Unedited Excerpt from Project Exorcism: Force of Attraction by Mandy M. Roth, coming soon to NCP!

Chapter One.

"Have a seat," Marisa said, hearing the door to her exam room slide shut. "Go ahead and gown up."

"Ah, Doc, I knew you wanted me out of my pants. I told you yesterday that all you had to do was say the word and I would show you what a real man could offer you."

Marisa cringed at the sound of Bradi's voice. The man lived to make her life h.e.l.l. He seemed to take great pleasure out of embarra.s.sing her whenever possible. There was something about him that made not only her blood boil but her body burn in ways it shouldn't. "Lieutenant Commander Bradi, I thought you canceled your physical today." She let her voice go hard, knowing full well why he was standing there.

He cleared his throat. "I did, but since you went straight to the big boy about my file not being complete, I got a call telling me to get my a.s.s in here. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Doc? I mean, you don't have any certain pull with the Commander do you?"

Smiling, Marisa turned towards him, wanting to give him the impression that he didn't get to her, but he did.

Everything about the man got under her skin and she wasn't entirely sure it was in a bad way either.

Bradi seemed to take up so much room that he demanded attention. The man was pure muscle, at least from what she could tell. He'd never allowed her to examine him in the two months she'd been the s.h.i.+p's a.s.sistant physician. As far as she could tell, Bradi hadn't allowed anyone to examine him in well over a year. From his tight regulation black tee s.h.i.+rt, his upper body was sculpted to perfection. The lower half of him didn't look so bad in a 'great a.s.s, large muscular thighs and an even larger bulge between the legs' kind of way, but who was really looking at that anyway?

Who am I kidding? I can't keep my eyes off him.

Bradi pulled the leather tie out of his hair and she watched in silent wonder as waves of silky black strands spilled over his shoulders. His light blue eyes locked on her as his tongue darted out and over his bottom lip. The sight of his long tongue brus.h.i.+ng over his full lips, made her hands shake from a need to touch him. On more than one occasion, she'd wondered what it would feel like to have him above her, sliding in and out of her body while she caressed him.

He was so different from the men she knew. So wild. So free that the idea of not being close to him to see what it was he'd do next wasn't an option. He was certainly an individual in a sea of the same. She wasn't used to men with facial hair, the Commission frowned upon it, so Bradi stood out even more than normal. His goatee was well maintained, and it not only suited him, but added to the mystique behind him going down on her.

It'd be a cold day in h.e.l.l before she admitted that though.

"As much as I love the fact that you felt the need to show off your non-regulation hair, I don't need that down. I need your pants down," she said, sure that her s.e.xual suggestion wasn't lost on him. "You need to update your shots.

You're dangerously close to the expiration date on your old ones and G.o.ds help us all knowing the way you bed hop."

"Is that an invite to hop into your bed, Doctor? Cause if it is, I will graciously accept it. But only if you promise to let me play doctor with you. I have the perfect thing to take your temperature with." Bradi took a step towards her and grabbed his belt.

Marisa's pulse quickened and she had to look away. Her cheeks flushed. Crawling away from him wasn't an option. Standing there while he dropped his pants before her was what her job demanded. Wanting to see all that he had to offer was something her body demanded.

You hate him. Remember?

"I've been meaning to ask you about your heritage, Lieutenant," Marisa said, doing her best to stay focused.

"My heritage?" he asked, taken aback.

"Yes, you aren't like other Corneusims I've met before." Bradi laughed slightly. "Why would I look like a h.o.r.n.y toad warrior from the planet Cornu?"

It was as she expected. The man had doctored his medical records. Whatever reason he had for hiding must have been a good one-to make him as desperate as he'd been. "Hmm, just wondering. After all, your last blood scans showed traces of Corneusim DNA in it."

Bradi mumbled under his breath and rubbed his strong jaw. "Doc Graves is ancient. I bet his equipment failed again, or more likely he just mixed up the samples."

Bradi was right, Dr. Graves, the s.h.i.+p's head physician was old, but not careless. She decided to fight this battle with him at a later date. Right now, she planned on immunizing him and drawing a sample of his blood in the process. "Ready to bare it all, Lieutenant Commander?"

He dropped his pants to his ankles and c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. The absence of underwear gave her a quick flash of his front side before he turned around and pulled his tee s.h.i.+rt up. Her breath caught and her inner thighs tightened. Not erect the man was impressive. Staring at his rock hard a.s.s did little in the way of alleviating her need to touch him.

She licked her lips imagining her fingers digging into each cheek as he f.u.c.ked her. "I would much rather have you remove my pants next time, Doc."

"I'm sure you would," she said wryly, trying to shake the l.u.s.t from her head. Grabbing her booster gun, Marisa moved up behind him. Placing one hand on his a.s.s, and confirming the fact that he was indeed rock hard, she released the Star Union's recommended dosage of immunizations. Bradi would now be disease free for at least another year and with the stories she'd heard about his prowess that was a blessing.

Bradi flexed his a.s.s slightly, and temptation ran through her. She clutched her hands tight to avoid reaching for him. "Have you talked to Peter today?"

He stood quickly, pulling his pants up as he went. The second he turned to face her, he rolled his blue eyes.

Running a large hand over his chin, Bradi shook his head slightly. "You always do that. You always toss Pete in my face whenever I make a comment that turns you on. What? Do you think I forget that you are engaged to my best friend?"

Marisa's jaw dropped. "I do not toss Peter in your face every time you turn me on." It hadn't come out the way she'd intended and she wished she could take it back.

"See, was it so hard to admit that I make you h.o.r.n.y?"

Yeah, must be the Corneusim blood in you. I've always wanted a toad.

"Lieutenant Commander Bradi, my time is precious and while engaging in stimulating conversation seems so tantalizing, I have more important things to do with my time, so if you wouldn't mind...."

The ringing of her communicator cut her off. She narrowed her gaze on Bradi, daring him to continue with his juvenile behavior and answered the call. "Dr. Langston here."

"Hey sweetheart, are you done yet? I'm going crazy waiting for you," Peter said in his bedroom voice.

Marisa turned to avoid the penetrating look from Bradi and nodded her head. It took her a moment to realize that Peter couldn't see her. "Yes, I think I'm done here. My last patient was just leaving." She heard the door to her exam room open and close. Suddenly, she felt bad for her brashness. "Listen, I'll see you in a bit. There's something I need to take care of before I call it a day."

"Very well."

Marisa clicked the communicator off before responding to Peter. Tension filled her neck and shoulders as the weight of her behavior towards Bradi weighed on her. In truth, he was no worse the rest of the male crew on board.

Being one of only a handful of females on a two month deep s.p.a.ce journey had left her the target of many deprived males, but none rubbed on her nerves the way Bradi did.

"What the h.e.l.l is it about you, Bradi, that gets me all fired up?" She reached down to grab a file off her desk shaking her head at the idea that she would give Peter up in an instant to be with a man who only wanted a free f.u.c.k.

Two strong hands touched her shoulders and she froze. "If I have to guess, I would say it was my charming personality, my devilish good looks, or the fact that I have got an eleven inch...."

Marisa spun around to find Bradi standing there with a wicked grin on his entirely too handsome face. "Want me to take my pants off again? Or better yet, take yours down and I'll stick you with something special."

Growling, she shoved him hard in the chest. He didn't budge. "Get out now, or so help me G.o.ds...."

Instantly, his mouth covered hers. As Bradi eased his tongue in, she lost all rational thought. Licking the inner edges of her mouth, he made her knees shake. Marisa's brain screamed at her to bite his tongue off, but her body reacted by reaching up to touch him, to pull him closer.

With his height advantage, Marisa was left standing on her tiptoes while he bent down to her, but it was worth it.

The feel of his hot mouth pressed to hers and of his gifted tongue tracing circles around her own made her nipples harden. Liquid pooled in the apex of her thighs and it wasn't until she felt Bradi's hands moving up and under her s.h.i.+rt that she realized what she was doing-making out with a man who could own her heart if he decided he wanted it.

Yanking back from him with a force, Marisa staggered. Bradi grabbed for her and pulled her into his warm body.

"Careful now, Doc, wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"That's why I'm keeping you around, Bradi. You know how to take care of what's important to me," Peter said, appearing in the doorway suddenly.

Marisa's eyes met Bradi's and she saw a shadow pa.s.s over them. Bradi nodded and eased her up. "Yeah, if nothing else, I make a good watchdog."

She wasn't sure if that was hurt she saw on Bradi's face, or if he was just toying with her so she glanced over at Peter hoping he'd shed some light on it. He offered none. No surprise there. Peter rarely had much to offer in the way of insight into Bradi. He was such a sharp contrast from Bradi that she wondered how they'd even become friends.

"Hey, Commander, I thought I told you that I'd meet you in a little bit." Marisa winked at Peter.

Walking towards her, Peter took hold of her arms a bit harder than needed. "And I've told you before that I do not like to be kept waiting-ever."

Marisa gave Peter a questioning stare as she tried to wiggle free of his grasp. "That's hurts," she whispered, hoping Bradi wouldn't overhear her.

He eased up a bit but gave her a hard stare in the process. Peter's normally warm personality seemed ice cold almost daily now. She'd noticed it more and more lately and wasn't sure what had prompted it. Sure, Peter was under a great deal of stress from his new t.i.tle but he'd had that for two months now. The hard as nails persona had come on in the last three weeks.

Glancing down at her, Peter smiled. "Excuse us Bradi, but I need to kiss my woman."

"Your woman?" Marisa shot back, not caring much for the reference and still a bit upset about the rough handling.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you before." Peter gave her a sheepish grin and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I love you."

"On that note, I am leaving," Bradi said, sounding oddly even tempered. "I have to check in on the command deck.

We are heading into non-Commission territory and it looks like we'll have that d.a.m.n meteoroid shower to contend with after all. Our scouts tell us that it's not bad, but I would advise going around it if at all possible. I think it might be safest."

Peter gave Bradi a sickening sweet smile and when he spoke, Marisa could almost hear the sarcasm dripping from his every word. "That is precisely why you aren't required to think-buddy. I'll catch up with you in a bit. Drinks and a round of cards sound good to you, too?"

"Yeah, sure." Bradi headed for the sliding doors, not once bothering to look back. It was as though he'd already forgotten what had pa.s.sed between them.

How could she have allowed him to kiss her? What was she thinking? He was Peter's friend and a jerk.

Yeah, a jerk who can really kiss! To read other excerpts by Mandy M. Roth please visit www.mandyroth.com and www.newconceptspublis.h.i.+ng.com