by Serena Grey
Wild Sexy Love
Wild Sexy Series #4
Serena Grey
Sweet Acacia Press LLC
Contents
Wild Sexy Love
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
About Serena Grey
Books by Serena Grey
Wild Sexy Love
Does love truly conquer all?
* * *
When Daphne surrenders her heart and lets go of her fears, she doesn't expect they will return to haunt her in the form of a shocking revelation about the man she loves.
* * *
Jason promised Daphne he would always be there for her, but what happens when a mystery from the past threatens their love? Will he be able to keep his promise?
* * *
This is the final installment of Serena Grey's Wild Sexy Series. The first three books in the series are Wild Sexy Thing, Wild Sexy Fix, and Wild Sexy Hurt.
* * *
If you like hot men, steamy scenes and panty-melting heat, get on this Wild Sexy Series for the ride of your life.
Chapter One
For at least one full minute, I was too stunned to say a word. I hadn’t considered that Jason’s mother might be crazy. Now, even though she didn’t look like she was insane, I had to admit that it was a possibility.
“What on earth are you talking about?” I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice. Somewhere inside, I still hoped there was a chance she and Jason would have some sort of relationship, but with a bizarre proclamation like the one she’d just made, she wasn’t making it easy.
She gave me a measured look. Nothing in her demeanor struck me as crazy. “Of course you don’t want to believe me, er—”
“Daphne.”
“Daphne. Of course you don’t want to believe me, but you should, and you should walk away from him now while you still can.”
“This is ridiculous.” I rose to my feet, unsure I wanted to hear any more. “I thought you wanted to be a part of Jason’s life because you still cared about him, but this…this is crazy.”
Her look was scornful. “You think I don’t care about him? I’m his mother.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think you know what that word means.”
“You have—”
“What is she doing here?” Jason’s voice was like the crack of a whip. He strode into the waiting area, his eyes flashing daggers, while Vince, the doorman, hovered at the entrance looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.
Jason’s mother stopped mid-sentence then rose to her feet, turning to face him. He stopped walking, and for a moment he just looked at her. A shadow of pain crossed his features, but only for a brief moment, and then his face was expressionless.
“What are you doing here?”
“Jason.” She took a step toward him then stopped. “I need to talk to you.”
“No, you don’t.” He whipped out his phone and held it to his ear. “Reception,” he said curtly then ended the call and faced his mother. “You’re leaving,” he snapped. “Now.”
“Really? Is this how you treat your—”
“My what, Sarah?” His voice was so caustic I actually flinched. “My what?”
Leonard entered the room, walking past the doorman, and Jason tore his blazing gaze from his mother’s. “Get her on a plane,” he ordered, his voice flat. To Vince, he added, “She’s not welcome here. Do you understand?”
Vince nodded and slinked away.
“Jason.” Sarah’s voice held a pleading note, but he ignored her and held out a hand to me. “Come on, Daphne.”
Up to that moment, he hadn’t even seemed like he registered my presence. I wanted to go with him, to forget she’d ever been here, but I’d seen his face…seen the pain there.
He needed to work through his feelings, and I didn’t think a conversation would hurt.
“Jason…” I started in a soothing tone. “She doesn’t have to leave right now.”
Something like betrayal flared in his eyes. His hand was still extended toward me. “Are you coming?” His voice was sharp.
I put my hand in his, and his fingers closed around mine, almost too tight, almost as if he needed the contact to keep himself together.
I can’t imagine there’s a subject that hurts Jason more than that of his mother.
She said his name one last time as we walked away, but Jason’s stride didn’t slow. I turned back to see Leonard take her arm gently and start to lead her away.
Jason didn’t stop until we were in the elevator. As the doors shut, he closed his eyes, and his body almost seemed to sag as he exhaled.
I rubbed a soothing hand over his arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah…I just…” He shook his head and looked at me, searching my face with his beautiful gray eyes. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I understand. I know why you’re angry. I don’t blame you.”
“You look shaken,” he said, searching my face. “I wish you hadn’t gone to talk to her.”
The doors slid open before I could respond. We entered his apartment, and he stalked across the living room, still in the grip of a combination of emotions I couldn’t decipher.
I’m going to kill him, and he’s going to break your heart and kill any children you’ll ever have.
What had she meant?
Did she have plans to harm him somehow? And if she didn’t, if she was just going crazy, wouldn’t it be better to find some sort of care for her instead of just sending her away?
“She was here,” I said. “I didn’t think it was fair to keep her waiting and then just send her away.”
“Fair?” He stopped pacing and let out a scornful laugh. “Daphne, we’ve been over this.”
“I know, babe.” I went over to him and put my arms around him. He sighed deeply. “Don’t you even want to know what she wants?” I urged, my voice soft.
“No.” He shook his head, relaxing in my arms. “No,” he repeated, more softly this time, as if he was trying to convince himself.
I swallowed. Evidently, this topic was a hard one for him, and if he wasn’t ready to resolve it yet, I had no right to force him to.
“We have happier things to talk about,” I reminded him, turning my face up to his.
He smiled, and the transformation of his features soothed me deep inside. “Amy called me.”
“It was beautiful,” I told him. “And I have a video. Wanna see?”
“Of course.” We went over to the couch as I brought up the video on my phone.
“My parents will be thrilled,” Jason said. “They love Colin.”
“Who doesn’t? He’s sweet.”
Jason drew me down onto his lap and nuzzled my neck, sending tingles down to my toes. “Am I sweet too?”
I giggled and rolled my eyes. “No, you’re not.”
“I’m hurt.” He took the phone from me and stretched out his arm so we could both watch as Amy said yes to Colin. When the video ended, he kissed the top of my hair.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I know.”
He raised an eyebrow at me, a teasing smile dancing on his lips. “Okay.”
“And I love you too.”
He chuckled. “I was about to go cry in the shower.”
“No, you weren’t.” I laughed. “You know I’m crazy about you.”
He was silent, and I stroked his face. His perfection still gave me butterflies sometimes, like now. I drew my thumb slowly across his lower lip. “I
love you, Jason Wild,” I whispered. “I love you so much.”
His chest rose. “You are everything to me.”
I closed my eyes. Nothing else mattered—not his mother, not her words, nothing, just the love I felt for him and the love he felt for me.
Chapter Two
“The famous…or perhaps infamous Mr. Wild.” Candace gave Jason a chastising look, lips pursed and eyebrows raised.
“Just Jason is fine,” he replied, his lips curved in an amused smile. He looked casual and spectacular in a long-sleeved gray V-neck, his long, lean legs clad in black pants. “It’s great to meet you at last, Candace. Daphne has told me wonderful things about you.”
“Hmm,” she scoffed, but she was smiling. “He’s a charmer,” she said to me.
“I’m helplessly charmed.” I laughed. There were people all around her apartment, a vastly different scene from the last time I was there when I’d been crying my eyes out over Jason. I’d forgotten all that, but Candace wasn’t as eager to let it go.
“Daphne is a great girl,” she told Jason. “You take care of her, okay?”
He nodded and met my eyes. “Like my life depends on it.”
I swallowed, melting sweetly under his tender gaze. Reluctantly, I tore my eyes away from his. “Where’s Janice?” I asked.
“Somewhere around,” Candace said. “She’s reading tonight, so her nervous artist persona is out in full force.” She laughed fondly. “Let me get you two some drinks.”
“I’ll come.”
In the attached dining room, boxes filled with ice and wine coolers sat on the sturdy dining table. I grabbed two chilled bottles.
“He can’t take his eyes off you,” Candace said, sneaking a glance at Jason. “I think I’m leaning toward believing he deserves you.”
“Leaning? Really?” I smirked. “He’s a great guy, he loves me, and I’m crazy about him.”
“Well obviously you’re crazy about him—you’re floating on some planet above nine.”
I sighed. “You don’t have to keep worrying about me, Candace. What happened before…it was all a big misunderstanding.”
She nodded and started to say something but stopped when Janice appeared at the front of the living room, standing on a makeshift platform that had been placed in front of the TV to create a stage. She looked stunning, as usual.
“Hey, everyone. Okay. Today we’re starting with a song from my very dear friend, Gary Andrews.” She gestured at a burly guy in a white t-shirt and jeans, and he walked up to her, a guitar in his hand.
“I’d better get back to Jason,” I told Candace.
She waved me off, her eyes fixed on Janice.
“Hey, sexy.” I smiled coyly when I reached where he was standing. “Care for a drink…and some company?”
He chuckled. “I don’t mind the drink, but I’m waiting on my girlfriend and trying to listen to Gary Andrews here. I don’t want to be distracted.”
“Are you calling me distracting?” I whispered as Gary played a few chords on his guitar.
Jason grabbed my waist and pulled me to him, my back to his front. “Very distracting, and very sexy,” he whispered in my ear.
I chuckled and handed him the drink then we settled in to listen while Gary sang a sweet love song.
You’re everything I thought I’d never deserve.
You’re everything I hoped I would find.
You give me life.
You give me breath,
And there’s nothing I won’t do
To make you see
That this is forever
For real
The words stirred something deep inside me, and I leaned back into Jason, swaying softly as his free hand tightened around my waist.
“This is forever,” he whispered in my ear.
I closed my eyes and sighed. “I know.”
After Gary, there were a few poems. Janice read one about hope and keeping dreams alive in a dark world, and Candace applauded and whooped loudest at the end.
A few more people read, and then when the last person finished reading to muted applause, Janice retook the stage.
“We’ve got time for a few more before we all get drunk on wine coolers and forget we’re artists.”
There were a few laughs then Jason gently eased me away from his body. “I’ll be right back,” he told me.
“Where are you going?”
He winked at me and, leaving me watching him in puzzlement, went to the front. I watched him say a few words to Janice, who looked over to where I was standing and waved at me with a grin on her face.
She stepped aside and let Jason take the podium.
What the hell?
I stared at him, mouth open.
He pulled out a sheet of paper from his back pocket. “Hi everyone. My name is Jason, and I’m not a poet, but I wrote this for the girl I love, Daphne. That’s her over there.” He pointed at me. “I hope you all bear with me, and I hope she likes it.”
I covered my face with my hands, floating with happiness but acutely embarrassed to be singled out. Both Candace and Janice came over to stand beside me.
“Girl…” Janice whispered.
“I know!”
Jason cleared his throat, and a second later, his deep voice filled the room, just loud enough that I could hear every word yet somehow soft, gentle, and tender.
At first, there was me
And I thought I knew
How to live for me
How to cruise the sea of life alone
Taking, living, existing
Alone.
But there was always you
In the empty place I couldn’t seal.
There was always you
In the silence I couldn’t fill.
I belonged to you
Before I knew that there was you.
Without you, I shatter and break.
Without you, I stumble and fall.
Without you, the emptiness
is like a wound that never heals.
There was always you
In the places I yearned to go.
There was always you
In the corners of my heart.
I knew I belonged to you
Before I knew that there was you.
He stopped, and there was silence. I had tears in my eyes, and I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
“Oh my,” Janice whispered.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice cracking.
There was enthusiastic applause as Jason folded the paper and put it back in his pocket.
“Marry him,” someone shouted in my direction.
Jason walked toward me, and both Candace and Janice slipped away.
“What did you think?” he asked.
“I…” I sighed. “It was beautiful.” It was more than that. It felt like we were two sides of the same coin, or at least a very similar coin. “I feel the exact same way. It’s almost as if you read my mind and put my feelings into words.”
He cupped my chin, his eyes devouring my face. “Maybe I read your mind.”
I drew him closer until our bodies were touching then traced my fingers along his arm. “Can you read my mind right now?”
He cocked his head and his lips quirked. “You’re thinking…you want another wine cooler.”
I chuckled. “Not really.”
He lowered his head and brushed his lips against mine, sending a tingle down my spine. “I know.”
“I’d tell you to get a room, but the party’s not over yet.” Janice’s voice interrupted our kiss. She held out her hand to Jason. “I’m Janice.”
“Jason.”
“I know.” She smiled. “That was a great performance. Very swoon-worthy.”
“Thank you.”
“I like him,” she told me. “Don’t make her cry again,” she added softly, her eyes on Jason. “You kids have fun.”
Gary played another song, and we stayed for a while longer before saying goodbye.
It was a b
eautiful night, and we decided to walk back to my apartment. We strolled silently with Jason’s arm wrapped around me. Sometimes, there was no need for words. I leaned into him, my eyes half closed as he guided me along the sidewalk.
“I’ll move in with you,” I told him just before we reached my place.
He stopped walking. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Not right now, but as soon as Amy and Colin have definite plans about their new living arrangement. He wants to get a bigger place…” I trailed off.
“There’s no rush,” Jason agreed. “Whenever you’re ready. I don’t want to rush you again.”
I smiled. The first time he’d tried to rush me, I’d thrown him out of my apartment and my life. It seemed like such a long time ago now. Then I’d been so sure that being alone was the best thing for me. Now, I couldn’t imagine a life without Jason.
Amy and Colin were watching a police procedural on TV when we got to the apartment, and there were two fresh boxes of pizza on the end table.
“Hey guys.” Amy held up a delicious-looking slice. “It’s pizza night.”
“It should always be pizza night!” I declared, abandoning Jason and going over to take a slice.
Colin looked amused. “Sup, Jason? Hi, Daph.” He gestured at the TV. “I’m still taking bets for whodunnit.”
Jason glanced at the TV. “I think I’ve seen this one.” He grinned. “Or maybe I haven’t. What are we betting?”
Colin laughed. “Bragging rights, but no betting for you.”
“How was the party?” Amy asked.
“Nice. Jason wrote me a poem.” I gave her a swoony smile. “And he read it to me.”
“What?” She squealed. “Like…in front of the audience?”
