By Appointment Only

by Lisa Eugene

  Chase shot me a quick, uncertain glance then focused back on the road. A minute later, he did it again, studying my face for long moments. There was something on his mind.

  “What?” I asked, seeing the corner of his lips curl up.

  “You said you loved me.”

  I frowned, feigning confusion. “Did I?”

  “I’m pretty sure.”

  “You must have imagined it. You sure Robert didn’t clock you in the head?”

  His smile widened. “I’m pretty sure.”

  “Huh . . .” Mulling it over, I rolled down the window, letting the evening breeze caress my skin and clear my head.

  He arched a brow, quietly waiting as the car purred smoothly beneath us. Entwining our fingers, I considered our joined hands, the contrasts of our skin tones, our distinct personalities, and the yawning differences of our backgrounds and our current lifestyles. He’d proven over and over again that he’d stick by my side. He was right. I couldn’t be afraid of our future. I couldn't let the past steal my fate. I had to fight for him because I loved him.

  We were perfect together. I pressed a kiss to his knuckles, inhaled the scent of his skin, and savored his gentle touch.

  “I’ve loved you from the start,” I confessed.

  He shot me a wide grin, then turned back to the road.

  EPILOGUE

  Two years later…

  “Mrs. Rutherford, your six o’clock appointment is here.”

  “Give me a minute,” I said, nibbling thoughtfully on the end of a pencil.

  Checking my watch, I looked up from my desk. Taking my time, I cleared the area in front of me, putting everything away. Maggie, my assistant popped her head back through the door.

  “You still need me?”

  “No, no, you can go.” I waved her away with a smile. “See you tomorrow.”

  Closing my laptop, I walked to the windows in my office. Anticipation tingled my palms as I smoothed them down my pencil skirt. Straightening my shoulders, I tugged sharply on the matching blazer.

  The door pushed open and the man who stepped through caused my breath to hitch, had my heart suffering the same fate. Chase conquered the space between us, each step with enthusiastic purpose. There was a warm reception in his gorgeous eyes, a deep devotion that could make my heart weep. His handsome face wore a crooked smile, hinting at his playful indignation.

  “You made me wait . . .” he chuckled, reaching for me.

  With a quick step, I angled out of reach, shaking a scolding finger.

  “Just because you’re mayor doesn’t give you the right to special treatment.”

  He stopped, regarding me with amusement, then caught his bottom lip between his teeth in sexy contemplation.

  “No, it doesn’t,” he agreed. “But as your husband, I was hoping for some extra perks.”

  He advanced and I sidestepped away, shooting him a warning glance. “Uh . . . uh . . . no touching, Mr. Rutherford.”

  “Dani . . .” Frustration lowered his voice to a growl. “Come here.”

  I took another step back, the scent of spice and man a heady distraction. Heat was already simmering in my sex, my nipples pebbling. We’d been married a year, and still the sight of him ignited my desire. I couldn’t believe he was mine. The love in my heart only grew stronger by the day. Chase had leveled my walls like a bulldozer, showed me life was about more than day-to-day survival.

  Centering my thoughts, I pulled back my shoulders and gave him the sternest look I could muster. “On my desk, Mr. Rutherford.”

  He quirked a brow at the command, confusion wrinkling his forehead. I watched as understanding slowly dawned, saw when it burst into a glorious sunrise. His eyes lit with mischief, a lusty grin emerging. Without hesitation, he strode to the desk, already shrugging out of his suit jacket. I laughed out loud. I’d known it wouldn’t take much for his compliance.

  Locking my office door, I turned back to the room with boxes and folders clogging its perimeter. Today had been a busy day at The Women’s Workforce, a non-profit organization that improved the lives of working families across New York City. Our focus was job placement, but we also provided programs for economic development, job training, and education.

  In the last year alone we’d placed over three hundred women in the workforce. Each time we placed someone, I rejoiced, knowing I’d been in their position not long ago.

  Chase was perched on the edge of my desk, long legs stretched out, anticipation dancing in his eyes.

  Slowly, I approached. Leaning in close, I blew a hot breath along his cheek, stirring the fine hairs on his neck. “So, where were we?” I whispered.

  “Perks.”

  “Ah, yes.” Snapping my fingers, I slipped out of his eager grasp. Standing at a safe distance, I let my gaze sweep the enticing length of his body, suppressing a moan at the thick erection already tenting his pants.

  “Undress for me,” I ordered, unable to help the breathiness in my voice.

  He regarded me beneath heavy lids, fingers working at his neck, loosening his tie. Gaze locked on me, he slowly unbuttoned his shirt, letting the tails hang open to display his muscled chest. My fingers itched to skate down his rippling abs, to explore the expanse of his broad shoulders.

  Down girl . . .

  He made no attempt to conceal the huge bulge between his legs, and zeroing in my gaze, I absently licked my lips. The action had a purr crawling from his chest, had the fabric of his trousers stretched to its limit.

  “Open your pants,” I said, anxious to see him.

  “Why don’t you come here and do it for me?”

  A tempting promise wove through his silky voice, had me clenching my thighs. Slowly, I shook my head.

  “That’s not how this particular perk works, Mr. Rutherford.”

  With a look of amused warning, he moved his long fingers to his belt. I could tell he was trying to decide whether he should follow my lead, or just toss me on the desk and have his way with me.

  Although long hours and late nights dictated his schedule, we always found time for each other, found time to make life a little brighter, a little easier—and a whole lot sweeter. He, Emmy, and I could be found enjoying the beach and the quiet beauty of the Hamptons most weekends. Not that we didn’t enjoy life at Gracie Mansion, but it was nice to occasionally escape our hectic world.

  Emmy for the last two years had been invited to play at The New York Philharmonic Piano Symposium at Lincoln Center. People came from all over the world to hear her play, and she seemed to truly enjoy having an audience. She poured out her emotions in her brilliant performances.

  Chase and I were so incredibly proud of our daughter and her accomplishments. Although still not speaking much, she was thriving in her own way, and at her own pace. Chase’s adoption of Emmy became official about a month after we were married, and he was more of a father to her than her own father ever was.

  His duties as mayor kept him busy, especially in these first two years, but Chase was setting records, doing right by the people he’d made promises to. Most of the programs he’d promised were in place, including an increase in funding for inner city schools, housing reform, maintenance of parks and playgrounds in low-income neighborhoods, and job training.

  Flex-Steel had a new CEO who Chase felt was steering the company in the right direction. Buckling under the pressure of a harrowing FBI investigation, Robert put a bullet through his head a year and a half ago. Although I could never forgive him for what he put us through, I felt sorry for the family he left behind.

  “Aren’t you going to come over here and help?” Chase’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, and my heart rate doubled as he slowly worked his zipper, the fabric parting to the drumroll in my head.

  His heavy erection sprang from his pants, the broad tip swollen and glossy, his shaft, long and thick. Chase wrapped his fingers around the base and motioned for me to come closer. Although insanely tempted, I shook my head, smiling when he issued a disgruntled
curse.

  “Show me how you pleasure yourself, Mr. Rutherford. I want to watch.”

  A light sparked in Chase’s blue eyes, and with a wickedly sexy grin, he leaned back on the desk and got to work.

  LOOK FOR OTHER TITLES BY LISA EUGENE

  These are all stand alone books

  Suggested Reading Order:

  GRAYSON

  Keeping Secrets

  Wrapped In Shadows

  Steal My Heart

  Surrender My Love

  Strictly Business

  ***

  GRAYSON

  THIS AWARD WINNING BOOK IS AVAILABLE NOW

  An insane love that will keep you from falling—or push you right off the edge.

  All she needed was a job…

  The last thing twenty-four year old grad student Angie Roberts needs is to worry about her new boss’s father. After all, she’s never even seen him. He remains sequestered upstairs in a house that looks like it should be the main feature in an episode of Hoarders. She had no idea the house was such a dump when she took the job. But she’s concerned about the safety and health of the old man living under such horrid conditions.

  What she got was a mystery…

  Despite warnings not to venture upstairs, she wanders up to the second floor. What she sees is shocking. The man she finds is a gorgeous, sexy, middle-aged man— and he's stepping out of the shower. But something is definitely not right. Why would this wealthy, handsome man live in a house in such disrepair while his nine-teen year old son resides in a lavish pent-house? Why does he hide away from society? Why does he come to her rescue and then run away?

  What she discovered was heartbreaking…

  Angie learns that forty-four year old Grayson Whitmore suffers from schiz-ophrenia. Paranoid, he retreats into his own world.

  What she ended up with was a treasure…

  Angie is determined to get through to Grayson. They form a friendship that blazes into an inconceivable love fired with raging passion. Angie must now come to Grayson’s rescue because the wicked that has been perpetrated on him is unconscionable. First, though, she must gain the trust of a man whose mind does not allow for such a thing.

  KEEPING SECRETS BY LISA EUGENE

  Available Now

  Is that how a little girl sits?

  No, Daddy.

  How should a little girl sit?

  Shoulders back and tummy in.

  And how should a little girl look?

  Always neat and pretty

  That’s my girl.

  Twenty-four-year-old Alexa Kennedy is beautiful, sharp as a whip, and at the top of her medical school class. She’s also been waging a war in her head for as long as she can remember. Depression. Hatred. Self-loathing. These feelings feed the pain inside her, fueling her quest for a perfection that she can never achieve.

  In one life-changing moment, Dex Blakewell crashes into her world. Dex is funny, gorgeous, and irresistible. He chases away the darkness and fills her with light and laughter. An unusual friendship blossoms, making no demands or expectations.

  Friendship turns into an unexpected love and a delicious passion. Alexa realizes that the only thing tethering her to sanity is their connection. But even Dex’s strength can’t keep her demons at bay forever.

  When life overwhelms her, the outside world starts to mirror her inner turmoil. And when Dex discovers she’s been keeping horrible secrets, will she finally shatter or find a way through the darkness? Will the promise of love be enough to save her from self-destruction?

  STEAL MY HEART BY LISA EUGENE

  Available Now

  Maggie Lawson is an OR nurse, a certified germaphobe! She likes to keep things clean and orderly. When she meets Ex-Navy SEAL, Gabe Masters, he’s disguised as a dingy dirty hobo. She cringes as she’s forced to use her nursing skills to revive him. She soon finds that he’s a ‘dirty boy’ in more ways than one! After being forced to do his bidding, she unwittingly gets entangled in a dangerous, fast-paced, sexy adventure that tests the boundaries of her spirit and the capacity of her heart. Gabe’s passion spirals her to unimaginable heights. She soon starts to wonder if he is the real danger. Will she succumb to this ‘dirty boy’ who’s keeping secrets about his past, or will she chose to keep things clean?

  SURRENDER MY LOVE BY LISA EUGENE

  Available Now

  Patients are dying at Washington Memorial Hospital and no one knows why….

  Nurse Chloe Bennett is a dedicated healer. Her job means everything to her, and she needs it to support her family. When she finds herself in the middle of yet another Code Blue, she questions the unexplained deaths.

  Doctor Brad Markson is a world renowned cardiac surgeon. Brilliant, powerful, and sinfully sexy! He does not tolerate losing patients. When his patient mysteriously dies, he looks for answer.

  The two work together to unravel the sinister events surrounding the deaths at Washington Memorial Hospital, and soon find themselves fighting for their lives in this fast paced, erotic thriller. When Chloe becomes the center of suspicion, she is surprised to find she has an ally in the gorgeous Dr. Markson.

  Shy, sweet Chloe is unable to resist him with his sultry blue eyes and wickedly sexy smile. His passionate kisses ignite her body, and his mere touch induces shivering pleasure. She doesn't know if she’s ready to give away her heart after her traumatic past, and Brad is battling career demons of his own.

  Can the two learn to trust each other? Will they live long enough to find love and happiness…or will there be two more deaths?

  WRAPPED IN SHADOWS BY LISA EUGENE

  Available Now

  One night of shadows. One night of bliss. One night it all falls apart.

  Katherine Regina Vandercamp has everything. Wealth. Beauty. Social standing. She’s the heiress to the Vandercamp fortune and engaged to the man of her dreams. One night it all shatters…

  Finding her fiancé with another woman, she is distraught and makes a reckless decision to go with a friend to a sex club. Needing total anonymity, she has sex with a stranger in a room of total darkness, a sensuous cocoon of silky shadows. She has no idea who this man is or what he looks like. But it is in the shadows she finds solace. In the shadows she finds bliss.

  She can’t forget this stranger’s touch, his taste, his scent. He infiltrates her dreams and holds her thoughts and body captive. But has she made a false assumption about her fiancé? Was he truly unfaithful? She regrets her hasty actions and is tormented by guilt. She is determined to marry the man she loves and forget her stranger.

  Sinister events unfolded at the sex club. There was a gruesome murder and her stranger has been charged with the crime. Katie knows he’s innocent because she was with him at the time of the murder. She is more shocked to find that he’s not a stranger after all. What will she do? Will she reveal her horrible secret? Will she besmirch the Vandercamp name? Will she risk losing the man who has her heart to save the man who’s touched her soul?

  Her life is in turmoil. All because of that one night.

  A night that was wrapped in shadows..