Sweet Salvation (36 page)
Authors: Maddie Taylor
Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary, #Literature & Fiction, #Contemporary Fiction
Beside herself with excitement, Stacy’s ear-piercing squeal drowned out anything else Jared had to say. It also scared away a nearby flock of gulls who bounded into flight, squawking and flapping indignantly at the intrusion. Stacy turned in Jared’s arms, laughing in delight. “I can’t believe it! We own a beach house in freakin’ Palm Beach! Pinch me ‘cause I think I’m dreaming.”
“I know. I’ve had a time wrapping my head around it too, but
we
don’t own it, honey. You, Jessie, Marc, and I do.”
“What?”
“It was Marc’s idea to go in together. He knew I was looking and I could never have swung something like this on my own. We thought it would be a perfect wintertime getaway.”
“Oh, Jared!” Just as quick, her excitement turned to disappointment as her heart ached for her friends. “Like adding insult to injury; this must be torture for them.”
“Jessie doesn’t know yet and Marc has no plans to tell her, for now. No sense in making things worse.”
“That just breaks my heart. What the hell is wrong with them, Jared? They love each other.”
“I have to believe they will work it out, sweetheart.”
“I feel so guilty, to be so happy when they are so miserable. Maybe if we—”
“No interference. They’ll work it out between them, or they won’t. But we are not getting in the middle of it.”
“But Jared—”
“I’m serious, Stacy. Would you want them meddling in our relationship?”
“No.”
“Then be a good wife and stay out of it. I know it’s hard but if we plan to maintain our friendship and working relationships, we have to stay neutral.”
“Hmph…”
“Stacy,” Jared warned.
“Married fifteen minutes and already you’re laying down the law on the little woman.”
“As it should be, wife.”
Twisting around to face him, she gaped at him, slack-jawed. “Jared! I was kidding.”
He speared his fingers into her hair and pulled her close. “So was I, but I’m serious about us not getting involved in Marc and Jessie’s relationship. I expect you to follow my lead on this. Understand?”
She hesitated a moment and felt his fingers flex.
“I could spank you now as a warning, rather than wait until you butt in. Either way it seems you’re determined to earn a roasting for this, my sweet bride.”
“That’s not true, Jared. I plan on being the perfect obedient wife.”
He stared, speechless for a moment, and then roared with laughter. Pushing off his chest, she glowered at him in mock indignation, but his hilarity went on unchecked. Biting her lip to keep from cracking up, she decided to play along and tackled him onto the sand. Not an easy feat with their size difference, but her exuberance made up for her lack of stature. Straddling his hips, she rose over him, glaring and demanding. “Exactly what is so funny?”
“You are, sweetheart. I have no doubt that you will be the perfect wife, but I highly doubt obedience will have anything to do with it. Although you did just vow to do so—obey, that is.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You did. I have witnesses.”
Her wrinkled brow didn’t help her remember any of the ceremony. “You’ll love me anyway, won’t you, even if I’m not strictly obedient or the perfect Suzy Homemaker waiting at the door with your pipe and slippers?”
“Hmm….” His hands curved around her hips as he leered up at her.
“What?”
“I was picturing Stacy Homemaker, greeting me at the door, wearing nothing but an apron and a smile.”
Stacy put her pink-tipped finger to her lips, tapping as she considered. She wiggled so that her white lace panties were directly over his bulging fly and said, “That might be fun, Dr. Baker. I can sit on your lap and you can tell me all about your long, hard…”
He laughed, holding her hips still while grinding up against her before she finished.
“I was going to say… stressful day.”
“Tease!”
Giggling, she leaned over and kissed him. Soon they were making out in the sand only coming up for air when they heard children’s laughter down the beach.
“It sounds like this is a G-rated beach, Mrs. Baker. We’d better slow down.” He took a deep breath to regain his control and exhaled slowly, his lips brushing hers gently.
“This is the best wedding ever and the best wedding gift. I mean, who gets a beach house for a present? Seriously!”
He grinned, his eyes gleaming with happiness. “I can’t wait for you to see the house. There’s six bedrooms, plenty of room to have family and friends down as guests.”
She squealed, giving him another quick kiss, then pushing up off his chest. “Let’s go now.”
“In a minute, wife, I need several more thank-you kisses to tide me over ‘til tonight.”
“With six bedrooms, why do we have to wait until tonight?”
“Because we have breakfast reservations and my parents have a small reception planned.”
“Really? Who do they know in Florida?”
“Since the office was closed, Mom arranged to fly some of the senior staff and a few close friends down for the weekend, but don’t worry, there’s only about twenty people in all. Remember your five invitations—every one of them RSVP’d yes.”
Stacy grinned broadly, thinking of the few special people she wanted to share this day with. “Kristie and Lana are here?”
“Yes, and their husbands.”
“How awesome is that? Your mother is too good to be true.”
“I agree. I’m glad you two are finally getting on so well.”
“I apologized to her long ago. I was just being silly and insecure, but I’m over that now, I swear. “
“Good, because I love you for you—not some idealistic perfect image of who you think you should be—got it?”
“I got it.” They spent another ten minutes kissing and cuddling on the beach before Jared called it quits.
“Let’s go look at our beach house before I consummate our vows right here in the sand.”
“You know, I’ve always had a
From Here to Eternity
fantasy. Can’t we consummate right here in the sand?”
“You won’t like where the sand ends up, baby. Trust me on this.”
“Hey! How do you know?”
“Nope, I’m not going there on my wedding day. Sorry I mentioned it—new subject.” He rose quickly and pulled her to her feet, just as their neighbors walked down their steps waving. “Looks like we stopped just in time, I’d hate for the neighbors to get a bad first impression.”
“You could never make a bad impression, first or last. You’re much sexier than Burt Lancaster, too.”
“Thank you, but we’re still not doing it in the sand. Not when we have a nice, sand-free oceanfront bedroom with awesome French doors and a private balcony where we can make love while listening to the ocean.”
“Oceanfront bedroom… French doors… Private balcony… Now who’s the tease, ‘cause, sugar, those words are like foreplay to this city-girl beach-bum wannabe. I’m ready for my private tour, husband,” she laughed, waggling her eyebrows in a perfect imitation of his familiar move.
“Yeah?” He grinned, eyes aflame with desire as they burned their telltale amber-gold. “Is that what they’re calling it now?”
Laughing, they waved back at the family of four who’d made it down to the surf. Then Stacy pulled Jared toward the walkway over the dunes, anxious to start the tour, find the privacy of their oceanfront hideaway bedroom, and if only with a quickie, begin their married life together.
The End
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Marshal’s Law
When Janelle Prescott is thrown from her car as it careens off of a slippery road, she expects to wake up in a hospital. Instead, to her utter disbelief, she wakes up in a jail cell which looks like something from an old western movie set. It is there, hurt and alone, with no idea what happened or how she will get back home, that Janelle first meets Aaron Jackson. As she regains her wits, however, Janelle realizes that something is terribly amiss, and her worst fears are confirmed when she learns that Aaron is the marshal of Cheyenne County, Wyoming… and the year is 1878.
When an injured, apparently addle-headed woman falls into his lap, Aaron takes it upon himself to keep her safe and nurse her back to health. Truth be told, he is instantly attracted to her despite her sharp tongue and her bizarre story—a story which he is quickly forced by the evidence to accept as genuine. After Aaron takes her under his wing and into his family’s home, the two clash frequently, but Aaron is more than ready to lay down the law… even if that means a good, hard, bare-bottom spanking for this feisty brat from another era.
Having little choice, Janelle must learn how to live as a woman in 1878, including submitting to the firm-handed marshal who, in spite of everything, seems to have laid claim to her heart.
Gideon’s Redemption
Shannon Hughes’ worst nightmare comes true when her rock star boyfriend, Gideon Eli, appears to be cheating on her. Upon learning that she is pregnant with Gideon’s baby, she hopes to salvage a friendship, but those hopes are quickly dashed after she receives from Gideon’s manager a check for $25,000 and a note telling her to move on and leave Gideon alone. Seeing no other choice, she starts out on her own as a heartbroken single mother.
It is not until nine years later, when a chance encounter brings her together with Gideon once more, that Shannon learns the truth. She discovers that their split was based on a terrible misunderstanding, but worst of all, the situation was made possible by her lack of trust in Gideon. Resolved to make them a family after all, he promises that nothing will tear them apart again because things will be different this time. This time, he will be in charge.
Her world is turned upside down when she begins her new life in Gideon’s plush Malibu beach house, and Shannon soon realizes that Gideon’s dominance is very real. That dominance includes the frequent baring of her bottom for a sound spanking, but even after he has spanked her hard and long and assured her that he forgives her, Shannon’s remorse for the nine years she spent away from him is almost too much for her to handle. Can Shannon forgive herself, move on, and begin to live a full and joyous life again, or will the scars of the past never heal?
You can keep up with Maddie Taylor via her blog, her Twitter and Facebook pages, and her Amazon and Goodreads profiles, using the following links:
http://maddietaylorromance.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/MaddieTWrites
https://www.facebook.com/maddie.taylor.121772