Full Contact is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Loveswept eBook Original
Copyright © 2014 by Jeanette Escudero
Excerpt from Below the Belt by Sidney Halston copyright © 2014 by Jeanette Escudero
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Loveswept, an imprint of Random House, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
LOVESWEPT is a registered trademark and the LOVESWEPT colophon is a trademark of Random House LLC.
This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book Below the Belt by Sidney Halston. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.
eBook ISBN 9780553390971
Cover design: Georgia Morrissey
Cover photograph: CURAphotography/Shutterstock
www.readloveswept.com
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Dedication
Acknowledgments
By Sidney Halston
About the Author
The Editor’s Corner
Excerpt from Below the Belt
Chapter 1
“Slade Martin! Open the damn door.” An incessant knock vibrated through the house. Had he not heard the chirpy voice, he’d have thought it was his sister, Chrissy. She had a knack for pounding on doors. But still, this voice was familiar even if he couldn’t quite pinpoint it. Unfortunately, he knew exactly what he’d find on the other side: the wrath of a scorned woman.
Slade rolled off the uncomfortable single bed in his spare bedroom. He hoped that the knocking hadn’t awoken Jessica. In the last two weeks, while she’d been staying with him and recovering, he had discovered that Jessica could sleep through anything. But who was he kidding? The knocking could’ve woken up the dead. He fumbled for the pair of navy blue sweatpants he’d thrown on the floor the previous night and slipped them on, followed by a white T-shirt. Leaving the room, he peeked into his bedroom, where Jessica seemed to continue to sleep in his comfy king-sized bed, unfazed by all the noise. He closed the door and padded downstairs quickly. The knocking and shrill voice needed to stop. He flung the door open to come face-to-face with a tiny blond woman whose voice matched her body: small, fiery, and annoying as all hell. Charlene, Charlotte, Chanel, Chelsey, Chantel…?
“Slade,” she whined.
“What the hell, Chantel?”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Chrissy and Jack walk across their lawn to his, Chrissy holding a leash with one hand, the other in a sling. And attached to the end of the leash was the bane of Slade’s existence: Drogo, a tiny five-pound Chihuahua that hated Slade. The feeling was mutual.
“Yo.” Jack tilted his head up at Slade in the universal guy-hello nod, and Chrissy waved with a smile as they approached. Drogo growled.
“Chastity.”
“What?” Slade asked, looking back down at the woman.
“You called me Chantel, but my name’s Chastity. How could you not remember? We’ve been dating for months, you asshole!”
Chastity? Really?
Jack snorted. “Chastity? Yeah, right,” he whispered. Chrissy slapped him across the chest.
“Yeah, okay, whatever,” Slade said. “Listen, you gotta stop with the knocking. What the hell time is it, anyway?” He ran his hands through his unruly hair as he yawned. His eyes skidded down to her tight Bon Jovi T-shirt, tiny jean shorts, and flip-flops.
“You better not have another woman in there, Slade!”
“Wait! What?” He stepped forward and shut the door behind him. “Keep your voice down.”
The tiny blonde stood with her foot tapping. “I’ve been calling you for over a week and you haven’t answered my calls or texts.” She was right—he hadn’t answered her calls, or anyone else’s for that matter. All he’d been doing for the last two weeks was worrying about the woman who was currently lying in his bed recovering.
After months of mutual yet innocent flirtation with Jessica, Slade had thought she’d finally left her abusive boyfriend, Dennis. To his horror, he had instead found her in a hospital bed, beaten to a bloody pulp. And it was all his fault. The guilt had been eating away at him, and the least he could do was tend to her while she recovered. It wasn’t lost on him that he wanted her in other ways too, but now wasn’t the time to explore those feelings. God, he wished he were upstairs in bed with Jessica. But they were just friends. At least for now. Instead he had to deal with the woman currently shooting daggers at him.
As Slade opened his mouth to answer, the woman got on the tips of her toes, flung her arms around his neck, and pressed her red lips against his. It was so sudden and the height difference was so great, he had no choice but to hold on to her so he wouldn’t lose his footing.
“Brother, not good. Stupid move,” Jack said, shaking his head. Slade tried to push her away, but the woman was an octopus; even though her lips had detached, her hands continued to snake around his neck, chest, and back. Chrissy just stood there, her mouth open, her eyes moving past him. He finally got Chastity disconnected and was able to distance himself from her tentacles before slowly turning his head. Jessica Cross stood behind him, staring, her hand holding his front door open. Shit!
“Oh, Slade.” Chrissy winced.
“You cheating son of a bitch!” Chastity said as she wound her hand back and slapped him right across the face.
“Jesus!” Slade palmed his stinging cheek. “I didn’t cheat on you!” He took a deep breath before he softened his voice and proceeded with caution. “Come on, doll, you know I never lied to you. We were just having a good time. Admit it, it was good for you too.” “Doll”—that’s a good one. You can’t hit a man who just called you “doll.” Then, for good measure, he gave her one of his I’m-not-really-sorry-but-who-wouldn’t-love-this-sweet-face smiles.
Chastity looked up at him through her eyelashes, and Slade could’ve sworn he saw her blush. Maybe even sigh.
Crazy-ass woman!
At that same moment, a red Corvette screeched to a stop on Slade’s lawn. With the engine still running, a tall strawberry blonde in a business suit got out and marched awkwardly toward the house, her spike heels digging into the grass with every step she took. The group all turned their heads.
“Son of a motherfucker!” Slade said as he banged his head against the wall by the front door. He glanced back at Jessica, who looked mystified. The bruising on her face had faded a little, and her hair was still ruffled from sleep. She had yet to say a word.
“Baby, I hope you brought chairs. This is about to get real good,” Jack said, amused. Chrissy once again slapped his chest and shushed him. Slade’s best friend was really enjoying his shitty morning. Prick.
As the woman got closer she yelled, “You cheating son of a bitch!” and once she was within range, she too swung her hand back and slapped Slade across the face. “Who the hell are you, you…tramp?” the woman yelled at Chastity as she looked her up and down.
&nbs
p; “I’m his girl. Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Lisa. The one who’s been screwing his brains out for the last four months, bitch.” Then she turned to Slade. “I can’t believe you would cheat on me with this flip-flop-wearing floozy.”
“Hey!” Chastity yelled. “I ain’t no floozy, ho. He’s been screwing me for longer than that, honey. You must’ve gotten my sloppy seconds. Besides, there’s another one.” Chastity pointed over Slade’s shoulder to Jessica.
Jessica put her hands up in surrender and shook her head. “No! Oh, no, I’m just a friend. I haven’t been screwing anything. Don’t involve me in this.”
“Stop!” Slade yelled. “Both of you. Out of here. Lisa, Charlotte—”
“Chastity!” Jack, Chrissy, and Chastity all corrected him.
Slade pinched his nose and groaned. “Whatever the fuck your name is…we never agreed we were exclusive. I have always been very up-front with you two. We were just having fun. Fun’s over. Now please leave, both of you, and don’t call or come by again.” The two women continued to bicker between themselves. “Chrissy, Jack, go away. Walk your dog or something.” Chrissy gave Jessica an apologetic look before being led to the sidewalk by Jack.
“Dumbass.” Jack threw a smirk over his shoulder and flicked him the middle finger.
“Dick,” Slade yelled to his best friend before slamming the door shut on them all.
—
Slade was a man whore. That wasn’t news. What was news was that Jessica felt a pang of…something. Jealousy? Hurt? For the last two weeks she had been living in his house, not to mention the five days she had been in the hospital and he’d refused to leave her side. And before the incident with her shitty ex-boyfriend, Dennis, he’d pursued her for months and months. She knew he was attracted to her, as she was to him. Not one to mince words, he had told her time and time again how much he wanted her. But she also knew that everyone in Tarpon Springs with a vagina (well, except for his sister) had the hots for him. Seriously, the man was gorgeous. Six feet four inches of pure muscle, with beautiful blue eyes that contrasted severely with his long jet-black hair—hell, even men took notice. The only imperfections he had were his crooked nose and a scar that went across his left eyebrow. And he’d been so sweet, tending to her as she recuperated, that she had felt somewhat special. Well, the two bickering women were like a shower of cold water. She considered herself reminded: Slade was a man whore, and that was a fact.
Slade hadn’t moved from the hallway by the front door. He looked at Jessica as he gripped the back of his neck, seemingly concerned and apologetic. When their eyes locked, something bubbled up inside her, and suddenly she found herself trying to hold back a fit of laughter.
“What’s so funny?” he said with a smile.
She held her stomach as she began to cackle. “You know in school when kids trace their hands to draw a turkey?” He shrugged uncertainly, and she continued. “You have five fingers perfectly imprinted in bright red on each cheek. It looks like one of those hand turkeys. They slapped you good, playboy.”
“Ha. Ha.”
“I can’t believe they were ready to fight like that over you. I mean, really, you’re great to look at and all, but seriously? I mean, have some self-respect. And that smile. Oh, please. How could they fall for the world’s cheesiest, most insincere smile? You need better-quality women, Slade.”
“Don’t laugh, sweetheart. First, it was completely sincere. Second, I think you got a little jealous there and you’re using humor to deflect.”
“I am not jealous. You just got bitch-slapped and it was funny as hell.”
He rolled his eyes, ignoring her comment. “And third, if you’d had me, you’d fight for me too.” He cocked his scarred eyebrow.
Then he gave her the smile. The corners of his full lips tilted and curved up; his perfect white teeth sparkled. The amusement lit his face all the way to his blue eyes, which crinkled at the corners.
And…she went all gooey inside. He’s right. I’d totally slap a bitch right now. Damn him.
In an attempt to break herself out of her smile-induced trance, she shoved his shoulder. “I don’t know about that. No offense, but I couldn’t date someone who had a harem.”
“I don’t have a harem.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Well, I bet if you finally gave in to what we both know you want and went on a date with me, you’d be falling all over yourself if you thought another woman was sniffing around.”
“Cocky bastard.”
“Mmm…I like it when you say cock.”
Jessica laughed so hard she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Pig. And anyway, I don’t get jealous.”
“Bullshit. Everyone gets jealous, especially women.”
“Not me. It’s not in me. Never been jealous.”
“You probably just haven’t been with a man you’ve really liked.”
“Arrogant.”
“I prefer cocky,” he said.
She grinned. She loved Slade’s sense of humor. His light and carefree disposition in general was such a breath of fresh air.
“Slade, you’ve been awesome. I’m so grateful that you’ve been taking care of me and driving me to physical therapy almost daily for the past couple of weeks, but really, I think it’s time I went home.”
“Of course I drove you to PT—the therapist kept hitting on you.” Slade smiled. “Okay, well, if you’re feeling better and want to leave, then you owe me a date. You know, for being on my best behavior for the last two weeks, and for putting up with the uncomfortable bed…it’s only fair, don’t you think?” he said with an impish grin.
She thought back on the past few weeks. When she’d been discharged, he practically picked her up and dragged her to his house. He’d refused to leave her alone even though she said she could manage. The first day or two had been a little awkward. The mutual attraction that had been there since they met still hummed in the background. But Slade really had been amazing.
When they had arrived at Slade’s house, the first thing Jessica had wanted to do was take a shower and get the hospital off her skin. Slade had set her up in his bedroom, insisting that he was fine with staying in his sister’s old room. Jessica struggled to get undressed, but her shirt kept getting tangled up around the cast on her arm. She tried in vain to take the shirt off but ended up knocking her elbow into the dresser instead. “Shit!”
Slade must’ve heard her yelp, because he rushed into the room without so much as a knock. Even though she wasn’t completely nude, she crimsoned as soon as she saw him, watching as his eyes trailed down her mostly naked torso. She tried to shoo him away, but he just walked closer to her and gently finished removing the shirt. Then, if she wasn’t already embarrassed enough, he unbuttoned her jeans and lowered them. If she had not protested, she was certain that he would’ve helped her with her panties and bra too. He was still on his knees, eye level with her crotch, when she saw him close his eyes and heard him groan. “Will I sound like a completely sick son of a bitch if I tell you I’m thinking about how easy it would be to take advantage of you now that you don’t have use of that hand? And how I want to rip your panties off, spread you on my bed, and feast on every inch of you?” He stood up slowly.
She was speechless, and her heart was pounding. He carefully wrapped her cast with the clear wrap the hospital had given her, to protect it while she showered, and left the room, leaving her all hot and bothered.
But after that moment, they’d quickly fallen into a routine that mostly consisted of her sleeping through the grogginess induced by the pain meds and him driving her around or bringing her food when she was awake. He hadn’t once asked her out on a date since she’d moved in. Now that she was mostly healed, the least she could do was go out on one date with him. Even though he was just being playful about the date, she knew he really did want to go out with her. He’d made his intentions clear months ago, when she was still dating Dennis.
—
“Okay?” He could barely believe it. He’d been wanting to go out with her since he’d met her months ago.
“I’m going to take a shower, then I’ll make something for breakfast. I’ll pack my stuff up afterward so you can drive me home,” she said before turning to go up the stairs.
Slade grabbed his cup and walked outside to his patio overlooking the ocean, where he loved to drink his coffee in the morning.
The moment he had first seen Jessica in the hospital haunted his mind.
Slade ran through the hospital doors.
“Jessica Cross? I need to see Jessica Cross,” he said to the woman who sat in the reception area of the hospital.
The woman typed something into her computer system. “Is that two s’s?”
Slade’s eyes narrowed in confusion. What the hell was she talking about?
“What?” he yelled impatiently.
“Is that Jessica with two s’s?”
“Are you kidding me right now?” He slammed his palms onto the desk and leaned toward the woman, whose cheeks flamed noticeably. “Is there any other way of spelling it? Of course it’s Jessica with two s’s.”
The woman stared at him for a moment before going back to her computer.
“And before you ask, it’s Cross with two s’s as well.”
She looked up, nodded timidly, and went back to typing.
“Here she is. She is in the critical care unit, room three twelve. Follow this hall to the end, take the elevators to the third floor, and you’ll see the sign for critical care. Only immediate family allowed.”
Without a second thought he answered, “I’m her brother.”
She nodded her approval, and he took off toward Jessica.
As soon as he found the correct room, he knocked. He heard a faint sound and walked in.
“Slade?” Jessica whispered.
Full Contact (Worth the Fight #2) Page 1