Page 45

By Lizbeth Selvig

SINFUL REWARDS 1

ABILLIONAIRES ANDBIKERSNOVELLA

By Cynthia Sax

COVERING KENDALL

ALOVE ANDFOOTBALLNOVEL

By Julie Brannagh

An Excerpt from

VARIOUS STATES OF UNDRESS: VIRGINIA

by Laura Simcox

If she had it her way, Virginia Fulton—­daughter of the President of the United States—­would spend more time dancing in Manhattan’s nightclubs than working in its skyscrapers. But when she finds herself in the arms of sexy, persuasive Dexter Cameron, who presents her with the opportunity of a lifetime, Virginia sees it as a sign... but can she take it without losing her heart?

Virginia threw her hands in the air and walked over to face him. “Come on, Dex! Be realistic. You need ateamto fix this store. An army.”

“So hire one.” He leaned toward her. “I need you. And you need me.”

“I don’t need you.” She narrowed her eyes. There was no way she was going to tell him about dumping Owlton. Not right now, anyway.

Dex slid off the desk and covered the few feet between them, frowning. “Yes, you do,” he said.

She stared at his mouth, her legs suddenly feeling wobbly. “No, I don’t.” She raised her hands to his shoulders to steady herself.

“You can choose to keep telling yourself that, or you can make a move.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Move forward.”

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know if I can.” The words came out raspy, and the look of irritation in Dex’s eyes changed into something much more focused. He hesitated for a moment and then leaned closer. “Make a leap of faith, trust your instincts, and take the job. You’ll have my full support.”

As she gazed up into his steady eyes, she was all too aware of her fear. Because of cowardice, she never acted as if she expected anyone to take her seriously—and so they didn’t. It pissed her off. She didn’t like being pissed, especially not at herself. Dex took her seriously, didn’t he? She closed her eyes. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

When she opened them, he smiled. “Great. Now ... about moving forward?”

“Yeah?”

“Literallymoving forward would be fantastic. I never got to kiss you back, you know.”

“I ... didn’t expect you to,” she said.

“That might be, but the more I thought about your kiss last night, the more necessary kissing you back became to me. And now? I can’t think about much else.”

She gripped his shoulders and gazed into his eyes. “To be honest, neither can I.”

“Please tell me we can try again. Kiss me and see what happens.” His voice was low and thick.

Virginia’s legs almost gave out from under her, and a shuddering breath left her body. She should be taking a step back, not contemplating kissing him again. Her body swayed forward, and she tightened her grip on his shoulders to steady herself. Just as she closed her eyes to think, his mouth descended, hot and sweet, angling over hers and stopping a hairsbreadth from her lips.

“Mmm,” he uttered, the sound coming from deep in his throat, and it was all she needed.