“You are nothing like Decker Pence, my love.” Isabelle was horrified Holt even entertained the thought.
“We might be similar, but I have you. If I ever consider crossing a line, or going too far, you’re my guiding light. God, I’m glad you are willing to take a chance on me.”
“You’re worth the chance. And I won’t ask you not to protect me because I know that’s like talking to a brick wall, but promise me you won’t take unnecessary chances. I’ve let you in, and now I don’t know how I would live without you in my life. Don’t you dare do anything that would make my happily ever after impossible.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Holt said, kissing her. “Shower with me? I smell like fear, and I’ve got bloody bits to wash off.”
They undressed each other and Holt adjusted the water. She wrapped her arms around Isabelle from behind. Isabelle felt like she was experiencing everything in amplified, exquisite detail. Holt’s touch ignited her in ways no one ever had. She wanted to kiss her slowly all night and be devoured quickly at the same time.
Her breath caught as Holt ran her hands from her stomach up and across each breast. Her nipples jumped to attention and her clit throbbed hopefully.
“Holt, baby, I know you can see the size of the bruise on your chest.” Holt seemed to have no sense of concern about her own vulnerabilities.
“I’m fine,” Holt said against Isabelle’s back. Holt’s breath against Isabelle’s wet skin was making rational thought difficult.
“Let me clean you up,” Isabelle said. She took Holt’s hands in hers and washed the cuts and scrapes carefully. She wiped the blood off her face and carefully soaped around the giant black and blue spot spreading across Holt’s chest. She shampooed Holt’s hair and let her hands wander along Holt’s tattoos as she rinsed her hair.
“Go get ready, love. I’ll be right in,” Isabelle said, suddenly unable to keep her body under control.
Holt shot out of the shower. Isabelle laughed as Holt toweled off quickly and hustled into the bedroom. No one had ever been able to explain to her what true love felt like in a way that made her believe it existed. Now she knew why. How could she tell someone that true, deep, real love was a naked ass hopping through the bedroom toweling off wet feet? Some things were best discovered on your own.
“Help me with this?” Holt asked, lying on the bed trying to get her towel from underneath her.
She was moving with more stiffness than Isabelle guessed she wanted her to see. Gently, Isabelle pulled the towel from under Holt. “You stay there, baby. Don’t move.”
Isabelle dropped the towel by the side of the bed and started slowly marking a trail of kisses across Holt’s body. She moved from Holt’s lips to nibble on her ears, then down her neck to her chest. She lingered a breath away from each breast but didn’t touch either. Holt’s nipples were hard, but she stayed just away. When it looked like Holt was in physical pain, Isabelle relented and sucked one hard nipple in her mouth while massaging the other breast with her hand. She was careful to avoid the expanding bruise in the middle of Holt’s chest.
“God, you feel good, baby,” Isabelle said, marveling at the hard planes and soft skin.
“I’m wound a little tight here, Isabelle. You’ve been making me crazy for weeks.”
Isabelle toyed with Holt until she knew she was close to coming, and then worked lower, across the rippled abs and down to the tender skin where stomach meets hip. Holt’s breathing was irregular, and she was squirming. She tried to get her hands on Isabelle, but Isabelle redirected them above her head.
“You are so sexy,” Isabelle said.
She moved back to Holt’s mouth and kissed her deeply, a kiss of ownership and commitment. She straddled Holt’s stomach and leaned over her, putting her breasts within reach of Holt’s mouth. This time, Holt didn’t leave her hands above her head but pulled Isabelle closer, taking each breast in turn, into her mouth.
“Please, baby,” Isabelle whispered, her breath hitched.
Holt pulled Isabelle’s hips forward until she was gently resting over her face. “Your chest…”
Holt licked Isabelle’s clit, and Isabelle forgot her worries. Holt drew her closer still and sucked her clit into her mouth, running her tongue over the sensitive skin.
Isabelle leaned forward over Holt’s head, steadying herself against the back of the bed. Holt looked mesmerized.
“Be careful, baby,” Isabelle said between gasped breaths. “I’m really close.”
“That’s okay. I’m done teasing you,” Holt said, increasing the speed of her attentions.
“Kiss me. Don’t stop kissing me. Show me you’re real,” Isabelle said.
Holt kissed her clit, then drew Isabelle fully into her mouth. Isabelle felt herself swell and she pumped her hips against Holt’s mouth. She came with a shudder and slid back down Holt’s body.
She wanted full body contact, the kind that spoke more about feelings and promises than words were capable of describing. She started rubbing circles across Holt’s stomach and quickly worked her way lower.
“I’m happy to just hold you,” Holt said.
“Oh no,” Isabelle said, dipping her fingers into Holt’s wetness. “We’re done with the days of you sacrificing everything for me. Okay by you?”
“Don’t stop what you’re doing,” Holt said, gasping.
Isabelle slid through Holt’s arousal and slipped inside with two fingers. Holt nearly came off the bed as she sunk deep. Isabelle kissed her and bit her lip hard.
“I’m coming,” Holt said, her body tensing in pleasure.
Holt shuddered as Isabelle pulled her fingers out. She collapsed against Holt and they held each other tightly.
“This has been one hell of a day,” Holt said, kissing the top of Isabelle’s head.
“One hell of a courtship. You sure do know how to show a girl a good time.”
“What do you mean? Holt said, laughing. “We hung out by the pool, you invited me to your office party, we had hot wieners, I took you to a party, we got a fireworks show. I am a good fucking time.”
“I love you,” Isabelle said. “Let’s just love each other tonight. We can figure out the rest of it in the morning.”
“That is the best plan I’ve heard in months,” Holt said, gently rolling herself on top of Isabelle. “I can handle anything tomorrow brings, as long as every tonight includes you.”
*
After the best night in Holt’s memory, she wasn’t happy to be woken by her cell phone at five a.m. She was even less amused when Lola informed her she was outside and needed to talk.
“I’ll be right back, baby,” she said, kissing Isabelle when she grunted her sleepy protest to Holt leaving their cozy bed.
Holt padded to the door. Lola was lucky Holt had boxers and a T-shirt on. Isabelle was only wearing a T-shirt when she followed Holt to the door.
“What trouble is knocking at the door now? Do I need pants?”
“Depends on how you feel about Lola seeing your cute butt,” Holt said.
She was concerned that Lola was here at this hour, especially after the night they had all had. She pulled the door open and Lola stumbled in looking like she hadn’t slept since they had parted ways at the warehouse.
“Hi, Isabelle, H. I’m sorry to bother you, but I think we have a problem.”
“Holy hell,” Isabelle said. “This looks like it’s going to require pants.” She ducked behind the screen and hollered back to Lola, “When was the last time you ate anything? You look like hell. Never mind. Don’t answer. I’m hungry. I’m cooking you breakfast. Holt, you better have food in that enormous stainless steel fridge.”
“What’s up, Lola?” Holt asked, getting Lola settled on the couch.
“Well, I think someone stole your truck, based on the glass in your driveway, and there’s this,” Lola said, holding up a small piece of plastic.
“Is that a pregnancy test?” Isabelle asked from the kitchen, looking shocked.
Lola nodd
ed.
“It was taped to the door when I got home last night. My girlfriend is gone, and I’ve been looking for her ever since,” Lola said.
“And someone stole my truck?” Holt asked. “Well, that’s the shit. Looks like I might need pants now too.”
“I thought you said your job was boring,” Isabelle said. “I think I’ve been bamboozled. It’s a good thing I love you.”
About the Author
Jesse Thoma splits her professional time between graduate school and work. She is a project manager in a clinical research lab and spends a good amount of time in methadone clinics and prisons collecting data and talking to people.
Jesse grew up in Northern California but headed east for college. She never looked back, although her baseball allegiance is still loyally with the San Francisco Giants. She has lived in New England for ten years and has finally learned to leave extra time in the morning to scrape snow off the car. Jesse is blissfully married and is happiest when she is out for a walk with her wife and their dog, pretending she still has the soccer skills she had as an eighteen-year-old, eating anything her wife bakes, or sitting at the computer to write a few lines.
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
The Princess Affair by Nell Stark. Rhodes Scholar Kerry Donovan arrives at Oxford ready to focus on her studies, but her life and her priorities are thrown into chaos when she catches the eye of Her Royal Highness Princess Sasha. (978-1-60282-858-2)
The Chase by Jesse J. Thoma. When Isabelle Rochat’s life is threatened, she receives the unwelcome protection and attention of bounty hunter Holt Lasher who vows to keep Isabelle safe at all costs. (978-1-60282-859-9)
The Lone Hunt by L.L. Raand. In a world where humans and praeterns conspire for the ultimate power, violence is a way of life…and death. A Midnight Hunters novel. (978-1-60282-860-5)
The Supernatural Detective by Crin Claxton. Tony Carson sees dead people. With a drag queen for a spirit guide and a devastatingly attractive herbalist for a client, she’s about to discover the spirit world can be a very dangerous world indeed. (978-1-60282-861-2)
Beloved Gomorrah by Justine Saracen. Undersea artists creating their own City on the Plain uncover the truth about Sodom and Gomorrah, whose “one righteous man” is a murderer, rapist, and conspirator in genocide. (978-1-60282-862-9)
Cut to the Chase by Lisa Girolami. Careful and methodical author Paige Cornish falls for brash and wild Hollywood actress, Avalon Randolph, but can these opposites find a happy middle ground in a town that never lives in the middle? (978-1-60282-783-7)
More Than Friends by Erin Dutton. Evelyn Fisher thinks she has the perfect role model for a long-term relationship, until her best friends, Kendall and Melanie, split up and all three women must reevaluate their lives and their relationships. (978-1-60282-784-4)
Every Second Counts by D. Jackson Leigh. Every second counts in Bridgette LeRoy’s desperate mission to protect her heart and stop Marc Ryder’s suicidal return to riding rodeo bulls. (978-1-60282-785-1)
Dirty Money by Ashley Bartlett. Vivian Cooper and Reese DiGiovanni just found out that falling in love is hard. It’s even harder when you’re running for your life. (978-1-60282-786-8)
Sea Glass Inn by Karis Walsh. When Melinda Andrews commissions a series of paintings by Pamela Whitford for her new inn, she doesn’t expect to be more captivated by the artist than by the paintings. (978-1-60282-771-4)
The Awakening: A Sisters of Spirits novel by Yvonne Heidt. Sunny Skye has interacted with spirits her entire life, but when she runs into Officer Jordan Lawson during a ghost investigation, she discovers more than just facts in a missing girl’s cold case file. (978-1-60282-772-1)
Murphy’s Law by Yolanda Wallace. No matter how high you climb, you can’t escape your past. (978-1-60282-773-8)
Blacker Than Blue by Rebekah Weatherspoon. Threatened with losing her first love to a powerful demon, vampire Cleo Jones is willing to break the ultimate law of the undead to rebuild the family she has lost. (978-1-60282-774-5)
Another 365 Days by KE Payne. Clemmie Atkins is back, and her life is more complicated than ever! Still madly in love with her girlfriend, Clemmie suddenly finds her life turned upside down with distractions, confessions, and the return of a familiar face… (978-1-60282-775-2)
Silver Collar by Gill McKnight. Werewolf Luc Garoul is outlawed and out of control, but can her family track her down before a sinister predator gets there first? Fourth in the Garoul series. (978-1-60282-764-6)
The Dragon Tree Legacy by Ali Vali. For Aubrey Tarver time hasn’t dulled the pain of losing her first love Wiley Gremillion, but she has to set that aside when her choices put her life and her family’s lives in real danger. (978-1-60282-765-3)
The Midnight Room by Ronica Black. After a chance encounter with the mysterious and brooding Lillian Gray in the “midnight room” of The Griffin, a local lesbian bar, confident and gorgeous Audrey McCarthy learns that her bad-girl behavior isn’t bulletproof. (978-1-60282-766-0)
Dirty Sex by Ashley Bartlett. Vivian Cooper and twins Reese and Ryan DiGiovanni stole a lot of money and the guy they took it from wants it back. Like now. (978-1-60282-767-7)
The Storm by Shelley Thrasher. Rural East Texas. 1918. War-weary Jaq Bergeron and marriage-scarred musician Molly Russell try to salvage love from the devastation of the war abroad and natural disasters at home. (978-1-60282-780-6)
Crossroads by Radclyffe. Dr. Hollis Monroe specializes in short-term relationships but when she meets pregnant mother-to-be Annie Colfax, fate brings them together at a crossroads that will change their lives forever. (978-1-60282-756-1)
Beyond Innocence by Carsen Taite. When a life is on the line, love has to wait. Doesn’t it? (978-1-60282-757-8)
Heart Block by Melissa Brayden. Socialite Emory Owen and struggling single mom Sarah Matamoros are perfectly suited for each other but face a difficult time when trying to merge their contrasting worlds and the people in them. If love truly exists, can it find a way? (978-1-60282-758-5)
Pride and Joy by M.L. Rice. Perfect Bryce Montgomery is her parents’ pride and joy, but when they discover that their daughter is a lesbian, her world changes forever. (978-1-60282-759-2)
Ladyfish by Andrea Bramhall. Finn’s escape to the Florida Keys leads her straight into the arms of scuba diving instructor Oz as she fights for her freedom, their blossoming love…and her life! (978-1-60282-747-9)
Spanish Heart by Rachel Spangler. While on a mission to find herself in Spain, Ren Molson runs the risk of losing her heart to her tour guide, Lina Montero. (978-1-60282-748-6)
Love Match by Ali Vali. When Parker “Kong” King, the number one tennis player in the world, meets commercial pilot Captain Sydney Parish, sparks fly—but not from attraction. They have the summer to see if they have a love match. (978-1-60282-749-3)
One Touch by L.T. Marie. A romance writer and a travel agent come together at their high school reunion, only to find out that the memory of that one touch never fades. (978-1-60282-750-9)
The Raid by Lee Lynch. Before Stonewall, having a drink with friends or your girl could mean jail. Would these women and men still have family, a job, a place to live after…The Raid? (978-1-60282-753-0)
The You Know Who Girls: Freshman Year by Annameekee Hesik. As they begin freshman year, Abbey Brooks and her best friend, Kate, pinkie swear they’ll keep away from the lesbians in Gila High, but Abbey already suspects she’s one of those you-know-who girls herself and slowly learns who her true friends really are. (978-1-60282-754-7)
Month of Sundays by Yolanda Wallace. Love doesn’t always happen overnight; sometimes it takes a month of Sundays. (978-1-60282-739-4)
Jacob’s War by C.P. Rowlands. ATF Special Agent Allison Jacob’s task force is in the middle of an all-out war, from the streets to the boardrooms of America. Small business owner Katie Blackburn is the latest victim who accidentally breaks it wide open, but she may break AJ’s heart at the same time. (978-1-60282-740-0)
The
Pyramid Waltz by Barbara Ann Wright. Princess Katya Nar Umbriel wants a perfect romance, but her Fiendish nature and duties to the crown mean she can never tell the truth—until she meets Starbride, a woman who gets to the heart of every secret, even if it will be the death of her. (978-1-60282-741-7)
The Secret of Othello by Sam Cameron. Florida teen detectives Steven and Denny risk their lives to search for a sunken NASA satellite—but under the waves, no one can hear you scream… (978-1-60282-742-4)
Finding Bluefield by Elan Barnehama. Set in the backdrop of Virginia and New York and spanning the years 1960–1982, Finding Bluefield chronicles the lives of Nicky Stewart, Barbara Philips, and their son, Paul, as they struggle to define themselves as a family. (978-1-60282-744-8)
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