Samhain Publishing

They agreed: All the fun, no messy emotions. Until their chakras aligned…

Yoga is Kerri Harris’s life, but that doesn’t mean she’s a New Age flake. She’s a successful businesswoman, and it’s about time everyone took her as seriously as her mother-of-two, “real-career” sister. That means adding a new item to her spreadsheet—marriage plan. There’s only one person she trusts to help her check off this task: her best friend Mitch.

Divorce attorney Mitch MacAuley gets the cold shivers at the mere mention of matrimony. After the disasters he’s witnessed from childhood, marriage equals miserable. The last thing he wants is to help Kerri down that road, but he’s never been able to say no to her. He expects to feel pity for her as she goes on one disastrous date after another. The complete surprise? Thinking about Kerri with those other guys makes him crazy.

Her frustration collides with his confusion, leading to a big fight, a hot kiss and a scorching sexual tension that hits them both broadside. Prompting Kerri to propose a new plan…to add the bedroom to their list of BFF benefits.

They quickly find out there’s nothing casual about the heat they generate. In fact, the burn could ruin a perfectly beautiful friendship.

Copyright © 2009 Kelly Jamieson
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication

“I can’t believe you’ve set me up with all these guys and every single one of them has been all wrong for me. Not just wrong for me…like, not even close.”

“Uh…Kerri. I didn’t set you up with Eric. You met him at the golf tournament.”

“Well. You invited me to the golf tournament.”

Mitch sighed.

“It’s not just a coincidence, is it? You are doing this on purpose because you don’t want me to get married.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he corrected her.

“So you admit it!”

“No! No, I don’t. You’re twisting things.”

She snorted. “How do you tell when a lawyer is lying? His lips are moving.”

At that moment, Sela poked her head in to say she was leaving.

“I thought you left hours ago!” Kerri exclaimed. “What about your shopping?”

Sela glanced at her watch. “We still have time. Doug is bringing the girls to Paseo Nuevo and I’m meeting them there.”

“Go, go.” Kerri waved her hands. After they heard the door close behind Sela, she sighed. “That woman really has to learn to balance. Her family is paying the price for this move.”

Mitch nodded. “She is kind of driven, isn’t she?”

Kerri studied him. “Like you aren’t.”

He shrugged. “I balance fine.”

She glanced at him, remembering they’d been interrupted while starting to have a big fight.

“Look, Kerri,” he said. “I know you’re not happy, but you can’t blame me for all this. You have a role in it too.”

She gaped at him. “What are you saying? Are you saying I’m such a loser I can’t manage to attract a guy?”

“Jesus, no! That’s not what I’m saying.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“So you’re saying I’m deliberately sabotaging things for some strange subconscious reason of my own?”

He stared at her. “What drugs are you on? You’re acting nuts today.”

“Yeah, I’m crazy, that must be why I can’t find a husband.”

“Aaarrrgh!” He slid down the wall until he lay on the floor and covered his face with his hands. With his arms up like that, Kerri could see the paler skin on the underside, which emphasized the bulge of his biceps below the sleeves of his T-shirt. He stayed like that for a moment, dragging big, slow breaths into his lungs.

Kerri rolled in her lips and scooted a few inches away. Mitch had a temper, but he’d learned to control it over the years. And okay, she was acting like a bitch and hated herself for it, but the words just kept coming out of her mouth. She was just so frustrated and disappointed and Mitch was there to poke at, take out her frustrations on. A shiver trickled down her spine. Maybe she’d pushed too far.

She bit her lip as she looked at him. With his arms raised, his snug T-shirt had ridden up and she could see tanned, ripped abs and a hint of golden brown hair just above the low-riding waistband of his jeans. His hair was all tousled from running his hands through it. She swallowed.

She put a hand on his arm tentatively, wanting to apologize, fearful she’d pushed him too far and now he’d be really mad at her. She knew she could get away with a lot with Mitch and he just laughed at her, indulgently let her act all princessy, then called her on it and brought her back down to earth. But maybe this time his patience had run out.

His arms jerked away from his face at her gentle touch and she jumped back. He grabbed her hand, held it tightly. Now she could see his eyes flashing dark gold, his jaw clenched so tight she was sure it must hurt.

“M-mitch…I’m…”

“Kerri.” He growled, low and rough. “Just stop right now.”

She nodded a bit frantically. “I’m sorry. You can let go of my hand now.”

His fingers actually tightened on hers, crushing them, and she yanked on her hand. “Ow! Mitch, you’re hurting me! Let go.”

His hot gaze held hers as she tried to pull free.

“Jesus, Kerri.” His voice still sounded low and rough. “You can only push me so far.”

Her eyes wide, she watched a vein throb in his temple. She again tugged her hand away from his but he wouldn’t let go, rather pulled her toward him. She put her other hand out, palm flat on his chest, hot and hard under the soft T-shirt, to push him away. The warm scents of laundry detergent and male skin mingled as she breathed in, and she trembled.

She pushed ineffectually at him as he dragged her toward him, right up against him, practically on top of him.

“Mitch.” She struggled against him, but he was stronger than she was, and his powerful arms held her there. God, he was warm.

One big hand slid into her hair and cupped the back of her head. They stared at each other, Kerri’s heart banging against her ribs, tension crackling between them like static electricity, and then he pulled her to him and her mouth met his.

“Mmmph.” She tried to protest, shocked to her toes at Mitch’s actions. She dragged her mouth away from his. “Mitch! What are you doing? Are you—”

He kissed her again, his hands holding her head against his mouth and her body against his. Again, her palms pushed on his chest, but something happened inside her and to her shock and horror she was…aroused.

The liquid warmth between her legs and the flippy feeling of excitement low in her tummy stunned her. No! This was Mitch, her friend! She couldn’t be feeling like this. And what the hell was he doing?

He was kissing her. And kissing her again. And God, he was a really good kisser, his mouth firm and warm on hers, opening over hers, and her mouth parted for him. Astonishingly, she was kissing him back.

The room spun around her as he flipped her gently so she lay on her back, and he shifted beside her, so he was almost lying on top of her, his body big and heavy and warm against hers.

His mouth continued to devour her—long, consuming kisses, his tongue licking into her mouth, filling her mouth, and it was so exciting she thought she might burst into flames. God, it had obviously been a long time since she’d been with a guy if she was responding like this to Mitch. But she had never been so turned on as she was right then, and helplessly she arched into him, her hands clutching his shoulders through the soft cotton of his shirt and she kissed him back. Her tongue stroked his and he tasted faintly of the tea he’d had earlier and delicious warm male, so she opened wider, letting his tongue in, sucking his tongue, devouring him.

No, no, no. This should not be happening. The thought intruded into her foggy brain. But dear God, it felt so, so good.

“No,” she managed to moan, pulling her mouth away from his warm, wet one. “Mitch. This is wrong…”

“Christ, Kerri,” he muttered, burying his face into her neck, breathing deeply. “Christ.”

Her hands stilled on his shoulders as she felt him regaining some control, then she pushed hard and wriggled out from under his weight. She scrambled away from him on her hands and knees, half afraid he was going to grab her again, but he didn’t. He lay there, one arm covering his eyes, his chest rising and falling with labored breaths.

She sat on the floor, trembling. She put her fingers to her mouth and stared at Mitch in shock, unable to formulate any words. What had just happened?

Finally Mitch spoke. “Jesus, Kerri, I’m sorry,” he ground out.

“You damn well better be!”

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “You pushed my buttons…you just kept at it and I just…lost it.”

“But, Mitch…”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Anger flared in her, hot fury that he would do that, that he would jeopardize their friendship like that, that he would actually use her like that—and he was her best friend!

She jumped to her feet and rubbed her hands over her face. She twisted her hands together. Then she went over and punched his shoulder, as hard as she could.

“Ow!” He was totally unprepared, eyes still covered, and he jerked up. “What the hell was that? Jesus!

“You stupid, horny idiot! What the hell do you think you were doing? You’re supposed to be my friend!”