Fire We Make (Jackson and Liane Book 1) (5 page)

Other titles by Vera Roberts:

Anticipation

Daddy’s Angel

Wait for Love

The D’Amato Brothers Series:

The Nanny

To Love and Obey

Where I Wanna Be

All I’ve Ever Wanted

The Scott & Mariana Serial:

S&M

S&M II

Discipline

S&M III, Vol. I

S&M III, Vol. II

Short stories:             

Blow by Blow: Diary of a Call Girl #1

Dear Diary

Gettin' It

Hot Like Fire (Sweet and Clean Romance)

I Need You

The Train Ride (Free on Smashwords.com)

The Erotic Intoxication, Vol. I: Bad Girls

The Painter

Til Tomorrow

Facebook Page:

www.facebook.com/ms.vera.roberts

Blog:

www.veraroberts.com

www.tumblr.com/eroticamistress

snippets from upcoming books

Love and War – D’Amato Brothers #5 – Contemporary Romance

“You’re nervous.” Simone noticed. “Why?”

“I’m not entirely comfortable right now.” Eli admitted. “I’m wondering what this is about, to be quite honest.”

“I wanted us to get together and catch up with each other.” Simone circled her wine glass. “It’s been a while.”

Eli thought about Faith and her possible reaction to his dinner get-together with his ex, if he wanted to share that information. They were in a good place in their marriage, after struggled for years with his infidelity and her trust issues.

Eli silently admitted he would always have some type of feelings towards his ex-girlfriend, due to their history, but nothing else. He could also admit he wouldn’t risk giving up Faith again just to have one last tryst with Simone or anyone else for that matter. It was a lesson he had learned and would never forget in his lifetime.

He studied his ex’s eyes, trying to get a glimpse of what she was thinking. A part of them were hopeful. A part of them, he couldn’t quite read. He didn’t like the vibes he was getting from her. “Moni…” He murmured. “What’s this about?”

Simone reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. She retrieved a photo and slid it across the table to her ex-boyfriend. “Her name is Elena.”

Eli glanced down at the photo. A biracial girl with curly hair and light eyes. “She’s beautiful.”

“She’s yours.” Simone stated.

Eli studied the photo carefully as a range of emotions coursed through his body. After a short while, his body settled on one emotion that was loud and clear – anger. “Bullshit.”

“Eli,” Simone reached over and touched his hand. He rejected her. “I know this might come as a surprise to you but…”

“No, a surprise is going to the gas station and seeing the gas went up ten cents. A surprise is finding twenty dollars in your jeans pocket.” Eli knocked back his drink. “This ain’t no fucking surprise, Simone.” He emphasized her name. “This is a straight-up shakedown.”

“A shakedown? A shakedown?” It was Simone’s turn to be upset. “That’s what you think of me? Of this?”

“You come to me after four fucking years and tell me I have a child? And am I supposed to be happy about that shit? Birthdays, holidays, firsts of
everything
and you take me out to some fancy-ass restaurant, hoping that I wouldn’t get too upset about it because you’re telling me this in person? You don’t tell me you were pregnant but you hightailed it out of New York without even saying goodbye?”

“You didn’t give me a choice, Eli!” Simone’s eyes were watery and she gritted her teeth. “You made up your mind pretty damn clear on what you wanted and it damn sure was not me.”

“So you’re punishing me for working on my marriage?” He asked.

“I’m not punishing you at all,” Simone was calm in her response, “our daughter had a right to know who her father is and I felt you should know.”

“
Your
daughter had a right to know,” he corrected.

The change in pronoun bothered Simone more than it should and she quickly took a sip of wine to calm her impending anger. She briefly looked around to see if anyone else was watching the spectacle at their table and thankfully, no one was for the time being. It didn’t mean it was going to stay calm and collected. “
Our
daughter,” she corrected again.

“So is this your payback? Four years and a reality show later, this is your payback?” Eli stood up and got out his wallet. He tossed some dollar bills on the table. “Good one, Simone. Good one. You got me. You really fucking got me.”

Simone stared down at the twenty-dollar bills before her. The way Eli flippantly tossed them at her told her everything she needed to know about he truly felt towards her and their daughter. She finished her glass of wine, stood up, and collected the dollar bills on the table. “If this is the game you want to play, Eli, fine. I’ll play this game with you. You’ll hear from my lawyer through a press conference. Let’s see how well Faith takes that news when your affair is headline news all over the world. Good day to you.”

YA release – The Super Infinity Crew (Olivia)

The day started like any other...

I woke up and got ready for school. Nothing out of the extraordinary. I ate cereal, my mom dropped me off at school, and I went to dance practice. I went home and changed, and then I met up with our friends at the bonfire.

We all were partying and having a good time, not a care in the world. I remember having two ice cream floats, much to Ryan’s chagrin. Dawei flirted with whatever girl that was in front of him at the moment, and Micah argued with Harper about whatever it is they argue about as usual.

Everyone was dancing, singing, and getting excited for the upcoming school year. We were officially seniors now; a step closer to getting out of Cathedral Springs and not look back.

Then it happened.

It came out of nowhere. We saw a bright streak in the sky and then, BOOM!

People died, some were injured, everyone was scared shitless. It was mad chaos everywhere and it made international news. 

I was in the hospital for a long time, recovering; just like my friends were. Our recoveries were deemed miraculous and by faith. But we all knew what the deal was. So did our Mentor. But we couldn’t say a word. Who would believe us? We didn’t even believe us.

It was the five of us - we had no idea what had happened and why we were chosen. All we knew was that we were going to change the course of history forever.

These are our stories. We're the Soul Infinity Crew.

She knew why her mother invited her to lunch. They were going to have The Talk. She already dreaded what was going to come out of her mother’s mouth. There were going to be questions about sex – how much, how long, when and where. There were going to be questions about the number of partners, the type of partners, and precautions taken.

Olivia silently groaned. This wasn’t how she planned to spend her Saturday afternoon.

Ever since her father caught them sleeping naked in her bed, Olivia Reed was on severe parental watch. They were already of legal age and nothing they did was illegal. Surely, her parents couldn’t expect her to be a virgin forever or wait until she was married. But it didn’t matter. No matter how old she became, she was always going to be the five-year-old in pigtails, pronouncing her favorite fruit as staw-ber-rar-rees, and watching Thomas the Train.

Oh, who was she kidding? Olivia was totally fucked and not in the way she wanted to be.

“You’re awfully quiet, baby girl.”

Olivia glanced up at her mother. She didn’t say a word but her eyes danced with appreciation and care. Olivia knew her mother too well. There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask but simply bided her time until it was appropriate. She was enjoying seeing her daughter squirm before her.

“I really don’t want to talk about this, Mom.” Olivia replied. “Do we have to?”

“Yes.” Mariana Reed took a sip of water before the waiter came by and took their order. She waited for him to be out of earshot before she addressed her daughter again. “The sooner you tell me everything, the better.”

“Oh God, shoot me now!” Olivia lamented. Her head fell back and she shook it. Her mother wanted to know everything? It sickened Olivia to think how much detail she should tell her mother. “What is that you want to know?”

“I just want to know if there’s any birth control being used?”

“Yes. Anything else?”

“That’s all.”

Olivia sat up straight in her chair and studied her other’s face. She wasn’t joking or angry. Rather, she was concerned. “That’s all?”

“Baby girl, I know you’re a responsible person and I know you’re not like your fast-ass friend who’s out here humping anything with two legs. I just need to know for sure that you’re on the appropriate precautions. That’s all. Only tell me what you’re comfortable with me knowing.”

“How do I know this is not a trap?” Olivia eyed her mother.

“You’re alive, aren’t you?” Mariana smiled.

“Good point,” Olivia took a sip of water and cleared her throat, “Ryan’s the only one, Mom. No one else. We didn’t even do it a lot.”

“Okay.” Mariana nodded. “Anything else?”

There were a few things Olivia wanted to ask her mother. Like, when did sex actually become enjoyable? How many times did she have to do it before she would be raving it about it like her friends did?

If it were another woman, Olivia would probably ask if there were certain positions that were better, if there was a certain lubrication she could use to help with the friction…things a young woman starting to have sex should know. But Olivia knew if she asked those questions, it meant her mother still had sex with her father and that was a thought she didn’t want to think about in any way, shape, or form. “No, I’m good, Mom.”

“Good.” Mariana smiled when the server brought their salads. “Let’s enjoy our meal.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Olivia asked. Her mother wasn’t overly strict but Mariana did put her foot down from time to time. “I don’t understand why I’m getting the nice treatment.”

Mariana sighed. “Well, I’m not necessarily a fan of you having sex, since you’re still in high school despite your age. But I also know better. If I get really mad, it’ll just encourage you to go out and be reckless. If I try to understand what you’re doing, we can have a better understanding and take the next steps.”

“So does this mean Ryan can spend the night?” Olivia asked.

“You see that right there? What you just did? Yeah, you’re pushing it.” Mariana slowly nodded.

Olivia slumped back into her chair. “How much trouble am I in?”

“There really aren’t any rules for what you did but please don’t think you’re leaving this unscathed.” Mariana pulled out a brochure from her purse and handed it over to her daughter. “For the next several weeks, you’re volunteering at the Butterfly Project. You are going to spend several Saturdays helping them out with whatever it is they require, be it handing out condoms, assisting HIV clients, or doing janitorial work. They expect you right after lunch today.”

Olivia perused over the brochure. The Butterfly Project was dedicated in helping those with HIV and AIDS diagnoses lead productive lives while educating the public. While she didn’t care for the fact she would be giving up a large chunk of her social life, she was also thankful. She really did get off scot-free. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Livvie,” Mariana called over to her daughter, who promptly looked up, “we love you no matter what. We just want to make sure you care about your future. You have your entire life ahead of you and maybe parenthood isn’t what you need right now. You know we will support whatever path you go into. We’re doing this because we love you, baby girl. That’s all.”

Olivia found an opening. Her mother just proclaimed unconditional support to her and if that were true, Olivia felt comfortable in revealing just a bit more. “Mommy, there’s something else I need to tell you.”

“Oh?” Mariana became worried. “What is it, baby girl?”

“Mom, I am a…”

A loud screech followed by a
BOOM!
interrupted Olivia’s speech. Olivia and Mariana rushed out to the street and saw an overturned sedan in one corner followed by a crushed pick-up in another. The driver of the sedan, a woman, barely got out of the sedan with the help of passers-by. The driver of the pick-up was relatively unscathed.

Everything seemed okay at first glance. It wasn’t until the woman hysterically screamed that Olivia knew something was terribly wrong.

“My baby! My baby!” The woman called out as she rushed back over to her car. She looked inside the car and saw a horrifying sight – her infant daughter was strapped inside the car seat and was unconscious. The infant girl was in very poor condition, with blood and scrapes all over her body. “Someone please help her!”

A group of people rushed over to the car and managed to get it in an upright position. The woman broke into the car and retrieved her daughter, who was not moving in the car seat.

She’s going to die…
Olivia stepped closer. Her breathing became shallow and nervousness raced throughout her body. “Her baby is going to die, Mom!”

“There’s nothing we can do about it than pray, honey.” Mariana said, looking around for the ambulance to arrive. It seemed like it was taking forever. “Only the EMTs can save them.”

“No! it’ll be too late! She’ll be dead before they arrive!” Olivia admonished.

“Baby girl, I know you’re upset but there’s nothing we can do,” Mariana blinked back tears, “there’s nothing we can do.”

Olivia stepped away from her mother.
No, there’s something I can do.
She rushed to the infant girl in the car seat. Just as she suspected, the girl was on her last breath and would be dead within minutes.

She removed the infant from the car seat and gently placed her on the ground. Olivia tightly squeezed her eyes shut and quieted her breathing. She then put her hands on the infant’s chest. “Stay with us,” Olivia whispered, “stay with us.”

A bright, golden light shone down on the infant and within seconds, she was brought back to life. Her wounds healed and the blood dried up. The little girl who was merely seconds away from death, was smiling and cooing.

Olivia picked up the baby and handed her over to her mother. Olivia then looked at her mother, who stared at her with her mouth gaped open. A crowd soon formed around them and the whispers were getting louder.

“Did you see what she did?”

“It’s a modern-day miracle!”

“She’s Mary, the mother of Jesus! Jesus has come back!”

The whispers became increasingly louder and the crowd grew bigger. Olivia pressed her hands to her ears to silence them but it was no use. They all saw what she did.

Soon everyone will know what she was capable of.

What her friends were capable of.

They were no longer safe.

“Mommy?” Olivia asked her mother. “Are you afraid of heights?”

“What? No. Livvie, what’s going on? Talk to me! What did you do to that baby?” Mariana demanded.

Olivia interlocked arms with her mother. “Hold on.” She looked up and they shot up in the air, disappearing into the sky.

****

The Super Infinity Crew is a YA book. It ties in with the S&M series but it is geared towards teens and young adults. It’ll be out spring 2015.