Sultry
at 30
~~~
Cassandra Lawson
Copyright ©2017 Cassandra Lawson
All Rights Reserved
Cover designed by Desiree DeOrto
Proofreading by Kim Ginsberg
This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events are creations of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by federal law enforcement agencies and is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Also by Cassandra Lawson
Love Without Batteries Series
Dirty at 30 (Book 1)
Naughty at 30 (Book 2)
Moon Virus Series
Raven’s Blood (Book 1)
Embrace the Heat (Book 2)
Seducing Death (Book 3)
Shattered Restraint (Book 4)
Impulsive Destiny (Book 5)
Untamed Winter (Book 6)
Psy-Vamp Series
Vampires and Vixens (Book 1)
Safe Hex With a Vampire (Book 2)
Vampires Prefer Blondes (Book 3)
The Vampire Will See You Now (Book 4)
Wanton with a Vampire (Book 5)
Vampire in Geek’s Clothing (Book 6)
Wicked Crazy Vampire Love (Book 7)
Spells That Bind Series
Sinfully Spellbound (Book 1)
Shamelessly Spellbound (Book 2)
Acknowledgments
With each book, I am amazed at the support I receive. My beta readers, Kari, Levenia, and Ria, are always there to offer me insights and help me get each book ready for my readers. I also greatly appreciate all the bloggers who take the time to help me promote my books and offer me words of encouragement. I could not do any of this without my readers, both old and new. In recent months, I’ve had many delays with this book, and I greatly appreciate all of you who have helped me get this released. Thank you to the wonderful ladies at the Eye Candy Bookstore for getting me on your promotions schedule last minute. A special thanks to two wonderful editors, Kendra Gaither and Kim Ginsberg. While my delays made it impossible to use Kendra’s services for this book, she continued to follow up with me, knowing I was dealing with a lot. Kim was able to squeeze my book into her schedule, so I could get it out to you.
Table of Contents
Also by Cassandra Lawson
Acknowledgments
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
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Epilogue
Author’s Note
About The Author
Chapter One
Delaney
“No! This can’t be happening!” I didn’t care if I looked like a crazy woman shouting at an empty room. This was not the time to internalize my panic.
Things had been going great, and then. . .
I couldn’t even think about what had just happened. It was too horrible. This had to be karma kicking my ass for making fun of my friend, Brook, during her time of need. Except this was nothing like what had happened to Brook. Raphael had only been a casual lover. She’d easily replaced him with one trip to the sex shop. Yes, I was talking about vibrators. I hadn’t been with a partner who didn’t need AA batteries since long before my divorce. Seriously, the Energizer bunny should send me a Christmas card every year.
With a sad sigh, I accepted the inevitable—Justin was gone. He’d been my go-to-vibrator for two years. I’d tried to get a new one so he wouldn’t have to do all the work himself, only to discover they didn’t make them anymore. I now had a drawer filled with inadequate buzzing boyfriends. Not one tempted me.
Frustrated and angry, I quickly threw on some clothes and grabbed my phone, hoping for some sympathy.
ME: He’s gone!
I gave Chelsea a solid two minutes to reply. I was trying to be patient. Patience is definitely not one of my virtues.
ME: You’d better not be ignoring me unless Luke is spanking you. If he’s spanking you, I’ll forgive you as long as I get all the dirty details.
ME: Pictures would be better.
ME: Are you tied to Luke’s bondage bed again? Tell me he shoved your panties in your mouth.
ME: No, don’t tell me. I need to stop thinking about sex. This is just too awful! Why do the good die young?
I’d recently come to the conclusion that my friends were right about my obsession with spanking getting out of hand. At first, I’d convinced even myself it was just curiosity. I wanted to write a book with spanking in it, so it made sense for me to research the fetish. Who better to give you the blow by blow details, so to speak, than your friends? Research played a role in my curiosity, but it was definitely more than that. I began to wonder if Chelsea really was ignoring me because she was playing some kinky game with Luke. My phone buzzed before I could text Chelsea again.
CHELS: Who died?
ME: Justin. He’s gone.
My phone immediately rang, proving my friend loved me. “Hello,” I answered, sounding more frustrated than sad. I’d been about to have a mind-blowing orgasm when he’d died, and I was too stubborn to even try one of my useless backups.
“Sweetie,” Chelsea crooned around a giggle.
“Don’t laugh at me,” I warned.
“Or what?” she asked, doing nothing to hide her laughter. “Are you going to threaten to have Luke spank me again?”
“I would if I didn’t know how much you like it, despite your many denials,” I muttered.
“It’s also Wednesday,” she pointed out.
“I knew that,” I lied. Since I was my own boss and worked from home, I usually had no clue what day of the week it was. Without the many reminders I had on my phone, I’d probably miss every appointment.
Having gotten her laug
hter mostly under control, Chelsea let out one final snort, probably at my insistence that I knew what day it was.
“How about if I take you shopping Friday to look for a new friend?” Chelsea offered. “I’m pretty sure Brook is free.”
“Doesn’t Brook watch Haley on Fridays?” I asked.
Chelsea and Luke had recently adopted, Haley, Luke’s baby sister. I’m not big on babies, but I enjoyed cuddle time with Haley. She was a sweet girl who already had two men wrapped around her little finger. Not only would Luke do anything for that baby, Chelsea’s brother, Ty, was also her willing servant.
“Luke’s off Friday, so he’s got Haley all day,” Chelsea told me. “I was planning to be in the studio all afternoon, but I had two cancellations. We can meet around one if that works for you.”
“That would be great,” I replied, trying not to sound too excited. I hadn’t seen nearly as much of Chelsea since she’d moved in with Luke. They’d been busy getting ready for Haley’s arrival, and Haley’s birth had only made them busier.
“Try not to stress too much about Justin,” Chels said gently. She’d laugh at me later, and I didn’t blame her. I was the crazy lady mourning the death of her vibrator. If I weren’t so upset about the whole thing, I’d mock myself. “I have a great idea!” she announced.
“Something tells me I’m not going to like this great idea,” I grumbled.
“You love my ideas,” Chelsea insisted.
“Chels, I love you, but your ideas tend to be as crazy as mine,” I reminded her. “Brook has the good ideas. She’s the sensible one in our group. Our ideas are like something out of a sitcom.”
“This really is a good idea,” Chelsea assured me.
“Fine,” I relented. “What’s your idea?”
“You should let me fix you up with Luke’s friend. He just moved back to the area,” she replied.
“No.” That one word was all the answer I needed to give. There was no way I’d agree to go out with Luke’s friend.
“Why not just meet him?” she asked.
“Dating Luke’s friend is a bad idea. When things don’t work out, it will be awkward with Luke,” I pointed out.
“Come on, Delaney. You can’t plan the end of your relationship when you haven’t even met the guy yet. Just give him a chance,” Chelsea urged.
“No blind dates, Chels,” I told her, refusing to back down.
“Fine,” she relented. “Since you won’t get a real guy, we’ll have to find you a new buzzing boyfriend on Friday. Try not to stress too much in the meantime.”
“I’m going to write to see if it will relieve some stress. Maybe I’ll feel better if I make one of my characters just as sexually frustrated as I am,” I grumbled.
Chelsea giggled. “You are an evil bitch, Delaney Monroe.”
“Yes, I am,” I agreed. “That’s why we’re friends.”
“Are you insinuating I’m an evil bitch?” Chelsea asked.
“I’m being too subtle if you need to ask,” I told her.
“As much as I’d like to spend the next hour sparring with you, I need to go,” Chelsea began. “Haley should be up from her nap soon, and I’m hoping to get some more photo editing done before the little princess demands all my attention.”
“Talk to you later,” I said.
“Bye. Try not to be too mean to your poor characters,” Chelsea replied before ending the call.
I let out a sad sigh as my eyes wandered to Justin, still lying in the middle of my bed. Something told me it wasn’t going to be easy to replace him.
CHELS: Let me know if you change your mind about meeting Luke’s friend. He might make a good replacement for Justin.
ME: Never trust a lover who doesn’t run on batteries.
CHELS: What about rechargeable toys?
ME: Are you saying Luke’s friend is rechargeable?
CHELS: Don’t be a brat or I’ll get Luke’s friend to spank you. He’s hot. Want me to send you a picture.
ME: No. I’m not getting involved with any of Luke or Ty’s friends.
CHELS: Text me if you change your mind about the picture. It will make it easier to imagine being spanked by him if you know what he looks like.
Sometimes, my friend really was an evil bitch. Now, I’d have the image of a hot guy spanking me stuck in my head for the rest of the day. It was tempting to ask for that picture. The knowledge that it would just encourage Chelsea is the only thing that held me back.
Determined to take my mind off of Justin, I headed into my office to get some writing done.
Chapter Two
Sebastian
The last thing I wanted to do on a Friday afternoon was pick up penis shaped paraphernalia for the bachelorette party my sister was throwing. Twice, I had refused to go on this errand. I’d been prepared to stand my ground until I’d talked to my sister that morning and realized how stressed out she was between job hunting, planning the party, and being a single mom. I love my sister, so here I was, standing in a sex shop, trying to decide which dick themed games the ladies at the party would like most. My sister hadn’t been impressed with the selection at the party supply stores. That’s right. This was my third store, but it seemed they at least had everything my sister wanted.
“I should have offered to babysit instead,” I grumbled to myself.
My attention shifted when three attractive women walked into the shop. The redhead was fantasy material. She had beautiful green eyes, a pert nose, and a pointed chin. She looked like some sort of pixie. Her perfect ass was encased in faded blue jeans, and her gorgeous breasts were just begging for attention in her tight black sweater. Red was definitely the type of woman I was normally attracted to. Too bad we were in a sex shop. There was no way to approach a woman in a sex shop without looking like a creepy pervert, especially when you were loaded down with penis party supplies.
“I know you’re trying to cheer me up, but it’s not working,” my hot redhead said with a sigh. Her raspy voice with its slight drawl finished off the fantasy to perfection. “I just can’t stop thinking about Justin. A new vibrator isn’t going to make me feel better about losing him.”
“I realize this is hard, sweetie,” the brunette soothed. “Justin was part of your life for a long time, but you can do better.”
“I think it’s time to start dating,” the blonde chimed in. “You were all for the three of us getting back into the dating game. We both found our guys. It’s your turn to find a guy, Delaney.”
Delaney. Now I had a name for the tempting pixie. I was sure I’d fantasize about her later.
“Two out of three isn’t bad,” Delaney argued.
“You’ve used Justin as an excuse long enough,” the brunette told her. “No more. He’s permanently out of the picture. The way you talk makes it sound like he was the love of your life.”
“I’m not that bad,” Delaney insisted. “Oh! They have new riding crops!”
This was the kind of thing that would definitely make me feel like a complete pervert later, but I officially had a hard on in a sex shop. Fuck me! I was dying to find out which end of the riding crop Delaney was fantasizing about being on. I’d love to see her on the receiving end of a little funishment. Role-play was among my favorite sexual activities, and I loved play punishments that ended in mind-blowing orgasms for me and my partner.
“This is why you need a man. Someone needs to help you with that spanking fantasy,” the blonde told Delaney with a giggle.
“After seeing your man’s toy box when I helped him move into your place, I’ve added bondage games to my sexual wish list. Your sexy nerd seems to be a serious freak,” Delaney told her.
“That is my stepson you’re talking about, so let’s try to keep the subject matter a little cleaner,” the brunette suggested.
Delaney sighed. “I really need to hang out with the two of you separately. I can’t hear about any of the good stuff when I’m out with the two of you together.”
“You just need to g
et a man of your own to play kinky sex games with you,” the blonde insisted. “It’s time to stop making excuses and have some fun, even if it’s just sex.”
Delaney sighed. “I’ll make you a deal. If you promise to stop harassing me about finding a guy, I will promise to give any guy who approaches me today a chance.”
The brunette snorted. “No deal. We all know you’ll find a reason to turn him down.”
“Besides, you’re only offering one day. You’re planning to head straight home after you leave here, so there’s no way you’ll run into any guys,” the blonde added.
“This is the only deal I’m making,” Delaney stated. “If a hot guy approaches me, I will take him home and let him try to make me forget Justin. I’ll play sex games with him that are so kinky they’d make a call girl blush.”
Her friends started laughing.
As for me, I figured it was time to get my ass out of there before I did something really stupid like ask Delaney out in the hopes she’d take me home. Instead of making an ass out of myself by trying to pick up a woman in a sex shop, I headed up to the counter to pay for my purchase. Delaney would simply have to remain a fantasy woman.
Chapter Three
Delaney
I completely lost track of what my friends were saying when my eyes drifted across the store and landed on him. Everything about him radiated strength, and I suspected he could bring me to mind-blowing orgasm with very little effort. I never thought I’d feel that instant connection. I wanted him.
My lips parted, and my tongue ran across my lower lip as I continued to stare at him without an ounce of shame. The words from my friends’ mouths faded into the background. I walked toward him until I was so close, I could almost touch him.
“Does that thing glow in the dark?” Brook asked loudly.
I frowned, realizing he probably did glow in the dark. “The shape,” I began. “It’s perfect.”
“And you won’t lose it in the dark,” Chelsea added with a giggle. “Seriously, Delaney, I half expected some cheesy love song to start playing in the background as you walked toward this vibrator.”
Sultry at 30 (Love Without Batteries) Page 1
