Tempted
by Mr. Wrong
By
Jacquie Biggar
Genre: Contemporary Step-Brother Romance
How can
something so wrong, feel so right?
Falling for her
step-brother is a mistake T.J. doesn't want to repeat, but one look into those
sapphire blue eyes and she's ready to give him whatever he wants.
Tammy-Jo
Hawthorne's marriage was floundering, but she never expected her husband to
make her the laughing stock of Magnolia.
And she
definitely didn't expect to trip over him in their front yard after he'd been
murdered.
Jason McIntyre
was forced out of his home and the love of his life by the man who'd haunted
his nightmares for ten long years.
Now Jason's
back--and he wants revenge.
Tammy-Jo
Hawthorne limped down the side of the highway, broken shoe in hand, and cursed
everything from the gravel cutting into her bare foot, to the drizzling rain
making her mascara run. But most of all, she cursed fate for ever introducing
her to her no-good, dirty, rotten scumbag of an ex-husband—Timothy Hawthorne
the third, and don’t you forget it.
Her cheeks
flamed again even as goosebumps of embarrassed anger chased themselves over her
flesh. They’d escorted her out; she still couldn’t believe it. Not one person
had stood to defend her either. Ten years she’d belonged to that stupid
high-falutin club, and no one had supported her in her time of need. Well,
screw them.
A semi-trailer
flew past, and a sheet of water drenched her to the bone.
“Ooh.” She
raised her shoe in the air and shook it at the fading taillights. “Thanks for
nothing.”
Disheartened,
she dropped her Louboutin in the grass, careful to keep it off the scratchy
gravel, and wrung out the hem of her shirt. Tim had a lot to answer for; not
least of which was the fact her Jaguar had been towed away while she’d been
inside the country club. It was becoming clear that this had been a
well-choreographed plan on his part. He’d thought of everything too. When she’d
tried to call for a cab, she found her phone had been cut off. She’d stomped
over to a nearby gas station to use the payphone, and found her bank and credit
cards had been cancelled as well. He’d taken her love and stomped it beneath
his wingtips and now he wanted her pride too.
Well, he
couldn’t have it, damn him.
If she had to
walk the entire twenty miles to home, she would.
And then she was
going to sue that bastard for every red cent he owned.
The traffic
snaked by in a never-ending ribbon of color, the noise a match to the static in
her head. She thought about doing like she’d seen on television and lift her
thumb to catch a ride, but fear held her back. Those were the same shows where
the unlucky traveler was never seen again. She didn’t plan on giving her
soon-to-be ex that easy of an out.
The rain was
falling harder now, coating everything in sight with a silvery glow. If she
wasn’t so cold—a combination of nerves and early spring weather—it would be
pretty. Okay, maybe that was a stretch. There was nothing remotely pretty about
being stranded in the middle of nowheresville thanks to the man you’d promised
to love and honor until death did you part. The last of which was looking
tempting right now.
If only she knew
a hitman.
A throaty engine
gearing down set her heart to leap-frogging in her chest—he’d changed his mind
and returned her car. She swung around, a relieved smile tipping her scowl
upside down, but instead of her beautiful silver Jag, a black-as-sin Mustang
idled behind her in the parking lane, its driving lights blinding her with
their brightness.
Now her heart
pounded for an entirely different reason. She glanced into the ditch, but the
forest seemed impossibly far away and the traffic never even hesitated, unaware
and uncaring that her life could be in danger.
T.J. shaded her
eyes, but she couldn’t see the driver. She clutched her handbag. It wasn’t
much, but the soft lambskin purse held the keys to her house and her car—once
she got it back—her identification, all the odds and ends a woman deemed necessary,
and the proof that her husband was the reason she was in this predicament. She
wouldn’t give it up without a fight.
She picked up
the only weapon at her disposal, her shoe, and inched backward, dismayed when
the car stalked after her. Panic overrode decorum and she turned to run, but
the ditch was slippery with the mud and rain and she lost her footing,
careening down the steep embankment with a little screech. She landed hard on
her butt and sat there for a minute, stunned. How the mighty had fallen. The
Hawthorne couple were the envy of Magnolia, South Carolina. Everyone wanted to
be them, have the same kind of loving relationship they had. What a joke.
And it was all
on her.
A car door
opened and a few ominous seconds later, T.J. heard footsteps on the gravel
meridian. Even through the rain and early evening light, her white shirt
practically glowed a neon here I am signal to anyone looking. And of
course, someone was. She hunched over, doing her best to become one with the
mud, and prayed like she’d never prayed before. Not hard, since she’d never
followed any religious beliefs, but she promised anyone who was listening that
she’d change. Just don’t let her die.
“Tammy-Jo
Hawthorne?” scary stranger dude called down the hill, his voice filled with
amused aggravation.
What did he have
to be aggravated about? She was the one sitting in a cold, wet ditch while a
stalker… well, stalked her.
“Go away,” she
yelled, fed up with men and life in general. She swiped at a clump of
ooey-gooey crap clinging to her leg below the silk pencil skirt she’d no doubt
have to throw in the trash after this episode. Just one more reason to shoot
Tim.
“I was at the
club today,” he said, and the sympathy in his voice made her squirm. “I heard
about your car, thought you could use a lift.”
She threw back
her head and let the rain wash over her face. The humiliations just kept
coming. The moment he’d mentioned the club she’d known who her dubious savior
was; her evil step-brother.
Jason McIntyre.
Jacquie
Biggar is a USA Today bestselling author of Romantic Suspense who loves to
write about tough, alpha males who know what they want, that is until they're
gob-smacked by heroines who are strong, contemporary women willing to show them
what they really need is love. She is the author of the popular Wounded Hearts
series and has just started a new series in paranormal suspense, Mended Souls.
She has been
blessed with a long, happy marriage and enjoys writing romance novels that end
with happily-ever-afters.
Jacquie lives in
paradise along the west coast of Canada with her family and loves reading,
writing, and flower gardening. She swears she can't function without coffee,
preferably at the beach with her sweetheart.
Free reads,
excerpts, author news, and contests can be found on her website.
You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter or
email her via her web site.
Jacquie lives on
Vancouver Island with her husband and loves to hear from readers all over the
world! You can join her street team on Facebook, her exclusive Review
Crew or sign up for her newsletter.
