I matriculated from high school at the
tender age of 17. What does one really know about life at that age?
Yet there I was the proud owner of a high school completion certificate.
According to those in the know I was ready to go out there and make my mark on
the world. So off I went. Never suspecting that within months of
leaving school my life would change the way it did.
To tide me over until my 18th birthday, when I would be able to get
my driver’s licence and look for a full time job, I took a casual job at our
local supermarket. And there he was, the one person in this world that
could complete me. It caught me completely off guard! Not in my
wildest imaginings would I have dreamed that I would find love at a check out
at the local grocer’s.
But there you go. And 26 years
later we’re still together.
I guess it was the same for Kitty and
Gray in Decadence, the second story of Taking Pleasure Seriously. Not
that they met at 17, mind you, but it was definitely unexpected for them.
One morning they got up to go work, never anticipating that their worlds would
collide in the way that it did.
She’s an artisanal baker. He’s a
fire investigator. Who would have thought they’d find each other?
But they do, in the most unexpected way. And it changes their lives
forever, in ways neither of them foresaw.
♥
What do you do when your dreams go up
in flames?
The Mother City of Cape Town is the
backdrop for this tale of fire and revenge, of love and lust where the life of
one artisanal baker gets hotter outside of her kitchen than in it.
Since she was a little girl, sassy,
sexy Kitty Spence knew what she wanted. And bringing pleasure to people
with her baking was it. Her dream was realised the day she opened the
doors of her speciality cupcake shop, Decadence. That is, until Grayson
James walked into her life.
Gorgeous fire investigator, Gray
James, does a job he loves. Getting justice for those whose lives are
destroyed by fire is what brings him satisfaction. In pursuit of an
arsonist, he walks into Decadence and realises that his life will never be the
same.
In the midst of a spate of fires that
he’s trying to solve and the loss of her dream, Gray and Kitty find each other
and a love that will survive all.
Excerpt:
Locking
her car, Kitty looked around. She couldn’t shake the constant feeling she
had of being watched. It was really starting to freak her out. She
was toying with the idea of hiring a security guard for the parking lot.
Maybe her neighbours would be willing to share the expense. With all the
fires that had happened in their immediate area, she was sure they would be
happy to. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t see the man standing
in the doorway of her shop.
Looking
up to insert her key in the lock, she started violently when she spotted Gray
lounging against her door.
“Wow,
Gray!” she exclaimed as she clapped a hand over her galloping heart. “You
scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry,
I didn’t mean to. You seemed so far away. Everything alright?”
She
bit her lip, briefly mulling over whether she should share her suspicions.
His
eyes followed the movement and heat lit up through his body. He wanted to
lean over and lick his tongue along that delectable pillow of flesh.
“Come
on in. Let’s chat inside.” She invited.
Shaking
himself out of his thoughts, he stepped out of her way so she could unlock the
door and followed her inside.
Filling
the coffee machine’s tank with water, Kitty tried to arrange her
thoughts. She got cups out of the cupboard in readiness. Turning to
speak, she bumped into a solid body. Looking up at him, she licked her
lips.
“Sorry,
I didn’t expect you to be standing there.”
Gray
followed the little pink tip’s progress and felt himself harden, almost
painfully. What was it about this woman that pushed all his
buttons? He’d seen his share of beautiful women. Even had his fair
share. But there was just something special about Katherine Spence that
got him all hot and bothered. Smiling, he took a step back.
“Are
you okay? Something seems to have you pretty jumpy.”
Taking
a deep breath, she said, “I think someone is watching me.”
“What?!
Have you been to the police?”
Kitty
shook her head. “No, I don’t have anything concrete. I just get
this really creepy feeling. Every morning when I get to work and when I
leave again, I get the sense that someone is watching me come and go. I
don’t have any solid evidence. Maybe I just have an overactive
imagination.”
“Honey,
I may only know you a short time but you definitely don’t come across as the
flighty, highly strung kind of woman that would imagine things like that.”
Blushing,
she turned to pour the coffee, which had finished running through the machine,
to give herself a minute to collect her composure. His endearment had
delivered a heady wallop to her feminine senses. She had no idea what it
was about him, but Gray made her want things she’d hadn’t in the longest
time. With just a look or a smile he made her hot and needy. She
wanted him in the worst way.
Handing
him a cup, she pushing the sugar over to him and headed over to the fridge for
the milk.
“So
Gray, what brings you to my door so early in the morning? Wait, is that
smoke I smell?” Her brain finally catching up with the rest of her, she’d
just noticed a strong smell of smoke when she was near to him.
With
a grim set to his beautiful face, he nodded.
“I’ve
just come from the scene of a fire up the road.” It had been a crappy
morning so far and he’d felt a deep need to see her. Just to be in her
presence. Just to talk to her about nothing of consequence. Just to
be with her.
“Oh.
Are you okay?”
“It’s
been a bitch of a morning. The building collapsed and one of our guys
couldn’t get out in time. They got him out but he’s in critical
condition. I’m headed home to shower so I can pop in at the hospital
before I get started on processing the scene.” Pausing to decide whether
to continue, he decided to go for it. “I just wanted to see you before I
go home. Needed to see you.” Leaning into her space, Gray’s eyes
moved over her face, intense and so very green, he went on, “I’m drawn to you, to
be with you. Why is that, do you think, Kitty?”
Her
eyes went big and her lips parted in surprise but no words came out.
“There’s
so much that needs to be done and all I can think about is you. What you
sound like when you wake up in the morning, what you do in your spare time,
what you taste like, what you sound like when you come. And yet I barely
know you.”
She
couldn’t seem to catch her breath. His words evoked a slow burn in
her. Still she said nothing. Just looked up into his beautiful eyes
and got lost there, in his intensity.
“Kitty...”
Nervously
biting her lower lip, she looked up at him. “Yes, Gray?”
“Can
I see you sometime?”
“You
mean like a date?” she breathed.
“Yeah.
Like a date.” Reaching out, he wrapped a hand around the back of her neck
and slowly drew her in. Lowering his head until his forehead rested
against her, he smiled, “Kitty?”
“Yes,
Gray?”
“I’m
going to kiss you now.”
Looking
up at him with huge eyes, she nodded.
Touching
his lips to hers, Gray felt it throughout his whole body. Lust sparked
through him and he groaned as he drew her tighter against him, deepening the
kiss.
The
ringing of his cell phone intruded. Breaking off the kiss with
reluctance, he reached for his phone.
“James.”
He listened intently as the person on the other side spoke rapidly and then,
“I’ll be there in forty-five minutes.” With a look of regret, he drew her
in for one last hug. “I have to go but, Kitty? This isn’t
over. I’ll phone you later.”
♥
So
that’s my story but it’s not the only one. ☺ A group of us are hopping from blog to blog and we’d love it if you’d join
us. And as a reward for joining us on this adventure, if you leave your
comment on each blog (and we ask you to be kind to preserve our writer egos J) it puts you in line to win some
fabulous prizes.
Prizes
up for grabs are:
♥ A
grand prize of a $20 Amazon Gift Card
♥ An
ebook copy of Dragonfly Moments by Kathy Bosman (Kindle or PDF) - contemporary romance
♥ An
ebook copy of Brent's Law (Kindle, epub or PDF) by Ylette Pearson - erotic romance
♥ An
ebook copy of Taking Pleasure Seriously by Angelé Wells and Phoenix
Kelly (epub or PDF) - erotic romance
♥ Signed
copy of The Broken Destiny (South Africa only) by Carlyle Labuschagne - science fiction romance
♥ An
ebook of Dead of Night by Carylyle Labuschagne - science fiction romance
♥ An
ebook of Harcourt's Mountain by Elaine Dodge - historical romance.
Keep an eye out ... we'll be announcing
the winners on each of our blogs and on our Facebook profiles.
Looking forward to seeing you there.
Much love,
Angelé xx
