Kate Hoffmann - Warm & Willing

Sam knew that snakes were in deep hibernation at this time of year. But if Sarah thought she’d been bitten, it was his duty to investigate.

“This is the ultimate humiliation. I think I’d prefer to die from the poison,” Sarah said, reluctantly tugging her jeans down.

Sam ran his hand over the gentle curve of her hip. He couldn’t see a single mark. “I suppose it could be a snakebite. Maybe I should suck out the venom.”

“Don’t you dare!” Sarah cried.

“Snake poison can be deadly,” he reminded her.

She sighed, shaking her head. “All right. Go ahead.”

God, it was fun to mess with her. “Hold still.” Softly Sam pressed his mouth to her hip, then touched her skin with his tongue.

Sarah turned around, regarding him suspiciously. “I wasn’t bitten by a snake, was I?”

He smiled. “No. But I’m sure enjoying the view.”

Dear Reader,

It’s very difficult to know what to say. For eleven years Harlequin Temptation has been my home. I’ve written over forty books for this series, and now this one is my last.

I remember my first book so well—Indecent Exposure. It seems like just yesterday that I got the call from Harlequin, telling me they were interested in publishing my manuscript. And since then I’ve had the privilege of creating many stories to share with you.

I hope you’ll continue to look for my books under the Harlequin imprint. The Mighty Quinns will be back in February with my first family saga, The Promise. And then I’ll be making the move to Harlequin Blaze, where you’ll find the rest of the Quinn family in 2006.

For now, though, I hope you enjoy Warm & Willing. And visit my Web site at www.katehoffmann.com for all the news about my upcoming releases.

Best wishes,

Kate Hoffmann

HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

795—ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT

821—MR. RIGHT NOW

847—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: CONOR

851—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: DYLAN

855—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRENDAN

933—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: LIAM

937—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: BRIAN

941—THE MIGHTY QUINNS: SEAN

963—LEGALLY MINE

988—HOT & BOTHERED

Warm & Willing

Kate Hoffmann

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To my editors at Harlequin Temptation, who’ve provided inspiration and support over the past eleven years. And to my readers, who’ve been with me from the first Temptation novel to the last. This one’s for you!

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

HE FELT HER WARMTH before he even touched her. The room was dark, so black he couldn’t rely on his sense of sight. She lay beside him in the bed, the warm curve of her backside nestled into his lap. Sam hesitated before he touched her, certain that she was just a figment of his imagination, another dream that would be snatched away before he could find satisfaction.

But when he reached for her, she sighed and whispered his name. It had been such a long time, Sam wondered how he’d be able to take it slow. His body ached with the need for release, yet he didn’t want to rush. He craved the sweet torture that came with losing himself deep inside a woman.

He drew a breath and then smoothed his hand over her naked belly. Her skin was like silk, so warm and soft beneath his callused fingers. He gently turned her in his arms, finding her lips and kissing her softly. She responded immediately, opening to his gentle assault.

The kiss was intoxicating, like a glass of warmed brandy on a cold night. That warmth seeped though his bloodstream, propelled by the slow, even pulse of his heart. He didn’t know who she was or where she’d come from, but he wanted her all the same.

“Touch me,” he murmured, guiding her hand to his body. Her fingers danced over his skin, teasing at the hair on his belly before dropping lower. He held his breath, waiting for the rush of heat when she wrapped her fingers around him and began to stroke his shaft.

A low moan rumbled in his throat as he gave himself over to the intense sensations coursing through his body. He was close, his release just a heartbeat away. Still, he held back. But as red-hot desire swirled within him, he felt himself losing the battle for control.

And then, suddenly, she stopped. “What’s wrong?” he whispered, his question laced with desperation.

“Is there a donut shop on the corner or will I have to go to the airport?”

Slowly, Sam found his way back from the brink and opened his eyes. He still couldn’t see her, but he knew she’d never been there at all. Gulping in a deep breath, he sat up and glanced around the dimly lit interior of the cabin. “Donut shop?” he murmured, raking his fingers through his hair. “What the hell?”

Embers still glowed in the fireplace and as his vision cleared, he realized he’d been dreaming again. He cursed at the bizarre and decidedly unsatisfying end to his dream, then flopped back on the bed, his skin slick with sweat.

“It’s time to get out of here,” he murmured, wincing at the unresolved ache in his groin.

Light filtered through the small windows, telling him it was well past dawn. He’d tidy up the cabin, pack his things, and in a few hours, hike back to the civilized world. And once he’d reached Sutter Gap, he’d find a warm and willing woman, one who wouldn’t evaporate before he had a chance to come.

Sam crawled off the bed and walked to the rough plank door. He threw it open and let the cold air hit his naked body, blasting away the last traces of his dream. The sky above the leafless trees was clear and blue, forecasting good weather for his trip.

Spring had come to his little corner of the Appalachian wilderness two weeks ago, the rising temperatures melting the dense cover of snow in the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He’d thought about making the hike out a few days before, but a driving rain had changed his mind. In good weather, it took a long day’s walk to reach the little town of Sutter Gap, but if he had to slog through swollen streams and ankle-deep mud, the hike could take two.

Sam went back inside the cabin and tossed another log on the fire, poking at the embers. He’d run out of coffee last month and had been existing on the last of the beans and rice for the past week. The thought of a thick, juicy steak and a baked potato made his mouth water.

Strange how a man’s needs could be reduced to just two things—sex and red meat. And a hot shower, maybe. If he could find a way to enjoy all three at the same time, then he wouldn’t have to choose which to pursue first.

He’d lived a monkish life for the past six months, a simple existence in a rough log cabin, perched on a mountainside among the thick forests of western North Carolina. Over the past three years, the cabin had become home.

Sam smiled as he remembered his first winter living in the woods. He’d craved sex and Snickers candy bars. And when he’d returned to civilization, he’d eaten twenty candy bars in two days and spent a week in bed with a pretty bartender from a road-house outside of Asheville.