Cat of a Different Color: Halle Pumas, Book 3 (11 page)
“Daniel, I’m so sorry.”
Felicity fumbled in her pocket for some napkins she’d taken from the coffee kiosk. The two crumpled specimens she pulled out were pathetic, but she attempted to sop up some of the damage anyway.
Daniel clamped her wrist in an iron grip. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he ground out between clenched teeth.
She froze under his glare. “The coffee stain—I was just trying to help.”
“Don’t. Help.” He shifted gingerly in his seat, grimacing. “Jesus,” he said in an almost tortured whisper.
Felicity looked down at his lap and comprehension dawned.
“Oh.”
Love is mightier than the sword…
Dunmore Rising
© 2008 Gia Dawn
Demons of Dunmore
, book 4
.
Sir Graham Dunmore is looking forward to competing in his first summer tournament—until he gets saddled with babysitting a prince in disguise, three fairy-godmothers he would much rather see fly back to where they came from, and a woman for a squire. Gone for years, Jiliana is now back in Westmyre, older, colder, with a lethal fighting skill that leaves him both impressed and intrigued.
Jili doesn’t recognize this sleek, well-trained man as the awkward friend from her youth. But seeing Graham again brings back painful memories of a brutal past. One that forces her to live a life of tight control, lest one slip unleash a deadly monster capable of hurting everyone in her path.
Yet as Graham patiently teaches her the arts of love, Jili has a glimmer of hope that she can finally control the killer that lurks inside her—until a ninja assassin begins to stalk the tournament.
With a heavy heart, she realizes Graham is going to need every skill she possesses to protect the prince—the very skills that could tear them apart forever.
Warning: This title contains cranky fairies, a gorgeous hero, and a heroine who just about kicks his ass…plus really sizzling sex told in naughty language.
Enjoy the following excerpt for
Dunmore Rising:
Jiliana trembled when she caught the look of hunger etched across Graham’s face. On another man it would have sent her running for her
katana
. On another man it would have made her shudder in fear. But Graham’s expression made her want him to wrap her in the strength of his arms and never let her go.
The temptation was brutal. She couldn’t resist. “If I don’t like it we can stop anytime? You swear?”
They had played this game before, she remembered with a catch in her heart as she held up her pinkie. Graham encircled it with his own, the huge finger dwarfing hers.
He nodded solemnly.
“And I can keep all my clothes on?”
“Every stitch.”
She wanted to make some joke, tell some ribald story to break the odd mood that had settled between them, but her mouth would not form the words, her mind refusing to think of anything but how it would feel to have Graham touch her.
“Done,” she whispered.
“Done,” Graham repeated. He stretched out beside her on the bed, his head propped on one folded arm, smiling ruefully when she wiped his chest off with a cloth. He studied her for long moments and she grew disconcerted beneath the heavy weight of his gaze.
As she opened her mouth to protest, he reached out and trailed his fingers across her cheek, letting them linger on the scar that cut across her jaw before tugging on a lock of her hair.
“Ever been well and truly kissed?” When she shook her head, his grin grew sinful. “Okay then, what an excellent place to start.”
The tug on her hair grew more insistent, dragging her head toward his. When his mouth connected solidly with hers, Jiliana’s world melted like ice in the sun. The desire she had felt before paled to embers beside the fire that burned inside her now. Graham pulled her beside him, positioning her so that every inch of her body was cradled by every inch of his. His cock swelled against her stomach, giving her a momentary shiver of alarm, but as his lips slid over hers and his hand cupped her chin, she gave herself over to the wonder of it all.
Until she realized that instead of easing the brutal ache that gripped her body, his kiss was making the agony grow. When she opened her mouth to tell him so in no uncertain terms, he thrust his tongue between her lips, this new invasion wringing a desperate whimper from her throat.
Jiliana wasn’t stupid, nor had she spent her life locked away in the church. She’d seen people kiss, even watched them couple furtively in dark alleys and shadowed corners, turning away in disgust when her memories pressed too close. But she’d never felt anything that remotely resembled this shock of need that swept up from her stomach. The burn between her legs slammed over her in waves, reaching, waiting, grasping desperately for something she could barely put a name to.
His tongue teased hers, slid in and back again. Jiliana let her own tongue explore, writhing in a sweep of bliss when Graham sucked it deep into his mouth. They challenged and warred with each other, each strike and parry measured to make the other tremble and shake.
When he dragged his mouth away, she buried her face in his neck, unwilling to let him see how far she had already fallen. He rolled her over on her back, his breath as harsh and labored as hers. “You learn fast,” he gritted out.
The pleased sound that bubbled up from her chest ended in a gasp as Graham’s hand closed around her breast. What torture had he devised to torment her with now? When he found her nipple and rolled it gently between his fingers, Jiliana jumped, her cry of need hanging harsh in the air between them.
“Shhhhhh,” he whispered, pinching harder, making her scream again.
“Ahhhhhh.” She sucked in her breath as a new madness overtook her. Despite her earlier admonitions, she now wanted to rip off every piece of clothing she wore and feel his skin against hers.
But he had yet to do the thing he promised. Instead of easing her need, so far he had only driven it higher. The pain shot deep into her body, causing an unfamiliar emptiness.
“Please, Graham,” she begged, ashamed of the desperation she heard in her tone. “
Please
.” She ground her hips insistently against his, hoping something would soothe the overwhelming ache.
One of his hands slid down her stomach to nudge apart her thighs, settling heavy between them. For the briefest instant the old fear rose up, but in the rush of her need, it was quickly forgotten.
Burrowing his fingers into the folds of her flesh, Graham began to rub a spot that was far more sensitive than the others. “What do they call this in Eastshyre?” he demanded.
“The g-golden p-p-pearl.” Jiliana’s cries grew louder as he pressed the knot between his fingers, teasing the tender spot until she thought the pain would never end. Deep inside her body the emptiness cried out, the long years of aloneness demanding to be filled. She wiggled against Graham’s hand, praying his touch would soothe her soon.
She was reaching for something…some place she’d never imagined, and she could feel herself creeping closer to the edge, tottering on the brink, ready to fall, ready to float, but she could not fling herself over the line to the bliss that waited in the other side.
“Jili.” Graham’s voice was concerned as he drew back to look at her. “’Tis all right to let go. I promise to catch you.” He deepened the pressure between her legs, his fingers finding her cunt and nudging just a bit inside, as far as the material of her
hakama
would allow.
Jiliana knew what she wanted. What she had to have to make her pleasure complete. Graham inside her…his fingers parting her body, filling her, taking her. She pulled his face to hers. “This is not enough,” she whimpered against his mouth.
Graham captured her lips in another kiss as he bent her knee and draped her leg over his. He slid his hand inside one leg of her
hakama
, the feel of his skin against hers driving her hunger even higher.
“Is this what you need?” he demanded.
She nodded, mutely. His hand slid higher, coming to rest just beside the juncture of her thigh. “And this?”
She nodded again, unable to speak, wanting nothing more than to feel his mouth hard on hers and his fingers thrust inside her. Despite all her earlier cautions and despite her earlier hesitation, she wanted—needed—to feel Graham reach high into her body, soothing the space that waited so ready for his touch.
“Inside me,” she said. “I want to feel you—” Her words ended in a whimper as Graham nudged a thick finger into her body.
It’s all about the story…
Action/Adventure
Fantasy
Historical
Horror
Mainstream
Mystery/Suspense
Non-Fiction
Paranormal
Red Hots!
Romance
Science Fiction
Western
Young Adult
