Desire: Ten sizzling, romantic tales for Valentine’s Day!

by Opal Carew

  She was good with that, too. Except just then his arm knocked into hers, right over her bullet wound.

  Waverly cried out, wishing she could take it back when worry rushed back to his face. “Arm. Ouchy.”

  She tried to smile as she winced, probably looking totally weird.

  “Is it broken?” he asked. In the meantime, he checked out the helicopter. It perched on the beach, a little wonky, but obviously not crashed.

  She knew he was estimating the likelihood she had internal injuries. “No. Shot.”

  “What?” he yelled.

  “Shot.”

  “And you’re just now mentioning it?” He tore the thermal blanket off her as if he was making sure she didn’t have any other new holes. “Jesus, woman.”

  There was more blood there than she’d realized. Yikes.

  Miguel and Tosin hauled the boat toward them, out of reach of the waves and wind. Exhausted, and stumbling, they began to set it down, even as they told her over and over how glad they were to see her. Tosin used his shoulder and upper arm to wipe moisture from his face. Probably just spray from the ocean. That had to have been an uncomfortable ride.

  “I have a camp started over there.” She pointed with her good arm, so they angled toward her spot. Archer wasn’t having any of that. He plucked her from the beach and carried her. Resting her head on his shoulder, she admitted to herself that she was grateful for the lift.

  As they neared the tree line and the wind and rain subsided, she shouted over the crashing waves, “I can’t believe you got in that thing with the ocean looking like that! Are you fucking crazy?”

  “Well, I had something to say to you that couldn’t wait until morning.”

  “What’s that?” She blinked up at him.

  “I love you, too, Waverly.”

  And that was the thing that broke her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as he set her on the ground between his best friends. He kissed her with the barest brushes of his lips while Miguel and Tosin propped the boat up on its side, using the wind itself to hold it in place, making a very effective wall against the storm.

  With that done, Miguel started pulling things from inside it.

  He combined their first aid kits, taking a needle and thread, some topical anesthetic, and a packet of antibiotics from inside. Tosin handed Archer the waterproof radio. “Why don’t you do the honors?”

  The four of them huddled around the communications device.

  “Banks!” Archer shouted.

  “Archie! Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yes. We’ve got her. Waverly’s here. She’s alive! We’ve got her!” He beamed at her as if he couldn’t believe how lucky they’d gotten.

  A riot of claps, whistles, and cheers came over the radio, making Waverly shed a few more fat tears before dashing them away with the back of her hand. To know that she’d gone from being absolutely alone in the world to having this incredible group of people who loved her…

  It was everything.

  With these guys, she wasn’t afraid to let her feelings loose either. They wouldn’t judge her or take advantage of her temporary weakness.

  Tosin piped up then, his sandy hair looking crazier than she’d ever seen it. “No, she’s not just alive. She’s sitting here under a palm frond shelter living it up while we all worried about her. Might as well have happened upon her sipping a piña colada.”

  “Is she wounded?” Captain Alex asked.

  “Yup,” Miguel confirmed. “Took a bullet to the arm. No biggie, according to her. Honestly, it does look like a flesh wound. We’re about to see if I can stitch it up without passing out.”

  It was crazy how a few near death experiences made these things seem inconsequential. Except… “Guys. Someone else is shot, and this time I did do it. I killed Ted.”

  “You protected yourself,” Archer corrected her.

  Nobody contradicted him.

  She sighed.

  “We’ll be there as soon as we can get the ship closer or dispatch another helicopter from somewhere,” Captain Alex assured them. “The worst of the storm should be past now. Will you be okay until morning?”

  “Absolutely,” Waverly answered.

  “As long as I have her, I’m good.” Archer didn’t care if it made him sound like a pussy. It was true.

  Chapter 25

  Waverly stood at the rail of the main deck of the Divemaster as Captain Alex and the harbor pilot navigated them safely out of Kralendijk. They’d dropped off the guests, who would take the Banks Foundation’s private jets back to their regularly scheduled lives. Despite the events of the past few days, the passengers had assured them the initial run of the program had been a success.

  Part of her was still raw, and probably would be for a while. Her new family here onboard the ship was doing their best to help her forget and move forward. In time, she would.

  “I really do love this place,” Archer sighed from beside her as he said goodbye to the island that had been his home for a little while.

  “At least this time goodbye doesn’t have to be forever.” Miguel put his hand on Archer’s shoulder and squeezed. “We can always come back.”

  Waverly thought about how she’d returned to Archer and couldn’t agree more.

  Banks nodded at the guys from where he stood on Waverly’s other side. “If there are any special requests, just let me know and I’ll adjust the schedule.”

  “Where are we heading next, anyway?” Tosin wondered. It didn’t matter much to them so long as they were together and doing what they loved.

  “Eventually, we’ll sail to the Panama Canal and out to the Pacific for a while. The season is right over there for great diving,” Banks said. “But first we’re going to take a detour up to the US Virgin Islands, where the planes will meet us with our next round of passengers in a week or so. It’ll be a nice break for the crew. I think everyone could use a few days off.”

  They all seconded that.

  “Am I the only one who’s never been before? I’ve heard it’s beautiful.” Waverly smiled at Archer, excited to investigate a new place with him. Hopefully one that didn’t involve almost getting killed. But did involve lots and lots more of the mind-blowing sex they’d been having since he’d introduced her to the clubroom. Or underwater sex. Or ultra-romantic sex.

  Or just plain sex in general.

  He’d officially turned her into a sex fiend.

  “It is,” Archer assured her. “Sorry, though, I need you to do some boring business stuff with me when we get there. After that’s done, I’ll take you on a sightseeing tour if you want before we have to start the next trip.”

  “What kind of business stuff?” Something about the way he’d said it tipped her off.

  Banks encouraged Archer to continue when he paused. “Go ahead, tell her.”

  “As partners in the Banks Foundation’s Divemaster Project, we’ve agreed. You deserve a reward for how you handled the situation last week. So Banks helped me buy a new helicopter. An upgrade. A six-seater Eurocopter EC 155.”

  “Oh my God.” Waverly thought that might be better than sex. “I’ve always wanted to fly one of those.”

  Archer spilled the beans. “We’re picking her up at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix. And…she’s yours.”

  “What?” Waverly might have jerked away if he hadn’t had his arms around her.

  “You’re free.” He smiled softly. “To be honest, from the beginning it didn’t sit right that you were tethered here, to me, by the thing that allows you to do what you love most. If you stay—and God, I hope you will—I want it to be because this is where you belong. Where you choose to be.”

  “I…” She couldn’t believe what he was saying, or that he might think she felt obligated to remain in his presence. A helicopter, especially one like that, was a ridiculous thing to just give someone. With the chopper itself, she could open a charter business, using the income to cover the operating costs and still make a healthy living. “I don�
��t have anything to give you that could compare to that. Except—”

  “I don’t need anything in return.” He stole a quick kiss, trying to shush her attempts at fairness. “Your happiness is all I ask for.”

  “What if I want to give you my heart?” Waverly swallowed hard but continued. There was no going back now. “Hell, Archer. You’ve had it all along. I hope that’s enough.”

  “It’s everything,” he whispered, his hand trembling where it rested on her neck. “I love you, Waverly.”

  “I love you, too.” It felt so good to say it out loud. She had nearly worn out the words since he’d appeared on that beach to save her ass. She intended to keep being obnoxious about it, too.

  “So you’ll stay? Let us hire you as an independent contractor. Will you keep traveling the world and hanging out with these crazy shitheads, too?” He waved at his friends and Banks, who were grinning like fools.

  “Hell yes!” she shrieked as she flung herself into his arms.

  They kissed and kissed while the divemasters cheered them on, until Banks cleared his throat.

  “Oh. Hi, Banks. Are you still here? Sorry.” Waverly blinked as she returned to reality, hopefully only for as long as it would take Archer to lug her off to their cabin.

  “There’s one other thing I need you four to do while we’re there. The lawyer has contracts for another arm of the Banks Foundation that’s been recently established. It will be responsible for the salvage and protection of artifacts from shipwrecks. The organization’s first order of business is to retrieve the treasure you discovered. So it’s only fitting that you be joint owners of the venture. Early estimates based on the data we sent in say this wreck alone could be worth eight hundred million dollars, give or take. I’d recommend refinancing the next excursion with the profits then splitting the rest between you equally. There will be plenty to go around. Operating expenses for a chopper can be astronomical.”

  Waverly knew the kind older man was looking out for her, more than her blood relatives ever had. He loved Archer like his own son. And since it seemed that Archie was really into her, she had no doubt Banks was finding ways to make her feel like an equal in his company.

  An asset instead of a freeloader.

  The last of her anxieties eased. She would be forever grateful.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, then squirmed from Archer’s hold to kiss Banks on the cheek.

  “You are so very welcome.” He hugged her then. Maybe it was possible that after all this time they had managed to shake off the lingering effects of their shady beginnings, and triumph.

  Every bit of good the Banks Foundation wrought blasted shadows from the world one by one. She was proud and thrilled to be part of bringing sunshine to people living in the darkness any way possible, seeing as she’d once been a night dweller herself.

  Waverly couldn’t wait to see where life would take them next, or in ten years. The only thing she knew for sure was that wherever it might be, Archer would be with her.

  “I love you,” he whispered again while he hugged her tight, as if she might forget.

  Sailing off into the sunset with him was as magnificent as she’d always dreamed it would be.

  Only, she had never imagined that would be the start of their adventure, not the end of it.

  Meet the Divemasters

  Don’t miss the next two books in the Divemasters series to see what happens when Miguel and Tosin meet the women of their dreams.

  Click Title Below To Order

  Going Deep – Coming June 14th, 2016

  Going Hard – Coming July 12th, 2016

  Going Deep

  When her mentor is killed in a lab fire, all his notes destroyed with him, marine biologist Sabine Reynolds is determined to finish his work—a cure for an aggressive form of cancer. She needs a specific coral to continue. To find it, she boards The Divemaster to search the waters around Hawaii.

  Crewmember Miguel Torres helps facilitate the collection…and brings out a sensual side of Sabine she hadn’t known existed. In the warm tropical waters, she discovers fascinating things about herself and the taboo fantasies she’d never experienced before meeting the sexy guide, who isn’t afraid to take charge during their daytime, and nighttime, adventures.

  The Divemaster crew come face-to-face with danger in the form of rival researchers, who’ll stop at nothing to ensure their success at Sabine’s expense. Sabotage, theft, kidnapping, murder, whatever it takes to produce—and profit from—the cure first.

  Can Miguel keep Sabine safe and by his side? Or will her enemies put a stop to her research…permanently?

  Going Hard

  As the last lone wolf of The Divemaster, Tosin Ellis doesn’t plan on partnering up anytime soon. Then his friend Archer commissions an engagement ring for his fiancée…

  Jeweler Kahori Akama is sensual, intriguing, and happy to accept Tosin’s help sourcing the black pearls she uses in her popular pieces. As their relationship goes from professional to personal, Tosin also learns Kahori’s family in under the threat of a blackmailer, someone intent on ruining her father’s resort business to lay claim to its valuable property.

  Tosin never expected to find a single woman that could slake his sexual appetites, but Kahori surrenders to her raw and primal urges with the natural power of a typhoon strong enough to blow even a veteran sailor far off course. Once he’s experienced loving in the eye of the storm, he can’t imagine being satisfied by less.

  Once more, the crew of The Divemaster will do what it takes to protect their own. Especially Tosin, who realizes Kahori’s heart just may be his home.

  Click Title Below To Order

  Going Deep – Coming June 14th, 2016

  Going Hard – Coming July 12th, 2016

  About Jayne Rylon

  Jayne Rylon is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She received the 2011 RomanticTimes Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Indie Erotic Romance.

  Her stories used to begin as daydreams in seemingly endless business meetings, but now she is a full-time author, who employs the skills she learned from her straight-laced corporate existence in the business of writing. She lives in Ohio with two cats and her husband, the infamous Mr. Rylon.

  When she can escape her purple office, Jayne loves to travel the world, SCUBA dive, take pictures, avoid speeding tickets in her beloved Sky and—of course—read.

  Unscrupulous

  The Manhattanites

  Avery Aster

  At thirty-three, Warner Truman is one of the richest men on the planet, a spa mogul who buys and sells resorts at will. He holds powerful executives' careers in his well-groomed hands. Nothing is beyond Warner's reach...until he meets her.

  Stunning, tantalizing and perverse, Taddy Brill captivates Warner's carnal desire like no woman he's ever met. A self-made millionaire, Taddy is tougher than steel, more brilliant than diamonds and, at twenty-seven, she's never depended on a man for anything...until she meets him.

  The more Taddy plays with Warner's affections, driving him to erotic heights, the more she is confronted by a dark past. Before she can love him, Taddy must meet her worst fears head-on or risk losing it all, including herself.

  Unscrupulous

  Avery Aster

  * * *

  Copyright © 2015 Avery Aster

  * * *

  www.AveryAster.com

  To Kelly!

  Thank you for lending an ear and several cocktails over the years.

  You’ve helped me in ways no other friend has or possibly could.

  I love you for that.

  Reader Warning

  Often while reading Avery Aster’s books, readers have been known to experience hot flashes, orgasms, and laughter to the point of peeing in their pants.

  It’s suggested that you have a bucket of ice nearby, along with a chilled glass of champagne and your favorite sex toy—fully charged—before reading this story.

  Please note that Avery’s writing is not suit
able for prudes, slut-shamers, or uptight readers who don’t have a sense of humor about money, sex, or fame. Avery’s books are not intended for anyone under the age of 18.

  Have fun!

  The Literary Gossip

  Dear Reader,

  Shortly after I began writing book reviews, I discovered Unscrupulous by Avery Aster and was introduced to this erotic, zany world called The Manhattanites. I couldn’t remember the last time I had that much fun while reading a novel.

  Unscrupulous is what a great boyfriend should be—it makes you laugh and makes you horny. What more can a girl ask for? Oh, right. An über sexy hunk? Check. A strong female lead who doesn’t annoy the fuck out of you? Double check. A fun supporting cast? You got it. Great story? You bet. Hot sex? Uhm…yeah! There’s just enough of it to enjoy but not so much that it takes over the story.

  Reading Taddy’s past in this novel left a hole in my heart. She deserved something she never imagined, a lover. A close-to-trillionaire wealthy, Newport Rhode Island sophisticated, Harvard graduate intelligent—Big Daddy. You will see this couple throughout The Manhattanites series as the novels progress.

  The more I read and interact with authors whose work I admire, the more I get the feeling that the characters they share with us on their pages are very close to their own real-life personas. When it comes to Avery’s books, you’ll never confuse these stories with anyone else’s. The cast is true to New York form. Often ruthless, always brilliant, they require a match who exceeds their expectations.

  When I read Avery’s work I feel as if I’m at happy hour with a bunch of girlfriends. We’re sharing stories of escapades, sexual and otherwise, and we drink way too many cosmos in the process and have fun along the way.