Foreplay by Marteeka Karland Page A

him, she gave him a look that
    should‟ve put the man six feet under. Unfortunately,
    Dr. Caleb Jackson wasn‟t the least bit scared or
    intimidated. And why would he be? He was six feet
    nine inches of brawny, heavily muscled, hot man.
    Instead of being afraid, he just winked and blew her a
    kiss. Lord, his mouth was sexy when he did that! The
    things she imagined him doing to her with that
    mouth…
    “The evil eye doesn‟t impress me, Miss Lilly, and
    I know what you‟re going to say, so don‟t bother.
    Besides, I didn‟t mess with all those papers in that
    chart.” He jerked a thumb at the man sitting next to
    him, who just happened to be his identical twin. “It
    was Connor. I swear.”
    Connor gave him an irritated glance before
    looking past him to the chart she had on her desk,
    then back to the chart on his own desk. “Not my
    patient, Caleb. Try again.”
    “I‟m truly convinced you do it on purpose, Dr.
    Jackson.” Lilly sighed and began rearranging all the
    papers. Again.
    “Which one?” Both men asked the question in
    unison.

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    Foreplay
    Lilly clenched her fist, crumpling the page she
    had in her hand. She would hang on to her temper.
    They could not shake her. She was a rock. A rock that
    would like to pound both their heads.
    “Which is exactly my point. If you have to ask,
    then you‟re guilty. You just love to fuss when
    something isn‟t where you can find it, yet you move
    stuff around all over the place. Either stop it, or quit
    complaining. It‟s that simple.” She knew she was
    dressing him down like a general might a junior
    officer, but she couldn‟t help it. Sometimes, it just had
    to happen.
    “You know, Connor, I think she might be serious
    this time.”
    “Get a life, Caleb, and quit messing with her.
    Lilly has more important things to do than clean up
    your messes.”
    “You‟re as bad as me—you just won‟t admit it.”
    “You‟re both horrible!” Lilly placed the chart in
    the master rack. No further action was needed at
    present, and the nurse could find the chart when she
    was ready. “It‟s seven o‟clock, which means that I don‟t
    have to take any more of your nonsense this week. I‟m
    going home.”
    Caleb opened his mouth to say something, no
    doubt some kind of smart-assed remark, but Lilly
    interrupted him.

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    MARTEEKA KARLAND
    “Not a word, or no nookie for you tonight. I‟ll
    put out the word you‟re on restriction and no woman
    will come within a mile of you.”
    That usually shut him up. She always turned the
    suggestive banter up when she wanted Caleb to shut
    up. Sometimes, she even managed to make him blush.
    Unfortunately, he did the same with her and managed
    to do more than make her blush. Sometimes, the
    images that popped in her head were positively panty-
    soaking.
    For good measure, she slapped the back of his
    head as she passed by him. No one else could‟ve gotten
    away with it, but she wasn‟t just some random
    employee, bowing to the wishes of the brothers
    Jackson. She was Queen Lilly, ruler of all she
    surveyed! Well, ruler of this particular nurse‟s station,
    at any rate.
    “I‟ll spank you for that later, Lilly.” Caleb‟s eyes
    twinkled, and Lilly wished to God Almighty she hadn‟t
    looked back at him. The man was too damned sexy for
    her own good. So was his brother. Both men were
    exceedingly tall, but they carried more than enough
    muscle to balance their height. Add midnight hair
    streaked here and there with a silver strand or two,
    along with piercing blue eyes, and they created a
    package no woman could resist. Both men had been
    the subject of many a midnight fantasy of Lilly‟s. It

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    Foreplay
    was insanely easy to imagine all that male flesh
    pressed against her and wrapped around her. They
    might be identical in looks, but their personalities
    were polar opposites. Caleb was playful, while Connor
    was all dark and intense.
    “You can try,” she quipped. It was an ongoing
    game they played—one