Red Hot Candy (22 All-New Delicious Romance Books by Best-Selling Authors about Alpha Males, Billionaires, Cowboys, and More for Your Summer Reading) (Red Hot Boxed Sets)

by Dani Dundee

  Turned out we didn’t need to be so quiet. When we arrived, the clearing was empty.

  Except for something wiggling around in one of the canvas bags.

  I snuck closer to get a better look. The flashlight lay on the boulder in front of us. There was no sign of the girls.

  John whistled and called out “snipe”.

  We listened for a response. Nothing.

  Our eyes met and I jerked my head toward the clearing and the bags. Not wanting to speak, I gestured we should check the perimeter.

  Something heavy fell in the woods on the other side of the nurse log, making a thumping sound as it hit the mossy forest floor. Maybe Diane was right about the cougars.

  I took a step into the clearing, John right behind me. The bag flipped over. I stopped short, and he bumped into me. We jumped apart and instinctively cupped our junk. No man on man naked touching. Not in the plan.

  A flash of movement caught my eye. I spun around and saw silver fur coming straight for me as a raccoon sped between us into the woods.

  “Holy fuck,” I whispered harshly. Surprised, I stumbled and knocked into John with my naked ass again.

  “Dude, what the hell was that?” he all but shouted.

  Another raccoon bolted for the woods behind the fallen log. A scream broke the silence of the woods.

  I met John’s eyes. “Oh, shit.”

  He moved toward the sound.

  A second later, a startled, disheveled Hailey and Diane burst into the clearing from the same direction.

  Everyone starting shouting at the same time.

  ***

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Did you see that?”

  “Did you see those raccoons?”

  “Holy shit!”

  “Why are you naked?”

  “I can’t believe there were two of them.”

  “Why weren’t you with the bags?”

  “Where are your pants?”

  “What were you doing in the woods?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Snipe!” Diane burst out laughing. Her laughter grew contagious and the rest of us joined her.

  “Did you really think I didn’t know about snipe hunting?” She wheezed, breathless and bent over with her hands on her thighs.

  Hailey stood in front of me. I couldn’t tell if she was shielding me from Diane or facing me to avoid looking at John in his underwear. “Seriously, why are you naked?”

  “And why aren’t you?” Diane tugged on the hem of John’s boxers, clearly flirting with him.

  “I only get naked with you.” He kissed her forehead.

  Hailey giggled. “You didn’t answer my question, Tom.”

  “It’s the woods.” I shrugged. My explanation was completely logical. “I thought it would be funnier to be naked.”

  “What is it with you being naked outside?” she asked, not expecting an answer.

  “Is this an ongoing thing?” Diane sounded curious.

  “Oh, like you don’t have an outdoor shower.” I pointed at her.

  Diane at least pretended to look embarrassed.

  A beam of light swept across our group.

  “Care to explain what you folks are doing out here? I could hear yelling from down the road.”

  “Uh oh,” I mumbled under my breath.

  A ranger stood at the edge of the clearing.

  “Good evening, sir.” John simultaneously greeted our new friend and pulled Diane in front of himself. “We’re snipe hunting.”

  Guess we were going with the truth. I managed to keep my expression serious. Hailey turned around to face the ranger, but pressed her back to my chest.

  “Snipes, you say?” The ranger flashed his light across our faces. “Never heard of naked snipe hunting. This is a family place, you know. We don’t tolerate any sort of public nudity or other indecent activities.”

  I snorted and tried to cover it with a cough. “No, sir. We, um…” I tried to think of a reason two grown men, one naked and one in only his boxers, would be in the woods in the middle of the night. “…Well…”

  “They lost a bet,” Diane spoke up. “If we didn’t find a snipe, they had to strip.”

  Ranger Bob scanned the area. “Don’t see any clothes. Or snipes.”

  “Our clothes are back by the fire pit,” I explained. “It’s kind of a long story.”

  “I figured as much. Pretty sure we don’t have any snipes around here, but you all knew that, didn’t you?”

  I couldn’t tell if he was pissed off or amused. Or both.

  We all nodded.

  “We do have a raccoon problem down at this end of the cabins. You wouldn’t want to encounter one of those while you’re out here sharing what the Lord gave you with the rest of nature.” He stared at me.

  John’s laugh rang out. “Too late for that. All that hollering and noise you heard was us encountering a pair of raccoons.”

  The ranger’s light fell on an empty bag of corn nuts lying on the ground. “Not too smart to leave food or garbage around. You’re asking for trouble.” From his deep frown, he didn’t see the humor in our prank. “Let that be a lesson to you. Now head on back to your cabin and we’ll forget the entire incident. I know I’m going to pretend I didn’t see anything.”

  John picked up the bags while we promised to not leave food or trash out before saying goodnight to the ranger. He looked like he was fighting to keep his face serious and respectful.

  “Last one to the fire is raccoon bait,” I yelled and took off in a sprint back to the fire and the dignity of my clothes. I had my boxers and T-shirt on by the time the others tromped out of the woods. The fire had died down during our hunt, so I prodded it back to life and resumed my spot in the camp chair.

  Hailey pulled her chair close to mine and kissed my cheek.

  “What was that for?”

  “Giving me yet another naked Tom story for when I need a good laugh.”

  I cupped her cheek and kissed her.

  “Speaking of naked, want to go skinny dipping?” I doubted I could convince her to do it knowing our friendly local ranger could interrupt us at any time. What a waste.

  “No way! Not with a ranger and crazy raccoons lurking in the woods. My luck there would be a lake monster, too. Or Jason.” She grinned at me.

  I rubbed my cheekbone in memory of last Halloween. “No more hockey masks. I promise.”

  “Speaking of things that go bump in the woods, we heard something fall right before the raccoon and all hell broke out. Was that one of you?” John asked.

  Diane and Hailey started giggling.

  “We were hiding and planning to scare you. Hailey tripped and fell into me, then I tumbled over too. I’m surprised you couldn’t hear us trying to stifle our laughter. We were rolling around on our backs like a pair of turtles.”

  “Sexy,” I commented. Not that I had fantasies of the two of them naked. Nope. Not my best friend’s wife.

  “At least we weren’t naked, you big dorks.”

  “A dork is a whale penis,” Diane said with a straight face.

  We all turned to look at her.

  “What? It is! You can look it up online. Or you could if we had cell service.”

  “Then I guess it’s an accurate name for me.” I gave her a cocky smile.

  “Don’t be too smug, Tom. Remember I saw you naked not even thirty minutes ago.” Diane laughed and sat on John’s lap. “Don’t take this the wrong way, dear husband, but you’re an even bigger dork than Tom.”

  John wrapped his arms around his wife and shot me a grin over her shoulder.

  “Before Thor starts pouting, I think we’re going to call it a night.” Hailey chuckled, pulling herself out of her chair, and holding out her hand to me.

  When we were both standing, she leaned close and whispered in my ear. “I believe you said something earlier about a blowjob.”

  She didn’t need to mention it again. I practically dragged her back to the cabin. When she didn’t move
fast enough, I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.

  From her upside down position, she called out goodnight to John and Diane.

  “Spa day tomorrow,” Diane said back.

  “Don’t you mean steak dinner?” John asked.

  “Let’s call it a tie and everyone wins,” I said as I set Hailey down by the cabin’s door.

  “I love it when everyone wins. Especially when it’s a tie,” she whispered.

  Her words conjured up all sorts of possibilities. Possibilities involving her naked were much better than being naked in the woods with a raccoon.

  ***

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “This is the life. I could live like this all the time.” I stretched my arms and patted my stomach. “Hot women cooking me steak while I sit around like a king.”

  “I hear you. A man could get used to this.” John pushed his empty plate away.

  “How is this different than most of the rest of your lives? We’re still on an island, only it’s a different one than home.” Hailey sipped her wine. She had a sleepy, content expression on her face and if she leaned any further back in her chair, she’d be horizontal.

  “True, but there’s no work here. We get up, fish, get fed, laze around. It’s pretty much heaven.” John poured more wine for Hailey.

  “I have to admit this kind of camping isn’t too bad.” Diane’s skin glowed.

  So did Hailey’s. They’d come back from the spa smelling of flowers, and all soft. I couldn’t wait to get Hailey naked.

  “Let’s make it a semi-annual trip,” Hailey suggested.

  “I agree. And when we have kids, we can still come back in the summers.” Diane's lips curved into a small smile

  John and I both choked on our beers.

  “Kids?” he sputtered. “Not any time soon, though, right?”

  Diane's smile grew and his eyes widened.

  ***

  Want more John and Tom? Grab the Wingmen box set today. Wingmen contains two full length novels and another short story featuring both John and Tom.

  WINGMEN

  Two Men. Two Novels. Bearded for pleasure.

  Buy WINGMEN at:

  Amazon

  About Daisy Prescott

  Daisy Prescott is the USA Today bestselling author of the Modern Love Stories series, which features thirty-somethings and forty-somethings falling in love. Her fifth novel, We Were Here, releases late summer 2015.

  Born and raised in San Diego, Daisy currently lives in a real life Stars Hollow in the Boston suburbs with her husband, their dog Hubbell, and an imaginary house goat. When not writing, she can be found in the garden or kitchen, or on social media, usually talking about hot, bearded men.

  To keep updated on new releases, sales and upcoming events, sign up for Daisy’s mailing list here.

  Website | Mailing list | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

  Table of Contents

  Red Hot Candy

  Table of Contents

  The Things I Never Said by Jo Raven

  Perfectly Equipped by Lacey Silks

  Billionaires in Disguise: Rae, Kidnapped by Blair Babylon

  A Fan-TAB-Ulous Night by Olivia Rigal

  Take it Easy by Daisy Prescott

  Before Flesh by Sky Corgan

  Scorched into Submission by Daizie Draper

  Pandora's Box by Sarah M. Cradit

  Braving Love by SJ Mayer

  Always Enough by Molly McLain

  Mine In Dreams by Olivia Hardin

  Like Home by Mira Bailee

  Unshakeable by JC Valentine

  Yearning to Yield by Pavarti K Tyler

  First-Class Scoundrel by Liv Morris

  Mated in Bearfield by Jacqueline Sweet

  Le Moulin by JC Andrijeski

  Jesse's Girl by Alison Foster

  Dude by Gillian Cherry

  Biker Billionaire's Bitch by Layla Wilcox

  Swaying Fate by Irma Geddon

  Gender Studies 101 by Dani Dundee

  Disclaimers and Copyright Notices

  BEFORE FLESH

  by Sky Corgan

  BEFORE FLESH

  by Sky Corgan

  BEFORE FLESH © Sky Corgan 2015

  Lucian Reddick has just lost his family in a tragic shooting. The pain he feels inside is almost too immense to bear, and he only knows of one way to drown it out. Sex is quickly becoming not enough though. He needs something more. Something darker.

  Before Flesh is the prequel to the best-selling Flesh series, told from Lucian Reddick's point of view.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Pain.

  It’s all I’ve felt for the longest time. You can’t make it go away. All you can do is mask it—run from it until your body and mind learn how to cope.

  That’s been my life since she died. Since they died. My loving wife and amazing son. I deserve this. I deserve to feel pain. Only one thing numbs it, and it’s not this.

  I wrap my fingers around the solid wood sides of the crudely built Saint Andrew’s cross that Mistress Grace has me secured to. The rope twisted around my wrists is tied to each metal O-ring on the X. My cock and balls rest precariously on the steel center section that holds the cross together. It’s an odd shape for a Saint Andrew’s cross, with the smaller part of the X on the bottom instead of it being even on both sides. I can’t tell if it’s a design flaw or if this particular Saint Andrew’s cross was purposely built so that a man’s genitals could be easily accessible no matter which way he’s facing.

  I lean forward a little, testing the metal beam that holds the cross in place. It’s not bolted to the floor, so if I put too much weight on it, I know it will slide. That would displease Mistress, not that I give a crap. Pleasing her hasn’t been at the forefront of my mind, as much as she insists that it should be.

  This was never what I wanted. I was talked into it, convinced that I just need to let go of control. Letting go of control is what got my family killed. I should have put my foot down when Leigh insisted that Isaac go to Catholic school. Or maybe I should have let her have her way… I don’t even know anymore. It was a stupid thing for us to argue over. Stupid that she got so mad that she took Isaac and left. Even stupider that they died because of it.

  I’m a horrible person. A worthless, wretched human being. I deserve the sting of the flogger licking at my back again and again. Somehow though, I don’t feel it. My body absorbs every blow, disperses the sting, soaks it in until it becomes nothing. I don’t flinch, don’t tense, don’t feel. Not really.

  What am I doing here? Why do I keep coming back?

  We’ve only been at this for two weeks now, but I’ve given it enough time to know that it’s not right for me. This pain that she feeds me—this pain that’s supposed to make all the bad things inside my head go away—it does nothing but aggravate me. It makes me want to rip the flogger from her hand, tie her to the cross and give her a taste of her own medicine. That thought makes me smile. The thought of seeing her in pain. Of seeing them all in pain.

  I’ve been using sex as a coping mechanism, reverting back to the lusty monster that I was before I met Leigh. I’m starting to wonder how she ever managed to tame me. There’s no question about that though. She withheld everything. Her body, her thoughts, her affection. She’s the only woman I’ve ever chased. The only woman worth chasing. The day she agreed to be my wife was the happiest day of my entire life. And then…

  “Lucian!” Mistress Grace’s tone is full of displeasure. It usually is when she speaks to me. At least, it has been ever since we entered this Domme/submissive agreement. She wants me to listen to her, wants me to obey her, but I don’t have it in me.

  “Yes, Mistress.” My voice is distant. I can’t seem to be able to drag myself back from my thoughts. Can’t focus on the moment—what she’s doing to me—what she’s trying to accomplish.

  “You’re getting lost again.”

  She’s very attentive. It’s one of the reasons that she’s such a
good Mistress. But she’s not the Mistress for me. I know that now. This game has gone on for long enough. I’ll be polite though and pretend for just one more night. Just tonight. One last night to get what I need from her, to drive myself between her legs and drown out my pain. Then it will be someone else tomorrow and someone else the day after that. I don’t like being monogamous anyway.

  “Yes, Mistress,” I admit. There’s no point in lying. We both know that my mind isn’t here. It’s just my body. My numb, pointless body.

  “Should I switch to something harder?” There’s a hint of a threat in her voice.

  I imagine that she gets no pleasure from this when I don’t react. Then again, she’s the only one getting any pleasure out of it. I just tolerate it until it’s time for us to fuck. Even that isn’t gratifying though. She makes me lie beneath her, controlling my pleasure. Always in control. It drives me crazy. Makes something aggressive and angry burn inside of me. Maybe if I loved her, I’d be more patient. I don’t love her though. Sometimes I don’t even like her. She’s just a fuck. A warm hole to stick my dick in. An experiment to see if I can drown my pain out any other way because sex is quickly becoming not enough.

  “Whatever pleases you, Mistress.” I stare straight ahead at the white textured wall, thinking about how I used to chip off the bubbled-up pieces with my fingernails when I was a kid in my bedroom. It’s proof that my mind is everywhere except on what we’re doing.

  I hear a thud behind me, followed by the tapping of Mistress’s stilettos on the tile floor. Her hands touch my back, and something inside of me awakens. The part of me that expects things to turn sexual soon. This is what I’ve been waiting for. This is why I came.