By Kathy Lyons
A sexy category romance from Entangled’s Brazen imprint…
She’s going to break all of his rules…
Tech Sergeant John O’Donnell was never fond of his hometown. Too many reminders of poverty, his rocky family life, and the girl he was never allowed to have. Now he has exactly two weeks to sort out his mother’s finances before he heads back overseas. Two weeks that he’s determined to spend as far from his best friend’s little sister as possible.
Alea Heling has a naughty streak a mile wide. Sweet and simple? Boring. She’s been craving a bad boy like John since their wild days together in high school, and this time, she’s not taking no for an answer. But with every panty-meltingly hot encounter, Alea forgets one hard, cold reality—this soldier won’t let a fortnight turn into forever…and forever might be exactly what they both need.
“Thank you for your help,” he said. His voice was rusty, but clear enough.
She gasped in mock shock. “He speaks! Five words and it wasn’t rude!”
Against his will, his lips twitched. She always could make him smile when he least wanted to.
She leaned forward, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Let’s try something else. I know it’s dangerous—I mean, your head might explode or something—but I say we risk it. Give me a compliment.”
“Fishing?” he drawled.
She tsked. “That wasn’t a compliment. You’re supposed to say something nice. About me.”
He didn’t answer. Mostly because he was thinking of all the things he wanted to say. That her skin looked soft and her eyes were a changeable hazel that always kept him guessing. That her tits were round and full, just begging to be nipped. That she was small compared to his 6’3″ frame, but she had legs long enough to wrap around his waist as he buried himself inside her. And that red hair, a bright red flash of color on her perfect body, was a scream of danger he lusted after.
While those thoughts spun through his mind, her expression soured. With a sigh, she grabbed his empty beer bottle and held it before his eyes. “Say something nice to me and I’ll get you another beer.”
She shook the bottle a little to grab his attention. It didn’t work. He was too busy watching how the breeze pressed her blouse flat against her chest. Her bra had lace, which meant texture, and he wondered what sound she’d make if he tugged it back and forth against her nipples.
“John–-”
“That’s a nice b-blouse.” Damn it, he’d almost said bra.
Her mouth flattened with a sigh. “I thought you’d like it.”
Alea leaned forward as she pushed to her feet. A curl of brown hair tumbled forward, pushing past the tiny gold hoop in her ear to dangle right before him. Without thinking, he grabbed the lock, winding it around his fingers. It wasn’t even long enough to pull into his fist. But it was close enough to hold her still. Her eyes widened in surprise and her mouth—those plump, pink lips—formed a perfect O.
God, he’d been gone so long. And she was so much of a woman now.
“John?”
He wanted to say something, but he hadn’t the words. Just a thick want. He took a breath, trying to clear his head, but all he tasted on the air was her. A citrus scent, so appropriate to Florida and so missed when he was in Afghanistan. But there was another scent on top. The taste of woman, hot and spicy despite her demure yellow shirt.
He should let her go, but his fingers just wouldn’t cooperate. He tightened his hold. And when her hair started to slip through his grip, he pushed forward in his chair. He deserved one taste. He sacrificed so his country would be safe. One kiss was nothing when stacked up against that.
But if he was going to take her mouth—and he damn sure was—then he was going to take something else too…
She liked it hard and fast. Trouble was, so did he. And when two people liked it wild, things got out of control.
What an awesomely pleasant surprise this book turned out to be. I was a tad hesitant going into this book as the last one I read by this author I DNF’d
Oops? But that book was a case of ‘not for me’, and I’m so glad I gave this author another shot since I am absolutely eating my words right now. I really enjoyed the hell out of this book. Kathy Lyons wrote a sexy and entertaining story and also managed to give the reader one of the best confident heroines I’ve read.
Alea Heling is not a good little girl. She may be a high school teacher by day, but her naughty streak runs a mile wide. Alea has also had the hots for her older brother’s best friend for years. Only problem is, he doesn’t seem to return her sentiments. But Alea is not the 16 year old girl that she used to be the last time John not so eloquently rejected her. And now that John is back on leave from his last tour in Afghanistan, there’s no better time to take off where they last left off; seduce him into finally giving in.
With heroine like Alea, I always have the fear that she would come off as brash. That’s typically been the case for me in many of the books I’ve read with confident heroines that do the seducing. I was so happy that was not the case here. I adored Alea. She was such an endearing and funny character. She had a bit of a dual personality going on with her school teacher persona and wild bad girl. I loved it! And when the bad girl finally comes out…let’s just say poor John never stood a chance.
John was absolutely delicious. He was this perfect brooding alpha male. He’s been attracted to Alea for years, unbeknownst to her. But with him being the boy from the wrong side of the tracks and Alea being from an influential rich family of lawyers, he’s never felt good enough. But when Alea finally reveals the bad girl she’s been hiding under the long skirts and pearls? Game over.
I couldn’t get enough of the banter between these two. This book had one of the most fun and sexual innuendo filled games of pool I’ve ever read.
“Maybe. And maybe I like it slow and thorough.”
“Sometimes slow is just boring.” Then she set down her stick leaned over enough to give him a full view of her gorgeous ass, and shot. Perfect. Her ass, not her shot. The ball actually spun a little wide, but it still made it in.
“Careful,” he said. “Looks like you’re heavy-handed on the stick.”
“Some guys like if firm.”
“And sometimes thrust is powerful enough.”
While Alea may have been the agressor in the beginning, that’s not to say John was outdone. Ooooh no. When he finally gives into the chemistry between them and lets loose that delicious dirty talk? Holy panty change, batman!
“Jesus,” she gasped, her mind reeling. “When do I get to play?”
“When I slam my dick into you all the way to the hilt. You can claw the hell out of my back while I ride you. And when you’re done coming from that, I’m going to tie you down and do it all over again.”
Simply put, I loved it. The cute and sexy banter between them. The smokin’ hot sex scenes. The story. Everything.
The one thing that I really appreciate was that the author didn’t throw in any of that typical drama towards the end. Yes both John and Alea had some things that they needed to overcome, but it had a natural flow to it with no drama interruptions.
I really hope that this will be a series, as I’d love to get a book for Alea’s brother, Sam, next.
**ARC courtesy of publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Kathy Lyons is the fun, contemporary side of USA Today Bestselling author Jade Lee. She loves sassy romance with lots of laughter and sex. Spice is the variety of life, right? Okay, so maybe two kids, two cats, two pennames, and writing over 40 books has messed with her mind, but she still keeps having fun. Check her out atwww.KathyLyons.com Or hang out with her sexy historical half, Jade Lee. Titled heroes with dark secrets are Jade’s passion. Especially when they fall for women who add more than just spice to their lives. Find her at www.JadeLeeAuthor.com. Facebook: JadeLeeBooks Twitter: JadeLeeAuthor
