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A shiver ran through her as she thought about the pure evil that had blackened Philip’s and Tyler’s hearts.
The sound of Charlie barking had her turning to see Alex and the forty-pound black dog approaching. Dark sunglasses concealed his eyes and his expression was stoic.
Alex wore jeans and a button-down. He’d rolled up the sleeves, revealing muscled forearms with thick, coarse hair. A thick, black watch wrapped around his wrist. He walked up to her. “Good job, Dr. Carson.”
His sunglasses tossed back her reflection, but just knowing he was looking at her made her stomach flutter. “Not the most memorable finish.”
“I’ll never forget it.” He leaned in to kiss her.
“I’m sweaty.”
“I don’t care.” He kissed her on the mouth, cupping her face in his hand. “Salty. And sweet.”
Charlie barked and jumped, pulling Leah’s attention to the dog. She knelt and rubbed her between her ears. “She wasn’t too much trouble?”
“She’s fine. And pretty smart.”
Alex had once told her he wasn’t a dog person, but he’d proven very patient and good with Charlie. “So what do you say we get out of here?”
She rose and kissed him on the lips. “Sounds like a great plan.”
Please turn the page for an exciting sneak peek of Mary Burton’s newest romantic-suspense thriller,
VULNERABLE,
coming soon from Kensington Publishing!
Friday, September 29, 6:50 P.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
Elisa pressed up against a tree, her round curves scraping against the bark. Her eyes warmed with heat and longing, as if she couldn’t believe anyone wanted her with such intensity.
“I can’t believe I’m blowing off study group to do this,” she breathed. “You make agreeing so easy.”
It was easy to trace a calculated hand up Elisa’s arm and over breasts that weren’t very remarkable. “You’re so hot.”
As dark sexual sensations sent tension shuddering over Elisa’s plain square face, faint thoughts of reason chased after it, tugging her lips into a frown. “I must be insane to follow a stranger into the woods. A few conversations in the coffee shop don’t make us friends.”
“Are you really looking for a friend or do you want something hot and dangerous?” A slow, practiced, sexy smile always made them forget their worries.
“Hot and dangerous,” Elisa breathed.
“You’re so beautiful. You have an energy that’s so hard to resist.”
There were so many Elisas in the world. They were desperate for touch. Desperate for a life with a thrilling excitement that reached beyond work and weighty goals. Desperate to be seen.
Their desperation made them so ripe for the picking. So easy to pluck out of their everyday, safe lives. So easy to convince that a walk on the wild side was their chance to create a new incarnation. To believe this was her chance to prove she was cool. Reckless. Could take chances. Be spontaneous.
A kiss at the hollow of Elisa’s neck had her moaning and closing her eyes. She was drunk with desire. Her head tipped back against the tree, and the brush of a hand over her breasts hardened her nipples into jutting peaks.
“Do you want me to squeeze them?” The warm whisper brushed Elisa’s ear. “Do you want me to suck them?”
“Yes.” The word exploded free, as if she now had no control of her own mind.
“Show me. Show me.”
With trembling hands, Elisa reached for the buttons of her shirt and frantically unbuttoned them. In her haste, one button popped and skittered to the ground. She peeled back the cotton folds of her very sensible cotton shirt and revealed a pink lacy bra cupping unremarkable C-cup breasts. A large pink bow frantically clung to the stretch of lace banding under Elisa’s cleavage, looking as awkward as she did at her little table in the coffee shop.
“Very nice.” Forceful hands pinched a nipple hard enough to make Elisa wince.
Elisa’s eyes opened, the pain slicing at the edges of the mindless desire clouding reason. A whimper tumbled over her lips, but she didn’t complain. Her kind never complained or made waves when anyone paid the slightest attention for fear harsh words would chase away what little attention they received.
A gentle kiss on the stinging, reddened nipple nudged away the clouds of worry. “Nice. So hot.”
“Really? I’m hot?” A pathetic hope clung to the words as her voice rasped over lips painted a cherry red that made her pale skin look pasty white.
“Yeah. Hot.”
Tears moistened muddy-brown eyes. “No one has ever said that to me before.”
Ah, there it was, the sign that this girl would do whatever was asked of her in this moment because she was so grateful. Long, strong fingers rested at the hollow of Elisa’s neck as her pulse thrummed a crazed beat.
“You’re nervous.”
“Yes.” So blinded with wanting, her voice sounded as if it had been shredded by a knife. Scents of a spicy perfume mingled with the musk of the desire dampening her lace panties.
“You don’t have to be nervous.”
Elisa lifted her breast, silently begging for more touch. “I can’t help it. God, I want this.”
Soft, seductive laughter rumbled. “I can smell your fear. Your sex.”
She moistened her lips, tasting the cherry flavor of her lip gloss. “You can smell it?”
“Super sexy.”
Even white teeth nipped her earlobe and sent a visible shudder through Elisa. “You’re wet.”
Self-consciousness sent a rush of heat up her face. “I can’t help it.”
“It’s good to want this.” Energy pulsed. Hummed. The press of fingers to her moist center had Elisa hissing in a breath. Slow circular motions sent the young woman’s eyes rolling back in her head as the desire rushed and threatened to knock her over.
The fingers stopped moving in the practiced caress and rose to Elisa’s lips, teasing them open until she sucked. “That’s my girl.”
“Please don’t stop.”
“I’m not even close to stopping.” Strong hands cupped Elisa’s throat and squeezed gently at first.
“Is it going to hurt?” The blurted words stumbled past Elisa’s lips before they could be censored.
“Do you doubt me?”
“No. No. I just thought . . .”
A soft chuckle rumbled. “It’s okay that this is your first time. You don’t need to pretend with me. I like knowing I’m the first.”
Elisa searched with moist green eyes and, finding no hint of judgment or censor, eased back against the tree.
“I’m going to make you so hot, I’ll slide right into you and you’ll want all of it.”
“I want to feel hot. Sexy. Like the other girls in college.”
