by C. M. Steele
Text copyright ©2018 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Rochelle Paige Popovic and Elle Christensen. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Passion, Vows & Babies remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Rochelle Paige Popovic and Elle Christensen, or their affiliates or licensors.
For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds
STORMY NIGHTS
Passions, Vows, and Babies Novella
CM STEELE
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Passion, Vows & Babies Kindle World! In this combination of my Passion & Vows and Yeah, Baby series, we’ll bring you new books by some truly amazing authors. From sexy stories of married couples fighting against outside forces to keep their happily ever after, to unexpected pregnancies that lead to forever afters… the Passion, Vows & Babies world is full of over the top alphas, sassy heroines, insta-love, wedding bells, and growing families. Although the wide cast of characters in both series have managed to find love, there’s plenty more out there who could use Passion, Vows & Babies in their lives—like the couple in this story!
If you’re familiar with the Yeah, Baby and Passion & Vows series, you’ll see a familiar face (or more) in this story. I am so excited this author agreed to bring their storytelling talent to the Passion, Vows & Babies Kindle World! However, please keep in mind that this book is entirely the work of the author, and I didn’t have any part in the process of writing this book.
For more about the world, stop by the Passion, Vows & Babies website: http://www.fionadavenport.com/kindle-worlds/.
Happy reading!
Fiona Davenport
(Elle Christensen & Rochelle Paige)
Mixing business and pleasure was never a good idea. Nick knew that and did his best to stay away from the lovely Lillian, but everyone had their breaking point. And with the help of his brother, Ian, Nick found his. Now it was time to convince her not to leave.
Lillian couldn’t take seeing Nick anymore. Every day, she forced herself to hope he’d magically fall for her. But if it hadn’t happened in all these years, it never would. She had to move on.
But everything changed one stormy night.
This is Nick’s story from Rainy Days in the
#HEA #SAFE #SugarySweet
Copyrighted © 2018
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written expressed permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.
Cover design: C.M. Steele
Cover Image: Deposit Photo
The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as advertisement. Trademark names are used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and please purchase your own copy.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior express, written consent of the author.
This book is intended for mature adults only. Contains sexual content and language that may offend some. The suggested reading audience is 18 years or older. I consider this book as Adult Erotic Romance.
Copyrighted © 2018
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
Prologue
Nick
Meetings are the bane of my existence. I exit the last one in a hurry to get away from my staff eager to please me. My parents are on vacation leaving me in charge as the acting editor-in-chief. Of course, they wanted to show how good they were, so I can report back to my father. But I’ve had enough for today. I exit down the main hallway because I have a quick meeting with an author who wants to go over some of her new book timeline. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication with the calendar. She was scheduled the wrong week, but I told my father I can handle it. She just finished her first book contract and my father renegotiated the second one. I don’t see any problems with it, but she’s the client. It’s our job to make her happy. I need to go and pick up a quick cup of coffee before she shows up.
Not paying attention to where I’m going, I careen into a petite blonde almost sending her to the floor. Quickly, I grasp hold of her arm then the other hand wraps around her waist lifting her back to her feet. As I look at her I'm completely stunned—she's gorgeous. Her cheeks are stained pink from our collision.
“I'm sorry,” I stammer out, becoming completely lost in her blue eyes.
“Oh sorry it was my fault I wasn't paying attention,” she says, looking up at me, pushing her hair back behind her ear.
“I guess that makes two of us.” For the first time in forever, I want to have a conversation with a woman. I haven't even noticed a female in five years—not since I was made a fool of. You know what they say one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. I want to say more but I'm at a loss for words.
“Um…you wouldn't happen to be Nicholas Knight, would you?” she utters, biting her bottom lip.
“The second,” I reply.
“Oh. I'm supposed to be meeting with…I suppose it doesn't say here,” she remarks, looking at a note in her day planner.
I smile because she’s adorable, nervously looking for the answers in her hand instead of talking to me. “Initially, you were supposed to meet with my father. You must be Temperance Strong.”
“Yes, I am. Did he cancel our meeting?” A panicked expression creeps up across her face, and I long to wipe it away before taking her lips with mine.
“No, he didn't. His schedule got mixed up. He's currently on vacation with my mother. I told him I would handle any questions you have or anything you need to go over.”
“Oh…okay…well…I suppose I’m a little bit early.” She looks down at her watch. Her blue eyes reach mine again as she twists her lips in dismay. “I guess I could just wait here. You seem like you’re in a hurry to go somewhere.”
I shrug. I don’t like making her feel uncomfortable, but I’m not doing much better. “Yeah, I was about to head out and get coffee. Did you want some?”
“Actually, yes I could totally go for a coffee right now.”
She looks like she’s going to come with me and as much as I’d
love to have her at my side, that outfit would make me kill a motherfucker. “I see you got some high heels on. I'll just go for the both of us. What would you like?”
“A large cream and sugar please.”
She reaches for her bag to pull out money. I press my hand over hers, halting her movements. I give her a shake of the head. “Nope. I’ve got this. I'll be right back. Just take a seat.” I leave her there because what she's got on is going to send me into a fighting frenzy. She came in dressed professional which I'm expecting is not her normal look. Those heels are way too high, and I can see she forgot to take off one of the stickers on her skirt. I'm not going to say anything because she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I don’t want to further embarrass her. From her records, it says she’s only twenty.
And then it hits me as I exit the building I can't say anything to her that doesn’t involve her books because she's our client. She can’t be mine even though for the first time in my life I feel alive. In utter frustration, I storm into the coffee shop. Of course, there's a long line, but I make it through thinking about when her contract ends. I looked through her file this morning and she still has two more books in the works. It feels like an eternity to think about waiting for her. Can I hold out that long? I ask myself. My gut is telling me. “Hell yes.”
Lillian
Holy shit. I take a seat just where he told me—like a good girl. Mentally, I'm replaying our few seconds together, wishing I could have a do-over. I went total ‘valley girl’ on him like the young person I am. I’m way out of my league. Nicholas Knight Jr. is one hot guy. I’m not good with people as it is, then he has to go and make me feel like a woman for the first time in my life. He stood tall and strong in a dark grey suit and a light blue dress shirt with a dark blue and grey striped tie, perfectly pressed.
The feel of his hand on my waist and wrist warmed my entire body. I stared at him like a deer in headlights. How could an editor be so fine? I was expecting some stuffy guy to be like old with glasses and balding with a gut from being stuck behind a desk for two freaking decades. Who knew they could be fine as hell? I learned my lesson. Never judge a person by their profession again. I’m avoiding this office whenever I can. I can’t take that much sexy. I start shaking my leg nervously and play with the edge of my new skirt. “Shit,” I mutter to myself, looking around to see if anyone is nearby. It’s empty in there, so I yank off the tag. Damn it. I hope Nicholas didn’t see it. I ball it up quietly and tuck it into my messenger bag just in time as the elevator dings.
Nicholas gets off with two large coffees in his hand. He walks up to me and says, “Please follow me, Ms. Day.” He knows my real name.
“Yes, I do, Lillian. Let’s go into the conference room so we can go over your contract and the changes you want to make to it.”
“I don’t want to change it. I’m looking to go over my MS I sent in. There are some questions I have from the edits I received back and deadlines.”
“Oh, shit. I had no idea. We had a temp in when you scheduled your appointment. I’m sorry. Let me get that from his office and we can get started.”
For the next two hours, we talk strictly business, and I took plenty of notes but have no idea what they say. I mind traveled the future and back with Nicholas. Several times he caught me off guard and of course, I told him that I was thinking about a part of the story we had last talked about.
“Lillian, it’s been a pleasure. My father will be back next week, so if you have any questions before then, call me.” He hands me his business card with his direct line and email. He’s been nothing but professional the entire time and I can’t help but wonder if he has a girlfriend. He probably does and she’s probably perfect. I go back to my apartment and hit my novel hard. Never have I felt so angry at an imaginary person. I think it works for me. I manage to add another three chapters worth of juicy violence to my thriller. I have a feeling Mr. Knight Sr. is going to love it.
Chapter One
Nick
Three Years Later…
I stroll into the office a little earlier than expected because I can’t seem to find sleep. My office has its own coffee maker so I rarely step out to get any, but after five minutes that changes. My machine has crapped out. It’s long since been overdue with the way I drink several cups throughout the day. It’s what keeps me going when reading through hundreds of manuscripts a year.
I’m the acting editor-in-chief of Knight Publishing while my father recovers from a heart attack. It’s only been a few months, but I have worked myself to the bone just to get things back on track and, well, mainly because I need a distraction.
I’m in love with a woman I can’t have. She’s one of our clients and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I think about her more than I should. We don’t ever speak about anything but her work because she avoids me as much as possible. It’s like she knows I’m interested and doesn’t want me. Fuck, it burns in my gut to feel that, but I can’t stop these feelings.
I have her latest book in my hands. I’ve read it at least a dozen times from the time we received the first draft and now as a finished product for my shelf. I’ve read over the author bio, which is vague and on the verge of misleading. She’s been living here for four years and working with us for that long as well. I didn’t get to meet her until the second contract was being negotiated, and I fell head over heels in love with her from that moment on. I’ve been doing all I can to maintain my distance because mixing business and pleasure are a big no-no in this world. A bad relationship can destroy her work and therefore be my fault, although I know that I wouldn’t give her reason to ever doubt me. I toss the book down on my desk, then get up. I need some damn coffee now.
I wave bye to the receptionist and let her know that I'm stopping at the coffee shop. She’s already got hers in hand, so I don’t bother to offer. It's about half a block down, and I really need a cup or four at this moment. This job has suddenly taken a toll on my energy. I know it has nothing to do with the job and everything to do with her, but until something gives or she shows me some interest, I'm stuck.
As soon as I open the door to the coffee shop, I'm standing at the back of the line. Apparently, this is a peak time to get coffee. I'll have to make note of that for the future. I don't bother looking around because I’m hoping that I don't run into anyone I know and have to make small talk. My temper is usually mild to pleasant; right now, it's on full alert. I'm so unbelievably frustrated that I don't know how I'm going to get through another day. My brother, who's supposed to be helping me run this company, has been completely absentminded because he's been hit by the damn “Love Bug” as well. The thing is, I actually know where my woman lives. He can't seem to find his, as if she just disappeared into thin air. I hope he finds her soon because if we both don’t get it together, the company is going to slip out of our grasp. With the markets saturated with new novels and the Indie world taking the bulk of the growth, many publishers—us included—are suffering. We have to get our shit in order, but first I need my coffee.
I get to the counter with a smile plastered on my face. It’s genuine because I’m close to getting some coffee, and that in itself makes me happy. I place my order, then step to the side and wait to be called. I notice a guy at a table staring straight across from him as if he's interested in something. Curiosity gets the better of me and I look. What a big mistake.
Sitting there with her “Piss off, I'm writing” sticker on her laptop is the woman I can't get enough of. I look at that motherfucker leering at her like he's ready to get his ass whooped. A storm of jealousy hits me dead in the chest. If he makes a move toward her before I get there, I may be going to jail today. I don't even know if she has a boyfriend, but I can see from the way she's hiding her head she doesn't want his attention. I take my cup with a thank you to the barista and walk over to the prick eyeballing my beautiful dream girl.
“Hello,” I say, but he doesn’t look at me. “Hey, fuckhead,” I state a l
ittle clearer for him as I lean down to do it.
He whips his head around, ready to fight me, but he’s not going to win this one. I don’t let him speak. Instead, I fill him in on the situation. “You need to stop staring at my woman before you’re sipping your coffee through a straw.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know she was taken. Maybe you need to get a ring on her finger. She’s too damn hot to be walking around clearly unclaimed.”
“I plan on it,” I tell him. He’s right, though. She’s single and fair game for anyone to approach her. But that doesn’t mean I can’t stop them in their tracks. He gets up, taking his coffee and briefcase, then leaves without another word. Then I make my way to my brilliant woman.
Chapter Two
Lillian
He has no clue that he's the star of my books. He’s the brilliant detective with a swagger only read about. Yet the man I write about has no idea that I’m a woman. Everything about Nicholas Knight has my young and inexperienced heart doing flips and pounding out of control. I yearn insatiably for him. But I'm one of his clients, and that's definitely out of the question. Besides—he's sexy, and I'm plain Jane.
I just heard about his father's heart attack last week, and my heart aches to be by his side. It happened months ago, but no one clued me in. Apparently, it was two days after our meeting for my latest release. Nicholas doesn't have anyone in his life that I'm aware of. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking. It's not like I get to have more than a business conversation with him. It's not that I would know how. I can't even fathom how I managed to become the author that I am, but if a guy speaks to me I'm a puddle of goo. As it happens, it’s only this guy. I think about him every second, and yet I'm forever going to be alone. My contract’s up in a few months, and I'm debating whether or not I should go with another publishing house since I have other offers.
