by Eden Summers
“It’s a yes, with a delay. I want to earn this ring. I want us both to. And more time together will achieve that. We have a lot of things to figure out, and I don’t want to rush a single second with you.”
His lips tilted, the slight grin turning into a fully-fledged smile. “We’re going to get married?”
“Yes, we are.” She kissed him, holding him tighter, never wanting to let him go. “But first we’re going to work for it.”
“Who wants another beer?” Mason asked, walking into the kitchen of his Richmond, Virginia home.
“Me,” Sean and Mitch grunted in unison.
Blake glanced at the two empty bottles beside him on the poker table and smiled. “Yeah. Grab another one for me, too. Thanks.”
He never thought he’d get back to sharing drinks with his buddies. Hell, he never thought he’d have the strength to stop hating himself every time he glanced at a beer bottle. But he’d changed.
In the few months he’d spent living with Gabi, he’d learned a lot about himself. She’d convinced him to create new memories to associate with the buzz of intoxication. So that’s what he was doing—relaxing, enjoying a good laugh with his friends while they celebrated Christmas Eve at Mason’s secluded mansion. He only wished Ryan was here with them, instead of choosing to stay home with his wife.
“Here ya go.” Mason handed Blake a chilled bottle of beer and sat down beside him. “How are you doing?”
Blake turned his gaze to Gabi who sat on the sofa with Alana, both of them occupied with a mass of bridal magazines. “I’m great… Thanks for letting us crash here for the weekend.”
Gabi hadn’t removed the engagement ring from her necklace, but things between them couldn’t be better. They were in love—the heavy and consuming kind that provoked continuous PDA’s that drove his friends crazy.
Mason cracked the lid of his bottle. “No problem. To tell you the truth, I kinda had an ulterior motive.”
Blake quirked a brow. “If any of your ‘motives’ include Gabi, you can think again, pretty boy.”
“No, it’s nothing like that.” Mason took a swig of his beer. “I’ve been running low on song ideas and thought having you guys around might help. I haven’t even started on the next album, and any day now Leah is going to start hounding me for updates.”
“Why don’t you call Sidney?” Mitch interrupted, shuffling the deck of cards for another round.
“Yeah, that’s an awesome idea. And while I’m at it, I could shove my dick in a blender, just for shits and giggles.”
Mitch laughed. “It’d be more fun if you let her do it. I’d love to see her face light up.”
“Leave her alone,” Sean growled. “She’s been through enough without you guys making fun of her.”
Mason glared at Sean, both of them staring the other down. The crackle of the fire and Alana and Gabi’s soft murmurings were the only noise to break the quiet discomfort.
“Touchy much?” Mason asked, pushing from his chair. “What happened wasn’t my fucking fault, so shoot your filthy looks somewhere else.”
Sean narrowed his gaze. “You’ve got serious ego problems if you think her ruined reputation isn’t your fault.”
“Your cock was in her too, bro,” Mason spat, walking around the poker table.
“Yeah, but you were the only one with a camera.”
Moments passed with everyone in the room on alert, waiting to see if the argument escalated.
Mason raised his chin, turning his gaze to Mitch. “Count me out of the next hand. I’m going to take a piss.” He shot a final warning glance to Sean before striding from the room.
Sean didn’t react. Mitch continued shuffling his cards. And Blake sat there, drinking his beer, content and a little giddy that his life wasn’t the most dramatic for once.
“What are you smiling at?” Gabi sauntered up behind him, placing her arms around his shoulders to drape over his chest.
“Just thinking about how much I love you,” he whispered against her cheek.
She chuckled, the delicate sound adding to his alcohol buzz. Life was too damn perfect. He overcame his demons, had the best job in the world, and eventually got the girl, too.
“You know,” she murmured in his ear, the heat of her breath making his cock jerk to life, “I don’t think it counts when you’re drunk.”
Minx. God he loved this woman.
Mitch watched them, his hands working the cards while his gaze focused on Blake’s chest. “Nice bling, Gab.”
Blake frowned. “What bling?”
Gabi cleared her throat and pulled back, taking the warmth of her arms with her.
“What bling?” he repeated and turned to face her.
She gave him a soft smile, the tops of her cheeks flushed and high. Her teeth worked her bottom lip, making his cock twitch as he searched her face for answers.
“I was trying something on for size.” Her throat convulsed with a swallow as she held up her left hand, showing off the engagement ring.
Thump, thump, thump. His heart took off while his brain stopped functioning. He sat his beer down on the table and nodded, feigning a calm he didn’t feel. “Are you trying it on for the day? Or maybe a bit longer?”
She shrugged, still gnawing on her lip, still driving his cock to madness. “I thought maybe permanently,” she whispered, yet the words hit him as if amplified by a microphone.
He stared at her in silence, overwhelmed with disbelief and happiness. He wanted to run. He wanted to whoop. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her until he couldn’t breathe.
Merry fucking Christmas, people. I just hit the jackpot.
Pushing from the table, he stood, never taking his gaze off the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and hauled her into his arms.
She squealed, her hands frantically clinging around his neck. “What are you doing?”
“We’re going to celebrate… In private. And I’m going to show the woman I love, exactly how happy she’s made me.
Gabi chuckled, sweet and hypnotic. “And what if she’s not convinced?”
He grinned down at her, loving the way she beamed back at him, her eyes wide, her lips now glistening and inviting.
“Then I’ll never stop trying, angel. I’ll never stop loving you.”
~ Please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads ~
~ Look for these titles from Eden Summers ~
Reckless Beat Series
Blind Attraction (Reckless Beat #1)
Stand Alone Stories
Ravenous
Concealed Desire
Sneaking a Peek
“Phantom Pleasure” Halloween Heat V
Blind Attraction
(Reckless Beat #1)
He can seduce with a single glance.
Peering down at a sea of fans, rock star, Mitchell Davies can’t deny the innocent beauty of a woman in the front row. He’ll stop at nothing to get to know her. When a public altercation leaves her weak and defenseless, he takes the opportunity to be her savior.
She’s been sheltered from the world.
Alana Shelton wants to spread her wings and experience life away from her restrictive upbringing. But she isn’t prepared for a gorgeous stranger to sweep her off her feet while at her most vulnerable.
Attraction will bring them together, but their pasts will try to tear them apart.
He wants to teach her how to trust, but she’ll show him how to love. In a glamorous world of rock-and-roll, only time will tell if they’re up for the challenge.
Ravenous
She’s a small town caterer, he’s a big city chef, but they don’t need a kitchen to make things sizzle...
Erin McDonald likes her simple life in her small town: no drama, no fuss, no uncertainty...until Jesse Hackett breezes back into town. Erin never quite got over how he left for the bright lights of the big city, and took her heart with him.
Jesse never regretted his decision to leave small town life behind and c
hase his big city dreams, but he’s always regretted leaving Erin behind. No woman has ever compared, and once he convinces Erin to let him touch her again, he’s never going to let her go.
Sparks fly and fires are rekindled, but the basic divide still remains: what really matters in life — location or love?
Concealed Desire
A love that breaks all the rules…
Since her first day at work, Beth Graison has been in love with Dean Sutherland—the “Son” in Sutherland & Son. Although he’s an unrepentant player, there’s an unmistakable connection between them, and she knows he feels it too. But she’s not about to risk her career for any man, especially one with an office right down the hall whom she works with every day.
Dean Sutherland doesn’t do love, but he does do women. And he hasn’t felt more than sexual attraction for any woman until Beth. Entirely feminine, smart, and with a natural beauty beyond compare, she makes him think about all kinds of uncomfortable things—like a future and happiness—things he knows from experience are pure fiction.
When his father, the “Sutherland” in Sutherland & Son, propositions Beth to be more than just an employee, Dean can’t keep her at arm’s length any longer. But he doesn’t expect the scorching kiss they share, or the idea that forms when he holds her in his arms. Can he stop his father’s manipulating game by making the first move on Beth? Or will his reputation as a womanizer make him just one more Sutherland she wants to ignore?
Sneaking a Peek
She's either headed for jail...or for the best sex of her life.
Tarney Jensen has been crushing on sexy firefighter Ethan Reid, her best friend’s brother, since her sixteenth birthday. She knows acting on her attraction will ruin their friendship, but she can’t fight the temptation of his sweat-slicked skin as he works out. Every hot-blooded woman loves to drool over a sexy piece of man flesh, but watching one from the shadows of your porch when he has no idea you’re spying on him? Totally illegal.
For years Ethan has watched men go in and out of Tarney’s life, but how’s a guy supposed to put the moves on his kid sister’s best friend without looking like a perv? But when Tarney lets out an ear-piercing scream from her front yard, Ethan drops everything to rush to her aid. And finds out that the woman of his dreams has been sneaking a peek at his workouts…
Eden Summers is a true blue Aussie, living in regional New South Wales with her two energetic young boys and a quick witted husband.
In late 2010, Eden's romance obsession could no longer be sated by reading alone, so she decided to give voice to the sexy men and sassy women in her mind.
Eden can't resist alpha dominance, dark features and sarcasm in her fictional heroes and loves a strong heroine who knows when to bite her tongue but also serves retribution with a feminine smile on her face.
www.edensummers.com
[email protected]
http://www.facebook.com/authoredensummers
https://twitter.com/EdenSummers1
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Prologue
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
Epilogue
About the Author