Ryan has a magic talisman that makes him irresistible to women. Just one touch, and their blood runs hot and their bodies crave a man. But even though Ryan could have any woman in the world, he only has eyes for his mother, a former pinup model, and her beautiful daughters! He knows it's wrong, but Ryan can't help using the power of the talisman to claim them, one by one, at the family cookout.
~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~
He raises his hand, and for a second I'm blinded. When the spots fade from my eyes, I see that it's a golden disc catching the last rays of the sun. The ruby in its center glows with a mesmerizing fire.
“That is…gorgeous,” I gasp. “Where did you get it?”
“Nowhere very exotic,” he says. “It's just a few miles from here, actually.”
“Can I hold it?” I ask. I feel like a child, but the urge to run my fingertips over its ornate surface is too compelling to ignore.
“I want you to,” says Ryan. “But here's the thing. If you touch it, you'll want me just as badly as I want you.”
I laugh again. I think the beer has definitely gone to my head. “Well how badly do you want me?”
He arches his eyebrows. “I don't think you can handle that much honesty.”
This is a very strange, very obscene game we're playing. “I really want to touch it,” I say. “What, is it, like, magic or something? Like voodoo?”
“Not voodoo,” he says. “But yes. It will make you want me.”
“You ply me with a few more beers and massages and you have no idea what I'll do,” I say. I snatch it out of his fingers.
It's hot! But before I can even register the pain, the flash is gone--no, not gone, but shooting up my arm. It slams into my heart and--and, I don't know what I feel… It's like liquid gold is melting down my ribcage and pooling in my panties. I give an involuntary gasp, and for a moment I think I'm going to faint.
And then it's like ten-thousand tongues are licking me all at once.
“Whoa,” I say. My thumb skates over the warm metal. “This is…intense.” The ruby is so bright, so succulent. It's like a neon strawberry. I have a bizarre urge to suck on it, to kiss it, fondle it. But, no, that would be weird. Very weird.
I hand the amulet back to Ryan. He tucks it back into his jacket. I swallow hard and try to bring the world back into focus, but all its edges have gone soft. And I'm vibrating.
I don't understand it. All I understand is that my heart is beating like a drum and my breasts are thudding in time. I reach out and brace myself against Ryan's shoulder, desperate to catch my breath. He catches me in his strong, sailor's hands, and a rush of warmth passes through his fingers and down my shoulders.
“I feel dizzy,” I say. “Take me outside.”
“We are outside.”
The first fireflies of the evening are winking at us from between the trees. “Take me more outside,” I whisper.
He doesn't say a word, he just nods and escorts me behind the shed. “No,” I say (I'm almost panting now), “I need to be away from the house. Do you remember that clearing, just beyond the old treehouse?”
“Yes,” he says.
“Take me there.”