Lust & Lies Box Set-Sexual Awakenings, Excess, Predator & Prey
Page 93
I had no choice.
My life had made me a believer against all odds.
Behind his bedroom door, Joseph laughed hysterically, and I heard the deep rumble of Daniello’s echoed chuckle as I made my way out onto my sister’s patio. The crash of the waves pulled a day’s worth of Joseph’s demands from my shoulders. I felt at peace for the first time in my life. And it had everything to do with the two men who lay on the other side of that door.
Daniello and I had nothing but each other to look forward to. My dark knight had gone legitimate. It turned out his plans for a “different life” had shifted into the one he was living. He’d set up shop on the second floor of the building we lived in, hired the best architects in Charleston to mentor him in plans to start a design firm, and then sank a majority of his fortune into local real estate, mostly undeveloped land. I could see his excitement and feel it roll off him when his drafting table was delivered. His idea of boring was building an empire of his own. Mutts were in our future, of that I had no doubt, but I was still far too satisfied with my corporate life and with a man who was anything but boring.
Daniello often visited his family in Italy while I stayed stateside. It was the one sacrifice of our union. I wouldn’t for any reason put my family in harm’s way. Besides Tula, Italy and the rest of the Di Giovanni family knew nothing of his life in the States or the second family Daniello had, and never would. It was what we agreed was best. The locals of Barga most likely assumed he was the same wanderer he had always been.
But I knew better.
The hard-edged man I fell in love with was still demanding and infuriating, but his unleashed love opened me in more ways than I ever thought possible.
I still fought daily against my life’s conditioning, but I was winning the war. I still believed in order and excellence. I still drove fast cars and dodged days of shopping with my sister to have kinky sex with the dark-eyed man who maxed out my body.
I still believed that the world was a scary place.
And I no longer wanted any more guarantees in life. It was meant to be lived, not feared.
And I had a life, one that I could never have imagined for myself, one that didn’t keep me in the shackles of fear or harden me to the point of being void of emotion. I was a woman of flesh and blood. Freeing myself, I’d become capable, just as capable as Daniello of loving and being loved, of being hurt, of being human.
It wasn’t fear that got me to where I was anymore, and it was love that kept me bulletproof.
THE END
LISTEN to the predator and prey playlist on Spotify
Part One:
To my Betas: Sharon Dunn, Stacy Hahn, Anne Morrillo, Patty Tennyson, Julie Kerchkof, Cindy Gordanier, Sophie Brighton, Susan Decker, Yamara Martinez, Lina Linalove, Malene Dich, there is no book world for me without you ladies. Seriously, I can’t do it without you. Thank you for pushing me, picking me up, and bitch slapping me when needed.
To my Asskickers—thanks for sticking with me through all my writing pens. I adore all of you, and I’m proud to call you friends.
Christin Stanley—I adore you and your blunt ways. Thank you so much for everything you do.
Jessica Berthlelot—Thank you for all your hard work on all of my books and dealing with my insane schedule. I love you to pieces.
Bloggers, how I love thee. Thank you for giving my books a chance, for your endless support, and for performing an often thankless job because it’s what you love to do.
Part Two:
Thank you first to my PA, Bex Kettner, for running my shit show with grace and a sense of humor. I adore you, lady. Thank You!
A huge thank you to my beta’s Sharon, Heather, Stacy, Anne, Patty, Kelli, Suzanne, Kim, Malene, Christy, Paige, Cindy, and Donna.
A big shout out to all the bloggers who promoted, read, and reviewed this series and took a chance on my erotic suspense. I appreciate you more than you will ever know.
A huge thank you to my amazing group, Kate’s Asskickers. You ladies are the greatest. I’m so lucky to have you.
A huge to my cover designer Amy Queau of Q Design. You are brilliant.
Thank you to my amazing formatter, Stacey, at Champagne Formats. I can’t wait to share a bottle with you one day. XO
A Texas native, Kate Stewart lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. She pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense because it's what she loves as a reader. Kate is a lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whisky.
Other titles available now by Kate
Room 212
Never Me
Loving the White Liar
The Fall
The Mind
The Heart
The Brave Line
Drive
The Real
Someone Else’s Ocean
Heartbreak Warfare
Romantic Comedy
Anything but Minor
Major Love
Sweeping the Series
Balls in Play Box Set: Anything but Minor, Major Love, Sweeping the Series, The Golden Sombrero
Erotic Suspense
Sexual Awakenings
Excess
Predator and Prey
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