Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set Read Online Free

in the teasing glow of a flickering streetlight. Her beauty made him catch his breath. Her upraised eyebrows, creamy white skin, and deep blue eyes were so close to him right now. He wanted to stop walking and claim her lips again before they got to her hotel.
    Somehow, he knew once he deposited her at the door to the hotel room she said she was sharing with friends, the spell would be broken. There would be no glass slipper and no trail to follow. He had to know when she was leaving on her ship.
    “ Leave?” she asked. Maybe it was the lamplight, but he saw confusion on her face.
    “ Your cruise ship.”
    “ Oh.”
    “ You do have a schedule, don’t you?”
    “ Of course.” She pushed her hair behind her ears. “I’m just a little flustered. We leave the day after tomorrow.”
    “ Maybe it sounds crazy, but I don’t want this night to end,” he said, pulling her close and into the shadows of a southern oak.
    ****
    Jackie tried telling herself it was physical, just a fling. She was vulnerable to temptation, on a sultry island, under the influence of several partially worn off margaritas. She tried telling herself she would forget about him, or remember him as just one awesome one night stand on a certain stretch of beach somewhere near the edge of the world.
    Walking next to him on the way back to her hotel, though, everything felt right. And wrong. Her hand fit in his and she thought of how her cheek rested so easily in the hollow of his throat when he held her. It couldn ’t be that simple. Could it?
    Loud music exploded just around the corner, but it felt like they were the only ones on the dark street.
    “It doesn’t have to end,” she said. “I mean, not really. We could get a drink, maybe some coffee?”
    “ Dancing?” he asked.
    Jackie laughed and shook her head. “I get plenty of that with my day job.”
    Guilt gave her a little internal shake. Telling lies to a stranger in a bar didn ’t seem so wrong. Now, though, after what happened between them, it didn’t feel right to lie to him about her life.
    “ Maybe you could tell me something about yourself over a drink,” she blurted out.
    Mitchell backed her up against the trunk of the tree and kissed her on the mouth. It was almost primal, the way his powerful body pressed her against the unyielding tree.
    “Maybe you already know everything you need to know about me,” he said.
    Jackie trembled at the power of his kiss. She wanted more, and her emotions were giving her the green light. Unfortunately, a little voice inside her head that existed only to keep her out of trouble was starting to insist on being heard. It told her maybe she had taken enough risks for one night.
    She playfully pushed Mitchell back just a little. “True,” she said, “looks like I know just about everything except maybe your Zodiac sign and the name of your first pet.”
    “ Taurus,” he said quietly. “Rocky.”
    Great. Taurus sounds stubborn and Rocky sounds just scary. Maybe now was a good time to head for the suite at the Hyatt where she hoped her girlfriends were sober and waiting up for her. Judging from their companions during the fireworks, it was a gamble whether she’d find anyone home when she got back to her hotel room. Still, it was a safer bet than letting herself wade in any deeper with this dangerously sexy man who had nicely tailored shirts, one of which was draped over her bare shoulders. She hated to think about giving it back.
    “ It’s late. Maybe you should walk me home after all.”
    Mitchell raked her with a searching look and toyed with a chunk of her hair. His dark green eyes looked almost black in the dim light and the set of his mouth suggested he had no intention of surrendering easily. With his powerful build and expensive clothes, Jackie guessed he was a man who usually got what he wanted. And what did this man of mystery want?
    He answered her question with a single word.
    “ Reluctantly,” he said.
    ****
    Mitchell pushed the