Addicted to Love
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Addicted to Love
Deborah Cooke
Deborah A. Cooke
Contents
Addicted to Love
Dear Reader
Flatiron Five
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
In the Midnight Hour
About the Author
More Books by the Author
Addicted to Love
Once upon a recession, five friends banded together to find success. Ten years later, their exclusive fitness club, Flatiron Five, is the hottest destination in Manhattan. People flock to F5 to get fit, to get lucky, and even, to fall in love. The founding partners have been immune to F5’s spell—at least, so far...
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Kyle wants it all...
Kyle Stuyvesant doesn't believe in love and romance. His parents taught him there’s no such thing as forever, and he took the lesson to heart. After all, there's only one woman who ever tempted him to more than a single, hot night together. Fortunately for his convictions, she's married to another guy. Problem solved—until Lauren's husband cheats and Kyle isn't just the bearer of bad news, but the man she turns to for comfort.
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Lauren demands it all...
When Lauren's marriage implodes, she wants to lose herself in pleasure and sensation. Who knows that territory better than Kyle who seduced her so deliciously years before? It was a night Lauren never forgot, and now that she wants to start again, Kyle is the only man she wants. Will she be able to accept his terms of no love or romance? When Lauren can’t get enough, will Kyle take a chance on wanting more?
Addicted to Love
By Deborah Cooke
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Digital Edition
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Cover by Kim Killion
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Copyright ©2017 Deborah A. Cooke
All rights reserved.
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Without limiting the rights under copyright preserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright holder and the publisher of this book.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
ISBN: 978-1-988479-13-2
Created with Vellum
Dear Reader
Welcome back to Flatiron Five!
In Simply Irresistible, we met Tyler, the finance guy of Flatiron Five, along with his friends and partners at the club. Each partner has his or her strength—Kyle is the bad boy who charms all the women, but who also has great marketing ideas. I like Kyle and his breezy attitude to life, but I knew from the moment he stepped onto the page that there was more to him than he wanted any of us to believe. He struck me as a character with secrets, and maybe even a few scars. Could it be that he only has one-night stands because he doesn’t believe in forever?
I was also intrigued that Tyler’s sister, Lauren, didn’t like Kyle. I expected everyone to like Kyle, but when she talked to Tyler about his partner, her disapproval was clear. Lauren’s reaction seemed a bit strong, given that she and Kyle barely knew each other—unless, of course, they knew each other better than Tyler realized. It turned out that they made a connection years ago, before either realized that they both knew Tyler. Kyle’s greatest asset is his honesty, and he never misleads any woman about his intention to have fun and move on. When Lauren’s marriage falls apart and she just wants good sex, that she turns to Kyle. He should be the perfect man for the job and that’s the beginning of Addicted to Love. Lauren’s suggestion seems to be too good to be true to Kyle, especially when one night isn’t enough for her. He can’t say no to her, although he knows he should. I like how these two challenge each other: it makes them a good team. It’s no spoiler to guess how this story ends, but there are a lot of twists and turns along the way in this second-chance-at-love romance.
Next up in the Flatiron Five series will be Damon’s book, In the Midnight Hour, and there’s an excerpt from it in the back of this book. Find out where Damon goes every Friday night and meet a nurse who wants very much to unravel all of his secrets. In the Midnight Hour will be a January 2018 release and is available for pre-order at some portals. If you don’t want to miss any of the Flatiron Five books, I have a special newsletter for just this series: you can subscribe right here.
I’m also writing paranormal romances featuring dragon shifter princesses from space (these are fun!) and you can learn more about my Dragons of Incendium on the series website. I continue to write medieval romances as Claire Delacroix and have a number scheduled for publication in 2017. The Champions of St. Euphemia series has been completed with The Crusader’s Vow and I’ll be heading back to Scotland for the Brides of Inverfyre series. The Bride Quest is being republished in new editions and I have two Christmas novellas coming out in themed anthologies this fall.
Please visit my website to find out about my other books, my books in audio, as well as free reads available to readers. You can buy signed print copies of my books directly from me or request signed bookplates for your keepers—there are details on my website here. I send out a monthly newsletter called Knights, Dragons & Heroes, to share new covers, details about upcoming releases, new releases, discount and free titles, and more. You can subscribe right here. To keep up to date with my new releases, you can also follow my blog or sign up for my new release alert. The new release alert is a single email which goes out when I have a new book available for sale. You can also like my Deborah Cooke page on Facebook.
Until next time, I hope you have plenty of good books to read.
All my best,
Deborah
Also writing as Claire Delacroix
http://deborahcooke.com
Flatiron Five
Contemporary Romance Series
1. Simply Irresistible
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2. Addicted to Love
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3. In the Midnight Hour
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There will be five books in the series in all.
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Subscribe to the Flatiron Five series newsletter here.
Prologue
Lauren came out of the back of her hair salon, drying her hands. Fridays were just brutal and as usual, she’d skipped lunch, but the last customer was finally out the door. She was looking forward to having a Saturday off and trying to sort things out with Mark.
Maybe they’d finally get all their crossed signals sorted out.
It seemed like a long shot, but Lauren was nothing if not optimistic.
And stubborn. Marriage was supposed to be for keeps. No one worth anything just walked away when there was a patch of rough ground to be covered.
> Even if it was a big patch.
She stopped cold at the sight of a familiar man flipping through the magazines in the waiting area. As had happened before, Kyle seemed to feel her gaze and looked up right away. As had always happened, one look from her brother’s college friend and partner, and Lauren felt unsteady on her feet.
It had been that way even before she’d known who he was.
The fact was that Kyle was way too good looking.
He was way too sure of himself.
But damn, he was easy on the eyes.
She would have thought that one night together so many years ago would have been enough, but the quiver she felt at the sight of Kyle proved it wasn’t so.
It had to be because she’d been alone too much. Just how long had it been since she and Mark had had sex? A hundred years?
“Look what the cat dragged in,” Lauren said in the casual tone she always used with Kyle. The way she saw it, he didn’t need anyone building up his ego. It was already sky-high.
He grinned. “You have such a way with words. I knew you missed me.”
Lauren rolled her eyes, more because he expected it than anything else. She couldn’t deny that she felt a bit lighter in his presence. He had that effect on her. Probably on everyone. “Seriously. What are you doing here?”
He lifted a hand to his tousled blond hair. “So hard to believe I need my highlights touched up?”
“You’ve never come here before.”
“Maybe I wanted to spread the joy around.”
Lauren laughed despite herself. “You really should package that confidence and sell it. I’m sure you have more than enough to spare.”
“Maybe,” he said and sobered unexpectedly.
“We don’t actually have any openings left today,” she said, flipping shut the massive appointment book. “No lies. It’s been one nutty Friday, but thank God we close in soon.”
Kyle looked up, impaling her on the spot with those baby blues. “I didn’t come for an appointment, Lor,” he said, calling her by the nickname only he ever used. His serious attitude gave her palpitations, but not as much as what he said next. “I need to talk to you.”
“That sounds dire.”
“You might think it is.” He leaned back, watching her with an intensity more typical of her big brother, Tyler, than the happy-go-lucky Kyle she thought she knew.
“What is it?” she asked with new concern. “Is something wrong with Ty?”
“No, not that.” Kyle shook his head, his gaze flicking to the adjacent room. Marie probably was eavesdropping and she appreciated that he’d guessed as much. “Not here.” He stood up, then peered through the window at the little wine bar across the street. “That place any good?”
“Quiet until eight or so.”
“Perfect. You said you close soon. When are you done?”
“I can finish up in ten minutes.” Lauren was intrigued by how serious Kyle was. “I just have to clean up a couple of things.”
“Then I’ll wait for you there.” Kyle cocked a finger at her, making her heart leap. “Don’t stand me up. Remember that I know where you live.” He winked, his reckless self again, blew a kiss to Marie (who was listening), then left the salon.
Lauren watched his tight butt all the way across the street. He was fine. And she wasn’t going to remember that one night...
No. Some things should be kept perfect and that memory was one of them. Going back for more would just be a disappointment.
She’d known that twelve years ago.
Because Kyle had told her so.
“Who’s the delicious one?” Marie asked, emerging from the other room. The other stylist was a few years older than Lauren and quite striking with her dark hair and dark eyes. They had met at a trade show just when Lauren was planning to open the salon and Marie was hoping to rent a chair on the upper west side. Marie had worked at the salon from day one and her client list had helped to keep the salon busy in the early days. She and Lauren had never become close, but their working relationship was excellent.
Lauren noticed how Marie watched Kyle and wondered if the other woman was wishing Kyle had given her more than a glance.
Maybe she should introduce them.
Maybe not.
“Friend of my brother’s,” Lauren said with an indifferent shrug that was just about the opposite of how she was feeling. She had a habit of giving Marie the minimum of information.
“The brother who’s getting married?”
Lauren nodded, coming up with a plausible explanation on the spot. “He’s probably planning Ty’s stag. I’ll guess he wants help surprising Ty because it’s not easy to do.”
Marie rolled her eyes. “Men and their stag parties. You’d think they were afraid that once they got married, they’d never have sex again.”
Lauren refrained from commenting on that. She cleaned up quickly and when she saw that Marie was done, too, locked up early. She made it across the street to the wine bar in eight and a half minutes. She told herself that it wasn’t just the promise of having Kyle to herself. There was something odd about his impromptu visit.
But her heart skipped and her mouth went dry when his gaze locked upon her.
Some things never changed.
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“Want a drink?” Kyle asked, feeling as if his usual charm had deserted him.
Lauren sat down, as gorgeous and as skeptical as ever. She was almost as tall as Ty, with the same chestnut hair and green eyes. Hers were thickly lashed, though, and her lips were full. Her hair was long and it bounced, like she should star in a shampoo commercial. He supposed that a stylist must know how to make that happen. Lor was slim in all the right places and curvy where it counted. There had always been something about her that made Kyle want to touch her.
Maybe more than just touch her.
She fixed him with a look. “You’re not going to just tell me, are you?”
He winced. “I think I have to work up to it.”
“I’ll have a coffee, please,” she said to the hovering waitress. “Black.”
“Double Scotch,” Kyle said. “No ice.”
“Bad news, then,” Lauren said after the waitress left.
“I guess it depends on your perspective. Not happy news, that’s for sure, but probably better to know sooner than later.”
“You’re not doing much to reassure me.”
“I’m not sure I should.” Kyle decided that a picture was worth a thousand words. He reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a brown envelope. The waitress brought their drinks then and he held on to the envelope, the silence charging by the second.
“Thank you,” Lauren said to the waitress with a quick smile.
Kyle put the envelope on the table between them when they were alone again, keeping his fingers on it. “I really recommend the drink first,” he said.
Lauren scoffed and pulled the envelope from beneath his fingers. She opened it, apparently having some idea of its contents, but whatever her expectation had been, she was shocked. She flipped through the pictures in rapid succession, then again more slowly, her face becoming whiter and her lips getting tighter every second.
Kyle remembered the pictures and their order. He didn’t have to see them again to know what Lauren was seeing. First, there was the shot of her husband, Mark, entering the club at F5 with his arms around two beautiful women, both much younger than him. The second was him necking with one of those women against the bar. In the third, still at the bar, the couple looked like they might do it, right in front of everyone. The fourth was of them leaving, Mark’s hand cupped around the woman’s butt.
Lauren put them down on the table and fixed Kyle with a look. “Who took these?”
“Security cameras.”
“How did you get them?”
“Seriously? That’s F5.” He referred to the fitness club in which he and Ty were part-owners.
Lor’s eyes widened, and she put one of the images on the table
. It was the second shot in the bar, the one Mark necking with that hot, young blonde. She couldn’t have been twenty. “Bad strategy on his part,” she said quietly. “Anywhere else, he might not have been recognized.”
To Kyle’s dismay, she wasn’t surprised. He wasn’t sure whether that made things better or worse.
Lauren’s hands shook a little as she jammed the pictures back in the envelope. She took a gulp of her coffee and winced. “I know he collects porn. I know he goes out with his buddies. I know they visit strip clubs, too. So, he kisses pretty women when he’s out. None of that’s a crime.”
“No, it’s not.” Kyle took a sip of his own drink, then leaned across the table. “But there’s more.”
“More than wrapping his tongue around her tonsils?”
Kyle nodded, realizing that she was more upset than he’d thought.
She met his gaze steadily. “Why exactly are you telling me this?”
Kyle went with the abbreviated version. “Because I saw it. I was working in the bar that night and thought he looked familiar. I asked Ty to check the footage and he confirmed that it was Mark.”
“How’d you recognize him?”
“Ty shows us wedding pictures.”