevor and Edgard returned to the arena to practice roping and Colby tagged along, needing to run his horse.

Channing stayed in the room and indulged in a shower. After she’d shaved and coated her body with lotion, she wondered what would happen when her cowboys returned. Was she supposed to stay naked? Would they prefer another strip tease?

Did she really know what she’d gotten herself into?

The sound of a lock in the door sent her pulse tripping. She shoved the books in her satchel and flipped the page on her notebook.

Colby entered the room first, followed by Trevor. Edgard brought up the rear and he immediately went into the bathroom and the shower kicked on.

Trevor flopped on the queen bed against the wall. “I’m tired.”

“I’m not,” Colby said. His gaze traveled from Channing’s bare toes all the way up her legs to linger on her face. “I’m feelin’
very
energetic tonight.”

Yowza.

“Who’s sleeping in the trailer?” she asked.

“Edgard,” Trevor said.

Did that mean he wouldn’t be joining them again? Channing was almost afraid to ask. She was secretly worried Edgard regretted having her along, or worse, that he didn’t find her attractive.

As soon as Edgard finished his shower, he bid them goodnight. After Colby cleaned up, he left the room for a time while Trevor took his turn in the bathroom. With every minute that clicked by, Channing became more and more nervous.