by Shara Azod
He’d used his own funds to deposit back into Sinclair’s account everything she’d lost in the scam. It had taken some doing, but he had been able to pull it off without her being any the wiser. Jonas just prayed that she’d never find out. If she did, he knew there would be hell to pay.
Jonas suggested that she not say a word to her family about what had transpired. No need for them to worry.
Besides, by the time anyone was the wiser, he’d have her name on the deed and a diamond on her finger, and he had no intentions of waiting four damn years to marry her. In fact, he couldn’t wait to leave so he could make long passionate love to her. Slowly. Very slowly.
Jonas looked over at Justice. He was absent his fiancée again. He’d have to ask Justice, just what was the deal with Taylor being missing in action for all of the holiday festivities.
“Okay, everyone, grab a glass. It’s almost time!” his mother said, walking around with a tray of champagne-filled glasses. “Sinclair, honey, leave those boys alone for a while about basketball. The ball is about to drop.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he heard Sinclair say, and then rushed over to his side.
“Five, four, three, two, one: Happy New Year!” they all screamed simultaneously, and lifted their glasses to their mouths.
“Happy New Year, sweetheart,” Jonas said, kissing Sinclair soundly on the mouth.
“Happy New Year,” she smiled against his lips before kissing him thoroughly again.
“Oh cut it out,” Justice griped.
“Stop hating, Justice,” Joshua said.
“He’s just grumpy because his lady friend is missing in action,” Jack said.
“Good for her,” Jordan added. “There’s only so much bullshit one is willing to take.”
“Watch your mouth, Jordan,” Jenny Thorn said. “Boys, leave Justice alone. He’ll be all right.”
****
“You know, Josiah, I think she’s the one for him. We just may have a wedding sooner than we think," Jonas’ mother said with a smile.
“I do believe you’re spot on Jen,” he said and returned her smile.
Other stories by Serenity King:
A Tryst at Midnight (Book One: The Alesi Men series)
The Wrath of Michael (Book Two: The Alesi Men series)
Simply Beautiful (Book One: Cameron Trilogy)
Through the Fire (Book Two: Cameron Trilogy)
Sinjin: You Give Me Something (Book Three: Cameron Trilogy)
A Diamond for Rafe (Part of the Cameron series)
Solomon’s Quest (A Cameron Friends Series)
A Race For Redemption (The Powell’s: Book One)
Samantha: Never Say Never (The Powell’s: Book Two)
Someone to Watch Over Me
The Men of Whiskey Creek: Dillon
Let’s Ride
Memories Unleashed (Free)
Peaches and Cream
Claiming Sydney
A Night to Remember
My, My, My (a short flash)
Mocha Memoirs Press:
The Princess & The Professor (to re-release soon)
All stories are available at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Apple iBooks
All Romance eBooks
About the Author
Serenity King is a USA Today Bestselling author who has been reading romances ever since she was sixteen years old and her auntie first placed a Harlequin in her hands. Now King writes interracial, multicultural, contemporary and erotic romance that feature her fierce devotion to resilient women and a fervent passion for family-oriented Alpha men who live, love, and fight for their woman.
She currently lives in the New York area with her husband and children. King loves feedback and welcomes readers to e-mail her at
[email protected].
Blog: http://serenitykingexpressions.blogspot.com/
Web Site: http://www.serenityking.com
Renewal
By
Reana Malori
Thank You!
To My Readers,
Thank You for purchasing our Holiday Box Set! I hope you enjoy the follow-up story of Todd, Erica and Miles. If you enjoyed what you read, please take a moment to leave a review!
Want to connect and learn more about what’s going on in my world? Don’t forget to click on one of the links below and stay in touch!
Main Website: www.reanamalori.com
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Yours,
Reana Malori
Chapter One
Erica Atkins held a long stemmed wine glass in her hand as she stared into the dying light of the fireplace. It was long past the time when her husband of five years would normally arrive home from work. No call. No text. Nothing. It was as if she no longer mattered. The courtesy of a telephone call was apparently simply too much for her to ask for. After five years of loving, laughter, and being each other’s best friend, something had changed.
Taking a sip of the dark red liquid, she paid no mind to the taste. The motion of lifting the glass was almost a reflex at this point. The mind-numbing pain in her soul was the only thing she could feel. Glancing over at the clock on the wall, she noted that it was well past ten o’clock at night. Her husband was supposed to be home by seven this evening. Before he left for work this morning, Todd had promised that he would be home for dinner tonight with her and Miles.
This time, he said, he would make sure that he left the office early. The half-hearted kiss he’d given her before he’d walked out the door had almost shattered her inside. Her heart felt the pain seconds before her brain could catch up. And that’s when she’d known that all her fears were true.
The tears she had cried earlier this evening had long since dried. The off-white tracks of the salty residue were still visible on her face. Eyes red and face turned down in sadness, she watched the dying flames in the fireplace and asked herself when they had lost their way. No matter how much she turned it over in her head, all she had left was this deep, irrevocable feeling of dread. She was losing her husband.
When things had begun to change for them, she couldn’t really say. Maybe it had been since the miscarriage last year. The entire experience had been so surreal. Almost as if it had happened to someone else and she was watching everything transpire through a window. Separated. Detached. Heartbroken. Even now, it was difficult for her to think about everything that happened and not want to curl inside of herself.
Last year, when she’d first found out that she was having another baby, her excitement had known no limits. A new baby for her to love. A baby sister or brother for Miles to teach and protect. Another child for Todd to cradle in his arms. Waiting for Todd to come in the house from work that evening so that she could share the good news, she’d managed to hold her tongue as she led him upstairs to their bedroom. It had been a late night for him, and Miles had already gone to sleep. It had been the perfect setup. Even thinking back to that night caused her eyes to well and her lips to tremble. They had both been so damn happy. Taking another sip of her wine, she let the memories fill her mind.
“Baby, why do I need to wear this scarf over my eyes,” Todd had asked with that playful tone in his voice.
“I just want to show you something and I can’t have you peeking,” she’d responded in a sultry tone. Maneuvering them to the side of their large, king size bed, she turned him around so that he was facing the message she’d spelled out in baby booties.
“Does that mean you’re going to be naked when I open my eyes,” he said while reaching his hands out to try and grab her. “Come on, baby, I’ve missed you today.”
“What if I told you that after tonight, things will never be the same. I’m going to give you something you’ve been requesting for months,” trailing her fingers along his neck, she began to loosen his tie. As he s
tood there vulnerable and at her mercy, she thanked God for the love he had brought to her.
“All I want is you, Erica. You and Miles. I don’t need anything else,” he said as he lowered his arms. His voice was serious, filled with sincerity as he spoke from the heart. “Well, unless you plan on doing that thing with the rope and handcuffs…” he said with a sudden smile. Erica could almost feel his hope, that it was ‘that’ request she would be fulfilling tonight.
“Um, no, not that one. But I think you’ll love this surprise in a very different way,” she teased. Untying the scarf from around his eyes, she stood to the side as his vision adjusted. With baited breath, she waited for him to read the two words spelled out on the bed, “We’re Pregnant.”
Back in the present, she pushed those memories aside and wiped the tears that were again falling from her eyes. “I cannot lose my husband. I refuse to just allow my marriage to fail,” she said to the empty room, “Not like this,” the whispered words escaped from her and into the air. Glad that Miles had been asleep for a while now, she was free to lose herself in misery.
They’d been so in love. No, they were still in love. But somehow, during the past five years, the reality of life had interfered with the fairytale. Todd still told her that he loved her every day, but it seemed dry, flat. Almost like he said it because he was supposed to say it. Not because he truly meant it.
They used to crave each other. The sexual energy between them could burn up any room they were in. Now, they made love sporadically, both of them either too tired, or too caught up in their separate issues to focus on loving each other. She would often catch him staring at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, an indecipherable look on his face. At first, she thought he was just worried about her after the loss of their child. But after a while, she’d felt that the looks became less “concerned” and more “disappointment.”
No one stayed the same over the years, she knew that. Everyone changed. People evolved, grew, and adjusted to the life they lived. But she had tried her damnedest to remain the woman he’d fallen in love with. She’d understood who he was when she met him. Normally, his work schedule would never be an issue and she accepted that his business, his career, was important to him. But her knowledge and comfort in the love he felt for her and Miles never wavered. Not once...until recently.
When they’d met, she’d been a single mother working two jobs, struggling to pay the bills and raising her four-year old son the right way. After meeting Todd, falling in love, and getting married, she had eventually stopped working. Not because she wanted to stay at home, but because they’d both agreed that it was best, so that she could give her full attention to raising Miles. Plus, Todd wanted Miles to have the type of home life he had as a child. She understood that and enjoyed her time at home raising her son. But she wasn’t staying at home watching talk television and eating chocolate bonbons every day. She exercised daily, volunteered at Miles’ school, and helped out at the local Veteran’s Hospital and a homeless shelter.
Todd had offered to get her help for the housecleaning, but she had refused. That just wasn’t her style. So, at least twice per week, she was hauling loads of laundry up and down the stairs to make sure they had clean clothes. His suits and shirts went to the cleaners once a week and she cleaned every inch of their house once every two weeks. Was she worn down at times? Sure she was. Who wouldn’t be? She’d gained some weight, went up a dress size, but she knew that she still looked damn good. Body still firm where it needed to be and soft where Todd liked it, Erica had no concerns about the way she looked.
Smiling to herself, she thought about their familial support systems. Even before they’d gotten married, Todd’s parents had gravitated to her and Miles, welcoming them both with open arms. Miles had gained a wonderful new set of grandparents that doted on him as if he were the crown prince. She would swear that Gloria and James Atkins had a red velvet robe and a jewel-encrusted scepter stashed away in their home. They probably pulled it out whenever Miles come over. They loved her little boy something fierce and never hesitated to brag about him, or show him off to their friends. When Todd had adopted Miles as his own son a year after they became a family, they had changed his last name to Parker-Atkins, honoring his late father and connecting him to his future. She’d cried non-stop when Todd told her what he wanted to do. Her love for that man knew no bounds.
And then it all changed. After her miscarriage, he’d treated her like spun glass. She’d tried to tell him over and over again that she wouldn’t break, that he didn’t have to treat her so gently, but he never seemed to heed her words. Their lovemaking had become softer. His kisses less passionate. His desire for her seemed to lose some of its intensity. Within the past two or three months, he’d begun working later. Much more often than he had in the past. There were nights when he would call just as she was pulling dinner off of the stove to let her know he would be working another two to three hours. Other nights, he wouldn’t call her at all. He would just walk through the door, drop his keys and wallet on the table, and go grab a beer. They hardly spoke to each other anymore and she didn’t know what to do and how to fix it.
Christmas was just two weeks away. They were supposed to be filled with holiday cheer and joy, but all she felt was pain and hurt. Todd meant everything to her. She was positive that she loved him enough for both of them. Now the question was, if he asked her to, did she love him enough to let him go?
****
Todd opened the door to a darkened house. Sighing deeply, he knew he was in the doghouse. Again. Erica would never forgive him for this. Just this morning, he’d promised her he wouldn’t work late again. He knew how much it hurt Erica and Miles when he didn’t make it home at a reasonable time. It had been tough on all of them these past few months and his long hours were not helping things one bit.
When things started getting busy at the office over six months ago, he and Erica had just started to recover from losing the baby. His fear that something would happen to her was just starting to wane. When work first began ramping up, he naively thought it was only temporary. He thought it would be only a matter of weeks and things would get back to normal. That had been his first mistake. Not only had that not happened, but it had gotten much, much worse. The more time he worked, the more he was away from home, and the further apart he and Erica drifted.
Setting his keys and wallet down on the table near the door, he pulled off his coat, hanging it up on the rack. Next went the suit jacket, which he threw over the chair sitting next to the table. He began undoing his tie with one hand as he walked out of the foyer and toward the stairs. He was tired. All he needed was to lie beside his wife and pull her close to him. Thinking Erica was already upstairs sleeping, he was surprised to see her prone form lying on the couch in the family room. An empty wine glass was on the floor next to her and the fireplace glowed orange from the dying fire. Had she been waiting up for him? Bending down to whisper to her, he noticed the dried tears on her face and his breath caught in his chest. Pulling back in shock, he stood to his full height and simply stared at his wife of more than five years.
His head dipped down in shame and he felt emotion well up inside of him. This was not how their life was supposed to turn out. Erica was the love of his life. The sun and the moon rose on his love for the woman in front of him. Nothing would ever change the way he felt about her, but something in their marriage had shifted. She no longer looked at him with love in her eyes. It was more akin to boredom, which tore him up inside. Just a year ago, her eyes would fill with passion and desire whenever he walked into the room. But over the past year, it seemed that she hardly even wanted to touch him anymore. The little touches and kisses that had once been so regular for them, hardly happened. When they did manage to make love, the passion was still there, thank God, but that burning desire she once had for him seemed to have diminished.
What had happened to them? For him, nothing had changed. He still wanted her as much today as he did all
those years ago. Looking at her in her stretch pants and tank top, he felt his cock stir and his desire for her ratcheted up a notch. She was fuller and lusher than when they first married, yet she never failed to make him want her. She was so beautiful and she was all his. No matter what, that would never change. He would always consider her his. But he feared that she no longer wanted to be. Todd blinked rapidly as he thought about what was going to happen to them. He was afraid that he was losing his wife.
Reaching down to shake her awake, he almost pulled back and allowed her to sleep. Maybe it was best to just leave her here and let her rest. He didn’t think he could take the look of accusation in her eyes tonight. He hadn’t kept his promise. She would naturally want to know what had kept him away from his family. Again. Even after he’d said he wouldn’t break his word. The wondering about where had he been? Who had he been with? That actually pissed him off also. She’d raised those questions before and no matter how many times he’d answered her—truthfully—he could see the doubt and question in her eyes.
She was his wife, dammit. She should trust him. In all the years they had been together, he’d never looked at another woman the way he looked at her. She was it for him. Needing to constantly defend his actions and the reasons why he wasn’t always home on time was becoming hard on him. Erica knew him better than anyone else in this world. To know that she questioned his love for her hurt him. Deeply.
His phone began ringing across the room and he paused. Just for a second. Anger and annoyance pulled at him. They knew he was at home. And the one rule he enforced without fail was when he was at home with his family he was off limits. That was the one rule that could not be bent or broken without a damn good reason. And as far as he knew, there was no reason to call him for anything tonight. Eyebrows dipped low in frustration; he ran a hand down his face. Disbelief that they couldn’t leave him alone for one fucking night so that he could spend time with his wife and son churned his gut. Without realizing the look he still had on his face, he turned back to Erica to find her staring at him.
