Samantha Hunter - Flirtation

She wasn’t sure where she was, but it smelled nice. And it was warm. And solid. Sexy, almost. She snuggled in closer, feeling safe and—Wait.

She sat up sharply in the bed, looking around the strange room. Glancing down, she saw the source of the warm comfort she’d awakened to. EJ.

Her hand flew to her chest—only to find it stalled halfway. He’d cuffed her, the other link attached to his wrist. She knew without feeling that she was naked beneath the covers—her silky dress was long gone.

“Are you okay?” EJ murmured.

“I’m naked.” The bald statement escaped before she could think. “And I’m in handcuffs.”

“I didn’t want to take any chances you’d run off again.”

She looked at him, his eyes sleepy but filled with concern for her. He held out his hand and she took it, the metal of the cuffs clinking together.

“C’mere, darling. Let me hold you for a while.”

Her heart beat faster, and she kept the blanket hitched up as she scooted closer to him. Images of making love flashed in front of her eyes. It felt like a dream, but her body was dampening in response to the memory and his nearness….

Dear Reader,

It’s both exciting and a little sad to have finished writing Flirtation, the third and final book in my HOTWIRES miniseries. But writing EJ and Charlotte’s story was such a pleasure and so much fun that I didn’t have much time to be sad, really.

I was intrigued with EJ from the moment he appeared on the page for the first time in book one, Fascination. I hope I did him justice now, having finally found him the perfect—although the most unlikely—woman, who’ll make him retire his wild ways!

I hope you enjoy this final book of the miniseries. This book, like Fascination and Friction, is also set on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay; as such, a percentage of the sales from this series will be donated to conservation projects in that area. Please stop by my Web site at www.samanthahunter.com to share your comments and see what’s new.

Enjoy,

Samantha Hunter

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Lori Borill, who helped me get many of the details right, and who will be a Harlequin Blaze babe one of these days herself. Soon, I hope.

To my sister Harlequin writers at ThePlotThickens—you guys keep me sane. Well, you try. To all the readers who send kind and enthusiastic comments, thank you! And to my friends at eHarlequin.com and ADWOFF.com (hi Ani! Euri! Nonnie! Teresa!

And…everyone I don’t have room to list!) This one’s for you!

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

Epilogue

EJ SLOWLY LIFTED from his sex-induced slumber, feeling a soft hand curl around his morning erection, stroking him into further wakefulness. He groaned and stretched, not opening his eyes, but moving into the hand that held him, fueling the caress. Finally, he spoke, his voice hoarse and good-humored.

“I’m dead, Jo. You did me in last night.”

“You don’t feel dead to me.”

There was an unmistakable smile in her voice, and a clear promise of more sensual adventures. But he really was exhausted.

He’d met Jo a little less than twenty-four hours ago; she’d been the instructor for his sky-jumping lesson the day before. He’d never parachuted before, but he’d decided to do something special for his thirty-fifth birthday. So first he’d jumped out of the plane. Then, exhilarated by the adrenaline rush and ready to go out and celebrate, he’d ended up jumping Jo, as well. Or maybe she’d jumped him. The end result was the same.

He’d had to put the family celebration off until the weekend, which hadn’t pleased his mother one bit. But all in all, it had been a good birthday, he thought with a grin, feeling the pleasure of Jo’s practiced touch course through him.

“That feels wonderful, darlin’, but I have to get to work.”

“Won’t take long, darlin’,” Jo laughed. She loved making fun of his Southern accent, and he didn’t mind one bit. He was the product of four generations of Virginian tradition and she was pure Connecticut Yankee. But when a woman was as warm and passionate in bed as Jo was, he could care less about geographical differences.

EJ loved all kinds of women. As evidence of the fact, he’d dated as many as time and opportunity allowed in the past few years, since he’d ended his romance with his childhood friend, Millie Stewart. EJ had broken their engagement, left his job with the family shipbuilding business, and basically thrown the seriousness and responsibility of his old life to the wind. He loved his freedom, he loved his job and he loved women. Life was good.

EJ sometimes wondered what had driven him to want to get married and have kids in the first place. Well, he knew the answer to that: family pressure. Being Ethan Jared Beaumont the Fourth came with a set of expectations, especially after his father had died unexpectedly of a heart attack five years ago.

EJ had quit his job with the Department of Justice, where he’d worked as a fraud investigator, and filled the seat left empty by his dad—Ethan Jared Beaumont the Third. EJ had done his duty. And he’d been miserable. He just hadn’t known it. Then his friend Ian Chandler had offered him the job of a lifetime with a specialized computer crime unit, known as the “HotWires” team. They worked in conjunction with the Norfolk Police Department, and EJ had never regretted for one moment accepting Ian’s offer.

That was almost three years ago. And now, his life was better than he ever could have imagined.

“Maybe I can breathe a little life into you?” Jo smiled, her tone hushed and suggestive as she slid down his body under the covers intending to replace her hand with her mouth, but he reached out, stopping her.

“I’m sorry, honey, I really do have to get to work. I have a meeting in less than an hour.”

Jo settled back, sighing. “Well, okay then. I suppose I should get going, too.” She smiled in a friendly way, as if they were simply having a casual chat on the sidewalk instead of crawling out of bed after hours of vigorous sex. “I had a great time, thanks.”

She slid off the bed and walked around the room in totally unselfconscious nudity, picking up her clothes. EJ sat up, too, wondering why he was suddenly disgruntled and out of sorts. He was tired, and he’d passed up an award-winning blow job, for sure, but Jo didn’t seem to be all that concerned about his refusal. There was no problem with rejection, no pouting, no argument.

She walked over to him, smiling, and kissed him goodbye. A friendly peck. For some reason, it pissed him off.

“Can I pop in your shower for a minute?” She looked him in the eye, no trace of any hidden agenda. Not an iota of disappointment. He shook his head, erasing his errant thoughts, and hauled her up against him. Bending to kiss her soft breast, he pushed aside whatever was bothering him.

“Sure. Maybe I’ll join you for a quick one.”

CHARLEY: You’re very expressive. You enjoy it when someone tells you what they want in bed, where to touch them, how to kiss you….

EJB: I do like that—how did you know?

CHARLEY: Your cards show your strong need for communication and sensuality in a relationship. You need to be with someone who can excite your mind as well as your body—with what they say, how they eat or cook, the music they appreciate.