“Man, I told you before, she’s not into kink,” Logan said, warning him. “She’s only here at Benediction tonight because she put this whole shindig together, and she’s friends with the bride.”
A smile pulled at Rachel’s lips. She’d kept her promise to Lisa. She hadn’t told a soul, including Logan, about Lisa’s past experience with kink.
Maybe Sawyer was just the man to break Lisa’s dry spell.
Sawyer’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Oh, I remember what you told me. But something tells me you’re wrong.”
Logan chuckled. “Okay, but after I introduce you, you’re on your own. Don’t come crying when she shoots you down.”
The three of them crossed the grass to where Lisa was holding a glass of red wine. “Lisa,” Rachel called out, “I’d like to introduce you to Logan’s friend, Sawyer Hayes. Sawyer, this is Lisa Smith.”
All the color drained from Lisa’s face and the wineglass fell from her hand.
“Hello,” Sawyer said, standing much closer to Lisa than what was considered polite. “It’s nice to see you again, Annaliese.”
“You know each other,” Rachel said, sensing a story.
“You could say that,” Sawyer said, not taking his eyes off Lisa for a second. “She’s my wife.”
Sawyer and Lisa are married?
Are you dying to know the story behind their relationship?
If so, don’t miss the next Benediction novel . . .
BLACK LISTED
Coming Spring 2016
About the Author
SHELLY BELL writes sensual romance and erotic thrillers with high emotional stakes for her alpha heroes and kick-ass heroines. She began writing upon the insistence of her husband, who dragged her to the store and bought her a laptop. When she’s not practicing corporate law, taking care of her family, or writing, you’ll find her reading the latest smutty romance.
Shelly is a member of Romance Writers of America and International Thriller Writers.
Visit her website at ShellyBellBooks.com.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
By Shelly Bell
BENEDICTION NOVELS
Blue Blooded
Red Handed
White Collared
Part One: Mercy
Part Two: Greed
Part Three: Revenge
Part Four: Passion
Give in to your Impulses . . .
Continue reading for excerpts from
our newest Avon Impulse books.
Available now wherever e-books are sold.
THE BRIDE WORE RED BOOTS
A SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN COWBOYS NOVEL
By Lizbeth Selvig
RESCUED BY THE RANGER
By Dixie Lee Brown
ONE SCANDALOUS KISS
AN ACCIDENTAL HEIRS NOVEL
By Christy Carlyle
DIRTY TALK
A MECHANICS OF LOVE NOVEL
By Megan Erickson
An Excerpt from
THE BRIDE WORE RED BOOTS
A Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys Novel
by Lizbeth Selvig
Amelia Crockett’s life was going exactly the way she had always planned—until one day, it wasn’t.
When Mia’s career plans are shattered, the always-in-control surgeon has no choice but to head home to Paradise Ranch and her five younger sisters, cowboy boots in tow, to figure out how to get her life back on track. The appearance of a frustrating, but oh-so-sexy, former soldier, however, turns into exactly the kind of distraction she can’t afford.
He studied her as if assessing how blunt he could be. With a wry little lift of his lip, he closed his eyes and lay all the way back onto the blanket, hands behind his head. “Honestly? You were just so much fun to get a rise out of. You’d turn all hot under the collar, like you couldn’t figure out how anyone could dare counter you—the big-city doc coming to Hicksville with the answers.”
The teasing tone of his voice was clear, but the words stung nonetheless. Funny. They wouldn’t have bothered her at all a week ago, she thought. Now it hurt that he would ever think of her that way. She hadn’t been that awful—she’d only wanted to put order to the chaos and bring a little rationality to the haywire emotions after her mother and sister’s awful accident.
“Hey.” She turned at the sound of his voice to find him sitting upright beside her again. “Amelia, I know better now. I know you. I’m not judging you—then or now.”
Pricks of miniscule teardrops stung her eyes, the result of extreme embarrassment—and profound relief. She had no idea what to make of the reaction. It was neither logical nor something she ever remembered experiencing.
“I know.”
To her horror, the roughness of her emotions shone through her voice, and Gabriel peered at her, his face a study in surprise. “Are you crying? Amelia, I’m sorry—I was just giving you grief, I wasn’t—”
“I’m not crying.” Her insistence held no power even though it wasn’t a lie. No water fell from her eyes; it just welled behind the lids. “I’m not upset. I’m . . . relieved. I . . . it was nice, what you . . . said.” She clamped her mouth closed before something truly stupid emerged and looked down at the blanket, picking at a pill in the wool’s plaid pile.
A touch beneath her chin drew her gaze back up. Gabriel’s eyes were mere inches from hers, shining with that beautiful caramel brown that suddenly looked like it could liquefy into pure sweetness and sex. Every masculine pore of his skin caught her attention and made her fingers itch to stroke the texture of his cheek. The scent of wind-blown skin and chocolate tantalized her.
“Don’t be anything but what and who you are, Amelia Crockett.”
His kiss brushed her mouth with the weightlessness of a Monarch on a flower petal. Soft, ethereal, tender, it promised nothing but a taste of pleasure and asked for nothing in return. Yet, as subtle as it was, it drove a punch of desire deep into Mia’s core and then set her stomach fluttering with anticipation.
He pulled back but his fingers remained on her chin. “I’m sorry. That was probably uncalled for.”
When his fingers, too, began to slide from her skin, she reacted without thinking and grabbed his hand. “No. It’s . . . It was . . . Gah—” Frustrated by her constant, unfamiliar loss for words, she leaned forward rather than let mortification set in and pressed a kiss against his lips this time, foregoing light and airy for the chance to taste him fully. Beneath the pressure, his lips curved into a smile. She couldn’t help it then, her mouth mimicked his and they clashed in a gentle tangle of lips, teeth, and soft, surprised chuckles.
“Crazy,” he said in a whisper, as he encircled her shoulders and pulled her closer.