Rude Awakening

by Veronica Chadwick

“Warm me up then. Our stuff is put in my old room. Let’s go fulfill an old fantasy of mine.”

  She laughed again and elbowed him. “Perv.”

  “You like that about me.” He nipped her earlobe.

  Everyone had abandoned the video to watch them. Heat crawled up her neck as Lucas’s brothers snatched up the chance at another round of ribald taunts. Lucas’s father, Joseph, just shook his head and smiled. “Son, you opened yourself up for this, you know that, right?”

  Lucas just grinned.

  Joseph looked a lot like Lucas. They were the same height, though Joseph was leaner. Joseph’s cheekbones were more prominent than Lucas’s and his hair was silver, but his eyes were exactly the same. He held his son Aaron’s new baby girl, his very first grandbaby, in his arms. She quickly recaptured his full attention. Those dark mahogany eyes that so matched Jaimee’s husband’s were now filled with adoration as he gazed into the eyes of his granddaughter. Her little fist rested against his cheek. Jaimee’s heart melted.

  A grumbling Rachel came from the kitchen, waving a wooden spoon at three giggling little boys then. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun. The silver that shot through it only added to her elegance. She was small and not very tall at around five feet two or three. She smiled a lot and her chocolate brown eyes were warm and kind. She wore a black apron that said “Will cook for shoes” over a soft pink sweater and black trousers. She was simply lovely and Jaimee loved her already.

  Rachel scanned the room until she spotted her husband, Joseph, standing by the fireplace. She looked back at Rachel. Her heart melted at the tender sight just as Jaimee’s had.

  “To the table everyone! Before these little scamps sneak any more rolls.” She laughed. “Annmarie, Jacob…” She motioned toward the kitchen with her head. “Come help me get the food on the table.”

  Jaimee took Lucas’s hand and pulled him along as she followed Rachel into the kitchen to help. The kitchen was huge and gleamed with stainless steel appliances and Italian marble. Jaimee didn’t bother hiding her “oh” as she stopped and took it all in. Rachel was passing platters of food to Annmarie from a warming drawer. Jaimee was in awe.

  “How can I help, Mrs. Grayson?”

  Rachel straightened and wrinkled her nose. “You can call me Mom or Rachel, dear. And you can help me by going into the dining room and finding a seat,” she said with a very familiar lift of a brow and tilt to her lips.

  “Hey! I don’t see why the love birds don’t have to help out,” Jacob teased.

  Jaimee speared Jacob a sardonic look that had him chuckling.

  “Are you sure? I would love to help,” Jaimee nearly pleaded. No one had let her lift a finger for anything since they’d arrived.

  “Absolutely. Next year I’ll put you to work cooking. This year, you just relax.” Rachel winked.

  “She makes some amazing caramel…apples,” Lucas said as he pulled her close. “Very decadent.” Jaimee struggled to keep from blushing but the heat in her cheeks told her she’d failed.

  “Wonderful,” Rachel said cheerfully. “I’ll expect you to make them for us next year then.”

  Jacob’s wide grin told her he’d noticed her reaction. “Oh there’s a story there.”

  Jaimee glared at Lucas, hoping her eyes told him he was in big trouble. Lucas just chuckled and dropped a quick kiss on her lips before punching his brother in the arm. “Grab the turkey, runt.”

  Lucas led her through the double swinging doors into the expansive dining room. The atmosphere was festive and elegant with lovely table settings and lit candles. The family was seated around the large dining table, laughing and chatting. It was just incredible. Joseph sat at the head of the table, as he should. Baby Lauren had been fed and put down for a nap in a pretty bassinet set up in the great room. Aaron had his arm around his wife, Beth. She looked tired but happy as she rested against her husband.

  Aaron was the oldest, an architect. He was very gregarious and fun-loving. His eyes were warm and kind like his mother’s. Just the way he looked at Beth told Jaimee how much he cherished her. And he doted adoringly on his baby girl, Lauren. Even so, he was just as much a scamp as his younger siblings and was just as bad as the rest of them when they got to ribbing each other.

  Micah, the lawyer, was a bit different from his brothers. His reserved and quiet demeanor was at odds with the mischievous glint in his golden brown eyes. With his shaved head and goatee and usual dark clothing he seemed mysterious and aloof, maybe a little dangerous if given a cursory glance. He was in fact shrewdly watching, taking everything in…always. But he was, as were his brothers, a charming gentleman.

  Jacob, the veterinarian, was the youngest of the boys and the most energetic and outgoing of the bunch as well as an irrepressible flirt with a wicked sense of humor. He’d broken a few hearts in his time, Jaimee was sure of it. He probably wasn’t even aware of it himself, she was sure of that too.

  At the wedding Maxine had summed it up quite well when she plopped down in a chair and sighed heavily in exhausted appreciation after she’d danced with every single one of the Grayson men more than once. She’d said dreamily, “Those Grayson men are a hot mess. Emphasis on hot. Especially the bald one with the goatee.”

  Then there was the ever-precocious Annmarie. Her dark wavy hair was much like Lucas’s had been. Long, thick and beautiful. Her eyes were dark and clear and wise beyond her years. Her quick wit was invaluable when verbal sparring with her brothers came in to play. She could hold her own. They cherished her like the precious treasure she was and protected her as such as well. Which was why she hadn’t mentioned the boy she had a crush on to anyone but her mom, and recently Jaimee. It meant so much to Jaimee that Annmarie had trusted her with her precious secret. It meant she was accepted.

  After everyone gathered around the table and settled into their seats Joseph slowly stood and smiled at his lovely wife with such adoration Jaimee wanted to sigh. “Thank you, sweetheart, for once again making everything wonderful for us.” His smile widened as his gaze swept over the faces of his family nodding in agreement. “Before we bow our heads to pray for this enormous Thanksgiving feast, I have something I’d like to say.”

  He paused and cleared his throat, placing his hands on the table in front of him. “We’ve much to be thankful for this year. Annmarie has excelled in her classes at school and won first place in the art show. Micah made junior partner. Jacob and his friend opened their own clinic. And our sweet baby, Lauren, was born healthy and beautiful just like her mother.” He winked at Beth and she blushed and shyly returned his smile. Aaron grinned and pulled her closer.

  “And another new addition.” He turned to Jaimee. “Lucas’s bride, Jaimee.” Lucas squeezed her hand under the table. Jaimee turned her eyes from Lucas to Joseph and blinked as she saw those sharp eyes of his go misty. “My family is all together now. Thank you, Jaimee girl, for loving our son, showing him his own heart. You brought him back to us. He is blessed to have found such a perfect match, such a powerful love.”

  Lucas leaned over and kissed her temple. “I am,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. Tears welled in her own eyes as Jaimee looked up at her father-in-law in stunned silence. The emotion was contagious it seemed, if the whispered agreements from around the table were any indication. Jaimee shook her head. “No,” she croaked then closed her eyes for a second and swallowed the lump of emotion forming in her throat. She took a deep breath and began again. “I’m the one who is blessed. I’ve never had this. Ever. This kind of family. This kind of love. You’re a remarkable family. I’m still trying to take it all in and let myself believe it’s real. I’m not going to wake up and you’re not all going to go poof.”

  Everyone laughed softly. Rachel blotted her tears with her napkin and said softly, “You’re definitely awake, dear. We’re so happy Lucas found you. Not just because Lucas has come home to us, but because we love you. You’re welcome here now. This is your home. You’re part of us.”

  “Th
ank you.” Jaimee didn’t think she’d quit smiling, even when a slight wave of nausea swept over her. She laid a hand on her tummy and waited for it to pass. It had been a while since they stopped to eat. It seemed if she didn’t eat on time she got a little nauseous.

  Lucas smoothed a tear away with his thumb and whispered softly, “You okay, James?”

  Jaimee lifted her eyes to his. ”Yes, I think I’m just hungry. You know. It’s just a little…” She smiled up at the family watching her and laughed nervously. “I’m just fine.”

  Rachel’s eyes went wide and bright. Her hopeful question was breathless with excitement. “Could it be morning sickness?”

  Her sheepish grin gave her away, but Lucas answered anyway. “Yes, we’re having a baby.”

  “I knew it!” she shouted with delight.

  Excited chatter rose around the table. Questions and congratulations. Beth grinned at her and said softly, “How far into your first trimester?”

  Fresh tears spilled down Jaimee cheeks. “Six weeks.”

  Joseph loudly cleared his throat and the voices went quiet. “Personally, I think the child is hungry and tired of all this sappy love talk. Let’s pray so we can get my grandbaby fed.”

  About the Author

  To learn more about Veronica Chadwick, please visit www.veronicachadwick.com. Send an email to Veronica at veronicachadwick@comcast.net or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Veronica! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RonisRetreat

  One night of anonymous sex. Zero consequences. At least, that was the plan.

  Sexy by Design

  © 2009 Avery Beck

  Dumped for another woman, Bree Jamison buries her white-picket-fence dreams—and her naturally shy demeanor—for a contract job behind the scenes of an erotic cyberstore. Her new life comes with a sexy public persona, and a driving ambition to earn a permanent position with the company.

  On the day she’s prepared to present her best work, she’s shocked to discover her future depends on impressing her only one-night stand. The one man who could blow her cover and ruin everything.

  Evan climbed out of poverty with sarcasm on his tongue and a ring in his eyebrow. He can’t believe the vixen in front of him is the same woman who fumbled her way through their single botched encounter. Her offer for a do-over is an opportunity he can’t pass up, not only to secure his reputation, but to satisfy his curiosity about the one woman he couldn’t please.

  In a bedroom full of the company’s products, fiery arguments lead to experimentation—and then to a passion that strips away their masks. In that vulnerable place, their troubled pasts collide, baring secrets that force Evan into a hard decision. And Bree back on the road to heartbreak…

  Warning: This title contains hot sex complete with four-letter words and battery-operated devices, as well as a kinky to-do list and the world’s most entertaining office job.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Sexy by Design:

  Bree couldn’t take the honest approach, not yet. They were barely treading friendly waters, and she couldn’t lose the upper hand until she’d convinced him that his original impression of her had been way off-base.

  “I can see I’ll have to prove you wrong.” Her fingers wrapped around the handle of her bottom drawer and pulled it out so hard the entire desk rattled. Inside lay a hefty collection of vibrators in different colors, textures, and sizes.

  Evan looked down at the array of fake penises and threw his head back in amusement. Chuckling, he managed to say, “I’m afraid work-related devices don’t count.”

  “You didn’t say that. You said I’d never seen one.”

  “I amend my earlier statement. So you’ve seen one. But you’ve never used one.”

  He drew that word out like a long, slow lick on an ice cream cone. Bree-flavored ice cream. From behind those sultry eyelashes he watched her, daring her to be turned on by his proposition.

  She wasn’t merely turned on. She was a hungry lioness circling her cage, waiting for the door to open so she could burst out and devour a succulent piece of meat.

  Yum.

  She glanced at her office door to make sure it was closed. Time to put her seduction plan into action.

  Swallowing hard, she reached into the drawer and retrieved a sizable blue cylinder. Her hand shook with nerves, so she squeezed her fingers around the thing more tightly. If she were going to refute his assumptions, she couldn’t be afraid of a vibrator. She needed to act like she’d used one every day of her adult life. Like having a man watch her touch herself with one came as naturally as breathing.

  A smile played on her lips. Letting a man watch and using a sex toy? She could knock two things off the list with this one simple act.

  Simple. Right.

  Her smile fading, she blew out a shaky breath and brushed the tip over her exposed shoulder, seeing Evan’s mouth open just enough to let her know she had his interest. With excruciating slowness, she dragged the toy down her arm, making a U-turn at her wrist before bringing it back up and across her collarbone. She shivered at the cool, tingly trail it left on her skin and closed her eyes, wondering how she’d follow through with this show when she’d never even done it privately.

  Before she got that far, Evan rolled his chair closer. Her eyes snapped open. His penetrating gaze fixed on her, he removed the device from her skin and held it tantalizingly in front of her face.

  “What are you doing?” she objected.

  He didn’t answer, just turned it on with a single flick of his thumb. The purr of the tiny motor made her jump.

  The way he stared at her made her feel naked even though she remained fully clothed. The room was nearly silent, the buzz of the fluorescent lights drowned out by the beat of her racing heart. She should have bashed his hand, should have bolted from the chair.

  But she didn’t.

  “Don’t touch me with that,” she rasped. “Don’t you dare.”

  Yet still she couldn’t move. What was wrong with her? Evan’s attempt to take control of the situation wasn’t surprising, given his sky-high confidence level. But enjoying his power trip was not part of the plan.

  “So.” His breath caressed her neck as he dipped the pulsating tip into the top of her dress, grazing the cleft between her breasts. “Would you like a demonstration of what this thing is really used for?”

  He looked down, and she knew he’d spotted her rigid nipples poking through the thin fabric of her outfit. Lovely. As cavalier as he was to begin with, she didn’t want to reveal that, at the moment, her attraction to him was fueling her quest for sexual experience. Much as she hated to admit that, it was entirely, irrevocably true.

  Her mind begged her to move away from him. Your terms, remember? But her body refused to listen. One more moment of his dizzying nearness, one more second of his warm breath grazing her skin just the way it had when he’d been inside her, and she would lose this battle. She’d be taking lessons from him instead of showing him what she could do.

  So why did it feel so good?

  An inkling of smugness in his smile, he moved the device down to her knee and began sliding it up the inside of her thigh. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  No, no, no!

  “Evan—”

  “Happy birthday!” The door flew open and the entire staff burst in, cake in tow. Snapping to attention, Bree watched in horror as the vibrator dropped from Evan’s fingers and rolled underneath her desk. For once, he looked stunned as well. Thank God it was one of the quietest designs.

  Her computer monitor hid their frolicking from view just long enough for them to compose themselves. Evan ran a hand through his dark hair, doing his best to appear casual. “Wow, you guys didn’t have to do this.”

  Paula stepped up and hugged him. “Well, it’s Friday afternoon and we could all use a break. Didn’t want to ignore your big three-one.” She turned to Bree. “Sorry I didn’t warn you, but you two have been locked in here all day working on the site. I d
idn’t want to interrupt and make anything look suspicious.”

  Bree smiled weakly. “No problem.” If Paula only knew that she should have been the suspicious one.

  They moved the party to the conference room, and Bree excused herself. The throbbing between her legs made it difficult to play social butterfly. She practically ran to the restroom. When she got there, she washed her hands under cold water and dabbed at her moist forehead with a paper towel.

  What the hell was that? She glowered into the mirror. The idea was to prove she could be an assertive, sensual woman, not a submissive girl who’d let him do whatever he felt like doing to her. He already believed that, and she had just wiped away any progress they might have made on the path to understanding each other beyond their one-night stand.

  Now she’d have to start over. You hate him, she insisted to her reflection. You hate him.

  It’s not the act. It’s the details…

  Rockstar

  © 2009 Lexi Adair

  Incredibly tight-lipped and painfully private, Anthony Phoenix has been known to make lesser women cry. Luckily, Summer Staite is by no means a lesser woman. It’s her job to know his type—rich, handsome, famous and used to getting what he wants. A dangerous, seductive combination. Luckily for her it’s not the man she’s after. It’s his story. A story that’ll earn her the respect she craves—one they tell her is impossible to get.

  “They” have no idea how far she’ll go.

  With his freight-train vocals, dark intensity and brooding good looks, Anthony is well aware he presents a challenge to the brazen columnist from Stripped Magazine. Yet she intrigues him more than he cares to admit. Beneath her soft, girl-next-door façade, she drips with the kind of sensuality that makes him edgy. High. And completely stupid.

  Stupid enough to let her get into the act…and under his skin.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Rockstar:

  “Have a drink.”

  Startled Summer slammed the fridge door shut and whirled about. Anthony was standing in the threshold watching her. “How long have you been standing there?”