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Zero Control
Lori Wilde
Live it up—literary style! Guests are whisked away to Great Britain for two weeks of luxury adventure, history and plenty of naughty possibilities! Whether it's an illicit tower tryst, a romantic boat ride or even some hot dungeon action, your pleasure is our concern. . . . But both executive assistant Roxie Stanley and undercover security agent Dougal Lockhart have their own motives for this vacation.Except that sex—mind-meltingly great sex—is the only thing either can think about. It's forbidden. It's tantalizingly irresistible. And they're losing control. . . over and over and over!
You’re out of line, he told himself
But Dougal couldn’t stop kissing Roxie, or touching her.
The air vibrated between them. The erotic promise buried in their kiss made him shudder.
His need for her went beyond all reason. He’d never felt anything like this. He should escape while he could, but then she pulled away and whispered, “Would you like to come back to my room?”
No, no, say no.
But his stupid tongue did not obey. She was pulling him headlong into her fantasy. What he said was, “There’s nothing I’d enjoy more.”
She unlocked the door, flicked on the light, drew him inside the room with her.
Then she captured his mouth with hers again.
That was all it took to convince him that his decision had been the right one. Testosterone surged through his body. His muscles tightened. His hands roved over her lush curves and he dipped his head to deepen their kiss.
This was so unlike him—losing control, losing his head. And yet he couldn’t deny the power of this attraction. It was crazy and scary as hell, but it was too real to deny. His muscles ached. His skin burned.
Beyond all reason, he had to have her.
Dear Reader,
Have you ever wanted to cut loose and do something wild and crazy even if it’s not in your nature, simply to see how the other half lives?
Well, that’s what happens to good girl Roxanne Stanley when she finds herself recruited as a corporate spy by her boss. Her mission: find out exactly what goes on at Eros Airlines and Fantasy Resorts and report back to him. Roxie’s not keen on subterfuge, but she’s got a kid sister to put through college, and the promotion her boss dangles in front of her is too tempting to ignore. But what Roxie doesn’t count on are the sexual fantasies provoked by the erotic resort and one very sexy tour guide, aka our handsome hero, Dougal Lockhart, an undercover security expert! It’s not long before Roxie lands at the top of his suspects list and becomes the woman who drives him wild!
I hope you enjoy Zero Control. Don’t forget to tell your friends about the wonderful stories you can find between the pages of a Harlequin novel. Visit me at www.loriwilde.com.
Much love,
Lori Wilde
Lori Wilde
ZERO CONTROL
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lori Wilde is the author of forty books. She’s been nominated for a RITA
Award and four Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards. Her books have been excerpted in Cosmopolitan, Redbook and Quick & Simple. Lori teaches writing online through Ed2go. She’s an R.N. trained in forensics, and she volunteers at a battered women’s shelter.
Books by Lori Wilde
HARLEQUIN BLAZE
30—A TOUCH OF SILK
66—A THRILL TO REMEMBER
106—PACKED WITH PLEASURE
123—AS YOU LIKE IT
152—GOTTA HAVE IT
175—SHOCKINGLY SENSUAL
230—ANGELS AND OUTLAWS* (#litres_trial_promo)
260—DESTINY’S HAND* (#litres_trial_promo)
346—MY SECRET LIFE
399—CROSSING THE LINE
411—SECRET SEDUCTION
423—LETHAL EXPOSURE
463—THE RIGHT STUFF† (#litres_trial_promo)
To Kathryn Lye,
who always makes me look good.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
1
“YOUR AGENCY HAS THE JOB, but only under one condition.”
Taylor Milton Corben, owner and CEO of Eros Airlines and Fantasy Adventure Vacations, folded her arms and leveled a look at former Air Force Captain Dougal Lockhart. Taylor was a sophisticated redhead with chic blond highlights threaded through her stylish hair, unwavering chocolate brown eyes and dynamite legs. She was also the new wife of Dougal’s best friend, Daniel Corben.
Dougal drew himself up to his full six-foot-two-inch height and held Taylor’s steady gaze. He should have known there would be a catch. In his experience, there was always a catch.
Did her stipulation have anything to do with the reason he’d left the military and started his own private duty air marshal service? Daniel had probably told her what had happened to him in Germany. Instinctively Dougal stuck his hand in his pants pocket and ran his fingertips over the 9mm slug fragment that he’d had turned into a key chain precisely so he wouldn’t forget. The bullet scar at his upper right thigh—at the very same level as his pocket—throbbed at the memory.
Dougal steeled himself for a proviso he couldn’t live with, but he wasn’t in any position to be choosy. He needed the work. He was trying to get his fledgling business off the ground and it was a struggle. Last month he’d been forced to take out a loan just to make payroll. But there were some things he simply wouldn’t do. No matter how badly he needed the money.
“What’s the condition?” He fisted his hands.
“I want you and your team to go undercover—”
“That’s a given.”
She ignored his interruption and went on smoothly. “As tour guides.”
“Tour guides?” She caught him off guard with that one.
“Tour guides,” she repeated.
“Why?”
“I need you and your men not just on my planes, but at my resorts, as well.” She leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs and angled her head to size him up.
“The Lockhart Agency is an air marshal service, not resort security,” he said.
“Should I take that to mean you don’t want the job?”
Dammit, he did want the job and she was well aware of it. At least she hadn’t made any reference to Germany or Ava. He shifted his weight, his feet shoulder-width apart, hands resting on his hips.
Taylor laughed. “You look like an old West gun-slinging sheriff staving off a lynch mob, Dougal. Relax, have a seat.”
He forced himself to drop his arms by his sides and settle into the plush leather couch across from Taylor’s expensive mahogany desk. He did have a tendency to brace for battle even when there was nothing to brace for.
“What does the job entail?” he asked.
“You’ll work for the entire first two weeks in May,” she said. “It’s a fourteen-day tour.”
He nodded. “No problem there.”
“You and your men will take tour guide training with the rest of my employees. You’ve got four men. We have four new tours starting next month and I want air marshals on all the planes and at the facilities.”
“Okay,” he said cautiously. “What else?”
“You’ll be required to wear costumes.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s nonnegotiable.” Taylor might look like a pampered supermodel, but she was a sharp business woman. “In fact, if you decide to take the job, you should start growing your beard now.”
“Beard?” Involuntarily his hand went up to stroke his jaw. He’d never worn facial hair in his life.
“You’ll be playing the Bard.”
“Who?”
“Shakespeare.”
Dougal frowned. “I’m not following you.”
“I’m concerned that the saboteur is targeting the Romance of Britannia tour next, and the lead tour guide on that junket dresses as Shakespeare. Or rather the Shakespeare in Love version of what he dressed like.”
“Why are you so sure the saboteur is targeting that particular tour?”
Taylor opened up her desk, took out a green file folder and passed it across her desk. Dougal opened it and read the letter inside.
You thought those little incidents at your Venice resort was trouble? You haven’t seen anything yet, bitch. Just wait until one of your planes falls from the sky. Wouldn’t that set tongues wagging? Do you have any idea how vulnerable your air fleet is? Just take a look.
Attached to the anonymous letter was a schematic of the inside of a Bombardier CRJ200. In the margins, written in red, was a detailed listing of the numerous ways a saboteur could cripple the private jet.
His blood chilled.
Dougal raised his head and met Taylor’s gaze. For the first time, he saw real fear in her eyes and he was strangely comforted. If she was afraid, that meant she was taking the threats seriously, and the fact that she’d laid her cards on the table made him feel instantly calmer. He was the kind of guy who liked to have a map of the quicksand bogs before he ventured into the jungle. “What did the police say when you showed them the note?”
Taylor plowed a hand through her hair. “I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want any more negative publicity than I’ve already gotten. I prefer to keep this in-house.”
“We should have it dusted for prints.”
