Tears spilled over her cheeks. “Hopeless.”
“I can fix that.”
“Damaged.”
“I can heal that.”
“Used.”
“I’ll make you feel brand new — just give it to me. Give yourself to me. Let me be your rock. Let me be your freaking tower. Just don’t run. Not from me, not from the one person willing to drive the lifeboat.”
The air was thick with tension.
And then Priscilla was kissing me, but she was Harley, but still Priscilla. Had I had a script in my hands I would have tossed it. She was improvising! I wasn’t sure if it was because she forgot her final line or if it was because she was living in the moment.
But it worked.
I was consumed by her.
I didn’t even notice the people around us — something I always noticed when doing a scene like this.
With a grunt, I pushed her against the frame of the bed and then lifted her onto it, hovering over her with my body. In one fluid movement I removed my shirt then removed hers.
Her legs wrapped around my waist, pulling me close to her. With a groan of frustration, I pushed her back enough so I could slide off her shorts, revealing the sexiest damn underwear I’d ever seen.
Then Pris — or Harley — bit my ear.
Dammit. I winced as her hands scratched down my chest. Holy shit. Was this real? How was I supposed to be keeping my feelings to myself when my girlfriend was showing me just how good she was going to be in bed? Shit. Shit. Shit. Somehow, I stayed in the moment — claiming it as my own.
I flipped her over so that she was straddling me, then pulled her bra free. We’d agreed that she wouldn’t go nude, so she had a tan-like bra still covering parts that I didn’t want any other guy to see. Ever.
Pulling the covers over us, I waited for them to call a stop to the action. I mean, technically it was supposed to fade to black.
But no such call came.
So we kept going.
I kept kissing.
She moaned.
I grunted.
Pretty sure I swore a few times. Yeah, we were definitely off-script. If they wanted a sex scene they were going to get one… even though clothes were still technically on, I went through the motions, hoping she would play along. Shit, she was too good of an actress.
Her head flew back against the pillows as her mouth dropped open.
Yeah, I was going to have to watch her to make sure she wasn’t pretending to like what I was doing.
Sweating, I mumbled sweet nothings in her ear as I continued to smooth my hands over her body, allowing movie magic to do the rest.
And then, finally, I heard, “Cut.”
Lights went on.
Pris smirked knowingly at me.
And I was trying to think about an old wrinkly naked woman so I wouldn’t have to stay under the blankets for the next two hours.
AJ walked up to us to refresh our makeup. I couldn’t stop looking at Pris. She was beaming.
Damn, she was beautiful. And perfect.
“Well done.” Danny walked up to us and gave a solitary clap. “Sorry to make you improvise like that but it just seemed so real, that I decided to keep rolling. We’ll do it one more time and stop after you make it to the bed, and hopefully we’ll get a few more angles.”
“Great,” I said through clenched teeth, only managing a quick look in Alec and Demetri’s direction.
Alec was cracking up. While Demetri had his hand over Dani’s eyes like a pissed off parent.
He was scowling. I swear the dude will probably put chastity belts on his own daughters.
****
Three hours later and I was actually literally dying. Okay, so maybe not literally, but a person can’t just pretend to have sex for that long without being consumed by it.
It didn’t help that I accidently walked in on Pris showering, then met the wall with my face, almost chipping my tooth in the process.
The minute she walked out of the bathroom, I announced, “We’re getting married, then having sex, then having more sex, and—”
“Whoa, there.” Pris laughed. “What’s the rush to get married?”
I felt my face heat, as I broke eye contact. “I can’t have sex with you without marrying you.”
“Are you on drugs?” Pris approached me, her eyes were skeptical. “Seriously? Or feverish?”
“No,” I grumbled. “It’s just. You’re different. I want things to be different, and your dad…” I swallowed. “That’s what he would have asked of me. He would have sat me in your living room.” At that I smiled. “He would have put the fear of God in me, and then he would have asked me to respect you — to respect him. And I would have said okay.”
I looked up to see a few tears cascading down Pris’s face.
“He would have made me vow to keep our relationship simple, until it was time for something more serious. And honestly, you’re important enough that ruining everything by tackling you to the floor wouldn’t have crossed my mind.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“Okay it wouldn’t have crossed my mind that much.” I sighed. “The point is, I want to get married now. I want to have all of you, right now. And I want to do things right.”
“Demetri’s going to be mad.” She smiled. Demetri and Alyssa’s wedding plans had been postponed again because they added extra dates to the tour. Demetri had made me swear we wouldn’t rain on their parade. Oh look! A raindrop!
“He’s always mad,” I argued. “Come on, what do you say?”
“We have two days.” Pris tapped her chin. “We could always take a quick trip to Vegas.”
I was out of the room before she finished speaking. I grabbed two suitcases and began throwing clothes in.
“Wow, you that desperate for sex?” Pris said entering the room.
“No.” I stopped packing and turned around. “I’m that desperate for you.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too.” I threw more clothing in. “And maybe we should wait until after we’re married to tell Demetri, just in case he decides to try to stop us.”
“Good call.” She winked. “I’ll just let Dani know she has the house to herself for the next two days.”
“No.” My hands froze midair. “She comes with us. She’s family. You both are.”
Priscilla didn’t answer. Instead she gave me a loving smile and walked out of the room.
My definition of family had changed so much over the course of a few weeks. No longer was it about divorce or deception or even drugs and cheating. It was about loving someone so much that you couldn’t imagine living in a world where they were missing from it.
I had that with Pris and with Dani as well.
I’d finally fallen, and in my landing, I’d found my security — my home.
Be looking for the spinoff series and Dani’s story in Capture, releasing late summer.
Curious about how AD2 landed in Seaside, Oregon? Check out my profile on Wattpad to see the prequel to the entire Seaside Series. Strung.
Keep reading for a sneak peak of Toxic as well as a preview of historical romance Waltzing With The Wallflower.
Toxic
(Ruin Book 2)
Prologue
The end of Spring Semester
I would have followed her anywhere.
It’s funny, isn’t it? People claim to know what love is — yet the minute they’re given the opportunity to prove it — they bail.
I wish I could have bailed. I wish I could have walked away four years ago, then maybe I’d have the strength to walk away now. To look her in the eyes and say, “Sorry, but I can’t do this again.”
People rarely mean what they say. To me, sorry was just another word in the English language that people misused, just like love.
I love ice cream, I love pancakes, I love the color blue… bull shit, because when I said love — I meant I bled for you. When the word love actually leaves my lips, I’m speaking it into
existence. I’m empowering my soul — I’m joining with yours.
I’d always heard about crossroads, how people are given choices in their lives, choices that either make or break them. I never realized that I’d be given that second chance. I never realized I’d fail to take it.
Her eyes pleaded with mine. My heart shattered in my chest, my lips moved to speak — to say anything to get her to understand the depth of what I was feeling, but I knew the minute I told her how I felt, it would be all over with.
My heart, my soul, it couldn’t survive anything happening to her. If she wasn’t in my world, my heart would stop. I knew it was killing her — because it was destroying me.
But going back to that life.
Even for her.
Was out of the question.
Falling in love, jumping out, even knowing full well that she’d catch me. It wasn’t an option. Because everyone knows, when it comes to love, it’s not the fall that hurts… it’s the landing. And I knew it was only matter of time before she gave up on me too and allowed me to break.
Because in the end… that’s all I was — broken. A shell of a human.
****
“I don’t understand!” She beat against my chest with her fists. “You promised me! You promised you’d never leave!” Tears streamed down her face, the face I used to love. I closed my eyes then looked behind me as Saylor clenched the keys in her hand, waiting for my decision.
I was at a crossroads all right. One path led to my future, the other to my past and utter self destruction.
I couldn’t look at her. I ignored every thread of feeling and relished the pain of my heart breaking into a million pieces as I held out my hand in front of me. “You’re right, I promised.”
“Gabe!” Saylor yelled from behind me. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”
“Don’t you see?” I said quietly without turning around. “It’s always been like this. It will always be like this. I warned you.”
“But—”
“Enough!” I yelled, tears threatening to stream down my face. “I said enough. You should go.”
I heard the door slam behind me.
“It’s okay!” she said, cupping my face. “It will finally be okay!”
“Alright, princess.” I choked on the word. “Alright.” I tightened the pink scarf around her neck and put my arm around her.
“Thanks.” She sighed happily. “You always promised you’d take care of me, you can’t leave, you can’t—”
“I won’t,” I vowed, because it was my fault. Just like everything else.
“Can we go play now, Gabe?”
“Yeah, sweetheart, we can.” I folded the blanket around her legs and pushed her wheelchair out of the room, knowing full well that I was choosing the wrong path — with every step I took.
Waltzing with the Wallflower
Prologue
The Duel
“Do you think it best to fight your brother so deep in your cups?” Wilde asked a foxed Ambrose.
Ambrose’s head continued to pound to the rhythm of the blood coursing through his veins. His brilliant plan had not, in fact, been to challenge his own brother to a duel over a woman.
A blasted woman.
He took another sip of whiskey before he cursed and faced his friend Sir Colin Wilde. Unfortunately, his vision was blurred to the point of making him dizzy. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on how things had gone so horribly wrong.
“Maybe if you talked about it,” Wilde suggested.
Ambrose opened his eyes. “Talk about it? Like a blasted woman? You want me to talk about my feelings?”
Wilde shrugged. “I take it you believe your solution to be better?”
Ambrose grumbled and motioned for another drink while Wilde simultaneously shook his head at the proprietor, informing him that his friend was done drinking for the day.
Was the man insane? The last thing he needed was to feel. The quickest way he knew to help numb the surprising pain of the news was to drink himself into oblivion or possibly allow his brother to shoot him. The Good Lord knew he deserved it after the way he had treated Cordelia.
That name. That blasted name. He swore he wouldn’t think about it — to think about it brought on too much pain. Pain he didn’t want to acknowledge, because then it would mean he had been wrong all this time.
Just as he opened his mouth, to quite possibly spill his feelings as Wilde encouraged, the door to the establishment crashed open.
“Where is he?” Viscount Maddox, Ambrose’s younger brother yelled above the rest of the patrons. “I ask again! Where is he?”
The jolly men around the poorly lit establishment quieted down; someone cleared his throat as another man pointed to Ambrose.
He cursed.
Not that he was a coward—he just didn’t feel like marching to his death just yet. Not when her name was so fresh in his mind and the pain of loss so new to his memory. It seemed he owed her that much, at least to think of her during his last few minutes alive.
“Is it that time already?” Ambrose asked. Wilde made a stand in front of him and faced Anthony.
“Are you his guard dog then, Wilde?” Anthony sneered, placed his arms on the table and leaned in.
“Nothing of the sort. I simply don’t make it a habit to participate in illegal duels between brothers, especially when one brother is so foxed he can’t see straight.”
“It’s not my fault he’s foxed. Nor is it my fault that he finds himself in this predicament. He lost the bet and ruined everything! The least I can do is take his sorry excuse of an existence away from him!”
“So that’s it, brother? You’ve come to kill me when I’m at my weakest, all over a silly bet?”
Anthony sneered. “This isn’t about the bet. It’s about her. About what you did to her. I should have killed you then, but mark my words, brother. I will kill you now, for not only destroying the one woman capable of capturing your heart, but for snuffing out the spirit of the best lady to grace London in years.”
His speech was followed by cheers throughout the room. Cordelia, it seemed, had not only won him over, but the rest of London and it was all his fault. All because of a bet. He lost her—lost everything. And because of that, he found himself saying to his brother, “Do your worst.”
Acknowledgements
I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to do what I love every day. All honor goes to God — without Him there is no way I would be able to do what I do.
Writing Jaymeson’s story was such a fun experience. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let go of the Seaside boys. This is your warning now, if I’m eighty and still writing about AD2, don’t be surprised. Of course, I’ll probably have to turn them into vampires so they can stay young forever, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
To my beta readers, Liza, Kristin, and newbies Heather and Michelle. You guys did such an amazing job helping me with this book. I know it was hard when I’d only send you chapters at a time, but your help was HUGE, and I’ll be forever grateful!
Laura, you rock my world. You know you do. Your covers and editing are always spot on, and I’m pretty sure my books would suck if I didn’t have you.
Julie and Kay, thanks for always being willing to do a content edit so that we can keep a strict deadline!
Readers, I love you guys. I know I say this a lot, but oh my gosh, you seriously make me the happiest author ever! I’ve had such a blast getting to know you in the fan group and on Facebook. Thank you for your constant encouragement and support!
Bloggers. Geez. There are so many of you. And all of you work hours on end to promote books and help me out. Thank you so much for being so willing to devote your time and energy. I love you guys hard!
Erica Spellman, my agent, thank you for fighting on my team and making sure I can both traditionally publish and self publish. I’m so blessed to have you in my life and will FOREVER be thankful that we connected!
As always,
if you wanna check in on me and see what’s going on in my life, find me on Facebook or Twitter!
If you hated the book or loved the book, leave a review. It helps so much and I really appreciate it!
About the Author
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her husband and their snoring boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com
Other Books by Rachel Van Dyken
Forever Romance
The Bet
The Wager
Elite
Elect
Seaside Series
Tear
Pull
Shatter
Forever
Wallflower Trilogy
Waltzing with the Wallflower
Beguiling Bridget
Taming Wilde
London Fairy Tales
Upon a Midnight Dream
Whispered Music
The Wolf’s Pursuit
Renwick House
The Ugly Duckling Debutante
The Seduction of Sebastian St. James
The Redemption of Lord Rawlings
An Unlikely Alliance
The Devil Duke Takes a Bride
Other Titles
Every Girl Does It
The Parting Gift
Compromising Kessen
Savage Winter
Divine Uprising
Ruin
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
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