Object of My Desire

by R. L. Kenderson

  I shook my head. “No, thanks.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Harper took off, and I swung around to get more books out to replace the ones that had been bought.

  I was counting them out when a voice said, “I brought my own book for you to sign. I hope that’s okay.”

  I swallowed as I slowly turned back, my arms full of books, and gasped when I saw Travis standing at my table.

  Travis watched Sydney freeze. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out, and she closed it again.

  He hoped her being speechless was good. After reading the book she’d given him, he had been worried that she had completely moved on from him.

  He’d been waiting for Harper to leave, so he could talk to Sydney alone. He’d seen her run out of the event room, but she’d seemed to be in a hurry, so he hadn’t gone after her. He just hoped that he could say everything he needed to. Maybe he should have waited for the signing to be over.

  He sat down in Harper’s seat and took the books from Sydney’s hands. He put them down on the table for readers to grab.

  “What—what are you doing?” she asked.

  He smiled. “Putting the books on the spot where you showed me.” He raised his brow. “Am I doing it wrong?”

  She shook her head. “No, I mean, what are you doing here?”

  “I came to see you.”

  “Why?”

  He held up The One That Got Away. “I read your book.”

  And so had his sister. He’d come home from the book signing in Iowa, and the two of them had sat down for a long conversation.

  Lynn had told him she’d cried at the end and that he needed to give Sydney a second chance.

  “Sydney is not Christy, Travis. She wasn’t going out of her way to check up on you. She made an honest mistake. And so did you. You left your account logged in on her phone, and you know what that tells me?”

  “No.”

  “That tells me that you trust her. You would have never done that with Christy.”

  Her words made him really think. “You’re right. I just wish she had talked to me about it.”

  “Honey, everyone makes mistakes, and you two hadn’t been dating that long. You need to tell her that she can trust you and come to you. After Christy, she was probably worried you’d be mad. And she was right.”

  Travis blew out a big breath. “Damn. You’re right.”

  “Duh.”

  Sydney’s cheeks turned pink before his eyes. “Oh.”

  He couldn’t help but laugh. She’d sent him the book for that very purpose, but she was now embarrassed that he’d done the very thing she’d wanted.

  “It was good, except …”

  “Except what?”

  “I didn’t like the way it ended.”

  Sydney took a deep breath. “Why’s that?”

  “Because you and I are supposed to end up together.”

  “But that book isn’t about us.”

  “It isn’t? You gave the heroine an eye with a brown spot in it.” He pointed to her eye that matched the very description in the book.

  “It’s a couple like us,” she said, her head held high.

  Travis laughed. “Good save.”

  “Besides, I think the book ended great. They each got their happily ever afters.”

  Travis picked up Sydney’s hand. “But I don’t want it with someone else. I want it with you.”

  She sucked in a breath. “But … but …”

  “But nothing. You are perfect for me, and I love you just the way you are. And, if you ever say anything about not being pretty enough or thin enough or any shit like that, I will take you over my knee.”

  “Oh.” She narrowed her eyes. “But I hear you have a new girlfriend.”

  He frowned. “From who?” Who in the hell is spreading rumors about me?

  “From some readers.” She looked around. “Over there. Those two.”

  He laughed. “I was talking about you. I was telling them I came to find you.”

  “Oh.” She laughed nervously. “Does this mean you forgive me?”

  “Yes. Do you forgive me?”

  She suspiciously eyed him. “For what?”

  “For rushing to judgment. For comparing you to my ex. For not listening to you.”

  “I suppose.”

  “You suppose?”

  She sighed. “Travis, the thing is, I’m not perfect.”

  He opened his mouth to argue, and she put her finger over his lips.

  “I’m not talking about looks. I’m talking about actions and thoughts. I’m going to doubt myself sometimes. And, if something happens between us, I want to know I can come to you, and we can talk about it. I realize that was part of the issue—me not coming to you—but I was worried about how you would react.”

  He pulled her hand away, so he could speak. “You’re right. But you have to do me a favor.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Please don’t assume the worst. You have to trust that I love you and want to be with you. And I will trust that you will come to me when you’re unsure of something or feeling insecure.” He pulled her toward him, so their foreheads touched. “And I said that you were perfect for me, which you are.”

  “Well, well, well, isn’t this cozy?”

  Travis and Sydney looked over to see Harper standing in front of the table.

  “I leave for ten minutes, and Travis just sweeps in and steals my chair.”

  He stood. “Sorry. I had to talk to Sydney.”

  Harper waved her hand in a downward motion. “Sit. I’ll see if I can find another chair.” She put her hands on the table, leaned over, and grinned. “Does this mean you’re back together?”

  Travis looked over at Sydney for an answer.

  When she didn’t say anything, Harper said, “Syd, he came all the way to another state for you.”

  Sydney backed away and looked at him. “Why did you come all the way here? We live in the same state.”

  “I needed to get my shit together this past week, and I thought it would be romantic. We met at a book signing, and I came in to sweep you off your feet at another signing.” He smiled. “So, did I? Did I sweep you off your feet?”

  Sydney laughed. “Not even close.”

  He frowned, and she fell against him; she was laughing so hard.

  “But I’m super glad you came,” she admitted.

  “Oh, you are, huh?”

  “Yes. Because I love you, and I think we deserve a second chance.”

  Travis grinned down at her. “I love you, too. Admit it; I totally swept you off your feet.”

  “Honey, have you seen my phone?” I called out to Travis.

  “It’s in here,” he answered from the hotel bathroom.

  Whew.

  I was so worried about tonight that I couldn’t keep track of basic things.

  I walked toward the bathroom, grabbing my purse as I went.

  As I came around the corner, my dear husband of three years whistled at me. “You look beautiful.”

  I curtsied. “Thank you, kind sir. You look dashing yourself.”

  Travis had just cut several inches off his hair and shaved his facial hair. He pulled at the collar of his bow tie. “I feel like I’m choking. This is one of the reasons I’m a personal trainer and a model. I either wear workout clothes or no clothes,” he joked even though I’d seen him dressed up in several photos. He smiled at me. “But it’s worth it.”

  “Only if I win.”

  Travis smiled. “Even if you don’t win. It’s not every day your book gets nominated for a RITA Award.”

  I grinned. He was right.

  “I love that you know what a RITA Award is.”

  I knew everyone said it was just an honor to be nominated, and others scoffed at them, but at this point in my career, it really was an honor. Maybe if I was nominated several times and didn’t win, then I’d t
hink differently. But I wasn’t there.

  There was a knock on the adjoining door to our hotel room, and the door opened.

  “Do you want to say good-bye to the kids now?” Bonnie asked. “Chad and I are going to take them down to the pool.”

  Two-year-old Ava came running through the door until she hit my legs. “I go swimming, Mama!”

  I picked her up and hugged her close. “I heard. That sounds like fun. But you’d better listen to everything Grandma and Grandpa tell you, okay?”

  She nodded. “I promise.”

  She wiggled in my arms, and I let her down. She immediately ran behind me.

  “I go swimming, Daddy.”

  Travis laughed and picked her up.

  While I left those two to say good night, I walked into Chad and Bonnie’s room to pick up the baby.

  “Hey, Noah.” I picked him up. “How’s Mama’s big boy? You look so cute in your swimsuit.”

  His shorts went down past his knees, and his baby belly stuck out. He was adorable.

  My nine-month-old grinned at me and grabbed at my necklace, tugging on it.

  “Be careful, baby. Don’t break it.”

  He ignored me and put the necklace in his mouth.

  Travis and Ava walked in as I asked, “You’ll be careful with Noah in the pool?”

  Travis laughed at his mother’s insulted face.

  “I’m sorry. I just worry.” I kissed Noah on the cheek. “I just love this little guy.”

  Bonnie held out her arms. “I promise to take care of him.”

  “Thank you,” I said with a smile and handed the baby over.

  “You ready?” Travis asked.

  “Yep.” I kissed Noah’s forehead and Ava’s cheek. “Be good,” I told her.

  “’Kay.” Her answer probably meant she hadn’t listened to me at all.

  “We’ll see you in the morning.”

  “’Kay, Mama.” When Chad came out of the bathroom, Ava grabbed his hand. “Let’s go swimming.”

  Chad smiled. “You two have fun.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Travis put his arm around me and led me back to our room. “Come on, sexy. Let’s go win that award.”

  We made sure we had everything we needed and were off to the Romance Writers of America Awards Ceremony where I was up for a RITA award, which was thankfully in the same building.

  Hours later, after the RITA awards after-party, Travis and I headed up to our room.

  He pulled me close to him in the elevator. “You okay with not winning?”

  I looked up at him. “I really am. And I lost to a great writer and a good book.”

  He kissed my head, and the doors opened.

  “But I was thinking …”

  “What’s that?” Travis asked as he removed his tie.

  I watched as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. His T-shirt was next, and I was met with his glorious upper body. He was putting on a show for me, and he didn’t even know it. He was in his early thirties now and still modeled but not as much as he used to. He ran his own gym now with a friend—plus, we had a family—so it was harder for him to find time to go to shoots.

  I grinned and stepped forward. Running my hands down his chest and abdomen, I said, “I might need some of your personal cheering up.”

  Travis raised his brow. “Oh, yeah?”

  I slipped my hand underneath the waistband of his pants and wrapped my fingers around his cock. “Oh, yeah.”

  He unfastened his pants and pushed them off his hips. But then he pulled my hand away and swung me around.

  He slowly unzipped the back of my dress, running his finger down my spine as he went.

  A shiver racked my body.

  My dress fell to the floor, and he led me over to the bed. He got down on one knee and kissed my belly, stretch marks and all. Thanks to my amazing husband, I saw them as badges of honor rather than something to be embarrassed about.

  “I will always desire you, Sydney,” he said, practically reading my mind.

  We finished undressing each other, and I lay back onto the bed and spread my legs. “Get inside your wife, Zehler.”

  Travis laughed, grabbing on to my ankles, and did exactly as I’d demanded.

  Once we were both spent and panting, he lay down beside me.

  “I suppose we should go check on the kids,” I said, eyeing the closed adjoining door.

  “In a minute. I want to hold you for a bit.”

  I wiggled back into him. “Sounds good to me.” I closed my eyes and let my husband’s warmth and love surround me. Even though I hadn’t won an award, I was happy because I already had everything I wanted.

  If you liked Object of My Desire, please check out our other novels.

  Also, don’t miss our paranormal romance series. Forbidden Blood is FREE!

  And sign up for our newsletter to find out about new books…

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  You can also join our Facebook group, R.L. Kenderson Reader Lounge!

  Acknowledgments

  First, we have to give a big thank-you to all the male models who let us interview them for our book. It was one of the most fun things we’d ever done in the name of research. Golden Czermak, Christian James, Mitch Mathes, Zack Salaun, Michael Scanlon, and Taras Timofeyenko, thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to answer our questions! If you ever read our book, you might see little tidbits that came from our interviews, and hopefully, it makes you smile.

  Also, thank you to Pathways Talent Services for going out of your way to respond to our questions on what your role is in the modeling industry.

  Thank you to our beta readers and our ARC readers! You ladies do such a wonderful job. We are so lucky to have you as part of our team.

  Thank you to all the bloggers and readers who help us promote our book. And an extra-special thank-you to those of you who read our work and post a review. We couldn’t do it without you!

  Thank you again to Golden Czermak—who is also the amazingly talented photographer at FuriousFotog—for the awesome photo of Chase Ketron that we were able to purchase to grace the cover of our book.

  Thank you to Jovana Shirley of Unforeseen Editing. As always, you mold our work into something presentable and beautiful.

  Last but definitely not least, thank you to our families for your support and for understanding that writing is more than a hobby. We love you!

  ALSO BY R.L. KENDERSON

  NOVELS IN THE FORBIDDEN SERIES

  Paranormal Romance

  Forbidden Blood

  Forbidden Heat

  Forbidden Temptation

  Forbidden Addiction

  Forbidden Claim

  ***

  BOOKS IN THE DIRTY LOVE SERIES

  Contemporary Romance

  Rumor Has It

  Friends with Benefits

  One-Night Stand

  Meant to Be

  It’s Complicated (Coming Fall 2019)

  ***

  SANDALONE NOVELS

  Contemporary Romance

  Take Me in the Night

  Wicked Chemistry

  Object of My Desire

  SANDALONE SHORT STORIES

  Summer Heat

  The Hottest Player

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  R.L. Kenderson is two best friends writing under one name.

  Renae has always loved reading, and in third grade, she wrote her first poem where she learned she might have a knack for this writing thing. Lara remembers sneaking her grandmother’s Harlequin novels when she was probably too young to be reading them, and since then, she knew she wanted to write her own.

  When they met in college, they bonded over their love of reading and the TV show Charmed. What really spiced up their friendship was when Lara introduced Renae to romance novels. When they discovered their first vampire romance, they knew there would always be a sp
ecial place in their hearts for paranormal romance. After being unable to find certain storylines and characteristics they wanted to read about in the hundreds of books they consumed, they decided to write their own.

  One lives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and the other in the Kansas City area where they’re a sonographer/stay-at-home mom/wife and pharmacist/mother by day, and together they’re a sexy author by night. They communicate through phone, email, and whole lot of messaging.

  You can find them at http://www.rlkenderson.com, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and Goodreads. Join their Facebook Reader Group. Or you can email them at rlkenderson@rlkenderson.com, or sign up for their newsletter here. They always love hearing from their readers.