Devour Me. Lydia Parks
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Books by Lydia Parks
ADDICTED
DEVOUR ME
SEXY BEAST VI
(with Kate Douglas and Anya Howard)
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Devour Me
LYDIA PARKS
Contents
Dark Obsession
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Blood Lust
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
1
When Benjamin strode into the Tangled Net, letting the heavy wooden door slam behind him, his appearance quieted the dozen or so voices around the small bar.
“Welcome back, Captain,” Rick said, pouring a double shot before it was ordered. After twenty years, he knew what everyone drank. “Hell of a storm brewing out there.”
“Aye, that it is.” Benjamin settled into his usual chair at the table in the corner. “Nothing like a good storm to stir the blood.”
“And wake ghosts,” a white-haired fisherman added from his seat at the bar.
“Oh, hush that kind of talk.” Abby shoved the old man’s shoulder good-naturedly as she passed behind him. “We don’t need ghosts in here.” She grabbed the glass from the bar and carried it ceremoniously across the room.
Abby wore a skirt so short, it barely covered her very round bottom, and a blouse cut low enough to draw stares. Flaming red curls encircled her face and played at her shoulders as she sauntered, head lowered seductively, placing one foot directly in front of the other so that her hips swayed hypnotically.
Benjamin took in every movement. Her full breasts rose and fell with each step, and the fabric of her skirt swished against her thighs. The tip of her tongue slid across her bottom lip and her green eyes flashed excitement.
She deposited the drink on the table with a thud. “Well, now, look what the cat dragged in.”
Benjamin emptied half the glass and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Then he leaned back and smiled up at her. “I do believe you’re lovelier tonight than you were last month.”
“Three months ago,” she said.
“Three? You must be mistaken.”
She dropped one fist to her hip. “Three months and two days.”
“I can’t imagine where the time goes.” He shook his head slowly.
“I bet you can’t,” she said quietly. She leaned forward, flattening her palms on his table, exposing every bit of her cleavage to his hungry gaze. “And I suppose you expect me to drop everything just because you happened to wander in.”
She straightened and spun around to leave.
He caught her hand and tugged, and she tumbled into his lap with a squeal and a laugh.
Her familiar scent filled his head with memories of pleasure-filled hours, and he nuzzled her soft hair to pick up more as he tuned into the steady beat of her heart.
“I do expect you to drop everything,” he said.
She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and made herself more comfortable. “Ah, what the hell?” Holding his gaze, she downed the rest of his whiskey, plopped the glass back onto the table, and then kissed him.
It wasn’t a deep, meaningful kiss, but an invitation. Her warm lips paused against his for a moment, promising more when there weren’t so many witnesses.
His cock began to harden beneath her rump and she grinned. “Missed me, did you?”
“I always do.”
“And whose fault is that?” She raked her fingers through his hair. “You know where I am.”
He slid his hand up the inside of her luscious thigh. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Then why are we sitting at this table?”
Benjamin rose and placed Abby on her feet. He offered her his arm, and she looped hers through it.
A bottle crashed to the floor in front of them and shattered.
“She’s having a drink with me!”
“Bullshit! I asked her first!”
Two men squared off in the middle of the dimly lit bar, both raising fists and hunching defensively. Glass crunched beneath their boots as they circled. Judging by their ragged clothing and the smell of them, they were fishermen freshly returned from the sea and already well on the road to inebriation.
A wide-eyed mousy waitress stood against the bar behind them, clutching a tray to her chest. “Please, don’t fight. Please.”
“Aw, crap, not again.” Abby released Benjamin’s arm and stepped forward. “What do you two think you’re doing?”
Benjamin drew her out of harm’s way and moved around her. “Gentlemen, this is no way to behave.”
“Fuck off, old man,” the taller of the two said. “This is between him and me.”
The shorter one took the opportunity to connect a fist with his opponent’s jaw, and the taller man staggered back a step. Then, growling with anger, he swung wildly at the shorter man’s head.
The mousy waitress stepped forward, pleading. “Please!”
One of the combatant’s elbows sent her reeling against the bar. Her tray fell to the floor and rolled away.
Benjamin grabbed the two men by the fronts of their shirts, and raised them into the air. They flailed and tried to break free.
“Enough!” He brought their heads together in midair with a crack and then tossed them in opposite directions. The two men skidded across the floor, bumping into tables and chairs, until they came to rest against opposite walls.
The smaller one rose first, rubbing his head and glaring at Benjamin.
Benjamin took a step in his direction and the man staggered out the front door. The taller man followed, half running and half crawling, and the door swung shut behind him.
After a moment, applause rose from the remaining customers. Benjamin bowed formally, then turned toward Abby and offered his arm again, which she took.
As they passed the younger waitress, who swiped at tears as she retrieved her tray, Abby stopped. “Poor Tess. I’m not sure she’s really suited to this job.” She looked up at Benjamin with eyebrows arched. “Maybe she needs a little boost in self-confidence?”