Dare To Be Wild

Dear Reader:

When Eden Davis created her three-part series, she was on a mission to fill a void by introducing readers to erotica for “grown and sexy women.”

In
Dare to Wild,
her third book in the series, Livia Charles sheds her conservative image and attempts to emulate the more daring lives of her adventurous friends. So she designs a bucket list of sexual activities, and this list grows and grows as she crosses over to the wild side.

Eden Davis, the pen name of a critically acclaimed author, takes sensuality to the next level. Make sure that you pick up a copy of her other titles,
Dare to be Seduced
and
Dare to Be Tempted.
She continues her daring tales with three friends who participate in an auction for an up-and-coming heartthrob in her ebook,
Going, Going, Gone!

Thank you for supporting Eden Davis' efforts and thank you for supporting one of the authors published under my imprint, Strebor Books. I try my best to bring you cutting-edge works of literature that will keep your attention and make you think long after you turn the last page.

Now sit back in your favorite chair or, better yet, chill in the bed, and be prepared to be tantalized by yet another great read.

Peace and Many Blessings,

Publisher

Strebor Books

www.simonandschuster.com

This book is dedicated to my mother-in-law, a breast cancer survivor, whose sexy verve and vigor continue to conquer all.

Welcome to the
Eden Davis Series,
hot and beautifully erotic stories written for grown and sexy women. In
Dare to be Tempted,
you met Aleesa Davis, a happily married woman who finds the line between fantasy and fidelity become a tempting blur when she finds herself dealing with a rough patch in her marriage. This time, in
Dare to be Wild,
it's Livia Charles's turn to shine.

Divorced, romantically bored and sexually uninterested, Livia has poured all her passions into establishing and growing her booming cake business. But breast cancer has changed all that. With her fuck-it list in hand, Livia sets out to find the lost side of herself, and in the process learns that one woman's “wild” can be another woman's wonder.

What about you? Do you have some hot fantasies you'd like to actualize secretly lurking in the recesses of your sexy mind? Maybe you'll find yourself inspired by Livia's journey and set out on a sexually adventurous and empowering one of your own. Check out my
Ticket to Paradise
at the end of this book. It will give you some tips on how to create a naughty and nice list of your own.

As always, I must thank my agent, Sara Camilli, for her sage guidance; Zane for her creative foresight, and Charmaine at Strebor Books for her gentle handling. And much gratitude to you for your continued love and support. Continue to reach out to me on Twitter @EdenStories and on Facebook at Eden's Stories. And please tell your friends about this book and invite them to experience
a little paradise for themselves. Until then, enjoy Livia's story in good health and great sex!

Eden

P.S. You're going to meet Livia and Aleesa's friend, Lena Macy, within these pages. At work, Lena is bold, ambitious and always in control, but her private life is the victim of her professional ambitions. In
Dare to be Seduced,
the workaholic goes wantonly delinquent when she loses a bet to a hot stranger who turns her on, and out, in all the right ways.

“Have you tried giving him a professional?” the radio diva boldly asked her caller.

“They always work for me,” chimed in her streetwise, male sidekick.

“A professional what?” Though Livia had not expected a response, sucking sounds, intermingled with soft grunts supplied by the special effects button, was the reply. So this is what relationship advice had come down to in the new millennium? Was oral sex now the modern day Band Aid to whatever ailed him?

“The real question is: Has he tried giving
her
a professional? Why does it always have to be the woman doing the giving? Thank God, I'm old and past the age of dealing with such mess,” Livia decided and flipped over to 1010 WIN.

At 49, she wasn't actually ancient but certainly old enough and experienced enough to know that when it came to the game of love, sex was at best a short-term solution to any long-term issues. Particularly when the remedy was, as in most cases, one-sided and service-oriented. Besides, Livia and sex were on the outs these days. Her ex got most of her libido in the divorce. Hell, the truth be told, she'd actually lost that sucker somewhere around year ten. But then whatever smidgen she had left, radiation therapy had claimed as its own.

She didn't have time to concern herself with that now anyway. To stay on task, Livia started going through her mental “to do” list
of every chore she needed to accomplish today. Livia Denise Charles, a list maker. With them, she stayed organized, and felt a sense of accomplishment with every completed job. Without them, she was lost and ineffective. In her life, lists were a good thing.

After this delivery, Livia still had a million things to do before the party tonight. She was the guest of honor. Well, actually, the twins were, and even though her friends were taking care of most of the arrangements, Livia had insisted on making the cake because, well, that's what she did. All it needed was a few finishing touches, but she had to tidy up both the house and herself before the guests arrived. And as with most things these days, both took a lot more time than they used to. No time to dilly dally.

“You have reached your destination,” the navigation system interrupted her thoughts to inform her.

“Thanks, Minerva,” Liv said, talking to yet another voice coming from speakers in her car. This little baby was well worth the extra dollars it cost her to install. Frankly, anybody who rode with Livia would have pitched in to pay double. Directionally challenged, she could get lost making a U-turn, so anything designed to save her time, frustration and gas money was a worthwhile investment.

Livia pulled her Lexus into the driveway and drove what seemed like another half block around to the back. Her client had left a voicemail, letting her know that nobody would be home and she'd leave the kitchen door unlocked. Since providing the winning cake for the
Today Show Throws a Wedding,
Livia no longer personally delivered her frosted works of art to private homes, but Naomi Maddox was a frequent and valued client. She was a well-connected part of a social circle whose elite members entertained often and had the money (and egos) required to afford couture cakes. When it comes to business, you gotta love the customers who buy into the ridiculous concept of keeping up with the Joneses,
no matter what the economy. New clients, via Naomi's very lucrative word-of-mouth, had added over $10,000 to Livia's bank account in the last six months alone, helping to keep her bakery solidly in the black after only three years.

Havin' Your Cake was fast becoming one of the premier cake suppliers for the nation's cake aficionados. Thanks to the
Today Show
exposure, Livia had become the darling of wedding planners, bridal bloggers and brides-to-be across the country. Most thought that Livia was an overnight success, but her family and friends knew that this had been a long and tedious journey. Livia, who earned her MFA at New York University, had originally set out to be an artist. She quickly learned that talented, starving and poor didn't agree with her upper middle class sensibilities and settled for a job with a large non-profit organization. She spent years raising money for charitable causes before deciding to pursue her second love—baking. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America with her Bachelors in Baking and Pastry Arts, Livia combined her love of art and baking, and Havin' Your Cake was born. And just in time to fill her days after her twenty-three-year marriage to Dale Charles ended in divorce.

Livia opened the hatchback of her RX450h, slowly pulled the tray with two large, square boxes toward her, got a good grasp on its edges and cautiously carried it to the kitchen door.

“Hello?” she called out gingerly as she twisted the knob and pushed the door open with her foot. “Anybody here?” Greeted with the silence she was expecting, Livia stepped inside and over to the center island that dominated the large kitchen.

You can tell a lot about a woman by her house. And if the kitchen is indeed the heart of the home, judging from this pristine room, Naomi Maddox was a direct descendant of the tin man. Nary a smudge, crumb or smear could be found in this stainless steel and
granite space. With a floor clean enough to perform surgery on, Livia detected a sanitizing whiff of lavender and lemon. No lingering scents from last night's spicy beef stew or this morning's cinnamon buns, no unwashed dishes from a mid-morning snack or orphaned coffee cup. This was a show kitchen, a room designed to showcase wealth and good taste, neither of which had anything to do with food or family.

As per Mrs. Maddox's instructions, Livia found the cart designated for her latest creation—a three-dimensional pinup of Naomi's mother looking like she was kneeling on a floor of plump red pillows. The image was recreated from a photo taken when she was 22 with a young husband off fighting the Korean War. Liv found it to be an interesting choice, as the woman was turning 80 years old today. But hey, it was her job to fulfill the client's sugar and spice wishes, not determine them.

Remembering her pressing schedule, Livia quickly assembled the cake and wiped away any excess frosting. She cleaned up the remaining debris and with her ever-ready digital, took one last photo for her portfolio.

“Livia Charles, here's to another job well the hell done.” She congratulated herself with her ritual shoulder brush. Livia turned to leave and that's when she heard them—the muffled sounds of low moans and groans, distinctly female, coming from down the hall. Fear turned her blood cold, causing her muscles to freeze as she pushed her face in the direction of the noise, straining to hear.

It sounded like someone was in trouble. God, was the birthday girl here? Had she fallen and couldn't get up? Livia's first impulse was to rush toward the sound and help the poor old lady out. However, the thought that kept her feet in place was the idea that the person who was in trouble might also be in the presence of the troublemaker. She'd already gone through her stint of staring
death in the face. Did she really want to go through all that again?

Liv slowly edged her way over to the cordless phone and picked it up from the base. She'd just dialed the 9 and 1, when the thought crossed her mind that the last thing Naomi Maddox would want was a houseful of cops combing over her property when she was expecting an army of caterers.

There it was again, this time co-mingled with a deeper, more masculine timber. Muffled and unintelligible, Livia couldn't make out any words, but the tone sounded demanding. She had to do something. She took a quick look around the place and mapped out a plan. First, she went over and opened the kitchen door in preparation for a swift exit. She then picked a gleaming butcher knife from the block. Like the rest of the appliances, it looked as if it had never been used, so the blade had to be nice and sharp.