Diane [The Town of Pearl 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Page 1
The Town of Pearl 6
Diane
Diane Mercury’s love of lingerie and lust for one special agent and his two military brothers send her on a life-changing journey she never expected. She was bored, lacking in self-confidence until fate stepped in and gave her a push. Add in getting de-virginized by three men she’s fantasized for nearly a year, and yep, she’s feeling like she can accomplish anything. But she’s no secret agent, not a woman of adventure and danger unless in bed, with her men, Drake, Lucas, and Mark Santos.
So when she’s asked to be part of a photo shoot in New York the last thing she expects is to be shoved in the middle of her lover’s investigation. She’s held at gunpoint, a witness to numerous murders and some foreign terrorist wants her as a prize in revenge against agent Mark Santos. It will take Mark, his brothers Drake and Lucas, along with the agency, to keep their woman alive and bring down a monster.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 51,247 words
DIANE
The Town of Pearl 6
Dixie Lynn Dwyer
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
DIANE
Copyright © 2014 by Dixie Lynn Dwyer
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-847-8
First E-book Publication: May 2014
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Diane by Dixie Lynn Dwyer from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Dixie Lynn Dwyer’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Dwyer’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
Dear Readers,
Thank you for purchasing this legal copy of Diane.
May you enjoy her story about finding her true self, learning to take chances, and ultimately following her heart in all aspects of her life. It takes courage, determination, and trust to take chances in careers, in relationships, and love. But ultimately, the benefits, more often than not, outweigh the risks.
Welcome to another journey in the Town of Pearl, where second chances and true love can be found by those who truly desire it.
Happy Reading.
Hugs!
Dixie Lynn Dwyer
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
About the Author
DIANE
The Town of Pearl 6
DIXIE LYNN DWYER
Copyright © 2014
Chapter 1
Diane Mercury hurried out to her Jeep. It was pouring rain, and tonight had turned into the worst night ever. She shouldn’t have let Kelly and Ina talk her into going into Keanter and partying. She hated drinking, she never felt comfortable with any man, and she was definitely not into the one-night-stand thing. Hell, she was a virgin and hated showing off her body. Again, she glanced down at the snug-fitting dress she wore and cowgirl boots. She wanted to look good tonight for the dance floor. This particular place, Murphy’s, was one of the hottest dance halls around. They didn’t even let you in the place unless you dressed up a certain way.
She gripped the steering wheel tighter just as she headed through Croton. Just a few more miles and she would be in Pearl and then her warm, fluffy bed. She thought about the guys who tried to kiss her tonight. The ones who wrapped their arms around her as she danced the two-step around the large oval dance floor. She just couldn’t seem to let go, or to get that creepy feeling out of her head.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me? I hate feeling like this. I hate feeling insecure about my body, my big ass, my hips, and my large breasts. I know I’m no toothpick like Kelly, nor am I what anyone would call petite, but I wish I met someone who made me feel beautiful.
Immediately Diane thought about Mark Santos and his brothers Lucas and Drake. Maybe she was reading into the fact that Mark came into the boutique once a week to buy lingerie and ask her what she liked. It bothered her to think that he was buying lingerie for other women, but it shouldn’t. He hadn’t ever asked her out, or even flirted, except for a bump to her elbow or every now and then she would catch him staring at her. Why would a man like Mark Santos, a federal agent, be interested in her? Mark was so mysterious and sexy. He disappeared for weeks at a time, and she heard through the grapevine, her friend Sage, that he did secret, dangerous jobs for the government. That in itself was sexy.
When she saw him or his brothers in town, which was rarely, she pretended that they were watching her, or maybe they were but she had wished so much that they did pay attention that she actually thought she saw them watching her.
“God, I’m such a loser.”
Mark did show up at some of the strangest times. One minute he wasn’t there and then next he appeared. It was a mystery, and also an ability of his she fantasized about. Like maybe he would just appear i
n her bedroom one night, naked of course, and ready to take action and claim her virginity?
She felt the car pulling a little to the right as the rain continued to pour down. She was making her way onto the last long road from Croton to Pearl and her mind once again went to the Santos men. She liked them. Hell, she fantasized about them and probably because she knew they would never pay attention to her. She even bought one of those expensive cuckoo clocks that Drake and Lucas hand carved. She loved their work and wondered if it was a kind of therapy for the two men.
Drake was very hard and demanding, with the scars on his arm and one by his eye. His black crew cut hair, and the way he dressed so perfectly was all military. She found his scars and his deep expressions a mystery just as much as she found Lucas’s to be. Except Lucas intimidated her the most. She was afraid of him and the sad, lost look in his eyes. He hardly ever spoke, and stayed clear of town except when there was an event.
All three men were so sexy and tall, over six feet three with muscles and a capability other men just didn’t have. The fact was, even if they did pay attention to her, she probably wouldn’t have the guts to follow her desires. She was shy, insecure, and she needed to change if she ever wanted to be as happy and loved as her sister Melissa.
Diane gripped the wheel as she heard the loud pop and the car swerved.
“Son of a bitch!” she exclaimed, hitting the breaks and pulling off on the side of the road. “A flat tire? Really?” She banged the steering wheel.
She reached for her cell. It was one o’clock in the morning. Who could she call? A series of thoughts went through her head. Should she call her brothers-in-law, Hank, Paul, and Willie? What about Wyatt or even just the sheriff’s department in Pearl to see if one of the other deputies were working and could help? But then she suddenly felt that sensation in her gut.
I can’t continue on this path of weakness and insecurity. I know how to change a tire. Well, I think I know how. Hell, I saw the commercial where the teenager just learned how to drive and her father made her change a tire in the pouring rain. I could do this.
With a new sense of independence, self-confidence, and determination, she opened the door and stepped out into the dark, rainy night, only slightly illuminated by the bright moon.
She would feel really good in the morning when she saw her sister and told her about her accomplishment.
She hurried toward the back of the Jeep and pulled open the small door. There was the jack and the thingy she needed to take the bolts off the tire first. What the heck is this thing called?
She pulled out the jack and looked at it as if it were the most foreign thing ever. “What the hell?”
She panicked a moment as the rain beat down soaking her.
Quickly she jumped back into her Jeep, wiped her face, and Google searched how to change a tire and use a jack. She also read a text from Ina who wondered if she left with the two blonds who were grabbing her ass and kissing Diane’s neck. Feeling angry at the memory, she researched the Internet for directions.
Ten minutes later the Jeep was lifted and the new tire still attached to the back of the jeep.
She was feeling cold, shivering from the rain, and also feeling scared to be out here all alone, especially as she thought about the two men who tried feeling her up. And to think that Ina thought Diane would have left with them.
She was feeling angry when suddenly she saw headlights heading her way.
It was a car, maybe a sports car, but she couldn’t tell as the rain continued to come down hard.
The person got out and it was a man. A very tall man and she felt her chests tighten.
Shit, shit, shit.
“Diane?”
She swung her head up to look and nearly fell over at the sight of Mark Santos. “What the hell are you doing out this late at night?” He asked, approaching swiftly as the rain began to pick up.
“Hey, well, I kind of had a flat tire.”
“I can see that. Damn, you’re drenched. Get back into the Jeep and I’ll take care of this,” he told her as he pulled off his jacket, a raincoat-like designer thing and placed it over her shoulders.
“No, it’s okay. I got it. I’m almost done,” she said as she stood up.
His eyes seemed to zero in on her chest, and she turned away and looked down. Son of a bitch, the dress is now see-through and my nipples are hard as could be. Of course they are. Of all the freaking people to pull up when I’m drenched with a see-through dress it has to be one of the men I lust for. Fuck.
She felt the jacket go over her shoulders.
“Get into the Jeep now,” he said in a tone that meant business.
She turned toward him, looking straight up into his dark eyes as the rain dripped from his crew cut hair, over his firm, distinguished-looking nose, sexy lips, and muscular jaw. His brown eyes looked amazing.
“Now, Diane,” he said, teeth clenched.
Why the hell is he angry? I’m the one with the flat tire.
She swallowed hard and began to turn toward the driver side wondering how she was supposed to get in with the jack still up when she heard the tire bounce. Like some muscle man he had the tire off the back of the Jeep and then took the flat tire and placed it into the back of the Jeep. She watched his muscles flex, his large hands still appearing big even against the thick all-weather tire. Her pussy clenched, her nipples hardened, and she shivered but wouldn’t get into the Jeep. He lowered the jack after he added the lug nuts back to the tire. He placed the things back into the Jeep and she opened the Jeep door.
He approached, drenched and looking sexier than any fantasy she ever had. His white button-down shirt was see-through, too. She had no idea he had a tattoo on his shoulder and chest.
She pulled off his jacket and handed it to him.
“Sorry it’s all wet. Thank you so much for helping me.”
He leaned into the Jeep, his hands braced on the upper part of the doorframe.
He looked into her eyes and then down at her legs and again toward her chest. She covered herself with her arm.
“What are you doing out this late?” he asked her.
“I was in Keanter with friends.”
“Until after one o’clock in the morning, and all alone?”
“I was with them.”
“Where are they now?”
“Back at the dance hall.”
“Doing what?”
“Hooking up.”
His eyes widened and then a dark, angry expression filled his eyes. She swallowed hard.
“You didn’t want to stay and ‘hook up,’ too?” he asked with an attitude.
She shook her head. Why did she feel like he was reprimanding her and that he would tell her brothers-in-law and they would do the same when she saw them?
Why did his question deflate her whole attraction to the man and make her feel like some wild teenager who was busted by her father? Hell, he was not her father. She didn’t think of him in that way at all. She felt her temper flare.
“Well, thank you again. I could have handled it.”
“You shouldn’t be out late at night like this all by yourself.”
“That wasn’t the plan. I was the designated driver.”
“You left your friends there?”
“They were hooking up and told me to leave. They met some guys and were getting rides.”
“And you didn’t meet any guys who wanted to hook up with?” he asked, again sounding pissed off. Why was he asking her these questions?
“It’s none of your business, Mark. I’m a big girl and can handle myself. I wasn’t interested in anyone there.”
He looked like he was biting the inside of his cheek. “I’m glad to hear that. Be careful driving home. I’ll follow you to your place to make sure you get there okay.”
“That’s not necessary,” she said, and he raised one eyebrow at her.
God, he’s so damn sexy. Holy shit, even my panties are wet and it has nothing to do with the rain.
She licked her lower lip and then swallowed.
“Can I close the door now?” she asked.
He looked her over again, and this time she felt as if he touched her with his eyes. It was incredible. Once he walked away and she watched him through the side mirror as he got into his sports car, she released a long sigh.
She had a mix of emotions as she started the jeep and proceeded to drive home. Mark seemed angry with her and spoke to her as if she were some naïve child. Like she planned on having a flat fucking tire on the way home. Really?
Then he was all sexy and suave, seemed sort of caring in a hard, cold way, but it was there. The man’s personality was indescribable. She continued to shake as she drove the remainder of the way home. Mark followed her as he said he would and he waited until she was inside her house until he drove off.
She leaned against the door inside her home and closed her eyes.
I could have been more brazen and invited him in. I could have been so mature and acted so experienced as I told him I could put his wet clothes in the dryer. Maybe even asked him to join me in a hot shower? Yeah, right. I am an inexperienced virgin with trust issues and an inability to project any form of assertiveness or expression of desire publically. I’m a scaredy-cat, and unless I’m forced to do something, I opt out.
She pushed off the door and headed upstairs. As she pulled off her clothes and glanced at the mirror in her bedroom, she took a deep breath and released it.
“Someday I’ll feel beautiful and find the right man or men to love me. I’ll have what Melissa has. Love, compassion, and a family.”