His to Cherish

by Stacey Lynn

  This book has been years in the making. Written two years ago, it’s taken what feels like forever to get into my readers’ hands, and I hope more than anything this story resonates with you and stays with you in a way that it always will for me. Thank you to every single reader who has ever given me a chance, who has sent me messages and comments and emails saying how much my words have touched you. Thank you for every review you’ve left. I’ve read them all. To all the friends I’ve met along the way, from readers to bloggers and other authors, our writing community is a wonderful place full of support and encouragement and I adore every one of you. You’ve taught me and held my hand and boosted me up when I needed it. Keep being awesome and kind and a little bit drunk.

  To Sue and Ashleigh and the fantastic people I’ve met at Random House, I’ve absolutely loved working with you. Your kindness and professionalism and encouragement are so appreciated. This publishing experience has been beyond my wildest dreams and I’m so thankful I’ve been able to do it with such great women.

  Tonya and Shannon…this book is dedicated to you. And I’m also thanking you here. I bet you think you’re special. You are. We really need to meet up again soon.

  And last but not least, to my family: my kids for not burning the house down when Mom’s hidden away and working, and my husband who always makes me laugh and gives me hope and believes in me more than I do myself. Thank you for being my Aidan—my safe place, my warm place, my everything.

  BY STACEY LYNN

  Fireside

  His to Love

  His to Protect

  His to Cherish

  His to Seduce (coming soon)

  STACEY LYNN was raised in the Midwest. Over the long, frigid winters, she would read every book she could get her hands on, from John Grisham and Danielle Steel to Ann M. Martin and C. S. Lewis. She began writing poems and short stories long before she reached high school, and now, as a wife and mother to four children, she finds solace from the craziness of her life by creating steamy, sexy stories. After publishing her first book, what began as a hobby has now turned into an unending passion.

  staceylynnbooks.com

  Facebook.com/​staceylynnbooks

  @staceylynnbooks

  Read on for an excerpt from

  His to Seduce

  A Fireside Novel

  by Stacey Lynn

  Available from Loveswept

  Chapter 1

  Camden

  My back hit the metal shelf behind me and I cringed.

  “David.” I gripped his shoulders tighter. His hands squeezed my backside as he moved us.

  “Fuck, sorry.” In the darkness it was almost impossible to see, but our eyes slowly adjusted as he pushed aside a stack of tablecloths and placed me on a table. “Better?”

  His hand gently brushed down my cheek and goosebumps popped up on my arms.

  What was I doing?

  The salty Jamaican air had scrambled my senses.

  Or, I was tired of being alone. Tired of being the outsider among all my friends who had recently found the loves of their lives. I was thrilled for them. All of them, especially Tyson and Blue, whose marriage we had celebrated earlier today on the beaches of a private Jamaican resort.

  “Please,” I whispered and leaned into his palm now cupping my cheek. His hands were strong, with long, tanned fingers that had made me think of naughty things like this for months.

  In the darkness, I saw a flash of his white teeth. “I like it when you beg. When you need me.”

  Tonight’s needs were selfish. A moment to forget the loneliness. A moment to take what I’d been too chickenshit to reach for for months even though it was right in front of me.

  He’d been right there, flirting relentlessly and trying to break me down. Tonight, I was tired of fighting the pull I’d felt for him despite how wrong I knew he was for me. This was one night. A moment of wildness I didn’t usually indulge in, but who didn’t enjoy getting laid at a friend’s wedding? It was almost a requirement.

  His hands dropped to my knees, spreading them wide so he could step in between them.

  His fingers teased my thighs, running up and down my bare flesh until I shivered from the softness of his touch.

  My eyes were half-closed when I forced myself to look at him. I saw only his lust for me and my heart rioted against my rib cage.

  Damn…he wanted me. It was as thrilling as it was terrifying.

  One of his hands left my leg and cupped the back of my neck. He pulled me to him until our foreheads touched.

  “I want this,” he said, his voice thick and gruff. “Tell me you want this.”

  “I want it.”

  “Tell me you want me.”

  I bit my lip, unbidden emotions threatening to overtake me.

  “Camden, I want you to know that when I sink into you, when I push your panties to the side and run my fingers through your wetness, that this isn’t a onetime thing for us. This is the beginning.”

  I shivered again. From his words, his promise—something I so desperately craved but was too terrified to take hold of.

  I shifted my hips and pulled him to me until his erection brushed against my center.

  “Tonight,” I gasped as he rubbed against me in the perfect spot. “It’s all I can promise.”

  He chuckled, moving his mouth against my cheek, down to my jaw and my throat. “We’ll see about that.”

  —

  My breathing was still erratic as I pushed down my gray silk dress, which matched what everyone in the bridal party had worn for the wedding.

  “You okay?” David asked.

  I couldn’t look at him. My pulse pounded and my fingers trembled as I pushed them into my hair to smooth it back. It was no use.

  “I look like a mess,” I said, even though I was unable to see myself in the dark closet where we’d just had sex. But I knew I had to be, based on the hair that had escaped the clips and pins. God. I’d just let David, a man I’d avoided for months despite my physical attraction to him, sweep me into a dark supply closet and screw me senseless during a wedding.

  A wedding! My friend’s wedding!

  Panic rolled through me and I flashed my eyes at David.

  He was calm as a cucumber, tucking his white linen shirt back into the waistband of his gray dress pants.

  “What did we do?” I asked. My hand went to my chest to calm the rioting but it was useless. “They’re going to know. And—”

  He curved his arms around my shoulders and pressed his lips to mine. It did nothing to quell the stampede I felt inside me. Instead, everything increased…the heat flooding my veins, the pounding in my ears.

  “We did what we’ve been wanting to do ever since we first saw each other. That’s what happened.” He pulled back to whisper into my ear, “It was incredible, and I want more of you. On my bed, in the light so I can see you.”

  I shook my head. “We can’t.”

  “Oh. We can.”

  I squeezed my eyes closed before forcing myself to look at him. David was gorgeous. Lean and handsome with short sandy blond hair cropped in a professionally styled cut. His blue eyes were beautiful even though I couldn’t see them clearly at the moment, but I’d spent hours fantasizing about him looking at me the way he was doing now.

  “David,” I sighed. “That was a—”

  He pressed two fingers against my lips. “Don’t say mistake. It wasn’t. It was wonderful. And besides”—his lips lifted into a grin—“you promised me the night and it’s not nearly over yet.”

  “Everyone will know.” This wasn’t me and everyone knew it. I didn’t succumb to temptation, despite how good the promise of it was. My life was controlled and precise. Planned out to the letter. I couldn’t afford to let myself get swept away in silliness like the rest of my friends. I didn’t have that luxury.

  “I don’t care.” His fingers slid to my jaw and down my neck before sliding around to the back of my neck. I shivered from his gentle touch. From the way
he made me feel. “Turn around.”

  “What?”

  “Your hair’s a mess and I want to fix it.”

  “Oh.” My hands went back to my hair, but he stopped me, taking my hands in his and tugging them to my sides. “I can do it.”

  “I know, but I want to.”

  Turning me around, he glided his hands up my arms to my hair and I began to relax. I loved having my hair played with. Loved the feel of releasing it from the tight do I typically sported and running my hands through it, shaking it out. My auburn hair was long and thick, and tonight, held back with dozens of pins, half of it up, and the other half curled in a way that would have taken me hours to do had I done it myself.

  Fortunately, Blue had covered the cost for all of us at a salon at the resort to which they had swept all of us away for a last-minute wedding. Not having much family and few friends, they’d eventually decided to forgo a typical wedding, whisking everyone to Jamaica for a long weekend. We’d arrived yesterday but hadn’t had much time to relax since most of the day and night and then this morning had been busy with wedding preparations.

  “That feels good.” I sighed as David began releasing pins and gathering them in his hands. I relaxed and leaned forward, holding on to the table in front of me. The table where I’d sat minutes ago and let him fuck me. I inhaled a deep breath, calming myself before I panicked again. “Thank you for helping me with this.”

  “My pleasure,” he whispered, as if now he cared about anyone hearing us. “We’ll get this done and then say our good nights. Think anyone missed us?”

  I laughed awkwardly. “If they noticed we were gone at all…”

  The only reason I’d allowed David to take me away from the reception was because it’d been just the two of us. He’d walked up to me at the bar, bought me a drink, and then before I knew it, he’d been tugging me down a hallway. I’d thought maybe we were going for a walk when he asked me if I wanted to get away for a moment, I hadn’t expected him to guide me into a closet and kiss me.

  But what a kiss it’d been.

  “They noticed. They’re probably thrilled.”

  “I’m not sure I can talk about this.” He slid his hands into my hair and I groaned. My head fell forward as he massaged my scalp with his strong hands.

  “I like that what we just did makes you nervous. I bet when I pull you back into the hallway and take you to my room for round two, your chest will be bright pink.”

  I was stuck on the thought of going back to his room for round two and it took me a moment to realize what else he’d said.

  “Don’t tease me.” I hated that my pale skin turned splotchy and purple when I was embarrassed.

  “Hey.” He turned me around and cupped my cheeks with his palms. All the lightness evaporated from his tone as he moved close to me. “I’m not teasing you. I think it’s sexy as hell when you blush. When it starts at your cheeks and spreads to your neck.” A finger trailed down my skin as he spoke, making me shiver…and yes…blush.

  I felt the heat follow his touch until my chest went warm.

  “We should go back to the wedding.”

  “We’ll wave to them as we leave.” He licked his lips and grinned. One of his hands moved back until the doorknob clicked and light from the hall flooded in. “I need you.”

  Need. No one needed me. No one had ever needed me. He might have been saying he just wanted my body, but for some reason, I didn’t care.

  I liked the way the admission rolled off his lips.

  I grinned then, unable to stop it as he opened the door farther and his eyes dropped to my chest. He winked when he looked at me and then tugged me into the hall.

  “Tonight,” I reminded him. “I promised you tonight.”

  “Okay, Camden. For tonight.” His wicked smile said he planned on trying to change my mind.

  We walked down the hall, back to the reception area, and I clung to his hand. I ducked my head, embarrassed to see anyone, but when we got back to the restaurant, it was empty.

  My head snapped to him and he laughed, throwing his head back. “Looks like everyone had the same idea we did.”

  He winked at me again, and darn it. He was so cute when he was playful, which he generally was. With a strong jaw and cheekbones and a perfectly straight nose, David could have been a model, admired by millions on billboards if he wanted to be.

  “Well.” I grinned and shook my head in disbelief. “I guess I don’t have to worry about them seeing us together.”

  The humor in his eyes evaporated and I wanted to kick myself. I’d made it clear to my friends for months that I wouldn’t date David. I craved financial stability and safe men. A bartender who swooped into town could just as easily flee whenever the mood struck, and the last thing I was going to do was fall for a man who would leave me without remorse or thought like my dad had done to my mom before I was even born.

  But in that moment, I wasn’t thinking about David’s job or his lack of money or anything, except the fact that I’d done something outside my comfort zone and my friends would think it was hilarious.

  Before I could explain that I didn’t mean him, that it was me I was embarrassed about, he turned and tugged me forward. “I can take you back to your room, Camden. I don’t want to pressure you into this. If that’s all that was for, just a way to get off with someone while you were at a wedding and feeling emotional, I get it. But I’m telling you now, I want more.” He dropped his hand from mine and stepped back. “Your choice.”

  There wasn’t a choice. In for a penny, in for a pound. I’d agreed to this, and not only that, I wanted it. I wanted to see David’s body like he wanted to see mine. I wanted to throw away my lists and my carefully planned life, if only for a night.

  I felt something with David, something I had tried to ignore. It felt like freedom and fun and a wildness I had never experienced before. As he stood in front of me, waiting, I knew there was no choice.

  For the night, I was letting go of everything and taking what I was tired of denying myself.

  I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and stepped forward, pressing my palm to his chest. It tightened beneath my hand and David peered down at me from beautiful blue eyes brighter than the Caribbean Sea.

  “Take me to your room, David. And show me what else you have planned for me.”

  Love stories you’ll never forget

  By authors you’ll always remember

  eOriginal Romance from Random House

  randomhousebooks.com

  What’s next on

  your reading list?

  Discover your next

  great read!

  * * *

  Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.

  Sign up now.