by Gow, Kailin
The One (The Halo Series, #2)
Never Stop (The Halo Series, #3) Release date: TBD
My One (The Halo Series, #4) Release date: TBD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, I would like to thank my husband for all his patience these last few months. Writing a book and ignoring family to get it done is not ideal, but I think we made it through! Thank you for understanding. Also, you showed me how much you love me by taking care of me during my tumor ordeal and radiation. I love you, you know?
To my Mom, thank you for holding my hand when I went for my biopsy and my surgery. Nothing compares to the love of a mother, and I am so grateful to have you. I love you!
Audrey Harte, thanks for always letting me bounce ideas off of you even when we disagree. I’m glad we are on this journey together, and each day we get closer to writing on that beach in Hawaii, but I’ll settle for our trips to The Cheesecake Factory for now! Also, thank you for checking up on me when I was in the hospital and always being there for me. You really have no idea how much I cherish our friendship. Thank you for always having my back. You know I have yours, too!
Next, I want to thank each and every one of my fans that messaged me and sent good thoughts my way when they learned that I had a tumor like Brooke had. It meant so much to have that love from everyone. It was a hard few months, but having those encouraging words, helped me more than you would ever know!
I would also like to thank my betas; Alma, Anessa, Brandi, Chauna, Danielle, Elizabeth, Evette, Kerry, Kristen, Renee and Stacy. Thank you for taking the much needed hours and telling me your honest thoughts about TD. I loved working with all of you, and I hope that we can do it in the future!
To all the bloggers that participated in my cover reveal, thank you! Without bloggers, I have no idea where I would be. You all take the chance on me and my books, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I never thought I would be an author, especially one with a fan base, and I owe a lot to the bloggers out there!
Chasity and Donna, thank you for all the help that you’ve given me over these past few months, and also for forcing me to get TD done. If it weren’t for you two, I would probably only have seven chapters written—still!
To Linda with Fifty Shades of Sexy, thank you for introducing me to Jonathan Brownell. My cover is sexy, and it all started with you messaging me in the wee hours of the night!
Jonathan, Amy and Lisa, thank you for making my cover my best one yet! I love it and couldn’t do it without you three. I hope we can work together in the future.
Jonathan:
https://www.facebook.com/JonBrownell21
Amy:
https://www.facebook.com/Actress.Amora.Lee
Photographer:
https://www.facebook.com/E.MariePhotographs
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberly Knight lives in the mountains near a lake with her loving husband and spoiled cat, Precious. In her spare time, she enjoys watching her favorite reality TV shows, watching the San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks kick butt, crushing candy on Candy Crush, playing computer games like World of Warcraft with Audrey Harte and online poker. Now that she lives near a lake, she plans on working on her tan and doing more outdoor stuff like…watching hot guys waterski. However, the bulk of her time is dedicated to writing and reading Romance and Erotic fiction.
www.authorkimberlyknight.com
www.facebook.com/AuthorKKnight
twitter.com/Author_KKnight
pinterest.com/authorkknight
Meet the Authors of The Inferno Anthology this Holiday at: rockinhollywood.wordpress.com/
Which of these fantastic books do you want to read?
CHASE
The Complete Series
by Cassia Leo
cassialeo.com
About the Book
From New York Times best selling author Cassia Leo comes a romance that combines politics with pleasure.
Larissa Jacobs’ financial debt is climbing after a failed attempt at becoming the next big thing in Hollywood. After losing her job as a children’s party entertainer, Larissa’s roommate gets her a gig working for an escort service. Her first client is Senator Chase Underwood: hot, married, and the current presidential candidate.
Larissa and Chase will soon find out if his penchant for sexual domination will destroy his prospects of world domination. When her affair with Chase erupts in scandal, Larissa also finds herself being used as a pawn in Chase’s bid for the presidency.
Will Larissa remain true to her promise to wait for Chase until the scandal has blown over? Will Chase finally put his love for Larissa before his career?
Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
Cover art by Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without expressed written permission from the author; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
All characters and events appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
About the Book
Part 1 Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Part 2 Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Part 3 Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Part 4 Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Epilogue
Connect with Cassia:
Also by Cassia Leo
About the Author
Part 1
Chapter 1
Money will make a person do crazy things; like standing in front of a hotel waiting to be picked up for your first job as a professional escort.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t blame my roommate for this new gig. Shane Meadows introduced me to Black Tie Escorts after I lost my part-time job as a children’s party clown three weeks ago. Shane was one of the most handsome guys I’d ever laid eyes on. When I answered the roommate-wanted ad in the L.A. Times and showed up to find Shane standing in the center of a tiny but gorgeous artists’ loft, I thought I’d finally hit the big time. Shane turned out to be gay, dashing any hope of fulfilling all the hot fantasies I’d been casting him in. And two years later, I still hadn’t gotten my big break in Hollywood.
Midnight in August was the perfect time to stand outside a hotel on Wilshire Avenue. The breeze lifted the stray hairs near my temples, tickling my skin and sending shivers down my arms. The downtown lights sparkled and leaped off the brass trash bins, the gleaming taxi, the glass entrance doors behind me. The lights were dizzying and comforting at once. Even though the city could be harsh, it had become my home ever since my parents decided that chasing my foolish dreams was cause for disownment.
“Miss Jacobs?” an elderly voice called softly from behind me. Harry, the doorman, ambled toward me holding out a folded piece of paper in his wrinkled hand. “A gentleman called and had this message for you.”
My first thought as I reached for the note was that whoever the service set me up with had probably driven by the hotel and changed his mind when he saw me. He definitely would have found me attractive. I’d never had a problem securing modeling gigs for print and online work. But I was not runway material. Maybe this guy, who would be paying $5,000 for one night with me, was looking to get a bit more for his money.
I unfolded the note and read two words: NORTH ENTRANCE.
When I looked up, Harry was almost back at his station near the front entrance. He turned to face me again and nodded to his right: north. I smiled my thanks and set off toward the hotel’s side entrance. I had only known Harry for thirty minutes, but he had already shown me ten times more kindness than my new boss at Black Tie Escorts: Jessica Broom
.
Jessica was twenty-seven, just three years older than I was, and she already owned her own escort service. How she managed this, I didn’t know, and I was pretty sure I was not allowed to ask.
I rounded the corner of the hotel into a narrow roadway leading toward an underground parking structure. A black Lincoln Towncar sat parked in the center of the narrow road, lights on and engine idling. I suddenly became hyperaware of my surroundings: the moths flitting around the security lights, the smell of Chinese food wafting over the fence from the restaurant next door, the fluttering nervousness in my belly, and the pulsating sensation in my crotch.
As nervous as I had been anticipating this moment all day long, a part of me was excited. Jessica claimed this client requested me specifically because it was my first time. She didn’t say he picked me because of my ravishing beauty, which was a bit disappointing. The fact that he chose me at all was enough to pique my interest and had me fantasizing all day about possible candidates: a famous actor, a politician, or a film director who would insist on giving me my first big role.
Jessica only dealt with high-profile clients. She claimed this client was as high-profile as it got.
The driver stared straight ahead as if I didn’t exist. As I approached, the back door swung open. I approached slowly until I could see into the cabin. All I could glimpse was a pair of gray slacks and black wingtips.
“Have you worked for any other escort services or is this your first time?” a smooth voice asked. I couldn’t see him through the veiled darkness inside the car, but his voice sounded familiar, like I had just heard it today on the television.
I didn’t know if answering with the truth would make him doubt me, but I figured if he wanted a pro he would have chosen one of the other girls. “This is my first time,” I replied.
“Come inside.”
I stepped into the backseat and my breath caught in my throat. My first client was Senator Chase Underwood.
Presidential candidate Chase Underwood. The gorgeous 39-year-old playboy who just settled down with his new wife last year.
His gaze glided over me, taking in every inch of my black dress and nude heels.
“Shut the door,” he commanded, his voice gentle but confident.
I turned around to pull the door closed and when I turned back his face was inches from mine. His hand slid over my knee, up my thigh, until his warm hand reached the crotch of my cotton panties.
“Larissa? Is that your name?” he whispered in my ear, as his fingers gripped the seam of my panties and yanked down, the wetness leaving a trail on my leg before he flung them aside.
“Yes,” I breathed, as his mouth closed over my collarbone and the car began to move forward.
“I’ve been waiting for this all day,” he said, before his lips crushed mine in a kiss that was tender and assertive all at once.
I could feel his hard length against my hip as he pulled me onto his lap and slipped his hand between my legs. A shudder passed through me as his fingers slid between my wet folds and inside me.
“I knew as soon as Jessica showed me your picture that I had to have you,” he whispered, as his tongue flicked in and out of my ear.
I could feel myself becoming engorged with pleasure as he slid his fingers out of me and gently stroked my clit using my own nectar.
I can’t believe I’m about to have sex with Chase Underwood! And I’m getting paid for it!
My pelvis writhed and grinded against his touch as his lips explored the curve of my jaw. My limbs filled with so much pleasure my entire body quaked. He kissed my throat and tickled my nub until my body released a final shudder. I fell limp against the leather seat and he sat upright looking very pleased with himself. He lifted my black panties off the floor of the car and held them out to me. My arm wobbled as I reached for them, but he pulled them back at the last second and held them to his nose.
“Mmm… Like an autumn pear,” he said with a grin then he handed them over. They were soaked with my juices so I stuffed them into my purse. “Where do you live?”
That’s it? For $5,000?
Jessica specifically told me I wasn’t allowed to give clients my home address and definitely was not supposed to go home with them, for safety purposes. I wasn’t sure if these rules applied to Chase Underwood so I decided to take a chance. He was either so dissatisfied with me he wanted to get me out of his car or the night wasn’t over yet. I was hoping it was the latter.
“355 Warren… apartment 4,” I breathed, as I attempted to sit upright and check my hair in my hand mirror.
My hands shook as I steadied the mirror in my hands. It had been months since I’d been touched like that by anyone other than myself. Hanging out with Shane for two years had not done wonders for my sex life. I had to lie about this to Jessica during my interview. I actually told her I had been in an open sexual relationship up until last month. Shane gave me pointers on what to say.
I could feel Chase staring at me as I slipped the mirror into my purse. My stomach was in knots wondering whether I had blown this, my only chance to conquer my ever-growing mountain of school loans and credit-card debt. My only chance to get fucked by a man—a hot, powerful man—in almost six months.
The car pulled up beside the curb of 355 Warren, a Spanish-style apartment building on the exterior; tiny artists’ lofts with high ceilings on the interior. I waited for him to say something, to ask to come inside, but he stared at me with an unreadable expression in his dark eyes.
“You can go now,” he said, nodding toward the car door.
You can go now? That’s it.
I glanced down at his crotch as I reached for the door handle behind me. His bulging erection threatened to break through his trousers. I wanted to bend over and take him into my mouth, but he was telling me to leave. Mixed messages? No, I definitely screwed this one up. I’d have to start packing my bags to leave L.A. in the morning.
Chapter 3
“You can’t wear that,” Shane said, vetoing my sixth outfit.
“What’s wrong with this one?” I whined, holding out my arms to get a better look at my turquoise-blue strapless dress and silver heels in the mirror.
Shane shook his head, which rested in his boyfriend’s lap. Shane’s boyfriend, Jackson Kim, was almost as gorgeous as Shane, but his attitude could be a bit prickly.
“What do you think, Jack?” I asked, spinning around so the skirt of my dress fluttered around me.
“Somebody get Kate Hudson on the phone ‘cause you look like bad chick-flick waiting to happen,” Jack replied, as he lifted Shane’s head off his lap so he could stand from the bed. “Let me help you.”
I tried to pay attention to Jack’s advice as he tossed dress after dress out of the shared walk-in closet and onto the floor, but all I could think of was Chase. Where was he taking me? It had to be somewhere no one would recognize him, but places like that didn’t exist for Chase Underwood. He had to be taking me somewhere private. His house? No, the Democratic senator from California didn’t live in L.A. He lived in the hills of San Diego. I remembered watching that on a nightly news special a few weeks ago.
What am I doing?
He’s running for president. Wasn’t that how Marilyn Monroe got herself killed, involving herself with the Kennedys? Oh, great. Now my thoughts were starting to sound like those of a conspiracy nut. This was a bad idea. I had to call him to cancel. If Jessica found out I agreed to go out to dinner with him without telling him to book it through the service I’d probably be fired on the spot.
But… I didn’t have Chase’s phone number. There was no backing out now and part of me was bubbly with glee over it.
I kept thinking of his hands, so soft yet strong, lifting me and positioning me so his cock was at just the right angle. I was getting hot just thinking of it.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Jack, as he began rummaging through my skirts.
I scampered to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I lowered the
lid over the toilet and placed one foot on the lid. As I imagined Chase’s tongue on me, my fingers grazed the sensitive skin of my inner thigh and worked their way up. I drew tight circles over my clit as I imagined Chase ravaging me with his mouth, licking and sucking until… Oh, my god. I was fantasizing about the future president giving me head. This was bad.
I felt like a teenager waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up to go the movies. Chase asked me to stand in front of the apartment building to wait for him. I crossed and uncrossed my arms a million times in the ten minutes I waited on the sidewalk. When the black car pulled up in front of me, the door didn’t open automatically as it had outside the hotel last night.
Across the street, a young guy at a bus stop watched me as I approached the car. I quickly opened the door, just a crack, and slipped inside.
His brown hair was not combed in the usual politician’s clean-cut coif. Tonight, his hair was a little messier, in a sexy way, and he wore a gray sport coat over a white polo and black jeans. It was definitely designer clothes, probably tailored just for his exquisite body, but the casual attire still put me at ease.
“You look beautiful,” he remarked, as his driver whisked us away in our black chariot.
“Thanks,” I muttered, trying not to look down at the outfit Jack put together for me. It screamed young, carefree wife of a politician; exactly the look Jack insisted I should be going for. “Where are we going?”
He smiled, that dazzling politician smile, and my stomach vaulted. “It’s a surprise, but I’ll give you a hint,” he said, as he reached across the distance between us and ran his finger softly over the edge of my ear. “I’ve never taken anyone there.”
