Table of Contents
Front Matter
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Back Matter
Bonus – Hot as Hell (Chapter 1)
RHONDA LEE CARVER
SMOOTH as HELL
(#3, Studs in Scrubs)
2017 Rhonda Lee Carver
Copyright 2017 Rhonda Lee Carver
All rights reserved
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author, Rhonda Lee Carver—except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages written in a review. For information, please contact Rhonda Lee Carver @ [email protected].
This work is fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue in this work are from the author’s imagination and creation. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, dead or alive, is completely coincidental.
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This book contains material that isn’t suitable for anyone under the age of 17.
To read more books by Rhonda Lee Carver check out the list of her books at the end of this book.
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Edits
Todd Tinker
Table of Contents
Front Matter
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Back Matter
Bonus – Hot as Hell (Chapter 1)
Dedication:
Donna T., Courtney K., Viki P., Tianna C., Teresa F.
And a special thank you to Marsha for all her help
Love is not a four-letter word, but instead a collaboration of a million whispers.
--Rhonda Lee Carver
1
JAYDE WELLS STEPPED off the last ferry of the evening and sat her suitcase on the dock as she watched the boat leave from the shores of Bodie Head Island. She then turned to stare up into the murky sky that promised rain, or maybe a storm. Being the type that found solace in thunderstorms, she hoped it would pour. The gloom would definitely suit her day…her month. Hell, even her year.
Flipping houses wasn’t only her career, but she found excitement in finding jewels in the rough. However, sometimes she knocked her head against a brick wall, and today had been no exception. Wasting most of her morning dealing with the zoning board and then drainage issues in one of the houses, she’d almost foregone the weekend vacation to the island until Janet, her friend and employee of Flips by Chics, convinced Jayde that she needed to get away before she started flipping her lid instead of houses.
Picking up her suitcase, she started for the house with the red tin roof, clapboard siding, and wraparound porch adorned with white rocking chairs. As always, she was overcome with nostalgia. She needed to pinch herself to remember that her best friends, Allison and Devon Cross, were no longer at the beach house ready to welcome her with their bubbly personalities. Even after two years, she still found herself picking up the phone to call them when it struck her that they both were gone. Life wasn’t the same without the fun-loving, generous, kind-hearted Allison who’d been more like a sister.
Meeting in college, Jayde and Allison had become instant best friends. Jayde graduated with a degree in design and Allison one in business, and neither of them had expected to venture into an adventure together, especially flipping houses, but most things in life were never planned.
Just as Allison meeting Devon on her thirtieth birthday. She wasn’t looking, but the lovebug bit her and soon they were inseparable. Jayde couldn’t imagine a couple more in love—more suited for each other.
And then the boating accident that changed many lives…
Not yet on the path of recovery after receiving the news, she’d been thrown for another loop when she found out that her friends had left their recently purchased house in North Carolina, to Jayde and to Merf Cross, Devon’s older and belligerent, brother. From the moment they had learned of the inherited property, she and Merf agreed they couldn’t share the place, so they decided, over a quick cup of coffee, to fix it up and sell it. This was right down her alley, at least she had thought.
At the time, it seemed the most logical avenue considering up until this point the two couldn’t have a simple conversation without arguing. Jayde felt Allison and Devon must have had a good laugh when they decided to leave the house to Jayde and Merf in their wills.
She had gone into the house and made a list of repairs that were needed on the hundred-year-old structure, realizing quickly she would be dedicating every weekend to renovations. Allison and Devon had barely started on the repairs that would restore the large home into a bed and breakfast for tourists that came to the popular destination. They’d been excited to begin a new life together.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Over the last year, Jayde had made the Cross House, duly named, her second home. Between spurts of remodeling, she’d enjoyed peace and quiet on the private beach, as well as exploring the rich history in the area. The house even had stories to tell. Islanders rumored that a young woman, Elena Doubt, lived in the house with her parents and her lover was killed in an accident several months before they were to be married. Heartbroken, she died a few years later and her soul lingered here on Bodie Head Island. To ease her sadness, all who crossed the threshold into the house would be granted love.
Well, it hadn’t worked for Jayde yet, not that she wanted, or needed, love. Although, the house did have a certain serenity, a draw that she couldn’t deny.
That would certainly change if Merf was here too. They had adopted a system of alternating weekends, but for the last six months, she’d been the only one visiting—and working on the renovations.
Dr. Merf Cross, working forensics lab for the FBI, used the excuse that he was ‘too busy’ to lend a hand on the house. Yet Jayde couldn’t be fooled. She knew full well that “busy” was code for “being a playboy”. Some people couldn’t change their colors, and he was a perfect example. A heated tingle shot down her spine.
Oh well! She didn’t mind getting her hands dirty, and a few days away from the city would do her good. Being here always refreshed her, gave her purpose. Connected her with an inner peace. Allison had bragged how the island calmed her. When her friends had first told Jayde they were buying the place, admittedly she’d thought they were crazy to take such a leap, but now, she understood completely.
And…once all the remodels were done on the property, it would be a gem to sell. A sadness crawled through her, but she pushed it aside.
Stay on track.
With a renewed hop in her step, she continued toward the house that looked massive and mystical with the evening sun in the background. She was so ready for a break from her life. And it really had nothing to do with the breakup she had with Ace last month.
Seriously. It didn’t.
What had she been thinking by getting involved with an employee anyway? She was smart, and mature, e
nough to realize one should never play where they work. Looking back, she couldn’t believe she’d overstepped boundaries, yet she knew perfectly well how and why. The six-foot, twenty-nine-year-old ex-football player and Jayde had been spending day and night renovating a house in mid-summer, and he’d spent most of that time slick and shirtless. She was a sucker for broad shoulders and twelve-pack abs, and as one thing led to another, they ended up polishing the granite counter in the kitchen with more than a cloth.
She could practically hear Allison saying, ‘I told you so’.
Things were perfect, or so they seemed, until Jayde walked onto a construction site two months after the affair began to find her hottie fucking her sister. Even ‘fucking’ was too good of a word to describe what Ace and Josie were doing on the unfinished, living room floor. Jayde had fired them both on the spot, walked away, and hadn’t seen or spoken to either of them since.
Again, Allison’s words played through Jayde’s brain. ’Never hire a relative’.
Yeah, another lesson I’ve learned the hard way.
She later heard through the grapevine that Ace had landed a job with another construction group, and her sister, Josie, had found herself another ‘power tool’ to hold onto. That was just like her. Trading in tools while the warranty was still good. Jayde wished them both well.
Fact was, Jayde loved her sister and missed her, especially more than she missed Ace. Although he’d been amazing in bed and was built like a secret weapon, she’d rather stick with her trusted toy and not worry about catching something. For now, Jayde needed space and maybe…and that was a big maybe…she’d forgive her impulsive, bad decision-making sister and just maybe find a man that Josie hadn’t fucked.
The sunlight created a pinkish-orange drape in the sky. She inhaled deeply and took in the amazing scent of the sea and sand. She found everything vast and lovely out there and realized as she got closer to the end of the renovations how much she’d miss the place. It had become her home away from home.
Climbing the steps to the worn, wooden porch, she then unlocked the squeaky front door and let herself in. A blast of emotions settled over her again. An image of her besties standing in the foyer greeting her with party hats and a cake on her thirty-fourth birthday invaded her chest like a ten-ton freight train. What she wouldn’t give to have one more day with them, one more talk about life, politics and nothing in particular. To hear their laughter, their non-stop chatter about plans for a future family and how they wanted Jayde to find the same happiness. She’d even welcome their uninvited attempts in setting her up on blind dates.
Dropping her suitcase, she read the white board hanging on the wall. She and Merf would leave messages for each other, simple notes with their name and ‘here’ just in case by some freak accident they showed up at Cross House at the same time, although it hadn’t happened yet. ‘Merf here’ was written in deep blue with his signature large exclamation mark. He’d thought the board, and her rules, were silly from the get-go. Men like him played by their own guidelines and disliked anyone telling them what to do.
With an irritated sigh, she used the eraser to wipe away the words. He was too lazy to erase the board before he walked out the door. He’d been on the island a few weeks ago for a day or two, and she always hoped he abided by ‘house rules’. The top of the list…no bringing strange women into the house. Sad really that they had a rule like that in place, but knowing Merf and his scandalous way of unzipping his jeans, she knew rules were a must. Especially lowering the lid on the toilet and not leaving wet towels on the floor.
Looking back, she wasn’t quite sure when she started despising him. Several incidents had occurred which could have been labeled as the main reason, but secretly, she knew it was because she’d had a mad crush on him since she’d met him. Everything about him had drawn her in. His tall muscular frame to his crooked smile that found its way straight to the source of her desire. He had a sense of humor that could make people laugh, and was always the life of any party. Although he had a cocky side, it could easily be mistaken for confidence. Women liked confidence, right?
Oh, she’d made the mistake of lusting after him for a good year before she dropped her Victoria’s Secrets one night during a New Year’s Eve party. Lonely and miserable, she’d jumped into his bed so easily, even knowing he was a playboy and she was far from being his type. From what she knew, he Jonesed for waif-thin models who never did a hard day’s work in their life. Jayde, on the other hand, had short nails and could pound a board better than a lot of men could, thanks to her construction worker father who swore he’d have strong, independent daughters if it killed him. Jayde and Josie were handling power tools while in pigtails and could lay brick like a pro.
Although she knew her way around a hammer and nail, that didn’t detour her need for a man to treat her like a seductive, feminine woman. Jayde had a wicked libido and liked men who weren’t afraid of an independent woman who could give as well as receive. In came Ace, and probably Merf too because the one night they’d spent together she couldn’t seem to erase from her memory. He’d been confident, wild, and passionate, and she’d been forever tattooed with his embrace. Too bad the morning light had resuscitated her logic. Grabbing her wrinkled clothing off the guest bedroom floor, she’d barely had her panties on before she disappeared while he was still sleeping. And apparently, she hadn’t been the only one who slithered away embarrassed. Allison told her that Merf hadn’t come around for over a month after the holiday.
Screw him!
Damn it! That was the problem. She wanted to screw him. Again and again and again…
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She’d have to be blind not to see that he was a jerk. A funny, sexy jerk, but still…
Jayde needed a man who appreciated a woman like her…curvy and natural. Her breasts had never seen a plastic surgeon and the beginning crow’s feet were achieved from maturity. The last woman on Merf’s arm would be blown away with a swift wind, though not to say she wasn’t beautiful. All his girlfriends had been beautiful. His latest, Danika, could win a beauty contest, hands down, as long as she didn’t talk. Talking proved her beauty only ran skin deep.
Danika always had her hair perfectly styled, as well as wearing impeccable designer clothes from names like Versace, Ralph Lauren, and Hermes, paid for by her billionaire father. She’d once bragged that her father bought her a Mercedes for her birthday, but she didn’t like the color so he bought her another. Certainly, Merf could find more character with a blowup doll.
Jayde grabbed her wardrobe from off the rack at a department store, especially her skinny jeans that were her favorite. She worked hard that’s why every pair had holes in the knees until she cut them into shorts. Her daily uniform happened to be steel toed boots and a tool belt, although on occasion she did dress up, sometimes even applying mascara and lipstick if she thought she might run into Ryan Reynolds. Unfortunately, that never happened. A girl could wish though.
Point was, when it came to appearance, she wasn’t ‘perfect’ enough for a man like Merf Cross who prided himself on trophy sidekicks.
His loss.
Pushing those silly thoughts to the side, she climbed the original spiral staircase to the second floor and down the hall until she came to the last door on the right. She’d called dibs on the room farthest away from the master bedroom. At times, she’d stood in the open doorway and peered in, working up bravery to step in, but it was never enough. She guessed that would come in good time, but for now she wasn’t ready to cross into Allison and Devon’s private space.
Her plans were to take a shower, grab a beer and sit on the porch to watch the sunset, and tomorrow she’d jump into renovations. For tonight though, she needed to relax.
Without bothering to grab any clothing, she pulled her hair up into a messy bun and went into the adjoining bathroom to take a quick shower. Swiping the dampness from her body, she dropped the towel into the hamper, made her way down the back stairs, and into t
he kitchen. Peering into the refrigerator, she was happy to see that it was fully stocked from Merf’s last visit. That would save her a trip to the local corner market later.
She popped open the lid to a bottle of beer and brought it to her lips when she noticed the large black duffel bag sitting next to the back door. Her eyes widened.
“I must say. I wasn’t expecting this welcome.” The low timbre of the voice behind her made her heart pound faster.
Slowly, she turned on her heel and met the penetrating gaze of the one man she didn’t want to see. The bottle slipped from her fingers, hitting the floor with a loud crack, the cold contents spilling around her feet. Even the puddle didn’t detour her from the sudden rush of chaotic feelings passing through her.
Finally, the wheels of her brain kicked in and she remembered that she was standing naked in the middle of the kitchen with Merf Cross and that crooked smile.
*****
Although he knew he shouldn’t, he couldn’t help but find humor with Jayde as she frantically grappled for something to cover up with. In the meantime, he admired the view. Without a doubt, she had one of the shapeliest bodies he’d ever laid eyes upon, with enough curves to keep him busy for days. His cock twitched, but he warned that part of him that although she was pleasing to the eye, he knew full well she was as cold as an Alaskan morning.
She grabbed the tablecloth and hurried to wrap it around her body. Although the material covered most of her, the slivers of plump, white breasts pushed above the checkered fabric and her exposed slender legs allowed his mind to wander in all the naughty ways a man could conjure. He wanted to unwrap her like a present, slowly and deliberately, until she was naked beneath him. Bad path to meander down, fantasy or not. He gave his head a quick, mental shake and targeted his gaze on a safer region—those narrowed blue eyes that besieged him with invisible arrows.
Smooth as Hell (Studs in Scrubs Book 3) Page 1
