Revealed. Joanne Rock

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      Greg had every intention of kissing Jackie

      He’d been dying to taste those lips ever since she’d strutted through the restaurant.

      Just when he’d been sizing up the situation, taking in her every curve and nuance so he could wring out every possible bit of pleasure from it for both of them, Jackie plastered herself against him for the most mind-blowing kiss he’d ever experienced.

      She was like a sensory explosion, swamping every inch of him with tantalizing sensations. Her lips swayed over his in slow undulations, leaving him no choice but to seek entrance to her mouth for a more thorough taste.

      Sweet and complex. Jackie tasted like a dessert wine and left him hungering for more.

      But all the while he tried to drink in her taste, she was tormenting his chest with the soft nudge of her breasts. He could envision those breasts, those upturned nipples, perfectly.

      And the image was killing him.

      “Jackie?” He pulled away in slow degrees. They were in the middle of the sidewalk, for crying out loud. He kissed her one last time before backing up a step. He wanted to go upstairs with her and unveil her body at his leisure, not maul her in full view of her neighbors.

      She smiled before she opened her eyes. “Hmm?”

      “Do you mind if I come inside?”

      Dear Reader,

      A bachelor party seems an unlikely place to find romance, until the best man runs off with the reluctant stripper….

      Ever had a mortifying moment that makes you wish you could rewind for just a few minutes? Jackie Brady, heroine of Revealed, runs into a doozy! I hope you enjoy her bachelor party mishap and the classy way she maneuvers herself out of the situation.

      Because this gutsy, unconventional woman appealed to me on so many levels, I had to make it up to her somehow. Please let me know if you think I was sufficiently kind in sending sexy Greg De Costa her way! Greg is as committed to the fast track as Jackie is determined to forge her own path, however, so don’t expect their road to romance to be smooth.

      While you are reading, I’ll be busy putting the finishing touches on my upcoming May 2003 Blaze title, Wild and Wicked, the sequel to Wild and Willing, Blaze #54. Visit me at www.JoanneRock.com to learn more about my future releases or to let me know what you think of this book. I’d love to hear from you!

      Happy reading!

      Joanne Rock

      Books by Joanne Rock

      HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

      863—LEARNING CURVES

      897—TALL, DARK AND DARING

      HARLEQUIN BLAZE

      26—SILK, LACE & VIDEOTAPE

      48—IN HOT PURSUIT

      54—WILD AND WILLING

      Revealed

      Joanne Rock

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To my brother Neil, who reads Kant and Nietzsche, and now me! Thank you for caring about my work.

      And to Dean, for providing endlessly entertaining insights into the male perspective.

      Contents

       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

      1

      JACKIE BRADY STARTED TO panic when her tail fell off for the third time. Thank God for duct tape or her fuzzy pants could have well been down around her ankles before she danced her way into the restaurant.

      She finished her costume adjustments and smoothed her glued-on whiskers just as the elevator doors slid open. Careful not to tread on her ailing tail, she stepped into the penthouse-level eatery of a downtown Boston brownstone. Now all she needed to do was locate the birthday boy, sing her telegram song, and then she could reclaim her Friday night as her own.

      So what if her stint as a singing telegram wasn’t exactly rocket science? It paid more than her daytime work as a copywriter. Both jobs were only a means to an end anyway. She was prepared to abide a few sacrifices to achieve her dream of composing children’s music.

      Besides, there was a certain nobility in any job that involved making people happy. A nobility that could scarcely be diminished by the kitty ears perched on her head.

      The squeak of her tennis shoes on the polished wooden floor resounded throughout the dining area. Patrons paused between bites of mozzarella sticks and greasy chicken wings to note the cat woman strolling in their midst.

      Not that Jackie cared.

      But then, she’d been causing too much commotion all of her life. There was the time she decided to sing the elements of the periodic table for her science fair project. Sure she’d ruffled the feathers of all the kids who’d made robots, but she’d taken second place at the state competition. Then, just last week she’d gone out on a limb at a singing audition by transforming a rendition of a melodic herbal store jingle into a semituneful Tarzan-inspired jungle cry.

      Jackie was no stranger to turning heads. Or taking risks. Sometimes they paid off, like the science fair victory. Sometimes they landed her back on the pavement singing telegrams, as last week’s unsuccessful audition proved.

      Still, she wondered how she’d gotten suckered into this last-minute singing assignment when all she’d wanted to do tonight was recharge her creative batteries and develop some new song concepts. She’d had an idea rattling around in her brain—some rough lyrics for a new diet soda commercial she would polish and put on her demo tape. But the Zing-O-Gram office temp had sounded so desperate when she’d called, Jackie had no choice but to cover tonight’s late-breaking gig.

      Just her luck, she had to be the only Zing-O-Gram employee on call without a date lined up for a Friday night. Nothing new there. Sure she had plenty of offers. Heck, the cat getup on its own could usually elicit a few dinner invitations in the course of an evening.

      But never from the right sort of guys. Jackie wanted a man who knew how to have a good