Uncivilized (Uncivilized 1)

"There," I tell her, pointing down at the pillow with an evil smile. "So your knees don't get sore. See . . . I can be a nice guy."

And because Cassie expected no different of me, because this is actually a nice gesture on my part, she laughs in delight as she tugs open my fly and reaches her hand inside. With a few strokes, I'm ready for more and I push down on her head until she's kneeling in front of me.

She looks up at me with smoky gray eyes that would really be quite beautiful if I didn't know about all of the conniving she hides behind them.

"Let's see if I can put a smile on your face," she says and gives me a sexy purse of her lips.

I bring my hand up and skim my fingers tenderly across her cheek. I love the feel of a woman's skin, no matter if poison runs in her veins. Sliding my fingers through the hair at her temple, I hold her gently as she leans forward and takes me in her mouth, content to let her do the work and for me to enjoy the ride.

Yeah . . . she'll put a smile on my face. But that's about the only thing she'll give me that's worth a damn.

Click To Order Alex

Sneak Peek: Savin' Me (Heat Wave Series Book 1)

by Alannah Lynne

Chapter One

Oh man, not the strawberry... not the strawberry... Aw, shit.

Erik Monteague clenched his jaw and steeled his defenses against the impending carnal assault. The laughing guests, jazz band, overflowing food tables--everything at the Sinclair Marketing Group open house faded into the woodwork as his field of vision narrowed down to ruby lips and the damn lucky strawberry about to be sucked into them.

Her pink tongue flicked across full, luscious lips, then scooped a bead of chocolate from the bottom of the large, ripe fruit. She opened her mouth, slid the berry inside, and wrapped her lips around it.

Good God Almighty. Erik shifted his stance and stifled a moan. "I can't believe I'm jealous of a piece of fruit."

A familiar chuckle pierced his lust-filled haze, causing his pinpoint vision to snap back to wide-angle view. From the corner of his eye, he spotted his best friend, Steve Vex, making like a bartender, serving up a beer.

"What's up?" Steve asked, laughing.

The smirk on Steve's face proved the question was rhetorical, so rather than answering the jackass, Erik swiped one of the beers. "Perfect timing."

"Yeah, you looked like you might be overheating." Steve tipped his bottle in her direction and hitched his chin. "I've never seen her before. Who is she?"

Who is she?

Erik stared at Steve for a moment, perplexed by the simple question. It shouldn't have required much thought, but Erik, always a straight-shooting, tell-it-like-it-is kind of guy, found himself hedging.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ward off the explosive memories of her and their night together.

Her mouth--warm and slick--wrapped tightly around him...

Her beneath him, bottom lip caught between her teeth in an effort to hold back her screams... Her mouth dropping open to gasp for air as she cried out her release...

Him waking and reaching for her, only to find himself alone...

He swallowed hard and scrubbed a hand down his face. "I don't know who she is," he said, somewhat truthfully. After all, just because you knew someone intimately didn't mean you knew them.

Steve quirked a pierced eyebrow. "Yeah, I think I'm going to have to call bullshit on that."

At times, having a friend who was closer than a brother was a true blessing. This wasn't one of those times. "Sometimes you're a real pain in the ass."

Steve's lopsided grin grew to obnoxious proportions. "Yep," he said, "it's something I live for, especially where you're concerned." He took a sip of beer and waited. And waited. And when Erik didn't elaborate, he pressed the issue further. "Seriously. What's the deal?"

Erik took a long drink of beer, then studied the floor and fought the urge to shuffle his feet like a teenager being grilled by a suspicious parent. He and Steve had been friends since the first day of kindergarten, when they'd both gotten into trouble for standing underneath the monkey bars, sneaking peeks up the girls' dresses. In their twenty-seven-year friendship Erik had never kept anything from Steve.

Until now.

Unwilling to analyze why he wanted to keep her identity, or the scope of their relationship, private, when he'd never worried about that kind of thing before, he grinned slyly and said, "My friend, we have shared many things. But whatever I might know about her, I'm keeping to myself."

"Damn." All traces of amusement dropped from Steve's face, and he whistled low. "That sounds serious."

Erik bristled at what he suspected could maybe, possibly be a spec of truth, if he allowed it to go that far. But he recovered quickly and turned it into a joke. Nailing on a smile, he said, "It is." He took a moment to enjoy surfing the shock waves rolling off his friend before adding, "Serious lust. You know, the kind that results in sex that's mind-altering, not life-altering."

Shit. The instant the words left his mouth, he knew he'd taken the sarcasm too far. He'd left an opening big enough to drive a truck through, and, as expected, Steve barreled in. "Dammit, Erik, it's been ten years. When are you gonna let it go and move on?"

Erik rolled his head in a circle, attempting to loosen the muscles in his neck and shoulders that'd suddenly snapped into tight bands. They'd had this conversation too many times to count, and he didn't want to have it again.

Not tonight.

Not ever.

Rather than delve into the past--a past he couldn't change or forget--he directed his attention across the room to something much more pleasant.

Kat.

He chuckled as he considered for the first time the possibility she might have given him a false name. That would certainly explain why, on all of his subsequent trips to Charlotte and multiple attempts to find her, he'd come up empty.

The name fit her so well, he found himself hoping she hadn't lied. Tall

and lithe, her movements were fluid and graceful, like those of a cat. And when stroked just right, she damn near purred. He scowled. She'd also crawled under his skin and become a constant source of irritation--like cat scratch fever.

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, studying her. She looked different than she had the night they'd met, and at first glance, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. But the more he watched her move through the crowd, mixing and mingling and interacting, the more obvious it became. Her conservative business suit couldn't hide her tempting curves or disguise the way her body moved with a natural sensuality.

She still screamed "sex," and he still wanted her to the point of aching.

His stomach--and khakis--tightened as more unwelcome memories of her unbridled passion assaulted him. Her green eyes, locked within his gaze; her black hair falling across his chest while she rode him to oblivion. He'd almost forgotten all the reasons he avoided relationships and nearly professed true love that night.

It was probably for the best that she'd snuck out on him while he slept. It had prevented him from doing something foolish. Like falling for her.

"Hey, Romeo."

Startled from his thoughts, Erik jumped. The wicked gleam in Steve's eyes set Erik's nerves on edge, and his irritation flared. "What?"

"I hate to wake you from your wet dream, but Elise has been watching you watch... whoever she is. And now Elise is headed this way." He laughed and slapped Erik on the back. "You're on your own with this one, brother, I'm out."

Shit.

Erik closed his eyes and gulped his beer, wishing he had a keg tapped straight into his veins. There wasn't enough alcohol in the world to make Elise Winstead tolerable, and the only reason he tried to be civil was out of respect for their mothers' friendship.

Elise stopped in front of him, crossed her arms under her large, surgically enhanced breasts, and pierced him with an icy look recognized by males from every corner of the globe.

Rather than play games or dally around, he decided to get straight to the point and be done with her. "What do you want, Elise?"

"Nothing, really." She pecked a talon against her cheek. "It's just that... Well, I couldn't help but notice your interest in my competition."