Take a Chance Erotic Romance Box Set

by Caridad Piñeiro

  Tommy carried her in and let her slip down his body by the edge of the bed. “I'll get some towels,” he said and hurried to the bathroom.

  She had her back to him when he returned and he stopped short, unprepared for the sight of her scars.

  She tensed as she became aware of what had happened, but didn't face him. “Not quite the piece of the puzzle you expected, right?” she said.

  Chapter 10

  Jasmine held her breath, waiting for his answer. Berating herself for so losing her guard around him that she hadn't given a thought to what he might see. How he might react.

  She held her ground, shivering from the cool of the air conditioning on her wet skin and fear.

  It was just a one night stand anyway, she told herself, preparing for the worst, but deep in her soul, she couldn't deny that Tommy had touched her emotionally and that she had started hoping that their one special night might turn into something more.

  She heard the soft pad of his bare feet and a moment later, he was wrapping a towel and his arms around her and drawing her against his chest. The soft touch of his mouth swept along the almost normal top ridge of her shoulder. Then he tenderly kissed his way down and across the scars left by the flames and shrapnel from the explosion.

  He trailed more kisses back up to the crook of her neck. “I wish I could take this pain away,” he whispered.

  The walls she had built inside her to hold back the pain and memories came tumbling down with his words and actions.

  She turned and buried her face in his chest. Grabbed hold of him because he was a lifeline in the storm of emotions buffeting her. He held her as she cried and the pain fell away and was replaced by the peace of his arms. When her tears stopped, he scooped her up in his arms again and took the few steps to the bed. He laid her down gently and then joined her, his arms still wrapped around her, offering comfort.

  “Let's get some rest. It'll be morning soon,” he said.

  “Thank you, Tommy.”

  He kissed her forehead and in soft tones said, “I should be thanking you, Jasmine.”

  She sat up a little and gazed down at him. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “You saved my best friend and in a way, you saved me.”

  Confused, she pressed him to explain. “I don't get it.”

  “My ex did a number on me. She made me feel like what I had to give just wasn't enough, but I know now that I wasn't the problem.”

  She confirmed it with nod. “No, you weren't. In just one night, you've given me more than I ever could have expected.”

  A hint of a boyish grin crept back onto his face. “Imagine what I could give you if we had more than one night together.”

  Joy swept through her, shocking her into silence for a number of hesitant heartbeats. As he narrowed his gaze and examined her, obviously hopeful, she finally answered.

  “I'd like that. A lot.”

  The kiss that followed mirrored the joy, hopefulness, and fun that was so much a part of him. Emotions that she hoped to embrace and make a part of her for the future.

  * * *

  Three months later

  “Thank you for your service, Chief Petty Officer Reyes,” the Navy doctor said and saluted her as she stood by the door.

  She saluted back smartly and said, “Thank you, Captain.”

  The man broke protocol then to hug her hard. “You take care of yourself, Jasmine.”

  Before she could say anything else, he hurried away down the hall.

  Jasmine peered around the lobby of the base hospital, watching the familiar beehive of activity as personnel came and went. Once she left, she'd be stepping into a new, and possibly unfamiliar, world.

  Whirling, she pushed through the doors and paused a moment to take her peaked cap from under her arm and put on her cover as regulations demanded. It might be her last day, but for that short walk to her car and off the base, she was still a Navy Corpsman.

  To her surprise, as she approached her vehicle Tommy was standing there, a bunch of bright red carnations, her favorites, in his hands.

  She looked around for his car, a Corvette as bright a red as the flowers, but it was nowhere to be seen.

  As she walked up to him, he said, “I decided to surprise you.” He held the flowers out to her and she hugged them to her chest and inhaled the spicy scent of the carnations.

  “They're lovely, but you didn't have to do this.”

  “It's a special day for you, right?” He smiled that lopsided boyish grin that had become so familiar to her in the three months that they'd been dating.

  “A special and scary day,” she said and tugged on the lapels of his expensive charcoal gray suit. The color intensified the dark brown of his hair and eyes and fit him perfectly. He was the epitome of the sexy and powerful young businessman. It always stirred her to see him like this and know he was hers.

  Beneath her uniform, her nipples tightened in anticipation and her clit throbbed with need.

  As she met his gaze, it was obvious he had read the subtle signs of her desire, but he wasn't immune. His eyes had darkened and the pulse visible just above the line of his pristine white shirt was beating a little faster and stronger.

  “I was hoping to make it a little less scary, but I'm not sure I will,” he said, his voice slightly husky which stirred up all kinds of memories of that roughness as he urged her on as they made love.

  She stepped closer to him and the clean scent of his aftershave and of Tommy filled her senses. “Why is that?”

  “You know I'm an old fashioned kind of guy.”

  Arching a brow, she nodded. “Yeah, I do, but what does that – ”

  He dropped down on one knee and held out a small square black box. “Tommy, what – ”

  “You're going to be working in Jersey City and I've got a place there, but I don't want you to think that it's just about the sex.”

  He was so totally and seriously out-of-character, that she couldn't resist teasing him. “It isn't?”

  “God, Jasmine, don't play around with me now while I'm vulnerable,” he said with a hint of the humor that was more his style.

  She eyeballed him carefully, wanting to be sure that he was sure. “de Salvo, you're serious, right?”

  “I am, babe. I love you. I want to make this permanent.”

  “And it's not some rebound thing, right?” After all, it had been less than a year since he'd been dumped on his way to the altar.

  He rose, but the hand holding out the box to her never wavered. “No, it's not. I've never been more sure of anything, anyone, in my entire life. Jasmine Reyes, will you marry me?”

  She rose up on tiptoes and whispered against his lips, “I am so glad that we took a chance on that one special night.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and hauled her close, crushing the flowers in between their bodies. “Is that a 'yes'?” he asked in between kisses.

  “It is,” she said and he opened the box and slipped the ring on her finger.

  “You won't mind having a big ass Italian wedding?” he teased and swept her up in his arms. She realized then that a limo was waiting at the end of the row where her car was parked.

  “I don't mind as long as you bring the cannolis.” She pulled off her peaked cap and jammed it on his head, where it sat at a jaunty angle as he walked with her in his arms to the limo.

  “I'm feeling all Officer and a Gentleman right now and that's a good thing.”

  She leaned close and nibbled the underside of his jaw. “Why is that, de Salvo?”

  His boyish smile broadened and he said, “Because we got our happily-ever-after.”

  Laughing, she bit a spot close to the shell of his ear and whispered, “I hope that limo has a privacy screen.”

  “Dear God, I hope that means you intend to take advantage of me in the back seat.”

  “It does, de Salvo. It does,” she said and laughed out loud as joy filled her every breath.

  She had taken a lot of chances in her life
and they'd brought her to this moment and this man.

  She knew they'd have lots more special nights together.

  Copyright Notice

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 by Caridad Piñeiro Scordato

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of Caridad Piñeiro Scordato.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

  Visit Caridad’s websites at www.caridad.com and www.rebornvampirenovels.com

  ONE SPECIAL NIGHT Cover design ©2014 Caridad Pineiro Scordato

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  ONE LAST NIGHT

  A New Adult Erotic Romance Novella from

  NY Times and USA Today Bestseller

  Caridad Pineiro

  There was only one thing he wanted to do before going back to war . . .

  It's been over a year since Marine Lieutenant Trevor Mason and his father have spoken. After nearly losing his life during a Taliban attack in Afghanistan, Trevor wants to end the rift between them so he can return to active duty with some peace of mind. But a visit to his father’s office only serves to show Trevor that his father isn’t as eager to reunite. If not for the intervention of Samuel Mason’s spunky and very sexy intern, Trevor would probably be returning to Afghanistan with his one wish unfulfilled.

  She doesn’t know what to make of the hard edged soldier that replaced the smiling teen she once knew . . .

  Trevor Mason had used to do all kinds of things to Maggie Sullivan’s insides when she worked at the country club his family used to attend. Five years later, there is little left of the teen she knew in the stoic Marine who only wants some time with his father. When Trevor’s father backs out of his son’s dinner invitation at the last minute, Maggie does the only thing she can: she goes to Trevor’s apartment to deliver the news, but she can’t leave him alone on his one last night before returning to duty.

  An act of compassion leads to unexpected pleasure . . .

  Thrown together, Trevor and Maggie can’t ignore the sexual heat between them. As they satisfy one set of needs, another slowly develops as passion breathes life into other emotions. Will Trevor and Maggie’s one last night together possibly lead to many other nights in the future?

  Chapter 1

  Nothing could have prepared Maggie Sullivan for the sight of Trevor Mason standing there in his Marine uniform. Nothing.

  He waited patiently by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the anteroom to his father’s office. Incredibly broad shoulders filled out the khaki fabric and tapered down into a lean waist and hips. His legs were thick with muscle and braced slightly apart while he waited, his hat tucked under his arm.

  His face was in profile and the morning sun cast bright light on his features and the short strands of his sandy-colored hair. He had a strong resolute jaw. Full lips and a straight slash of a nose that all came together on a face which would tempt most women.

  By her guesstimate, Trevor had been there for at least fifteen minutes while his father finished up a conference call. In reality, his father could have ended the call as soon as his son had arrived, but for some reason he’d kept on chatting as she’d sat in the room, watching Trevor through the office’s glass wall.

  He’d changed a great deal physically since the last time she’d seen him nearly five years ago at his high school graduation party. She’d been sixteen at the time and working as a waitress at the country club to save money for college expenses.

  Trevor had been part of the pack of rich kids who spent the summers hanging out at the club, but unlike some of the others, he’d always had the time to say hello and offer up a smile. Maybe it was because he was nouveau riche and not as spoiled as the teens from old money.

  She remembered that smile, full of life and so warm, like summer sunshine. It had always caused a funny skitter in her heart and lower. She wondered if it still would.

  His father finally hung up the phone and turned his attention to her. “Please prepare a memo of the discussions we just had for the file.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said and shot a look out the glass wall to where Trevor still waited. “I’ll let your son know you’re free.”

  “No,” Samuel Mason blurted and reached out for her as she rose from the chair where she had been taking notes. Mr. Mason’s regular administrative assistant was on vacation and she was filling in for the woman.

  At her confused look, he dropped his hand to the desktop and said, “Please let him in, but if you don’t mind, I’d rather you stayed while we chat. I think the two of you knew each other back in high school.”

  If serving Trevor lunch or handing him towels counted as knowing each other, she supposed that they did. “I met him at the country club while I was working there.”

  “Fine, then,” he said and leaned back in his chair to wait, obviously forcing himself to remain calm. Like his son, he had a strong jaw, but that was where the similarities ended. Samuel Mason was thin, elegant, and dark-haired. Almost effeminate compared to his very masculine and robust son.

  Maggie closed the portfolio with the pages of notes she had taken and walked out to the anteroom. As she entered, Trevor faced her.

  She waited for that warm smile that did such delicious things inside her. Instead, his full lips were in a grim slash across that handsome face and she realized that Trevor had changed in more ways than one.

  There was little left of the high school kid she remembered. From the sheer physical size of him to the hard chiseled lines of his face, Trevor was all man and not a happy one at that.

  She held out her hand and introduced herself. “Maggie Sullivan. I’m sorry you’ve had to wait.”

  He eyeballed her hand, but finally shook it as he said, “Trevor Mason.” He paused and looked her up and down, narrowing his gaze as he considered her. “Have we met before?”

  She was pleasantly surprised that he seemed to remember her. “I’m Maggie. I used to work – ”

  “At the country club,” he finished for her and once again eyed her intently. “You’ve grown up, Maggie,” he said, the tones of his voice deep and exciting. The sound of her name on his lips sent a tingle of sexual awareness through her.

  “So have you, Mr. Mason,” she said, earning a chuckle from him and the first hint of that enticing smile on his lips.

  “Yeah, I guess I have and it’s Lieutenant Mason. Mr. Mason is my father.” He shot a look through the glass to where his father sat in his office, waiting for them, and for a moment, before he schooled his emotions, loneliness skipped across his features.

  “Please come in,” she said with a smile and motioned in the direction of the office door.

  * * *

  Trevor took a deep breath to combat the mix of emotions roiling around in his gut.

  It had been over a year since he’d either seen or talked to his father. The last words they’d shared had been filled with anger and hurt. That anger and hurt had been constantly simmering, especially in the last few months when he’d been healing from the wounds suffered during a Taliban attack on the medical f
acility he and his fellow Marines had been protecting.

  He had hoped his father would call or write after the Marines notified him that he’d been wounded.

  He’d been wrong to hope. Not a letter or a call or even an impersonal e-mail to say “Get well soon.”

  He wasn’t even really sure why he was here and for shit sure he didn’t know what to expect from his father.

  Following Maggie into his father’s office, he wondered how the kind of cute, but awkward teen he’d known had transformed into the beautiful woman sauntering ahead of him.

  Did she have any idea what that sexy roll of her hips did to a man? he thought, but forced down his body’s reaction. It was better not to notice how the black fabric of her skirt molded itself to that amazing ass or wonder how her full breasts might look without the sedate white blouse she wore.

  She was off limits in multiple ways, chief amongst them that she was working for his father.

  As she stepped aside to clear the way to his father’s desk, he waited for some kind of reaction from his dad. Something. Anything for fuck’s sake, but his father just sat there, his classically fine features as smooth as stone. His deep blue eyes as flat and lifeless as a shark’s.

  “Father,” he said with a dip of his head.

  His father laced his fingers together, leaned back in his chair, and laid his hands across a midsection that was just starting to show a hint of paunch. “Trevor. To what do I owe this pleasure?” he said, although there was nothing about his tone, posture, or anything else that actually said that he was pleased to see his one and only child.

  Rage boiled over inside of him and he wanted to shout out with the pain he’d kept bottled up for far too long, but it wasn’t in him to make a scene. Especially not with an almost total stranger present, which was maybe why Maggie was standing there, looking more and more uncomfortable by the second.

  “Maybe I should go,” she said and took a step toward the door.

  “No,” his father nearly shouted, freezing her in place.