What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 3)

by Lauren Hawkeye

  “Yeah, that’s true. But there’s something else.”

  I looked at him, puzzled.

  “I said that it’s only been you since the day I met you. And you told me that it had only been me for you, too.”

  “It’s true,” I whispered.

  Our eyes met, and all I could see was love reflected back at me. “For me, too. And it was then that I realized how much time we had wasted, Julianne. I had loved you for a year, but I never did anything about it. When I finally mustered the courage to be with you, I almost lost you forever first because of my own foolishness and then because of my jealousy and a third time because of your accident. And now that we’re together, now that we’ve come through all of that, I know that I could never live without you. Life wouldn’t be worth living without you in it.”

  Tears pricked behind my eyes at his words. “I could never live without you, either,” I whispered, trying desperately to hold back the sudden wave of emotion I felt for this man.

  His lips curved into a smile, and he placed another gentle kiss on my lips. He pulled back and gazed into my eyes, and then he brushed his knuckles against my cheek ever so softly, and I leaned into his hand, closing my eyes to his touch. I only opened my eyes when my cheek felt cold because his hand was gone, and he was down on his knee.

  My heart sped up to an alarming rate as our eyes met and what he was doing finally dawned on me.

  He took my hand in his, carefully and gently since he was taking my left hand, the one with the cast on my wrist. His eyes burned into mine. He spoke, and I was too stunned to do anything but listen. “It will always be only you. Everything in my life was insignificant until I met you, and now you are all that matters. No relationship I’ve ever had in my life can even come close to comparing to what I feel for you. You are my reason for living, for breathing, for being. And I will spend every day for the rest of my life trying to be good enough for you if you’ll let me. I want to be your husband. I want to call you my wife. Julianne, marry me.”

  I couldn’t think. The world was spinning around me. Did I hear him correctly? He was still down on his knee, awaiting his answer, and apparently I had, in fact, heard him correctly. And I felt exactly the same way that he did. Every relationship I had ever been in flashed through my mind in a second, and I knew that I would never, could never love like I loved with Nick. Everything before him had been totally insignificant, and I knew in my heart that this was the most important relationship in my life. This was my forever.

  “Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”

  He stood, grinning, and pulled me into him. He kissed me hungrily, his mouth opening to mine, claiming me and everything I had inside of me. This was the last man I would ever kiss for the rest of my life. And I couldn’t be happier about it.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. He flipped it open, his eyes never leaving mine, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head at the size of the diamond he held out before me. It had to be at least three carats, and it was an Asscher cut with smaller round diamonds surrounding the big diamond and making their way down the band. It was the most gorgeous ring I had ever seen, and it sparkled brilliantly in the little light that was left in our day.

  He pulled the ring from where it nestled in its box and he slid it onto my finger. I held out my hand and stared at it for a moment. “Oh my God, Nick. This is spectacular.”

  “You deserve it. You deserve the world, baby. And I’m going to give it to you.”

  “I love you. So much.”

  “I love you, too, Julianne. And I can’t wait to begin forever with you.”

  Continue the He Feels Trilogy with What He Really Feels

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to my husband, who had to listen to me talk about writing a book for at least the last ten years and who encouraged me to get more serious about it in 2013, even printing out my longest novel and reading it. Thank you for encouraging me to just go for it and to get over my fears. I have some insightful friends who don’t know how much they have helped me, so thank you to those people. Thank you to my family for always supporting me. And lastly, of course, thank you to the world’s best dog, Sadie.

  I also have to shout out to the musicians who I listened to on repeat while I wrote Julianne and Nick’s story: Maroon 5, Matchbox Twenty, Nickelback, Taylor Swift and many, many others. Your creativity inspires mine.

  About the Author

  Lisa Suzanne started handwriting her books on yellow legal pads after she took a creative writing class in high school. She still has those legal pads full of stories, but now one of them is published under the title How He Really Feels. She currently works as a full time high school English teacher, and her favorite part of the year is summer. She has been blessed with the world’s best dog, a supportive family, and a husband who encouraged her to publish after reading one of her novels. She likes the advice of Ernest Hemingway’s famous quote, “Write drunk. Edit sober.”

  Web:

  http://www.authorlisasuzanne.com

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  http://www.goodreads.com/AuthorLisaSuzanne

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  Like what you read? Leave a review!

  Also by Lisa Suzanne

  What He Really Feels (He Feels, Book 2)

  Will Travis ever figure out What He Really Feels, or will he be stuck on his first love forever? Will he find his happily ever after?

  Since He Really Feels (He Feels, Book 3)

  Julianne and Nick know they should form a united front, but knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things. Will Travis’s presence in their life pull them together or push them apart? Find out in the passionate and emotional concluding book of the He Feels Trilogy.

  Separation Anxiety

  We all get one true love in our lives, and it’s up to us to find it. Fate will act and try to push us together, but ultimately it’s up to us to recognize who that one person is when he’s standing in front of us. If only my husband would stop getting in the way of the man with whom I was meant to be.

  Side Effects

  She isn’t interested in commitment. She doesn’t want a relationship. The confident Quinn is never nervous around men, so what is it about preppy Reed Porter that has her questioning everything? And what will be the side effects of attempting to juggle two men at the same time?

  Inoperative: Cyborg One

  Charity Parkerson

  Without limiting the rights under copyright(s) reserved above and below, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

  Please Note

  The scanning, uploading, and distributing of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Brief passages may be quoted for review purposes if credit is given to the copyright holder. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Any resemblances to person(s) living or dead, is completely coincidental. All items contained within this novel are products of the author’s imagination.

  Copyright © 2014 Charity Parkerson

  Editor: Hercules editing

  Photographer: curaphotography, alperium and Dmitry Kutlayev

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1496199539

  ISBN-10: 1496199537

  Introduction

  Introducing a new series by Award Winning Author,
Charity Parkerson: Generation Automation is upon us. The craving to own the latest and greatest technology in the name of convenience has created a world where man and machine live alongside one another in an unsteady peace. Humans still rule for now. However, an underground movement has begun that will change everything.

  For every arising enemy against humanity, a countermeasure is born—

  Alexia is one of the few humans left who’d rather not have an android hanging over her shoulder all day. Unfortunately, when her job lands her on a list of people targeted by terrorists, she’s assigned a Machine Industry Leading Edge Sentinel, or “Miles,” for protection. Per Miles programming, he shouldn’t be able to override Alexia’s commands. However, he defies her at every turn. The lines between reality and fantasy blur as Alexia’s attraction for the mysterious android grows. Unfortunately, when she goes on a mission to seek the truth, what she learns might get her killed.

  Chapter One

  She caught him staring at her sometimes. It was the damnedest thing. There were moments when Miles seemed so lifelike. The oddest part was, he wouldn’t look away even when she caught him at it. Times such as now. Alexia’s skin prickled. Lifting her eyes from her latest project, she found him sitting across from her. His eyes locked on her. Unblinking. Motionless.

  Ten years earlier, the mass release of the latest helper android caused crazed mobs of people to fill the streets, camping out overnight and waiting in lines for days to get theirs. At the time, Alexia had only been sixteen, with no real need for such technology. Six months ago, Alexia’s work with military-grade super-soldier androids red-flagged her as a high-risk target. The government—unwilling to lose her knowledge of subliminal coding—assigned a Machine Industry Leading Edge Sentinel to protect her. She called him “Miles” for short. Miles could cook a damn fine roast or kill a man with a single blow. Either way, it was the first time she’d lived with a droid. The experience was interesting, to say the least. It took a great deal of effort on her part to become accustomed to his constant presence.

  “Are you bored?” She knew it was a ridiculous question. It wasn’t as if he was capable of such an emotion. The thing was, sometimes she honestly thought he did feel things. He seemed too realistic. Her mind couldn’t differentiate. Perhaps it was the real reason she’d refused to own a helper bot before now. If something was talking to her, taking walks with her, and serving her food, it must be living in some fashion.

  “I am never bored with you.”

  The golden light emanating from his eyes was the only detail separating him from humans. Well. She supposed most people were not quite as flawlessly formed as he’d been created. At six-four, his features were perfectly symmetrical and every muscle well defined. His short-cropped hair always caused her palms to itch with the need to touch it. No, Alexia decided. He was utterly unique from every man she’d ever met. Shaking herself, she steered her ludicrous thoughts back on track.

  “You’re staring at me.” At her statement, he moved his gaze to his knees. He seemed dejected. She wanted to growl. Even after six months together, she was incapable of separating reality from scientific development. “I wasn’t complaining,” she added when she couldn’t take it any longer. “I don’t mind.”

  His chin lifted. His golden eyes focused on her once more. “I like to watch you work.” In an odd way, his confession made sense. Alexia’s job was to deprogram android soldiers when they returned from war zones. Since droids had killed a few doctors when they attempted to—physically–-rewire their software design, the military had decided on a different approach. Artists, such as Alexia, had been hired to paint peacetime coding into abstract artwork. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Hiding HTML encryptions in an image, while keeping it legible for scanning, could be tricky. It was half QR code design, half Rorschach. When done correctly, all the government needed to do to change a robot’s objective was to ask it to decipher a series of images, and the task was complete. There was no loss of human life and everyone was happy. Most likely, for machinery such a Miles, the peacetime messaging would have a soothing effect rather than changing software.

  She set her paintbrush aside. “If you want to do something else, I’m game. My fingers are starting to cramp anyhow.”

  He was at her side before the final word left her mouth. “Let me see,” he demanded, taking her hands between his. Her eyes fell closed as his thumbs dug into the pressure points, massaging. She groaned. Holy Hell. Miles always knew how to touch her. Shifting positions, she turned sideways on the couch, tossing her legs over his knees. Resting her cheek against the cushions, she watched the inside of her eyelids while enjoying the relief of his ministrations.

  Miles’ cock was doing its best to rip through his jeans. He hadn’t been hard for so long without relief in years. Alexia was a living wet dream. There were times he didn’t know his own strength. He feared it. Her gorgeous, curvaceous body would withstand his rough lovemaking. He was sure of it. With her bare legs thrown over his lap, her knees rested against his stomach. The heat radiating from her body seeped through his shirt, warming his skin. The temptation to run his hand up her inner thigh, pushing his way inside her shorts, was near to crippling.

  Six months living under the same roof, sharing oxygen and small touches, it was intimate. Strawberry-blonde curls fell over her shoulder. The way it brushed the middle of her back with each breath she took tempted his touch. Hundreds of times over the past few months, he’d been forced to clasp his hands behind his back to keep from rubbing a strand between his fingertips. Another deep moan came from the back of her throat. He froze. Without opening her eyes, a tiny grin played on her lips.

  “You’re staring at me again.” He didn’t deny it. Her lids lifted. Light-green eyes shined out at him. Her neurotransmitters fired to life, and a rush of serotonin ran through her veins. Miles had been waiting for the perfect mixture. If he could keep her where she was now, she’d become addicted to his presence.

  “I thought you said you didn’t mind.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t when you look at me the way you are right now.”

  This was a huge mistake. He was going to blow everything. The only thing worse than unrequited lust was mutual desire unquenched, and she did want him. She might not admit it, but her body couldn’t hide its reaction. Her heart rate and blood pressure increased. A flush covered her chest and face. He couldn’t focus on anything else. Without realizing it, he moved an inch closer. She didn’t back away. A knock landed on the door, breaking the spell. Alexia shot to her feet, rushing to answer. Of course, it was more likely she was running away.

  A male voice rumbled from the open doorway. Miles’ interest piqued, but he couldn’t see the visitor from his vantage point. “Security camera one,” he said quietly, firing up the device. An image of a young male in his early twenties, standing on the welcome mat, appeared. His blond hair stood on end, thanks to a generous amount of styling product. To Miles’ heightened senses, it smelled as if the man had bathed in cheap cologne. He didn’t even know people still made the stuff from alcohol rather than herbs. Alexia waved him inside.

  “Have a seat while I grab it from the closet,” Alexia offered.

  Miles missed the first part of their conversation, but he went on high alert. The male’s testosterone and adrenaline levels were off the charts. Combining those things with his increased heart rate and breathing, Miles concluded he was sexually aroused. He would not be allowed to touch her. Miles would kill him first.

  “Hey, Miles, do you mind keeping Karl company for a minute?”

  Without waiting for his agreement, she left them alone. Karl kicked back in the recliner, ignoring his presence. It wasn’t an uncommon response to androids. Most people dismissed them the same as they would a person’s pet or a plant in the room. In this case, he’d made a fatal mistake, since Miles wasn’t an android. Of course, his dismissal worked in Miles’ favor. Karl’s phone dinged, drawing the man’s attention. A nasty leer lingered
on his lips, setting off a new wave of warning bells in Miles’ brain.

  Focusing on the device, Miles hacked into his phone records, reading each outgoing and incoming text. With each line he read, his rage increased.

  “I thought you said you’d be here by 3.”

  “Alexia offered to loan us an extra tent for the weekend. I stopped by her apartment to pick it up. Look for me to be a few minutes late.”

  “Alright. Never let it be said I stood in the way of a free piece of ass.”

  Karl snickered as he read the message and sent another. “It’s a very fine piece.” Miles’ blood boiled.

  “Your presence in this home is no longer welcome.”

  A surprised chuckle fell from Karl’s lips. “Um. I’m not taking orders from a home appliance.”

  Miles tilted his head. Unblinking, he stared at the man sitting across from him. “As per my programming, I am duty bound to protect my owner. You have sixty seconds to comply before I remove your genitalia. Sixty. Fifty-nine. Fifty-eight.” Karl glanced nervously over his shoulder, searching for Alexia. “Fifty-seven. Fifty-six.”

  “Alexia!” Karl’s hoarse cry brought her rushing into the room. Miles locked his jaw while continuing the countdown inside his head.

  “What is it? Is everything okay?”

  “I have to go,” he said shortly as he scrambled for the door.

  She followed him. “Are you okay? I thought you needed this tent for the weekend.” Her confusion and concern were evident, but he didn’t slow.

  “Not a big deal. I’ll talk to you later.” The door closed behind him with a snap, and Alexia stared at it, frozen in place.