The Reward
By Jade A. Waters
What if the fantasy never had to stop?
It’s been a year since Dean Sova turned Maya Clery’s world inside out. There isn’t a secret fantasy that Maya and Dean haven’t explored—each one more tantalizing and mind-blowing than the last. But while their relationship may be stronger than ever, taking the next step pushes boundaries neither one of them is prepared to face.
Dean couldn’t care less about Maya’s background—all her choices made her the woman he wants to tie to his bed and never let go. But not even a Dom as strong as Dean can keep the past at bay. When a threat from Maya’s old life surfaces, she’ll have to choose once and for all: fight for freedom under Dean’s command, or lose the reward she’s worked so hard for—the chance to be happy with the man she loves.
Book three of Lessons in Control
This book is approximately 89,000 words
Carina Press acknowledges the editorial services of Rhonda Edits, LLC
Dear Reader,
I love the summer. I hoard most of my vacation for the summer months because I live near the ocean, so I like to spend my time at the beach, Jet Skiing, drinking frozen tropical drinks and, of course, reading. I always try to stockpile books I’m looking forward to for these lazy days. If you’re like me and you want to always make sure you have something great to read on vacation, I have some books you’ll want to check out!
Rhenna Morgan is back with her badass good guys of the Haven Brotherhood in Claim & Protect. Natalie’s only interest is in making a fresh start. She’s a woman with a plan and the plan doesn’t include a man with secrets, no matter how sexy he is. Trevor had no interest in settling down, but there’s something entirely too appealing about this woman he can’t stay away from. There’s only one thing to do—change his plans...and hers. Jump into this series now, or go back and read Rough & Tumble and Wild & Sweet—you’re going to want to read them all once you read one!
Readers loved male/male romance Off Base by Annabeth Albert, and now she’s got a new book in the Out of Uniform series. After a mission strands them in the jungle, two best friends and fellow SEALs must confront their long-buried passion for each other and decide if they have something worth fighting for back home. Buy On Point today.
Julie Hall is an unintentional corpse magnet who can find the dead. Three girls are still missing. The killer is still out there. And when the killer turns his sights toward her, even her growing relationship with the protective Agent Garrett may not be enough to save her. If you’re a mystery fan, you need to read A Grave Calling from Wendy Roberts, a book that made our entire acquisitions team say “I love it!”
Everyone gets a happy ending as Jade A. Waters brings her erotic romance trilogy to a sexy conclusion, following The Assignment and The Discipline. In The Reward, Maya Clery and Dean Sova’s passionate exploration has gotten as hot as their love has grown deep. But once they move in together, their dynamic is tested with dangerous connections to the distant past in a story of desire, empowerment and the strength only found in a lover’s arms.
Easygoing mechanic Bryan doesn’t believe in soul mates, much less dragons, but he’s confronted with both when rescue diver Deke comes into his life. When Deke shifts for him, Bryan decides he must be dead. After all, that’s much easier to believe than the truth. Let yourself be Seduced by the Tide along with Bryan and Deke in Sean Michael’s latest male/male erotic paranormal romance.
Speaking of erotic, have you picked up one of Brianna Hale’s naughty novellas yet? In her newest, Princess Brat, tantrums, tricks and insults won’t get Adrienne’s bodyguard off her back, and she’s about to find out what happens to bratty little girls who provoke a Dom—they get put over daddy’s knee. Looking for another novella to spice up your life? Little Dancer, Brianna’s debut erotic romance, will heat things up.
Kerry Adrienne returns to the world of the Shifter Wars with Taming the Lion. The battle between the lions and bears decimates Deep Creek, and one of the heirs to the lions’ throne is saved from death by a beautiful bear medic who’s torn between her allegiance to her den and her attraction and obligation to the wounded lion. Want to start at the beginning? Pick up Waking the Bear, available now.
Here at Carina Press, we love a good heist or caper romance, so we decided to publish Caught in the Act: A Jewel Heist Romance Anthology, containing three charming and seductive heist novellas. In “Hoodwinked Hearts” by Ainslie Paton, two thieves collide in a high-stakes dirty double cross that would be strictly business...except Cleve Jones and Aria Harp were childhood sweethearts before betrayal broke them. Can they steal each other’s hearts again?
The one thing reluctant debutante Anastasia Staffordshire wants most in the world is the diamond that bears her family’s name. Standing in her way is sexy head of security and lifelong crush Jake Hoffman. Her plans to seduce the diamond out from under him never included his dominant personality or her feelings getting in the way. “Rough Edges” by Emma Sinclair will capture your imagination.
And professional jewel thief Adam Patrick Henry and disgraced technology genius Jessica Hughes team up—temporarily—to foil a diamond-smuggling plot, but their sizzling attraction might be even more dangerous than the heist in “Strange Tango” by Michelle Dayton. Check out all three of these fun novellas in June.
Pick up one of our June releases—or check out our extensive backlist for a new favorite to fall in love with this summer.
As always, until next month, my fellow book lovers, here’s wishing you a wonderful month of books you love, remember and recommend.
Happy reading!
Angela James
Editorial Director, Carina Press
Dedication
For those who have supported and motivated all the way through.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Acknowledgments
Also by Jade A. Waters
About the Author
Chapter One
Five-inch stilettos, body-hugging black dress, hair and makeup at full glam, and glass of red wine in hand, I tilted back my head to the throb of the beat.
This was way too much fun—and the look on Selby’s face as she recognized the next tune was priceless.
“Oh, I love this song!” she shouted.
The deejay had switched seamlessly to a revved-up eighties track the two of us had overplayed in high school, and with the colored lights above flashing and flickering across the floor, we danced harder. My feet were killing me, my legs sore from how hard we’d gone at it over the last three hours, but it didn’t matter. Selby’s glossed lips brought out the fullness of her smile while she slipped her free hand into her blond waves and adjusted the Bride to Be! tiara on her head. I grabbed her fingers and tugged her in to dance with me. Donna and Beth, two of her three bridesmaids, clapped their hands together with laughter.
“So fun!” Selby said.
“I know! And in one week...” I said.
She squealed. “Alex and I will be married! Yay!”
“Yay!” I started to sp
in her around, and Selby handed Donna the sole cosmo she’d been nursing for over a half hour so she could wriggle more. Men had come up behind her dozens of times that night, but she was oblivious to it all. A traditional romantic through and through, and so in love with her groom-to-be, Selby wouldn’t fathom twirling with another man for a second.
That was why, when a man grabbed onto my other hand after a few more spins, Selby raised an eyebrow at his attempt to pull me away. I grinned as he led me off, shouting, “All good!” in her direction.
I’d played this game before.
While Selby turned back to her bridesmaids to keep dancing, this man—blond, strong, tall, with a sexy-ass pair of lips, I’d give him that—drew me closer. He tried to line my body with his, and he had that look on his face, the hungry one I used to seek out on the dance floor. How many times had I been swayed by that look, eager to explore something, anything, on some sort of sexual quest? How often had I tumbled into one of my many casual flings, happy and thriving, yet trying to fill a void I couldn’t fully understand?
Lucky me, I’d found the answer. In him.
Dean Sova.
Charming, handsome, dominant and fun, he was the boyfriend who’d drawn such naughty desires and adventures out of me in the seductive dynamic we shared. He’d compelled me into his arms over and over again—in love, in lust, in pure, ridiculous happiness. And right this moment, he was off at his own pre-wedding party, celebrating with the groom-to-be.
The man ran his hands up my back and bit his lip with a glance over my body. He was trying hard, his eyes glassy, his chest hot against mine. “Anyone ever tell you you’re gorgeous?”
I rolled my eyes and backed away to clear a small semblance of space between us. I didn’t mind dancing with someone else. I, at least, knew it wasn’t going anywhere, and as long as he wasn’t right up on me, it was harmless. I figured if he got too weird I could scoot away. Behind me, the ladies were laughing and having a grand time. The man swooped closer, and I kept an eye on him but smiled at the fun night. That wasn’t all that had me tilting back my head with joy, though. It was how obvious it was to me that my desires had changed. That once I’d craved anonymous contact with a man much like this one, and the charge of two sweaty bodies dancing close before heading somewhere dark or seedy for wild, risky sex. Maybe phone numbers would be exchanged; maybe it never progressed past the romp in the sheets. But I’d always lived free. Loved free.
Now, the things I pined for were vastly different. Even with one man in my life, I felt like I’d found everything I wanted. I was more at ease, more comfortable and more understood than I’d ever been.
That was the best kind of free.
“You single?”
I smirked at the man’s question with the thump of the music swirling around us. The sound was a steady pulse meant to drive up adrenaline and lust in a sweaty mash of bodies, movement and noise. The man grabbed my hand and set it on his hip, then took the other to rest it on his shoulder. I didn’t object, but I did say, “Nope. Not single.”
“Damn. Really? I don’t see a ring on your finger.” He inched his pelvis closer, and I stepped back to maintain the minimal distance between us as we shuffled about. He was hot, sure, what I would have gone for in a past life: bold, muscular and somewhat cocky with a promise of rough and wild, never mind the dark edges of a tattoo sneaking up his collarbone from beneath the unbuttoned top of his shirt.
But I remained unfazed. “Do I need a ring to not be single?”
He frowned and tried again. “Well, where is this man of yours? What’s he doing, letting a girl like you fend for herself?”
His smirk had me lifting my hands in a playful shimmy away. “That’s an excellent question! I’m off to go find out,” I lied. “Thanks for the dance!” I winked and left him behind to return to Selby.
“Creeper?” Selby asked.
“Nah. Just not for me.” I pointed toward the bathrooms on the far side of the club. “Bathroom.”
“Okay! Hey, it’s late, yeah?”
“A few past one or something? I haven’t looked.”
She kept bopping, but I made out the tiredness in her eyes. Selby’s teacher hours had to be kicking in. “I don’t have much more in me!”
“No worries, silly. We party till you’re toast. This is your night!”
She gripped me in a hug. “I love you. Do your thing. We’ll be here!”
“‘Kay!” Heading off, I weaved through the multitude of bodies, hips shaking and arms swaying, laughter and shouts tangling in with the groove. What I loved most about San Francisco clubs the hundreds of times I’d hit them in the last decade was the array of people one could see here. A mass of gyrating early twenty-somethings, most of them drunk off their asses and schmoozing like the world was about to end, occupied the bulk of the floor—but on occasion you’d find a group of businesspeople out to have a good time, that random older, intimate couple who’d opted for a night out or the former raver who’d kept his moves up into his seventies, spinning a neon light ball as he tripped about and brought laughter from those watching. The nightlife here was a scene, and having not been out in so long, I was enjoying it en route to the hallway that led to the bathroom.
Until I discovered fifteen or so other women in line.
Dammit. How clubs still had a single bathroom per gender, I’d never understand, but I shrugged and dug my cell phone out of my clutch. I had time to kill.
And I was amused after flicking on the screen. Dean had sent not one but six texts in the last two hours. He was Alex’s best man and in charge of a bachelor party that consisted of nothing but pub crawling, so I had a feeling my typically in-control Dean had cut loose and was on the buzzed side. Based on the progression of his texts, I was correct.
Hi, love. We’re having a good time. Hope you are too? Thinking of you, had come in first. By the third, a long one time-stamped twelve-fifteen, he was asking why we hadn’t insisted on a joint bachelor-bachelorette party, and bemoaning the fact that we wouldn’t see each other all week thanks to a wedding preparation schedule that’d booked me like mad until the rehearsal dinner.
I tilted my head with a sigh. I was the known drinker, but with the crew I’d gone out with tonight, I’d held back.
Unlike Dean, whose fourth text read, Had too much to drink. Why do you live so damn far away? Want to taste your sweet pussy tonight. That lifted me up, as did the next text. Can’t resist you. Come over, tonight, gorgeous. Need to feel you. Will make it worth your while. Promise...
A rush of warmth surged through my body at that prospect, lighting a fire in every cell in the manner that only Dean’s promises and temptations could. I fanned my face, picturing what he might have in mind.
Could this line move any slower?
I texted him back as I stepped up a meager one-person distance along the wall. Hey, handsome. You doing okay over there?
He texted back instantly. Hi! Am ok. How’s the club? I’ve had too much booze.
Uh-oh. We’re having fun. Where are you?
Home.
Already? Are you serious?
Yes. Caught a cab. Boys home safe. But now that I’m here all I can think of is how I want your skin. How much I want ou. He must have hit Send before finishing his note, because a second later he sent, Dammit. YOU. Clumsy fingers.
I grinned and typed, Sexy fingers. Could you even handle me as drunk as you are, Dean?
Ha ha. Yes. And I want your mouth.
I bit my lip. Yeah?
Yes. Come here. Want to be inside you. Feel you come around me...
Hello. Gulping, I peeked at the woman beside me in line, but my lunatic beam was lost on her. There was nothing like Dean’s tantalizing, provoking texts—except actually being with Dean. The urge to see him shot up my spine. It was an insatiable heat that had my fingers flying
over my phone keypad.
We’re going a little longer, and I need to make sure Selby gets home safe. But, maybe...
Fair. Then, please.
Very, very tempting.
Love you. Let me know.
I will. Love you too. XX
You ladies be safe. X
I tucked the phone away. I was three women back from the front of the line, and it was one-thirty in the morning. I considered my priorities. First, there was the dull ache of my bladder that needed to get resolved, ASAP. Second was the real top priority: enjoying the rest of Selby’s party.
But after that?
Possibly driving clear the hell out to Half Moon Bay.
It was rough. Really rough. But something told me it’d be worth it.
* * *
We partied until Selby could no longer stand. She’d finished her second drink, but having not been the dancing queen I was over the years, she’d struggled in her three-inch heels the whole walk back to our cars. With Donna and Beth carpooling together from their homes on the south end of Oakland, Selby had insisted I get on my way in spite of me being her ride.
“The girls can take me.”
“Totally!” Donna chimed.
“It’s no problem.” Selby hugged me and got in their car, her cheeks rosy while she said, “I’ll be working you to death tomorrow, anyway, maid of honor.”
“Ha. At your service!” We waved at one another before they took off, and then I trudged my wobbly, sore-footed way down the street to my own car for what would be an abbreviated forty-minute drive to Dean’s in the middle of the night. The second I pulled up his driveway, though, I knew I’d made the right choice. He had all the lights on inside, and he threw the door open before I reached it.
“Maya.” He met me on the stoop and grabbed onto my hands, his long, thick fingers lacing with mine. His lips turned up at the corner in that sexy half smile of his, emphasizing the scar way up at the top of his left cheek that broke the spread of his five o’clock shadow. Despite the porch light shining over us, the black sky heightened the darkness of his slate-gray eyes, which shimmered as he tugged me close. When his broad, muscular chest met mine in a tight smash, I breathed him in. There lingered a hint of a long night’s sweat and the fading scent of amber from his cologne, but I caught the delicious scent of him beneath it all—the masculine, strong smell of the man I loved.
The Reward Page 1
