Donut Be Shy (Men of Lakeview)

by F. G. Adams

  Donut Be Shy

  Men of Lakeview

  FG Adams

  Copyright © 2018 by FG Adams

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Editor: Julia Goda with Diamond in the Rough Editing

  Cover designer: Kristen Hope Mazzola

  Cover Model: Lauren Day

  Created with Vellum

  Acknowledgments

  First off, we want to thank you for reading Donut Be Shy. We hope you fall in love with Tanner and Amy as much as we did.

  The authors who participated in the Donut Collaboration, it was so much fun!

  FG’s Feisty Flock, thank you for your endless support!

  Kristen Hope Mazzola for a stellar job on the cover. It rocks! Love you big!!

  Julia Goda for an amazing job as always on the edit.

  Mikey and Heather with L Woods PR, you are beyond fabulous!

  Our betas: Mom, Lainey, Erin, and Whynter; thank you for all your valuable input!

  Lastly, our husbands for their love and support. We love you.

  FG Adams

  Amy Young runs The Purple PolkaDot bakery like a well-oiled machine and is not about to let anything or anyone stand in the way of her success—especially not the smug, oh-so-panty-dropping Tanner ‘Moose’ Mason. He thought she would succumb to his smooth Cajun charms at a snap of his delicious, enticing fingers, but Amy refuses to be another cupcake or his specialty for the day.

  Tanner Mason has met his match in Amy Young. After one night of ecstasy, he craves the beautiful albeit bashful pastry chef even more than her mouth-watering chocolate delicacies. He tasted the sugary sweetness she hides from others and won’t settle until Amy faces the fact that she belongs with him.

  A well-orchestrated encounter arranged by their friends knocks them out of the safe rut they’ve both been stuck in. Finally, Moose has the chance he’s been waiting for and starts his relentless pursuit. Anything goes. He's on a mission to once again have Amy in his arms, and this good ‘Ol’ Cajun Boy’ will stop at nothing to make her his own.

  This story is dedicated to our mother and all those Krispy Kreme hot signs lit up at midnight on Black Friday, the laughing that ensued, and the extra poundage in our hereditary hips. We love you!

  Contents

  Preface

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Caden’s Lucky Flame

  About the Author

  Also by FG Adams

  Preface

  Dear Reader,

  June 1st is National Donut Day. To celebrate this amazing dessert, a baker’s dozen of authors have come together to create thirteen new stories that are sugar-free and donut contain carbs!

  Each story is a complete standalone. They vary in theme and heat levels.

  We hope you enjoy the donut day collaboration and that we bring you a little something to help satisfy your sweet tooth. Please consider reviewing to help your authors. Enjoy!

  With love and sprinkles,

  Donut Day Authors

  Chapter One

  Tanner Mason

  “Have you lost your ever-loving mind, woman?”

  A mouth-watering pastry oozing with delicious cream drizzled with his childhood favorite chocolate landed on the table in front of him. She served the chocolate eclair up nicely on a pristine feminine doily alongside a steamy cup of black coffee and a triumphant smile. Amy Young, the only woman who starred in his bedroom fantasies.

  Looking down, he suppressed a budding grin. He had to give it to her. She was gutsy.

  Bring it on, baby doll. He was ready for their daily War of the Roses battle.

  “This isn’t even close to what I ordered. I wanted a chocolate D. O. N. U. T. You know, those small fried pieces of sweet dough normally in the shape of an O. Did you get that? Circular. Sweet. Chocolate. This is cylinder shaped and filled with white stuff,” Tanner gruffly spouted, pointing at the plate before him. His pointer dipped into the cream and traveled to his waiting tongue for a taste of the homemade delight. He wouldn’t admit to how well everything she made turned out—perfectly perfect—like her.

  Locking eyes with her, he groaned at the burst of flavors that hit his taste buds. Vanilla and honey. Damn, the woman was brilliant. The total package.

  Beauty and brains combined with the fact she could create masterpieces in the kitchen. Fucking fantastic.

  His eyebrow quirked, daring her for a rebuttal to their silly game.

  And he waited for it. Lines drawn. The longing she invoked stoked yet replenished the absence of her when they were apart.

  Tentacles from her light laughter wrapped around him, slowly caressing him and tantalizing him with the memory. For over a year his daily visits to The Purple PolkaDot had one purpose—to see her, Amy Young.

  “What do you mean? It’s exactly what you ordered, Moose.” Amy eyed him skeptically, enunciating his nickname. After a heartbeat, she winked at him, smiling sheepishly, and turned to leave the same way she’d come. Little she-devil.

  He watched her curvaceous hips sway back and forth as she sauntered behind the counter to help a waiting customer. Her sienna-colored ponytail swayed down the small of her back. Amy had a body made like a brick house but was soft in all the right places. An hourglass form full of unspoken promises he desperately wanted to unpack, time and time again.

  He observed her a moment longer while she busied herself taking orders from the other patrons. The woman’s beauty was beyond reproach. And the craziest part was, she didn’t even realize it. She attempted to conceal her womanly shape with those ridiculous aprons and larger than necessary shirts, but she failed to fool him. He had witnessed her outside these four walls, relaxed and unencumbered in all her glory. He had felt her soft skin. Every glorious inch of her satin body against his.

  She took his breath away. One night had left him wanting more. Her reserved persona didn’t deceive him. He had felt her wildness and smoldering passion up close and personal. She was a tigress in disguise.

  When Amy looked up and caught him looking, one corner of her mouth lifted as if daring him to admit she had ruined him for any other woman. Hell, he acted like a damn teenager when she was around. Tanner turned away to look at his breakfast.

  “Figures,” he mumbled under his breath as he turned to admire the finely crafted pastry made just for him. He had pursued her relentlessly after their night together, but no matter what he did, she cut him off quickly without rhyme or reason. He couldn’t figure her out. The woman was hot one minute and frigid as an iceberg the next.

  It was the same song and dance they had played since he’d walked into this fine establishment and realized he had found her. His mind drifted back to the first time they’d met.

  The crashing of the waves and the salty gulf air brought a sense of peace to his worn-out mind. The sun painted the sky in shades of brilliant shades of blue. He came to this deserted little piece of heaven on earth to clear his head. Somehow, he found himself remembering his last tour of duty, the one that left him wondering if he had done his best. There was also the fact that his buddy Calum had offered him a job policing the border of Texas. He wasn’t sure if he could leave Lakeview. But then again, what was holding him here?

  His buddies had finally settled down. Lukas had tied the
knot with Sage Blackwood. Who would have guessed the biggest playboy of the bunch would succumb to the fucking love bug? Tanner liked to think he’d played a small but vital part in them finally getting together. Jolly Green couldn’t stand anybody else near her. When he had danced so close with Sage at Oliver and Fallyn’s wedding, Lukas had almost lost his shit.

  “Good times,” he chuckled to himself as he imagined Lukas’ murderous expression.

  They were the reason he found himself sitting here staring out at the horizon. Sage had told him, if he ever needed a place of solitude, he could use her family beach house.

  As he closed his eyes tightly, his mind went there, back to where he was changed. Truth be told, he had fooled himself into believing he wasn’t affected.

  The peaceful village had avoided the conflict raging around it. A child just learning to walk followed his mother to the center of town, a rail thin hand clutching her torn garment. He watched from a distance in horror as she suddenly stopped and screamed for the child to run. But the child wouldn’t. The mother dropped on impact from a bullet to the center of her head. In slow motion, he ran. So damn fast he ran toward the child, but he wasn’t fast enough. He had been too far to begin with. He was ten yards away when the mine had exploded.

  A light touch on his shoulder startled Tanner into action. Automatically drawing from years of combat training or maybe the memories that had crept into the recess of his mind, he twisted the hand, flipped the body onto the sandy dune beside him, and straddled the flailing frame before he realized what he had done.

  When he focused, his breath caught at the beauty underneath him. His fist was poised to strike.

  “Please don’t…”—hurt me was implied in her hushed tone— “I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt. The sounds you were making… I thought you might need help. You seemed wounded and distressed.”

  The fading sunlight provided ample light as he locked eyes with her pleading pale green ones. The expression on his face must have given something away because she was no longer moving.

  Bringing his mouth to her forehead, he reverently placed a kiss, silently thanking her for understanding and not causing a scene. He had treated her roughly without cause. Then he released her, moving away to the position he was in before she’d come along. Bringing his knees up, he propped his elbows on them and leaned in, studying the pull and take of the tide.

  “Do you… What I mean to ask is…” She let out a breath and started again, calling on her missing confidence. “Would you like some company?”

  He drowned in her acceptance of his earlier reaction, but he couldn’t accept the offer.

  “Nah, thanks, darlin’. I’m gonna sit right here and wait for the evening sun to set. Just for future reference, you probably shouldn’t walk up on a stranger lost in thought and try to engage in conversation. Could be bad for your health.” He’d controlled himself at the last moment, but there were others out there who might not have the self-discipline he’d displayed.

  What was wrong with the woman? Didn’t she realize she could have been hurt? And where the hell had she come from?

  This was a private beach that belonged to the Blackwood family. She shouldn’t be here. Moments passed, and he was certain she would leave, but instead she saddled up beside him and took the sandy spot to his left. The brush of her thigh settled against his.

  “If you don’t mind, I believe I’ll watch it from here as well.”

  Turning, he studied her tempting profile. Even with her disheveled appearance, he sensed she wouldn’t be put off. Her boldness set him on fire. But first things first. “Why?”

  The corners of her mouth turned up, and her entire face lit with pleasure. The transformation pulled him in closer.

  “Because I don’t want to be alone right now, and I have a gut feeling you don’t need to be either.” She looked around at the small amount of sand she took up. “Besides, there’s plenty of room for the both of us, don’t ya think?”

  He shook his head in disbelief and offered his hand to her. “You are either fearless or crazy; I haven’t decided which one yet. I’m Tanner. Nice to meet ya…” He would play along, for now. Tanner was curious about this mysterious woman on the beach.

  She accepted his hand and smiled. “Starting over, are we? Alrighty, then. Likewise, Tanner. I’m Amy. Come here often?”

  He couldn’t help the laughter from escaping. Her dry humor was intoxicating. “As a matter of fact, I do. What about you? You do realize this is private property you’re trespassing on?”

  “I’m not trespassing, for crying out loud. Do you really believe little ol’ me could climb over that ten-foot retainer wall they have skirting the property? The answer would be a big fat heck, no. Sage told me I was welcome to come anytime I needed a breather from my hectic schedule.”

  Was she a doctor, too? “Doctor Sage Blackwood?”

  “The one and only. We met back in college our freshman year and just clicked from the start. She was the only person who encouraged me to follow my dream. If it weren’t for her, I would have followed in my older brother and sister’s the footsteps.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “A lawyer.” She shivered, hugging her arms closer to her body.

  “Are you cold?”

  “Nah-uh. I’m certain misery would have been a close companion if I had chosen the path they did. Glad I didn’t. I’m in a good place. Right where I belong. What about you?”

  “Long boring story I’m positive you don’t want to hear.”

  “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know, so tell me,” she gently encouraged. “Where do you call home, Tanner?”

  “More coffee?”

  His thoughts came to a screeching halt when Jessica stopped at his table to refill his cup. He nodded and continued to stare at the black liquid as she poured. He glanced around the coffee shop, in search of her, wrestling with the same question since their first encounter.

  Where do you call home, Tanner? Amy’s husky voice echoed in the recesses of his mind.

  Time wasn’t the answer. He had given her an ample amount of time and space to come to terms with it, that she belonged to him. It was time she realized he wasn’t going anywhere—without her by his side. Problem was… He had to convince her of the truth.

  Undeniably. Irrevocably, she is my home.

  Chapter Two

  Amy Young

  Amy glanced down at her shaking hands and gripped them tightly, scrunching the ends of her worn apron together. Why did she always get so nervous when he was around?

  He was here! Again.

  In her bakery. He had some nerve.

  He had been trying his best to get a reaction out of her. Since that night they had let go and got down and dirty.

  Damn him. Tanner had become a master at making her squirm.

  Her life was spinning out of control. Her trembling hands weren’t the only thing going haywire. Inside, she was a mess. Her heart was pounding ninety miles a minute, her palms were sweaty, and not from the room’s temperature, while little butterfly flutters continued to jump in her belly.

  Only because of him.

  The way he looked at her set her body on fire. It was a bit much. Even for someone like her who sweated over hot flames daily.

  Sure, she covered it up as best she could with smiles and jokes, but deep down, he affected her in more ways than she would like to give him credit for. If she was being truthful, she coveted the tiny moments they shared each morning.

  After their first encounter—one night that would go down in history as the most incredible sex she had ever had—she wouldn’t let him know how hard it was to stick to her resolve to keep Tanner ‘Moose’ Mason at arm’s length.

  Way far away from her.

  Because if he touched her… she would crumble like the crust topping on her famous sour cream pound cake and find herself another victim to his wandering ways. Once was enough to last her a lifetime. He didn’t play fair. She
was a goner for his touch, his deep rugged voice, and his sexy-as-hell handsome face. Just the thought of it sent shivers of pleasure she desperately wanted to partake in again throughout her body.

  But fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

  She had slipped up on their initial encounter when she’d met the ruggedly handsome Cajun hunk.

  Sage Blackwood, her college roommate, had visited her early that morning craving a blueberry scone, so she’d whipped up a batch just for her. While they were chatting, Amy mentioned needing to get away from Lakeview for an overnight trip. She needed a little break from the rut she had found herself in. Sage had offered the family beach house for the weekend, and Amy couldn’t resist the idea of sinking her toes in the sand for a few days.

  “Way down deep in the swamp where the sun don't ever shine in the heart of bayou country. Born and bred, cherie,” he sang, using a deep southern drawl.

  She couldn’t contain the giggle from launching out of her mouth. Gorgeous and funny. A highly wished-for combination for sure.

  “Are you normally so much? You could’ve just said Louisiana.”

  “But then I would have missed your smile.” He winked, flirting with her. “My friends call me Moose. I’m thinking it should’ve been gator or something more ferocious, but once my brother said it, the damn name stuck.”

  She stared into his golden-brown eyes, seeing so much more. The eyes are the mirror to the soul, her grandmother always told her, and Amy saw straight into this man. No blurry lines. He was black and white, straight forward. She liked to think she was a good judge of character. This man was one of a kind.