Reese Ryan - Playing With Desire

Summer Loving

Next in line as CEO of his family’s international luxury-resort empire, Liam Westbrook didn’t make his way to the top playing it safe. So when the fast-living British bachelor spies an exotic beauty under a smoldering North Carolina moon, he makes a scandalous proposal. The night culminates in an all-consuming passion that leaves them both burning for more. Liam knows he can’t just walk away. But after a devastating past betrayal, can he trust where his heart is leading him?

Maya Alvarez’s two young daughters are her entire world. But when she ends up alone—on her birthday—the divorced single mother does something totally out of character. She accepts an invitation that leads to a hot summer fling with a seductive stranger who makes her feel bold and desirable again. When Maya must return to the real world, will Liam and their pleasure-fueled fantasy end up as only an affair to remember?

She broke the silence between them. “I have to admit, you are a pretty good dancer.”

“Pretty good?” He scoffed. “You haven’t seen the half of what I can do.”

Liam twirled Maya, pulled her in close, then dipped her, his face inches from hers as he held her in his arms. Her eyes widened in surprise. His gaze dropped to the little O her mouth formed as her breath came in short bursts. He returned his gaze to hers and slowly brought her vertical again, neither of them moving.

His heart pounded. There was something in her eyes. Something he couldn’t explain. Liam pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers. Maya went completely still, then slowly relaxed, slipping her arms around his waist beneath his suit jacket.

She tasted sweet and rich like a decadent dessert you couldn’t get enough of but knew you would regret in the morning. His mind raced, wanting to taste her skin. To be enveloped in her scent.

Her kiss, raw and hungry, evoked a reaction from his body. He wanted her.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the fictional North Carolina beach town of Pleasure Cove. The men of Pleasure Cove live hard and play harder. While they’re willing to take risks in business and pleasure, past betrayals have rendered each man averse to risking his heart. Until he encounters the one woman he can’t bear to walk away from.

The women of Pleasure Cove are smart, strong and independent. Each woman must overcome insecurities sowed in past relationships to discover that relinquishing control can be empowering and that the right man makes love worth the risk.

The series opens with a chance encounter between a divorced mom and a wealthy bachelor that leads to a sizzling summer and a future neither imagined.

Enjoy your visit with the men and women of Pleasure Cove. For series news, character insights, deleted scenes and more, visit reeseryan.com.

For your reading pleasure,

Reese Ryan

Playing with Desire

Reese Ryan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

REESE RYANwrites sexy contemporary romance featuring colorful characters and sinfully sweet romance. She challenges her heroines with family and career drama, reformed bad boys, revealed secrets and the occasional identity crisis, but always rewards them with a well-earned happy ending.

A native of The Land (Cleveland, Ohio), Reese resides in North Carolina, where she carefully treads the line between being a Southerner and a Yankee, despite her insistence on calling soda “pop.” She gauges her progress by the number of “bless your lil’ hearts” she receives each week. She is currently down to two.

Reese is an avid reader with a to-be-read stack that resembles a small skyscraper, and a music lover with a serious thing for brilliant singer-songwriters and an incurable addiction to Broadway soundtracks and film scores. Connect with Reese via Instagram, Facebook or reeseryan.com.

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This book is dedicated to my parents who inspired my love of reading, the English teachers who encouraged my interest in storytelling, my grandmother who was the very definition of a strong woman of color, my loving and supportive husband who taught me the value of persistence and organization, and my sweet and insightful son who continues to challenge and amaze me.

Thank you to everyone who has touched my life, career or this story in some way—big or small. My deepest gratitude to Keyla Hernandez for discovering my submission. Thank you to Keyla and editor Shannon Criss for helping me reshape the characters and create a stronger story. I am ever grateful for your guidance as we breathed new life into these characters who feel like old friends.

To my fabulous beta readers Lani Bennett, Jonetta Allen, Michelle Smith and Tonie Jones: thank you for your honest feedback and the precious investment of your time.

Thank you to Kianna Alexander and countless other current and former Heart of Carolina Romance Writers chapter mates who have inspired me with your struggles and successes, patiently answered my questions about the craft and business of writing, and shone light on the road ahead in this ever-changing business.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Acknowledgments

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

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter 1

Maya stepped inside Nadine’s Seafood Restaurant. The first blast of frigid air from the restaurant was a welcome contrast to the hot, sticky sea air outside, but now a chill seeped into her skin.

She scanned the waiting lounge. Her half sister, Kendra, wasn’t among the patrons waiting to be seated. Nor was she answering her cell. A knot tightened in Maya’s belly. Kendra was a stickler for punctuality and her cell phone was practically an appendage.

Something isn’t right.

Maya rubbed her arms, covered in goose bumps. She resisted the urge to adjust the strapless bodice of her dress. A birthday gift from Kendra, the thigh-skimming, baby-doll dress was shorter than anything she’d buy for herself. This was her last birthday as a twentysomething, so she’d agreed to wear it. After tonight, it would go to the back of her closet, where it belonged.

She was twenty-nine now and curvier than she’d ever been. Five years of marriage, two beautiful daughters and a nasty divorce did that to a girl. Better to keep her imperfections under wraps.

“Hello, ma’am. Do you have a reservation for this evening?” The hostess’s cheery voice dragged Maya out of her daze.

She cringed. Two hours of prep and makeup and she still couldn’t avoid being called ma’am. “Yes. Under the name Kendra Williams, I think.”