The Mistresses. Katherine Garbera

Nice eyes? “No one has ever mentioned that before.”

      She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “Probably because they were busy ogling your physique.”

      “Ah, that’s more what I was expecting.”

      She laughed at him. But there was something in her eyes that told him she’d said it to distract him. And he let her because he already knew more of her secrets than he intended. More than she’d probably intended him to know.

      “Anything specific about my physique?” he asked, letting her turn this moment a little lighter. He had to touch her again. She’d left her hair down. The silky length of it fell around her shoulders, curling gently.

      He caught one of the curls and let it wrap around his hand and wrist, drawing her closer to him. She was short, shorter than he’d realized until he held her in his arms. She came only to his shoulders.

      He lowered his head, brushing his lips against hers. He felt her fingers move restlessly on him and wished he didn’t have his shirt on so he could feel her touch on his skin.

      Her fingers were small and her touch light. So light and tentative, as if she wasn’t sure what to do next. He groaned deep in his chest, thinking of this fragile, beautiful woman and wondering if he had a right to touch her like this. Because he was a rambler. A rolling stone that had learned that life was less painful when he kept moving. He didn’t notice the emptiness when he moved from place to place.

      And if ever a woman was rooted to one place, it was Grace.

      She opened her lips under his and he stopped thinking. He just felt. The soft brush of her tongue over the seam of his lips made his blood flow heavy. He felt a tingle of arousal spread down his spine. He pulled her closer with his hand in her hair at the back of her neck.

      His other hand skimmed down her curves to rest on her hip, drawing her into his body before he took control of the kiss, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth and tasting her deeply. The flavor of the wine they’d had with dinner was on her tongue, but also something he was beginning to identify with only Grace. That was what he hungered for. More Grace.

      He lifted her to his body, canted his hips and wrapped his arm strongly around her hips to enable him to kiss her deeper. To thrust his tongue into her mouth again and again, trying to assuage a hunger that he’d never had before. A hunger that made all the emptiness in his life pale in comparison. A hunger that came from this small, complicated woman.

       Five

      He traced her lips, his finger following the path his mouth had taken a few moments earlier. He caressed the pulse point where he’d suckled her neck and then moved lower.

      His stomach was rock hard and rippled when he moved. He reached around her back and unhooked her bra and then pushed the cups up out of his way. He pulled her closer until the tips of her breasts brushed his chest.

      “Grace.” He said her name like a promise.

       Excerpt from “Adam’s Mistress” by Stephanie Grace

      He overwhelmed her. Adam had literally swept Grace off her feet and she didn’t care. For once it felt good to just forget about everything and feel. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave herself up to his embrace.

      She shifted restlessly in his arms, trying to get closer to him. She felt the world spinning around her and found and felt the padded cushion of a lounge chair under her back. Adam pulled back for a second, shifting her to her side and sliding down on the chair next to her. He pulled her back into his arms.

      Actually being in his embrace, feeling the length of his body pressed against hers was so much better than she’d imagined. He was dominant and a little aggressive but she felt cherished in his arms. She knew he’d never hurt her. She was startled by that thought. It had been years since she’d thought of a man’s strength being used against her.

      He traced his hand over her face as if he were memorizing her features. There was so much heat in his eyes, she was surprised she could still breathe. She wanted to feed that fire and make him forget the outer trappings of the plain woman she’d worked so hard to project. But she wanted to be equal to him in this moment. She wanted to be alive instead of just blending into the background.

      She tunneled her fingers through his hair, holding his head still. He waited for her to make her next move. She shifted in his arms so that her head was above his, her elbows resting on his chest, and she lowered her mouth to his. Rubbed her lips over his. Because she wanted to make this moment last forever.

      She wanted to remember every millisecond of this kiss and how he tasted and felt. His lips were firm and strong and she just breathed into his mouth for a second before sliding her tongue beyond his teeth deep into his mouth.

      He groaned and tightened his hand on the back of her head, rolling her to her side again so that she was cradled in the crook of his arm as he took complete control of the kiss. His other hand rubbed her back, then slowly slipped around to the front of her body. He rested his hand on her abdomen and she tensed, knowing she wasn’t model slim or perfect, but he soothed her with long, drugging kisses that proved he was attracted to her.

      Really attracted. She couldn’t think as he unbuttoned her blouse. He pulled back from her mouth, trailing kisses down her jaw to her neck. He buried his face against her and inhaled deeply and she held him to her. As he nibbled on her skin, his tongue found the pulse beating strongly at the base of her neck and suckled it.

      Shivers coursed down her arms and torso. Her breasts felt full and achy and she arched in his arms, trying to rub them against his chest. But there was just enough distance between their bodies that she couldn’t.

      He put his hand between her breasts. His palm, hot against her skin where the edges of her blouse parted, made her nipples tighten and she tried to rotate her shoulders to bring them in contact with his hand. But he held her still underneath him.

      He pushed the sleeves of her blouse down her arms. She sat up to let him remove it. She reached for the buttons on his shirt, wanting to keep things equal between them because she knew she was already out of control.

      He urged her back again, with his hand between her breasts, and leaned up over her, his hand moving over her torso. Her breasts were covered by the lacy cups of her bra and her stomach was only partially visible, her suit skirt covering her belly button. She was wearing control-top panty hose, she thought, but then he brought a finger to her face.

      Tracing a path down her nose to her mouth, he outlined her lips and then moved lower, his finger following the path his mouth had taken a few minutes earlier. He caressed the pulse point where he’d suckled her neck and then feathered over the fabric of her bra, tracing the edges until she was shifting underneath him, trying to get him to touch her without having to ask.

      He slid his finger under the fabric of her bra and caressed the globe of her breast briefly before withdrawing and tracing the line between her breasts down to the waistband of her skirt.

      He did this over and over again until she was out of her mind with needing him.

      She grabbed his hand and placed it over her breast. Held his palm over her lace-covered nipple and rubbed herself against him. She closed her eyes and shifted under him. Needing more.

      He tugged his hand out from under hers and lowered his head. His warm breath brushed over her distended nipple first, then his lips rubbed back and forth over her before she felt the delicate bite of his teeth.

      She moaned, wanting so much more. There was an ache deep inside her that she thought would never be alleviated. He started suckling her breast. Her legs moved restlessly and she tried to draw him over her. She wanted his weight on her. She wanted something solid to hold on to while his mouth drove her further down the path of arousal.

      She felt his hand on her thigh, moving up a pantyhose-clad leg and under her skirt. He continued to suckle her as his fingers teased her inner thighs, moving closer and closer to the warm center of her body. To