Humiliated by her cheating ex, control freak Mel Thompson has resolved to avoid sex and romance. But her plans skid off the rails on her birthday, when she overindulges in champagne and tries to seduce her best friend, Adam Caras, exposing her long-repressed attraction to him. She’s determined to remain just friends, but her erotic fantasies have other ideas…
Firefighter Adam Caras has seduced more women than he’d ever admit to, earning the nickname the Arsonist, thanks to his explosive sensuality. Unfortunately, he realized he’s in love with his best friend Mel five minutes after she hooked up with her sleazebag ex. For two years, he’s kept his true feelings a secret. His libido, on the other hand…not so easy to rein in. Now that she’s free, he has a plan of his own. He’ll win her heart the only way he knows how–in bed–by employing every weapon in his lady-killer arsenal.
As their firecracker chemistry transforms into much more, past mistakes and a new crisis converge to test their loyalty to each other. But will it forge their bond into an unbreakable love or tear them apart?
His hand on her hip glided down, cupping her ass. “I’m going to kiss you. Now. If you don’t want it, walk away.”
Moving his head, he forced her to tip her head back to see him as he ran his tongue across his front teeth, back and forth, back and forth, and for a heart-stopping second she wondered if he was imagining exploring her with that tongue.
“Adam—”
“Leave, or I’m kissing you.”
She ought to leave. Part of her wanted to. But a far more powerful part craved his mouth like she’d never craved anything in her life. Since she must’ve already wrecked their friendship with her antics last night, what harm could it do to enjoy a taste? Screwy logic again and you know it.
To hell with logic. She could indulge in one kiss before she enacted her new life plan. They could still be friends afterward. One kiss, nothing more.
Adam brushed his lips across hers, the barest contact, but it robbed her of breath. Her eyes fluttered shut and her body came alive, every nerve excited, every hair taut. He traced the seam of her lips with his tongue, so delicately, and she couldn’t stop her lips from parting for him, pleading for him to take her mouth. And oh, she burned for him to do exactly that.
His tongue stole inside her mouth, stroking over hers, lingering with each silken caress, teasing her into responding. Still, he kept the pace languid, tormenting her with every lap, exploring her mouth as if he planned on spending days just kissing her. His hand massaged her ass, and as his fingers kneaded harder and faster, his tongue thrust hotter and stronger, propelling her need to dizzying heights.
She flattened her palms on his six-pack abs, dragging them down to the towel. Slipping her fingertips between the terrycloth and his skin, she tugged on the towel to urge him closer—or maybe to dislodge the towel. His tongue was driving her mad, driving out reason, until she had no clue what she was doing.
(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique)
Firefighters are a hot commodity in both the real and fictional world because they are, for lack of a better word, HOT. People are drawn to them because of the uniform and the danger they face. They are the white knights rescuing us from the evil clutches of death and destruction. They are our heroes.
Oh, lets not forget, they look pretty damn good with those powerful arms and there’s nothing sexier than a person who is able to carry us around with ease. That display of strength alone would ignite about a dozen or more fantasies.
Adam, however, was more than just a hot bod — a fireman. He was a sweetie, a charmer, a man you can count on, and a GENEROUS LOVER. He made sure Mel’s needs were taken care of first — inside and outside of the bedroom. In a nutshell, he was pretty damn perfect. Sure, he had his faults; like all humans.
Yes, he kept secrets. One, in particular, added a bit more depth to this romantic tale. It made me connect more to the story since Anna didn’t direct all her attention to the couple and how they can and did transition from friends to lovers. Would I have liked more attention spent on Adam’s “secret mission with his dad”? Sure. However, books can’t go on forever and Anna did make sure the couple had a HEA before the end credits and all us romantics sure do love a happily ever after.
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest)
Score: ❤❤❤❤
Anna Durand is an award-winning writer, a freelance librarian, and an audiobook addict. She specializes in steamy romances featuring spunky heroines and hunky heroes, in settings as diverse as modern Chicago and the fairy realm. Her romances have to date won eight awards and her novel Intuition was a 2016 RONE Award nominee, while her short story Tempted by a Kiss was a finalist in The Romance Reviews 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards. In her previous life as a librarian, she haunted the stacks of public libraries but never met any hot vampires hunting for magical books.
Check out the Upcoming Books page for details on what she’s working on now.
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Will have to get this when I get my kindle in November
I absolutely think you’ll love this story. Be sure to check out all her other stories as well. She’s a MUST READ author! Amazon Author Page
A must read author? What a sweet thing to say! Thank you, Kam. 🙂
Truth! 😊
I hope you’ll enjoy the book, Renee!