Tempt you...not! (Reckless in Love Book 3) Read online

  Tempt you…not!!!

  Lark Anderson

  Tempt you…not!

  Copyright © 2020 by Lark Anderson

  All rights reserved.

  Lark Letter Press

  131 Daniel Webster Hwy #166

  Nashua, NH 03060

  www.larkandersonbooks.net

  [email protected]

  Edited by; Natasha Davis

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission request, write to the publisher, addressed, “Attention: Permission Coordinator,” at the address above.

  Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictionally. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination. The following story contains mature content and is intended for mature readers.

  Contents

  Also by Lark Anderson

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue

  Reviews & Arcs

  About the Author - Lark

  Also by Lark Anderson

  The Beguiling a Billionaire Series

  The Billionaire’s Board

  The Billionaire’s Fixer Upper

  The Billionaire’s Funding

  The Bad Girl

  The Dis-Graced

  The Trainwreck

  Hacking His Code

  Reckless in Love

  Love you…not!

  Trust you…not!

  Tempt you…not!

  Savage in Love

  Savage in the Sheets

  Click HERE for a free ebook!!!

  If you'd like to become an ARC reviewer for Lark, please email her at: [email protected]. If you would like to subscribe to Lark's newsletter, please sign up here.

  Alysanne

  “I don’t think this is a good idea.” Slate’s eyes bore into mine as he tries to gain control over me.

  It’s a warning, not a threat, but still just as insulting.

  Without honoring him a glance, I continue packing my bags, offhandedly saying, “Well, it’s a good thing I don’t give a fuck what you think, baby bro.”

  “Don’t be foolish.” He grabs my wrist. “This is a collaborative effort of government and private sectors. We can’t risk disparaging our reputation.”

  I snatch my wrist away, maneuvering around his broad frame to fit my work shoes into their proper compartment.

  “Quit being such a sexist jerk,” Rachel snaps at my brother.

  Rachel and I have been best friends since my father hired her mother as our nanny. She’s brave, reckless to a fault, and I love her for it.

  “Alyce, just let me handle this,” Slate pleads.

  I cross my arms over my chest. “Why, because you’re a man?”

  “No—”

  “I’m older, graduated top of my class, and have two years’ more experience, so what, pray tell, makes you more qualified to present than me?”

  Unfortunately, I already know what he’s about to say.

  “Because half the world hasn’t seen my bare ass. Among other body parts.”

  I feign shock. “What other body parts, Slate?”

  His cheeks flush pink as they do when he’s faced with anything that makes him remotely uncomfortable. Once, during a company meeting, he was forced to acknowledge the word menstruation, and he turned paper white and almost fainted.

  “Please, tell me, what other parts of my body have offended the good Bastion name?”

  His jaw shifts as he shakes his head from side to side. “I can’t believe you—both of you,” he emphasizes, darting his eyes to Rachel.

  “You can’t believe that I’m not embarrassed? I was twenty-one years old on spring break. Why should I be ashamed that I was one of thousands of adult women flashing their boobs?”

  “It was a lot more than just boobs.”

  “Don’t act like you’re above anything, dear brother.”

  “Somehow, though, I’ve managed to keep my entanglements and all of my body parts out of the press.”

  Rachel rolls her eyes. “Shaming women for their bodies is so last year.”

  He points to me. “The second you step onto that stage, they’re going to be imagining you naked as beer cascades down your vagina into her open mouth.” His finger moves to Rachel.

  God, here he goes again…

  “Wow—did you just say the word vagina? That must have been a really traumatizing three syllables for you.” I smirk. “And anatomically incorrect. Her mouth was nowhere near my vagina.”

  His nostrils flare outward as his lips thin.

  There aren’t many people willing to risk my brother’s wrath. He’s not the hot-headed type that will yell and curse up a storm.

  He’s cold. Stoic. Immovable. Judgmental.

  A complete and total asshole.

  “Please,” he insists.

  “No. Father would want me to do it.”

  “Father just had a heart attack. We need to make this decision.”

  “You do realize Chadwick Archibald is presenting, don’t you? He’s dopey, with a face full of pimples. I got this”

  “The Archibalds have a mouth full of venomous fangs.”

  “I’m going to do this, Slate, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  Without another word, I grab my luggage, set it on the floor, and extend the handle. Rachel grabs her own bags, and approaches Slate, glaring into his eyes.

  “I wonder what Idaho boys are made of.” She winks.

  He gives her a look I’ve never seen before on his handsome face before looking quickly away.

  Slate hates sloppiness, and if there is any adjective that best describes Rachel, it’s sloppy. From her love life to her cluttered workspace.

  Rachel and I walk past my brother, out of my room, and make our way to the ground floor to hail a taxi.

  Next stop: airport.

  Alysanne

  You need to go back to your room, the logical side of my brain reasons.

  Instead, I take another pull of my beer and listen intently as Rachel describes her recent breakup.

  “I’m so fucking done with men,” she says morosely. “I really liked this guy. For once, I thought it was going to work.”

  “That’s what you get for dating frat boys.”

  “You live like you’re eighty, so of course you would say that. I imagine Edgar wore his socks to bed.”

  I won’t dignify telling her she’s right.

  Rachel makes eyes with a guy a short distance away, stretching up her arms so her skimpy top shows a sliver of the underside of her breasts.

  Trashy hot has always been her style, and she wears it well. It drives Slate mad, angry that she in some way represents our family because she’s my assistant.

  I, on the other hand, have opted for a little black dress that shows off my legs.

  “I can’t afford to be sloppy like you.” I slosh my beer around like it’s fine wine, more out of habit than anything. “I had my fun, but now I need a reasonable, respectable man to compliment my lifestyle.”

  “Reasonable? Respectable? I guess with who you’ve been dating, you don’t have to worry about showing up in the tabloids. Instead, you’ll be on the cover of AAR
P.”

  I snort beer out of my nose and curse Rachel to hell and back as she laughs at me.

  “It’s not that bad. They really know how to treat a lady. They hold doors, initiate respectable conversations, give great gifts.”

  “Do they eat pussy?”

  My mouth gapes, though I should hardly be shocked.

  “Don’t even act like you’re offended. Remember that time you bought assless chaps so you could ‘ride his face like a cowgirl?’”

  “You mean before the spring break video?”

  “So pussy eating is officially off the table?”

  “No, pussy eating is not off the table, but I certainly can’t open a buffet.”

  “And you say I’m crass.”

  I love the way Rachel and I interact, but tonight, I’m just not feeling it. Not after what Slate said.

  “What if he’s right?”

  “Nothing Slate said spoke to your ability to do your job,” Rachel reasons.

  I roll my eyes, finishing off my beer with a swallow.

  “I swear, when I’m at the pearly gates, waiting for God to let me in, Slate’s going to run up and shove that video in his face, begging him to reconsider.”

  Rachel frowns. “Slate isn’t that bad.”

  “Says the person who barely interacts with him.”

  She shoves a couple of fries into her mouth, avoiding my gaze.

  What’s up with that?

  “You’re going to knock it out of the park,” Rachel finally says.

  “I’m perfectly capable, but it is an older crowd. They’re going to look at me and see the dumb ass twenty-year old I used to be.”

  “Hey, that twenty-year-old was brave, fun, and had a great set of tits!”

  “All of which was so finely displayed in a ten-second video of you drinking beer as it ran down my snatch.”

  “Instead of being ashamed, we should celebrate that it got top-trend of the year on Chatter. It’s been viewed more times than—”

  “Zip it!” I snap, not wanting to be further reminded of the time I was ‘internet famous.’

  “God, look at the eyes on him.” Rachel licks her lips as she gazes over my shoulder.

  I look over to see a guy standing a few feet away. Tousled hair. Piercing blue eyes. A young blonde is pressing her pert body against his.

  So fucking hot.

  “He’s okay, but I’m heading back to my room.”

  “One more drink!” Rachel demands. “Then, you need to be my wing-woman.”

  “Seriously? We’re in fucking Idaho.”

  “This is new, uncharted territory. It’s not often I get to experience rogue dick.”

  “Yeah, because New York dick is all tame and pious.”

  “Just let me pick up someone to go home with.” Her eyes plead with me. “I need this.”

  Inwardly, I sigh. “Fine.”

  She perks up. “You should too!”

  I chuckle dryly. “Don’t tempt me. It’s been almost six months since I last got laid.”

  “What better time than now?”

  “I can’t. Not with what’s on the line.”

  Rachel scans the crowd in search of her conquest. “Sexy Blue-Eyes it is.”

  I look over to see that he’s now across the dance floor, his arm around blonde.

  “The one with the hot blonde draped over him?”

  Rachel waves a hand dismissively. “She’ll be easy to take care of.”

  She leads me across the bar, close to tall, dark, and icy. We get into a rhythm, bumping and grinding seductively.

  It feels good to cut loose a little. I wish I could do this more often.

  Rachel’s movements are disjointed and awkward. You’d think that would get her ridiculed, but honestly, it only makes her more interesting to the guys on the floor. They take notice, watching her as she jolts her lithe body around in a way that should be uncouth.

  The fact that her shirt is dangerously short only encourages the ogling. She makes it a point never to wear a bra, and men often train their eyes on her, waiting for a hint of nipple to poke out. She never disappoints.

  Unlike Rachel, my body moves fluidly, like the dancer I was trained to be. My mother was a ballerina for a decade before meeting my father and retiring to a life of luxury, but she insisted I learn all forms of dance.

  We’re a breath away from Blue Eyes, and Rachel turns her attention to the languid blonde.

  She smiles, pretending to be friendly to the unsuspecting woman, shimmying her butt and body against her.

  I’ve seen Rachel do this dozens of times. The blonde knows that if she doesn’t dance, she’ll look lame, so she relents, putting on a cheery grin and moving in rhythm to the music.

  Soon, they’ll circle, then Rachel will turn and start dancing on Blue Eyes. Blonde will get pissed off, but there won’t be much she can do without causing a scene.

  After that, the three of us can go back to the hotel, she with Blue Eyes, and me alone.

  Alone. Because I can’t afford any mistakes.

  If he wasn’t so hot, I wouldn’t care as much, but just looking at him has me drooling, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s looking back.

  Rachel stops mid-circle, her eyes falling on a rocker-type with tattoos and eyeliner.

  He notices her ogling, his eyes lighting with excitement as they scan her body.

  Looks like she won’t be needing me anymore.

  I turn to leave, but a hand grips the curve of my hip, and a body presses against mine, moving to the music. I match the speed and tempo, welcoming the escape.

  “Hey!” A voice squeaks out, and I look over to see the blonde glancing from me to the man behind me, a dejected look on her face.

  And now I know it’s Blue Eyes.

  She stomps away as Blue Eyes pulls me closer, his hands snaking around to my stomach.

  Holy Jesus, I can’t remember the last time I had such a rush of hormones. Every cell in my body tingles, screaming for me to lean back into him, press against him, smell him, taste him.

  I should resist. I know that the last thing I should be doing right now is dirty dancing with a man the night before my presentation.

  But he’s just so damn tempting!

  His lips graze my neck, moving close to my ear. My knees grow weak, and I have to fight to keep upright.

  “How would you like to take this back to my hotel room?” he rasps out, his voice thick with want.

  God, do I ever…

  I turn until I’m looking at him, his hand now on my ass. I want him so badly my panties are already soaked, and if the bulge now pressed against me gives any indication, he wants me too.

  God, his blue eyes. A girl could get lost in them. But I can’t afford to.

  “As much as I’d love to, I have to get up early.”

  His brow waggles. “So do I.”

  His breath washes over my neck, a tantalizing caress. Soft lips find my flesh, and I throw back my head, allowing him full access to my throat.

  “We can go back to your place so you can go right to sleep afterward,” he offers.

  “Don’t tempt me.”

  His hands and lips retreat, and like a perfect gentleman. He straightens, giving me space. “Understood.”

  The instant withdrawal I get when his hands leave my body is enough to make me desperate. I want this so badly, despite all my fears.

  I grab his arm. “Wait!”

  “It’s getting late,” he says, “and you have to be up early.”

  I place a hand on his chest and lick my lips as I press a little closer.

  “At least tell me your name,” I say in a sultry whisper.

  His body presses back, his hand finding my waist. He smells of mahogany and citrus and a strong manly musk that only weakens any reservations I have.

  “Chaz,” he says after a long moment of drinking me in. “And yours?”

  “Erica,” I lie as he tilts my chin up and leans in close.

  “What would you like t
o do, Erica?”

  “Tempt me!”

  Chadwick

  Of all the lame places to be on a Friday night, Idaho has got to be the worst, but the salacious treat I’ve found makes it all worth it.

  If looks were the only factor, I’ve struck gold in the getting laid department. Erica has a sultry, mysterious feel to her, enhanced by her slinky black dress that clings to her petite frame.

  She’s pretty, with a delicate bone structure and large, mocha-colored eyes. Aristocrat features, as my mother would say. And so feminine.

  Unfortunately, looks aren’t all that matters, and I wonder if I chose too hastily. She’s grown reticent, her eyes shying away from me. Perhaps I should have gone with the needy blonde. She wasn’t half as pretty, but her desires were clear. As the saying goes, it’s better to go home with a fun five than a lame ten.

  The air is brisk, so I offer her my jacket, which she accepts with a meek smile.

  It’s then that her words hit me. “Tempt me.” It’s like she wanted me to convince her to have sex with me, which means she had to overcome some obstacle in her mind. Some flaw in our coupling.

  There’s no ring on her finger, but I suppose she could have a serious boyfriend. Doesn’t really matter to me as I’m only in town for the night.

  We enter her hotel and go straight to the elevator, where she hits the button for the forty-eighth floor, and as I’m about to ask her if her head is in the game, she turns to me, hooks a hand behind my heck, and pulls me down for a kiss.

  Fuck me…

  It’s deep, passionate. Not the kind that goes along with a one-night stand. It appears I’ve lucked out, and Erica has a lot of pent up frustration.

  So do it.

  Her tongue sweeps my mouth, and as mine tangles with hers, she releases a little moan that sends fire coursing through my veins.