Title: STEEL and LACE: The Complete Series (Lace #1 – 4)
Publication Date: March 25, 2013
From the moment their eyes locked across a crowded room, he recognized something in her that he needed. Something that was impossible to resist...
Enigmatic and sexy, Carter Morgan is a wealthy CEO and playboy who keeps a model on his arm and the walls around his heart high. His dangerous good looks and seductive charm gets him whatever he wants— whenever he wants it. That is until he meets Eva.
When smart and spirited fashion editor Evangeline Austin encounters Carter Morgan, sparks fly and worlds collide. Her every instinct tells her to run, yet she can't deny the overwhelming effect he has on her. They embark on a passionate affair that threatens to consume them.
They try to defy the odds by making their own rules and surrendering completely to the exquisite power of their passion but when unforeseen forces threaten to tear them apart, Carter and Eva must decide if the moments of exquisite perfection are worth the intense pain.
The bestselling erotic romance series from Adriane Leigh is now available in one volume.
Carter POV - Chapter One - Steel and Lace #1
Nikki had been hounding me
about this opening for weeks. I knew I couldn’t keep it from her, we'd been
fucking for months and as much as I tried to keep her out of my business life,
she always managed to weasel her way in. It didn't matter, showing up with
someone was good in a social situation; and Nikki wasn't a bad date to have.
The press made more of an effort to turn up at these events if they thought the
beautiful and bitchy supermodel Nikki Vilanova would be on my arm. She was
always good for a little drama in the tabloids; not that I liked the drama but
I could appreciate the role the press played in my line of work. They'd been
following our relationship for a while, if you could even call it that. When
she was in town we spent time together, we were never anything more or less. I
walked the line with keeping her at a comfortable distance and keeping her
happy because she was a great fuck. That had been established the first night
we were together.; she was wild and uninhibited and never wore out her welcome.
She didn't require any post-coital cuddling-- just the way I preferred it. I
had a bedroom attached to my office for late nights that had the added benefit
of serving as a fuck pad. She'd asked once or twice for me to take her home,
but I'd been able to put her off easily. The truth was, I wasn’t comfortable
bringing anyone home. I was wary of who I could trust and wasn't comfortable
inviting them into my house and my life any more than I had to.
Nikki and I had shown up
just a few minutes before to the opening of a new boutique on Newbury and it
wasn't long before I was bored out of my skull. Nikki giggled and kept a
predatory hand on my forearm as we sipped champagne. My eyes scanned the room
for faces I knew and wanted to avoid, and for those that I would need to mingle
with tonight. Madeleine would have been my first choice for a date, she was
great with these things; she had the ability to direct conversation and knew
intuitively when I wasn't interested in talking to someone. Nikki on the other
hand was interested in talking to everyone; she liked to keep as many
connections in her back pocket as possible, never knowing when they would come
in handy later. I guess at the end of the day I was just another connection for
her, albeit one that she fucked when it was convenient.
I tightened my jaw when
Nikki’s fingertips trailed up my forearm suggestively. I ignored her intimate
gesture and brought the champagne flute to my lips before my gaze settled on a
pair of dark green eyes that were focused on mine. Striking, soft, gentle green
eyes. My heart rate accelerated and the conversation around me seemed to fall
away. The world halted as my eyes focused on the dark-haired beauty staring
back at me.
My gaze dropped to the
chestnut tendrils framing her beautiful, heart-shaped face. Her full lips were
curved in a soft frown as she looked at me. What could she be thinking that
would have her frowning at me? Perhaps my reputation had preceded me, it wouldn't
be the first time.
But this girl-- I knew I
had to meet her, to talk to her, to hear her voice; those lush lips curving
around sensual words. I envisioned soft lips locked on my ear lobe, whispering
breathless moans along the skin of my neck, hearing her call my name as I sank
into her.
Fuck me, this girl is
affecting me.
But I knew I was affecting
her too. I could see it. She couldn't break our intense stare down any easier
than I could.
Finally the world started
to spin again and I arched my eyebrow at her, a silent acknowledgment of the
moment that had flared between us. I watched her take a quick breath, her full
breasts perfectly outlined in her fitted white dress. Fuck, I wanted to feel
them in my hands, suck on them, tease them until her nipples hardened. What
color would they be when I coaxed her body into arousal? The same shade as her
dark, rosy lips?
Her eyes widened for a
moment and then she turned back to her friend and tried to pretend that I
hadn't just swept the air from her lungs.
I had to meet her.
I waited until the party
cleared out later that night and Nikki was tied up with someone else. I didn’t
know with who and I didn't care, I was just glad to have her off my back so I
could seek out the brunette beauty that I'd been consumed with all night. She'd
never been far from my sight. I'd followed her with my eyes, insuring she
didn't leave and watching her mingle. In my perusal, I'd noticed every single
server pass her flirty glances as they gave her champagne. Jealously poured through
my body when she smiled sweetly back at them. I'd have to call the company that
provided the waitstaff and make it known in no uncertain terms that if the
servers couldn't refrain from flirting with the guests, they would no longer be
getting my business.
I watched as she spoke to
her friend, a smile spreading across her face, her eyes crinkling in the most
captivating way. My heart skipped a beat every time she laughed because her
entire face lit up and her green eyes danced. I swear that smile had every guy
in the room falling at her feet, but I knew intuitively they weren't her type;
they couldn't make a girl like that happy. And even if I wasn't her type, I'd
make it my mission in life to be.
Fuck if I can't keep my
eyes off her, I'm ruined.
"Great view." I
breathed in her ear as she stood at the windows looking out over Boston Harbor.
I wouldn’t know if the view was great or not, all I could think about was
running my hands through her hair. Twisting my fingers in it, feeling the silky
strands caress my skin. Fuck, my dick's getting hard just thinking about her
hair.
What the fuck is wrong with
me?
She spun around and a spray
of champagne landed on my herringbone suit. Her burning green eyes traveled up
my body. I held my breath as she took me in.
"Oh my God, I am so
sorry," she finally spoke before setting her glass down on a nearby table
and digging through the tiny purse she was carrying. My eyes flicked from her
flushed face to the liquid dampening the arm of my suit. I frowned for a moment
and wondered how I could work with this situation. The thought crossed my mind
that I could coerce her into a date in return for spilling on my suit. A smirk
played across my lips at the thought.
"It's alright." I
placed a hand on her arm and fire sparked in my system. Her soft skin beneath
mine had the blood pumping through my veins at a punishing pace. She took my
fucking breath away and I hadn’t even gotten her dress off yet.
"I'm sorry, I'll pay
to have it cleaned. If you send the bill to me. Here…" She said before she
was off digging in her bag again. Fuck that bag. Look at me.
"I've got it.
Really," I said as I squeezed her arm reassuringly. My eyes couldn't help
but trail down her curvy body; past her defined waist, her lush hips that I
couldn't stop thinking about digging my fingers into. I imagined those shapely
legs wrapped around my hips as I plowed into her soft body. Fuck, my dick grew
impossibly harder as my brain shut down.
"Carter Morgan."
I held my hand out to her.
"Evangeline
Austin," she replied as she placed her small hand in mine. I was lost in
the swirling green depths of her eyes as we gazed at each other. The world fell
away and all that existed in that moment was her hand in mine.
"Hey Eva, are you
ready? Everyone who's anyone has come and gone." I heard a voice burst our
perfect, hypnotic bubble. I didn't care. I was choosing to block everyone else
out. Nothing mattered more in that moment than the beautiful, green-eyed angel
whose hand was locked in mine. "Uh… hi, I'm Cate Evans." The voice at
my shoulder intruded on the moment I thought I was having with this girl--
Evangeline, Eva. I glanced to see the friend she'd been with all night. Short,
blonde, bubbly Cate Evans; my mind registered the name and filed it away for
later.
I only nodded at her and
then my eyes searched out Evangeline's again. I couldn't stay away from her for
long. I knew nothing about her and yet I was sure of that. I was consumed with
the beautiful, flustered, carefree Evangeline Austin.
"Well Evangeline, despite
the fact that you may have ruined my favorite suit, I hope to see you
again." Fuck if that didn't come out wrong. Here I'd met a beautiful,
dark-haired angel and I may have fucked it all up before it'd even begun. I
flashed her the confident smirk that generally gets me out of trouble in any
given situation and hoped I could rectify the bad impression I'm sure I made on
her.
"Ms. Evans." I
addressed her friend before giving Evangeline one last lingering glance. Then I
dropped her hand and turned to walk out. I scanned the room for Nikki and saw
her drinking with a large group by the bar. Nikki was a party girl in the
truest form and tonight wouldn’t be the first time I'd ducked out before
midnight while she stayed out 'til dawn.
I pulled my phone out of my
pocket as soon as I hit the pavement and found Parker waiting along the curb.
"Mr. Morgan."
Parker nodded as I slid into the backseat.
"Evening,
Parker." I mumbled as I scrolled through the list of contacts on my phone
before I found the number I was looking for and hit send.
"Johnson? Find me
everything you can on Evangeline Austin and Cate Evans in Boston. May be
connected to the fashion industry. It's time sensitive. Thanks." I hung up
as Parker pulled into the traffic of the Boston night.
Evangeline. She was an
angel after all.
USA Today Bestselling Author Adriane Leigh was born and raised in a snowbank in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now lives amongst the sand dunes of the Lake Michigan lakeshore. She graduated with a Literature degree but never particularly enjoyed reading Shakespeare or Chaucer. Adriane is married to a tall, dark and handsome guy, plays mama to two sweet baby girls, and is a voracious reader and knitter.
