Table of Contents
Synopsis
By the Author
Acknowledgments
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
About the Author
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
Synopsis
Does love have a chance when no one knows she wants it?
Jinx Tanner is an ex-con trying to piece together a life on the outside and heal her relationship with her half-sister who hasn’t spoken to her in over twenty-five years. Romantic love is nowhere on her radar. E. J. Bastien is a business executive with her life and heart under control. She has a successful career, a woman in her bed whenever she wants one, and a healthy relationship with her grown children—as long as they don’t find out she’s gay. She has no desire for romantic entanglements.
When these two women awaken after a one-night stand to find their lives inextricably entwined, love has its work cut out for it.
Embracing the Dawn
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Embracing the Dawn
© 2016 By Jeannie Levig. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-62639-577-0
This Electronic Book is published by
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, New York 12185
First Edition: June 2016
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Victoria Villasenor and Cindy Cresap
Production Design: Susan Ramundo
Cover Design By Melody Pond
Cover Photo By Erik Levig
By the Author
Threads of the Heart
Embracing the Dawn
Acknowledgments
My deepest love and gratitude to my wonderful family, friends, and spiritual circle for your unwavering love and support.
Enormous thanks to Jamie Patterson, my Ideal Reader, for reading every word I write—sometimes repeatedly—and for your honest and trustworthy feedback and to Laurie Slate for your insights into the psychological and emotional makeup of my characters.
Immeasurable appreciation and admiration for the amazing team at Bold Strokes Books. To Radclyffe for creating and tirelessly leading this publishing house that is so dedicated to making sure every book is of the highest quality and all of its authors are fully supported in their growth and development as writers. To Sandy Lowe for knowing pretty much everything about everything, and when you don’t have the exact answer, for gently and patiently pointing me to the person who does. To my editors, Victoria Villasenor and Cindy Cresap. Vic, thank you for always being there for me, for your dedication to every draft, every chapter, every line of my work, for the depth of heart you put into your editing, and most of all, for making it such a positive and fun experience. Cindy, I am so grateful for your impeccable copy editing and everything else you do in the production of my books. And a huge thank you to all the behind the scenes people at BSB committed to excellence in publishing.
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all the readers who buy my books and to those who take the time to send me an email or contact me on Facebook to let me know how you liked them. Thank you for sharing this amazing experience with me.
Dedication
To Jax,
Wherever you are.
Knowing you are well.
CHAPTER ONE
E. J. Bastien set one steaming mug of coffee on the nightstand and gripped the handle of the other as she stared down at the woman asleep in her bed. What have I done? She never—okay, she rarely—took a woman to bed on their first meeting, and she truly never had let one stay the whole night. She was here for her son’s wedding, for God’s sake, and while she had secretly come to town a day early for a little R&R before facing the entire family and new in-laws, she had really only intended to enjoy maybe a glass of wine and a little dancing. Now, I’ve got some woman named Jinx in my bed, and I’m bringing her coffee. Perfect.
Jinx’s eyelids fluttered open, and she offered a slow smile. “Oh my God,” she said, the words running together. “A beautiful woman in a slinky robe…with coffee? I must’ve died last night and gone to heaven.”
And there, E. J. knew, was the reason she’d let Jinx stay—those laughing blue eyes, that Elizabeth Ashley voice, that flirty, slightly cheesy charm. She smiled at the memory of dancing in Jinx’s arms. “Good morning,” she said.
Jinx grinned. She rose onto an elbow, the sheet shifting to reveal the swell of a breast. “Morning.”
Suddenly shy, E. J. felt her cheeks flush. This was ridiculous. In her early fifties, she’d had at least an adequate amount of experience in this area. Maybe it was the face-to-face in the morning light that was throwing her. She handed Jinx the cup.
Jinx took a deep swallow, looking at E. J. over the rim.
E. J. took in the collar-length, dark chestnut hair that had felt so sensuous between her fingers, the slender, yet strong hands that had touched her so intimately, those full lips that—
“Mmm, very good,” Jinx murmured.
“What?” E. J.’s face grew hotter.
“The coffee.” Jinx raised the cup a bit. “It’s very good.”
“Oh,” E. J. said. “Yes. Well…room service.” She waved her hand, indicating the bedroom of her hotel suite.
Jinx took another sip and studied her. “Are you uncomfortable? Do you want me to leave?”
E. J. considered the question. Yes, she was uncomfortable, but no, for some reason, she didn’t want Jinx to leave. Odd. Normally, avoidance was her customary response to any kind of uneasiness. She cleared her throat. “No,” she said, briefly averting her gaze. “I’m just not sure of the appropriate thing to say.”
Jinx’s mouth curved into that slow smile again.
E. J. remembered the feel of those lips, their softness on her skin. What was wrong with her? Was this what waking up with a woman felt like? No, she’d awakened with Rhonda plenty of times, and it wasn’t like this. Maybe this is what waking up with a stranger feels like.
“Is that all?” Jinx held the mug in one hand while she lifted the sheet in invitation with the other. “C’mere, then. I’ll walk you through it.”
E. J. smiled. Yup, cheesy. She eased onto the mattress and into the crook of Jinx’s arm. She felt the warmth of Jinx’s skin through the oh-so-thin silk robe and down the length of her bare thigh. Playing along, she looked at Jinx as coyly as she could manage without breaking into laughter. “Now what?”
“Now,” Jinx said, drawing out the word. She dropped the s
heet and tucked it around E. J. “We get nice and comfy.” She carefully switched the mug into her free hand. “We share a little coffee.” She swallowed a mouthful and held the cup to E. J.’s lips.
E. J. did the same, all the while watching Jinx.
Jinx reached across and set the mug on the nightstand beside the other one and settled back against the pillows. “And then,” she said, holding E. J. closely, “you tell me how amazing I was last night.”
E. J. burst out laughing. “Oh, really?”
“Uh-huh. Now, c’mon. You admitted you didn’t know how this went.” Jinx pulled her in more tightly. “You have to trust me.”
E. J. stifled a giggle. “Okay, then what?”
“Well, after you tell me how amazing I was, you tell me how I made you feel like no one ever has before, and how I touched you in places you never knew existed.”
E. J. shook her head. “I see. And then you tell me all the same things?”
“No, that’s not how it goes.” Jinx grinned at her. “C’mon. Do you want to learn this, or not?”
“Okay.” E. J. attempted a serious expression and turned in Jinx’s arms to face her. “How does it go again?”
Jinx rolled her eyes and sighed. “Amazing…made you feel like no one ever has…touched you in places…”
“Okay, okay. I think I have it.”
“All right.” Jinx looked into her eyes. “Go ahead.”
E. J. took a deep breath and tried to keep from laughing. “You…were so…What was it again?”
Jinx stared at her. “You are so bad at this.”
E. J. laughed again and tucked her head beneath Jinx’s chin.
“All right, never mind,” Jinx said, stroking E. J.’s hair. “How about we just go out for breakfast?”
Still smiling, E. J. lifted her face to Jinx’s. “How about if we just have breakfast here?”
Jinx remained silent, a half smile playing on her lips.
E. J. felt her body begin to respond to Jinx’s bare flesh, her closeness, her warmth. She quelled her desire to move against her thigh.
“That sounds,” Jinx whispered, “delicious.”
E. J. blushed. “You don’t even know what’s on the menu.”
“Mmm.” Jinx kissed her lightly on the lips. “I know what I’d like to be on the menu, but I have to get to work.” She sighed.
E. J. squeezed her eyes shut. “Ooooh.” The word came out on a disappointed moan. “I forgot it’s not the weekend.” She eased away from Jinx. “In that case, I need some distance from you.” She glanced at Jinx’s toned body. “And I need you to put some clothes on.” Wistfully, she ran two fingertips along Jinx’s jaw and down to the hollow of her throat.
“I’m sorry,” Jinx said. The words vibrated against the pads of E. J.’s fingers.
E. J. moved farther away. “You said we could go out to eat?”
“I was just thinking we could grab a bite and I’d still have time to run home, get a shower, and make it to work.” Jinx pulled the sheet up a bit. “But if I start nibbling on you for breakfast, I know it’ll turn into brunch. And then lunch…and then I’d lose my job and you’d have to support the family and the kids would go without shoes and milk money and I wouldn’t have any pretty dresses anymore and I’d get all needy and you’d get resentful and I’d call you mean and you’d call me ungrateful and we’d fight and scream and both end up devastated. And all because we didn’t go to breakfast.”
E. J. enjoyed how easily this woman made her smile. “If I promise not to offer myself up as a croissant and cause all that, would you like to shower here and share some actual food with me here in the room? They make great eggs Benedict.” She rose and straightened her robe. “Since I kept you up most of the night, the least I can do is send you off with a full stomach.”
Jinx’s gaze glided over E. J.’s body. “You’re going to have to put something else on, too. That robe is a joke as clothing.”
“It’s a deal,” E. J. said, picking up a coffee mug and handing it once more to Jinx. “You get in the shower, and I’ll call room service. Then I’ll put on some serious clothes.”
When E. J. finished placing the order, she returned to the bedroom and dressed in a pair of designer jeans and a forest green silk blouse she knew set off her blond hair and emerald eyes. She had no intention of seeing Jinx again and liked the idea of leaving her with a good impression. She was just threading the French hooks of gold earrings through her lobes when she heard the shower turn off. She stepped back and studied herself in the floor-length mirror. She had planned to spend the day in her sweats, reading on the sofa until it was time to meet the family for drinks before the rehearsal, and that was still her plan. She would change again after Jinx left. For now, she wanted to evoke that slow smile a couple more times before they parted ways. More accurately, she wanted to feel the low simmer it evoked deep within her a couple more times. It was that smile that had drawn E. J. in the night before.
The bathroom door opened, and Jinx, fully clothed except for her bare feet, emerged, tousling her hair dry with a hand towel. Her gaze landed on E. J., and she whistled.
“Thank you,” E. J. said. She knew she looked good. Her physical appearance had never given her any doubt. Her mother had seen to that. She had fancied E. J. up, as E. J.’s grandmother had called it, and stood by beaming whenever anyone commented on how pretty she was. She even rewarded E. J. with extra TV time if she stayed pretty all day. E. J.’s mother had married into wealth and had caught E. J.’s father with her beauty and rehearsed style. E. J. knew it was how her mother measured a woman’s worth. As a result, however, E. J. spent much of her adulthood, particularly after her divorce, proving to herself her intelligence and her ability to succeed, rather than just be a pretty face. So much so she had worked right up to the day prior to her son’s wedding instead of arriving early to connect with the rest of the family. Her ex-husband’s new wife had made all the arrangements for the rehearsal dinner and everything else the groom’s side traditionally handled. E. J. wasn’t even sure what all that entailed.
“I should’ve known just covering you up wouldn’t make it any easier to get out of here.” Jinx closed the distance between them and dropped the towel onto the end of the bed. She slid her arms around E. J.’s waist. “You really are beautiful.”
E. J. smiled and finger-combed Jinx’s still damp hair into place. “Aren’t you sweet.” Reluctantly, she let her hands slip down to straighten Jinx’s collar. “But look at you.” She perused Jinx’s soft contours beneath snug black jeans and the royal blue oxford shirt that deepened the color of her eyes, the open buttons at the neck revealing that delicate hollow of her throat. “You look just as sexy as when you walked into the bar last night. I never had a chance.”
“Did you want one?” Jinx tightened her arms around E. J.
“Maybe not.” She really hadn’t. The moment she had seen Jinx, she had wanted to know who she was, know more about her, know her. In truth, though, as strong as her attraction had been, the real draw hadn’t been physical. It had been a pull, almost like gravity, a sharp tug somewhere in the recesses of her mind. Something easy, familiar, however airy-fairy that sounded, and yet, E. J. knew they had never met. She knew it was why everything felt so effortless between them, and it was the reason she couldn’t say those things, even in jest—especially in jest—that Jinx had teased her about.
Jinx had been amazing, but not just in her technique. She had known exactly what E. J. wanted, what she had needed. She had made E. J. feel like no one ever had, but not merely physically. She had made her feel seen, understood. Could she be more hokey? And she had touched her in places E. J. didn’t know existed. How could that be? In the nine years since her marriage to Marcus had ended, she had been with a reasonable number of women. She knew herself pretty damned well. After only a couple of hours of dancing and a few more of incredible sex, it was ridiculous to feel any of this, and yet there it was. Crazy.
She couldn’t say any
of those things, though, not without sounding like a nutball—and not to this woman who she would never see again after a plate of eggs Benedict. E. J. felt a twinge of regret at that last thought, but she couldn’t say that either.
A knock sounded on the door of the suite. “Room service,” a male voice called.
Thankful to be saved from having to say anything at all, E. J. kissed Jinx on the cheek and stepped back. “Breakfast,” she said lightly as she turned to leave.
While she waited for the meal to be laid out, then signed for it, and tipped the attendant, E. J. kept an eye on Jinx.
She walked around the room, exploring the décor, testing the softness of the couch, brushing her fingertips over the crystal base of the lamp. It appeared as though she had never been in an upscale hotel before, and maybe she hadn’t. E. J. knew that not everyone lived as she did.
Jinx picked up the multi-function remote and closed, then opened, the vertical blinds that covered the picture window overlooking the large swimming pool five floors below. She turned the TV on and off and jumped up when the chair cushion she sat on began to vibrate.
E. J. suppressed a smile as she closed the door. “If you press the stereo button, we’ll have some music to eat by,” she said, walking to the table.
Jinx looked down at the remote and did as instructed. Chopin’s “Raindrop Prelude” began to play. “That’s nice.”
Still watching her, E. J. smiled. “Ready to eat?”
“Very,” Jinx said, settling into the chair across from E. J. She lifted the silver cover from her plate and inhaled the steam that rose from the dish. “Ooooh, that smells so good. I’m starving.”
“They have great food here.” E. J. dropped a napkin onto her lap.
“Do you stay here often?”
“I use the chain quite a bit for work.”
Jinx slid the ham off her eggs Benedict and set it to the side of her plate.
“Do you not eat meat?” E. J. asked.
Jinx looked up. “Oh. No, sorry. But the rest will be good.”
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