Romancing the Sweet Side

by Tianna Xander, Elle Boon, HA Fortman, Trinity Blacio, Cheryl Dragon, Caitlyn O'Leary, Dawn Montgomery, Megan Slayer, Viola Grace

  The applause made Sam wish he’d worn earplugs. The speakers and the crowd were loud.

  “I’d like to do some of Mrs. M’s favorite songs, but a lot of them are duets.” She looked down at him.

  Fear and hope swirled inside of him. What was she up to?

  “Maybe Sam will help me out?” she asked.

  The applause thundered again, and his brothers pushed on Sam’s shoulders. He stood up and slid off his leather jacket. The night was chilly with a short-sleeve shirt on, but once he got on stage...

  He climbed the stairs and took the offered earplugs and mic from Steve. Stepping next to Jenna, Sam nearly froze. He hadn’t been on stage, not like this, in so long.

  Jenna dropped the mic. “Don’t be scared, I don’t want to do the duets alone.”

  She took his hand, and he knew something had changed. As the applause died down, the drums ticked off the count.

  He fell into step with her and noticed that she smelled like roses. The flowers arrived in time.

  * * * *

  Jenna held Sam’s hand as they walked up to his mother’s house. It was a nice old brick ranch. Ella answered the door, and the smells inside made Jenna realize how hungry she was.

  “Welcome! The guys said you’re amazing. I’ll be at the show later.” Ella hugged Jenna.

  “Oh, great. Hi,” Jenna said.

  And older woman approached. “Hi, Jenna. Would you like something to drink?”

  “My mom,” Sam said.

  “Nice to meet you. Just some water, thank you.” Jenna shook the woman’s hand nervously.

  Ella dashed to the kitchen. Jenna was introduced around, and there were a lot of brothers, cousins and their girlfriends.

  “Is it normally this crowded for a family dinner?” Jenna asked.

  “You coming definitely improved attendance.” He grinned. “Is it too much? Sorry.”

  “No, just normally people tell me where they’ve seen me or their favorite song. They’re protective of you.” She smiled.

  He shook his head. “They shouldn’t be. They know I screwed this up before.”

  Her phone buzzed, and she checked the message.

  Ella walked up with the water.

  “Thanks,” Jenna said. “Can I do anything to help?”

  “Please, Mom would kill you. She got out of her bad relationship and turned into Suzy Homemaker. It’s cooler on the porch.” She nodded.

  Sam led her back to the porch. “A cool night but she’s cooking up a storm. Don’t need the heat.”

  Jenna looked at her phone again. “I made an offer on a stretch of land here. They accepted.”

  “So you’re staying?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I’m going to build a house and a music studio. I will need somewhere to stay while I build it.”

  “Must be a big lot.” He leaned down and kissed her.

  “You want to talk about real estate then kiss me? Your mother could walk out here at any minute.” She backed away.

  “We’re not teenagers anymore. You can stay at my house, no one will talk,” he said.

  “I’ve got six acres that boarder the Holland House land. Lots of building to do.” She took his hand and checked his thumb. “You’re healing.”

  “It’s nothing. I can recommend some contractors to build the house. You’ll need barns, too. It’ll be a big, lonely house.” He pulled her closer.

  She rolled her eyes. “I doubt I’ll be alone long. I loved your flowers. You didn’t need to do that.”

  “Screwing up words is easy. The card meant you couldn’t interrupt or argue.” He hugged.

  “I don’t argue. If we get serious again, we can’t go too crazy fast. We’d be starting over. I mean we have history, but we need to build fresh. I love you, but high school sweethearts crash and burn a lot of times. We’re adults now and relationships are work.”

  “I’m good at hard work. I love you, that never stopped,” he said.

  Her body tingled and her heart ached. “I love you, too, but I’m scared.”

  “Me, too. I won’t let you down. The only way to prove that is time.” He kissed her softly.

  She nodded and hugged him tightly. “I’ll never know if I can cut it in a normal life if I don’t try. Loving you isn’t the scary part.”

  “Good. Because I’ll go with you on tour, if you want me to. Record on albums. I don’t want to be apart from you for a minute,” he said.

  She smiled. “Yes, I want you there. I hate doing duets alone!”

  Sam pulled her in for a kiss worthy of their teenage passion and adult determination.

  About the Author

  A lover of unusual things, Cheryl Dragon enjoys writing unique stories with sinfully hot erotic romance. Her two favorite settings are Las Vegas and New Orleans... where anything can happen! Cheryl lives in the Chicagoland area and also writes cozy mysteries under the pen name CC Dragon.

  Website: http://cheryldragon.com/

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheryldragon

  CC Dragon Website: http://ccdragon.com/

  Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/CC-Dragon/e/B00USM8LDI

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccdragonauthor

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorccdragon

  Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/12051908.CC_Dragon

  Her Adoring SEAL

  By

  Caitlyn O’Leary

  Chapter One

  Jack looked at the delicate woman slumped over in the molded chair. She looked so alone, but then, one of the senior men in the Midnight Delta SEAL unit came and sat down beside her and put his arm around her. He saw how she jerked away and found himself towering above the two before he even realized he had crossed the room.

  “Shit, I’m sorry, Beth,” Jack heard Clint saying to the woman. “I forgot.”

  She didn’t seem to hear him; instead, she was staring up at Jack. He watched as her beautiful black eyes widened with fright. He heard her take in a lungful of air and push back deeper into the chair. So he did what he always found helpful when his size intimidated children and animals, he crouched down, smiled and slowly held out his hand.

  “Hi, I’m Jack Preston.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other SEAL watching every move he made, but he gave most of his attention to the young woman in front of him. He watched as she considered whether to take his hand. When she finally reached out and touched her fingers to his, he could swear he felt a jolt of electricity. She took in a deep breath and a flush suffused her face and her eyes dilated.

  “Elsbeth Hildago.” Her accented voice flowed like warm honey through his system.

  “Beth, remember; you need to say your name is Beth Ochoa from now on. Beth and her family are the reason you’re here, Jack,” Clint said, breaking the spell.

  “Beth or Elsbeth?” Jack asked the woman in front of him.

  “You may call me Beth,” she whispered. Her Spanish accent made her voice sound like a melody.

  Beth pulled her hand back and placed it demurely in her lap with the other, but her gaze never wavered from his.

  “How much have you been told?” Clint asked him.

  “I know that I’m now part of Midnight Delta.” Jack still couldn’t believe it. This SEAL unit was one of the most distinguished teams in the country, and their lieutenant, Mason Gault, wasn’t known to take on new members.

  “Our captain was looking for different places to hide members of her family. Places that the corrupt members of the DEA, or any other agency, wouldn’t find them. Your stepfather’s ranch in San Antonio is damn near a fortress.”

  Dammit, he hadn’t been selected for this mission because of his abilities, but, instead, it was because of his stepfather’s wealth. Jack worked to keep his expression neutral, but he must not have succeeded.

  “Preston, if we didn’t believe you were the SEAL for the job, we would have just asked to use your family’s
ranch and sent one of our own team members to guard Beth. We checked you out. Your record is exceptional.”

  Jack scrutinized Clint’s face and saw nothing but honesty in the man’s expression. He believed him.

  “Beth, this is the man I told you about. I trust him implicitly. You’ll be going with him. I wish you could stay with Lydia or your mother, but we know it is going to be safer if we split you and your family up. The rogue DEA agents aren’t going to be looking for individuals, and after what happened with the US Marshalls, you’ll be safe with Jack at his family’s ranch.”

  Beth’s face held a sense of desperation. It was clear that she was scared to death, and she was looking to Clint for comfort. What kind of relationship do the two of them share? If it is intimate, why is she so scared of his touch?

  “Will Lydia be going with you, Clint? Please say that she will. She needs you.”

  “Yes.”

  “Where will you go?” Jack watched as Beth’s big black eyes pleaded for answers.

  “Some place safe. This should all be over by the time your father testifies.”

  “I won’t see my family for that long?” Her bottom lip trembled, but then, she straightened her shoulders and looked at both of them. “Don’t worry; I will do whatever is necessary. I won’t be a burden. I promise.”

  “I never thought you would be,” Jack assured her. Clint caught his eye and gave him a nod.

  “My bag is packed. When do we leave?”

  “You can go in and say goodbye to your family. Please, don’t tell them you’re going to San Antonio,” Clint asked.

  “I won’t. You can trust me.” Beth got up and left the room.

  “How bad is the situation?” Jack asked Clint.

  “It’s bad. They’ve been in a safe house. While Lydia was in the hospital recovering from her third bout of pneumonia, someone in the Mexican drug cartel managed to turn one of the US Marshalls, and he made an attempt on her life.”

  “Why is the military involved?”

  “We were originally involved because a congressman has been implicated in the case with the cartel and the DEA. When their father testifies, it will come out. The senator from Texas knows this, and he pulled some strings to get us to guard the family. Now that the Marshalls have fucked up, we’re back in it.”

  “Damn.” Because of his stepfather, Jack knew how complicated and nasty politics were. He was impressed that the senator had stepped in.

  “We don’t expect Beth to be targeted. So far, they’ve set their sights on Lydia, so as much as I hate it, we’ll continue to use her to flush them out. What’s most important for Beth is just keeping her out of sight and in an environment where she feels secure.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that she’s as skittish as a newborn foal.”

  “She and her family were kidnapped a few months ago by members of the cartel. Lydia almost died from the beating that they gave her. But Beth was subjected to abuse as well. She wasn’t raped, but she was violated, and she is scared of men.”

  “My mom is at the ranch. She’ll be a good person for Beth to talk to.” Jack thought back to his younger years with his mother and birth father. Yeah, his mother would be the perfect person to help Beth.

  Both men looked up as she walked back into the room.

  “I’m ready.” She had been crying. But she stood there bravely looking at the two of them, ready for whatever came next.

  * * * *

  Jack Preston was so big. It was the first thing she had noticed about him, but then, he had crouched down in front of her, and she had started to see other things about him. He had white-blonde hair and the laugh lines around his blue eyes, and he was younger than she originally thought.

  But now that they were in the big truck together driving down from Dallas to San Antonio, he seemed to take up all of the space in the truck. Suddenly, it was hard to breathe. She looked over at him; it seemed like his big presence was taking up all of the oxygen. She gasped, trying to suck in air. “Beth, are you alright?”

  He was taking an exit off the freeway. She was having trouble even noticing the wildflowers along the highway. The world seemed to be turning into a long tunnel. Oh God, she was having a panic attack. She saw a diner from a long way off; it was a pinpoint in her narrow vision. Had the truck stopped?

  She finally felt a breeze, and she started to hear a voice.

  “Just breathe, Beth. Breathe the air. Can you smell the flowers? Just breathe, sweetheart. In and out. Breathe with me, in and out.”

  The breeze brought in the scent of the Texas wildflowers that she had come to love. She felt a warm touch, so light, caressing up and down along the inside of her wrist, in time with her breathing.

  “In and out, Beth.” Things began to come into focus. The windows were rolled down. They were in the parking lot of a diner. She looked over and saw Jack, his eyes held nothing but calm, none of the pity that she had become used to.

  “There you are.” He smiled. “Are you hungry? I sure am.” Just like that, he made it seem like a panic attack was no big deal. She looked down at his big hands holding her forearm; he was still stroking her wrist. It felt good. She looked up into his eyes, and he gave her a warm smile.

  “You have the softest skin.” His stomach rumbled, and he laughed. She gave a tentative smile. “Stay right there.” He got out of his side of the truck, and before she could blink, he was at her side helping her out.

  “I hope you like Texas barbeque, because this is some of the best in the state.” She wasn’t sure that she did, but she liked the fact that she wasn’t feeling uncomfortable with him anymore, so she was willing to try his barbeque.

  Chapter Two

  It seemed to take forever to get to the house after they went under the arch that proclaimed Glendora Oaks Ranch.

  “How big is this ranch anyway?” Beth asked Jack.

  “It’s been in my stepfather’s family for generations. It’s ten thousand acres.”

  “That must be a lot of responsibility.”

  ack looked over at her and gave her a grave look. “It is good you understand. Most people just see it as a pile of money. Richard, my stepfather, and his son, David, understand that they are accountable to the people who depend on them. They are good men.”

  “Why aren’t you working with them?”

  “I had a different calling. I felt this need to serve, and they understood. Richard always supported me. I have been very blessed with this new man that my mother married.” The way that he said that made Beth wonder if perhaps the first man in Jack’s life had not been a blessing.

  Finally, they made their way around a gentle curve, and she gasped as she saw the beautiful ranch house in front of her.

  “We’re home.”

  A woman was waiting on the wraparound porch, her long white-blonde hair made it clear that she was related to Jack. She was leaning against one of the posts near the top step.

  Jack escorted Beth up the stairs.

  “Mom, this is Elsbeth Ochoa; Beth, this is my mom, Grace Preston.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Preston,” Beth said as she held out her hand. Grace carefully stepped forward and wrapped Beth in a warm hug.

  “Welcome, Beth. Welcome to our ranch. I am sure we are going to be good friends.”

  “Mom, where is your cane?”

  “It’s right by the door, you worry-wart. I knew I was going to have your strong arm to lean on for the rest of the day, so I left it there.” She gave her son a breathtaking smile.

  She turned to Beth. “I’m blessed to have three men who I can lean on, so I rarely need to use my cane. Come into the house with me. Jack will take your things to your room. It’s been a long drive, and you might want to nap. Whenever you’re ready, Rosa will start dinner.”

  “Oh, I don’t want you to wait dinner for my sake.”

  “It’s not a problem. If we’re hungry, we’ll snack.” Jack assured her. “Go and take your time, Beth.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been home; we have plenty to catch up on.”

  * * * *

  That night, Beth met Grace’s husband, Richard, and his son, David. Where Jack was light, these men were good looking with dark skin and hair, and they made her nervous. Jack noticed it. He arranged for her to sit next to him at dinner.

  Beth did her best to remain calm and forced herself to eat the delicious meal that Rosa had prepared. Grace guided a great deal of the conversation. It was clear that the three men at the table adored her. At one point, David said something that made Richard give a sudden laugh, and Beth dropped her glass of wine. Nobody made a big deal of it; Jack just blotted the liquid and slowly covered her trembling hand with his. Like in the truck, that small touch seemed to help soothe her.

  As the conversation resumed, he let go of her hand and leaned over to her and whispered.

  “It will get easier, I promise.”

  God, I hope so.

  * * * *

  It wasn’t until the third day that Beth really began to feel comfortable in her new surroundings. The night before at dinner, Jack had asked Beth if she knew how to ride a horse. When she said she didn’t, he asked if she would like to learn. Everyone seemed to be staring at her, but it was Grace’s encouraging smile that made her say yes.

  That’s the reason she was here on the porch waiting for Jack to take her to the stables. He opened the door loudly behind her, and she turned around. She knew he did it on purpose. Jack had an uncanny way of entering a room silently and scaring her, but after seeing her fright, he began to make sure to make noise announcing his presence.

  “You ready?”

  “I think so.”

  They walked down to the corral; Jack shortened his steps so that she was able to keep up.