Single-Title Contemporary Romance
Tall Tales and Wedding Veils
Hot Wheels and High Heels
Light My Fire
Flirting With Disaster
Wild at Heart
I Got You, Babe
Harlequin Series Romance
One Night in Texas
When He Was Bad
Tall, Dark and Texan
Risky Business
One Hot Texan
Mood Swing
The Boys are Back in Town
The Matchmaker's Mistake
Stray Hearts |
ONE HOT TEXAN
(Writing as Jane Sullivan)
Ginny White is a good girl looking to shed her pristine image. Cole McCallum is a bad boy who's willing to show her a thing or two--if she'll become the temporary wife he desperately needs. On the surface, it seems as if they're the most unlikely couple ever to share a kiss. But looks can be deceiving. Is it possible that the good girl and the bad boy are perfect for each other?
"I don't want to push you into anything," Cole said. "I swear I won't do that. We've argued about it, we've yelled about it, and we've ignored it. But we've never just talked about it."
Ginny met his gaze in the mirror. His eyes shimmered in the moonlight, not seductively, but tenderly, and the sight of it went straight to her heart.
"It does scare me," she admitted. "For a lot of reasons. But mostly because I'm afraid of..."
"Of what?"
"Pregnancy," she whispered.
He recoiled slightly. "Is that all?"
"Is that all?"
"I have protection, Ginny. It's not a problem."
"It's not a hundred-percent effective."
"Nothing in this life is a hundred percent."
Ginny sighed. "I've wanted this for a long time, Cole. Even when I said I didn't." She let out a small, humorless laugh. "I'm not even exactly sure what it involves, and I know it must be wonderful, but when I think of the possible consequences..." She sighed. "I just can't take that chance."
He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped and met her eyes in the mirror. She could sense him trying to find the words to counter her argument, but he didn't voice any of them. Instead, he leaned in and dropped a gentle kiss against her neck.
"Then we won't do anything that involves taking a chance."
She felt momentary relief, right up to the second he slid his hands across her shoulders and closed his fingers around the top button of her pajamas.
"What are you doing?"
He flicked the button open. Stunned, she reached up, intending to stop him, but he took her wrists and pushed her hands gently back down again.
"No," he whispered. "Don't move."
"I told you I can't do this."
"As long as it's just my hands," he said, easing them back up to her buttons, "and my lips," he whispered, teasing them along her cheek, "there's nothing to worry about."
"Cole--"
"It's okay, sweetheart. I heard what you said. Every word."
She let out a shaky sigh.
"Just touching, Ginny. That's all. And I swear I'll stop anytime you say."
She should have said no. She should have insisted that he let her go. But how could she, when all she'd been able to think about all day was what it would feel like if he touched her again? And how could she say no when, against all odds, she'd come to trust him so much?
He moved his hands up to open the next button, then the next. She was mesmerized by the reflection of his big, strong hands in the mirror, deftly flicking the buttons open. When he reached the last one, he traced his fingertip all the way back up the opening, along her abdomen, in the hollow between her breasts, and finally to her collarbone. Then slowly he pulled the sides of the shirt apart, exposing her breasts. Ginny felt a surge of panic.
She'd never been naked in front of a man before. Never. The vulnerability she felt was so overpowering it was all she could do not to yank her pajama top shut again. "Cole--"
"Shhh," he whispered against her ear, cradling her breasts with his palms, his thumbs lightly stroking them.
She closed her eyes. "Please. This is so embarrassing."
"No," he said, his voice a husky whisper. "Believe me, sweetheart. You've got nothing to be embarrassed about."
He closed his hands over her breasts, squeezing softly, then swept his thumbs across her nipples. She shifted against him, the feeling so intense she wanted to beg him to stop, but at the same time it felt so good that she never wanted him to stop.
"Open your eyes," he said.
She eased her eyes open again and stared into the mirror. In the midst of all her self-consciousness, she felt a tiny thrill deep inside. Cole was staring at her, seemingly transfixed, looking at her in a way no man had ever looked at her before.
With desire.
"You're beautiful," he whispered.
"No."
"Oh, yes," he said. "Beautiful."
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November 2001
Harlequin
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Texas Gold Award
Aspen Gold Award
"ONE HOT TEXAN is one HOT read! Scorching love scenes that tantalize...characters who grab your heart...I would not miss her books for the world!"
Tracy Farnsworth, The Romance Readers Connection
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