Jake sighed and slipped his fingers between mine. “You know, we can try again. In fact,” he said, scooting over on the mattress. “Hop on up and we’ll get started, right now.”
I chuckled. “Right, you just survived a near-fatal shot in your side. Just get some rest, Detective. We have plenty of time to try again.”
His face became serious. “Are you sure that you’re okay?”
I stared at him for a minute and nodded. “Considering that I’m alive and still with the man I love, I’m doing just fine. The fact that we lost this child isn’t easy, but I’m not going to let it tear me up inside.”
“You’re a strong woman and a wonderful mother. We’re going to try again, Linds. I really want you to have our baby.”
I smiled at all the emotions reflected in his eyes. “We’ll talk about it later.”
He kissed my knuckles. “Just remember, I love you, Mrs. Sharp.”
“And I love you, Detective.”
***
The End
Keep scrolling for an excerpt from “Tangled Beauty”.
Tangled Beauty Excerpt
Prologue
Michael
She stares down at me and I am lost in those magnificent emerald eyes. They hold me prisoner – a willing captive to this beautiful creature who makes my heart ache every time I am in her presence. The desire to taste those sweet lips, and bury myself deep inside of her heat…
It torments my soul.
I struggle to control myself as her hands slide through my hair, ever so lovingly. Her touch, gentle at first, grows bolder as she continues her glorious administrations. Inside, I am groaning with desire as I imagine these able hands wrapped around other parts of my body, followed by her full, succulent lips…
It is almost too much to bear.
I close my eyes and grip the edge of the chair as these wicked thoughts consume me, thankful that my lap is draped in plastic. I try to think of less desirable things, but my body refuses to cooperate, and I am on the edge of control. Just when I think I can no longer contain myself, the faucet is turned off, and she speaks my name…
Michael.
It rolls from her tongue like a lover’s caress – so smooth and sexy.
I open my eyes and smile up at this lovely enchantress, wishing I could stare forever at her beauty.
She smiles back and urges me to follow her.
I obey without question as I am quite smitten with this beautiful angel. Truth be told, I would follow her to the depths of Hell if asked. I wouldn’t even question it.
I sit down at her station, smoothing the plastic back over my thighs as our eyes meet in the mirror’s reflection. She opens her lovely mouth and asks me what I’d like.
I pause.
My pulse is racing and I am brimming with desire. I would like nothing more than to take her, right then and there. To claim her as mine and mine alone. To destroy anyone who might interfere or stand in the way of our destiny.
But for now…
I think I’ll just settle for a trim.
Chapter One
Sinclair
“Have you heard the news yet?” asked Tiffany.
We were in the back of the salon, mixing hair color.
“What news?” I asked, trying to brush a loose strand of hair away from my eyes without getting any powder in them.
“Judy sold the shop.”
I raised my head and stared at her in horror. “What? When?”
“I guess the deal was finalized last night. She sold it to some guy from L.A.”
“So, are we getting shut down?”
“No. Nothing’s changing but the ownership. She sold it to one of her friend’s sons so she could retire.”
I heaved a sigh of relief. “Jesus, you scared the hell out of me. I don’t know what I’d do if Tangled was shut down.”
“Me neither. Anyway, I cannot wait to meet the owner,” gushed the pretty nineteen-year-old. “Judy says he’s freaken’ hot and that we’re all going to love him. He’ll be here on Monday.”
“Huh,” I said, stirring the color. It would be nice having another guy in the shop. I wondered if he knew anything about hair or if he was gay. Many times, it went hand-in-hand.
“Is that the color your customer wants?” she asked, pointing towards the swatch I was examining. “It’s going to be quite a change for her.”
I stared at the bright red lock and nodded. “I’ve tried talking her out of it but she keeps insisting.”
Tiffany picked up her bowl of color and turned to leave. “Well, good luck with that.”
I snorted. “I’ll need more than luck.”
My customer, Mrs. Lancaster, was a thick-jowled, heavyset lady in her fifties; a woman who was normally very conservative. Today, she’d brought in a picture of a twenty-something celebrity who had long, vibrant, red hair, and wanted that same color. Unfortunately, on Mrs. Lancaster, it was going to look like a crime scene.
“Okay,” I said, after returning to my station. “You’re certain that this is the color?” I asked, holding out the brightly colored strands.
“Yes, dear,” she said, touching the sample lovingly between her fingers. “I want that exact color. I know it’s going to be just lovely.”
I forced a smile. “Okay, then. Let’s do this.”
“Oh, no…oh no, you did not just do that!” hollered Felicia from across the salon.
I turned around and stared at the little old man sitting in Felicia’s chair, a huge shit-eating grin on his face.
“Oh, my God,” apologized a well-to-do older woman sitting in a chair beside them. “I am so sorry. Henry! You have to behave yourself!”
“No, I’m sorry,” said Felicia, setting down the scissors. “I am not cutting this old man’s hair if he’s going put his mouth on me. Hell no.”
It was then that I noticed the front of Felicia’s hot-pink T-shirt. There was a wet spot on her right boob.
“Henry, did you hear that? You have to behave yourself!” scolded the woman. She turned to Felicia. “I am so sorry. My brother suffers from Alzheimer’s and doesn’t always know what he’s doing.”
I watched the delight in the old man’s watery blue eyes and there was no doubt in my mind that he knew exactly what he’d done. Felicia was a very top-heavy woman and her breasts sometimes got in the way. She’d even cut my hair once and I was lucky not to walk away with two black eyes.
Felicia picked up her scissors. “Okay, but if he touches me again,” she narrowed her eyes. “I’m gonna cut more than his hair.”
“Oh, my Lord,” whispered my customer. “This is better than daytime television.”
I grinned. “You can say that again.”
To me, it was just another day at Tangled. I’d seen everything, heard everything, and it was what kept me coming back to work every morning. I loved my job, loved my coworkers, and wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Fortunately, Henry kept his hands and mouth to himself for the rest of his appointment with Felicia, while I finished coloring and styling Mrs. Lancaster’s hair. When it was finished, I turned her back towards the mirror, and held my breath as we stared at the results.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“Oh, my God…it looks fabulous!” she beamed.
I sighed with relief. It still looked shockingly bright to me, but if she liked it, that was all that mattered.
“You look like a new woman,” I said, spritzing her hair with hairspray.
She patted the side of her hair fondly. “Mr. Lancaster’s idea, actually. He has always adored redheads.”
I stared at my own auburn hair in the mirror’s reflection and wondered if he’d meant something a little more subtle than the ‘Ronald McDonald’ color she’d selected.
She grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. “Tell me,” she whispered. “Do you do pubes, as well?”
“Ah, no,” I whispered back. “You’re on your own down there.”
She bit her lower lip.
“Oh, shoot. Maybe I’ll just shave it off.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but then changed my mind. I certainly did not want to continue that particular conversation.
After she’d paid and left, I rushed to clean my station. I had the weekend off and was going to be spending it on Huntington Beach. I still had a lot of packing to do before the trip and couldn’t wait to get started. It was the first time I’d had an entire weekend off in months.
“At least that old geezer gave me a decent tip,” declared Felicia, holding up a stack of bills.
“I still can’t believe he did that,” giggled Tiffany. “What a crazy old coot!”
She nodded and shoved the money into her bra. “The worst thing is, I haven’t had that much action for almost two months. And then, to get my titty sucked by a toothless old white man?” she clapped her hands and laughed heartily. “Lord, have mercy!”
“Two months?” I snorted. “That’s nothing. It’s been over a year for me.”
Her eyes widened. “A year? Girl, next time Henry makes an appointment, we’ll make sure you get him.”
***
“This is never going to work,” I told my friend, Jesse, as I slid into his Jag a couple of hours later. “Trust me, we will never fool anyone.”
He reached over and patted my kneecap. “Sweetie, it will work. It has to work.”
I pulled my hair back behind my ears. “Then you’d better stop calling me ‘sweetie’ and quit primping yourself every five minutes. You’ll never fool your parents if you keep acting like a princess.”
Jesse threw his perfectly chiseled face back and laughed. Then he stopped abruptly, and glared at me with faux venom.
I smiled. “Hey, I’m just saying…”
“God, you’re such a snotty little bitch.”
I shook my head. “No, you’ve claimed that title, honey, and I wouldn’t dare try and take it from you.”
Glancing into the rearview mirror, he ran his fingers through the top of his short, blonde highlights – the ones I’d given him last night. “And that’s why you’re my best friend, Sinclair. You know just how to sweet-talk me.”
I laughed. “Seriously, though. What were you thinking by inviting me?”
“Well, since it’s their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, they expect me to bring a date of the female persuasion. I certainly can’t bring Alex, Sin. My parents are assholes. Both of them. They’d never accept the fact that I’m gay and would no doubt freeze up my trust fund if they find found out the truth,” he bit one of his fingernails. “And I know it sounds shallow, but I can’t live without that money.”
I put on my seatbelt. “So, you’re just going to keep lying to them? How long do you propose to do that?”
He started the car and the engine purred to life, like an eighty-thousand-dollar kitty. “As long as it takes, Sin, as long as it takes.”
Forty-minutes later, after listening to him rant about his friends, his career, and his sex life, we finally pulled up to his parents’ summer home on Huntington Beach, a luxurious oceanfront property that took my breath away.
“Wow,” I breathed, staring at the massive white structure that screamed “Wealth”, “Power”, and “Dream on, losers!”
“I know,” sneered Jesse. “They’re disgustingly rich, fortunately for me. But it’s also old money and even older ideals. Not fortunate for me.”
I’d only known Jesse for eight months, ever since he’d walked into Tangled. From the moment he’d plopped his Armani-clad butt in my chair, we’d clicked and I’d become his personal stylist and he, one of my very best friends.
“So, what exactly did you tell them about me?” I asked, feeling nervous now that we were actually going through with it.
The ruse had sounded like fun at the time – a weekend of parties, celebrities, and a chance to escape my own hum-drum life. It had been almost a year since I’d found my ex-fiancé in bed with another woman and I’d basically taken on the habits of a hermit soon afterwards. My life now consisted of work, taking care of my finicky black cat, Felix, and reading trashy romance novels. It was boring and sometimes lonely, but safe, which was what I needed after having my heart crushed by Shawn.
Jesse unwrapped a peace of gum and slid it into his mouth. “Okay, so you and I have been dating on and off for the last six months. Nothing serious yet.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Yet?”
“Well, I mean we’ve fucked and everything,” he said, snapping his gum a little too obnoxiously for a twenty-four-year-old.
I feigned a look of shock. “We have? Was it good?”
He puffed out his chest. “Damn right. That’s why you won’t leave me alone, you crazy, horny bitch.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Oh brother, you’re so freaken’ arrogant.”
He blanched. “Arrogant? Gawd…I hate that word.”
I stared at him and wondered how in the world his parents could think he was anything but gay.
“Well, you might want to pretend to be ‘arrogant.’ That’s a trait you’ll find on a lot of manly men,” I said, deepening my voice.
“Sin, I’ve never been a manly man and my parents have known me all of my life. They just think I’m a very creative and outgoing guy.”
I understood that because Jesse really was very creative. He was also a talented graphic designer which, unfortunately, hadn’t particularly sat well with his parents. They’d wanted him to become a doctor or lawyer, like his older brother, Reed, who I’d had yet to meet. Supposedly, Reed was an arrogant, cocky lawyer who had little time for his younger brother.
“So, you get to act natural while I’m the one who has to be totally enthralled by you?”
He smiled. “Oh, come on. It can’t be that difficult. You know you’d ‘do me’ if I was straight.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, here we go…”
“What? I’d probably ‘do you’ if I was straight.”
“Enough,” I said, raising my hand.
He sighed. “Sinclair, you really need to work on your self-confidence. I know it’s hard because of what fuck-head did to you, but you really need to get over it. I mean, you’re attractive, funny, and have crazy skills when it comes to hair. You’re an awesome catch, girlfriend.”
“Tell it to the straight guys,” I answered dryly.
“Honey, if they can’t handle a woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind,” he said, “then they certainly don’t deserve you.”
Jesse was being kind. The fact was that I had a little bit of a temper and sometimes didn’t know when to keep my mouth shut, which coincidently, was a trait we both shared. After I’d caught Shawn cheating and kicked him out of our apartment, I’d vowed to never let anyone manipulate or take advantage of me, ever again. So now, if I didn’t agree with something someone said, I let them know or if I felt threatened in any way, I usually pounced first. Surprisingly, it sat well with my customers because they kept coming back and asking me for advice. Even Jesse had laid his problems out for me, which lead to where I was sitting right now – his newest partner in crime.
“How does Alex feel about all of this?” I asked. “Is he still giving you the silent treatment?”
He sighed. “Yes. He’s still pissed off that I’m hiding him from my parents. He just doesn’t understand. His parents are so freaken’ cool and mine are just…well,” he sighed, “mine.”
I was having a hard time understanding why he didn’t just ‘come out.’ Jesse had a decent job and his partner, Alex, was very well off. The only thing I could fathom was that Jesse’s monthly allowance from his trust fund was pretty damn considerable.
“Well, you’re going to have to break it to them someday.”
“You don’t understand how intolerable my parents are, Sin, but,” he bit his lower lip. “You will.”
“Great, I can hardly wait,” I answered, now wondering what in the blazes I’d gotten myself into.
We slid out of the Jag and into our roles right away, by st
rolling hand-in-hand towards the front door, where we were greeted by a very eloquent, grey-haired gentleman.
“Young Mr. Eddington,” beamed the older man. “So nice to see you again.”
Jessie stood straighter than usual. “Thanks, George,” he answered in a slightly deeper tone. “This is my girlfriend, Sinclair Jeffries.”
I looked at Jesse, trying to hide my surprise. The transformation from a prima donna to a heterosexual male was comical, considering I knew he hated every minute of it.
One of George’s eyebrows lifted as his eyes darted between us. “Charmed to meet you, Ms. Jeffries,” he said.
“Same to you,” I greeted him. “Just call me Sinclair or Sin.”
George’s eyes studied both of us for a few seconds and then he nodded. “Very well, Sinclair.”
“Crap, I forgot our bags,” sighed Jesse. “They’re still in the trunk.”
“No problem, Mr. Eddington. I’ll go retrieve them,” said George, holding out his hand for the keys. “Will you be staying in your old bedroom, or,” he glanced at me. “One of the guestrooms with Ms. Jeffries, sir?”
“Sinclair,” I corrected him.
“Of course,” smiled George.
“I’m sure Mimi would prefer that we sleep separately,” said Jesse. “So, for her benefit, I think we can handle two nights apart.”
Deciding to have a little fun, I slid my arm through Jesse’s and pouted. “But, Jesse, I don’t think I can handle a night without your strong, manly arms around me.”
He smiled wickedly. “Now, Sin, I doubt my parents want us banging the headboard against the walls from dusk until dawn. You’ll have to live without this guy,” he said, pointing down towards his crotch, “for just a couple of days. Then, I’ll take you back home and rock your world.”
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. “Okay, but it’s going to be so hard, not being together at night.”
He slapped my butt. “I’ll show you hard come Sunday night, lover.”
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