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Excerpt

King was completely flustered. He couldn’t believe that Adelaide had wanted to see him again. So, there he was, lifting his bicycle off the roof racks of his trusty Subaru. There was nothing better than being outdoors.

Nerves churned in his belly, and he looked down at the T-shirt and board shorts he was wearing. The dark colours were flattering on him, and the shirt hugged his shoulders and arms, highlighting the muscles he’d worked so hard to build over the last couple of years. He was comfortable, and that always boded well.

He lifted the second bike off his roof rack and wheeled it over to the path they were cycling along. It was the first thing he’d thought of when Adelaide said she wanted to know him better. He loved cycling almost as much as surfing, two things that a few years ago he never would have imagined doing. But a lot had changed in that time.

“Hey, you,” Adelaide greeted him warmly as he looked up, the smile in her voice matching the sweet tilt of her lips upward. King swallowed, his eyes doing a slow lap down the length of her body. Damn. She was fine. Dressed in a simple white singlet and purple knee-length yoga pants paired with beat-up sneakers, she was radiant. Leaning in, he hugged her and breathed in the vanilla scent of her shampoo. Her waist was tiny in his big hands. Need flared inside him. The desire to pull her close and press their bodies together, to take her lips in a kiss that would undoubtedly go from zero to scorching in a millisecond was tempered only by the fact that they were in far too public a setting.

“Hi, beautiful,” he greeted her, Adelaide’s eye-crinkling smile at his compliment warming his insides. He motioned to the bikes and said, “I thought we could go for a ride along the beachfront. The gym I go to is right on the beach just south of the mall and they serve great coffee there. I thought we could stop in there before moseying back. You up for it?”

“Absolutely.” She stepped forward, hooked her arm around his and pressed herself against him. He loved how she did that. There was no hesitation, no second-guessing herself. She went for whatever she wanted. As much as her beauty had drawn his attention, it was her vitality and confidence that had wound around him like a vine creeping up a tree, holding him tight.

She pressed her lips to his and his body came alive, nerve endings singing with the attraction ping-ponging between them. Soft and pillowy, her lips tasted of strawberry lip gloss, her breath minty fresh. He wanted more. But his far-too-sensible nature held him back. “This is perfect. I was excited when you said we would be doing something outdoors. The only thing I’ve done outside of late is mow the lawn. It’s so overgrown.”

He blinked and cleared his throat. “Do you mow the lawn often?”

“All the time,” she groaned. “It’s out of control. Wild at the moment. Hell, I’d do almost anything if I could find somebody do it for me.”

King bit back a laugh. He knew damn well the grass she was talking about, but he couldn’t resist the urge to tease her. Either that, or his brain had taken a backseat to his traitorous dick—that bugger was more than happy to misinterpret her words. “I could come over sometime,” burst out before he could bite his tongue, and then he kept digging that hole, adding, “Maybe I should do some push-ups or squats beforehand. You know, get the blood pumping.” He unsuccessfully tried to stifle his smile again. A laugh bubbled in his chest, but he swallowed it down.

“No, save your energy. You’d need it to get through my patch.” She stilled, her gaze shooting to his before her cheeks flushed a lovely pink. She opened her mouth to speak, but a laugh tore from her lips instead. “Oh. My. God. Did I just say that?”

King snorted, his chuckle breaking free until they were both breathless with laughter. He tucked an errant piece of hair behind her ear and nodded before wrapping his arm loosely around her waist. He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering against her soft skin.

She buried her face in her hands, protesting with a squeak, “I meant actual grass. The stuff that grows in my backyard.” She groan-laughed again. “Green, overgrown, full of weeds. Grows on the ground. In dirt. That grass. Not that grass.” She fanned her face, her cheeks flaming and her eyes watering with the tears of laughter rolling down her face. “Just kill me now.”

“So that’s no to push-ups?” he teased.

“I mean, hey, if you want to entertain me by doing push-ups, I’d gladly watch. As long as you’re shirtless, and maybe not wearing pants either. But there won’t be any mowing of my grass. My… grass… is perfectly maintained. No need for any trimming.”

“That’s… important.” He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. Just a brush of his to the corner of her smile, tasting the salty tears that had tracked down her cheeks. He bit down his groan and resisted the urge to deepen the kiss. When her breath caught, King nuzzled her nose, their lips only a hair’s breadth apart. God damn, he wanted her.

As if sensing his struggle, Adelaide pulled back. “Should we ride?” she asked, with a wiggle of

her eyebrows. “Hop on and go hard.”

“Oh, so now you’re teasing me?” he growled playfully, nipping her lobe. “I can go all day, you know. Last the distance. Keep pushing until you’re soaked and begging me to let up.” His words, whispered against the smooth skin of her throat, left a trail of goosebumps in their wake. She shivered and rested her hand on his belly, her thumb teasing the waistline of his shorts. He froze. Every muscle in his body went rigid. Locked tight. His erection throbbed.

Man, if he didn’t settle down, he was going to come in his pants like a randy teenager.

“Let’s put a pin in this until we can get somewhere a little more private. But until then, I want you to know that I’m game.” She pulled back, ran her gaze down the length of his body, her eyes snagging at the unmistakable bulge in his shorts and sucked in a breath. “Yeah, definitely game.”

Just that thought, the knowledge that she wanted him, maybe as much as he did her, sent him rocketing to the edge of sanity. Instinctively, he reached down, clamping his fingers around the base of his cock, bringing him down from the precipice. He needed a distraction, or he’d embarrass himself spectacularly right there on the esplanade in the centre of Surfers Paradise.

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About the Author

By day Ann Grech lives in the corporate world and can be found sitting behind a desk typing away at reports and papers or lecturing to a room full of students. She graduated with a PhD in 2016 and is now an over-qualified nerd. Glasses, briefcase, high heels and a pencil skirt, she’s got the librarian look nailed too. If only they knew! She swears like a sailor, so that’s got to be a hint. The other one was “the look” from her tattoo artist when she told him that she wanted her kids initials “B” and “J” tattooed on her foot. It took a second to register that it might be a bad idea.

She’s never entirely fit in and loves escaping into a book—whether it’s reading or writing one. But she’s found her tribe now and loves her MM book world family. She dislikes cooking, but loves eating, can’t figure out technology, but is addicted to it, and her guilty pleasure is Byron Bay Cookies. Oh and shoes. And lingerie. And maybe handbags too. Well, if we’re being honest, we’d probably have to add her library too given the state of her credit card every month (what can she say, she’s a bookworm at heart)!

She also publishes her raunchier short stories under her pen name, Olive Hiscock.

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