Icing on the Cake (Close to Home) (24 page)

“After my parents died, I avoided getting close to people. Actually, that’s the understatement of a lifetime. I decided I would never love anybody again. I even tried not to love Peter and Meredith, and Nia. I did everything I could to push them away, but they stuck with me.”

“They’re good people.”

“Some of the best. The thought of losing one of them was—
is
—paralyzing. And now you…” She tried to ignore the terrifying images invading her mind, but the shakes had set in, rattling her to the bones.

“Hey,” he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, pressing his lips to her temple, “I’m here. I can’t promise nothing’ll happen to me. Nobody can. But I can tell you I’m more motivated than ever to come home in one piece every night.”

“You weren’t supposed to do this to me, lawman. One night only, that was my condition.”

“And I told you it wouldn’t be enough.”

“How about now—had enough yet?”

“Babe, I’ve barely gotten started.”

For a long minute, she didn’t move or speak, just enjoyed the safety and warmth of being in his strong arms. “You didn’t even look at the shoes I got,” she said while slipping free of his embrace. She lifted and wiggled one Nike-clad foot.

“They’re pink.” Crinkles formed at the corners of his eyes when he looked at her face again. “You hate pink.”

“I met this smartass, tattooed hottie at a wedding recently. He told me I look gorgeous in pink.”

He nodded. “Do you always listen to this guy?”

“No, but I think he kind of enjoys it when I give him a hard time.”

“Oh yeah, he definitely does.” Quicker than she could blink, he yanked her against his body—his very
hard
body. “And I like the shoes.”

“Good, because I bought them so I could run with you. For as long as it lasts.”

“Then we’d better go inside and work on building up your stamina, princess, because I think the road we’re on is going to take us all the way.”

Curtis leapt from the bed—and practically out of his skin—at the sound of a feminine scream in the next room. Three steps and he stood in front of the source. “You scared the hell out of me.”

Sara put her index finger to her lips while holding her cell to her ear with the other hand.

“You’re shushing me? After that banshee call?”

She scribbled on a sheet from the notepad on her lap, tore it off and thrust it at him.

It’s an editor. About my book!

The call was for Sara, but it had his heart racing. He snagged his boxers from the spot where Sara had tossed them after welcoming him home with the world’s best deep-throat blowjob ever. He covered his morning hard-on and settled on the couch beside her. Close enough to touch her, which he had to do, even if it was only resting his hand on her bare, crossed legs.

Also close enough to hear a strange woman’s voice through the phone, gushing about Sara’s book.
Well written and very clean. Intriguing premise with a unique voice. Strong protagonist and secondary characters. Emotionally gripping. Perfect fit for the upper end of the hot paranormal YA market.

If not for the writer in residence, he wouldn’t understand half that stuff. A lot had changed since Sara marched her hot ass into that church in Barry’s Bay a year and a half ago. His brother had asked him to keep an eye on Sara that weekend. Curtis had done that. He’d kept his hands on her too. After that, he’d been hooked. He’d just wanted to keep her, period. Eighteen months later—he couldn’t remember how he’d lived without her.

She still made him crazy. Her impulsive, irrational decisions. The contradictory behavior. Nonstop smart-mouth comebacks, regardless of the topic or circumstances of the conversation. Just last weekend at his department’s holiday get-together, she’d matched wits with Jake—on the subject of massage parlors—in the presence of half a dozen fellow constables and their commanding officer. Oh man, what a scene.

“She’s quite a firecracker,” his CO had leaned in and said during the verbal jousting across the banquet-hall table. “Hang on to that one—if you can.”

Good advice he fully planned to take. As soon as the right moment presented itself. They’d come a long way since starting this run. Both of them. He wanted the next step of the journey to be something she’d remember for the rest of her life. A memory for the light side of the ledger, no matter what happened in the future.

After what had to be the tenth “Thank you” she said, “I’ll look it all over and be in touch within forty-eight hours.” Then she tossed her phone and the notepad aside and dove on top of him. “They offered me a contract! Not just for the first one, the whole series. Holy shit, actual people are going to read my books.”

“And they’re going to love them.” He slid his fingers through her hair and pushed it back for a better look at the beautiful face smiling down at him. “You’re glowing. Congratulations, you’re going to be a huge hit.”

“Thank you. If you hadn’t bullied your way into my life and gone through my personal files, this wouldn’t be happening. The books would still be my best-kept secret.”

He winked. “Asshole me says you’re welcome.”

The days of invading her privacy were over. For the most part, Sara had stopped shutting him out. She still had her dark moments, times when she needed to be alone and regroup. He’d learned to give her space. Accept that he couldn’t always save her from painful stuff. Sometimes she had to push through on her own.

There had to be a dozen thoughts and emotions swirling in her eyes right now. On her lips as they twisted from giddy smile to one much more purposeful. Her always-busy brain was clearly going a mile a minute. And he couldn’t wait to hear every single thing it came up with.

“What’s next? You need a lawyer to look over stuff? I know a few if you want me to make some calls. Nice guys who’ll give you a fair price instead of the shaft.” He squeezed her ass while angling his hips upward so his hard-on pressed against her abdomen. “That’s the only shaft you’re getting, babe, and you’re getting it as soon as we’re finished talking.”

“Ooh, a celebration fuck. I have a few ideas for that.”

“I just bet you do, troublemaker.”

“But first, I have to ask you a question. An important one. The editor asked me if I plan to use a penname.”

“You want an opinion on picking a name?”

“Yes.” Her cheeks went from pink to flaming as she worried her lush bottom lip between her teeth.

He didn’t see this side of her often. It brought his protective urges rushing to the forefront. Made him want to calm her in a dozen different ways, most of them naked and incredibly personal. “Let me hear it.”

“Promise you’ll give me an honest answer, not say what you think I want to hear?”

“Honesty is all you’ll ever get from me.”

She dropped a quick yet flaming-hot kiss on his lips before pushing up to a straddle position over his hips. “I don’t want to use a fake name, because even though the books are fictitious, at the same time, they’re not. You read them, you know I wrote those stories about what happened with my parents. I want my real name on the cover.”

“Sounds good.”

“The trouble is, I’ve been thinking a lot about changing my name somewhere down the road.”

News to him, not that anything she came up with would truly surprise him. “Changing it to what?”

“Lawler.”

Surprised didn’t begin to cover it. Speechless? Oh hell yeah.

“I don’t have a ring to use for this…” She tipped her head to one side. “Though we could use that cock ring I bought you—we know it fits.”

He grunted. It certainly did. “Are you proposing to me, babe? Because I believe the proposer is supposed to be on their knees.”

“Then consider last night my official proposal.”

He shimmied out from beneath her, leaving her gape-mouthed as he headed to the bedroom. Formerly his, now one hundred percent theirs.

“Your rejection is seriously damaging my best day ever, dude,” she called from the neighboring room.

He dug the little silk bag from its hiding place inside a pair of balled-up gym socks. A handful of steps and he’d returned to the couch, where she now sat with her arms crossed over the sexiest tits in existence.

“You really think I could reject you? I haven’t been able to resist you since the day I laid eyes on you. That’s why I’ve been waiting for the right time to give you this.” He pushed her knees apart, knelt between them and took her hand. “Yes, princess,” he slid the rose-gold ring onto her fourth finger, “I’ll marry you.”

“Curtis…” She cupped her right hand over her mouth while staring at the ring on her left. “It’s just like…”

Gently, he wiped the single tear that rolled down her cheek. “Like the one Ray gave Brenda, yeah. I looked all over the place for something I thought you’d like to look at for the rest of your life—because that’s how long it’s going to be on your pretty finger—but nothing grabbed me. So I took one of your pictures off the computer and had a jewelry designer recreate your mother’s engagement ring. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s not okay. It’s perfect.” She looked up, met his eyes and laughed. “The relationship cynic and the girl who’s afraid to love. Getting
married
. I never would have believed it possible.”

“Time you give up the word ‘never,’ babe. We’ve been proving it wrong since the day we met.” He brought her hand to his lips, chuckling as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Your sister is going to have a heyday with this.”

“Oh, shit, she so is.”

“Want to elope, send her a text from Vegas? Or are you kinda looking forward to torturing her with a Sara-picked, very un-pink bridesmaid dress?”

A conniving smile settled on her sexy lips. “You know me so well, lawman.” She pushed him out of her space so she could stand, marched her sinfully hot body to the bedroom door and crooked a finger at him. “You promised me the shaft, so get over here and let me put a ring on it.”

He rose and stalked toward her, getting harder with each step he took and hungry look she gave him. Oh man. He had a lifetime of this to look forward to. One day, whether it came sooner or later, she’d be strutting into a church again. Walking toward him with attitude and fire and love. A woman who wouldn’t be—and shouldn’t be—tamed, yet was undeniably, one hundred percent his. Talk about icing on the cake.

Spend more time with the characters of the Close to Home series in Book 3…

Cherry on Top

Coming Soon—December 2014

Lindsay could write the book on falling in love—with the wrong guy. From bad boys to a married man, she’s made one bad choice after another, gravitating toward men destined to hurt her. Except at her brother’s wedding. This time, she’s drawn to a good guy—the pastor. Ben is handsome, single, and definitely interested. But with her past mistakes, maybe Ben is
too
good…

After two tours in the Middle East, Ben returned home needing peace and purpose. He found it as pastor of a laid-back, small-town church. There’s just one thing missing from his life—love. In a community of a couple thousand, his options are limited. Until Lindsay comes to town for a wedding. Sparks fly between them, but she’s skittish. If Ben wants her to stay, he’ll have to convince her that he’s more than a man of God—he’s the right man for her.

♥ ♥ ♥

Thank You!

Thank you for reading
Icing on the Cake
!

I hope you enjoyed reading Sara and Curtis’ story as much as I loved writing it. If so, I would greatly appreciate you spreading the word, whether by telling your friends, or leaving a review or star-rating at your favorite online book retailer or anywhere you enjoy discussing books. Again, thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Karla Doyle

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karla is a small town girl with some big city experience, happiest living somewhere in between. She studied fashion design in college and spent most of her adult life in that industry. These days, she lives a charmed existence with her two amazing kids, an incredible (and smokin’ hot) husband, and the best friends in the world. When she’s not writing the sexy stories that swirl around in her head, you can find her lifting weights at the gym, playing Scrabble, or cuddled up with a book, surrounded by a pack of pets.

Visit Karla’s website for a complete booklist and other information:

www.karladoyle.com

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COPYRIGHT

ISBN 9780992152741 (Print Edition ISBN 9780992152758)

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Icing on the Cake, Copyright © 2014 Karla Doyle

Copy Editor: William Harrison/Editors: A. Young,

Cover by Karla Doyle
Cover photography by olly2, PlusONE
Bigstockphoto.com

Electronic book publication July 2014 / Print book publication July 2014

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only, and 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 sole use, please purchase your own copy at a legitimate online retailer. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.