Free Taken By The Hero (Hero Romance 2) by Kalena Lyons Page A

jealousy, her envy… all dissolved in the heat of his buckling rhythms, now furious inside her in an ancient rhythm, a cipher whose meaning he alone held the key to. His fingers explored the contours of her mouth, keeping her from screaming out in either savagery or ecstasy. He seized her shoulders as he forced himself into the very depths of her, drawing out the hissing moan which seemed to spring from the base of her spine and electrified every pore, every nerve until it culminated in a scream that began at the top of her skull before emerging from her frazzled mouth.
    Jack pulled out of her, and let her collapse face down on the bed, panting and moaning. Though he was slightly dazed himself by Laura’s reaction, he knew that one of them had to maintain some semblance of restraint. He knew the virtue of patience. Soon, Laura would as well.

CHAPTER NINE
     
    Laura awoke almost two hours later. She found the still open bottle of mineral water and took a quick swig. She looked around her and saw that Jack had left her alone. She desperately craved a cigarette; and, as if by magic, spied an ashtray near the open patio. She threw on Jack’s t-shirt and pajamas, which had been discarded earlier. They hung loosely on her, as she shuffled out on to the patio. She savored the sun beaming down on her, looking over the bustling and tightly knit Providence skyline. When she was finished, she returned to spy Jack just coming back from his run, his highly terse brow glistening with sweat.
    She gave a coy smile, “You must think I’m sort of selfish child, to abuse my body while you try to take care of yours,” she laughed.
    “Not at all…” he gasped. “It’s like an old friend to me sometimes. But you ought to think about freshening up.” He sat down on his bed and began removing his running shorts and soaked shirt. “We’ve got to get a move on if we’re going to be there on time.”
    “Oh? And where are we going?”
    “Well, I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
    “This is the first time you told me of any surprise.”
    Jack looked at her and threw his arms up into a mock pantomime. “Sur-prise!” He laughed, and pecked her on the cheek. “Come on… I’ll let you grab your suitcases from your room. Meet me back here in half an hour.”
    Laura paused. After last night, she couldn’t very well go back to the conference, she thought. At the same time, what was keeping her in her old life anyways? Habit? Comfort? Nearsightedness?
    On the other hand, who was this man anyways? What was his game? Could she trust him? What did he have in mind with his ‘surprise?’
    I don’t even know his goddamned name , she thought.
    She looked back at him. He seemed so assured, his gaze so firmly affixed on her, that she couldn’t well refuse him. Be it for a night or for a week.
    But what the hell is his name, anyways?
    She walked towards the door, and looked behind her. “Let’s say I decide to take you up on whatever offer you have in mind. Could you at least give me the decency of telling me your name first?”
    Jack chuckled, and threw her his key card. “For now, Laura? Just call me… ‘Mark.’”
    TO BE CONTINUED…

 
     
     
    SECRETS EXPOSED
     
    Alpha Male Romance
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER ONE
    Laura Kimball sat waiting patiently outside the Hotel Viking reclining on one of the benches as she leisurely smoked a cigarette. Her thin summer dress clung to her tightly, despite the swaying summer breeze. Normally, she’d be throwing on a baggy sweater to cover the flimsy cotton, self-conscious as she was. But it had been Jack’s insistence that she wear clothing a little too tight, a little too revealing for Laura’s modesty. Besides, thanks to the heavy wine she had consumed during the dinner, she was without a care in the world.
    It had been five days since she had first met Jack, and she still had no idea what her “surprise” was. In fact, she didn’t even know his real name. It was his insistence that