Today’s snippet theme is First Loves. Enjoy a look from one of my books.
An snippet from Body Cravings…Glancing at her desk, her gaze landed on the calendar. Gasping, Amara noted the date. She hadn’t realized today was the day.
A shaft of sorrow filled her. Absently, she rubbed her hand over her heart as she wondered when the pain would fade. It had been over three years since those last hurtful words justifying his actions had been aimed at her by her fiancé Kevin.
“You’re lousy in bed and that’s why I had to get my needs filled elsewhere.” She had thrown him out as his last insult was hurled. “No man wants to get frostbite in bed. Call me when you melt.”
At that moment, with all her contempt, she had wished him dead. She had hated him with every fiber of her being.
“Amara, are you okay?” Jacques asked with concern in his voice.
Pushing back the memories, she nodded and glanced up at him, smiling. She didn’t think it was very convincing but he watched her a moment before returning his attention back to the sheaf of papers.
Holding herself very still she tried to stop the memories, but they overwhelmed her. Hours after their last words, when the police came to tell her of his death, she hadn’t wanted to believe. They said the crash had happened less than two miles from her house. Since he had no family and she was listed as his next of kin, she had gone to the morgue to identify him. The sight of his lifeless body made all the pain and self-doubt rush to consume her. She had pushed it aside to plan his burial.
At his funeral, which she paid for, she learned the truth of his duplicity. A woman approached her, spraying venomously that Amara had killed him with her selfishness. Amara had no idea what she meant. She had thought Kevin was happy, that they were in love. The woman pulled a little boy forward who was the exact image of Kevin, and proceeded to tell the child to study the woman who’d killed his and his unborn sister’s daddy. A glance at the little boy, who appeared to be no more than three years old, and the sight of the woman’s enlarged belly made Amara realized that Kevin had been cheating a long time. Maybe Kevin had been right, she had driven him to cheat. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t known.
The whispers and titters around the room had increased as the woman’s ranting escalated. Amara had been too numb to even think or move. Dominique Rule, her friend, led her away to a private room. Imani, her sister, joined them and tried to help console her. The room quickly filled with friends, old family friends and various Trescott Cove residents that she knew, who wanted to know if she was okay. Her other friends Sienna Zain and Hunter Willis quickly came and cleared the room of all the people who cared but at that point were too much to take. She didn’t need their concern or pitying glances. The incident had killed whatever love she’d had for Kevin and the guilt she felt.
Coming back to the present, Amara watched Jacques engrossed in the contracts he was reading. Something had always held her back from real fulfillment or entanglements and she never realized what it was, at least until now. Silently she admitted she still hadn’t fully gotten over what Kevin had said about her. She had tried one-night stands and they had only left her empty. It had been over a year since she had been with a man and hadn’t had any serious connections since Kevin.
You should leave well enough alone. You’re successful, have a great home and are happy with your life as it is, Amara thought.
Happy? Are you really happy? her inner voice asked.
Amara jumped when Jacques spoke.
“Thanks for all your work on this.” Jacques signed the papers and stood.
Pushing aside the thoughts, she focused on business. Standing quickly, she put out her hand. Jacques accepted it in a firm grip. Goosebumps raised along her skin. Biting her lip, she cursed her attraction to him.
Jacques spoke again. “Sampson was correct about your discretion ... and tenacity.”
Pleased with his compliment, Amara came around her desk to escort him out. “Thank you. Congratulations on acquiring Tevron Corp. I’ll forward the copies to you at Falcone International in Milan and give Sampson the original when he returns.” At the door, she waited for him to step through and leave.
Jacques stopped and studied her, an unfathomable expression on his face. “Amara, I want to give you a gift for all of your hard work. What do you want?”
The words tumbled out before she could even think about them. “I want you naked on a chair and ready to do whatever I want.”
Copyright © Taige Crenshaw, 2008.
All Rights Reserved, Liquid Silver Books.
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