No More Talking: Hearts Are Wild, Book 1 (8 page)

Just when you think you know the rules, the game changes.

Spin the Bottle

© 2012 Rhian Cahill

Party Games, Book 4

Lillian McDermott can’t complain about the years she’s spent at the top of a career she never wanted. But modelling gave her everything. Amazing experiences and enough money to leave it all behind to start her own perfume and fashion label.

The one thing it didn’t give her is Mackenzie Harris. Her brother’s best friend. The man who sees her only as a surrogate little sister. Now, at the launch party for her the next phase of her life, she’s done waiting. She’s going to rock Mac’s world until ignoring her is the last thing on his mind.

Mac isn’t blind to Lilli’s charms, and he never has been. But no best mate screws around with a little sister, no matter how tempting. No matter how much he wants to show her exactly how he’d like to respond to her teasing. But this time she’s gone too far, and he’s not backing down. She started it, and he’s going to finish it.

One spin of the bottle turns friends to lovers. But as the boundaries come down, everything changes. Including what they thought they believed about the other.

Warning: Playing this game will result in breathless sexual anticipation, smoldering sexual chemistry and scorching sexual tension. And then the fun really starts…

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Spin the Bottle:

He’d tried to stay away, tried to ignore the gut-burning need to see if the kiss they’d shared was a fluke. His gaze dropped to her mouth. Slightly parted, her cherry-red lips beckoned, a siren’s call he knew he couldn’t refuse—didn’t want to deny. Mac leaned forward, his lips a breath from hers.

“Mac?”

His name on her tongue, the puff of warm air that blew over his chin and the tremor of her lips made him smile. “Lilli.”

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“I thought that was obvious.” He didn’t pull away but moved his body closer to hers, his chest barely touching the tips of her breasts when she sucked in a breath.

“You can’t.”

“Can’t?”

“N-no.” Her lips brushed his. “It’s bad, remember?”

Mac pulled back a fraction to focus on her eyes. “What?”

“Kissing me.” She licked her lips and sent his blood pressure soaring. “When we did it before, you said it was bad.”

For a second, he hadn’t a clue what she meant, and then it clicked. “Oh, no, it wasn’t the kiss that was bad, Lilli.” He lowered his head, brought his mouth back within touching distance of hers. “I’ll prove it.”

He slanted his mouth across hers. Thrust his tongue between her parted lips to plunder. Mac didn’t ease into the kiss. He dove deep, headfirst. She tasted of champagne and cherries. Of lush decadence that spoke of untold pleasure. The party faded away, lost in the mating of their mouths. Nothing existed but the woman now in his arms, her body plastered to his, her soft curves cradling his hard edges as he devoured her.

Her breath hitched when he sucked on her tongue, and the gaspy little moan that followed the caress of his hand down her spine dragged him further into the most sublime kiss of his life. His cock throbbed, his balls ached and every nerve ending sizzled with the need to take her.

Here.

Now.

Against the wall.

Mac pushed his hand beneath the hem of her too-short dress, palmed her bare arse cheek and squeezed. Her supple flesh filled his hand, her smooth skin like silk under his fingertips. Jesus, she either wore a thong or nothing at all. Both options had his pulse accelerating and his cock stiffening. Blood rushed through his veins, pounded in his ears and slammed his heart against his rib cage. Lilli’s fingers tangled in his hair and tugged. The sting of pain was an erotic thrill he never dreamed would turn him on.

Someone bumped into his back hard enough to make him stumble. He pulled his mouth from hers and let her go to brace his arms on the wall, shielding her body with his. She stared at him, eyes wide, her pupils dilated and those cherry-red lips wet from his kisses. A shudder rippled through him, the sight of her flushed cheeks and rosy mouth injecting another burst of lust into his system. This wasn’t the time or the place, but damn if he could get himself to care.

Her nipples were hard nubs digging into his chest and her breath came in harsh pants, mirroring his. Mac fought for some of his legendary control. Where had a lifetime’s worth of discipline disappeared to? What was it about sweet, innocent Lilli that cut the reins of restraint he’d lived by? He looked down at her, the skin-tight black dress she wore contradicted the idea of sweet innocence, but something about the provocative outfit didn’t ring true, he just couldn’t put his finger on why not.

She gained her wits before he did. Mac was still breathing hard and ogling her cleavage when she ducked beneath his outstretched arm and escaped him. Trapped in a lust-induced fog, it took him a moment to realise she’d gone. When he did, he lowered his head and cursed himself a fool. For the second time, he’d had her in his arms and let her get away. That stopped here and now. If their first kiss all those months ago hadn’t convinced him, this second one had. Lilli would be his, body and soul, he would own her before the night was done. It was only fair. After all, she’d owned him from the moment his body had begun to crave hers.

When the light turns yellow, it’s time to step on the gas.

Red Light, Green Light

© 2014 Rhian Cahill

Are You Game? Book 3

You never forget your first.

Truer words have never been spoken when it comes to Kelsey Newman’s first love. Years spent ignoring the ache she feels for Weston Mann has done little to erase him from her mind and her heart.

The one that got away.

Ten years ago, West loved Kelsey enough to let her go when he realized he wasn’t ready for the kind of relationship she needed. Watching her walk down the aisle with another man cut deep. But West is a quick learner, and he never makes the same mistake twice. Now that she’s free, he plans to make up for lost time.

A love that won’t stop.

Kelsey isn’t ready to give West a green light, and he refuses to accept the red ones she’s given him. With each stop and start of their seesawing relationship, she finds herself falling for him all over again. Except it’s hard to trust her heart to a man who once told her he didn’t want it.

Warning: Story contains a reluctant heroine, a determined hero, an ex who doesn’t want to stay exed, and a love that knows no limit—speed or otherwise.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Red Light, Green Light:

“Have you eaten?” West reached out to open the door. “I can make you a snack if you’re hungry.”

“No. I’m good. I grabbed a burger for lunch.” As soon as the words left her mouth she knew she was in trouble.

“A burger?” He pulled her to a stop. “Please tell me you are not referring to one of those things they serve at the Golden Arches.”

Kelsey ducked her head. “Then I won’t.”

“Jeez, Kels, you can’t live on that crap.”

“I don’t. I eat other stuff.”

“Frozen diet meals don’t count in the not-crap column either.”

Damn. He knew her so well. “Fine. I promise to eat better if you promise to take my advice and hire a fulltime office manager.” Kelsey wasn’t above using her capitulation to get something she wanted. It didn’t matter that it was something West needed desperately.

“Deal. When do you start?”

“I’ll start by making a healthy chicken salad for dinner tonight.”

“I’m talking about work.”

“What?”

“I’m happy for you to continue seeing your regular clients out of here if that makes things easier.” West steered her into the small windowless room he used as an office.

“Wait. What?” Had she missed something he said? She must have, because she was completely lost in this conversation.

“Sit. I’ll get you a drink.” He pushed her into the chair behind his desk and left the room before she could blink.

What the hell had just happened? Kelsey ran back over every word they’d spoken, and even though she thought she had a handle on it, the outcome didn’t make any sense. West was talking as if she’d agreed to be his new office manager. It wasn’t the first time he’d suggested it, but she’d never believed he meant it as a real possibility. He couldn’t be serious. Could he?

She mulled over the idea while pulling files out of her briefcase. Spying a folder overflowing with invoices, Kelsey tried not to panic at the thought of all those numbers not being entered into the relevant spreadsheets she’d set up for West’s business. With a sinking feeling, she began leafing through the paperwork on his desk. She’d just booted up his computer when he came back in.

“Here. This will go a long way to repairing the damage that processed burger is doing to your system.” He placed a bright-green drink in front of her.

“What the hell is that?” Kelsey leaned over and took a sniff. “Banana?”

“Yep, with some extra nutrients thrown in.”

Oh God. He was feeding her one of those super smoothie things his sister made. Kelsey scrunched up her nose as she took another sniff.

“Just drink it. It won’t kill you.” He flopped into the chair on the other side of his desk.

“But it’s green.”

“It’s only kale and spinach. Nothing sinister, I promise.”

Kelsey eyed the glass as she picked it up and brought it to her lips. She took a tentative sip and was surprised by the sweet banana flavour that burst across her tongue. Taking a bigger drink, she tried to determine what else he’d added to it.

“Good?” West watched her with a grin on his face.

“It’s okay.” Kelsey wasn’t about to admit the damn thing tasted yummy. She took another drink before she put the glass down and opened the file that held West’s tax documents. “Now if you’ll pull up the spreadsheets for me, I’ll get started.”

“Ah, yeah, about that…”

She glanced up, eyebrows raised.

“I kinda, sorta haven’t gotten to those.” He lifted his chin in the direction of the overflowing folder.

“Dammit, West.” This was going to take so much longer than she’d thought—hoped. With a sigh, she leaned back in the chair. “You promised me this year would be different.”

“I know. And it would have been. But time got away from me, and today I got caught up in the kitchen.”

Kelsey held up her hand. “I don’t want to hear excuses. This is why you need an office manager.”

“I know.”

“Then hire one.”

“I want you.”

The words hung in the air between them. He’d said those exact words numerous times before when they’d talked about his need for a fulltime manager, but after Friday night’s kiss, those three simple words took on a whole new meaning.

From head to toes, everything tightened, warmed and tingled, and a full-body shiver rolled over her. His eyes went dark, his gaze laser-like in its intensity, and Kelsey’s breath hitched. She licked her lips, her tongue sticking on the dry surface. West’s hands fisted on his thighs and her eyes were drawn to the bulge in his pants. He didn’t hide from her, and if she was reading him right, he wanted her to know exactly what he wanted her for.

“West.” His name was a plea on her lips, but Kelsey had no clue what she was asking for.

“Take the job, Kels.” The words came through clenched teeth.

“I have a job. A business.”

West sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. As she watched, his shoulders relaxed and his hands opened. “Yes, and we both know that things are going to get slow now that tax season is coming to an end.”

“I still have clients,” she argued.

He nodded. “And I’ll bet you next year’s profits that you can manage those as well as Weston’s. With your hands tied behind your back.”

Kelsey opened her mouth to argue further, but she couldn’t come up with another excuse to refuse the job. Not without revealing her feelings, and she wasn’t ready for West to know how deep those went. Besides, her business was about to shrink, and with it her income. Not that she was in any danger of going broke. Tax time might be exhaustingly busy, but it was also extremely lucrative. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair.

Leather creaked, but she kept her eyes shut, not wanting to see him just now for fear one look into those storm-cloud eyes would seal her fate. His feet brushed over the concrete floor as he moved around, and it only took a moment to work out he was walking around the desk towards her. She heard him crouch down beside her, felt the light brush of his hand over her denim covered knee.

“Kels. Look at me.”

She swallowed, her constricted throat aching as the muscles worked. Slowly, she raised her eyelids and turned her head to meet his gaze.

“Give me a year. One year to make it work for both of us.”

She wanted to say yes. God, did she. But there was more at stake than their perspective businesses. If she said yes, she’d be in West’s presence every day. There’d be no hiding from her feelings and certainly no stopping them from growing deeper. Day in, day out, Kelsey would be faced with her biggest weakness.

Weston Mann.

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

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No More Talking

Copyright © 2015 by Rhian Cahill

ISBN: 978-1-61922-624-1

Edited by Heidi Moore

Cover by Lyn Taylor

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: March 2015

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