Seized By Love

by Melissa Foster

  SEIZED

  By Love

  The Ryders

  Love in Bloom Series

  Melissa Foster

  This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

  SEIZED BY LOVE

  All Rights Reserved.

  Copyright © 2015 Melissa Foster

  V1.0

  This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Cover Design: Natasha Brown & Elizabeth Mackey

  WORLD LITERARY PRESS

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  A Note to Readers

  I have been excited about writing Blue Ryder’s story since the very moment I met him, and when I met Lizzie Barber, I knew she was the perfect woman for our sexy, loyal hero. They are outwardly sweet and secretly naughty—what could be more fun? I hope you love them as much as I do.

  Blue’s story is the first in the Ryder family series. The love stories of four of his siblings are coming soon (Cash Ryder’s story was told in FLAMES OF LOVE, The Remingtons). To ensure you never miss a release, sign up for my newsletter:

  http://www.melissafoster.com/newsletter.

  If this is your first Love in Bloom book, then you have a whole series of loyal, sexy, and wickedly naughty heroes and sassy heroines to catch up on. You might enjoy starting with SISTERS IN LOVE, the first of the Love in Bloom series, currently FREE for e-readers. The characters from each series (Snow Sisters, The Bradens, The Remingtons, and Seaside Summers) make appearances in future books. For New Adult Romance lovers, you’ll also find appearances of our Love in Bloom characters in the Harborside Nights series.

  Remember to sign up for the newsletter, and pick up your Love in Bloom series guide to keep track of character growth throughout the series. You can find the guide as well as a family tree, series checklist, and more here: http://www.melissafoster.com/reader-goodies.

  For Aimee Suter from my

  fabulous street team, for letting

  me borrow your precious lists

  and for being a Filthy Fosterette!

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Epilogue

  BOOK LIST

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  THERE WERE SOME nights when Lizzie Barber simply didn’t feel like donning an apron, black-framed glasses, and high heels, covering her shiny brunette locks with a blond wig, and prancing around nearly naked. Tonight was one of those nights. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror of her basement bathroom, Lizzie tucked the last few strands of her hair beneath the wig and forced her very best smile. Thank God her elfin lips naturally curled up at the edges—even when she wasn’t smiling, she looked like she was. And tonight she definitely wasn’t in the mood to smile. Her oven had been acting up for the last few nights, and she prayed to the gods of all things sugary and sweet that it would behave tonight.

  Tightening the apron tie around her neck and the one around her waist, to avoid wardrobe malfunctions, and tugging on the hem of the apron to ensure her skin-colored thong and all her naughty bits were covered, she went into the studio—aka the miniscule kitchen located in the basement of her cute Cape Cod cottage—and surveyed her baking accoutrements one last time before queuing the intro music for her webcast and pasting that perfectly perky smile back in place.

  “Welcome back, my hot and hunky bakers,” she purred into the camera. “Today we’re going to bake delicious angel food cupcakes with fluffy frosting that will make your mouth water.” She leaned forward, flashing the camera an eyeful of cleavage and her most seductive smile as she crooked her finger in a come-hither fashion. “And because we all know it’s what’s beneath all that delicious frosting that counts, we’re going to sprinkle a few surprises inside the thick, creamy centers.”

  Lizzie had mastered making baking sound naughty while in college, when her father had taken ill and her parents had closed their inn for six months to focus on his medical care, leaving Lizzie without college tuition. Her part-time job at a florist shop hadn’t done a darn thing for her mounting school loans, and when a friend suggested she try making videos and monetizing them to earn fast cash, she drew upon her passion for baking and secretly put on a webcast called Cooking with Coeds. It turned out that scantily clad baking was a real money earner. She’d paid for her books and meal plan that way, and eventually earned enough to pay for most of her college tuition. Lizzie had two passions in life—baking and flowers, and she’d hoped to open her own floral shop after college. After graduation, Cooking with Coeds became the Naked Baker webcast, and she’d made enough money to finish paying off her school loans and open a flower shop in Provincetown, Massachusetts, just like she’d always dreamed of. She hadn’t intended to continue the Naked Baker after opening P-town Petals, but when her parents fell upon hard times again and her younger sister Maddy’s educational fund disappeared, the Naked Baker webcast became Lizzie’s contribution to Maddy’s education. Their very conservative parents would have a conniption if they knew what their proper little girl was doing behind closed doors, but what other choice did she have? Her parents ran a small bed-and-breakfast in Brewster, Massachusetts, and with her father’s health ping-ponging, they barely earned enough money to make ends meet—and affording college for a child who had come as a surprise to them seven years after Lizzie was born had proven difficult.

  Lizzie narrowed her eyes seductively as she gazed into the camera and stirred the batter. She dipped her finger into the rich, creamy goodness and put that finger into her mouth, making a sensual show of sucking it off. “Mm-mm. Nothing better than thick, creamy batter.” Her tongue swept over her lower lip as she ran through the motions of creating what she’d come to think of as baking porn.

  During the filming of each show, she reminded herself often of why she was still doing something that she felt ashamed of and kept secret. There was no way she was going to let her sweet nineteen-year-old sister fend for herself and end up doing God knew what to earn money like she did instead of focusing on her studies. Or worse, drop out of school. Madison was about as innocent as they came, and while Lizzie might once have been that innocent, her determination to succeed, and life circumstances, had beaten it out of her. Creating the webcast was the bes
t decision she’d ever made—even if it meant putting her nonexistent social life on hold and living a secret life after dark. The blond wig and thick-framed spectacles helped to hide her online persona, or at least they seemed to. No one had ever accused her of being the Naked Baker. Then again, her assumption was that the freaky people who got off watching her prance around in an apron and heels probably rarely left their own basements.

  She was proud of helping Maddy. She felt like she was taking one for the team. Going where no girl should ever have to go. Braving the wild naked baking arena for the betterment of the sister she cherished.

  A while later, as Lizzie checked the cupcakes and realized that while the oven was still warm, it had turned off—her stomach sank. Hiding her worries behind another forced smile and a wink, she stuck her ass out and bent over to quickly remove the tray of cupcakes from the oven, knowing the angle of the camera would give only a side view and none of her bare ass would actually be visible. Thankfully, the oven must have just died, because it was still warm and the cupcakes were firm enough to frost.

  Emergency reshoot avoided!

  Smile genuine!

  A few minutes later she sprinkled the last of the coconut on the cupcakes, narrating as she went.

  “Everyone wants a little something extra on top, and I’m going to give it to you good.” Giving one last wink to the camera, she said, “Until next week, this is your Naked Baker signing off for a sweet, seductive night of tantalizing tasting.”

  She clicked the remote and turned off the camera. Eyeing the fresh daisies she’d brought home from her flower shop, she leaned her forearms on the counter, and with a heavy sigh, she let her head fall forward. It was after midnight, and she had to be up bright and early to open the shop. Tomorrow night she’d edit the webcast so it would be ready in time to air the following night—and she needed to get her oven fixed.

  Damn thing.

  Kicking off her heels, Lizzie went upstairs, stripped out of the apron, and wrapped a thick towel around herself. A warm shower was just what she needed to wash away the film of shame left on her skin after taping the webcast. Thinking of the broken oven, she texted her friend Blue Ryder to see if he could fix it. Blue was a highly sought after craftsman who worked for the Kennedys and other prominent families around the Cape. When Lizzie’s pipe had burst under the sink in the bathroom above the first-floor kitchen while she was away at a floral convention for the weekend, Blue was only too happy to put aside time to handle the renovations. He was like that. Always making time to help others. He was still splitting his time between working on her kitchen renovations and working on the cottage he’d just purchased. He was working at his cottage tomorrow, but she hoped he could fit her in at some point.

  Can you fix my oven tomorrow?

  Blue texted back a few seconds later. He was as reliable as he was hot, a dangerous combination. She read his text—Is that code for something sexy?—and shook her head with a laugh.

  Smirking, she replied, Only if you’re into oven grease.

  Blue had asked her out many times since they’d met last year, when she’d handled the flowers for his friends’ quadruple beach wedding. Turning down his invitations wasn’t easy and had led to more sexy fantasies than she cared to admit. Her double life was crazy enough without adding a sexy, rugged man who was built like Magic Mike and had eyes that could hypnotize a blind woman, but her reasons went far deeper than that. Blue was more than eye candy. He was also a genuine friend, and he always put family and friends first, which, when added to his panty-dropping good looks and gentlemanly demeanor, was enough to stop Lizzie’s brain from functioning. It would be too easy to fall hard for a caring, loyal man like Blue Ryder. And that, she couldn’t afford. Maddy was counting on her.

  She read his text—Glad you finally came to your senses. When are you free?—and wondered if he thought she was being flirtatious.

  Time to nip this in the bud, she thought. Her finger hovered over the screen while her mind toyed with images of Blue, six foot three, all hot, hard muscles and steel-blue eyes.

  It had been way too long since she’d been with a man, and every time Blue asked her out, she was tempted, but she liked him so much as a friend, and she knew that tipping over from friendship to lovers would only draw her further in to him, making it harder to lead her double life.

  That was precisely why she hightailed it out of her house on the mornings before he showed up to work on her kitchen. Leaving before he arrived was the only way she was able to keep her distance. He was that good-looking. That kind. And that enjoyable to be around. Not only didn’t she have time for a relationship, but she was pretty sure that no guy would approve of his girlfriend doing the Naked Baker show. Of course, the mornings after taping her shows, she left him a sweet treat on the counter with a note thanking him for working on her kitchen.

  Even though Blue couldn’t see her as she drew back her shoulders and put on her most solemn face, she did it anyway to strengthen her resolve as she typed a text that she hoped would very gently set him straight. After work, but this is REALLY to fix my oven. The one I cook with! Thank you! See you around seven?

  She set the phone down and stepped into the shower, determined not to think about his blue eyes or the way his biceps flexed every time he moved his arms. Her mind drifted to when she’d arrived home from work yesterday and found Blue bending over his toolbox, his jeans stretched tight across his hamstrings and formed to his perfect ass. Her nipples hardened with the thought. He’d been the man she’d conjured up in her late-night fantasies since last summer. What did it hurt? He’d never know. She closed her eyes and ran her hand over her breasts, down her taut stomach, and between her legs. She may not have time to date, but a little midnight fantasy could go a long way…

  Chapter Two

  SWEAT POURED OFF Blue as he carried the wood he’d just torn out of the second-floor bedroom down the stairs and into the late-afternoon sun. It had been a mild fall so far on Cape Cod, and as thankful as he was for the moderate temperatures, working on the second floor of a cottage without air-conditioning had him wishing winter would peek its head over the sandy stretch of land. He tossed the old wood into the dumpster and wiped his brow with his forearm, gazing out over the property he’d purchased weeks earlier, the Bowers Bluff Lighthouse and its keeper’s cottage. Bowers Bluff was a mile-wide, eight-mile-long, dune-ridden peninsula on the north side of Cape Cod and the perfect location to one day raise a family.

  Blue had fallen in love with it the first time he’d seen it two summers ago with his brother, Duke, a real estate investor. They had planned on jointly purchasing the property and renovating it to be used as a restaurant, but the more time Blue spent there, the more he became attached to it. Eventually he gave in to his love and told Duke of his desire to purchase the property himself. Duke, being the eldest of the six Ryder siblings, had been supportive and understanding, as always.

  Blue had been working day and night renovating the cottage, until Lizzie Barber’s kitchen was damaged and he began splitting his time between the two properties. The renovations on both were coming along nicely. And as a bonus, he was able to see Lizzie almost every day, at least for a few minutes. Lizzie was a sweet bundle of seductive energy. Her personality lit up the room, and Blue had a feeling that if she’d ever give in and go out with him, they’d find out that the friendship they enjoyed was just the tip of the iceberg. But Lizzie had turned him down more often than the sun set. That, however, didn’t deter him. The more often she turned him away, the more he thought of her—and the more he wanted to make her his. Blue believed in following his gut, and his gut—and his heart—continually drew him to the petite, perky woman who could drive him crazy with a single smile.

  He stood in the doorway of the cottage, admiring his hard work. He’d refinished the hardwood floors, renovated the kitchen, removed the old paneling, and installed drywall and decorative moldings on the first floor. With the first floor complete, the second floor see
med like a breeze. Everything about the old place already felt like home, despite the fact that he’d grown up just outside of New York City. Unlike most of his siblings, he had never felt drawn to city life. His family had visited the Cape when he was just a boy, and his love for it had stuck with him ever since.

  He pulled out his cell phone to check the time. He was meeting Lizzie at seven to fix her oven, which he was sure was just a ruse, given that he was already renovating her kitchen and she had a brand-new oven. With any luck she’d finally come to her senses and would agree to go out with him. Every time he asked her out he was met with the same responses—she didn’t have time to date or she didn’t want to chance ruining their friendship. They did have an incredible friendship, but hell, wasn’t that how people got to know each other before dating?

  Before heading back inside he noticed he’d missed two texts. That wasn’t surprising. He was in the habit of giving his full focus to the quality of his work and letting everything else fall to the side.

  The first text was from his younger brother, Cash, who was a New York City firefighter. He and his fiancée, Siena Remington, a world-famous model, were finally getting married next month. Siena was the sister of another of Blue’s friends, Kurt Remington, a bestselling thriller writer who’d married Leanna Bray last summer in a quadruple wedding with six of their other friends here at the Cape. It was at their wedding that Blue had met Lizzie for the first time.

  He read the text from Cash. Need a head count. Are you bringing a guest to the wedding?

  He’d love to take Lizzie to the wedding, but the wedding was in New York, and if she wouldn’t go out on a date at the Cape, she surely wouldn’t go away overnight with him. Normally, he’d take his best friend, Sky Lacroux, to the wedding, a little no-commitment arm candy to keep the single women at bay, but she’d recently gotten engaged, which meant Blue was on his own for the wedding. He’d never been a weekend hookup kind of guy, and his life was on the Cape. The last thing he wanted was to play the flirting game with women who meant nothing to him. Not when he’d had a certain feisty little brunette with a tight body and an effervescent personality on his mind every second of the day for the last year.