Bound By You

By Lexxie Couper

When the feisty redhead captain of an Australian Outback fire brigade goes toe to toe with a self-confident arson investigator, the flames of desire may consume them both. Bound By You, from award-winning contemporary erotic romance author Lexxie Couper, will set your heart afire as passion explodes in Book 1 of her Outback Skies series.

The intial spark will engulf them...

Desmond Russell. Arson investigator. The best Australia has. Cool, calm, collected and utterly poised. Nothing intimidates him. He knows fire like he knows his own body and soul. Sent to the small Outback town of Wallaby Ridge to investigate the complete destruction by fire of the Australian Deputy Prime Minister's cattle station homestead, he clashes with Jess Montgomery, captain of the local fire brigade, a feisty woman no taller than his chin, with wild red hair and a mouth like a drunken sailor.

Jess has a major dislike of arson investigators, especially ones from the big smoke. Two years ago her brother died in a fire she knew wasn't an accident, but the investigator who arrived from the city--a smug bastard who looked down on the people of Wallaby Ridge even as he reeked of scotch--said it was. She doesn't trust Desmond Russell to investigate his own arse, let alone a fire that destroyed the Deputy PM's Outback homestead. And when she learns Desmond is the son of the drunken investigator who dismissed her claims of arson in her brother's case...well, she's not going to let him waltz in and take over.

The initial spark will engulf them both...but will their hearts survive the inferno?

This contemporary erotic romance contains sexy Australian firefighters, mystery and suspense, and is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

Previously published: (2016) Book Boutiques, Original title: Combustible, Original series: Heart of Fame | (2015) 5x5 Publishing

• Language: English
• Publisher: Book Boutiques
• Release date: Apr 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781944003357

Lexxie Couper

Lexxie Couper started writing when she was six and hasn't stopped since. She's not a deviant, but she does have a deviant's imagination and a desire to entertain readers with her words. Add the two together and you get erotic romances that can make you laugh, cry, shake with fear or tremble with desire. Sometimes all at once. When she's not submerged in the worlds she creates, Lexxie's life revolves around her family: a husband who thinks she's insane, an indoor cat who likes to stalk shadows, and her daughters, who both utterly captured her heart and changed her life forever. Contact Lexxie at [e-mail], follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lexxie_couper or visit her at www.lexxiecouper.com where she occasionally makes a fool of herself on her blog.

Book preview

Excerpt

"The way I see it, he said, his smooth poise driving her crazy with both lust and furious irritation, you’re behaving this way towards me for one of three reasons: one, you despise me because of who my father was; two, you feel professionally threatened by the very fact I’m here; or three, every fibre in your body wants to surrender to what you are so desperately trying to deny right now. And I would lay my very sizeable income on it being option three."

Jess stared up at him. A maelstrom of insane emotions broiled inside her.

Lust.

Hate.

Contempt.

Hunger.

Frustration.

Want.

Need.

Desire.

Submission.

Y-you… She stopped. Licked her dry lips. Swallowed. You really are a conceited wanker, aren’t you?

The insult fell from her in a rasping whisper.

Her belly churned. Her pussy fluttered.

Desmond’s lips curled in a slow, arrogant smile. And yet, there’s something you really want to do to me now, isn’t there?

Jess’s breath stuck in her throat. An image of them both utterly naked and dripping in sweat flashed through her head. Desmond was pinning her wrists to a wall with one hand as he yanked her leg up beside his hip, pumping deep and hard inside her with long, powerful thrusts.

A soft whimper escaped her at the thought.

Desmond’s pupils dilated at the sound. His nostrils flared. He held her imprisoned with his blue gaze, not moving, not drawing closer to her or touching her in any way. Just holding her with the potent force of his stare.

And the dominating hunger in his eyes. Isn’t there, Captain Montgomery?

Oh god. Oh god oh god oh—

Submit to it, he murmured, his voice a smooth caress, like velvet and whiskey and everything male she’d ever fantasied about. Do what you want to do and do it now.

And if what I want is to knee you in the balls? she whispered, even as her breasts grew heavier with the need to be touched…sucked.

It isn’t.

"What do you think I want to do, Des?"

His nostrils flared again. Kiss me.

Her pulse pounded in her ears. Her sex throbbed in perfect harmony, a rhythm of undeniable, wanton desire.

And surrender.

Oh god, was she really going to—

Kiss me, Captain.

It was the raw urgency she heard in his voice that undid her.

Before she could question her sanity, she gave herself over to the elemental desire searing through her. Surrendered to the unexpected need he awoke in her.

Submitted to it.

And kissed him.

Bound By You

Outback Skies, Book 1

Lexxie Couper

Published 2016 by Book Boutiques.

ISBN: 978-1-944003-35-7

Copyright © 2016, Lexxie Couper.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Book Boutiques.

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is wholly coincidental. The names, characters, dialogue, and events in this book are from the author’s imagination and should not to be construed as real.

Manufactured in the USA.

Email [e-mail] with questions, or inquiries about Book Boutiques.

Blurb

Desmond Russell. Arson investigator. The best Australia has. Cool, calm, collected and utterly poised. Nothing intimidates him. He knows fire like he knows his own body and soul. Sent to the small Outback town of Wallaby Ridge to investigate the complete destruction by fire of the Australian Deputy Prime Minister’s cattle station homestead, he clashes with Jess Montgomery, captain of the local fire brigade, a feisty woman no taller than his chin, with wild red hair and a mouth like a drunken sailor.

Jess has a major dislike of arson investigators, especially ones from the big smoke. Two years ago her brother died in a fire she knew wasn’t an accident, but the investigator who arrived from the city—a smug bastard who looked down on the people of Wallaby Ridge even as he reeked of scotch—said it was. She doesn’t trust Desmond Russell to investigate his own arse, let alone a fire that destroyed the Deputy PM’s Outback homestead. And when she learns Desmond is the son of the drunken investigator who dismissed her claims of arson in her brother’s case…well, she’s not going to let him waltz in and take over.

Arson investigator Desmond Russell is the best in Australia. Cool, calm and collected, nothing ruffles him. Until he meets Outback fire brigade captain Jess Montgomery, a woman who ignites all his sexual desires. The initial spark will engulf them both… but will their hearts survive the inferno?

Previously Published

(2016) Book Boutiques, Original Title: Combustible, Original Series: Heart of Fame | (2015) 5x5 Publishing

Dedication

To the hot firefighter who used to work with my dad back when I was only seventeen. You were the start of a lifelong obsession I still have with sexy firefighters. Which kind of messed me up a little, given I saw my dad almost daily in his firefighter’s gear.

Acknowledgements

Cover Artist: Valerie Tibbs, Tibbs Design

Editor: Correctamundo Edits

Chapter 1

Desmond Russell climbed out of the plane and into a furnace.

The dry Outback heat sucked the moisture from his lungs, his skin, his every breath. He paused, allowing himself a moment to adjust to the searing summer temperature. When he’d boarded the small plane waiting for him on the runway at Sydney’s domestic airport—three hours and forty-two minutes ago—the humidity of the day had clung to him like a shroud.

Humidity and the Outback however, didn’t go hand in hand. This far from the coastline, the only hint of moisture was the small beads of sweat currently popping out on his temples.

With a soft grunt, Desmond shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it over his left forearm. He didn’t loosen the Windsor knot at the base of his throat. As hot as the day was here in Wallaby Ridge, a small town nearly in the middle of Australia—and it was hot, somewhere in the upper forties Celsius, by his educated guess, which made it around 118-plus in Fahrenheit—it was mild compared to some of the intense infernos he’d been in the middle of.

The heat didn’t worry him at all. He was used to it. Twelve years as a firefighter for Sydney City, one of the busiest stations in the country, and eight years as an arson investigator meant the heat and Desmond were on a first name basis. The heat didn’t intimidate him, it just told him secrets.

Like the fact the woman storming toward him now across Wallaby Ridge’s red-dust-covered runway was not happy to see him.

Not many people in Outback Australia ventured outside at high noon when the blistering sun was at its most savage without wearing a hat. Nor sunglasses to shield their eyes from the extreme UV rays.

This woman had though, although woman wasn’t the term that came to mind as he watched her make a beeline for him. Pocket-rocket came to mind. Pixie sex goddess was another.

Pissed off a third.

Drawing in a slow breath of hot air, Desmond stood motionless, his investigator’s kit resting against his thigh, and waited for Jessica Montgomery to reach him.

Based on the telephone call he’d received from her before takeoff, he wasn’t in any hurry to initiate their greeting. Pixie sex goddess or not, she’d been far from discreet in letting him know he wasn’t wanted here.

I see you got on the plane after all, Des.

Desmond couldn’t help but smile at her contraction of his name once again. She’d snarled it at him on the phone as if it were a curse. Now, without the aid of a tenuous digital connection to soften the syllables, the full extent of her contempt was clear.

I did. He inclined his head with a slow nod.

She stopped a foot before him, the top of her un-hatted head barely reaching his chin, her hazel eyes ablaze with fury hotter than the day. Wow, she really didn’t like him.

Even though I told you I had it covered. Her jaw—finely boned and delectable—clenched. That your services weren’t needed or required.

"Even though. Do I need to point out again, the property destroyed is owned by the Deputy Prime Minister?"

You don’t think I have the ability to investigate the fire?

Ms. Montgomery—

"Captain Montgomery, she corrected, a pointed challenge in her voice. Wallaby Ridge Rural Fire Brigade. Ten years’ service. And, in case I need to point out, the head of the Far West team that covers a total area of two-hundred and sixty thousand kilometres."

Once again, he inclined his head. "Captain Montgomery. Before taking off, I accessed the state firefighting records, and spent the flight here reading up on you. I am aware you are good at your job. Very good. I’m here because the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister asked me to be. This is no slight on your ability to determine the cause of the blaze. As I said to you on the phone before I left Sydney, I—"

Am recognized as the country’s most respected arson investigator, she snarled. Hazel eyes flared with mocking contempt. "You did mention that. I’m still trying to decide if I’m meant to be impressed."

Desmond raised his eyebrows. Damn, she was a prickly one. With no compunction about letting him know how she felt. Prickly and feisty. And not in the least likely to cower or back down from a challenge.

Unable to stop himself, he ran a slow gaze over her face, down her pixie-like body and up to her face again.

A direct challenge flickered in her eyes, stirring something unexpected in the pit of his gut. A direct challenge followed by an almost imperceptible downward glance away. Like she was torn between ripping off his balls, or contemplating something far more…stimulating.

Control yourself. Now.

He drew a calm breath. Held it. Let it out with an equally calm exhalation.

Might I suggest, Captain Montgomery, he said, refusing to allow a hint of request or question in his voice, that you take me to the site of the fire. So I may begin?

Jess Montgomery’s jaw bunched. Her eyes narrowed for a fleeting second. Her stare flicked over him in the same way he’d inspected her, as if sizing him up.

And then she cocked her chin, crossed her arms over her gloriously round breasts—breasts straining against a snug white T-shirt featuring the Wallaby Ridge’s Fire Brigade emblem—and gave him a slow, cold smile. The last arson investigator I worked with from the Big Smoke was also called Russell.

A thick tension filled Desmond’s body. A heavy pressure wrapped around his temples.

He also claimed to be the ‘most respected arson investigator in the country’. Jess’s tone grew cutting. The combative fire in her eyes turned sharp. He stank of scotch the whole time he was here and got everything wrong.

Desmond stared at her. The pressure around his head spread to his chest. His gut churned. He drew another breath. Remained motionless. Sent out a wordless thank you to a god he didn’t believe in that he was wearing black Ray Bans. The sunglasses hid his eyes and the emotion no doubt currently in them. An emotion he’d spent the last six months holding in check. Repressing.

Denying.

Darius Russell? he asked, the name like dust on his tongue.

Jess Montgomery nodded, lip curling with distaste. That’s the bastard. Relative of yours?

Desmond inclined his head with a single nod, offering his own smile. Inside, a cold tension coiled and writhed. My father. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to work. Feel free to join me at the site, but do not interfere. I have a job to do for the Deputy Prime Minister.

And with that, he inched his folded suit jacket a little farther up his forearm and walked from the runway, telling himself he didn’t care if the captain of the Wallaby Ridge Rural Fire Brigade followed.

Telling himself but knowing it was a lie.

He cared a lot.

Because ever since his father died six months ago, ever since the truth of his incompetence was revealed, Desmond had made it his mission to right the wrongs left in Darius’s drunken wake. It was clear by the hate and contempt in Jessica Montgomery’s eyes when he’d told her he was Darius Russell’s son that she had been a victim of one of his father’s many fuckups.

Which impacted greatly on his time here in the Outback.

He would find out how his father had screwed her over and do everything he could to fix it.

What were the chances, however, of her letting him?

Why the fuck did he have to be so fucking sexy?

Jess watched the big-city arson investigator stride away from her, with his big city suit—no doubt costing more than she made a year—and his big city haircut and his big city attitude. She narrowed her eyes, wishing she