“Do you know something you’re not telling me?”
Sure enough, that got her attention.
“Back off,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
Marc didn’t move. “I’d be a fool not to consider your behavior suspicious.”
She was breathing heavily. But what he saw in her smoky gray eyes wasn’t just guilt or fear. It was desire.
As her chest rose again, his gaze dropped to her breasts and the hard points of her nipples jutting against the soft cloth.
In that moment, he felt very masculine and powerful.
Dear Reader,
June brings you four high-octane reads from Silhouette Romantic Suspense, just in time for summer. Steaming up your sunglasses is Nina Bruhns’s hot romance, Killer Temptation (#1516), which is the first of a thrilling new trilogy, SEDUCTION SUMMER. In this series, a serial killer is murdering amorous couples on the beach and no lover is safe. You won’t want to miss this sexy roller coaster ride! Stay tuned in July and August for Sheri White Feather’s and Cindy Dees’s heart-thumping contributions, Killer Passion and Killer Affair.
USA TODAY bestselling author Marie Ferrarella enthralls readers with Protecting His Witness (#1515), the latest in her family saga, CAVANAUGH JUSTICE. Here, an undercover cop crosses paths with a secretive beauty who winds up being a witness to a mob killing. And then, can a single mother escape her vengeful ex and fall in love with her protector? Find out in Linda Conrad’s Safe with a Stranger (#1517), the first book in her miniseries, THE SAFEKEEPERS, which weaves family, witchcraft and danger into an exciting read. Finally, crank up your air-conditioning as brand-new author Jill Sorenson raises temperatures with Dangerous to Touch (#1518), featuring a psychic heroine and lawman, who work on a murder case and uncover a wild attraction.
This month is all about finding love against the odds and those adventures lurking around every corner. So as you lounge on the beach or in your favorite chair, lose yourself in one of these gems from Silhouette Romantic Suspense!
Sincerely,
Patience Smith
Senior Editor
Dangerous to Touch
Jill Sorenson
JILL SORENSON
has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember. In the small Kansas town where she was born, there wasn’t much else to do. She picked up her first young adult romance at age eleven and fell in love with the genre at first sight. When she discovered Silhouette Intimate Moments, she didn’t leave her room for a month.
Jill moved to San Diego and fell in love all over again, with awesome weather and year-round sunshine. She met her third great love, her husband Chris, in high school, and they married after only eight years of dating. Before becoming a full-time mom and a part-time romance novelist, Jill held down a number of odd jobs, most of which involved children and/or animals, but none of these jobs were as rewarding as writing.
Jill earned a degree in English literature and a bilingual teaching credential from California State University. Upon graduating, she promptly decided to stay home with her new baby. She started writing one day while her daughter was taking a nap and hasn’t stopped since. She is delighted to be working with Silhouette Romantic Suspense, formerly Silhouette Intimate Moments, her first crush.
To my agent, Laurie McLean, who finally agreed
to represent me after reading the first three chapters of this book.
To my editor, Stacy Boyd, who writes brilliant editorial
comments and draws cute little hearts in the margins.
To my daughters, without whom I never would have
started writing this book.
To my mom, without whose incredible generosity and
superior babysitting skills I never would have finished writing this book.
And to my husband, who will have to wait for another
book (he knows which one) to get his rightful dedication.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 1
Sidney woke to the sound of a dog barking.
For a moment, she thought she’d fallen asleep in the office at the kennel again, but when she opened her eyes she saw the pale yellow paint and outdated light fixture gracing the ceiling of her own bedroom. Her cat, Marley, was curled up into a soft tortoiseshell ball at the foot of the bed, unperturbed.
She threw back the rumpled sheet and climbed out of bed, wondering who had gotten a dog. In this neighborhood, just steps away from Oceanside City Beach, everyone owned or rented tiny two-story houses, like hers, each with the same nonexistent yard space. Dogs weren’t allowed on the beach, either, so most area residents didn’t own them.
Especially not large, menacing dogs with deep, resounding barks, which was most assuredly what she’d heard.
Yawning, Sidney strode over to the open window in her underwear and pushed aside the gauzy curtains to catch a glimpse of heaven. She inhaled the salty ocean scent, studied the play of the early morning light off the rippled water, listened to the rhythmic crash of waves breaking against the shoreline.
There was no dog barking.
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stepped away from the window, dismissing the noise as a remnant of a particularly vivid dream. Visual illusions, unfortunately, were not an infrequent occurrence for her. Now she was going to have to add auditory hallucinations to her list of oddities.
With a wistful glance at her comfy wrought-iron bed, Sidney grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor and pulled them up her slender hips. Shoving her feet into old sneakers, she performed a hasty morning toilette that consisted of washing her face and brushing her teeth.
As she left the bedroom, Marley let out a staccato farewell meow, indicating that she was sleeping in.
Downstairs, while Sidney waited for a bagel to toast, she turned the knob on the ancient ten-inch television atop her kitchen counter, more to distract than entertain herself. She only had three channels, and all of them were broadcasting news, the Sunday morning variety, high-fluff, low-violence. As she sipped hot coffee, enjoying the jolt of caffeine to her system, Crystal Dunn—a petite blond reporter whose sweet countenance and angelic blue eyes couldn’t mask a cutthroat nature—broke in with an important newsbreak.
“Hal and Sandra, I’m on location in a quiet residential neighborhood known as Sunshine Estates. Candace Hegel,