Mystery-Romance Author

A Corpse For Cozumel

Excerpts

Excerpt #1...

Rancid sweat and stale cigarette smoke. Darkness. I wasn’t alone. A few minutes ago, I remembered a rosy-hued sky reflecting on shimmering Caribbean waters. Now the hotel drapes were drawn shut. I stared into the blackness. A flash of steel. Wrapping my wet towel around my hand, I whipped it at my target and heard the satisfying clatter of a knife, followed by a guttural curse. I screamed, kicked him and ran, but he didn’t want to let me off easy. He came at me from behind, his arm tightening around my throat. I was losing consciousness, but at the last minute I thrust my hand out behind me over my shoulder, making contact with something wet and slippery. Jerking back in pain, he withdrew, but he was pumped and wouldn’t be stopped. He was enormous and he wanted me dead.

This was not my idea of a fun Cozumel vacation---instead of going out for a romantic evening I was fighting a losing battle for my life.

A couple days back, I was home resting on the couch, my eyes closed, daydreaming about my upcoming holiday---a white powdery beach, a frothy strawberry daiquiri and a cool guy beside me. He’s buff and tanned, with incredibly sexy eyes. His magic hands soothe my skin, massaging me with suntan oil, sending hot tingles of pleasure down my body, until I’m aching for more.

Escape. That’s what I needed. My Christmas reality is too much for anyone to handle, what with my overbearing brother, his tactless wife, not to mention snotty little Tasha. When the phone rang, I let it ring. I felt comfortably relaxed, with my cat resting on top of me. I had another sip of red wine, a soft-in-the-mouth Shiraz. I ignored the ringing. Let the answering machine deal with it.

My fantasy man slowly brushes my hair aside, his fingers lightly stroking my neck before he kisses my throat, capturing my skin with his lips. His tongue trails to my shoulder and flicks over to the rise of my breast, silken and hot, feathering downwards to the flimsy fabric of my bikini. I thread my fingers through his hair, thick and clean, smelling of soap and balmy, ocean breeze. My hand glides over his broad shoulders to his muscular arms. He’s so firm and powerful, yet he’s all natural, untamed and wild. The intense passion in his eyes fills me with longing, and I know he wants me, as much as I need him. He lowers my strap and his lips caress my breast, his tongue tracing the contours of my nipple. I feel like a bird flying too close to the sun---his lips sear my skin with their heat. Lightly his hand slides along my thigh and hesitates, before he teases me with his lingering touch. My hips move in response, and then everything in me sparks, igniting into flames…

“Adie, pick up,” a hoarse voice ordered. “Where’s the bitch? She owes me a grand.” His voice grated in my ears. “Tell her to pay up, or she’ll be dog meat by the time I get through with her.”

Excerpt #2...

Murder and a smokin' hottie are a dangerous mix! In the bedroom with Wolf, Adie Sturm finds it hard to focus on the illicit Cayman Island account when she's got a sizzling man stretched out beside her.

Music from the bar downstairs floated up, a duet about a kiss. Entranced by the idea of a kiss lasting forever, the words on the hard copy blurred and the song made me think of Wolf's lips, the way they moved on mine. And then I remembered how his body felt against me, his hands stroking my skin. I stopped reading.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed how his tan contrasted with his hair, bleached a streaky blond by the tropical sun, and yet his lashes remained a shade of dark wheat. His elbows pressed down into the bed, he lay there reading, displaying clearly defined, muscular biceps. My eyes followed the line of his back until it met the belt of his jeans and then continued uphill over the enticing curve of his firm butt. I closed my eyes a second to force myself to keep my attention on what I knew was important, but I had difficulty centering on the print as the image of his body kept blurring my concentration.

Wolf's fingers touched my forearm lightly. "Here's a deposit from Tim Reich for forty thousand." Wolf circled the amount and underlined "Reich".

He was so calm. What was the matter with me; why couldn't I focus?

My eyes swept down my sheet and fixed on a transfer of a hundred thousand from Uma Farber-Reich. "Look at this, Wolf," I said, underlining her name.

"Wolf?" Before I could look over to see what he was doing, I felt his hand on my shoulder, pivoting my body about. Flat on my back, I gazed up at his startling blue eyes, my research efforts forgotten. Mesmerized by the passion in his heavy lidded eyes, I froze as he lowered his mouth to press it sensuously on mine, moving it slowly over my lips until they parted eager for him to enter. And when he did, our tongues danced rhythmically, each in tune to the other's tempo. I felt my pen slide out of my fingers, and roll off the edge of the bed, clicking as it hit the tile floor, as his tongue encircled the tender interior of my mouth. I felt entrapped in a net of smoldering heat. My fingers traced his sides, along to his narrow waist—reveling in the velvety warmth of his skin. A pulsing inside me started, vibrating every nerve-end in my body but completed its journey in the center of my lust. When his mouth made contact with my shoulder, lightly licking while his hand pushed my top up, gliding smoothly over my belly—I stiffened self-consciously. A man like this had his pick of females—tall super-thin model types—something I was not.

"You feel so good," he said, softly breathing into my ear, "your belly is so nicely rounded," before he flicked the contours of my ear with his tongue.

Wolf liked fat? I sighed in relief, letting myself go—floating away into his warm stream of caresses.

At that moment, Enrique started to sing about his love addiction. I began to understand, feeling Wolf's tongue flick the hollow of my neck, setting me on fire. I ran my hand over his strong shoulders and traced my fingertips down his bicep. The heat radiated from his body into mine. I felt out of control, like a moth flying into a powerful light.

"I'm collecting for the rest of those potatoes, Princess," he whispered, before his lips slowly trailed down my shoulder. He was right about the price—it was everything I liked and wanted. I closed my eyes and drifted up on a cloud of yearning, sighing softly when his kisses descended to my breasts. My body was leaving logic and reason behind. It didn't matter what I should do anymore. His magnetism was powerful and I was a miniature element that could no longer resist. When his hand pulled down the lacy material edging my bra, I tried to stop. "Wolf…?"

"S-s-h…Just taking care of you—" He pushed my bra strap down and bent his head.

"Um-mm." Speech deserted me as the tip of his tongue touched my nipple, while his fingertips massaged my breast—my breathing becoming ragged in my lustful wanting.

"Let's take your top off," he suggested softly, pulling my top up.

I had no resistance left. I wanted him to make love to me. I raised my arms, reveling in the feel of his hands on my body as he pulled the delicate camisole over my head, tossing it on the bed beside us.

His eyes glimmered intensely with desire. His finger traced the outline of my parted lips. "I want you, Princess," he whispered, his voice husky, "and I'll give you everything you need." His mouth moved slowly on mine stirring the embers inside me into a flame. Withdrawing his lips, his arms reached around me, unhooking my bra. I could feel it slipping out loosely, yet he didn't rush to take it off, instead he kissed the rise of my breast igniting tremors of pleasure. I slid my hands over his butt as his lips lowered. My nipples swelled in anticipation as his tongue awakened one and then the other. My fingers wandered into his thick, silky hair, and threaded through the strands, lost to the sensation. The scent of ocean and soap assailed my nostrils. He massaged my breast slowly, and his lips captured a nipple, suckling it before wandering over to the neglected breast to give it equal attention. I wiggled my hips restlessly increasingly aroused by his touch. Sensitive to my movements, Wolf undid my zipper and eased my capris off before he licked the length of my inner thigh and along the edge of my lacy thong, exciting me further. I moistened in anticipation.

Thump…thump…thump! The rapping on the door jerked me out of that heady surreal state I was in.

My eyes met Wolf 's.

"What the…?" Wolf sat up equally disconcerted by the noise.

A fist hammered on the door every few seconds, getting louder with each impact. Ignoring it was impossible when Daniella shouted, "Hola, Wolf! Open the door! It's important!" She giggled loudly before she solidly banged the door again.

"Sounds like she's loaded, Wolf."

Wolf whispered in my ear, "I'll answer the door, Adie. She's making so much noise someone is bound to call in a complaint. That's the last thing we need to draw attention to the fact that you're here with me. We need to keep your whereabouts hidden." He kissed my lips sensuously once more before he left the room closing the door behind him. I lay there a moment, my body in shock before I realized what this meant. Springing up off the bed, I pulled the door slightly ajar.

I could see Wolf kicking my shoes under the couch before he unfastened the door a crack, thinking he could stall her, no doubt. He was wrong. Holding a bottle of wine by the neck, Daniella wedged herself in the door and pushed through. She sashayed her way over to the couch where she sprawled back against the cushions, and crossed her legs, revealing a great deal of thigh.

"Get some glasses, Wolf." Her eyes studied Wolf 's bare chest and shoulders and she wet her mouth with the tip of her tongue. "This bottle of merlot is at the perfect temperature and it's open.

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