This book is the second standalone title in her Stay series, and it is a contemporary romance title that is available to read for FREE in KindleUnlimited.
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Available Now to read for FREE in KindleUnlimited:
A love story will be rewritten in this heartfelt romance from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst. Ophelia Bishop was a lovestruck teenage girl when she and Kyle Kimpton chased their dreams to Hollywood. Kyle’s dreams came true. Ophelia’s did not. When Kyle chose his career over their relationship, Ophelia returned home to rural New York to run the family’s B & B—wiser, and more guarded against foolish fantasies. Now Kyle has come crashing back into her life, and all her defenses are down. Kyle can’t think of a better place to write his latest screenplay than his hometown. After all, that was where he met the heart of his inspiration—his first love. He knows the damage he’s caused Ophelia, and he wants a chance to mend their relationship. If anyone can prove to Ophelia that happy ever afters aren’t only for the movies, it should be him. As much as Ophelia’s changed, she still has feelings for Kyle. But her heart has been broken before, and she knows that Kyle could run back to Hollywood at any time. She gave up her dreams once, but maybe she can dare to change her own love story…one last time.
This is a marvelous story of second chances. Most stories like this just jump in and delve on the second chance pursuit and courting of the lovers. This story goes deeper into discovering not only how their lives have changed since they were last together, but also analyses what happened in the past that drove them apart.
Ophelia has grown and become responsible for running the family B & B in the last 8 years since she walked away from Kyle. She is organized to a fault while making the inn a very successful enterprise.
She is blown away when she finds Kyle on her porch requesting a room for three months. He is a successful screenwriter in Hollywood and has come back to his hometown to write his next script. Now, be honest, would you let your ex stay with you after 8 years apart? Not many women would! Follow Ophelia and Kyle as the re-connect and deal with all the frustration and baggage of their breakup and separation.
This is a moving and indescribably beautiful story of two characters who fell in love too young. They both experienced fame and disillusionment. Forgiving others cannot happen until they each face their demons and forgive themselves.
I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I thank the author for sharing a copy with me.
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Jennifer Probst - Bio: Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again. She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean. She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon's Best Books for 2012. She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team at www.jenniferprobst.com.
Available in audio-first, a scorching, heart-tugging new standalone by New York Timesbestselling author Laurelin Paige!Ten years ago, we were the toast of the town.Tanner's acting career had just begun. He was hotter than the stage lights, and twice ascaptivating. The gorgeous Australian A-lister was everyone's teenage dream. And he'd picked me. Or so I thought, until he proved to be as false as everything else about Hollywood. Now I've finally scored the perfect opportunity to star in a major film. The kicker? Tanner will be my co-star. I don't know if I can do this one more time….*Right now, we're the talk of the town.Jenna's even more beautiful than she was the last time we were together. And just like before, Ican't keep my hands off her. She still doesn't know the truth. The secret of what really happenedback then. Now I have the length of this shoot to convince her to rewrite our script. But if I haveher one more time, will once ever be enough?
ONE MORE TIME will be available for purchase on ebook on May 2nd!
“Why wouldn’t you talk about your work in the restaurant?” I set my purse on the floor by my feet and shifted to face him. “I’ve never seen anyone get out of a dinner so fast.” A small smile tugged the edge of his lips up. “Just like I said in there, some things shouldn’t be discussed in public.” “Like politics and religion.” “You have a very smart mouth.” He glanced down at said smart mouth. “Do you ever turn it off?” “Never,” I reassured him. “Now, we’re no longer in public, so tell me about what you do.” He rested an arm along the back of the seats. His fingertips landed just inches from my hair, and I gave a cursory glance at their closeness. Shivers tickled their way down my spine as he stared at me. He was entirely still except for the way his eyes flicked left and right repeatedly. It felt an awful lot like he was taking me in, committing me to memory for some strange reason. “A lot of people don’t like me. Pissing people off is part of business, and I’ve done that a lot, so I try to keep my work private. It’s that simple, sweetheart.” “I get it. But now, it is private.” I wasn’t going to let this drop. I’d quit reading before I did that. “I’ve told you a lot about my bar tonight, so now tell me something.” “You have the innate ability to make me feel like I’m back in high school and writing an essay about being reasonable.” “If you’d done that, you might know how to be reasonable.” I paused when he laughed. It was low blow time again. “Look, Mr. Fox—” “Damien.” “You don’t have to tell me anything about your business and what you do, but given that you’re failing embarrassingly in your attempt to buy my business, it’s probably in your best interests to start talking.” He leaned forward and took my hair between his finger and thumb. Slowly, he twirled the strands around his finger, each twist lightly tugging against my scalp. “You should have been a cop. You’re very persuasive.” “In that case, you could probably learn a thing or two from me. Your own skills are lacking.” “I don’t know.” He dropped his voice to a low murmur. “I think, if I tried hard enough, I could persuade you into a few things.” I raised my eyebrows. We’d moved on from talking about business. Once again, the Master of Deflection was doing what he’d been doing for most of our evening together. “I still haven’t forgiven you for your antics yesterday, so I wouldn’t even try it.” I tapped his hand so he released his hold on my hair. It tumbled away from his finger so I could smooth the strands back down and gave him a pointed look. “Forgiven me, or yourself?” His eyes glinted knowingly. Almost self-assuredly. Hell, there was no almost about it. He knew exactly how I’d felt when he’d left me. He knew exactly what he’d done to me, and I did, too. Denying that I was annoyed at myself because I could still remember how it’d felt when he’d taken my chin in his hand was pointless. “Both,” I answered, sitting up a little straighter. “That doesn’t invite you to exercise poor judgment and make another attempt to mix business with pleasure?” “Attempt? Sweetheart, if I’d attempted to do that, there would have been a lot less business and a lot more pleasure before I’d left you.” “You think I’d give in to you so easily?” At those words, Damien slid smoothly across the leather seats. His arm, still resting along the back of them, hung down behind me, his thumb just brushing against my back. The rest of his body was mere inches from mine, and I bit the inside of my lip as he trailed his fingertips up my bare arm. My eyes followed his feather-light touch while his stayed fixated on my face. He coasted his fingers over my shoulder where he touched them to my jaw. Lightly, he tilted my face around and up until I had no choice but to look him in the eyes again—to look right there where I could see exactly how much he wanted me. Dark. Hot. Full of temptation. Heavy and intense, his eyes screamed of raw lust and selfish need. “I don’t think you’d give in at all,” he whispered. “I think your body would do that for you, and you’d be helpless to it.” “You think a lot of yourself, don’t you?” I said quietly. I touched my finger to his belt, then ran it up the length of his torso, ghosting it over the solid packs of muscle that made up his body until I flicked the starchy collar of his shirt. “You think you can do this and I’ll give in to what is essentially a biological reaction? I’m stronger than you take me for, you know.” He curled his fingers around my chin and dipped his face to mine. “She says with a racing heart.” I pressed one finger against his mouth and ran another along his strong thigh…right up to where his hard cock was straining against the soft material of his pants. “Don’t you hate it when your attraction to someone is so obvious?” His jaw clenched. “If you have any sense at all inside that gorgeous head of yours, you’ll move your hand.”
By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies—usually wine—and writes books.
Emma is working on Top Secret projects she will share with her followers and fans at every available opportunity. Naturally, all Top Secret projects involve a dashingly hot guy who likes to forget to wear a shirt, a sprinkling (or several) of hold-onto-your-panties hot scenes, and a whole lotta love.
She likes to be busy—unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to be when all the ideas come to life.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Violet Duke debuts an emotional series about letting go, starting over, and trusting in the redemptive power of love.
Emma Stevens made a fresh start in the small town of Juniper Hills, but she still lives with the guilt of an impossible choice from her past: saving her sister—but leaving her stepbrother behind—in a fire that destroyed their home. The boy next door may have dragged them to safety, but he also caused the fire that devastated her family. She swore she’d never forgive him, so she’s stunned when he shows up on her doorstep.
Jake Rowan has never been able to escape the worst day of his life, when he took the fall for his older brother, who started a tragic fire. Years later, he’s carved out a life as a carpenter, but when he runs into Emma again, he’s reminded of everything he’s lost—and everything he still longs for.
Jake has never forgotten Emma, the dream girl whose life he destroyed. And she’s never stopped thinking about her first crush. As they grow closer—and old secrets are unearthed—will they be able to help each other heal, or will their hearts remain broken and burdened by the past?
Can we ever really escape our past? We try to forget it, or hide it deep within ourselves, and yet, in the end, we are unable to move forward with our lives until we willingly face it. This is Emma's dilemma. At sixteen, she lost all her teenage dreams when her stepbrother dies in a fire. She still carries the memories and the only way for her to live each day is to block the past and just live her new life.
Jake was her first teenage crush. Maybe even more than a crush, since he occupied her mind all the time when she was sixteen. Now, all these years later, to find him standing in her bakery offering his contracting services to repair her flooded business, is more than she can handle. Guilt, grief, and unresolved questions all spring up to separate them once again. Only looking in his eyes and realizing he is not the same man she thought he was makes her reconsider. Is it possible she has mistakenly judged him?
If you ever read a story about second chances and loved it, this book will make you a believer second chances come in all different guises. We judge people all the time by what we see. How often do we make the effort to find out the real truth? Are we strong enough to face the truth and not to blame others? Emotions flare, love abounds, the magic of friendship changes hearts, and a marvelous story is born. Not to be missed!
I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I thank the publisher for sharing a copy of this book with me.
“Nelle’s comedic talent shines in Baby Daddy. I laughed, I cried, and my eReader almost caught fire from the steamy chemistry between Dee and Drake —Lauren Blakely, NYT #1 Bestselling Author
A new STANDALONE romantic comedy from the New York Times Bestselling author of THAT MAN and UNFORGETTABLE.
I have three cardinal rules:
Never mix business with pleasure
Never let a woman spend the night.
Never date a woman with kids.
Kids freak me out. God only knows how many this baby daddy has. Man, what was I thinking when I was in college? Me, Drake Hanson. God’s gift to women. Aka Donor 5262. It was a piece of cake and fifteen hundred dollars a month for my deposits (in sperm bank speak) came in handy. Wank, bank, and go. I just didn’t think about the consequences. One day, some kid is going to call me Daddy and I’m going to get hit up for child support. Big time.
Now, my father is pressuring me to settle down because the investor who’s looking to acquire his animation company doesn’t want a player running a family-oriented business. Just in time, she came along. The temp. Dee Walker. The minute the hot as sin brunette with her killer curves and those chocolate brown eyes stepped foot in my office and saved me from an ugly disaster with her magic hands, I wanted her to be mine. Except she’s totally off limits. And there’s someone else she loves with all her heart and soul that I can’t replace.
Can my temp become my forever before my past catches up with me? I’m willing to break all the rules.
With Tyson skating on her own close to the railing and Drake by her side, the twosome skated over to me.
“Mommy, skating is SO much fun! You should try it!”
“She’s right,” Drake chimed in.
“I’m afraid I’ll fall.”
“But, Mommy, you have a big butt so it won’t hurt.”
Mortification raced through me. I felt myself turning as red as a beet. Kids say the darndest things, right? Wrong! My sassy almost six-year-old had no filter.
Drake broke out into hysterical laughter.
I clenched my fists. I wanted to punch him. “It’s not funny.”
“Dee, you have a great butt. Now, get your ass on the ice.”
“C’mon, Mommy,” Ty pleaded. “Please, pretty please with a cherry on top.”
Drake’s laughter let up. “Mighty, why don’t you take a spin around the rink? You’re ready to skate all by yourself. Stay close to the railing and hold on to it if you have to.”
“Yay!” On my next breath, she took off. My breath caught in my throat, but she seemed to be managing just fine.
Drake stayed behind. All that separated us was the waist-high railing. He leaned into me. His sparkling blue eyes flickered with a mixture of determination and mischief while his warm breath heated my cheeks. His hands tugged playfully at the ends of my wool plaid scarf.
“Aren’t you going to skate with Tyson?”
He glanced in her direction. She was already halfway around the rink. “She’s doing just fine by herself. She’s a total natural. She reminds me of myself at that age. I took, like her, to the ice like a penguin.”
“But what if she falls?”
He shrugged. “She’ll get up.” He tugged again at my scarf. “C’mon, Dee, get your big beautiful butt on the ice.”
“No way.”
“That does it.”
My eyes stayed on him as he skated with amazing grace and speed to the entrance of the rink, stormed off the ice, and marched my way. In a single swoop, he hauled me over his shoulders.
“What the hell are you doing, Drake?”
“Getting you on the ice,” he responded, marching back to the entrance, one hand gripping me right below my ass.
“Put me down!” I began to kick my feet in protest.
“Behave! And stop kicking. Skate blades are sharp and can be very dangerous. I don’t want you to cut off my dick. I’d like to keep it intact. And the same with my balls.”
Rage filled every bone in my body. The asshole! He’d made me his captive like some kind of caveman. “Stop,” I shrieked at the top of my lungs as he marched us back on the ice and then raced around the rink at breakneck speed. We quickly caught up with Tyson.
“Hi, Mommy!” she yelled out as we flew by. I could hear her giggling as the whooshing sound of Drake’s skates sung in my ears.
Speeding around the ice, draped over Drake’s shoulder, I was getting dizzy. My arms hung loose like a ragdoll’s within groping distance of his perfect buns of steel. Blood rushed to my head. I’d had enough.
“Put me down!” I breathed out.
“Are you ready to stop acting like a brat?”
“I am not a brat!”
Without warning, he swatted my ass with his free hand. The slap stung straight through my thick leggings, but the incendiary sting strangely turned me on. A barrage of tingles blazed through me, clustering between my inner thighs.
“Put me down,” I yelled again.
He didn’t say a thing. Coming to a braking halt that left a skid mark on the ice, he set me on my feet. Standing behind me, he kept his hands anchored on my waist to keep me balanced. I stood as frozen as the ice, hoping he’d never let me go. Partly because I was nervous as shit. And mostly because it felt so good to have his hands touching me. The sparks coursing through my body were definitely not going to help with skating.
“Okay, I’m going to teach you how to skate. Trust me, you’re going to be the next Dorothy Hamill.”
I couldn’t help a nervous laugh. “I. Don’t. Think. So.”
He laughed his sexy laugh. “Think again.”
“Seriously, Drake, I don’t think I can do this.”
“Come on. If your five-year-old daughter can, so can you.”
My eyes darted to Tyson, who was circling around the rink. Her strokes were a little awkward, but she was definitely skating. And doing it well.
“Tyson is fearless,” I countered.
“What are you afraid of?” he breathed into my ear. The warmth of his breath sent a chill down my spine.
“Of falling.” Of falling for you.
“You won’t. I’ve got you. Now push off with one foot and then the other.”
Trembling, I did what he asked. My legs wobbled, but I moved three feet forward. A small victory on the slippery ice.
“Nice. Now do it again. But this time push from your hips, not your knees.”
“Okay,” I stammered. I did as he asked and noticed how much steadier and more powerful my strokes were. Still holding me firmly, he asked me to repeat the movements and I did so several more times. I’d probably skated a total of twenty feet.
“You’re doing great!” He let go of me with one hand.
Gah! Don’t let go of me.
And then he tugged at my ponytail before repositioning himself so that we were side by side. He laced his fingers with mine. My heart pounding, I squeezed his hand.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice as contorted as my face.
“What does it look like? I’m holding your hand. We’re going to skate around the rink.”
“No, I’m not ready for this!” I protested. “I want to get off the ice.”
“Fine. You can get off by yourself. I’m going for a spin. See ya.”
To my utter horror, he let go of my hand and skirted off—skating backward, no less, the damn showoff, facing me with a Cheshire grin plastered on his face.
“Please, Drake,” I begged.
My begging only made his grin grow bigger. “Please what?”
“Please don’t leave me.” I’m not sure if he heard me because my voice was so shaky and small.
His grin morphed into a wicked smile, and in a few frantic heartbeats, he was again by my side. His fingers entwined with mine once more. How warm his hand felt next to my cold and clammy one. He gave my hand a little squeeze.
“I’m never going to leave you, D-baby.”
My heart jumped. He called me baby. He probably called every girl that, but the way he said it so tenderly made me think I was the first. Following his lead, I began to skate with more confidence. Loving every minute of our togetherness.
For about the next five or so minutes, we circled the rink, Drake holding my hand, me improving with each stroke. Once or twice I turned to look at him, and somehow at those moments, his gaze met mine. No words were spoken. Just silent smiles.
Midway around the rink, my baby called out to me. “Look, Mommy. No hands!”
Half elated, half fearful, I craned my head in her direction, losing focus on my strokes. Suddenly, one of my blades caught with Drake’s and my heart lurched in my chest at that horrible sensation that I—we?—were taking a tumble. “Shit,” I heard Drake mumble as the inevitable happened. On my next rapid heartbeat, I was flat on my back on the ice and he was splayed on top of me. We were a breath apart, his heart beating against mine. The warmth of his body caging mine was a sharp contrast to the cold ice beneath me.
“Are you okay?” he asked, the heat of his breath warming my cheeks.
“Yeah. You?”
“Totally.”
I gazed at his face. His lips were parted, his eyes smoldering. The heat of his body was melting the ice beneath me. Melting the distance that separated us.
The weight of Drake’s body kept me from moving. “Can you help me up?”
“Not yet. I like being on top of you.”
I like you on top too. “It can’t be that hard—”
“Yeah, it is that hard. Very hard.” He rocked his hips against me.
Gah! It was hard. Very, very hard.
His eyes blazing into mine, he traced my lips with his fingertip and then leaned in closer until I could practically taste his minty breath. I could feel my heart pounding, hear my breathing grow labored. My lips parted, partly because I needed to get oxygen into my lungs and partly because I wanted him to devour them. I wanted him to kiss me so badly I could scream. As his lips were about to touchdown, a little voice caused us both to jolt. Tyson.
Giggling, she skated up to us. “You guys look so funny!”
Yes, we were a tangled pile of arms and legs. But it was more than just the physical. Our emotions were all tangled up too.
“I’m hungry,” said my little girl.
Drake’s eyes burned into mine. “Me too.”
“Me three.” I’d never hungered for a man as much as I did for my new boss, Drake Hanson.
I should have felt relieved that Tyson didn’t catch us kissing, but instead I felt bereft.
Drake is a player. An unrepentant player. He is accustomed to getting what he wants. It is time for his reckoning. He will have to face his wild and free past and risk losing what has become his new passion.
Be prepared to roar out loud laughing as this "rake" (rhymes with Drake!) confronts his past and pays his dues. Falling in love to him is a fantasy, or so he thinks. Meeting Dee and Mighty Tyson is the best thing that could happen to a reprobate like him. For once in his life, he is drawn to the simple pleasure of the company of a child who steals his heart and mind, while Dee steals his soul.
Actions have consequences. The sins of our youth do not stay hidden and sometimes, when they raise their ugly heads once more, they end up shaping our future.
I am voluntarily reviewing this book. It is a roaring trip through masterful comedic romance that will stay with me for a long time.
Author Bio
I am a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Los Angeles with her Prince Charming-ish husband, twin college-bound princesses, and a bevy of royal pain-in-the-butt pets. A former executive in the entertainment industry with a prestigious Humanitas Prize for promoting human dignity and freedom to my credit, I gave up playing with Barbies a long time ago, but I still enjoy playing with toys with my hubby. While I write in my PJs, I love to get dressed up and pretend I’m Hollywood royalty. My steamy stories feature characters that will make you laugh, cry, and swoon and stay in your heart forever. They’re often inspired by my past life.
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The night I met Drew Jagger, he’d just broken into my new Park Avenue office. I dialed 9-1-1 before proceeding to attack him with my fancy new Krav Maga skills. He quickly restrained me, then chuckled, finding my attempted assault amusing.
Of course, my intruder had to be arrogant. Only, turned out, he wasn’t an intruder at all.
Drew was the rightful occupant of my new office. He’d been on vacation while his posh space was renovated. Which was how a scammer got away with leasing me office space that wasn’t really available for rent. I was swindled out of ten grand.
The next day, after hours at the police station, Drew took pity on me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. In exchange for answering his phones while his secretary was out, he’d let me stay until I found a new place. I probably should have acted grateful and kept my mouth shut when I overheard the advice he was spewing to his clients. But I couldn’t help giving him a piece of my mind. I never expected my body to react every time we argued. Especially when that was all we seemed to be able to do.
The two of us were complete opposites. Drew was a bitter, angry, gorgeous-as-all-hell, destroyer of relationships. And my job was to help people save their marriages. The only thing the two of us had in common was the space we were sharing. And an attraction that was getting harder to deny by the day.
Take a jaded divorce lawyer who is cocky beyond belief and mix him up with a naive young psychologist who has been literally sold the "Brooklyn Bridge". Mix them up into sharing office space while the chemistry between them is off the charts. Shake them up thoroughly with a vindictive ex-wife, a would-be-maybe-boyfriend, and life's obstacles. Serve them up in a tall, deep, and HOT vessel no one can resist. Garnish with plenty of passion... and you have a serving of this fabulous book.
Once again, Vi Keeland does not disappoint. She has given us a multi-faceted story full of humor and angst. Two very different characters collide and somehow their differences only serve to make the other better. This is the ultimate story of two opposites who seek a common ground while relishing in the undeniable attraction that drives them to merge their souls completely.
Loved this book!
I received a copy of this book from the author. I have read it and have decided to voluntarily review it because it is a great book.
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times Bestselling author. With more than a million books sold, her titles have appeared in over fifty Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twelve languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
When Sophie Jameson first became a domme at Club 1740, it was more out of financial necessity than it was for personal pleasure and sexual exploration. But over the years as she rocked her leather corsets and boots while wielding every crop and flogger imaginable, she grew to love the thrill and adulation that her clients brought her. But all along, her path in life and her heart was with a different profession—one she was planning to embark on at the summer’s end.
And then he changed everything. Tall, dark, impossibly built—William was the complete opposite of whatever image a male sub conjured up. After all the subs, Sophie finally felt true lust and desire. Although he was the proud stallion who needed breaking, he became the one to make her break all her rules and let down all her walls.
But it was just supposed to be for that one night, but an accidental encounter days later outside Club 1740’s protected walls had the two seeing each other in a different light—as simply Sophie and William, not Domme and sub. While they should have parted ways, they couldn’t. While they should never have gone back to her place, they did.
And that simple mistake has a serious price for both of them.
In the distance, a figure crested the hill on his way down from the mountain. Something about the man appeared familiar. Over the years of running at the park, I was used to seeing fellow running acquaintances. But as the incredibly built man grew nearer, my stomach lurched. Oh no, this wasn’t possible. I couldn’t literally be running into someone I’d been in a scene with the night before. In the five years I’d worked at 1740, I had never, ever run into a client.
We were within a few feet of each other when he gave a complimentary nod of hello. Then he literally skidded to a stop, sending bits of gravel flying around us. Just as I started to pass him, acknowledgment of who I truly was flashed on his face.
FUUUUUCK I screamed in my head. With everything I had in me, I raced ahead.
“Mistress Juliette?” he called.
Those two little words from his mouth send me tripping over a limb. As I sprawled onto the ground, my knees bumped along the uneven terrain. Once I came to a stop, pain raged all through my body, although it was excruciatingly centralized in my right ankle.
I rolled into a sitting position and brought my hand to my tennis shoe. “Fuck,” I muttered. It was to address both the pain and the fact that a shadow had crossed over me. A bulky shadow belonging to the only sub I had ever let myself go with.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Mistress.”
My gaze spun wildly around the clearing. “Stop calling me that!” I hissed.
“I’m sorry. Are you all right?”
Damn, that voice of his. Momentarily forgetting my ankle, I could feel myself growing wet just from the deep timbre, not to mention how sexy his concern was.
“No, actually, I’m not.” I jerked my gaze from my foot up to his handsome face. “My ankle is throbbing like a mother fucker, not to mention I’m mortified as hell I just busted my ass right in front of you.”
The corners of his lips fluttered, and I could tell he was fighting the urge not to laugh at me. Without a word, he knelt down beside me. “Let me take a look.”
I jerked my foot away from his overeager hands, which caused me to wince from the pain. “I think you’ve done enough already.”
Cocking his dark brows at me, he said, “My mistress’s health and well-being is always my upmost concern.”
I fought the urge to smack him and not so he could get off on it. “Here’s a newsflash for you. We are not in 1740 anymore, Toto, so this whole sub taking care of his mistress bullshit isn’t going to fly.”
“I’m not in to dog play,” he countered, with a wink.
“Yeah, well, last time I checked, you’re not sporting my collar, so I’m not your mistress.”
“Ouch, you really bring out the claws when you’re hurting, don’t you?” When I opened my mouth to lay into him again, he brought a finger over my lips. “Quit your bitching, and let me check out your ankle, okay?”
“Are you a doctor or paramedic in real life?”
He smiled, causing those delicious dimples of his to pop out. “No, not quite.”
“Then how do I know you’re actually qualified to look at my ankle and not just wanting to cop a feel of my foot?”
With a chuckle, he replied, “Don’t have a foot fetish either.”
As he slid my tennis shoe off, I hissed. “Answer the question.”
“Easy now,” he murmured.
“What qualifies you to look at my ankle?” I demanded.
“I used to be a football coach.”
“Professional?”
He laughed. “No, high school.”
“Oh,” I murmured.
“Yeah, you bandage at least one sprained ankle every game.” He glanced up at me. “Yours doesn’t feel sprained, but it’s definitely swollen. I have a first aid kit in my truck. I can bandage it for you.”
I eyed him suspiciously. As a submissive, I knew he truly subscribed to the code of conduct that his mistress always came first. But we weren’t in the club, and although club management did background checks that rivaled the FBI, he was still a stranger to me. Well, a stranger who I’d seen naked and bent over a spanking horse.
Knowing that I didn’t really have a choice, I huffed out a frustrated breath. “Okay, fine. I’ll let you take care of my ankle.”
“Try not to sound so excited about it, okay?” William said with a teasing expression.
About the Author
Katie Ashley is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her daughter, Olivia, and her two very spoiled dogs. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Supernatural, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.
With a BA in English, a BS in Secondary English Education, and a Masters in Adolescent English Education, she spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full-time in December 2012.
Jennifer Probst - Bio: Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again. She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean. She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon's Best Books for 2012. She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team at www.jenniferprobst.com.
BLURB
By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies—usually wine—and writes books.
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Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times Bestselling author. With more than a million books sold, her titles have appeared in over fifty Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twelve languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six. 
