by Violet Duke
She leans back and smoothes the hair from my eyes. âThank you,â she says.
âFor what?â
Gabby takes my hand and lays it on her chest, her heart beating rapidly. âFor being the one to hold my heart.â
Her lips find mine and her sweet breath fills my lungs, our tongues dancing together tenderly. Wrapping my arms around her neck, I trail a path of sweet kisses from the corner of her full lips to the curve of her throat and smile as a soft moan escapes. I come back to her lips and slide my tongue inside, tasting her, breathing her. Time stands still until we pull back, lost of breath, but full of life.
THE END
*
Read Fran’s Story in Scarred Beautiful
OTHER TITLES BY BETH
Scarred Beautiful
Lovely
Finding Autumn
Rex
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
http://www.bethmichele.com
Beth Michele is the author of Love Love, Lovely, Scarred Beautiful, and Finding Autumn. She is a Connecticut native who loves spending time with her husband and two children. If you can’t find her, though, she’s probably hiding out with her kindle somewhere quiet, preferably a spot overlooking the ocean. She has an affinity for Twizzlers, is a hopeless romantic, and a happily ever after fanatic.
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GETTING OUT OF HAND
By
Erin Nicholas
© 2014 Erin Nicholas. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, this book and any portion thereof may not be reproduced, scanned, transferred, or distributed in any print or electronic form without the express written permission of the author. Participation in any aspect of piracy of copyrighted materials, inclusive of the obtainment of this book through non-retail or other unauthorized means, is in actionable violation of the authorâs rights. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, media, brands, places, and incidents are either the products of the authorâs imagination or used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and registered trademark owners of all branded names referenced without TM, SM, or (R) symbols due to formatting constraints, and is not claiming ownership of or collaboration with said trademark brands. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is purely coincidental.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Genius scientist Mason Riley can cure world hunger, impress the media and piss off the Vice President of the United States all before breakfast. But heâs not sure he can get through his high school class reunion.
Then he meets the new girl in town.
Adrianne Scott loves Sapphire Falls. The sleepy little town has been the perfect place to escape her fast-paced, high stress lifestyle. Her only plans now include opening her candy shop and living a quiet, drama-free life.
Until Mason Riley bids four hundred dollars just to dance with her.
Mason sure doesnât lookâor kissâlike a genius scientist geek. In fact, he makes Adrianneâs heart pound like nothing sheâs ever experienced. Passion like this with a guy who travels the world and parties at the White House should probably be a red flag for a girl who wants a simple boring life.
Good thing no one falls in love in a weekend.
CHAPTER ONE
MASON RILEY studied his best friendâs tight butt and long legs and reflected, not for the first time, on how much easier his life would be if they were attracted to one another.
âOh, youâre going,â Lauren said, as she turned from retrieving the garlic bread from the oven.
âIâm not going.â
âYou have to.â
âNo, I definitely do not.â
âCome on. Itâs your hometown.â
Initially, Mason had thought he was attracted to Lauren, but they had a hard time spending any time together that didnât quickly divert into work talk. Theyâd tried. But they were too compatible in their work life to ever get beyond it.
And then there was the small detail of Lauren being a lesbian.
Technically, she was bisexual, but of her last three lovers, two had been women and those two relationships had spanned almost a year.
âIâve lived happily for the past eleven years without spending time in Sapphire Falls. I canât imagine why that would change now simply because they need something from me,â he said.
Lauren slid the bread into a basket and handed it to him.
âMason Riley, your hometown needs you.â
He frowned as he carried the bread and wine to the table. âToo bad.â
âYou inherited that land what, two years ago? You havenât even seen it.â
âNot true. I spent hours and hours on that land growing up.â
âYou havenât seen it since youâve owned it.â
âItâs a big old farmhouse, a barn and three hundred and sixty acres of fields. I imagine it looks much like it did when I last saw it.â
âYou should be doing something with it. Or letting someone else do something with it,â Lauren said.
He glanced at the letter lying conveniently in the center of the table. âThey want to build on top of it.â
Lauren set two plates of chicken parmesan on the linen placemats and took her chair. âItâs a legitimate offer. You have land that youâre not using and they need land to build on. Why shouldnât they ask you?â
âItâs a town of twelve hundred people. What could they possibly be building thatâs worth investing in?â
âWhy donât you go find out?
He took a bite of chicken.
âItâs your hometown,â she tried again.
That really didnât matter. It might mean he was an ass, but it really didnât matter that it was where he had grown up.
It didnât make him feel special, or intrigued, or flattered to be on the list of five specially selected possible investors. He knew the other four men on the list. Too well. Theyâd been in high school with Mason. Theyâd all done well enough to be included on the list, but he knew for a fact that he was worth three times what the other four wereâput together.
So they wanted him to invest. And they wanted his land.
Heâd loved that farm and Milton Johnson, the man heâd worked for every day for nearly six years during junior and high school, but he had few positive emotions for the town where the farm was located. He hesitated to call it his hometown. He didnât know that heâd ever really felt at home there. But it remained that heâd spent his formative years in the tiny Nebraska town. And now they needed him.
It was interesting. To say the least.
Heâd been an outcast growing up. Heâd skipped two grades, making him two years younger than the peers he went to class with. That made him weird. Heâd been far more interested in the crops and animals he worked with on Miltâs farm than the dates and parties the other kids spent their time on. That made him weird. Heâd been awkward around girls, hadnât been able to discuss pop culture and didnât care about Fridayâs ballgame. That made him weird.
That was years ago, of course. But he hadnât been back to Sapphire Falls since heâd finished his doctorate degrees, made his money, discovered the genius of custom tailored suits or realized that there was a fine science to women and seductionâand science was something he was plain made for.
Mason poured wine into both glasses and then took a long drink of his. He watched Lauren stab a green bean and chew, clearly thinking of a new argument.
âWhy do you care if I go?â he asked.
âI just want you to.â She didnât make eye contact as she pushed her chicken around her plate.
âHow is this
about you, exactly?â
âItâs about you. I think you need to go back there and blow them away.â
âYou think my two PhDs will impress them?â
âMaybe. But theyâve always known you were smart. What they donât know is that you now know how to dress, how to talk to women, how to order wine, how toââ
âGot it. And letâs not forget to mention that without you, I would be sitting in the corner, alone, dressed in ten-year-old sweat pants, lamenting the utter lack of anything positive in my life.â
Her gaze traveled over him, and Mason grinned, knowing what was coming.
âI really did do a hell of a job.â
Lauren wasnât technically as smart as Mason, but she was smarter than ninety-six-point-four percent of the population, which meant she was hard to argue with. Making things even more difficult was the fact she could be impressively charming or incredibly manipulative, depending on what the situation required. Both of those things had helped them expand from a research lab funded by grants to an actual business that made a profit consulting with and developing projects for everyone from overseas governments to local farmers.
Innovative Agricultural Solutions was the perfect combination of all the things he and Lauren were good at and loved. This was where he was appreciated, needed, successful.
Why would he want to go back to Sapphire Falls even for a weekend? He had every intention of flat out ignoring the letter.
âThey said in the letter that itâs the alumni weekend. Theyâve invited you to all the festivities, to see what the town is really like and hear about their plans for the land. Arenât you the least bit curious?â
Mason took a drink of wine and shook his head. âNo.â
âYou have to be,â Lauren insisted. âYou havenât been back in over a decade. You have to wonder, at least a little, whatâs going on. Isnât there anyone you would want to see again?â
No.
It didnât matter that Hailey Conner still lived there.
Nor did it matter that the letter to the potential investors had come from her. The mayor of Sapphire Falls.
Oh, yeah, the land would mean a lot to her.
But it didnât matter.
He had a sophisticated lifestyle, the respect of the state and nationwide agriculture community and the attention of women that would make jaws drop in Sapphire Falls. Heâd gained confidence and the ability to participate in social situations without embarrassing himself. He could out dress the models in GQ. He never had to look at price tags before buying anything and his taste in wine, entertainment, women and nearly every other facet of life was perfect.
He didnât need to impress Sapphire Falls, or Hailey Conner, to feel good about himself.
Lauren continued to chew, her eyes on the wine bottle. Finally, she swallowed, set her fork down and regarded him with a serious look. âHoney, you have to go becauseâ¦I need the time off.â
âYou need the time off? Youâre coming with me?â He knew that wasnât the case. Lauren didnât spend the night in towns that didnât have a Starbucks and a Macyâs. Sapphire Falls had coffee at the diner, Dottieâs, and at the Stop, the gas station/convenience store/pizza place/ice cream shop on Main and Firstâthough not good coffee. The closest shoe store was twenty-two miles away.
âI need the time off from you.â
He selected a green bean as well and chewed as he watched her. âI have no idea what you mean by that.â
She tipped her head to one side. âThe hell if you donât.â
Mason took a sip of wine and shook his head. âNo. I really donât.â He did. But he did not want to go to Sapphire Falls.
âI canât take time off if you donât take time off,â she said. âAnd you know it.â
âYou donât need time off. We have a lot to do.â
âLook, Mason,â Lauren said. âAlex is a little intimidated by you.â
âAlex needs to man up.â Alexia was a tall, beautiful, willowy blond who was absolutely, no question, all woman.
âHa, ha. What Alex needs is a weekend alone with me without you interrupting us.â
Mason knew exactly what she was talking about but he wasnât about to admit it. âI donât interrupt. I call you about work. If youâre in the middle ofâ¦thingsâ¦when I call, that isnât my fault.â
âThe last eight out of ten times that weâve been making love, youâve called.â
âNot on purpose. Though if you had a webcam, I would very likely email.â
âAgain, youâre hilarious.â Lauren drank the rest of her wine, set the glass down on the table and leaned in. âYou owe me. I made you rich, hot and un-weird. Now I want you to leave town. Is that so much to ask?â
âItâs also not my fault that you take my calls and return my texts,â he pointed out, not wanting to admit or deny that he owed her. He did. Big. And he knew that no matter how wonderful Lauren was, she was going to cash in sometime. Maybe this was a good way to get it over with.
Lauren looked down. âYouâre right.â
âI am?â He hadnât expected that.
âI shouldnât answer when you call. But I never know for sure. I mean, what if you need me? Or what if something huge happened at the lab? Yes, Iâd want to know.â She looked up with the most desperate expression heâd ever seen on her face. âI canât help it. I love Alex, but I also love what you and I do together, Mason. So I canât ignore the calls. Which is why you have to leave town. Far away. For several days. Because when youâre here, you work. When you work, amazing things happen. When amazing things happen, I want to know. So you have to leave.â
He knew they were co-dependent. Pathetically so. Everyone knew that. They practically shared a brain. A big, amazing, no-one-else-could-do-what-they-do brain. Theyâd met in college and had been inseparable ever since. They worked together. Neither really socialized, so they didnât need to do that together. But they ate at least a meal a day togetherâat workâsaw each other at least a day a weekendâwhile workingâand went out of town togetherâto work-related conferences and meetings.
And everything had been fine until Lauren had met Alex. Alexia had seen Lauren at the grocery store and had hit on her. Lauren had fallen hook, line and sinker, leaving Mason without a chef or someone who would put up with his eccentricitiesâof which there were manyâor a partner who was at work constantly.
It was all quite inconvenient frankly.
âI donât want to go.â Heâd never pouted, even as a child, but he really didnât want to go.
âWhy not? Mason, God, you should want to go. Show them all how wonderful you are, how great you turned out, how hot you are now.â
âYeah, you know I appreciate the compliment, but itâs a little empty from you. You donât know hot unless it has long blond hair and wears red lingerie.â
Lauren laughed. âI donât mind black either.â
âHair or lingerie?â
She grinned. âEither.â
âExactly.â
âAnd I do, quite obviously, know hot. I created you.â
Lauren had known Mason for exactly three days before sheâd taken him to the barber and the mall.
The results had beenâ¦transforming.
âI donât appreciate the I-owe-you bit, babe.â
âI know.â She grinned. âAnd I donât really feel that way, you know. But I do expect a thank-you note from all of those women in Sapphire Falls.â
He sighed and cut into his chicken. There was no reason to answer and no point in arguing. Heâd do anything for Lauren, and if all she wanted
was a few days with Alexâa very sweet woman who made his best friend incredibly happyâthen he could get lost for a long weekend.
But not in Sapphire Falls.
THREE THINGS INTRIGUED Adrianne Scott about Mason Riley.
Two of those things had caught her attention as sheâd written up his profile for inclusion on their list of potential donors for the building project. One, he was a genius. Literally. He had an IQ of 136. Second, heâd grown up and graduated from Sapphire Falls High but hadnât stepped foot in the town in eleven years.
Third, and very interestingâhe hadnât dated Hailey Conner. Her boss. The mayor of Sapphire Falls. That almost made him more unique than the IQ thing.
âWhy are we only inviting men youâve had sex with?â Adrianne asked.
The first four men on the list were past boyfriends of Haileyâs. One had been her first love, one had been a friend whoâd turned into more, one had taken her to two proms, and another had stolen her from the guy who had taken her to two proms.
Adrianne had heard all the details.
But her favorite piece of information was Hailey saying, âI never dated Mason. He wanted to go out, but I wasnât interested.â
It was ridiculous that Adrianne cared who Mason Riley had or had not dated in high school, but she did. The only reason she could really give for that was that she was fascinated by the guy.
âAnd I didnât say Iâd had sex with them all,â Hailey protested. She tossed the photo sheâd been looking at on top of the five manila folders that lay on the table between them. âBut Iâll give you three reasons these guys are all on our list. They like me. Theyâre from here. They all have money.â
That was all true. Hailey seemed to have great taste in men. All five of the men on their list of possible donors were successful, intelligent and good-looking.
âYouâre sure Mason likes you?â Adrianne couldnât help but ask. âYou turned him down, right?â
