欧宝娱乐

“He looked nearly inconspicuous, a handsome man in faded Levi鈥檚 and tennis shoes. A Yankees baseball cap covered his dark hair, the bill shadowing his features. Casual. Beautiful. A day鈥檚 growth of beard on his jaw did little to detract from his excruciating attractiveness.
鈥淪he鈥檚 eight months old, but she knows how to flirt,鈥� the baby鈥檚 mother said. 鈥淟et go of the nice man鈥檚 shirt, Gabbi.鈥� She dislodged the child鈥檚 hand, then told Adrian, 鈥淚鈥檓 sorry. She must like the colors on your T-shirt.鈥�
Eight-month-old Gabbi鈥檚 big blue eyes were fixed on Adrian鈥檚 face, not on his T-shirt. Billie released a shaky breath. Good God. Even babies weren鈥檛 immune.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“She grabbed her briefcase and took a step toward him. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have a last name?鈥�
鈥淓veryone has a last name.鈥� His hand hovered in the air, waiting. He was forcing her to cross the marble floor to meet him, and like a Luna moth drawn to a midnight moon, she drifted toward him.
When she reached him, she took his hand and looked up into his face. 鈥淚s it Jones? Smith? Or Brown?鈥�
His lips twitched. 鈥淣one of the above.鈥�
鈥淎nd you won鈥檛 tell me?鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 not necessary information.鈥�
She tilted her head, studying his angular features. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 look like an Adrian.鈥�
His smile broadened. 鈥淚magine that.鈥�
鈥淢ore like a Carlos, or a Juan, or a Diego.鈥�
鈥淭hose are Hispanic names.鈥�
鈥淎ren鈥檛 you Hispanic?鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 anything you want me to be.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“He was a stranger, an alien creature, impossible to reach or understand. And still she wanted to try. 鈥淭ell me what you need.鈥�
鈥淭his,鈥� he whispered, watching her lips move against his palm. 鈥淛ust this.鈥� He rose over her, pinning her against the cushions, and stroked her hair with a tenderness that seemed misplaced among the sultry sensations it awakened in her.
鈥淒o your clients pleasure you?鈥� she asked hoarsely, her head tilting and following his fingers as they massaged her neck.
鈥淚f that鈥檚 what they want. You pleasure me, Billie. The sight of you. The sound of your voice. I want to hear it all sorts of ways. Laughing. Whispering. Moaning. Crying out.鈥� He caught her mouth in a lush, hungry kiss, and there was nothing sweet or grateful about it this time. Erotic delight arrowed through her with each sleek thrust of his tongue between her lips, a sultry promise of what he would do to her if she let him.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“His voice grew more remote. She wondered if he was calling from his condominium, where he鈥檇 lost his best friend, or from Avalon, where he鈥檇 lost himself. 鈥淚 like you, Billie. You鈥檙e a nice person. Good company. But tonight was a mistake.鈥�
She flung an arm over her eyes and swallowed the lump of tears that had lodged in her throat. 鈥淥h? Which part? The part where you introduced me to your family and exposed yourself as coming from a perfectly average, wholesome background? Or the part where you touched me and turned me inside-out while swaying in a hammock in the rich, beautiful woods鈥攐ne of the most searing sexual experiences of my life? Which part do you regret, Adrian?鈥�
鈥淎ll of it. I can鈥檛 have those things with you. You know what I am.鈥�
鈥淵es, Adrian, I know what you are. A gentle man. A likable one. Smart. Cultured. Sexy. I know what you are.鈥�
鈥淏ut the other part鈥斺€�
鈥淲hat about the other part? You hide behind the other part.鈥� She yanked the pillow out from beneath her head and winged it across the bedroom, furious suddenly. 鈥淒id you call to tell me I鈥檓 not going to see you anymore? Because if that鈥檚 the case, hurry up and say it. Then hang up and go back to work, and don鈥檛 worry one bit about me. I鈥檝e been on my own a long time, and I鈥檓 tougher than you think. I won鈥檛 cling to any man who鈥檇 rather be a-a鈥斺€� She stumbled, bit back the ugly words rushing to her lips.
鈥淎 what?鈥� he countered softly. 鈥淎 whore? A gigolo? Go ahead and say it, Billie. If you鈥檙e going to waste your time caring about me, then you鈥檇 better get used to the idea, because I can鈥檛 change. I won鈥檛. Not for you or anyone.鈥�
She bit back a sound of pure derision. 鈥淗ow about for you? Think you could walk the straight and narrow for yourself?鈥�
He didn鈥檛 reply. He didn鈥檛 have to. Billie already knew the answer. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e afraid.鈥� She sat up among the sheets as cold realization washed through her. 鈥淎fraid to live without women clambering to pay top dollar for you. All that money鈥t鈥檚 a measure of your value, right? It鈥檚 your self-esteem. What would happen if you were paid in love instead of cash? Would the world end? My God, Adrian. You鈥檙e running scared.鈥�
The half-whispered accusation seemed to permeate his impassivity. 鈥淚 was fine before you.鈥� His voice came low and furious. Finally, finally. True emotion. 鈥淒amn it, Billie. I want my life back.鈥�
鈥淭hen hang up and don鈥檛 call me again, because I鈥檓 not going to pay you for sex, Adrian. What I offer is a worthless currency in your world.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“When Billie climbed into the taxi, Adrian paid the cab driver, then braced his forearms on the back window. 鈥淏illie. Have you forgotten?鈥�
鈥淣o.鈥� She watched the melting shift of shadows in his eyes, unable to read them. 鈥淎 favor for a favor. I owe you.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檒l call you.鈥� He leaned in to catch her lips one last time in a soft, lingering kiss. Then he stood back and the taxi rolled out of the drive. Billie took a single backward glance at him standing barefoot, hands buried in his pockets, where she鈥檇 left him. God help her. Whatever he wanted, she would gladly give.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“It came to him then, permeated his disjointed thoughts. Billie was teaching him鈥攈im鈥攈ow to make love. With a jolt of surprise at the crashing irony, Adrian realized he hadn鈥檛 known how until now. He, the consummate lover, so renown for his sexual skill, so proficient and controlled and practiced, had only played at making love, where Billie鈥od. Clearly, it was all she knew. Pretense just wasn鈥檛 in her spectrum of capabilities.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“Her breath snagged in her throat, her fingers faltering on her own aching flesh. She was shamefully wet. Shamefully needful. 鈥淒o you do this very often, Adrian?鈥�
鈥淧hone sex?鈥�
鈥淭ouching yourself.鈥�
鈥淣ot too often.鈥�
鈥淚 guess you wouldn鈥檛 need to.鈥� Embarrassment stung her cheeks.
鈥淓veryone needs to, Billie.鈥�
鈥淏ut in your business鈥攚ell, if you wanted, you could probably have鈥攜ou know, with your clients, at least three orgasms a day.鈥�
鈥淏ut I don鈥檛.鈥�
鈥淓ven still, the last time you had to touch yourself, just for sheer relief, was probably when you were a teenager.鈥�
鈥淗ow do you know?鈥� Laughter edged his voice again.
Billie paused, guiltily withdrawing her fingers to toy with the elastic on her panties. 鈥淣ame the last time.鈥�
鈥淎fter our interview at Avalon.鈥�
He had such a way of knocking her breathless. 鈥淟iar,鈥� she said, flattered. 鈥淲hy would you do that, knowing what kind of work night you had ahead of you?鈥�
鈥淏ecause you turned me down. Left in a huff before I could even kiss you. I couldn鈥檛 get you out of my mind.鈥�
鈥淭hank you, I think.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“When she lifted her head to meet his gaze, his eyes were closed, lashes like inky brushstrokes on his cheeks. His palms came up to cup the sides of her neck, and with a shaky sigh, he rested his forehead against hers.
鈥淚鈥檒l let you go, Billie.鈥� His words poured against her lips, husky, raw. 鈥淚 always keep my end of a deal. In exchange, you鈥檒l come to Avalon as a client. Tomorrow. This week. Walk through those doors and send for me. I鈥檒l be whatever you want. I鈥檒l take you up to my room and turn you inside out. I鈥檒l taste and touch and fuck you until you scream. And if you want control, it鈥檚 yours. A favor for a favor.鈥�
She clung to him to keep from collapsing, torn between tears and wild, wayward laughter. The scenario was unreal. And the only argument she could think of was a frail one, easily shot down. 鈥淎zure would never allow鈥斺€�
鈥淚t鈥檚 as good as done. I鈥檒l put you in the book myself. Maria will call you with the date, and I鈥檒l keep my distance from you until then.鈥� His lips brushed her ear. 鈥淧lease, Billie. Let鈥檚 end this before it kills us both. Say yes.鈥�
The truth wrapped itself around her. You鈥檙e hopelessly in love with this man, aren鈥檛 you, Billie Cort?
鈥淵es,鈥� Billie said, squeezing her eyes closed. 鈥淕od, yes.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“The lucid, rational part of Billie wanted to laugh. Here she was, out in the woods of middle-class suburbia, with a man鈥檚 fingers inside her panties, inside her, a climax of unimaginable force trembling at the edge of her grasp. And the man who now plied her and played her鈥 prostitute. A gigolo. A beloved brother and son and uncle, and a suspect, with too many secrets and too much sexual prowess.
A man she was falling in love with.
The impossibility of it, the crazy, twisted potential swept over her, then ebbed, lost in the surge of unbelievable pleasure that built and built within her like strings drawn too tightly across a fine-tuned instrument. She would die from this, die and scatter into a million fragments and drift like dust on the wind.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“In her own fumbling way, she鈥檇 reminded him he was just a man, fallible, needful, a member of the supremely imperfect human race鈥nd shamefully undeserving of what she had to offer.
Looking at Billie, touching her, tasting her, had filled him with a wanting fiercer than any he鈥檇 known. For the first time, he was faced with something he couldn鈥檛 truly have, because of what he鈥檇 become.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“How old are you, Billie?鈥�
鈥淭丑颈谤迟测-迟丑谤别别.鈥�
鈥淲ith such innocent eyes for a cutthroat Illicit reporter.鈥�
She studied his expression, found it sincere. 鈥淒espite rumors to the contrary, not all of us fit the hard-hitting mold.鈥�
鈥淚 see that.鈥� He reached up and brushed an errant strand of hair from her cheek, a tender gesture that caught her completely off-guard. 鈥淎nd I like it.”
― Shelby Reed, The Fifth Favor

“You can call me Benny," I offer, hoping to get on her good side. The last thing I need is some crazy woman - dead or otherwise - angry at me.
"No," she muses. "I think I'll just call you Ford."
"Why not Benny?"
"I'd rather keep calling you pansy, but I don't think that will go over too well with the people I work for."
"The mafia?"
"Keep pushing me, Ford. I may kill you myself.”
― Rebecca Harris, Be the Death of Me

“When life is forgiving enough to bless you with a minute, a second, of happiness, there's nothing to do but savor the moment, however odd or unexpected or foolish the source might be.
Because who knows when those moments will grace us again.”
― Rebecca Harris - If It Kills Me

“Is this your girl?" she asks, not waiting for an answer. "She's breathtaking."
"You're my new favorite person," Billie giggles.”
― Rebecca Harris, The Dead of Winter