Passions in the North Country (Siren Publishing Classic)

Passions in the North Country

Jenny Ashbury is a beautiful woman from Florida running from a jealous and dangerous ex-boyfriend. She flees to Canada, hiding in an old hotel on the south shore of Nova Scotia. She meets an incredibly handsome and interesting man named Devon North, the mysterious owner of the North Country Inn. She works there for free in exchange for a room where she can disappear like a ghost. In time her brilliant business sense rescues and revives the floundering inn, and she is drawn irresistibly to Devon, a man who unleashes her unfulfilled, wild passions.

Staying at the inn, she soon learns of its ghostly inhabitants: the Captain and a nun named Maria. The lovers lived side by side for decades, separated only by a door without a lock, but they never consummated their burning love, nor ever physically touched, even once. Their spirits wander, destitute, waiting for Jenny and Devon, the perfect couple who will release them with the scorching lovemaking the Captain and Maria craved but never experienced.

Then the mad ex-boyfriend tracks Jenny down...

Genre:
Contemporary, Paranormal

Length:
78,664 words
 

Summer Newman

EROTIC ROMANCE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

PASSIONS IN THE NORTH COUNTRY

E-book ISBN:
978-1-62242-881-6

First E-book Publication: May 2013

Cover design by Harris Channing

All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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Passions in the North Country
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PASSIONS IN THE NORTH COUNTRY

SUMMER NEWMAN

Copyright © 2013

“You seem to be in a good mood today,” Ivan said as they pulled up to the airport curb. “Are you glad I’m going?”

Jenny smirked.

He pulled up the sleeve of his black leather coat and looked at his watch. “Three sharp. You’ll be here this same time on Monday?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Ivan,” Jenny said irritably, “I’ll be here.”

“That gives you seventy-two hours without me.” He looked suspiciously at her. “They say that when the cat’s away, the mouse will play.”

Jenny sighed loudly. Ivan put the window halfway down and got out of the car, leaving the door open. Jenny glanced at him in the rearview mirror and their eyes met. She quickly turned away and popped the trunk. Ivan took out his two suitcases, then laid them on the sidewalk and leaned into the car. His eyes were dark, flaming, beady; his nose thick and hawk-like, his fingers abnormally long, slender, and hairy, like a spider’s legs.

“Jenny,” he said.

She slowly turned to him.

“If you leave, I’ll kill you.”

The words hit her like a shotgun blast. “Ivan, don’t make jokes like that.”

“No joke,” he said ominously. “If you leave, I will hunt you down, and I will kill you.”

Ivan pulled back and closed the door. Again leaning over, he stared at Jenny, his shark eyes cold and vacant. “See you on Monday afternoon, three sharp. Don’t be late.” He stared at her. “I mean it. If I can’t have you, no one will.”

There was a long, tense pause and then Jenny pulled away from the curb and left the airport. The past months flashed before her eyes, the chance meeting with the handsome and dashing Ivan Wiley, their first date, the flowers, the candy, the perfect man. They had not slept together, but three weeks earlier their kissing and petting had gotten out of control, even to the point where he had coaxed her out of her blouse and liberated her breasts from the lacy bra. His lips were hot, eager, seeking. Her nipples swelled, her clit started to tingle, but as strong as her desire was—and it was raging—still, it did not feel right. She liked him, she was starved for real sex, but it did not feel right…She pulled away and turned her back as she put on her top.

That was when he first said, “You are mine.” He said it in such a way that he had just laid claim to her, as if she was now literally his property.

Jenny had wanted to break up with him on the spot, but she was afraid. Day after day she tried to find the courage, but she kept backing away, always telling herself she would do it when the time was right. But the time was never right. Ivan became moodier, more possessive. When she repeatedly rebuffed his sexual advances, he wondered aloud if she was cheating.

“Maybe that’s why you’re never in the mood,” he said.

“I’m not cheating,” she answered truthfully.

“You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen,” Ivan said. “If you weren’t, I wouldn’t still be around. When it finally happens, it’s going to be so damned good.”

Weeks passed without even the hint of sex. Ivan got more and more frustrated, almost to the point of madness. If she so much as said hello to another man, he accused her of cheating. Just a few days earlier Jenny had made a casual remark about Johnny Depp being a good actor.

“Whore!” he snapped.

She told him to leave and he did, slamming the door. But within minutes he was calling with profuse apologies. She did not want to talk. He called her fifty times in the next two hours, and when he could no longer stand being ignored, he came back to her apartment with flowers and candy. Afraid he would not leave, or that he might even become violent, Jenny let him in and told him she accepted his apologies. He cried like a baby and swore it would never happen again.

Eventually, to her great relief, he left.

Over the next two days he texted continuously, literally hundreds of times, and was frantic if she did not answer for long periods. Going to the bathroom, taking a shower—no excuse was good enough. He insisted that she carry the phone in case he needed to contact her. This meant, in his mind, at all times. Jenny humored him, not because she agreed with the constant monitoring, but because putting up with it was easier than having a confrontation. Yet she was ecstatic when Friday rolled around and it was time for Ivan’s business trip to Chicago. Having time away from him was like a blessing, a gift.

She had not been driving away from the airport for than two minutes before he called her, and she cringed when she saw his name on her phone. “Yes, Ivan?”

“I don’t like your tone,” he said in a nasty way. “You’re hiding something.”

“No,” she said submissively, as if her life depended on avoiding trouble.

“I’m going to cancel my trip,” Ivan suddenly blurted out. “I don’t like the thought of us being apart.”

“You have to go, Ivan,” Jenny replied immediately. “It’s your job! With the economy like it is, you can’t take any chances.” She paused, biting her lip. “It’s our future we’re talking about.”

He was apparently pleased by her reference to “our future.”

“All right,” he surrendered, a hint of distrust still in his voice. “What are you doing tonight?”

“I don’t feel very well, honey. I don’t know if I got food poisoning, or if I’m coming down with something, but I’m going home, taking a shower, then relaxing. I’m going to crawl into bed early and just rest. If I don’t pick up the phone, you’ll know why.”

“You’re going to pick up when I get in, right?” he asked in a near panic. “I should be there by seven-thirty or eight o’clock. I’m calling! You have to pick up.” He seemed almost on the verge of going out of his mind. “I hate that you can’t even use your goddamned phone during the flight. What if there’s an emergency and you need to reach someone?” He waited for her to agree, but when she said nothing, he continued, “They can put a man on the moon and they can’t figure out a way for someone to use a bloody phone on a goddamned airplane!” He was getting more and more exasperated by the second. “Man, that pisses me off!”

“I’ll wait for your call, Ivan,” Jenny consoled. “I promise.”

“All right,” he mumbled, pacified.

“Have a nice flight, sweetie. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“They just called my flight. I have to go now, but I’ll call in a few hours.” He breathed shallowly. “You’re not mad at me?”

“No, Ivan, I’m not mad at you. I know you only say those things because you love me. I know you would never hurt me.”

She waited for him to assure her that he would never hurt her, but he remained eerily quiet. “I’ll call as soon as I get in,” he finally said. “Make sure you pick up. I need to know everything is all right.” He cleared his throat. “I like what you said about our future. I’m going to ask you something when I get back.” He paused, then said in a cheerful way, “I only hope I guessed your ring size right.”

“I’ll be waiting for your call, sweetheart,” Jenny answered cheerfully and excitedly.

As soon as they disconnected, Ivan walked to the plane with a confident swagger and Jenny put her plan into gear. Within twenty minutes she was in her landlord’s office paying off the last three months of her lease. She agreed to leave all her furniture and in barter he charged her only half the amount owed.