Five tough operatives fall fast for a woman they’re supposed to eliminate. When the team discovers Paige Lambert is in fact the Queen of Hearts, they can’t ignore their handler’s orders. Will the Queen of Hearts die for her past crimes or will she end up under the protective custody of the men hired to kill her?
Excerpt:
He felt like he’d just laid eyes on her for the first time. He started at her chin, noticing the way the dark brown hair curved under her jaw, a lock of hair so delicate but there nonetheless, like it was clinging for dear life. Was that what Paige was doing? Was she frightened? Was she running scared?
His gaze traveled down her long, slender neck. He admired how she held her head high, the structure of her slender collarbone leading to a bare chest with plenty for a man to enjoy. Before he indulged too much, Paige knelt down and retrieved her clothes, shrugging into a sports bra, one she had to yank over those full mounds in order to secure them.
Damn. She was right. Snapping that neck of hers would be a terrible waste.
That’s when his mouth watered. Why hadn’t he gawked when she’d been topless? And why did he find her sexy as all fucking hell right then?
Her flat stomach made him itch. He’d love to kiss around her sunken belly button and insinuate a slow sex act, make her arch for him, beg him for more.
Finally, he studied the band of her shorts. What he’d give to lick and tease his way a little lower, strip away those shorts and show her what she’d been missing. Maybe in her body, he’d find what he’d been looking for all along. Perhaps he needed to fuck a woman he wasn’t later expected to kill. Then again, he couldn’t be so sure that order wouldn’t come.
Stop thinking!
“Is something wrong?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.
“No,” he replied, storming ahead of her. Suddenly, he wondered why she followed him then when she hadn’t trailed behind him before. He stopped, turned around, and shook his finger again. “Don’t you dare run. I’d like to have breakfast before we do that again.”
“Okay,” she said, catching up and walking beside him. “Want to answer my question now?”
“Which one?”
“How can you keep up with me?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he growled.
“I’m asking.”
“I’m in great shape.”
“I can tell.”
Jeff stopped at the bottom of the steps. “Is that you coming on to me?”
She sashayed by him. “No, Jeff. That was me trying to figure out how I can outrun you next time.”
“There won’t be a next time,” he told her, grabbing her from behind and slamming her against the steps, bracing her back with his large hands.
His breath matched hers. The move knocked the wind out of both of them.
“Now what?”
“I’m not going to kiss you,” he said, thinking he wouldn’t put up much of a fight if she laid one on him.
She moistened her lips. “I didn’t think so,” she whispered, arching her neck. “What if I kiss you?”
“Is that what you’re planning to do? You have the rest of these guys by the balls, and since I’m not turning tricks to taste the pudding, what ’cha gonna do, darlin’, offer me a spoon?”
“I don’t understand your riddles,” she stated flatly, licking those full, enticing lips once more.
“Let me give you a warning. I’m the real thing, sweetheart. I’m in Jekyll Island to work. It’s something all of us do very well when we don’t have a distraction. Now, since I’ve been assigned to you for the time being, I’m setting you straight. You’ll do what I tell you, and you’ll do it with a wide smile to boot. Understand?”
“Or you’ll what?”
“I told you what I’d do. If you want to see how much I enjoy skinny-dipping, pull one of your stunts again. I’ll drag you into that ocean and make sure every tourist within ten miles hears you when you scream.”
“I already heard the guys talking. You wouldn’t rape me,” she said, narrowing her gaze and proving then that she wasn’t so sure.
“Rape? Hell, no. You’ll respond to me like a bitch in heat. I have a way about me.”
“Really? Who would’ve thought?” she asked diabolically, moving her lips to his ear. “Who can I ask to verify this? Hmm? Have you left any of your past lovers alive? Because if you have, I’d love to give them a call and invite them to join me for tea.”
