by J. S. Scott
With Harriet on one arm and Carolyn on the other, the three women exited the kitchen and silence filled the space.
Grace slipped her arms around his waist. “This is the best Christmas I’ve had in decades.”
“For me, too.” He combed his fingers through her hair, something that had become a familiar, soothing gesture. “Ready to open?”
She exhaled, feeling guilty she hadn’t gotten him anything. But she hadn’t had any time. Still as she picked up the box, small and square, a giddy excitement bubbled in her chest.
She tugged one end of the red bow, and slid the ribbon off, then darted a look at his face before she lifted the top. He was smiling, but tense. A little edgy.
Lifting one brow, she lifted the top. Three keys lay on a bed of cotton. Two looked like standard house keys and one was a decorative, old fashioned key that looked like a true antique. And there was a heart at the top of the finger hold.
She smiled up at him. “Okay...” she drew out the word. “Am I supposed to guess?”
“That might take a while, and...yeah,” he said, his nervous excitement growing. “I can’t wait that long. Pick a key and I’ll tell you what it’s for.”
She set the box down, deliberated on the different keys and finally picked up the simple silver key on the right, holding it up to him.
“Good start,” he said. “So, remember when I told you I made a deal with Dean to remodel the back room at the club?”
She lifted her brows. “Yes.”
He cleared his throat. “Well, I traded the cost of my labor for a year lease of the space. The studio is your very own, to use as you choose—for girls at the club, for other dancers to come take lessons, or having your cheerleaders come there. Hell, you can teach pole-dancing fitness to Alzheimer’s patients if you want.”
That visual made Grace bust out laughing.
“And...” he said, “The payment the girls at Allure make to Dean for your house mom services now, will come straight to you without any cut for a middleman starting January first.”
Her mouth hung open. Her heart filled. Her narrow view of the future opened into a vast array of possibilities. “How did you get him to agree to that?”
“Baby, the man knows you’re bringing in clients and money for him hand over fist. Once I convinced him to let me do the renovation instead of giving the job to his alcoholic brother-in-law, the rest was cake.”
She stared down at the key. “My own studio?”
“Your very own.”
Her heart swelled with more joy than she knew what to do with, and she simply threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging tight. Josh rocked back at the force of her hug and laughed.
“That’s the most perfect gift I’ve ever gotten in my whole life.” She pulled back, cupped his face and kissed him. “I love you so much.”
“I love you more.” He’d stolen her line, and now they shared it. “Pick another one.”
Now, overwhelmed, she turned to the box again. This time she picked up the simple gold key on the left, turned it over and over between her fingers, took a breath and held it up.
He licked his lips, cleared his throat again and shifted on his feet. “Okay, so...remember when I found out you were living in that bad part of town and I was angry that you didn’t call me for help? Well,” he went on without waiting for her to answer, “that was because I never sold my townhome near yours and Beck’s.”
“What?”
He shrugged. “The market was down last year, so I held onto it and I’ve been renting it out. The couple who’d been living there moved out two months ago and I’ve been meaning to get down here and do a few fixes, talk to someone about putting it on the market again, but work’s been pulling me in every direction and I haven’t had the time.”
A shadow of unease pushed her hand toward him. “I can’t take that, and I can’t afford—“
He pressed his fingers to her lips. “I’m not giving it to you. At least, not just you.” He slid his fingers along her lips and leaned in to kiss her. “I want you to live there with me.”
She didn’t understand what he was saying. “But...you don’t live there.”
“I do now. There is no way in hell I’m going back to LA. I’m not going anywhere without you, and I know Carolyn belongs right where she is.”
“But your work—“
“Can be done anywhere. Yes, I will need to travel. Yes, I may be gone for a few days at a time, occasionally a week, but I’ve already decided I’m not leaving, Grace, and I want you with me.”
She curled her fingers around the key and pulled it to her chest. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“You don’t want to just, I don’t know, date for a while and see how it goes first?”
He laughed, head thrown back. “Baby, I know everything I need to know. And I know I don’t want to be without you one minute longer than I have to.”
“Oh, wow...” she breathed, wide-eyed and choking on emotion. “I’ve never...I don’t...”
He cupped her face and the nerves returned to his eyes. “I love you, Grace. Please say yes.”
He had a way of wiping out all her reservations. “Yes.”
He kissed her and wrapped her in his arms, whispering, “That’s the best present you could give me.”
When he released her again, she picked up the last key and studied it, her memories sliding back to those days of team get-togethers and family visits. “This looks like one of the keys you had mounted in that shadow box hanging your kitchen.”
“Good memory.”
“Your grandmother’s...or something?”
He nodded.
“This was the key that started her collection. My grandfather gave it to her the day he told her he loved her, explaining it was the key to his heart. And I’m giving it to you as the key to mine.”
She couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. They spilled over her lashes and tickled her cheeks. Josh pulled something from his pocket, and took the key from her. He threaded an antiqued silver chain thought the heart, moved behind her and fastened it around her neck. The key fell directly against her heart.
He turned her in his arms and traced one finger down the chain with a soft smile. “Perfect.”
“I couldn’t love you any more than I do right now, Josh Marx.” Grace linked her arms around his neck, and pressed her forehead to his. “I promise to take very good care of your heart.” She kissed him gently, then whispered, “And that’s no rumor.”
The End
Excerpt From Reckless, Book 1 of Renegade Series
Lexi bit her lip. Seriously, could she let this guy go? Maybe he was full of shit, but there was only one way to find out. Only, she sure couldn’t just get up and walk over to him right now.
She glanced over her shoulder toward the two reporters still sitting a row away, chatting. Lexi wondered if they were both on the flight. Wondered where they would sit. Wondered how she might get around them and to Jax without them seeing her…and him…together.
Then wondered what in the hell she was thinking.
Her phone vibrated.
JAX: Would you feel better if you told me what you looked like? Why don’t you give me a little visual, you know, something to fantasize with. Blonde, brunette, redhead?
She didn’t answer right away, but it couldn’t hurt to see how he reacted to someone less than perfect.
LEXI: Blonde.
JAX: Refreshing. Hair long, medium or short?
LEXI: Long.
JAX: Nice. Natural or bottle?
Lexi chuckled.
LEXI: If I had a ruler, I’d smack your hand for asking.
JAX: I’d probably like that. Over or under 5’5”?
LEXI: Over.
JAX: Over or under 5’9”?
LEXI: Under.
JAX: Perfect. Measurements?
LEXI: Not unless you’re interested in sharing yours.
JAX: 46 re
gular, 32x34 Levis, 12 shoe. Your turn.
LEXI: Not as perfect as yours.
He was the exact sizes she would have guesstimated.
JAX: Perfect is a matter of opinion. Though I’m glad I fall in your favorable category.
Lexi hesitated, sighed. Nothing was going to come of this. Another reason to lie.
LEXI: 34-28-34
JAX: Hot. Cup size?
Lexi strangled a laugh.
LEXI: Penis size?
JAX: I’m assuming you mean erect. 9” length, 2¾” diameter, which corresponds to 8½” girth. Cup size?
Lexi made a sound in her throat. She was good with measurements—centimeters, inches, yards… But she still had to form the sizes with her hands to get the full effect. And, boy, did her body get the full effect. Her sex clenched around a shot of fire.
LEXI: You’re so lying.
Across the space Jax’s laughter reached her ears with and Lexi’s mouth curved in a frustrated smile. She liked making him laugh. Loved the sound of it.
JAX: I’d love the opportunity to let you verify through experience.
Her mouth was watering.
LEXI: I think I’m running a fever.
More of Jax’s laughter drifted through Lexi’s body. The sound twined with the sensations his words created in the strangest and most unique sensual experience.
JAX: Whatever you’ve got is spreading to me, baby. I’ve got to take this jacket off. If you come over I’ll give it to you—to keep.
LEXI: Oh my God. You’re such a tease. That is a wicked ploy.
JAX: I’m a lot of things, but a tease is definitely not one of them. If you come talk to me until we board, it’s yours. Scouts honor.
Lexi’s heart was pounding. Her chest felt tight. Her sex felt tight. Her skin felt tight. She wanted Jax to stretch everything out. She licked her dry lips.
LEXI: You were never a scout.
JAX: I was. For a week. Until my father realized he couldn’t just take me and drop me, that he had to participate.
Lexi winced. Her heart tugged.
LEXI: Ouch.
JAX: I’m over it. Really. Come try on your new jacket. I bet you’ll look good enough to eat alive.
LEXI: Moan.
JAX: Oh, baby, I’d like to hear that in person.
Lexi shook her head and murmured, “This is crazy.”
LEXI: Jax, this is crazy. You don’t even know me.
JAX: And I already like you.
Lexi couldn’t remember the last time a guy had gotten her so hot. This was beyond bizarre. She shifted in her seat, rubbing her thighs together to ease the ache that had been growing since she’d seen him at the truck.
LEXI: Right now? Right off your back? All warm from your body, smelling of leather and…you?
JAX: Yep. No strings.
LEXI: I’d sleep in it naked. Roll around under the covers with it held to my nose, breathing you in.
JAX: Whoa. Serious heat wave. Sweetheart, don’t make me embarrass myself in public. Do you even realize how sexy you are?
No, she didn’t. Not until she was saying these naughty things to a hot stranger.
LEXI: You make me feel all kinds of sexy.
JAX: There’s so much more where that came from, that I can promise you. And it starts here.
In her peripheral vision, she saw Jax push to his feet. Fear launched a rocket up Lexi’s chest. She’d been discovered.
But Jax didn’t come toward her. He didn’t even look at her. He set his phone down on the chair. And started taking off his jacket. But his movements were slow and exaggerated. He was giving her a show of what she could have if she’d only reach out and grab him.
He shrugged the jacket off wide shoulders and the leather slid down buffed arms. He wore a plain gray T-shirt underneath, the same dark color as the truck he’d been standing beside earlier. The muscles of his shoulders and back played underneath, rolling and stretching and making Lexi’s throat go dry. Thick, tanned biceps and forearms stretched beneath the sleeve hem, a black tattoo snaking over his skin.
Lexi wet her lips with her tongue and clenched her hands on the arms of her chair. His wide shoulders tapered to muscular waist and hips. She’d already seen his long legs, but now, with his upper body exposed, she could see just how perfectly he was put together.
Lexi’s desire overtook her entire body. The majority of red-hot coals sat low in her pelvis, but radiated heat between her legs, down her thighs, up her torso. The want throbbed through her sex with every beat of her heart.
With the jacket held out to his side, hanging on his index finger, Jax turned a slow circle, giving her a full view of just what she’d get if she gave in. By the time he laid it over the arm of the chair next to his and sat back down, Lexi was sweating and weak.
He sat forward, pressed his elbows to his knees and tapped on his phone’s screen.
Lexi took a moment to catch her breath, wet her throat and still her dizzy head.
JAX: It won’t stay warm forever.
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Off Season
By Sawyer Bennett
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2014 by Sawyer Bennett
Published by Big Dog Books
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.
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Acknowledgments
This one is for Rose Holub… for everything you do to help make my work beautiful. Many hugs!!!
Prologue
Cady
December 24, 2014
Have you ever thought about doing something that was just plain crazy? And although you may have had some fleeting doubts, deep down… right inside the middle of your gut… you know it’s the right thing to do?
You know that if you just have the fortitude to make that decision, put your fears aside and really go for it… it could represent that one thing in life that will make you happier than anything else will. It will bring you what you desire most and even the things you are actually sacrificing to get it will pale in comparison.
So yes… I’m really thinking about doing something that is wild and completely out of my comfort zone.
Many say that Christmas is a time for miracles.
This year, I say Christmas is a time for some crazy.
Chapter One
Cady
August
Four months earlier…
I bolt straight up in bed, the sheets clutched to my chest. Panic fills me as I take in the bright sunlight filtering in through the windows. I turn my head slowly, dread filling me as I make eye contact with the alarm clock beside the bed.
10:03 AM.
Phew! My heartbeat settles down immediately as I realize I haven’t missed my flight back home, which is scheduled for late afternoon. And while the panicked feeling has been immediately eased, I take stock of the fact that my head is pounding, courtesy of a hangover I fully expected to have. Grimacing, I swing my legs to the side of the bed, intent on searching my purse for the bottle of Excedrin I know will assuage my suffering.
My body freezes when I feel a hand snake around my waist. A large hand. Rough… yes, I feel the calluses scraping against my skin, and the
n I’m pulled backward into a hard body.
For a split moment, my mind is blank, and I search in vain to remember why there is someone else in this bed with me.
Then it all comes back in a rush.
Zane.
Sexy as hell, professional hockey player… Zane Kavanaugh.
I groan loudly as the back of my naked body connects with his front… hot skin, the scrape of his chin on my shoulder, and a very stiff erection poking me in the backside.
“Where are you going?” he asks, his voice all rough and raspy.
I take a deep breath in and let it out slowly, but it does nothing to relax me. My body is stiff and unyielding in his embrace. “Just to get some headache medicine. I think I drank one too many last night.”
Zane chuckles and plants a soft kiss on my shoulder, then follows it up with a nip of his teeth, which causes a jolt of pleasure to spark through my body and I melt back into him. “I thought you said there’d be no regrets,” he murmurs near my ear. “Your voice is sounding regretful.”
Sighing, my hand comes up to rest over the arm wrapped around my waist. “You’re right. We agreed… no regrets.”
But damn, I regret every bit of it as I lay here in bed with a practical stranger who will officially become my first one-night stand ever.
But oh God… what a night. It may be a one-night stand, but it certainly wasn’t a one-orgasm night. I may have started off partially inebriated when his lips first touched mine, but I sobered up quickly when we had our clothes off and were rolling around naked on my bed.
No… correction… not my bed.
Linc and Ever’s bed. Their guest bed to be precise and I groan out loud again.
“What’s wrong now?” Zane asks softly as he moves his arm from around my waist, only to caress his hand over my hip.
Turning abruptly in the bed, I face Zane to tell him exactly why I just groaned, but my thoughts scatter when my eyes lock onto his. How is it possible I forgot how insanely gorgeous he is? It’s the eyes… bright green, flashing with heat and intelligence, and a bit of a cocky attitude. Full, generous lips, a surprisingly straight nose given the nature of his work, and golden blond hair that’s unfashionably long and unruly. Oh, and let’s not forget… a body that was built by the gods themselves.
