Red Hot Candy (22 All-New Delicious Romance Books by Best-Selling Authors about Alpha Males, Billionaires, Cowboys, and More for Your Summer Reading) (Red Hot Boxed Sets)

by Dani Dundee

See KNOCKOUT at:

  Amazon

  ***

  What if the person who stole your heart wasn’t who you thought they were? When a young college student falls for her mysterious and domineering professor, the worlds she tried to keep separate collide.

  DANCE FOR ME

  (Forbidden Trilogy)

  See DANCE FOR ME at:

  Amazon

  About J.C. Valentine

  USA Today Bestselling author J.C. Valentine is the alter-ego of Author Brandi Salazar, whose enjoyment of tales of romance inspired her to branch out and create her own.

  She lives in the Northwest with her husband, their wild children, and far too many pets. Having graduated with honors, she holds a degree in English, which she hopes to use to pursue her dreams of becoming an editor. Brandi entertains a number of hobbies including reading and photography, but her first love is writing fiction-in all its forms.

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  Table of Contents

  Red Hot Candy

  Table of Contents

  The Things I Never Said by Jo Raven

  Perfectly Equipped by Lacey Silks

  Billionaires in Disguise: Rae, Kidnapped by Blair Babylon

  A Fan-TAB-Ulous Night by Olivia Rigal

  Take it Easy by Daisy Prescott

  Before Flesh by Sky Corgan

  Scorched into Submission by Daizie Draper

  Pandora's Box by Sarah M. Cradit

  Braving Love by SJ Mayer

  Always Enough by Molly McLain

  Mine In Dreams by Olivia Hardin

  Like Home by Mira Bailee

  Unshakeable by JC Valentine

  Yearning to Yield by Pavarti K Tyler

  First-Class Scoundrel by Liv Morris

  Mated in Bearfield by Jacqueline Sweet

  Le Moulin by JC Andrijeski

  Jesse's Girl by Alison Foster

  Dude by Gillian Cherry

  Biker Billionaire's Bitch by Layla Wilcox

  Swaying Fate by Irma Geddon

  Gender Studies 101 by Dani Dundee

  Disclaimers and Copyright Notices

  YEARNING TO YIELD

  by Pavarti K Tyler

  YEARNING TO YIELD

  by Pavarti K Tyler

  YEARNING TO YIELD © Pavarti K Tyler 2015

  High school reunions are lame. Unless your teenage crush turns out to have the same fetish as you. Yearning to Yield is a Sugar House Short Story.

  BACK TO THE FUTURE

  Delilah stands at the back of the high school auditorium and seriously reconsiders her decision to come here. Five years since graduation and unlike everyone else here, she doesn’t have an alma matter to boast about or a degree she could claim gives her some kind of grand future to look forward to. She works as an acolyte for a Dominatrix, despite her personal preference to submit. It works out though, she serves Caitrin dutifully. Can’t exactly tell anyone that. If word of her current employment status got back to her parents she’d never survive their disappointment.

  So she wilts at the back of the room, just like when she attended school here, and watches the crowd of people she’s known since elementary school mingle on the dance floor. They sit at tables with watered-down drinks and crappy finger food, laughing as they exchange stories and reminisce about good times she never participated in.

  She contemplates making a run for it before anyone notices she’s here. Coming in the first place had been a mistake.

  “Debbie Reynolds, is that you?” a gravelly voice says next to her.

  She turns to find Lucas Williams. She can tell it’s him because he has the same broad shoulders and shock of black tussled hair she remembers but his jaw is graced with the shadow of a beard. His dark blue eyes sparkle like they did in high school right before he set something on fire.

  “Oh, yeah. Hi.” She turns on the perfected smile her boss, Caitrin, taught her to use with clients. It invariably brought the men and women who came to The Sugar House to their knees. She watches Lucas as his eyes drop to her lips, probably unconsciously responding to the tricks of her trade.

  “I’m so glad there’s someone here I actually want to talk to.” He leans against the wall at the back of the room, just like they had done in gym class half a decade ago.

  “What do you mean? You’re friends with everyone here.”

  “They weren’t my friends. They just liked me because I could score them pot or give them the intel on the next show down at the warehouse.”

  She nods and runs her hands over the skintight sapphire dress she suddenly feels like she shouldn’t have worn. It was silly to try to look good, to dress up for tonight. All anyone would remember about her was the mousey-haired girl from band.

  “We weren’t exactly friends either, Lucas.”

  “Yeah, but you’re the only one who was nice to me just to be nice, not because you wanted something.”

  The unguarded honesty touched her. “It’s Delilah now, not Debbie. And if you feel that way why are you even here?”

  He shrugs and crosses his arms over his broad chest, making her realize just how much he really has grown up in the past five years. His biceps bulge at the seams of his dress shirt which is unbuttoned at the top and untucked. He looks delicious and comfortable, unlike the other guys here who dressed in suits and ties pulled tight like they’re trying to make some kind of statement.

  “I guess I was curious. And it’s close by so, you know, why not? Plus, free drinks.”

  “You aren’t drinking.”

  He takes another look at her. His eyes roam from her lips down her body, taking in the physique she’s sculpted over the past few years. “So what are you doing here if you have such a negative opinion of me for coming?”

  “Same I guess. It was time to visit my parents, and I haven’t seen any of these people for years so I was curious.”

  “It had nothing at all to do with you wanting to show off that body?” He quirked his lips appreciatively.

  “I didn’t say I didn’t have ulterior motives, but I was due for a visit to my parents,” she laughs and for the first time thinks maybe this reunion will be worth attending after all.

  “Lucas, Lucas, Lucas!” Dave Priestly walks up and reaches out a hand to Lucas without acknowledging Delilah’s presence. “You’re here! How’s my favorite drop out? I didn’t think you would make it! Since you missed graduation, I figured the reunion was off the table.”

  Dave pulls him into a man hug and claps a hand on his back. “Come on, man. We’re sitting over here catching up with everybody. Come tell us all about your last five years. You’re working down at Johnson’s auto, right?”

  “Managing it.” Lucas releases Dave and shifts his body so Delilah is included in the conversation.

  “Come sit with us at the table, man. I want to talk to you. I got this vintage Mustang I found on the side of the road for sale. I had it towed back to my place and I was wondering if you can restore it for me.”

  “Awesome,” Lucas nods and slaps the drunken ex-jock on the shoulder. “Head on over. I'll be right there.”

  When Dave leaves, Lucas turns back to Delilah with a sly look in his eyes. “I guess I have to go shoot the shit with those assholes and see if I can bring in any business. You know, every dollar’s a dollar I don’t have.”

  She nods, trying to keep the frown from taking over her face.

  He gives her that side smile again and tilts his head. “Will you still be here when I’m done? You’re not gonna leave while I’m stuck talking to a group of people I don't like? I’d much rather spend the evening talking to you.”

  She bows her head, enjoying the flattery. “Sure.”

  She has no intention of hanging out, watching him talk to other people while everyone in the room she does know continues to pretend they don’t recognize her.

  “You’re lying.” he says, his eyes narrowing. He didn’t step closer but his presence suddenly towers over her, taking up all th
e space in the room.

  Delilah feels his breath against her lips.

  “Don’t ever fucking lie to me.” He speaks so quietly, if she wasn’t straining and hoping to hear his voice she wouldn’t have heard him, but the tremble in her cunt told her he had in fact said exactly what she thought.

  “Yes, Sir.” she replies, eyes down.

  “I thought so,” he chuckles, sending his warm breath across her face.

  He steps back and digs into his pocket. He pulls out his keys and holds them out to her, letting the metal swing and fill the air with promise. “Take these. Go get my car. It’s the black SUV out front with a license plate that says RAGED. Get in the front passenger-side seat and wait for me. If you get cold, you can turn on the heat. I want you to sit still, don’t check your phone, just wait. I’ll be there when I can. If you don’t want to wait for me, just leave the keys on the front driver’s side tire, but I hope you will.”

  She holds her hand out and he drops the keys into her palm.

  “Good girl.”

  He walks away without waiting for her to speak and Delilah’s body tingles with anticipation. How did he know exactly what she needed to hear him say? How could he possibly have known how she longed to belong to someone, to be owned, possessed, adored? The din of the room swells around her, reminding her where they were.

  She tucks her hair behind her ear in an old gesture she hadn’t felt the need for since the last time she stood in this room. Then, she had been wishing Lucas would notice her as more than just someone to waste time with when no one cooler was around.

  She watches him walk towards what had once been the popular crowd. He strides across the room, confident and broad, not caring about the has-been cheerleaders who watch him with lust in their eyes or the pompous assholes who wish they had grown up to be him instead of junior marketing corporate tools.

  Once upon a time, they’d both been the ones who were judged by these people. He was a loser, worth only what he had to sell. And if anyone even noticed her, it was only in silent contempt. He had been the outcast, the outlaw and now he owns the room. And he wants her. His broad shoulders roll as he approaches the table where Dave and the other jocks sit wearing their ill-fitted suits.

  He sits without pretense and Delilah can hear his low voice rumbling in a laugh. The vibrations spread across her flesh.

  The keys in her hand offer a promise. His offer signaled that he wants her to make her own decision; an out is readily available if she’s not interested. But the desire to do as he said, to please him through obedience is strong. These days, her sexual adventures come exclusively through the BDSM clubs she frequents, but so far no one has proven to be worth more of her time than a night or two. While she enjoyed playing the role, none had inspired the need to perform the way Lucas did in only a short meeting.

  He trusts her enough to give her his keys with nothing but the memory of a girl from five years ago and instinct. She wants nothing more than to be worthy of that trust.

  She wraps her long fingers around the keys and starts across the great room. Balloons fly above tables in cheap mockeries of centerpieces and the lives of those pretending they have more than they do waft around her. She had longed to be one of them for so many years, spent sleepless nights crying over girls who didn’t even take enough notice to tease her and boys who only spoke to her in hushed whispers in the backs of cars, happy to have a quick grope when no one could see. They were never interested in speaking to her in the light of day.

  But tonight she’s going home with Lucas Williams.

  “Debbie? Debbie Reynolds? Is that you?” Delilah turns and finds Catherine, the only friend she had in high school. The woman looks exactly the same as the girl had five years ago. Her hair is pulled up in a tight bun instead of the pigtail braids she typically wore then, but other than that her face hadn’t changed. She’s still tall and skinny, with no shape to speak of. Catherine screamed academic.

  “Cathy!” Delilah embraces the girl and feels Catherine stiffen at the contact. While Delilah shouldn’t be surprised she can’t help the disappointment that the only friend she had in high school couldn’t muster a warm welcome. She wonders if it’s because of what she’s wearing or if somehow people know about what she does.

  Catherine pulls away but leaves her hands on Delilah’s biceps. “Well, you look different, don’t you?”

  Delilah blushes, feeling uncomfortable. Every night at The Sugar House, men and women compliment and want her body, but she still can’t accept it from real people.

  “Thanks. I guess I grew up.”

  Catherine runs a hand over her hair, smoothing the already tight bun against her scalp. “So where do you live now?”

  “Manhattan,” Delilah risks a look over to the table where Lucas’ laugh booms. She catches his eye and the corners of his lips turn down in frown. His stern expression takes her breath away and she sends a meek smile in his direction.

  Catherine follows her gaze. “Lucas Williams huh? He grew up pretty well, but talk about being stuck. He still lives in town, never did anything with himself. Not that surprising though, I guess. I wonder if he still deals.”

  “Still gossiping about things you know nothing about?”

  “Sharpen those claws before you came tonight?”

  “Just remembering why I left.” Delilah stares down into the muddy eyes of her long-ago friend. “I’m not really interested in being back.”

  She turns and leaves the gym, Cathy gaping after her.

  ***

  DRIVE

  Delilah steps outside into a night covered in stars. A moon so large that it overwhelms the sky makes her feel as if she could reach out and touch it. The streetlights shine dimly next to its brilliance.

  She walks around the parking lot, searching for Lucas’ car. She can’t believe she’s really considering doing this. It is insane behavior. She doesn’t know him, not really, but being near him relaxed her in a way she rarely feels around anyone.

  The men she met in the scene assumed her only interest in them related to sex. They varied in their tastes and interest in her as a person, but she hadn’t made a real connection with anyone. And since she’d begun working at The Sugar House, more and more of the men she met knew her in relation to her Dominatrix employer, Caitrin. Those men looked at her expecting a whole different kind of deviance than what she longs for: a man who adores her enough to hold her tightly in his grasp, freeing her to give him all of herself.

  The keys she clutches dig into her palm, the sting reminding her of what she’s doing. She should probably call her mom and let her know where she was going, just in case things ended badly. Going with Lucas meant leaving her car here. He’d demanded nothing of her, but in handing her his keys he’d asked for her trust.

  She relaxes her hand, letting the keys jingle. She wonders what they could tell her about the man who owned them. Five of them are looped together on a green carabiner. The fob for his car is the only electronic key, the others look like they would open a house or an office. Simple.

  She smiles and presses down on the lock button, listening for the beep of his car.

  At the end of the row, yellow lights flash on his SUV. He didn’t park closest to the building, nor did he park over two spots, protecting his paint job from the natural wear and tear of life like some kind of douche. She imagines him parking there, strolling up to the front doors casually, locking the doors behind him without looking back. Easy. Casual.

  She fingers his keys again, hesitating, still not sure if she’s actually going to get in the car as he’d told her to. Where would he take her? Does he have roommates or still live with his mother? Delilah knows nothing about him other than that an instant attraction had flared between them.

  She opens the passenger door and climbs in.

  When she had decided to come back to her small town for a high school reunion, it never occurred to her that she might meet someone. She’d seen it as an opportunity to relive some dream
s from her childhood, maybe see some old friends, although there weren’t many, and allow herself to acknowledge that she is no longer the person who attended school here. Now, instead of reconnecting with Catherine or showing off her newfound confidence and curves, she sits alone in the front seat of Lucas Williams’ SUV.

  She shivers and presses the start button. The car warms quickly and Delilah sinks back against the comfortable leather seats. She imagines the moment when Lucas arrives. Would he kiss her? Would he ignore her and simply take her wherever he had in mind for their night together? The thought of kneeling at his feet, or lying across his lap as he swatted her ass with the palm of his hand, leaving her red and stinging, sends shivers through her that have nothing to do with the now warm seat beneath her.

  The door opening on the driver’s side makes her jump. She whips her head to the sound and sees his strong features illuminated by the overhead light.

  “You’re here,” he states, climbing in.

  “You said to wait.” She passes over the keys and their fingers touch. His flesh feels warm and rough.

  “You could have left.”

  “I didn’t want to.”

  “Good.” Lucas shifts into drive and drops his hand to her thigh. Easy, natural. Like they’d been doing this together for years. Like their bodies fit together in the simplest ways.

  He drives out of the parking lot, onto the lonely roads of the small town. “I live in town. I plan on going straight there. But if that’s not what you want we can go get something to eat at the diner and I’ll bring you back to your car later.”

  “Your plan sounds fine.”

  “We don’t know each other yet, but by getting in this car tonight, you made my fucking night. This entire stupid exercise was worth it just to have you come home with me.” He turns onto the main road that leads into the center of town. Shops, long closed, line the street. “You don’t talk much.”