My Last - Riley & Chelle (27 page)

THE HOPE FALLS CHRONICLES

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Excerpt from Sweet Reunion

As Amanda moved the bite-size chicken pieces and chopped vegetables around the sauté pan in front of her, her head swam with conflicted emotions. Was it always going to be this way? If Justin did decide to stay and run the adventure resort with her, was her consciousness going to forever exist in such a state of unbalance?

Karina, Sam, and Lauren had gone to visit Karina's grandmother, albeit reluctantly. They hadn't wanted to leave Amanda alone, but Amanda had insisted, coming just short of physically shoving them out the door.

“I need to get my head on straight!” she had told them, “The only way I am going to accomplish that is with some serious soul searching and contemplation. And, barring that, a little
'come to Jesus' meeting with myself. Trust me! An hour alone will do me a world of good. I'll make dinner, and be a whole new woman by the time you get back.”

So, the rest of the Fabulous Four had departed amidst skeptical expressions and admonitions to call if she needed anything.

And now Amanda was by herself, cooking and contemplating, and not a whole lot seemed to be moving forward. She had started out feeling confused and vulnerable, and that was squarely where she still found herself. It didn't help that she had had ZERO hours of sleep the night before! Maybe it was time to try the 'come to Jesus' meeting.

She heard a knock at the back door which led into the kitchen, and turned around to see the very source of her confusion and angst standing there, his handsome face framed in the glass pane of the exterior door like a finely wrought portrait.

A tremor ran through her from head to toe, but she quickly reminded herself that she could not show him her weaknesses. She again thought of her sleepless night, and noticed how well-rested he looked. She couldn't let him see she was coming apart at the seams!

No, she was only going to show him a completely strong and together facade. She quickly pasted a smile on her face, striving for as natural an expression as possible, but truthfully not even caring if it came off as slightly artificial – as long as her face didn't betray the roiling emotions just below the surface, it could look as plastic as a mannequin's for all she cared.

She crossed to the back door, opened it, and stood aside, inviting him in.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked as he entered.

“Not at all,” she assured him. “The girls went down to see Karina's grandmother, and I'm just cooking some dinner.”

“How is Renata doing?” Justin inquired.

“Oh, you know Renata. As indefatigable as ever. I think she'll outlive us all, and be working on twelve different community projects as she does it.”

“She's a rock,” Justin agreed, “Karina's lucky to have her.”

“True. All of Hope Falls is lucky to have her, when you think about it. So, what were you up to today?”

“Oh, just cleaning out the bunkhouse and getting it habitable. It brought back a lot of memories of living there.”

“I bet.” Amanda said, and sitting between them, making the air electric, was the unspoken memory of the last time they had been in the bunkhouse together. The last time they had seen each other at all.

She quickly turned back to the stove and focused her attention on the chicken sizzling in the pan.

Justin moved behind Amanda, close. So close that she could feel his ragged breath on her neck and in her hair. The nearness of him paralyzed her. Her vision swam and her body felt on fire, and he wasn't even touching her.

“Amanda...” he said, his voice husky with emotion, with regret. With desire? Was that just wishful thinking on her part?

“Amanda...” he started again, and then trailed off again.

Slowly, so slowly that she almost couldn't tell if she was really doing it or if it were only her imagination, she turned her face up to his. She could barely breathe. Their mouths were less than an inch apart, and their eyes were locked on each other. She felt as if she would melt on the spot, or possibly explode.

“Yes?” she whispered. With the one small scrap of awareness of her surroundings that she had left, she realized that her breathing had grown ragged as well, as if in answer to Justin's.

“I...” he started, then took a deep breathe and tried to begin again, “I just...”

And then, displaying a sense of timing so horrendous that it belied the flawless sense of rhythm she possessed which was one of the factors which made her a brilliant musician, Karina called from the front door, “Yoo hoo! We're home

Amanda drew in her breath sharply as Justin retreated across the kitchen, but couldn't manage to access her vocal chords to summon a response. She heard Karina's voice calling as she came down the hall, “Did you hear me? Lucy, I'm home!” she hollered in her best Desi Arnaz impersonation.

Amanda looked up as Karina entered the kitchen and shook her head to clear it, but realized that the truth of what had just happened must have been written all over her face when she saw a sly smile spread across Karina's face. “Lucy, you've got some 'splaining to do,” she grinned, drawing out the impression.

“What?” Amanda asked, doing her best to maintain an innocent expression as Lauren and Samantha entered the kitchen behind Karina.

As soon as Lauren laid eyes on Amanda's face, she rushed over and took the wooden spoon out of her hand, taking over the job of t sautéing the chicken and veggies. “Oh my goodness, Amanda! I knew we shouldn't have left you to cook dinner for all of us right now. Seriously, go grab a water, sit down and relax. Your entire face is flushed, you're getting overheated.”

Karina continued to grin her evil little grin, and added an eyebrow waggle for emphasis. “Oh, yes, it is quite hot in here, isn't it? Very, very hot. On a completely unrelated note, by the way, how are you today, Justin?”

Lauren looked up and followed Karina's gaze to the opposite end of the kitchen, where Justin was leaning against the counter. “Oh, hello,” she intoned flatly, “I didn't see you there,” and turned back to moving the food around the pan, but with an added degree of aggression that was clearly visible.

“OK!” said Samantha cheerfully, taking the spoon away from Lauren, “Maybe I should be the one to do this. Although, I think it's done.” She announced, cutting open one of the chicken pieces and examining the interior, “And it smells delicious!”

“Thanks,” Amanda responded, “There's actually three parts, and I didn't know what everyone's dietary restrictions were – vegetarian, low carb, etc – so feel free to mix and match any or all. Whole wheat pasta in the pot, chicken and veggies in the skillet, and vodka sauce in the saucepan,” she finished, pointing at each in turn.

“And vodka in the freezer!” Karina added, pulling the bottle out with a flourish. “Justin, are you joining us for dinner?“Oh, yes,” Sam put in, looking at Amanda, “You really should! It will be fun, like old times!”

Karina and Samantha looked at Lauren until she finally shrugged and said, “It's a free country.”

But Justin had eyes for only one person in the room, and no one else's invitation or approval meant anything to him.

“Amanda?” he asked, “Do you want me to stay?”

Now, Amanda felt a certainty and a clarity she hadn't been able to achieve while solitarily searching her soul. There was no confusion, no hesitation anywhere in her as she answered firmly in the affirmative.

RED HOT PRIVATE EYE SERIES

Novella

Excerpt
from Scandalous

As Dominic and Cristal were escorted to their table by a bubbly blond waitress, Dominic tried desperately to get his body under control. Walking around with a hard on in a crowded restaurant was as uncomfortable as it was inappropriate. His valiant efforts paid off. He had just managed to lower the flagpole when they arrived at their designated table.

Cristal slid into the booth, giving him an incredible view of her perfect heart-shaped rear. He closed his eyes, trying in vain to erase the image from his mind. No luck.

Desire quickly returned, flooding through his system like lava in his veins. His fingers itched to touch her, and he tightened his hands into fists. All of his blood was racing to his groin.

Good God, man, you're not some horny teenager, he chided himself. You're a professional. This behavior is ridiculous.

Shaking his head, he took his place in the booth across from Cristal.

This view of her was not any less appealing, he found. Her silky brown hair fell in a perfect wave, a soft curl across her milky smooth shoulder. Her full lips screamed for attention, and they were certainly getting it from him. He wanted to crush her against his chest and press his lips to her luscious, plump ones. He eyed her pouty lower lip and imagined tracing his tongue along it, and then lightly nipping it with his teeth.

“Well, they’re not wasting any time,” Cristal said, excitement lacing her voice. Her body tensed like that of a bird of prey who had a quarry in its sights.

She pulled out her phone and began to nonchalantly pretend to text as she actually snapped photos and took video clips of the woman they had been hired to follow.

“You have a visual?” Dominic asked, all business, and worked to keep his tone neutral. He didn't want it infused with the sexual charge he was currently battling. He didn't want her to realize the power she had over him.

“Affirmative,” Cristal said triumphantly, and placed her phone flat on the table, sliding it over to him.

Dominic glanced down and saw the photo. It showed their mark, seated in a secluded booth and engaged in a full lip lock with her “co-worker.”

“It still blows my mind that people who are messing around go to public places. Sure, it makes our job easier, but come on...The Cheesecake Factory? Why would you risk it?” Cristal shook her head as she pulled her phone back, ready to record any further transgressions for posterity.

“I think sometimes the danger of being caught adds to the heat, the drama. It's usually not about anything more than excitement,” Dominic said. He shook his head. He had always thought that if you needed to go outside your relationship to get your kicks, it was time to find a new relationship. But if people did that...well, then half of his income would disappear, so que sera sera.

The waitress came and took their orders. It was clear during the process that she only had eyes for Dominic – quite literally. She looked at him even while Cristal gave her order, and directed questions about Cristal's salad to Dominic.

Dominic, who was used to such attention just as he assumed Cristal must be used to it from members of the opposite sex, found the whole encounter amusing. He barely gave it a second thought.

What did catch his attention, however, was the sudden stiffening of Cristal's posture.

“Something wrong? Did you lose visual?” he asked crisply, immediately back in the game.

Cristal looked at him coolly, “I still have visual. They're probably playing footsies because the tonsil hockey has subsided.”

“Then what’s with the stiff back and shoulders?”

She raised her eyebrows, haughty, and spoke in an airy tone of voice, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ooookay...” Dominic said. He refocused his thinking. The amount of time that Cristal was being forced to spend with him because of their mutual assignment was limited, and he certainly did not want to spend it fighting. He thought it would be a good idea to change the subject.

He thought could talk to her about Red retiring and the buyout offer, but that would most likely lead to unpleasantry. After all, they both wanted the company, so they were in direct competition.

He could try again to broach the subject of them getting to know each other better, but he knew that was a non-starter. She would shut it down with one dry sentence. He could hear her voice in his head already. “Never gonna happen.”

Since it seemed he had exhausted all other topic choices available to him, he decided to go with the only thing he could think about rationally at this moment…sex.

“I haven’t been that close to coming in my pants since middle school,” he said bluntly.

Cristal smiled, although Dominic could sense it was begrudgingly. She said, with the first hint in her voice that she might be enjoying the conversation, “Perhaps your body is simply regressing until it matches your level of maturity.”

Dominic chuckled, “That could very well be. Or maybe it's the fact that I haven’t been dry humped since seventh grade and my body is reacted accordingly,” he gave her his 'devilish' smile and added, with a wink, “Not that I’m complaining.”

One corner of her mouth raised slightly in a naughty half-smile, “Good, cause I don’t seem to remember hearing a lot of complaining a few minutes ago, and I wouldn't be interested in listening to it now.”

“You’re right,” Dominic said, and then lowered his voice to an intimate level as he laid his hand lightly over hers on the table, “I didn’t make any complaints. Just promises.”

A flush rose up Cristal’s neck and she involuntarily snatched her hand back. He could see her almost instantly attempt to mask her reaction...and she almost succeeded. She didn't, though, not entirely. Dominic saw the light of passion that burned just beneath the surface calm in her eyes. He knew that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

He smiled.

This was going to be interesting.