Fever
Praise for the novels of Maya Banks
“Heated investigative romantic suspense . . . Intense, transfixing.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Definitely a recommended read . . . filled with friendship, passion and, most of all, a love that grows
beyond just being friends.”
—Fallen Angel Reviews
“Grabbed me from page one and refused to let go until I read the last word . . . When a book still
affects me hours after reading it, I can’t help but Joyfully Recommend it!”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“I guarantee I will reread this book many times over, and will derive as much pleasure as I did in the
first reading each and every subsequent time.”
—
Novelspot
“An excellent read that I simply did not put down . . . A fantastic adventure . . . Covers all the
emotional range.”
—The Road to Romance
“Searingly sexy and highly believable.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A must-read author . . . Her [stories] are always full of emotional situations, lovable characters and
kick-butt story lines.”
—Romance Junkies
Titles by Maya Banks
The Sweet Series
SWEET SURRENDER
SWEET PERSUASION
SWEET SEDUCTION
SWEET TEMPTATION
SWEET POSSESSION
SWEET ADDICTION
The Kelly/KGI Series
THE DARKEST HOUR
NO PLACE TO RUN
HIDDEN AWAY
WHISPERS IN THE DARK
ECHOES AT DAWN
SHADES OF GRAY
Colters’ Legacy
COLTERS’ PROMISE
The Breathless Trilogy
RUSH
FEVER
FOR HER PLEASURE
BE WITH ME
Anthologies
FOUR PLAY
(with Shayla Black)
MEN OUT OF UNIFORM
(with Karin Tabke and Sylvia Day)
CHERISHED
(with Lauren Dane)
Specials
“PILLOW TALK”
FROM
FOUR PLAY
fever
maya banks
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING G ROUP
Published by the Penguin G roup
Penguin G roup (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
USA / Canada / UK / Ireland / Australia / New Zealand / India / South Africa / China
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
For m ore inform ation about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com .
This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
FEVER
Copy right © 2013 by May a Banks.
All rights reserved. No part of this book m ay be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without perm ission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copy righted m aterials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
BERKLEY® is a registered tradem ark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a tradem ark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Berkley trade paperback ISBN: 978-0-425-26706-6
An application to register this book for cataloging has been subm itted to the Library of Congress.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / April 2013
eBook ISBN: 978-1-101-62038-0
Cover photo by Boris Mrdj a/Shutterstock.
Cover design by Rita Frangie.
This is a work of fiction. Nam es, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s im agination or are used fictitiously , and any resem blance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishm ents, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assum e any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Contents
For really terrific friends who always have my back. You know who you are. Love you!
chapter one
Jace Crestwell tapped Gabe Hamilton on the shoulder and when Gabe turned, Jace grinned.
“You’ve hogged my sister long enough. It’s my turn to dance with her.”
Gabe didn’t look happy with the interruption. He and Mia had been solidly glued to one another for
the past hour, but he grudgingly took a step back and Mia smiled radiantly as Jace took Gabe’s place.
The entire ballroom of the Bentley Hotel was decorated for Christmas, a nod to the fact that above
all else, Mia loved Christmas, and it was also a well-known fact that Gabe would do damn near
anything to make his new fiancée happy.
And, well, Gabe moved fast when he wanted something, if nothing else. He’d started planning the
engagement party the moment he got his ring on Mia’s finger. Almost as if he were afraid she’d
change her mind unless he got the ball rolling immediately.
It was pretty funny for Jace to see his friend in knots over a woman. The fact that the woman in
question was Jace’s sister was a little weird, but Mia was happy and that was all he could ask for.
“Are you enjoying yourself, baby girl?” Jace asked as he turned her around on the dance floor.
Her entire face lit up. “It’s fantastic, Jace. The whole thing. It’s positively magical. I can’t believe
Gabe pulled this off so fast. It’s just . . .
perfect
.”
Jace smiled back at her. “I’m glad you’re happy. Gabe will be good to you or I’ll kick his ass. I
already made that clear.”
Her eyes narrowed. “If he isn’t good to me, it’s not you he has to worry about.
I’ll
be the one
kicking his ass.”
Jace threw back his head and laughed. “That I have no doubt about. You made him work for it. I
gotta admire that.”
Mia’s face became somber and Jace frowned, wondering what could have possibly made her so
serious on a night she should be over the moon.
“I know you gave up a lot for me,” she said in a quiet voice. “I always wondered if the reason you
hadn’t married and had children of your own was because of me.”
He stared at her like she’d lost her mind.
“Maybe now you can stop worrying about me so much, and you know . . .”
“No, I don’t know,” he said. Then he shook his head. “You’re a nut, Mia. First of all, just because
you’re getting married doesn’t mean I’m going to stop worrying about you and looking out for you.
That’s just a fact, so get over it. Second, don’t you think if I’d gotten married before now, especially
when you were younger, that it would have made things
easier
? For both you and me? You would
have had a mother figure instead of being stuck with an overbearing, overprotective brother as your
sole source of support.”
She stopped mid-dance and threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely.
“I don’t regret a single thing about the way you raised me, Jace. Not a thing. You did a wonderful
job and I’ll always be so grateful for all the sacrifices you made for me.”
He hugged her back, still shaking his head. Nut. Total nut. She was aglow with happiness over her
impending marriage to Gabe, and now she wanted everyone she cared about wrapped up in that same
glow. God help him. He and Ash should probably be ducking and running.
“It was no sacrifice, Mia. I don’t have a single regret either. Has it ever occurred to you that I
didn’t
want
to get married and have kids?”
She pulled back with a frown and then her gaze skirted sideways to where Ash was standing across
the room with Gabe. “Yes, I suppose it did.”
Jace barely suppressed a sigh. It was obvious Mia had a very good idea of his and Ash’s sexual
proclivities when it came to having threesomes with the same woman. It wasn’t exactly something a
brother wanted his sister to know about his sex life, but there it was. He wouldn’t apologize for his
lifestyle, but neither was he going to get into a conversation about it with his baby sister.
“Play hard and live free,” he said by way of explanation.
Mia frowned and cocked her head upward.
Jace chuckled. “It’s our motto. The three of us, Gabe, me and Ash. Only you changed the game for
Gabe. Doesn’t mean Ash and I are eager to follow his lead.”
She rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake. You make Gabe sound like a pussy.”
