I have released my first contemporary romance which also happens to be a Christmas Romance in Book 1 of The Miss Series. It is now available for purchase at Amazon, iBooks, B&N, and Kobo. It is also available for free if you sign up to my newsletter now until the end of the month. Meanwhile, Misunderstood (In Love with the Nerd) Book 2, will be, I'm hoping, released within the next week or two. Here is a free preview of Chapter 1. I love this book.
Chapter 1
Sonya Elliott
thanked heaven for the umpteenth time for placing Daniel Keller across the
hall.
Taking a quick
look down either side of the apartment corridor, she slipped across the
carpeted hallway and tapped sharply on his door.
The I-really-really-need-this-job
interview was in less than forty-five minutes and, wouldn’t you know it, the
zipper on her dress got snared in the lace of her panties. Her many attempts to release it were
fruitless and, as she didn’t have eyes on the back of her head, she couldn’t
see just how bad the damage was.
Becoming
impatient when she received no immediate response, she banged harder for a
second time. She refused to be late for
this appointment, and though she hated asking for help, she needed another set
of hands.
Daniel’s door
finally opened and he peered around the corner from over the rim of his thick
glasses. With one finger he pushed them
back up the bridge of his nose and gave her a quick once-over.
"Ah, I see
you have manifested your ability to connect with the universal system of
propulsion."
Rolling her
eyes, she said, “English, Daniel.”
He gestured
toward her outfit. “The ability to
change direction. Or in this case, your
mind. As I see you have chosen to go
against my advice to wear the blue dress.”
“Yeah,
yeah.” She brushed his comment aside
with a twitch of her wrist. “As if you
have any taste.”
Which was no
joke. Daniel Keller possessed as much color
in his wardrobe as he did in his life.
As long as she had known him, he was a rather reserved man for someone
so young. And dull. Dreadfully dull.
When initially
they met nearly a year ago, she thought him older than his actual thirty-one
years of age. But soon discovered his
aloofness was more a result of him being, what she perceived, a bit on the
bashful side. Something which,
thankfully, had changed upon getting to know him better. She was sure she wouldn’t have bothered with
him if he had remained in his little cocoon, for they had absolutely nothing in
common.
“By not being
able to choose between the red or blue dress, you created an internal
conflict.”
“Well, of
course. Do you have any idea how much a
Versace dress cost? Even second-hand?”
“No, I can’t say
that I do.”
Which didn’t
surprise Sonya. The only thing that
interested Daniel was the technical world.
All his time was spent on any one of his computers, or down at the
institute at which he worked. She
sincerely couldn't figure him out. Not
that she tried.
Daniel was a
great neighbor and a real sweet guy, but he hardly fit into the circle she
associated with. She was certain the
group she hobnobbed with would find him a dreadful bore. As she, herself, admittedly found him to be
at times. Whenever the discussion
strayed in the direction of science or technology, she would have to change the
topic in a fast hurry. Really, it didn’t
surprise her in the least the guy was still single.
Not that he was
unattractive, she had to concede as she watched him rake his fingers through
his short but stiff brown locks. He had
one of those dark polished looks about him.
A look more popular on the legislative assembly channel rather than the
ESPN channel.
Her eyes
followed the movement of his hand and admitted he did possess a rather gorgeous
head of hair. But, unfortunately, lacked
any sense of style. What Sonya wouldn’t
give to see him bear a Johnny Depp just-out-of-bed-after-hours-of-wild-sex
look.
She smirked at
the thought and automatically shot him a grin, which, typically, received no
response.
“Got a girl in there, have ya?” She smirked and enjoyed the look of discomfort that came over him.
“No, of course
not, why would you ask?”
“Relax
Daniel. I was only teasing.”
“Oh.”
Shaking her
head, she thought he really ought to laugh more, and peered through his thick
eyeglass lenses for any sign of mirth.
As predicted, nothing.
Zilch. Not even a spark.
Sonya sighed
inwardly. Perhaps if there were, his
eyes would stand out a bit more. As it
was, there wasn’t much to be said about them.
On a good day they were close enough to be considered being blue, but
were mostly on the greyish side. Which,
with the help of the thick lenses, only magnified the dullness in their depths.
“You really are
a lost cause,” she told him, shaking her head.
“Having a girl in your apartment shouldn’t have you thinking about
running for the safety of your closet.”
“I wasn’t
thinking that,” he said, though she detected a trace of insult as he pushed his
glasses up the bridge of his nose.
She sighed. Though he was a real nice guy, she didn’t
doubt he was very lonely. What he needed
was to find himself an equally nice girl and settle down. Not that Sonya advocated marriage. It was her opinion that the majority of
people just shouldn’t get married. She
most definitely being one of them. But
for some, there was this curious need for it.
And Sonya was certain that Daniel fell into this group.
However, with
his nose grounded to the inside of a computer lab twenty-four-seven, she didn’t
see any chance of that happening. If
Sonya’s life weren’t so full as it were, she would take on the task of
transforming the computer nerd into a heartthrob and snatching him a wife.
Or, for that
matter, any girl.
It wasn’t
healthy for a man to go for so long without some form of interaction with
members of the opposite sex. However,
one look at Daniel and Sonya simply didn’t have that kind of time.
“Help me out here, will ya?” she said, showing him her backside and changing the topic. One thing she hated, was her ability to unintentionally hurt his feelings.
Behind her, Daniel
watched as Sonya lifted a heavy curtain of long dark curls and in the process
gave him a full and uninhibited view of her backside. The smoothness of her exposed back and the
lack of a bra had him sighing inwardly.
She was
undeniably the sexiest creature he had ever observed, and his fingers ached to
reach out and stroke her velvet skin.
But a portion of his brain also wanted to demand she turn around and put
on the missing garment.
When asked an
hour earlier if she should wear the provocative little red dress or the equally
sexy but with a higher degree of material blue dress, he instantly chose the
latter. Not that he was a prude.
As a matter-of-fact,
he definitely preferred the red dress and the way it clung to her female curves
and arched to her delightful bottom. The
lack of a bra very evident through the thin material of her dress, only made
his groin ache. And it was for this
reason that had him vexed.
He knew damn
well it was for the benefit of Tristan Manning, the owner of the bar where she
was headed for a job interview. She
started crooning for the guy ever since she began frequenting his
establishment. Why this Tristan person
never asked her out, was a complete mystery to Daniel.
Sonya Elliott
was the perfect male fantasy. Not only
was she tall with a sinfully perfect body, but also had the face of a
goddess. The word conservative did not
describe Sonya.
Nor did
shy. As evidenced now as he hooked a
finger and pulled on the zipper to exam the damage, and in the process exposed
a wonderfully curved backside where it dipped below her panty line. His eyes filled with the sight of her before
letting the zipper go and having the panties snap back into place.
“Come on
in.” He turned around and walked back
into his apartment, controlling his male urge at the snatched look.
“So what has changing my mind about the dress got to do with my—what did you call it—connection to the universal system of proportion?”
“Propulsion,” he
corrected. “The act of moving forward.”
“Whatever.”
“Well, without
propulsion our universe would cease to exist.
As humans, we have an inherent ability to be able to zap into this
system when confronted with conflict.
The greater that ability, the greater the connection with the universe.”
When he received no response, he looked over
his shoulder and caught her eyes looking distant. His shoulders drooped as he quickly turned
away. Retrieving his line of thought, he
decided to try a different approach. “As
humans, we are naturally motivated by conflict.
It is a vital element of evolution.
Without it, we are unable to move forward. Progress.”
“Oh-kay.”
“Therefore, no matter how much one may want to
resist change, it is fundamentally conducive to growth.”
“Yes, well, I am certainly getting a lot of
resistance here.” She yanked on her
zipper, reminding him of her reason for being there.
“Ah, yes, resistance. The opposition or defiance of
propulsion. Or in this case
obstruction.”
“Daniel, please,” she groaned and motioned to
her backside once again. “Could you help
me out here?”
“Right.”
He grimaced and turned his attention back to rummaging through some
cupboards. It was a bad habit of his to
dribble useless information whenever he got nervous. And women made him nervous. Especially beautiful women. And Sonya Elliott was as beautiful as they
came.
“Do you think
you can free it?”
“Don’t worry,”
he said, then muttered under his breath, “You won’t keep your precious Tristan
waiting.”
Though she must
have heard for she smirked and gestured to her attire. “Do you think he’ll like it?”
“I’m sure.”
Sonya noticed he
didn’t even bother glancing her way as he began pulling kitchen drawers out and
searching for something.
She sighed with
the smallest trace of disappointment. He
wasn’t being very reassuring. She didn’t
know why, but Tristan Manning got under her skin. Maybe it was because he was the only man she
wanted and wasn’t able to snare. Two
months now and all she could manage to gain from him was a wink now and
then.
It frustrated
her and, no doubt, made her infatuation with him stronger. If it were the last thing she did she would
have that man groveling at her feet and, smiling smugly, possibly with his head
between her—
“—panties?”
Sonya
blinked. “What?”
Daniel held up a
pair of scissors and asked, “I asked if you were keen on keeping those
panties?”
“Oh. Well, actually, if at all possible,” she
admitted with a wry grin. “I found them
in a specialty shop in North York which, unfortunately, has since gone out of
business.”
“Ah,” he said,
adding sarcastically, “Don’t want to go to the interview without your lucky
underwear.”
She gave a
humorous snort. “Hardly. But you never know. Maybe after today—”
“No job is that
important.”
“Oh, but this
one is.” Her brows puckered as she
pleaded for understanding. “His bar is
about the only one in town that uses a live band instead of a DJ. This could finally be the break I need.”
“Did he promise
you a chance to perform?” His words and
tone of voice reminded her of a reprimanding father. She didn’t like it one bit. It had been a long time since she bothered to
listen to anything her father had to say.
Or ever would. Particularly on
the subject of commitment.
Turning her back
on him, she held out the zipper. “Can we
get this over with? I’m going to be late.”
Daniel sighed
again before moving to stand behind her.
He allowed his eyes to slide beneath her lace panties where his hands
were not allowed to go, and groaned inwardly before snatching the zipper
between his fingers and snipping the lacy material free from its teeth.
She yelped and
spun around, her eyes huge with anger.
“Why did you do that?”
“Believe it or
not, conflict is
actually a positive addition to our lives.
It acts as a reaction mass and induces our survival hormones to be
released which in turn creates adrenaline to pump—”
“Daniel!”
He offered her a
careless shrug. “Didn’t want to be
blamed for dousing your adrenaline.”
“Ass,” she
muttered, clutching the torn garment behind her lovely backside and marched out
of his apartment.
Grinning, he
turned back into his apartment to the unfinished computer program he abandoned
earlier to answer the door. He dropped
onto the stool in front of the computer and stared at the monitor blankly. He had to surf his memory to try and recall where he had left off, which was no easy task considering his mind was completely absorbed with the image of a smooth and rounded, and very female bottom.
* * *
Sonya tossed her
damaged underpants into the wastebasket and cursed Daniel for being so
inconsiderate. Snatching another pair
from her top drawer she quickly slid them on.
Her lucky
underwear. She grinned at that. Maybe Daniel was right. Maybe she needed some luck today. All other attempts thus far failed.
Oh, she just
wasn’t referring to Tristan Manning, even though she tried every seduction
trick she could conceive. But her career move as well. It was one of the hardest
professions to break into.
All the music
industries she approached refused to listen to her demo. Even landing a job that constituted any form
of singing was not headed her way. She
had done her sweep of jobs. The latest
being a waitress at a five-star restaurant.
Pay wasn’t bad, but the tips were fantastic. Enough, anyway, to help pay the rent in her
Toronto west-end apartment.
When she heard
about the job posting at Tristan’s bar, she approached him emphatically. He seemed generally pleased by her interest
and filled her in on the job requirements, telling her take-home pay would
probably surpass her present income. His
clientele were a very generous and lucrative group.
Admittedly, it
was a deciding factor in wanting the job.
Having a chance to perform live on his stage, a definite key
factor. But, in all honesty, a chance to
get close to Tristan Manning. Now, if
she could only trigger his interest, she was certain she would have that man in
her bed by the end of the week.
Satisfied with
her appearance she snatched her clutch bag and slid her feet into her thee inch
sling-back sandals. Locking her
apartment door, she turned with the intent on sauntering down to the elevators,
but stopped to look at Daniel’s door.
Reaching up, she
knocked quickly three times. It was her
nerves. That explained it. She didn’t need anyone’s reassurance. And certainly not a man’s. She was simply more nervous than normal.
Daniel rolled
his eyes heavenward at the sound of the knock.
No doubt it was Sonya. He wanted
very much to be a part of her life, but not this way. He didn’t want to play second fiddle to
Tristan Manning. Or anyone.
“What now?” He knew he probably looked slightly annoyed
but didn’t bother to cover it up.
“Lord, you sound
like I interrupted something important—or something like that.” She waved off his irritation, not able to
fathom his fascination with a computer screen.
Releasing a
weary breath, he shoved his glasses up his nose. “Or something like that. My intern starts tomorrow, I want to be
caught up.”
From the glee in
her eyes, he knew she hadn’t heard a word he said as she asked instead, “How do
I look?”
“Fine.”
“That’s it? Fine?”
She was giving
him one of her famous heart-stopping glances from beneath unnaturally long
lashes, and by doing so, caught Daniel’s breath. But for Sonya, he knew, it was simply a game. He held her gaze without smiling. Then at last he blinked and offered her his
best attempt at a friendly grin, hating himself for not being able to be
annoyed for long.
“You look good.”
She grinned in
response. “Wish me luck?”
He paused,
staring down at her face. She looked so
eager, so hopeful. He felt a pull in his
chest and knew he didn’t have the heart to tell her he thought she could do
better. Deserved better. Both in career choices and in men.
Instead, “Good
luck.”
“Thanks.” She beamed, then scurried down the
corridor. “I’ll stop in after the
interview.”
“Fine.”
“If it’s not too
late, that is.” She accompanied this
seductive implication with a giggle, which trailed behind her echoing down the
hallway.
Daniel’s smile
made a disappearing act right before he did. The slamming of his apartment door followed
the echo of her giggle along the apartment corridor. This was what he deserved for falling for a woman who thought his worth lay only in his ability to choose what color of dress to wear. Why couldn’t he meet
someone sweet and passionate and totally devoted to him? Why the hell had fate placed Sonya Elliott
across the hall from him?
