ISLAND ENCOUNTER is published by The Wild Rose Press and released from The Wilder Roses, the Scarlet Rose line of erotic romance. The book is available in ebook from Amazon and other online vendors.

He wants revenge. She wants peace.

A man with the wealth and power to make things happen, Flynn Ormond is about to see his decade-long quest for revenge fulfilled. But then he stumbles onto a bikini-clad beauty sunbathing on his deserted beach. He wants her, and he's accustomed to getting what he wants. However, she's a distraction he can't afford, not at all what she seems, and stands against everything he believes is right.

Traci Meredith has a long term plan of her own, to confront the man responsible for the death of her parents and finally move on with her life. But when sun-kissed god of a caretaker wanders into her life one sunny morning, she lets more than the tropical paradise seduce her from her goal. Then she discovers the truth of his identity and the length he'll go to for justice. Can she lure him from destruction's grip or will the fingers of the past hold on tight?

Read Excerpt #1 PG-rated (first meeting)
Read Excerpt #2 R-Rated (Flynn's attraction)
Read Excerpt #3 PG-Rated (Traci questions Flynn)
Read Excerpt #4 G-Rated (Confrontation with George)
Read Excerpt #5 R-Rated (first kiss)
Read Excerpt G-Rated (Traci's anger)

Excerpt #1 PG-rated (first meeting):

"Who…who are you?" Her voice didn't sound anywhere near as firm as she wanted. "What are you doing here?"

He kneeled down next to her, flashing a smile that exposed a row of perfect white teeth, a smile that enhanced the sensual surge still bouncing around inside her. He took off his sunglasses, revealing intense turquoise blue eyes that seemed to delve into the depths of her reality. A little shiver moved up her spine. A moment as mesmerizing as it was unsettling. Her breathing quickened slightly.

"I have those exact same questions for you. This is a privately owned island with only two legitimate access points, the dock adjacent to the conference facilities and a runway that accommodates small planes with an adjacent helicopter pad. Private jets not allowed. So…who are you and how did you get here?"

"My name is Traci Meredith, and I'm with the corporate retreat. I arrived yesterday afternoon by boat…uh, the ferry."

He tilted his head, wrinkling his brow in a brief moment of concentration as he stared at her. "That's odd. I have a list of all the employees scheduled to attend the retreat and your name isn't on that list."

"I'm not a member of the retreat. I'm a speaker at one of the seminars. I wasn't due to arrive for a couple of days yet, but Mr. Daniels was nice enough to allow me to come early so I could enjoy the island facilities prior to the time when I present my program."

"Well, that was certainly nice of Mr. Daniels." A momentary frown wrinkled his forehead again but quickly disappeared. She wasn't sure what to make of it or the hint of sarcasm surrounding his words.

In spite of the odd turn their conversation had taken, she didn't detect anything threatening about this stranger. As he said, this was a private island with limited access, which indicated he belonged there. She began to relax a little, then a thought put her senses on alert again. "Who are you and why do you have a list of people attending the retreat?"

"I'm Flynn Ormond. I guess you could say I'm the island caretaker, for lack of a better title, which makes me the liaison to the people renting the facilities." He paused as he blatantly scrutinized her body, as if he could see through the towel she held in front of her. His obvious stare caused her nipples to pucker into taut buds. "What's your area of expertise? What qualifies you to be a speaker at an executive corporate retreat attended primarily by men who could more aptly be described as belonging to the good ol' boys network." His gaze swept across her body again. "A description that definitely does not fit what I'm seeing?"

Excerpt #2 R-Rated (Flynn's attraction)

He glanced at his retreat schedule again. It showed her seminar on Wednesday evening after dinner with her departure scheduled for Thursday morning. He checked his watch—nine-thirty Monday morning. He had until ten o'clock Thursday morning when the helicopter was scheduled for island pickup—three days and three nights—in which to follow up on his attraction to a very tantalizing and desirable woman.

As if on cue, his cock twitched in response to the mental image. A cock he wanted to bury deep inside what he knew would be a hot, tight pussy. He wanted to intimately know all of her—every place she wanted to be touched, everything that excited her. He wanted to see that beautiful face in the grip of orgasm. His breathing quickened.

Then a moment of concern clouded his thoughts. He couldn’t become so fixated on the delicious looking Traci Meredith that he let his number one objective lose momentum—the destruction of George Daniels.

Flynn allowed a slight smile to turn the corners of his mouth. By the time George boarded the scheduled helicopter departure from the island on Sunday morning, he would leave as a broken man with his empire in shambles. And most important of all—the depths of his ruthlessness exposed to the world.

Excerpt #3 PG-Rated (Traci questions Flynn)

She carefully measured her words. “You seem to know a lot about his personal life. Does the island owner require that type of personal information about the people who use the conference facilities?”

He propped his body up on one elbow facing her. “And do you always follow sex with accusations and an interrogation? I think any concerns you have about me or my character would be more appropriately addressed before sex.”

Even though the gleam in his eyes and mischievous grin said he was teasing, she couldn’t stop herself from throwing his own words back to him. “That doesn’t really answer my question, does it?”

His expression turned serious. “The answer to your question is no, the island owner does not require extensive background checks on those who wish to rent the facilities. Usually nothing beyond the normal credit check unless the potential client has a reputation for destructive behavior such as the case with certain celebrities. Now, to repeat my question. Do you always follow sex with an interrogation? Take a beautiful and incredible interaction and put a damper on it?”

A nervous jitter told her she had pushed her concerns too far. She forced a smile. “We seem to have veered off into some sort of a strange direction.”

“Yes…you have. Would I get a straight answer from you if I asked why?” He furrowed his brow in a moment of confusion. “Is there something about you being here that I need to know? And before you take offense, let me clarify. By here, I mean at this conference rather than here in my bed. I consider our being in my bed a personal matter based on mutual attraction and having nothing to do with the outside world.”

She took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her tensed nerves. “Well, we do agree on that.” Her defensiveness quickly gave way to feelings of guilt over misleading him. “I apologize if I’ve given you the wrong impression. It’s just that…well, I’m not accustomed to hopping in bed with a man I’ve only known a few hours. Or more accurately, one I don’t know at all and only encountered for a few minutes earlier today. I guess I allowed my insecurities to show.”

His turquoise eyes seemed to delve into the very essence of her psyche. As if she had no will of her own, she felt herself being drawn into his mesmerizing aura. Her mind clouded and her body once again ached for his touch. “Maybe I’m just experiencing the equivalent of morning after jitters.”

He drew her closer. “Let’s see if I can calm them for you.”

Excerpt #4 G-Rated (Confrontation with George)

George drew her into his immediate circle, making it physically difficult for her to unobtrusively slip away. He kept touching her—on the arm, the shoulder—nothing specific for her to voice an objection. But her body language spoke volumes about her uneasiness with the situation.

Any thoughts he might have harbored about her personal involvement with George—at least any type of desired attention on her part—had been put to rest. He started across the dining room toward them. Let's see how George handles interference from someone who doesn't work for him.

"George." He acknowledged the presence of everyone else with a nod in their direction. "Are your people getting settled in? I trust everything is satisfactory."

George noticeably bristled at the use of his first name by someone he obviously considered an underling. "Yes, you can tell your employer the accommodations meet with my approval."

"I'll pass the word along." Flynn managed to hide his amusement at George's condescending tone and attempt to put him in his place. Then Flynn turned toward Traci, offering his arm and a friendly smile conveying a personal relationship. "Are you ready?"

She linked her arm with his and returned his smile with an obviously grateful one of her own. "Yes, very."

George blocked her way. "Where are you going?"

Excerpt #5 R-Rated (first kiss)

Flynn rose from his chair, took her empty glass from her hand, and set it on the table next to his. Then he tugged her up from the chair and into his arms. She folded into his embrace as if they had done this many times before, so natural…so right. He captured her mouth with a heated kiss, instantly tasting her positive response to his advance. It held all the encouragement he needed.

Darting his tongue between her lips, he aggressively explored the tempting hidden recesses. Her mouth proved to be everything he had anticipated—soft lips, tender, sweet, enticing. A taste that screamed more.

As she wound her arms around his neck, he ran his hand down her back and cupped her ass. His cock twitched and pulsed, wanting and needing release from the confines of his pants.

He temporarily broke the kiss long enough to look into her eyes. He saw an earthy passion that nearly knocked him back on his heels. One that said she wanted him as much as he wanted her. None of those stupid games he so despised. They both knew what they wanted.

Without saying a word, he led her through the French doors into his bedroom. They stood next to his bed facing each other, the distance between them mere inches. Silence filled the room, broken only by the sounds of the surf breaking against the rocks, a rhythm that coursed through his veins carrying with it a throbbing intensity.

Excerpt #6 G-Rated (Traci's anger)

"I'm not trying to frighten you. You certainly have no reason to be fearful." He sucked in a steadying breath. He had opened the can of worms, and now he owed it to her to clear the air. "Yes, I have a huge problem with George, and I know you do, too."

Her eyes went wide as the shock again covered her face. "Did you have me investigated? Pry into my background?"

He felt himself slipping into a hole he had dug and wondered how he could get out of it unscathed…or if that would even be possible. Things seemed to be moving from bad to worse, a direction he didn't want, and he didn't have a logical explanation for it. Well, other than some sort of an unknown emotional connection to this woman that had possibly made him careless in what he said…and how he said it. A woman he didn't know existed twenty-four hours ago.

He established eye contact with her, but the passion he saw in her green eyes last night had now turned to apprehension. "Yes, I did do a cursory check. I had to know about your possible link to George, anything beyond simply being a speaker at the retreat." He had not been able to stop the truth. He wanted her to know he understood. "That's when I discovered the circumstances of your father's death and his suicide note. And George's total culpability."

She angrily jumped to her feet, nearly toppling the small table. "How dare you! You had no right—"

He forcefully pulled her into his arms and held her in spite of her attempt to free herself. "Hear me out."