by Sabrina York
No wonder Lane had laughed when he’d so magnanimously announced he didn’t care that Emily was poor.
Because she wasn’t.
Not by a long shot.
Shit, next to her father, his was a pauper.
Emily had mentioned her father was scary. That was an understatement.
“Are your parents here, Emily?” Michelle asked.
“Oh no,” she responded. “They’re summering in the South of France.”
“Oh.” A coo from Michelle. “Nice is nice.”
Emily nodded. “It is.”
Ash gaped at her throughout this exchange, desperately trying to process this revelation. “But…” he sputtered. “You’re a teacher.” Okay. A ridiculous thing to say, and he hated the way it came out, as though he was accusing her of something.
But she just smiled. “Of course I’m a teacher. I…” A charming flush stole over her cheeks. “I love children.”
He gazed at her, entranced by her. Ensnared. She would be a wonderful mother. She would make beautiful babies.
He was suddenly possessed of the urge to make one. Right now.
But this was hardly the time.
Because the sky exploded. All the guests turned to watch as fireworks lit the heavens, children and adults alike ooing and awing at the panoply of color.
And because they were all distracted, and because no one was looking—most especially Lane or Drew or, for heaven’s sake, his father—Ash pulled Emily into his arms and he kissed her.
But good.
“Oh Ash,” she murmured against his lips. “I have missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too. How long do you think it will take before your protectors will trust me to be alone with you?”
She laughed. “They aren’t very forgiving.”
“Let’s sneak away…”
“I can’t leave.” A wail. “It’s my event.”
“It’s going perfectly.”
“Where would we go? Your house will be crawling with boys and ours is full to the brim with girls. There will be no privacy…”
He pulled her closer. “Let’s go to the island.”
“Silly. We’re on the island.” She tipped her head to the side. “How much champagne have you had?”
“I didn’t have any champagne.” He grinned. “I mean our island. Where it all started.”
She made a face. “That cabin is too rustic.”
“It’s remote.” He kissed her nose. “That would be the point.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead, her cheek. “I’ll make the pancakes this time…”
With a bribe like that, how could she resist?
Ash stretched and stared at Emily as she came back to the bed. She paused to gaze at the glasswork he’d brought over earlier and set on the mantel, the piece they’d made together. Sunrise over their island. A forever reminder that this was their place. The muted fingers of dawn traced the panel, making it come alive.
A smile tweaked her lips. When she turned it on him, his heart melted.
He opened his arms and folded her into his embrace as she slipped back into bed. “Everything okay?” he asked, kissing her forehead. She nodded, although, for some reason he didn’t believe her. He’d heard the noises in the bathroom, and she smelled of mint, as though she’d just brushed her teeth. Like six times. She curled against him. He tightened his hold.
She peeped up at him. He kissed her. Couldn’t resist.
A frown flickered over her features.
“What is it, Em?”
“I, ah, have something to ask you.” She shook her head. “No tell you.”
Concern skirled through him. Something in her tone set his teeth on edge.
“I’ve been kind of sick lately.”
“Yeah?” He’d noticed. But surely it was only the flu. Surely it wasn’t something serious…
Her expression shifted. A flicker of fear. A hint of apprehension.
Oh. God. The sinking feeling in his belly returned, the one he’d felt as he’d waited in the hospital for news on his father.
What if it were something serious?
He couldn’t bear the thought of losing Emily. She meant too much to him.
She’d become his everything.
She wiggled out of his hold and sat up next to him, folding her hands in her lap. He recognized that sign. A block of ice formed in his chest. “I went to the doctor.”
He sat up too. “And? What is it?”
“I don’t know how to say it.”
“Just say it.”
She glanced at him. Her eyes, so blue, so beautiful, so pained. It nearly killed him.
“What.” A croak. “Em?”
“I’m pregnant.”
His jaw dropped. “What?”
“It’s okay. I’m not expecting anything of you. I’m not. But you deserve to know.”
Something tender and necessary dribbled through his chest. A baby? A little Ash? Or an Emily with that incredible button nose? “Is it…mine?” he blurted, then winced.
She smacked him on the shoulder. “Of course it’s yours, doofus.”
Ah yes, he reminded himself. He was her only.
Even now, the thought sent warmth curling through him. An immeasurable comfort. He kissed her, slowly, reverently.
She pulled away with a laugh.”What was that for?”
“For picking me to be your first.” He kissed her again. “Thank you for that.”
“Thank you.” She grinned. “It was a wonderful one night stand, by the way.”
“Was it?”
“Yes.”
“Not very effective, though. As a one night stand.”
It’d been a string of one nights—each better than the last.
If he had his way, it would be a lifetime of them.
One night stands.
Every night.
For the rest of their lives.
She folded her hands. “So…” She cleared her throat. “What do you think? About the baby?”
“Darling.” He pulled her back into his arms and showed her. Or tried to show her. But again, she pushed him away.
“Are you happy?” she asked. Apparently actions didn’t speak louder than words. At least not where Emily was concerned.
“Very happy. Extremely happy. Insanely happy.”
“Are you sure?”
He laughed. “I’m really sure. Emily, I couldn’t be more delighted.”
“Oh, Ash…”
“My father will be delighted as well.”
“I am so glad for that,” she grinned.
“I have something to tell you too,” he said.
“What’s that?” she quipped, clearly not anticipating the depth of his announcement. Certainly not as profound as hers, but still.
“I love you, Emily Donahue. I love you with every fiber of my being.”
Her lips parted and a sigh gusted out.
But she didn’t respond.
His heart pounded. His throat ached. Every muscle vibrated.
Silence stretched as she stared at him, stretched so thin it seared his nerves.
“Emily?”
His woeful prompt nudged her from her stupor.
“Oh Ash.” She set a palm on his cheek. “Oh Ash.”
She didn’t say the words. She didn’t need to. He could see her love shining in her eyes and he knew.
Just knew.
He reached over into the drawer in the bedside table and pulled out the small box he’d hidden there. A box filled with something sparkly.
And he opened it.
Next Up:
Devlin’s Dare by Sabrina York
A Tryst Island Erotic Romance
“That’s Devlin Fox?”
Tara stared at the group of guys carousing at the table on the other side of the bar. It wasn’t bad enough that the gorgeous guy she ran into on the ferry turned out to be friends with the douche in the ascot she’d been running from. No.
He had to be her worst enemy too.
Dam
n. Damn, damn.
“You know him?” Bella asked.
“He writes a Foodie Blog.” She glared around the table. “He gave Stud Muffin a bad review.”
“What?”
“Why did he do that?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. She’d spent her life learning her craft. Spent her life savings opening her own bakery. Spent years building clientele. And then, with one crappy review, business had tanked. It was unfair for one man to have so much power. “Because I don’t have gluten free.” And then, under her breath, “Big baby.”
Still, gluten free was a big deal in Seattle. She’d spent the past week working up recipes.
“What are you thinking?” Kaitlin asked in a whisper.
Tara froze. It didn’t do to think around Kaitlin. Not that she read minds, or at least she insisted she didn’t. But she seemed to know things regardless.
“Nothing.”
Kaitlin’s face rumpled, as though she smelled something nasty. Like a lie.
But hell. Tara couldn’t tell Kaitlin what she was really thinking about because Kaitlin—the sweet, innocent soul that she was—would try to talk her out of it. Ramble on about Karma and shit.
No, Tara couldn’t tell anyone what she was really thinking about.
Because she was plotting revenge.
She was going to get Devlin Fox back. And she was going to get him good.
“Hi there.”
Devlin turned on the barstool, his trademark smile plastered on his face. Everything within him froze. It was her. That little slice of heaven from the ferry. Damn. She was just as hot as he remembered.
She sidled up next to him. Interest—and something else—rose.
“Well hello there.”
He liked her scent, something floral and light. He liked her heat as she pressed against his side. She lowered her long lush lashes and peeped up at him through the fringe. Damn, that was sexy. She licked her lips. That was sexy too. “I never got to thank you,” she purred.
“Th-Thank me?” Was that her hand? On his thigh?
Shit yeah.
“For saving me.” She smiled. Her fingers flexed. “I would have tumbled to my death if you hadn’t grabbed me.”
“I doubt you would have tumbled to your death. Disfigurement, perhaps. Dire injury. But not death. Don’t exaggerate.”
She laughed, a low chortle. “Still. Thank you.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Can I buy you a drink?”
Devlin blinked. He’d been hit on in bars before, but no woman had ever offered to buy him a drink.
She might just be a perfect woman. “Sure.”
“What’s your poison?”
“Whiskey sour.”
She signaled to the bartender.
“So…I’m Devlin.”
“Devlin.” She cooed. Actually cooed.
“And you are…?”
“Interested.”
He jumped a little as her hand skated up his thigh. His pulse skipped. “I…ah…yes. But what can I call you?” He had a pretty good idea where this was headed, and he wanted to know what to bleat as he sank into her steamy depths. It was only polite to know a woman’s name at a moment like that.
She pursed her lips, as though she were thinking it over. Or thinking about something else. Her thumb snaked up. Nudged his balls, just ever so lightly, and through thick denim, but he felt it like an electrical charge. “Call me Sugar.”
“Sugar.” Oh yeah. She was sweet. “Would you…like to go for a walk?”
“A walk?” His cock lurched.
“It’s a beautiful night…”
She glanced over her shoulder and then threaded her fingers in his, leading him toward the back of the bar. He didn’t know why they weren’t heading for the front door, but didn’t much care.
She was a beautiful woman. She wanted him. And he was just drunk enough to follow her anywhere she led.
He shot a glance at Parker who took in the scene in a glance and sent him a thumbs up.
They barely made it out the back door of the bar before she kissed him. Damn. Backed him up against the wall and threaded her fingers in his hair and pulled his head down and took his mouth.
And damn, she was a good kisser. She ate him with heat and passion and carnivorous zeal. He responded in kind, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. He nearly passed out when she sucked on it, nibbled it, toyed with it. He couldn’t help imagining her doing the same to his cock.
Her palm roved over his chest and made its way down to his hips. His held his breath as she slowly teased the band of his jeans. She pulled back and held his gaze as she popped the snap.
“Mmm.” She rumbled, reaching in. He hissed in a breath as she molded his length. Squeezed. “Such a big boy.” She licked her lips and his brain short-circuited.
When she went to her knees before him and blew a hot breath on him through the cotton of his briefs, he nearly lost consciousness. “I want to suck you,” she said. “Take off your pants.”
Holy God. Yes.
In a frenzy, he kicked off his shoes, and ripped off his jeans, hopping from one foot to the other. He held still, frozen in place, as she hooked her thumbs in his briefs and eased them down. His cock sprang free. She dragged his underwear down until they pooled at his ankles.
He heard the catch of her breath. Felt the trace of a warm finger around his swollen head and down to the base. He shuddered.
“Ah. Yes,” she said, coming close. Her breath skated over him. His knees knocked. She fisted him. Pumped. Once. Twice. Blood pounded at his temples. Thrummed in his cock. She bent closer. Her damp breath kissed the head. “Such a big dick,” she said.
If he’d been in his right mind, her tone would have warned him, but he wasn’t in his right mind. He was a little drunk and a lot horny and there was a gorgeous woman on her knees before him with his cock in her fist. And her mouth hovered just over the tip. Yes. Yes. Just a little more…
She released him and stood up in a rush. Her beautiful, seductive expression morphed into something bitter. He gaped at her, stunned.
“Yeah,” she said, propping her fists on her hips. “You, Devlin Fox, are a big dick.”
And then she whirled on her heel and left. Left him standing there, half-naked, leaning against the grimy brick wall behind a grungy little bar.
And she took his jeans.
Other Books in the Tryst Island Series
Book 1: Rebound: A Tryst Island Erotic Romance (Erotic Contemporary, Available on Amazon)
PRAISE FOR REBOUND: #1 Amazon Bestseller
· “You can't go wrong with a Sabrina York story. You'll want to take the hero home with you and keep him forever. And the sex? More than you ever dreamed. Get this book today.” Desiree Holt
· “Rebound had some serious SIZZLE to it. I LOVED it! It hit just about every romantic cord in my body...it totally rocked my face off.” Insightful Minds Reviews
· “Scorching hot.” You Gotta Read Reviews
Book 2: Dragonfly Kisses: A Tryst Island Erotic Romance (Erotic Contemporary)
PRAISE FOR DRAGONFLY KISSES: Amazon Bestseller
· TOP PICK! “I loved the laugh-out-loud, humorous moments. Dragonfly Kisses has the right amount of wit, tear-jerking emotion, and steaminess to make a terrific read. “ Night Owl Reviews
· 5 STARS “While the sex is amazing, what stands out is the characters and their stories, and mixed with clever dialogue, some bacon-laced bribery and an emotional fragility and rawness that demands tears.” The Jeep Diva
· “The story was sweet, steamy, and heartbreaking all at the same time. I really enjoyed this one.” The Book Chick
Book 3: Smoking Holt: A Tryst Island Erotic Romance (Erotic Contemporary)
PRAISE FOR SMOKING HOLT:
· 5 STARS “Smoking Holt is...SMOKING!” Three Girls and a Book Obsession
· “I love this series and it just keeps getting better and better!” Goodreads Reviewer
· 5 STARS The Jeep Diva
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br /> Book 4: Heart of Ash
Book 5: Devlin’s Dare—Coming soon
About Sabrina York
Her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, writes naked erotic fiction for fans who like it hot, hard and balls-to-the-wall, and erotic romance and fantasy for readers who prefer a slow burn to passion.
An award winning author of hot, humorous stories for smart and sexy readers, her titles range from sweet & sexy erotic romance to BDSM to erotic horror. Connect with her on twitter @sabrina_york, on Facebook or on Pintrest. Check out Sabrina’s books and read an excerpt Amazon or wherever e-books are sold. Visit her webpage at www.sabrinayork.com to check out her books, excerpts and contests. Don’t forget to enter to win the royal tiara!
Books by Sabrina York
Adam’s Obsession (Erotic Contemporary, Ellora’s Cave)
Dark Duke (Erotic Regency, Ellora’s Cave) —Coming soon
Brigand (Erotic Regency, Ellora’s Cave) —Coming soon
Dark Fancy (Erotic Regency, Ellora’s Cave)
Dragonfly Kisses: A Tryst Island Erotic Romance (Erotic Contemporary)
Extreme Couponing (Erotic Contemporary, Ellora’s Cave)
Fierce (One Night Stand, Decadence Press)
Five Alarm Fire (Erotic Contemporary for the High Octane Heroes Anthology, Cleis Press)
Folly (Erotic Regency, Ellora’s Cave)
Lust Eternal (Erotic Fantasy, Ellora’s Cave)
Pushing Her Buttons (Erotic Contemporary, Ellora’s Cave)
Making Over Maris (Erotic Contemporary, Ellora’s Cave) —Coming soon
Man Hungry (Erotic Contemporary, Ellora’s Cave)
Rebound: A Tryst Island Erotic Romance (Erotic Contemporary, Available on Amazon)
Rising Green (Erotic Horror, Ellora’s Cave)
Saving Charlotte (Erotic Contemporary for the Smokin' Hot Firemen Anthology, Cleis Press)
Smoking Holt: A Tryst Island Erotic Romance (Erotic Contemporary)
Training Tess (Erotic Contemporary, Ellora’s Cave)
Trickery (Erotic Contemporary with Magical Elements, Ellora’s Cave Hex Line)