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

by CJ Roberts

  What To Read After FSOG

  The Gemstone Collection

  Part One

  WTRAFSOG

  Created by Summer Daniels

  All rights reserved. This book is copyright material and must not be copied, translated, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any form without prior written permission of the publisher, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible maybe liable in law accordingly.

  Copyright © Arianne Richmonde, Elaine Raco Chase, Liz Crowe, Joya Ryan, Kristine Cayne, CJ Roberts, and Summer Daniels 2014. The right of the above authors to be identified as the authors of the works in this anthology has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) 2000

  Kindle Edition

  The books in this anthology are works of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either a product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design © by: Arianne Richmonde, Elaine Raco Chase, Liz Crowe, J.B. McGee, Joya Ryan, Kristine Cayne, CJ Roberts, and Summer Daniels.

  Published by Neurotica Books.

  Formatted by BB eBooks.

  *WTRAFSOG created by Summer Daniels.

  WTRAFSOG

  (What To Read After Fifty Shades of Grey)

  Hello all … my name is Summer Daniels.

  I’m not just an author, I am a voracious reader. I am always looking for that next book to read that will capture my interest and transport me to another realm.

  I’ve been saying all along that there should be a 12 step program associated with the Fifty Shades of Grey book phenomenon. Readers who have not read a single book for many years are now voraciously reading a book a week … or more!!

  Back in April of 2012 I had an idea to help point some of these voracious readers in the direction of other talented authors (including myself) … and the Facebook page What To Read After Fifty (50) Shades of Grey was born. What honestly started out as a way to sell a few of my books and help promote some other deserving authors has blossomed into an unbelievably active reader recommendation / author promotion community.

  As part of the evolving of the page into this community – I started to compile a weekly list of books that had sold the most copies from the links on the page – based on reader recommendations, author promotions, best seller lists, etc.

  I started out posting the Top Ten books every week. Readers blazed through the top ten and wanted more. I started posting a list of the 11-20 positions as well every week. Readers wanted more. So now every other week I update the Top Fifty List of best selling books and post it on the Facebook page. I email it out to anyone who wants it as well – if you’d like an email copy – just drop me an email at summerdaniels71@gmail.com and I will add you to our mailing list.

  This anthology that follows is comprised of SEVEN (7) of the books from our WTRAFSOG Top Fifty List. The page just turned two years old on April 25th, 2014, so the Top Fifty List is comprised of TWO YEARS worth of actual sales data. These are the books that readers have recommended for What To Read Next!

  We hope you enjoy this anthology! If you do – please consider spreading the word about it to friends, fellow readers, your hairdresser, mailman, etc.

  The WTRAFSOG page now has a FREE APP associated with it as well, with such features as the Top Fifty List, a Free Ebook of the Day, Hot New Releases, Pre-Orders for hot books coming soon, and a lot more!

  It is FREE … so go download yours today!

  Amazon: http://amzn.to/1de1M5f

  Hope to see you over at the WTRAFSOG page!!

  Come check us out on Facebook. Daily FREE ebooks, reader recommendations, author sales, giveaways and MORE!

  Facebook Page: What To Read After Fifty (50) Shades of Grey

  Summer

  Box Set Contents

  What to Read After FSoG (#WTRAFSOG) began as a Facebook page created by Summer Daniels dedicated to helping book lovers discover great reads after FSoG. Over time, the page grew in popularity and spawned a website that listed the top 50 books and authors recommended and purchased by book lovers the world over.

  This collection features seven incredible books from the top of the WTRAFSOG chart. Each book is unique and has a theme of its own, from sweet to sinister, and everywhere in between.

  Shades of Pearl by Arianne Richmonde—USA TODAY Bestselling novel. Just when Pearl has given up on love, sexy French billionaire Alexandre sweeps her off her feet with passion and intrigue. The catch? He’s fifteen years younger than she is. Ride this roller coaster of sex, lies, heartache and love.

  Double Occupancy by Elaine Raco Chase—Meet Casey Reynolds – she’s not thin, petite, clueless, virginal or submissive – but she is a burned out Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter who ends up reluctantly sharing a borrowed villa with a handsome stranger. Provocative, explicit but so much fun!

  Floor Time by Liz Crowe—Jack and Sara bring the SEXY to real estate. Two successful, independent and complex adults with plenty of baggage have a single clichéd hookup that changes their worlds forever. Expect to get hooked on this compelling couple and their series.

  Break Me Slowly by Joya Ryan—Adam Kinkade is a man used to getting what he wants. And he wants Katelyn—naked and often. Willing to stop at nothing to possess her, he relentlessly peruses Kate only to discover that it is she who possesses him—completely.

  Deadly Obsession by Kristine Cayne—When movie-star Nic Lamoureux meets photographer Lauren James, the attraction is instant—and mutual, but his stalker makes it deadly clear Lauren is the competition. And the competition must be eliminated.

  Captive in the Dark by CJ Roberts—This New York Times Bestseller is the story of a young woman kidnapped and held hostage by a human trafficker out for revenge. Gritty, violent, and not for the faint of heart. 18+

  Summer’s Journey, Vol. 1-4 by Summer Daniels—Join Summer on her journey of sexual self-discovery; a well written, intelligent and sexy series about the beginning of her sensual, sultry love affair with life, and all the joys of being a woman.

  Shades of Pearl

  Arianne Richmonde

  1

  Park Avenue is broken into a patchwork of glimmering colors, the streets a slick, shining wet as rain makes mirrors of the red and green of the traffic lights. I am mesmerized by the windshield wipers of the taxi cab washing away the deluge of a sudden summer downpour that has taken the city by surprise.

  I love New York City in the summer rain, a relief from the muggy air. But today it threatens to make me late for my appointment. I always aim to arrive early because, by nature I’m disorganized, so I need time on my side. I ask the driver if he can go any faster, if he can pull a miraculous short-cut out of the bag, but no, he and I are both aware that that’s impossible. The traffic is lugging, straining; all we can do is be patient, all I can do is calm myself, take a breath and remember that work is not the be-all and end-all of my existence. So what if I’m late? Does it really matter in the big scheme of things, in the giant picture of life?

  Life – that’s something to mull over. I wish work wasn’t so important to me, but I cling on to it like a piece of driftwood in a stormy oce
an. Work is all I seem to have right now. I’ve just turned forty, I’m divorced, single – I live alone and don’t have a child. Work is my lifeboat.

  I sit back into the scuffed seat of the cab and look through the notes on my iPad.

  The conference will be packed, my boss has assured me. Replete with an international crowd from all corners of the globe. It’s the biggest I.T convention of the year and I know I won’t fit in. Nerdsville here I come. I know very little about this world, and the only reason I have been summoned to go is to see if I can connect with two of the people who will be speaking today. They are a brother and sister from France who have made a small fortune, seemingly overnight, not unlike Facebook computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur, Mark Zuckerberg. This duo is young, too. She’s the business and he’s the brains, apparently. They started a social network company, HookedUp, a sort of Twitter cum social dating interaction which, although not so popular in France, went pandemic here in the U.S. Everyone has joined, even married couples, even me – which is really saying something as dating is a game I play badly; I’ve had no luck and I’ve all but given up.

  My company, Haslit Films, wants to do a documentary about this pair of siblings. Not so easy. They are very private and rarely do interviews. They don’t go to openings or parties. They don’t do Red Carpet. There was a big piece about them in the New York Times, but other than that they are a bit of a mystery. He, Alexandre Chevalier, is twenty-four and she, Sophie Dumas, is ten years older, his half sister from a previous marriage. They share the same father. This much I know. But I can find only one photo of him on the internet and he’s wearing a hoodie, his face practically masked – he looks like a typical college student. His sister stands beside him, her hair in a neat chignon – looking formidable, poised. HookedUp is going from strength to strength. Rumor has it they are looking to sell or go public but nobody can be sure. All this, I need to find out.

  I stare out the cab window and sigh with relief as the traffic speeds up. I think about all the millions out there trying to find a mate, trying to get ‘hooked up’ – and smile to myself. When was the last time? Two years ago? It was a rebound disaster waiting to happen, or rather, I was the rebound waiting…hoping to find love again. I hadn’t expected my divorce to knock me sideways the way it did. I didn’t even love him anymore. It was mutual. There was nobody else involved, we just drifted apart. We had gotten to the point where we couldn’t even watch each other eat. Yet when those papers came through, the ink hardly dry, I cried myself to sleep for weeks. If Saul and I had had a child, at least that would have given me some sort of purpose, a perspective – but there I was, a two-time miscarriage vessel, empty, null and void – my sell-by date looming.

  It’s funny how others see you, though. So many of my friends were envious of my life. They still are. ‘So glamorous,’ they purr. ‘So free’. No homework to deal with, no snotty nose to wipe, no husband’s dirty socks to pick off the floor. Instead, a fabulous, well paid job with a fabulous, successful film company making top-notch documentaries, meeting fascinating people…and yet. Yet what? What excuse did I have, do I have to feel unfulfilled?

  Perhaps everyone feels this way, no matter what cards they hold. Always looking for something richer – something or someone more satisfying to fill an empty hole. Turning forty didn’t scare me until after it happened. ‘But you look amazing,’ said friends after I’d blown out forty candles on my birthday cake. The ‘but’ spoke volumes. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

  That last date I went on, just after my divorce – what a fiasco. I thought it might give me confidence – make me feel stronger but I found myself tumbling into bed with a man I hardly knew, after he’d taken me out to an oh-so-expensive dinner. I think he felt I was dessert, and I can only blame myself as I offered myself up as such, accepting a ‘night cap’ at his apartment. Just thinking about it now makes my mouth pucker, as if I had a lemon in my mouth. Bad sex. Grappling, groping, sweaty hands on my breasts, the poking and panting. Ugh, just the thought of it. He sent me flowers the next day, saying what a wonderful evening he’d had. He was so keen. So well-meaning. So clueless.

  Not that I’m any expert. No. Sex has rarely been good for me. My ex-husband was very attractive but his idea of foreplay was rubbing my groin as if I were a horse needing a good rub-down. Rhythmic efficiency.

  It seems that men have read about the clitoris (the Big C), the nerve-rich locus of women’s sexual pleasure, and think it’s a target to be zoomed in on immediately. All those women’s magazines don’t help, either, that go on endlessly about multiple orgasms – something that has eluded me like a fugitive on the run…forever out of my range. Perhaps it’s all a conspiracy and the big M O, or rather, Multiple 007 doesn’t actually exist…just a fantasy that we all believe in.

  It reminds me of my old Al-Anon meetings – a place for family members of alcoholics to find solace and talk to one another. That was before my eldest brother died, when my family was struggling to understand his alcoholism – his personal demons which were ripping us apart. I was searching for help, for answers. The meetings, for some odd reason, were ninety-eight percent women. Once we’d all gained each other’s trust, we started to explore other problems and to really open up with one another – problems not related to our families, but our own deep secrets, which turned out to be collective insecurities. Sex came up. Of course, doesn’t it always? We had all sworn honesty, not to judge each other, not to share our experiences with anyone outside the room. It turned out that many of the women there – in fact, most of the women there – had unsatisfactory sex lives, if any at all. Several bowed their heads in shame when they admitted they’d never reached orgasm through penetrative sex. Others, that they couldn’t bear to have their clitoris touched (manhandled), or they felt too self-conscious to have their partner go down on them. We all laughed about that scene in When Harry Met Sally. So true. Women faking orgasms so they can get to sleep, take the kids to school, or just get it over and done with. But you still soldier on, still hoping for that magical person who can wave a wand and make it all happen – hoping that same person will be your soul mate, or at least, that you’ll have a good deal in common. Or that your present partner, or husband, will wake up one day and find you gloriously sexy, and that his top priority in the world is to give you carnal pleasure and become a veritable god in bed.

  As for me? Right now my confidence is wobbling and wavering with desperate insecurity like a child learning to ride a bicycle way too big for her. Sex, or any kind of a relationship, is the last thing I feel equipped to navigate my way around. On paper, I look good. Had a great education, a degree from Brown in Comparative Literature. I worked my way up from research and I am now a producer with Haslit Films, a job I love. I own my own apartment, a one bedroom co-op on the Upper East Side. I travel to a different place in the U.S every year for a ten day vacation, usually in September when the crowds have died down. My life is wonderful.

  But I’m single.

  And, just to add salt to the wound, I haven’t reached that exclusive O during sex with a partner of any kind, for nearly eighteen years.

  The conference center is all a-buzz. There are placards filled with names and seminars.

  Deep Dive: Best Practices for Wireless and Mobile Management, Operations and Security.

  Selecting the Right Platform Solution.

  Cloud-based Convergence of Desktop, Communications & Social Apps: Microsoft Office 365 vs. Google Gmail/Docs.

  Social Media as the Top Malware Delivery Vehicle – How to Protect Your Network.

  I scan the list to find out what I am looking for, but cannot see the French sibling duo anywhere. I make my way to the ladies’ room and check myself in the mirror. I see a blonde woman staring back at me with her flecked blue-gray eyes, wearing a tight gray pencil skirt and fitted white T-shirt, her bra making her breasts seem larger than they are in reality. Cheating. That’s what we females do whenever we can. The woman is familiar yet, every time I se
e her, it shocks me that she is me, a person who only yesterday was climbing trees and asking her mother for more ice-cream. It sounds like a cliché, but where did all that time go? Who is this woman looking back at me? This seemingly self-assured lady with marshmallow insides who hides her insecurity with designer clothes and a bright smile – who is she? I open my old, oversized, leather bag and take out some high, nude platform pumps, slip off my sneakers and put on the shoes, one foot at a time, leaning against the wall to balance myself, swapping comfort for extra height. My five foot seven frame is now several inches taller.

  I wish I had a sweater now; the air conditioning is up high, my hair is soaked from the rain – no wonder we get summer colds in New York City. I inspect my face in the mirror and wish I could magic away these crow’s feet that have nestled themselves so comfortably on my face. I put on another layer of mascara which brightens me and makes me feel younger. I never wear foundation; the beauty of getting older is the absence of pimples. Reading novels on my co-op’s shared roof terrace has given me a golden, sun-kissed glow – no need for blusher at this time of year. I dab on a touch of pinky-red lip gloss, let down my damp, wavy blond hair from its pony tail, and consider myself ready to enter the world of I.T.

  I move back to the lobby and stand in line, waiting to collect my name tag. “Ms. Pearl Robinson,” I say to the man behind the desk.

  He hands me my badge and I pin it on my T-shirt. I read a banner which says: ‘THE #1 meeting place for the global business technology community,’ and for some odd reason, I feel nervous.

  I clear my throat. “Um, excuse me but I’ve never been to one of these business technology conferences. I’m trying to find one of the speakers today. Two of the speakers, actually.”