Category Archives: shapeshifter romance

It’s Teaseday again which means that it’s almost hump day, and it’s time for another fantastic exerpt from one of my paranormal romance books!

Kim toyed with the cuff of her jacket and then removed it. She folded it neatly and slung it over her arm. The lift was taking forever to come.

Erik shifted foot to foot beside her. Her gaze crept across to his shoes. If she had to guess, she’d say Armani. He was wearing black again. At least now she knew why he liked the colour. It was sensual.

She swallowed at that thought. What kind of client was so open with his lawyers? All the clients she’d ever met were formal, high-power businessmen who wouldn’t have given her the time of day if they’d met on the street. But not Erik. From the contract, she could see he had money, and not just a little of it. Why was he so different?

“Sorry it’s taking so long,” she said, filling the silence.

He shrugged and smiled. His expression could easily have been taken for saying that he didn’t care, but she didn’t let herself believe what her heart was saying to her. He’d just seen how warm she’d been in the stifling heat of the meeting room and that’s why he’d asked her to go with him.

The lift pinged.

The doors clunked open.

She swallowed hard again and waited for him to step in before following him.

Turning, she pressed the button for the top floor and breathed deep as the doors closed. She was all right. She took deep breaths, telling herself that everything was going to be fine. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine herself in a larger space than the tiny cramped metal box that was now raising her up floors while leaving a perilously large empty shaft below for them to fall into when the cables snapped.

Her heart began to race.

It didn’t help that she could feel Erik close behind her, just a little off to her right.

Her hands shook.

This was stupid. She shouldn’t have mentioned the lift. She should have told him they’d have to take the stairs.

She looked up and swore she could hear the cables rattling as the lift eased jerkily past a floor.

Then her worst nightmare happened.

It stopped.

She stared wide-eyed at the walls of the lift, trying to sense if it was still moving, desperate to convince herself it was.

She smiled shakily over her shoulder at Erik.

He frowned.

“It does this a lot,” she squeaked and then cleared her throat, trying not to let him see her fear.

He stepped towards her, cool and collected and seemingly not at all bothered by the fact that they were trapped in a oppressively hot metal box about to plummet to their untimely deaths.

And all she could think about was kissing him, because if she was going to die, she wanted to know for real what it felt like before she went. She’d die happy then.

He brushed against her, pressing the alarm button, and then stepped back. A small squeaking noise escaped her throat again. He smiled reassuringly, as though he’d seen how scared she was.

“It’ll move again soon. You’ll see,” he said in a deep, calm voice.

She nodded and latched onto those words and the sound of his voice. It soothed her for a moment.

And then the lift moved.

It wasn’t so much movement as a shudder. Metal rattled above her. Her heart sped into overdrive.

Her chest felt tight as she struggled to breathe normally. She gasped at air, but it only dried her throat out, making it impossible to breathe. She looked at Erik, her eyes wide, and her whole body trembling as she panicked.

Any moment now, they were going to die.

“Are you all right?” he said, cocking his head to one side, looking concerned.

She nodded but then it turned into a shake of her head.

“I don’t like lifts.” She managed to squeeze the words out. Her voice sounded impossibly tiny and tight in her ears.

“You should have said.” He pressed the alarm button again. Several times. “We could have taken the stairs.”

Too late now, she thought. She grabbed onto the wall when the lift shuddered again.

“It gets stuck all the time,” she said, more to calm herself than inform him. “All the time. They’re always getting engineers out to fix it. It’s so old see…probably as old as the bloody building. Fuck.” Her grip on the wall tightened and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think about the long drop and the fact she was going to die without ever kissing the man in the stupid metal coffin with her. “Oh my God…oh my God…I should have said something. It’s always getting stuck. Always. Oh God.”

Warm hands were on her shoulders and she jumped. His fingers tightened around her, holding her, making her heart beat quicker and her breathing worsen.

“Look at me, Kim.” A bass melodic voice called out to her, its tones telling her to let go of her fear and anchor herself on them, to believe in the calm they made her feel. “Open your eyes and look at me.”

She opened them a fraction, unable to do anything but obey him. He was leaning over, hunched down so his face was level with hers. She looked deep into his eyes, begging them to make it all go away, to let her get lost in them and forget the world around her. She swallowed again. Her throat was so dry. Parched. She felt his thumbs press into her shoulders.

“Hey,” he breathed and she opened her eyes a little more. He smiled. “There you are. Keep looking at me. Understood?”

She nodded, wishing the adrenaline flooding her veins was the only reason she was shaking. His grip on her tightened and she trembled over the feeling of it. She closed her eyes a little, focusing on the feeling of his hands on her. She could slip into her fantasy world. None of this would exist there. There was only ever him, in that room.

“Look at me,” he said and she opened her eyes fully again. “Everything will be fine. We’ll be okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. It’ll move again in a minute. Okay?”

She nodded again.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. Just breathe.”

She was surprised when he moved away from her, his hands slipping off her shoulders. She tried to turn to face him, panicking that he was somehow going to disappear, but he caught her shoulders again and stepped up behind her.

“Focus on your breathing,” he whispered close to her ear.

Her vision swam out of focus as his fingers pressed into her shoulders, applying soothing pressure to her tense body. She closed her eyes, her mouth falling open as she lost herself in the feel of him kneading her shoulders. She couldn’t believe it was happening. Maybe she’d slipped into her fantasy world after all. Somewhere the real Kim and Erik were screaming as the lift fell and slammed into the floor of the shaft, crushing their bodies. But here, fantasy Kim was getting a shoulder massage from dream Erik, and it felt divine.

His thumbs pressed hard against her spine, loosening it and making her want to melt into him. She wanted to lean back and feel his body against hers. The temperature in the lift seemed to rise, becoming almost unbearable.

She kept her focus locked on him, shutting out panicked thoughts and pretending that they were back in that room.

“That’s right, just relax,” he said behind her.

It was so easy to when he was doing that, fingers expertly working out all her knots and leaving her liquid beneath his touch.

It felt so good. Too good.

She told herself that he was a client and this was wrong on so many levels, but deep in her heart, she didn’t care.

“Feeling any better?” he breathed close to her ear.

“Mmhmm.” She smiled lazily, her heart thumping hard against her chest. She leaned back a little to get closer to him. She’d died and gone to heaven.

“Keep breathing like that. You’re doing great.”

A bead of sweat trickled down her spine. She blew up at her face, trying to cool herself down. It was impossibly hot. Her fingers shifted to the buttons of her crisp white shirt and she undid a couple, desperate for a little relief.

She gasped quietly when his hands moved, fingers grazing bare skin as he pulled her shirt off her shoulders as much as he could. She bit her lip and frowned at the feeling of his hands on her, palming and kneading, tempting and teasing her. Her stomach tightened, fluttering with desire, hungry for him. She pressed her thighs together, felt the slip-slide of arousal in her panties.

Too hot.

She opened her eyes and saw the lift. Panic loomed up inside her again, crushing her calm and making her even hotter as the walls seemed to close in.

“Can’t breathe,” she whispered, bringing her hand up to her throat. “Too hot…can’t breathe.”

“Close your eyes, Kim,” he said, his voice still cool and collected. “Focus.”

She did, she shut her eyes tight and willed herself to focus on his hands. The way his fingertips pressed into her flesh made her ache inside, and the way his thumbs brushed against her bare back made her knees want to buckle.

A shiver ran through her when he swept the hair from her neck with one hand, his fingers barely brushing against it as his other hand continued to loosen her shoulders. Another wave of tingles spread over her when he blew against her neck, cooling her. Goosebumps raised her hairs and her nipples became pert. She could feel him close behind her, almost touching her. He blew on her neck again and she sighed. It was so cooling but made her burn inside.

She’d definitely died and gone to heaven.

The lift jolted and hummed as it began to move again.

Erik stared down at Kim and slowly took his hands away when she turned to face him.

Her wide-eyed stunned expression did nothing to alleviate the guilt he felt over his actions. He’d been so giddy with touching her, lost in their stolen intimate moment, that he’d forgotten himself and where they were. This wasn’t their dreams. This was the real world and if he screwed up here, he could lose her forever.

He stepped back, giving her a little room as she buttoned her shirt again and looked everywhere but at him. He wanted to say something, but didn’t have the right words. She toyed with her jacket, smoothing it in the same way she’d toyed with her shirt cuff yesterday. He wished he knew what she was thinking. All he wanted was a sign that he hadn’t cocked things up.

The trouble was, she was so tempting right now, and his instincts were making him act rashly.

That and his brother.

He wanted to growl when he thought about the way Alistair had openly flirted with her. Alistair knew. If he tried, he’d be able to sense it as clearly as himself. Kim was his.

His and only his.

The lift stopped and the doors jerked open.

He watched Kim walk out and then sighed as he followed her. He had to think of a way to make things right between them again. Cursing his brother for making him act the way he had, he followed Kim up a narrow flight of stairs and then out onto the roof.

Cool air bathed him, carrying away some of his tension. He closed his eyes to make the most of the feeling. It was such relief after the closeness of the lift. He gave a brief glance at Kim and then paced along the length of the roof. The whole of London was laid out before him, shimmering in the heat. The sun beat down, warming his back as he walked. He didn’t know why he’d asked for a place to smoke.

He didn’t smoke.

His brother had driven him crazy by daring to talk to Kim and he’d felt compelled to get her away from him. Smoking seemed like the most sensible excuse. He didn’t think that turning to the room and announcing that he’d like to spend some time alone with his mate would have been well received.

He looked across the roof at her. She was standing still with her back to him, the breeze blowing her hair around and making her clothes dance. He wondered what she was looking at and walked towards her. Keeping his distance, he stared at the spot she was. It was the BT Tower.

She looked over her shoulder at him, her expression still a little shocked and confused. Her mouth opened a few times, but she said nothing. Maybe she didn’t know what to say either.

Giving her a little space, he paced along the length of the roof again, trying to clear his head and find a way of apologising to her and fixing things.

He drew a deep breath and sighed it out as he walked back towards her. She’d moved closer to the edge and was looking down at the street below. He glanced there, seeing the red buses and black taxis fighting for dominance. The people looked tiny. A police car sped by, its sirens cutting the stifling heat and rising up to them.

“Come away from the edge, Kim,” he said and she looked over at him. “It unnerves me.”

She moved away and then frowned. She looked back at the edge and then down at her feet. He knew her thoughts now. She’d obeyed without even thinking about it. Everything was probably so confusing for her right now.

“I’m sorry about how I acted. I overstepped the mark,” he started and then ran his hand over his hair. The hair at the nape of his neck was soaked again. She wasn’t the only one who had been getting too hot in the lift. She gave him a look that said he had her attention. “I’m not normally like that with women.”

Her attention returned to the city.

“I’d like to know what you’re normally like then, Erik.” She perfectly echoed his words to her yesterday. He was surprised that she’d remembered them.

“More professional,” he said with a smile.

She looked over at him again, right into his eyes, her warm browns searching for an explanation.

“What is paragraph 157?” she said out of the blue.

It caught him off guard and he frowned. He’d forgotten about the damn contract and the clause that had gotten her too interested in something she wouldn’t understand.

He stared at the city. The sun was already beginning to set. In a few hours, it would be getting dark.

“Come to dinner with me,” he said without looking at her. He felt her move closer and his gaze shifted to where she was standing. “Would you allow that? So I could apologise to you properly?”

She shook her head. “That really isn’t necessary.”

He raised a brow, wondering if dinner wasn’t necessary or the apology. Didn’t he have something to apologise for? Sure, he’d smelt how aroused she’d been and felt the hunger in her was as primal as his own, but he’d still taken advantage of her panicking.

“I insist,” he said, moving closer to her.

She didn’t move away. She just stared into his eyes. Damn she was beautiful. The warm sunlight bathed her skin, turning it golden and bright. Her lips were rosy and her cheeks were flushed from the heat. Her pupils dilated as she looked at him. He could feel the desire in her, knew she wanted to surrender to him and say yes.

“I really can’t,” she said in a tight voice. “You’re a client.”

“We can talk about work and nothing else—just this paragraph.” He took another step towards her.

She drew in a deep breath. He could see the indecision in her eyes. He felt like the Devil, tempting her to commit sin, rather than just making her come out to dinner with him.

“What does it mean?” she said, the uncertainty in her eyes becoming curiosity. “I know this contract is meant to be no questions asked, but I can feel there’s something wrong about it.”

“Come to dinner and I’ll explain it.”

She opened her mouth.

The door to the roof creaked open and Simon appeared. He walked briskly towards them. Kim’s attention was stolen by him, but Erik noticed that she didn’t look relieved to be rescued by her friend.

“Thank God you’re okay. I heard about the lift. Were you all right?” Simon said as she turned to face him.

She nodded and Erik noticed her gaze shifted across to him. “Mr. Blackwell was wonderful. He really took care of me.”

“Good to hear. Alistair Blackwell’s called it quits for the day. Said something about a meeting shortly after he was on a call to what sounded like one hot woman.” Simon grinned.

Erik frowned. Just like his brother not to take anything but women seriously.

“Drive you home? You don’t want to be going on the tube today. It would be hellishly hot.” Simon held his arm out, gesturing towards the door while his eyes raked over Kim.

Erik’s heart sunk when Kim turned away, letting Simon escort her back towards the door. She glanced back at him as she reached it, giving him a small smile. He knew what it meant. If they’d had a little more time alone together, he could have got her to agree to dinner with him.

The door closed.

He stared at it a moment.

A whole weekend away from her, and now Alistair was sniffing around.

Closing his eyes, he flung his head back and roared at the sky.

In Heat
Felicity Heaton
A heat wave isn’t the only thing making London too hot for lawyer Kim. She’s been spending each night with a man who sets her body and heart on fire. The problem? He’s a man that always sprouts black fur and purrs, and he’s only a dream. Walking into work on the hottest day of the year, the last thing she expects is to meet Erik, a man who sends her temperature soaring and who resembles her dream guy exactly.

A black panther shape-shifter, Erik Blackwell has been searching for his mate for twenty-seven years. The visions they share each night are getting hotter but finding her is proving impossible as he’s never seen her face. That is, until it turns out she’s working as his lawyer on his contract negotiations with his brother, Alistair.

Kim can’t deny her attraction to Erik. The heat she feels with him is intense and it’s only a matter of time before they surrender to their carnal desires.

When Kim discovers Erik’s secret, will she turn her back on him, or will she complete the mating and become like him so they can be together forever?

Available in e-book from:
Amazon Kindle Stores:
USA / WORLD | UK | Germany | France | Spain | Italy

You can also get the second book in the series, In Heat: Mating Call, from Amazon Kindle Stores:
USA / WORLD | UK | Germany | France | Spain | Italy

I’m sticking with the theme of men that go furry this week and posting a tease from my shape-shifter romance novel, In Heat. As the title says, it’s one hot romance book so be sure to have a fan at the ready and a icy drink to cool you down!

Here’s the tease…

Felicity Heaton
A heat wave isn’t the only thing making London too hot for lawyer Kim. She’s been spending each night with a man who sets her body and heart on fire. The problem? He’s a man that always sprouts black fur and purrs, and he’s only a dream. Walking into work on the hottest day of the year, the last thing she expects is to meet Erik, a man who sends her temperature soaring and who resembles her dream guy exactly.

A black panther shape-shifter, Erik Blackwell has been searching for his mate for twenty-seven years. The visions they share each night are getting hotter but finding her is proving impossible as he’s never seen her face. That is, until it turns out she’s working as his lawyer on his contract negotiations with his brother, Alistair.

Kim can’t deny her attraction to Erik. The heat she feels with him is intense and it’s only a matter of time before they surrender to their desires, but something haunts her. Is Erik really the man of her dreams? If so, can he grow fur and purr? And what about the terrible feeling she has about Alistair and the contract? How far is he willing to go to get his hands on the company Erik owns?

What will Kim do when she discovers Erik’s secret? Will she turn her back on him, or will she complete the mating and become like him so they can be together forever?

ebook price: $2.99
genre: paranormal shapeshifter romance
length: 63200 words
rating: sultry
released: June 2007
Book 1 in the In Heat series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=In%20Heat
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036FUR9A/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0036FUR9A/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/In-Heat/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802137/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-inheat-600422-142.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/felicity-heaton/in-heat/_/R-400000000000000247718
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/In-Heat/mix-7DEqYyygGkW2UHY8tzYo5Q/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7936
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0036FUR9A/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0036FUR9A/

“Don’t fight it.” A deep, silken male voice echoed around her. The feel of his fingers ghosting over her arms, across her back, tickling her shoulder blades, made her shiver with delight. How did he think she’d have the will to fight him?

She never did.

She turned, desperate to catch a glimpse of his face in the low-lit room. She never managed to see it. He was always a mystery to her, always eluding her.

His nails scraped down her arms as he came up behind her, his breath hot against her neck. It turned her skin sticky, adding to the already stifling heat of the room. Her stomach tightened, clenching with arousal as his hands glided over her torso. His fingers raised the hem of her camisole up, bunching the material as he explored her bare skin at an achingly slow pace.

She arched into him, rubbing her backside against his groin and feeling his desire for her. He was hard for her, pressed firmly into the crack of her ass. One hand came down to her hips, pulling her back as he ground into her, showing her just what was to come and making moisture pool in her panties. She groaned, tilted her head to one side and tried to look over her shoulder at him.

A low rumble reverberated through her. It was a liquid purr that she felt in every inch of her body. She shifted her backside against his length, eliciting a deeper rumble from him, and smiled to herself over the effect she had on him. The hand on her stomach snaked up to her breasts, slipping under the camisole. She closed her eyes as his fingers teased and tortured her right nipple. He ghosted his other hand back up her arm, light enough that goosebumps followed in the wake of his touch. He swept his fingers over her shoulder and slipped the strap of her camisole down over it, caressing her as he went.

His mouth was warm and satiny against her skin as he kissed her shoulder. He licked and tasted her, teasing her neck with blunt teeth, and turning the tightness in her belly into an inferno. She brought her hand around, holding his hip as he ground against her backside.

The only sound in her ears was their combined breathing, hot and heavy, panting as they moved against each other.

Her heart thundered, racing away with her, and she gave herself over to the tempo of it.

His tongue swept along her earlobe as hers wet her lips. Her brows furrowed and she moaned, rolling her head to one side and bringing her other arm up. She reached over behind her and ran it through his short thick hair. It was like velvet beneath her touch and she buried her fingers into it, feeling the softness and losing herself in the sensations flooding her.

He purred again.

She opened her eyes and looked down at his hand as he slid it into the waist of her panties. How had she got so naked?

The thought fled her mind when his hand edged lower.

She bit her lip in anticipation of his touch, willing him to move faster before she exploded with need.

He nipped at her ear and she groaned.

Her eyes almost shut.

They flew wide when she saw the black fur erupt on his arm.

“Don’t fight me,” he whispered. “We were meant to be.”

Kim shot up in bed, the buzzing alarm jarring her senses and the sound of the city streets below telling her that morning had come. She breathed heavily, struggling to level her heartbeat and steady herself. She pressed her hand against her chest. It was sticky with sweat. Her camisole top was soaked.

Taking deep breaths, she kept one hand pressed against her chest and propped herself up on the bed with the other. The thin summer sheets stuck to her damp skin. She looked at the big sash window, welcoming the cool morning breeze that was coming in through it and silently thankful that she’d opened it last night before dozing off.

She stared distantly at the red brick building opposite and remembered the dream.

They were coming more frequently now. She didn’t know whether it was some kind of sign or not. If it were a sign, it was probably just her body telling her that she really needed to get a boyfriend.

Flopping back onto the bed, she turned the alarm off and stretched her arms out by her sides.

The dreams weren’t just getting more frequent; they were getting hotter.

She sighed out her breath and closed her eyes, letting the lingering pleasure from her dream wash through her. She just wished for once that she’d see his face, or at least find some sort of completion. It was always achingly slow, so slow that nothing really ever happened. He’d touch her like no other man had, stir feelings in her that made her dizzy with desire, and then she’d wake up.

The man on the radio announced that today was going to be the hottest day of the year. She groaned. London in the heat was horrible.

Slipping out of bed, she padded across to the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror. The white tiles of the bathroom made her look deathly pale. Dream guy was probably way out of her league anyway. With a sexy deep rumble of a voice like he had, and those painfully skilful hands, he was definitely not going to be real. Even if he was, she wasn’t pretty enough to catch a guy like him.

Her whole life she’d been told she was plain.

She frowned at her reflection, pulling her sweat-soaked long dark brown hair back and tugging a couple of strands free. She smiled. Grinned. Frowned. Widened her eyes a little, until the white showed around her rich chocolate irises.

Dropping her hair, she wrinkled her nose up and pressed it. Pulled her bottom lip. Pouted.

Maybe she was plain. Sometimes she thought she was pretty. Her teeth were straight, so was her nose. Her brows were nicely arched and fine. She had an oval face and wasn’t super-slim, but not fat either. She prodded her sides and swallowed hard when she remembered dream guy’s hands all over her.

Sighing at herself, she stripped off and looked at the digital clock stuck to the mirror. There wasn’t time for a bath this morning. She sighed and looked over at the shower. Her parents had tried to convince her to go with one or the other, but the bathroom was big enough for both, and sometimes she needed a bath. She got into the shower and turned it on. She didn’t know why she was worrying so much. Dream guy was just that, a dream. The chances of him existing were about as slim as the chance of her getting a promotion.

At her company, that would be nothing short of a miracle. She’d been working at the law firm for nearly three years now and they still didn’t show any sign of taking her seriously.

Pushing away her thoughts of work and dream guy, she focused on washing her hair and the excruciating journey to work by the tube. In this heat, it was going to be nothing short of Hell.

She’d arrive at work as sweaty as she’d woken up this morning. There was a new case coming in today that was meant to be very hush hush and damn near impossible. And her sister had dumped her, meaning she was stuck having dinner alone with her parents tonight.

This day was going to be just perfect.

* * * *

Kim shoved her way onto the packed tube train, squeezing in by the door and frowning when someone elbowed her in the back as they got on behind her. She tiptoed to see if there was any space further along and sunk back onto her heels when she saw it was packed tighter than a tin of sardines. She leaned her head against the glass panel beside her and stared at the newspaper the man in the seat on the other side was reading.

Someone in front of her turned and she wrinkled her nose up when she smelt sweat.

Just great.

What a way to start the day.

It was already up to boiling point outside and it was barely eight in the morning. Global warming. That’s what it was. All this pollution and stuff. She sighed again and closed her eyes, trying to whisk herself away from the daily grind by remembering her dream.

She told herself it wasn’t a dream.

It was more of a fantasy.

But every time it was him, the same man, that same touch and those same lips against her overheated flesh.

He always said the same thing to her, close to her ear, sometimes in front of her, to her side or behind. She didn’t care. She just wanted to melt into a puddle whenever he spoke. He could say anything, do anything, and she’d be his for the taking.

The train jerked around a corner, brakes squealing as it went downhill. She frowned at the rude interruption and then realised that her stop was next.

Getting off, she jostled along with the rest of the commuters and then breathed a sigh of relief when she hit the street. Her sense of calm was short lived when she turned to find her boss, Laura Townsend, walking towards her, her arms full with a box that was overflowing with files.

“Kay!” Laura shouted.

Kim cringed. Too late to escape now.

“It’s Kim,” she said flatly, not caring about correcting her boss because she knew that Laura wouldn’t even noticed she’d spoken.

“Can you carry this?” Laura dumped the box into Kim’s arms.

Kim scowled at her as she straightened out her Armani power suit and beamed brightly. She could never understand how Laura had managed to become her boss. They’d gone through university together and had even taken the bar at the same time. How come Laura was head of the department, and she was stuck spending half her time running errands? Laura had also managed to conveniently forget her name, and forget they’d ever known each other. Kim mused that a position of power could do that to someone. No time for the little people when you’re busy brown-nosing the big bosses.

She adjusted the box in her arms and trudged towards the office. It was a Georgian building with tall sash windows and a black double door for the entrance. She’d always thought it was pretty. It was half the reason she’d decided to join this company. That and her friend worked here. But recently he’d been changing and she wasn’t sure that she liked the butterfly he’d turned into. It was more of a moth.

The files shifted side to side in the box as she mounted the steps and she tried to get them back into a better position as she followed Laura across the entrance hall. It was cool inside the building, the heavy stone work keeping the heat of the sun out. She looked up at the big twin staircases in front of her, wishing she were up in the offices on that floor with the rest of the partners.

She paid for her momentary lapse in concentration.

The box slipped as a file fell off the top and before she could recover herself, all of them had scattered across the floor. She bent immediately, getting down on all fours and scrabbling to pick them up. She could hear the impatient click of Laura’s shoes on the floor. Her heart beat sickeningly fast as she panicked.

Someone touched her shoulder.

“It’s fine, I’ve got it,” she muttered, dying of embarrassment as more people gathered.

She scurried across to the rest of the files, dumping them back into the box. Someone touched her again. She jerked her shoulder backwards.

“I said it was fine. Get off me,” she almost growled the words.

A pair of shiny black shoes appeared in view along with a file.

They weren’t girl shoes.

It wasn’t Laura.

“Don’t fight me,” a deep, lush male voice said. “I’m just trying to help.”

She froze, her heart dancing in her throat as she stared at his shoes. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be. Her palms sweated and her breathing hitched as she followed his trousers upwards, taking in the strong, long legs and the breadth of his shoulders, all emphasised by a sharp, black tailored suit. Her eyes reached his face and she flushed under the intensity of his gaze.

He knelt beside her, bringing his head almost level with hers, and held the file out.

She stared into his honey brown eyes, lost in the force of them, and unable to say anything. All sense of embarrassment disappeared for a moment, but returned full force when he smiled, his soft lips curving into it.

“Are you all right?” he said, his voice making her melt inside so much that she was glad she was already on the floor and couldn’t fall over.

She nodded dumbly.

He placed the file into the box and picked up the others for her as she stared at him, trying to figure out if he was real or whether she was just fantasising again. She’d never seen such a gorgeous man. His short black hair looked as velvety as it had been in her dreams and his eyes were everything she’d imagined they would be.

Her eyes widened when she was suddenly standing and she glanced at the large hand that was holding her arm. She swallowed and blinked, her senses reeling as she remembered the feeling of his touch. She pushed her fantasies away as he said something and she looked up into his eyes.

She was lost again the moment they met hers. They were just like the colour of honey, with dark flecks in their depths. She’d never realised that people could have eyes that colour.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” he said with an amused smile but there was the tiniest hint of concern in his eyes.

“I’m fine, thank you,” she said with a smile. Her cheeks flushed when he grinned.

“Don’t concern yourself with Kay. She’s always been a little clumsy.” Laura stepped between her and the man.

“Kim,” she whispered, correcting her.

The man smiled.

“We weren’t expecting you for another half an hour, Mr. Blackwell,” Laura said.

Kim tried not to stare at him but her eyes seemed to ignore every command she sent to them. He was breathtaking. It wasn’t just his looks; it was his whole air. There was something about him that spoke of danger and passion, of heat and seduction. He positively oozed masculinity and sensuality.

Or maybe it was just her dreams making her feel like this.

The cool room suddenly felt very hot when his eyes came back to meet hers. He was speaking to Laura but Kim didn’t hear a word he said. Her heart pounded in her ears. She averted her gaze for a split second but it roamed back to him, as though he’d called it and she was powerless to resist him.

Laura turned to her. “They need those files in room two.”

Kim looked at her, feeling a little dazed and definitely confused. Files? She looked down when Laura did and saw the box there. Files. She’d completely forgotten about them.

“I do hope Kim will be working on my case,” the man said.

Her heart skipped a beat when he said her name. He’d heard her. He’d heard her correct Laura. Is that why he’d smiled? He’d smiled at her?

“Kim? She doesn’t work on cases like yours,” Laura said with a broad smile.

Kim frowned. She did work on cases like his and Laura knew it. If this were the man they were supposed to be meeting this morning, then it was a case she was supposed to be working on. She specialised in contract negotiations.

Laura began walking and he followed her. Kim watched him heading towards the stairs, taking in the strength of his build and how tall he was.

Tearing her eyes away, she bent over and picked up the box of files.

She smiled when she heard him speak.

“I think Kim should work on this case. I think I need her.”

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=In%20Heat
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036FUR9A/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0036FUR9A/
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Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/In-Heat/mix-7DEqYyygGkW2UHY8tzYo5Q/page1.html
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Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0036FUR9A/
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