COMING FRIDAY
7 PM PST. WELCOME JACIE FLOYD
AUTHOR OF:
Allison Spencer is the
billionaire president and CEO of Wyatt Enterprises. Following in her legendary
mother’s footsteps as a strong, independent woman, she always gets what she
wants—in business. Focused on her corporate responsibilities and raising her troubled
teenage son, she doesn’t have the time or energy for romantic relationships.
But when her high school sweetheart returns, she’s reminded of sweet memories
and tempted by the possibility of passion-filled nights.
Buck Cooper left Atlanta twenty years ago in the
midst of a family scandal. But now that the seductive tech developer is back on
top of the business world, he seems determined to reclaim Allie’s heart. Their
off-the-chart chemistry is a welcome distraction, but his past baggage and
current secrets fill Allie with doubts. Uncertain if his pursuit is based on
his desire for her or a plot to take over her company, Buck has an easy answer
for all of Allie’s questions—except the one about their future.
As she maneuvered through the well-dressed crowd, goosebumps
pebbled her skin. Her nipples hardened beneath her silk dress and lace
camisole. Good Lord! Where had that reaction come from? Totally inappropriate.
And unexpected. How long had it been since she’d experienced such a visceral
response from an unknown source? Or even a known one?
Nonchalantly, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and
turned her head to view the guests populating the surrounding area. Mingling.
Laughing, Hugging. Nothing nipple hardening about any of it.
Angling her body slightly, she perused the men thronging the
bar. Young men, old men. Men with new money, men with inherited money. Men with
no money who hoped to be wealthy someday. Men who would hit on her because she
was rich or because she was powerful. Men who’d be intimidated for the same
reasons. Athletes, executives, investors, entrepreneurs, and adventurers.
Typical for any elite social event.
None of them captured her attention or instigated the awareness
prickling down her spine. Until the crowd cleared, and then… Yes, her brain
whispered with satisfaction. Yes! her body shouted with excitement.
That one. Tall, hard, chiseled, and broad-shouldered. A body
that begged to have the tuxedo ripped off it.
Two twenty-something beauties in slinky minidresses leaned into
the handsome specimen with seductive smiles. One blonde, one brunette. Both
doing their Southern belle best to attract him with batting eyelashes, flipping
hair, and barely covered cleavage.
But with his arms crossed and chin raised in challenge, he
focused past them. Icy blue eyes pierced Allie’s controlled facade with a
knowing gaze. Too knowing. Like he could access her most secret desires.
Like he knew what she liked in bed and how she liked it.
Like he knew how she looked naked.
And, of course, he did know all that. And more.
Buck Cooper. Her first love. Her first crush. The audacious
first love who had taken her virginity all those years ago. Or she had given it
to him. In retrospect, it was more accurate to say it had been a cooperative
effort.
Even though there’d always been the possibility he’d show up
again, equal levels of fear, heat, and excitement speared through her. But
she’d faced too many boardroom adversaries to let her true emotions show in a
social setting.
Buck tilted his glass in a taunting salute, sipped, and took one
step toward her. And then another.
Instinctive self-preservation had her retreat one step back and
straight into her brother.
When Billionaire
Wyatt Maitland shows up on Kara Enderley’s doorstep after a three-year
separation, the 30-year-old art critic comes face to face with her worst
nightmare. Once upon a time, Wyatt had helped Kara heal the tragedies of her
past, but she has no intention of including him in her future.
Worn down by the unusual demands that come with a life of wealth and privilege, Wyatt is weary of being manipulated by others. When he learns that he and Kara have a two-year-old son, he falsely assumes that she is just like all the other women who have tried to use him for their own deceitful purposes. Actually, she wants nothing to do with him.
Wyatt’s determination to right old wrongs and win Kara back is a formidable task. His presence in her life resurrects all of Kara’s biggest fears and deepest passions. The two of them must learn to love and forgive themselves before they can learn to love and trust one another.
Worn down by the unusual demands that come with a life of wealth and privilege, Wyatt is weary of being manipulated by others. When he learns that he and Kara have a two-year-old son, he falsely assumes that she is just like all the other women who have tried to use him for their own deceitful purposes. Actually, she wants nothing to do with him.
Wyatt’s determination to right old wrongs and win Kara back is a formidable task. His presence in her life resurrects all of Kara’s biggest fears and deepest passions. The two of them must learn to love and forgive themselves before they can learn to love and trust one another.
“My God, Kara!” Torn
between wanting to throttle her and hug her at the same time, Wyatt settled for
pulling her into his arms, lifting her off her feet, and spinning her about.
“He’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Yes, he is.” She frowned
as she pushed him away.
She didn’t seem nearly as
happy as he did, but then the revelation wasn’t new to her.
“From his date of birth,”
he began, eager to learn as much about his son as he possibly could, “I’m
guessing you got pregnant when we were in Atlanta.”
“Yes.” She perched on the
edge of a small chair. “The first night.”
“When you forgot your
pills.” Vivid images of frantic, eager sex, hot and explosive, burst through
his brain and shot straight to his groin. Upright, clothes shoved aside,
propped against a door. Followed by a second coupling, tender and sweet, but
just as memorable. Just as intense. “That was a great night.”
He smiled at the memory
with satisfaction. She said nothing, refusing to be drawn into a discussion
about the pleasures they’d shared. She stared at him as if he were mentally
deficient for being so thrilled to find out he was the father of a
two-year-old-child. Just now finding out. The stark reality dimmed his
euphoria.
Now that he understood why
she’d been so determined to avoid him, other questions begged for answers. “Why
didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think you’d be
pleased.” Incomprehensible fear undulated from her in waves.
For God’s sake, what did
she think he would do? Scold her? Mock her? Beat her? When had he ever been
less than kind to her? “I’m not pleased to know you had to go through this
alone.”
“What would you have done
if you had known?”
He ran a hand through his
hair, thinking. “I don’t know. I guess I’d have been shocked, stunned. Scared,
maybe.”
“Wouldn’t you have been
angry? Disappointed? Annoyed? Unwilling to accept the responsibility?”
He dropped onto a small
footstool in front of her and captured her hands. “Why would you think any of
that, Kara mia?”
“When we were in Atlanta,
you said you didn’t want to be a father. You said you doubted you could make
that kind of commitment. And you said you didn’t want the responsibility.” She
pressed her lips together, halting the flow of words she’d hurled at him.
For one of the first times
in his erudite life, he groped for a response. The right words had to be in his
head somewhere. They always had been before.
With his silence, Kara
took a deep breath and continued. “As I recall, you said you thought the
compulsion that led people to procreate stemmed from a need to control someone
else’s life.”
“Weren’t we speaking
hypothetically?” Damn. He’d failed a test he hadn’t known he was taking. “We
were in Atlanta. You met my mother. Her Machiavellian schemes were the reason I
left the family business and moved to California.”
“Yes, but not long after
that, when you came to see me in New York, I asked you specifically if you ever
wanted to have children and you said no.”
“Good God, would you quit
quoting things I said three years ago and don’t even remember? Apparently, I
say too damn many things for my own good.” He lifted her chin with his hand.
“While you, Kara mia, say too damn few.”
“I was following your
rules,” she reminded him. “Ask me no questions, tell me no lies.”
“Now I know I never said
that.”
“Didn’t you? Then how
about this one?” Her lavender eyes flashed sparks. “When it’s over between us,
it’s over. No regrets and no recriminations. We part as friends, but nothing
more.”
All right, he had said
that, damn it. He’d probably said all of it at one time or another, but she
hadn’t objected at the time. And he hadn’t been aware of all the facts. He
hadn’t known about the child.
I write contemporary romance, romantic comedy, and emotionally-rich
stories about the kind of strong women and bold men you want to read about and
know.
From the time I read my first Nancy Drew mystery, I’ve been an avid reader and writer in a variety of genres. After many years as a wife and mother with a nine-to-five job, the desire to create my own stories became an obsession. While polishing my craft as an unpublished author, I was honored to be named a six-time Golden Heart Finalist and two-time Golden Heart winner by the Romance Writers of America. Finally giving in to the inevitable, I abandoned my day job in order to self-publish the kind of stories I like to read and write. I hope you like them, too.
From the time I read my first Nancy Drew mystery, I’ve been an avid reader and writer in a variety of genres. After many years as a wife and mother with a nine-to-five job, the desire to create my own stories became an obsession. While polishing my craft as an unpublished author, I was honored to be named a six-time Golden Heart Finalist and two-time Golden Heart winner by the Romance Writers of America. Finally giving in to the inevitable, I abandoned my day job in order to self-publish the kind of stories I like to read and write. I hope you like them, too.
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