Sinner(178)

Part of me thought to wait, and come back for the news with my husband. But it was seeing that look of wonder on my stepdaughter’s face that’d brought the whole thing into clarity.

This was, after all, her half-sibling. This was another new thing linking her to me.

And this was important.

“Yeah, we want to know.”

“Do you think he’s going to be surprised?” Emily grins mischievously at me as we hear the sound of Landon’s car pulling up in the driveway.

To find out he’s having another daughter and a house full of girls?

I grin at Emily. “Oh yeah, he’s going to be surprised.” I smile at her as I stand. “Do you want to tell him?”

Emily shakes her head. “You do it.”

“What if we do it - together?”

She nods, grinning widely. “That sounds good.”

The front door opens.

The man I love steps through.

The words leave my mouth and hers at the same time, and the look on his face is one I’ll never forget.

Love.

A perfect moment.

His arms go around us both - well, all three of us - pulling us into a hug.

“I love you so damn much,” he whispers into my ear.

“I love you, too.”

Like I said, sometimes we find things we were never looking for in places we never thought we’d find them.

First we were rivals.

Then we were a one-night stand.

Then we were strangers, and then enemies, and then friends of a sort, I guess.

Then we were fooling ourselves, because after that, we fell in love.

And now? Now after all those twists and turns and stops along the way?

Now we’re a family.

And nothing’s going to change that.

The End





Heat: A Second Chance Romance





Soldiers Of Fortune Book 1





Five years ago, that cocky, egotistical a**hole played me like a fool and broke my heart.

Hudson Banks; the dominant, tattooed ex-Marine-turned-billionaire who runs God-knows-what at my late father’s company.

Oh, and he’s sexy as all f**k, and he damn well knows it.

He’s like a gasoline fire - a scorchingly hot disaster, and if I’m not careful, I’m going to get burned.

I’m on track to be the youngest New York State Senator ever elected - the gutsy good-girl media darling. Except my campaign funding just went dry, and it looks like the only solution is coming from the last person on Earth I’d ever want to take anything from.

It’s not fair that he’s even hotter now than he was back then. It’s not fair that those smoldering, arrogant eyes and that cocky, panty-melting grin still make me warm in places they shouldn’t.

It’s definitely not fair that five years later, I still can’t get him out of my head.

So it looks like I’ve got two races on my hands: the one for election, and the one against the fire threatening to tear us both apart. But on the sprint to the finish line, what happens when the man who has everything comes up against the one thing he can’t have?





Copyright © 2015 Aubrey Irons



Cover Photo: FXQuadro/DepositPhoto

Cover Design: Aubrey Irons

Editing: Sennah Tate

Proofreading: Cassie Dean

Formatting: Vellum



This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, actual events or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademark status of products referred to in this book and acknowledges that trademarks have been used without permission.



All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations used for review purposes.



This book is intended for mature, adult audiences only. It contains sexually explicit and graphic scenes and language which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please do not continue reading this book of you are under the age of 18 or are offended by content of this nature.



All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of age or older and are in no way blood relations. All acts of a sexual nature are completely consensual.





To my husband, for indulging me in my wild ideas and giving me wings to fly.

To K, for being incredible.

To Lee, for demanding that I dream.





Chapter One





Reagan




“They’re fucking what?!” I almost drop the glass of champagne in my hand as I feel the floor practically drop out from beneath my feet.

My campaign manager Donald’s face is impassive and steely - pretty much like it always is even in crisis meltdown situations like this - with his bushy grey eyebrows furrowing slightly like they do when he’s got news for me neither of us want to hear.