Poppy picks up a knife and taps it over her glass, calling the room to order. “We’re not moving that fast,” she trills. “This is still something pretty new.” Her face darkens a severe shade of crimson. Poppy has always blushed at the drop of a hat. When we were kids, I used to say the first embarrassing thing to enter my mind just to watch her cheeks do their best impression of a pomegranate.
“But we are moving quickly.” I wrap both my arms around her tight.
Poppy looks up with those long lashes, that hot as fuck mouth, and all I want to do is run her up to the nearest bed and have my way with her. Poppy has always been the unattainable girl in a world where a plethora of girls offered themselves to me as a carnal sacrifice—usually in exchange for cash and prizes. I learned early that my bank account was just as great a lure to my mattress as any of my features.
“Very quickly.” She lets out a frenetic laugh, and dinner is officially over as Mom and Charlene clear the table and land a chocolate cake the size of a small car before us.
“It’s better than sex cake!” Mom yodels. Words and sounds you never hope to hear from your mother. “Of course, we made it for dessert, but it’s perfect to honor the occasion!”
Kali and Jules help dole it out while Mack pulls Poppy to the side for a minute. Most likely to congratulate her on a well-done performance.
Conner comes in red-faced and angry. “What the fuck, dude?” Those daggers in his eyes promise to stab the balls right off my body first chance they get.
“Whoa.” I nod as we step off to the side. “Watch your mouth. There are ladies present.” Okay, so I might be holding in a laugh, but only because I know how much this is killing him right now. A part of me knows I should put him out of his misery, but I’m rather enjoying that pained look on his face.
His shoulder butts into mine as he sets his angry face before me. Conner has Poppy’s eyes, and there have been times where just looking at him hurt. “One of those ladies is my little sister. Dude, have you lost your mind? I see what you do with those girls you pick up at the bar—it’s not pretty. And it’s not happening to my baby sister.”
“Look, loosen up. I’m not doing those things with her.” There. At least now he can catch his breath and maybe sleep at night. The dude is about to stroke out. “We’re taking it slow. Just seeing where things might lead.”
“They lead nowhere.” Conner jabs his finger hard into my chest, leaving a sting that radiates from his furtive stab. “Knock this shit off. I’ll have six girls sent to your office come Monday. Just lay the hell off my sister.”
“What’s this?” Poppy pokes her head between us. “He’s not laying the hell off me, Conner. He’s my personal boy toy.” Poppy cups my cheeks with her palms, and I twist into her. Holy hell, she is about to get us both killed. “Jax Stade doesn’t need six women sent to his office.” There’s something just this side of a dare in her eyes, and instinctively my balls warn me to be very, very afraid. We might be playing our mothers, taking her psychotic brother along for the ride, but something in that glib expression of hers says the joke might just be on yours truly. “The only woman Jax will ever need is me.” Her eyes linger on mine, and I’m mesmerized by how convincing she is. She’s right, of course. I’m just not sure she’s aware of it.
“A toast!” Charlene cries while holding up a slice of her sinful chocolate cake.
“Yes!” Mom shouts, holding up her own slice of chocolate heaven. I’ve grown up on that better than sex confection, and I can attest to its name. Although I’m betting a roll in the sack with Poppy might change that perspective. A visual of her falling over my lap like a jackhammer treks through my mind. Her naked body, pale, beautiful, those tits bouncing like—
“To Poppy and Jax!” Mom brings her hand to her chest as tears glitter in her eyes. “May the journey lead to a blessed union in the very near future!”
Poppy and I groan in unison. It never takes long for our mothers to do the matrimonial math.
“And children!” Char holds up a fork full of cake. “Lots and lots of children!”
The room breaks out into a sorry sort of congratulatory chaos—with the exception of the sheer exuberance of our mothers.
“How about a kiss?” Frasier holds up his wine, proving he’s legitimately toasted.
Both Charlene and Mom look to one another slack-jawed—most likely ticked that they didn’t think of it first.
“A kiss?” Poppy whispers. “That just might be the icing on the cake.” Her fingers press into my side as if encouraging me to take the initiative. But I don’t need encouragement. I’m already there.
I lean in, and her eyes widen. Her mouth falls open, and as much as I’d like to think it was out of anticipation, Poppy looks just as floored as everyone else in the room.
But I go for it. My lips brush lightly over hers, and the world, my life, my heart stops. I have kissed a cast of thousands—mostly horny as hell women. My lips have touched even more than that, but this simple, lighter than air, feathery brush has proven far more erotic than anything I’ve ever experienced.
Poppy pulls back with a breath caught in her throat.
Our mothers moan and gasp for breath themselves in disbelief.
“You kissed me,” Poppy mouths just before biting down on a smile waiting to break through.
“And I’m going to do it again.”
“Oh no, you’re not.” Conner spins me toward him, and the last thing I see is the whites of his outraged eyes before his fist connects with my jaw. And just like that, a fistfight of the ages breaks out.
There are two things I’ve waited years to do—first, land another kiss onto Poppy’s lips. And second, beat the shit out of Conner Montgomery.
***To read on in NAUGHTY BY NATURE click here —> Naughty By Nature. Also available through Kindle Unlimited!
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Books by Addison Moore
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Mystery
Little Girl Lost
Cutie Pies and Deadly Lies (Murder in the Mix 1)
Bobbing for Bodies (Murder in the Mix 2)
Pumpkin Spice Sacrifice (Murder in the Mix 3)
Gingerbread & Deadly Dread (Murder in the Mix 4)
Romance
3:AM Kisses (3:AM Kisses 1)
Winter Kisses (3:AM Kisses 2)
Sugar Kisses (3:AM Kisses 3)
Whiskey Kisses (3:AM Kisses 4)
Rock Candy Kisses (3:AM Kisses 5)
Velvet Kisses (3:AM Kisses 6)
Wild Kisses (3:AM Kisses 7)
Country Kisses (3:AM Kisses 8)
Forbidden Kisses (3:AM Kisses 9)
Dirty Kisses (3:AM Kisses 10)
Stolen Kisses (3:AM Kisses 11)
Lucky Kisses (3:AM Kisses 12)
Tender Kisses (3:AM Kisses 13)
Revenge Kisses (3:AM Kisses 14)
Red Hot Kisses (3:AM Kisses 15)
Reckless Kisses (3:AM Kisses 16)
Hot Honey Kisses (3:AM Kisses 17)
Shameless Kisses (3:AM Kisses 18)
Value 3:AM Kisses Boxed Sets
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 1-3
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 4-6
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 7-9
3:AM Kisses Boxed Set 10-12
The Social Experiment (The Social Experiment 1)
Bitter Exes (The Social Experiment 2)
Chemical Attraction (The Social Experiment
3)
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Low Down & Dirty (3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook1)
Dirty Disaster (3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook 2)
Dirty Deeds (3:AM Kisses, Hollow Brook 3)
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Naughty By Nature
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Burning Through Gravity (Burning Through Gravity 1)
A Thousand Starry Nights (Burning Through Gravity 2)
Fire in an Amber Sky (Burning Through Gravity 3)
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Beautiful Oblivion (Beautiful Oblivion 1)
Beautiful Illusions (Beautiful Oblivion 2)
Beautiful Elixir (Beautiful Oblivion 3)
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The Solitude of Passion
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Someone to Love (Someone to Love 1)
Someone Like You (Someone to Love 2)
Someone For Me (Someone to Love 3)
BOXED SETS
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Burning Through Gravity (Books 1-3)
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A Totally ‘80s Romance (Books 1-3)
3:AM KISSES (Books 1-3)
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Melt With You (A Totally ’80s Romance 1)
Tainted Love (A Totally ’80s Romance 2)
Hold Me Now (A Totally ’80s Romance 3)
Paranormal Romance
(Celestra Book World in Order)
Ethereal (Celestra Series Book 1)
Tremble (Celestra Series Book 2)
Burn (Celestra Series Book 3)
Wicked (Celestra Series Book 4)
Vex (Celestra Series Book 5)
Expel (Celestra Series Book 6)
Toxic Part One (Celestra Series Book 7)
Toxic Part Two (Celestra Series Book 8)
Elysian (Celestra Series Book 9)
Perfect Love (A Celestra Novella)
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Ephemeral (The Countenance Trilogy 1)
Evanescent (The Countenance Trilogy 2)
Entropy (The Countenance Trilogy 3)
Ethereal Knights (Celestra Knights)
Season of the Witch (A Celestra Companion)
Celestra Forever After (Celestra Forever After 1)
The Dragon and the Rose (Celestra Forever After 2)
The Serpentine Butterfly (Celestra Forever After 3)
Crown of Ashes (Celestra Forever After 4)
Throne of Fire (Celestra Forever After 5)
Acknowledgments
I hope you loved Rowen and Sophie as much as I did! Hanging out with Sophie and Rowen was a blast for me and I hope that shined through for you. They’ve been niggling at my brain for a while now and bond drew me in. I knew I had to tell their story.
A special thank you to my street team Addison’s Angels! I can’t thank you enough for your tireless pimping. You never cease to amaze me. I’m forever indebted to you. A huge sparkly shout out to my betas! Tabby Coots, thank you for your enthusiasm and for being so nice each time I throw a book your way! And to Lisa Markson who is a living unicorn indeed because you are one of the sweetest people in existence. You are both so dear and near to my twisted little heart!
A very special thank you to Kaila Eileen Turingan-Ramos who helped me buff and polish the book until it gleamed. I’m so very thankful to you!
A hearty thanks to Kathryn Jacoby who powers through any and everything life has given her only to come out stronger and far more courageous than one can imagine. You are a living hero!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to my amazing editor Paige Maroney Smith who makes the entire writing experience a whole lot easier for me. You are a diamond in a sea of glass. I’m so very fortunate to have such a treasure! Love you and your proverbial red pen!
And last, but never least, thank you to Him who sits on the throne—the ring leader of the Nazarene sect, Jesus Himself. Worthy is the Lamb! Glory and honor and power are yours. I owe you everything.
About the Author
Addison Moore is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who writes contemporary and paranormal romance. Her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine. Previously she worked as a therapist on a locked psychiatric unit for nearly a decade. She resides on the West Coast with her husband, four wonderful children, and two dogs where she eats too much chocolate and stays up way too late. When she's not writing, she's reading. Addison’s Celestra Series has been optioned for film by 20th Century Fox.
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[The Social Experiment 01.0] The Social Experiment Page 34