For His Eyes Only Page 17

  “On what?”

  “You.”

  She opened her mouth to object, but he kept talking. “With Insomnia out of commission, I need a job. Monica and I have decided to join forces and open a one-stop shop for women. Sexy clothes, sexy lingerie, all in one place. It’ll be a hit.”

  “You’ve spoken with Monica?”

  “We had a phone conversation last night while you were asleep. I was impressed with that dress you showed me, Jacey. Really impressed. I contacted her because I was looking for you, and then we came up with our plan to keep you here and talked about the business.”

  She nodded. “Wow. That’s incredible. I’m so excited for you two.”

  But though she meant the words, her voice fell flat. She’d been counting on that job in New York, which apparently didn’t exist. What was she going to do with her life now?

  “That’s an awfully dejected face for someone who just landed a job at Miami’s hottest new boutique.”

  She gave him an odd look.

  “We want to hire you. As a media assistant.”

  “Alex, I told you, I don’t want—”

  “I said assistant. Based on the experience you’ve had thus far, you’re qualified. Don’t go jumping to conclusions. We can’t promote you to media planner until you get your degree.”

  He winked, and her eyes lit up. “Really?”

  “Really, sweetheart, if that’s how you want to spend your money. We wouldn’t dream of handing you the job until you’ve earned it.”

  Her hands flew to her mouth. She could go to school, and then hold a position of authority doing something she had a talent for. Something she had earned. It was a dream.

  No. This time, it was a reality. Finally.

  “Oh, wow,” she cried. “I don’t know what to say. This is amazing.”

  Alex smiled. “Say you’ll do it. And then come upstairs with me, because I have something to show you.”

  Jacey watched with anticipation as Alex put his hand to a sheet-covered canvas in the corner of his home office. When he removed the drape, she gasped at the intricate beauty of the bridal sketch he’d revealed.

  “Oh, Alex. It’s gorgeous.”

  He cleared his throat. “Thank you. It’s going to be the centerpiece of our ad design when the new business gets started. Think you might want to model it for me?”

  She laughed. “Yeah, right. I’ll never step foot on a stage again.”

  “I didn’t say anything about a stage. I was thinking this would be more appropriate for our honeymoon.”

  She stopped laughing. She brought her hand to her chest, her heart pumping at the fervor in his gaze. “What did you say?”

  His familiar scent intoxicated her when he took her hand and pulled her close. “Marry me. Out at the beach house.”

  “I love the beach house.” Her knees began to shake. The memories still took her breath away.

  He smiled. “I know. We can live there if you want.”

  “You’d buy that place just for me?”

  “I’ll do anything for you.”

  Her phone chimed inside her purse. She stepped away from him and dug through the bag to find it. Only when she flipped it open did she realize it wasn’t supposed to work.

  “What the—?” She peered at the lit screen, where Alex’s cell number popped up. With a sheepish grin, he held up his phone. Somehow, he’d managed to punch in her number while she was distracted with the drawing.

  She tried to glare at him, but it was tough when she gratefully welcomed her return to the connected world. She’d been getting sick of driving everywhere.

  “Alex, I know you did not pay my phone bill.”

  “I couldn’t resist. I’m not about to spend the rest of my life chasing you down.”

  She tossed the phone aside and put her arms around his neck. “I thought we just established that I’ll be spending the rest of my life in your bed. You won’t have to look very far.”

  His brow lifted. “Is that a yes?”

  “It’s a hell, yes.” She stroked his hair and brought his lips down to hers.

  “Even better,” he said before she kissed him.

  They left his study and made their way to the bed, and when he was deeply inside her, he whispered how much he loved her. Jacey smiled, answering in kind and releasing all her doubts and fears. In spite of so many bad examples, they’d gotten their relationship right. Alex knew every part of her now, and still, she felt beautiful.

  About the Author

  Two-time Golden Heart® finalist Avery Beck has crafted compelling fiction since age five, when she played school with her best friend and sent home a “teacher’s note” that got the poor girl in trouble.

  It seems natural that her two passions, writing and studying relationships, have found an outlet in romance novels. She is fascinated with exploring the “something” that draws two people together, and she hopes to share with readers the humor, fun, drama, and best of all, joy of falling in love.

  Avery writes short, sexy contemporaries and believes life is not complete without the pursuit of dreams and an intense roll in the hay…or wherever one feels inclined to roll.

  To learn more about Avery, please visit www.averybeck.com or send an email to avery@averybeck.com.

  Look for these titles by Avery Beck

  Now Available:

  Sexy by Design

  One night of anonymous sex. Zero consequences. At least, that was the plan.

  Sexy by Design

  © 2009 Avery Beck

  Dumped for another woman, Bree Jamison buries her white-picket-fence dreams—and her naturally shy demeanor—for a contract job behind the scenes of an erotic cyberstore. Her new life comes with a sexy public persona, and a driving ambition to earn a permanent position with the company.

  On the day she’s prepared to present her best work, she’s shocked to discover her future depends on impressing her only one-night stand. The one man who could blow her cover and ruin everything.

  Evan climbed out of poverty with sarcasm on his tongue and a ring in his eyebrow. He can’t believe the vixen in front of him is the same woman who fumbled her way through their single botched encounter. Her offer for a do-over is an opportunity he can’t pass up, not only to secure his reputation, but to satisfy his curiosity about the one woman he couldn’t please.

  In a bedroom full of the company’s products, fiery arguments lead to experimentation—and then to a passion that strips away their masks. In that vulnerable place, their troubled pasts collide, baring secrets that force Evan into a hard decision. And Bree back on the road to heartbreak…

  Warning: This title contains hot sex complete with four-letter words and battery-operated devices, as well as a kinky to-do list and the world’s most entertaining office job.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Sexy by Design:

  Bree couldn’t take the honest approach, not yet. They were barely treading friendly waters, and she couldn’t lose the upper hand until she’d convinced him that his original impression of her had been way off-base.

  “I can see I’ll have to prove you wrong.” Her fingers wrapped around the handle of her bottom drawer and pulled it out so hard the entire desk rattled. Inside lay a hefty collection of vibrators in different colors, textures, and sizes.

  Evan looked down at the array of fake penises and threw his head back in amusement. Chuckling, he managed to say, “I’m afraid work-related devices don’t count.”

  “You didn’t say that. You said I’d never seen one.”

  “I amend my earlier statement. So you’ve seen one. But you’ve never used one.”

  He drew that word out like a long, slow lick on an ice cream cone. Bree-flavored ice cream. From behind those sultry eyelashes he watched her, daring her to be turned on by his proposition.

  She wasn’t merely turned on. She was a hungry lioness circling her cage, waiting for the door to open so she could burst out and devour a succulent piece of meat.

 
Yum.

  She glanced at her office door to make sure it was closed. Time to put her seduction plan into action.

  Swallowing hard, she reached into the drawer and retrieved a sizable blue cylinder. Her hand shook with nerves, so she squeezed her fingers around the thing more tightly. If she were going to refute his assumptions, she couldn’t be afraid of a vibrator. She needed to act like she’d used one every day of her adult life. Like having a man watch her touch herself with one came as naturally as breathing.

  A smile played on her lips. Letting a man watch and using a sex toy? She could knock two things off the list with this one simple act.

  Simple. Right.

  Her smile fading, she blew out a shaky breath and brushed the tip over her exposed shoulder, seeing Evan’s mouth open just enough to let her know she had his interest. With excruciating slowness, she dragged the toy down her arm, making a U-turn at her wrist before bringing it back up and across her collarbone. She shivered at the cool, tingly trail it left on her skin and closed her eyes, wondering how she’d follow through with this show when she’d never even done it privately.

  Before she got that far, Evan rolled his chair closer. Her eyes snapped open. His penetrating gaze fixed on her, he removed the device from her skin and held it tantalizingly in front of her face.

  “What are you doing?” she objected.

  He didn’t answer, just turned it on with a single flick of his thumb. The purr of the tiny motor made her jump.

  The way he stared at her made her feel naked even though she remained fully clothed. The room was nearly silent, the buzz of the fluorescent lights drowned out by the beat of her racing heart. She should have bashed his hand, should have bolted from the chair.

  But she didn’t.

  “Don’t touch me with that,” she rasped. “Don’t you dare.”

  Yet still she couldn’t move. What was wrong with her? Evan’s attempt to take control of the situation wasn’t surprising, given his sky-high confidence level. But enjoying his power trip was not part of the plan.

  “So.” His breath caressed her neck as he dipped the pulsating tip into the top of her dress, grazing the cleft between her breasts. “Would you like a demonstration of what this thing is really used for?”

  He looked down, and she knew he’d spotted her rigid nipples poking through the thin fabric of her outfit. Lovely. As cavalier as he was to begin with, she didn’t want to reveal that, at the moment, her attraction to him was fueling her quest for sexual experience. Much as she hated to admit that, it was entirely, irrevocably true.

  Her mind begged her to move away from him. Your terms, remember? But her body refused to listen. One more moment of his dizzying nearness, one more second of his warm breath grazing her skin just the way it had when he’d been inside her, and she would lose this battle. She’d be taking lessons from him instead of showing him what she could do.

  So why did it feel so good?

  An inkling of smugness in his smile, he moved the device down to her knee and began sliding it up the inside of her thigh. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  No, no, no!

  “Evan—”

  “Happy birthday!” The door flew open and the entire staff burst in, cake in tow. Snapping to attention, Bree watched in horror as the vibrator dropped from Evan’s fingers and rolled underneath her desk. For once, he looked stunned as well. Thank God it was one of the quietest designs.

  Her computer monitor hid their frolicking from view just long enough for them to compose themselves. Evan ran a hand through his dark hair, doing his best to appear casual. “Wow, you guys didn’t have to do this.”

  Paula stepped up and hugged him. “Well, it’s Friday afternoon and we could all use a break. Didn’t want to ignore your big three-one.” She turned to Bree. “Sorry I didn’t warn you, but you two have been locked in here all day working on the site. I didn’t want to interrupt and make anything look suspicious.”

  Bree smiled weakly. “No problem.” If Paula only knew that she should have been the suspicious one.

  They moved the party to the conference room, and Bree excused herself. The throbbing between her legs made it difficult to play social butterfly. She practically ran to the restroom. When she got there, she washed her hands under cold water and dabbed at her moist forehead with a paper towel.

  What the hell was that? She glowered into the mirror. The idea was to prove she could be an assertive, sensual woman, not a submissive girl who’d let him do whatever he felt like doing to her. He already believed that, and she had just wiped away any progress they might have made on the path to understanding each other beyond their one-night stand.

  Now she’d have to start over. You hate him, she insisted to her reflection. You hate him.

  They agreed: All the fun, no messy emotions. Until their charkas aligned..

  Friends With Benefits

  © 2009 Kelly Jamieson

  Yoga is Kerri Harris’s life, but that doesn’t mean she’s a New Age flake. She’s a successful businesswoman, and it’s about time everyone took her as seriously as her mother-of-two, “real-career” sister. That means adding a new item to her spreadsheet—marriage plan. There’s only one person she trusts to help her check off this task: her best friend Mitch.

  Divorce attorney Mitch MacAuley gets the cold shivers at the mere mention of matrimony. After the disasters he’s witnessed from childhood, marriage equals miserable. The last thing he wants is to help Kerri down that road, but he’s never been able to say no to her. He expects to feel pity for her as she goes on one disastrous date after another. The complete surprise? Thinking about Kerri with those other guys makes him crazy.

  Her frustration collides with his confusion, leading to a big fight, a hot kiss and a scorching sexual tension that hits them both broadside. Prompting Kerri to propose a new plan…to add the bedroom to their list of BFF benefits.

  They quickly find out there’s nothing casual about the heat they generate. In fact, the burn could ruin a perfectly beautiful friendship.

  Warning: This story contains a late-night booty call, hot hotel sex and naked yoga!

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Friends With Benefits:

  “I can’t believe you’ve set me up with all these guys and every single one of them has been all wrong for me. Not just wrong for me…like, not even close.”

  “Uh…Kerri. I didn’t set you up with Eric. You met him at the golf tournament.”

  “Well. You invited me to the golf tournament.”

  Mitch sighed.

  “It’s not just a coincidence, is it? You are doing this on purpose because you don’t want me to get married.”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt,” he corrected her.

  “So you admit it!”

  “No! No, I don’t. You’re twisting things.”

  She snorted. “How do you tell when a lawyer is lying? His lips are moving.”

  At that moment, Sela poked her head in to say she was leaving.

  “I thought you left hours ago!” Kerri exclaimed. “What about your shopping?”

  Sela glanced at her watch. “We still have time. Doug is bringing the girls to Paseo Nuevo and I’m meeting them there.”

  “Go, go.” Kerri waved her hands. After they heard the door close behind Sela, she sighed. “That woman really has to learn to balance. Her family is paying the price for this move.”

  Mitch nodded. “She is kind of driven, isn’t she?”

  Kerri studied him. “Like you aren’t.”

  He shrugged. “I balance fine.”

  She glanced at him, remembering they’d been interrupted while starting to have a big fight.

  “Look, Kerri,” he said. “I know you’re not happy, but you can’t blame me for all this. You have a role in it too.”

  She gaped at him. “What are you saying? Are you saying I’m such a loser I can’t manage to attract a guy?”

  “Jesus, no! That’s not what I’m saying.” He ran a hand through his h
air.

  “So you’re saying I’m deliberately sabotaging things for some strange subconscious reason of my own?”

  He stared at her. “What drugs are you on? You’re acting nuts today.”

  “Yeah, I’m crazy, that must be why I can’t find a husband.”

  “Aaarrrgh!” He slid down the wall until he lay on the floor and covered his face with his hands. With his arms up like that, Kerri could see the paler skin on the underside, which emphasized the bulge of his biceps below the sleeves of his T-shirt. He stayed like that for a moment, dragging big, slow breaths into his lungs.

  Kerri rolled in her lips and scooted a few inches away. Mitch had a temper, but he’d learned to control it over the years. And okay, she was acting like a bitch and hated herself for it, but the words just kept coming out of her mouth. She was just so frustrated and disappointed and Mitch was there to poke at, take out her frustrations on. A shiver trickled down her spine. Maybe she’d pushed too far.

  She bit her lip as she looked at him. With his arms raised, his snug T-shirt had ridden up and she could see tanned, ripped abs and a hint of golden brown hair just above the low-riding waistband of his jeans. His hair was all tousled from running his hands through it. She swallowed.

  She put a hand on his arm tentatively, wanting to apologize, fearful she’d pushed him too far and now he’d be really mad at her. She knew she could get away with a lot with Mitch and he just laughed at her, indulgently let her act all princessy, then called her on it and brought her back down to earth. But maybe this time his patience had run out.

  His arms jerked away from his face at her gentle touch and she jumped back. He grabbed her hand, held it tightly. Now she could see his eyes flashing dark gold, his jaw clenched so tight she was sure it must hurt.

  “M-mitch…I’m…”

  “Kerri.” He growled, low and rough. “Just stop right now.”

  She nodded a bit frantically. “I’m sorry. You can let go of my hand now.”

  His fingers actually tightened on hers, crushing them, and she yanked on her hand. “Ow! Mitch, you’re hurting me! Let go.”