Plot Monkeys

After all the deadline drama of this week, I thought I’d give you all a special holiday treat.

My latest book, SECRET SANTA, should be out in the stores this week, just in time for your holiday shopping! It’s a Harlequin Blaze anthology (along with authors Isabel Sharpe and Jennifer LeBrecque), and all three stories are written with the Secret Santa theme in mind. My story, HE’D BETTER WATCH OUT, was incredibly fun to write and I hope you all enjoy this special excerpt that is only being shared here in the jungle!

By the way, there is an excerpt at my website of the opening scene of this story, which would give you a better idea of what’s happening in this fun, sexy excerpt. If you’d like to read the excerpt at my website before reading this one below, you can do so here: READ WEBSITE EXCERPT.

For those of you who might not read that opening excerpt posted at my website, let me give you a bit of background on this story. My heroine, Amanda, has had an angel on one shoulder (Angela) and a devil on the other (Desiree), since she was a child. Of course, it’s purely in her own imagination, but these two are constantly pulling at her conscience, as you’ll see in the excerpt below. Angela attempts to keep Amanda a good girl, while Desiree is always trying to get Amanda to walk on the wild side and be a bit of a bad girl, because bad girls have more fun.

Leading up to this story, the hero of the story, Christian, is desperate to find out who his Secret Santa is, and Amanda, who is the keeper of the secret santa list, and is Christian’s secret santa, isn’t about to tell him it’s HER. So, Christian takes matters into his own hands and breaks into Amanda’s office one evening right after she leaves work . . . and gets caught by Amanda with the secret santa list in his hands . . . but not before he discovers that it’s Amanda who is his secret santa!

And now, the holiday fun begins:

Oh, yeah, now this is getting good! From Amanda’s left shoulder, Desiree rubbed her hands together and her eyes sparkled with anticipation and glee, taking obvious delight in the recent turn of events.

Amanda, on the other hand, was mortified to find Christian in her office — secret santa list clutched between his long fingers. She’d definitely startled him, but he didn’t look at all worried about being caught in the act. In fact, there was a certain smugness and confidence about him that caused a frisson of awareness to take hold.

And judging by the satisfied look in his eyes, there was no doubt in her mind that he was now well aware that she’d given him that very intimate gift and note.

What did you expect? Angie scolded, like the mother Amanda had lost at such a young age. When you play with fire you’re bound to get burned.

If that’s the case, then burn me, baby, Desiree said in a low, sultry purr that was directed Christian’s way.

Ha! Angie crossed her arms over her chest. You’re so used to the heat, you have no idea what it’s like to be burned!

You’re just jealous that I like it hot. Desiree smirked.

Stop, both of you! Amanda gave her head a hard shake. I can’t think straight with the two of you squabbling in my mind!

The voices went quiet, but Amanda knew the reprieve was only temporary. Neither Angie nor Desiree was about to miss this show-down between her and Christian.

When Amanda had gotten down to her car and realized she’d forgotten a file for an article she planned on editing over the holiday weekend, she never would have imagined that a quick trip back up to her office would turn into a confrontation she had no wish to have with Christian. But other than ignoring the fact that he’d broken into her office and had gone through her personal files, she didn’t have much choice.

She just hoped and prayed that she’d be able to get out of this very awkward situation with her pride intact.

“I asked you what you were doing in here,” she said, lifting her chin in a show of authority.

“Well, now, that should be obvious,” he said in a slow, lazy drawl that had way too much of an affect on Amanda’s sorely neglected libido. “I’m getting the answer that you weren’t willing to give me earlier in the break room. With good reason, it seems, considering you’re my secret santa.”

Despite that truth, there was no way she was going to let him get the upper hand. Squaring her shoulders, she strode into the room and right up to Christian, focusing on a more condemning issue that involved him. “You broke into my office. I could have you written up for that, or even fired.”

An infuriatingly sexy smile curved up the corner of his lips. “But you won’t do either.”

She arched a brow. “And what makes you so sure about that?”

He leaned a shoulder against her file cabinets, making himself comfortable. “For starters, I have a list right here in my hand showing that you’re my secret santa.”

Unimpressed, she shrugged. “So.”

“I also have a very suggestive note from you, which if brought to light, could be misconstrued in many ways.”

Hearing the idle threat in his words, she narrowed her gaze. “Such as?”

“Let’s see,” he said, taking a moment to think as his eyes glimmered with amusement. “There’s always sexual harassment.”

She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut again. He was toying with her, just as she’d toyed with him, and he was enjoying every minute of it. “Oh, that’s a rich claim, coming from the office bad boy.”

“Hey, I’ve been a very good boy for months now,” he said, affecting a virtuous look that would have made Angie proud. “And I’m quite sure that your father would be absolutely appalled to find out his daughter wrote such a naughty letter to me.”

“Ohhhh, you’re a rat!” Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, even though she knew that she was to blame for riling him in the first place with that tie and note. This whole entire mess was her fault, but that didn’t mean she was going to let Christian have any kind of advantage over her.

“Give me that list.” She held out her hand.

“Nope.” He folded the piece of paper in half, then in another half, making a tidy square. “It’s my security deposit. You get me for breaking and entering, and I have the secret santa list and a very sexy note to go with it.”

She gasped in shock. “That’s blackmail.”

“Hmmm.” He grinned shamelessly and winked at her, exuding way too much charm for her peace of mind. “Sure, if that’s what you want to call it.”

She made a quick grab for the folded paper, but he was quicker. He held it just out of her grasp, and unless she wanted to plaster her body against his to reach the list, she was out of luck. It was an appealing thought, but she didn’t want to end up in a wrestling match with him, no matter how much Desiree would enjoy being a spectator to that sport.

“Give it back, Christian.” She used a firm, no-nonsense tone that usually got her exactly what she wanted.

Not today and not with Christian. “If you want it that badly, you’ll have to get it yourself.” He slid the folded list down the front of his pants, his gaze brimming with a wicked challenge. “That is, if you dare.”

Stunned by his audacity, she gaped at him, though she couldn’t deny that the tips of her fingers tingled at the thought of chasing after that paper. Heat flushed across her cheeks and down her body, making her wool coat feel suffocating and unbearably warm.

He laughed, a low, rich chuckle that slid down her spine like a silky caress and increased her awareness of him. “I didn’t think so. Afraid you might just get more than you bargained for?”

Oh, yeah. “You’re a cad.”

“I’ve certainly been called worse.” He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded her with mild curiosity. “But you, Ms. Creighton, are a tease. What was that tie and note about, anyway?”

The shocking truth lodged in her throat, and thankfully a quick, logical explanation popped into her head. “It was a joke, okay?” One that had taken a turn she never would have anticipated.

“A joke,” he said, repeating her words and looking as though he was mulling over her response. “Was it because you wanted to get me all hot and bothered?”

Her heart skipped a beat at his too accurate guess. “Of course not!” she managed to sputter. For a woman who was always kept her emotions in check, especially at work, this man had a way of flustering her from head to toe.

You wouldn’t be in this situation if you’d just listened to me. Angie whispered. But nooo, you were weak and let Desiree lead you over to the dark side.

“Well, just in case you’re curious, it did get me all hot and bothered,” he said, humor and something far sexier lacing his voice. “That is, until the possibility crossed my mind that either Stacey or Drew had given me such a provocative gift.” He shuddered for effect, telling Amanda without words how he felt about those two scenarios.

A burst of laughter escaped her before she could stop it, relieving a bit of the nervous tension pulling tight within her. In a way she’d never admit to him, she now better understood his desperate need to find out who his secret santa was.

“You find that funny?” He tried to appear stern, but couldn’t hide the mirth flickering in his gaze.

She pressed her fingers to her lips to hold in her laughter, but couldn’t stop another residual chuckle. “It really is funny when you think about it. Especially with Drew.”

“I’m glad you’re so amused.” Pushing away from the file cabinet, he moved toward her and stopped less than a foot away. “As for me, I’m much more intrigued by the fact that you sent me that tie, and wrote me that note.” Lifting his hand, he grazed his thumb along the line of her jaw, while his fingers dipped just inside the high collar of her sweater and caressed the side of her neck. “Why did you do it, Amanda?” he asked huskily.

Her pulse tripped all over itself at his sensual touch, and her nipples tightened into hard peaks, aching for the same kind of intimate attention. She inched backwards to break the contact, and her bottom connected with the edge of her desk.

“I told you, it was a joke,” she said lightly. “A gag gift.”

“Liar,” he chided softly. Slowly, he closed the distance between them once again, and she knew just by looking into his dark, determined eyes that he wouldn’t let her escape him so easily a second time. “I think you’re secretly attracted to me.”

Instinctively, she pressed a hand to his chest to hold him off, and immediately realized her mistake when she felt the solid heat and strength of his body beneath her fingers. Her attraction, the one she was just about to deny, flared into full blown desire. She struggled to breathe, and when she finally did manage to inhale she drew in the heady scent of sandlewood and aroused male.

She swallowed back a needy groan. Feeling her physical response to him slipping a few critical notches, she kept her hand splayed on his chest and grasped for control. “Don’t flatter yourself, Cassanova,” she said with a sassy toss of her head. “Attraction has nothing to do with it.”

“Oh, really?” A too perceptive smile eased up the corner of his tempting mouth as he slipped his hand inside her coat and boldly settled his large palm on her hip. “If you’re not attracted to me, then why are you trembling?”

She rolled her eyes, pretending indifference, which wasn’t an easy feat when everything about Christian made her acutely sensitive to just how alone the two of them were in the office building. “You’re obviously imagining things.”

“Am I?” He tipped his head, studying her like a man who had all the time in the world, and planned to use every minute to make her squirm. “Maybe we ought to put the attraction theory to a little test.”

She frowned, immediately wary. “What kind of test?”

Instead of responding verbally, he used the slow, gradual press of his body against hers to make his point, proving he was a man of action, rather than words when it came to getting a woman’s attention. Their hips and thighs met, and the curve of her bottom caught on the edge of her desk. Sliding the fingers of his free hand into her hair, he cupped the back of her head in his palm. He gave a small, light, arousing tug on the strands tangled around his fingers, forcing her face to tip up toward his.

His gaze was hypnotic as it stared into hers. Dark and hot, and filled with all kinds of sinful intent.

The heat alone was enough to make her melt from the inside out. Between the hard, powerful body aligned against hers like a familiar lover, and the strong male hands anchoring her even more securely to the spot, she felt breathlessly excited, and a whole lot out of her element when it came to this kind of situation.

“What . . .” Her voice rasped, and she swallowed to clear her throat, though it was impossible to steady her erratic pulse. “What are you doing?”

“That should be obvious.” His lashes fell half-mast over his eyes, and his mouth eased into a slumberous smile, making him all the more sexy and appealing. “I’m putting your ‘I’m-not-attracted-to-you’ claim to the test. So far, you seem to be failing.”

He lowered his head toward hers, and a swell of panic rose within her. She curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt, knowing that if his lips so much as touched hers she’d be a goner. Putty in his hands to do with as he wished. She knew he was just playing with her, attempting to get even for the gift and note she’d given him, and that was reason enough to put a halt to this crazy situation.

“Christian,” she said as a way of putting him off, except his name escaped on a soft, sultry, tell-tale moan.

His lips skimmed along her cheek to her ear, and nuzzled that sensitive spot beneath the lobe that made her shiver and increased the rapid beat of her heart. “Shhh,” he whispered, his breath feathering warm and damp against her skin. “This test won’t hurt a bit. I promise.”

That’s what she was most afraid of — receiving too much pleasure only to have him leave her craving so much more.

Go for it, Amanda. Desiree urged, her enthusiasm unmistakable. You know you want to.

Oh, yes, she did. So why was she fighting what she wanted so badly? Who cared that he was out to extract a bit of retribution, especially when he was offering such an erotic form of revenge. Tossing aside any last misgivings, she decided to seize the moment, enjoy the kiss, and whatever else Christian was willing to give.

Closing her eyes, she turned her head, seeking the warmth of his mouth with her own. Their lips met, his firm and sensual as they claimed hers and took control of the kiss. Reaching up, she tunneled her fingers into his thick, silky hair and opened to him, to the dampness and heat and the slow, deep stroke of his tongue.

The hands on her hips tightened as he pressed his lower body closer, harder, against hers in a slow, grinding thrust that made her moan deep in her throat. Shamelessly, she strained beneath the delicious assault, and as if knowing exactly what she needed, he slid his hands around to her bottom and lifted her so that she was sitting on the surface of her desk. He nudged her knees wide apart and moved in between her legs, branding her with the unmistakable pressure and friction of his rock hard erection rubbing against the sensitive place between her thighs.

His mouth slanted across her in a more provocative, dominating kiss, dragging her deeper under his spell and possessing her in a primitive, sexual way that was new and exciting to her. She was used to polite, courteous sex, not this explosion of aggression and heat that threatened to consume her.

She wrapped her legs around the back of his thighs and embraced the electrifying sensation. Desire began to flow through her veins, liquid and hot. Down to her aching breasts. Swirling in her belly. Making her sex weep for the pulsing, driving force of him sliding deep, deep inside her. Seemingly of their own accord, her hands slid down his chest and grazed the belt buckle securing the front of his pants.

Abruptly, he broke the kiss and jerked back, his expression stunned. He was breathing hard, his eyes dark and glazed with lust, and it took extreme effort on Amanda’s part not to pull him back and make him finish what he’d just started.

From her left shoulder, Desiree applauded her efforts. It’s about time. I was starting to worry about you.

Christian swore beneath his breath and stepped further away from Amanda, breaking all physical contact and leaving her sitting on the desk. A dark, troubled frown creased his brows and a muscle in his jaw ticked. In a carefully controlled voice that still held an underlying rasp of arousal, he said, “I need to get the hell out of here before we do something we’ll both regret.”

With that, he turned and walked out of her office, leaving her alone and very confused about what had just happened between them. Considering their working relationship, and Christian’s love ‘em and leave ‘em reputation, she ought to be grateful that at least he’d been thinking clearly enough to stop things before they’d escalated to the point of no return.

But she wasn’t grateful. She was disappointed.

Wow, the man certainly knows how to kiss, among other things, Desiree said breathlessly.

Even Angie fanned herself, a pink blush sweeping across her cheeks. Despite that, she still managed to put everything back into perspective, as was her job as Amanda’s guardian angel. Of course he does. He’s had a whole lot of experience.

Experience is a very good thing, Desiree retorted with a sly smile.

Amanda dragged a shaky hand through her hair and stood on less than steady legs. “Yeah, well, it doesn’t seem to matter now. He got exactly what he wanted, and now it’s over.”

He’d taken the list for safe-keeping, and a kiss for revenge. An erotic, bone-melting kiss that would haunt her dreams for a long time to come.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 30th, 2006 at 6:00 am and is filed under Janelle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.