Tempered by Her: A Steamy Contemporary Romance: Risso Family Contemporary Romance Series, #4

By Lynn Burke

A Steamy Contemporary BDSM Novella

 

​Zane Risso, a Dominant unyielding in his desires, is haunted by the one woman he wants and can't have, vanilla goodie-two-shoes Raquel Hawkins. He knows the only way to flush her from his system is to seduce her and move on, because surrendering the kink club addiction he enjoys is not a demand he'll accept. From any woman.
 
Raquel Hawkins has never known temptation like the blue-eyed Italian god who seems fond of whispering naughty things in her ear during office hours. He's bad news—sin personified—and although she continues to deny him, her body's responses to his sensual words just might buy her a one-way ticket to hell. 
 
From their first kiss, Zane's determination to overcome her Pollyanna principles threatens his lifestyle. For Raquel, giving in to temptation would doubtless leave her heart a shredded mess—and unlock sordid secrets best left in the dark.

 

Risso Family Contemporary Romance Series:

Susceptible to Him

Longing for Her

Complete with Her

Tempered by Her

Chasing after Him

No One until Her

 

If you're a fan of TL Swan, Alexis Winter, Adriana Lock, Abby Brooks, Claire Kingsley, Lainey Davis, & Sav R. Miller, you're going to love the Risso Family series!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lynn Burke
• Release date: May 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393740193

Lynn Burke

USA Today Bestselling author Lynn Burke is a CrossFit and coffee addict. Her three spawn dictate how often she can be found hunched over her Mac, typing as fast as her fickle muse cooks up hot stories.

Book preview

Zane

T he fuck, Zane?

I glanced over my shoulder while tugging my t-shirt down to cover my abs. In nothing more than boxers covering his jutting hard-on, my cousin and good friend Theo hurried down the dim hallway after me. Shoving my hands into my jeans pockets, I turned and waited for him.

You all right? he asked, sweat beading his brow, a waft of sex and Sasha’s perfume billowing like a cloud around him as he stopped in front of me.

Yeah, sure. I shrugged and tried for a nonchalant grin while transferring my weight from one leg to the other.

Intuitive dick. He stared at me, dark eyes seeming to weigh my words and shifting stance—same as he’d always done since we were kids. I don’t just switch for anyone, he said, his tone low. Thought you said you needed this.

I know. I ran a hand through my too-long hair and heaved an exhale. Sorry. Not feelin’ it tonight.

Two minutes ago, you had Sasha in tears—buzzing on pain and begging for us—and you up and walk out? Damn it, cuz. Theo slapped his bare chest. She doesn’t want just me.

I thought of the red hand marks on the sub's thighs and ass, the ass I’d planned on burying into balls-deep while she straddled Theo, but she had come to mind. Fuckin’ shriveled me right up. Can’t do it.

I’ve got a couple of little blue pills if that’s what you need.

His smirk pissed me off, and I shook my head.

Come on, man. Theo threw his arms into the air with a growl. I’ve wanted Sasha for months!

I glanced back toward my favorite play room at Chantelle’s, one I’d frequented weekly since Theo and I had become members of the exclusive kink club. Other doors lined the hall, but no sounds of what most would consider sordid acts behind them reached us. What’d you tell her?

She’s still blindfolded and kneeling on the bed.

Doesn’t know I slipped out?

No.

I clasped Theo’s shoulder and gave him a wink. Tell her I decided to watch instead.

She knows you’re no voyeur.

So make her believe.

He sucked in one side of his cheek as the seconds ticked passed, and he glared at me. And when I allow her to remove the blindfold?

It wouldn’t be a lie to say I slipped out a few minutes earlier.

Lips in a thin line, Theo let out a heavy exhale. You’re a selfish prick, you know that?

His favored nickname didn’t make me grin like usual. Go enjoy that sweet little pussy. I’ll catch up with you next week. I strode toward the door leading into the lounge area, my cousin’s whispered bastard ringing in my ears.

The lights of the main room had been dimmed, soft music from the overhead speakers helping create the mood. A quiet night at Chantelle’s, only a dozen or so people made use of the public area. One sub, a jeweled plug peeking from between her ass cheeks, knelt before her Dom, sucking his cock. The sound of slapping drew my gaze to the far side of the room where another sub lay across his master’s lap, hips rising to meet the hand tanning his ass.

Normally the sight stirred my blood, but I turned away and waved at the club’s owner on my way out.

Although still fall, warm air greeted me as I stepped outside into Boston’s nightlife. Chatter, music, and laughter rose around me, but I ignored everyone, intent on the parking garage across the street and my Audi R8. Within minutes, I downshifted my baby and headed for Comm Ave.

I’d never walked away from a scene before—or any chance of having sex. I craved physical touch. Dominating and inflicting pain and soothing the lingering sting afterward made my dick hard.

Although my cousin understood, both my brothers claimed I was a sick bastard. It’s what I needed to be satisfied, though. Vanilla fucking had long since become a yawn-inducing bore for me.

Vanilla. Like Cole’s secretary, the woman who haunted my dreams and most of my waking moments. Untouchable, goodie-two-shoes Raquel Hawkins was everything I wasn’t—and goddamn did I want to corrupt her innocent soul.

My hands ached to brand her round ass. I wanted to clamp and tug on her plump tits. Drive her out of her fuckin’ mind and make her scream my name like a shameless whore while shoving my dick in her virgin pussy and ass.

A horn blared, jacking my heart rate.

Shit. I swerved back into my lane and tried to slow my breathing. Little secretary in her conservative pencil skirts, button-down blouses, and damn glasses…

Fuck.

I grasped my stiff dick through my jeans and squeezed to the point of pain, trying to calm him the fuck down while filling my mind with the new logos I’d been working on for Bastian’s store down in Charleston.

Didn’t fuckin’ work. By the time I got to my condo, the ache in my balls wouldn’t relent. I couldn’t wait any longer. Leaning against my closed garage door, I shoved my jeans off my hips and yanked on my length while imagining Raquel’s pussy squeezing the life out of me. My balls tightened to the point I cursed. With a shout, I let loose, cum shooting up onto my shirt and coating my hand.

Goddamnit. Breathing hard, I pulled off my shirt and wiped up the mess, my mind still in full-out need-to-fuck-that-ass-now mode.

What I really needed to do was get the girl out of my head, but I had no clue how. I couldn’t very well fuck my brother’s secretary and break her heart after I had my fill. No in-house dating, the family business rules stated. Not that it’d stopped me from topping a mail runner a few years earlier, but she’d only wanted a fun fuck anyway. Hell, even Theo enjoyed the little strawberry tart a time or two after I tired of her.

On the other hand, Raquel would want the house with a picket fence and a half-dozen kids. Church every Sunday. Missionary position sex like clockwork every Friday night—and only on Friday night.

Fuck that. I kicked off my shoes and jeans and let them lay where they landed. No way could I get involved with her.

No fuckin’ way.

Cole told me she came from an ultra-conservative family, but a whispered thought in the back of my head halted me halfway across my living room. What if she had some wild oats of her own to sow? I could give her a taste of the good life before she settled down with her perfect little Christian boy, who’d follow along behind her like a puppy on her heels.

Show her a good time, get her out of my system and head, then we could both go on our merry way.

Off-limits, but fuck it.

I would take what I