Finding Acceptance in His Arms

FINDING ACCEPTANCE

IN HIS ARMS

Thomas Briar

Erotic Romance

Secret Cravings
Publishing

www.secretcravingspublishing.com

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A
Secret Cravings Publishing Book

Erotic Romance

Finding Acceptance
In
His Arms

Copyright ©
2015
 
Thomas
Briar

E-book ISBN: 978-1-63105-534-8

First E-book Publication:
 
March 2015
          

Cover design by
Dawné
Dominique

Edited by Kyle Lewis

Proofread by Laurie White

All cover art and logo copyright ©
2015 by Secret Cravings Publishing

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Dedication

For my wife

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Trouble With a Cowboy
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**
Blood Kisses
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Ashleigh
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she's kidnapped by a group of handsome vampires seeking Victoria.
 
She then agrees to meet their Master,
who's a huge fan of her books.
 
But
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crush.
 
He is the sexy muse behind Nightwalkers
and the man she based the hero in the series upon. She would do anything to
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FINDING ACCEPTANCE

IN HIS ARMS

Thom
as Briar

Copyright © 2015

Chapter One

Kara
moved her hips to the easy rhythm of the dimly lit dance club. From her
position in front of the bar she took subtle glances at the other young
clubbers along with small sips of strawberry daiquiri. The alcohol
did nothing to drown the fluttering of butterflies in her
stomach. Chills prickled her skin despite the temperature of the club being
only slightly cooler than the hot summer’s evening outside its doors.

For
the hundredth time she asked herself if she int
ended
to actually go through with what she’d planned. And the answer, like all the
other times before, continued to be yes. She had no choice. This was her last
shot at real freedom.

Pertinent
points of fact—the red and white striped bustier and red vinyl
miniskirt she wore served one purpose and one purpose only.
The outfit clung to her body, accentuating her ample breasts, small waist, and
voluptuous bubble butt. The white fishnet stockings and five-inch red stilettos
weren’t happenstance either. Neither
was the fire
engine red nail polish, the faux ruby jewelry, the dainty red purse, the
perfectly applied makeup, the cloying perfume, the elegant
upstyle
hairdo, or the absence of any
underwear.

“I
am beautiful and desirable,” she whispered underneath her b
reath. “My light mocha skin is smooth and without blemish.
My curly ebony hair shimmers with vibrancy. My sparkling gray eyes exemplify
electricity in motion. He will not be able to resist what I have to offer. He
will
smile at me and invite me to sit down
.”

To
lend actual credence to her words, she reminded herself that she’d already
rebuffed several cute guys in the fifteen minutes she’d been here. Even so, it
worried her that Evan Lars hadn’t taken notice of her. He should have
acknowledged her presence
already.

Once
again her gaze turned toward the back corner of the club where he shared a
table with one of his many attractive female acquaintances. It didn’t faze her
that he wasn’t alone, because he was a very good-looking man in his sexual
prime and she
didn’t live in a fairy tale.

The
inevitable declared she must walk over and introduce herself.

Still,
she delayed, staring at him through the dancing bodies. She believed she could
see him for what he was and also for what he was not. The hopelessly roman
tic part of her personality wanted to swoon at his handsome
angular face, close-cropped wavy blond hair, dark blue eyes, and six feet of
lean, muscular body. But she couldn’t afford to swoon. Not with him. He would
never return her affections.

Judging
the
timing correct, she left her half-finished
strawberry daiquiri on the bar and sauntered through the dancing bodies to stop
at his table. She extended her hand. “Excuse me, Mr. Lars. My name is Kara
Gibson. I was told that you can help me find employment.”

He
ignored the hand, giving her a critical look from head to toe. When he finally
spoke his strong, masculine voice dripped with sarcasm. “You’ve been
misinformed, little girl. I don’t own a strip club.”

The
gorgeous blonde sitting across the small table q
uickly
hid her lips behind her champagne glass, but the smile still reached her eyes.

Kara
presented him a confident smile. “I’m twenty-two years old, so that
disqualifies me from being a little girl, Mr. Lars. And although I do freely
admit to enjoying th
e attention of men, I’m not an
aspiring stripper.”

“Why
don’t you go freshen your makeup, Stephanie?” he addressed the blonde. “This
won’t take but a minute,
then
you can come back. I really do want to
hear more about your fashion shoot in California.”

Kar
a waited until the model left before she seated herself.
She stared into the thunderstorm raging inside Mr. Lars’s eyes. “If you’ll only
give me an interview you won’t regret it. I really do need the work.”

“And
what kind of work are you looking for?”

She
smiled again to disguise her uneasiness. “Well, I’m
open to almost anything as long it allows me to work
intimately
with you. I’ve heard you’re an amazing
performer.”

“Is
that a fact?”

“That’s
what I keep hearing.”

“Do
you even know what will be required o
f you? Or did
you just hear the rumors circulating around this nightclub and think, ‘Oh wow!
That sounds so glamorous!’ Well, let me tell you something, it isn’t very
glamorous at all. It’s a lot of damned hard work.
“ He
stared her down in yet another app
raisal. “However, I’ll let you state your references since
you seem so eager. You have thirty seconds to make me want to work with you.”

“I-I-I
have no references.” Kara’s mind spun. She hadn’t expected this. She’d taken
the time to dress the part and intr
oduce herself, so
he was supposed to want to work with her.

An
uncomfortable silence descended. For whatever reason, Mr. Lars showed mercy.
“How did you hear about me?”

She
breathed a secret sigh of relief. She could answer this. “A woman in my
apartment b
uilding claims to have worked with you
before. Her name is Jennifer
Spawson
. She offered to introduce me to you
next week but I didn’t want to wait.”

Mr.
Lars frowned at his shot of whiskey before killing it in a single gulp. “I
appreciate your interest in
working with me, Ms.
Gibson, but please go away. I’m on a date and you’re interrupting it.”

Kara
could hardly believe the interview was over. She stared in shock and dismay,
her mouth falling opening with no words coming out.

“Go
on, now,” he prompted. “A
nd don’t ever bother me
again with your juvenile attempt at using me to get into the business. Go get
some real experience under hot lights and then maybe I’ll give you an audition.
Of course, I’ll first want to see the video so I can judge what you’re goo
d at, and what you need to improve upon. Now don’t make me
tell you to leave again. I won’t be so nice next time.”

“I
studied drama in college and once starred in a mainstream play,” she blurted
out. “I’m a hard worker and will take upon myself any personality required of
the character I would be playing. I’ll literally do anything you ask of me. I
need the work. Pleas
e don’t send me away. I’m
desperate.”

“And
with that admission you’ll be expecting an advance on future monies earned,
right?” he sneered. “The rent can be hard to make for a single girl with no
acting talent and a useless drama degree, can’t it?”

“It’s
not a money issue,” Kara replied.

“So
you’ll work for free?” Mr. Lars raised his eyebrows.

“I
didn’t say that.” She strained to keep her voice sweet and calm. “I want to be
paid like all the others.”

“Okay.”
He placed an elbow on the table and leaned in to
minimize the distance separating them. He stared directly into her eyes as
intrigue settled onto his face. “If isn’t money, then what is your motivation
for wanting to do this? Your real motivation, not what you think I want to
hear.”

Kara
steadied her ne
rves to make the forthcoming lies
sound believable. She maintained eye contact and made her facial expression and
voice convey determination. “I don’t want to start out at the bottom in some
obscure, third-rate company where I will have to readily consent
to having all my holes violated multiple times by a pack of
roughhousing Neanderthals
whose
only worthy attribute is their large
cocks.

 
“Besides, a lot of those guys don’t treat
the girls with respect at all, especially the unknown girls. Jennifer said yo
u would not only treat me with the utmost respect as a
person, but you would also not push me past any of my boundaries.”

It
was Mr. Lars’ turn to look dismayed. He sighed loudly. “You will have to get
dirty—and I’m talking really dirty—if you want to succ
eed
in this business.”

Suddenly,
what Kara was asking for became very real to her, like a harsh slap across her
face. A rush of adrenaline burst through her veins. She stated most firmly, “I
will literally do whatever you want me to do so as long as you do
n’t ridicule me before, during, or afterward for enjoying
myself.”

“I
don’t like being ridiculed for enjoying myself either. So there’s no need for
you to worry about me doing that to you.” He grimaced. “You’ve got a clean bill
of health, and the paperwork
to prove it?”

“Yes.
I’m clean as a virgin and I’m on birth control.”

“Good.
But you’ll still have to go see my doctor for fresh blood work and a very
invasive physical examination.”

“Nothing
would make me happier.” She offered up another confident smile.

“Is
Kara Gibson your real name?”

“Yes,
it is.”

“Your
address?”

“One
second…” Kara opened her purse to retrieve a folded sheet of paper. She
unfolded it and handed it over. “This is everything Jennifer said you would
require, including all of my contact inf
ormation.”

Mr.
Lars perused the page, giving subtle nods at the information. “How long have
you’ve lived here in Atlanta?”

“I
was born here.”

“Parents?”

“Deceased.”

“Present
employer?”

“Unemployed.”

He
furrowed his brow. “If you are unemployed, then how ar
e
you paying your bills?”

“I’m
dipping into a small inheritance my parents left me.”

Mr.
Lars stared deeply into her eyes for a short time before his expression
softened. “You are very beautiful, Kara. But I’m hesitant to give you an
audition because I sti
ll don’t believe you know what
you’ll be in for.”

What
he was saying sent shivers up Kara’s spine, and not in a good way. Swallowing
down the sudden lump in her throat, she said, “I assure you that I can do
this.”

“You
seem willing enough. I’ve give you th
at,” Hope crept
into his countenance. “In this business one never knows what the next request
will be. If one refuses a request, then one doesn’t usually get called back a
second time. Remember though, everything will be completely consensual.”

“What
about
safe and sane?” Kara asked, thinking of the
mantra the roleplaying BDSM community preached to no end.

“The
people who hire sex performers don’t pay for sane. Please keep in mind, if you
go through with this, that my word is the only assurance I can give y
ou of your supposed safety. And you don’t really know me.”

“Okay.”
Kara didn’t know what else to say. This situation was getting scarier by the
second. It also beckoned to something primitive hidden deep inside her that she
didn’t let out into the light ve
ry often. Her juices
started flowing and she wished she’d given more thought to the ‘no panties’
decision of this evening.

“One
final warning, Kara, this business will change you in ways you can’t even begin
to imagine. That’s why I’m twenty-six years old
and
have no illusions about matrimony ever being in my future. “

“I
never intend to get married either. So it sounds perfect,” Kara said, thinking
Mr. Lars was getting more interesting all the time.

“Well,
that’s about enough of me trying to talk you out o
f
doing this. So here’s how it’ll work between us if I decide to take you out on
assignment.” The persona of friend disappeared entirely from Mr. Lars’
demeanor. “The monetary split for all monies earned, including the tip, will be
fifty-fifty. You have no
job so I’m assuming you have
no engagements in the forthcoming week to interfere with my plans for you. If
you prove you’re not amenable, then I won’t waste a second longer on you.
A-M-E-N-A-B-L-E.
Look the word up to make sure you know
its meaning. My ti
me is very valuable to me. Do you
understand me thus far?”