by Holley Trent
“Um…” She wiped rain from her face and turned around to shout, “I thought I saw a frog.” It was the first thing that came to mind. She’d never been good at lying.
“A frog?” he balked. “Come back inside. It’s cold.”
“Just a minute. Maybe it was just a rock.” She waded out a bit more and peered at the brown clump she knew damn sure wasn’t a frog.
The sound of feet slapping soggy lawn alerted her to Ben’s proximity. She bent down and scooped up the brown pile, squishing it between her fingers until it was firm enough to aim. And she did. Right at his face, where it hit him between the eyes.
He stopped, jaw dropped, mumbling in—well, she didn’t know what language it was—under his breath.
Before he could recover, she stooped down and picked up another clump of mud. This one she directed at the center of his crisp white shirt.
“Tell me you’re joking,” he said, clearing his eyes and taking a step toward her.
She already had a third handful of mud prepared. This one, she flung at his slacks. “Nope. I figured it was my turn to do something ridiculous.”
He pursed his lips and nodded. “Well, this counts.” He bent down and gathered up a wet clod of mud of his own.
She shrieked and ran toward the garage, pausing only once at a flowerbed to pick up some black soil and fling it toward his head. He followed her up the stairs, pelting her once in the middle of the back with an easy, soft toss.
Once through the doorway, they doubled over, laughing and struggling to catch their breath.
“I’m not sure I can forgive you for that ambush. Evil woman.”
“Hey, you tried to punish me—to make it hard. I guess I deserve that, but if you think it would help with the forgiving bit…we could get married.” She used her thumbs to clear the residual mud from his eyelids. That was lame. I thought I’d stopped being lame. Guess not. She held her breath while he formulated a response.
He laughed. “Help, huh? I think the only thing that’ll help me right now is a bar of soap.” He wrapped his arms around her, transferring some of the mud from his clothes to hers by wriggling against her.
“Stop!” She started laughing, too.
Regardless of the fact they were dripping mud all over the tile floor, he tipped her head back and grazed his lips over hers. “You mean it this time?” he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. “Or are you going to sprint off and get lost in a crowd to get away from me?”
She batted his arm. “I’m sorry for being a dork, but I mean it. I’m willing to try. You make me want to try…and I love you.” There. It’s out now. Now what?
He gripped her hand and pulled her into the bathroom. “I’m so glad we’re in love.” He reached into the shower and wrenched on the hot water before peeling off his sodden shirt. “I’ll feel less guilty about putting you to work.” He handed her a bar of Sink or Swim.
Thank God, he’s not going to make it hard. Typical Ben. Of course I love him. “It’s hardly work.” She watched him drop his pants and underwear in one fell swoop.
Oh my.
“Are you going to shower with your clothes on again, liefje? I thought we were beyond that. I mean, we’ve been biblical. A lot, ja? Just not lately?” He rubbed her belly before stepping under the shower flow. He made a beckoning gesture. Water streamed down the hard planes of his chest, clearing away the mud that’d seeped down his collar and drawing her eyes down to things that were already quite attentive.
She swallowed, and reached for the hem of her stretchy dress. “My balance is off. Don’t let me slip.”
He held out his arms. “Hey, I’ve got you. No sinking with me, liefje. Only swimming. I’ll always hold you up.”
Other Contemporary Romances by Holley Trent
Sensual
My Nora – November 2012, Crimson Romance (print and e-book)
Her Resident Jester – February 2013, Calliope Romance by Musa Publishing (e-book)
Sold As Is – February 2013, Crimson Romance (print and e-book)
Saint and Scholar – July 2013, Lyrical Press (e-book)
Teaching the Cowboy – Coming winter 2014, Calliope Romance by Musa Publishing (e-book)
Colleen’s Choice – Coming March 2014, Crimson Romance (e-book)
Erotic
Executive Decision – May 2012, Calliope Romance by Musa Publishing (e-book short story)
Calculated Exposure – September 2013, Lyrical Press (e-book)
Ménage à Troys – December 2013 (e-book novella)
Seeing Red – Coming September 2014, Lyrical Press (e-book)
About Holley Trent
HOLLEY TRENT is a Carolina girl gone west. Raised in rural coastal North Carolina, she has Southern sensibilities but her adventurous spirit drove her to Colorado for new experiences.
Holley writes sassy contemporary romances threaded with oodles of conversational humor, and fantasy/paranormal romances set in her home state.
For Holley’s complete backlist, including titles from Calliope Romance/Musa Publishing, Crimson Romance, and Lyrical Press, please visit her website at holleytrent.com.
Want to chat about Clean Slate or another Holley Trent title? Catch her on Twitter where she tweets under the handle @HolleyTrent or fan her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/writerholleytrent.
Copyright
Clean Slate is a work of complete fiction. Characters and settings appearing in this work are fictitious or used fictitiously.
© 2013 Holley Trent
Photo credit: © Yastremska, BIGSTOCKPHOTO.com
All rights reserved.
For more information, please visit holleytrent.com.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any printed or electronic form without the author’s permission.
Warning: this book contains adult situations including sex and strong language use. It is not intended for consumption by minors (age of majority as specified by your territory of residence)
Table of Contents
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
Other Contemporary Romances by Holley Trent
About Holley Trent
Copyright
