Alison Kent - Wicked Games

“How about we make a bet?” Doug backed her up against the credenza, stopping only when his body was pressed completely to hers. He moved one hand to her waist, slipping it beneath her crop top.

“What sort of bet?” Kinsey couldn’t think. His hand cupped her rib cage, sliding upward until the heel of his palm brushed the full curve of her breast.

“This weekend’s football game.” He wedged her legs apart with one knee. “The Texans win, I keep your bottoms. They lose, you model them for me.”

“How fair is any of that?” she asked, then gasped when he touched her.

“I like winning.” His hand made quick work with the hooks of her bra. “And getting my way.”

“So I can tell.”

Doug growled and ground his body against her until she whimpered. “Why the hell are you wearing pants?”

“I like pants.” She moaned.

“Learn to like dresses.”

Dear Reader,

A favorite story theme of mine is best friends who fall in love. We’ve all seen these couples in real life and in television, but reading about them in books gives us a deeper look into their thoughts as the magic happens.

What’s a girl to do when her decision to pursue a man comes too late—after he announces that he’s packing up and moving on? Why, she plays Wicked Games, of course! When Kinsey Gray and Doug Storey finally realize that the magic is greater than their determination to keep things simple, that’s when the fun begins. After all, personal complications and seemingly impossible odds are no match for love that is meant to be.

(And for those of you who’ve written to ask about the couple on the veranda in Bound To Happen? Here’s the book that reveals all!)

In January look for the final book in my gIRL-gEAR series—Indiscreet—in which outspoken Annabel “Poe” Lee meets her match in a hero who deserves every bit of grief she gives him!

Enjoy, and let the games begin!

Alison Kent

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mauri Stott for stepping in at the last minute to rescue me from myself, to Tamara Collins for helping me bring Izzy and Baron to life, and to Jan Freed for making me see what I couldn’t.

Also, a belated thank-you to Rob for the technical assistance regarding Webcams and capture software. In fact, a big shout-out to the entire ninth floor for putting up with my writing flurries and my lack of participation in waffle making.

Welcome back, loyal readers, to another deliciously dishy and voyeuristic peep into the world of gIRL-gEAR…a place where the women have brains and the men don’t stand a chance.

This month we catch up with two of our long-time bachelorettes whom we last saw on that luscious island vacation off the coast of Belize. And our number one bachelorette of the month is none other than that Scandinavian beauty, Kinsey Gray.

Those of you male readers who might like to get to know Kinsey better will have a chance later this month. Urban Attitude is pleased as punch to bring you the scoopage on the Halloween night bachelorette auction.

During said auction, Kinsey will be put on the block and made available to the man among you whose pockets run deepest. Get out those checkbooks! Don’t be cheap! The cause—and Miss Gray—are worth every penny.

Until next time, this is Samantha Venus for Urban Attitude Magazine. Ta-ta for now!

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

“DID YOU HEAR THAT Doug Storey is moving to Colorado?”

Holding a forkful of spring greens halfway between her plate and her mouth, Kinsey Gray stared across the gIRL-gEAR conference room table at one of her lunch dates and business partners, Lauren Neville.

Doug? Moving to Colorado? Impossible. Unbelievable. “Run that one by me again?”

Lauren nodded, cutting off a chunk of spinach-and-feta cheese pizza and stabbing it with her fork. “Anton told me last month. Doug got an offer from a firm in Denver. An offer so amazing that he’s considering selling his half of Neville and Storey.”

“Selling out to Anton?” A curious frown creasing her brow, Annabel “Poe” Lee, the newest gIRL-gEAR partner, squeezed a lemon wedge into her steaming cup of tea.

Lauren shook her head, took a sip of her soda before answering. “No. One of the junior execs wants to buy into the firm. Nothing’s been settled.”

Maybe not in the world of the architectural firm Doug owned along with Anton Neville, but one thing had certainly been unsettled—Kinsey’s stomach.

Slowly, she lowered her fork to her plate and twisted her fingers into the linen napkin on her lap.

The thought of parting with even a pittance of her stake in gIRL-gEAR, the fashion empire she and her five girlfriends from college had launched the year after graduation, was absolutely unfathomable. Equally unfathomable was the idea of Doug selling his half of the company he’d been a part of building from the ground up.

But the thing she had the most trouble understanding was how he could even think of leaving her when she was still undecided about her feelings for him.

What did that song say about not knowing what you’ve got till it’s gone? Something like that, anyway. She took a deep breath and looked back at Lauren. “When is he leaving?”

Lauren shrugged, sawing again at her pizza. “The date’s still up in the air. Nothing’s been finalized. I thought he might’ve already said something to you.”

“No, he hasn’t.” And why hadn’t he? Why hadn’t he? The dog! Friends shared the goings-on in their lives. Especially friends with the history she and Doug had. In fact, if their history wasn’t so…scandalous and her feelings for him so personal, she’d think of him as family. He was that much a part of her life.

Still, Kinsey was not going to panic yet. “And, anyway. If nothing’s been finalized, then you should’ve said that Doug might be moving to Colorado.”

“No,” Lauren answered, shaking her head. “He’s definitely going. The timing and whether or not he sells his share of the firm are the only things not yet decided.”

Now Kinsey was going to panic.

“He’s flying back from Denver today, in fact, and flies out again on Monday.” Lauren took another sip of soda, then transferred another slice of pizza from the raised serving pan in the center of the table to her now empty plate.