All Things Pretty

by M. Leighton

  “Hey,” I say, squeezing her hand until she looks at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Her smile is small, but relieved. “I’ll go up by myself. There’s no reason to make this worse than it already is.”

  “But I want to take you up.”

  “I didn’t mean for you.”

  What am I supposed to say to that? I don’t want to make it harder for her, too. So I won’t. I won’t to, I won’t argue with her on this. As tough as it is to sit here and let this happen, some part of me knows that it has to. Until she tells me what the hell is going on, I can’t help her.

  “I’ll be right here. Waiting.”

  She turns toward the door and then, after a moment’s hesitation, she abandons the handle and flings herself into my arms, kissing me with all the passion I know her to be capable of. “I won’t be long.”

  I say nothing because that’s a promise we both know she can’t make.

  I watch her until she’s through the doors and out of sight. The only constructive thing I can think of with which to busy myself is looking over the files Finch mentioned. Maybe there will be something in them that will help me figure out what’s going on and how I can help get Tommi out of this mess.

  I log on through the secure connection and browse through the pages. Nothing really noteworthy comes up.

  But then I come to a juvie record for Tommi. I’m not too surprised to find that she’d been dinged a couple of times for petty theft and once on a drug charge. What does surprise me is the intake information on the sealed record. I stare at it for several seconds, my mind sure that my eyes are missing something. Putting something in the wrong spot. Misreading something. But the more I stare at it, the clearer it becomes.

  Name: Tommy Lawrence

  Age: 16

  Sex: M

  Sex. Male.

  My pulse races. I can’t make myself look away from the little screen of my smartphone. What the hell am I missing? I know this can’t be right. I mean, I’ve had sex with Tommi a couple dozen times in the last few days. I think I would’ve noticed if she were a he.

  Wouldn’t I?

  My palms start to sweat as I think back to those late night talk shows that have interviews with people who’ve had a sex change. All the hormones they’re given to accentuate certain traits while suppressing others, hormones that give guys tits and a smooth face. And the surgeries, the procedures they have for removing penises and making vaginas.

  I wipe my damp brow and force myself to think as rationally as I can. There’s no reason to panic. There has to be an explanation. A very reasonable explanation. I mean, no doctor in the world could engineer a pussy as perfect as Tommi’s. All pink and wet. Lips almost shaved smooth. Clit that reacts to my slightest touch. Muscles that squeeze my cock so tight I wanna scream. Only God can make a body like that.

  I relax a little in my seat. I’m finally able to exhale, feeling better about this information already. But only a little. In another way, I’m even more keyed up.

  I knew Tommi was hiding something. I guess she’s hiding more than I ever imagined. Obviously, she’s not Tommi Lawrence. But then the question is: Who is she? And where is Tommy Lawrence?

  Before I can even formulate a next move, I hear a door open. It whips so hard it hits the stopper on the concrete wall. Tommi is practically running toward me. Something’s wrong.

  My heart leaps up into my throat. Chest gets tight, lungs strain to move, pupils dilate–my entire body is ready for battle.

  I get out and meet her in front of the truck, taking her upper arms and bending to look into her eyes. “What’s wrong? Did he hurt you? So help me God–”

  “No,” she breathes frantically. “It’s Travis. Oh my god, Sig, they took Travis! That bastard has my brother!”

  TO BE CONTINUED…

  As I mentioned at the beginning of this story, due to contractual constraints with my publisher, I am not able to publish a book that’s as long as this one is in its entirety. That’s why I chose a good place to end it, with the intention of providing the final part to you, FREE OF CHARGE, when you sign up for my newsletter. It is a fully-automated process so when you sign up, the remaining portion of the novel will be delivered to you automatically in two weeks (on 10/14/2014) in the format you request. This way, there is no violation of my contracts and you still get the best story that I can tell, one where I don’t have to sacrifice length or detail.

  This is the link to sign up for the remainder of their story. I hope you have enjoyed their ride thus far as much as I simply ADORED writing it. Sig and Tommi stole my heart and still have yet to give it back:)

  Dear Reader,

  Music is a big part of this book. Songs are often referenced in my work, and many have played a big part in setting the emotional tones of certain scenes. If you enjoy listening to playlists or would like to know which tunes helped inspire this novel, here is the link to my playlists on Spotify. If you don’t have Spotify, here are the songs for this book in list form:

  She Looks So Perfect, 5 Seconds of Summer

  This Is How We Roll, Florida-Georgia Line

  Glamorous, Fergie

  Bottoms Up, Brantley Gilbert

  Bang, Bang, Jessie J

  Don’t Tell ‘Em, Jeremiah

  Glycerine, Bush

  Crazy, Seal

  All Around Me, Flyleaf

  Ain’t It Fun, Paramore

  Say You Will, Mona

  Undressed, Kim Cesarion

  I Will Never Let You Down, Rita Ora

  Love Runs Out, One Republic

  Love Robbery, Kalin and Miles

  Save Your Love, Great White

  I Can’t Stop Drinking About You, Bebe Rexha

  You & I, One Direction

  I’ll Follow You, Shinedown

  Break Free, Ariana Grande

  A FINAL WORD

  If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review and recommending it to a friend. You are more powerful than you know. YOU–the words from your mouth, the thoughts from your heart, shared with others, can move mountains. You make a huge difference in the life of an author. You have in mine. You do every day, which brings me to my gratitude, my overwhelming, heartfelt gratitude.

  A few times in life, I’ve found myself in a position of such love and appreciation that saying THANK YOU seems trite, like it’s just not enough. That is the position that I find myself in now when it comes to you, my readers. You are the sole reason that my dream of being a writer has come true and your encouragement keeps me going. It brings me unimaginable pleasure to hear that you love my work, that it has touched you in some way, that it has made life seem a little bit better for having read it. So it is from the depths of my soul, from the very bottom of my heart that I say I simply cannot THANK YOU enough, which I say a lot of in this post.

  CONNECT

  Sign up for my newsletter! Get new release notices, updates, exclusive teasers and giveaway opportunities. Also, come visit my website, too! Look around, see what you find.

  If you like to chat, you can connect with me in Laid-back with Leighton, my private Facebook group.

  You can also connect with me on some pretty cool sites like these:

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  Or you can always email me. However you like it best is great with me. I love hearing from you!

  Other M. Leighton books on Smashwords

  All the Pretty Lies

  All the Pretty Poses

  All Things Pretty

  Down to You

  Up to Me

  Everything for Us

  The Wild Ones

  Wild Child

  Some Like It Wild

  There’s Wild, Then There’s You

  YA and PARANORMAL

  Fragile

  Madly

  Madly & the Jackal

  Madly & Wolfhardt

  Blood Like Poison: For the Love of a Vampire

&nbs
p; Blood Like Poison: Destined for a Vampire

  Blood Like Poison: To Kill an Angel

  The Reaping

  The Reckoning

  Gravity

  Caterpillar

  Wiccan

  Beginnings: An M. Leighton Anthology

  New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, M. Leighton, is a native of Ohio. She relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she can be near the water all summer and miss the snow all winter. Possessed of an overactive imagination from early in her childhood, Michelle finally found an acceptable outlet for her fantastical visions: literary fiction. Having written over a dozen novels, these days Michelle enjoys letting her mind wander to more romantic settings with sexy Southern guys, much like the one she married and the ones you'll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren't roaming in that direction, she'll be riding wild horses, skiing the slopes of Aspen or scuba diving with a hot rock star, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office.

  About Michelle: I love coffee and chocolate, even more so when they are combined. I'm convinced that one day they could be the basis for world peace. I also love the color red and am seriously considering dying my hair.

  STAY TUNED

  to read the first chapter of

  DOWN TO YOU

  Available now

  Down to You

  Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

  (NOT appropriate for younger readers)

  The scorching tale of one girl and two brothers in a love triangle…that’s not.

  Olivia Townsend is nothing special. She’s just a girl working her way through college so she can return home to help her father run his business. She’s determined not to be the second woman in his life to abandon him, even if it means putting her own life on hold. To Olivia, it’s clear what she must do. Plain and simple. Black and white.

  But clear becomes complicated when she meets Cash and Nash Davenport. They’re brothers. Twins.

  Cash is everything she’s always wanted in a guy. He’s a dangerous, sexy bad boy who wants her in his bed at any cost. He turns her insides to mush and, with just one kiss, makes her forget why he’s no good for her.

  Nash is everything she’s ever needed in a guy. He’s successful, responsible and intensely passionate. But he’s taken. Very taken, by none other than Marissa, Liv’s rich, beautiful cousin. That doesn’t stop Olivia from melting every time he looks at her, though. With just one touch, he makes her forget why they can never be together.

  Black and white turns to shades of gray when Olivia discovers the boys are hiding something, something that should make her run as far and as fast as she can. But it’s too late to run. Olivia’s already involved. And in love. With both of them.

  Both brothers make her heart tremble. Both brothers set her body on fire.

  She wants them both.

  And they want her.

  How will she ever choose between them?

  CHAPTER ONE- Olivia

  My head is spinning lightly, but happily. I can’t even remember the name of the drinks Shawna keeps ordering for us. I just know they’re delicious. And potent as hell! Wow!

  “When’s the stripper coming? I’m ready to get my freak on!” Ginger shouts. She’s the crazy, outspoken, cougar-of-a-bartender we work with at Tad’s Sports Bar and Grill in Salt Springs, Georgia. She’s wild enough in her natural environment, but stick her in a strange new place in a city like Atlanta and she morphs into a full blown tiger. Rawr!

  She looks at me and grins. Her bottle-blond hair looks urine-yellow in the low light and her pale blue eyes are twinkling devilishly.

  I’m instantly suspicious.

  “What?” I ask dazedly.

  “I talked to the manager ahead of time. He’s gonna make sure Shawna has to help the stripper get out of those pesky clothes he’ll be wearing.” She giggles maniacally. I can’t help but laugh. She’s a mess.

  “Ryan would kill her if she stripped another man’s clothes off, bachelorette party or not!”

  “He’ll never know. What stays in the VIP room happens in the VIP room,” she slurs.

  “Don’t you mean what happens in the VIP room stays in the VIP room?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  I snicker. “Oh, okay.”

  I giggle as I watch her take another sip of her neurotoxic drink. I opt for my water instead. Somebody has to remain semi-lucid. Might as well be me. Tonight is all about Shawna anyway. I want to send her off into married life with the best party possible. I doubt that includes her having to carry me home or clean vomit off her shoes.

  A knock at the door to the private room has us all turning our heads in that direction. The girls immediately start laughing and hollering and cat-calling.

  Dear God, I hope it’s the stripper and not a cop or something!

  The door opens and in walks the most incredibly handsome guy I think I’ve ever seen. He looks like he’s in his early twenties, really tall, and built like a football player—wide chest and shoulders, thick arms and legs, tiny waist in between. He’s dressed in solid black from head to toe. But it’s his face that’s most impressive.

  Sweet hell, he’s effin’ gorgeous!

  His short hair is dark blond and his face is chiseled perfection. I can’t tell what color his eyes are as he scans the room, but I can see that they’re dark. He’s just opened his mouth to speak when his gaze finally makes its way to me. His eyes click to a stop on mine and he stares.

  I’m completely mesmerized. As I look into them, I still can’t determine a color, but the orbs look nearly black. Even in the light spilling through the door behind him, they look like pools of ink. Just barely, he cocks his head to the side as he watches me.

  It makes me nervous. And excited. I don’t know why. I have no reason to be nervous or excited. But I am. He makes me feel twitchy. Squirmy. Warm.

  We’re still staring at each other when Ginger gets up and drags him further into the room, flinging the door shut behind him.

  “All right, Shawna. Come kick your single life to the curb the right way!”

  The other girls start squealing and cheering her on. Shawna’s smiling, but shaking her head. “No way! Not this girl!” The bridesmaids-to-be get more insistent, two of them coming around to take her by the hands and haul her to her feet.

  She leans back, away from them, shaking her head more vigorously. “No, no, no. I don’t want to. One of y’all do it.”

  She starts wiggling her arms to free herself, but the girls have a death grip on her thin wrists. When she looks at me, her wide brown eyes tell me all I need to know. She’s totally freaked by the idea.

  “Liv, help!” I raise my hands in a gesture that says what do you want me to do? She nods toward the hunk hulking behind Ginger. “You do it!”

  “Are you crazy? I’m not stripping a stripper!”

  “Please! You know I’d do it for you.”

  And she would. Dammit.

  How the hell does the world’s clumsiest shy girl get wrangled into doing things like this?

  As I so often do, I answer myself.

  Because she’s a pushover!

  Taking a deep breath, I stand and turn toward the Hot Stripper Guy, purposely jacking my chin up another notch. He’s still watching me with those smoky coal eyes.

  When I take a step toward him, he very slowly raises one eyebrow.

  Heat washes through me.

  Must be those dangerous drinks, I think. It has to be.

  I feel flushed and a little breathless, but I take another step anyway.

  Hot Stripper Guy backs away from Ginger and turns to face me fully. He crosses his arms over his chest and waits, that one brow still raised in curiosity. He’s not going to make it easy. He’s leaving it all up to me, just like Ginger asked them to do.

  As if on cue, the music that’s been pumping into the room all night gets louder. It’s a sexy song, heavy on the bass. It’s mood music for sure. It seems to punctuate every intense be
at of my heart as I get closer and closer to those velvety eyes.

  When I stop in front of him, I have to look up. My five and a half feet of height is nearly a foot shorter than his towering frame.

  Up close, I see that his eyes are brown. Dark, dark brown. Nearly black.

  Sinful.

  I’m lost in wondering why that particular word would come to mind when the girls start chanting for me to take his shirt off. Uncertainly, I glance at their excited faces then back to him. Slowly, he spreads his arms, holding them out to his sides, away from his body.

  One corner of his mouth twitches. His expression, his body language is rife with challenge.

  I realize he doesn’t think I’ll do it. No one probably does.

  And that’s exactly why I will.

  Letting the beat of the music relax my tense muscles, I plaster a smile on my face as I reach forward to tug Hot Stripper Guy’s shirt from the waistband of his pants.