by Vivian Wood
I lean into the table. “Watch how you talk to her.”
Rachel just smiles, even though she is visibly shaking now. “I think I need to consult an attorney.”
She stands up abruptly, grabbing my hand. Her father scowls.
“You do not want to know what happens if you walk out of this room.”
I intercede. “You will want to be more careful about who you threaten, old man.”
Rachel sighs, facing her father down. “Go back to New York, Daddy. I’ll messenger the papers over to you once I get the all clear from an estate lawyer.”
Mr. Black turns so red that I wonder for a second if he’s about to burst. “You’ll pay for this. Both of you will. Civicore is going to destroy your beloved park.”
Then he straightens up and storms out of the room. It takes almost half a minute for the rest of the men in suits to file out after him. But then we are alone.
I look at Rachel. “Got it?”
She looks down at the tiny hidden camera she’s wearing tucked by the cotton collar of her shirt. “I hope so.”
She takes a second to grab it and turn it off, then thrusts out the palm with the camera in it. “Take it. I’m still so sweaty and shaky that I don’t trust myself not to drop it.”
“I’ll get it to Nate. He’s going to upload the video and help me send it to all the big papers. Apparently he already has contacts at the New York Times and CNN.”
She walks to the doorway of the mess hall, looking out. She exhales.
“I can’t believe we did that.”
I join her. “Honestly? Me either.”
She pulls a face. “The media is going to become frenzied over this story.”
Reaching out to her, I pull her against my body. “I would expect no less.”
She looks up, her eyes worried. “It could be bad. I could be dogged by the press for a while.”
I gently cup her cheek, leaning down to brush my lips against hers. “They will have a hard time finding us if we go into the forest.”
That puts a smile on her face. “I suppose that’s true enough.”
She pushes up on her tiptoes, kissing me a little harder. I bend her backward just a bit, kissing her soundly. When I open my eyes, I am staring right down into hers.
Rachel takes a breath. “Are you ready?”
I take her hand. “Just say the word.”
Nodding, Rachel starts down the steps of the mess hall, heading for Nate’s office.
Chapter Forty-Three
Rachel
Three months later
Grayson glances at me from the driver’s side of the moving van. “It’ll be okay.”
I fidget. “I know. It’s just… this is our first time seeing everyone since the story broke.”
He pulls a face. “A story in which you were the hero. You saved this entire area from a corrupt senator and the shadowy corporate bigwig who was pulling his strings. The media worships you as some kind of whistleblower god. I think you will be more than fine.”
My cheeks turn pink. “I know.”
There have been a ton of changes in my life over the last three months, most of them good. I just worry that people won’t understand why I did what I did. After all, I turned on my father in exchange for money and my swoon-worthy boyfriend.
Or at least, that’s the way the papers have made it out. Grayson doesn’t think I know anything, but one of the places that we stayed had some wifi access. I couldn’t not Google myself.
I sigh quietly, trying not to be anxious.
We go around the final bend and then the new house is right there before us. Not Grayson’s house; that won’t be ready for months. Instead I look at our little rented cottage, bright yellow and cute as a button. There are a bunch of people holding a big banner that says Welcome Home! I see Nate at the far end, looking pleased.
For some reason, the whole thing makes my lungs freeze. I don’t miss my old life. I don’t want people to be treating me differently just because they think they know me.
No one really does, nobody except Grayson.
Grayson pulls the truck up. “I’m not sure if welcome home is really appropriate since we’re actually just renting it, but… I did tell you that everyone would be excited to see you.”
I roll my eyes. “I like that you pretend that you aren’t mentioned at all in the press coverage, but in actuality you’re named right along with me. ‘Rachel Black and Grayson Sellwood, co-saviors of Olympic Park!’”
He just grunts in response. “Let’s go. We have a lot of hands to shake before we can start unloading the new furniture from the truck.”
He slides out of the cab of the truck. I climb out, shading my eyes. “Hey there,” Nate says, jogging up to meet us. “The prodigal children, returned to us at last.”
Grayson nods. “It’s been a while.”
“I know!” Nate says. He turns us toward the front door and starts walking. “Where did you guys go?”
I smile at Grayson. “Mostly up and down the coast. We spent a lot of time at a house up by Lake Crescent.” My cheeks turn pink.
“We ended up renting this place while we finish building out my house,” Grayson says, looking grumpy.
I smirk. “Yes. If he’d had his way, we would’ve just camped out next to the framework of his house the whole fall and winter. However long it takes to finish the house.”
Now it’s Grayson’s turn to roll his eyes, but he still offers me his hand. I take it, grinning like a fool. Nate looks at the two of us.
“It’s almost painful to even look at you two together,” he muses.
“Hey!” Aiden says, stepping out of the bright white front door of our cottage. “Hope you don’t mind, I made myself at home.”
Aiden is right to worry. Grayson is a little weird about his personal space. But I won’t let that dim the day. Especially because I expect Grayson and Aiden to work together to move the new living room set in less than an hour.
“You are always welcome,” I cut in. I arch my brows at Grayson, who just shrugs back.
Aiden isn’t done, though. “Look who I brought…”
Olivia pokes her head out. “Big brother! You’re in all the magazines.”
Grayson beams as he crosses the threshold, hugging Olivia tightly. “We missed you.”
I trail after him, hugging Olivia once she separates from Grayson. I’m surprised to see her here again. But I don’t hold any lingering hostility toward her. It was in the past and she was just doing what she thought was best.
“He’s right.” I smile. “We’ve missed a lot of things.”
I eye Aiden meaningfully when I say it, but Olivia either doesn’t see or chooses to ignore me. She looks around the bright, airy space that will be our living room.
“This place is so cheerful,” she declares. “I hope you don’t mind, but I had a look around. We all did. It’s such a great space.”
I link arms with her and chat a bit. Grayson is drawn into talking to a few familiar faces. Everything goes smoothly for a while.
“What’s up with you and Aiden?” I ask, sipping some lemonade from a paper cup.
Olivia looks at me, her eyes perfectly innocent. “What do you mean?”
“He just said that he brought you here.”
She waves her hand. “Don’t listen to him. I brought myself here. He just let me know by text. The more important question being asked is this: do I hear wedding bells in the future? And the pitter patter of tiny feet running around?”
Smiling wanly, I wave my lemonade glass. “Not for the time being. Honestly I am just glad that your brother sleeps inside the house most nights. So… one step at a time.”
She smirks. “Now might be the time to tell you that you have a very dark hickey on your neck.”
“What?” My hand goes to my neck. “Where?”
Olivia just shrugs, amused with herself. I’m about to head to the bathroom and find a mirror when Nate speaks up.
“Can I have e
veryone’s attention, please? Just for a minute, because I would like to say a thing or two about Grayson and Rachel.”
The whole party turns to hear Nate. I look at Grayson, biting my lip. He crosses the room, reaching for me already as I am reaching for him. I raise my eyebrows at Grayson, asking him silently what Nate could have to say about us. But he just shrugs and drains his cup of lemonade.
Nate clears his throat. “I’ve only known Rachel a few months. But I’ve known Grayson for a few years, so I feel somewhat qualified to speak about them. That’s alright, isn’t it?”
He directs his words at Grayson, who rolls his eyes. Laughter ripples through the small party.
“Seeing you two together makes my chest ache,” Nate says. “I’ll admit, I’m a little jealous. But if there was anyone who deserved someone that is unreservedly and unabashedly in their corner, it is Grayson. When I first met Grayson—”
“Don’t ruin your speech for the wedding!” Aiden calls. Everyone laughs. I feel my cheeks heating.
Nate shakes his head. “Seriously. When I met him, Grayson was a different person. He was haunted. And lonely.”
I slide my arms around Grayson, nuzzling his shoulder. He embraces me.
“I asked him why he was interested in being a park ranger. He said that it was the only job he could do where he wouldn’t be asked to do anything he couldn’t do. I asked what he couldn’t do. And he said he couldn’t stand to be in enclosed spaces, he couldn’t talk to a lot of people, and he refused to be in charge of anyone else. I thought those were pretty compelling reasons. I hired him on the spot.”
Olivia leans close and whispers to me. “Yeah, because he’s awesome.”
“For three years I watched him work out his angst. I don’t know if any of you have seen him driving a post into the ground, but a little anger goes a long way.” One of the female rangers hoots to the amusement of the crowd.
My eyes mist up. Hearing these things makes me think that Grayson has undergone a lot of changes too. Painful changes, but on the whole they’ve made him a better, happier person. I can’t be mad about that.
Nate continues. “Anyway, I waited. I wondered if anything could change Grayson. And then Rachel stepped into camp…”
Everyone applauds and I blush scarlet, ducking my head.
“The rest, as they say, is history. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.” A few people laugh. “I just want to raise a glass to you two. I hope that everything from here on out is easy. You deserve it.”
There is a little more applause. Grayson surprises me by doubling down; he leans over and plants a kiss on my lips, which only makes everyone applaud louder.
He pulls back for a second. “I love you, Rachel.”
Looking into those deep blue eyes, I feel cherished. “I love you too, Grayson. So much it hurts.”
He hugs me, his neck smelling like Old Spice and clean male. I close my eyes and enjoy every second of it, clinging to him. When he finally breaks away and takes my hand, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
“Are you ready to start moving things inside? Once that happens, there are no take-backs. You are stuck with me,” he jokes.
“Promise?”
He smiles, bringing my palm up to his lips. He kisses it lightly. “Always.”
I kiss his lips and then lead him toward the door.
Our happily ever after starts right now.
The End
Chapter Forty-Four
Eve
January
I sit in the third row of my biology class, watching as students filter in. All the chairs are set up in alternating rows, stacked like an amphitheater. At the center of the room is a desk, stacked high with medical textbooks. Behind that is a chalkboard.
Just looking at that blank chalkboard makes me a little sick with worry.
I was the first here, but I chose this seat anyway.
Middle of the room. Middle of the pack. No need to draw attention to myself just yet.
It’s only the first day. Fidgeting with my pen, I make sure that my binder is ready. This is my first day of med school, my very first class.
Yes, I’m starting a semester late. When I first applied to the University of Washington, they accepted me… only for my father to mess up my admission at the last minute by being… well… like he is.
Controlling and gruff, he refused to finish filling out the financial paperwork until the last minute. A quick flight home, some serious groveling, and letting him show me off at his law firm got through that.
When I returned though, I found my spot had been filled. I had to wait for someone to drop out before another spot opened up.
So now I’m sitting in my first class, which should be starting any minute now. My index cards already read Dr. Finanster— Cell and Tissue Biology. All around me, students are sitting down, shuffling papers, preparing.
The guy to my right opens his laptop, queuing up a note taking software.
What is that software? Why don't I know about it?
Should I know about it?
Anxiety blossoms in my chest. I’ve done everything I knew how to do, every single thing I could think of… but what if it’s not enough? What if I am so much dumber than the other kids?
God, Dr. Finanster is going to walk right into this room and just know. He’ll take one look at me and realize that I’ll never make it. Breathing in and out through my nose, I flip my binder open and study the quick chart I made. Dr. Finanster peers out at me from the photo I have glued to one corner of the chart.
He’s old. He’s British. Apparently he likes to talk about Camus and his own collection of parakeets.
I did my research. I just hope it pays off.
I close my eyes and breathe. There is no way that he’ll just be able to spot the future dropouts right away. That’s just something I came up with because I already respect Dr. Finanster so much. I am just intimidating myself for no reason.
It would help if he wasn’t late to the beginning of his own class, though.
“I’m here, I’m here,” calls a male voice. Way too young to be Dr. Finanster, and yet… “Don’t worry. I’m going to be taking this course over from Dr. Finanster.”
Opening my eyes, I look down to the center of the room. There is a young man standing at the chalkboard, facing away as he writes. The hair starts to stand up on my arms for some reason.
Why does the doctor look… familiar?
“I am Dr. Carter Morgan,” he says, scrawling his name on the board.
My jaw drops as he turns around. And there he is: tall, dark, drop dead hot…
Definitely the same man that I hooked up with a few weeks ago.
“Shit,” I mumble.
I am so, so very screwed.
Sinful Teacher, Carter and Eve’s book, is coming at the end of 2020! Join my newsletter for Hot Teacher Rules news!
Chapter Forty-Five
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Thank you for reading Sinful Chance. I know that if you liked this, you’ll love The Wicked Prince… It’s the story of Stellan and Margot. It is set in the glamorous world of the Dirty Royals... and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
I’m handsome, obscenely wealthy, and straight-laced. Duty and honor come before what I want. I already have a list of wealthy, beautiful girls that are ready to marry me. When I meet pretty, pink haired, punk-rock Margot, I make myself a deal. I can take her... but only for one earth shattering night.
Proud, rebellious, a perfect body made for sin. Margot is my weakness; it’s too bad that she’s also a journalist. When she shows up again in Copenhagen, she is tasked with doing a story about me and the future of the royal line.
And me? I can look at Margot all I want... but never ever touch her. So instead I
throw up my walls, insisting that our night together was a mistake. It sparks a fire, a growing tension between us.
Every time our hands brush, every single lustful glance, every damn time she bites her lip... Eventually, even my strong will can’t overcome temptation. Though it’s wrong, though my life is already all plotted out, I can't resist her.
I need her, in my bed and in my life.
It’s inevitable. The only question is, once I give in and take what I need... will having Margot just one more time be enough?
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About Vivian Wood
Vivian likes to write about troubled, deeply flawed alpha males and the fiery, kick-ass women who bring them to their knees.
Vivian's lasting motto in romance is a quote from a favorite song: "Soulmates never die."
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Vivian’s Works
The Prince and His Rebel
The Wicked Prince
His Forbidden Princess (September 2020)
Royal’s Fake Fiancé (November 2020)
The Royal Rebel
The Reckless Prince
Same World, Different Characters…
Sinful Fling
Sinful Enemy
Sinful Boss
Sinful Chance
Sinful Teacher (A Newsletter Exclusive)
Wild Hearts
Addiction
Obsession
His Virgin
His Best Friend’s Little Sister
Claiming Her Innocence
His To Keep
For more information….
vivian-wood.com
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