Red Hot and BOOM! A Sizzling Hot Collection of Stories from the Red Hot Authors

by Randi Alexander

  Before I can say anything, she gasps and backs away, putting her hands over her mouth in surprise. Her hands start to shake as tears well in her eyes. Suddenly, I feel a pang of worry she might say no.

  Keeping my son securely in my arms, I take the ring from his finger and kneel in front of the now-sobbing Libby.

  “Liberty Marie Dawson, I know what life is like without you, and I never, ever want to live like that again. You and baby Max mean the world to me, and words cannot express how in love I am with the both of you. Please, make me complete... make me whole. Will you marry me?”

  My son’s squeal as he lays perched in my arms is enough to make Libby laugh while tears still stream down her face.

  “Someone seems to think you should say yes,” I coax, giving Max a peck on his chubby little cheek.

  Before I know what’s happening, Libby kneels in front of me and grabs my face with both of her hands. Pressing a wet, chaste kiss to my lips, she nods, her voice catching in her throat for a few moments before she whispers, “Yes.”

  I can’t contain the huge-ass grin that is plastered on my face and the relief that courses through my system at the sound of one simple word. Yes. Yes, she’ll marry me.

  Placing the ring on her finger, I snake my arm around her torso and rise up off the floor, nearly tackling her with my excitement.

  Kissing her tears away, I say, “God, I love you.” Then I turn to the baby and add, “And I love you too, little dude.”

  His shriek in response seems to be born more from annoyance than joy, but I don’t care. There ain’t nothing that can bring me down now.

  “Since when do you carry a ring around with you?” Libby asks. Even though she phrases it as a joke, I can tell she’s seriously curious how long I’ve been planning this.

  “Ahh, I’ve had it for a few months now.”

  “Really? For me?” Her question was humorous because, really, who else would the ring be for?

  “Always for Liberty.”

  The End

  If you enjoyed For Liberty, you’ll love Liam and Maci’s story in Game Changer, book one in the Playing Games series. Release information can be found on Rene’s website at www.renefolsom/playing-games.

  Game Changer

  Maci strives for one thing in life—anonymity. With her writing career in full bloom, all she wants is to work in peace while concealing her true identity from the public. Though readers love the science fiction worlds she creates, Maci knows that gender stereotypes could damage her career if she is exposed as a woman.

  Liam is the envy of all gamers as the lead developer for nZone Studios. Over time, he builds walls around himself, keeping people at arm’s length who only gravitate to him for his material possessions rather than who he is as a person.

  With thick barriers around their hearts and their past looming in the shadows, Liam and Maci challenge each other by slowly peeling away their protective layers and seeing each other for who they really are. It doesn’t take long after their chance meeting at a coffee shop for them to become one another’s game changer.

  Note: This contemporary romance novel is the first book in the Playing Games series and contains adult situations meant for ages 18+. The prequel to this novel, The Wager, is an optional novella available at all major retailers and only meant to give a little extra back-story about the characters.

  Find out more on Rene’s website at http://renefolsom.com/gamechanger

  Thanks for Reading

  If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review where you purchased it. Also, join the popular crowd and take a moment to sign up for Rene’s newsletter in order to receive a FREE copy of Rene’s entire Soul Seers Series.

  www.renefolsom.com/newsletter

  Look up all of Rene’s other titles on her website at www.renefolsom.com.

  More Books by Rene

  Cornerstone Series

  Shuttered Affections (Cornerstone #1)

  Exposed Affections (Cornerstone #2)

  Playing Games Series

  The Wager: A Game Changer Companion Novella

  Game Changer (Playing Games #1)

  Game On (Playing Games #2)

  Roommate Romance Series

  Heart You

  Bind Me

  Share You

  Flatter Me

  Soul Seers Series

  Voices of the Soul (Soul Seers #1)

  Eyes of the Soul (Soul Seers #2)

  Truths of the Soul (Soul Seers #3)

  Blood of the Soul (Soul Seers #4)

  Secrets of the Soul (Soul Seers #5)

  Hearts of the Soul (Soul Seers #6)

  Twisted Wolf Tale Series

  Tempt: A Twisted Wolf Tale (Little Red Riding Hood)

  Trust: A Twisted Wolf Tale (Beauty and the Beast)

  Trapt: A Twisted Wolf Tale (Snow White)

  Favorite Things Series

  Favorite Things: Adventurous

  Favorite Things: Bound

  Favorite Things: Charming

  Standalones

  Every Thorn (A Romantic Thriller Short Story)

  Have My Heart (A Romantic Short Story)

  Red Hot Authors Collections

  For Liberty: A Red Hot and BOOM! Story

  Tempt: A Red Hot Treats Story

  Trapt: A Red Hot Cajun Nights Story

  Boxed Sets

  Soul Seers Boxed Set

  Roommate Romance Boxed Set

  Anthologies

  Paranormal Anthology with a Twist

  Stalkers: A Collection of Thriller Stories

  Stardust: A Futuristic Romance Collection

  All Our Love: A Collection of Stories that Speak to the Heart

  About Rene

  Rene Folsom, author of paranormal romance and erotica, lives in Florida with her husband and three kids. She has officially diagnosed herself with creative ADD and often has a million and one writing projects going at once. In addition to writing, she is also a graphic artist who enjoys creating custom book covers for indie authors. She is definitely an artist at heart and would love nothing more than to be elbow deep in clay during her waking hours.

  Rene believes that all fiction is based on some form of reality—otherwise we would never have the inspiration or knowledge to dream up the realistic situations we portray with our words. She is proud to say that her personal experiences have been inspirational, though perhaps not always identical to that of her fictional characters. Where reality and fantasy diverge, however, must remain her little secret...

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  Come with Me

  by Sable Hunter and Ryan O’Leary

  Prologue

  *****

  JAKE

  “You are one stubborn man, Caleb Knight.” Jake watched Doctor Percy Barnes shake his bony finger in his grandfather’s face. “You know selling me that land is the right thing to do. Your business is gone. Face it, you’ve lost. If you don’t sell, I’m on the board at the bank. And we’ll foreclose, I promise we will. And then you won’t have anything!”

  Jake felt his stomach tie itself into a knot, watching the face of his hero, his granddad, cloud over with doubt. He seemed about to give in. Selling what was left of their home place would kill him. Even though Jake was only twelve, he could tell the old man was going through hell. He knew the story.

  Time had passed but the wound was still as fresh as it had been the day his family had found out the lake was coming in. The Ebarb Community would be going underwater and the residents who’d lose their towns, their farms, their cemeteries, and their very livelihoods would only get pennies on the dollar for what they were sacrificing—an insult instead of a fair recompense. His folks had been luckier than most. Knight land had bordered what would become the very edge of the lake, leaving the family with some waterfront property which should have been worth a fortune. But the lakeshore wasn’t building up as fast as the investors thought it would, there was still controversy over the decis
ion to even build the huge reservoir with twelve hundred miles of shoreline. Caleb had taken everything he had and built Knight Marina and Fishing Guide Service on the Louisiana side. But it wasn’t prospering, mainly because Percy and his cronies were trying to squeeze them out.

  Jake hated the way the doctor was sneering at his grandfather. He hated the stories he’d heard of how the authorities had come to his grandfather’s place, which was now underwater, and forced him out at gunpoint, even taking bulldozers and pushing his house down so he couldn’t return to it—trying to stake his claim, stand up for his rights. The powerbrokers of the area had stolen his home, now they were going after his livelihood. Jake hated them. He hated this lake. Sorrow swept over him as he realized his little brother’s drowning, even his parents’ bitter divorce all stemmed from that damn lake and what it had stolen from them. He hated this town and he promised himself he’d leave this place the first chance he got.

  “Grandpa, let’s go.” In his childish mind, if they walked away from this evil man, they’d be walking away from the problem.

  “All right, son.” Caleb gave Doc Barnes one last glance. “I’m not going to just hand over my business and my life to you, Percy. You and this damn town have taken enough from me and my family. One day you’ll realize something, you rich blood-sucking tick, you’ll realize money is not the only measure of a man. My family is just as good as you are, and one day you’ll know it. If I don’t prove it to you, my grandson, Jake, will.”

  Jake didn’t know exactly what his grandfather meant, but his words stayed with him. Jake never forgot that day and he vowed to make Caleb Knight proud if it was the last thing he was ever able to do.

  *****

  LACY

  “Stephen, I don’t think we should get married.”

  Her fiancé rolled off of Lacy with a sneer on his face. “What the hell did you say?”

  Lacy jerked at his angry voice. She had struggled with this decision for weeks. Breaking up with Stephen Waters was not going to go over well with her family or his. They were neighbors, went to the same church—heck, their mothers were best friends. But Lacy knew in her heart she was making a huge mistake. Stephen didn’t love her. He rarely listened to her when she wanted to talk to him. He didn’t call to check on her when she went out of town on her job. Stephen didn’t even act like he cared if she arrived safely at her destination or not. Lacy was very afraid they were just slipping into a relationship that their parents wanted—not them.

  Lacy didn’t want a loveless relationship.

  She didn’t want a relationship without passion. Their sex life left a lot to be desired. Even Lacy, as innocent as she was, understood that. What they did together was fast, unsatisfying and a little bit embarrassing. If this was what intimacy was like, Lacy didn’t really see much use in it.

  “I don’t think we’re compatible, Stephen,” she answered timidly.

  “Not compatible?” He repeated, standing and whipping his robe up to cover his nakedness. “Do you realize how difficult it is to have sex with a woman who just lies there? You’re a cold fish! You’re frigid! I can barely get it up for you.”

  Mortification made Lacy go still. She felt her whole body heat up. Actually it was the first heat she’d felt in Stephen’s bed, but it wasn’t the right kind. “Then why are we getting married? I don’t suppose things will get better. Aren’t the first few months supposed to be the most exciting?”

  He didn’t answer. She pulled herself up in the bed and studied the man whose ring she wore. Truly, he didn’t even seem to like her very much, let alone desire her. “Stephen, talk to me.”

  He sighed, looking completely put out. “I don’t know why we’re getting married either. Habit, I guess. Our folks have been planning our wedding since we were twelve.”

  “So, you’re not attracted to me?” God, this was getting worse and worse.

  Stephen had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Yea, you’re pretty and all, but...we don’t seem to have any chemistry. I orgasm, but it’s too quick. You don’t do anything to make me last or make it exciting.”

  “So, it’s my fault?” Lacy didn’t know what to think.

  “Yea.” Stephen looked affronted that she’d even ask. “I get hard. I perform. You can’t even climax.” He stared at her with disdain. “There’s something wrong with you.”

  Lacy turned away, pulled her ring off and handed it to him. “Goodbye, Stephen.” The sooner she got out of his bed, out of Omaha—heck, out of Nebraska, the better off she’d be.

  “You need to work on that, Lacy. You need to learn how to be good in bed or no man is ever going to want you.”

  Chapter One

  “I need a man.” Lacy sighed as she headed toward the conference room where the three women who owned The Right One Dating Service were holding a meeting. They came to Willow Cove once or twice a month and sometimes stayed for several days. Lacy had worked out a deal with them to have the facilities they needed for about three hundred and fifty dollars a visit.

  As she pushed a cart carrying the power point projector they’d requested, Lacy let her mind wander to how dull her own social life had always been. More than once she’d considered signing up for online dating but Lacy was far too shy. After what she’d gone through with Stephen, she dreaded the day she tried to be intimate with a man again. But a girl had needs, right?

  “Here you go.” She pushed open the door and entered to find one of the girls, Trinity she believed it was, standing up in her chair trying to reach the top of the window to adjust the blinds. “Let me help you.” Lacy abandoned the cart and went to assist her before the chair slipped and she had to file an accident report. “If you turn this lever, the whole blind assembly moves.” She took care of the problem.

  “Thanks.” Trinity breathed a sigh of relief. “That afternoon sun reflecting off the lake was killing my eyes.”

  “You’re too sensitive, Trin. About everything.”

  “I need a pair of big sunglasses like you, Cody, and the light wouldn’t bother me. And an attitude.”

  Lacy glanced over at Cody, who didn’t seem to be offended by her partner’s comments but carefully adjusted the glasses and her hair, which covered part of her face. She seemed to be hiding behind them. But why would a beautiful lady like Cody be hiding?

  “Thank you so much for bringing the projector.” Marnie, the last of the trio came over to Lacy. “You’d better show me how to work this. My partners aren’t as technically gifted as I am.” Quickly Lacy ran through the instructions with the pretty brunette.

  Making people feel at home at Willow Cove was one of her main jobs as Event Coordinator, but it wasn’t hard with this group. The resort on Toledo Bend was a central location for them, so Lacy had helped entertain the women several times before. “Are you about ready to take your website live?”

  “We are.” Marnie smiled. “Did you see our new brochure?” She held up a glossy, colorful pamphlet. “Read this. If you want to sign up, we’ll give you a friend’s discount.” She winked at Lacy.

  From their previous conversations, Lacy knew they weren’t married nor even dating anyone consistently, so curiosity got the best of her. “Are you all going to try it out on yourself?” Lacy couldn’t help but ask as she accepted the paper.

  “No, not me,” Trinity answered, shaking her head. “I’m a born matchmaker but not for myself. I’ve sworn off men for the foreseeable future.”

  “You need to quit thinking about Crockett, Trin, and find someone who can really appreciate you.” When Cody glanced back at her friend to see how she took her comment, Lacy could see what looked to be a scar on Cody’s face. As if Cody could sense Lacy’s eyes, she immediately brought her hand up to cover the area.

  Trin didn’t answer, so Marnie jumped in, apparently trying to ease the tension in the air. “Cody’s been trolling online for a man for months. We think she’s caught something.” Marnie teased, throwing one of the brochures at her friend.

  “I hav
e not.” Cody was quick to answer. “You’re a fine one to talk. What’s going on with you and David anyway?”

  “Nothing!” Marnie responded in a flash. “Less than nothing. David is my neighbor, my landlord, nothing more.”

  Lacy didn’t know exactly what was going on, but the partners seemed to have more on their mind than business. But again, they were in the business of love which was the strangest business of all to Lacy, one she had next to no experience in and no prospects for the future. “Last time you were here, you said there was something unique about the dating community you are creating?”

  “Sit down with us?” Trinity invited. “We’ll explain.” As Lacy walked around the table to find a chair, she began to read. It was almost three in the afternoon, coffee time and she deserved a break. After all, she’d met with the grouchiest man in the world this morning. The brochure read...

  Are you happy? Are you with the one of your dreams?

  Wherever you are today, whatever your outlook on life, whoever you see when you look in the mirror—these things are a direct product of your past. The people in our lives and the circumstances of our days mold our future. And when we don’t like where we are, what we see or who we have become, it’s up to us to change it. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we have a date with destiny. But when we do, we still must have the courage to grab onto our happiness with both hands and never let it go.

  Let The Right One Dating Service help you find your happiness.

  The words reverberated in Lacy’s mind. Could she ever have the courage to do something like this?

  Cody poured herself a cup of coffee from the credenza next to the hall wall. “Our company encourages honesty from the start. We ask our clients to reveal their faults right along with their assets. Believe me, hiding behind a lie is something that never ends well.”

  “You need to quit beating yourself up about Hunter.” This time Marnie’s voice was gentle.

  Cody ignored her. Lacy looked around the room, wishing she saw these women more often. Something told her they could be good friends. “Honesty is hard. There are some secrets which could drive a man away before he has a chance to notice the good things,” Lacy said softly, as if speaking to herself. In her case, what good things? She could just imagine her profile. It would read: Lacy Allen; average looking, boring, inexperienced—and, oh yeah, frigid. Her self-assessment made Lacy smile, even if it was sad.