EXCERPT "It's just sex." Karen said. "Will you stop trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill!" "I would if you didn't have that humongous smile glued to your mug," her best friend Angelika shot back. "I've never known you to do 'just sex.' Be careful Kare," Angelika said, turning serious as she used Karen's nickname. "You don't do 'to-go' sex.' Your heart always gets involved and that's what scares me about this. I don't want to see you hurt again." After her last relationship ended in heartbreak, Karen had taken a year's sabbatical from dating and reassessed her priorities. Her professional life was budding, but she was lonely. So she decided to focus on what she could control – her business – and not wait for a committed relationship to blossom before she had some fun. Meeting Kamar seemed to solidify that she'd made the right decision. They hit it off immediately and she headed straight down the 'bad girl' path, forging a physical connection before thought was given to any type of emotional bond. Could her bad girl behavior lead to a lasting relationship? ****** "Te quiero mucho," Kamar said in his native Spanish, "I have since the first time I laid eyes on you." "I want you too Kamar," was all Karen could muster in response. Kamar lowered his head and took Karen's lips firmly in his. He didn't want to scare her, but God he'd waited so long to claim those soft, pillowy clouds that he deepened the kiss much quicker than he wanted to. To his surprise, Karen responded with equal pent-up ardor. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she pressed closer into his long, lean frame, reveling in the corded strength of his body. Barely realizing what he was doing, Kamar scooped Karen up effortlessly in his arms and walked down the long hallway to his bedroom. Because he travelled so much and had a hard time sleeping with any kind of light, the room was dark – so dark that it was hard to see anything at all. Eyes closed, Karen didn't notice because her lips were still fully exploring Kamar's. Only when he lowered her to the bed did she realize that they'd left the living room and were in his bedroom. In one effortless move, Kamar hit a switch on the bedside table and flooded the room with soft lamp light. He froze when he looked at Karen. She was stunningly beautiful – her skin glowed luminously in the dimmed lighting. Not sure how to react to his gaze, Karen lay still beneath him, her eyes pleading for an explanation. "A dios mio, estan muy hermosa," he whispered. Although her Spanish was limited, she understood enough to know that he was telling her how beautiful she was. With this, she immediately relaxed. "Thank you," she whispered and reached up to brazenly pull his lips back to hers. She was overwhelmed by her need for him and while she could never be so bold as to express it in words, she'd let her body tell him everything he needed to know. ****** Karen looked at herself squarely in the bathroom mirror the next morning. "What have I done?" she chastised herself. 'To go' sex, as her friend Angelika had put it, definitely wasn't her style. But two mojitos and one sangria later and she'd given in to the desire Kamar had awakened in her. Could the chemistry they shared in bed translate into a successful relationship out of bed? Or was she so "Trapped by Desire" that she was setting herself up for heartbreak all over again? ### Relevant Search Terms: african american romance, contemporary romance, interracial romance, multiracial romance, bwwm romance, multicultural romance, short romance, steamy romance