Entice (40 page)

Shelly answered on a soft sigh, “I’m thinking now, sugah. I’m thinking right now.”

With that, she found herself kissing her future husband under her dreaming tree and thinking of new dreams.

She wondered, just for a moment, if it would shock Josh at all to know that the dream now held a dog and a toddler running around under a large oak tree.

As Josh picked her up in his arms, carrying her closer to some shade and a blanket, he leaned down and nuzzled her ear.

“I love you, Shelly Monroe. I can’t wait to have a family with you.”

“I love you, too,” Shelly told him as she turned her head and kissed him back, smiling and thinking.

This tree really does make dreams come true.

The End

Read on for a glimpse of Rachel’s story,
Edible

Due out Summer 2013

2008

“Let go!” Rachel demanded, trying to free herself from Ben’s punishing grip around her upper arm.

“I told you to stop,” he shouted as his fingers dug tighter into her tender flesh.

That’s going to leave a mark
, Rachel thought with a grimace.

Spinning around to face him, Rachel glared up into her boyfriend’s irate eyes.

“And I told you not to touch me when you’re angry.”

Ben hauled her in close, and Rachel knew whatever was about to happen wasn’t going to be good.

Twenty minutes earlier, he’d come home in a foul mood. That usually equaled a painful evening in the bedroom for her, but not tonight. Tonight, she was done.

“I’ll touch you whenever I want to touch you. You got that?” he sneered down at her.

Rachel narrowed her eyes and yanked on her arm again. Instead of letting go, he reached up, gripped the other one, and pushed her back against the living room wall. She hit it so hard that the bookcase beside her shook, and she could have sworn her teeth clattered.

“You’re mine, remember? You do what I say.”

Staring up at him, Rachel knew she was risking his wrath, but she could no longer stay silent.

“Not anymore. You’re leaving. Pack your shit up, Ben, and get out of my place! I’m sick of being your punching bag.”

What happened after that became a bit of a blur, like it happened in slow motion.

Rachel saw him raise his hand, and before she could move her face, his large palm connected with her cheek, the brutal force of it resounding in a loud crack. Her face felt like someone had lit it up with a blowtorch.

As she reached up to grip her cheek, she heard the front door crash open. Rachel turned her head against the wall, squinting because of the sunlight shining in from behind the person now standing there, and not to mention, the throbbing ache that was ricocheting up into her skull.

“Take your hands off of her.”

Rachel recognized her father’s voice, but it was filled with a cold anger that she had never heard before. Ben took one step away from her, and her father was instantly on him.

As she crumpled to the floor with the wall supporting her back, she watched through a rapidly swelling eye while her father punched Ben repeatedly in the gut and a few times in the face. Ben pulled himself to his feet and ran from the house, yelling about what a bitch she was and how she had to have Daddy save her.

Her father crouched down in front of her, reaching out to gently cup her cheek.

“What are you doing, baby girl? This is not love.”

Rachel looked up at him, seeing the grim line of his mouth and the same dark hair Mason had inherited, falling forward.

“No man should ever hit you, Rach. Not ever.”

He reached down and pulled her to her feet. Wrapping a solid arm around her waist, he helped her stagger to the sink, wetting a paper towel to dab at the cut on her cheek.

With a quivering lip, Rachel blinked up at him with tears in her eyes.

“Please don’t tell Mase or Mom.”

Her father held her in his arms and softly spoke into her ear. “I won’t as long as you don’t tell them I beat the shit out of him.”

Chuckling a little at that, she kissed his cheek and whispered, “I promise.”

Chapter One

Present…

December

Rachel stood in the far corner of Precious Petals, leaning against the handle of the broom she’d been using only minutes before.

Sighing, she reached up to run a hand through her thick black hair—hair that had been tipped electric blue for the moment.

Lately, memories of her father had become harder and more difficult to bear. She knew it had a lot to do with the fact that her and Mason had recently lost their mom, but the pain of losing both parents before she’d even accomplished…
well, anything
…was almost too much to take.

Rachel knew that Mason would have killed her if he’d ever heard her talk that way. He would’ve been the first to point out the acclaim she now had as a pastry chef, largely due to her famous and good-looking brother and his restaurant.
Oh, sorry, our restaurant.

Not to mention, she had also taken over the flower shop.

During those first few months after their mother had passed, every time Mason had tried to come into Precious Petals, he hadn’t been able to do it. Because of her connection with their mom, Lena had been the next person they had all thought of to take over the shop, but that had been nearly impossible since she was a pediatrician down at University Hospital.

So, the task had fallen to her. While she loved the store, she couldn’t help but feel the loss of her parents more and more every day.

Glancing up at the clock, she noticed she was running late.
Shit
, she thought, moving over to the bench where Tulip was stretched out on her side, her paw hanging down lazily like a panther in a tree. The lethargic kitty opened her eyes at the sudden movement.

“Oh, don’t you move a single piece of fur, okay? I’ve got this.”

Untying the apron strings from around her waist, she smiled as the cat sat up, offering a huge yawn as though she had been working all day. Placing the apron down beside the watchful feline, Rachel reached out to scratch her furry head.

Tulip had shown up at the back door of the shop every day, just as Rachel had after her mom had passed. She would sit out behind the store and meow, almost like a mournful cry, until one day Rachel had relented and opened the door. From that day on, Rachel had owned a white cat with mottled brown ears named Tulip—or maybe she should say that they owned each other.

Rushing around the counter, Rachel grabbed the Hessian bag she’d thrown down there earlier this morning, and then she made her way out the front door, jingling the bells overhead.

Turning to lock up, she reminded herself of how much her mother had loved this place. Lately, it had felt like the memory was becoming too much to handle, and she wasn’t sure she could continue burning both ends of the candle. She spent days at the store, and then nights at Exquisite. She was tired and starting to feel burnt out.

Recently, she’d been running the scenario through her head to hire some help, but she’d yet to mention it to her brother. He was busy enough these days with the restaurant and his recent marriage. He didn’t need her whining in his ear.

No.This is something I can work out on my own
, she thought. She turned and started a brisk walk to the station to catch the L downtown.

***

Cole leaned back in his leather chair with the phone to his ear, looking out his large office window.

“No. I don’t care about that, Becky. All I asked for was for her to have the best. Is that such a difficult thing to deliver? Because if it is, I can go elsewhere.”

Raising his left arm, he glanced at his watch.
Shit, I’m running late.

Standing up from the chair, he leaned down to sign the documents he’d read through earlier.

Dropping the pen on the desk, he straightened and shook his head. “You know what? If things don’t improve this month, I’m coming down there to get her myself. Now, I have to go. Fix the issue.”

Putting the phone back in its cradle, he placed both palms on the desk, leaning his head forward.

Damn, I’m tired—not only from work, but from all the bullshit in my life right now.

Taking a moment to reflect on everything he needed to do, he grabbed the envelopes for Jane to send out, picked up his briefcase, and headed to the door. Taking his long wool coat from the rack, he draped it over his arm and moved out of his office.

Stopping by Jane’s desk, he noticed his personal assistant was nowhere in sight, so he placed the documents in her tray and made his way to the elevators.

Glancing at his watch again, he took a deep breath and reminded himself that it wasn’t the end of the world if he was a few minutes late. But as the elevator dinged and the metal doors opened, he knew he was lying to himself.

Punctuality was everything. It was a sign you were in control.

***

Rachel stood in the center aisle of the train, gripping the metal pole that was secured to the roof and floor of the car.

With her earbuds securely placed, she swayed and rocked to the click-clack she could feel but not hear over her music. Unlike most, Rachel loved commuting. There was something so peaceful about being on a train. She could zone out and just relax for however long it took to get to a destination. She was also inclined to people watch, and there was always a buffet of the unusual, ranging from the ordinary to the extraordinary on the L
.

Tapping her foot, Rachel glanced up at the map of the Red Line on the side of the train. As the night started to engulf the city, she knew she had one more stop to go.

It was Wednesday, and she was happy that it would be a relatively slow night—well, for Exquisite’s standards anyway. For some reason, she just wasn’t in the mood tonight. If anything, she’d probably be better off going to the club and spending some time with Riley.

As the train heaved to a slow stop, Rachel waited for the heavy metal doors to slide open, and then she, along with around thirty other commuters, piled out of the narrow door.

Making her way onto the platform, she stuffed her hands into her blue-knitted cardigan and clutched her bag to her side. Earbuds still firmly in, the hustle and bustle were currently being drowned out.

Eyes down, she watched the pavement as she moved farther from the train. She was almost free from the main crush of people when her shoulder hit something solid—something in the form of another person.

Looking up to apologize, she stopped in her tracks.

Right there in the middle of the chaotic station, she found herself staring up into the eyes of the man she only knew as Cole.

***

Cole couldn’t believe his luck.

As he stood there gazing down at the raven-haired beauty, who had a penchant for bright colors, he decided it was almost worth running late.

Of all the people he could run into in the city, running into her seemed somehow fitting. After all, he’d only been thinking about her just the other day.

She was intriguing to him on so many levels.

He’d seen her only a handful of times—twice at Whipped and once again at her brother’s Halloween party, which he’d been invited to by Josh.

Oh, she didn’t know this would be their fourth crossing, but he did. This time, she was not getting away so easily.

***

The first night he had ever seen her was when she had walked into the club in a tight and short leather miniskirt. Cole had been convinced that if she had coughed, he would have caught a glimpse of everything. She’d paired it with a black leather bra and stiletto heels that could maim—and that had been it.

He remembered it perfectly almost as though it had happened last night and not months before. He’d been sitting in one of the side booths, watching her as she stood there fidgeting. He had contemplated the best way to go to her and persuade her to be his.
Well, for the night anyway.

However, as he had sat there in quiet consideration, sizing up the woman who had somehow caught everyone’s attention, he had been shocked as hell when she’d walked over to the bar, sat down, and then had been greeted by Riley—a man everyone knew as a complete slut. In other words, he would do anything he was told, and he was not picky
who
told him to do it.

That had not been the shocking part though. What had perplexed Cole was how he had misread her. Usually, he was much more astute than that, much more accurate in the people he was drawn to or attracted by, but not her.

He had pegged her more submissive in nature. She had presented that way, yet the minute Riley was by her side, those elegant shoulders straightened and that wickedly tattooed spine stiffened. Cole was officially intrigued.

***

“Excuse me,” she mumbled, brushing past him.

She was pretending she had no clue who he was.

Smirking and shaking his head, he rounded on his feet to follow her, forgetting all about catching the train.

Hmm, the woman certainly has a penchant for leather.

From under her blue cardigan, he could see tight black leather molded to her thighs and calves that stopped just above her ankle bone.

Her dark hair was shifting against the blue wool as she walked, and he found himself smiling at the fact that the tips of her hair were the same shade as her top.

She seemed to feel his eyes on her—
hell, that’s not surprising since I can’t tear them away
—because she stopped when she reached a small clearing. She quickly moved to the side, spinning on her black flats to face him.