Ross Siblings 1 - Unleashed,

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//-->One week in paradise will make or break them…It’s not enough that Kelsey’s husband left her for another woman. Oh, no. The “other woman” had to be her best friend Evan’s fiancée. Not onlyhas she lost her marriage, she fears losing Evan to the lingering awkwardness and humiliation that hangs between them.Evan has no intention of letting that happen. He’s got plans…namely, an extra plane ticket to Hawaii now his future wife is out of the picture.There’s only one person he wants on the trip with him, the one who’s always been there for him. The one he should never have let slip away into thearms of a traitorous friend who shattered her heart.Kelsey is anticipating a week of fun in the sun with the man who’s always treated her like a little sister. No one’s more surprised when shediscovers that Evan has seduction on his mind—and that she’s more than ready for it.Love is the most powerful healing force of all. But past demons have a way of ripping open old wounds, and threatening the survival of even thestrongest friendship…Warning: This title contains explicit sex between best friends, graphic language…and a hero who knows how to put the hot in “hot tub”.eBooks arenottransferable.They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Anyresemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.Samhain Publishing, Ltd.577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520Macon GA 31201UnleashedCopyright © 2009 by Cherrie LynnISBN: 978-1-60504-499-6Edited by Linda IngmansonCover by Scott CarpenterAll Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in criticalarticles and reviews.FirstSamhain Publishing, Ltd.electronic publication: April 2009www.samhainpublishing.comUnleashedCherrie LynnDedicationFor Brandon, my husband and best friend.Chapter One“Aloha, gorgeous. How would you like to run away to Hawaii with me?”Kelsey Peterson had been taking a sip of her latte as she answered the phone ringing on her desk. The proposition—deep, breathy, undeniablymale—sent the portion of the gulp she hadn’t choked on spewing across her monitor.What the hell?Hacking like a lifetime smoker, she gasped for oxygen and reached across her desk for tissues, mind still reeling. The instant he broke intolaughter over the line, the world righted itself…somewhat. Still, it took a moment before she could form words, and he—damn him—seemed to behaving the time of his life.“I’m sorry,” she said, “the receptionist told meEvan Rosswas calling. Obviously, whoever you are, you’ve kidnapped him and taken over hisbody.”“Sounds kinky.” The response was jovial, normal—the Evan she’d known since college. So what if she’d enjoyed the fantasy for onenanosecond? “How are things on the dark side?” he asked. “Haven’t made a decision to join us good guys yet?”“Y know we have to maintain our balance between good and evil.” She began to mop up the mess she’d made as he chuckled. As aouprosecutor in the district attorney’s office, Evan agonized over her position as legal assistant to a defense attorney he often faced in court.“How have you been, Kels?” Evan asked.“Great!”“Liar.”“Yeah, so? How areyou?” That question was far more loaded than it sounded. For both of them.“I’m actually good. I’m really,reallygood.” Oh, God help her, his voice had taken on that sexy purr again. She strangled over the remaining lattecaught in her windpipe and held the receiver away from her mouth while she tried to clear it. So much for playing it cool. She hadn’t spoken to Evanin weeks and, at this rate, it might be a few more before she was able.She could hear him going on, oblivious to her struggles, and she brought the phone back to her ear. “It just so happens I’ve been struck byinspiration,” he was saying.“Really,” she wheezed.Concern suddenly tinged his voice. “Hey, are you all right? I didn’t mean to freak you out back there. Man,thisis going over well.”“Sorry, just—” She took another quick sip. “Okay. I’m a dweeb. So what is this you’re rattling on about?”“The very thing that made you nearly hack up a lung. I’m taking you to Hawaii. For a week. All expenses paid. Notice it was a statement and not aquestion?”“You’re…taking me…what?”“It seems I’m stuck with a useless paid-for honeymoon. It was a gift from my parents.”“Oh…I didn’t know about that.”He cleared his throat. “Well, I never bothered to cancel the reservations and, as it turns out, the plane tickets are nonrefundable. So, it’s either usethem or let them go to waste. I actually feel like using them…just not alone.”“Well, I’m happy you’re getting the chance to jet off. But I’m sure you have two dozen other buddies who would be thrilled to take this trip with you.Why me?”“They probably snore and don’t smell nearly as good as you.”“Jesus Christ, Evan Ross.”He burst out laughing. “I think you say that at some point every time we talk.”Kelsey tapped her pen against her keyboard, smiling absently. She loved hearing from Evan, always had. Since her divorce from his former bestfriend, Todd, there hadn’t been very many opportunities to talk to him. Everything had changed last winter. She couldn’t speak to Evan now withoutremembering one conversation in particular. It had been very brief, but it had involved her screaming at him like a banshee, crying and cursing intoher cell phone, while he maintained dead silence on the other end.God, what a nightmare. She eased her head down on her desk, cringing as shealways did whenever she thought about it.“Come on, Kels. I know you want it. I know you need to get away. We both do.”Oh, she wanted it all right. And she didn’t mean the trip. Well, maybe the trip. “Y but um…together? If my boss found out, he wouldn’t bees,pleased. Consorting with the enemy and all that.”“Of course. It’s a covert op. No problem.”“Evan… I can’t…I can’t afford to pay you for my share.”“Kelsey, that’s not even an issue. It’s paid for.”“Do your parents know, then?”“Y but you don’t have to worry, they’re discreet old souls. We have their blessing. So bring on the next objection, and let me slap that onees,down, too.”“I just can’t.” She doodled with absent ferocity. Hawaii.Hawaii!She’d never been. Evan had. If she was ever going to go, who better to go with?Why wouldn’t her damn mind just shut up and let her accept?“That’s the easiest one of all. Youcan.”Kelsey’s eyes widened as another thought occurred to her, and she glanced down at her desk calendar to be sure. “Wait a minute…wasn’t yourwedding supposed to be intwo weeks?”“Yep.”“And your honeymoon to start right after?”He chuckled. “Yep. So you see, I need an answer. Like now, Kelsey.Now.”“There’s no way, then. Work—”“I’ll have a big case waiting for me against your esteemed employer just as soon as I get back, so don’t talk to me about work. Hit me again.”“I’m going to ask you one more time. Why me? Is it…is it pity? Evan, I don’t need that—”“God, no. Nothing like that.” He was quiet for a moment, and she lifted her head to watch the quote on her screensaver marquee scroll by.Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.It was fromVanilla Sky. Evan went on, his voice somber now. “You and me, we’ve been through too [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Ross Siblings 1 - Unleashed,

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