Sweet Seduction
Sweet Seduction
Foreword by Lisa Renee Jones
Featuring in Order of Appearance:
Lexi Blake, Mari Carr, JS Cooper, Nicole Edwards, Karen Erickson,
Megan Hart, J. Kenner, Julia Kent, Avery Aster, Elisabeth Grace,
Lauren Hawkeye, Nina Lane, Roni Loren, Lisa Renee Jones
Sweet Seduction
Copyright 2015
Cover Design by Croco Design
Formatted by IRONHORSE Formatting
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owners and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. The authors acknowledge the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.
Dear Reader:
Thank you for purchasing this limited-edition digital boxed set filled with wonderful novels and novellas from some of today’s most popular authors. I hope you will have a wonderful reading experience and discover many authors you might not have read before.
All the proceeds from the sale of these stories will be going to fund important research at the University of Miami’s Diabetes Research Institute—because I feel as if they are currently our best bet for a practical cure. I have been involved in raising money for research for more than a decade. Usually, I run an annual online auction each May (so far, we’ve raised $2.4 million), but this “boxed set” effort is replacing the auction this year. I appreciate your support, and all those people who have supported me in the past. For more information about my efforts, please visit http://brendanovakforthecure.org
In addition to this boxed set, I’m offering two more this year—SWEET DREAMS (filled with 13 thrillers, including my own HANOVER HOUSE, the kick-off to my new suspense series coming out with St. Martin’s Press next year) and SWEET TALK (filled with 11 contemporary romances, including my own WHEN WE TOUCH, the kick-off to my popular Whiskey Creek series, as a bonus story). In addition, Lauren Hawkeye, a fellow writer who also has a son with Type 1, is contributing the proceeds of the sale of her contemporary romance, SAFE HAVEN, to the cause.
And don’t miss my very first cookbook! LOVE THAT! BRENDA NOVAK’S EVERY OCCASION COOKBOOK contains all of my healthiest recipes—the ones I used to raise my five kids, not recipes I hired someone to create—along with some recipes contributed by my friend and co-author Jan Coad, who once owned a restaurant and has published other cookbooks. It’s available in both digital and print, so order yours now.
Here’s to making a difference!
Brenda Novak
Dedication:
To all those who are fighting the same battle as my son, Thad. May we find a cure for diabetes soon! And to everyone who purchased this boxed set. Thanks for being part of the solution.
Table of Contents
Dear Reader
Foreword
Luscious by Lexi Blake
Waiting for You by Mari Carr
Confessions of a Sexaholic by JS Cooper
Adored by Nicole Edwards
Red Hot Nights by Karen Erickson
Perfectly Reckless by Megan Hart
Seduce Me by J. Kenner
Random on Tour: Los Angeles by Julia Kent
Unconventional by Avery Aster
Indecision by Elisabeth Grace
The Billionaire You Know by Lauren Hawkeye
Sticky by Nina Lane
Wanderlust by Roni Loren
Hot Secrets by Lisa Renee Jones BONUS STORY
Foreword
I often get asked why I write. I think most authors will agree that it’s something we’ve either always had a passion for or our sheer exuberance for reading sparked a story of our own. For me, it’s both. I love getting lost in a world of fictional characters that become so incredibly real you feel as if you’ve always known them. I’ve also been privy to the urge of characters screaming at me to give them a voice of their own.
As both a reader and writer, it’s always astounded me how a book can touch a reader deeper than even the author intended. I’ve gotten quite a few messages from readers explaining how my books help them escape. Escape a bad situation at home, from the reality of an illness they have, or just a few blissful minutes where they don’t focus on their mile long to-do list—we all have one. It’s touching to get those messages. To know that my readers have been transported to the world I wrote and enjoyed it from a different angle. It’s interesting to see what they got out of reading a certain book and how it differs from my vision.
What I’ve noticed though, and I’ve heard this from several authors as well, is that those notes tend to show up a lot if you write sexier romances, simply because the worlds that are built surrounding a more sensual experience, specifically erotica, are not ones that most people experience in their lifetime. Whether a book delves into S&M or the couple tends to be steaming up the sheets more often than not, it submerges a reader into a reality that is not their own. The books you’ll find in this set will hopefully do just that. With a fantastic lineup, these stories are sure to pull you into their seductive world. These rock stars of sexy romance have contributed their talent and time to not only bring you sexy and breathtaking stories, but to bring awareness and donations to a very important cause.
Diabetes is a disease that has touched many lives. Currently, an estimated 29.1 million people in the U.S. suffer from diabetes. One of those is Brenda Novak’s son. She is as determined as ever to fund research for this disease that can steal time and lives. The proceeds from your purchase are dedicated to Diabetes Research. The escapism offered from these titles will help to further our escape from the hold this disease keeps on our society. So, please sit back and relax and enjoy this culmination of passion. Passion from the authors, the characters, and the organizer, Brenda Novak. Her passion, most of all, has successfully created a hub of awareness, and over $2.4 million has been raised for Diabetes Research. It takes a great person with a big heart to build such a successful effort.
It has been a true honor to write this foreword. I’m confident you’ll enjoy the following books and you’ll know while reading them that a great cause benefitted as well.
Happy Reading!
Lisa Renee Jones
Luscious
Masters and Mercenaries, Book 8.25
Lexi Blake
Luscious
Masters and Mercenaries, Book 8.25
Lexi Blake
Published by DLZ Entertainment LLC
Copyright 2015 DLZ Entertainment LLC
Edited by Chloe Vale
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
This is a work of ficti
on. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.
Prologue
Arlington, Virginia
Macon Miles sat up and it took a moment for him to realize that the ringing in his head was actually the doorbell. How much had he had to drink? His stomach turned as he took in his surroundings. He was in his shitty one-bedroom on the couch Elise had decided she didn’t want because the dog had pissed on it or something. Her dog, of course. She’d kept the dog but not the couch or him.
He looked down. Six months and he still checked. He would have thought he would be used to it, but every time he woke up, he had to check.
Yep, still only had one fucking leg. One and a quarter. Maybe a little more, but not quite a third. God, he was a kid counting his age in quarters and halves except he was doing it with what was left of his limbs. One and what? Something less than half, more than a fourth. Yeah, that described his leg all right. Maybe if he’d been better at math he wouldn’t have gotten his leg blown off.
There was a volley of knocks, but he slumped back down on the couch. Whoever it was could go away. It was probably one of the neighbors trying to sell him some meth. Yeah, it was that kind of place.
He stared up at his ceiling and tried to find some semblance of will. Will to do anything. Will to get off the couch. Will to breathe. Will to fucking live.
Nope. That had apparently been blown to shit with his leg. He’d left his willpower in Afghanistan along with his limb. He laughed. Life and limb. He’d promised he would give it all for his country and he had. His leg had been sacrificed to the almighty IED.
And his wife had sacrificed, too. She’d sacrificed their marriage, her morals, her dignity, very likely any chance at future orgasms because he knew her new man and he was a selfish asswipe.
Unfortunately, he was also Macon’s oldest brother.
He closed his eyes. The banging had finally stopped. Maybe he could find some peace, or at least another bottle of whiskey.
When he went to get the whiskey, he should also get some sugar and eggs.
That thought made him sit up. Pastry Chef Wars was coming on tonight. They were all self-centered douchebags, but he kind of liked the show. Okay. He was pretty obsessed with it. One of the boxes Elise had shipped to his new place had come from their rarely used kitchen. She sure as hell wouldn’t deign to cook, and he’d been getting his ass blown up halfway across the world, so the kitchen tabletop appliances they’d received for their wedding were mostly unused.
One day, in between horrifically painful PT sessions, he’d opened his mother’s old recipe book. He hadn’t really known the woman. She’d died long before he had memories at all, but his stepmother, in an uncommon fit of sentimentality, had saved her recipe book. It was a notebook written in his mother’s own careful hand.
He’d opened it and felt some connection to that woman who had given birth to him all those years before. He touched the pages and read the words. The first recipe had been for chocolate cream pie, and he’d smiled when he got to the last ingredient. Love. She’d drawn a heart beside the word.
His mother’s recipes always included love. He didn’t have any of that now, but he did like playing around with desserts. He’d been surprised to find he was good at it.
If his Army buddies could see him now… Not that he would let them.
He thought briefly about Ronnie’s sister. Ronnie Rowe had been the new kid. He could still vaguely remember meeting him the day he’d joined Macon’s team. Ronnie had been so green. The kid had thrown up after his first firefight. He hadn’t really known much about Rowe until that day…
His sister kept calling, but he couldn’t talk to her. Not yet. Maybe never. He’d failed so terrifically that he didn’t want Ronnie’s sister to ever meet him. He wondered if she looked like Ronnie. He’d been a tall goofball with red hair and freckles.
And then he’d been nothing but a body on the ground. He’d been nothing at all and Macon had been left alone. Sometimes he woke up in the middle of the night and Ronnie’s body was still there, right beside him, blank eyes staring up and reminding him that he was the only one left.
Sometimes he thought he should have let them take him. A bullet to the brain might have been the easier way out than this slow, pathetic march.
The sound of the door scraping open brought Macon out of his thoughts, and his heart rate tripled. He looked around the room. Where the fuck was his leg? No. Screw the leg. He needed his gun. Where had that gone?
And where was his damn death wish when he needed it?
“Macon? Don’t shoot me.”
Macon stilled. He hadn’t heard that voice in years. No. He couldn’t do it. The last thing he needed was this. He was freaking dreaming and his brother was going to make him feel like shit. Not the oldest one. Not the one who had run out with Macon’s wife. No. This was worse. The voice he heard was Adam, the brother he’d wronged himself. The last person in the world he wanted to see was Adam because Adam was the only one he couldn’t hate.
He often wondered if his mother had stayed alive, would she have allowed things to go so wrong? Did she look down and weep because her family was so very broken?
“Hey.”
He opened his eyes and was suddenly really sure this wasn’t a dream. His brother was standing in front of him, dressed like some fucking movie star and looking years younger than Macon felt. “How did you get in? You should leave.”
Adam grinned as though he hadn’t expected less. “You have serious issues with security, little brother. I picked that lock in no time flat. This place is a one-star roach motel. I don’t even think most roaches would stay here.”
He was wrong about that. Macon had to beat the disgusting fuckers back constantly. Adam. God. His brother was standing right in front of him and Macon had to wonder if he hadn’t come for revenge. Had he come to see how far his brother had fallen?
Did it matter? His first instinct had been to tell him to fuck off, but now that he was standing right here, he kind of wanted to beg him to stay. He and Adam had been closest in age. Alan hadn’t had time for little brothers, but Adam had always been patient and gentle with him. Even when it pissed off their dad because brothers were supposed to fight for position, not treat each other like pussies who couldn’t handle a punch.
Fuck it all. He didn’t want to fight anymore. Every minute of every day seemed like a fight and now Adam was here and Macon was five again. He wanted his brother to make things better.
He’d lost that right.
Adam sighed as he took in the room. “This is significantly worse than your dorm room. And what is that smell?”
It could be anything. He’d gone nose blind two weeks into his new life. He’d gone from hospitals and their antiseptic smells to this place.
He tried to straighten up. God, he wished he’d brushed his teeth. His mouth still tasted like cheap whiskey. He might have one shot at this. He’d nearly died and the one regret he had was never telling Adam how he felt. Adam might have come here for revenge and Macon would give it to him. He deserved it. Macon had been a shit and anything Adam wanted to dole out would be nothing compared to the hate he felt for himself. But he owed Adam one thing, and now that he was standing right here, Macon was determined to pay up.
“I’m sorry, Adam. You should know I think every single day about what I did to you.” His brother was into alternative lifestyles, to say the least. When he’d gotten kicked out of the Army for breaking Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Macon had been pressured into shunning him. He hadn’t, not all the way, but he also hadn’t fought for his brother. He hadn’t stood up for Adam the way Adam would have stood up for him. “I tried…no, I didn’t try hard enough. I should have walked away. I should have told them to fuck themselves. You and Jake are a really great couple. You should be allowed to be happy.”
Adam groaned and look
ed around, seeming to try to find a clean place to sit. He remained standing. “Dude, we’re not lovers. I’m straight. Jake’s straight. I’ve never once touched that man’s junk and I never will. We share.”
“Share? Like love and stuff?” It didn’t compute.
A long sigh came from his brother’s mouth and Macon was pretty sure he was getting Adam’s “dumbass said what” face. “Did the IED blow up your IQ? We share a wife. We’ve shared women for years. It was what we were doing that got us kicked out of the Army. We were discovered with a superior officer between us. A female superior, who also happened to have caught the eye of a general. The general had not taken kindly to the infraction. Dad is the one who told you I was gay. Here’s a surprise. Dad lies.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being gay. It’s natural.” He’d briefly tried that argument with his father and Alan, but Elise had shut him down. She’d wanted a house off base and the only way to get it was with help from dear old Dad. Macon had tried to convince her to tough it out, but she’d cried and cried and he’d sold his brother out in the end because it was easier to let Adam go than to fight it out with everyone else.
He’d been a fucking coward.
“It’s not considered natural in our family, but I’m glad you see it that way. You always did have a mind of your own.” Adam finally cleared off a space on the coffee table and sat down in front of Macon. “You called to let me know the important stuff. You called to let me know Dad was sick. How much trouble did you get in for doing that?”
“It doesn’t matter. The bastard keeps holding on. His remission seems to be long term.” The last conversation he’d had with his father, the old man had told him to suck it up, of course Elise preferred Alan. Alan was more of a man than Macon was.