Halloween Heat VI: Contemporary Erotic Romance Read online

  ~ Look for these titles from the Halloween Heat Series ~

  Now Available

  Halloween Heat I

  Erotic Paranormal Romance M/M

  Halloween Heat II

  Erotic Paranormal Ménage

  Halloween Heat III

  Erotic Paranormal Romance M/F

  Halloween Heat IV

  Erotic Contemporary Romance M/M

  Halloween Heat V

  Erotic Contemporary Ménage

  Halloween Heat VI

  Erotic Contemporary Romance M/F

  Halloween Heat VI

  Contemporary Erotic Romance

  Mina Carter, Brooklyn Wilde,

  Sue Lyndon, Rhonda Laurel

  Copyright Warning

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published By

  Etopia Press

  1643 Warwick Ave., #124

  Warwick, RI 02889

  http://www.etopia-press.net

  Halloween Heat VI:

  Contemporary Erotic Romance

  “Party Games” Copyright © 2012 by Mina Carter

  “Punished by the Cowboy” Copyright © 2012 by Sue Lyndon

  “Unmasked” Copyright © 2012 by Brooklyn Wilde

  “Masquerade” Copyright © 2012 by Rhonda Laurel

  ISBN: 978-1-939194-01-5

  All 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 critical articles and reviews.

  First Etopia Press electronic publication: October 2012

  Party Games

  Mina Carter

  Fuck, she was late. And not just a little, like ten minutes or so, but thanks to a mix up with her cab and the fact that John lived on the other side of town, she was a whole damn hour late. Hannah hissed in frustration and looked at her watch, willing the hands to turn back. Behind her, the cab that had brought her pulled away.

  With a sigh, she turned toward the house in front of her. Late or not, there was no way she was missing this party. Hell would freeze over first.

  Smoothing her ridiculously short skirt down over her thighs, she started up the path toward the house, then squeaked as a malicious stone threw itself under her heel. With her arms out like a beginner in a skating rink, she managed to stay on her feet and glared at the offending bit of rock. It would be just her luck to break her damn ankle, and then her sexy little fairy outfit, the one she'd picked to impress, would be wasted. Crammed between some kid with candy stuffed up his nose and the idiot who'd thought his Halloween costume would be perfected by actually chopping bits off of himself, she doubted it would have any effect on the medical staff in the emergency room.

  Wagging a warning finger at the gravel, she continued up the path. At least she didn’t need to ask directions to the party. If the music blaring out of the open front door didn’t give it away, the decorations sealed the deal. Where the rest of the houses along the street had a modest jack-o-lantern or two, John had raided the Halloween section of the local store and plastered it over the front of his house. All of it.

  “OK,” she muttered to herself. She stood outside the front door, smoothed down the skirt that seemed to be getting shorter with each passing minute and tried to gather her courage. “Deep breath. It’ll be fine.”

  And if she kept telling herself that, she might start to believe it. It wasn't that she was nervous about the party, or even the fact that she was dressed up like the starring character in Tink does Dallas. She'd worn less on nights out with the girls, but nights out with the girls didn't have the one component that had her pouring herself into tight green satin and wearing her hair in a bun.

  Rick. Or to give him his Sunday name, Richard Owens.

  They worked together. Kind of. Working for the same company but in different locations, they'd spoken on the phone every day for the last two years. Two whole years, and every day his brand of cheeky humor had never failed to cheer her up when she was down. Irreverent and charming, he'd made stock supply orders fun, logistical problems a breeze, and her dull monotone workplace something she could cope with. Something she looked forward to. Without him, she'd have left Argyle and Hammond months ago to look for something better paying and more interesting.

  Soon things had progressed from speaking on the phone. He'd added her on the social media networks he was on and…wow. Tall, dark, and handsome wasn't the word. From the grin flirting with his lips on his profile images, to the ripped body revealed in the holiday pics she'd snuck looks at—OK, she'd bookmarked the damn things and drooled. A lot. He was sex on legs. And a flirt. Hell, was he a flirt. On the phone and even more over the internet, their nightly conversations on instant messenger verging on outrageous, and even, with the security of cyberspace between them, sexy.

  But they'd never met. Until tonight.

  Sneaking a quick glance inside the door at the dance floor in what appeared to be John's front room, she recognized a few people she knew from work. She squared her shoulders. No Rick. Not yet.

  OK, good. Perhaps she could slide in and get a look at him before he noticed her. Yeah, she nodded to herself. That was a good plan.

  They'd spoken about meeting up, of course, but she'd bottled it. It was one thing to speak to the sexy sounding guy on the other end of the phone or ogle his pictures online but when they actually met? That's when shit got real. And when she found out whether he was what he said he was, or—far more likely in her world—that his photos were from some obscure celeb and he was really a middle-aged guy with three different online personas. One of them a Chihuahua.

  Yeah, that would be just her luck. Don't get your hopes up, she chided herself, waving back when a couple of the dancers recognized her. The looks of surprise on their faces at her outfit made her smile. Yeah, quiet, mousy Hannah Williams could rock the sexy look, thank you very much. She just didn't do it at work like some others.

  "Hey, Hannah! We thought you'd gotten lost." John's voice broke through the heavy beat.

  She stepped into the kitchen, in the tiny gap between a bumblebee and…she checked again…yes, that was the rear end of a cow, drinking what looked like vodka and coke. She smiled, waggling the bottle she'd brought with her. John leaned in and kissed her cheek.

  "Oh no, I'm here. Wouldn't miss it for the world. Just a mix up at the cab firm, thought I was going to have to walk."

  "Well you’re here now. And loving the outfit. Cute. Very cute." John grinned, casting an eye swiftly down her body to the ridiculous heels she was wearing. His eyebrow winged up. "I give them an hour, maybe less. But never mind, the barefoot look is sexy too. Now, let's get you a drink…Whatcha having?" His voice was muffled as he turned.

  He nodded when she shouted an order over the sound of music that came from the next room. The skin between her shoul
der blades itched. Someone was watching her. A glass was placed in her hand, and she muttered her thanks, but John was gone, his booming voice already rising to welcome another newcomer. Taking a sip, she sidestepped around the bumblebee and scanned the room.

  It was a fairly large kitchen, with a central island overflowing with food and drink. Apart from the bee and the partial cow, there was a robot, three witches, and in the corner, half hidden by the open back door, lounged a pirate.

  Something about him caught her attention and she looked again. Tall and lean, he had one broad shoulder against the wall behind him and a thumb tucked into his belt. He lifted a bottle to his lips. Her breath caught. The upper half of his face was obscured by a mask. Odd choice, but it worked. Hell, it worked. Interest threaded through her body. All her attention focused on him, and she watched, transfixed, as he tipped his head back to take a drink, his Adam’s apple bobbing when he swallowed.

  He pulled the bottle away with a pop she almost heard, but then her attention was hijacked by the wicked curve of his lips. Full and sensual, she bit back a gasp of recognition. Lips she'd only ever seen in photos online, but which had featured in many wicked little fantasies before she shut them down; obsessing over someone she'd never met was unhealthy. Possibly even weird cat-lady, stalker-type crazy.

  Rick. Live and in the flesh. She’d thought he was sexy from his photos, but that was nothing compared to seeing him in the flesh, nothing compared to the effect he had on her when he pushed off from the wall and sauntered toward her. How he managed a swagger in the close confines of the crowded kitchen, she didn't know, but he did. A swagger that was more of a stalk, his eyes behind the mask sharp, as though he was the predator and she the prey.

  The crush around them, all the people chattering and the music blaring out from the living room, faded away when he came to a stop right in front of her. He was so close that she could reach out and stroke the thin V of toned chest revealed by the open front of his shirt.

  He smiled. His eyes glittered from behind the mask. Blue, not the brown of the actor he was emulating. She didn't care. Blue was a way better color. Especially this blue, cerulean with a side of heat that stole her ability to breathe right.

  "What happened to Peter Pan?" she blurted out, pulling at her skirt again. They'd agreed on their costumes together, they’d even looked at options online. Heat drew over her cheeks. So what if she'd altered the game plan? All she'd done was gone for a more 'grown up' version of her character. He'd changed the entire damn script.

  "He couldn't make it." His voice was deep and familiar. He reached out to trace a fingertip down her arm, but the amused tone she was used to was absent. In its place was something else, another tone that had everything feminine within her sitting up and taking notice. "Sent me instead. Good job, really."

  She swallowed as his hand reached her wrist, encircling it with his strong fingers. Her heart rate leapt, then raced when he brushed his thumb gently over the inside. "Huh…It is? Why?"

  "He's too nice for such a sexy little fairy.” Leaning in, he laced his fingers with hers, capturing them in the strong cage of his digits, the slide of his skin against hers making her aware of how much stronger he was. Another shiver rolled through her, settling in the pit of her stomach. He turned, putting his body between her and the rest of the room to back her into the corner. “I'm not nice."

  Belatedly, her feminine instincts kicked in and she arched her eyebrow, playing the game with a little smile on her lips. "You're not?"

  “I’m not nice at all.” His gaze dropped to her mouth, and heat turned the blue of his eyes turquoise.

  Without thinking, she wet her lips with her tongue. He groaned and crowded closer until the heat of his body beat at hers through their clothing.

  "Fuck no. Do that again, and I'll prove it to you." His eyes glittered behind the mask, a feral expression in them that should have scared her, but didn’t. All she wanted to do was push his buttons more.

  She lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip, watching him over the rim. When she’d imagined them meeting up, she’d thought flirting and dancing, maybe a stolen kiss or two… Heat hit her cheeks. She liked this version way more.

  "Prove what? Exactly?"

  A grin spilt his lips, the quick flash of white teeth followed by a very male chuckle. A sound she was used to from their conversations, but with a new, dirty edge she wanted to find out more about. Lots more about. Preferably when they were both naked.

  "You never change. Always with the details." He teased her about it all the time, how she had to know the ins and outs of everything.

  But stock orders were one thing, a sexy as hell pirate threatening to prove things to her was quite another. Taking the glass from her fingers and putting it on the side, he closed the gap between them.

  With one of his hands still laced with hers, he slid the other around the curve of her waist and pulled her up flush against him. Slowly. Deliberately. A thrill shot through her. She spread her free hand out over his chest using two of her fingers to stroke gently against the bared skin she encountered.

  "You want details of how bad I can be…” His warm breath feathered over the side of her neck and she closed her eyes.

  The room behind them was silent, as though it had cleared. She didn't care whether it was empty or not, or whether anyone saw them. Her world shrank to just the two of them, the solid wood of the cabinets when he eased her back against them and the heat of his body as he stood so close they were almost touching.

  "I've wanted you for months. Every work conversation, each flirty little message you sent me online…" He pressed fully against her, their bodies flush from breast to thigh. His lips found the delicate skin of her throat.

  She sighed, the noise more a whimper of need as heat slammed into her, radiating out from the trail his lips left over her skin.

  "Wanted to do this and more…" He chuckled, the sound a vibration against her skin that sent her hormones into overdrive. "You really don't want to know what I want to do to you, sweetness…the bad things I want to do to you."

  Oh God, yes she did. "Bad things?"

  "You sure you want to know?" He dragged his lips up the side of her neck teasingly, pausing under her ear to nuzzle the spot there that always drove her wild. He grinned against her skin when she squirmed, his chuckle dirty and full of promise and he did it again.

  Her knees buckled but she caught herself, covering the movement by sliding her hands over his broad shoulders. “Talk’s cheap, and all I’m hearing is a lot of hot air.”

  She didn’t know where the sassy response had come from, but she didn’t care. If he could do this to her with a few soft kisses and dirty words… She bit back the whimper coiled in the back of her throat, her fingers curling around the solid strength of his upper arms.

  “Oh, playing games, are we? OK. I like party games.”

  He pulled her closer into the lean strength of his body. Every muscle was taut with power and restraint, as though he was holding himself back, stopping himself from touching her in case that control broke. The little demon on her shoulder lifted its head and all she could think about was what would happen if it did. Then he rolled his hips, the thick bar of his cock pressing against her stomach. All bets were off.

  Her eyes flew open. Pulling her head back, she caught his gaze and the wicked look there stole her breath.

  He didn’t look away, and his voice dropped to a bare whisper. “I want to boost you up onto the counter…tear off whatever pretty excuse for underwear you’re wearing, spread your legs and fill your tight little pussy with my thick cock.”

  Oh. My. God.

  She couldn’t speak, hell she couldn’t think as the scenario he painted played out in her mind like a film in high definition. Instead, she looked at him like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

  “Crap. Don’t look at me like that or I’ll fuck you here and now.” He groaned. He spread his hand out over the back of her hips and pulled her tighter ag
ainst him, breast to chest with his cock trapped between them. Somehow his fingers found their way between her skirt and her top to stroke along her spine.

  She didn’t say anything to that, couldn’t say anything. His lips hovered over hers. This was it. He was going to kiss her, finally kiss her. Which had been all she’d allowed herself to hope for…

  Oh fuck, who was she kidding? She’d had wild fantasies of him finding her irresistible and dragging her off someplace quiet to…to… Heat swept her body when his mouth crashed down on hers, parting her lips and claiming her mouth with a dominance that thrilled her.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake you two, get a damn room!” John yelled from behind them, breaking the kiss before she’d gotten more than a taste of Rick’s lips.

  She growled in frustration.

  He lifted his head and she felt his smile against her mouth when he twisted, lifted an arm and flipped John the finger. “Cunt.”

  John laughed.

  Rick moved, a half step across to conceal her behind his taller frame, curling his hand around the back of her neck to nestle her face against his chest. He used a firm touch, dominant but with just the right level of protectiveness to have her knees buckling and her heart racing all over again.

  “Just make sure you keep it clean. In here anyway. If you can’t, go somewhere private.”

  “Clean. Got it. We won’t scare the kiddies. Promise.”

  The door shut behind John, and Rick relaxed his hold to look down at her.

  “Now there you go, making promises to behave. I thought you were a wicked pirate, come to ravish me.” She pouted and stroked her fingers along the edge of his ruffled shirt, casting him a flirtatious glance from under her lashes.

  “Who says I haven’t?” His voice dropped dangerously low, the deep tone sliding along her skin like a caress as he dipped his head. He skimmed his lips against hers again, but this time in a lighter, quick kiss that did nothing but stoke the heat within her. Lifting his head, he looked out of the window and then smiled. “But you heard the man, not in here…”