Bare Knuckle: Vegas Top Guns, Book 5 (40 page)

They shrieked, chased, ducked, whooped, dove, tackled and smacked each other. Feathers flew through the air. They fell as thick as the flakes that had blanketed the mountain during the legendary blizzard that fused Dave and Kayla in an inseparable pair the previous winter. Busy daydreaming about what it would have been like to watch Dave, James and Neil ravaging Kay in front of the fireplace downstairs, Devon got caught off guard.

Whap.

She leaned into the force of the blow, but it was no use. Her arms windmilled. Gravity pitched her inevitably toward the floor. She braced herself for impact, heart racing as she completed a split-second assessment of the minimalist railing that kept the space open to the cabin below. It would probably hold.

Instead of a slat of wood to the ribs, strong arms—too thick to belong to one of her female friends—banded around her.

Neil
. She would recognize his hold anywhere. A perfect blend of tender yet unbreakable.

“It’s all fun and games until someone cracks their skull open.” He rocked Devon against his chest. “Careful, baby. I have plans for today that don’t involve a trip to the emergency room.”

“Unless it’s because you’ve fucked yourself into complete exhaustion and dehydration, right?” Joe smacked Neil’s back, rattling both him and Devon.

She hated that she nearly cried. Clawing at Neil’s shoulders, she encouraged him to squeeze her tighter. “You’re home early! Damn, I missed you.”

“Same goes. Couldn’t stay away any longer.” He buried his nose in her hair and breathed deep.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Mike asked as the rest of the crew piled in close on Neil’s heels.

The loft had never seemed cramped before. Hard bodies and testosterone overwhelmed Devon’s senses. She couldn’t speak so she indulged in the luxury of having them surround her.

“A pillow fight?” Dave groaned when he took in the four women, naked except for the feathers tangled in their hair and stuck to the light sheen of perspiration coating their flushed skin. They breathed hard where they’d collapsed onto the bed. “And here I thought you couldn’t get any sexier.”

“Why the hell did we need a vacation again? We’re living the dream.” Joe stared, licking his lips, while James sidled up beside Neil. He sandwiched Devon between their chests. Neil angled her so she faced their partner. Several inches shorter than Neil, he easily claimed her mouth in a scorching yet infinitely tender kiss. His fingertip traced the tattoo—similar to the one both he and Neil sported—on her ring finger.

“I missed you too,” Devon whispered when they finally broke apart.

“But not as much as Kay missed me. Right, babe?” Dave strutted to the side of the bed near his wife.

Morgan surprised them all when she whacked him hard in the gut with her pillow. “Ha! She’s got nothing on me. Without Joe, I almost died of loneliness. And horniness.”

The women’s ceasefire erupted into a second round of good-natured exchanges. Devon squirmed from Neil’s arms to join the fray. The crew cheered on their girls, calling out helpful tips. When Kate swung wide, her pillow caught the edge of the tray on the nightstand.

Mike dove for the tipping platter. The guys roared when he rescued it. Sort of like he’d done for Kate that fateful afternoon two summers ago.

“Hey, now. Truce. That’s not funny. Bacon almost became an innocent casualty. Wasting it would be a cardinal sin. Straight to hell, do not pass go.” Joe snapped up a slice and devoured it in one bite. If he were a cartoon, they would have heard the
galoomp
of him swallowing it whole.

“Did you even chew that?” James shook his head, whether in awe or disgust it was hard to tell.

“There’s nothing better than salty breakfast meat.”

“That’s what
he
said.”

Bare Knuckle

Katie Porter

Skin deep is never deep enough.

Vegas Top Guns, Book 5

After a near-fatal plane crash, fighter pilot Captain Eric “Kisser” Donaghue is a changed man. By day he labors to regain his confidence in the cockpit. By night he moonlights as an off-Strip boxer, fighting for prize money to pay for his younger brother’s third stint in rehab.

In the ring, no one cares he once had a face that launched a thousand one-night stands—and neither does Eric. He’s only there to win. Yet he can’t take his eyes off the new ring girl, a glitz-meets-pageant-queen vision of blonde perfection.

Down on her luck but not quite out, Vegas showgirl Trish Monroe lives for the spotlight. The scarred, steely-eyed loner who stares at her from his corner of the ring gives Trish an extra reason to strut her stuff.

Curiosity and the temptation of a no-strings good time bring them together. The discovery of their secret fetishes—she likes to show off, he likes to watch—turns mere sexual chemistry into a fiery exploration of matched passions. They’re a natural fit. Trust in love, however, is harder to earn than trust in bed, especially when this beauty and beast hide even from themselves.

Warning: This book contains a Sin City-style Beauty and the Beast love story, lots of naughty pics and vids, adrenaline-pumped base jumping, and a set of
very
important note cards. Oh, and as always, an incredibly hot fighter pilot.

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Bare Knuckle

Copyright © 2013 by Katie Porter

ISBN: 978-1-61921-094-3

Edited by Sasha Knight

Cover by Scott Carpenter

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: October 2013

www.samhainpublishing.com