A smile crept over his face as he studied her, and a warm feeling seeped into him all the way to the soles of his feet. Happiness, love, peace. The whole package. Still, he couldn’t resist the temptation of her mouth, and he touched his lips to hers, softly, and only for a millisecond. She stirred but didn’t open her eyes.

  “Adam?” she mumbled in her sleep.

  He knew her well enough to recognize that she hadn’t totally wakened. So he held his breath until she fell deeper into slumber again. Before she did, she snuggled against him, her nose pressed against his chest. His heart full, he put his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.

  He’d slay dragons for this woman. He’d climb Everest if she wanted something from the top. More important, he’d commit to doing whatever was necessary to fit their lives together again. She must want that, too. She had to or she wouldn’t have made love with him with such intensity. They had a future together.

  MORNING CAME FINALLY, and Susan opened her eyes to discover sunshine spilling in through the glass door to the terrace. She also found only one man in the bed next to her. Adam. There was no sign Jeff had returned. He must have realized she and Adam had needed the time together.

  She stretched her arms over her head. Her muscles felt stiff and her pussy pleasantly sore. And no wonder. She’d had more sex in the last twenty-four hours than she’d had in six months.

  Suddenly Jeff appeared, pushing a room service cart into the room much as he had the night before with the eggs Benedict. This time, the aroma of bacon floated out from under the covered dishes. Her stomach grumbled. She must have burned off all the previous calories because she was sure ready for some more.

  “You two still in bed?” Jeff said. “It’s after eight.”

  “We were up late,” she answered.

  “I know. I was here for most of it.”

  “Would you tell him to shut up?” Adam pulled a pillow over his head.

  “Not if he’s the one feeding me,” Susan answered.

  “Then I will.” Adam flung the pillow in Jeff’s general direction.

  Jeff caught it easily before it could land in the middle of their breakfast. “What’s the matter, old man? Not caught up on your beauty sleep?”

  “He’s just grumpy in the morning,” Susan said, as she rose and slipped into her robe.

  “I see,” Jeff said. “Remind me not to sleep with him again.”

  “Not likely, you ugly bastard,” Adam said.

  “That’s quite a professional relationship you have there.” Susan approached the cart and lifted the cover from one of the plates. Sure enough, it held a stack of bacon and a mountain of scrambled eggs. More of the delicious hash browns completed the dish. After grabbing silverware rolled in a linen napkin, she took the whole thing to the table, sat down, and dug in. It all tasted so good she could hardly get it into her mouth fast enough.

  Jeff poured three glasses of orange juice and sat down next to her to eat his own meal. Finally, Adam appeared, tying the belt of his robe before taking the third plate and joining them. She watched as he shook out his napkin and set it in his lap. She had never quite taken for granted the sight of him in the morning. Rumpled from bed and sleepy eyed, he was sex incarnate. If she hadn’t been so thoroughly and utterly fucked the night before, she might have taken him back to bed.

  Now she had two men, one on each side of her, and she didn’t need anything from either of them except their company. But to test a theory, she leaned toward Jeff and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He returned the favor by taking her chin in his hand and pressing his lips to hers. Pleasant, but no more than that.

  “I have to thank you, Jeff,” she said. “In fact, I should also thank Madeline for selecting the perfect person I needed at the time.”

  “That’s what she’s there for,” Jeff said.

  “I understand now . . .” she groped for the correct word, “the complexities of the relationship with your clients. Explanations didn’t help. I had to experience it myself.”

  “Glad I could help.”

  “You did a good job, pal,” Adam said. “Thanks.”

  “You care about the women you work with,” she said. “You get joy out of satisfying them.”

  “Never thought of it that way.” Jeff wiped his napkin over his mouth. “But you’re right.”

  “That’s love in its own way. It isn’t what . . .” she let her voice trail off.

  Adam’s hand covered hers. “It isn’t what we had.”

  “It isn’t what we could have had,” she said. “What we should have had.”

  She didn’t add what they could have now. That would take some work. They could make it happen.

  “Sounds like my cue to leave.” Jeff got up. One last time, he bent to place a kiss on her forehead.

  She caught the lapels of his robe. “Don’t be a stranger.”

  “No way. I could add you to my client list,” Jeff said.

  Adam glared at him. “Quit while you’re ahead, okay?”

  Jeff laughed. He was still laughing when the door closed behind him, leaving them alone.

  Susan pushed her dish away, rose, and climbed into Adam’s lap, draping her arms around his shoulders. “You needn’t worry about me becoming his client. I can’t afford him.”

  “Then what was that about not being a stranger?”

  “I figured, well, if we worked things out, he could be a friend.”

  Adam’s dark brown eyebrows went up. “A friend with benefits?”

  “I don’t need that.” She hugged him for a long, silent moment. “I have a lot to make up for.”

  “We both do.”

  “The physical connection is so strong between us, I don’t feel we ever got to know each other.”

  He tipped his face up, and a light entered his dark eyes. “What would you like to know about me, Ms. McGraw?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe, what do you do for a living, and do you like it?”

  “I make sure women enjoy themselves at the club where I work,” he said. “Sometimes, I take care of that enjoyment personally.”

  “You didn’t say whether you liked it or not.”

  He shrugged. “It’s good. Gives me a sense of accomplishment to make other people happy.”

  “But it isn’t love.”

  “No. Not the way you mean. Now then,” he said, pushing her hair back from her face, “are you considering getting back together because I’ve given up the sex work?”

  To be totally honest with herself and him, she’d have to admit his new position made things easier. “Yes, and I’m sure you understand why. And no, I’d want you back, anyway.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “And, Adam . . .” She searched for words and found only euphemisms. They wouldn’t fly any longer. “When I called you a whore . . .”

  He put his finger on her lips. “Shhh. You didn’t mean it.”

  She pushed his hand away. “Whether I meant it doesn’t matter. I said it, and I shouldn’t have.”

  “We’ll work through that,” he said. “Only not right this minute. I’m too fucking happy.”

  “Me, too.” She kissed him. “So where do we go from here?”

  “Why don’t I come by the apartment when I get off work?” he said. “We could form a little club of our own.”

  Your visit to Club Ecstasy doesn’t have to end here.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Alice Gaines’s sexy novella

  TOTAL TEMPTATION

  now available from Avon Red Impulse

  and a sneak peek from

  TOTAL ABANDON

  On sale 9/23/14!

  An Excerpt from

  TOTAL TEMPTATION

  Cassandra Willis is ready to let loose, ready to finally explore the sort of wild, uninhibited pleasure she’s always dreamed of, but only if promised complete discretion. Club Ecstasy offers luxury and secrecy, and the lover of her dreams.

  But as she explores her every desire and discovers a naughty side she never knew existed, Cassandra will have to decide how complete her transformation will be. Will this sizzling encounter with the one man capable of meeting her every need be a mere diversion? Or will Cassandra’s temptation lead to a new beginning and a second chance at knowing herself?

  “I’M CASSANDRA. I’D rather not use my last name.”

  “We don’t need names at all.” He took her hand in his, but instead of shaking it, he brought her fingers to his mouth and nibbled gently on the tips.

  She would have laughed at the absurdity of having her fingers in a strange man’s mouth if he hadn’t given her exactly the look from his picture, as if she were something particularly tempting to eat. After a few seconds, she began to tremble, so she pulled her hand back.

  His eyebrow rose. “Nervous, princess?”

  “No, I . . . well . . . that is . . . princess?”

  “That’s what you look like to me,” he said. “The beautiful princess who’s been locked in the tower her whole life. Let’s bring you down to earth.”

  He put his big hands on her hips and turned her around. Before she could protest, ask him what he intended, ask what she should do, he moved his fingers upward and massaged kink after kink out of her shoulders and neck. Her muscles became pliant beneath his touch, and rather than trembling, she swayed backward toward him.

  He put his mouth against her ear. “That’s it, princess. Relax.”

  “You do that very well.” Her voice had dropped a couple of octaves from its earlier croak, and even to her own ears, she sounded . . . well, sexy.

  So when he lowered his lips to the space just behind her earlobe, she didn’t flinch or jump but accepted the caress. As sweet as it was, the kiss lingered in that sensitive spot until her head grew heavy and tipped to the side, exposing her throat to him.

  “Now we’re talking,” he murmured. Reaching around, he grasped the ends of the bow that fastened the top of her blouse and undid it. That bared more of her skin, and he trailed kisses down her neck and onto her shoulder. She almost groaned with pleasure. This was exactly what she’d come for. Pure sex with a man who knew what he was doing. She didn’t have to worry about propriety or spying eyes. She could simply take whatever he gave her, and if this tiny sample indicated what he could do, she’d made the right decision.

  Somehow, he’d made her surrender simple. No discussions or intellectual decisions. She only had to allow herself to enjoy his caresses. How could she not? His touch was exquisite. Just the right amount of pressure, kissing, nibbling, and touching her with his tongue. She leaned against him, silently asking for more and giving him permission to explore.

  “I love the way you respond, princess,” he said. “You’re making me hot.”

  “Yes.” She’d agreed to something with that word. Who knew what? Who cared as long as he continued to set fire to her nerves?

  “Oh, yeah.” His hands rose to cup her breasts and squeezed. Their first step across a sexual border, and it felt so good. Her flesh seemed to swell and press against her bra, becoming sensitive enough to ache with need.

  “You like that?” he asked.

  Instead of answering, she gave him a moan that turned into a sigh.

  “Good.” He found her nipples through the layers of clothing, rubbing his thumbs over the peaks until they stiffened.

  A conscious thought formed at the back of her mind. I’ve become aroused. And was she ever. This was what she’d imagined while reading the explicit parts of her novels. Sensuality that could pull you under, drowning out the real world and washing away any objection with its power.

  Excitement like this shouldn’t be possible. It should only exist in fiction, but here she stood, feeling the tug. Giving in to it. Letting it rob her of thought, of breath.

  “You’re amazing,” he said. “Let’s see if you’re wet.”

  The word scarcely registered, but when he reached to her skirt and tugged up the hem, his destination penetrated the fog in her mind. She had no time to object or even to tense as his fingers brushed against the fabric covering her mound. They landed on the lips between her thighs, so swollen and sensitive. Her legs gave out, and she slumped against him.

  With an evil laugh, he caught her around the waist and held her upright. “Let me guess. Panty hose and panties.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “I didn’t think women wore panty hose anymore,” he said. “That’s okay. I like a challenge.”

  An Excerpt from

  TOTAL ABANDON

  Angela Carter just doesn’t get sex. She’s carefully structured every aspect of her life, but what goes on in the bedroom seems infuriatingly out of her control. Now she needs a man to teach her how to let go and experience the sensual awakening she’s always dreamed of, and the only place to find such an expert is Club Ecstasy—the luxurious, confidential destination for pleasure.

  Above all else, Brent Delaney is a professional—and more than capable in the bedroom. But when he meets Angela, he quickly discovers he’s met his match. He has to get that powerful mind of hers to shut down and let more . . . savage . . . thoughts take over. As an expert, he’s determined to break down this gorgeous woman’s analytical walls. But this seduction is going to take some creativity.

  “YOU REALLY FIND me sexy?”

  “Don’t you ever doubt it.” Brent rolled her onto her back and slid his body over hers. Though he held himself on his elbows, keeping most of his weight off her, his skin pressed against hers. What luxury. Angela ran her hands under his arms and to his back so she could stroke it as he lowered his face to hers.

  This time when they kissed, nothing separated them. Nothing at all. She could bask in his warmth while his lips launched an assault on her senses. Pass after pass of his mouth on hers soon had her brain reeling. Just enough pressure to make her want more and more, and all the time, the evidence of his arousal pressed against her pelvis.

  By the time he finished with her mouth and slid lower, leaving a trail of kisses over her throat, she was struggling for air. She stroked his hair, his shoulders, anything she could reach. And then, he was sliding lower, taking the neglected nipple between his lips. Arching her back, she pressed herself up to him. Offering and demanding at the same time.

  The neural circuits clicked and connected, sending a charge to all the sensitive places on her body. To her pussy, of course, but also to the curves behind her knees. Even to the arches of her feet. With only the gentle sucking at her breast, he could arouse her entire body.

  Then he moved lower, his skin gliding over hers as he pressed kisses all over her ribs and downward. Easing her legs apart, he made a place for himself between her thighs. Oh, God, he was really going to do that. Cunnilingus, oral sex. The ultimate a man could do for a woman. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest, and for a moment she didn’t breathe. If he teased her clitoris with his tongue and she still didn’t come, what in hell would she say to him?

  You were fabulous, but I guess it’s not my night?

  It’s not you; it’s me?

  And still he went lower until his face lay only inches away from her pussy. Now or never time. Countdown to liftoff. Probably.

  She let herself breathe again. Evenly. And she relaxed her shoulders. But when he parted the lips of her sex and made a single pass with his tongue, she gasped.

  He lifted his head. “Something wrong?”

  “No. I’m great. Just great.”

  “I won’t do this if you don’t want me to,” he said.

  “Please. I do. Really.”

  “Okay.” He gave her a smile. “Relax and enjoy.”

  Enjoy, she could manage. Relax, well they’d see about that.

  He went back to work, this time stroking her pussy lips gently. Just a brush of his fingertips. Clever man. Not pushing, but enticing. And honestly, how could any woman resist such a tender caress on her most sensitive flesh. With a sigh, she sank back into the mattress, closed her eyes, and let him proceed any way that came into his head. After a bit, his touch landed on the tip of her clitoris, and this time the jolt that went through her contained nothing but pure pleasure.

  “Ohhhhh.” Her own voice, low and thick with need—she’d never heard herself like that before.

  He took that as his cue and swiped his tongue over her again, from the entrance to her pussy upward, lingering on her clit. Heaven, pure heaven. Her breathing became ragged enough to fill the space around them, and she reached down and burrowed her fingers in his hair to signal her approval. And a silent plea for more.

  She needn’t have begged, because he continued. He flicked his tongue over her clit, circled it, pressed it. And oh, how she responded. Tiny pricks of light appeared on the backs of her eyelids as her arousal went to simmer. Her whole body grew warm and then hot. And he kept going, never letting up on the pressure, building such a fire of need inside her, she ought to go up in flames.

  This time, she’d come. This time, she wouldn’t be able to hold back. She could do it. Nothing would stop her.

  About the Author

  ALICE GAINES likes her fiction hot, hot, hot. Alice has a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. She shares a house in Oakland, California, with her pet corn snake and a stray cat that lives in her yard. When she isn’t making up stories in her head, Alice spends her time cooking, gardening, and listening to her favorite band, Tower of Power.

  Contact Alice at authoralicegaines@gmail.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter (@AliceGaines).

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  By Alice Gaines

  The Club Ecstasy Series

  Total Immersion

  Total Temptation

  The Cabin Fever Series

  Heat Rises

  Storm Bound

  Mating Season