Emerging Temptation: A BWWM Romance Limited Edition Collection

by Peyton Banks

  "Confusing you?" he asked her.

  "You tell me your parents would have liked me. You tell me— you tell me you think you're falling for me." She disengaged and stepped away from him. Turning to look at herself in the mirror and fuss at her appearance. Her hair was down, and she picked up an elastic from the dresser, twisted her hair into a loose bun, then secured it with the elastic. He sat on the bed and watched her in fascination. He had never before seen a woman do such a thing. "Do you remember what I said to you? When I was dangling upside down in my uncle's car?"

  She whipped around to look at him, her ponytail flying. Then she graced him with the radiant smile that always seemed to be at the ready, but this time, her eyes held a trace of wariness. "You said a lot of things that night."

  "I said I wanted to kiss you, then marry—”

  “Uh, let’s talk about this later, okay? This is my sister’s special day,” she said. “I want to keep the focus on her.”

  “Okay,” he reluctantly agreed.

  The four sisters converged on Imani, putting the last-minute touches on her gown and makeup before the ceremony. Keisha felt like she was floating on air, a little punch drunk and given to grinning stupidly. Rick's confession was the kind of declaration she read in romance novels.

  Once Imani was ready, Keisha and the others left her alone with their mother and went in search of their families, or in Keisha's case, her plus one. She searched the pews and didn't see him.

  There were still several minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to get underway, so she went looking for Rick. She checked the classrooms outside the sanctuary with no luck.

  She spotted William and Geordie standing outside of the block of pastoral offices and hurried to talk to them.

  "Where's Rick? We're about to get started, and we need to take our seats," she asked them.

  William indicated one of the offices with a door ajar with a nod of his head.

  "He had to take a call from Emily," the big man said. Keisha smiled at both of them, thanking them and heading for the office. She spotted Rick leaning against a large wooden desk, his back to her, with his phone on speaker. She entered the room quietly, closing the door behind her softly in order to avoid interrupting his call.

  "When are you coming back?" asked Emily.

  "We're coming back tomorrow, I imagine," Rick was saying. "We're here for the reception, too. I'm not sure. Tomorrow, maybe?"

  There was a pause on the other end of the line as Emily digested this information.

  "Is that a good idea?" Emily said. "I think you're taking this too far, just to stay in Jonathan's good graces."

  "Listen, trust me," Rick said. "Uncle Jonathan is going to love her. He won't have any problems with her. I'm going to ask her to marry me."

  Keisha stifled a gasp. She smiled and crept closer to Rick.

  "I hope you know what you're doing," Emily said. "I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get your trust fund early, aren’t you?”

  “You have it all wrong,” Rick said, laughing in disbelief. “Keisha is perfect for me.”

  Trust fund? Keisha tried to remember what Rick had said about his trust fund. He’d never said anything about having to marry to get it.

  "You'd be better off picking one of your usual blonde fluffies to marry, if all you want is your trust fund," she said. "You could even marry me! I know the score. Don't you think I'd be perfect for you?" Rick ran a hand through his long blond hair and stared at the phone in alarm

  "That's not in the cards," he said. "You think Uncle Jonathan would buy that? Marrying my PA? Doesn't that seem too obvious?"

  "Oh, come on," Emily cajoled. "The other day in your bedroom, you seemed, ah, happy to see me..."

  In his bedroom?

  Emily's voice was warm and suggestive.

  "Let's not get into that, okay? We've already talked about this," Rick said.

  Keisha backed away from Rick in a daze, not stopping until her backside hit the office door. This made a noise that had Rick whipping around to look at Keisha, his green eyes large and startled.

  "Keisha?" He looked horrified, his eyes darting from her to the phone in his hand.

  "Rick?" Emily called out from the phone.

  Keisha blinked back tears, going for the door handle, anxious to get the hell out of there. She opened the door and fled, headed for the sanctuary.

  She felt numb all over, but was determined not to cry or do anything else that would ruin Imani's big day. So, she sat in the pew looking straight ahead. She did nothing when Rick sat next to her in the pew and looked at her with a pleading expression in his eyes. She ignored him, standing in the pew to do her reading, then sitting down again, all the while ignoring him.

  She left him alone again after the ceremony to take photos with the rest of the wedding party, leaving him to cool his heels and stew.

  12

  Rick was annoyed. So very annoyed. He knew his conversation with Emily didn’t sound good, taken out of context, but Keisha wasn’t giving him a chance to let him explain himself. After he’d laid his heart on the line, she was trampling all over it with the finesse of stampeding cattle.

  After dinner had been served and consumed, and the dancing started, Keisha took off for parts unknown. Rick followed close on her heels.

  At some point, she realized he was chasing her, and she turned around to confront him, arms crossed over her chest.

  “What?” she barked. Her eyes were dark with anger.

  He looked around. They were back in the office area of the church. There was no one around except his bodyguards. He grabbed her by the arm and hustled her into one of the offices.

  “Will you please just let me explain?” he yelled.

  “Keep your voice down!” she hissed, her skin aflame with her anger. “I don’t need any explanation. I saw everything for myself. I heard everything for myself!”

  “You didn’t!” he hissed, running a hand through his hair. “At least, you didn’t see everything.”

  “Do you need to get married in order to access your trust fund?”

  “Yes! I mean, no.” He started pacing. “I mean, yes, my uncle has control over my trust fund, and yes, he wants me to settle down. But I don’t have to get married.”

  He studied her closely. She still looked angry and loaded for bear.

  “I just want you, Keisha,” he said. “I told you… I’m falling for you. The money doesn’t matter.”

  She gave him a pointed look. She remained skeptical.

  “I mean, the money matters, but it’s not why I want to be with you.” He stepped closer to her and reached for her hand. He guided her to a loveseat near the office window, and she let him. They sat down together.

  “Do you remember what I said to you that night?” He rubbed the webbing between her thumb and forefinger. “When I was dangling upside down in my uncle's car?"

  "You said a lot of things that night,” she mumbled.

  "I said I wanted to kiss you, then marry you." The words tumbled from his lips.

  She settled back in the loveseat. "Yeah, that was a first for me."

  “You don’t think you saved my life, but you did,” he said. "Because you talked to me. You kept me from losing my shit."

  She uncrossed her arms. "You were probably in shock," she told him, waving a hand dismissively. "It's how our bodies deal with trauma. Losing your shit is also normal, but counterproductive."

  She gave him a rueful smile.

  "There was something about you when I saw your face," he said. "You were so calm. So sure I would be okay."

  "There was no reason you wouldn't be okay," she said.

  "I'm a little superstitious," he said gently. He watched her expression change from curious to sad.

  "Your parents..." she said, her voice breaking a little.

  "Yeah," he said.

  She continued to look at him, her eyes soft and compassionate. There was a question in those dark orbs of hers.

&nb
sp; "I was at a friend's house when they had their accident," he said. He took a deep breath, emotion rising in his chest and settling uncomfortably in his throat.

  That crease between her eyebrows reappeared. She placed a hand on his chest. "You don't have to tell me if it's too uncomfortable."

  "I want to tell you," he said. He took a deep breath and continued.

  "Uncle Jonathan came to my friend's house," he said, thinking of how he'd been playing John Madden Football with his friend. He realized with a start he couldn't remember the name of the friend he'd been staying with, but the sound of his friend's doorbell chiming, echoing in the two-story foyer was something he would never forget. Somehow, he’d known something was wrong. His uncle had taken him into his arms, and in a low, even voice, he told Rick what had happened.

  "The road was slick from rain and oil," Rick told Keisha. "They think my parents just missed a turn. They weren't used to that stretch of road, and to tell the truth, it is a little tricky if you aren't expecting that turn. It’s not labeled well, and it's easy to miss the turn. And my dad tended to drive like a bat out of hell."

  His voice had gone dark and guttural. She still had that compassionate expression in her eyes.

  "Did you go to where the accident happened?" she asked him, stroking his cheek.

  He nodded. "It took a while," he admitted. "It took years before I could do it, and just my bad luck, I get into an accident at the same damned turn."

  She leaned forward, hugged him, and stroked his back. Then she pulled back to study his face closely, and she must have seen something in his expression that made her ask with some alarm, "When did you go back?"

  He realized then that he hadn't told her this, in all the conversations they'd had, all the intimate moments they'd shared, he hadn’t shared what happened when he'd returned to the site of his parents' deaths.

  "Three weeks ago," he said. "I was always so curious, and I finally worked up the nerve to go back. I wasn’t just out that night to take the Bugatti to the charity event."

  She nodded at him, looking straight into his eyes. She let out a low chuckle. Carefully, softly, she asked, "And how was it?"

  "Probably not one of my better moves," he admitted. He chuckled along with her. "And guess what happened when I woke up?"

  Her lips twitched, and she raised an eyebrow.

  "You were there," he said. "I thought you were an angel… or something. I knew I needed to meet you. I think I knew the moment I saw you that there was a better reason for me to be there."

  Her expression started to melt. She leaned in and gave him a lingering kiss. He nuzzled her neck, inhaling her sweet, fresh scent.

  "Will you give us a chance?" he whispered against her neck.

  She nodded, then spoke, “Yes.” She took his face in her hands and gave him a long, lingering kiss that had them both breathing heavily. “I’ll give us a chance. I’m falling for you too.”

  Rick’s mouth crashed on hers again, stealing her breath and making her moan. When he broke the kiss and stared into her eyes, they were glazed with lust.

  “I have an idea,” he said, looking around. “And it has to do with horizontal mambo makeup sex.”

  She gave him a look of pure censure.

  "This is a church office,” she reminded him. “And we have a reception to attend."

  They got up and walked to the office door. When Rick opened it, William and Geordie were leaning close to the door, clearly listening in.

  Arm in arm, Rick and Keisha made their way back to the reception.

  “By the way,” she said. “Can you please tell me why your assistant is hanging around in your bedroom?”

  About the Author

  Erin grew up watching Star Trek and reading Barbara Cartland novels (don’t hate), wishing she could create something that brings her love of science fiction together with her love of romance. Still a romantic nerd at heart, she writes sensual, diverse stories that blend fantasy, adventure, and love.

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  Follow her on Twitter @erinwritesbwwm

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  And on Facebook

  www.facebook.com/erin.st.charles.1

  Acknowledgments

  There are so many people I want to thank first. Please forgive me if I forget anyone. Please blame it on my mind and not my heart.

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  To the amazing authors who participated in Emerging Temptation— Posey Parks, Theresa Hodge, ML Preston, Kiarra M. Taylor, Donna R. Mercer, Sade Rena, Reana Malori, Yolanda Olson, Erin St. Charles, Sedona Venez and Sydney Aaliyah Michelle— thank you! I want to let you know that I appreciate your professionalism, hard work, teamwork approach! This is why I love putting together these phenomenal sets for our readers!

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  Tiffany Black with T.E. Black Designs, the cover is amazing. You took my vision and nailed it. The cover is HOT!

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  To Tammy Clarke who formatted this baby, thank you! We appreciate everything you did to make sure our book looks her best.

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  To all the bloggers who helped us get the word out about our project, thank you so much. Blogs are an important part of this indie world and we are forever thankful that you shared our book with your followers.

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  To our readers who supported this collection—THANK YOU! Authors would be nothing without you. We appreciate every purchase, every share and every review. We all do what we do for you. Thank you for purchasing Emerging Temptation! Please keep an eye out for the next Temptation Box Set!

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  And finally, I’d like to give a personal shout out to Amanda Giltner, my personal assistant who helps keep us organized! We couldn’t do this without you!

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  Until the next one…happy reading!

  Xoxo,

  Peyton Banks

  Never miss a Temptation Box Set release!

  Temptation Box Sets are organized by Peyton Banks. These limited edition collections will bring together some of the top authors who love writing interracial stories. We promise to work hard to deliver you our best work! The authors in the box sets are excited to bring you their new, sexy BWWM romances that will leave you craving more! Each set will only be available for a limited time.

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  Temptation Box Sets Publishing Schedule

  Emerging Temptation- January 14, 2020

  Claimed by Temptation- March 2020

  Once Upon a Temptation- August 2020

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  More to come…

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  Feel free to visit Temptation Box Set’s Website:

  www.temptationboxsets.com