"Playing The Game" teaser exerpt - by Laurie Kozlowski

Just then, Ian came in with another man that caught Julia’s eye immediately. From his running shoes all the way up to his dark, thick, shoulder length hair, Julia couldn’t help but to drink in the sight of him. He had a fit body, lean but muscular. Built like an athlete. His jeans encased long legs and powerful thighs. His t shirt was just tight enough to showcase his flat stomach and bulging biceps. He had a tribal tattoo on one of his arms that peeked from underneath the shirt. Oh, boy, but he was one delectable sight that she could just eat up! He also looked like trouble. She was sure, just by looking at him, that he could break her heart and not think twice about it. Well, that was out of the question this time around, because this time she would be doing the heartbreaking. Yep, this one was trouble with a capital “T”.

He caught her ogling his body and he lifted one brow, amusement shining in his eyes as he looked at her from across the room. She quickly lowered her gaze and turned the other way, embarrassed that he had caught her eyes wandering over his body. She frowned. As much as she would like to have fun with a man like him, he wasn’t her type. Sure she dreamed about men like him, but that was just a fantasy. She had accepted a long time ago that a curvy woman like her who was far from ideal model weight would never be able to attract a woman magnet like the man she fantasized about across the room.

This man was the opposite of Ryan in every way. She thought about what she saw in the handsome stranger as he first walked in. He walked with confidence in his step, striding with a slight strut and had golden skin that suggested he spent his fair share of time in the sun. The man oozed masculinity, and heads turned his way when he entered a room. She had observed the women smiling at him and no doubt, many of them were undressing him with their eyes.

Julia turned back around on her stool to see Ian introducing his friend to the other men.

They walked toward Julia. She thought her heart would beat out of her chest and she swallowed hard, bracing herself for the obvious introduction to come. She let out a slow breath and pasted on her widest smile.

“Julia, I’d like you to meet Jake Wallace, a friend of mine who runs an ad agency in town. Jake, this is my sister, Julia,” Ian looked around the bar and said, “ The bar is getting full fast, I’d better grab a table for us and order some food. I’ll just leave you two to get to know each other,” then he ran off to sit at a large table and called over a waiter.

Julia was ready to be rejected, but instead lifted her eyes to confidently meet Jake’s deep blue eyes. She felt rather than saw his hooded eyes move over her like a lovers gentle caress. His gaze traveled from her heels, slowly over the curves of her body, pausing at her lips when she licked them, then finally met her eyes. She was caught off guard when she saw the sudden heat in his eyes.

Jake gave her an appreciative smile that melted her insides and offered his hand to her. She didn’t hesitate to slide her small, smooth hand in his large, roughened one and he lifted it to his lips to kiss her knuckles like he had done it a thousand times before. His strikingly blue eyes never left hers as his firm but soft lips touched her hand in a whisper of a kiss. His lips lingered a few seconds too long to just be a friendly greeting and she could feel a tickle of his hot breath on her hand. Instead of the non committed friendly look she was expecting to see she saw his eyes darken with unmistakable desire and she felt her face grow warm as all the nerve endings in the most intimate parts of her body sparked to life. He finally pulled back.

“A pleasure to meet you, Julia,” he said, with a voice smooth and deep with a slight southern accent that did strange things to her once dormant libido.

She smiled back and said, “ The pleasure is all mine,” and absently wondered about all the other pleasures his big calloused hands and soft lips could provide. The room suddenly felt smaller, more intimate, and a few more degrees higher in temperature.

He just winked at her and gave her a wicked and sexy grin that suggested he knew what she was thinking.

She responded by giving him her best impression of an innocent smile. Oh, but she felt far from innocent in his presence.

Having a man like Jake kiss her hand made her feel like she had just committed the ultimate carnal sin.

She sighed and hope sprang within her as she had a sudden thought. He may not be like Ryan, but that’s a good thing right? For her heart’s sake, she sure hoped so.