“Have I ever mentioned that you are absolutely gorgeous?”
Trevor raised his head from where he’d been conducting a thorough exploration of Jamie’s chest. “Men aren’t gorgeous,” he said gruffly.
“That’s what I’d always thought,” Jamie said. Then she chuckled softly. “But I have to tell you, it always ticked me off that you were so much prettier than I was. Lucky for you, I’m getting over it.”
“You’re something else, you know that?” Trevor shook his head in exasperation. “Would you be quiet for a minute? I’m trying to seduce you here.”
Jamie grinned, and then shivered as his hand accidentally touched a sensitive spot. “Uh, Trev? Maybe you haven’t realized this, but I’m pretty well seduced already.”
He sat up and brought his hands to her waist, easing her skirt down her hips and revealing her skimpy bikini panties. “I should have known that you wouldn’t even take this seriously,” he grumbled, as he dropped kisses along her thigh, her hip, before tossing aside her panties.
But Jamie was anything but amused when Trevor stood back and kicked off his pants, proving to her just how much he wanted her. Her mouth went dry as he returned to her and finally brought them flesh to flesh.
“Trust me, Trev,” Jamie groaned in delight. “I’m taking this very seriously.”
Dear Reader,
When I originally conceived the SOUTHERN SCANDALS miniseries, I planned for it to be four books—the McBride cousins, Savannah, Tara, Emily and Emily’s long-lost brother, Lucas. But it turned out that Honoria, Georgia, wasn’t so easy to leave. The remaining McBrides—Tara’s brothers, Trent and Trevor—insisted on having stories of their own….
Unlike the rest of his rebellious family, Trevor McBride had always taken pride in his respectability…until a scandal involving his late wife brings him home to Honoria in secret disgrace. His problems are compounded when he comes face-to-face with a woman he has never been able to forget—Jamie Flaherty, who’s come home to face her own demons. Trevor isn’t sure he’s “wild” enough to capture Jamie’s heart…but he’s sure willing to try. And he discovers a few surprises about Jamie—and himself—along the way.
I hope you enjoy visiting with THE WILD MCBRIDES!
Gina Wilkins
Books by Gina Wilkins
HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION
668—SEDUCING SAVANNAH*
676—TEMPTING TARA*
684—ENTICING EMILY*
710—THE REBEL’S RETURN*
Seductively Yours
Gina Wilkins
For my agent of fifteen years, Denise Marcil, my partner and my friend.
Contents
1
FOR GENERATIONS, scandal had haunted the McBrides like an avenging spirit. At times, Trevor McBride felt as if the sole purpose of his family’s existence had been to provide fodder for the avid gossips of Honoria, Georgia. Yet up until now, he had considered himself immune to the curse.
A straight-A student in high school, town baseball star, college scholarship winner and distinguished graduate, he’d gone directly from law school to Washington, D.C., where he’d quickly earned notice as an up-and-coming young statesman. His marriage to a woman from a distinguished and scandal-free old Virginia family had produced two beautiful children, and had generally been regarded to be happy and successful.
Trevor had managed to evade his family legacy for thirty-one years. But he’d just discovered, to his chagrin, that scandal would not accept rejection from a McBride. And when it finally made an appearance in Trevor’s life, it did so with a vengeance. He was finally learning to ignore the whispers, for the most part, but he had never learned to accept them.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Martha Godwin and Nellie Hankins watching him as he pushed a grocery cart down the cereal aisle. Their mouths moved rapidly and he had no doubt he was the subject of their conversation—even though, unlike the scandalmongers in D.C., they didn’t know the unpleasant details of his wife’s death nearly a year earlier. No one in Honoria knew, and Trevor intended to keep it that way. “Come on, Sam,” he said. “Stop dawdling.”
His five-year-old son had stopped to examine a particularly enticing box. “Can we get this one, Daddy?”
Trevor glanced at it. Chocolate puffs with chocolate-flavored marshmallows. “Don’t think that’s a good choice, son. Let’s stick with what we’ve got. Now, come on. Abbie’s getting hungry.”
“Me, too.” Sam abandoned the sugar-laden cereal and hurried after his father and sister. “Can I have a Fun Meal? They’re giving away race cars this week.”
Looking at the shopping cart filled with nutritious food, Trevor almost sighed at his son’s daily request for a dry burger and greasy fries accompanied by an inexpensive toy. He tried to give in to the request no more than a couple of times a month. “Not tonight, Sam.”
From her seat in the shopping cart, fourteen-month-old Abbie babbled something incomprehensible. Trevor gave her a distracted smile and pushed the cart past the gossip mavens, hoping they would be content to talk about him without feeling the need to talk to him. Maybe if he pretended not to notice them…
“Trevor. Oh, Trevor, dear.”
He would have cursed if his children hadn’t been listening. Reluctantly realizing a conversation was inevitable, he stopped and turned, feeling Sam crowding close to him. He made no effort to smile, but he spoke cordially enough. “Good evening, Mrs. Godwin.”
Nellie Hankins, he noticed, had bustled away. No Hankins would be seen associating with a McBride—the result of another old scandal.
Martha Godwin,