скачать книгу бесплатно
Wild Fantasy
Janelle Denison
Mitch Lassiter has lusted after Nicole Britton for years. So when he gets the chance to team up with Nicole in a fantasy version of Survivor, he's determined to do something about the raging chemistry between them.Their objective–to explore each other's most intimate fantasies. Only, little does Mitch guess how many of Nicole's fantasies involve him….Nicole Britton isn't looking for commitment– but she sure enjoys a good time. After a lifetime of trying to live up to her father's expectations, Nicole is out to please only herself. And seriously sexy Mitch definitely pleases her–in every way imaginable. For the duration of the contest, she's more than willing to indulge in a no-strings, anything-goes affair. But when the fantasy is over, will she be able to walk away?
“You want me to be your love slave for the week?” Mitch asked
“It would get this mutual attraction out of our systems,” Nicole admitted. Then an impish smile crossed her face. “Besides, I thought the love slave part would be kind of fun.”
Mitch laughed. “Keeps you in charge, doesn’t it?”
She shrugged, neither admitting nor denying his claim. “Do you have a better idea?”
Leaning forward in his chair, Mitch reached out and touched her thigh with two fingers, slowly drawing a pattern on her slick skin down to the inside of her knee. Judging from the quick catch of Nicole’s breath and the darkening of her eyes, he knew she liked it. Mitch couldn’t deny that he thoroughly enjoyed arousing Nicole’s senses, and he had to admit he liked her completely and totally aware of him. As she was right now.
“I think there should be no restrictions on either one of us,” he said finally, sitting up and bracing his hands on his knees. “I’ll be your love slave and do anything you ask—as long as you’ll agree to do the same for me.”
When it seemed as if she was about to argue, he put his finger over her lips, silencing her. “After all, Nicole,” he said, giving her a heated look, “I have a few fantasies of my own I’d like to fulfill….”
Dear Reader,
I hope you’ve enjoyed all the books in the FANTASIES INC. miniseries. This last book, Wild Fantasy, more than lives up to its title and is everything a fantasy should be—sexy, erotic and a little bit forbidden. Mitch Lassiter and Nicole Britton have secretly wanted each other for years. Now, partnered for a week-long charity event on a lush island resort brimming with wicked possibilities, they make a pact to indulge in a hot, steamy, anything-goes affair. Trouble is, neither one of them anticipates just where their wildest fantasies will lead them….
Speaking of wild, hot and erotic…be sure to look for my next release in Harlequin’s newest—and hottest—series yet: Harlequin Blaze! Heat Waves will hit the shelves in October 2001.
I’d love to hear from you. You can write to me at P.O. Box 1102, Rialto, CA 92377-1102, or e-mail me at janelle@janelledenison.com. For a list of my upcoming releases, check out my Web site at www.janelledenison.com.
May your wildest reading fantasies come true.
Janelle Denison
Books by Janelle Denison
HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION
679—PRIVATE PLEASURES
682—PRIVATE FANTASIES
732—FORBIDDEN
759—CHRISTMAS FANTASY
799—TEMPTED
811—SEDUCED
832—SEDUCTIVE FANTASY
Wild Fantasy
Janelle Denison
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Contents
Prologue (#u55897145-169c-552a-8884-c5f15337f24c)
Chapter 1 (#u32ee9dba-7e07-5863-a41c-43759ef9af2e)
Chapter 2 (#uc3b4de7d-1741-5434-a908-e603d0d442d6)
Chapter 3 (#ue3bda5cf-d954-51fe-8815-bd4638f131d0)
Chapter 4 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue
“HERE’S THE AD you wanted to proof for the annual charity event on Wild Fantasy.”
Merrilee Schaefer-Winston smiled at her assistant as she retrieved the copy of the advertisement. She just needed to give it a quick glance over before she sent it out to newspapers and travel agents throughout the country. “Wonderful. Thank you, Danielle.”
The young girl’s eyes sparkled enthusiastically. “If previous years are anything to go by, this event should be a smashing success—for the guests and the charities that win.”
Merrilee nodded, feeling equally optimistic. “That’s what I’m hoping.”
Danielle left the office to return to other duties and Merrilee leaned back in her chair, scanning the information and the bold caption blazoned across the top of the ad: Wild Fantasy. Where Anything Goes And Anything Is Possible.
Including love, Merrilee thought. Yes, especially that.
Three years ago, she realized she had more money than she knew what to do with as a result of the phenomenal success of her fantasy resorts and the money her late husband had left her. Consequently, Merrilee decided to try something different on one of her island resorts: a vacation that would not only benefit her guests, but other people’s lives as well. Thus, the idea of a charity event was born. Out of the four island getaways she owned, Wild Fantasy seemed the perfect place to host the kind of games that would be just as uninhibited as the island’s name implied.
Her rules were simple and straightforward. Single guests paired up for a week to engage in sexy, adventurous games with the goal of accumulating points and ultimately winning monetary prizes for a chosen charity. While the main object was to have fun and interact with your partner, with each successive competition the challenges grew more intense and difficult, requiring both partners to work together to achieve goals or be eliminated from the contest.
In the process of striving to win, most people discovered things about themselves they never knew they possessed. Physical strengths they’d never tapped into before, and the internal fortitude to overcome emotional weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
Merrilee’s greatest hope was that everyone left the island with a new respect for their own individual abilities, and a sense of pride for what they accomplished in their quest to win. On a more personal level, her fondest wish was that her guests made a more intimate connection with their partner. Sometimes love happened during the course of fun and games, and other times the couple parted as friends. Either way, everyone was guaranteed a good time, along with a personal fantasy request of their own to be fulfilled during their stay.
Merrilee had received many letters from her guests about the Wild Fantasy Charity Event she hosted, thanking her for not only her generosity in helping various charities, but for bringing someone special into their lives. Soul mates had met and fallen in love with a little direction and guidance provided by the event.
Merrilee sighed, knowing exactly how it felt to connect with someone who was intrinsically part of your soul. For her, that person had been Charlie Miller, a man who’d captured her heart, then died in the Vietnam war before they could begin a life together. The personal loss had left her empty deep inside, the kind of devastating void not even her marriage to Oliver Weston had been able to fill.
Recollections of Charlie Miller prompted thoughts of C. J. Miller, the new, evasive employee who’d been hired on as Fantasies, Inc.’s commuter pilot. There was something about the man that kindled a warmth and the kind of forbidden desire she hadn’t experienced in too many years to count. Absently, she fingered the heart-shaped ruby necklace she wore, a gift from an “admirer” whose identity remained elusive—just as elusive as C. J. Miller.
Wild Fantasy. Where anything goes and anything is possible.
The phrase echoed in Merrilee’s mind and called upon a fantasy or two of her own. Maybe it was time for her to see what was possible, and discover who, exactly, C. J. Miller was.
Feeling a spark of excitement, she approved the ad copy, then attached a note to Danielle and let the words she wrote be her guide as well.
Let the Wild Fantasy begin.
1
HE’D RECOGNIZE that thick tumble of honey-blond hair and incredible body made for sin anywhere.
Eyes riveted to the enticing sight, Mitch Lassiter watched the long-legged beauty follow the hostess across the crowded dining area of the country club where he was waiting for his mother to arrive for their lunch date. Dressed in a coral-colored cotton tank dress that accentuated her golden summer tan and enhanced her lush, toned figure, she effortlessly captured the attention of every red-blooded male in the near vicinity.
Her stride was confident, the sway of her hips inherently graceful. An affable smile tilted her lips as she connected with various appreciative gazes. Yet for all her outward friendliness and warmth, there was something elusive about her that kept Mitch guessing about the real woman beneath the easygoing, independent facade.
Nicole Britton. Bold and spirited, wild and impetuous, and sexy as hell with a competitive streak a mile wide. He’d known her for the past seven years, ever since their mothers had become good friends and had discovered her competitive nature a few years ago at a family get-together when she’d invited him to play a game of pool. Winning had been her sole focus. Assertive and controlled during her shots, yet tempting and teasing him with her overtly flirtatious behavior during his, she’d claimed victory…three times in a row.
Despite losing, the evening had been one of the most enjoyable he could recall in recent memory. His Executive Fleet Auto Sales business and family obligations had consumed his life since his father’s death, leaving little time to indulge in fun, or even a relationship with a woman. But that night he’d nearly given into the undeniable attraction between them and asked her out on a date, until he’d caught their mothers watching them with a little too much interest. He knew what a mistake it would be to give either one of their parents any reason to hope or believe their involvement would lead to something serious and lasting.
At the time, Mitch hadn’t been looking for anything binding or long-term, and judging by Nicole’s carefree, noncommittal attitude since her breakup with an up-and-coming city councilman about a year before, he was fairly positive she felt the same. In a split second he considered the possible strain to their mothers’ friendship if things didn’t work out between him and Nicole. He also considered the unwanted pressure and expectations that might be placed on either of them if they were to become involved. With these factors in mind, he had resolved to keep things between them casual, amicable and uncomplicated the whole way around.
But that decision hadn’t stopped him from wanting her. And it certainly hadn’t curbed Nicole’s inclination to tease and flirt with him when they were together, which only served to build and heighten the sexual tension between them.
He shook those thoughts from his mind just as Nicole turned her head in his direction, causing her silky, shoulder-length hair to ripple with shimmering highlights. Vibrant green eyes searched the area and came to an abrupt stop on him seconds before the hostess halted beside his table.
Surprise lit her gaze and a slow, beguiling smile curved her mouth. “Fancy meeting you here, Mitchell,” she drawled, her tone infused with familiar sass.
He inclined his head in greeting and smiled easily in return, feeling that beginning tingle of sexual chemistry the two of them generated whenever they were near each other. “It’s nice to see you again, Nicole.”
Very nice, indeed. Up close, she not only looked spectacular and incredibly sexy, but smelled soft and feminine, with a hint of warm, ripe apricot—an intoxicating, alluring combination that clenched his stomach muscles with heated awareness.
With effort, he shifted his gaze back to the hostess. “I’m here to have lunch with my mother, Heather. I think you’ve directed Ms. Britton to the wrong table.”
“Oh, no, Mr. Lassiter.” The young girl shook her head emphatically and placed another menu on the table. “Your mother and Mrs. Britton reserved a table together and instructed me to seat you both if they didn’t arrive first.”
Mitch watched Heather return to the front of the restaurant, letting her words sink in. “That’s…interesting,” he murmured, returning his gaze to his new table guest.
Nicole looked just as taken aback by the girl’s announcement but slipped into the vacant seat next to Mitch to await their mothers. “Interesting, to say the least, considering I was expecting to have lunch with my mother.” She hooked the thin leather strap of her purse over the back of her chair, then straightened in her seat to face him again. “She called this morning and insisted she had something important to talk to me about.”
“Same with my mother,” he replied wryly. “I can’t imagine what the two of them are up to that they’d both conveniently forget to mention a foursome.”
A naughty twinkle entered her gaze as she lowered her voice to a husky, teasing timbre for his ears only. “A twosome would be much more pleasurable, wouldn’t you say?”
Heat rushed through him at her daring double entendre and, though he knew she was merely toying with him as she always enjoyed doing, he toyed right back. “Oh, most definitely. What do you say you and I slip out the back door and sate our hunger privately?”
“Ummm.” The word rumbled provocatively in her throat, and she laced her fingers beneath her chin and considered his suggestion for a moment. “Sounds like a decadent proposition, but I don’t think our mothers would appreciate walking in on the gossip we’d leave behind.”
He laughed softly, humorously. “Your rebellious reputation precedes you, Nicole. You’re not one to shy away from anything that causes speculation or gossip.”
“Who, me?” Pressing the tips of her fingers to her chest, she tipped her head innocently and licked her glossy lips. The gesture made him wonder what her mouth tasted like deep inside. “Now what gives you that impression?”
Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Oh, let’s see,” he said, mentally picking through the various escapades his mother had insisted on sharing with him throughout the years. He thought about the upset her breakup with Jonathan Gaines had caused, and since he really didn’t know the exact circumstances revolving around that split, he found another episode to utilize instead. “What about the incident three years ago when you flatly refused your father’s very generous offer to be a receptionist at his medical office—”
She interrupted him with expressive green eyes rolling heavenward and a very heartfelt, “Oh, puleeze! That ‘generous offer’ was my parents’ attempt to mold me into a nice, traditional kind of girl, in a nice, traditional kind of occupation more suited for someone meeker and milder than myself.” She feigned a very realistic shudder.
He managed to restrain the urge to laugh at her description which clearly contradicted her own outlook on life. “And not being a traditional kind of girl you instead went out and found yourself a business partner and shocked everyone by starting your own sports enthusiast business.” Including her prominent councilman boyfriend at the time.
“All Seasons Outdoor Adventures, isn’t it?” Mitch asked. From what he knew, she and her partner, Guy Jacobs, not only put together packages for clients interested in outdoor recreational activities, but the two of them were guides on various hiking and rock-climbing expeditions, white-water rafting trips, and other daredevil sporting events, as well.
“Yes, that’s all true.” Her chin lifted in a mutinous slant that matched the multifaceted spark brightening her eyes. “The business has been extremely profitable, not that my father has ever acknowledged my success.”
And for some reason, her father’s approval was obviously important to her, despite her attempt to pretend otherwise. The tinge of hurt in her voice was slight, but unmistakable, and was quickly concealed with an indifferent shrug of her smooth, tanned shoulder.
The woman apparently had a soft spot beneath that sassy, aggressive, sexy facade of hers. “Personally, you don’t seem the receptionist type to me, either.”
“Thank you.” She beamed as if he’d given her a compliment of the highest degree, and lifted her water glass for a quick drink. “You know me better than I originally gave you credit for.”
And damn if he didn’t want to get to know her a whole lot better.
Unexpectedly, she leaned toward him and slipped her palm over the back of the hand resting on the table between them. His pulse leapt, and her smooth fingertips, chilled from the water glass she’d just touched, made his skin sizzle.
Her lush mouth curved into a smile filled with wicked intent. “So, shall we stroll out of this stuffy country club hand in hand like lovers and let our mothers come to their own conclusions when they hear the gossip about us?” She waggled her perfectly arched brows in a dare. “Could be tons of fun.”
One thing was certain in Mitch’s mind. If he took Nicole up on her brazen challenge and they ditched this luncheon, he doubted anything that happened outside this restaurant would be feigned. The vibrant fire in her eyes told him the attraction was real. And while she might pretend not to care about their mothers’ speculation about them, he was willing to bet it was all an act. They both knew their parents would jump on the opportunity to encourage any interest between them, and he didn’t think she wanted that, either.
He switched the positions of their hands, trapping hers beneath the heat and weight of his palm. His thumb rubbed the sensitive flesh between her thumb and forefinger, and she sucked in an audible breath.
He blinked lazily. “You know, I do believe you could tempt a saint to sin, and if it wasn’t for both of our mothers heading this way at this very second, I’d call your bluff and see just how far you were willing to take this game of yours.”
At the mention of their mothers’ approach she subtly retrieved her hand so they weren’t caught in such a compromising position. She sighed, a gusty breath of sound that held the barest hint of regret. “I guess we’ll never find out just how far I was willing to take things, now will we?”
He stifled a grin and instead gave her a private wink designed to leave her a little unbalanced. “Not this time anyway.”
NICOLE STARED at her lunch menu but was unable to concentrate on the array of entrées offered. While her mother and Joyce Lassiter chattered on about the fabulous sale at Bloomingdales they’d hit that morning, which had made them late for their lunch date, Nicole’s mind spun with other, more distracting, matters—like the gorgeous, too-appealing man sitting beside her, their sexy banter, and her traitorous body’s reaction to him and his arousing touch.
She drew a deep, stabilizing breath, which did little to alleviate the flutters in her belly. Mitch Lassiter always did have a way of shaking up her normally unwavering composure and generating feelings of restlessness that no man had ever evoked. He possessed the ability to turn her on with a look, a charming smile or just by speaking in that deep, rich voice of his. Not that she’d ever let him in on that intimate secret.
Her personal life was exactly where she wanted it to be, free of the kind of restraints and emotional entanglements she’d struggled with for the better part of her childhood and adult years. The only frustrating thing she had to deal with was the way her parents constantly compared her to her younger brother. Robert, who was working toward becoming a successful orthopedic specialist, had recently married a sweet, traditional kind of girl, and had a baby on the way. Being the oldest, and their only daughter, Nicole’s parents had been pressuring her for years to settle down and get married. And if they’d had their choice, they would have picked her ex, Jonathan Gaines, to be her husband. An affluent councilman and socially connected, Jonathan was exactly the kind of man her parents would have adored for a son-in-law.
