Emerging Temptation: A BWWM Romance Limited Edition Collection

by Peyton Banks

  “I want Mommy. She is supposed to pick me up from school today.” Melody started crying from behind Sable.

  “Sir. Let’s go to the front office and check Melody out of school properly.” Sable made sure her tone was even and soothing. She didn’t want this man to be agitated any further. The more agitated he became the more unpredictable the situation became and the chances of Sable and Melody getting out of this classroom unharmed lessen.

  “No.” Melody’s father tone was emphatic. “Her bitch of a mother had a restraining order against me. The school won’t let me take her out of here.”

  Sable made note that he used the word “had”. She hoped that was something that Max picked up on if he was still listening. She was afraid that Melody was quickly on her way to becoming an orphan. She hoped she was wrong. But she didn’t know what would be worse for the little girl. Living with the knowledge that her father was going to jail for violation for a restraining order or that her father could be going to prison for the murder of her mother. She hoped it was the former rather than the latter.

  “Come Melody, it is time for us to go. We are going to our new home.”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t allow you to take Melody.” Sable placed her arms around the little girl. Surrounding her. Letting her know that she would keep her safe. Melody burrowed into her side.

  Melody’s father on the other hand didn’t take kindly to Sable’s words. He reached behind his back and pulled a gun out of his pants, pointing it at Sable. “I don’t remember asking you for your permission.”

  Sable moved Melody behind her back. The situation just became ten times more serious. It was better when Melody’s father was just an angry man, but now he was an angry man with a gun. Add in the fact that he was unpredictable increased her worry. She hoped like hell that Max was still on her watch. This whole episode made the difficulties that she and Max experienced in their relationship look like child play.

  With the increased seriousness of this situation she wished she would have told Max about the baby. Granted she had only found out about the baby recently, but she would have shared the news with him earlier in the day, giving him the chance to know that he was going to be a father. She was sure he would make a better father than the one standing before her pointing a gun at her and his child.

  If she had a crystal ball and knew that she was going to be in a situation that could end with her never seeing Max again she wouldn’t have given him up so easily. She wouldn’t have let him walk out of her life when he got scared of being in a committed relationship. She would have fought for him. Fought for them.

  As she stood before this nut ball with a gun. She made a vow that if she got out of this in one piece, then she was going to tell him about the baby. Then she was going to do everything to put her relationship with Max back together because he was worth all the trouble. She was going to confess her love for him and together they were going to raise their baby.

  A new determination infused her. She had a life worth living. She was going to do everything in her power to see this situation ended peacefully and that Melody was reunited with her mother. That her father got the help that he needed. She was not going to let two family be torn apart by the action of one person. Her baby would get a chance to live and have a happily life with his or her father.

  8

  Max’s heart stopped as he listened to the shit going down in the classroom that Sable was trapped in with one of the students. Everyone sat around quietly listening to what was taking place.

  “Officer Johnson. Find the principal and find out Melody’s last name. Then someone locate her mother.” He ordered.

  He was glad that most of the students in the classroom were able to make it out before Melody’s father crashed into the room and had even more hostages.

  “Commander Papadakis?” He turned to see Officer Johnson standing behind him holding a tablet.

  “We were able to locate Melanie Stanford, Melody’s mother. She had been shot and rushed to the Trauma Center. She is undergoing surgery to remove a bullet lodged in her ribs, but she is expected to make a full recovery. It appears that this all stems from a custody battle. Mrs. Stanford has full custody of the Stanford’s daughter until Mr. Stanford undergoes anger management therapy and then he would be allowed supervised visitation. Mr. Stanford didn’t agree with the court order and disappeared until today when he appeared at his former resident and shot his ex-wife. Then he came to the school and attempted to take Melody. The office staff had been alerted to the court order and when Mr. Stanford shot the office staff and then left the front office one of the ladies contacted the police while the school went on lockdown.”

  “Thank you for your report officer,” Max spoke as calmly as possible when all he wanted to do was yell at the father holding his heart at gun point and he wanted yell at himself for taking so long to realize how stupid he was. To realize how much Sable meant to him. That in his fear of committing to the most important person in his life that he might end up losing her.

  Max watched the screens as the SWAT teams escorted the last of the students out of the school. These were the students that had been in the classroom with Sable.

  The radio crackled. “All SWAT teams are in position.”

  Max itched to be on the ground. To go in with the team, like he did before he became Public Liaison Coordinator in the Emergency Management Department. To be on the ground and storm the room to rescue the two people left in there, if that was what the powers that be decide was the best course of action. Instead, now he was the power that be. The one to make the decision. To decide when it was time to take action.

  But it was probably a good thing he wasn’t down on the ground, but instead up in the command center. Better that he kept his distance from the man threatening his love. If he was close enough, he was sure he would have put a bullet in Kevin Stanford, Melody’s father.

  “If you have a clear shot, then take it.” He gave the order. He knew it went against protocol in hostage situation. He should have called down the hostage negotiator and let him or her try to talk Kevin Stanford into surrendering peacefully. But he wanted this situation over quickly so he could sweep Sable up into his arms and tell her how wrong he had been. He would beg her to give him another chance to correct the mistake that he made when he broke things off with her.

  He would confess that he was scared that he wouldn’t know how to be in a committed relationship. He broke things off before he really fuck things up. Max was afraid he wouldn’t make a good boyfriend only a good lover. If he attempted to be anything more such as a husband, he would screw it up beyond redemption.

  “Commander.” Max pulled his thoughts away from what he would do when Sable was safe to look at one of the screens. A member of the SWAT team was able to get a camera on the situation. It showed the classroom with Sable standing to one side of the room. She looked strong and healthy. The paleness that had been plaguing her earlier in the day was gone. She looked so vibrant and sexy. Max grew hard at the sight of her. The need for her grew strong. A need he could no longer deny.

  Max wanted Sable in his arms, in his bed, and in his life. He was going to tell her that as soon as this was all over. He just had to be patient and let this situation resolve.

  He continued to listen to the conversation coming from Sable’s watch as he viewed what was going on on the screens.

  “Give me my daughter or I will kill you,” The threat came loud and clear as the screens showed Kevin Stanford pointing his gun at Sable.

  Fear and pride warred inside of Max even as his inside chilled at the sight of Sable standing tall in front of Melody, protecting her as Kevin bore down on them. He couldn’t stand it anymore. “Take the shot,” he ordered before tearing out of the command center.

  “Commander. Commander.” The Emergency Management Team called out behind him has he sprinted into the school. The shot echoed out through the hallway. Max didn’t know if it came from the phone in his pocket. The tr
ansmitter in his ear or the live shot from the gun the SWAT team members carried. All he knew, as he raced through the hallways, is that he had to get to Sable.

  Luckily for him the school had a simple layout, and it didn’t take long for him to reach the classroom. He could hear yelling coming from inside of the room.

  “Commander,” the SWAT team leader was surprised to see him. It went against protocol for him to be this close to the scene.

  “Where is Sable?”

  “Who?”

  “Commander Battleson.” He clarified.

  “Oh, she is still with the child.”

  They both stood back as a handcuffed Kevin Stanford was dragged screaming and yelling out of the classroom.

  “That fucking bitch shot me.” Kevin yelled as blood dripped from a shallow groove in his left arm. It looked like the remnant of a bullet graze to Max, but he really didn’t care. “I’m going to sue the police department.”

  He burst in the classroom to see Sable still in the last position he had viewed her in on the monitors in the command center. “Sable.”

  Big, brown eyes turned in his direction. His heart almost exploded at the sight of the huge smile that crossed her face. “Maximilian.”

  She flew into his arms. His mouth came down on hers for a hard kiss. There tongues tangled together, stroking and loving each other. They were both breathless when they broke apart.

  “Oh my God. I was so scared he was going to shoot you.” Max confessed as he continued to place kisses all over her face.

  “I knew you would save the day. You are my hero.” Sable declared as she returned his kisses.

  Max turned his face to kiss the palm of her hands where they gripped the sides of his head.

  “I didn’t save the day, you did.” He turned back to look into her eyes. Seeing the love, he felt reflected back to him. His heart pounded in his chest. A mixture of love and fear. Happiness and relief. His feelings were so mixed up on one hand, but clear as glass on the other.

  “Let’s get you out of here. We need to get you checked out by the medical crew.” He swept her up into his arms and turned to stride out of the room.

  He hugged her tightly against him. “I thought I was going to lose you today. That I would never get a chance to tell you how big of an idiot I was to let you go.”

  He kissed her hard on the lips before continuing. “I thought I would never get the chance to tell you how much I loved you and then beg for you to take me back.” The words rushed out of Max. Now that he had Sable in his arms again nothing was going to stop him from declaring his love for her. “Please allow me to make up my stupidity of the last few weeks. To prove to you how much I love you.”

  “Oh Max, you don’t have to prove anything. I know that you love me just as much as I love you.”

  Max saw the truth of what she was saying in her eyes.

  “I swore that if I made it out of this situation I would confess everything to you.” She said looking up at him with this big brown eyes. “I would tell you how much I have missed having you in my life. How much I loved you and wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. And….” Sable’s voice trailed off.

  “And…?” Max looked down at her encouragingly.

  “I would also tell you that I was pregnant.”

  “Pregnant?” Max was stunned. Then the realization hit him. He came so close to losing everything over his stubbornness to be in a committed relationship.

  He picked Sable up and twirled her around as an overwhelming sense of happiness engulfed him. “We’re going to have a baby?”

  Sable nodded her confirmation.

  “Sable Battleson would you marry me?” Max didn’t stop the words from pouring out of his mouth. They were the right words and this was the right time.

  He let out a loud whoop at Sable’s next word. “Yes.”

  Epilogue

  Six.

  So much had changed in the past six months.

  Sable Papadakis looked down at the baby she held. Sleepy brown eyes with green flecks blinked back at her as the world’s most adorable mouth puckered at her.

  “I can’t believe we made such a beautiful baby together.” Max looked down at his son with an expression of awe. He thought that he would hate being in a relationship with just one woman. That he would hate not having any prospective lovers in the future. He was glad that Sable proved him wrong.

  Every day he looked at his wife and thought about how blessed he was. And as he looked down at his newborn son, he knew the blessing just kept on coming.

  Once he got over his fear of being with just one woman he discovered that one woman was enough for him. Especially when that woman was Sable.

  Their love for each other continued to grow each day. Now with the addition of his son to the mix he was sure that his heart was going to explode.

  He bent down and placed a kiss on Sable’s forehead before repeating the gesture with his son. “Thank you for loving me and not giving up on me completely.”

  She gave him a rueful grin. “It was hard, but it was a good thing that I loved you.”

  Max grinned back at her. The Chaos Theory did have a way of bringing order to his life. Just as it brought love to him when he was set on fighting it.

  About Author

  I live in Fountain, Colorado with my husband and two kids and a whole truckload of family members. I have been writing all of my life. I became addicted to romance novels when I was a teenager, thanks to my mother’s love of reading. I wrote my first romance novel when I was in junior high school. I decided to stop hiding my desire to write and to just go for it.

  Thank you for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Stay tuned, there is more to come. Sign up for my Newsletter http://mailinglist.donnarmercer.com/hollidaesgift for a free Ebook. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Please consider leaving a review.

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  A Kiss to the Rescue

  Blurb

  His name is Richard Alvin Brantley, III.

  * * *

  But I call him Rich A**hole.

  * * *

  Because when you’re an emergency operator and you meet someone right after they manage to crash their car in a tree, a**hole is a reasonable assumption to make about them.

  * * *

  Convinced I saved his life, RA III is on a mission to do something nice for me. I told him it wasn’t necessary. For weeks, I told him.

  * * *

  One day he showed up at my job, and our chemistry was off the charts. Then I found out he had a sex tape. And then I looked at that sex tape, and…

  * * *

  Let me put it this way. Big dicks don’t exactly grow on trees.

  1

  "Stay with me, Mr. Brantley!"

  Richard Alvin Brantley, the Third, peered at the woman on his iPhone screen. He was dangling upside-down, held in place by the five-point harness of his uncle's Bugatti Veyron. This was because the car itself was upside-down in a cottonwood tree, its top crushed like one of the composite cans his family manufactured for soft drinks and other beverages. The iPhone was miraculously held in place in a cup holder phone mount. His phone would survive the crash. The car, not so much. "Ms. Williams, how many times do I have to tell you to call me by my first name?" he asked, exasperated. "Please call me Rick. All my friends do. At this point, I'd settle for Richard. Or even Dick. In fact, I might actually prefer Dick. Yep, call me Dick!"

  On his iPhone screen, Ms. Williams, whose given name she'd refused to divulge, stifled a grin and rolled her eyes. He'd been trying to get her to smile for the past forty-five minutes, which is when he'd awoken from the bump on the head he'd sustained when the f
ancy sports car had careened off the road, flipped ass over teakettle, and landed in the tree. She was a sweet girl, from what he could tell, with pretty, smooth, brown skin about the shade of a pecan shell, luminous olive green eyes, and high, defined cheekbones.

  Sweet and professional, she resisted all attempts to engage in the sort of flirtation that had had the ladies beating a path to his door since he was thirteen years old. Some women just liked to play hard to get, and he was sure that was Ms. Williams’ story. "Mr. Brantley, I want you to stay focused," said Ms. Williams. Her voice was a little husky. Sexy. Sensual, and decadent like a chocolate truffle. That gave him an idea.

  "If you tell me your first name, I'll reward you with the finest Belgian chocolate truffles known to man," he told her. Despite the pain in his shoulder, which he was fairly certain was dislocated, he flashed his most winning smile, all fluorescent bright white teeth, dimples, and piercing gray eyes.

  "That's not necessary, sir. Just hang in there. And stay with me," she said, reiterating her earlier request, enunciating the last four words carefully.

  Sir? That has a ring to it...

  "You know, forget what I said earlier," he tried. "You don't have to call me Rick. Just keep calling me 'Sir.' I’d even answer to ‘Daddy’!" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  That's what finally coaxed a smile from Emergency Operator Williams. A smile, and also a noticeable flush to her pretty brown skin.

  “I’d like to remind you, this is an open channel,” she drawled. “Your call may be recorded for quality and training purposes.”

  He chuckled. She was a cheeky woman.