She has been writing from a very early age and is thrilled to have a platform that allows her to bring her tales to the public.
Playing With Fire is the first in her Sweet Redemption series.
A departure from the bittersweet Dangerous Secrets series which centers on more gritty, gut-wrenching themes, the Sweet Redemption stories are lighter, sexier, more romantic tales of love and personal discoveries.
The Dangerous Secrets series includes the novel Chrysalis and the novella A Tangled Web—un-related stories involving BWWM romances with one other thing in common: one or more of the main characters has a secret so big, it threatens to derail or even destroy their most important relationships, their personal character, or their entire lives.
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*Keep turning for more about the Dangerous Secrets series including an excerpt!*
ABOUT A TANGLED WEB
Kimberly Jordan never meant to hurt anyone.
But once a DNA test reveals her long-time boyfriend Damien is her half-brother, plus she finds out she’s pregnant, she will go to any length to hide her horrible secret. Unfortunately for Kent Davenport, he’s the perfect fall guy for her plan having recently revealed his love for her. But unfortunately for Kimberly, dirty little secrets always come out.
A novella, A Tangled Web is the first of the Dangerous Secrets series, a series of un-related stories involving BWWM romances with one other thing in common: one or more of the main characters has a secret so big, it threatens to derail or even destroy their most important relationships, their personal character, or their entire lives.
ABOUT CHRYSALIS
Sydney Johnson is a nerd and proud—always doing the right thing, and following the rules.
But routine fails her one evening, as she finds herself the random target of a kidnapping and assault by a group of boys. As a result of being blindfolded, she never sees her attackers or the location of the crime, so she decides to keep the incident to herself.
She later drowns herself in college academic tasks, her only companion her childhood best friend—until she meets Nicholas Dhalton.
Devil-may-care Nicholas doesn’t know much about consequences. A rich heir, he finds little reason to acquaint himself with responsibility. But everything changes when Sydney Johnson enters his life.
Once their paths cross, and against their better judgments, Nicholas and Sydney embark upon an unconventional relationship at the risk of all that is familiar and stable.
As their relationship grows, and they reveal their deepest secrets, they eventually realize they have a damning past. With race and class trying to separate them, can their love survive yet another obstacle?
Chrysalis is about people and forgiveness, and the monsters and angels within us all.
WARNING: Dark themes, heavy subject matter, some profanity, and other things that will make you clutch your pearls.
Chrysalis is the second in the Dangerous Secrets series.
EXCERPT FROM CHRYSALIS
(Prologue & Chapter One)
PROLOGUE
Nod didn’t realize until the moment he saw his two friends pull the girl from the backseat of the car—bound, gagged, and blindfolded—that this was no joke.
He stood dumbfounded at the cabin door, holding it open as they came toward him with the girl between them, protests muffled. He stood there even after they stumbled past him and laid her on the Persian rug sprawled in front of the crimson leather couch.
Then panic shot through him, making him tear his eyes from the trio to scan the woods for witnesses. He caught only shards of red and orange filtering through the surrounding trees as the sun commenced its descent. He blocked out the fading light by closing the door and locking it, while trying to ignore the feeling that he was locking himself in a cage of hungry tigers.
When he turned back toward the trio, he saw that Blynken was kneeling next to the girl, one hand holding her bound hands against her abdomen, the other stroking the uncovered parts of her face. Wynken got up and moved to a chair, draping his leg over its shiny arm. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Nod looked at the girl.
“You sure she can’t see right?” he asked, staring warily at the blindfold, terrified she would be able to identify him, but even more terrified of his promise.
“Just get on with it man, you’re the last to go,” Blynken said, dismissing his hesitancy, his eyes not moving from the girl’s face as he knelt by her side. His voice sounded almost weary.
“I just don’t know about this,” Nod said. “What if...”
“Stop stalling!” Blynken bellowed suddenly, turning toward him with flashing green eyes.
Then Blynken rose and got in Nod’s face, even though Nod had at least half a foot on him.
Nod saw a wildness in his friend’s eyes he wished never to see again.
“Wynken and I have already done it man, it’s your turn!” Blynken said, punctuating his last words by poking Nod’s chest.
“Yeah, don’t go second guessing now,” Wynken added from the chair where he sat, smoking. “It’s too late for that.” He smiled a lazy smile, glancing over at Blynken before taking a another drag of his cigarette.
Still in Nod’s space, Blynken returned part of Wynken’s smile, but his own seemed unnatural. His energy had dropped, giving Nod the impression that he had exited his body.
Nod watched Blynken head back to the girl, returning to his kneeling position beside her. He continued stroking her face, and even wiped away her tears.
Nod was struck by the juxtaposition of tenderness and brutality.
His eyes went from one friend to the other.
He didn’t know what disturbed him more—Blynken’s Jekyll-and-Hyde emotions or Wynken’s lazy calm.
Then his eyes returned to the caramel beauty. He was surprised at how subdued she seemed, as if she preferred negotiating than fighting, even if no words could escape. Her protests had died down, reduced to quiet sobbing, tears escaping the confines of the blindfold and running down her face toward her ears. Her chest heaved every now and then.
As she began to seem calmer, Nod found his own emotions calming down and with this newfound sense of control, thought once more about how he could reach his friends and find a way out of the deal. Yes, Wynken was right, they had done some terrible things before, but never anything like this, nothing that crossed the line from misdemeanor fun to calculated evil.
“Nod,” Wynken’s gentle timbre pulled Nod out of his thoughts. “I got Sarah already, Blynken got Mary; it’s your turn to take her. This is our last project together as a family—let’s go out with a bang!” He laughed at his own joke.
Nod was amazed at how simply Wynken said the words, as if they weren’t terrorizing innocent girls; as if the assignment was to read her a story instead of make her a potential news story.
Nod looked at the girl again, torn. He wanted to just walk away but knew he couldn’t. He was almost sure that if he left the scene, his friends would do the deed for him and she would be terrorized even more.
He shook himself out of his thoughts and focused on calming his pounding heart. He had to save this girl, and there was only one way he could think of doing it.
He mustered up as controlled a voice as possible: “Okay you guys, just...just get out of here. I don’t want you watching me...work.”
“Well all right man,” Blynken responded with what would have been a huge grin had he managed to make his mouth cooperate, as he turned away from the girl. “I was worried about you for a second there—thought you’d chicken out.”
Blynken finally managed a grin, but Wynken was watching him with a suspicious look.
“Nod, you’re not
planning to just pretend you did it are you?” Wynken asked.
Nod tried to look as if the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. He swallowed.
“Come on man, who are you talking to again?”
He hoped he was pulling off the cavalier attitude he was going for.
“I don’t know,” said Wynken, shaking his head slowly, “you never hesitated in any of our tasks before. What’s so different about this one?”
You’ve got to be kidding me, Nod thought.
“Look, I said I’m in, I’m in. Now get the hell out of here freaks. Let me do my thing.” Nod attempted to muster up his usual grin of camaraderie.
Wynken gave him a long, steady look. Then his face broke into a smile. “We’ll be waiting outside,” he said. “So how long do you think it’ll be? About two minutes?” He chuckled, looking over to Blynken again who was now playing with the girl’s hair, in his own world again.
Wynken put his cigarette out and got up.
“Don’t forget to cover up; no evidence.”
Blynken stopped playing with the girl’s hair and stood. He gave Nod one last inscrutable glance before following Wynken out of the cabin.
Nod watched them leave, then looked at the girl again. He went right up to her, then sat down next to her, watching her for a few more moments, unsure what to do next.
He hadn’t realized how sadistic his friends were—particularly Wynken—until five minutes ago when they walked her toward him.
She’s so beautiful, he thought, remembering what she looked like without her restraints.
He would have loved to have the chance to earn the right to do what his friends wanted to make him do, simultaneously ironic—forcing him to force himself on someone.
He looked down at the beauty again.
He almost would have thought she had gone asleep if he wasn’t so sure she was thinking about him at that very moment, waiting for his next move.
He knew what he had to do.
Nod’s nerves felt like mini-boa constrictors choking his entire body, leaving him gasping for air as he came to his decision. He looked up at the painting above the cocktail table for comfort and consolation, but the figure from Munch’s The Scream just looked at him in horror.
He looked back down at the girl.
This is the only way I can save you, he thought, unzipping his pants.
The sound seemed to bring her to life again and she started wiggling around, making muffled noises.
Even though she was struggling more, she still didn’t try to kick him as he expected, even though her legs were free.
Perhaps she thought if she struggled too much, he would kill her—she had no reason to think she wasn’t amongst murderers after all.
Nod reached over and touched her face gently.
It was time.
CHAPTER ONE
Pennsylvania - Autumn
The first day of fall found Nicholas glancing at his watch, trying to keep his anxiousness at bay as he waited in the same spot at the same time of day for the same girl.
She would be heading his way any moment now.
He tried distracting himself with the sights of the university, but all it had to offer was the green and brown of trees and grass, the brick-red and grey of stone buildings. In between, the generally nondescript faces of his college-mates whizzed by.
He headed to another spot, hoping to blend in more with the busy scene, wondering if he would be able to make his Comparative Management class early for once, but he knew it was no use—his desire to see her was irresistible. He felt lassoed, dragged against his will, powerless against his traitorous legs—after all, his heart and eyes agreed with them. He was thirsty for the sight of her, hungry for the way she made his heart thump against his chest, addicted to the rush of feeling igniting his body whenever she came into view.
Still, he almost always felt like a criminal as he watched her, as if he were invading her space unlawfully, looking through her window as she emerged naked from a shower. He couldn’t shake the feeling, despite being near one of the school libraries with hundreds of other students jostling about around him, rushing off to their various commitments. He hated the guilt he felt, but the simultaneous pleasure from seeing her always managed to override it.
As she finally came into view the familiar feelings returned—his heart pounded, and blood coursed through his veins at a rate that heated his body beyond its usual ninety-eight point six degrees.
Briefly, he wondered if the echoing rhythm of his thundering heart would grab her attention and make her turn and catch him watching her. Of course the thought of her catching him and looking into his eyes for the first time made his heart beat even harder in excitement, even as he knew he had nothing to fear, for he was standing outside of her line of vision, partially hidden by a Siberian elm stretching its leafy shadows over him. Still, he knew she wouldn’t have seen him even if he was standing in plain sight since it seemed she tried to hide by not looking.
Her head was bowed as usual, and she was hugging books against her chest as if holding on for dear life. Whatever assets she had were hidden under her backpack and oversized clothes, but it never stopped him from watching her as she continued her steady stroll toward the library—it only fueled his curiosity about her.
He took in every detail he could, etching it deeper into his memory: her long, thick, dark curly hair pulled back into a somewhat messy braid, her eyes, downcast, shielded further by her glasses, her slim body, her smooth, brown skin peeking out from the sleeves of her T-shirt, her delicate face, expressionless.
Nicholas hated this addiction and loss of control. Although a somewhat pleasant feeling—his heart ablaze—it scared him.
He couldn’t keep doing this to himself; he had to decide.
But how? He still wanted to see her, but he couldn’t bring himself to approach her, and he didn’t know if it was because he feared she would shun him, or because he wanted to save her from him. He believed it was the latter; after all, he wanted nothing more than to make her aware of his presence, his interest, his admiration. To tell her how beautiful he found her, even if she didn’t agree. But he didn’t want to invite her to the dungeon of his life. Although he knew she could bring beauty to it, he didn’t want to make her ugly in the process.
So far he had contented himself with watching her from afar, suckling on the sense of peace and tranquility emanating from her, the serenity of her face, but it was no longer enough.
He decided to play a game of chance.
If she happens to look in my direction, I’ll go after her. If she doesn’t, I’ll stay away—somehow.
He continued staring at her, and it took him a few moments to realize he had actually been willing her to look at him, hoping the force of his stare would turn her head. He had seen it happen before—someone staring at another whose back was turned, the person staring caught by the object of his or her fascination as if by magic, as if the energy of the stare—the thoughts, desire, or admiration—reached out and tapped the other person on the shoulder, making them look directly into their eyes. But the girl’s quick, sound footsteps took her out of his sight as she disappeared through the library’s doors without turning her head.
Nicholas knew it was for the best—she was better off not knowing him. But then he remembered he would see her later that night as he pretended once again to study on the same floor as her at a nearby table in the library. For the last time, he promised himself.
All of a sudden he felt someone grab his arm, jarring him out of his reverie and making him jump. He turned toward the source, then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw who it was.
“God, you scared me,” he said. “Christ, I thought it was...”
“What, the police?”
His brother looked at him with dark eyebrows raised, his blue eyes mocking. “Because you know they should come and get you, stalker.” Eddie nodded his head in the direction of the library. “I hope she finds out, and I hope she gets a re
straining order on your ass.”
“Hey, I’ve never done anything to her, never said a word...”
Nicholas felt his cheeks get warm when he saw the smirk on Eddie’s face, realizing that he had fallen into his brother’s trap. He had been unable to control his defensive reaction and immediately felt embarrassed.
“Nick, I was just kidding,” Eddie said, giving him a condescending rub on the shoulder, amusement still on his face. Then he shook his head and his expression took on a curious, slightly worried edge. “You mean you really do stalk her then?”
“No,” Nicholas protested, once again a little too loud, a little too fast.
“Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen you do this. Yeah I’ve watched you from a distance too bro,” Eddie said, answering Nicholas’s question before he could ask. “I can’t even imagine why you like her—it’s not like she’s a beauty or anything.”
Nicholas felt anger rise in him. He knew the look on his face was probably sharp enough to cut, but Eddie’s gaze was unwavering as he watched him in defiance, even folding his arms as if to solidify his position.
“Come on Nick, she’s not. So this is really confusing me here. I’ve seen some chocolate babes around here in much better packages if that’s what you’re after.”
The blood kept rushing through Nicholas, but he found himself just staring at his brother, not sure what to say in the girl’s defense. Eddie continued looking at him, unfazed.
A few seconds passed in silence, taking Nicholas’s anger with them, and his breathing returned to normal.
He sighed, resigning to Eddie’s nonchalance.
Then he looked at the ground, no longer able to look his brother in the eye.
He had heard of people meeting others for the first time and feeling like they had known each other all their lives. Perhaps something like this was happening to him.
Playing With Fire (Sweet Redemption) Page 11
