When They Weren't Looking: Wardham Book #3
Page 22
“Sunshine, you want to tell me something?”
She sighed. “It’s going to take a while for my body to bounce back.”
He reached for her hand and brought it to his raging hard-on. “What does this tell you?”
“I’ve missed you, Liam.” She pressed against him, and he held her, savouring the connection. “I’m not sure about sex, but the midwives gave me the go-ahead.”
That was his kind of challenge. “Now, how many ways do you think I could make you come without us having intercourse?”
She shivered. “I don’t know, uhm, maybe two or three?”
He reached for the body wash and slowly lathered her up, from tip to toe, pausing in a few key middle spots to demonstrate the first way. Then he rinsed her clean of suds, and dropped to his knees, pressing kisses to her belly, then her mound, and after he lifted one leg and draped it over his shoulder, to her very core. That provided orgasm number two, and when his fingers got involved again, number three as well.
They took turns drying each other off, and when they lay down on their bed together, Liam reached for a bottle of lubricant and a condom he’d stashed in a drawer. “Just in case,” he whispered, as he touched and teased and stroked her through numbers four and five, and finally she reached for the lube and gave them each enough to prepare the other.
“I want to try,” she said, and so they did. It wasn’t magical for her, as she’d warned him, but it was wonderful in an unexpected way. When she started to cry, Liam moved to pull out, and she begged him not to. “Please, don’t. I just need a minute.”
He gave her one, and then another, while he whispered how much he wanted her, how beautiful she was, how good she tasted. And slowly, she began to grind against him, which felt out of this world for him, and he had to grit his teeth and hold on for dear life as she slowly figured out what worked the same and what was different. He wouldn’t know, it all felt pretty awesome on his end, but he got that this was an important step for her.
And when she reached for his hand and pressed his thumb to her clitoris, he gave her some help, because he knew that asking was as big a challenge as doing for her. And both were conquered that afternoon, by her.
He was a mere attendant in the presence of a goddess reborn.
THE END
LETTER TO MY READERS
Dear Reader,
Thank you for finishing this first Wardham trilogy with me! If you fell in love with Liam, please write a review. Reviews help other readers decide to give a book a try, and there’s nothing I want more than for new readers to discover Wardham. Have you read the other books in the series? If not, go back and check out Between Then and Now, What Once Was Perfect, and Where Their Hearts Collide. What Once Was Perfect is the first book I wrote in the series, and is currently available at most online retailers for FREE! Recommend it to a friend today.
Two notes about Evie and Liam’s story:
1. A few early readers from the Wardham Ambassador’s Facebook group noticed that I didn’t write an epilogue. I usually do, but I think Evie and Liam deserve more than a tag on chapter. The plan is to write them an erotic novella follow-up in early 2015, touch base with them a year after their daughter is born, and find out how they’re keeping the passion and love alive in their relationship.
2. American readers may have noticed that Thanksgiving happens before Halloween in this book—I promise, that’s not a timeline error! Canadian Thanksgiving is held right in the middle of harvest season in October. Celebrate it with us…twice as much turkey could only be a good thing. Australian, British and New Zealand readers…you’re missing out on both holidays. Good excuse for a trip to Southwestern Ontario.
Speaking of Wardham, there will be more stories from this little Canadian beach town…Chase, Ty and Evan all have happy-ever-afters to discover. Look for those books starting in Fall 2014. And there will be a summer novella to tide you over as well, Beyond Love and Hate, which will come out in June 2014. Beth Stewart meets her match in Finn Howard, the maddeningly delicious marketing consultant who pushes all of her buttons. Can one night of passion change everything?
But before that book comes out, I’m shifting gears a little, and introducing a brand new series. Welcome to Camo Cay, a Caribbean haven for Rik Amundson and his new American bride, Calli St. James. We’ll first visit Camo Cay in a Navy SEAL novella, Fall Out, which will come out as part of a SEAL romance super-bundle, and then Rik and Calli’s story, Fall In, will be published Summer 2014.
To keep up with all of this, subscribe to my newsletter today! Subscribers are always offered a first chance to read my books as review copies before they come out.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining me on this journey.
~ Zoe
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
aka The People Who Put Up With all My Bugging
This book has been a long time coming. Evie and Liam’s story came to me while I was writing the first Wardham book, What Once Was Perfect. But then Karen and Paul’s story started a little sooner, and while I was writing that, Carrie and Ian poked their heads up and…now it’s been a year since I first sketched the outline of Evie’s unexpected pregnancy! Time flies.
First and foremost, I need to thank my critique partner, Molly McLain, who put up with months of chatter about Evie and Liam while she was putting the finishing touches on her own debut novel, Can’t Shake You. Cora Seton, Cate Baylor and the rest of the Romance Divas who talked shop and did writing sprints with me also deserve gold stars.
My street team, the Wardham Ambassadors, who make checking in on Facebook a complete joy. Mona, Bette, Shari, Allison, Holly, Tricia, Lori, Betsy, Vikki, Sue, Fawnia, Keri, Shelly, Sadrina, plus my sister, Molly and my Uncle Matt…can you imagine a better crew? I can’t.
Mary Ellen, for finding more typos than anyone else. I promise, I’ll get a character map done as soon as possible!
Julie D, for sharing her personal experiences as a mother of a child with diabetes. It was hard to capture the rawness of having a child in the hospital within the scope of a romance novel, and I freely admit my bias toward the positive moments in life…Evie and Max, and their entire family, had their lives turned upside down with his diagnosis, and any failings in talking about that experience are my own.
JK Harper, for her brilliant blurb writing skills, which helped me see the spark when I’d run out of words. If you like shifter romances, check out her books! Hot wolf action!
Jennifer M.K., who was the first person to message me on Facebook eight months ago, asking about this crazy book-writing plan I had, and who provided the code word between Karen and Evie in this book…I’d already written a line about running off to Vegas, it’s like she read my mind! A wonderful friend and a lovely fan from the very beginning.
Marie Force and everyone on the Yahoo self-publishing loop, who keep me focused on the business of writing and publishing. I click on those email digests the second they hit my inbox, knowing there’s a wealth of knowledge inside.
Noelle Adams and Samantha Chase, who included me in their Christmas box set, and introduced me to a whole new set of readers. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity. And all the readers who bought Love for the Holidays, read What Once Was Perfect, and subsequently joined my mailing list and connected with me on Facebook and Twitter. It was that outpouring of love that spurred me on to finish this book.
My in-laws, who still can’t quite believe that I write books that people buy, but support my crazy plans anyway.
My friends, who veer in the other direction, God bless them…their confidence that I’m on the right track is inspiring.
My sister, who cuts right down the middle, and puts up with more bugging than anyone else.
And finally, my Vikings. I promise this will be worth it. The late nights of writing and the quick dinners. Me disappearing for hours on the weekend to write at Starbucks. The inappropriate pictures you sometimes see on Pinterest. It’s all for you.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Zoe York lives in London, Ontario with her young family. She has an English degree and works at a university, so it was probably a foregone conclusion that she’d write a romance novel one day. She’s currently chugging Americanos, wiping sticky fingers, and plotting super-secret books about heroes in and out of uniform.
www.zoeyork.com
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2013 Zoe York
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-0991973699
www.zoeyork.com