Never Say Never, Part One (Second Chance Romance, Book 1) (11 page)

“That’s enough.” Chase leaned in and leather squeaked under his weight. “The past is the past. Let’s move forward together. You don’t have to accept help from me, but you have to know I’m here for you. I’m not afraid of you having kids, or wanting custody, or even your deranged ex. I want you for you. All of you.”
 

Emily’s shoulders shook from withholding sobs. There were a finite amount of times you could cry in an evening without ruining it.
 

“Worst date ever, right?” She wiped a tear and showed it to him.
 

He chuckled. “So it was a date then?”
 

Emily considered it. The pain, the fear, the need she had for this beautiful man in front of her. A man who’d showed her that compassion and kindness still existed, that it was safe to let go and trust sometimes. A man who’d helped her when nobody would and without a promise of payment or personal gain.
 

In fact, she’d been a lot of trouble.
 

“Yeah, it was a date.”
 

Chase’s chest rose and fell rapidly and he shifted on the sofa.
 

“I want you, Emily.”
 

She licked her lips, the night sky visible through the window behind him was starry and open, but for the skyscrapers lit with a twinkling of lights.
 

“In what way?”
 

“In every way.” They hadn’t moved an inch, but an invisible caress ran through her soul.
 

Emily did a final crawl, an encore, over the sofa cushions towards him, into his arms.
 

“I love you.” He tickled her nose with his.
 

“Ditto.” Emily climbed into his lap and took his kiss, accepted his love into her mind and spirit, swallowing the joy and incorporating it with her own.
 

Those lips tasted sweeter this time around, softer even. His tongue massaged her and he slipped the straps of her dress from her shoulders, exposing her breasts. Emily gave a low gasp of pleasure and backed off slightly, studying his desire.
 

Chase giggled his satisfaction, grabbed hold of her breast and gave her nipple a playful flick.
 

This time she liked it.
 

She ran her fingers through his hair, pulled it lightly and kissed him again, sinking deeper into him, pressing herself against him. Chase’s need for her was obvious.
 

“Are you ready?”
 

Was she?
 

“Yes.”
 

He wrapped his arms around her and started to lift her from the couch – to take her to the bedroom? – but stopped mid-stride.
 

“What’s wrong?”
 

Chase’s front door swung open, and Janet stormed into the living room, her hair in total disarray and her eyes flashing with rage.
 

“Having fun, I see.”
 

Chase deposited Emily on the ground and stepped in front of her to shield her modesty. She slipped the straps of her dress back over her shoulders and positioned herself at his side again.
 

“Janet, what the hell are you doing?”
 

“I think the more appropriate question, is what the hell are you doing, Chase?”
 

Emily glanced between them, a glacial sense of dread spread in the air around her and solidified.
 

“Janet, you need to leave.” Emily stepped in. The woman obviously had a crush on Chase, but this had gone too far.
 

“No, sweetheart, you need to leave. Wanna know why? Because Chase is my boyfriend.”

“What?!” Emily searched for the truth in Chase’s expression, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze.
 

“And let’s not forget the more important fact here, of course,” Janet flailed her horrid orange and pink bag around, “apart from the fact that you’re cheating on me with a stripper.”
 

“And what fact is that?” Chase spat it out.
 

“Your dearest Emily McDonald, sorry, Emily Ross,” Janet paused, and terror replaced the dread, “is a convicted felon.”

Chase stumbled back and turned to her, finally. There was betrayal written in the lines on his forehead, in the manner in which he plumbed the depths of her soul, seeking desperately.
 

“Emily, is this true?”
 

Utter silence reigned in the apartment. Emily McDonald took a breath.

“Yes.”
 

TO BE CONTINUED

WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Part Two of the Never Say Never series is available on Amazon:

US:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V7AVNK8

UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00V7AVNK8

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Also by Melissa Shaw

Brave (A Romantic Suspense Serial)

Puppy Love (A Short Sweet Romance)

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About the Author

Melissa Shaw lives in the land of Prince Hamlet in a gorgeous suburb of Copenhagen, and uses the surrounds to craft romances which touch on the truth behind humanity. She likes strong female characters, flawed men, and strong bourbon. When she’s not hunched over her laptop, she’s wandering the streets searching for inspiration or sipping coffee at the local shop. Mostly she’s just writing. That’s what she does best.

A SNEAK PEEK AT BRAVE

Here is a sneak peek at the first chapter of my romantic suspense serial
Brave
.

Real estate agent Chloe Sheldon has a secret. On the run from a painful and abusive past, she has stayed away from love and focused on making the most of her new life, tucking the darkness away. But her new boss Jonathan Maynard seems like everything she ever wanted in a man: intoxicating and brimming with charm, reminding her there is more to life than fear. In spite of everything, Chloe feels a strong attraction and a desire for something more.
 

As Chloe tries to let go of her worries, she sees cause for both hope and caution. Getting to know Jonathan on a deeper level shows he has a darker side of his own--enough to make her question if he can be trusted as anything but a colleague, if even that. And the untimely arrival of a person she has tried to forget, stalking her every move, proves that the nightmares of her own past aren't ready to let go of her yet.

* * * *

BRAVE, EPISODE ONE - THE COLOR OF RAGE

CHAPTER ONE

Red. Favorite color—red. The color of passion. The color of intensity. The color of danger. The color of rage. The color of blood.

“Chloe. Hey, Chloe. Oh, Chlooooeeee, yoo-hoo…”

Chloe started, blinked, and came back to the present. A bemused co-worker stood beside her, tapping her manicured fingers on the desk. “Oh—uh—hi. Sorry, Paula. Guess I was daydreaming.”

“Yeah, it happens…about a million miles away. Some new guy in your life, huh?”
Paula, the office’s general assistant and gofer, flashed a conspiratorial smile and leaned her hip against the sleek blue desk’s rounded corner. “You must’ve had a great weekend.”

“It was okay. Went by too fast, though.” Then again, what weekend didn’t?

Chloe straightened in her ergonomic chair and brushed back a strand of wavy dark hair. Business-like –
that was the ticket. Remaining professional and all that. Whatever got Paula to butt out. “Can I help you with anything?”

Paula clicked her tongue and nodded. “Dennis is looking for the Group Sales Review on Rental Properties, something about a meeting scheduled for Friday?”

Easily done. The file stood in its wire holder, next to the computer screen; Chloe had stored it there after finishing her report –
efficient as always.

“Tell him I’ll stop by later this afternoon, okay? I need to check his travel plans for the Marketing Conference in August.”

Another nod from Paula, who slipped away without protesting the tactful dismissal.
 

Then again, Chloe was the epitome of tactful. She had been since she’d started work at the office. With fifty other drones in residence, keeping her head low was pretty easy.
 

Alone again in her tidy office, Chloe glanced at the stress ball tucked away near her reference books. It had been passed on to her by her predecessor, with much laughter and joking from the staff.
 
Red. Favorite color—red. The color of…

She gave it a stray pat and offered silent thanks: she wouldn’t need that today. Everything was on track today – she eyed the clock on the wall and licked her lips.
 

Glenn Watkins, the portly, balding Vice President of Merchandising, Marketing, and Sales, stuck his head inside the door. “How are we doing with that Corporate Responsibility Report?”
 

“I’ve looked it over,”
Chloe pointed to a stack of clear binders on the credenza, “and had my secretary make copies. All set whenever you’re ready.”

“Thanks, kiddo. I owe you one.”
Glenn, ever on the go, scooped up the binders and dashed out, fat rolls jiggling under his sweat stained cotton shirt. How he managed to maintain his weight was another question entirely – he was an energizer bunny. An energizer hippo?

She shook her head at herself and focused on the work instead.
 

Chloe toiled steadily, wading through the papers on her desk, answering correspondence, taking phone calls, putting out whatever small fires flared up – thankfully there weren’t that many. Two hours passed without incident.
 

This done and completed and put aside; that considered but temporarily delayed. Sticky notes littered the desk. They were her secret addiction – she loved tearing them off and slapping them on pages with no small deal of machismo.
 

It was her small concession: there were only work-related items on the desk. Nothing which hinted at her personality, her truth (other than the hidden stress ball): no framed photos, no meaningful knickknacks, no vase of fresh flowers or holders for scented candles. She considered the desk.
 

The office could’ve fallen straight out of an architectural magazine. She let out a long sigh.