Black Light: Rocked (Black Light Series Book 1)

by Livia Grant

  Sam leaned in to take the last bite of the lasagna from the fork he held to her lips. As soon as she swallowed, she clapped her hands.

  But instead of starting their next sexy marathon, Jonah got serious instead, pulling a small, wrapped box from under his nearby pillow before holding it out to her.

  “Jonah, I thought we agreed no more gifts. Christmas is over! It’s almost the new year.”

  “I know, baby, but I just had to get you one more thing. Open it.”

  If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he looked nervous. That intrigued her.

  She tore the wrapping away to expose a jewelry box. She glanced up, nervously, at Jonah. What had he done? He’d already showered her with a replacement locket that was pure gold to replace the knock off one he’d given her as a kid.

  Sam opened the hinged box slowly. The dancing light from the nearby fireplace caught the huge solitaire diamond just right, sending reflections around the room from the stunningly beautiful wedding set in the small box.

  “Jonah! It’s too much! I already have the ring you bought me in Vegas.”

  “Yeah, well that wasn’t good enough. You deserve the best.”

  The solitaire was surrounded by dozens of baguettes that reflected the light like crazy. It was gorgeous, but she felt guilty accepting something so expensive when she already had a ring that was perfectly beautiful. Jonah sensed her reluctance and grinned .

  “I knew you’d feel like this, you know,” he gloated. Reminding her that he really did know her better than she knew herself sometimes.

  “Oh really, and yet you did it anyway.”

  “Yep, because I have a plan.”

  He slipped the ring she’d worn for only six days off her finger, replacing it with the new stunningly beautiful diamond that fit her perfectly. Only then did he reach under his pillow a second time, coming out with another small box. This time he opened it and pulled out a man’s wedding band that matched her set perfectly.

  Their eyes met as he placed the ring into her palm and he grinned. They’d had a bit of a tiff in Vegas when Jonah had elected not to get a wedding ring. She’d thought it was because he didn’t want to wear a band that would tell his rabid fans that the great Cash Carter was off the market.

  “I just didn’t want to spend money on a band I knew would be temporary,” he confirmed for her.

  Jonah held out his left hand to her. She saw him tremble just a bit as she silently held the band to his finger and slowly slid it down until it rested where it belonged.

  Sam leaned down, pressing a kiss to her husband’s ring finger. The lump in her throat was hard to swallow as emotions threatened to overcome her. The last month had been a whirlwind of ups and downs. Sometimes she had to pinch herself to believe Jonah was really there with her.

  When she looked up into his eyes, she saw him fighting back his emotions as well.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” she prompted.

  “Naw, what?” His eyes were so intense.

  “I went to your concert looking for closure.” She paused, his eyes widened at the mention of the night they’d been reunited. He’d apologized a hundred times for losing control that night. She knew he still carried guilt; guilt she was determined to help him exorcize.

  Samantha grinned, leaning in for a quick kiss before teasing him. “You know what this means, don’t you? It means we’ve sealed our fates together. You’re stuck with me forever now.”

  She loved his sexy grin. “I hate to tell you, baby, but that happened a long time ago. We just took a little detour there for a few years is all.”

  “Well, no more detours. Not unless we’re taking them together.”

  Jonah reached out and pulled her into his lap as he answered seriously. “I think this whole parenthood thing is going to be a bit of a detour, don’t you?” Like he’d done many times since finding out the news that he was going to be a daddy, Jonah’s hand covered her flat stomach, trying to make an invisible connection to his tiny baby.

  Sam leaned back until she could see those intense eyes she loved so much. “I wouldn’t call having a baby a detour. It feels more like we’re moving in the fast lane now.”

  Her words spurred him on. His hand inched lower, moving to cup her wet sex as he leaned in to latch his mouth onto her neck. She was always wet for him these days. How could she not be?

  He eventually came up for air, promising her breathlessly, “I can’t wait to show you how awesome I drive in the fast lane.”

  The End.

  Did you enjoy Jonah and Samantha’s story? It doesn’t end here. Coming in January 2017, the next full-length book in the Black Light series will be released by the uber talented Jennifer Bene. Please enjoy the following excerpt from book two in the series: Black Light: Exposed.

  She swore she’d do anything for a story.

  He’s the perfect temptation.

  Will she lose her chance at love to achieve her dreams?

  Maddie had been at the club for over an hour, but every time she wandered towards the rear hallway the security guard at the backstage curtain was standing with his arms crossed like a formidable wall.

  Damn him.

  Curving her path as if she’d meant to, she headed into the bathroom and dropped onto the little love seat in the lounge area, staring at the door that separated her from her mop of destiny. Here she was well-rested, in her sexiest little black dress, her nicest heels, with her hair and make-up done… and it looked like tonight was going to be another bust.

  No way she had enough money in all of her accounts combined to bribe the asshole into letting her past.

  As she glared through the wall at her nemesis, a group of loud-mouthed Georgetown co-eds burst into the bathroom from the dance floor entrance, letting in the pounding beat of the music for a moment before it was muffled again as the door closed.

  They all went into stalls, still talking to each other.

  “Can you believe Amanda showed up?”

  “And with Riley? I mean, fuck off, right?”

  “You know she only came with Riley because she was hoping to piss off Clarissa.”

  “Well, I already texted Clarissa and she said she doesn’t give a shit. Riley cheated on her, and she’s already going out with Mark on Tuesday.”

  “Why didn’t she come out tonight? It would have been perfect for her to snag some hottie and dance with him right in front of fake-ass Amanda.”

  Maddie groaned and pulled out her phone to check the time. Barely after eleven, which meant if she couldn’t get back to the mop and into that secret door she’d be listening to idiots like this all night. Laughter echoed off the tile as toilets flushed and several of the girls gathered together at the mirror to wash their hands and check their make-up.

  “Natalie! Are you coming or not?”

  “One second!”

  “Okay, we’ll be on the dance floor.” The larger group of girls left and then the last girl wandered out of her stall to wash her hands. Maddie was deep in thought as she heard the clicking of heels coming towards her, and that was when she saw the one called Natalie tugging at the hot pink crop-top as she stared at herself in one of the floor-length mirrors in the sitting area. She looked like every other college girl that was trying too hard and would probably end up puking in one of these stalls before the end of the night. One too many shots later.

  And that gave Maddie an idea.

  “Hey, Natalie, right?”

  Her voice made the girl jump, and she looked at Maddie a little nervously. “Uh, yeah… why?”

  “I wanted to know if you could do me a favor?”

  “Like what?” The girl looked even more freaked out as Maddie dug in her tiny purse for the twenty bucks she had tucked inside.

  “It’s not a big deal, I just need you to distract someone for me.” She held up the twenty and the girl looked slightly less nervous.

  “What exactly do you want me to do?”

  A few minutes later she had
her arm around Natalie’s shoulders as they stepped into the back hallway. The girl suddenly lurched to the side and Maddie almost fell trying to hold onto her.

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” Natalie moaned in fake agony, bending at the waist to brace one hand on the wall.

  “You’ll be okay! We just need to get you some water!” Maddie raised her voice, glancing through her hair to see if the security guy had budged.

  No such luck. Come on Natalie, play it up.

  “No, I’m totally going to throw up.” Some Oscar-worthy gagging noises came from the girl, and the security guy took a few steps forward.

  Just a little more. “Oh shit! No, just stand up. You’ll feel better if you stand up!” Pretending to try and lean the girl back up only brought an even more dramatic round of fake moaning and pre-vomit noises.

  “HEY!” Security guy finally walked towards them. “Go back in the bathroom, do not throw up back here!”

  “I can’t move, I’ll be sick if I move!” Natalie was playing her part beyond perfection, probably based on experience, while Maddie played the panicked friend.

  “Shit, shit, I’ll get you some water, and I’ll grab Tiffany! Just wait!” Stepping away from Natalie, the girl started to slide to her knees, the fake retching increasing in volume. Security guy tried to grab her arm and lift her as Maddie took a few steps back, but Natalie just shouted that she was going to be sick.

  “I’ve got a code four in the back hall by the women’s room.” He was speaking into something on his shirt, and he glanced over at her as she moved towards the doorway back to Runway’s dance floor, but as soon as he turned to face Natalie’s groaning form again she ran and darted under the curtain. With her heart pounding in her ears, Maddie steadied the fabric and then stepped away so he wouldn’t see her heels under the edge.

  She could still hear the soap opera style acting on the other side of the curtain, but the rush in her own veins was more powerful. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting in the backstage space, but then she saw the door to the small closet to her right ajar. Success! She’d made it to the mop.

  Thank you, Natalie.

  Maddie couldn’t stifle her smile as she wrapped her hand around it and pulled the mop towards her just like the security guy had. There was a distinct click of some kind of mechanism underneath it. Pushing it forward she felt another click, and with a slight movement to the left she heard the snap of a lock as the edges of a door were revealed.

  Bathed in pale purple light.

  She stepped inside fast, pulling the door closed behind her so he wouldn’t see it open if he returned. It was a stairwell, brightly lit in a pale purple glow from recessed lighting in the ceiling that led all the way down. Swallowing, Maddie walked down carefully, trying to get a peek of what awaited, but there was only another door.

  “This is it,” she whispered to herself, grabbing the handle. Preparing herself for whatever lay beyond she pushed it open and almost tripped as she stumbled into a large room. There were small lockers lining one wall from floor to ceiling, and another heavily muscled security guy sitting behind a tall desk.

  Oh. Fuck.

  Smiling with that I’m-supposed-to-be-here confidence, Maddie walked forward. The guy glanced up at her and arched an eyebrow. “Member or guest?”

  “Guest,” she answered smoothly, but inside new questions were firing to life.

  “Of?”

  “Hmm?” She asked as she fiddled with her purse to pull out her phone, trying to buy time.

  “Whose guest are you?”

  Shit, shit, shit. Her eyes roamed over the room, trying to memorize every inch of it, but there wasn’t much to see. There was a glass window on the left wall, just beyond some more lockers, that looked like a ticket window for a movie theater – and then there was yet another door. On the right wall was another door tucked by some lockers. The whole room seemed to glow with the same pale purple light of the stairwell, but there was nothing helpful. How the fuck was she supposed to get past this guy?

  “Miss?”

  The twin cameras aimed at her from the corners of the ceiling only made her heart pound harder as she struggled to think of an answer. There was so much security, whatever they were hiding underneath Runway had to be something huge. She had to get inside, had to come up with something that would make the guy let her through that door. He was looking agitated, her brain was whirling with possibilities, and then the stupidest possible response fell out of her mouth, “Jaxson.”

  “Mr. Davidson invited you.” The blatant doubt in the man’s voice made a chill rush down her spine, but she flashed her brightest smile and nodded.

  “Of course.”

  “What’s your name?” Security guy lifted a tablet and started tapping away at it, and then she heard the door behind her open and shut.

  Oh please don’t be the other security –

  “Evening, Daniel.” The silken voice was most definitely not the security guy from outside, this was someone much higher on the income scale. As she turned to look at him Maddie had to swallow hard, because this guy was incredibly good looking. He had the aristocratic smile and tailored suit of someone that came from money, and his warm brown hair was trimmed to perfection.

  “It’s Danny, Mr. Hathaway, and good evening.” Desk security guy, Danny, gave a brief smile, momentarily distracted from her trespass. “Get lost? You don’t usually come in from Runway.”

  There’s another entrance to this place? As she made a mental note of Mr. Sexy’s last name, the man laughed warmly and gave her a once-over that sent a thrum of heat across her skin. “I had the urge to people watch for a bit tonight, my coat is at the front. Now who’s this?”

  “Madeline.” She answered before Danny Security could speak and moved over to him, only to realize he towered over her by at least six inches. With a kind of old world elegance, he took her hand and leaned down to kiss her knuckles.

  “I’m Thomas, and I’m very glad to meet you, Madeline.” His voice did something funny to her inside, and she couldn’t tell if it was the slight growl he seemed to add to her name, or if it was the intensity of his hazel eyes. Either way for a brief moment the rest of the room seemed to fall away – that is, until security asshole interrupted them again.

  “She says she’s a guest, but I don’t have a Madeline on the list.”

  There was a spark of something behind Thomas’ gaze when he glanced back at her. “Why do you want to go inside?”

  With a delicate shrug, she decided to play flirtatiously coy, which was not difficult as gorgeous as he was in his dark gray suit and pale blue button-down looking like he might be one of Jaxson Davidson’s old modeling friends. “Curiosity.”

  “Just curious, or do you want to play?” His lips ticked up at the edge, a slight smile teasing his mouth, and she couldn’t help but grin back.

  Play? Holy shit, could it be illegal gambling? Jackpot!

  “Oh, I definitely want to play, Thomas.” Keeping the flirty confidence in her voice, she reveled in the brief flash of desire on his face.

  He laughed, squeezing her hand before he released it to pull his wallet and phone out of his pocket. “Are you planning to play with someone else, or are you looking to have someone play with you?”

  “Are you offering?”

  For a moment Maddie thought he was going to back down, or that she’d overstepped, and then she’d have no hope of getting inside, but then he shrugged. “I don’t have any other plans tonight, so I guess I am.”

  “She’s not on the list, Mr. Hathaway,” Daniel ‘Danny’ the security asshole chimed in and she wanted to throw something at him.

  “That’s fine, I’ll have her as my guest for the night.” Thomas walked the few steps over to the glass partition in the wall and pressed a button that resembled a doorbell beside it.

  “Of course, Mr. Hathaway.” The security guy gave her a long look, but she ignored him and stepped up beside her tall, gorgeous savior.
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br />   A young woman approached on the other side of the glass and slid the window aside. “Good evening, are you a member?”

  “Yes,” Thomas replied and opened his wallet.

  Maddie couldn’t stop smiling, because not only had she actually discovered a secret within Runway, she had also managed to get passage inside. The headline floated behind her eyes: Illegal Gambling beneath Runway. Which of the DC elite would she find caught in the act? The reporter inside her was positively salivating, but as a thank you to her white knight she’d leave him out of the article she’d write – as soon as she found out who exactly Thomas Hathaway was anyway. Trust fund aristo? Politician? Lobbyist?

  He handed over a plain white card, and for a moment nothing was visible on it, and then the lighting in the room changed. All of the normal lights went out, and the purple glow was all that was left, revealing a logo and text on the card.

  No way.

  ‘BLACK LIGHT’ was written in bold, all caps across the middle of the card, and underneath that was smaller text which simply showed ‘Member ID’ and then a series of numbers that she couldn’t memorize before the lights came back to the normal pale purple. A combination of the black lights tucked around the room with the recessed lighting.

  The girl tapped away at the tablet in front of her, and she smiled as she returned the card to him. “Mr. Hathaway, so nice to have you back. I see you have a guest this evening?”

  “I do, this is Madeline…”

  “O’Neill,” she filled in and blushed when she heard his quiet laugh.

  “A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” He winked at her and then turned back to the woman inside the window. “A one-night guest pass, please.”

  “Of course.” The girl gathered some pages together and attached them to a clipboard before offering them with a pen. “Madeline, please fill this out while I process the payment.”

  “Right.” She took it and stared down at the dense legal speak, swallowing as she recognized what seemed to be a pretty serious non-disclosure agreement. The Post would surely defend her if they took the story. That’s what they did when reporters exposed illegal activities, right?