Past Regrets: Love and Friendship, Book 2

by Shelley Munro

  It wasn’t her fault.

  All these months, she’d blamed Ryan. She’d blamed herself. But it wasn’t Ryan’s fault either. No matter what she’d done, she would have lost her baby.

  The acknowledgment seemed to lift a weight off her shoulders. She squeezed Ryan’s hand, sending him a misty smile. “I love you, Ryan, and I will do whatever it takes to make our marriage work. I missed you.” Her smile turned rueful. “I missed you so much I wore one of your T-shirts to bed every night just to feel closer to you.”

  “Julia.” That was all he said. Just her name before he pushed against her until the distance between them was gone. They breathed together, clung to each other for comfort. “I love you,” he whispered against her hair.

  They kissed and cuddled, and it was a long time before either of them moved.

  “Let’s go to bed.” Ryan stood and held out his hand to her. It was warm and comforting as his fingers curled around hers.

  Side-by-side, they ambled down the passage to his bedroom, pausing to peek at Alex. He was sprawled on his back, one arm clutching his owl. A charming little snore erupted as they watched, and Julia stifled a giggle.

  In the darkness of Ryan’s bedroom, she stripped off her clothes and climbed into bed. Their naked bodies slid against each other. Their lips met and sweet urgency rose between them. He slipped into her body. Julia cradled him close, arching into him as he loved her tenderly. Her orgasm swelled within her until it became too big to contain, exploding through her in waves of pleasure. When she came back to herself, she smiled, still plastered against Ryan’s larger frame.

  “Still love me?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “You know you’ve put me to a lot of trouble,” he said, the caress of his fingers down her back counteracting the slight sting of his words.

  “But I’m worth it,” she fired back.

  He sighed softly, the warmth of his breath feathering across her neck. “Yeah. You are.”

  “I mightn’t have said it much, but I do love you, Ryan.”

  “Right back at you, sweetheart.”

  And they set out to prove it all over again.

  About the Author

  Shelley Munro is tall and curvaceous with blue eyes and a smile that turns masculine heads everywhere she goes. She’s a university tutor and an explorer/treasure hunter during her vacations. Skilled with weapons and combat, she is currently in talks with a producer about a television series based on her world adventures.

  Shelley is also a writer blessed with a VERY vivid imagination and lives with her very own hero in New Zealand. She writes mainly erotic romance in the contemporary, paranormal and historical genres.

  You can learn more about Shelley and her books at www.ShelleyMunro.com. Also, feel free to drop her line at shelleymunro@gmail.com or join her newsletter via the link from her website to hear more about new and upcoming titles.

  www.ShelleyMunro.com/blog

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  Look for these titles by Shelley Munro

  Now Available:

  Tea for Two

  Seeking Kokopelli

  Lone Wolf

  Love and Friendship

  The Bottom Line

  Spicing up her sex life sounds exciting…until the fantasy hits the fan.

  The Bottom Line

  © 2010 Shelley Munro

  When Maggie Drummond buys an erotic romance novel by mistake, she gets more than an unexpected eyeful. She gets an introduction to a world that arouses her to a fever pitch. Spanking.

  Her boyfriend isn’t interested in pushing his vanilla-flavored sexual boundaries. Then there’s Connor Grey, who haunts her fantasies like a magical genie. As a source of masculine advice for her and her female friends, he’s off limits. The only safe place to explore her fetish is her anonymous blog.

  The recent changes in Maggie don’t escape Connor’s notice. Now that her boyfriend has dropped her, he can finally—carefully—make his move. Given his family history, laying a hand on any woman, even in fun, is a line he’s reluctant to cross. But for Maggie? Anything the lady wants.

  As Maggie gives in to the temptation to let Connor add some sin to her life, she finds herself juggling lies, half-truths, friendship and sensual delights. Her job is in jeopardy—and she’s falling in love. Exploring her fantasy is one thing, but she’s beginning to question if indulging her own pleasure is worth the cost to everyone around her. Especially Connor…

  Warning: Contains explicit sex, spanking, and the good, the bad and the ugly about friendship.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for The Bottom Line:

  “C’mon, Maggie. Tell us your secret,” Julia shouted.

  Maggie slouched in her seat as several heads turned her way, giving her the once-over. Why did Julia have to yell? Okay, so the men sitting at the next table wouldn’t hear her over the pounding throb of guitars, saxophone and the male vocalist headlining in the packed bar. She hoped.

  Susan and Christina nodded with enthusiasm, grinning, their attention focused on her. Maggie hated the limelight, always had since a childhood filled with her mother’s antics and histrionics. The big event that had sent her scurrying north to hide in Auckland had helped cement Maggie’s resolution to stay away from the glare of publicity. Sighing, she forced her thoughts from the past and wondered if this was a good idea. It wasn’t too late to stop, yet gut instinct forced her on, telling her she was an adult. Free to make choices and deal with the consequences. She wasn’t her mother, despite her father and stepmother’s harsh words.

  The fine tremor of nerves slipping down her arm confirmed her disquiet. The slushy ice in her margarita tinkled against the edges of the glass, jogged by the quiver of her hands. She set her drink on the table and sucked in a deep breath, steeling herself to blurt out her secret. Not a feeble confession, like it usually was. Today she had a real secret.

  Get it out.

  She opened her mouth and closed it again. She couldn’t. Sure, it was a game they played when there were a few drinks involved—margaritas usually. But this time was different. It was her innermost desire she was about to reveal. The others had taken their turns and giggled like schoolgirls instead of employees of the staid Barker & Johnson, one of Auckland’s premier accounting firms. They’d released their inhibitions—a side effect of Friday night drinks and the promise of a long holiday weekend.

  Now the floor belonged to her.

  She licked her bottom lip, stress bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Time to produce a secret.

  “What are you waiting for, Maggie?” Susan asked in a sing-song voice. “We’ve told you ours.”

  “Secret. Secret. Secret.” Christina banged her palms on the edge of the table. Julia and Susan joined in the beat, their eyes gleaming with challenge in the dim light of the booth.

  Maggie picked up her margarita and gulped to moisten her dry mouth. “Okay. Okay.”

  Placing her glass on a coaster, she glanced around the bar. No doubt about it. People were starting to stare. Time to spill her secret before things turned ugly. After another deep breath, she dropped her gaze to her clasped hands. “I’ve started a website called BigBadAss.com.” She spoke so quickly the words ran together. Once finished, she scanned each of her friends in turn, anxious now for their reactions.

  “Big bad ass?” Christina’s watchful eyes held curiosity while her lips curved in an approving smile. She pushed her frameless glasses up her nose with perfectly manicured copper fingernails. “Isn’t that pretty racy for you?”

  “What’s the big deal?” Julia scoffed and tossed her head before Maggie could answer. Her blonde hair stirred and settled in sexy curls around her almost bare shoulders. Shoestring straps held her low-cut black top in place. “It’s just a website.”

  “Who’s a bad ass?” Susan smirked. “Don’t say Greg has gone and found some balls?”

  “Bother, I have a smear.” Christina rifled t
hrough her handbag for a tissue to clean her glasses. “Anyway, I want to hear more about this website.”

  Questions. Maggie had expected them, but the comments and queries didn’t put her at ease. Her stomach vibrated like one of her younger brother’s toys—over-wound and about to fly apart. She wiped sweaty palms on her sensible navy skirt, swallowed and said, “It’s more of a blog.”

  “A blog about what?” Julia asked, rolling her eyes. “Desperados? Bandits? What’s a bad ass?”

  Maggie closed her eyes briefly to summon courage. This next part was worse. Her teeth clacked when she closed her mouth. The longer her hesitation, the worse the mental strain would become. Big bad ass, she wasn’t. More like a marshmallow, burnt on the outside with a gooey interior.

  “I explore…um…my adventures in spanking,” Maggie said, forcing a smile. “Does anyone want another drink?”

  “Spanking,” Susan cried out as the band ended their song and the haunting notes of a sax faded. Everyone in the vicinity heard her shocked shriek. Heads turned, customers surveying them with distinct interest. Two men at a nearby table leered. Their dark suits suggested they worked at the lawyer’s office next door, but their toothy smirks told Maggie their minds crawled in the gutter, armed with floggers and paddles.

  “Shush,” she muttered, aware of the two plum-sized patches heating her cheeks. “It’s a secret. I don’t want everyone to know.”

  Christina picked up her drink, golden bracelets jingling with musical grace. “Since when were you interested in spanking, Maggie?”

  “Yeah,” Julia demanded. “How long has this been going on?”

  Susan smirked, her gaze darting from Christina to Julia and back to Maggie. “Does Greg spank you?”

  “Um…” Oh, heck. She’d known they’d have lots of questions. Greg was her boyfriend. Solid, dependable and boring. How was she going to tell him? True, she was still a spanking novice, but Maggie was determined not to chicken out. She would explore spanking. It wouldn’t be like the fad diets she tried and failed.

  Her spanking interest—or sickness, depending on how a girl looked at it—began with a book and some in-depth soul-searching along with a bottle of wine. She’d hauled her drunken self off to bed and, after reading more of the erotic romance, she’d had the best orgasm ever. Yeah, if she could scale those heights by herself, a real extravaganza lay ahead with a male lover. Right there, she decided to explore her wild side and the naughty spike of pleasure that jolted her right to the core every time she considered a swat on the ass. The fiery heat…

  She could see the curiosity filling Susan’s blue eyes, the nosy interest mirrored in Christina and Julia’s faces. “You asked for one secret. I’ve given you one and you have to promise not to tell anyone.” Maggie had no idea where this new bravery had come from. It reminded her of her teenage years, and she liked its return. The inner Maggie cheered, enjoying the nonplussed expressions on her friends’ faces.

  “What about Connor? We can tell him, right?” Julia toyed with her straw, cocking her head to the side as she studied Maggie. “He would have been here if his rugby coach hadn’t called an extra training session.”

  “No!” Color climbed into Maggie’s cheeks. “Not unless you’re going to tell him your secrets as well.” A glower through narrowed eyes served as a warning, an attempt to enforce her will.

  She closed her eyes briefly. Her recent behavior would appall her father and stepmother who still reeled over the scandal of Penisgate. More gossip about their daughter would send them over the edge. What had come over her lately? Maybe a vitamin deficiency or something. In addition to thinking about spanking and researching kink, her fantasies had sprung into full sexy Technicolor. They featured Connor, and it wasn’t his cooking skills that interested her.

  Sometimes you have to lose it all to find what you really need.

  Then, Again

  © 2013 Karen Stivali

  Photographer Kay Turner is dealt a double whammy when she flies home for her grandmother’s funeral to find her boyfriend with another woman. Now with two losses to mourn, she retreats to her newly inherited beach house to clear her head.

  Everything at the beach is familiar: the sounds of the ocean, the scent of her grandmother’s perfume—and the irresistible smile of James Margolis. The man Kay spent her adolescence pining for is every bit as charming as she remembers.

  James always thought of Kay as “a nice kid”, but he feels something very different for the woman she’s become. Especially when he asks if she’d be willing to part with some of her grandmother’s recipes for his new restaurant—and they wind up sharing much more than culinary secrets.

  But as their relationship deepens, Kay finds herself caught between the demands of her dream career as a travel photographer, and a chance for happiness with the one man she’s wanted for a lifetime.

  Warning: This foodie romance contains sensual scone baking, a heroine who discovers one bad apple hasn’t spoiled her appetite, and a delicious hero you can’t help but crave. Blend well, serve hot.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Then, Again:

  James had been hoping Kimmy would come by the store. He knew she’d be back in town, at least for the funeral, and he’d been scanning the crowd of customers for her all day. He hadn’t expected her to look quite so fantastic. Her long wavy hair was the exact color of honey, innocent but sexy in two simple ponytails. Even in jeans and a T-shirt she was a knockout. Her once oversized features now perfectly accented her heart-shaped face, the gangly legs had grown shapely. There was no hint of the awkward girl she’d been years ago when they’d first met. She was all woman now, and it took his breath away.

  When he told her the restaurant was his, her already round eyes widened, glistening like molten dark chocolate flecked with gold. “Really?” Her voice was low, crooning. “You’re in the restaurant business? I thought you’d gone into finance.”

  “I did, but I kept getting sucked back into the family business with the fish market and I’ve always loved food. I did some restaurant management courses and spent some time at culinary schools in Italy, Montepulciano and Palermo, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever go for it. Then this place went on the market and I decided to just do it.”

  “That’s awesome.” She made her way around the kitchen, her delicate hands running along the smooth stainless steel surfaces, her hips swaying as she moved around the center counter. “When do you open?”

  “I wish I could answer that. A couple of months, I hope. We’ve hit a few snags with the contractors. It’s okay, though. Gives me more time to perfect the menu. Starting with the chowders.”

  “Plural? How many chowders will there be?” She leaned against the counter, tilting forward just enough to make her breasts swell against the fabric of her T-shirt. His stomach knotted as he tried not to be too obvious about noticing.

  “You want to see the tentative menu?” He reached up and pulled a folder off the top shelf.

  She traced her finger down the paper as she read. He eyed the invisible trail with envy. Jesus. Settle down. She probably thinks you’re an old man.

  “This sounds amazing,” she said. “Clam and sausage chowder. My grandmother used to make that.”

  “I know. It’s her recipe.”

  Her plump pink lips fell open. “Seriously?”

  “She used to bring it into the fish market for us at the holidays, and one year I talked her into teaching me how to make it. It’s one of my favorite soups, there’s no way it wasn’t going on the menu. I’ll name it after her, I just haven’t gotten around to naming the dishes yet.”

  “She’d love that.” Kay’s eyes misted and she glanced away. Kay. A grown-up name to go with the rest of her look.

  “You want to try a bowl? See if I got it right?”

  “What, now?”

  “Sure.” He pulled open one door of the double fridge. “I made a pot last night. I was going to have it for dinner with some of these oysters. The rest will become oyster
and corn chowder, a recipe I don’t have perfected. Yet.”

  Kay stared at him with an expression he couldn’t read. Gratitude? Fascination? Maybe she just thought he was crazy to be opening a restaurant in the current economy. Whatever it meant he was glad to have an excuse to make eye contact with her. He held her gaze until she flushed and looked away. She handed him back the menu. “I haven’t had a real meal in days, I’ll try anything you like.”

  Her words stirred endless possibilities in his mind, but he tried to push them all aside and concentrate on getting her some food. He scooped crushed ice out of the ice machine and went to work shucking the oysters while the soup heated on the stove.

  She sat perched on one of the barstools he’d brought in from the dining room.

  “If you want a beer there are some in the fridge, bottom shelf.” He couldn’t help but sneak a look at her ass as she bent down.

  “You want one?” she asked, catching him watching her.

  “Sure.”

  “You’ve got an awful lot of food in here for a restaurant that’s not open.”

  “Barter. I’ve been feeding the workers and training the kitchen staff. They grumble about the heat less when they’ve got full stomachs. Plus I get to try out new recipes. Can you grab that small silver bowl from the fridge?”

  “This one?”

  “That’s it.” He set the platter of oysters between them and quartered a lemon. “How do you take your oysters? Straight? Lemon? Or you want to try the sauce?”

  Her brow furrowed as she settled herself back on the stool. “How about one of each?”

  “You’re my kind of woman.” She giggled, her thick lashes batting against her cheeks as she flushed a shade darker. For a second he caught a hint of the teenaged Kimmy, then her eyes met his again. One sexy flash and she was completely back to being Kay.