Hopelessly Broken (11 page)

“Sure.” Remembering how much she’d loved listening to him sing and play when they were together, she
ate while she waited for him to get his guitar upstairs. He had an amazing voice, but it was the depth of meaning in his songs that had touched her. She knew every word of every song he’d ever written and when he sang them, the meaning echoed through her whole body. But when they had been dating, he’d gone a stretch without being able to write anything new. Had he found his voice again?

Logan zoomed by, saying something about going upstairs to play just as Bobby returned with his guitar. He
sat beside her and strummed a chord, singing, “When I broke up with you, I had no idea what it would do to me. You were the only light in my life. When I lost you, everything went black. I couldn’t find my way.”

It was a song about her. Ab
out regret and loss and guilt. And as it continued, the lyrics said everything she’d longed to hear him say and more. So much more. By the end of the song she was crying.

He set his guitar aside and gazed into her eyes.
“I didn’t know I loved you then. But I know it now.” He dragged both thumbs under her eyes, smudging her tears. “And if you’ll take me back, I promise I won’t let you down again.”

The beauty of his confession made it impossible for her to reject him
, even though she was still scared. Would he hurt her again?

Maybe.

But he still loved her. He really loved her. And right now, that was what she craved more than anything. She wanted love.

She wanted someone to hold her and te
ll her everything would be okay--even though another guy’s image flashed in her head every now and then.

That guy was
Aeron.

Oh God, Aeron.

What about him?

H
e’d told her they could never be.

He would be leaving soon.

Gone.

And once he left, he might never return.

No, Aeron was a dream, an impossibility, a fantasy, just like her stories. Bobby was real. He was here. And he wasn’t leaving…this time…she hoped.

He cupped her chin and lifted it, gazing into her eyes. “Please tell me I can kiss you
again. I’ve been waiting for a long time to tell you these things. To sing you that song.”

“
Kiss me,” she whispered.

His head inched lower, and her eyelids drifted shut. When his lips found hers, a shower of electric sparks crackled around her. Her body warmed instantly.

This was the kiss she knew. It was comforting. Sweet. Gentle. Nothing like Aeron’s hard possession. But it was nice. She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, letting her body say what her words could not. She had missed him. Terribly. And she was so grateful he’d come back. That song, that amazing song, had drawn all the feelings she’d been tamping down back to the surface. Her heart was thumping so hard she could hear it.

He stopped the kiss much too soon, his hand cupping her face. “There’s someone at the door,” he whispered.

“Oh!” She hadn’t heard a thing but the pounding of her heart.

A little dizzy, she pushed up from the couch. “It has to be my case worker. She asked when you would be home from work. Remember, you’re my cousin.”

“Got it. Cousin. Kissing cousin.” He winked.

“We don’t need to tell her that last part.”

“Of course not. I just couldn’t resist.”

She checked her reflection in the mirror before going to the door. Her lips were
a little swollen from kissing Bobby. And slightly red. Her hair was a little mussed. She hoped Mrs. Tate wouldn’t notice. She smoothed her hand over her head and went to the door.

It wasn’t Mrs. Tate
.

It was Aeron.

“Hi.” His gaze went right to her mouth, as if he’d known what she’d been doing. Feeling guilty for some crazy reason, her face heated. Then his gaze jerked up to her eyes. It didn’t stay there long. Within a second it jumped over to Bobby, who was plucking at his guitar. “Oh, you have company.”

Now really, really nervous and jittery, Jenn glanced over h
er shoulder. “Aeron, this is Bobby. Bobby, this is Aeron. Aeron is…a friend of Logan’s. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

“
Thanks,” Aeron grumbled.

Jenn caught a glimpse of something in Aeron’s eyes
as she hurried past him. But it vanished before she could figure out what it was. Leaving Aeron standing inside the front door, she pounded up the stairs to Logan’s room. Inside her chest, her heart thrummed as fast as a hummingbird’s.

She had two guys in her house. Two. And she had feelings for both of them.

But one—Aeron--she couldn’t have. It was a lost cause. Not to mention he’d made it crystal clear he didn’t want her.

So why did she feel so guilty when he looked her in the eyes? Why?

What did he expect from her?

What did they both expect?

The End

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MY ALPHA BILLIONAIRE
, available now!

A sexy New
Adult romance

(What He Wants: Books 1-4)

Tawny Taylor

Published By Novel Mind Books

Copyright © 2013 Tawny Taylor

All rights reserved

For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey, a new series by
bestselling author Tawny Taylor.
An Amazon Top 10 HOT NEW RELEASE (Erotica)!
An Amazon Bestseller (Erotica)!
An Amazon Bestseller (Romance)!
A Kindle Store top 30 Bestseller!

Billionaire Shane Trant is used to getting what he wants. What he can't buy, he takes. When he sees Bristol Deatrich for the first time in over ten years, he knows he wants her. But there's a problem. Only complete possession of her mind and body will satisfy him. He's not sure the sweet little Bristol is ready for his brand of extreme carnal play. But that's not going to stop him from trying. After all, he learned a long time ago, nobody wins if they don't take risks. If this risk pays off, they'll both win.

Praise for Tawny Taylor

"Scorching hot. . .a heady mix of BDSM and thrill combined with the dark world of vampires." --Romantic Times on Dangerous Master

"Delicious taboo sex and intrigue. . .irresistible!" --Eden Bradley on Darkest Fire "Absolutely delicious!" --Kate Douglas on Dark Master

SAMPLE:

He growled, hooked an arm around my waist and whirled around so I was flat against the wall and his body was holding me there.

Oh. My. God.
His mouth descended upon mine, his tongue shoved its way in, and within seconds, I was writhing against him while he kissed me into a coma.

I felt him scoop me up into his arms. He was carrying me, walking, while our tongues mated and battled. I was losing the war, ready to surrender to him, to the fierce heat boiling in my veins, to the blinding need he'd sparked in my body. He broke the kiss, stared down at me with eyes full of male hunger. "I'm sorry,
Bristol. I can't let you go now. I can't."

We kissed again, and again, as he carried me into the dungeon. At some point he set me on my feet, but I was too shaky to stand, and I wasn't about to let him stop kissing me. I hung onto his neck, arms wrapped tightly, and lost myself in his aggressive, demanding, plundering kiss.

I'd been kissed plenty of times, but never like that.

Never like the man couldn't get enough.

Never like he was staking a claim.

Never like he was conquering me.

When the kiss ended--not my choice--I clung to him and fought to catch my breath.

"Wow," I murmured. My gaze started at his mouth but quickly moved to the closest piece of torture furniture. I felt myself backing up.

"You've never been in a dungeon, correct?" he asked, hands sliding down my sides.

"Never."

He blocked my exit with his hulking body, held me at the hips. "If I do something you don't like, say, Red."

"Red?" I echoed, trying to wiggle my way free. I wasn't ready for this. That kiss. It was the kiss's fault I was in here. I didn't belong here, no.

He cut me off completely, cornering me against another wall, his body a giant obstacle I couldn't push past. He caged my head between his hands, arms stretched out. His eyes were dark, hard. "You may beg me to stop, but I won't. You may plead with me and cry, but I won't stop. But if you say red, I will cease immediately."

"Red," I muttered.

His fingertip trailed down the side of my face, down my jaw, my throat to the center of my breastbone. I sucked in a deep breath and fought to regain my composure. But he was so big and so sexy and so intimidating, I couldn't speak. "I promise I won't be too hard on you this first time." He closed his hands around my waist, forcing me deeper into the room.

Tawny Taylor has been writing erotic romance for women for ten years. Her first published novel, Tempting Fate, was published in 2004 and was an RT Reviewer’s Choice nominee and highly reviewed book. To date, Tawny has over 50 published books by 5 publishers, including Pocket, Kensington, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain and Changeling Press. They include several subgenres of erotica and erotic romance including paranormal, menage, contemporary, and romantic/erotic suspense. Many of her books contain D/s, bondage, and domination and submission. Among her bestselling books are Dark Master (Vampire, BDSM), Decadent Master (Vampire, BDSM), and Wrath’s Embrace (Menage, BDSM).

Tawny is grateful to her readers for allowing her dream of writing and publishing to come true. Her hope is to continue to write hot, sassy, sexy erotica for women for many years to come.

Tawny loves hearing from readers! Drop her a note anytime:[email protected].

website: http://www.tawnytaylor.com

Twitter: @tawnytauthor

Blog: http://tawnytaylor.net