Tempt Me Again

206 Pages·2016·0.69 MB·English

by  Etherington Wendy

She laid a hand on his shoulder, reconsidered a moment, then sent
her other hand southward
Hardening instantly, Tyler sucked in a breath.
“I’ve been thinking about fantasies,” Andrea said softly, stroking him.
“Yeah?” His voice was little more than a whisper.
“Remember how we broke several traffic laws in the squad car last night?”
His erection pulsed. “Vividly.”
“Well, there’s another one where I get naked in the sheriff’s office.”
“We’re not in the sheriff’s office.”
She grabbed the hem of her sundress and lifted it over her head. “Then we’ll
have to make do with what we’ve got.”
Dear Reader,
Back to Palmer’s Island!
If you haven’t stuck your toes in the sand or been introduced to the fun and
eccentric islanders yet, then welcome. My fictional island is a combination of
two real places in South Carolina—Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island. In
addition to allowing me to write off my trips there (research, you know), they’ve
inspired a world that I hope you’ll want to come to again and again.
The Atlantic breezes tend to inspire lots of romance—of course—and this time
you’ll meet Tyler Landry and Andrea Hastings, who’ve both moved back to the
home where they were raised and find themselves seeing each other in a whole
new light.
Unfortunately, while the sheriff’s out of town and Deputy Landry is hoping to be
elected to succeed the revered lawman, there’s a “serial silver stealer” on the
loose. The famous task force (which includes a nun, two church ladies and a
librarian) is reassembled in the hopes of ending the crime spree and getting the
peaceful island back to normal.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Wendy Etherington
Wendy Etherington
TEMPT ME AGAIN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendy Etherington was born and raised in the deep South—and she has the
fried chicken recipes and NASCAR ticket stubs to prove it. The author of nearly
twenty books, she writes full-time from her home in South Carolina, where she
lives with her husband and two daughters.
Books by Wendy Etherington
HARLEQUIN BLAZE
263—JUST ONE TASTE…
310—A BREATH AWAY
385—WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS…
446—AFTER DARK
HARLEQUIN NASCAR
HOT PURSUIT
FULL THROTTLE
NO HOLDING BACK, with Liz Allison
RISKING HER HEART, with Liz Allison
To my editor, Kathryn Lye, for her insight,
valiant revisions and never-ending patience.
Thanks a bunch!
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
Chapter 15
1
“I THINK YOU OUGHT to seduce him.”
Andrea Hastings turned her surprised gaze toward her friend, who was
currently binding her into the breath-stealing corset necessary to give
authenticity to her early-nineteenth-century costume ball gown. “How the devil
am I supposed to do that?”
Sloan Caldwell Kendrick simply—and wickedly—raised her eyebrows.
Andrea scoffed and faced the full-length antique oval mirror again. “I know
how in the technical sense…”
“But not so much in the practical. You’re too smart for your own good. I’ve
got a book—”
Andrea waved her away. Being Palmer’s Island’s librarian, Sloan always
had a book. “Get real. I’m not going to seduce Tyler Landry with printed
instructions.”
Sloan smiled wide. “There are illustrations, too.”
Closing her eyes, Andrea felt her face heat. Despite her confident exterior,
she still had a hard time with emotional vulnerability, and she considered sex to
be the ultimate moment of exposure.
Especially with Tyler.
Well, she assumed with Tyler.
She’d tutored him in high school math and had fallen like a brick for his
easy smile and bright blue eyes. His ability to excel in everything except algebra
had earned him a scholarship to the Naval Academy, and, at the beach party the
night before he was due to leave, she’d offered herself to him.
To, hopefully, find the G-spot, not the x-and y-axis.
He’d either been too embarrassed or too noble to accept. She’d never found
out which, since she’d run away like a silly little girl, which she’d certainly
been.
In the years since, she’d tried to think like her high school buddy Sloan—
confident and willing to take a chance. Professionally, she’d succeeded. In her
personal life…not so much.
She’d had lovers; she’d moved on. But she still burned a ridiculous,
unrealistic candle—okay, flaming torch—for Tyler. It was an embarrassment,
something a woman who’d traveled the world, who worked for a global
insurance company, who knew art, history and finances, who freakin’
specialized in spotting forgeries, should be able to shrug off without a backward
glance.
Sloan jerked the corset strings again, then tied them.
Andrea winced. “Authenticity, my ass.”
“Actually, the authenticity is necessary for your waist.” Sloan turned away
to snag the elaborate lace-and-silk gown off the bed. “And aren’t you always
telling me the proof is in the details?”
It’s pretty crappy to have your own words thrown back at you on a regular
basis.
That’s what recently moving back to her South Carolina island home had
gotten her—old friends she couldn’t snow with her degrees and put-upon self-
assurance. People like Sloan knew she was a nerd—always had been, always
would be—but still thought she was pretty great anyway.
“The details in my industry involve lots of chemistry,” Andrea pointed out.
“Good. So does seduction.”
As Sloan dropped the frothy gown over her head, Andrea focused on the
anticipation of the party that was due to start in less than an hour. Her friend and
her husband, Aidan—who could challenge even Tyler for the Hot and Beautiful
Man of Palmer’s Island prize—had organized a fund-raiser with an 1812 theme