Forsaking Gray (The Colloway Brothers Book 1) (40 page)

He doesn’t miss it either. I’m getting the distinct feeling he doesn’t miss any of my bodily reactions to his inebriating presence. When he finally speaks his voice drops several octaves to panty-melting sexy. “Good. Because I’m looking forward to fucking you instead.”

Holy balls
. His blistering stare and egotistical words light a blaze deep within my belly. If I was wet before, I’m positively drenched now. And mute. Very, very mute. On account of the fact that my mouth is now bone dry and all thought has fled my desire-clouded brain.

His next words pull me out of the sexual haze he has enthralled us in. It’s a place I could imagine myself staying. Forever. “I need you at headquarters during the audit. In Chicago.”

I blink a few times to clear my fog, letting his words register. Being on-site during an audit is pretty standard, at least part of the time, but this will be a big audit and could take months. I bill for lodging and meal expenses, but the thought of spending months in a hotel and shuttling back and forth on the weekends to Detroit is less than appealing. On the other hand, it gets me closer to Livia. Hell, who am I kidding? I’d shuttle back and forth to San Francisco if there were a paying client there.

“You have offices here in Detroit, right?”

“Yes, but I need to keep this as quiet as possible. CFC is not all that big, so the fewer people that know about you, the better. I need you in Chicago. There’s a secluded office available on my floor.”

The thought of being near Asher daily does funny things to my insides. More than it should. More than I want. “That’s going to be pretty costly for you,” I murmur.
And me
, I think, in more ways than one.

He leans back slightly and I take a deep breath for the first time in long minutes without inhaling him. His unique fragrance is clouding my mind. And my judgment.

“I have another proposal.”

I roll my eyes and lean back in my chair, but his magnetic pull makes it hard to do even that.

I am in so much trouble.

“I’m not staying with you, either.”

“Why do you insist on ruining all my fun, Alyse?” he quips, winking.

I smile, but remain quiet. Even if he would be so bold to suggest it, he would have to know I’d never accept.

“Okay. If you won’t stay with me, then we have an executive apartment that’s not being used. It’s fully furnished and close to the office. The building has a nice gym and a couple of restaurants. It’s not terribly fancy, but it’s better than a hotel.”

“I – I don’t know, Asher.” I was hedging, but the second his proposal left his mouth, I’d already made up my mind. If I had a place that felt like my own, I could stay there most weekends instead of driving back to Detroit, where there was really nothing left for me, except bad memories and ghosts from my past that won’t seem to let me out of their steely grip.

He gets comfortable again before continuing his sales pitch. “It’s in the same building as Livia and Gray, so you’ll also be close to your sister. I know you’re helping with their shotgun wedding and wouldn’t it be convenient to be able to hop in the elevator and pop in on her? Of course, I would probably call ahead first, because…”

He leaves his insinuation hanging and we both laugh, lightening the mood.

As I pretend to think about it for a couple of minutes, his intense gaze never leaves mine. I can feel him willing me into acquiescence and I almost break a smile, but that would be giving him too much and right now I need to hold parts of me back, because I can already tell Asher will demand everything from me. And then some. And I can feel certain girlie parts of me begging me to submit, submit, submit.

Seeing Asher again a couple of months ago triggered something inside me. Made me remember my girlish dreams when I was eighteen and in love with Beck. Dreams that have been too painful to remember, but now that I do, I want them desperately. And if I’m really honest, it made me remember what I felt when I almost gave myself to a young Asher Colloway.

I want bone-deep a family, happiness and a man that will worship me. I thought Beck was the man that would give me everything, but he’s dead and apparently wasn’t the man I thought he was at all.

Finn certainly wasn’t that man.

And I don’t think Asher Colloway can give me any of those things either. I’m not sure he can give
any
woman that.

Pleasure?
No doubt
.

A future?
Not likely.

He’s nearly thirty, never been married and is clearly a player and I just want more than that now. God knows I
deserve
more than that. As much as I’m attracted to him, sleeping with him is probably about the dumbest idea to ever cross my mind, yet my conviction not to needs a lot of reinforcement.

I re-focus on the reason we’re having this discussion in the first place. Keeping my business afloat. “Okay. I accept your terms.”

His smile blinds me, and all thoughts I just had about why I should stay away from this man floated out of the room on a cloud of pure lust.

Yep, my conviction needs a lot of work.

A. Lot.

Acknowledgements and Thanks!

I’m in a little in shock that I’m writing my thanks for my
fourth
novel. Seems surreal and not at all possible, but here I am, doing it anyway.

To my readers
: If you’re a fan of my paranormal works, then I
thank you
for trying out this contemporary read and I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as the Regent Vampire Lords. The Colloway Brothers started screaming in my head not too far into writing the RVL series and had to take a break from my sexy lords to get these characters out so they’d stop talking to me and my God…did I fall in LOVE with every single brother!! (Yes, Amanda…I’m using
two
exclamation points).

If you like my book,
please
tell your friends, your neighbors, shout it from the rooftops. Hell, tell people you don’t even like! The best thing you can do to support an author you love is word of mouth. Also consider joining
Kreig’s Babes
, a private Facebook page where you can chat with fellow fans, make new friends and talk about books and anything else you feel like. They are a fab group of women! Oh, and we may occasionally have man-candy as well.

To my girls, my betas
: Tara, Kaitlyn, Beth, Sherri, Kate, Alaina, Sabrina, Zavara, Justine, Chrissy, Kelly, Sloan and Kayla…a million thanks will never be enough for your honesty and your valued opinions. Since this was my first non-PNR book, I was a little unsure of myself, but your glowing feedback made me more confident. Special shout out to
Kate
, though. I equally love and hate your book reports, but your quirky comments make me LOL. So glad to have found you and your amazing insight which truly helped to shape this story. And Alaina, your honest feedback about plot holes made Gray and Livia’s story the very best it could be. Thanks!

To my husband
: Babe, you are my everything, my inspiration, my very heart. I can write about romance because I live it every day with you. Thanks for your undying support as my writing continues to consume me. You’ve become quite the little chef! You are my rock and I’m so very glad that you’re proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish, because none of it would have been possible without you.

Thanks to my editor, Amanda at Progressive Edits
. You are
so
much more than just an editor and marketing extraordinaire. You’ve become a guide, a friend and a mentor. Thanks for all you do for me, but most importantly, thanks for believing in me and pushing me to do things I
need
to do but don’t really want to.

To my author and blogger friends
: There are so many of you now (eeeek) that if I start naming everyone, I will inevitably forget and leave someone out and then I’ll feel like a big pile of crap and beat myself up about it for weeks, so I won’t name names, but if you’re reading this, you know who are. Thanks for all the “likes”, “shares” and blogging you do on my behalf. You have all helped this newbie more than you’ll ever know and I’m so happy to have found a place where people share the same passion of books and reading and hot, sexy, alpha men as I do!

And finally a special thanks to Yocla Designs for the absolutely
A MA Z I N G
job you did on the book cover art! I adore your work, Clarissa.

About the Author

This is the hardest part…talking about myself.

vi

I’m just a regular ol’ Midwest girl who likes Game of Thrones and am obsessed with Modern Family and The Goldbergs. I run, I eat, I run, I eat. It’s a vicious cycle. I love carbs, but there’s love-hate relationship with my ass and thighs. Mostly hate. I like a good cocktail (oh hell…who am I kidding? I love
any
cocktail). I’m a huge creature of habit, but I’ll tell you I’m flexible. I read every single day and if I don’t get a chance…watch the hell out, I’m a raving bitch. My iPad and me: BFFs. I’m direct and I make no apologies for it. I swear too much. I love alternative music and in my next life I want to be a bad-ass female rocker. I hate, hate, hate spiders, telemarketers, liver, acne, winter and loose hairs that fall down my shirt (don’t ask, it’s a thing).

I have a great job (no…truly it is) outside of writing. My kids and my husband are my entire world and I’d never have made it this far without them. My soul mate husband of nearly twenty-eight years provides unwavering support and my two grown children know the types of books I write and they don’t judge their mom anyway (and my daughter is a beta reader even…yes, that can be awkward… very).

Although Forsaking Gray is the fourth full-length novel that I have published in less than a year, I still consider myself a virgin author. I’m
sincerely
humbled by each and every like on my FB page or sign-up for my newsletter or outreach from someone who has read and loved my books. I still can’t get over the great support and reviews for my Regent Vampire Lords series from bloggers and my “fans”. I’ve made more friends in the last year than I’ve made in my life and I’m a pretty affable person. It’s surreal. I’m pretty sure it always will be.

In short, I am blessed…and I know it.

If you enjoyed this book,
please
consider leaving a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or the many various other on-line places you can purchase ebooks. Even one or two sentences or simply rating the book is helpful for other readers. If you’re anything like me, you rely on reader reviews to help make your determination on purchasing a great book in the vast sea of many great ones available. Many THANKS!

If you’d like to keep up on my newest releases, please sign up for my newsletter at klkreig.com. I promise no spamming.

Finally, if you would like to learn more about K.L. Kreig or message her, visit her at the following places:

Facebook

Kreig’s Babes
(Kelly's private Facebook page)

Website

Goodreads

Readers can email Kelly at
[email protected]

Twitter

TSU