by Vivian Wood
I close the door behind myself. “Jameson, what’s wrong?”
He takes a breath. “I don’t want to see you any more, Emma. Or… I don’t know. I can’t.”
My brows shoot up. “What? What are you talking about?”
He stands up, pacing a little in the narrow space beside the bed.
“I talked to Asher yesterday.”
I’m taken aback. “I thought he wasn’t talking to you still.”
“Well, he changed his mind.”
I put my hands on my hips. “That’s nice, but it has nothing to do with us.”
Jameson looks at me, his eyes dark. “It was never supposed to turn into this… this… whatever it is, that’s between us. I wasn’t even supposed to happen at all.”
I glare at him. “And yet, it did. Here you are, in my bedroom.”
He runs his hands over his face for a second, clearly frustrated.
“I shouldn’t have let it happen.”
“But you did.”
“And I’m trying to undo it!” he shouts. “I’m trying to save us, Emma. Jesus fucking christ, can’t you see that?”
“I’m sorry, did you say you were trying to save us?” I snarl. “As in, you are trying to save us both? Save us from what?”
“Emma…” he says, clenching his jaw. “We have nothing in common. We’re not even remotely connected, except through my best friend. And yesterday he reminded me—”
“Reminded you??!”
“Yes! He reminded me of the fact that he’s been there for me when nobody else even gave a damn if I lived or died! He helped me when there was no one else. I… I owe him, big time.”
“That doesn’t mean that you owe him your life!” I snap, growing frazzled. “When will you have paid your debt, Jameson? Huh? Five more years? Ten more? Tell me, what is the plan, exactly?”
I see a flash of pain in his eyes. “There is almost nothing I wouldn’t give up if he asked me to.”
“I’m one of those things, then? You can just… just decide to stop being in a relationship—”
“We were never in a relationship!!” he hisses. “At best, we had a fling. And now, it’s over.”
My eyes fill with tears. He means it. This isn’t just another we really shouldn’t moment.
“You want out?” I say, controlling my voice to keep from screaming at him. “There’s the door. No one is stopping you.”
His expression hardens. “It’s better this way.”
“Fuck you,” I whisper, looking away as tears start to spill down my cheeks, hot and wet. I wipe them away with the back of my hand. “I mean it. Go straight to hell, Jameson Hart.”
He hesitates for a few moments, then shakes his head. “It’s better if I do it this way than—”
“Get. Out!” I scream at him. “No more explaining! Just go!”
He rips the door of my room open, the expression on his face grimmer than any I’ve ever seen.
And I’m left in my bedroom, alone, sobbing over him.
What am I going to do?
To Be Continued!
The second half of this story will be in the book Bad Reputation, coming to you in late August. Don’t hate me too much until then!
Also by Vivian Wood
Thank you for reading Bad Behavior! I know if you liked this book, you will LOVE Remy and Sawyer’s story, SEAL’s Bride! It’s FREE on all platforms right now. ;)
I live for f*cking and fighting.
From Fallujah to Catahoula, ex-SEAL Sawyer Roman’s left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Settle down? Hell, the ripped, fierce bad boy doesn’t even bed the same woman twice.
When he winds up back in his hometown, he’s got no intention of changing his ways. F*ck the comforts of small-town life, there’s a world full of p*ssy out there to reel in.
That is, until he sees her. Remy River, the gorgeous blonde knockout who slams the door in his face -- apparently, she hasn’t forgiven him for his past sins.
Time to conquer the unconquerable.
I had his baby, and he doesn’t know.
Four years ago, Remy made a huge mistake. Lovesick and impulsive, she slept with Sawyer Roman.
And while he was off shooting bad guys, she had his baby.
He doesn’t know Shiloh is his son, and if she ever tells him, his family’s threatened to ruin her life. But now he’s back, damaged but hotter than ever, and he still wants her.
If only she could turn away. If only she could resist his kisses, but Remy melts when he looks at her like that. But this secret’s weighing on her soul, the guilt getting heavier and heavier every day.
Remy has to tell Sawyer that Shiloh is his, but can they start fresh? Or will it be the tragic end to their love story?
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If you’re looking for another great read, you should try Smolder, the free prequel to Hot As Hell!
And don’t miss the sweet + sexy Small Town SEALs. The first book SEAL’s Bride is FREE right now! I have his baby, but he doesn’t know…
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Turn the page for an excerpt of SEAL’s Bride…
An Excerpt From SEAL’s Bride…
Remy River stood amongst the sugarcane buds, the tiny, grainy, black and white picture laying flat in her hand. Tiny green shoots were just beginning to poke through the dirt around her boots, the sign of burgeoning life all around her.
Biting her lip, Remy held in the tumult of emotions she felt. Tucking the picture into the back pocket of her jeans, she walked across the rich, dark soil of her family’s sugarcane farm.
Her cowboy boots left neat tracks in the soft soil as she walked to the tallest point on her family’s lands. From the big hill, she could look right across at Roman Ranch. She could see his house from here, if she squinted.
No Sawyer, though.
Her high school love, the prom king to her prom queen. Tall, dark, and handsome to her fair-skinned blonde beauty. The perfect couple… until he joined the Navy.
He’d left Remy in the dusty quiet of their shared past, and moved on to what she presumed were much more exciting things. Sawyer was probably capturing terrorists and winning medals right this second, and what was she doing?
When he’d come home to visit two months ago, Remy’d known he wasn’t here to stay. The same song had been playing on the same radio, and just like always, she hadn’t been able to resist his heated looks, the way his touch lit her up inside.
She bit her lip, feeling tears begin to well up as she pulled out the photo again.
The sonogram. A little white blob surrounded by darkness.
Her baby.
She ran a fingertip over the image, swiping at the tears that spilled down her face before they could splash onto the photo.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the last night that Sawyer was in town, and all the sweet things he’d whispered. He’d told her that he couldn’t write much — SEALs didn’t stay in one place too long.
He’d made promises… promises that she wanted badly to believe…
Still, she’d rose at dawn and left him sleeping in his room, slipping away with the sunrise. She loved Sawyer, loved him with all her heart, but when he didn’t write…
She was hurt, but not surprised.
No, the surprise had come today. She’d gone to the town doctor, complaining of fatigue. The last thing in the world she had thought was that she might be pregnant…
She pressed a hand to her flat stomach, uncomprehending.
“What am I going to do?” she whispered, her words blowing away in the cool spring wind.
She was 25 years old, no longer a girl. She’d made a mistake, a huge one. And she had no living idea how she was
going to fix it.
She had a part-time job at a bar in town, lived at home in a house that was already cramped with five other people. She’d gone to community college, but never made it any further.
The father of her child was halfway across the world, serving in the military and not answering her letters. She could tell Sawyer’s father, perhaps… but even the idea of telling Colonel Roman made her cringe. She didn’t know what the retired Navy man would say, but it wouldn’t be kind.
At least Sawyer has good genes, she thought. My baby will be healthy.
She pictured herself holding a newborn, looking down at a baby with those stunning hazel eyes.
Sawyer’s eyes.
A low sound escaped Remy’s lips. She sank to her knees, burying her face in her hands.
Stupid, stupid, she thought. I’ve been so stupid. Now I’m all alone…
She let herself cry for a few minutes, releasing all the pent-up anger and fear and worry in her heart. When she’d exhausted her rage and self-loathing, she straightened and blew out a breath.
She looked at the little photo again, damp and wrinkled from her tears. She smoothed it out, trying to calm herself.
She could cry all she wanted, but there were certain inescapable facts.
One, she was pregnant.
Two, she’d keep the baby, no matter what.
Three, people were going to talk.
Four, her life was about to become very difficult.
Five, she was going to have to do this on her own.
At this precise moment, she didn’t even know if Sawyer was alive, much less if he was interested in coming home to help her parent a baby.
Actually, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she might not even tell him. After all, if Sawyer wanted to be in her life, he could’ve called or written. Instead, she’d received nothing but radio silence.
That made his intentions pretty damned clear, didn’t it?
The sooner she came to terms with all of that, the better off she’d be. Wiping away the last of her tears, she took a deep breath.
“I can do this,” she said. “I can do this myself.”
Not that there was anything to decide, per se… but the act of self-reassurance made her feel better. Made her feel like there was a chance that this would work out. That she wasn’t going to spend every minute of the rest of her life looking at Sawyer’s child and regretting the life they could’ve had…
No, she told herself. He’s made his bed, as I have mine. I need to put him out of my head, because I have way bigger things to worry about. This baby needs me now.
Tucking the photo back in her pocket, Remy strode down the hill, leaving her tears behind her.
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About Vivian Wood
Vivian likes to write about troubled, deeply flawed alpha males and the fiery, kick-ass women who bring them to their knees.
Vivian's lasting motto in romance is a quote from a favorite song: "Soulmates never die."
Be sure to follow Vivian through her Vivian's Vixens mailing list (http://eepurl.com/buorZn) or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/VivianKWood/) to keep up with all the awesome giveaways, author videos, ARC opportunities, and more!
Vivian’s Works
Bad Beginnings
Bad Behavior
Coming Soon: Bad Reputation
Pretend I’m Yours
The Baby Mission
His Brother’s Fiancée
Dr. Hottie
Smolder
Hot As Hell
Wild Hearts
Bad Boy Prince
Addiction
Obsession
His Virgin
His Best Friend’s Little Sister
Claiming Her Innocence
His To Keep
Promise Me
Knocking Boots
SEAL’s Bride
SEAL’s Kiss
SEAL’s Touch
First Touch
For more information….
vivian-wood.com
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