Cherishing You (Thirsty Hearts Book 3) (28 page)
Read Cherishing You (Thirsty Hearts Book 3) Online
Authors: Kris Jayne
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Keep reading for a preview of book four,
Chasing You
. Can’t wait for more Thirsty Hearts? A prequel to book four, the novella
Her London Fling
, is available now! Miss the first two Thirsty Hearts books? Get them today!
Alexa Stevens lives for the new, the exciting, and what’s next. So when she visits a friend in London to cheer her through a divorce, she’s intrigued by meeting the handsome Adam Gadsby. The heat between them chases away the November chill and has
him
thinking long-term. Her trip draws to a close, and Alexa figures she’ll fly home with fond memories of her London fling and nothing more. Adam has other plans. Can Alexa open herself to the possibility of love?
Alexa Stevens doesn’t do commitment. The ex-model turned personal trainer and gym owner lives a jet-set life. With all the exciting adventures to have in this world—especially of the masculine variety—why get tied down?
Keeping it light suits Graham Ryan just fine—especially after he finds out their financial interests intersect and conflict. Mixing business with pleasure is bound to cause complications he doesn’t need.
However, when her old flame Adam Gadsby arrives in town to win her heart, suddenly Alexa's take on long-term love starts to shift. Graham sees her drifting away and wonders if he doesn’t want more. Adam knows what he wants — if only he can convince Alexa she wants the same.
For Alexa, the question is: how do you know who’s the one? With two men chasing her, can make the right choice before it’s too late?
Micky Llewellyn has trusted men before with disastrous results. Now, she’s focused on her career, her friends, and making sure she doesn’t let another charming man lie to her and break her heart.
Nick Halden’s life has unfolded according to plan. He’s on track to a partnership at one of Dallas’ premier law firms, and he’s marrying a woman who has the beauty, smarts, and connections to be the perfect wife. Or he thought he was.
Fate and a dead car battery throw Micky and Nick together, forcing them to question what they want. Nick’s charm makes Micky’s heart pound with desire and her gut twist with mistrust. Micky’s fire awakens a passion in Nick that flips his world upside down. With his personal and professional lives colliding in chaos, Nick has one way to make sure he gets what he wants, but it means betraying the woman he craves.
In their struggle to balance love and ambition, Micky and Nick will have to decide what they want and at what cost before they lose the one thing that matters.
Taryn Lieber has a date set to marry a man beyond her dreams. Jeff McConnell, and his feisty daughter, Olivia, transformed her life. She never thought she’d want a ready-made family. Now, she can’t wait.
The only good to come out of Jeff McConnell’s first marriage was his curly-haired daughter and the unfulfilled desire for a woman to stand with him as he conquered the world. When he met Taryn, he knew instantly she was the one.
Taryn and Jeff have plans for marriage, adoption, and a life together, but those plans fall apart when Jeff’s ex-wife shows up, wanting to be part of Olivia’s life. What does the woman want? Taryn’s instincts tell her Shannon Nelson is an unreliable, scheming opportunist. Jeff’s compassion compels him to find a way for Olivia to reconnect with her biological mother.
Conflict, mistrust, and danger follow as Taryn and Jeff try to hang on to the love that brought them together and make it down the aisle.
W
hite
. Everywhere. Startling white light blasted her eyes open. More white surrounded her. She blinked. Pillows and a cloud of bedding.
This isn’t my bed.
Only hotels had bed sheets bleached this white. Alexa’s heart jumped in panic. Where was she? London? That had been over a month ago. Then, she had stopped in New York on her way back and seen friends. A weekend in Vegas for another friend’s birthday. Oklahoma for Christmas.
Her mind cleared as the world came more into focus. Dallas. She drove up to Dallas because her friend and business partner Melissa had an invite to a slamming house party for New Year’s. It was New Year’s Day. Melissa probably wondered where she was, and Alexa had plans to see her cousin. Taryn was cooking.
What time is it?
She hadn’t worn a watch or even her usual activity tracker. The bulky rubber strap ruined her look. For New Year’s Eve, she’d opted for a sparkly, silver-sequinned halter dress, fitting closely to her body and stopping scandalous inches above her knees. That she could still pull off the dress and the sky-high, spangled platform sandals in her mid-thirties filled Alexa with pride.
The vodka-induced pounding of her head did not. Nor did having no clue where her dress was—or her underwear for that matter. Her stomach roiled. Why had she let Melissa talk her into shots? Alexa hadn’t allowed herself to get that drunk in years. The hangovers. The stupid decision making. The calories.
She had to get out of here. Alexa closed her eyes briefly to gather her reserves for leaving the warm bed and finding her clothes. And a toothbrush.
“Unnnh!”
A masculine groan behind her added to Alexa’s growing morning regret. She rolled over and pulled the fluffy comforter down from in front of her face. A lean stretch of muscle and tanned skin twisted next to her. Stark naked and awake in more ways than one. It’s eyes were open, and it was smiling.
“Mornin’, sweetheart.”
Alexa tried not to cringe.
Why can’t you disappear in a puff of smoke?
Then, she did cringe. The words that sprang up in her head had found their way out of her mouth.
G
raham woke
up pleased to reach out and close his hand on the curved hip of a woman. New Year’s Eve success. The exact details of how she got there were a blur, but he remembered the feel of a firm ass on his hand, soft lips, and the tight squeeze on his cock as he eased into her.
He likely had scratches the length of his back from her nails. She clung to him as she bucked, straddling him. And he’d clung to her on his lap.
Remembering the night before—or, more precisely, earlier that morning—spread a sloppy grin on his face.
He heard her stir and turned over with a moan. Light brown eyes with tinges of green stared at him, narrowed with perturbance.
Just as he began brainstorming ways he might bring back the veil of passion that fell over them when he’d slipped a hand down her belly and between her legs a few hours before, she’d doused him with a verbal bucket of ice water.
“Why can’t you disappear in a puff of smoke?”
A beat after her mumbled indictment of their time together, she swore and apologized.
“Sorry. Headache. And I have to go.”
She jumped out of the bed, and Graham got a fantastic view: long, naked curves of creamy cafe au lait skin, rushing into the bathroom. She stopped only to pluck her dress, handbag, and lace underthings off the floor. The door snapped shut.
For the next several minutes, he stared at that door, listening to the rush of water first from the sink and then the shower. The clang of objects against the hard countertop surprised him. How much could she have in that tiny purse?
The door flung open as purposefully as it had been slammed shut. Somehow she looked polished and bright even in last night’s dress.
“I have to go,” she repeated.
“Why?”
“I have plans today. I’m probably already late.”
She flipped her gaze around the room, dark curly hair bouncing.
“What time is it? My phone is dead.”
Graham rolled over to the nightstand on his side of the bed and sat up.
“10:22 a.m.”
The revelation prompted her to run toward her shoes in the corner. She balanced like a dancer on one leg at a time, strapping the impossibly high heels to her feet. “I need to get back to my hotel.”
“Give me two minutes. I can drive you.”
“You don’t have to do that. It’s been fun.” She flashed him a smile, and Graham recalled seeing a version of that smile up close as they danced to thumping hip-hop at the party. This smile lacked the other’s warmth and passion.
“Where do you have to be in such a hurry on New Year’s Day? I figured we could relax a little. Go have breakfast. Or order room service.”
Graham tucked his hands behind his head and leaned against the headboard. With the morning light dancing off the sequins of her dress, she looked like an angelic go-go dancer. His body stiffened again in response, which he made no attempt to hide from his guest.
Her eyes darted to his erection and then back squarely locked on his.
“I told you. I have plans. And I need to go back to my hotel and change first.”
She strode toward the door.
“Let me drive you. It’s the least I can do.”
She scrunched her brow. “What does that mean? Since I did you the favor of having sex with you? You don’t owe me any more than I owe you. It was fun, and we can leave it at that.”
“I’m attempting to be nice.”
She huffed. “Fine. Are you going to shower or something?”
“Yeah. Two minutes.”
Graham hopped up and bounded for the bathroom, not bothering to close the door. He threw on the shower and stepped inside. As soon as he closed the shower curtain, he heard the heavy thud of the hotel room door.
Damn.
He didn’t even remember her name.
K
ris Jayne is a devoted writer
, reader, and traveler who left a twenty-year career in high-tech marketing to follow her dream of writing full time.
She spends her days blissfully sweating out the writing process in the Dallas area with her dog, Otis the Shih Tzu.
