Shameless

Shameless
Kimberly Raye

Deb Strickland has her hands full–keeping her small newspaper in the black and her hands off hunky Jimmy Mission. The seriously sexy rancher has come home to settle down–and that's definitely not in Deb's plans. But faced with Jimmy's killer cowboy charm, Deb's awfully tempted to settle in with him for the duration…Jimmy is looking for a wife–really. Only he can't seem to keep his mind off sassy city gal, Deb Strickland. He knows Deb wouldn't be much good on a ranch–but he'd bet she's incredible in bed! And as much as he wants the sexy, smart-mouthed beauty, he knows he'll never find out–unless he makes Deb an offer she can't refuse. An offer that's absolutely shameless…

“By the way—” Nell’s voice followed him “—you’ve got company waitin’.”

“Company? Who—” The back door slammed and Jimmy had no choice but to find out who his guest was for himself. He popped the tab on his beer and headed for the partially open study door. It was nearly ten at night, and the sidewalks in town rolled up at five. Who in the world—

She was sitting on his desk, her long legs stretched out, her three-inch red stilettos tapping an impatient tempo.

Jimmy smiled as his gaze shifted, skimming up slim calves, shapely knees and thighs that disappeared beneath the edge of her black leather coat. A coat? In July?

Green eyes met piercing blue as Deb Strickland got to her feet, her hands going to the belt that held the edges of her coat together. Jimmy’s grin faltered.

“So, are we going to do this, or what?” Deb asked in a husky voice.

Before he could reply, the edges of the coat fell open and Jimmy got an up close and personal view of the woman who’d haunted his nights for the past year.

Only this time, the woman was real. And she was here, she was naked and she was his.

For the next two weeks, anyhow.

Dear Reader,

Writing books for the Blaze miniseries is like a dream come true for me. I love hot, intense stories that aren’t afraid to push boundaries and explore the sensuality buried deep down inside all of us. I’m thrilled to be back this month, and next, bringing you two steamy reads that feature the wickedly handsome Mission brothers.

For those of you who read my first Blaze novel, Breathless, you might recognize bold, passionate Texas bad boy, Jimmy Mission. He’s back, and he’s hot on the trail of city gal, Deb Strickland. Jimmy and Deb are the least compatible people in Inspiration, Texas. The trouble is, they can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. When they decide an affair will sate their mutual lust, the result is nothing short of shameless….

Next month, get set for another Texas bad boy. When Jack Mission returns home to Inspiration, he promptly turns prim and proper Paige Cassidy’s life upside down. Divorced from a man who swore she could do nothing right, Paige is on a major self-improvement kick. And sexy, restless drifter Jack Mission is just the man to give her lessons in love. Look for Restless in August 2000.

For those of you who wrote asking for Deb and Jimmy’s story, I hope you enjoy Shameless. I truly appreciate your encouragement and excitement!

Happy reading,

Kimberly Raye

P.S. I’d love to hear from you! You can write to me c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9, or visit me on-line at www.kimberlyromance.com.

Shameless

Kimberly Raye

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

For my mother, for always being there.

You’re the best!

Contents

Prologue (#u0d183c1c-0de6-5862-a484-52cb8642f361)

Chapter 1 (#uf4cd479e-39fa-50f6-be6e-a9d65d18bdda)

Chapter 2 (#ufc0243b4-b849-5bf8-a40f-458031e2a6a3)

Chapter 3 (#uf4ae51d9-d9ad-5ffb-9c08-0a8ef4e80511)

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)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Prologue

HE TASTED as good as he looked.

Warm. Wicked. Hungry.

Firm lips flavored with a hint of raspberry—as if he’d just had a drink at the nearby refreshment table—ate at hers, nibbling, coaxing, taking their own sweet time despite the swarm of carnival goers and the line of men, dollar bills in hand, who waited behind this tall, delicious cowboy for a kiss of their own.

Yes, there were more men to kiss, more dollars to be had. Inspiration’s only elementary school needed new books for the library. A worthwhile cause, and the main reason Deb Strickland, owner and editor of the small Texas town’s only newspaper, had agreed to man the kissing booth in the first place. That and the fact that she had a bad reputation to uphold, even if it was all fiction and little fact. No healthy, single, red-blooded, dare-anything city gal would turn down the chance to play lip lock with the town cuties.

Cute being the operative word. As in nice, friendly, like the widower Mitchell from the feed store who gave her a stick of gum every time she stopped by, or Marty from the diner who gave her extra French fries on her lunch plate, or Paul from the gas station who blushed every time she looked at him. “Filler” men in the big newspaper of life.

This guy qualified as a lead story.

He’d looked the typical cowboy with his straw Resistol, faded denim shirt and jeans and dusty brown boots. But there’d been nothing typical about his bright green eyes, as vivid as a stretch of rich pasture on a summer day, or his full sensuous lips that had curved into a teasing grin just as he’d stepped up to her in the booth. He was blond and beautiful and hot. Definitely hot.

She wondered briefly why she hadn’t seen him around before. She’d been living in Inspiration for over six years now and she made it her business to know every handsome man within a fifty-mile radius—a self-proclaimed wild woman always knew the available pool of men even if she didn’t get her feet wet.

She was drowning now, she realized, lost in a wave of heat and passion and him. He sought a deeper connection, and Deb did something she hadn’t done since she’d taken her place in the booth. She opened her mouth and kissed back.