MckIngley Vol 2
Risky Pleasures
After years of attraction, is it worth the risk?
Delicia Wright is an EMT in her hometown of McKingley, New Mexico. A confident young woman who could handle anything life threw at her, or so she believed. How conveniently she forgot the one man in town who could turn her into a babbling idiot. He was a hard man to forget, but she managed to put him in the back of her mind, along with all her fantasies of the two of them.
Archer Bennett is a through and through blue-collar man who has callouses on his hands and—most of the time—grease under his nails. He knows hard work. Unfortunately for him, the woman he desires above all else was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and to some of her family he would always be 'the boy from the wrong side of the tracks'. So for now, all he can do is observe her from a distance.
When the opportunity arises he makes known his attraction to her and is ecstatic to know she feels the same. But with interfering family and a past that seems destined to return and bite him, can Archer convince her the best pleasures are risky pleasures?
Pure Harmony
A single night at an auction can lead to forever.
Jonathon Wright is one of the most sought-after attorneys in and around McKingley, New Mexico. He’s cool, calm, and fastidious. Reputed to be one of the more serious of the Wright clan he tends to keep to himself and focusing on his career. None of which matters when one night in a hotel changes everything. He can’t get her out of his mind and so when the opportunity arises, he pursues, determined to have her.
Harmony Oshiro is a child prodigy. An accident has since taken her ability to perform as she once had, so she’s left the limelight and come to McKingley to teach music at the university, trying to heal her soul. She never knows that here she would run into the man with whom she’d spent one night of bliss.
Despite their differences she really enjoys being with him. An incident puts them in the same quarters and suddenly Jonathon is faced with a woman who is as impulsive and carefree as he is serious. As she teaches him to enjoy life he wants to not only help her find her confidence to perform again but also stay with him forever. Can he convince her that together it will be pure harmony?
General Release Date: 15th November 2013
Excerpt From: Risky Pleasures
Delicia Wright kept her breathing even as she pounded along the trail. The early spring air helped her stay cool and, given the low humidity in New Mexico, the sweat dried almost immediately. A swift glance to the watch on her right wrist told her she was on pace with her self-imposed time.
Seven more miles to go. Come on, we can do this, she gave herself the usual pep talk. The upbeat music of The Black Eyed Peas played in her ears as she continued the remainder of her fifteen mile run. She could feel her body begin to tremble with exhaustion.
Suck it up, Delicia. If you wanted easy, we wouldn’t be training for a triathlon.
She lost herself in the rhythmic feel of her feet stomping along the hard-packed dirt trail. Tired, hot and sweating, she checked her time when she reached the end of her run. Hands on her hips, she walked herself around to cool her body down. This was her year to do better. She’d trained harder than ever before, going farther than the actual triathlon would be.
It was three months away. And I’m ready. A satisfied smile turned up her lips as she moved to her bike. She entered the combination before unfastening the cable from where it secured her bike to the tree then stowed it before slowly straddling the bicycle. Delicia fastened her helmet and sighed. She pulled her water bottle from the back of her jersey, drank some then placed the container on the bike.
"Time to get home for a shower. And some food."
She removed one ear bud to hear traffic. Foot on the pedal, she pressed on it and looked up when a large truck drove by, then backed up to turn in the entrance to the pull off for the trailhead. She stared at the vehicle when it pulled before her. A white quad cab Dodge Dually. Shit!
The passenger window lowered and she found herself staring at a man who’d always made her feel like a babbling idiot. Archer Bennett. Country music poured from the cab and she fought off a shiver when he dipped his head to the side, exposing those damnable indigo eyes of his from behind his dark brown hair. Not black like a lot of people thought—it was just very dark brown.
Delicia hadn’t any clue why he affected her this way. It was just how it was.
"Mornin’, Delicia," he said, in that unhurried way of his which never failed to make her toes curl and skin tingle.
Dah-lish-a was how it sounded—damn near X-rated coming from his mouth. Almost everyone else called her Lis. Not him. The rare times they ran into each other and he would speak to her, it was Delicia.
"Archer," she replied.
He remained silent while his gaze travelled over her sweaty body. Before she knew what had happened, he stood before her. Six feet tall, hard muscular body, dark brown hair and those blue eyes. His torn jeans moulded to his legs and he wore a white shirt, which only amplified his tanned skin and the strength of his upper body.
"Come on," he uttered.
She stared at his hand. Long, strong fingers, short, square nails. Swallowing, she looked back up at him.
"What?"
"You look like you’re about to fall over. I’m giving you a ride home. Now either get off the bike or I’ll remove you from it."
A thousand things ran through her mind to say. She should protest. She should stay on the bike just to have him put his hands upon her. But she didn’t. With a nod, she got off the bicycle and removed her helmet. Archer stepped forward, effortlessly lifted it and carefully placed it in the bed of his truck. Then he took the helmet and dropped it in there as well.
"Get in," he said, without looking back at her.
Delicia didn’t move, just stared at the way he filled out his jeans. Her core temperature skyrocketed. Heart pounding even faster than before, she licked her lips and barely stopped herself from stepping closer and touching him—just to see if he was truly as hard as he looked.
He looked over his shoulder at her and in the depths of his eyes she saw a sparkle. It’s like he knows I was checking him out. Archer turned completely and leaned against the side of his truck, crossing his arms. A move which highlighted the strength in them.
"Something on your mind, Delicia?"
Hell yeah. A lot. Like you n’ me doing the horizontal mambo right here. Or even in the back of your truck.
She shrugged and shook her head. "Nope." Swallowing her fear she asked, "Should there be?"
A flame flickered in his eyes before he sent her a slow, sensual grin. "Could be. Come on, I have to get to work."
A sharp retort was on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it back. She truly was exhausted and appreciated the ride. He held the front door for her and she walked towards him.
"Thank you," she said, slipping past him and onto the leather seat.
"My pleasure." His murmured reply followed her in.
Archer closed the door and was soon positioned behind the wheel. She buckled herself in while he did the same and smoothly shifted into gear to get them back on the road towards McKingley.
Excerpt From: Pure Harmony
Jonathon Wright groaned and shifted against his cool sheets. As he’d been doing every morning for the past two months, he reached across the expanse of his king-sized bed to find…nothing. No warm body waiting for him. No soft silken skin to slide along his as they made long, slow love.
He was alone in bed.
Again.
A frustrated grunt left him as he ignored his rock-hard shaft and climbed from the bed. Once in the shower, he braced his hands along the sandstone-hued tiles and allowed icy cold pellets to pound his skin. The temperature encouraged him to hasten through his shower and soon he stood on the thick rug towelling off. It didn’t take much to get dry—being in New Mexico with such low humidity, it seemed the water evaporated from his skin.
Rubbing the towel over his shorn head, he tried to ignore the flashes of memory that insisted on popping up. Get a grip, Jon, he reprimanded himself. After hanging up the towel, he made his way to his bedroom and got dressed. He had a piece of toast for breakfast then walked out of his condominium with a coffee in one hand, his briefcase in the other.
He headed for the college where he’d agreed to give guest lectures for first year law classes. As he drove through McKingley, his racing mind began to slow. He loved it here, had grown up here, and had graduated from the very college he was on his way to. His entire family lived here, and, while sometimes they made his life miserable, for the most part he was thrilled to have them so close.
In fact, he’d worked with a friend of his eldest sister Katiya a few times. Yurandol Blake was an attorney for the local FBI field office and they had occasionally done things that caused their paths to cross in the legal world. She was sharp, lethally so. In fact, she had been the one to ask him to cover the class today. Something had come up on her schedule and she wasn’t able to make it.
He pulled into the parking lot and drove through to find an empty space. Locating one, he whipped in and shut off the engine. He sipped his coffee and watched the students stroll by.
A bit later, he strode across the well-manicured lawn towards the law building. Pushing through the door, he felt he was swept back to when he’d been a student here. Ever serious, he’d been very focused—on his studies, living at home and saving his money. After he’d passed the bar, he’d purchased his condo as a gift to himself.
He nodded at people he went by as he made his way to the auditorium. Entering, he walked down to the front and placed his briefcase on the table nearest the podium. Opening it, he organised his papers. He took another drink to finish his coffee and settled the mug by his case.
Grabbing the back of the chair, he manoeuvred it so he could sit and watch the students continue to stream in. When the clock indicated the time was right for the class to begin, he stepped up to the podium, turned on the microphone and introduced himself before beginning the lecture.
* * * *
By four in the afternoon, the last of his students had left his final lecture. After piling his things back in his satchel, he snapped it closed and headed for the exit. A storm had rolled in, dampening the ground. He eyed the ominous clouds hovering overhead. As he walked across campus, the rain began again. The sky opened up and fell in a torrential rush.
Muttering a curse, he dashed for the nearest building. Damn it! He noticed the water droplets on his silk suit. He wiped off his briefcase and fought a frown. New Mexico weather was unpredictable at best.
The halls were mostly empty, which made it very easy to hear the haunting melody that poured from a room. His skin prickled and, of their own accord, his feet took him towards the sound. Never had music drawn him with such intensity before.
He paused at the door and stood there, allowing the notes to flow over him. Unable to resist, he proceeded into the large room. The lecture hall was mostly dark, except for the lights upon the stage that illuminated a large gleaming black piano on centre stage. A woman sat there playing. His heart pounded erratically in his chest as he stared at her. His palms grew sweaty and he swallowed repeatedly as he walked closer.
It’s her.
His extremely analytical brain worked out the percentage of likelihood that it could be her. On the other hand, his body already knew. He grew hard and lust coursed through his veins.
Harmony.
She was alone, as far as he could tell, and unaware of his presence. Her long, thick black hair hung down to the middle of her back, clasped at the base of her neck by a simple barrette. She wore a long—sleeved coral shirt that complemented her skin tone. She moved in time with her playing.
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