Bliss
ACCLAIM FOR THE NOVELS OF OPAL CAREW
Reviewer Top Pick. “The emotional depth and characterization of each player is brilliantly portrayed, and the sex is enticing and steamily erotic. . . . Creative, sensual, and talented . . . I plan to get everything Ms. Carew has ever written to keep on my shelf. Bravo for a job well done!”
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Night Owl Reviews
4 stars! “Carew’s devilish twists and turns keep the emotional pitch of the story moving from sad to suspenseful to sizzling to downright surprising in the end. . . . The plot moves swiftly and satisfyingly.”
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RT Book Reviews
“Fresh, exciting, and extremely sexual with characters you’ll fall in love with. Absolutely fantastic!”
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Fresh Fiction
“The constant and imaginative sexual situations keep the reader’s interest, along with likable characters with emotional depth. Be prepared for all manner of coupling, including groups, exhibitionism, voyeurism, and same-sex unions. . . . I recommend
Swing
for the adventuresome who don’t mind singeing their senses.”
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Regency Reader
“Carew pulls off another scorcher. . . . [She] knows how to write a love scene that takes her reader to dizzying heights of pleasure.”
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My Romance Story
“So much fun to read . . . the story line is fast-paced with wonderful humor.”
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Genre Go Round Reviews
“A great book . . . Ms. Carew has wonderful imagination.”
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Night Owl Reviews
“Opal Carew brings erotic romance to a whole new level. . . . [She] writes a compelling romance and sets your senses on fire with her heightened love scenes!”
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Reader to Reader
4 stars! “Written with great style . . . A must for any erotic romance fan, ménage enthusiasts in particular.”
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Just Erotic Romance Reviews
“Plain delicious in its sensuality. Opal Carew has a great imagination, and her sensual scenes are sure to get a fire going in many readers.”
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A Romance Review
4ݣhearts! “Humor, angst, drama, lots of hot sex, and interesting characters make for an entertaining read that you will have a hard time putting down.”
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The Romance Studio
“Opal Carew has given these characters . . . depth and realism. . . . A thrilling romance, full of both incredible passion and heartwarming tenderness, and Opal Carew is an author to watch.”
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Joyfully Reviewed
“Wonderfully written . . . I highly recommend this tale.”
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Romance Reviews Today
“An outstanding novel . . . I encourage you to read this exceptional book.”
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The Road to Romance
“This book is extremely HOT! Ms. Carew had me squirming in my seat while reading this story. . . . This book was so great I want to read more stories by this author.”
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Coffee Time Romance
ALSO BY OPAL CAREW
Forbidden Heat
Secret Ties
Six
Blush
Swing
Twin Fantasies
Bliss
Opal Carew
ST. MARTIN’S GRIFFIN
NEW YORK
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
BLISS. Copyright © 2010 by Elizabeth Batten-Carew. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
ISBN 978-0-312-58014-8
First Edition: July 2010
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Matt,
whose idealism, passion,
and generous nature
make this world a better place
Acknowledgments
My usual heartfelt thanks go to my husband, Mark, and my sons, for their support and love, to Colette for her great feedback, and to my editor, Rose, and agent, Emily, for helping make my books a success.
A special thank-you to Doreen, my mother-in-law, for her enthusiasm and encouragement.
I would also like to acknowledge Pala Copeland and Al Link, who have been practicing Tantra since 1987 and work as Tantric sex teachers and relationship coaches. They offer Tantra and relationship weekend retreats for couples, which I highly recommend. My husband and I attended one of Pala and Al’s retreats several years ago and I referenced the material from their workshop and several of their books in writing
Bliss
. Check their Web site, www.tantra-sex.com, for more information about their books and workshops.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge a great book I used to research flirting,
Superflirt
by Tracey Cox.
Bliss
Chapter One
Kara Spencer paid the cabdriver, grabbed her suitcase and carry-on, then raced toward the terminal doors. Wet snow clung to her hair, and her cheeks burned with the cold. The wheels of her luggage struggled over the uneven packed snow coating the concrete.
She dodged into the large revolving door, then shot out the other side toward the ticket counter. Damn, a line. Her flight was supposed to leave in—she hazarded a glance at her watch as she trotted toward the line’s end—fifteen minutes. And after getting through this line, she still had to get past security, then walk all the way to the departure gate, which with her luck would be at the other end of the airport!
She stopped behind two men, each with only one small case. As she caught her breath, she glanced at the sign showing departures and arrivals. Her gaze scanned down the destinations, looking for flight 2787 to Cleveland, where she had to change planes for Indianapolis. DELAYED. The new departure time was 5:50 P.M. She sucked in a breath of relief.
The men in front of her moved forward and she shifted forward, too. If she actually managed to catch this plane, it would be the first good thing that had happened to her today. Actually, this week.
Kara had been looking forward to this conference for weeks and then on Tuesday, Jess, her editor, had suggested that she arrange an interview with some author who would be speaking at the conference. A Tantra expert. One of those guys who believed in spiritual sex. Kara rolled her eyes at the thought. As if people needed special training to enjoy sex. People had been procreating since the dawn of time. It was a physical act that came naturally and was naturally pleasurable—just as she always told readers of her sex column.
The line moved forward steadily and now it was her turn to approach the next available ticket agent.
“May I help you?”
Kara dragged her bags toward the smiling young man standing behind the counter.
“Do you think I’ll make it?” she asked as she handed him her travel documents.
He glanced at her flight number and typed some things on his keyboard, then watched his monitor. He nodded.
“No problem.” He attached a destination tag to her suitcase, then handed back her ticket. “After you go through security, keep going straight, then follow the signs to your gate.”
She took the ticket, then grabbed her carry-on and hurried after the other travelers heading toward security.
As she stood in line, her stomach clenched as she kept playing through the Tuesday meeting with Jess. Kara’s column was all about helping women embrace their sexuality and enjoy every moment of it. Sex was good, and no self-proclaimed sexual expert who lectured people on how one must aspire to a higher level of sexual awareness was going to convince her otherwise. Yet her editor had made it a requirement of going to the conference that she interview this guy. Was she trying to nudge Kara in a different direction?
Damn it. Did Jess think Kara’s column was getting stale?
J.M.’s cell phone rang. He tugged it from his pocket and flipped it open.
“Hi. I’m afraid I’m not going to make it,” Grace said.
“To the conference or the flight?” J.M. asked.
“The flight. I had a patient come in late. The weather slowed everyone down today. She spent two hours on the bus getting to the office, so I didn’t have the heart to turn her away.”
Grace was a holistic healer, and her patients’ welfare was very important to her. She often stayed late in the office, and even took calls at home from some of her longtime patients.
He glanced at the departure sign again.
“The way things are going here, you could probably still make it if you tried.”
“I know the flight’s been delayed—I checked already—but it would be really stressful trying to rush there, especially with the weather and the traffic. Accidents are piling up on the highway. Don’t worry,” she continued, “I’ll definitely make the conference. I’ve already arranged a flight for tomorrow.”
“Okay. I guess you’ll just spend a cozy evening in front of the fire tonight.”
“Actually, I thought I’d have a quiet dinner with Hanna and help her with the baby’s quilt.”
“I’m sure she’ll love that.”
Hanna was Grace’s sister—and the woman J.M. had been intimately involved with until about two weeks ago. He’d been in an open relationship with Hanna, who maintained a relationship with another man, Grey, the entire time. They all knew that she and Grey were the core of the relationship, with J.M. a third. While he thought the relationship would be enough for him, he eventually came to realize he needed more.
Now that Hanna and Grey were adopting a baby, J.M. knew it was time to move on.
“So how are you doing?” Grace asked. “Have you been doing those affirmations and the energy work we discussed at the weekend workshop?”
J.M. had taken Grace’s weekend workshop, which helped people determine the important goals in their lives and how to achieve them. She’d guided the attendees through exercises to overcome the blocks preventing them from having what they wanted. This involved prioritizing goals to determine which ones really matter, learning techniques to change old patterns of behavior, and visualizing goals in order to turn them into reality, among other things.