by Tara Oakes
PINK:
Hot ‘N Sexy for a cure
Books for Boobies
2015
Anthology
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
First edition. September 12, 2015
Copyright c. 2015
Published by Twelve Oakes Publishing, Inc.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors.
This book in all of it’s forms, is protected by copyright law, and no portion may be used, reproduced, or borrowed without the express permission of the publisher.
A Message from Books for Boobies
Many of you have supported Books for Boobies, from its inception late last summer when we organized to host our first event… many of you have never heard of us before but decided to take a chance and either support a great cause, or just happened upon a hot new book by some of your favorite authors.
Either way, I cannot thank you enough for supporting our 2016 anthology. There are many anthologies out there and far many similar worthy causes. What sets Books for Boobies apart? What exactly are you supporting by buying this collection of donated material by a group of very generous authors?
Let me tell you.
Books for Boobies is a collaborative effort between authors, bloggers, and readers who unite to share our passion for books with a cause very near to all our hearts.
Breast cancer.
Each of us knows, loves, or may themselves be a breast cancer patient. I hope dearly that the woman you think of right now is a survivor of this life-changing condition, but I share in your grief if they are not.
My own grandmother, who we affectionately called “Babes” all her life- because she was as beautiful inside as she was out, succumbed to the disease in 1998 after it had returned for the second time.
I remember her treatments, her first recovery, her last days. I remember how there were times when she was undergoing those treatments when she would seem lost, when she had forgotten that her illness was only a small part of her full life.
I founded Books for Boobies as an outlet to provide for women in that same position- to offer them the wonderful distraction of fantasy worlds, of daydreams, of book boyfriends, and the close-knit book community that supports them fully.
Last year, we held a weekend-long, online event that fundraised nearly one thousand dollars directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Authors, cover-models, bloggers, and businesses all donated their time and even items to help make the event a hit. Over eleven-hundred of you attended that event.
It was because of you that we were able to raise such a generous donation to the NBCF. How was your money used?
The National Breast Cancer Foundation provides free and low-cost mammogram services to women in need. They do more than talk, educate, or even raise awareness for the disease- those things are all well and good, but anyone can do those things.
We need to do more.
We need to actively help these women in both mind, body, and spirit through their journey. Every cent of profit from every sale of this book will go to our group fundraising account with the NBCF to help protect women’s bodies through their mammogram services.
Reading the wonderful work donated by the contributing authors of this anthology will hopefully ease those women’s minds some. I think just knowing how much each and every one of us cared about them during their journey will do wonders for their soul, for their spirit.
Thank you so very, very much for supporting us in this task, but I ask you, I beg you, to help us do more.
Let’s really blow this thing out of the water. Please make whatever donation you’re capable of directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
You can DONATE HERE.
Please donate in the name of the woman you first thought of when you started reading this passage. If you’re donating for the cause without having known a breast cancer patient personally, may I suggest you consider donating in Kathryn Kelly’s honor. She is one of the contributing authors of this anthology. You’ll read her story soon enough in the following pages.
Weeks after signing-on with us, she was herself diagnosed with Breast Cancer, the very disease we’re working together to combat. You may not know Kat, she may not know you, but she is just the kind of woman that Books for Boobies was created to help. And you see, while she’s helped us offer hope to other women, I suspect something great has happened along the way- you’ve all offered hope to her.
We all have a part in this. We are all in this together.
Thank you so much for supporting us in our journey. Please help us celebrate the hard work of these authors and the wonderful community we’ve built by attending our online release and fundraiser event HERE.
And please, make sure to follow Books for Boobies on facebook, HERE.
HAPPY READING,
Tara Oakes
Founder of Books for Boobies
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are many, many people to thank for their efforts in assembling this anthology. Thank you so much for each of your contribution.
Thank you Sara Elrew, and Christina of CBB Productions, for such a great cover. I could not have dreamed of a more beautiful and poignant image. Thanks to the cover models Sebastiano Tiralongo and Stef Lambert for giving us such a sexy photograph to work with. I also want to thank all of you donating your time and talent for us this year. I hope every single person who purchases this book takes a moment to admire the cover art, because it truly is a work of art.
Next, I’d like to thank the Personal Assistants, street team members, and readers of each of the authors who’ve helped to promote and advertise this anthology. Your work has been invaluable and very much appreciated.
Many thanks to all of the bloggers who’ve supported us and helped to spread the word about our anthology and everything that comes along with it.
For each of you who’ve donated to out Kickstarter campaign, I cannot tell you how much your donation has meant to us. It’s because of you that we’ve been able to order the promotional materials to help celebrate the book’s release and to help get readers excited about the whole Books for Boobies experience.
Here’s a special mention of some of those donors: Colleen Everly, Elizabeth Bennett, Toi Acton, Kristi Lynn, Kathy Kahler, Ashley Carr, Julie Cameron, Macj and Raechel Stanford, Gloria Esau, Valerie Finn, Linda Amirkhizi, Jenny Shepherd, Shelley Letzig, Nicki BookGoddess, Jaana Hakll, Judy Sokolowski, Sifer Aseph, Ready Snodgrass, Gia Guido, Laila Raimes, Tina Jones, Shauna Casey, Deborah Favorito, Kylie Bain, Lisa Colgrove Roth, Teresa Jorgensen Winter, Paula Phillips, Lori Marsh, Nina Stevenson, Lynette Benjamin, Mary Baird, Maria Poli, Lauren Ellipsis Jones, Maria Poll, Angela D. Murphy.
THE FOXY FIGHTERS
TAKEDOWN
J.C. VALENTINE
The clock read five minutes after eight in the evening, which meant that Jami was late. Again. She cursed silently to herself as she put the last of the size zero to
three clothing into the shallow dresser drawers and snuck quietly from the nursery.
Jami was supposed to be home an hour ago, but lately, he’d been strolling in later and later. He was working too hard. Pulling crazy hours at the gym. She hardly saw him anymore. Tonight was supposed to be their first evening alone since Jamison Junior was born, so the wave of disappointment was more than warranted. But it was the worrying that was weighing her down, making her heart heavy.
Was she losing him?
Trudging into the laundry room and tossing the now empty basket on top of the washing machine, she decided enough was enough. If Jami wouldn’t come to her, then she was going to him.
In her bedroom, Ally ripped off her nightgown and wrestled herself into her neon green sports bra and currently the only article of clothing she owned capable of containing her embarrassingly oversized boobs. Once the girls were as strapped down as they were going to get, she slipped into a pair of black yoga pants and a long, flowing tank top, saving her tennis shoes for last. Thank heavens she was just going to the gym—after hours—because if she had to try wedging her newly expanded waistline into a pair of jeans again…well, for sanity’s sake, there were no jeans in her near future. At least, not until she managed to shed the baby weight.
“Where are you heading off to at this hour?” Don, her pseudo-father-in-law, asked as Ally stepped into the living room.
“I’m going to collect my husband. Just as soon as I find my keys,” Ally said distractedly as her eyes scanned the room.
“They’re by the front door, as always,” he said with a laugh, an approving smile creating fine wrinkles around his steel gray eyes.
Sure enough, when Ally looked up, she saw them hanging on the designated key hooks Jami had installed a few months prior, around the time when she first started showing signs of baby brain. It seemed she still hadn’t gotten over that particular disorder.
Snagging them, Ally opened the front door and smiled back at the man who had never been her friend, but now played an active role in her son’s life. “One of these days, I’m going to remember the simple things. Thanks for looking after Jamison. I shouldn’t be gone long.”
“Take your time,” Don said gruffly, waving her off. Tilting his head toward the television, he added, “I’ll be right here when you get back. This match isn’t going to be over for a while from the looks of it.”
Ally’s expression pinched as her gaze strayed to the closed door just off the living room. “Okay, well, if he gets hungry, I left some prepared bottles in the fridge. He likes them cold. Also, if he cries, Mr. Bunny usually does the trick. But sometimes he likes having us hum lullabies to him. You know the ones. Oh,” she added, stepping back into the room, “if he gets really fussy, and you can’t figure out what’s wrong, he might have gas. It helps to put him on his stomach over your knee and rub his back.”
“Ally, seriously, it’s fine,” Don said, cutting her off. “I’ve handled full grown men twice my size. A baby no bigger than the length of my arm isn’t likely to take me down. I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out, and if I can’t, I’ll call you.”
Running her fingers through her long hair, Ally sighed. “I’m being a spaz, aren’t I?”
Holding two fingers up, spaced less than an inch apart, Don gave her a condescending grin. “Go. Get your husband. I’ve got this.”
With one last fleeting look at the closed nursery door, Ally reluctantly stepped out the front door and closed it. It was the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life to take those stairs and leave her baby behind. What if he did cry? What if he thought she’d abandoned him? He was only two months old, and she was already leaving him with a sitter. Granted, it was his grandfather, but did it make her a bad mother, leaving him behind like that?
She was prepared to turn back around, forget the whole thing, and discuss Jami’s hours when he arrived home, but she continued placing one foot in front of the other and, before she knew it, she found herself standing outside Knockout’s doors.
Through the glass, she could see that the lights were still on, but at this hour, the place would be empty.
With the exception of one man.
Ally didn’t make so much as a sound as she entered Knockout. Locking up behind her, she stood back and watched her husband move around the first floor, cleaning up a few stray towels and pieces of litter left over from the day’s members.
He was a hard worker, the most dedicated man she’d ever met. Despite the damage his hands had sustained during a career-ending underground fight that should never have happened, Jami was still fierce and sexy and everything she could have ever hoped for. Not only was he her partner in life, he was her best friend besides, and that connection only intensified since having little Jamison.
Jami turned, prepared to head back toward his office, when he noticed her standing there. Instantly, a wide smile lit his face, making those dark eyes sparkle, and Ally’s insides fluttered. Even after all this time, he still had the power to make her nervous.
“Hey, baby.” Sauntering over, Jami’s strong arms went around her waist and pulled her in for a seductive kiss that communicated all the love and affection they shared for each other. Placing her hands on his broad chest for support, Ally sighed, feeling light-headed as he broke the kiss with an amused chuckle. “If you keep making sounds like that, I’ll be tempted to skip dinner and head straight for dessert.”
“You wouldn’t hear me complaining.”
“Is everything okay with Junior?” he asked, nuzzling the side of her neck.
Tilting her head back, Ally’s eyes drifted closed as firm lips traced a path along the side of her throat. “It took a little while to get him to sleep.” As her thoughts returned to her precious little man, Ally felt a desperate need to run home and check on him. Did he need her?
“Then what are you doing here,” Jami asked. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Mmm, my wayward husband,” she remarked lightly.
Shoulder’s bunching, Jami froze. A moment later, he released a heavy breath and pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “Is this about me working late again?”
Ally tensed, feeling the argument coming. Gently, she extracted herself from his embrace and met his hard stare. “You’ve been pushing it pretty hard every night since Jamison was born. We hardly spend any time together anymore.”
Turning on his heel, Jami started toward his office. Frowning, Ally followed.
“This is my job, Ally. You know as well as anyone that my time here means the bills are being paid, food is on the table, and clothes are on your backs. It’s my responsibility to provide for my family.”
“And you’re doing a great job,” Ally praised. Watching her husband slump down behind his desk, his face lined with tension, broke her heart. “All I’m asking is that you cut back some. Come home a couple hours earlier. Eat dinner with us.”
Scrubbing his palms own his face, Jami tilted his head back, eyes tightly closed. “I’m a business owner, Ally. If I don’t run a tight ship, it could all be lost. This is our future. This is Junior’s future. If it means working a few extra hours to ensure he has everything that you and I didn’t, then it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. Can you really stand there and fault me for that?”
Ally’s heart squeezed in her chest. Moving around the desk, she eased herself down onto her husband’s lap and waiting arms. Cupping his scruffy cheek, she met his pained eyes. “Yes, I can, Jami. Because for every extra hour you spend down here, you’re missing out on everything up there.”
Jami’s gaze hardened, and the muscle beneath her hand flexed.
“You say you want to give Jamison everything we never had?” she pressed on. “Then give him you. Give him a father who’s there for him. Give him a man who he can look up to, not some ghost who strolls in after dark and is gone before the sun rises.”
Guilt spread over his features as Jami looked away. Turning his face back to hers, Ally bent to drop a tender kiss to
his lips. “I love you, Jamison, but I need more. We need more. It’s time for you to come home.”
***
Jami’s heart thundered in his chest for no other reason than he knew she was right. He was spending far too many hours in the gym, but the excuse he gave her was the only reason why he was pushing himself so hard.
He was terrified.
As soon as he looked into his son’s deep, dark brown eyes, so full of innocence, so small and completely dependent on him, he felt a deep need to prove himself worthy. He’d never had anything good in his life until he’d found Ally. Now that God had entrusted this little person to him, he realized that he didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Growing up with a piece of shit, abusive father and detached mother, in trouble with the law, he’d pulled himself up by his boot straps and clawed his way up just to be where he was standing now. The only thing he knew to do was push forward, give it everything he had left to ensure his son never wanted for anything. And Ally was asking him to back down?
“Hey.” Feeling the pressure on his jaw increase, Jami looked up into his wife’s earnest jade green eyes. “You’re overthinking. The gym is a success. You’re a success. Taking the time to enjoy it and your family isn’t going to change that.”
His breaths grew choppy as Jami considered her words. “I don’t know if I can turn it off,” he whispered. His throat tightened as he considered the possibility of walking away. Loosening the reigns a bit. Releasing some control.
As if she read his mind, Ally turned, repositioning herself on his lap so her toned legs draped over either side of his. Tying her hands behind his head, she leaned in until her mouth was a hairsbreadth away from his, and spoke against his lips. “Then maybe I can show you how.”
