by Rayna Vause
“Now you sound like an episode of Kung Fu.”
“Shut up, grasshopper, and let me finish.”
Chris laughed.
She whacked him on the leg. “If I’d had any visions that could have helped you avoid all of this, I would have told you. You know I’d never let anything happen to you if I could prevent it.”
“I know, Mama. Same here.”
She harrumphed knowingly. “You’ve been taking care of me since your father died. No teenager should have to shoulder that type of responsibility. So when I had a vision of you and Jackson Whitman together and happy, I pointed you in his direction and left the rest up to you.”
“You’re aware that nothing is set in stone between me and Jack, right?”
“Do you care about him, baby? Can you see a future with him?”
Warmth spread through him, and an image of Jack smiling at him filled his mind. “I’d like to think there is something between us to build on. I like him, Mama. I like him a lot. I may even love him.”
“Have you told him that?”
“No. Not really.”
“Then what are you doing here, baby boy? I’ll be fine once they bring my stinking breakfast. You need to go see about your man. I can get used to living in a hotel suite and you deserve to be loved and happy.”
Again Chris laughed and rolled his eyes. He slid off the bed. “I’m going to go see if I can’t find your breakfast, then I’m going to so see Jack. You take your meds and shelve your matchmaker tendencies. They’re killer!”
She winked at him, tossed the pills in her mouth, and knocked back the apple juice.
Chris went to track down his mother’s breakfast; then he took her advice and went to see about his man.
He found him in the hospital lobby.
“Press is outside. I wanted to warn you.”
“Eh.” Chris shrugged. “What’s getting on the evening news compared with last evening’s news?” His joke fell flat, and he changed tact. “How’s Angie?”
“Fine. She says hello. I’m headed back to the hotel for a while. Join me?” Jack asked, sounding hopeful, holding out a hand.
Chris nodded and linked his fingers with Jack’s.
CAMERA shutters clicked and questions were thrown at them as soon as they exited the hospital. A security force kept the press at bay, but Jack still shielded Chris as they headed toward a black sedan parked in the loading zone.
“Jackson, what the hell is the meaning of this?”
Jack tensed at the sound of Robert Dooley’s clipped voice barking behind him.
“Not the time, Dooley.” Jack turned but kept an arm around Chris.
“Not the time? There’s been some kind of police action on Whitman land, pictures of your sodden brother in handcuffs are all over the news, and you’re here making a wildly inappropriate public display of affection with this… person.” Dooley sneered as he gave Chris a disgusted once-over. “What the hell is going on? I demand answers. We’re going to need to prepare a statement for the media. This is a nightmare.” The whop-whop-whop of an approaching helicopter drew all of their attention. “Terrific. Just what we needed to add to the guys with telephoto lenses across the street.”
Jack ground his teeth. “Dooley.”
“Come along, Jackson, we have work to do.”
Jack almost punched Dooley. Chris rubbed a hand over Jack’s back, sensing he teetered on the edge of control, but the pompous ass in front of him had pushed him too far.
“Jack, it’s all right. I understand if you need to go.”
Jack’s gaze met Chris’s. His lover smiled at him, but the smile didn’t make it to his eyes, and his shoulders drooped a bit. Chris expected Jack to put duty before him. Not this time.
Jack straightened and looked down at Dooley; Jack had given this irritating man far more power than he ever deserved, so he finally took it back.
“Last time I checked, I’m the president and CEO of Whitman International, not you. I don’t answer to you, and quite frankly, I don’t give a shit what you or the media or anyone else thinks about me dating Chris.”
Dooley puffed and sputtered.
“There is only one person that I’m concerned about at the moment, and you’re not him.” The helicopter hovered above the hospital, and Jack glanced at Chris, then Dooley. “You want a statement? I’ll give you a damn statement.”
He grabbed Chris, knowing good and well they were being filmed, and pulled their bodies together. Then he kissed Chris until he got light-headed. Chris swayed when they parted. Jack stood tall, glaring at Dooley.
“Leave now. In the future, when I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it.”
He looked at Chris and saw heat and joy spark in Chris’s eyes. He linked their fingers together and led them to their waiting car, putting an end to the nightmare they’d been living through once and for all, leaving a wide-eyed, purple-faced Dooley staring after them.
“CHRIS?”
“I’m in here.” Chris scooped up the contents of a dresser drawer and loaded it into the open duffle on the bed.
He stopped when Jack appeared in the bedroom doorway and paused just to stare. God, the mere sight of the man could steal his breath. “How-How is Angelica doing?”
Jack scowled and walked into the bedroom.
“I know she’s not a fan of being cooped up.” Chris flashed a smile and kept packing.
“Angie catches a case of cabin fever when she’s stuck somewhere more than five minutes. But it won’t last. Soon enough she’ll have her hands full getting Carnival W up and running again.” Jack took the shirt Chris started to pack out of his hands and tossed it on the bed, then took Chris’s hands. “What are you doing? What is this?” He nodded to the bag.
“I’m packing. I’m moving back into my apartment. Ma is going to get released from the hospital in the next day or two. I need to get home, make sure everything is set up.”
Jack’s scowl deepened. “Why? There’s no need for you to go. Your mother is still welcome to her suite.”
Chris linked their fingers. “You moved me and Ma in to keep us both safe while we tracked down the source of the danger coming after us. Kyle’s been caught. The danger’s passed. While I appreciate the hospitality and I know Ma would love to claim the suite as her own, it’s time for us to head home.”
“There’s no rush.”
“I appreciate that, but don’t you think we’re rushing things a little? I mean, our entire relationship has occurred under extremely tense and unusual circumstances. Maybe it would be better if we slowed things down and see where they go.” A knot formed in Chris’s gut and he searched Jack’s eyes waiting for his response.
Jack pulled him close, resting his hands on Chris’s hips. “In business, a plan needs to be thought out, evaluated, and decided upon before you take any action if you hope to succeed. You definitely don’t want to rush off half-cocked.” He kissed that hot spot on Chris’s throat. “But this isn’t business. I’ve always been cautious in situations like this. But I don’t want to do that anymore. Not with you.”
He backed Chris against a wall, taking his mouth until nothing existed but Jack and the scorching sensations he sent blazing through Chris’s body.
Chris’s pulse went wild. When their lips parted, he blew out a long, slow breath. “What about the company image and all the trouble from people like Dooley?”
“I thought I answered that earlier in front of the hospital.” Jack shook his head. “I can’t let people like that run my life anymore. I won’t. I’ve been attracted to you for a long time. If I hadn’t been, that one amazing moment five years ago would have never happened. I wasn’t in the right place for a relationship five years ago, but I am now.”
Chris’s belly quivered as he ran his hands up Jack’s chest. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Are you sure you want to jump right into living together? I mean, we could date, take our time, see where things go. Don’t you miss having the place to yourself witho
ut my crap strewn about?”
Jack pulled Chris in so they were pressed body to body. “I’ve gotten used to you and your stuff being around. I’ve gotten used to you being around. It would be too big, too empty without you.”
“I’m not going to quit my job, so you’ll be living with not only an employee, but a hotel psychic.” Chris wrapped his arms around Jack’s neck, threading his fingers into his hair. He stared into Jack’s amazing mercury eyes.
“I’m okay with that. Yes, I doubted your abilities, and your mom’s as well, but now I know they’re real. They’re a part of who you are, and it’s the whole package I want.”
Chris smiled as the joy Jack’s words evoked spread through him. “Thank you, Mama,” he whispered as he pulled Jack in for a slow kiss that had heat boiling up from deep inside. He pressed himself flush against Jack, reveling in the press of their bodies.
“Why did you thank your mother?” Jack asked as he brushed his lips over Chris’s.
“Her vision sent me to Angelica for a job.”
Jack kissed Chris again. “Thank you, Mama, indeed. And thank you for taking another chance on me. Thank you for staying with me through all of the chaos and danger.”
“There’s no place I’d rather have been.”
Jack touched his forehead to Chris’s. “I’m falling for you, Chris. Visions and all.”
“You let me see the real you. The man behind the suits and the proper image. Let yourself believe in the impossible just for me, and it’s made me fall for you as well. I think we should keep falling together and see where it takes us.”
A smile lit up Jack’s face. Chris couldn’t help but grin back.
“So, still planning on going home?” Jack brushed kisses over Chris’s face, down his neck, making Chris shiver.
A fleeting image of a sunny place with huts, sand, and naked Jack happy at his side filled his mind. Chris recalled the auction item to Bora Bora Jack had offered a fortune for—and the mess that night ended in. Another flash took him further down the road. He and Jack stood together, hands clasped, matching gold bands on their fingers. Happiness radiated from both of them.
Chris wanted that life. Putting his trust in his visions and knowing Jack trusted him as well, he laid his head on Jack’s shoulder.
“I am home, Jack. I am home.”
RAYNA VAUSE is a lifelong learner who wants to live on a Disney cruise ship traveling the world and thinks purple should be considered a natural hair color.
She loves to craft tales full of mystery, magic, and adventure and is a proud geek who injects a little bit of her geeky, tech-obsessed soul into every story. Rayna has collected degrees in English, Computer Information Systems, Radiologic Science, and more are on the way.
She’s planned readers’ and writers’ conferences for the last ten years and has spent years serving on the boards of her various writers’ organizations. Rayna is a member of RWA, RRW, and a founding member of Liberty States Fiction Writers.
When she isn’t writing, she’s likely indulging her love of video games, working through her massive TBR pile, or plotting her next novel. She lives in southern New Jersey, just a bit outside of Philadelphia, and shares a home with her cat, the Princess Muffin.
Website: www.raynavause.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/raynavauseauthor
Twitter: @Rayna_Vause
Coming in February 2017
#27
The Worst Best Man by M.J. O’Shea
A rekindled romance wasn’t part of the plan.
Despite his American background, August O’Leary is the most sought-after wedding planner in London. Naturally, Libby and Edward come to him for a wedding the city will never forget. But Edward is an international businessman, so the details are left to Millie and her best friend—who happens to be the love of August’s life and the one who broke his heart eight years ago: Christopher Burke.
How’s August supposed to pull off the event of the year with Christopher distracting him and old feelings crashing the party uninvited?
Christopher has let money and status dictate his life, but no more. His failure to stand up to others’ expectations cost him his future with August—one he hoped would include marriage. Now he has to face August’s hurt and anger and prove he’s still the best man to make August happy.
#28
Poppy’s Secret by Andrew Grey
A second chance born of love.
Pat Corrigan and Edgerton “ Edge” Winters were ready to start a family—or so Pat thought. At the last minute, Edge got cold feet and fled. Pat didn’t bother telling him the conception had already gone through and little Emma was on her way. He didn’t want a relationship based on obligation. He’d rather raise his daughter on his own.
Nine years later, Emma and her Poppy are doing fine. Edge isn’t. He realizes what he threw away by leaving, and he’s back to turn his life around and reclaim his family. It’ll take a lot to prove to Pat that he’s a new man, and even if he succeeds, the secret Pat has hidden for years might shatter their dreams all over again.
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Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Extrasensual Perception
© 2017 Rayna Vause.
Cover Art
© 2017 Bree Archer.
http://www.breearcher.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
ISBN: 978-1-63477-681-3
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63477-682-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016913634
Published January 2017
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America