by Radclyffe
Passionate Rivals
Onetime lovers, unexpected rivals...
Emmett McCabe never expected to see Sydney Stevens—a woman with whom she'd shared a brief, incendiary connection before it all went up in flames—again. Luckily, ascending the cutthroat ladder of a high-pressure surgery residency to reach the top spot makes it easy to ignore what's missing in her life. Then Sydney reappears after nearly five years. Emmett is barely over her shock when she discovers Sydney is her new competition for the coveted chief's position everyone, including Emmett, expects will be hers.
Professional rivalry and long-simmering passions create a combustible combination when the two are forced to work together, especially when past attractions won't stay buried.
Acclaim for Radclyffe’s Fiction
“Dangerous Waters is a bumpy ride through a devastating time with powerful events and resolute characters. Radclyffe gives us the strong, dedicated women we love to read in a story that keeps us turning pages until the end.”—Lambda Literary Review
“Radclyffe’s Dangerous Waters has the feel of a tense television drama, as the narrative interchanges between hurricane trackers and first responders. Sawyer and Dara butt heads in the beginning as each moves for some level of control during the storm’s approach, and the interference of a lovely television reporter adds an engaging love triangle threat to the sexual tension brewing between them.”—RT Book Reviews
“Love After Hours, the fourth in Radclyffe’s Rivers Community series, evokes the sense of a continuing drama as Gina and Carrie’s slow-burning romance intertwines with details of other Rivers residents. They become part of a greater picture where friends and family support each other in personal and recreational endeavors. Vivid settings and characters draw in the reader…”—RT Book Reviews
Secret Hearts “delivers exactly what it says on the tin: poignant story, sweet romance, great characters, chemistry and hot sex scenes. Radclyffe knows how to pen a good lesbian romance.”—LezReviewBooks Blog
Wild Shores “will hook you early. Radclyffe weaves a chance encounter into all-out steamy romance. These strong, dynamic women have great conversations, and fantastic chemistry.”—The Romantic Reader Blog
In 2016 RWA / OCC Book Buyers Best award winner for suspense and mystery with romantic elements Price of Honor “Radclyffe is master of the action-thriller series…The old familiar characters are there, but enough new blood is introduced to give it a fresh feel and open new avenues for intrigue.”—Curve Magazine
In Prescription for Love “Radclyffe populates her small town with colorful characters, among the most memorable being Flann’s little sister, Margie, and Abby’s 15-year-old trans son, Blake…This romantic drama has plenty of heart and soul.”—Publishers Weekly
2013 RWA / New England Bean Pot award winner for contemporary romance Crossroads “will draw the reader in and make her heart ache, willing the two main characters to find love and a life together. It’s a story that lingers long after coming to ‘the end.’”—Lambda Literary
In 2012 RWA / FTHRW Lories and RWA HODRW Aspen Gold award winner Firestorm “Radclyffe brings another hot lesbian romance for her readers.”—The Lesbrary
Foreword Review Book of the Year finalist and IPPY silver medalist Trauma Alert “is hard to put down and it will sizzle in the reader’s hands. The characters are hot, the sex scenes explicit and explosive, and the book is moved along by an interesting plot with well drawn secondary characters. The real star of this show is the attraction between the two characters, both of whom resist and then fall head over heels.”—Lambda Literary Reviews
Lambda Literary Award Finalist Best Lesbian Romance 2010 features “stories [that] are diverse in tone, style, and subject, making for more variety than in many, similar anthologies…well written, each containing a satisfying, surprising twist. Best Lesbian Romance series editor Radclyffe has assembled a respectable crop of 17 authors for this year’s offering.”—Curve Magazine
2010 Prism award winner and ForeWord Review Book of the Year Award finalist Secrets in the Stone is “so powerfully [written] that the worlds of these three women shimmer between reality and dreams…A strong, must read novel that will linger in the minds of readers long after the last page is turned.”—Just About Write
In Benjamin Franklin Award finalist Desire by Starlight “Radclyffe writes romance with such heart and her down-to-earth characters not only come to life but leap off the page until you feel like you know them. What Jenna and Gard feel for each other is not only a spark but an inferno and, as a reader, you will be washed away in this tumultuous romance until you can do nothing but succumb to it.”—Queer Magazine Online
Lambda Literary Award winner Stolen Moments “is a collection of steamy stories about women who just couldn’t wait. It’s sex when desire overrides reason, and it’s incredibly hot!”—On Our Backs
Lambda Literary Award winner Distant Shores, Silent Thunder “weaves an intricate tapestry about passion and commitment between lovers. The story explores the fragile nature of trust and the sanctuary provided by loving relationships.”—Sapphic Reader
Lambda Literary Award Finalist Justice Served delivers a “crisply written, fast-paced story with twists and turns and keeps us guessing until the final explosive ending.”—Independent Gay Writer
Lambda Literary Award finalist Turn Back Time “is filled with wonderful love scenes, which are both tender and hot.”—MegaScene
Applause for L.L. Raand’s Midnight Hunters Series
The Midnight Hunt
RWA 2012 VCRW Laurel Wreath winner Blood Hunt
Night Hunt
The Lone Hunt
“Raand has built a complex world inhabited by werewolves, vampires, and other paranormal beings…Raand has given her readers a complex plot filled with wonderful characters as well as insight into the hierarchy of Sylvan’s pack and vampire clans. There are many plot twists and turns, as well as erotic sex scenes in this riveting novel that keep the pages flying until its satisfying conclusion.”—Just About Write
“Once again, I am amazed at the storytelling ability of L.L. Raand aka Radclyffe. In Blood Hunt, she mixes high levels of sheer eroticism that will leave you squirming in your seat with an impeccable multi-character storyline all streaming together to form one great read.”—Queer Magazine Online
“The Midnight Hunt has a gripping story to tell, and while there are also some truly erotic sex scenes, the story always takes precedence. This is a great read which is not easily put down nor easily forgotten.”—Just About Write
“Are you sick of the same old hetero vampire / werewolf story plastered in every bookstore and at every movie theater? Well, I’ve got the cure to your werewolf fever. The Midnight Hunt is first in, what I hope is, a long-running series of fantasy erotica for L.L. Raand (aka Radclyffe).”—Queer Magazine Online
“Any reader familiar with Radclyffe’s writing will recognize the author’s style within The Midnight Hunt, yet at the same time it is most definitely a new direction. The author delivers an excellent story here, one that is engrossing from the very beginning. Raand has pieced together an intricate world, and provided just enough details for the reader to become enmeshed in the new world. The action moves quickly throughout the book and it’s hard to put down.”—Three Dollar Bill Reviews
Passionate Rivals
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Passionate Rivals
© 2018 By
Radclyffe. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13:978-1-63555-232-4
This Electronic Book is published by
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: September 2018
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Ruth Sternglantz and Stacia Seaman
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design By Sheri ([email protected])
By Radclyffe
Romances
Innocent Hearts
Promising Hearts
Love’s Melody Lost
Love’s Tender Warriors
Tomorrow’s Promise
Love’s Masquerade
shadowland
Passion’s Bright Fury
Fated Love
Turn Back Time
When Dreams Tremble
The Lonely Hearts Club
Night Call
Secrets in the Stone
Desire by Starlight
Crossroads
Homestead
The Color of Love
Secret Hearts
Passionate Rivals
The Provincetown Tales
Safe Harbor
Beyond the Breakwater
Distant Shores, Silent Thunder
Storms of Change
Winds of Fortune
Returning Tides
Sheltering Dunes
Honor Series
Above All, Honor
Honor Bound
Love & Honor
Honor Guards
Honor Reclaimed
Honor Under Siege
Word of Honor
Code of Honor
Price of Honor
Justice Series
A Matter of Trust (prequel)
Shield of Justice
In Pursuit of Justice
Justice in the Shadows
Justice Served
Justice For All
Rivers Community Novels
Against Doctor’s Orders
Prescription for Love
Love on Call
Love After Hours
First Responders Novels
Trauma Alert
Firestorm
Oath of Honor
Taking Fire
Wild Shores
Heart Stop
Dangerous Waters
Short Fiction
Collected Stories by Radclyffe
Erotic Interludes: Change of Pace
Radical Encounters
Edited by Radclyffe:
Best Lesbian Romance 2009-2014
Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds.
Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments
Erotic Interludes 3: Lessons in Love
Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions
Erotic Interludes 5: Road Games
Romantic Interludes 1: Discovery
Romantic Interludes 2: Secrets
Breathless: Tales of Celebration
Women of the Dark Streets
Amore and More: Love Everafter
Myth & Magic: Queer Fairy Tales
By L.L. Raand
Midnight Hunters
The Midnight Hunt
Blood Hunt
Night Hunt
The Lone Hunt
The Magic Hunt
Shadow Hunt
Acknowledgments
Revisiting a series after a few years is challenging and a bit like coming home (or maybe coming home after an absence is always a challenge). Time changes memories and life moves on and so must our fiction, as much as we want the characters and their stories to continue exactly as we remember them. What I’ve decided to do with the stories of Quinn and Honor and friends begun distantly in Passion’s Bright Fury (timewise) and then written in full in Fated Love, Night Call, and Crossroads is to begin a new series arc set in their world with a new cast of characters who can interact with the already established ones. My plan is to write a new series based on Quinn and Honor’s universe (and yes, they will be here), but this could also be a starting point for readers who haven’t read the first books. New characters mean new life for everyone (including me). I hope you enjoy this next generation and the role our earlier characters play in these new stories.
Many thanks go to senior editor Sandy Lowe for her guidance and support of the BSB authors (me included) and her excellent publishing expertise in support of BSB’s operations, editor Ruth Sternglantz for giving these stories such care and attention, editor Stacia Seaman for never failing to find the bits and pieces that need fixing, and my first readers Paula and Eva for taking time out of their busy lives to send invaluable feedback.
And as always, thanks to Lee for everything. Amo te.
Radclyffe 2018
To Lee, always
Chapter One
Philadelphia Medical Center Hospital, Germantown
4:45 a.m.
Emmett kissed the smooth skin behind Zoey’s ear and murmured, “Rise and shine, princess.”
Zoey dragged the sheet over her face and groaned. “Leave me alone.”
“This is your personalized wake-up call.”
“Go wake up someone else.” Zoey curled into a ball. “Sadie was on last night. Find her.”
Chuckling, Emmett slid her hand under the rumpled sheet and over the naked course of Zoey’s abdomen, pressing close against her back as she cupped Zoey’s breast. “Sadie isn’t speaking to me.”
“That’s because you broke her heart.”
Emmett didn’t bother defending herself—Zoey knew her better than anyone, even Hank, especially Hank, considering he was her little brother. Her sex life was off-limits. Zoey knew she never pretended to be looking for anything other than casual. Anyone in her situation looking for more than that was kidding themselves. Every resident she knew who’d been married or even seriously hooked up had failed to make it work. Divorce, breakups, and broken hearts were the order of the day. Not for her. The only thing she wanted was a full OR schedule and a warm, willing woman with whom to burn off the adrenaline at the end of the day. “Not my fault Sadie read more into—”
“Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up!”
“We’ve got half an hour to shower and change before morning report. Plenty of time, and you’ll feel better. Nothing like a satisfy—”
“Not interested.” Zoey buried her face in the pillow. “I’ve only been asleep an hour. I’m dead below the neck.”
“I don’t think so.” Emmett rubbed her cheek against Zoey’s shoulder and nudged away the long strands of tousled blond waves. She kissed Zoey’s neck, played her fingertips over Zoey’s hardening nipple. Zoey’s butt tensed against the curve of Emmett’s hips. “Mmm. See? Somebody’s awake.”
Zoey clutched her pillow more firmly over her face. “I hate you.”
Suppressing a laugh, Emmett turned Zoey onto her back, pulled the pillow away, and kissed her. “No, you don’t.”
Zoey peered at her through slitted lids, her deep blue eyes bleary in the faint light coming in through the small frosted window in the on-call room door. “Did you really sleep all night?”
“Nope. I finished removing a ruptured spleen about two thirty.” She kissed her again. “Plenty of time to sleep after that.”
“It’s five fucking a.m.,” Zoey said. “I am so sick of never getting enough sleep.”
Emmett grinned. “Like I said, I can help with that.”
“Do you ever think of anything besides sex?”
“Sure I do. I think about gunshot wounds and motorcycle accidents and broken bones and closed head injuries and—”
“All right, all righ
t, I’m awake.” Zoey glared, the sheet bunched in her fist at chest level. “Just because you can work around the clock, super-stud trauma-surgeon-in-the-making, some of us actually require sleep. Also unlike you, my first thought upon awakening is not getting laid.”
“How about your second thought, then?” Emmett moved lower on the narrow single bed, taking the sheet with her. She shifted slowly, kissing her way between Zoey’s curvaceous breasts and down the center of her sleek abdomen until she rested between her thighs, her cheek pillowed on Zoey’s abdomen. When she glanced up, she caught the softening of desire tugging at Zoey’s full lips. “You just lie there and I’ll see what I can do to start your day off right.”
“Shut up,” Zoey said breathlessly as she threaded her fingers through Emmett’s hair and urged her a little lower. “You’ve got about two minutes. Mmm. That’s nice. Remember the special meeting with Maguire this morning at seven?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Emmett murmured, tracing the satiny smooth skin at the apex of Zoey’s inner thigh with the tip of her tongue. “Probably just some more administrative rules we’re all going to ignore anyhow.”
Zoey caught her breath as Emmett’s mouth moved over her. Her hips bucked and she gasped. “Maybe they’ll…announce…chief resident this morning.”