Lightning Strikes

Lightning Strikes
Colleen Collins

THE RIGHT BEDThe first time Blaine Saunders spies the antique brass bed, she has to have it. Practical in every other way, she's suddenly discovered a weakness for sensuous beds where dreams come true.THE WRONG ADDRESSBut the chances of her beautiful bed being delivered to the wrong address twice are about the same as lightning striking twice. Who knew that could happen? Tracking down the elusive bed is exhausting. So when she finally finds it in a stranger's apartment, she's sure no one will notice if she has a quick nap….THE RIGHT MAN!Where is his bed? When Donovan Roy arrives home late one night, the last thing he expects to find is a different bed…complete with a sleeping beauty! And in a white-hot flash of shared passion, he knows he'll do anything to keep her…and the bed.

Blaine wanted Donovan

More than ever, she wanted to make love to him. Fiery, passionate love. The kind that burned away all petty worries. She stared at his profile, wondering how to approach him.

“It’s getting awfully hot in here,” she whispered.

He looked around the room for a thermostat. “Want me to turn down the—” He broke off, as if he suddenly realized she wasn’t talking about the temperature. “Well…what do you want?”

Blaine shifted in her seat. Outside, the rush of rain and wind sounded like someone whispering, “Lovers.”

Lovers. The thought thrilled her.

“What do I want?” To show him, she pressed her lips against his neck, taking tiny, nibbling bites. Emboldened by her fired-up libido and his sharp intake of breath, she leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I want to devour you.”

Dear Reader,

A year ago, my editor visited me in Colorado. We took a day trip to Manitou Springs, a lovely town nestled in the foothills of Pikes Peak, and we were talking about my writing a WRONG BED book. At that moment we walked past an old antique store with the most beautiful, ornate brass bed in the window and my editor pointed at it and said, “There’s your Wrong Bed story.”

And that’s the moment Lightning Strikes began taking shape in my mind. The story opens when Blaine Saunders, down on her luck and out taking a mind-cleansing stroll, is lulled into a store by a sensuously magical brass bed in the window. And on a whim, practical Blaine has a spontaneous moment and buys the bed!

That’s just the beginning of more spontaneous moments in Blaine’s life—moments filled with fun, sensuality and some steamy adventures with a dark, handsome stranger who falls into her life, and into that brass bed….

I invite you to visit my Web site, www.colleencollins.net, where you can read about my upcoming Temptation novels, enter contests and more.

Enjoy Lightning Strikes! And like the heroine in the story, do something fun and sensual for yourself on a whim….

Best wishes,

Colleen Collins

Books by Colleen Collins

HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

867—JOYRIDE

899—TONGUE-TIED

HARLEQUIN DUETS

10—MARRIED AFTER BREAKFAST

22—ROUGH AND RUGGED

30—IN BED WITH THE PIRATE

39—SHE’S GOT MAIL!

Lightning Strikes

Colleen Collins

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

I’d like to dedicate this book to the Common Grounds coffee shop in Denver where I’ve sipped many lattes and written many romances. And thanks to my great friends in Denver with whom I shared lots of laughter and good times. John and Ralph, save a chair for me at the “Little Bear.”

And thank you to my editor, Wanda Ottewell, for her ongoing encouragement and support.

Contents

Chapter 1 (#u773720ab-49b2-54e1-ab68-cae5494d71ae)

Chapter 2 (#u75ec44dc-79cb-5d16-9552-92ef163d5cd1)

Chapter 3 (#uaf5e49e3-eaf9-5e03-a68f-bf2cc148ae0c)

Chapter 4 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

1

BLAINE SAUNDERS GLIDED her fingers along the cylindrical metal and closed her hand tightly around it, loving its hard, smooth texture. Then she sucked in a gasp of air and sneezed.

Damn allergies. Still gripping the section of metal on the brass headboard, Blaine stuffed her other hand into her pants pocket and withdrew one of the always-present tissues she kept handy this time of year. Just a few minutes ago, she’d sneezed her head off outside the Spice of Life coffee shop, one of her fav haunts in Manitou Springs. But then, almost everywhere in Manitou was a fav haunt—what wasn’t to like about a picturesque mountain community filled with quaint shops and winding streets nestled at the base of Colorado’s Pikes Peak?

But when summer hit, the temperatures spiked and the afternoon thunderstorms rolled in, changing the cozy little town into a bowl of pollen.

She blew her nose. June should be declared Pollen Month.

Tucking away the tissue, Blaine brushed her fingers along the glistening headboard and imagined how pleasurable it would be to sleep in this beauty every single night. She leaned closer, catching her reflection in its polished surface. The shimmering metallic image gave her big green eyes and shoulder-length auburn hair a magical allure she never felt in everyday life. If she held her head a little higher, her gold-tinged reflection looked almost like Liv Tyler in Lord of the Rings.