It was quiet on the set.
In the make-believe bedroom,
Patrice and T.K. kissed tenderly.
He ran his lips down her neck, stopping
at the crevice where her breasts
came together in the corset she wore.
Patrice trembled with pleasure. Rehearsal aside, she was turned on by T.K. He slowly removed her corset and her breasts fell into his big hands. Patrice unbuttoned T.K.’s shirt and ran her hands over his smooth, muscular chest. She felt herself growing moist between her legs, so she tried to focus her mind elsewhere.
She closed her eyes and T.K. kissed her. She didn’t recall a kiss being in the script at this point.
The script. She tried to focus on the script. How Bella gestured without speaking, indicating where she wanted Bass to touch her. She could do that. In Bella she’d found free expression. It was almost like making love to T.K. When they mimicked full-on intercourse, there was a thick cloth between them, but they were each naked from the waist up, and their chests were rubbing. What she did for art. They screamed in ecstasy, and it was over. They fell onto the bed, exhausted but satisfied.
The director yelled, “Cut!”
JANICE SIMS
is the author of eighteen novels and has had stories included in nine anthologies. She is the recipient of an Emma Award for her novel Desert Heat and two Romance in Color awards. She also received an Award of Excellence for her novel For Keeps and a Best Novella award for her short story in the anthology A Very Special Love. She lives in central Florida with her family.
Temptation’s Kiss
Janice Sims
To the readers who have been with me since
Affair of the Heart. And to the new readers who just
decided to try one of my books for the first time. You’re
both the reason I stay up late at night writing. Thank you!
Dear Reader,
While writing Temptation’s Kiss I finally understood exactly why you hear about so many actors falling in love on the set of a film. In the book, Patrice and T.K. have a hard time denying their passion for one another. And being constantly thrown together on the set of the movie they are shooting only makes them want each other even more.
And by the way, the character T.K. portrays in the movie, Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves, really existed.
Look for the final book in the trilogy, Dance of Temptation, in a store near you soon. Write to me at [email protected], or visit my website at www.janicesims.com. You can also find me on Facebook. And if you’re not online yet you can write me at P.O. Box 811, Mascotte, FL 34753-0811.
Best always,
Janice Sims
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to my editor, Kelli Martin,
for her help in making this book the best it could
possibly be. And to the rest of the editorial staff at
Kimani Press, including Alex Colon, who gave me
computer tips. You’re all wonderful to work with.
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 1
Sweat trickled between Patrice Sutton’s brows. She wiped it off and dried her damp palm on the leg of her jeans. Her gaze was on the woman ahead of her in the calf-roping competition as she climbed onto her horse and prepared to race out of the box after the calf when it was released from the chute.
Suddenly someone yanked on her shirtsleeve. She peered underneath the brim of her cowboy hat to see that it was her younger sister, Keira. “Patty, no matter what you do, you’ve got to beat Lucy’s time,” Keira said urgently.
Patrice laughed. “This is a charity event, not an actual competition. I’m here to help raise money for the kids. Besides, it’s hot as Hades today. I doubt if I’ll beat her time.”
The rodeo, which was held every July in Albuquerque, New Mexico, benefited a local children’s hospital. The stadium was filled with kids who were out of school for the summer. Patrice was an up-and-coming film star due to a now-canceled sitcom of some acclaim and starring roles in two successful action films.
“Please, Patty,” Keira whined. “There’s no time to tell you why now, but it’s for a good reason.” Patrice smiled. Keira sounded the way she had when she was a little girl.
Looking at her petite sister, Patrice pursed her lips, thinking. “Lucy’s got the best time so far, at ten seconds. That’s pretty good seeing as how some professional ropers come in at seven. She competes in these events year-round. I haven’t competed since high school.”
Frustrated, Keira blew air between full lips. “Yeah, but you ride as often as you can fit it into your schedule, and I know you’ve been practicing like crazy since you’ve been home. Ma told me. You used to beat Lucy all the time when you were both on the local circuit.”
The announcer’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Oops, that’s okay, Mary Jane, better luck next time. Folks, Mary Jane got a cowboy speeding ticket because her horse broke the barrier before his time. So that sets Mary Jane’s time at 21 seconds. Miss Lucy Lopez is still the rider to beat.”
The crowd of nearly twelve hundred spectators cheered for Lucy Lopez.
“If she wins,” hissed Keira, “I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“That’s your sister-in-law you’re talking about,” Patrice said teasingly.
A cowboy in a black hat, denim shirt, jeans, black boots and leather chaps motioned for Patrice to follow him. It was time for her to mount her horse. “Gotta go,” said Patrice to her still-fuming sister.
“You’ve got too much of a competitive spirit to lie down and take it,” Keira yelled at Patrice’s back.
Patrice mounted her favorite quarter horse, Billy One Star. He was named this because of the white mark under his forelock. He was a handsome, healthy three-year-old. Her parents had given him to her on her twenty-fifth birthday last year.
She patted his muscular neck as she envisioned the next few minutes, mentally preparing herself. Her heart thudded with excitement. Like she’d told Keira, she hadn’t competed in years. She was nervous. However, she stayed in shape, and she rode Billy One Star as often as she could get home between gigs. Life as an actress who was trying to limit her roles to films gave her quite a lot of downtime between projects.
Billy One Star was so well trained that he didn’t move a muscle after Patrice signaled to the chute operator that she was ready and the calf went running out of the chute. The rider was supposed to give the calf a running start before going after him, and Patrice waited the appropriate amount of time before signaling