Smoldering Hunger_Part 1 Read online

  And his hands.

  She sighed just thinking about his large hands skimming over her flesh.

  “No,” she said and firmly put him out of her mind.

  Darius was gone from her life. He’d appeared as suddenly as he vanished. If she hadn’t touched him herself, she would almost think him a ghost.

  Sophie lit the candles around the tub and turned on the water. She sat on the edge of the tub until she got the water just right, then she put in the bubble bath and clicked the remote that turned on some classical music.

  The hauntingly beautiful strings began to play. Sophie danced around the bathroom as she undressed. She couldn’t help but smile as she realized that for a brief moment in time, she’d had her own Highlander.

  Now she knew that men like that really did exist. They were rare—and usually already claimed by someone—but they were out there.

  If she actually thought she could be in a relationship again, she would begin searching for a Highlander. A man who prided himself on loyalty, honor, and love.

  Not true. She’d search for Darius.

  She might actually view men a little differently if she’d met Darius years earlier. Then again, Sophie knew she wouldn’t have. A year after she came to Edinburgh she was still too bitter.

  Hell, seven years later and the bitterness had faded. Some.

  Sophie stepped into the water and sank back against the tub. She closed her eyes, listening to the music. Halfway through the soundtrack she opened her eyes thinking Darius might be there. But he wasn’t.

  She finished her wine and remained in the water until the bubbles began to fade and the water turned tepid. Sophie toweled off and wrapped her robe around her, clicking off the music as she walked out of the bathroom.

  After sorting through her mail for the past week and tossing out junk, she took the magazines onto the couch with her and looked through them. That wasted another thirty minutes.

  Finally, Sophie gave up and untied her robe as she walked to her bedroom. She tossed the robe onto a chair and slid between the sheets.

  For a long time, she stared at the ceiling thinking of Darius. Of his hands on her body, his mouth, and how wonderfully he kissed.

  She finally closed her eyes and let it all replay in her head. Even as sleep claimed her, she wondered where Darius was and if he was thinking of her.

  It was the chill that woke her. She looked to the window to see her curtain billowing into the room from the wind. And standing in the shadows was a man.

  Sophie knew him instantly.

  Darius.

  She didn’t know why he’d returned, and she didn’t care. Her body heated instantly, aching to feel him inside her.

  He turned to shut the window, and that’s when she realized he was naked. She shifted to her knees, breathless with excitement and desire.

  Darius pivoted to face her and slowly walked toward the bed. She licked her lips when the mattress dipped as he placed his knee on it.

  She stared into his dark eyes and touched his face. With a growl, he slid his hand along the back of her head and jerked her to him.

  He claimed her mouth with passion and fury, a driving need they could only quench with each other. She groaned in response when her nipples scraped against his chest.

  Before he could touch her, Sophie pushed him back onto the bed and kneeled beside him. He looked up at her, a slight smile of anticipation lifting his lips.

  He was a man who was always in control, a man who liked to please his bed partner. But this time, she was going to be the one in control. This time she was the one who was going to be in charge.

  She leaned forward and ran her hands from his chiseled jaw down his thick chest to his impeccable abs. Sophie glanced at his arousal and grinned.

  He had driven her insane last night with his mouth, hands, and body. It was only fair she do the same to him. And oh, the things she wanted to do to him.

  Sophie trailed her fingers past his naval to his rod. She wrapped her fingers around him and felt his cock jump in her palm. That wicked grin was gone, replaced with a hunger that made her stomach catch.

  She pumped her hand up and down his length a few times while she leaned forward to lick and kiss his chest. His hands came up, not to stop her, but to take the pin out of her hair so that the length fell around her shoulders and draped on either side of her face.

  “Damn,” he whispered.

  Sophie looked up at him. The way he whispered that word, as if he were enthralled with her made her want to cry. If he didn’t stop doing things like that, she was going to be in real trouble where he was concerned.

  To shift the focus, Sophie moved and brought her mouth to his arousal. He ground out her name, his hands clutching at the comforter.

  Sophie took him deep in her mouth. His fingers delved into her hair, almost as if he were afraid she might stop. She had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

  His breathing was hoarse in the silence. She could feel his gaze on her, and it made her want to pleasure him even more.

  She sucked in a surprised breath when his hands grabbed her and turned her so that she lay on his chest with her legs on either side of his face.

  Sophie let out a sigh when his tongue found her clit and began to tease it. She had never done 69 before, and she wondered, why not? To give pleasure the same time as receiving it? It was perfect.

  But the more pleasure he brought her, the harder it was to concentrate on her task. To get back at him, she sucked him hard, squeezing his ball sac gently.

  When she tasted the pre-cum, Sophie smiled. He was almost there. She didn’t plan on stopping until he came in her mouth. There was one thing she forgot while making such arrangements—Darius made his own rules.

  One moment he was beneath her, and the next she was on her hands and knees and he was filling her from behind. Sophie moaned as he filled her with one thrust. Her body sighed, missing the feel of him.

  He held her hips and began to move. She could feel his balls slapping against the back of her thighs as he increased his tempo.

  With his teasing of her clit, she was so close to climaxing. Then he leaned over her and cupped her breasts, tweaking her nipples as he did.

  She rocked back against him. His cheek rubbed against hers, his whiskers scraping her face. She closed her eyes. There was no use fighting against a force like Darius. He knew just where to touch her to give her the most bliss.

  Her chest heaved and her breasts swelled at his touch. She didn’t think the passion could get any better until his hand lowered to her sex and found her clit.

  He fondled the swollen bud until she was crying out from the intense pleasure. She could hear him telling her to give him more, to give him everything.

  Sophie could feel his thick arousal drive into her time and again, touching her womb he was going so deep. The more he filled her while teasing her clit, the higher she went.

  Until the orgasm swarmed her. It ripped through her with the force of a tsunami. She screamed, even as the pleasure consumed her. And still he pounded into her, still he circled that tiny bud.

  Just as the first orgasm began to subside, another arose, this one even more intense than the first. All Sophie could do was lock her arms and give herself over to the ecstasy.

  Her head hung between her arms when the last vestiges of the orgasms began to fade. Darius’s grip was tight on her hips as he pounded her.

  His breathing hitched right before she felt his warm seed shoot inside her. Sophie couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought about a pregnancy or using protection any of the times she was with him.

  Was Darius able to make her forget everything but him so easily? She was a doctor. She knew better than most what could happen with unprotected sex.

  He pulled out of her and held her against him as he rolled to his side. Sophie opened her mouth to speak when his hand caressed down her hair to her back over and over again.

  She let herself relax once more. Darius had that affect
on her.

  She really should be worried, because she was beginning to want Darius around.

  Never again.

  But … maybe with Darius.

  Read all four parts of this sensational e-series—and look for the full volume of Smoldering Hunger in January 2016 from St. Martin’s Paperbacks.

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  Dark Alpha’s Demand, available 5/1/16

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her “totally addictive” and “unique and sensual” stories. She’s the author of more than thirty novels spanning multiple genres of romance including the bestselling Dark King stories, Dark Craving, Night’s Awakening, and Dawn’s Desire. Her acclaimed Dark Warrior and Dark Sword series novels feature a thrilling combination of Druids, primeval gods, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible. She lives with her husband, two children, a dog, and four cats in Texas.

  Want to know when Donna’s next book is available? You can sign up for her newsletter at www.DonnaGrant.com, follow her on Twitter @donna_grant, or like her Facebook page at facebook.com/AuthorDonnaGrant. Or sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  “Smoldering Hunger Part 1” Copyright © 2015 by Donna Grant.

  All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.stmartins.com

  Cover design by Crystal Ben Cover photograph © Ahturner/Shutterstock Author photo © Kim Rocha Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

  eISBN 978-1-4668-8376-5

  First eBook Edition: December 2015