Hidden Fire: Fire, Book 2: Red Hot Weekend (13 page)

Garreth shrugged. “Then let them judge. They’ll be wrong. Not us. You have nothing to be ashamed of. None of us has anything to be ashamed of. As I said, whatever Jack and I did was not incestuous. The threesomes were merely a means for me to find relief after you broke my heart. Besides…” He grinned then and flexed his biceps, deliberately showing off his strength. “If anyone should ever dare accuse you of anything sordid again, they’d have me to deal with.”

He might have been making light of the issue, but Jenna was immeasurably reassured. If push came to shove, Garreth would make good on his word. “You’d do that?” she asked. “You’d stand up for me? Defend me?”

“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. Not if it’s in my power to stop it.”

Her heart melted, along with every one of the defenses she’d thrown up again. “I love you, Garreth Halt.”

“Good. Now remember that the next time you attempt to run out on me.”

She bit her lip. “I didn’t run this time,” she reminded him. She’d wanted to, so damn much, but she hadn’t.

“No, you didn’t.” He smiled.

“That’s because my defenses were down.” She smiled back shyly. “You kind of flattened them last night.”

“You flattened them, sweetheart. I just helped.”

Jenna reconsidered. “Maybe flattened is the wrong word. If they were gone altogether, I’d never have jumped to conclusions about you and Jackson. I’m sorry about that.”

“I’m just glad you stayed.”

“I’m glad too.” She got lost in his green eyes. “Can you forgive me? For thinking such awful things?”

He pondered her answer. “You have to promise me one thing first.”

Her heart drummed in her chest. “Anything.”

His gaze was solemn, his response grave. “You have to swear that if we do go through another rocky patch, no matter how bad things get, you will never, ever shoot me with a water pistol again.”

Jenna gave a bark of laughter.

Garreth stroked her cheek, ever so gently. She relished the heat of his fingers on her face.

“I love you, Jenn. I want us to work. More than anything. I just need your promise that if we do argue, or something I do does upset you—and it will happen, without a doubt—you won’t shut me out. You won’t hide behind your controlled emotions. I need to know you’ll hang around and talk it through. Openly and honestly.”

She took a shuddery breath. “You got it, mate. I promise, from now on, I’ll always stay and talk. More than that, I’ll let you in. Always show you what I really think and feel. I promise not to hide from you anymore, and not to think the worst of you. I just… I just…” She peaked at him from beneath lowered lashes. “I just love you so much, you know?”

“Actually, no.” He shook his head. “I don’t know. You may have to show me.”

“I’d be happy to.” Jenna grinned. “In fact, I’d be happy to spend the rest of my life doing just that.” And then she stood on her tiptoes, reached her hand up high to Garreth’s neck and pulled his face down to hers. “I love you, Gaz,” she whispered before she pressed her mouth to his and kissed him.

As their lips met and Jenna’s heart fairly exploded with happiness, she heard a muted thud in the distance. She couldn’t contain her smile as he deepened the kiss, knowing the carefully cemented wall of her defenses had just been toppled—forever.

About the Author

Apart from her family and friends, Jess Dee loves two things: romance and food. Is it any wonder she specializes in dee-liciously sexy romance? Jess loves hearing from readers. You can email her at
[email protected]
or find her at
www.jessdee.com
.

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Guilty pleasures can heat the coldest winter night…

Winter Fire

© 2011 Jess Dee

A
Red Hot Winter
Story

There’s never been any question in Rachel Ashberg’s mind. Jackson Brooks is
the one
, and they both know it. The problem? Thanks to his unbreakable rule—never date his twin sister’s friends—he’s completely off-limits. Even if they can’t imagine being with anyone else.

It’s been over two years since their last encounter, when they gave in—just once—to their passion. Now, as the Brooks twins’ milestone birthday approaches, Rachel and Jackson are about to meet again at a gorgeously mountain resort. Needing something to take the edge off the desire that has never faded, she indulges in a fling with sexy stranger Garreth Halt. He even makes her forget Jackson for a while. Or…maybe not.

When she mentions Jackson’s name in passing, Garreth picks up on all the hidden undertones in her voice. And he brings Jackson into their bed, if only in a fantasy they play out together. Funny thing about Garreth’s fantasies, though. Even the most improbable,
impossible
ones have a way of becoming reality…

Warning: Warning: Enough heat is contained within these pages that you won’t even notice the winter cold. You might fall in love with Jackson—the real-life hero, determined to protect his sister from further pain—but it’s the handsome stranger, Garreth, who’ll take your breath away.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Winter Fire:

“It’s good to escape from the city for a while though. Isn’t it beautiful here?”

He grinned at her. “Let’s just say the mountains became a whole lot more interesting in the last few minutes…”

She laughed out loud. “You really are flirting, aren’t you?” And was she ever responding. A tingling awareness flowed through her, an open recognition of the energy that crackled between them.

“Is it working?” he drawled earnestly.

She pretended to think about her answer. No need for him to know just yet that her belly was already quivering in anticipation. “I’m not sure. Maybe you should try a little harder.”

“You know, we could skip the flirting part altogether and head straight into heated kisses beside a roaring fire.”

Damned if her heart didn’t miss a beat. “We could.” But she couldn’t be that easy. Could she? She and Paul had only split up six weeks ago. “Or I could read my book and pretend you’re not really here.”

“You could.” He nodded. “But heated kisses beside a roaring fire would be a lot more entertaining for both of us.”

Entertaining? Hell, forget the fireplace, the two of them would probably ignite flames of their own together. “For all the other hotel guests too. I bet they’d get a kick out of watching.”

Humor sparkled in his eyes, and something else. Desire? Hunger? Or maybe raw lust?

Nah, the raw lust was radiating from her, not him.

He lowered his voice. “If it’s privacy you’re wanting, there’s a fireplace in my chalet.”

Heated kisses beside a roaring fire in the privacy of his hotel room? With a Canadian she’d never see again? A man she could spend her passion with and move on. Damn, there was very little that appealed more.

Okay, so maybe there was something that appealed more. Jackson.

Yeah, didn’t matter how much Jackson appealed, nothing else could ever happen between them. Not without causing Jackson’s sister untold heartache.

“If I’d wanted privacy, I’d never have invited you to sit here,” she pointed out logically.

“Tell me you’re not regretting the invitation?”

She nibbled on her lower lip. “Well, you do talk a lot…”

He shot her a purely wicked look. “Not when I’m in the middle of a heated kiss.”

“You talk a lot about kissing.” She didn’t mind one bit.

He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Since I first spied you in the lobby earlier.”

“You saw me earlier?” How could she not have noticed him?

“While I was checking in. You were on your way out. Dressed for a blizzard I might add.”

He’d noticed her attire? “I went for a walk. It was so cold there may as well have been a blizzard brewing.”

He shook his head. “You Australians have no idea about cold and blizzards.”

She let her gaze slide away from his face and down to his chest and shoulders. “We have no idea? Mate, you’re wearing a T-shirt.” A T-shirt he filled out beautifully. It hugged his broad shoulders and ended halfway down his upper arms, showcasing muscled biceps and golden flesh. “It’s three degrees Celsius out there, the mercury’s plummeting, and you’re wearing a T-shirt.”

“We’re indoors. There’s a fire. It’s warm.”

Was he nuts? “It’s warm here and now. But the sun’s going down. Soon as it sets, the temperature will drop below freezing.”

“Not a prob. I have a sweater for when I go out.”

“
A
sweater?” One sweater? She had two jackets, an assortment of jumpers, three sweaters and a cardigan—and those were just for a three-day trip.

“It’s enough.”

“You’re crazy.” Gorgeous, ridiculously sexy and crazy.

“You’re cold?”

“I’m always cold in winter.” God, she missed the sun-drenched days of summer.

“You know, in Canada we have a brilliant system for keeping warm.”

“Ducted heating. I know.”

“Actually, I was talking about sex.”

His answer was so unexpected she laughed out loud. “Sex, huh?” Dear Lord, she wanted to keep warm with Garreth, Canadian style. For sure it would take her mind off Jackson’s imminent arrival—and their checkered past. “Nope, sorry. We don’t have sex in Australia.”

He looked aghast. “Not even in the Blue Mountains?”

“Especially not in the Blue Mountains.”

He nodded gravely. “Ah. That’s a damn pity.”

“Don’t let it worry you. You’re going back to Toronto in a couple of weeks. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of sex then—even if it is summer and there won’t be any need to keep warm.”

“Maybe, but I was hoping to have sex with you, here in the Blue Mountains.”

Again she laughed, enjoying his witty repartee. Enjoying it almost as much as she enjoyed the tantalizing sparks that flickered between them. “Would you settle for a drink by the fireplace?”

He considered her question. “Depends which fireplace.”

“This one, right here.”

“How about the one in my room?”

She shook her head. “Nah. Too risky. I might have to fend off your heated kisses.” Yeah, right. If anything, he’d be the one fending her off. The longer they chatted, the more appetizing his lips became.

He grinned devilishly. “No might about it. Another red wine?” He motioned to her empty glass before signaling to a waiter.

She nodded and he ordered wine for her and a scotch for himself. “So, Rachel,” he said as soon as the waiter had left, “what is it you do when you’re not seducing men into kissing you beside roaring fires?”

For a couple of seconds she hesitated to tell him. If he knew about her job, she’d lose some of her anonymity. And if she were to entertain ideas about kissing Garreth beside the fire, she knew she’d have to maintain that sense of them being strangers. A fling appealed no end. A brief affair with a stranger to take the edge off before Jackson arrived. A little something to distract her from her obsessions about the man she could never have.

A one-night stand.

Garreth was the perfect stranger. Gorgeous, charming and sexy to boot. He’d be a perfect distraction. Exactly what she needed.

But then she forged ahead. She’d never see Garreth again after tonight. He lived on another continent. What could it hurt to tell him a few things about herself?

Defying death is the ultimate dare. Defying love? Well, that’s just stupid.

Dare Me