It took me over a damn hour to find what I needed, but I was so grateful I did. I know it took that long, because I’m wearing the gold watch Indiana bought me for Christmas. She had ‘Forever My Man’ engraved on the back. I fucking love it … love her.
“What’s in the bag?” Indi asks when I arrived back at the room.
Passing it to her, she looks inside. “A carrot, a scarf and black buttons?” Her face screws up when she looks at me.
“We’re going to the park to build a snowman,” I say smiling, just as she launches herself into my arms.
“Will the surprises ever stop coming?”
“Nope,” I say with a chuckle.
“You give me so much.”
“Do you even realise what you’ve given me over the years, Indiana? And I’m not just talking about our three beautiful children. Right from the very beginning, you saw the good in me when nobody else did. You loved the bastard nobody else could. And the moment you stopped fighting me and finally agreed to marry me, you made me the happiest man in the world. I’ll never be able to repay you for any of that.”
“I’ll never stop loving you,” she says, tenderly placing her lips on mine.
“And I’ll never stop loving you either.” When she finally lets me go, she steps back before raising her hand to pinch my side.
“Ouch. What was that for?”
“You so found my list, Carter,” she says narrowing her eyes.
I burst out laughing, pulling her back into my arms. “Oh that list?” I reply as I place a kiss on the top of her head. “Yeah I found your list, babe.”
Keep reading for a sneak peek of Hooker …
J. L. Perry’s new novel
Hooker
coming soon!
Hooker
Jade
Jade’s young life was tough. After her mother died during childbirth and her father could no longer look after her, she was placed in foster care where she stayed for the next ten years. She grew up feeling unloved and unwanted as she was passed around from one screwed up home to the next.
Things began to look up for her when she was adopted by a wealthy socialite at the age of eleven. Sometimes, though, things aren’t always what they seem. Jade didn’t know it at the time, but her new adoptive mother had big plans for her, and spent the next seven years grooming Jade for that role.
Jade learnt early in life that she couldn’t rely on anyone but herself. Instead of letting her circumstances beat her, she took all the negatives she’d been dealt, and used them to her advantage. She grew up to be a strong, successful, determined and independent woman. She was a loner by choice.
The only thing lacking in her life was companionship and love. She’d never experienced it, so she didn’t know what she was missing, until she had a one-night-stand with a handsome stranger. One night, that would change everything.
Brock
Brock grew up privileged. He had everything going for him. Money, looks, charm, success and an endless array of beautiful women. He wasn’t interested in commitment. To him women were easy. They practically threw themselves at his feet. All they wanted was to do something nobody had ever managed before. Snare the hot, rich bachelor.
Then he met Jade. She was like a breath of fresh air. A challenge. Nothing like the women he was used to. Their one night together ignited something within him. A burning desire to own her, possess her, but Jade had other plans. Nobody says no to Brock Weston, nobody.
He’s left wondering about a woman he knows he can never have. But, when fate brings them together again, will he get what he wants? Will he be able to claim the unattainable? Or will her secrets crush him, and destroy any chance they have of being together?
Prologue
The Past …
Jade
I’m cursed. Or so I thought.
Today is the day my life changes for the better. Well in my heart that’s what I’m hoping for anyway. I think things are finally looking up for me. I can’t believe after all this time, I’ve finally been adopted. I’m going to have everything I’ve ever wished for.
A real home.
A real family.
As we pull up to the front gates of where I’ll now be living, I’m sure my jade green eyes are bugging out of my head. I pinch myself on the arm just to make sure I’m not dreaming. This place is huge. Like a mansion. It’s nothing like where I’ve come from. For the past eleven years of my life, I’ve been shifted from one shitty foster home to the next.
My adversity started the moment I came into this world. My mother haemorrhaged and died giving birth to me. That alone can come with catastrophic consequences for a child, but that was only the beginning of what was in store for me. Her death started a chain of events that would lead me into the most horrific childhood imaginable.