The Law of Desire. Gwyneth Bolton

      

      Feeling her petite curvy body in his arms pushed all thoughts of suds and age differences to the side.

      Thoughts of how right she felt underneath him when they were making out on the bed of leaves, how he’d come so close to making love to her and how her mouth tasted like the sweetest candy he had ever savored pushed past any common sense he had. The only thing he could think of was to finish what they had started earlier.

      He allowed his lips to plunder and peruse. She opened to him automatically and her tongue met his with matching passion and desire. As he suckled on her soft lips, he couldn’t help but roam her body. Her delicate curves had his mind spinning. Before he knew it, he had picked her up and carried her into the nearest bedroom. As he fell back on the bed, he pulled her on top of him and continued to caress her lips with his own.

      He would never get tired of kissing her. Her groans hinted that she might feel a fraction of the same thing he was feeling….

      He wanted her. He had to have her.

      Now.

      GWYNETH BOLTON

      became an avid romance fan after sneak-reading her mother’s romance novels. In the nineties, she was introduced to African-American romance novels and her life hasn’t been the same since. She has a B.A. and an M.A. in creative writing and a Ph.D. in English. She teaches writing and women’s studies at the college level. When she is not writing African-American romance novels, she is curled up with a cup of herbal tea, a warm quilt and a good book. She currently lives in Syracuse, New York, with her husband, Cedric. Readers can contact her via e-mail at [email protected] or visit her Web site at www.gwynethbolton.com.

      The Law of Desire

      Gwyneth Bolton

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To my sands…

       Kimmie, Shakira, Antoinette, Edith,

       Audrey, Monica, Sherita and Karen.

       I will always cherish our sisterhood

       and the bond we share.

       Yours in Delta…

      Dear Reader,

      The woman Lawrence Hightower finds himself extremely attracted to could be a criminal, and he makes it his business to find out the real deal, by any means necessary. He is a by-the-book, highly decorated police detective. The last thing he needs is an attraction to a little thug of a girl with more attitude than should be legal!

      Minerva Jones needs to keep a low profile until she is sure the person who killed her brother doesn’t come for her next. Having a cop check her out, even in a hey-baby-you’re-fine kind of way, is not something she needs. But things happen…and sometimes what you think you don’t need is exactly the thing that will set you free. Lawrence is a good guy with a bit of an edge or a bad boy who’s well-meaning and good-natured, depending on what day you catch him. Minerva is an innocent pretending to be a ride-or-die chick. They are so right for one another it feels wrong. Neither of them are what they seem. No wonder they set off each other’s radars from the moment they meet! Their journey to love is full of passion, drama, a little intrigue and undeniable heat.

      I’m so glad you’ve decided to take the ride with Lawrence and Minerva. Please be on the lookout for the final installment of the Hightower series, Sizzling Seduction. Patrick Hightower has been dodging love long enough, and something tells me he will go down fast and hard. Sizzling Seduction is slated for release in October 2009.

      Gwyneth Bolton

      Acknowledgments

      First I want to thank God for the many blessings in my life, especially the blessing to share my stories. I’d like to thank my family: my mother, Donna, my sisters Jennifer, Cassandra, Michelle and Tashina, my nieces Ashlee and Zaria and my husband, Cedric. And I’d like to thank all the readers who have taken the time to write me and let me know what they thought of my novels. Your words have meant more than you could ever know.

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Epilogue

      Prologue

      “Surprise!” The gleeful voices greeted her as soon as she opened the door.

      M. Athena Jones—the “M” stood for Minerva, a name she hadn’t willingly gone by since her mom died—clutched her chest as she entered the two-bedroom apartment she used to share with her brother.

      It was still a full two weeks before the summer semester was over but she had turned in her last paper and had officially finished her undergraduate degree. As exciting as it was, she certainly wasn’t expecting a surprise party.

      “I had to do something special. And I had to make sure your smart behind wouldn’t figure it out.” Her brother, Calvin, picked her up and spun her around. “Did it work?”

      Calvin placed her carefully back on the floor and she gazed up at him. He’d taken after their father in the height department and towered over her petite frame by at least a foot. His caramel complexion and the deep waves of his recently cut Caesar made for a dapper combination. He was wearing his usual khakis and Chucks. His handsome face even gleamed with a rare smile.

      “Yes! Oh, my God, Calvin. You didn’t have to do this. I thought we were going to do our usual.” Her eyes welled up as she looked at the streamers and balloons that decorated the apartment.

      “Oh, we’re still going to have our usual celebration. You know we have to keep up tradition. But this is special, baby girl. It’s not every day that my little sister gets her degree! I’m proud of you, girl.” Calvin hugged her again.

      In two weeks she would walk the stage and receive her bachelor’s degree from California State University-Northridge. At twenty-six years old, she had finally managed to work her way through school and get her degree. Two classes here and one class there…it had added up. She had had to work her way through school because her family didn’t have a lot of money when she’d graduated from high school. So she went right into the workforce, taking jobs that she’d hated, but always keeping her eyes on the prize.

      One degree down and one to go.

      She hoped to have her master’s of social work degree by the time she was thirty—thirty-five the latest.

      A girl could dream…

      Her voice caught as she greeted everyone. She had almost called her brother to let him know that she couldn’t stop by. But if she had stayed in her own small apartment to fill out grad school applications, she would have missed this.

      There weren’t that many people there, only a few in fact. But everyone there held special meaning to the two of them. They’d lost their parents when they were young and even before that her older brother was the one who really raised her.

      Valerie Monroe, the social worker who worked with them so that she could remain with her brother