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An Excerpt From: UNLEASHED TEMPTATION
Copyright ©
SAVANNAH STUART, 2009
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing,
Inc.
Chapter One
“I’m going to need a bigger moving
trailer.” Carly Kendall entered her
bedroom carrying another empty moving box.
“You need to get laid,” Sarah, Carly’s best friend of fifteen years and roommate
of four, said as she grabbed the box from her.
Carly rolled her eyes and
picked up a handful of thick, winter scarves from the floor. “No,
what I need is a change of scenery. I’m tired of Chicago and I’m
tired of this weather. Miami
is the perfect place for a new start. Sunny weather year round.”
“What about hurricanes?”
Carly shrugged and dumped her
handful on the bed. “Better than snowstorms and blackouts.”
Sarah sat on the edge of Carly’s
bed and held up the scarves. “What do you want me to do with
these?”
“Keep half of them and put the rest in the box
marked winter clothes. I won’t need them where I’m
going.” She grinned at her friend as she turned back toward her
closet.
“And this has nothing to do with that snake
Dan?” Sarah asked.
Carly turned to find her
friend digging through her jewelry. “Hey, I said you could take some
scarves, not half my room… And no, this has nothing to do with
him.”
“Hmm.” Sarah avoided her gaze as she opened
a drawer and dumped it into one of the boxes.
Carly cringed at her friend’s
lack of organization. She’d be digging through boxes for days trying
to figure out what went where. “Okay, maybe it has a little to do
with him, but a lot to do with the fact that I need to mix it up. I
don’t have any family here—”
“Hey!” The hurt look on Sarah’s face
made Carly cringe.
“I didn’t mean it like that. You know
you’re like family to me, girl. It’s just…I don’t
know, I need something different right now. I can’t explain
it.” She sighed and flopped down on her bed. Finding out her
boyfriend—now ex-boyfriend—had been cheating on her
hadn’t bothered her much. That was a sign in itself that she should
have broken up with Dan months ago. Hell, with their conflicting schedules
they hadn’t had sex in over four months. And they hadn’t had good
sex in she couldn’t remember how long.
The only thing that pissed her off was that he’d
been screwing her boss. Certainly explained all that overtime
she’d been roped into doing. At least now she had a nice savings
account. She wasn’t worried about finding work, and now she’d
have time to relax and learn her way around the city before job hunting.
Not to mention she planned to hit the beach as soon as she got there.
“Fine, I guess I understand. But I reserve the
right to come visit you anytime.”
“As if that was ever an issue. You better come
visit me.”
“I can’t believe you’re living with
your grandmother.” Sarah snorted as she dumped the contents of
another drawer into the same box.
Carly jumped off the bed and
scooted Sarah out of the way with her hip. “How about you stick with
boxing my clothes and I’ll take over this dresser… And,
I’m not living with her. I’m living in the apartment behind her
house.”
“Same thing,” Sarah mumbled.
It wasn’t, but Carly
didn’t correct her. She knew Sarah was bummed she was leaving and the
truth was, Sarah was the only reason she’d even contemplated staying
in Chicago
in the first place. Carly’s grandmother had
moved to Florida
two years ago and she’d almost left then, but back then she’d
loved her job and friends. She still loved her friends, but it was time to
take control of her life.
As she unhooked a string of beads she and Sarah had
gotten at the last St.
Patrick’s Day parade, an unexpected wave of emotions threatened to
overwhelm her. “You want to put off packing and head to Cullen’s
Bar for happy hour?”
Sarah swiveled from the closet. She dropped the bundle
of shirts in her hand and grinned. “Hell yeah.”
Carly pulled the ponytail
holder from her hair and gave herself a quick glance in the mirror. One
night of partying with her friend wouldn’t make a difference in how
soon she got to Miami.
*
* * * *
Two Weeks Later
Nick Lazos slammed his office
door shut and sank into his comfortable chair with a sigh. He turned on his
computer and sat back, waiting for it to start. After the last disastrous
interview, he seriously hoped he had some new responses to his want ad. He
glanced at the wall clock when there was a soft knock at his door. Inwardly
he groaned. He’d been hoping the last interviewee wouldn’t show
up today. His mother had talked him into interviewing one of her
friend’s granddaughters. If she was anything like the last woman his
mom had recommended—he fought off a shudder.
“Come in,” he barked. Better get this over
with.
The door creaked open and his throat seized up almost instantly.
This could not be the woman here to interview.
A pretty redhead took a couple tentative steps inside.
Her ivory cheeks were flushed a delectable shade of pink. “Hi,
I’m Carly Kendall. I hope I’m not
late.”
Somehow he found his voice. “You’re right on
time.” Instinctively he stood and motioned
for her to sit across the desk. Now he wished he’d taken a few
minutes to straighten up.
She wore a respectable dark blue pencil skirt and
button-down blouse. So why did it look sexy as hell on her? She looked like
a naughty librarian. The shape of her perfectly rounded breasts pressed
against her top. Not too big, not too small, but just right. Not to mention
her scent. It was unusual, like a spring rain and a hint of
raspberries— Shit, she was saying something.
“I appreciate you taking the time to interview me.
Here’s my résumé.” She slid it across the desk as she spoke.
“Why don’t you tell me a little about
yourself and why you want to work here?” There, he got out a coherent
sentence. He deserved a freaking medal for being able to talk when she was
staring at him with those big blue eyes, begging him to do all sorts of bad
things. Damn, he could practically feel his canines extending. As a
werewolf, he’d learned to control his urges as a cub. For some
reason, his primal instinct was overruling all those ingrained rules. When
she nervously moistened her lips he realized he was staring a little too
hard.
Nick quickly glanced at her résumé.
“Finance?” Good for him. Another word. He looked up again.
A real smile touched her shiny pink lips. “Oh yes.
After college I started working at…”
Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit! He’d always had
a thing for redheads. Funny that he’d never dated one, but especially
not a human one. And now his living, breathing fantasy wanted to work for
him. She wasn’t glamorous or exotic—or a shifter—but
she was exactly his type. Something he hadn’t realized he even
had until she’d walked through the door of his office. Adorable
freckles splattered her nose and cheeks, giving her an innocent quality he
usually detested in a woman.
He wanted a woman who understood the score. A woman with
experience. Too bad his dick had other plans. It had taken one look at sexy
Ms. Kendall and gone on red alert. What the fuck was wrong with him?
He’d been in her presence sixty seconds and he felt like one of his
barbaric ancestors, ready to take her back to his cave and claim her.
“And with five years experience I think I can be a
great asset to your company.” She sat there staring at him
expectantly.
What the hell had she been saying? Was she expecting a
response? He cleared his throat and glanced down at her résumé, mainly so
he wouldn’t freak her out by staring. She certainly had the right
work history. Hell, more than enough to do this job. Dealing with his
roughneck employees is what had caused the last assistant to leave though.
Of course, she’d had a permanent stick up her ass so he’d been
happy to see that one go even if she had left him high and dry.
“Mr. Lazos?” Carly—Ms. Kendall—crossed her toned legs
and bit her bottom lip.
She stared at him with those intoxicating eyes and he
knew he needed to say something. Anything. Before the words were out, he
was completely aware he was going to regret this, but what choice did he
have. He didn’t have time to go through a dozen more interviews and
she had more than enough qualifications. Not to mention, viable candidates
weren’t banging down the door to work here. So what if he ended up
walking around with a permanent hard-on. He’d get used to it.
He cleared his throat. “This all looks very
impressive. If you started here, you’d be in charge of payroll and
handle all the accounting for this shop and the other two I own. I have
about forty-five employees, but I plan to expand soon. Do you think
that’s something you could handle?"
“At my last job I handled the payroll for close to
two hundred people and I’m a certified CPA so I could take care of
all your taxes at the end of the year too.” Her words came out in a
rush.
Turning her down simply because she made him hot would
be a mistake. Carly Kendall
was a dream employee. She had all the qualifications and then some.
“I pay bi-weekly and if it works out, after thirty days you get
medical and dental, two weeks paid vacation, and ten paid sick days.”
He rattled off the salary and when she blinked, he knew she’d take
the job if he offered it.
“Can you start this week?” he managed to
choke out.
Her gorgeous blue eyes widened as if that had been the
last thing she’d expected. Her mouth dropped open for a fraction of a
second before she contained herself. “Yes, of course. Tomorrow, if
you want. Uh, don’t you want to check my references?”
Good God, where was his head? “I plan to
make the necessary calls today. If there’s a problem, I’ll
contact you. If not, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Wonderful.” She smiled, revealing a perfect
row of white teeth.
“Be here at nine.” He gritted his teeth and
tried to discreetly shift in his seat. His cock pressed painfully against
the zipper of his pants.
“What exactly is the dress code here?”
“Dress code?” He stared dumbly at her.
“Well, I know the mechanics wear…uh,
jumpsuits, or whatever those things are called, but what do I wear?”
“The last assistant I had wore skirts and dresses.
Nothing fancy though.” He bit back the momentary twinge of guilt as
she nodded enthusiastically. His last assistant had worn jeans and polo
T-shirts. It was an auto shop for God’s sake. The customers
didn’t give a shit what they wore so long as they fixed their cars
and didn’t rip them off. Nick, however, wanted to see those long legs
again so he flat-out lied.
“Great. Well if that’s all, I guess
I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Lazos.” She stood and held out a slim hand.
He stared at it for a moment before grasping it in his
much bigger one. He started to stand then stopped himself. If he did,
she’d no doubt see his reaction to her and run for the hills. Then
he’d have to start the interview process all over again. “See
you tomorrow. And call me Nick,” he said before blindly picking up a
stack of papers and purposely ignoring her.
As soon as the door shut behind her he let out a long
breath and let his head fall against the desk. “You are an
idiot,” he muttered to himself.
Seconds later the door swung open, interrupting his
internal curses.
“Who was the cute redhead?” Jimmy, one of
his mechanics asked.
“She’s the new office manager.”
Jimmy’s lusty grin grew wider and Nick could smell
the man’s arousal as it rolled over the room. Hell, even without his
extra sensory abilities, he knew exactly what the man was thinking. He
knew, because he was thinking it too. “She’s the most qualified
applicant we’ve had and she’s off limits. To you, to everyone.
Spread it around because she starts tomorrow.”
Jimmy held up his hands in mock defense and the lust
Nick had smelled dissipated almost immediately. “Calm down, boss. All
I said was she was cute. I’ll let everyone know.”
“Good. And watch your fucking language around her
too!” Carly had class written all over her and he didn’t want his guys running her off.
Not bothering to hide his laughter, Jimmy shut the door
behind him on his way out.
Nick looked around his office and cringed. Stacks of
paper were everywhere, and a dirty carburetor sat on one of the shelves.
The room hadn’t been cleaned in—hell, he couldn’t
remember how long. Muttering to himself, he started straightening up.
Technically it was his office, but she’d be using it the majority of
the day and he wanted it to be comfortable for her.
As he moved around the small room, his body tensed. Her
raspberry scent lingered in the air, assaulting all his senses. His entire
body tensed as his canines extended. Unless he was being threatened, he
normally had control over his body. Taking a few calming breaths, he sat
and clutched the armrest of his chair until the threat of change subsided.
*
* * * *
Nick’s eyes flew open and he jerked upright in
bed. His chest rose and fell wildly. A light sheen of sweat covered his
neck and chest. He scrubbed a hand over his face and shook his head, trying
to clear the cobwebs of sleep. Yesterday had been long as hell and it felt
like he’d just dozed off.
For a second he was disoriented until he spotted the
digital clock on his nightstand. Time to get ready for work. As he swung
his legs off the bed, he groaned when his sheet rubbed against his
rock-hard cock.
He shoved the thin cover off himself and headed for the
bathroom, acutely aware of the aching between his legs. The tile cooled his
feet but it did little to cool the memories of the particularly erotic
dream he’d been having about Carly.
She’d been on his mind since yesterday. He’d
thought about her on the drive home, at home, and when his head had hit the
pillow last night.
As he drew the shower curtain back and turned on the
water, his other hand automatically fisted around his cock. It was as if
his hand had a mind of its own. Maybe he should be embarrassed to fantasize
about Carly while getting off, but damn, he couldn’t
get the vixen out of his head.
He’d spoken to her for all of twenty minutes and
he was waking up with a fucking hard-on for her. He couldn’t remember
the last time he’d actually dreamt about a woman not featured in a
magazine. Now he was waking up panting like some randy cub. Sure, it had
been a while since he’d had sex, but not so long that he should be
acting like this.
As he stepped under the powerful jet stream, he started
working his fist in long, fluid motions. Images of working Carly into a sexual frenzy entered his mind unbidden
and all his senses heightened.
He could practically smell her sweet raspberry scent
surrounding him as if she were standing right in front of him. Hell, if she
was here right now, he’d kiss and taste every inch of her body until
she was wet and begging for him. The overwhelming need to dominate her
shouldn’t surprise him, but it did.
What he wanted from her was different than anything
he’d experienced and he barely knew the woman. As his free hand
pressed against the tile to support himself, her face swam before him,
taunting him, teasing him.
What he wouldn’t give to feel her nails dig into
his back or to taste her pussy. He could just imagine stroking his tongue
between her wet folds.
At the sound of the metal hooks scraping against the
shower rod, Nick’s eyes flew open. His shoulders tensed but before he
could react, the curtain was drawn back and in stepped Carly.
Completely naked.
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