Russian
Heat
Hot Ice, #7
by Lily Harlem
Date of
Publication: October 1st 2016
Publisher:
All Romance eBooks
Cover
Artist: Erin Dameron Hill
Genre:
Contemporary Erotic Romance
One night stands should be
exactly that, one wild night. Somebody should tell that to the sexy Russian.
BLURB
I love working for an airline and
traveling the world—it’s everything I'd ever hoped and more. I work hard and
play hard, and if I can have some sexy time with a hot guy, why not? I'm a free
agent.
When my one-night stand is a hunk of a
hockey player with a smooth Russian accent and an even smoother way of sweet
talking me into his bed, not once but several times over, things definitely get
complicated for my heart. I have no intention of having it broken again.
Will he be able to make it up to me?
Has he even returned from his homeland? And what the hell is going to happen
when engine failure makes my life flash before my eyes? Only one way to find
out, and that's to hang on for the ride.
First
time in print! Includes the bonus short story: “Rookie Rules”!
“Vadmir,” the man in
front of me said, holding out his hand. “My name is Vadmir Arefyev.”
I tore my attention
from the departing couple and let his warm fingers wrap around mine. He had a
few callouses on his palm and his nails were neat and square-shaped.
“Samantha.” I paused. “But I guess you know that because my friend just said
it.”
“Yes.” He grinned, a
proper smile this time, not the half-amused curl of his lips he’d had before.
“But it looks like you have lost your friend.” He spoke with an accent, Russian
I guessed, having heard passengers speak that way.
He released my hand.
“I’ve only lost her
for a few hours.” I knotted my fingers together, trapping the warmth infused
from his palm. “Let’s hope she doesn’t eat him alive.”
He laughed, a deep,
rumbling chuckle that shifted his huge pecs beneath his t-shirt. “I hope she
does. Jackson is still getting used to his new Viper fame and it might teach
him a lesson. Knock him up a peg or two.”
“Do you mean down a
peg or two?”
“Yes, yes, that’s
what I mean, down.” He smiled again and I noticed that his two front teeth were
slightly crossed.
“Yes, and he is new,
isn’t he?” Harmony had mentioned that earlier. “In that case, he might be a
little worn-out at practice tomorrow.”
He rubbed his hand
over his chin, creating a sharp sound over his dusting of pale stubble. “I’m
not here tomorrow but it would be good to see.” He nodded at the parking lot.
“So do you need a ride now?”
“I’ll grab a cab,
that’s how we got here.”
“I don’t mind taking
you somewhere. I’ve finished for the day.”
“No really, I don’t
want to bother you.”
“It is no…er…bother.”
He gestured to the lot. “Anyway, there are no cabs here.”
A small, welcome
breeze lifted my hair from my shoulders and wafted the scent of dew-coated moss
and light herbs my way. He was wearing an unusual cologne that seeped into my
nose and heightened my awareness of his magnetism. There was definitely
something seriously sexy about Vadmir Arefyev.
Damn, I really should
get a ride out of here.
In fact, better
still. I should make him my ride.
“Well I guess you’re
right,” I said, “there are no cabs about, so yes, a ride would be cool. As long
as you don’t mind.”
“I really don’t
mind.” He adjusted his bag, his upper arm muscles straining against the sleeve
of his t-shirt. “It’s this way.”
He turned to the lot
and I fell into step beside him. I had to take two strides to his one but
luckily my Hermes wedges were up to the job.
He swung his keys
around his fingers again. “Samantha, that’s a pretty name.”
“Thanks, yours
is…unusual.”
“Not where I’m from.”
He shrugged. “There are plenty of Vadmirs there.”
“Where is that,
then?”
He glanced at me.
“You are not a Vipers fan?”
“No, sorry, I was
just hanging out here with Harmony. I’m more of a Prada, Gucci and Jimmy Choo
fan. Don’t mind a bit of Donna Karan and Armani, either.”
He chuckled again. “I
get your drift.”
“So you’re from where
exactly?” I asked.
“Russia. North of
Moscow. I’ve been here four years now, though.”
“Your English is
good.”
“Thank you. I have
worked very hard to get it right.”
“And do you miss
home? Russia?”
He paused at a white
convertible Chevy Camero and clicked his key fob. The car beeped to life and he
tugged open the passenger door for me. “Yes, of course. I miss my family, my
parents are not getting younger but at least, doing this, playing here, it
means I can provide for them.”
“That’s very kind of
you.”
“They’ve always been
very kind to me.” He smiled and gestured for me to climb into the car.
I climbed inside and
he shut the door. As he walked around the front, I buckled up and placed my
purse down at my side.
“And you,” he said,
dropping into the driver’s seat. “You’re not American. I can tell.”
“Ah, well spotted.
No, I’m English, well, technically half-and-half but I grew up in England so
that’s home. But my father lives over here, in Denver. America has been home
for a long time now.”
“We played Denver
last month. I liked the cold. The heat in Florida can be very…tiring.” He
revved the engine and flicked on the air-conditioning.
“I won’t disagree
with you there.” I crossed my legs.
His gaze drifted over
my thighs and knees and I couldn’t help yet another small thrill. It seemed
Vadmir was a leg man, which was just as well. I had great legs. Not by chance
but by hours in hotel gyms and a healthy dose of good genes from my grandmother
and mother. Right now my legs were also tanned to a milky-coffee shade of brown
and freshly waxed.
“Tell me if you get
cold,” he said. “You’re…er…not wearing much.”
Now it was my turn to
laugh. “I’m fine, it’s a relief to be out of the sun.”
He looked me in the
eye and my breath hitched. There really was something captivating about him,
and being this close to him—his handsome face, his scent and his obvious
interest in me—was hitting all my buttons.
I pulled in a deep
breath, licked my lips and willed my heart not to race too much.
“So where do you want
me to take you?” he asked, his attention dropping to my mouth and his eyelids
getting heavy.
On a fast and sweaty
one-way trip to Heaven.
Author
Info
Lily Harlem lives in the UK with a
workaholic hunk and a crazy cat. With a desk overlooking farmland, she allows
her imagination to run free and revels in being able to use the written word as
an outlet for her creativity. Lily’s stories are made up of colorful characters
traveling on everyone’s favorite journey—falling in love. If the story isn’t
romantic, sexy and exciting, it won’t be written, at least not by this author.
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