Rev (36 page)

Ace wagged his finger. “I could have told you that.” He leaned, satisfied and smug, against the huge tower speakers of his surround sound entertainment system.

“Ace. I ignored all the great things you did for me. I know now, you were the generous one, the one looking out for me. I acted like a spoiled brat. I’m sorry.”

Ace nodded. “That’s what I told you. That’s what I was trying to say. But I’m glad you finally got it. Better late than never.”

I really hope this works.

I walked over to Ace and took his hand in mine. Looking up at him in the most contrite manner I could muster, I pleaded. “Please give me another chance.”

Ace shrugged. “You know, like you said Saylor, I really am a generous guy. You might have to earn it, but I’m willing to open my heart up again, so to speak.”

Now, I just have to not throw up…

“Oh, Ace,” I said dramatically, “I just want you so badly right now. It was all I could think about this entire time we were apart.”

Ace smiled. “Well, no time like the present. I guess we can take this conversation to the bedroom.”

I did my best to smile back. “Oh, I just had to hitchhike back and I was really looking forward to freshening up. Let me just take a minute to rejuvenate”—I ran my hand down his chest and sighed—“so I can handle a man like you…”

“Sounds fantastic,” Ace blurted while scuttling to the bedroom.

I entered the bathroom across from the bedroom and turned the shower on. Peeking through the door, I saw Ace was preoccupied with getting his clothes off. I waited until just the right moment and slipped out, down the hall, and into his study.

And there it is.

Sure enough, tucked carelessly behind a stack of books Ace never read, was the plastic folder I’d seen dozens of times when he stashed my contracts away without letting me seen them. But thankfully, I’d caught flashes of the documents here and there. And I was right. Several of them featured Spider’s name in bold.

Oh wow.

Thumbing through the printed correspondence between Ace and Spider, I realized just how deep a hole Ace had dug for himself. I quickly scanned through multiple pages, catching choice phrases like “the emperor is on his way out,” “the old man needs to go,” and “you’ll get your piece after we change out the old guard.”

Roman’s going to love reading through this…

I was certain it was enough to give Dean and me a real chance. After all, we probably just saved Roman Carmichael’s ass. And he was a man who loved favors and rewarding loyalty…just as much as he loved punishing deceit. I almost felt bad for Ace… Pretty soon, he was going to have a lot on his hands—if he got to keep his hands.

I rushed back to the bathroom with the file tucked under my arm. I closed the door and turned the shower off, and yanked the window up.

“Hey, what’s taking so long,” Ace shouted, knocking on the door.

Nothing, babe…”

Asshole.

I pushed out the screen, climbed out onto the lawn, and ran. I mean, I ran as fast as I could. I didn’t look back. I was out of breath by the time I reached Dean’s silver Pontiac, parked in a dark nook off the side of the street.

Dean saw the file under my arm and nodded, starting the car. Our eyes met, and we both smiled. We still had to get to Roman before Ace. But, against all odds and for the first time since we met, we had a real chance. I was already thinking about our future together. I was overjoyed.

Chapter 29

“What are these?” I asked as Saylor placed a tray of warm, golden cookies in front of me.

“Swedish Spice Cookies—my grandmother’s recipe.”

I looked up at her and shook my head. “How do you know all this?”

She pointed to the tray. “Try them.”

“A little fancy for my taste…chocolate chip is all I…”

Holy fuck.

My mind went blank at the first bite. “That’s pretty damn good Saylor.” My palette began to pick up on the medley of spices. “That’s complex but it’s got a nice punch of flavor.” I looked up at her. “You know, you should start a restaurant.”

“First things first.” Saylor walked back to our small kitchen. “But no more TV dinners, Dean. We’re going to aim a little higher.”

I laughed, shutting off the television. “Alright, alright.”

I got up and headed to the fridge, grabbing a beer and helping Saylor clean up after another fantastic dinner. We’d been in Maine for six months and everything was going better than I’d imagined. I was able to get a job as a lobsterman on a massive boat run by an old friend of mine from my first tour in the Marine Corps. And Saylor opened a small food shack off the beach. Nothing fancy: a couple tables and benches out in front, serving lobster rolls and dessert food almost year-round, and traditional Swedish seafood dishes when the weather got colder.

I watched admiringly as she reached up high to put back a mixing bowl and her shirt lifted above the smooth, delicious curve of her waist. Life was simpler, much simpler. And it was a struggle to leave everything behind. But, looking at her, I’d never been happier. I took a swig of beer and approached behind her, wrapping my arms around her delicate body.

“Let’s finish the dishes later,” I suggested. “I have something else for you to work on.”

Chapter 30

One Year Later…

“Can I take the blindfold off now Dean?”

After quickly working his way into a partnership at work, Dean saved enough to finance his own boat. He wanted to surprise me with a romantic cruise around the coast before winter started up again.

I heard the car door opening and felt his hands guide me out onto the sidewalk.

“Alright, tell me what you think.”

I pulled the blindfold off and gasped. “No… wait, what is this Dean?” I stared out over a small, rustic retail space surrounded by scaffolding and bearing a newly installed sign reading
The Shore
.

“I thought you were doing so well, it was time to take the next step. Everyone loves your cooking so much.” Dean pointed out over the property. “It’ll take a couple months to renovate, but I was able to borrow against the boat and got a bridge loan from some guys from my unit. Everyone wants to see this happen, Saylor. You’ve got talent.”

I was so happy I could cry. “Dean… I can’t even… Thank you!” I wrapped my arms around him and jumped up and into his strong embrace.

Dean looked at his watch. “Oh. We gotta go. I want to catch the sunset on the boat.”

We pulled into the marina at just the right time. Dean helped me onto the deck of his dark blue hulled boat and slowly pulled out of the harbor just as the rich, pastel colors of the sunset began to seep out over the water.

He disappeared into the hold and I heard a loud pop. Dean exited quickly, holding an overflowing bottle of champagne in his extended hand. He held it over the side and smiled sheepishly. “Probably should have chilled it longer.”

I laughed. “Oh, but it’s more dramatic that way.”

Dean pointed out over the coast. The sunset basked the rocky shore in the most gorgeous colors. I walked over to the side of the boat, next to Dean, and put my hand around him, leaning against his shoulder.

“This is beautiful Dean.”

He poured two glasses and we toasted. “To dreams coming true.” Dean took a long sip. “And, to chances, no matter how small.”

“I’ll toast to that,” I acknowledged.

Though, as the night air began to grow chilly and the breeze passed over us, rocking the boat side to side, I thought about what I’d left behind. The one thing I regretted.

“Dean,” I started, “you know, my mom gave birth right before we left.”

Dean nodded, pulling me closer.

“I don’t know if I can live with that,” I continued. “My baby brother has this one chance before he gets sucked into that world. I feel like I need to do something.”

I expected Dean to encourage me to forget, to be thankful for what we managed to salvage. Things, after all, could have gone much, much worse.

But instead, he leaned towards me and whispered in my ear. “Saylor, whatever you want to do—I’m there with you. Always. Period.”

I nuzzled against his warm body. “Thank you.”

“Now…” Dean grinned, “There is in fact a bed on this boat…”

I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, is there now.”

Before I could protest, Dean swept me off my feet and spun me around like I was light as air. Then he carried me into the overnight compartment inside the boat. I was giggling uncontrollably. “What…are…you…” I couldn’t pronounce the words.

Dean laughed. “You’re going to have to get used to that kind of stuff.”

I curled up next to him on the rounded mattress in the small sleeping quarters. “Fine by me.”

>>> Click to Next Page For An Excerpt From
Douche.

Synopsis

Yeah, I'm a real a**hole, a grade-A DOUCHE, but I always get what I want. Or I did, until SHE came back into town.

Zayde Knight is bad news. He's a typical pop star: arrogant, rich, and a complete douche. He's also my stepbrother. So why can't I get him out of my mind?

Zayde Knight
doesn't do commitments. He's got enough trouble as it is. He’s stuck back in his stepfather's home for the summer trying to rehabilitate his image so he can go back to being the world's currently most adored pop star. But skinny, frumpy, preppy Maddy is back in town and it looks like she’s changed a lot since he last saw her. He's got plenty of hot girls to choose from, so why is Maddy the only one on his mind?

Madison Pierce
has her life on track. She's back in L.A. for the summer before starting Stanford to work an internship that will make her father happy. But there's one big problem: Zayde. Zayde Knight is the bad boy pop star of the moment, and his mom also happens to be married to her dad. He's the epitome of everything Maddy hates: a cocky, self-centered womanizer who only cares about himself. He's also really freaking hot. Every girl wants him. Except for Maddy. She knows better than to fall for the bad boy, right?

Click below to read
 
Douche.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010R2AL1S/

Chapter 1

Madison

I can’t fucking believe it.

I was staring at a picture of Zayden Knight on the front page of the tabloid my best friend Jessica had handed me. Of course, there wasn’t anything unusual about Zayden Knight being in the tabloids. After all, he was a mega-celebrity and had been since a very young age. He’d gone from starring in kid shows to touring the world in a popular boy band and finally setting out on his own as a bona-fide pop star.