Dangerous Desires

by Dawn Altieri

  “Come here.” He sat on the couch and pulled her onto his lap. “This”—he twisted the loose band into the correct position with his fingertips—“was my mother’s engagement ring.”

  Emma forced down an overwhelming wave of emotion. “It was?”

  He nodded slowly. “My dad had it made for her when he proposed. Then he bought her the flower shop with some money he’d inherited.”

  She looked down at the ring, twisting it around her finger to see every detail of it. “I don’t know what to say.” She shifted her gaze back to him. “Jake, I’m honored to wear your mother’s ring. Thank you for trusting me with it.”

  He took her hand and placed it on his chest, over his heart. “I trust you with this…and that was much harder for me to give than that ring.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek against his temple. “I love you so much,” she whispered.

  “And I love you. I promise, you’re not going to lose me for a long, long time. I’m not going anywhere.” He leaned back and traced the line of her jaw with his fingertip. “But now…I would like to make love to my future wife.”

  Her skin came alive, tingling at the sound of his words.

  He ran his hand across the back of her head where the abrasion Matt gave her was almost completely healed. “I promise, I’ll be gentle.”

  A coy grin came to her lips. “Mmm. Not too gentle, I hope.”

  He groaned a chuckling sound. “I always knew you were trouble, Ms. Sloane. Lucky for you, I like trouble.”

  Then he swept her into his arms and carried her upstairs.

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  Three months later…

  Emma gazed out the bedroom window, down at the backyard. It was a beautiful September afternoon, with a light breeze coming off the bay. The guests for the intimate gathering had been arriving for nearly half an hour, and as far as she could tell, everyone they’d been expecting was already here.

  Chairs were lined up along the pier, leading to the white wooden arbor she and Helen had decorated with roses and wildflowers earlier that morning. Along the right side of the yard, tables stood draped in white linens, decorated in the same style as the arbor. Soft music played, and a bartender served cocktails while the guests waited for the ceremony to begin.

  Jake’s father sat in the first row next to Emma’s mother, who’d decided to grace them with her presence. Emma would’ve given anything to be a fly on the arm of Ted’s wheelchair for that conversation. Rachel was busy seating guests, and off in a discreet corner of the yard, Kevin and Lauren were flirting as usual. After the honeymoon, Emma was determined to get a straight answer about what was going on between the two of them. For someone who had so much to say about Emma’s love life not long ago, Lauren was suddenly very tight-lipped about her own.

  Mack stood nearby, and next to him, Adam, with his arm around Jenna’s shoulders. The ring he’d given her sparkled brightly in the sunlight. With everything he’d done for Emma, it seemed only fitting that some of the money she’d received from Justin’s estate should go to him. She’d make sure he only needed to work one job while he and Jenna planned their wedding.

  Emma straightened the blue satin ribbon on the wildflower bouquet on the bedside table. Glancing out the window, she spotted Jake in his sharp gray suit, making the rounds. He’d spent the night in the city, and Rachel and Lauren had stayed with her at the beach house. It was their first night apart since she’d spent those two weeks at Lauren’s. She missed him. She was surprised how much. She couldn’t wait to get down there for the simple purpose of being near him again.

  His pale-blue tie matched his eyes perfectly and mimicked the shades of the wildflower boutonniere he wore. He sported a nice tan—one he’d gotten during their mini getaways from the city all summer—and he looked relaxed and happy. As he’d done from the minute Mack had reintroduced them at the precinct, Jake took her breath away.

  Helen scurried about, straightening flower arrangements that had shifted in the breeze. She’d been immensely helpful with the decorations—one last project before she retired and handed over the reins of the shop. Emma’s House of Flowers… Emma’s Floral & Landscape Design… Emma’s Flowers & Gardens… She hadn’t settled on a name just yet, but it would come to her. Everything would come if she just had patience.

  The nightmares about Matt had almost ceased, the visions of the gun in his hand pointed at Jake’s head had all but gone away. The backlash from Jake’s handgun no longer jerked her out of her dreams, and she no longer relied on sleeping pills or a glass of wine to get a decent night’s sleep. She still had a way to go, but with therapy she was making progress. As soon as they returned from their honeymoon, she and Jake would begin their search for a house somewhere between the city and Bayville. She didn’t want to waste any time starting their new life together.

  She turned to face the cheval mirror she and Jake had discovered on a recent antiquing excursion around the Island. She smoothed the delicate lace of her slim-fitting, strapless white gown. A blue satin sash to match Jake’s tie hugged her waist and formed a bow at her lower back. Her hair was loose and wavy, and she’d opted for a simple floral headband rather than a veil covering her face. With Jake, she had nothing to hide.

  She breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Lauren was finally coming to help with her zipper.

  “It’s about time you came back,” she said as she gathered up the pool of lace at her feet and turned toward the door. But it wasn’t Lauren who stood before her.

  It was Jake.

  “Oh my God,” he said slowly, his eyes traveling up and down the length of her. “Emma, you look beautiful.”

  “What are you doing?” She punched him lightly in the shoulder. “You can’t be in here. You’ve just jinxed our whole marriage.”

  He resisted as she tried to shove him back through the door. “Baby, if we’re not jinxed already after all we’ve been through, I don’t think me seeing you before the ceremony is going to hurt.” His crooked grin emerged as he held her waist and drank in the sight of her once more. “I don’t even know what to say. You’ve got me speechless here.”

  She dipped her head toward the floor and glanced up at him through her lashes. “You look quite dashing, yourself.”

  A chuckle escaped him. “What, this old thing?”

  “Well, since you’re here…” She turned around and pulled her hair to the side so he could fasten her zipper.

  When she faced him again, he leaned toward her, until his lips were almost touching hers. “Is this okay? What sort of curse will we be under if I kiss you?”

  “I can’t be certain, but I assume there will be dire consequences.”

  “Hmm… I think I’ll take my chances anyway.”

  His mouth joined hers tenderly, and it still sent a quiver down her spine despite the vast number of times he’d kissed her before. She slid her hands up his arms and over his shoulders as he pulled her body close to his.

  He broke away slowly, rubbing his nose against hers and resting their foreheads together. “I came up to show you something,” he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box that held the platinum wedding bands they’d selected together. He opened the lid and held them up to her.

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen these before.”

  He lifted the smaller band out of the box and handed it to her. “Look more closely.”

  Taking the ring in her French-manicured fingertips, she peered inside to see an engraving.

  Until the end of time…

  She glanced up at him with a smile. “The Justin Timberlake song?”

  Jake cocked his head to the side and mock-frowned. “Now why do you have to go and make it sound cheesy?”

  She laughed softly, but then turned more serious. “I remember it was playing the first time we made love.”


  He laid his palm on her cheek and nodded. “When I first knew I loved you.”

  She covered his hand with hers and attempted to swallow the lump in her throat. “Don’t do this to me now,” she whispered. “You’ll ruin my makeup.”

  He took the ring from her, replaced it in the box, and slipped it back into his pocket. With another kiss, he gently wrapped her in his arms. “I love you, baby. I promise you, I always will.”

  “I love you, too.” She melted into him as his lips found hers once more.

  “Hey! What is going on in here?” Adam’s booming voice came through the open door. They broke their embrace quickly like two shy schoolchildren caught in the act.

  Adam stepped into the room, wrapped his arms around Emma and gave her a squeeze, his broad smile full of admiration. “You look lovely, Emma. I’m so glad you asked me to be a part of this day with you.”

  The lump returned to her throat, and she nodded happily. She couldn’t speak for fear of breaking down.

  “You’re not supposed to be in here, son,” Adam teased as he shook Jake’s hand.

  “I was just leaving.” Jake held Emma’s gaze for a long moment, his eyes piercing into her soul. “I’ll see you down there.”

  He headed down the stairs, and moments later, she watched through the window as he gave Kevin a warm hug and took his place in front of the arbor.

  “Are you ready?” Adam asked. “They’re all waiting for you.”

  Was she? Ready for the happiness she’d been desperate to find for so long? Ready to begin the future she’d always dreamed of with Jake by her side?

  She lifted her bouquet off the bedside table and turned toward the window once more. Jake glanced up and caught her gaze, and with a slight jerk of his head he urged her to come to him.

  Her heart warmed, filled with love for him. “I sure am.”

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  Acknowledgments

  As the first novel I ever completed, this story holds a place in my heart so special I can’t even describe it. A simple “Thank You” hardly seems enough for the editors who helped me share it: Terese Ramin for initially seeing the potential in the story, Vanessa Mitchell for helping me whip it into shape, and Nina Bruhns for ultimately seeing it through to publication. I’ll never forget the day I opened that email from Nina asking if I was still interested in getting it published!

  I am eternally grateful to the amazing critique partners and beta readers who offered me their input and feedback along the way: Ann White, Jennifer DiGiovanni, Jenny Elliot, Karla Brandenburg, Travis Casey, Ryleigh Rhodes, Ann McKay Thoroman, Mila Rossi, and Trenda T-Bird London. And to the insufferable Natalia Jefferson, who is probably the most excited the book is finally published so she never has to read another draft of it again!

  A big thanks also goes out to the wonderful members of the New Jersey Romance Writers, especially Kelly Enman, Jessica Calla, and Nadine Dandorf. Your support, encouragement and commiseration have made all the difference, and I might have given up long go without you.

  And a huge thanks to my family - my parents for always believing in me, and my husband Nick and daughter Courtney for allowing me to follow my dream.

  About the Author

  With an overactive imagination and a slightly twisted mind, Dawn Altieri has been scribbling stories practically since birth. When she’s not curled up on the sofa with her laptop, her latest story, a box of chocolates and a cup of tea (or a glass of wine, depending on the time of day), she can be found volunteering in the world of animal rescue. She shares her home with her husband and daughter, and a menagerie of rescued fur-babies.

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