Opposites Attract

Hunks: Opposites Attract A novel of erotic romance by

Marie Rochelle

Published by Phaze Books Also by Marie Rochelle A Taste of Love: Richard Alpha Male Incorporated: Under Your Protection Closer to You: Lee My Deepest Love: Zack All the Fixin’ Caught Caught 2: Anja’s Return Closer to You: Lee My Deepest Love: Zack Crossing the Railroad Desire The Men of CCD: Loving True The Men of CCD: Tempting Turner The Men of CCD: Slow Seduction The Men of CCD: Help Wanted Lucky Charms So Much Better Taken by Storm Roped Into You

This is an explicit and erotic novel intended for the enjoyment of adult readers. Please keep out of the hands of children.

www.Phaze.com

Hunks: Opposites Attract Copyright © 2012 by Marie Rochelle ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Edited by Judy Bagshaw Cover Art © 2012 by Niki Browning First Edition January 2012 ISBN-13: 978-1-60659-647-0

Published by: Phaze Books An imprint of Mundania Press LLC 6457 Glenway Ave., #109 Cincinnati, OH 45211 All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, Mundania Press LLC, 6457 Glenway Avenue, #109, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211, [email protected]. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without permission from Mundania Press LLC. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights and livelihood is appreciated.

Dedication You never know when your Prince Charming might be right around the corner.

Prologue “I’m so glad you could meet me for lunch. I thought you might turn me down because you were shut away in your office working on that blog of yours,” Shauntie Kane complained as her best friend Sapphire Rhodes joined her at the table. “I don’t know how you find time to do it with your already hectic work schedule.” “I wasn’t working on my blog if you have to know,” Sapphire replied as she placed her purse on the chair next to her. “I’ve been having writer’s block lately. I can’t think of anything new to write about once I get home from work. You know how much I love posting to my blog when I’m not at the dentist’s office. It helps me clear my head and get my mind off my non-existent love life.” Shauntie picked up her lemonade and took a sip placing it back on the table in front of her. “Are you still worried about finding a guy before New Year’s Eve? Don’t let Emerald’s little competition get to you. She’s just acting crazy as usual. You don’t really have to find a guy before your favorite holiday. “See how Nash came into my life when I wasn’t even expecting him? I mean your guy is out there. How about you come with me and Nash to New York this year and watch the ball drop? I know it used to be me, you and Emerald for such a long time. She cancelled going this year, but I would still love to go with you. Nash doesn’t care if you come either. He knows how it used to be our thing. He even volunteered to stay home, so what about it?” Sapphire flicked her hair over her shoulder as she stared at her girlfriend of almost twenty years wondering how Shauntie could even ask her about going to New York now. She didn’t want to come off as envious of what Shauntie had found with Nash, but she didn’t want to be the third wheel on their romantic getaway either. Nash was the only man she knew who would have taken everything Shauntie tossed his way without blinking an eye and ended up winning her heart. They were so perfect together which amazed her since Shauntie had been so dead set against falling in love again.

“Come on, you know what’s different now. You also understand why Emerald decided not to go this year either. Please don’t pretend that you don’t.” She sighed. “All of us were single the last time we made the trip to New York. Now, one of us is in a relationship so it changes everything. Remember that one blond bartender who liked you and gave all of us a free drink?” “Yeah, he was very good-looking. I loved how his hazel eyes looked more green than brown,” Shauntie recalled with a faint smile to her full lips. “We aren’t able to do those things anymore, besides I don’t want to be considered a tag-along friend. You go and have fun with Nash. Lately, I’ve gotten used to being by myself on New Year’s Eve anyway. Don’t you recall how I was all alone last year and the previous year? This New Year isn’t going to be much different in my opinion.” Sapphire had thought about being honest with Shauntie and then changed her mind. Her best friend should know the real reason behind her decision not to visit Times Square this year. It wasn’t anything against her or Nash, but she couldn’t stand there and watch Shauntie and Nash staring into each other eyes. It would be a little too much for her since Shauntie hadn’t even been on board about the find your hunk challenge from Emerald. “I can’t believe you aren’t going to New York because you think Nash will have a problem with it,” Shauntie complained. “He was the one who told me to come and make sure you were invited. You and Emerald wouldn’t be considered third wheels if you came with us.” Undoubtedly, Nash probably told Shauntie to invite her again because he was such a good guy, but no man wished to ring in the New Year with his girlfriend and her single best friend only a few steps behind them as the ball dropped. This was going to be one of those times that Shauntie wasn’t going to get her way. Sapphire wasn’t going to New York and that was the end of it. “Tell Nash I was very touched by the offer, but my answer is still no. You go and have a great time with him. I’m going to stay here and think about the next entry for my blog. I want to have it up by New Year’s Eve. I don’t have a lot of time left to get something into my laptop. My followers are waiting for a new post and I’m having writer’s block.” “What’s going on with you, Sapphire?” Shauntie asked as she leaned across the table concern etched on her pretty face. “You never run out of

things to write about. I think the last time I was on there your followers had grown by at least two hundred people. I remember how you wrote about how the two of us first met each other.” “Oh, I remember how you grabbed those killer pair of black heeled boots right out my hand at the shopping center,” Sapphire laughed, waving at finger at Shauntie then reaching for her salad fork. “You had already placed those boots back on the shelf before my hand got anywhere near them. I got them fair and square. You always have a memory lapse when it comes to that story.” Alright, Sapphire was woman enough to admit that Shauntie was telling her the truth, but the way she had written it on her blog was so much funnier. Especially with the two cartoon women fighting over a pair of shoes she’d added. In less than seventy-two hours, the shoe entry gained her a hundred more members. Somehow, the crazy shoe incident turned them into best friends instead of enemies like it would have done most teenage girls back then. She loved Emerald a lot and would do anything for her, but Shauntie was like a sister to her. When Sapphire moved here from out of state away from her family, she didn’t know how Shauntie would act once she laid eyes on her; however, her best friend had welcomed her with open arms. No one knew how good it felt to have a close female friend to confide in. There were just some things Sapphire knew she couldn’t tell to Emerald. Now, here she was wishing for another real life post for her struggling blog. All of her loyal followers responded to her much more candidly when she revealed events that had occurred in her real life rather than when she discussed current events. Sapphire agreed to have lunch with Shauntie in hopes her girlfriend could help her come up with a cute or creative idea for her next blog post. “I can’t believe you’re having a hard time thinking of something to write. Your blog is always so informative not to mention creative,” Shauntie said before she reached for her drink again. How could she tell her best friend that a part of her was worried if she still had the touch to keep her blog talked about? What if she was losing her creative ‘touch’? Sapphire hated the thought of closing down her blog because she couldn’t draw in a wider range of followers besides other business women and housewives. She needed to spice things up with something that would have everyone talking and sending more people towards her blog. Over

the past couple of months she’d written with her reader in mind, keeping everything energetic and as interesting as possible. Her blog was the device she used after a long day at work to unwind; it was something she did just to get away from everyone else for a few moments. Plus, it kind of gave her a little kick having so many people interested in her personal life. She tried to write like she was speaking to one of her girlfriends or even to herself Sighing, Sapphire played with a fork on the table trying to think of a way to make Shauntie understand her concerns. Her blog was important to her since it was the devise she used to clear her head after a long trying day at work. “I’m telling you the truth. Every time I sit down to type one of my famous one-liners my mind comes up blank. I’m not used to having problems like this. I usually have to drag myself away from the computer because my mind is racing with ideas. What’s going on with me?” Shauntie looked at her over the rim of her empty glass before setting it back down in front of her. “I think you need to get away. I’m sure some fresh air away from the hustle of the city will help you out a lot. Your mind is probably in overload and needs something different to stimulate it.” “I’ve already told you that I’m not going to New York.” Why wasn’t Shauntie listening to her? “Will you please let me finish? You need to get some patience.” Excitement shone in Shauntie’s eyes like the most amazing idea in the world just dropped down from the sky and hit her on the head. “I’m not talking about going to Times Square,” she said. “How about you go to that little cottage I bought at the end of last year. You were so relaxed when we were there to celebrate Emerald’s promotion. I think it’ll be the perfect place for you to ring in the New Year. It’s off by itself. How about it? Nash and I were going to go there until he told me to continue my tradition of going to New York for the countdown. Do you still have the keys I gave you?” A newly awakened sense of happiness filled Sapphire’s body at the sudden suggestion. Shauntie was so right! She’d loved being out there. Truthfully, she’d hated when she’d had to pack her bags and leave. She hadn’t been that content or relaxed in years. The cottage would be the ideal location for her to visit and work on her blog while on vacation from her job. She wasn’t going to find a man way out there, but there was a damn good chance she might get her artistic

juices back. Sapphire could barely contain her excitement, but it quickly got banked. The offer was wonderful and very sweet. Shauntie was truly the best friend anyone could ask but she couldn’t take her up on this. She didn’t want to go there when Shauntie hadn’t even spent time there yet with Nash. “It’s so nice of you to offer but I can’t stay at the cottage,” she answered disappointment clear in her voice. “You should go there first with Nash and enjoy the solitude.” Shauntie looked around the busy lunch crowd and then leaned in closer to her. “Don’t worry about Nash and me not enjoying ourselves. We find a lot of places inside my house and his to have a good time. I can promise you that we don’t need the cottage right this second.” Sapphire couldn’t help herself as she burst out laughing. It rang out loudly throughout the crowded restaurant making every single customer’s head turned in their direction before Sapphire covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, should I have kept that little tidbit to myself?” Shauntie asked moving back in her seat. “I think you’d like to know that I’m being a little more adventurous. Emerald isn’t the only one who can tell racy stories about her sex life.” “Girl, you are so bad,” Sapphire answered as she moved her hand away from her mouth. “I don’t need to know those intimate details.” God, she never knew what Shauntie was going to tell her at any given moment nowadays since Nash came into her friend’s life. A wide eyed innocent look passed over Shauntie’s beautiful face like she was surprised by her confession. “Sorry,” Shauntie answered. “I thought you wanted to know if Nash and I need the cottage and I thought I would let you know that we didn’t.” Sapphire knew her friend was only trying to help her out and she appreciated it a lot. She would be crazy not to take her up on her generous offer. She wasn’t getting anything done here. Why not take a trip away? It might just be the thing she needed to get her mind going down the right path. She recalled how her mother raised her that if someone was kind enough to offer you a helping hand tell them ‘Thank You’ and take it. “How soon do you think I could leave?” Sapphire asked, already envisioning herself sitting at the huge bay window typing away on her laptop.

At the very back of the cabin was a breathtaking pond that, in the spring and summer, had wildflowers growing along the edge. Since the weather was a lot colder now hopefully the pond had already frozen over and she might be able to do a little ice skating while she was there. Sapphire loved going ice skating at the rink anytime she was lucky enough to get a chance, but lately she’d been so swamped with work and trying to figure out how to change her personal life. She hadn’t even thought about lacing up her skates until now. A trip back to the cottage would be an amazing way for her to do two things she loved: working on her blog and ice skating. She could light a fire, put on some music and relax with a glass of her favorite wine. Sure, she would be alone instead of kissing a hot guy like half the world might be doing after the ball dropped, but it honestly didn’t sound like a bad way for her to start off her New Year. Perhaps this is what she was supposed to be doing instead of being so worried about her single status. Sapphire thought it would be right this time for her to focus on enriching her own life with a stronger self-worth. “You can leave as soon as you want,” Shauntie replied. “However, I haven’t bought any groceries or supplies for the cottage since we were there. So, I think you should grab some things from the store before you head out on the road. Everything else should be fine once you get there. Are you sure that you’re okay staying way out there by yourself? I can have Nash send Brian or Chance to check on you after a couple of days.” “Shauntie, I’m not a child. I can handle being out in isolation for a little while,” she replied, insulted that her best friend thought she would be frightened of the woods at night. Leaning back in her chair, Shauntie held up her hands in mock surrender. “Okay, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have implied that you couldn’t handle being alone. I forget how tough the great Sapphire Rhodes is. Please forgive me.” “Keep it up and see what you get,” Sapphire laughed. “Are you really happy with Nash?” she asked, changing the subject. “Have you gotten over that he’s related to J.T.?” Dropping her hand, Shauntie stared at her from across the table. “I have to be honest. At first I thought it was something I wouldn’t be able to see past ever. But when Nash was gone and I thought I’d lost him I missed him like crazy. The separation made me realize how much I truly cared about him. He’s the man I’m in love with.”

“Do you still have a problem with him making less money than you?” Sapphire asked. “Lack of money isn’t what I think about when I see Nash,” said Shauntie with a smile. “Yes, I might make a little more money than him, but our love for each other surpasses the amount on the check we deposit into the bank. He treats me with respect and love, two things that money can’t buy no matter how hard some people might try to use it for that situation.” An instant squeezing hurt wrapped its hand around Sapphire’s heart as she listened to Shauntie talk about her relationship with Nash. She was thrilled that her friend had found the love of her life, but there was a touch of envy inside of her. She was still alone. “What about you?” The question was tossed out there so suddenly that Sapphire was momentarily stunned by the change of topic. “What do you mean what about me?” she asked confused about what Shauntie wanted to know. “Wasn’t there a guy you were going to ask out on a date? Did you ever do it? I never heard anymore about him from you.” She had only brought up the sexy mailman once to Shauntie. Sapphire had forgotten what an excellent memory her girlfriend had. She should have known she wasn’t going to get out of here without being asked a question about a man or her lack of one. “No, I never asked him out a date,” she replied. “The opportunity never came up and I wasn’t going to force anything. Besides, it would have been a little strange for me to go up to a total stranger and ask him out. “ Shauntie’s eyebrows rose in amazement. “Sapphire, how do you think people get to know each other? Most couples started off being strangers first until one of them gets enough nerve to ask the other person out. Please don’t tell me you didn’t do it because you were scared of getting rejected?” Unconsciously, Sapphire’s brow furrowed. “No, I’m not scared of rejection. I just decided not to ask him out on a date and there was nothing more to it. So, can we just leave it alone?” “Sorry. I won’t bring him up again. I didn’t mean to upset you. How about we get out of here? I need to go home and pack for my trip because I won’t be able to do anything when Nash comes over later,” Sapphire teased as she got up from the table.

“God...I don’t want to hear about your sex life when mine is dead and buried,” Sapphire complained as she stood up. “I might as well start looking into adopting multiple cats and find a rocking chair for my front porch.” “Your sex life isn’t dead nor is it buried. I think it’s on a little vacation for the moment. It will probably be up and running before you know it. All you have to do is find the right man and you’ll be telling me all of your juicy secrets.” Spinning away from her, Shauntie headed toward the front of the restaurant. Yeah right, Sapphire thought as she followed Shauntie. She was more positive there weren’t any juicy secrets in her future to tell anyone especially not Emerald or Shauntie. Hell, Emerald would end up fulfilling her end of the deal before she even got her foot into the door of a new relationship.

Chapter One “Man, do you have to be in such a good mood all the time since you got involved with Shauntie? You haven’t been dating her that long and you’re already acting like an old married couple,” Brian Terry complained, tossing back bourbon and coke before slamming the glass down on the bar counter. “How can I not be the happiest man in the world?” Nash Wentworth, his childhood buddy boasted. “I finally got the most flawless woman in the world and I’m planning to ask her to marry me on our trip to New York.” Brian’s bluish-gray eyes narrowed and hardened as he stared at Nash. “Don’t you think you’re moving a little fast here? You haven’t been dating Shauntie for that long. Yes, she’s gorgeous, but don’t you want to wait a little while longer before you put a ring on her finger? You can’t know everything you need to know about her yet.” Easing back from him, Nash folded his arms over his chest. “Nothing you can come up with will make me change my mind about asking Shauntie to marry me. I’m in love with her. I loved her before she even knew who I was. My feelings have only grown stronger.” “Isn’t there anything I can say or do to make you rethink his stupid mistake?” Brian demanded. “I know Chance’ll be on my side with this one. You just aren’t ready to be a married man yet.” “I’m not going to listen to any of this while you’re nursing this bottle,” Nash said, moving the liquor bottle out of Brian’s reach. “Do you want to tell me why your housekeeper Nina called me over here? I was on my way to Shauntie’s house to help her pack for our trip when I got the phone call. Why are you drinking this early in the afternoon? Is there a reason why you aren’t at work today? I thought you were trying to save up your personal days, so you could take a trip this summer?” “I don’t want to talk about it.” Brian got up from his seat and reached for the bourbon, but Nash got to it first. “Brian, you’ve had enough to drink. Just tell me what’s going on with you. You aren’t much of a drinker, so what made you go into your secret stock and pull this out. Just tell me what’s going on with you. As long as

I’ve known you, I don’t ever recall you drowning your problems in liquor.” Leaning back in the chair, Brian ran his hands through his hair and then down his face. Minutes ticked by without any sort of an answer and Nash was beginning to get worried. His buddy wasn’t the kind of man to keep things to himself. Sometimes, he was like an open book to him and Chance. “I want Shauntie,” Brian mumbled. “What in the fuck are you talking about?” Nash snapped. He grabbed Brian by the front of his shirt yanking him up from his chair. “Why in the hell do you want my girlfriend?” Brian wrapped his hand around Nash’s wrist and tried to yank it away from his shirt, but he didn’t let go. “Nash, you misunderstood me,” he gasped as his buddy’s grip grew tighter. “How did I misunderstand you? I heard you loud and clear. There’s no way in hell that I’m going to allow you to get near Shauntie again. She’s going to be my fiancée after this trip is over. Do you hear me?” Struggling against the hard grip on his body, Brian kept pulling until Nash finally decided to let go. “God man... are you trying to kill me?” He coughed a couple of times trying to get oxygen back into his lungs. “How in the hell do you expect me to react when my best friend tells me he wants my woman?” Nash shouted, shoving him. “Do you think I would take a comment like that lying down? I should be kicking your ass right now.” Stumbling backwards, Brian grabbed the edge of the table so he wouldn’t fall over onto the floor. “Stop it Nash!” he hollered. “You didn’t let me finish the rest of my sentence before went all crazy and attacked me.” “Brian, I wasn’t twenty feet from you. Do you expect me to be okay with your comment?” Nash snapped. “I wasn’t talking about wanting your Shauntie. I only meant I wanted a woman like your girlfriend. A female who will be able to see past what I might not be able to give her to the man underneath.” Brian grabbed the arm of the chair and fell back down into it. He made a mental note to never bring up Nash’s girlfriend unless it was something to do with them as a couple. He didn’t want his buddy trying to kick his ass again over a few misspoken words.

If he ever doubted Nash was in love with Shauntie, he knew that he was now by his reaction. Brian also made a mental note to warn Chance not to bring up Shauntie in conversation either. “You’ll never have a woman like Shauntie because you’re too worried about what she might think about you. In addition, I don’t think you could handle being with a woman who made more money than you.” “Nash, you’re so far off the mark.” Brian hated that his friend had figured out a small part of his problem. “I would be able to handle if my girlfriend’s paycheck was bigger than mine. How can you say I can’t handle having less money than my woman?” “Are you trying to tell me that you asked out that attractive doctor you were interested in? I never heard anymore about her,” Nash asked calling him out on his lie. “So, what if I didn’t ask her out on a date?” he demanded tired of the way this conversation was headed. “What business is it of yours? There could have been another reason besides her money. Maybe I thought our personalities wouldn’t blend well together. Did you ever think about that?” Shaking his head, Nash took a seat at the table stretching his long legs out in front of him. “All I’m saying is that you need to think about why you didn’t ask her out on a date? From what little you told me about her, she showed some interest in you. Why do you think she would have turned down an invitation to lunch or for a cup of coffee?” “Did you feel any kind of apprehension with Shauntie?” Brian asked him. “I mean were you ever nervous she would laugh at you for asking her out on a date?” “Not at all,” Nash replied, honestly. “I knew that I already had feelings for Shauntie. My only problem was how to get her to see me and what might happen when she found out the truth about J.T. However, I got lucky. Shauntie was amazing enough to forgive me about my cousin.” “I hate to admit it but you’re right. I should have asked her out but now I can’t because of the holiday break, but I’ll do it as soon as I go back to work. So, tell me about this trip you’re taking Shauntie on. Does she have any clue that you’ll pop the question?” Grinning from ear to ear, Nash shook his head. “She doesn’t have a clue. I got some help from her two best friends about the ring she might like. I swore both of them to secrecy, so I’m crossing my fingers they’ll keep their words. When are you going to get some free time so I can

introduce you to Shauntie’s friends? She’s met mine and I want my buddies to meet hers.” “Every time I’m ready to meet them, Chance backs out at the very last minute. I don’t want to do it by myself and get the third degree from two women I don’t know. Chance has to be there with me. He’s better with comebacks then I am and we both know it.” His expression stilled and grew serious. “You’re right. Chance isn’t sticking to his word. How about Shauntie and I pick out a day and then get back with you and Chance? I’ll make sure Chance doesn’t find a way to back out on us. I wonder why he’s doing it anyway,” Nash questioned. “Chance thinks you’re going to try to fix him up with one of Shauntie’s friends. He isn’t interested in being fixed up when he doesn’t have a problem finding his own women,” Brian told him. “I’ve never tried to fix up Chance before, so why is he so worried I’ll do it now? I don’t care who he’s dating. It’s his life and he can run it any way he wants. God, he should know me better than that by now. Enough about Chance,” Nash said. “I came here to see you. Tell me, are you going to do anything special since you turned down my invitation to go on the trip with me and Shauntie?” “No, I’ll probably just stay at home and watch the ball drop on television,” Brian admitted. “Chance is going out with some new girl he met while at a convenience store. You know how much women love Chance in his police uniform.” “Yeah, I’ve been around a few times when Chance’s uniform has gotten him some phone numbers. He doesn’t have to do much to draw their attention. I can’t blame him for calling them. He’s single and isn’t interested in anything serious. “Brian, you need to do more than sit at home on New Year Eve’s. How about you get away for a few days and relax?” Nash suggested. “I know you’ve wanted to do something like that for a while. A mini vacation will do you some good. It will give you time to think about how you’re going to ask that woman you wouldn’t tell me about.” Brian loved Nash’s idea, but there was only one little problem with it. Where in the hell was he going to go at this short notice? All the places he thought about were probably already booked weeks or even months ahead of time. “I love you have this big plan for me, but do you also have the just the right place for me to take this sabbatical of yours? I mean it might be kind of hard to find anywhere to stay at such short notice,” Brian pointed out.

“Well...I... I hadn’t thought that far in advance,” Nash admitted, “but I’m sure I can come up with something. Just give me a minute to think about it.” “Sure,” Brian laughed, but without humor. “I can give you two hours and you still wouldn’t be able to think of a nice, quiet location for me to relax over the New Year’s Eve holiday. Thanks again for your suggestion, but I’m going to stick with what I had in mind at first.” For a long moment, Nash looked back at him and Brian wondered what was going on inside of his head. He watched as the different thoughts reflected across his friend’s face, but none of them were a clue to what Nash was thinking about or even if he would let him in on it. “I have it!” Nash shouted, grinning at him. “I know where I can send you. This is just the spot you need to be and I know you will enjoy it.” Brian was curious about where Nash wanted to ship him off to after he saw the changes on his face. “Well, are you going to tell me or do I have to play twenty questions with you?” “You can stay at Shauntie’s cottage. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before now. Here let me give you the key.” Reaching into his pocket, Nash dug out his keys and then took off the key ring Shauntie had given to him. He tossed it on the table in front of Brian. “It’s very secluded and you can stay there until the New Year. I know Shauntie won’t care at all.” Picking up the key, Brian gave Nash a long glance of utter disbelief. He was stunned by his friend’s generosity that he didn’t know what to say. “Are you sure about this,” he asked, twirling the key between two of his fingers. “Don’t you think that you should ask Shauntie about this first?” His excitement might be short lived if Shauntie pulled the rug from underneath both of them about the cottage. He didn’t want to be what caused a fight between Nash and Shauntie. “Go upstairs and start getting packed. Shauntie won’t care at all. She told me she never goes to the cottage during cold weather and since it’s empty why not let you get some enjoyment out of it? Are you going to think of another way to turn down my offer?” Brian held the key up and then glanced back over at Nash. This was the best idea his buddy could have come up with at a moment’s notice. He wasn’t stupid and only a dumb man would turn this down. “I think I’m going on a little trip,” Brian answered as his hand closed around the key ring.

“Great! I know you’re going to find everything you need at the cottage. From the way, Shauntie talks about the area, it’s a dream come true for anyone who loves the wilderness.” “Sounds like it’ll be just what I’ve been waiting for.” Brian was more than excited. He was still at the idea of being alone the next couple of days. The time alone with give him another chance to think about if he should go along with the career change he was thinking about. The cottage might end up being the answer to all of his problems.

Chapter Two “Shauntie, will you stop worrying about me so much because I know what I’m doing.”” Sapphire held the cell phone to her ear with one hand while she pulled up the cottage and parked. “I told you when I called you from the gas station that I could find this place again. I’m excellent when it comes to direction.” Turning off the car, Sapphire stared out the windshield at the light powdering of snow on the ground and on the cottage’s roof. The whiteness of the fresh untouched snow on the porch contrasted with the dark blue siding drawing her eyes to the white rocking chair on the wrap-around porch. The image could have been placed in a Hallmark movie about a city woman going back to her country roots. Everything about Shauntie’s picturesque little cottage brought a smile to Sapphire’s face. She loved being here with the peace and quiet surrounding her. What more could she ask for? “Sapphire, are you still there?” Shauntie asked, drawing her out of her hypnotic state. Well, that lasted about five seconds. She wasn’t going to get any peace until she gave Shauntie what she wanted. Sighing into the phone, Sapphire answered her overprotective best friend. “Yes, I’m still here. I was just getting lost in how beautiful the cottage looks this time of year. Remember when we came here it was the middle of summer. The place looks totally amazing with the snow covering the ground. You really should have come here with Nash. It’s very romantic.” “I’m not about to give up on a trip to New York to see some snow on the ground and maybe a deer or two in the forest. You make it sound like something out of a Disney movie and I’ve never considered myself Snow White. No, you can have the place all to yourself. I’ll tell Nash all about it when he gets back home. He went to check on Brian and then he was going shopping for our trip. We’re trying to get everything taken care of today before our flight.”

“I still can’t believe you fell in love with Nash and now you’re going out of town with him. Wasn’t I the one who took the challenge with Emerald about finding a man before my favorite holiday?” Sapphire said. “You hated the idea and vowed not to get involved at all; however, you were the one who did it in a matter of weeks. Do you have some kind of magical powers I don’t know about? Care to share some of it with me?” Sapphire teased, as she grabbed her purse out of the passenger seat. “Come on. You already know that Nash did most of the work in our relationship.” Shauntie pointed out trying to make her feel better. Yet, both of them knew Emerald would set her sights on someone guy and win him over. There wasn’t a man in the world that Emerald couldn’t charm with her personality and smile. “I wouldn’t have gone to the lengths he did to win me over. I couldn’t ask for a better man. But you shouldn’t give up. New Year’s Eve isn’t here yet. You might end up accomplishing what you set out to do. Don’t forget that Emerald hasn’t found her hunky man yet either,” Looking around the woods which surrounded the cottage, Sapphire seriously doubted that her dream man was going to walk out of the forest. This wasn’t a romance novel, but real life she was living in. Men just didn’t appear out of thin air when a woman was searching for her Mr. Right. Hell... there wasn’t even a Forest Ranger anywhere around here. She loved that Shauntie had such faith in her abilities to make a man come to her before New Year’s Eve, but she lived in reality which meant she knew it wasn’t going to happen. “Okay...you believe that nonsense, but I’m about to head into the cottage and start a fire. After I’m finished unpacking I’m going to relax in front of it with a nice cup of hot chocolate.” “Don’t give up. You really never know what could happen.” Opening the car door, Sapphire got out slamming the car door behind her. She loved how the snow crunched under the heels of her boots. “I’ll try to call you back later on after I’m finished. How long will you and Nash be up? I don’t want to interrupt anything,” she teased. “Call as late as you want,” Shauntie told her. “I’m still deciding what to pack and anyways it’s only like a little after two o’clock here. I still can’t believe you got there so fast. The last time I drove there it took me at least four hours.” “I told you I’m very good with directions and I took some back roads to get off the main highway to cut down on time. So, I’m going to let you

go and I’ll call you back about seven o’clock. Cross your fingers that I’ll be able to get something down for my blog.” “I wish you luck on your blog. Just don’t talk about me too much. I know you can get carried away with it sometimes; but most of all, I just want you to relax and stop worrying so much. You already have an amazing career which means the rest of your life should be easy.” “Shauntie, I know I do, but sometimes I wish I still had a little more.” “I’m not blind I can tell you’re lonely and there’s nothing wrong with wanting a man in your life. Good luck again with your blog and have some fun while you’re out there,” Shauntie told her before hanging up. Pressing the end button on her phone, Sapphire tossed it back into her purse and took a few seconds breathing in the fresh clear air. She listened as birds rustled around in the trees and other animals moved around in the thick forest away from her. How could anyone not find the surroundings beautiful? If anything could jump start her writing skills, it would be here. At first, she was a nervous about being out here by herself; however, now that she was here she knew keeping her inner fear to herself was a good thing because Shauntie would have changed her plans and found a way to come with her. She loved her best friend dearly and would do anything in the world for her, but now wasn’t the time she wanted or needed a sidekick to help her get through her problems. . Secretly, Sapphire hoped she didn’t get caught in the beauty of being out of the city and end up not having one idea for her blog. She wanted to get inspiration from her solitude and not get ruined by it. Hopefully, she would be able keep her word to Shauntie and tonight her fingers would be dancing across the keyboard working on a new creative topic for her loyal followers of Sapphire’s World. Moving away from the car, she strolled around the back then unlocked the trunk. Sapphire grabbed everything she needed out of it before slamming it shut. Placing her suitcase on the ground, she pulled it behind her while carrying her bags of groceries with her other hand grateful Shauntie had told her about grabbing food before coming out here. She wasn’t planning on going back into town until it was time for her to leave. Going up the front steps of the cottage, Sapphire stopped on the porch and placed the groceries next to her luggage before digging the front door keys out of her purse. She slipped the key into the lock, turned it and then pushed the door open. Spinning around, she picked up all of her items.

Once inside, Sapphire kicked the door closed with her foot. She stopped in her tracks as she got lost in the tranquility of being back at the cottage. Everything was just as she remembered from the first time she came here and a part of her loved that Shauntie hadn’t changed the homey decorating. The dark brown sectional sofa with the floral design was still positioned towards the back of the room a few inches in front of the huge bay window that overlooked the frozen pond. Off to the left side of the window was a medium sized built-in bookshelves filled with a huge collection of books. Another matching shelf was on the right side to accommodate more storage needs. Three light russet lamps were strategically placed at both ends of the sofa on top of two end tables with the third one at the side of the bookcase. Hanging on the far wall behind the couch was a long mirror giving the room a bigger feel than normally would be in the space. Directly in front of the living room table was a closet-style storage unit that was concealed behind standard louvered doors hiding a 27-inch television. Other electrical goodies like a home entertainment system were placed there too just in case someone wanted to listen to music. Other pieces of furniture like a huge comfy plush chair, a small circular table with four wingback chairs and one more handsome made bookshelf completed the entire living space turning it into a mini paradise for any one lucky enough to be staying here. Sapphire was thrilled she was that person. Shauntie was too good to her and she would have to find a way to make it up to her. Her girlfriend absolutely knew of the most amazing place for her to come and alleviate all of the stress from her year. How could anyone not fall in love with all of this? Picking up the grocery bags, Sapphire decided to get all of the food put away before heading upstairs and choosing which one of the four bedrooms she would sleep in. Walking across the room, she went through the door separating the kitchen from the living room. She placed the four bags on the white island in the center of the kitchen. Looking around, Sapphire couldn’t get over how this room spoke volumes about Shauntie’s decorating style. The white cabinets with the print border only complimented the stunning gingham on the French doors to the pantry. The blinds on the windows above the kitchen sink gave the space a little added light it needed.

Sapphire took everything out of the bags and organized all of her items inside the cabinets, pantry and refrigerator. She didn’t want to spend too much time in here. Sapphire hoped to get settled in pretty quickly. Since there were already several ideas running through her head she wanted to get onto her computer. Leaving the kitchen, Sapphire hurried back into the living room and picked up her suitcase before going up the staircase. She had thought about getting something to eat, but that was before her mind got stimulated with new ideas.

Chapter Three The bedroom was perfect. Taking a sip of her hot cocoa with mini-marshmallows, Sapphire couldn’t keep the thought from filtering back into her head as she walked around the frozen pond at the back of the cottage. After she had gone upstairs, Sapphire had spent a few minutes checking out all of the bedrooms before finally the last one captured everything she was looking for while she was here on her mini-vacation. A huge pine four-poster bed stood proudly in the center of the room beckoning her to stay there. The predominant teal mixed with a touch of ocher colors relaxed her mind the second she walked through the door. She couldn’t help but envision herself curled up in the middle of the night with her laptop, working away on her blog . None of the second hand finds Shauntie used to decorate the space from the antique chest at the front of the bed to the reupholstered armchair by the window brought down the beauty of the room. Even the turquoise table to the left side of the bed was shabby chic. The sweet smell of nature filled her nose as the wind through the trees gave the backyard a feel of tranquility Sapphire wasn’t getting from the city. Everything about the cottage was ‘picture perfect’. Even the birds flying one tree to another made the stress of her writer’s block leave her body clearing her cluttered mind. The cottage was the total opposite from her. Nothing about her was relaxing or calming. Her creative mind was always flowing until a couple of weeks ago when she hit a roadblock. Sapphire had spent so much time working on the dental care of her patients over the last five years that she’d gotten used to putting everyone else’s need before her own. Noise and chaos seemed like they were the front runners in her life now. Yet, now that she was all alone, Sapphire saw the reason why Shauntie encouraged her to spend the rest of the month here away from the city. Who wouldn’t be inspired to do something incredible surrounded by such beauty?

Most of her life she had made a vow to herself that she wanted to be a successful career woman and not a woman who stayed at home with the kids while her husband worked. Being a success in the medical field was her main focus. As a young girl Sapphire had made a very important decision concerning her life. She knew she didn’t want to be dependent on anyone but herself. So she studied extremely hard during high school and college taking courses in biology, health and mathematics. While she was a college undergraduate she’d taken science courses like biology and chemistry which were required before she could apply to dental school. In addition to all of that she was also required to take the Dental Admissions Test which was a requirement for all dental school applicants. Dental school considered the scores earned in the Dental Admissions Test, along with her grade point average plus recommendations and of course the interview as a part of the admissions package. Doing well on all of those things was front and center for her back then. She hadn’t thought of failure. She was always fascinated by people’s teeth when she was growing up. Her parents always told her the importance of making a good first impression, and of course a nice smile was a big part. So, she decided to become involved in helping people make that great impression. By the time she arrived at high school she already had her career choice in mind and nothing was going to change her mind. Once she informed her parents about her career path, of course they warned her about the long road of studying ahead of her, but they never tried to talk her out of her dream. In fact, her mother and father were cheering the loudest when she walked across the stage at graduation. Making her way over to the bench a few feet away from the frozen pond, Sapphire brushed away the light dusting of snow with her glove, took a seat and took another sip of the hot cocoa. She loved her career. Being a dentist gave her a chance to diagnose and treat problems with her client’s mouths if they came in early enough for her to fix it. She didn’t want to be the dentist everyone was afraid to visit once a year. She wanted to be the dentist all her patients loved coming to see because of the outstanding treatment they received from her and her staff. For the first couple of years of her career, Sapphire had worked as a dental associate with a few other dentists to get her feet wet but after about four years in that particular work environment she made a decision to become a solo practitioner which meant she would have her own business.

The thought of being her own boss over other people had scared her immensely, but she pushed her fears away and went forward. In the end it turned out to be the best decision for her; however, after getting everything the way she envisioned it at her practice she still had some excess energy she needed to burn off. Without a doubt, she was an overachiever in every aspect of the word. She always wanted to be doing more and more. Not knowing exactly what she still wanted to do with her free time Sapphire decided to start writing in a journal again like she’d done all through high school and in college to ease her nerves before big tests. Anytime things got too overwhelming for her at school and she needed an outlet to release all of her bent up energy, writing always did the trick for her. After one particularly long workday she’d come home and started writing in her journal and she was almost done when a thought crossed her mind. She wondered what it would be like to share her day with people on the internet like a personal blog. The second the idea came to her she’d loved it, but getting it started was harder than she thought it would be. Her biggest concern was getting someone too interested in her life and that wasn’t what she wanted from this experience. All she wanted to gain was to see if other people out there were having the same problems as her. Some days she loved her job and life, then there were the days the thought of getting out of bed made her pull the covers over her head. Why shouldn’t she share her daily thoughts with other people? Sapphire had laid her journal to the side and got on the internet researching all of the blog sites that she could find. Google was an excellent tool. She got a lot further in one day with the click of a mouse than she could have done doing research at the library. After printing out everything she could on the subject, Sapphire took the rest of the day working on designing how she wanted her blog to look before she typed in her first post. At first, she didn’t get too many hits but as soon as she incorporated topics from her personal life more and more people joined and became followers of her blog. Some of them even recommended her to others. Six months after starting her blog, Sapphire’s World was more successful than she could have ever dreamt with new followers joining her every day. Later on, when Sapphire finally had come clean and told Emerald and Shauntie about her pastime after work, it had gone worse than she thought it might. They called her crazy and tried to talk her into taking it down.

Emerald thought she was out of her mind for sharing her most private thoughts with a group of strangers, but she didn’t see it like that. About 90% of her followers posted their own personal experiences too which made all of her life experiences seem a lot less over the top. Most of the individuals who clicked into her blog deserved her respect by making her next blog entry something valuable and worthwhile. Usually if she ran into a dry spell with the blog, Sapphire would review a book or post about a childhood memory about what her and her sisters did for fun; but this time she was fresh out of ideas. What am I going to do? Sapphire thought She needed to think of something and fast. Half of her followers constantly commented about how they thought her topics had great content and insight, yet this time Sapphire’s World might be lacking in that department. God, she truly hoped being away from her usual writing spot would push her imagination up to a new level, because if she didn’t get any new visions for it her blog writing days might be over. People liked her blog because it was written by her, not a business or ‘ghost writer.’ Every typed word was done by her and no one else. Seeing her blog littered with comments gave her an immense pleasure. Sapphire shoved the doubt devil off her shoulder preventing him from whispering in her ear any more. She had never been and didn’t believe in not giving something your all. Therefore, she sure in the hell wasn’t about to give up something that gave her such immense pleasure...not just yet For once in her life, Sapphire felt like everything was going the way it should with the exception of her less than exciting love life. Who in the hell knew when that would change? How could she have such a successful career, cool as hell friends and a house she loved coming home to but no one to share any of these things with? Was it her? Was she too picky? Should she just live in the moment and go out with every guy who asked her out on a date and not think of it beyond the here and now? Could her lack of love life be the factor causing her writer’s block? Every single time she feared no new ideas would come to her, something always appeared out of the blue. Taking a deep breath, Sapphire allowed the fresh air to ease into her lungs. As much as she would love to stay outside and unwind in this beautiful weather and the harmony of her surroundings, Sapphire knew she still had bags to unpack

and she wasn’t going to have any dinner tonight unless she figured out what to cook. Getting up from the bench, Sapphire took one last lingering look at the pond already planning to make another trip down here tomorrow to ice skate. Something about this place made her feel like her life change was going to transform more than she could have ever thought possible. Yeah, this might be the best decision of her life.

Chapter Four Tossing his dark blue duffle bag down on the porch, Brian Terry allowed his gaze to wander over the nature surrounding him. Back at home, he’d fought against coming way out here to clear his mind but Nash wasn’t going to leave him alone until he finally gave in. Brian wasn’t positive that a trip to a cottage was going to help him soothe his mood at all. He didn’t understand why Nash cared if he lost himself in his own self pity. The road his life traveled had nothing to do with his best friend. Nash had to understand that they no longer had the same relationship since his buddy started dating Shauntie. Even Chance agreed with him. Nash had turned into someone different and it wasn’t for the worst, but he was more ‘in touch’ with his ‘softer side’ than he was before. He went out of his way now to see what was going on in his friend’s lives and worked on solutions to fix their problems. He hadn’t signed up for a selfhelp show or asked for any free advice. He might not be in the best mood at the very moment, but it would change as long as Nash stopped acting like he had a Ph.D in the love department. Shauntie wasn’t a bad girlfriend for Nash. He really liked her and anytime he came over to Nash’s house Shauntie greeted him with a smile and offered to get him something to drink or eat. Most of the time, he turned her down because he felt a little uncomfortable having Nash’s woman getting him something out of the kitchen. After she talked to him for a minute or two, Shauntie would leave so he could have his weekly guy’s night with Nash. Most girlfriends would get jealous or offended when their boyfriends didn’t want to change their weekly man cave meeting with beer, hot wings and sometimes a large pepperoni pizza. However, Shauntie let them have the house while she would go over to one of her girlfriend’s houses. He was beginning to have a sneaky suspicion that Shauntie loved his and Chance’s weekly visits so she could do some things without Nash following behind her like a love sick teenager instead of a forty-something year old man. His best friend had it bad for Shauntie and he never made a

secret of it. He would shout his love for Shauntie from the sky if he could do it without getting in trouble. A small hint of jealousy burned in the pit of Brian’s stomach at how Nash finally had gotten everything he had wanted. Never in his life would he have guessed Nash would have gotten another chance with Shauntie. His buddy had been secretly in love with his cousin’s J.T.’s girlfriend for months and she never knew it. Nash by no means thought he would see Shauntie again and had given up on all hope. However, the lucky bastard that he was, Nash got a call about a leaky roof and it just happened to be at Shauntie’s house. After a long battle and a few misunderstandings between the two of them, Nash finally won over Shauntie and now he was going to propose her in New York on their first trip together as a couple. He was thrilled for Nash, but another part of him was jealous at hell. Nash had everything he ever wanted from his life. Nothing was left for him to do but get married and start working on the family he always talked about having with the woman he loved. Never in his life did he think Nash would be the first one out of their group to get all sentimental and decide to take the big leap down the aisle. Honestly, Brian thought he, Nash and Chance would be single well into their late forties. What was wrong with his properties? Should he have swallowed down his pride and asked out that sexy dentist Dr. Rhodes on his mail route? He’d noticed her checking him out a couple of times, but he’d pretended like he hadn’t seen her standing at the front desk. She might have actually agreed to at least coffee with him, but he would never know now. Neither one of his friends knew about this, but he had told his boss that he wasn’t coming back after New Year. He was tired of going to a job he didn’t love every day. He wasn’t getting anything out of being a mail carrier anymore. It wasn’t his dream career and why should he stay at a job he didn’t love. Over the last ten years, he’d saved up enough of his money to set up his own Web Design business. He had already worked on a couple of sites for local businesses and gotten excellent feedback from them. Four of his clients even recommended him to some of their friends and family. He was planning on getting back in touch with them after the New Year’s holiday was over. Because after the New Year he was going to start working on his new career and probably would ever get to see the sexy doctor again he’d

missed out on his only means of finding out more about her. Brian was more than disappointed with himself that he hadn’t at least tried talking to her at least once, but he hadn’t done it. So, now she was in his past and he was the only person to blame for it. Was he really not as confident as he thought he was? Brian contemplated this for a few minutes and then arrogantly shoved the idea from his head. No, he wasn’t a coward about deciding not to ask out a woman who made a shit load more money than him. He only wanted to be sure he was asking out the right woman and a successful dentist wasn’t the woman for him. What in the hell could they have in common with each other? They were on two different pages in their lives. She was probably going left when he was debating if he should turn to the right. The days of dating the wild and unpredictable woman was over for him. He was looking for a female he could settle down with and build a family. Nash had taken his time to find Shauntie and he could and would be patient enough to do the same exact thing. Sitting through Nash’s long, but well-meaning lecture is what ultimately had pushed him into this new state of mind and a part of him wasn’t happy about it. Half the time he hated listening to Nash’s advice about how it was past time for him to grow up, so he found ways to tune him out and think about something different. His best friend didn’t have any clue about what went on inside of his head when he was alone. There were days—more than he cared admit to himself or anyone else—when he thought back to his past relationships and wondered if his indifference towards a woman had actually pushed his future wife away, but in the end he constantly came up with the same answer. No way in hell! Brian didn’t think he’d met the future Mrs. Brian Terry yet and he would know the instant he laid eyes on her. Nash knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Shauntie even when she was with J.T. Why in the world wouldn’t he be able to do the same damn thing himself? He’d never considered himself as a man who would ever doubt his place in the world. Even while Brian was working at an exacting job he hated for the steady paycheck, he was still a very proud man. Thinking and worrying about the future wasn’t in his personality but somehow it eased up on him as he had gotten older. He was never worried

about the future, but now since he had decided to change careers he wanted—no, desired—a change in his personal life too. Brian was more like Nash than he cared to admit. He liked the idea of a wife, family and home, one special woman who knew all of his deepest, darkest secrets and held on to them with her life. But Brian wasn’t sure if that woman was out there for him. Well, he couldn’t figure out his future all in one day. Brian took a look at the cottage door and took a step towards it but then stopped. He wasn’t quite ready to go inside yet, so he decided to spend a few more minutes outside admiring the tranquility of the surroundings. When he was growing up, his father had taken him camping every other month as their father and son bonding moments. He cherished those trips with his father so much because they made him feel so loved when he was a little kid. Even his mother stayed at home allowing it just to be a boy’s only outing. Brian loved being out like this with nature because his father passed down his love for the wilderness to him. Hopefully, the gift he got from his parent, he would be able to pass down to his own children when that day finally came. The fresh air always brought peacefulness to his soul. For years, he was an avid hiker, fisherman and even climbed a couple of rocks when he got the free time to get involved with it. Being outside as much as he could was like breathing to him; he never missed a chance to toss some gear into his truck and just take off for a few days. Breathtaking atmosphere like this wasn’t found in the heart of the city. Everything was over-run with people moving around at such a fast pace that it seemed like the air was congested with dirtiness. On the inside, Brian was dying to stay outside for at least two more hours even longer if he could because today was bringing back such wonderful memories of his father, yet he couldn’t do it. He still needed to take a tour of the cottage, unpack his bag and take care of some other things. In addition, he promised Nash that he would call him as soon as he arrived to let him know that he got there without any problems. Grabbing his bag off the porch, Brian unlocked the front door and walked inside closing the door behind him.

Chapter Five What was that noise? Sapphire’s hand froze midway through hanging her clothes up in the master bedroom closet. Her heart sped up when she realized the sound was the front door opening and closing, but how was that possible? She’d made sure she locked it before she came upstairs. Was it her mind playing tricks on her? Moving out of the walk-in closet, Sapphire dropped a pink sweater down on the bed then she slowly inched her way over to the open bedroom door. Trying to stay as calm and quiet as she could, her heart continued pounding away inside her chest like a trapped bird inside a cage. Shit! Sapphire was sure she’d locked all of the doors before coming upstairs to unpack. Why hadn’t she double-checked everything before coming to her bedroom? Hadn’t she watched enough horror movies to know that a cute black woman isn’t safe alone in the woods? God, now as panic coursed through her veins Sapphire wondered why she’d ever listened to Shauntie about coming to this wilderness getaway in the first damn place. What in the hell was she supposed to do now? Her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. Sapphire wasn’t dumb. She knew there was someone downstairs in the livingroom. How much longer would it take before the intruder got tired down there and came up here? Easing out of the open bedroom door, she flattened her back against the wall inching her body closer to the stairs. Holding her breath, Sapphire listened closely again for any movement and finally she heard sounds coming from right below her. Calming her nerves down as best as she could for the situation she was in, Sapphire slowly tiptoed back from the stairs trying her best not to make a sound and drawing attention to herself because she wasn’t about to venture downstairs and run into anyone who could be starring on an episode of Criminal Minds She didn’t want to alert the intruder to the fact that there was someone else besides himself inside the house. God! Sapphire sent up a silent prayer there was only one burglar.

Once Sapphire made it safely back inside her bedroom, she eased the door closed locking it behind her and then hurried over to the bed as fast as she could barely missing tripping over a pair of shoes she had tossed to the side earlier. Digging her cell phone out of her purse, Sapphire dialed 911 silently praying the operator picked up before anyone downstairs made their way upstairs to her. “911, what is your emergency?” the operator asked. “Yes, I need you to send the police. I’m home alone and there is an intruder downstairs in my living room,” Sapphire whispered into the phone as she made her way towards the closet. She would hide inside until help came. “Ma’am, how many are there?” “I don’t know. I just heard someone moving around downstairs. Should I have looked better to see how many there were?” Sapphire asked as she eased the closet door closed and pressed her back against the wall. “No, find somewhere to hide. Are you at 3384 West Author Road?” “Yes, it’s a little white and blue cottage a little ways off the road. It belongs to my friend Shauntie Kane. She’s allowing me to stay here for the New Year’s Eve weekend,” she whispered. “Please hurry up!” “Don’t worry, help is on the way. They should be there soon. Whatever you do don’t come out of your hiding place,” the operator informed her. “I’m going to stay on the line with you until the police get there.” “I won’t come out, but you don’t have to stay on the line with me.” Before the operator could respond, Sapphire ended the call and held the cell phone against her chest praying the police got to her sooner rather than later. How long was it going to take for the police to get here to save her? Whenever the police were called in the city, it seemed like it took them forever to show up. She was miles from town. What if the person downstairs decided there wasn’t enough down there to appease him? He could decide to make his way up here to look for something better. Fear worked its way into her body until Sapphire felt her entire body started to shake. Stop it! She couldn’t allow herself to lose control. Keeping her wits about her was going to be the most important thing she could do in this situation. Wait one damn minute! She wasn’t going to hide away in a bedroom closet because of unknown fear. She might be out here awhile before

anyone showed up to help her. She didn’t have a clue how close the nearest police station was. When she was driving out here, she hadn’t noticed one police car after she’d gotten off the main highway. Easing over to the closet door, Sapphire pushed it open and slipped out then made her way back over to her purse on the bed. She searched through it until she found the item she was looking for. Taking a deep breath, Sapphire blew out a couple more before inching over to the closed bedroom door. She paused, listening for any kind of movement or sounds, then walked out into the hallway. Sapphire prayed she wasn’t making a huge mistake by acting on her instincts instead of waiting for the police to arrive, but she couldn’t stay inside that closet without knowing what was going on around her. At a snail's pace, Sapphire made her way to the staircase and tiptoed down them as quietly as possible, crossing her fingers that her pounding heart didn’t sound as loud as it did to her ears Stopping at the bottom step, Sapphire stayed completely still as she listened for any sound and her ears picked up on a faint sound coming from inside the kitchen. Shit! Shit! Shit! The intruder was in there with all of the dangerous weapons and here she was standing outside of the door trying to fend off whoever it was with a can of old pepper spray she’d bought at the convenience store while she was paying for her over-priced gas. Was she out of her mind or what? Sapphire didn’t need anyone to answer the question for her. She was already smart enough to know the answer. She was completely and totally out of her mind lacking the good common sense her parents gave to her. But she was so used to acting first and thinking second, so why would she stop being who she was in the face of danger? Sapphire gradually closed the distance between her and the burglar who she heard searching for something inside the kitchen. She couldn’t get over the fact. Some stranger actually thought it would be perfectly fine for him to break and enter here and take anything he would like to have for himself. Okay, it was now or never. The words came into Sapphire as she finally made it to the kitchen door; she would have to deal with whatever she found on the other side. It was her choice to leave the safety of her bedroom closet and come down here. Placing her hand on the door, Sapphire took one final breath before she pushed the kitchen door open, burst inside and then hollered.

“Stop right there! The police are on their way!”

Chapter Six The bag of barbeque potato chips dropped out of Brian’s hand, hitting the edge of the marble counter and spilling onto the floor from the unexpected sound of a woman’s ear-piercing voice behind him. Spinning around, Brian’s breath rushed from his body like he had been punched in the gut as his eyes landed on the owner of the voice. It was her! How was it possible she was standing not twenty feet from him? It was the beautiful black woman dentist from his delivery route and she was holding a can of pepper spray. As Brian stood frozen he watched as her big brown eyes grew huge on her stunning face as she recognized him too. Her thick black hair was pulled from her face in a loose bun at the back of her long, slender neck; however, a few strands of hairs had escaped and had fallen against her smooth caramel cheek. Brian dropped his gaze giving his eyes a chance to skim over her body noticing how full her breasts were compared to her narrow waist. She was tall, maybe along five feet six inches, but he liked how her hips and thighs filled out the dark blue jeans that covered her long legs. She was slim but not to the point of being overly skinny. But what he liked the most was how the corners of her full, tempting mouth turned upwards more than they turned down. The woman in front of him didn’t fit into the mode of any woman in his circle of friends and for some reason that was probably what had drawn him to her in the first place. Why was she here? How did she even know Nash? Was his buddy cheating on Shauntie and she didn’t know about it? Brian had countless questions racing in his head that he needed answers to and this spunky woman could be the only person who could answer them for him. “Why don’t you put the can of pepper spray away and tell me why the police are on their way?” Brian questioned in a soft, calm voice. He didn’t want to scare her into spraying either one of them accidentally. “No. I’m not about to put this can down or answer any of your questions,” she snapped, eyeing him cautiously. “Don’t you dare come any closer to me; I’m not playing with you.”

Brian seriously doubted the woman in front of him who wasn’t anywhere close to his six feet five inches could physically harm him. The only problem that concerned him right now was she told him the police were on their way. Why had the police been called and why was she acting so scared of him? Did she think he was going to hurt her? It wasn’t like they were strangers because he delivered mail to her office six days a week. “Listen, I’m not going to hurt you.” Brian moved away from the counter and took a small step towards her. He racked his brain to remember her last name. He knew that she was a dentist in the building, but with the situation going on around him his mind was coming up totally blank. Brian had to give her credit. Despite the fact she showed recognition in her eyes, she wasn’t letting that keep her from pointing that can of pepper spray directly at his face. He could see in her eyes that she wouldn’t have a problem using it on him. “Stop right there! I’m not going to warn you again. Stay right there!” She took a step back from him, but didn’t lower the can one inch. How in the hell did he end up in this position? Nash was the person who pushed him to come out here to get away from all of the uncertainty in his life. Yet, here he was being held hostage by a woman he’d thought about asking out on a date not forty-five minutes ago when he was outside. Brian suddenly realized he would have to think of a different way to make her lower the spray because she wasn’t about to let him get any closer to her and grab it out of her hand. “Miss...I know that you recognized me when you came through the door just like I knew who you are. We both know that because I deliver mail in your building. I think you’re a dentist. Am I right? Why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here? Maybe we can get this figured out before the police show up.” “You’re right,” she answered. “You did look familiar to me when I walked through the kitchen door, but that doesn’t matter to me. It still doesn’t explain why you broke into Shauntie’s cottage.” “You know Shauntie?” Brian couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice. Nash was cheating on Shauntie with a woman that she knew? He thought his buddy was so in love with Shauntie. Could it all be an act? “She’s my best friend and unlike you I am invited to be here. This place belongs to her. You broke in and now you’re going to jail.”

“Listen, my name is Brian Terry and I’m friend’s with—” The rest of Brian’s words got cut off by a sudden pounding on the front door. “Open up, it’s the police!” a male voice demanded. Realization quickly settled in with Brian about what was going to happen if he didn’t make this woman understand that he wasn’t breaking into this place. He had permission to be here too—from Nash, but she didn’t know it. “Please, will you just listen to me?” he snapped. Shit! He couldn’t afford to get arrested, not when he was about to start a new business. It would never get off the ground if he had an arrest record. Hell...no!” the woman shouted before the knock came again but more insistent this time followed by another angry shout. “Open up! This is the police. This is your last warning!” “I’m coming,” she shouted shooting him one last look before spinning around and rushing out of the kitchen door. Damn it! This couldn’t be happening to him. Brian knew he had to get out of this kitchen and fast or he wouldn’t be able to tell his side of the story. If he didn’t leave now the police would be on him in a matter of seconds. He hadn’t broken into this place because Nash had given him a key. He was an invited guest just like her. Brian took off after Shauntie’s friend hoping to catch up with her before she made it to the door, but he didn’t make it in time. Just as Brian rounded the corner, he stopped in his tracks and watched in growing horror as the front door was flung open and Chance charged in with his gun drawn. The second Chance’s eyes landed on him, they darted back and forth between him and the woman but he didn’t lower his gun. “Miss, are you the one who called about an intruder?” Chance asked, staring at him. “Yes, my name is Sapphire Rhodes and this man broke into this place. Arrest him.” Sapphire spun around and pointed her finger in his direction. “Slap the cuffs on him and take him away.” “Brian, what is going on here?” Chance asked, sliding his gun back into his holster. “What are you doing out here? Did you break in like Ms. Rhodes is accusing?” Brian took his eyes off of Chance and focused his attention on Sapphire who was taking a step back from them with complete surprise on her face. He would tell from her perplexed expression that she was wondering how he knew Chance. If she was taken back by Chance knowing him, he wondered how she was going to react to his answer to

Chance’s question. “Of course, I didn’t break in here. I wanted something different to do for the New Year’s Eve holiday and Nash suggested that I stay here while he and Shauntie went on vacation. I guess he didn’t know that Shauntie had offered Sapphire the same deal as me. I didn’t have a clue she was already here. So, when she heard me downstairs, I’m assuming she called the police to report an intruder which is why you’re here.”

Chapter Seven Standing back off to the side of the living room, Sapphire listened in complete disbelief as Brian gave the police officer his side of the story. How in the hell was the man she wanted to ask out on a date, friends with Shauntie’s boyfriend? Why hadn’t Shauntie told her about this? Why hadn’t she or Emerald met either one of these men before now? Sapphire replayed the conversation she’d had with Shauntie in her head. There was no way her friend didn’t know about this. If Shauntie knew Brian then she had to figure out he was the mailman she had talked about. God, Brian was friends with Nash and this cop named Chance who was standing right in front of her. The more Sapphire thought about it the madder she got. Shauntie had set her up on purpose. What kind of girlfriend did that to her best friend? No way in hell was she going to let this slide. Here she thought when she was telling Shauntie about her mystery man that she was clueless to his identity, but she had known all along whom she was talking about. How could she play her like this? Her mailman Brian was best friends with Nash. From what she was hearing, the two of them were around each other all of the time. So Shauntie had put two and two together and decided to hook her up with Brian at the cottage. For all she knew, Shauntie would have been the one to plant the idea in Nash’s head to send Brian up here. Wait a minute. Maybe she was blowing this all of out portion and it was actually a coincidence. Could Shauntie have been truly smart enough to get one over on her without her figuring it out? The thought rolled around in Sapphire’s head. Well, she was going to get to the bottom of this mess before Chance left because she was going to make sure he took Brian with him. This was her only down time and she wasn’t in the mood for a side kick. It didn’t matter one bit to her that he was hotter than Rob Lowe and Johnny Messner combined. Easing further away from Brian and Chance, Sapphire grabbed her cell phone from her back pocket and punched in Shauntie’s phone number. One thing was for sure, Shauntie better not try to lie to her because she

would be able to tell. Her best friend was a lot of things, but a good liar wasn’t one of them. The phone rang four times before Shauntie finally answered. “Hey Sapphire. How are you enjoying the cottage? Have you gotten settled in?” Shauntie asked. Sapphire ignored her friend’s questions and jumped right in with a few of her own. “Do you know a guy named Brian Terry?” she demanded. “Yes, I know Brian. He’s one of Nash’s best friends,” Shauntie answered. “What about a police officer named Chance?” Sapphire questioned, looking back at the two men who were still standing near the doorway. She still wondered if Shauntie was telling her the entire truth about this. “Yes, his name is Chance Cutter and he’s also friends with Nash,” Shauntie answered. “Why are you asking me about them? How do you even know about Brian and Chance? You’ve never met either one of them. Every time I try to set up plans for you and Emerald to meet them, something happens and I have to cancel them.” Sapphire heard the genuine surprise in Shauntie’s voice and a part of her was beginning to think maybe she had hastily jumped to the wrong conclusion. Maybe she shouldn’t have assumed the worst before knowing all of the facts first. “Let me tell you how I got introduced to Brian and Chance. Brian is here at the cottage with me. I thought he was an intruder and called the police on him. Guess who showed up? Yeah, that’s right Chance did and Nash informed him that he wasn’t an intruder because your boyfriend had given him a key to the place. Nash told him to come up here and unwind for a couple of days. Do you know anything about this?” “What! You called the cops on Brian, and Chance was the police officer who showed up?” Shauntie laughed. “I can’t believe it. I’ve wanted you to meet Nash’s best buddies but not this way.” “Are you really telling me that you had nothing to do with this?” Sapphire asked with a tiny bit of doubt in her voice. “No, I haven’t talk to Nash since he left this morning. I knew he was going to check on Brian because he felt something was going on with him,” Shauntie told her. “But I didn’t have a clue he would send him out there to our cottage. Why are you so upset? Did Brian get arrested?” The sincerity was loud and clear in her best friend’s voice. She instantly felt bad for thinking Shauntie would be trying to plot something behind her back concerning Brian. Glancing back over to Brian, Sapphire

saw the two men talking. They had moved further away from her, so she couldn’t pick up on what they were saying to each other. “No, I don’t think Chance is going to arrest Brian since he had permission to be here like I did. I’m not going to stay here with him. I’ll just pack up my bags and leave. I’m really glad I caught you before you left on your trip with Nash and we got everything settled.” “No, don’t leave,” Shauntie jumped in, cutting her off. “Stay there. You know the place is more than big enough for you and Brian. I can vouch for him. He’s a great guy. Brian isn’t going to do anything to you.” “How did you figure out Brian was the mailman I told you I thought about asking out on a date?” Sapphire wasn’t interested in small talk. Shauntie gasped on the other end of the phone. “Sapphire, I didn’t have a clue Brian was the guy you told me about. I wouldn’t have ever set you up like that. You should know me better than that. Besides, I’ve wanted the two of you to meet for a while. I still can’t believe he’s the gorgeous mailman you were lusting over. See how things can work out on their own? I couldn’t have planned this better if I tried. You wanted to spend some alone time with Brian and now there you are, all alone in the wilderness with him.” Sapphire detected more than hint of happiness in Shauntie’s voice. “Are you serious about this?” “Yes, I’m very serious. You were talking about how you never got the opportunity to ask Brian out on a date. Can you have any better luck than having him tossed into your lap? It’s meant to be.” Yes, she had thought about asking Brian out for a cup of coffee or maybe even out to lunch. However, what made Shauntie think she would ever think about staying here with a man that she barely knew? Was her best friend insane? “Sorry, Shauntie I’m going to leave. There isn’t any reason for me to stay. Brian is your friend, not mine. I can’t agree to share a place with a man I don’t know at all. I know you wouldn’t do this and neither would Emerald. Honestly, after being here with him I decided he isn’t as attractive as I first thought he was.” Suddenly, Shauntie burst out laughing and it lasted for a few seconds before she calmed down. Sapphire was torn between hanging up on her friend and staying on the line to find out what Shauntie had found so damn funny about her predicament. “Girl, you need to stop lying. Brian is drop dead gorgeous with his light brown hair and those gray eyes of his. I love Nash more than

anything in the world, but I’m not blind to how attractive Brian is. He was your type a few days ago. What happened to change your mind in such a short period of time?” “Nothing happened...nothing at all,” Sapphire answered wanting this phone call over so she could go upstairs and pack up her stuff. Shauntie had made her believe the cottage was going to be her secret getaway; however, Brian showed up out of the blue taking over her personal space. “I can’t believe you’re really going to leave. I never thought the Sapphire I knew was a quitter but I guess I was wrong. I know Brian will have a good time out there without you. Come on back home then and ring in the New Year alone on your couch with a bag of chocolate doughnuts and a cup of hot chocolate.” The challenge had been thrown. Shauntie knew how much she hated being dared to do anything. She didn’t want to go back home at eat any kind of fried food. She liked it out here at the cottage. Turning around, Sapphire stared openly at Brian and she couldn’t disagree with Shauntie. His tempting physique was the first thing she’d noticed about Brian when he first sauntered into her office. From where he was standing, Brian towered over Chance by at least four inches and Chance wouldn’t be considered a short man. Brian was very powerfully built. Her pulse kicked up another notch when she noticed how his muscles rippled under the red polo shirt. God, how was it possible that the light dusting of hairs on Brian’s arms was turning her on. Even his compelling eyes and rugged handsome face only added to his over all commanding air of self-confidence. What was wrong with her? Emerald would call her crazy as sin to let this chance pass by her. She was searching for a man to spend New Year’s Eve with and one had gotten dropped right into her lap. Shauntie was right. Why should she spend the upcoming holiday alone? Brian was here and so was she. She wasn’t about to leave. If he wanted to leave then that was on him, but she was staying right here until the ball dropped. “He is very good-looking. I only saw him from a distance at my office. I think you’re right. I should stay here. Why leave? I’ve already unpacked all of my things. I can’t promise you Brian will want to stay after I called the police on him, but I’m not going anywhere.” Sapphire dragged her eyes away from Brian as his head turned in her direction.

“Keep telling yourself that’s the only reason you decided to stay.” Shauntie laughed. “Okay...Enough about you my crazy friend. Can you give the phone to Brian? I want to make sure everything is alright there. I’m pretty sure Chance isn’t going to arrest him, but I want to be sure.” “I’m not sure if he’ll talk to you, but I’ll see,” Sapphire answered. Moving away from the wall, Sapphire made her way over to Brian who was still in a deep conversation with Chance. Once she was close enough to him, Brian stopped talking and looked at her. “Brian, I have Shauntie on the phone and she wants to talk to you.” Holding out the cell phone, Sapphire held her breath wondering if Brian would take it or just stand there and continue to stare at her like he was envisioning her naked. “Thanks.” Brian reached out and as he took the phone from her, the tips of his fingers brushed against hers. The moment her hand touched Brian's an electric tingle shot down Sapphire’s arm and continued down the rest of her body making her panties wet. His beautiful gray eyes dropped down to her hand then back up to her face. He didn’t have to say anything, but Sapphire could tell that he’d experienced the same unexpected jolt she had when their hands touched. “I’ll take the call over there by the kitchen door.” Stepping back from her, Brian turned around and walked away leaving her alone with Chance. “Ms. Rhodes, can I speak with you for a moment while Brian is on the phone?” Officer Cutter asked her as he walked over to the front door. “Sure, officer,” Sapphire answered following him. Standing in front of her, Officer Cutter crossed his arms across his chest. “After talking with Mr. Terry, I’ve come to the determination that both of you have the right to be here. You got invited by Shauntie Kane and Mr. Terry’s invitation came from Mr. Wentworth who is Ms. Kane’s boyfriend. So, I’m going to leave it up to the both of you to figure out who stays and who goes. Do I need to stay around while you sort things out?” “No, you can leave. I know Mr. Terry and I will be able to settle this without any more disagreements occurring between us.” Sapphire was pretty sure she and Brian could come to an understanding about their living arrangements. They were both adults and should be able to discuss this without any problems. Officer Cutter glanced past her back at Brian who was still on the phone with Shauntie. “If you’re sure?” he asked.

“I’m positive. Thank you so much for coming all the way out here. I didn’t know who was downstairs. All I heard was on intruder and then I ran back to call the police,” Sapphire said. “Ms. Rhodes, don’t ever doubt your first instinct. If you need me again don’t hesitate to call. I might not be the officer who shows up but another officer will be more than happy to assist you.” “Thank you again for coming so fast.” Sapphire wondered how she and Brian were going to settle things, but one of them might have to end up leaving before the night was over. “You’re more than welcome. Have a nice evening,” Officer Cutter said then left her standing there as he opened the front door and went out closing it behind him. “Did I miss Chance leaving?” Turning around, Sapphire stared at Brian standing behind her with her cell phone still in his hand. She was dying to ask him what Shauntie talked to him about, but it wasn’t any of her business. They were still practically strangers. “Yes, he just left,” she replied. “I told him we would find a way to work things out between us.” “Shauntie told me you were going to leave, but she talked you into staying at the cottage,” Brian told her as he came back across the room and gave her cell phone back to her. “Yes, I decided to stay,” Shauntie answered. “What are you doing to do? Are you going to stay here with me or are you leaving?” Sapphire was surprised at how disappointed she would be if Brian decided to leave. She wanted him to stay here with her. “I’m going to stay. I didn’t drive all the way here only to turn back around and go home. Seems like you’re going to be stuck with me for a little while longer,” Brian informed her. “I better to go upstairs and unpack.” Spinning away from her, Brian went over to his duffel bag by the side of the couch, picked it up and then made his way to the stairs at the other side of the room. Sapphire stared after Brian as he walked away from her with mixed emotions. One part of her was excited that Brian decided to stay at the cottage with her. She would finally learn more about the hot mailman she’d lusted for since she’d laid eyes on him. Another part of her was wondering would Brian live up to the picture she already had made of him inside of her head. Sapphire guessed only time would tell.

Chapter Eight Why had he agreed to do this? Brian wondered what he had been thinking when he let Shauntie talk him into staying here with Sapphire. She knew nothing about him beyond the fact he delivered the mail to her office, but he had to be honest with himself. A huge part of him wanted to stay so he could spend the time with Sapphire for the New Year’s Eve holiday. In his opinion, Sapphire didn’t come across like she needed or wanted a babysitter. She seemed like a pretty damn tough woman to him. He doubted anyone or anything would be able to harm Sapphire. She’d charged into the kitchen with only a can of pepper spray to defend herself against a total stranger. What red bloodied man wouldn’t be impressed by her? If he picked up his bag and walked out of the door right now, the drive back to town wouldn’t take him longer than four hours at the most. This meant he could get back home in time to catch TMZ. Brian was torn. Should he stay or should he go? A part of him wanted to keep his promise to Shauntie and stay here so Sapphire wouldn’t be alone. However; on the other hand, Sapphire wasn’t acting like she required or wanted his protection. Actually, Brian thought she didn’t care about what he did either way. Honestly, she would be quite safe out here by herself if he hadn’t shown up unannounced because Sapphire came across like a very fearless woman, but against his better judgment he was going to stay with her. He wouldn’t feel right about leaving Sapphire out here by herself. Yes, she could probably do just fine without him; yet, if he left he wouldn’t get to know Sapphire any better. He found Sapphire extremely attractive and something about her made him want to strip away all of her layers. Sapphire’s personality was very intriguing which made it impossible for him to leave without finding out how deep things could grow between them. Nash hadn’t wasted a second going after Shauntie when he found out who she really was.

He had confidence in his abilities to win Sapphire over just like Nash had done with Shauntie. When Brian had first laid eyes on Sapphire at her office, he might have been intimated by her name being on the glass door, because she was on her own playing field and around people she knew. Yet, out here in the woods with them being all alone put Sapphire on an equal footing with him which meant he wasn’t going to back down until he got to know her better. Over the years, he had decided to become more self-directed with the course he wanted to take his life in. He was setting new goals for himself as he had gotten older. At the top of his priority list was quitting his job as a mail carrier. After he moved on from delivering mail, the extra free time he gained would get put towards becoming a professional web designer. For the past six months, the thought of quitting his job had been dancing around in his head but he didn’t have enough nerve to do it back then. However, now was his time to build a better future for himself with the money he had saved up over the years. Brian was no longer going to push his dream to the side. Before taking the job as a mailman, he used to be so self-confident and constantly set new goals for himself each New Year’s Eve. It suddenly stopped but he wasn’t going to allow it to occur anymore. It was beyond time for him to take the bull by the horns and move forward on his new career path. He was done sitting by the sidelines and watching his friends doing jobs they loved. He deserved a career he loved just as much as them. His old job wasn’t fitting into what he had envisioned in his life. He had energy to burn. So, the more he got to do, the better he would feel at the end of the day. The time he spent at the cottage would be used to outline his new job plan, but if he also found a way to get closer to Sapphire, Brian wouldn’t be upset at all by giving her some extra time too. Unzipping the bag on the bed, Brian began removing his clothes and putting things away in his bedroom. He thought about inviting Sapphire to have dinner with him tonight, but then decided it might be for the best to give her some space. She didn’t need to get crowded by him so soon after Chance’s visit. Normally, Brian tried his best to avoid confrontations and Sapphire’s call to the police shocked him; however, he got a lucky break that Chance answered the call and showed up instead of another police officer who might not be so inclined to take his word. Today could have turned out so much worse and right now he could be spending the night in jail.

Picking up the empty duffel bag, he placed it inside the closet towards the back and then closed the door. Going back over to the bed, Brian sat down and ran his fingers through is hair. Brian wasn’t a 100% sure how exactly he would approach Sapphire when he finally made his way downstairs, but Brian crossed his fingers that she wouldn’t hold the experience from earlier against him. He was a pretty good guy when a person got to know him, and more than anything he wanted Sapphire to get to know him.

Chapter Nine Sapphire tapped her fingers against the edge of her laptop. She couldn’t stop glaring at the stupid cursor that continued to blink at her against the white screen. Her mind was supposed to be on restarting her blog; however, a tall, handsome green-eyed man two doors away from her bedroom was preventing her from typing one word. She still couldn’t believe her man was under the same roof as her. Well, Brian wasn’t really her man, but she had been lusting after him for weeks and now here he was. What was she suppose to do now? How was she... God, Sapphire couldn’t even finish her thought about him because her body was already dying to feel his touch, but that wasn’t going to be happening any time soon. She would be able to hold off. Jumping into bed with Brian on his first night here wasn’t something in their near future. Could it be in tomorrow’s plan. She pushed the thought away. She and Brian were staying at the cottage for two different reasons. She came out here to get back in touch with her favorite hobby and honestly Sapphire wasn’t sure what the reasons were behind Brian taking the long drive out here. All that mattered was she found a way to keep her attraction to Brian at a minimum. Yeah, that was easier said than done. Brian was so damn HOT! All she could think about was stripping him out of his clothes and finding out more about his gorgeous body, but she wouldn’t put play before work. She had never done it before and she wouldn’t start it now. It didn’t matter that Brian was six feet five I inches of mouth watering perfection. Pushing her hair back from her face, Sapphire pulled it away from her neck in a quick ponytail. Yes, Brian was hotter than John Stamos and Rob Lowe combined and might have most women dropping their panties in a hot second, but she could fight off the urge as long as she could. He would get pushed to the darkest part of her mind until she was ready to get personal with him. Tonight was the night for her.

Sapphire was determined to get something typed into Sapphire’s World before the day was over. Posting her daily thoughts into her personal blog put her instantly at ease because she would rather do that than talk about her feelings most of the time. Small talk wasn’t a huge part of her life and she would decide not to attend most social functions Sapphire got invited to unless Emerald or Shauntie was here to keep her company...well, entertained for the evening. Being around a lot of people outside of her friends, patients and employees at work made her uncomfortable sometimes. Now, Shauntie and Emerald both knew how much blogging relaxed the tension from her body after a long stressful work day. However, when she had initially brought up the idea of her blog to her girlfriends, neither one of them were too thrilled about being the subject of her hobby or having their lives plastered across the internet for everyone to read. But after she promised only to use first names and not to bring up any personal information about them, they finally agreed she could mention them from time to time. She swore she would only use them as her accessories when she needed them to fatten up her posts. Crazy as it sounded to her two best friends in the beginning, Sapphire knew people would want to know what she was thinking. Yeah, it sounded strange but she felt it was true. With the ‘reality world’ society everyone lived in now, most people had a little voyeur in them even if none of them were brave enough to admit it to themselves or anyone else. Sapphire would never forget the first night she posted something. The entry wasn’t anything big but it was in her memory like a person’s first kiss. The post was only about two hundred and fifty words; nevertheless, it had drawn her close to twenty followers and it continued to grow the more she gave everyone a glimpse into her life. Any time she felt the burning urge to vent; Sapphire made a beeline for her laptop and typed her problems into her personal blog. Outside of her job her life was pretty simple which could be her whole problem in a nut shell; she lived mostly a private way of life when she wasn’t out with Shauntie or Emerald on the weekends. She was all alone because most men took one look at her and instantly decided she would be too high maintenance, so she only dated men in the same social circle as herself. Yet, after a while, they started to bore her to death. She didn’t want to hear about their work day or how much money they would be making in the next five years.

Blind dates weren’t her thing either because having too many friends trying to fix her up tended to lead towards too many demands and if they weren’t met, the other person acted like they were the injured party, but in actuality nothing was further from the truth. Most of the time Sapphire considered herself pretty self-reliant and she didn’t have to ask her girls for advice, unless she wasn’t able to figure it out by herself and Brian was definitely one of those things. She couldn’t figure him out at all. Why did he make her so nervous? In the past, she asked good-looking men out on dates and never harbored on it when they turned her down. She came to the conclusion that they wouldn’t have been a good match. However, Brian was different from those men and in more ways than their social status. Something about him bothered her in a way that was very surprising. From the very brief time they were in each other’s company, Sapphire sensed Brian was a man who knew what he wanted. He wouldn’t have a problem standing up to her. Not once had he backed down from her or the can of pepper spray she threatened him with while they were downstairs in the kitchen. Brian’s fearless attitude had turned her on just a tiny bit, but she wouldn’t let him know, not just let. Anyways, she wasn’t here to pick up Brian. She only had one goal in mind and that was to find some captivating topics to discuss on her blog, so her followers would keep coming back for more. Keeping lying to yourself and you’ll see where it gets you, her mind taunted. You’re using the blog as a shield not to get closer to Brian. Sapphire wasn’t ready to get into what her mind was telling her. She had more important business to tend to right at this very second. She couldn’t keep staring at her laptop for the rest of the night. The last time she’d posted something was over three weeks ago. She never went that long without an update. No wonder she had been feeling so out of sorts at work. Could she be losing her magic touch when it came to this? Sapphire tried not to let the thought depress her. People decided to start blogs for different reasons: money, politics, and food or even about their pets. The list could go on and on. However, her blogging as a personal journal was a fantastic method she used to get something off of her chest. Her favorite time of night was when she crawled into bed and wrote from her heart but now her heart was empty. Nothing exciting was going on in her life.

How can you think nothing exciting is going on in your life? What about Brian? The thought brushed the back of her mind. Sapphire shot up straight in her seat as reality struck her right between the eyes. What hadn’t she realized it before now? The most talk worthy— no—blog worthy topic was right under the same roof as her! Was she so stupid that she hadn’t seen it before now? Emerald wanted her to find a man before New Year’s Eve and the man she wanted had fallen right into her lap. Who wouldn’t want to hear about the process she was making with him each and every day? Placing her hands on the keyboard, Sapphire instantly got her thoughts together and then typed her first post. **** Sapphire’s World December 26 I’m finally back!!! I know it’s been a while since I’ve written anything for my blog, but my mind has been on vacation. I won’t ever admit to having writer’s block...ever! All of you know how I love writing about anything and everything going on in my life. Well, I have something good to tell all of my wonderful followers, but I have to start from the beginning first. All of you already know that I have two best friends named Shauntie and Emerald. They’re more like sisters to me than girlfriends. Shauntie is the fashionable doctor who loves getting ‘dirty’ by planting flowers any day of the week. Emerald is my spunky friend who doesn’t know the meaning of the word no. She won’t let anyone or anything stand in her way. This made her the perfect one out of the three of us to come up with this outrageous plan in the first place. During one of our girl’s nights out at our favorite club Peppers, Emerald, the wild child she is, decided she was tired of dating the same type of guys. You know, the shirt and tie professionals who spend more time on their IPads or BlackBerrys than paying attention to us. So, in her almighty wisdom Emerald determined it was time for each of us to give the hard working hunks a shot at three successful, gorgeous black women. (I really don’t know where she comes up with this stuff, but I loved the idea. How could I not?)

The last guy I dated couldn’t remember my name, but he knew the ring tones on his cell phone for all of his business associates. He was such a loser! How I spent three months in that relationship I would never know. Emerald even gave us a deadline to get all of this accomplished. She picked our favorite holidays to find our hunky workers. Shauntie’s deadline was Christmas. Emerald wasn’t bothered by the fact Shauntie told her she wasn’t going to participate and then Emerald picked Valentine’s Day for herself and gave me New Year’s Eve. However, Shauntie wasn’t into doing this at all. She hated the idea more than I loved it. She swore that there wasn’t a hunk out there who could catch her eye and her words came back to bite her in the ass, when Nash came knocking at her door. Now, Shauntie who had the biggest complaint about the ‘Finding your Hunk Challenge’ is going on vacation with her sexy hunk. How could someone not interested in finding love get it so quickly? I wasn’t jealous (well, not that much). I only want to find my sexy hunk before my old year is out and the New Year comes rushing in. I thought I wasn’t going to find him, but something happened today to change my mind. Okay...I’ll stop there for now. I need to leave you wanting more, so until next time thanks for stopping by Sapphire’s World. **** Excellent first post, Sapphire thought after she saved her first post in weeks. She couldn’t believe the joy she just got from typing in those last words. Sapphire shut down her laptop as a smile spread across her face. She was back in the game. Her loyal followers were going to love what she just typed, because it was something different and fun! The happiness she was experiencing was indescribable; it was like her mind had been in hibernation and got recharged when all the lights, sounds and colors she loved got downloaded back into her head suddenly. Nothing would ever be able to take the memory of her blog coming back to life right before her eyes. Yes! It felt so good to be back! Standing up, Sapphire stretched her arms above her head relieving some of the stiffness from her back. She couldn’t help but wonder what Brian was doing now. She hadn’t heard any movement coming from

inside of the house, so she wasn’t quite sure where he was or what he was doing at this very second. One thing was for sure, she wasn’t just going to run on the attraction she felt for Brian. Without a doubt, he was gorgeous but she didn’t know anything else about him. Sapphire was going to change the way she approached men beginning with Brian. She always went for the men who were handsome and left everything to the sidelines when it came to them. Yes, he was the working hunk Emerald wanted her to hook up with but Brian needed more than that going for him. What else made him tick? What were his interests and hobbies? Sapphire was determined to prove she could find out more about Brian not only for her blog but herself as well. Walking away from her chair, Sapphire made her way over to the bedroom door. Hopefully, Brian wouldn’t still be holding a grudge against her over the police incident because she wasn’t wrong for calling them on him. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t have done the same? Opening the door, Sapphire went out into the hallway still debating if she should apologize again or just leave it alone. Either way, she and Brian were going to be spending some time together. All that mattered now was how both of them decided to pass the day with each other until the ball dropped and brought in the New Year.

Chapter Ten Sapphire paused in the kitchen doorway and Brian stopped eating his sandwich and stared at her from the breakfast nook. His big body looked odd sitting in the white painted shabby chic chairs with the matching white table and blue and white floral cloth. She wasn’t expecting to see him in here eating the food she’d brought. Brian’s dark hair was still damp from his shower and the ends of it were curling against the back of his neck. His gray eyes stood out from his face making them look like steel. As much as she tried to look away from him she couldn’t do it. God, he really was a very sexy man. The room sparked with an underlying current so much so that she almost left the room, but she took a deep breath and fought through it. Sapphire knew never to run from anything and she sure in the hell wasn’t about to start now with Brian. “I didn’t think you would be downstairs. I thought you would still be upstairs unpacking your things,” Sapphire said, coming further into the room. Brian placed his thick turkey sandwich with tomato down on his plate. He wiped his mouth and hands with a napkin then laid it beside his glass. “I didn’t bring that many clothes with me since I wasn’t planning on staying after the New Year. I got everything put away pretty fast. So, I decided to come on downstairs and find something to eat. I was starving since I didn’t stop anywhere on the drive here,” he answered, watching her as she walked past him. “Your sandwich looks pretty good. I stocked up the refrigerator before I went upstairs earlier. I think I’m going to fix me one of those,” Sapphire said. She was trying her best not to look back over her shoulder at Brian. The light scent of his soap mingling with his shampoo was wreaking havoc of her traitorous body. She hadn’t been with a man in over a year and she couldn’t handle being this close to Brian. He was driving her celibate body crazy! Why did he have to be so damn good-looking?

“Have I upset you by eating your food? Do I need to leave and go buy my own food?” Brian questioned. “I’m not interested in having Chance coming back out here and arresting me for robbery. One visit from my buddy in a professional manner was enough for me.” She knew it! Brian was still pissed off about the police coming out to the cottage. Stopping in her tracks, Sapphire turned back around and found Brian watching her with a slight smirk on his face. Okay, maybe she shouldn’t have jumped down his throat about the sandwich. They both were going to be staying here and picking at every little thing wasn’t going to help either one of them. Brian shouldn’t have her harassing him at every turn because she wanted to strip him naked and have her way with him. “How about we start over?” Sapphire suggested. “Our two best friends are in love with each other, so we’re going to be around each other a lot. It’s best if we bury the hatchet now rather than later. What do you say?” Sapphire was woman enough to be the one who apologized for getting off on the wrong foot with Brian. She was already having a hard enough time keeping her desire for him at a minimum until she figured out what she was going to do about it. Brian was a stumbling block she hadn’t been expecting when she decided to take this trip. A deliciously sexy roadblock, but still something to keep her mind off what she came to do. Pushing his chair out from the kitchen table, Brian got up and sauntered towards her like he had all the time in the world. Sapphire couldn’t look away from how the well-worn jeans molded his thick thighs. He looked as good coming as he did walking away. She’d never seen a more perfect man. “I shouldn’t have brought up our earlier altercation, so how about we start over?” Brian suggested as his stuck out his hand, a light dusting of hair on his knuckles. Sapphire shivered imagining how they would feel when they touched her body. “Hi, I’m Brian Terry,” his deep voice said. “I’m usually pretty laid back and don’t take things too seriously unless I get pushed too far which seldom happens. I love working on crossword puzzles in bed on a Sunday afternoon with a cup of black coffee on the night stand. My favorite holiday besides Christmas is New Year’s Eve.”

Sapphire’s eyes glanced down at Brian’s long fingers not believing what she was hearing. Brian’s favorite holiday was the same as hers. What else did the two of them have in common? “Hi, I’m Doctor Sapphire Rhodes and most of my friends tell me that I’m pretty fun loving, insightful and self-sufficient. I’m not usually as crazy as I came off earlier with you,” she answered, shaking Brian’s hand. A tingling of excitement shot down the length of her arm as his fingers engulfed hers. A mischievous look came into Brian’s gray eyes as he pulled her a tiny bit towards him. She tried not to get lost in the sexual charisma that made him so damn appealing. “What’s wrong with a little craziness? In the right woman, it could be considered sexy. I mean some men do like living on the edge once or twice in their lives especially when the female is as beautiful as you are.” Brian was good. He must have a lot of practice at apologizing, because he did it quite smoothly. He apologized to her and threw a compliment in there for good measure. She was going to have to watch out for him more than she thought. Besides, she would bet with the way he looked that Brian had drawn more than his fair share of attention from females on his delivery routes. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll make sure to stay away from you when all unbalanced women are surrounding you,” Sapphire teased as she tried to remove her hand but Brian held on to it a minute longer before finally releasing it. “Are you going to join me?” he asked, gesturing over to the kitchen table and the empty chair in front of his. “I would love to get to know my unexpected roommate better.” Brian’s suggestion was very tempting, but she was finally on a roll with her blog and she didn’t want to mess it up. There would be other times while they were here for her to eat and do other things with Brian. Besides that, she couldn’t come across as too eager since both of them felt the allure brewing between them. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to pass. I’m just going to fix me something to eat and head back upstairs. I need to get some work done.” Sapphire walked around Brian, but stopped in mid-step when his hand wrapped around her arm. “I’ll hold you to that rain check,” he said, then let go of her arm. Moving away from her, Brian retook his seat and picked up his sandwich again taking a nice sized bite.

Blowing out a deep breath, Sapphire prayed she would be able to get through the rest of her time here with Brian. Seeing him deliver the mail at her office each and every day was nothing like having him here with her away from the rest of the world. Reluctantly, she dragged her eyes away from Brian’s wide back and continued over to the refrigerator. Opening the door, Sapphire pulled out different items for her turkey with Swiss cheese sandwich and placed everything on the counter. A slight tickly sensation began at the very back of her neck as she felt Brian’s eyes caressing her back and butt. She got the sense he wanted to ask her something but decided to check out her body instead. “Tomorrow morning I’m going into town to get some more food because what you bought isn’t going to be enough for the both of us. I have a huge appetite and it needs to be fed,” Brian told her as she glanced back at him. “Do you need me to get anything for you?” Her body jumped at the double meaning of Brian’s words, but Sapphire chose to ignore the unspoken statement. “Okay, I’ll think about what I might need and leave my list on the kitchen table. It’s nice of you to make a trip into town.” Picking up his empty plate, Brian got out of his seat and brought his plate over to her. Leaning closer to her body, he reached around her and laid his plate inside the sink. She breathed in the woodsy scent of his cologne as he peeked at her from the corner of his eye. “I think it’s only fair since I’ve been eating your food since I got here. I’m not the kind of man who leaves a woman hungry and wanting more. I want her to just as fulfilled as I am,” Brian flirted then winked at her. “I’ll be in the family room if you need anything from me.” He brushed his body against hers before taking a step back. Turning around, he walked away from her and went out the kitchen door leaving her alone. If any other guy’d had enough nerve to talk to her like that, Sapphire would have torn him a new head but coming from Brian it was more of a turn-on than a turn-off. God, she wanted him so badly! Her body’s normal reaction to him was getting harder and harder to keep under control which was just plain ridiculous since she’d been around Brian less than twentyfour hours. Standing in front of the sink, Sapphire, with mixed emotions, stared at the door Brian had just strolled through. He’d kept her on her toes by reintroducing himself and taking some of the blame for what happened. He might actually be able to challenge her in the way she wanted to be.

Under the right circumstances, Brian came across like he might be up for a good adventure. She was looking for a guy who could jump in and love life with some gusto, instead of being so wrapped up in the stock market, he forgot their six month anniversary when it came around. Yet, on the other hand, Brian might not be able to live up to what she wanted from him. He did act like he might take life too seriously. Sure, there were times to be concerned about the future but why harp on it when life is supposed to be a celebration? Where was the value in spending time worrying about the future or languishing in emotions that were bound to drag you down for no good reason? Having a straight-laced guy in her life wasn’t going to happen anymore. She’d done that time and time again and she was finished with it. But she did need a man who gave her the freedom to think and express herself when she felt like it. Those qualities in any guy she dated now meant more to her than she willingly admitted to Emerald or Shauntie. Okay, enough soul searching for tonight. She had better things to do with her time. Sapphire hurried up and finished making her food and then placed everything back in the fridge. Picking up her plate, Sapphire headed for the door wondering if Brian could keep her body racing for his the time they would be together. With his good looks, nothing about Brian would be boring because if he did turn out to be dull as dirt, Brian should be shot for allowing one hell of a body to go to waste.

Chapter Eleven Rushing around her bedroom, Shauntie made sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind she might need for her trip to New York with Nash. She didn’t want to be worried about anything while she was on her mini vacation. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone away with a man instead of her two best friends. “Baby, slow down or you’re going to wear yourself out before we leave,” Nash complained, wrapping his strong arms around her waist. He picked her up and carried her over to the bed. “Nash put me down,” Shauntie shrieked, shoving at her boyfriend’s shoulders. “We don’t have time for this. We have to get to the airport.” “Sweetheart, stop worrying so much. We aren’t going to miss our flight,” Nash promised as he laid her down in the middle of the bed covering her with his hard body. Lowering his head, he kissed the side of her neck while pulling her wrists above her head. “Have I told you how much I love you today?” Nash asked, staring lovingly into her eyes. “I know I promised to do it every day for the next fifty years or longer if it’s possible.” “Yes, you have but I’ll never grow tried of hearing it because I love you too, baby,” Shauntie admitted. “I can’t believe how happy I am with you. Thank you for not giving up on me. I almost lost you because I couldn’t get over my past with your cousin J.T.” His green eyes melted into hers and a smile tugged at the corner of Nash’s full mouth. “I’m so glad your first impression of me changed because I would hate to spend another New Year’s Eve alone at home.” Nash planted another kiss by the side of her mouth. “I know I always hated not having a guy to ring in the New Year with. I love my girls but it isn’t the same and while we’re on the subject of New Years how do you think Sapphire and Brian will be able to get along living under the same roof? I still can’t believe we sent both of them out there and neither one of them decided to leave. What do you think is going to happen?” Shauntie asked, staring up into Nash’s face. “I know for a fact that Sapphire is attracted to Brian, but if she acts on it is a total different story.”

“If Brian is the guy that I know and love then he is probably thinking of a way to get Sapphire in the exact same position that I have you.” Easing his hands underneath her shirt, Nash’s fingers worked on removing her bra. “Hey, we can’t be doing this,” Shauntie complained, trying to squirm out of the way “I warned you earlier about your sneaky fingers.” She pushed at Nash’s chest and laughed when he stuck out his bottom lip and pouted at her. “Also my best friend isn’t going to allow Brian to charm her out of her panties that fast.” “I have something I want to show you. It’s a lot better than us wasting our time talking about our good friends.” Grabbing her by the hips, Nash pulled her closer to his hard-on. “Do you feel how much fun we can be having instead of wasting time talking about Brian and Sapphire?” Shauntie bit back a moan when Nash’s erection brushed over her soaked underwear. She knew she should have worn jeans instead of a skirt. Nash wasn’t playing fair and he knew it! She was going to get him for this! “Stop,” she moaned, softly. “We need to go.” “Can’t we just catch a later flight?” he suggested, spreading her legs even wider as he continued to brush his cock against her. “There’s no way I can get on the plane in this condition. Can’t you feel how hard I am for you? I need some relief and I can give you some too...please baby.” Lowering his head, Nash nibbled at her earlobe making a delicious shudder roam over her already heated body. Shauntie fought her overwhelming need to break down and give into Nash since if he couldn’t be the strong one than she would step up and do it. “Baby, you know we can’t do that. It’s time for us to go.” Shauntie pushed Nash off her body. “What about him?” Nash pouted, “How am I supposed to walk around the airport with him poised and ready for action?” Grabbing her hand, he placed it directly over his erection. “All he wanted to do was come out and play for a few minutes. How can you deny him?” Shauntie ran her finger down the length of Nash’s cock and it jerked under her light touch. She felt herself giving in when Nash slipped two fingers underneath her skirt, past her underwear and into her waiting wetness. “Shauntie, you’re already wet for me. You want this as much as I do. Shouldn’t we get rid of our stress before boarding the plane unless you want to be a part of the mile high club?”

“We’ll be late,” Shauntie whispered as her fingers played with Nash’s belt and she stared into his eyes reading the lust there. “Just trust me. I promise you everything will be okay.” Shauntie heard a slight rip as Nash’s hand tore away her underwear. She wrestled with his belt and zipper until his cock sprang free. She loved the days Nash decided not to wear underwear. “I need you too much to go slow. I promise next time I’ll give you everything you want.” Lifting her by the hips, Nash rolled on his back and positioned her over his cock filling her with one powerful thrust. He growled in the back of his throat when he was fully seated inside of her. “God Nash,” she whimpered. “You feel so good.” Shauntie moaned as she placed her hands on Nash’s shoulders and moved her hips up and down against his hard thighs. “I think I can make you feel even better,” Nash bragged. Flipping them over, he pulled her left leg around his waist thrusting into her with a steady rhythm. Closing her eyes, Shauntie wrapped her arms around Nash’s shoulders tugging him closer to her as she caressed the length of his back. “Please...she panted.” Shauntie tossed her head back against the pillows. The bed moved underneath their bodies as they found a perfect harmony with each other. “Please...what Shauntie. Tell me what you want.” “I need to come.” “Come for me baby,” Nash whispered in her ear. “Let me hear you scream.” Moving her legs from his waist, he held them down to the mattress as he sped up his movements. “No one will hear you, but me.” “YES!” Shauntie screamed as the orgasm raked through her body. The sweet sound of Shauntie’s release pushed Nash over the edge and he came with a nice powerful thrust inside of Shauntie filling her with his seed. He collapsed on top of her as his arms gave away. They remained in that position for a while until Nash’s weight got too heavy for her. “You do know that we won’t make it to the airport on time for our flight now,” Shauntie pointed out as she slipped her hand inside of Nash’s shirt to stroke his chest. “Honey, you should have more faith in your boyfriend,” Nash retorted as his hand slapped her bare ass. “Ouch, that hurt,” she complained, poking him in the chest with her fingertip. “Besides, you already know how much I trust you. I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you if I hadn’t.”

Flipping the over, Nash laid her on his chest. She didn’t miss the love shining back in his stunning eyes. Shauntie loved that she’d finally opened her heart to love and allowed Nash to enter it. “Good,” he grinned at her. “We aren’t going to be late for our flight because I changed them. Our new flight doesn’t leave until tomorrow morning and the hotel reservations got moved too. It took some talking to the hotel manager but he finally agreed when I told him I would pay extra. I thought it would be nice to have some alone time with just the two of us.” Shauntie’s first instinct was to be upset at Nash for changing their plans without telling her, but she wasn’t. Nash was right. They did need to spend the night here and leave for New York in the morning. They both had been so busy with work and hadn’t been spending a lot of time with each other except an hour or two here and there during the day when they could grab it which was the main reason they’d decided to take the trip. Getting up off the bed, Shauntie removed the rest of her clothes until she was standing totally naked in front of Nash. “If you’re up to it, I would like to show you my appreciation in the shower. Are you up for some fun?” Nash jumped up off the bed and stripped out of his remaining clothing in record time. “I have never been a man who turned down gifts and I’m not about to start doing it today. I would be out of my mind.” Reaching out, Nash wrapped his hand around her wrist yanking her to him. “How about that shower now; I mean you did offer and I don’t see any reason to wait.” “I thought you’d never ask Mr. Wentworth,” Shauntie replied as Nash swung her into his arms and made a beeline for the bathroom.

Chapter Twelve Pushing her empty plate away from her, Sapphire glanced over at her laptop on the other side of the room. She’d been putting off checking out her blog while eating. She wasn’t too sure what kind of comments she might get, but the suspense was killing her. A cynical inner voice taunted her that her followers hated it and would make sure she got the message loud and clear. Moving away from the table, Sapphire shoved away her unfounded fears. She wouldn’t let bad posts to her blog stop her from continuing with it. Everyone wasn’t going to like her posts and others might love it. People’s opinions were different. She made her way across the room and picked her laptop up off the table. Carrying it back over to the bed, Sapphire arranged a couple of pillows behind her back and then got more comfortable before she logged on to her blog. Instantly, she spotted six new comments had been added under her blog. Great! This is what she had wanted to see, but she wasn’t sure if they were good or bad. There was only one way to find out. Taking a deep breath, she clicked on the six and all of the comments appeared in black and white right before her eyes. **** Sapphire’s World 6 Comments: (new) Blog lover said: God, I am so happy that you’re back. I’ve missed reading about the adventures you have going on in your life. Please post more soon. I want to find out if you and Emerald get lucky as Shauntie. Really, this was a great post after your hiatus. Hello Kitty 1172: I think Emerald needs to stay out of everyone’s personal life and get a man of her own. I wouldn’t do this if I was you. It would be a waste of your time Tina Michaels: Are you looking for your hunk? I love men who work with their hands. My boyfriend is a plumber and I couldn’t have a sexier

man. I say go for it! You know that opposites attract. If you aren’t happy with the men you’ve been dating it’s past time you changed. Anonymous: I agree with Tina. Emerald’s idea wasn’t bad. See if you can find a hot man to celebrate New Year’s Eve with. Men do stuff like this all of the time. Why shouldn’t a woman? Please continue to tell us how the search goes. I think that New Years Eve is almost here Justin Lennon: As a man who follows your blog, I think as long as you’re up front with the guy who you are interested in, he shouldn’t care. I know that I wouldn’t be upset. I love dating black women. I’ve already considered myself a black man in a white man’s body. January Adams: I think it’s cool Emerald wanted to do something so outrageous, but remember in the end it will still be your decision. So, I agree with most of your other posts. Go for it and have fun. Don’t keep us hanging with your next update. I’ll be back to tomorrow to see if you’ve written anything new. **** Closing her laptop, Sapphire couldn’t keep the excitement from racing through her body after reading the latest comments. Shauntie was right. Coming out here had gotten her over her writer’s block. Tonight turned out better than she could have ever hoped for. She had only one negative comment, but that came with the territory when you posted something on the internet. All in all, she was extremely pleased and couldn’t wait until she posted something new tomorrow. Stop acting like your blog is the most important occurrence in your life right now. Sapphire tried to ignore her inner thoughts, but she couldn’t push them away. The man she wanted to hook up with before New Years Eve was downstairs watching television. It was just so incredible. Brian, the man she had been fantasizing about, was best friends with Shauntie’s boyfriend Nash. How could that ever be possible that two best friends hooking up with guys who were also best friends? Well, actually she hadn’t ‘hooked up’ with Brian yet, but after their connection in the kitchen earlier getting together didn’t seem that far out of reach. So, the biggest question was who was going to make the first move?

If Emerald was here, she would tell her to stop playing it so damn safe and go after what she wanted. What in the hell was she waiting for? Yet, Shauntie would have a totally different prospective. She would tell her don’t chase after a man under any circumstances Shauntie thought it was a man’s job to pursue the woman; however, her thought process had changed a little after Nash came into her life. Shauntie might actually agree with Emerald now, which would be a rarity. Decisions. Decisions. Sapphire knew she had so much to think about, but she needed to get some sleep first. She placed the laptop on the night stand. She always had a clearer head after a good night’s sleep. Things always looked so much better in the morning no matter how badly the day before might have gone. Sapphire turned off the lights before crawling underneath the covers. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough for her. She might not be ready to completely admit it to herself yet, but she was ready to take the next step in getting what she wanted from Brian.

Chapter Thirteen Reading over the short grocery list one last time, Brian secretly hoped Sapphire would make an appearance downstairs before he left for the long drive into town. Last night after he’d gone to bed, he still couldn’t get the alluring, sensual scent of her perfume out of his head. Sapphire was a very attractive woman and her fragrance matched her captivating personality. It haunted him pushing him to get another sample of it, but he fought back the urge to get out of bed and make the short trip down the hall to her bedroom. He could tell that Sapphire wouldn’t appreciate him showing up at the bedroom door late at night for no apparent reason. Nevertheless, how was he supposed to get to know her any better if she spent most of her time locked away in her bedroom? Brian knew this trip to the grocery store would be the perfect way to make them communicate more with each other. There was no way Sapphire wouldn’t talk to him on the long way there. Brian had to get Sapphire out of the cottage for a few hours at the most. How could he not want to spent time with a gorgeous, intelligent woman like her? He’d thought about the best way to do it. Now, he just needed to make sure Sapphire fell nicely into the trap he was trying to set. The sound of footsteps coming towards the kitchen made him glance away from the door and back at the slip of paper in his right hand. That was a close call. Sapphire couldn’t catch him staring at the door like he was sitting here waiting for her. He had to act cooler around her if this was going to work to his advantage. Sapphire didn’t seem like she would be into overly clingy men. “I thought you’d be gone into town by now,” Sapphire said as she stopped in her tracks and stared at him from the kitchen doorway. “Why are you still here? Did you forget something?” Walking past him, Sapphire walked over to the cabinet, opened it up and grabbed a glass from the middle shelf. Making her way to him, she picked up the orange juice container off the table and poured herself a glass. She sat the container back down and took a sip of her juice.

From the corner of his eye, Brian watched how Sapphire’s throat moved as she drank the morning beverage and he couldn’t get over how sexy the movement looked. Damn! Had it been that long since he was this close to an attractive woman that the sight of one drinking orange juice was making his cock hard? He either needed to get a life or get laid whichever one came first. “No, I was going over this list one last time,” Brian answered as he reached for his orange juice and took a sip. Her hair looked unbelievable too this morning. Instead of being pulled back into a high ponytail like it was when he first met her, today Sapphire wore it long and it brushed the top of her breasts. He liked how her thick red sweater formed to her body showing off her perky breasts and slender waist. She looked absolutely beautiful. “Do you have your part of the list for me?” Brian asked. His plan wouldn’t work if Sapphire had actually done hers like he requested last night. He was crossing his fingers that it had slipped her mind yesterday. Sapphire lowered the glass away from her mouth. Brian could tell that she hadn’t done a grocery list from the perplexed look on her pretty face. A tiny frown had formed on her forehead as her eyebrows pulled down over her eyes. “I forgot all about that darn list.” Sapphire sighed as she sat her glass down on the table. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll write some things down for you.” She reached for the pen and notepad in front of him, but Brian’s hand shot out stopping her from picking them up. “I have a better idea.” Her eyes looked at his hand on top of hers then back up at his face with one perfect eyebrow arched. “What is it?” she asked, easing her hand away from his. “Why don’t we both go into town together?” he suggested. “I mean aren’t two heads better than one and besides, I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to go with me. I’m a fun guy to be around.” “I never said that you weren’t,” Sapphire replied. “But I did have other plans this morning.” “Oh, what were they?” Brian inquired. Turning around in his chair, Brian crossed his arms across his chest. “Were you planning on hiding away in your room like yesterday? I thought we were going to start over. Is there a reason you don’t want to hang out with me? Let me know now,

so I can fix it and move on. We’re going to be here a while with each other and I don’t want us avoiding each other at every turn.” Her lips parted in surprise as Sapphire stared blankly at him a few seconds. “I’m not scared of going anywhere with you, Brian. In addition, I wasn’t hiding from you yesterday; I had some personal stuff to take care of. Why do you care anyway?” “Prove you aren’t trying to avoid me,” he taunted. “Go to the store with me. I might even let you push the cart if you’re nice to me.” The beginning of a smile tipped the corner of Sapphire’s pretty much. “Fine, let me grab my purse and coat. I’ll meet you outside at the car.” Spinning away from him, Sapphire walked out of the kitchen. Relaxing more in his chair, Brian watched Sapphire leave as triumph flooded his veins. Yes! He had talked her into going out with him. Not that he was considering it as a date or anything, but Sapphire had an air of calm and self-confidence that he liked and was interested in finding out more about. She was on a different level from the females he picked up at the bars. There was a hint of defiance in her tone as well as a subtle dare. For some reason, Sapphire was testing him. Why, he didn’t know, but he was more than ready to take her up on any challenge she might toss in his direction. Finishing off the last of his orange juice, Brian got up from his seat and snatched his car keys off the table. If the roads were bad or slick then they would have a better chance getting into town with his SUV. **** Upstairs in her bedroom, Sapphire grabbed her jacket out of the closet. She couldn’t believe how she allowed Brian to talk to her into leaving the cottage with him to go grocery shopping, but she wasn’t going to let him get the better of her. He was so wrong about her hiding from him yesterday. She had things to do up here that didn’t have a thing to do with him. Why was he even up in all of her business in the first place? She even proved it to Brian downstairs by agreeing to help him shop for supplies. Maybe the trip would give her more insight into what made him tick. Brian had to be more than a handsome face and fantastic body. Since Shauntie seemed pretty fond of Nash’s best friend she would use this time to find out why. Her plans to go ice skating on the pond

could wait until she came back from her trip with Brian. It wasn’t like the pond was going to go anywhere. Moving away from the closet with her thick fleece jacket in her hand, Sapphire picked up her purse off the bed before she headed out the bedroom door. Who knew, maybe this drive to town with Brian would turn out in her favor? Brian seemed like he was in a very talkative mood, he might reveal more about himself to her.

Chapter Fourteen “Care to tell me why you’re out here all by yourself instead of with your boyfriend planning something romantic for ringing in the New Year?” Sapphire glanced away from the road and stared at Brian who was watching her from the corner of his eye. She was trying her best not to get lost in how good he smelled inside the truck. Ever since they’d left the cottage all she could think about was running her hand across his hard thighs. God, why was she so horny? It wasn’t like she was in need of sex, but Brian sure in the hell made it hard for her not to think about it. Why had she decided to take a break from it for a while? Oh yeah, that’s right. Her last couple of boyfriends had fallen asleep before she had a chance to get her own release. Losers...they deserved to be tossed to the curb way before she decided to finally do it. Shauntie and even Emerald had warned her about Robert, Nico and even Walker but she’d been too stubborn to listen. One look at Brian and Sapphire knew he wouldn’t leave her waiting for anything. He would know how to make a woman feel good. Instead of being tossed to the curb by a woman, Brian probably did most of the tossing himself. Something about him screamed he could be the ‘love them and leave them’ type of guy. Sapphire dragged herself away from her inner thoughts. “You know that I could ask you the same question,” she said, clearly surprised that Brian had asked her that question right out of the gate. “You’re a goodlooking man. I’m positive you have a girlfriend waiting for you back in town.” “Hey, if you don’t want to go first I can do it. I’m not scared of the question,” Brian said. “I’m at a crossroads about my career. I want to take it in a different direction. I wasn’t able to make a clear decision about it at home, so Nash encouraged me to come out here to clear my head.” What kind of career change did Brian want to make? If he stopped being a mailman then what were his plans? Sapphire thought about asking

the question, but decided it wasn’t any of her business. She wasn’t overly nosy like Emerald and had to know everything about everyone. “Really, I thought you were out here hiding from an ex-girlfriend or a current one.” Brian took his eyes off the road and caught her eyes with his. “I’m not like that. I would never hide from a woman. If I wasn’t interested in her anymore, I would be up front with her. Why keep stringing someone along? It isn’t fair to me or her. I feel sorry for you if something like that has happened to you, but stop putting me into the same category as one of your ex-boyfriends. I’m not them and I never will be.” Brian’s astonishment was obviously genuine and she regretted her jibe at him. “I apologize,” she said. “I don’t know why I said that to you.” She knew why but she wasn’t about to admit it to him. Turning off the highway, Brian continued to drive in the direction of the grocery store. “I’m not offended, just astonished you’re so critical of relationships. I mean you didn’t seem like you would be so judgmental to me.” Was she really judgmental? No, it wasn’t possible. She always got to know a person before she made any kind of assumption about them. In any case, at least she thought she did. Honestly, Emerald thought she was too easy-going sometimes. “I wouldn’t call myself pessimistic, but I will admit to a few bad experiences with guys in my past. What woman hasn’t dated some losers?” Sapphire spoke with as reasonable a voice as she could manage. What gave Brian the right to try to get inside her head like this? He was still a guy she barely knew. He better take a step back or she might have to tell him where is fine looking ass could go. “I think a man could tell you the same thing. I’ve also dated some women who weren’t completely honest with me or pretended to be into me for other reasons. I think everyone in the world has a case of the ex story. But, I chose not to harbor on it too long. What good will it do for you anyway? The person you’re wasting all of your energy on has moved on and you’re still giving them all of your time. So, did you come out here because of a guy? Did he do something to upset you?” “No, I came out here to get some work done,” Sapphire answered. She didn’t give Brian anymore than that because she wasn’t sure how he would react to her having a personal blog. Some people weren’t into the internet as much as others and he might think her hobby was too wild for him.

“I thought you were a doctor from when I delivered your mail. Aren’t you a dentist? I didn’t think a dentist would have work to bring home with them especially during the holidays,” Brian said as he turned right at the corner. “I shouldn’t have called it work,” Sapphire corrected. “I need time alone to work on my pastime, but I wasn’t getting anything done back at home. There was too much going on around me and I couldn’t think, so Shauntie gave me the keys to the cottage and you know the rest.” Sapphire felt at ease talking to Brian. She was by no means blind to his attraction in the close quarters of the truck; however, something in his manner soothed her making it easy for her to open up to him. She never came this close to telling another person about her blog outside of Emerald and Shauntie. “Were you able to get anything done with your hobby last night?” Brian asked as he pulled inside of the grocery store parking lot. “Why do you want to know?” Sapphire asked. “Do you want someone to talk to tonight? Did you get lonely all by yourself?” she teased as Brian found a parking spot. “What if I did get lonely? Are you volunteering to keep me company?” he flirted back, liking the banter between him and Sapphire. “I mean I wouldn’t have minded you next to me on the couch while I watched television. Will you come downstairs tonight or will you still hide out in your room?” Brian wasn’t used to a girl coming back at him so quick witted. Most girls found his humor off putting, but it had a different effect on Sapphire because she actually seemed to like it. “Let’s see how our trip goes and if you’re good, I’ll think about keeping you company tonight in the family room. However, I get to pick the movie,” Sapphire said. Reaching for the door handle, she started to get out but Brian stopped her by touching her on the elbow. She looked over her shoulder and found him watching her intensely. “I don’t want to watch a chick movie,” he complained. “Nothing like that Bridesmaids movie or one of those Ashton’s movies. I hate those stupid things.” Men! Why did they always assume a woman wanted to watch a chick click? She wasn’t and never would be the chick flick female. She loved action or horror. Even Shauntie couldn’t beg her into seeing one of the

romantic ones. Why did Brian believe she would put him through one of them? “Brian, I never mentioned wanting to see any kind of date night movie because I’m interesting in seeing if Shauntie has the newest Jason Statham movie on DVD. He’s so hot!” “So you think Jason Statham is attractive?” He wondered what women saw in him. The actor wasn’t all that great in his opinion. Sapphire moved her arm away from Brian and opened the car door. “Jason is more than attractive. He’s sexy as hell. I love his accent. Now come on. Let’s get some extra groceries for that endless appetite of yours.” She got out of the car closing the door behind her. Sitting inside the truck, Brian stared after Sapphire noticing how her hair blew around her shoulders as she went towards the store’s entrance. He had to find a way to make Sapphire see she didn’t have to lust after some actor when he was right under the same roof as her. Brian was more determined than ever to find a way to win Sapphire over. He’d spent day after day staring at her inside her office wishing for a moment or two alone with her. Now that he had it he wasn’t going to blow it. Things had to change and soon or his chance to win Sapphire over would be gone before he knew it.

Chapter Fifteen What else could he possibly need, Sapphire wondered as she continued to walk next to Brian in the grocery store? They’d already been here close to forty-five minutes and she was ready to go. She had things to do back home. She wasn’t used to wasting this much time shopping for food. “Are you about ready to leave?” Sapphire asked, stopping next to him in the cereal aisle. This trip was taking a lot longer than she thought it would in the beginning. Who knew Brian would love strolling through the aisles like he had all the time in the world? Grabbing a box of Frosted Flakes off the shelf, Brian tossed it into the cart and then faced her. “Are you always this impatient?” he asked, leaning on the handle of the basket. “Relax and enjoy being out of the cottage. Nothing back there is going to be gone by the time we get back.” Crossing her arms over her breasts, Sapphire glared at Brian. She wasn’t a restless person. She knew how to relax; Brian just hadn’t seen that side of her yet. “You don’t know me well enough to tell me that I’m impatient.” Moving away from their shopping cart, Brian came towards her stopping close enough that she could feel the pull from his lean, muscular body. “You’re right. I don’t know you that well yet; however, if you stop trying to hide from me or pick a fight with me anytime I’m around you I might actually learn more about the woman behind the gorgeous face. “How dare you!” Sapphire snapped. “How dare I what?” Brian countered. “Tell you the truth? Come on, I’m not being over the top or hard on you. I used to see you watching me when I came to your office. I even heard you talking about me once with one of your co-workers. Are you really trying to tell me you aren’t attracted to me?” Sapphire couldn’t believe it. Brian had known all along she was checking him out. Why hadn’t he ever approached her? He could have made a move instead of having her think he wasn’t interested in going out on a date with her? The nerve of him. Who did he think he was?

“Tell me why you always found a way to leave anytime you saw me coming towards you?” she questioned. Sapphire couldn’t wait to hear what Brian would tell her. This better be good or she would give him a good piece of her mind. Instead of answering her, Brian spun away from her and went back over to their grocery cart. He grabbed a couple of more items off the shelf behind him and tossed them into the basket before walking away from her. “Hey, aren’t you going to answer my question?” Sapphire questioned as she followed behind him. Stopping by the end of the aisle, Brian turned around to look at her again. “I’ve already told you a secret about me. So, it’s up to you to take the next step. I want you to confess something to me about you. I can’t be the only one opening up now, can I? What would that accomplish? I still wouldn’t know anything about you and you would have the upper hand over me.” Pivoting, he continued on around the corner leaving Sapphire standing alone in the aisle. The first thought that came into her head was why would she ever think about opening up to a man she barely knew? She started after Brian to tell him the same exact thing until Shauntie’s voice unexpectedly popped into her head. Stop over thinking everything in your life and live in the moment more. Let go. What do you have to lose? A part of her wanted to disagree with her inner voice, but it was right. Seeing Brian the other day brought all of her buried emotions to the surface. Brian had caught her attention from the second he walked into her dental practice wearing those sexy blue shorts, way before Emerald ever brought up her hunks challenge. For weeks, Sapphire battled back and forth in her mind how she would ask him out on a date. She wanted something more imaginative than a cup of coffee or a quick lunch date. All of her other relationships went like that and not one of them ended up going the distance the way she envisioned them doing. The failure with her old boyfriends could have been her fault because she liked having her boundaries too much. Brian was pushing her to leave her well beloved comfort zone and find a way to open up more to him, something that was hard for her to do with anyone besides Emerald or Shauntie, but she would take one step forward and she how it worked out for her.

Posting daily to her blog was so much easier for Sapphire to do than sitting down and telling Brian something about herself. With the internet, she was a faceless person with a laptop writing topics to her loyal followers. The only insight they got was the information she supplied to them. Yet, Brian would be able to see her body language and inquire why she was reacting the way she was. Year after year, she dated man after man in the same high paced profession as her because it was expected of her to do so, but in all honestly a white collar man wasn’t who turned her on. She was drawn...she loved men who used their hands and were covered in sweat and dirt after a hard day at work. Brian might not fit the image most women had of a hunky worker, but he still fit it for her. She never missed any kind of home improvement programs where a hot guy worked with his hands. She thought he was hotter than Jason Statham. If she’d gotten a wish for the sexy man she wanted in her life, Brian would match the vision in her head. So, why wouldn’t she allow herself to see where things could go with Brian? What happened at Shauntie’s cottage would stay at Shauntie’s cottage. Who would be the wiser? Brian hinted that he wanted to know about her and she would let him get a glimpse of what made Dr. Sapphire Rhodes tick. Squaring her shoulders, Sapphire hurried around the corner to catch up with Brian. She wouldn’t let anything worry her or bring her down while she was waiting to ring in the New Year.

Chapter Sixteen “Alright, I’ll take you up on it.” Turning away from the frozen pizza case, Brian found Sapphire standing behind him. His eyes wandered over her body pausing at her blue jeans admitting how the denim showed off her long legs. A good pair of legs on a woman always got his blood racing and Sapphire’s legs were the best he had ever laid eyes on. Back at the cereal aisle while she was checking out a box of Fiber Plus cereal, he had taken a second to check her out instead of shopping for a sugary breakfast food. Sapphire’s hips tapered into long, shapely legs making her slim waist seem even smaller. He wouldn’t think of her as skinny but a woman with curves in all the right places. Her black, thick rich hair hanging long and straight over her shoulders only made her entire package more appealing to him. Brian almost reached out and touched it until he snatched his hand back. Sapphire was tough and she might not take too kindly to him touching her like that. Something in her personality soothed the restlessness in him. He was powerless to resist his body from stepping onto that road toward unchartered territory. Yes, it rattled him some; yet, his curiosity was aroused to the point. He couldn’t lose another night’s sleep like he had gone through last night thinking about Sapphire. She was so unlike any other woman he spent time with. She was stunningly beautiful, owned her own business and had so many layers he wanted to peel back bit by bit until he finally reached the true Dr. Sapphire Rhodes. “You’ll take me up on what?” Brian asked, knowing full well what Sapphire was telling him, but he wanted to hear the words come out of her pretty mouth. He hadn’t known her for that long, but he could tell Sapphire liked to keep things bottled up inside of her. Well, he was going to change that about his new roommate. Sapphire was going to be forced to do some things that might make her feel out of her element, but the change would be good for her. It wasn’t healthy for her to keep herself hidden away from the rest of the world.

Everyone should have the ability to be able to change one thing about their personality without it sending them into an absolute and utter tailspin. “Sapphire, what are you taking me up on?” Brian asked again. He waited while Sapphire glared at him like she wanted to shake some sense into him. “I’ll try to share something about myself with you.” She snapped the words at him like he was trying to get her to confess all of her deep, dark secrets on a talk show. “It won’t be as bad as you think. I just want to know more about you. I find you very intriguing. I was drawn to you way before I knew we would be staying under the same roof. I promise you that I won’t ask about all of your heavily guarded secrets. If I get too personal just tell me to back the hell off and I’ll do it.” Brian noticed a small smile flirting at the corner of Sapphire’s mouth and he knew that he was winning her over some more. Yes, this was going just the way he wanted it to. “You don’t look like a man who would back off after hearing the word no,” Sapphire tossed back. “How do I know that I can trust you?” “Give me a chance and I’ll let you see for yourself.” Brian winked at Sapphire then spun back around making his way to the checkout lane. Behind him, Brian heard Sapphire as she mumbled something under her breath like. “I’ll have to see how well that works out for us.” **** Back at the cottage, Brian sat the four bags of groceries down on the island. Sapphire had offered to help him to put them away, but he told her he could do it so he would have some time alone to think about their time out together. Usually, he didn’t have to work this hard to make a woman spend any time with him, but Sapphire was different. She wasn’t falling for his easy smile and charm. He knew she was affected by him, the same way he was curious about her. He wasn’t the type of brag about the woman he dated, but the opposite sex loved him when it came to his charisma. However, Sapphire passed over it like it wasn’t even front and center. Brian realized this might be one instance he would have to change the behavior he used most to get a woman to show more interest in him

because Sapphire wasn’t allowing herself to fall for their mutual attraction alone. She desired more and he would find a way to give it to her. Before meeting Sapphire, he would have avoided pursuing a woman if he felt rejection was in his future, but with her he wanted to prove to himself that he could hold a great conversation or anything else with a beautiful and successful woman like her If he had any doubts about a working man like him landing a beautiful woman like Sapphire all he had to do was take pointers from Nash and his future looked brighter than normal. His days of searching for a woman who could fill the void in his heart was over He had found her in Sapphire. Which meant winning her over would be the biggest battle of his life, but he would succeed no matter how long it took him.

Chapter Seventeen Upstairs in her bedroom, Sapphire logged onto her computer while her head was on other things, namely Brian. She couldn’t get her mind off her trip with him earlier. More than once she had fought down the urge to run her hand down the muscles in his arms on their trip back home. He had smelled so good, like a mixture of male, nature and soap. The more time she spent in Brian’s company she saw there was more to him than his outer appearance. He had a way of captivating her making her long to know more about him. While they were at the store, she hadn’t paid attention to anyone else. All she could think about was how relaxed she felt in his company. Brian had a natural savvy about him. Something about him got her motivated to get herself back in front of her laptop. Once she was finished with her new entry, Sapphire knew she wouldn’t be hiding up here. Today, she would be downstairs trying to keep her end of the deal with Brian while learning more about him in the process. Not for her blog, but for her own selfish reasons. She wanted Brian probably more than she had any of her past boyfriends. They never made her lose her train of thought so badly. She fought through the fog in her head to remember what she was thinking about before he walked into the room like he owned it. She thrived on taking risks which is why she decided to place her life out there on the internet. Either people would love it or hate it. Lucky for her so far everybody loved it, so why shouldn’t she continue her love of taking new risks? Getting Brian into her life was a thrill she was craving to take a ride on. Glancing back at her laptop, Sapphire noticed her blog was up and ready for her newest post. Her wandering thoughts about her attractive house guest made her forget about the reason she came upstairs in the first place. Sapphire stared at the layout of her blog and wasn’t pleased by the cookie cutter design. It was too second-rate for her, but it was one of the pre-made designs that came with the site. Once she got enough free time, she would hire a professional web designer to make her a custom made

one, something that would showcase her own personal style. But first things first. Her followers were due her next entry. **** Sapphire’s World December 27 Is everyone ready for my new update in the hunks challenge? Remember, in my last post I talked about how I had something good to share with all of you? Okay...I’ll stop dragging it out. I’ve found my hunk. He’s living under the same roof as me. Alright. Let me start from the beginning. My best friend Shauntie sent me to this amazing little hideaway in the woods not knowing that her boyfriend had done the same thing with his best friend Brian. So, here I am staying out in the woods with a sexy guy who has to be one of the most gorgeous men I’ve seen in a while. We both are trying to fight our attraction to each other, but it’s hard since it gets hotter and hotter the more time we spend together. Did I mention that I had a ‘crush’ on him before running into him here? He’s the mailman who delivers the mail to my office. The guy can wear a pair of shorts. Thank God I know how to control myself in front of other people. I can’t say that I had much control in the kitchen earlier with him. Something almost happened there, but he moved away before we actually did anything. Does that mean the next move is mine? **** Sapphire posted her newest blog entry and then lodged off. She wasn’t going to spend another minute up here wondering what everyone would tell her. Brian didn’t think she knew how to come out of this room, but she was going to prove him wrong. She’d made plans to go ice skating on the pond and postponed them for Brian’s shopping trip, but now they were back on. Standing up, Sapphire hurried over to her bedroom closet. After putting on her coat and gloves she grabbed her ice skates and headed out making her way downstairs in search of Brian. She had to let him know where she was going in case he came looking for her.

Walking down the hallway, Sapphire went in the direction of the family room and the big screen television she was positive Brian was watching. The remote was probably in his hand and a drink was sitting at the side. Opening the door, she went inside and found Brian exactly where she thought he would be. “Brian, I’m heading out to the pond to go ice skating for a little while.” Turning his head away from the television, Brian looked at her with an almost hopeful glint in his gray eyes. “Would you like some company? I can only sit in here and watch so much television before I lose my mind. Anyways, I thought you wanted to watch a movie.” “I’d rather go ice skating first. The movie can wait until tonight. Do you really know how to ice skate?” she asked, clearly surprised by Brian’s offer to go with her. Flicking off the football game, Brian tossed the remote control down on the table next to the chair. He got up and walked towards Sapphire until he was standing directly in front of her. “I played hockey from elementary school all the way through college. I still do it every other weekend. So, yes Little Miss Doubtful, I know how to ice skate. I’m so confident in my abilities on the ice I’m willing to bet I’m better than you are. Are you up for taking the wager?” Sapphire wondered if Brian could be baiting her. The question hammered at her making her want to take him up on his dare. Did he actually think she would back down? Not on her life. “Forget it,” Brian laughed, stepping back from her. “I can tell you aren’t up for me beating your cute little butt. Don’t worry about it.” “Hey, I never told you I wouldn’t take you up on this challenge of yours,” Sapphire tossed back. It was her own driving need that shocked her. She needed to spend some extra time with Brian. “Wonderful,” he grinned then winked at her. “Let me grab the skates I stashed in the hall closet when I unpacked my stuff. After Nash told me about the pond, I knew I had to bring them with me and then I’ll meet you by the front door.” Walking around her, Brian went out the door and Sapphire couldn’t help but admire how his jeans cupped his toned ass. She had to fight her own battle of personal restraint not to reach out and grab it. For so long, Sapphire let herself believe there was no room for romance in her busy schedule, but all of those beliefs left once she laid her eyes on Brian.

Denying that she would be able to fight her attraction to Brian was long gone; it was truly an awakening experience that left her reeling. “Are you ready to get your butt kicked?” Brian hollered at her from the hallway. “Somebody is going to lose, but it isn’t going to be me,” Sapphire promised as she left the family room and met Brian in the hallway. He was completely dressed for the cold weather with a coat, gloves, stocking cap and a pair of old black hockey skates tossed over his shoulder. He looked as if he was going to win this bet against her, but he was dead wrong. “Let’s go,” Brian said as he spun away from her and walked towards the door. “What are we playing for?” Sapphire asked as she followed behind Brian. Maybe she should have inquired about the rules first before jumping in with both feet without a security net. “Live for once in your life. Find out what you have to do after you lose to me,” Brian taunted. “A real man would tell me.” Suddenly, Brian stopped and spun around so fast that she ran into his chest. Reaching out, he grabbed her by the upper arm to steady her while holding her firmly against his chest. “Sapphire, I’m a real man and if you need proof I’ll be more than happy to prove it to you. Care to take me up on it,” he challenged. His heated gaze dropped down to her mouth as her body came alive with a burning need before their eyes reconnected. “I won’t have a problem at all kissing that beautiful mouth of yours.” Sapphire’s breath hitched in her throat as she imagined how good Brian’s mouth would feel pressed against hers. She could almost literally feel his tongue brushing over hers tasting and sampling what she had to offer him. Standing on her tiptoes, she brought her lips within a whisper of Brian’s; she noticed how his gray eyes grew a shade darker. “I just don’t kiss any man. He has to work for a kiss from me,” Sapphire whispered against Brian’s mouth before stepping away and walking around him. “Nice one,” Brian laughed as she opened up the front door going outside into the cool afternoon air. She couldn’t keep the grin off her face and she realized how much she smiled around Brian. He was really good for her. Not once had she thought about what was waiting for her back at work.

Little by little Sapphire saw she was becoming less rigid. Not once had she over thought anything since Brian’s arrival. His appearance could just be the thing she needed in her life now and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Chapter Eighteen “I hope you’re ready to lose,” Sapphire taunted as she stepped onto the frozen pond. “I wasn’t lying when I told you how good I was on the ice. I even skated professionally for a few years but decided competing wasn’t for me.” “I’m not worried about losing to you,” Brian tossed back as he placed his boots next to hers on the ground. The snow covering the ground and trees made Sapphire feel like she was inside of a snow globe with the simple beauty of her surroundings. She skated around on the ice loving the freedom it gave her. Back home she never got the chance to do this because something was constantly coming up ranging from work, or hanging out with her two best friends to family issues. Constantly, it seemed like one of her needy family members was always calling her about something because they thought she had all of the answers when in all honesty, Sapphire knew if they put a little effort forward, her two older siblings could handle their own problems just fine. However her brother and sister would rather call to either boss her around or complain about her choice of career. Being a dentist was important to her, but Terrell and Tamara didn’t care at all. Sapphire was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the sound of another pair of ice skates gaining ground on her as she moved around the pond until Brian tapped her on the shoulder. “Shit! You scared the hell out of me,” she snapped at him. “I told you that you wouldn’t beat me,” be bragged as he flew past her. Sapphire’s eyes widened from utter shock. She couldn’t believe it as Brian turned around on his skates like a professional ice skater. He was as good as he told her. She never thought anyone as big as Brian would be able to take to the ice with such ease let alone grace as he was doing. She stared, realizing he was not what she thought. He was an everchanging mystery. “You’re actually good,” Sapphire hollered as she hurried to catch up with Brian as he turned back around.

“I told you, I’ve been on skates since I could remember,” Brian said as she came up next to him. “Who taught you how to skate?” Sapphire asked as Brian grabbed her hand pulling her along with him. The familiar tingle of awareness settled into her body making her want to be even closer to Brian. “My dad was a professional hockey player, so as soon as I could walk he had me up on skates along with my siblings. Enough about me,” Brian said as he stopped skating and pulled her towards him as snow started to fall down on them. “I won the bet, so I’m ready for my prize.” Sliding his hand behind her hair, he gently pulled her to him until her nipples brushed against his chest. They immediately became hard from the slight contact. “Do you know how stunning you look right now with the snow falling on your hair?” Brian asked as his thumb stroked the side of her jaw. “I thought you were beautiful before but being out here with you like this is amazing. I’m dying to kiss you.” Running the tip of her tongue along the bottom of her lip, Sapphire couldn’t help but wonder what kind of kisser Brian would he. He had totally thrown her off at every corner since he came into her life totally unannounced. She wanted to know if he kissed as good as he did everything else. Sapphire watched as Brian’s gray eyes followed the movement of her tongue. “I want you to kiss me too,” she admitted, throwing caution to the wind. She was here to break out of her shell and have fun. Why shouldn’t she do it with Brian? “I’ve never been a man to deny a woman what she wanted.” As his head descended, Sapphire held her breath in anticipation when Brian cupped her cheek. She couldn’t believe this was finally happening. “Are you sure about this?” His warm breath whispered against her mouth. “I know once we kiss that I won’t be able to go back. I want this kiss way too much.” Sapphire thought about pushing Brian away or disagreeing with him, but she didn’t have a rebuttal. Brian took her silence as her acceptance for what was about to happen between them. The first kiss would determine if they were compatible with each other. He brushed his mouth against hers; her heart thudded against her aching breasts. Slowly, he ran his tongue over the seam of her fuller, bottom lip. While the pad of his thumb teased the side of her jaw and the

cold was forgotten as the heat Brian created warmed her from the inside out. Just when Sapphire thought her body was about to crumble on the ice skates and hit the pond Brian’s arms snaked around her waist anchoring her body fully against him as their kiss continued. Drawing her bottom lip between his teeth, Brian sucked at it as his hand found her ass underneath her coat giving it a good squeeze. With a long groan, he eased away from her blowing out several deep breaths. “Damn, you taste so fucking good but we need to stop. Now isn’t really the time for our first kiss. I got carried away and I should apologize.” Blinking a couple of times, Sapphire stared at Brian as she tried to clear her head. How was he able to think so clearly let alone form a complete sentence after that kiss? She was still trying to find her way back down from the high. “Please. Don’t apologize,” Sapphire finally said. “I...” She swallowed trying to get her thoughts together. “I enjoyed our kiss a lot.” “Sapphire, I thoroughly enjoyed our kiss myself,” Brian’s desired filled voice told her. “If we weren’t out here in the cold, I would still be kissing you.” The surprised confession shocked and pleased Sapphire. She wasn’t the only one who felt the need to continue kissing like they were starved for each other. “I guess we better get back to the cottage,” Brian suggested, rubbing his hands together. “Since I was occupied with better things before, I hadn’t realized how cold it has gotten. I think we should start a fire when we get back.” Sapphire could only nod her head before she followed Brian off the ice. Her mind was still replaying the outstanding kiss over and over like a home movie. How could she have waited so long to kiss him? Brian had set her on fire from the moment their bodies touched. She was outside making out with a guy like she was a seventeen-year-old girl instead of a twenty-eight-year-old woman. She was more than positive that Emerald would never let her hear the end of this if she ever found out, but she was never going to tell her girlfriends about this. So, there was no worry in her mind about it ever happening.

Falling down on the bench next to Brian, Sapphire unlaced her skates totally unaware that Brian hadn’t taken his eyes off of her since they sat down. “Are you still thinking about our kiss?” Turning her head, she saw Brian had his boots back on feet and his skates were laid down on the ground. What was she supposed to say? Yes, the memory of our powerful kiss is still in my head because it’s one of the best kisses I’ve ever experienced in my adult life. Should she also confess how she thought about going back to the house and getting naked with him in front of the fireplace? Instead of her mind being on food, Sapphire was fantasizing about a totally different fulfillment, that burned calories instead of making her gain unwanted weight. “Yes, I am. Who wouldn’t be?” she questioned, deciding to go with the truth instead of a lie. It wasn’t like Brian didn’t know how much she already wanted him to do more than deliver her mail. Sapphire finished zipping up her boots as Brian slid closer to her on the small iron bench. “How about another kiss before we leave?” Brian asked. His voice deepened sensually, sending a ripple of awareness through her body. “I’d definitely like that,” Sapphire answered, barely aware of her own voice as she turned her head.

Chapter Nineteen Hooking his hand behind her neck, Brian didn’t give her a chance to utter another word. He slid his tongue along her bottom lip, and then started to nibble at it trying to coax it open.. For a spilt second, Sapphire thought about denying him, but changed her mind. A kiss from Brian was too good to pass up. She craved this more than a piece of Hershey’s chocolate late at night. As his tongue eased its way into her mouth, Sapphire moaned. At the same time Brian consumed her with passion as her arms wrapped around his wide shoulders. Her tongue danced with Brian’s as his hand slid up her jeans clad thigh, working its way over her hip and around her waist until it rested on the curve of her ass. She gave a surprised whimper as Brian pulled her up and straddled her body across his hard thighs. Sapphire tore her mouth away from Brian. Breathing hard, she tried to become the level-headed one in the situation. No doubt about it, Brian was a damn good kisser. “We need to stop,” she said and the words sounded weak even to her own ears. “Are you sure?” Brian asked as his hand rubbed the outside of her thighs. Lowering his head, he flicked his tongue against the side of her neck then licked her skin heating it up. “Yes,” Sapphire moaned as she unconsciously slid her lower body over Brian’s growing erection. What was he doing to her? Brian had this power over her that she couldn’t get away from. The heat between her thighs was driving her crazy. He had to know what he was doing to her. How could he not feel the same things as her? His wide hand circled her waist tugging her against his hard chest as he recaptured her lips in a long, tender wet kiss. Minutes later, Brian reluctantly separated their mouths and pressed his forehead against hers staring into her eyes.

“Baby, you sure do have a way of a making a man forget he’s sitting outside in the cold on a bench, but I think we both need to get back to the cottage and warm up. Not that your kiss wasn’t burning me up.” Smiling, Sapphire trailed her fingertips down Brian’s chiseled jaw. Compliments were going to get Brian moved to the top of her list. ”I thought you wanted to stay out here in the snow and cold since you decided to continue our make-out session instead of leaving ten minutes ago.” Honestly, she could have spent another two hours here with Brian and not given it a second thought. Leaning away from her, Brian ran his index finger along her bottom lip. “I love your mouth. How could I stop kissing you? When you have something good, you want it more and more.” Reading the honesty in his eyes made Sapphire’s pulse quicken from excitement and a little longing. She’d known since she was young how her looks drew men, but none of them had ever looked at her like this. She felt her body growing warmer from his intoxicating gaze. Brian had a direct way about him and it made her want to dig deeper into his mind, so she could figure out why someone as gorgeous, funny and intelligent as him didn’t have a ring on his finger. “You’re right. We should get inside. The cold is beginning to come through my coat. I hate getting cold.” Sapphire got off Brian’s lap trying not to notice the huge bulge displayed in his jeans. Damn...damn...damn. Sapphire knew she shouldn’t miss how good it felt being pressed against Brian, but she did feel empty now. Which was strange since they were still just getting to know each other, but what a way to get to know him? She wouldn’t mind a replay of what happened a few minutes ago. “I can think of another way to warm you back up once we get back to the cottage, if you’re up for it,” Brian teased as he bent down to retrieve his ice skates. “I’ll understand if you tell me no.” Walking around Brian, Sapphire grabbed her skates off the ground. Was she game enough to take him up on his offer? Did she want to know what he had planned? Could Brian actually top his earth shattering kiss from earlier? There was only one way to find out. “Can I get a hint of what you have in mind?” She knew he wouldn’t tell her but she could at least ask him.

“I think I’ll leave you in suspense. I can’t let you know everything I’m planning before hand, can I? Where is the element of surprise? Are you ready to go now?” Holding out his hand, Brian waited for her to take it. Sapphire didn’t even give it a second thought before sliding her hand inside of Brian’s large one. Everything about today was turning into a surprise for her and honestly she was getting lost in every minute of it. Walking back home next to him, she took a peek at Brian from the corner of her eye as the snow continued to fall down around them. Today had to be one of the most romantic days she had ever shared with anyone. How was it possible that ice skating with a man who had got tossed into her life out of the blue made her feel so special and even...? She hated to think it because she barely knew Brian, but loved. Is this how Shauntie fell for Nash so fast? All Brian did was kiss her and she was seeing him in a totally different light. Was it the stirring of something deeper she felt for Brian or only buried lust because she hadn’t been with a man in such a long time? Ever since she was ten years old, Sapphire secretly dreamt about having it all: a career, a husband and family before she hit thirty. But she never thought it would happen. Since she was so career driven all other things had gotten shoved to the sidelines for so many years. Was Brian going to fit into the picture of Prince Charming she’d seen in her head as a young girl? People, along with their ideas, changed over the years as they grew up, but hers never wavered. For as long as she could remember, Sapphire remembered writing in her journals all the qualities her perfect man would possess and Brian had those qualities and more.. Even only knowing him this short period of time, she could tell he was a good man. But the question was could Brian Terry be the man for her or should she keep looking? **** Brian was worried. As he held Sapphire’s hand, he could feel the tension in her body. Had he made a mistake by moving too fast with her? But the moment seemed so perfect with the snow falling down around him and Sapphire watching him with those big hazelnut eyes of hers. How could he resist such an open invitation from a beautiful woman?

He didn’t know what Sapphire might be expecting out of their time here together, but he was hoping it could be the start of a relationship. Pleasing Sapphire was driving him to meet all of her expectations and needs. He could tell she had been thinking about kissing him, but was going to back out so he took the decision out of her hands. He would seduce her with charm because he hoped to be in her life longer than the New Year’s Eve weekend.

Chapter Twenty Taking the skates away from her, Brian placed them near the door then pulled her into his arms. “Why don’t you go upstairs and freshen up while I check on the steaks I sat out before we left for the pond? I know it’s a little cold outside, but I want to grill us some steaks.” “I’m going to get spoiled by you if you keep doing all of this stuff for me,” Sapphire said, wrapping her arms around Brian’s neck. “I love being independent but every once in a while having a handsome guy do something for you is pretty good.” “There’s nothing wrong with being spoiled as long as you don’t let it go to your head. A woman as beautiful as you should be pampered at least once in her life. I know me cooking you a meal isn’t a lot, but it’s something.” “Don’t count yourself short. What you’re doing is wonderful and I can’t wait to eat,” she said, surprised again by this unpredictable man. Sapphire was shocked when Brian’s eyes suddenly filled with fierce sparkling. “How about we get through tonight and you can see how wonderful I truly am?” Planting a kiss on her mouth, Brian stepped back from her with a huge grin on his face. “Don’t stand there looking so stunned. We’re only going to be here for a few more days and I have to use everything I can to win you over.” New and unexpected warmth surged through Sapphire as Brian spun around from her and made his way towards the kitchen. She was beginning to see there was a lot more to him than she realized. Brian probably knew his good looks and killer body were the first two things that caught her interest, but after spending some time with him he showed her there was more to him. Sapphire was excited about what new parts of his personality Brian would reveal to her while they were together. Spinning away from where Brian left her, Sapphire went back over to the front door and picked up her skates. She would sit them out on the enclosed patio so they could be close by the next time she went ice skating with him.

As she walked past the kitchen, Sapphire stopped and took a peek inside. She spotted Brian digging around in the panty across from the island. He looked at home with his sleeves pushed up past his elbows. A lock of his dark brown hair had fallen across his forehead giving a restless look to his already handsome face. If she wasn’t careful, Sapphire knew she could fall hard for Brian. He made her want to spend time with him snuggled up in front of the fireplace or even laughing over a cup of coffee in the morning. The goal of the hunk challenge was to find a blue collar man to date, not to fall in love with after being around each other for only a few days. Sapphire’s willpower was stronger than it was acting at the cottage. She stole one final look at Brian before backing away from the door allowing it to close softly behind her. She didn’t want him to catch her staring at him. **** Brian felt Sapphire’s eyes on him the second the kitchen door opened. He was going to say something to her, but he got the feeling she was already deep into her own thoughts. The kiss at the pond probably took her by surprise, but he couldn’t help it. She’d looked so beautiful standing there in the snow . He kissed her before the thought had completely left his mind and he wasn’t a damn bit sorry about it. The sweet taste of her mouth still lingered on his lips. He wouldn’t be able to get the memory of their hot exchange out of his mind for a while. His cock was still hard begging for release that he wouldn’t get tonight because he wasn’t going to push things with Sapphire. She was already battling her own emotions concerning him and he didn’t want to make it worse by pushing her too soon to make love. He was more than ready to strip the clothes from her luscious body and show Sapphire how much he craved her touch. But she wasn’t on the same page as him yet, so it wouldn’t do him any good. This meant he would spend another solo night in his bed having the twentieth wet dream starring the woman down the hallway from his bedroom. Brian would never forget his first dream about Sapphire. It came the day he noticed her coming off the elevator where she worked. She was

wearing a white dress with a black belt around her waist showing off all of her curves. Her legs had looked a mile long in the leopard high heels. He never knew a dentist could look so sexy and professional at one time. Sapphire had worn her long hair pulled back in a tight bun. All he could think about was undoing it and running his fingers through it while they kissed. The memory of Sapphire stayed with him all through the day and well into the night. She was oblivious to how deep his feelings ran for her. He was practically already down the street to halfway in love with her. When he finally saw the woman he was meant to be with for the rest of his life nothing else mattered in the world to him but getting her to notice him. Brian never knew what was missing from his less than exciting life until Sapphire came into his. Moving away from the pantry with the steak seasoning in his hand, Brian went back over to the steaks on the counter and began working his magic on the meat. Cooking always relaxed him after a long day of delivering mail. Most of the time he cooked for himself, so it finally felt good to be cooking for someone else. More than anything, Brian needed something to get his mind off Sapphire and how much he wanted to be with her. Just being in her presence was enough to set his body on fire; however, he wouldn’t be able to win Sapphire over with sex alone. He would have to romance her, show Sapphire how much he thought they should be together even after New Year’s Eve was over. Something about Sapphire made him see that he could have the white picket fence with the kids and a couple of pets. However, Brian got a sense he might have a hard time winning her over. If he was a betting man, he would gamble that he wasn’t like any of the other men Sapphire dated. She probably only went out with guys who could still afford three hundred dollar meals even in this economy. Right now, he didn’t have too much to offer her since his web design business wasn’t off the ground yet. Could Sapphire accept dating a man who was working his way to the top? He would happily settle for an exclusive relationship between the two of them. Brian picked up the plates with the steaks on them and placed them in the refrigerator. He still had to go outside and get the grill fired up. When he got back inside he would check to see if there were potatoes in the house and if so, Brian decided to toss them on the grill too. A good

romantic home-cooked meal was only the first step into placing himself into Sapphire’s world.

Chapter Twenty-One New York “The view from this window is unbelievable,” Shauntie gushed as Nash kissed the back of her neck before wrapping his arms around her waist. “I never thought about staying here before with the girls. This place is totally Emerald.” “I’m glad you haven’t been here before,” Nash said, turning her around in his strong yet gentle grip. “I want us to have some firsts on this trip.” “Sweetheart, we can have all the firsts you want while we’re here on our mini vacation.” Leaning closer, Shauntie gave Nash a quick kiss on the mouth. “I love you too much not to have an outstanding time.” Green eyes smoldered with fire a second after the words left Shauntie’s mouth. She loved how much her strong, rugged boyfriend turned into mush anytime she told him those words. One day in the future she hoped Nash would be more than her boyfriend, but she didn’t want to rush things with him. They hadn’t been seeing each other that long, but it felt like she and Nash had been dating for years instead of weeks. Would Nash be ready to marry her in the New Year or was he content with the way their relationship was going? Shauntie knew she didn’t want another man in her life. Nash was it for her...for now and forever. Nash wasn’t lying to her while dating another woman on the side. She was smart enough to know she was the only woman in his life. Nash’s eyes never wandered to other women when they were out. Her hunky boyfriend was a one woman man and without a doubt that woman was her. “A penny for your thoughts,” Nash teased, tapping her on the nose with his finger. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Shauntie apologized, shaking the last lingering thought about her future with Nash from her already cluttered mind. “What had you in such deep thought that you didn’t hear me talking to you?” Nash questioned, running his hand up and down her back.

“I think it might be jet lag. I haven’t flown in a while. I’m also feeling more tired than usual. I don’t know what‘s wrong.” Nash’s hand stopped stroking her back as he eased back from her. Cupping her chin in his hand, he tilted her face up so he could look her directly in the eye. “Why didn’t you tell me that you haven’t been feeling well?” he asked, concern evident in his deep voice. “We could have postponed the trip for another time.” Shauntie’s heart swelled with even more love over Nash’s worry about her health. “There isn’t any need for you to panic.” “Sweetheart, I can’t pretend I’m not worried about you. You work so many hours during the week. I only want you to relax a little more. That’s all.” Pulling her back to him, Nash planted a kiss at the side of her temple. “Shauntie, I’ve been in love with you so long that I don’t like the thought of you being sick. How about we take a shower together and then a nap?” She took a step back from Nash. Why did she need to take a nap? She wasn’t so weak that she needed to be carried off to bed after a shower. This was her first time in New York with Nash and spending her time here taking a nap wasn’t on her to do list. “I don’t—” Shauntie was hushed by Nash placing his finger over her mouth. “I won’t change my mind about this. You need some rest. Anything you had planned for us to do we can do tomorrow.” Removing Nash’s finger from her mouth Shauntie thought about arguing with him, but decided against it. She was more fatigued than usual and a quick nap might just be the relaxation that her body required. “Alright, I’ll lay down but on one condition,” she said, watching as Nash fought not to argue with her. “What’s the condition?” “We go downstairs and have dinner inside the restaurant instead of ordering room service. Do we have a deal?” “You do know how hard it is for me to say no to you,” Nash sighed then planted a kiss on her mouth. “I’ll agree to dinner in the restaurant. Now, let’s get you into the shower and then bed.” Taking her by the hand, Nash led her into the luxurious bedroom. A thought crossed Shauntie’s mind as she walked into the bathroom behind Nash. “Are you going to join me in the shower?” “You better believe I am. Who else is going to wash your back?” he teased.

“I knew I loved you for a reason,” Shauntie said as Nash spun her around and worked on the zipper on the back of her dress. “I thought you loved me for my good looks and boyish charm.” Reaching behind her, Shauntie moved Nash’s hand off her dress. Turning around, she looked up into his eyes. “I love you for so many reasons besides those. You gave me back the ability to love unconditionally, something I thought I’d lost a long time ago. You mean so much to me.” Shauntie watched as the handsome man in front of her lit up with pleasure. “Baby, you mean everything to me too. There aren’t words to describe how much having you in my life means.” Lowering his head, Nash kissed the corner of her mouth then pulled her bottom lip between his two front teeth. “How about we take that shower? I’m getting impatient to wrap you up in my arms.” Spinning her back around, Shauntie presented the back of her dress again to Nash giving him the chance to finish what he’d been working on earlier. The trip to New York had been excellent so far. However, a part of her deep inside hoped Nash would pull out a ring and ask her to marry him. Was it so wrong for her to want to whole cake and be able to eat it too?

Chapter Twenty-Two Dark gray eyes burning with hot desire followed Sapphire’s body as it swayed to the music in the kitchen while she worked on fixing a salad to go with the steak he was grilling outside. Sapphire had come downstairs earlier and asked to help him out with dinner, so he gave her the salad to work on. He decided to go outside to put some much needed distance between them because it was getting harder for him to deny his growing feelings. The days out here in the woods went by a lot slower than when he celebrated the upcoming New Year’s Eve at home. Brian had to admit finding different things out here to occupy himself with so he would keep his mind off making his next move with Sapphire was hard. Bracing his shoulder against the wall, Brian liked he could observe Sapphire with her guard down. She constantly was trying to stay so perfect and well-guarded with her emotions when they were together. The only time she had let loose was when they kissed on the pond. He approved of this side of Sapphire so much more than the unapproachable woman he encountered on his first day here. Brian noticed when he didn’t push her too much today, but allowed Sapphire to roam her own pace, how she gravitated more towards him. She wasn’t comfortable when he came across like he needed her too much. The moment Brian suggested he should go ice skating with her Sapphire’s entire body language changed with him. She might not admit it, but she was happy he had brought something to the conversation. Going to the pond with her had rekindled fond memories of his dad taking him out on the ice for the first time when he was around two years old. His father had given him his passion for the ice and skated with him anytime he got the chance until he passed away a day before Brian turned seventeen. Brian felt sudden tears in his eyes. Blinking them away, he gave his attention back to Sapphire and the sensual way her body moved to the music blasting from the radio. He was trying so hard to be good...really he was, but the sight of Sapphire’s full hips and tight ass was too much for any sexually aroused man to take anymore.

Pushing his body away from the wall, Brian walked softly towards Sapphire so he wouldn’t alert her to the fact he had been watching her for almost five minutes. He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her against his hard erection. “You look so good dancing around,” he whispered by her ear. “Shit!” Sapphire screamed as she jumped in his grip. “Brian, what in the hell is wrong with you?” she squirmed around trying to break free but he held her even tighter. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Brian rubbed her stomach through her sweater hoping to calm her down. “I didn’t mean to scare you but I couldn’t help it. You were dancing around and I got all turned on.” Lowering his head, he nibbled at the back of her neck drawing a soft moan from her lips. “Do you forgive me?” “Well, it depends,” Sapphire answered as she rubbed her ass against his erection. Brian sucked in a breath while holding her to him. He could get used to having Sapphire in his arms for the rest of his life. “What does it depend on?” “How well you grilled my steak. I’m very picky about my meat.” Spinning her around, Brian gave her a cocky grin. “I promise you my skills on the grill are even better than my talent on the ice.” “They better be or you won’t get any more kisses from me,” Sapphire warned, running her finger over his bottom lip. “Once you allowed me to kiss this lovely mouth of yours, you can’t take it back.” “I can do anything—” Brian cut off Sapphire by hauling her close to him. One hand gripped her hip while the other one wrapped around her ponytail she fixed before working on the salads. Holding her still he leaned down, slanted his mouth over her delectable looking lips and covered her mouth. He moved his mouth over Sapphire’s devouring its softness. Brian got lost in the sweet taste of her. She tasted better than cotton candy at a carnival on a warm sunny day. Parting her lips, she raised herself up to meet his kiss even more. Brian quickly slid his tongue inside exploring the recesses of her mouth. He was shocked by her eager response to his touch, but he wasn’t about to deny himself a few more minutes of this sheer pleasure.

Back and forth, Brian teased Sapphire’s tongue with his until he couldn’t take it any longer. If he continued to kiss her, Brian knew he wouldn’t be able to stop. Raising his mouth from hers, he gazed into her desired filled eyes, “How is it possible when I kiss you all other thoughts leave my head?” “I have no idea,” Sapphire answered as her hands gripped the front of his shirt. “I get the same way when I kiss you. I guess we just have that effect on each other.” Brian kissed Sapphire on the forehead and stepped back before he did more. He would save the rest for later when they were in front of the fireplace. “I’m sure the steaks and potatoes are ready by now. Why don’t you get everything else set up in front of the fireplace? I’ll meet you in there in a few minutes.” Turning on his heel, Brian walked across the kitchen and out the patio door before he lost what tiny bit of willpower he had left.

Chapter Twenty-Three Taking a sip of her wine, Sapphire watched the hypnotic dances of the flames inside the fireplace while Brian carried their dirty dishes into the kitchen. How was it possible a man as hot as Brian could probably give a chef like Gordon Ramsey a run for his money? Her steak tonight was mouth-wateringly good. It was so delicious that she had finished the whole thing much to Brian’s pleasure and her own personal embarrassment. Reaching up, Sapphire removed the rubber band from her hair and ran her fingers through the thick strands. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Sapphire took another taste of the wine allowing it to continue to relax her body as she thought over her date with Brian tonight. Dinner with him was amazing. She could count on one hand how many times she had been so comfortable on a date. Wait a minute! Her mind hit on the brakes. She wasn’t on a date with Brian. This dinner was only two roommates getting to know each other better for the sake for their mutual friends. Shauntie and Nash didn’t want them at odds with each other, so that was the reason she agreed to stay here. Sapphire told herself she better remember that before things went too far because a couple of hot kisses with Brian didn’t constitute a relationship. Hearing a noise behind her, Sapphire turned her head and saw Brian coming back through the kitchen door towards her. Her heart pounded away in her chest at his disheveled look. Brian had rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up past his elbows and undid a couple of buttons displaying his smooth chest. She quickly tossed back the rest of her wine placing the empty glass back down next to her as Brian rejoined her in front of the fireplace. “Sorry I took so long but I put our plates in the dishwasher and got them going before I came back out here. I didn’t want to leave them piled up in the sink for later.” Placing his arm behind her back, Brian leaned closer surrounding them in the heat emanating from his body. Sapphire couldn’t deny Brian

had an innately captivating presence about him, something that he was well aware of and used brilliantly to his advantage. “Not a problem. I was just staring into the fire thinking,” she said. “Could I hope your thoughts were about me?” Lightly, he fingered a loose tendril of hair that had fallen on her cheek. “Actually, I was thinking about you and the wonderful time you showed me today,” Sapphire admitted. She turned her head to look at Brian making him let go of her hair. Why should she deny him the truth? “I had a good time too. I’m glad we decided to eat in front of the fireplace. You look so beautiful in front of the fire. All I wanted to do was pull you into my arms and pick up where we left off but I fought off my initial urges.” “Why?” Sapphire spun around so she was looking directly at Brian’s handsome face. She wouldn’t have pushed him away. In fact, she probably craved the kiss more than he did. “Because I thought you might not like me trying something again so soon after our kiss outside by the pond,” Brian admitted. “I don’t want to mess up what’s happening between us by moving too fast.” “I wouldn’t have pushed you away,” Sapphire admitted, softly. Strong masculine lips turned up into a cocky smile as Brian placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her down on the thick carpet. “I’ve dreamt about kissing you ever since I first laid eyes on you coming off that elevator.” Brian watched her closely waiting for her reaction like whatever she told him would change the connection growing between them. “I thought about you too,” Sapphire confessed as Brian lay down next to her on the floor. “Thank you. A man loves to hear when a good-looking woman is interested in him but his ego gets even bigger when she’s also very intelligent and extremely hot.” Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Sapphire tugged him closer to her until he was lying practically on top of her. “If I’m so hot why is it taking you so long to kiss me again?” Closing her eyes, Sapphire waited for the kiss that she knew would change the rest of her life. Before his mouth touched hers, Sapphire felt his cool breath tickle the side of her cheek as Brian’s lips inched their way to hers. She licked her bottom lip in anticipation of what was about to happen. The sound of the clock ticking seemed to get louder with each passing minute. Just as Sapphire was about to give up hope, the soft touch of

Brian’s mouth teasing her made the situation about what was going to happen into a reality...a truth Sapphire was powerless to stop because it was too demanding for her to do anything else beside lay back and get lost in the ride.

Chapter Twenty-Four Her calm was shattered by the hunger of his kiss. Brian’s tongue brushed over hers sending shivers of desire racing along the nerve endings through her entire body. Giving herself freely to the passion of the kiss, Sapphire wrapped her arms around Brian pulling him even closer. His moist, firm mouth demanded a response and Sapphire was giving it to him. For half the night she had tried to deny herself this luxury but now she couldn’t do it any longer. This is how she wanted the night to end. “I want you,” Sapphire whispered not caring how it might sound. All she could do was speak the truth and hope Brian got turned on from it as much as she was by his touch. “Sapphire, you taste so perfect, so sweet and juicy like a ripe peach.” Brian licked her mouth running his tongue along the bottom of her lip. With each slow steady stroke of his tongue, he ran his hands up and down her thighs and then spread them until he was nestled between them. The hot feel of Brian’s thick erection grinding between her legs made Sapphire squirm with pleasure. Lifting his head, Brian raked his gray eyes over her body as he pulled her arms above her head holding them there with one of his. “Damn, I don’t think it’s possible for you to get any more beautiful,” he said, staring at her. Sapphire pulled at her arms trying to get free but she realized that Brian wasn’t about to let her go. So, instead of fighting him anymore she raised her head for another one of his tantalizing kisses. Feeling her body moving under his and sensing that she craved more from him, Brian lifted her leg up wrapping it around his waist. Letting go of her wrist, his large hands circled her waist pulling her hard against him. He lowered his head recapturing her already swollen lips to take complete control of the kiss. The more Brian made love to her mouth with his masterful tongue the more Sapphire brushed her lower body against him trying to relieve the ache there. What was happening to her?

What was it about Brian that brought out this uninhibited side of her but she couldn’t shove away her ultimate desire which was to be with Brian. This is where she should have been weeks ago instead of battling against herself. She felt his cock grow heavier and thicker from her movements. A low moan filled with lust flew from Sapphire’s mouth as she pressed closer not worrying about the consequences. The tips of their tongues touched trying to take over control as Brian cupped her ass in his wide palms. “I have to touch you. I need to see if you’re soft as you felt in my dreams,” he whispered against her sensitive mouth. “Please...darling let me touch you.” Feeling his eyes on her, Sapphire’s heavy lids opened slowly and she found Brian’s intense stare watching and waiting for her answer. This felt right. He felt right. She knew her answer was right in front of her. “Touch me,” she begged. Calloused fingers eased the hem of her thick cashmere sweater up her body and over her head. Brian tossed it somewhere away from the fire but Sapphire wasn’t concerned about the location. She had bigger and better things to give her attention to. Biting her bottom lip, Sapphire anxiously waited while Brian studied her exposed body. He continued to look at her like he had never seen anyone like her before. “What’s wrong?” she asked Brian as his eyes never left her and the silence stretched on between them. “Nothing baby...” He laughed, softly. “I can’t help but stare. Your breasts are perfect just like the rest of your body.” Taking his index finger, he trailed it down her cleavage before unsnapping the front of her bra. Her breasts sprung free and Brian captured them with his hands. “I could look at you all day. Touch you all day.” He played with her nipples by brushing his thumbs back and forth over them until they got harder. Sapphire purred in the back of her throat when Brian took one of her nipples between his long fingers and gently pulled it. The sensation shot through her body sending her vagina into immediate overdrive. “Would you want me to do that for you?” Brian moved his hand over to her other breast giving it the same attention.

Too lost in the gratification taking over her mind, body and soul all Sapphire could do was manage a small nod to answer Brian’s question. Right now words were beyond her reach. “No, I need to hear the words. Tell me...Tell me you can’t wait until I’m buried deep between those smooth brown thighs of yours.” His words were spoken with such passion that Sapphire shoved the last of her apprehension out the door. She was so tired of being so straight-laced and by the book. She came all the way out here to get away from everything and everyone holding her back at home. New Year’s Eve was her favorite holiday and her celebration was going to start a few days early. “I can’t wait until you make love to me. I know this is beyond fast and usually I’m more cautious than this, but I can’t fight the need to be with you. I simply can’t.” “You won’t have to fight it any longer.” Getting up off the floor, Brian bent back down sweeping her up into his arms. “Your bedroom or mine,” he asked. “Mine is closer,” Sapphire answered. Neither one of them said much during the short trip from the living room upstairs to Sapphire’s bedroom. She couldn’t believe tonight would finally be her night with Brian. No more waking up in bed alone covered in sweat and breathing hard from another unfulfilled dream. For weeks now, Sapphire had wondered how she could get closer to Brian. However, she never thought Shauntie would be the one who pushed her towards her own personal sexy hunk for Emerald’s challenge. Walking through the open bedroom door, Brian quickly covered the distance to her bed and gently laid her down in the middle of the mattress. Sapphire couldn’t tear her eyes away from Brian. He looked so good with the moonlight pouring in through the open window. The moon never shone this bright in the city. Sapphire didn’t have time to think about anything else before Brian grabbed her left foot removing her boot and less than a minute later her second boot joined the first. “Do you care if I undress you?” His deep voice sent tiny shivers along her skin. “No, I would love for you to take my clothes off,” Sapphire confessed, leaning back on her elbows. Brian was oblivious at how much she was up for practically anything tonight.

Chapter Twenty-Five Starting from the bottom of her feet, Brian removed Sapphire’s clothing piece by piece until her beautiful, smooth warm body was completely bare for him to see. He wondered if she knew how badly he was holding back from taking her. Ever since he’d kissed her in front of the fireplace all he saw were the two of them sweaty and naked making love for the rest of the night. Why was Sapphire bothering him so much? He’d been with women before who were just as good-looking as her, but he couldn’t fight the inner need to be with her no matter what. He knew that he had moved fast with Sapphire. Faster than any woman he had been with since he turned seventeen years old and lost in virginity on New Year’s Eve to a girl that lived two houses down from him, but Brian had formed a connection with Sapphire way before he ended up here with her. It truly began the day he saw her on his mail route and continued to grow each and every time he laid eyes on her. All during dinner he tried to be good by not tossing her down on the thick carpet and seducing her. Brian was proud he had lasted this long. “Are you going to stand there and look at me all night?” Sapphire questioned. “I think it’s a little unfair that you’re still completely clothed. Don’t you think I want to see you too?” Sitting up on the bed, Sapphire hooked her finger in the loop of his jeans tugging him closer to the end of the bed. Brian loved how comfortable Sapphire was with her nudity. Her confidence was turning him on even more. She was full of surprises and he was dying to learn more about them. “Do you need me to undress you?” Her small hands reached up towards the top button on his shirt but his hand shot out stopping her. Wide-eyed with shock, Sapphire glanced at his hand wrapped around her wrist. The thought of Sapphire’s fingers undressing him made his cock harder than granite, so he couldn’t let it happen. Not tonight anyway.

He had to stay in control or this would be over way faster than he wanted it to be. All of the weeks; he envisioned being with his sexy doctor wasn’t going to end in under five minutes. No, Brian had very special plans for Sapphire along with her killer body; plans that didn’t involve him coming inside of his jeans like some adolescent high school boy who’d never been with a woman before. “Sapphire, the idea of you undressing me makes me unbelievably hard; however, I wouldn’t be able to love you the way I want. But I promise you I’ll let you undress me another time.” Impatiently, Brian stood there waiting while big brown eyes watched him looking for what he wasn’t quite sure but she eased her hand away from his. The movement put a scare inside of him. What if Sapphire was going to reject him altogether? She might be getting ready to tell him to get the hell out of her bedroom. “Mr. Terry, I’m going to cash in your promise later. You can bet on it.” Easing back from him, Sapphire lowered her body back on the bed and waited for him. Brian sent up a silent prayer of thanks at Sapphire’s acceptance of him. Taking a step back from the tempting sight of his woman, Brian suddenly paused at the thought that Sapphire was really going to be his tonight. Letting her go after they made love wasn’t an option in his mind, she was going to become a permanent part of his life. He would thrive on the challenge of the accomplishments it would take to conquer Sapphire so they could be together after this. Besides putting his own money towards his new business, winning Sapphire’s unconditional love would be his second biggest risk in a week. He liked living on the edge like this. It was bringing a new excitement to his life. Tonight, Brian had to prove to Sapphire that no other man would be able to give her what he could in and out of bed. Unbuttoning his dress shirt, he let it drop down on the floor. He kicked off his shoes and then went to work on unzipping his pants. He pushed them down his legs along with his boxers. Brian stood proud and naked in front of Sapphire allowing her to get a good look at him. He needed with everything in him to show her how much she affected his body.

Chapter Twenty-Six Good God in Heaven! Sapphire’s mouth went dry at her first glance at Brian’s naked form. If she thought he looked good fully clothed in his mailman uniform, his body was absolutely perfect with nothing on it. Sapphire tried her best not to ogle him, but how could she not with Brian standing in front of her in all of his glory? He could have been a paid male model for an art class at some local college. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on his tall, well-developed frame. His six pack abs looked like they’d been painted on, but Sapphire knew abs like Brian’s only came from hours working out at the gym. Now, when he found the time to go, she didn’t know, but she was thrilled Brian gave her the privilege of seeing them. No body hair covered him except for the V line of hair that ran from below his navel down to his long, thick length of his beautifully made cock. Desire hit Sapphire full force and almost knocked her off the bed. It curled up in her stomach shooting straight down into her vagina. Running her tongue across her top lip, Sapphire could almost taste how good it would be when Brian finally stopped taunting her by just standing there. Was he waiting for her to make the first move? Sapphire wasn’t shy about doing it. Something had to be done and soon because the two of them just staring at each other wasn’t working. “Baby, are you ready?” Brian asked in the rich voice she was beginning to love the more she heard it. He kept coming towards her until he was standing directly at the side of the bed. “Oh, I’m ready for you,” she confessed as Brian grabbed her by the ankle spreading her legs apart. He eased his big body between her legs. Lowering his head, Brian ran his thick tongue along the part where her shoulder and neck connected. Moaning softly Sapphire closed her eyes getting lost in the warmth of Brian’s chest brushing across her nipples. Damn, it had been such a long time...she forgot how good a man’s body could feel being like this with hers. Work had taken over such a huge part of her time.

“Is this better than your daydreams?” Brian’s warm breath blew across the wetness on her skin left there by his tongue. She squirmed around on the mattress trying to get him to do what she needed. Now wasn’t the time for words but action. “Are you going to answer me?” Hungry kisses trailed their way down her body until firm masculine lips ended up by her hard nipple. Brian’s tongue flickered out licking the tip before sucking it completely into his mouth. “Oh my God!” Fisting the thick comforter in her hands, Sapphire arched her spine off the bed pushing her nipple into the hot, warm cavern of his mouth. Sapphire’s eyes popped open when his large hands spread her legs even wider. His finger gently skimmed over her belly, past the damp curls of her mound until he stopped at her vagina. Using his knuckles, he brushed them back and forth over her wetness until Sapphire was positive she would lose her mind from the bliss Brian’s touch was causing inside of her body. A spark shot from between her legs like a bolt of electricity. Sapphire knew she was soaking Brian’s fingers. She honestly didn’t know how much more she could take of this teasing. His single touch had her craving more and more. She would beg Brian if it came down to it. She wasn’t ashamed to tell Brian to give it to her. “Please, stop teasing me. Give me what I want,” she whimpered as she held on to what little control she had left. She was tired of the torturous game Brian decided on playing with her body. Didn’t he already know that she wasn’t about to deny him? The evidence of her need covered his hand. “Darling, I can’t give you what you want until you answer me, but I can show you this.” Using two of his thick fingers, Brian slipped them into her tightness and held them there. No matter how much she squirmed or moved her hips, he wouldn’t indulge her silent request. “Please...Brian...Please...baby.” His teasing touch never wavered from her heat, caressing and teasing. “Please Brian...what?” “Yes, what you’re doing to me is better than any dream I’ve had about us...way much better. There I admitted it. Will you give me what I want now?” Sapphire was about to go out of her mind. “Finally,” Brian growled deeply as he removed his fingers.

Leaving her, Brian got up off the bed. Sapphire watched with anticipation as he picked up his pants and got a condom out of his wallet. He tossed everything back on the floor and ripped open the foil then rolled it over this thick erection. Sapphire felt her body jump from excitement at what was finally going to happen next.

Chapter Twenty-Seven Brian’s cock was hard. He thought he would lose what ability he had left to think. Sapphire looked so beautiful lying on the thick comforter just waiting for him to take her, but he wouldn’t jump her like his mind was pushing to do. No, Brian couldn’t treat her like that not after she was so openly giving herself to him. He would treat her with more respect. It had been a while for him since he had last made love to a woman. Yeah, he might have engaged in sex over six months ago, but he hadn’t thought about being with anyone since Sapphire came into his life. Placing his knee on the bed, Brian gently covered her trembling body with his. “Sapphire, are you alright?” As badly as he wanted this, he would stop if she wanted to back out now. “I’m fine. It’s...just I haven’t been with a man for a while. Work and other things have been taking up a lot of my time,” she admitted running her soft hand down his arms. A possessiveness settled over Brian like he never experienced before. Sapphire hadn’t been with a man in a while which was perfectly fine with him because she sure in the hell wasn’t going to be with anyone after him. “Let me see if I can make your wait worth it.” With a sexy crooked grin on his face, Brian grabbed Sapphire by her thighs and got between them. Slowly, he fed Sapphire his erection inch by inch until he was completely nestled inside of her warm, tight welcoming heat. “Oh,” Sapphire moaned, softly. “You’re so thick. I almost didn’t think you were going to fit.” Brian’s cock grew another inch at Sapphire’s words. He would have found a way to be inside of her even if he had to allow it to be on her time. The walls of her vagina had him in a tight grip. His body was dying to move, but he wasn’t going to do anything until he was certain Sapphire was beyond ready for him. He didn’t want to hurt her. She meant too much to him.

Tonight was about her not him. His main goal was to make Sapphire feel better than she ever felt before in her life. He had to hear her screaming his name at the top of her lungs. “Doctor, are you ready? Can I finally give it to you the way I want to?” Brian could probably guess Sapphire’s answer, but he needed to hear the words. “Yes, give it to me,” Sapphire begged tugging at his hips. Spreading her thighs into a wide V, Brian got comfortable between them and started thrusting into her as far as his cock could reach. Sapphire screamed in pleasure when he lifted her legs wrapping them around his waist. Lost in sheer pleasure, Brian’s hands latched onto Sapphire’s slim wrists pulling them high above her head. Lowering his head, Brian licked her nipple before drawing it into his mouth as his thrusts became more frenzied until the bed springs creaked under them. After a few minutes, he let go of Sapphire’s nipple with a loud pop. Her vagina tightened around his cock a second before her orgasm raked through her body and her screams filled the room. “Yes...Oh God... Yes!’ she screamed her voice echoing throughout the room. Looking down into the bliss-filled face of the woman he was falling in love with, Brian gave her one...two...three more grinding thrusts sending himself over the edge.

Chapter Twenty-Eight Pulling Sapphire closer to his side Brian ran his hand up and down her back after they were settled underneath the thick comforter. He never thought when he woke up this morning he would end up making love to the beautiful woman next to him. “Are you okay? I wasn’t too rough, was I? I know you told me it’s been a while since you were with a man.” Brian knew sometimes that he could get a little carried away. The last thing he intended to do was scare Sapphire and end up pushing her away from him. Brian saw himself having a future with her. Unlike his buddy, Chance, who didn’t believe in marriage or having deep ties anywhere, he possessed a very strong desire for consistency and a committed relationship with only one special woman. He was a big believer in hanging in there until he found that special someone. He would work extremely hard to establish that with Sapphire. He was willing to reinvent himself for the slim chance at winning Sapphire’s heart. Nothing else mattered to him. Being successful in love was very important. Maybe he was overly concerned with it and that’s why so many of his past girlfriends packed up and left. They weren’t on the same level of commitment as him. He only hoped Sapphire knew how hard he was really falling for her. “Sapphire, did you hear me?” Brian asked, kissing the top of her head. “Yes, I heard you,” she answered, placing her hand in the middle of his chest. “I was thinking about how good it feels to be here with you like this. I never jump into bed with a man after only knowing him for a few days. Sometimes, I never sleep with the guys I date. Yet, there was something different about you that spoke to the deeper part of me.” He couldn’t agree more with Sapphire. “I got the same pull when I was around you at your office. I couldn’t wait until I walked through the door to see you. I always felt better after getting a glance at you. I want to know so much more about you. Tell me about your family. Did you always want to be a dentist?”

All Brian could think about was getting more information about Sapphire and her life. He already knew little things, but he wanted to know enough to fill up an encyclopedia. “My family isn’t all that exciting but I’ll tell you about them,” she said, running her hand up and down his chest. If Brian didn’t put a stop to Sapphire’s wandering touch the two of them would be doing something that didn’t involve learning about each other’s childhood hopes and dreams. He laid his hand on top of hers stopping the movement. He wouldn’t be able to focus if Sapphire kept touching him like she was. She might not be aware of how the slightest touch from her turned him on faster than a light switch bringing light into a room. “Come on,” Brian encouraged, brushing his thumb over the back of her hand. “Give me all of the juicy details of your life before I met you.” “I have two older siblings, a brother and a sister. They both think the world owes them something.” Sapphire sighed as her eyes looked off into the distance instead of at him. “Sometimes, it’s very hard to even be in the same room with them.” Brian heard the hurt in his woman’s voice making him wonder if there was more going on with Sapphire’s siblings than she was telling him or would let him know about. Didn’t she understand he was trying to become the shoulder she could rely on? “Do your brother and sister expect you to help them out a lot? Are they not successful as you are?” Sapphire glanced back at him with shocked eyes. “No, Terrell and Tamara are very successful. Both of them have very good degrees. My brother is an engineer and my sister is a divorce attorney. They both just think I should jump at their every whim because I’m the youngest.” “My parents had me after my siblings turned fifteen years old. My mother’s doctor had informed her that her getting pregnant again after having such a hard delivery with the twins was highly unlikely. She’d gotten some scarring and she believed him. One day my mother started feeling sick and she thought it was just the flu because my dad had gotten it the week before. Imagine her shock and disbelief when she went to the doctor and got back her blood work telling her she was two months pregnant.” No doubt her mother was thrown, Brian thought to himself.

“How old was your mother when she found out about you?” He got the feeling Sapphire’s mother wasn’t as young as he thought she might have been. “My mother had just turned forty-two the day before she found out about me. Of course, she was totally scared and then happy at the same time. However, it took my father a little longer to come around she told me, but my parents were very loving and a big part of my life when I was growing up.” Sapphire placed her head on his shoulder and Brian resumed stroking her smooth back. “How was your childhood with such a huge gap between you and your sibling? I can’t believe they were too thrilled about a baby coming into the family.” Sighing, Sapphire shrugged her shoulder. “I guess it was okay. I mean my brother and sister weren’t home much because of our age differences. Plus once they graduated from high school both of them rushed off to college. I don’t think it was to get away from me, but it could have been. Every once in a while back then my brother took me places with him but not that often.” “So are you closer with your brother than your sister?” Brian loved how Sapphire was telling him more about herself. “I think I can tolerate Terrell for a longer period of time than Tamara. My sister is always trying to give me advice about the way I dress or how I didn’t make the right career choice. She hates that I became a dentist and I never really found out why. But if I had to guess, she didn’t think I had what it took to become anything really important. She was Daddy’s little girl until I came along and she thinks I stole the title away from her.” Frowning, Brian glanced down at Sapphire wondering why Tamara had a problem with her little sister. She was so amazing. How could anyone not love her? He wasn’t sure if he would be able to spend five minutes with Terrell or Tamara. Neither one of them seemed like they loved Sapphire at all. “Why does your sister care if you’re a dentist? Doesn’t her job keep her busy enough so she’ll stay out of your business?” Moving away from him, Sapphire sat up on the bed wrapping the sheet around her body. Brian couldn’t get over how beautiful Sapphire looked with her hair falling down around her shoulders messed up like a woman who had been well loved by her man. Sapphire brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “My sister feels like she’s always right. I remember when I was a little girl and

Tamara tried to teach me how to ride a bike. Well, she thought I was too old to have someone holding the seat for me. So, she let go and I crashed my bike into a fence. Thank God, I didn’t get too hurt.” “Oh baby, I’m so sorry your sister was so mean to you,” Brian said. Sitting up in the bed, he rested his back against the headboard tugging Sapphire to him. “Did you always have a bad relationship with Tamara? Did your parents try to do anything to fix it?” His parents wouldn’t have stood for any of his brothers or sisters being mean or cruel to the other ones. “I don’t have problems with my sister,” Sapphire denied. “We just butt heads because Tamara has a strong personality and so do I when I need it. I don’t blindly follow behind her and she hates it.” Sapphire moved back from him and Brian instantly saw the change in her body language. “That’s enough about me. Why don’t you tell me more about you? What makes you tick? Why did you decide to become a mailman? Fill me in on your life story.” Brian wasn’t fooled by the sudden change in conversation. Sapphire was trying to distance herself from him. He might have gone too far too soon, but he would get himself back on the right track before the night was over.

Chapter Twenty-Nine “I didn’t think you would be into pillow talk,” Brian teased, watching as Sapphire moved away from him and got out the bed. His eyes followed her around the room loving how her full breasts swayed with her confident movements. Never in his life had Brian felt this content after making love to a woman. Sapphire had brought peacefulness into his life, something that he wasn’t used to having around him. So he wasn’t about to let it slip through his fingers. Not after waiting so long to finally have it. “What woman doesn’t want to talk after making love?” Sapphire questioned him. Picking up his shirt, she slid her arms through the sleeves and then buttoned it up. “You don’t mind if I wear your shirt, do you?” she asked, coming back across the room rejoining him in the bed. The mere thought of something that was on his body earlier was now against Sapphire’s silky skin turned him on more than seeing her naked had a few minutes ago. “Sweetheart, you can wear anything of mine anytime you want,” he whispered as he tugged Sapphire closer to him before planting a soft kiss on her lips. “Hmmm,” Sapphire moaned then moved back from him. “I’m not going to let you sidetrack me with your kisses. You aren’t going to use them to get out of telling me more about yourself.” Talking about himself wasn’t something Brian loved doing because most of the time he was a pretty private person and didn’t put his personal life out there for everyone to know about. It wasn’t that he would consider himself shy because he wasn’t. He got along well with people and especially women. But some things about his life Brian liked keeping to himself unless he knew the person long enough and well enough to tell them more. Yet, if he wanted to move forward with Sapphire, Brian guessed he would have to open up further to her. “What do you want to know?” he asked, running his finger down the side of Sapphire’s face. He loved touching her even the smallest contact.

“Anything you want to tell me is fine with me,” she encouraged. “Like you, I have a brother and sister, but my sister is the oldest while my brother is the youngest. Both are married with two children and we get along pretty well with each other. My mother is still alive and got remarried about five years ago. My step-father is a pretty good guy. He treats her right, so I don’t have a problem with him. “Like most mothers, my mother is pushing for me to get married like my siblings and of course she wants grandkids. However, I’m not thinking about marriage yet. I know I should be since I just had another birthday last month.” “Why aren’t you thinking about marriage?” Brian raked the question over in his head for a few minutes. For the longest time, he believed marriage wasn’t for him because he couldn’t see himself committed to the same person everyday for the rest of his life. However, now since he was here with Sapphire, he was beginning to see his future in a very different way. Marriage might not be so bad after all. “I haven’t found the right woman yet.” Laughing, Sapphire shook her head at him causing her thick hair to brush across her shoulders. “I can’t believe you said those words.” “Why are you laughing?” Brian uttered. “I gave you an honest answer.” His mind was filled with thought after thought why Sapphire could be laughing at him. “Come on, that’s the same excuse every guy uses. You know I’m right. How many times did you hear Nash say those same words before Shauntie came into his life again?” Something clicked inside of Brian’s brain. Sapphire was telling him the truth. Nash and Chance both told him those same words a lot. He just never paid any attention to them before because he agreed with them. The harder he tried to ignore the truth the more it persisted. Brian didn’t know how it was possible or even if Sapphire was feeling the same way but he was falling in love with her. The fact was undeniable. He was falling...No, he had already fallen hard for Sapphire. Now, his only problem was what could he do about it? Could Sapphire see herself with a working class man instead of a man who worked sixteen hour days or longer? “What has you in such deep thought?” Placing her hand on his knee, Sapphire leaned closer to him. “Truthfully, I was thinking about you,” Brian admitted.

A surprised looked passed over Sapphire’s pretty features as she moved back from him. “Really...why?” The question had been asked, but was Brian ready for the answer. His confidence was pretty high when it came to other women, but this was his first time giving it a go with someone like Sapphire. Brian opened his mouth to answer her, but at the very last second changed his mind. He wasn’t ready to go down that unchartered road yet. He couldn’t chance messing up what he had going this week with Sapphire. They still had plenty of time to talk about things before New Year’s Eve came. He would bide his time until then. “It was nothing,” Brian lied. “How about we try to get some sleep? We can talk more in the morning.” “Are you sure?” Sapphire asked as she crawled back underneath the covers with him. “Positive,” Brian answered as he wrapped Sapphire up in his arms. He was finished talking for the night. Tomorrow was a new day and they could resume their getting to know you conversation again over breakfast.

Chapter Thirty Moving Brian’s arm off her body, Sapphire eased away from him hoping not to wake him. Last night had been such a turning point for the both of them. They opened up to each other more than before. She knew these little things about him and his family now that she hadn’t known before. Sapphire couldn’t wait to see what else Brian was going to reveal to her the longer they were here. Slipping out of the bed, she glanced over her shoulder making sure Brian was still asleep and a soft smile pulled at her lips. He was curled up on his side with her pillow tucked against his chest. She never saw a more appealing sight in her life. If she wasn’t overdue for her blog update she wouldn’t have left that big, comfortable bed for any reason. Sapphire walked the short distance to the desk and her laptop. Sitting down on the chair, she folded her leg up and left the other one to dangle above the floor. Pushing the small button at the top of her laptop, Sapphire let her computer come to life while she thought about Shauntie and Emerald. Since she came to the cottage she hadn’t spoken to Emerald once which was very surprising because Emerald loved checking up on her and Shauntie like a nosy mother hen. Emerald couldn’t help herself from wondering what was going on in the lives of her best girlfriends. God, if Emerald knew she was out here with Brian all alone her girlfriend would break every speed limit known to man to get out here to check out Brian in the flesh. Luckily for her, Shauntie must be too busy with Nash to have informed Miss Busybody about her current living arrangements which was for the best. Sapphire already had her hands full with Brian so adding her friend Emerald to the mix just wouldn’t work, at least not right now. Glancing at her laptop, Sapphire noticed it was up and ready to go. She went through the steps of getting onto the internet and then maneuvered her way to her blog. A huge sense of accomplishment filled her chest when she spotted more comments than the last time. Her personal blog was becoming a hit and her followers were looking for more and more from her which she had no problem giving them at all

as long as she stayed somewhat anonymous. Sapphire clicked on the comments and began reading through them one by one. **** Sapphire’s World 8 Comments: (new) Keli Babe: Make the next move. What are you waiting for? This guy sounds super hot! I mean what is holding you back? HorseLover1743: I say you should wait for him to make the next move. Some men don’t like overly aggressive women. Tina Stripes: You just teased us with his looks. Give us more of a description. Is he Hugh Jackman or the guy from White Collar with the killer blue eyes good-looking? I need more before I can give you any kind of answer. Daredevil Guy: Being a guy, I think it takes some of the pressure off when a hot chick makes the move. I’m assuming you’re hot so let him know you want him. It’s a turn on! Honesty Girl: First ignore Dare Devil Guy. Go after him. Looks aren’t everything to everyone. Please, let us know how it goes. I love following your life through this blog. It’s so much fun. Thanks again for sharing. Sexy Kitten: I have never approached any guy in my life, so I’m against you going after him. You’re the prize worth winning. Let the hunky guy fall all over you. Wall Flower: I’m not going to give my opinion either way. I only wanted to stop by to let you know how happy I am you came back. I used to check daily for your posts, but stopped after finding nothing after two weeks. Nosy Betty: Okay, since no one else had enough nerve to ask I will do it. What almost happened in the kitchen between the two of you? **** Sapphire grinned at the last post because Nosy Betty reminded her of Emerald. She wouldn’t have thought twice about typing those same exact words. Placing her hands on the keyboards, Sapphire let her fingers do the walking as she gave her impatient fans of Sapphire’s World another new update on her hunks challenge.

**** Sapphire’s World December 28 I would like to thank everyone again who took the time to post their opinions. I read over them and got encouragement from all of your feedback. A lot has happened since my last post about Brian. We’re growing closer. Well, I believe we are. I find it so hard to feel these emotions after knowing a man for only a few days. Yesterday, Brian surprised me by going ice skating with me on the pond by the place where we are staying. Everything about being outside in the snow with us gliding across the ice was so romantic. So romantic that we ended up kissing and to top it off it started snowing on us. I didn’t make the move, but we both made it at the same time. Something is happening between us, but there is just one tiny problem. Brian doesn’t know something and I’m wondering if he finds out will he be okay with it. So, my question is should I tell him now or later? Bye for now. **** Reading over her entry Sapphire made sure everything looked good before she logged off. Brian needed to be told about the challenge Emerald put them up to but she didn’t have the words to tell him. What if he hated her and thought she was just using him the last couple of days. Things were going so well for them it was almost like her and Brian were in the honeymoon stage of getting to know each other. The part of the relationship most couples loved including herself. She couldn’t ruin it by telling Brian the truth. Not just yet...she needed more time to get her thoughts together. Sapphire jumped when a soft kiss was planted at the side of her neck. “Hey gorgeous,” Brian whispered against her skin. She quickly closed the laptop hoping Brian hadn’t seen her blog. She wasn’t too sure how much he would enjoy being talked about on the internet. She just got a feeling he wouldn’t be pleased about it at all. “Hi, Brian,” Sapphire replied.

“Should I be jealous you decided to leave our bed to get on your laptop. Makes me feel like I didn’t do my job correctly.” He nibbled at her neck as his fingers worked on the buttons on her borrowed shirt. Sighing, Sapphire tilted her head to the side giving Brian more access. She loved when a man found her ‘spot’ without being told. Brian definitely didn’t need any pointers in the bedroom from her. He was truly the best lover she’d ever had. Now, all she had to do was keep Brian in her life. Damn, the hunks challenge. Sapphire no longer wanted Brian to fulfill her obligation to Emerald’s crazy bet. “Do you think you can take a break?” Brian asked, slipping the shirt off one of her shoulders. “I have something I want to show you over on the bed. I believe you’ll find it more exciting than the internet.” Sapphire turned around in the chair making Brian drop his hands. She glanced down noticing his cock was hard and ready to go. Her vagina grew even wetter at the thought of going another round with Brian. “I think you can drag me away for a few minutes,” she teased. “Darling, what I have planned for you will take more than a few minutes,” Brian promised as he dragged her out of the chair tossing her over his shoulder as he headed back towards the rumpled bed. Sapphire made a mental note to herself to send Shauntie a thank you basket from one of her favorite lotion stores when she got back home for introducing her to Brian. He was beyond the perfect man for her.

Chapter Thirty-One New York “Sweetheart, are you almost done?” Nash complained as Shauntie handed him another dress to hold. He didn’t think their rental car had any more space for one more shopping bag. “I’m worn out and I’m ready to head back to the hotel. We’ve been out shopping for hours.” Hanging the black one shoulder dress back on the rack, Shauntie slowly turned back around and took the clothes away from Nash. If he wanted go back to the hotel then she wasn’t going to make him stay here with her. But she wasn’t about to miss this 50% off sale. No way. No how. Not even for the man she loved. “Nash, why don’t you leave me here and I’ll come back to the hotel later. I haven’t even been through half the store yet. I can’t leave.” Nash hated the thought of leaving Shauntie here, but it would give him time to work on the surprise he had for her. He wanted everything to be more than perfect when he proposed. Shauntie spending the day shopping would give him all the time he required to get everything set up at the hotel. “Are you sure? I don’t like the thought of leaving you here all alone,” Nash said. “Honey, I’ll be perfectly fine,” Shauntie assured him. “After I’m finished here I’m going to check out a few more places. I’ll be back at the hotel before you know it. I’ll just catch a cab.” Nash wasn’t about to let his woman hail a cab in New York. He didn’t want to be worried about something happening to her. Besides, he was pretty sure Shauntie would need the rental car more than he did. Digging the keys out of his jeans pocket, Nash dangled them in front of her watching how her pretty face lit up with excitement. “You’re going to leave the rental car here with me?” she asked, taking the keys from him. Nash could practically hear Shauntie’s thought about a longer shopping trip. He only hoped she wouldn’t be gone too long and ruin the element of his surprise.

“Yes, I can take a cab back to the hotel, but don’t keep me waiting too long. I don’t want to think you love cashmere and leather boots more than you do me,” he teased. “Nash, you come in a very close second to the boots.” Shauntie grinned at him. “Hey, watch what you tell me because those boots won’t have the ability to rub your back tonight in bed.” Grabbing Shauntie by the waist, he tugged her closer to him. Nash couldn’t wait until she was his wife. “Be good while I’m gone,” he whispered against her full lips then he kissed her. The kiss was fast but not lacking for passion. Nash slowly eased away from Shauntie’s tempting mouth because if he didn’t stop now then he wouldn’t be able to. “I love you,” Nash said, staring down into Shauntie’s beautiful eyes. “I love you more, sweetheart,” Shauntie replied smiling at him. Nash took one final look before spinning away and heading for the front door. He had a lot of stuff to do before Shauntie arrived at the hotel later on. **** Three hours later after Nash left her to spend more time shopping, Shauntie carried as many of her shopping bags as she could on the elevator. There were still more in the car, but she knew Nash would help her bring them up later. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get all of her new clothes home, but where there was a will there was a way. Pushing the number to her floor, Shauntie watched as the elevator closed then slowly make its way towards the honeymoon suite Nash had booked for them. She still didn’t know why he’d spent so much money on the room. Didn’t he know by now that she wasn’t interested in him going this over the top for her? She loved him for the man he was not the man he thought he had to be for her. The elevator finally stopped and Shauntie walked off carrying her bags in one hand while she pulled the room key out of her purse with her free hand. Stopping in front of their room, Shauntie slid the key card in. She walked in and the hotel room door closed behind Sapphire at the same time all of her packages dropped from her hands hitting the floor. This couldn’t be real. Her eyes were playing tricks on her. Sapphire couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Was she in the right room? If Nash

hadn’t been there, she would have turned and left thinking someone was playing a prank on her. Hundreds of red rose petals were spread out across the floor spelling out the words ‘Will You Marry Me?’ Nash was down on one knee holding out a ring box in his right hand towards her. “Shauntie, I love you so damn much. I’ve been in love with you for so long that the love I have for you feels like the best part of me. I know we haven’t been together for that long and you might have doubts about us getting married so soon but I promise I will make you the happiest woman in the world if you give me half the chance. Baby, will you marry me?” Tears of happiness streamed down Shauntie’s face like a waterfall as she tried to take in everything going on around her. Nash was proposing to her! He wanted them to spend the rest of their lives together. She couldn’t believe she was finally getting everything she ever dreamt of having in her life. Brushing her tears away with the back of her hands, Shauntie took a deep breath and gave Nash her answer. “Yes, I will marry you. I would love to become Mrs. Nash Wentworth with every ounce of my heart.” “Hell yeah!” Nash yelled. Getting up off the floor, he rushed over to her slipping the ring on her finger. He picked her up and swung her around before planting a kiss on her mouth. “Baby, you almost gave me a scare there because you took so long to answer me,” Nash admitted. Shauntie raised her hand staring at the diamond which was almost the size of a marble. She loved the ring but she would have been thrilled with anything Nash would have given to her. The size of the ring wasn’t what mattered to her. She only wanted to be with Nash. “Nash, I was in shock. I wasn’t expecting you to pop the question on our trip. The ring is stunning. I still can’t believe all of this is happening.” Wrapping her arms around Nash’s neck, she let her fingertips play with the hairs at the nape of his neck. “I need to call Emerald and Sapphire, so I can tell them the good news. They’re going to be so happy for us.” Shauntie started to move away, but Nash wrapped his arms around her waist holding her in place. “You can call the other members of the Three Musketeers later,” Nash teased. “I want to celebrate our engagement first.” “What do you have in mind?” Shauntie asked, growing enthused at the idea of making love to her new fiancé. She loved her girlfriends but, he

was right, they could wait to hear the news. This time was for her and Nash. “Let me take you into the bathroom, so you can see what other surprise I have for you.” Her interest was piqued instantly. Had Nash fixed a bath for them? She had been trying for weeks to get his gorgeous body into a tub with her, but he told her numerous times real men didn’t take a bath. Was her wish finally going to be granted? “I’m ready. Take me there,” Shauntie said as Nash picked her up and carried her out the bedroom heading towards the bathroom for another surprise.

Chapter Thirty-Two The delicious smell of fresh coffee woke Sapphire from her peaceful sleep. As she opened her eyes, Sapphire found a freshly showered Brian sitting next to her on the bed wearing a black workout suit with a cup of coffee in his large hands. Did she really sleep so late he was already up? Yesterday after Brian found her working on her laptop, they had spent the majority of their time in bed making love and getting to know each other better. She’d never done that with another man before. Brian was opening a whole new world to her. “Good morning, sleepy head.” Brian smiled, handing her the cup of coffee as she sat up. “I hated to wake you but I wanted to let you know I was going for a run. I haven’t been on one since I came here. My body is screaming for some fresh air.” Holding the cup with both hands, Sapphire took a sip and sighed when the familiar flavor touched her tongue awakening her senses. “Isn’t it too cold to be going for a jog?” she asked, sitting up straighter in the bed. “No, the small amount of snow we got the other day has already melted and it’s not as cold as it was when we went ice skating,” Brian told her. “I shouldn’t be gone that long. I fixed you some breakfast and left it inside the microwave. After I come back, we can plan the rest of our day unless you have something else you need to get done.” Sapphire thought this would be the perfect opportunity to bring up her blog to Brian, but decided against it. She wasn’t ready to let him know about it just yet. Soon...she would tell him about the hunks challenge and writing about him on the internet before they left to go back home. “I might call Shauntie and Emerald to see how things are going with them. I also need to check a few emails but besides those things I don’t have anything else pressing to do today.” “Great! I’ll be back soon.” Brian gave her a quick kiss and then got off the bed and left the bedroom. After Brian had been gone for about twenty minutes, Sapphire’s conscience kicked in about keeping him in the dark. Everything was going

so well between them and the last few days had been quite good...outstanding for her. Brian treated her with such respect. He acted like he would do anything in the world for her. Something deeper was growing between them and she was scared of losing it by not being 100% honest about why she made the long drive here to the cottage. Brian only knew part of the truth, but not the entire story. Keeping secrets from another person really wasn’t who she was at all, but Sapphire wasn’t sure how well Brian would take the news that her initial interest in him was because of a bet. Would Brian understand now that she viewed him as more than a guy she needed to accomplish her hunks challenge deadline? God, Sapphire had to talk with Shauntie about this. Shauntie would be the one who could give her the best advice. It didn’t matter if Sapphire liked it or not. Shauntie wouldn’t hold the truth back from her. Placing the coffee cup down on the night stand, Sapphire picked up her cell phone and dialed Shauntie’s number. She crossed her fingers that she wouldn’t be disturbing her friend and Nash from anything important. Shauntie’s cell phone rang a few times before she finally picked up on the other end. “Hello girl, what are you up to?” Shauntie asked her. Sapphire noticed how Shauntie’s voice sounded more cheerful than usual. “What are you so happy about this early in the morning?” “I have some news, but I’ll tell you later. You called me. I can only guess this call is about Brian. How are things going with him? I haven’t heard from you since you called the police on him. Did you try to pepper spray him again?” Shauntie teased her. Sapphire wished it was only that simple. She was in such a world of confusion that she wasn’t sure how to get out of it. “No, I haven’t tried to pepper spray Brian again. We’ve moved past the stage of being perfect strangers to...” “Perfect lovers,” Shauntie finished for her. “How did you know?” Sapphire asked, surprised. “Girl, you constantly talked about how much you wanted Brian before you knew his name. Did you truly believe the two of you would be able to keep your hands off each other at the cottage? I think you and Brian are a perfect match for each other. Where Brian is used to his comfort zone you’ll be able to pull him out of it. On the other hand, he’ll be able to help you laugh and open up more besides using your blog to do it.”

Biting her bottom lip, Sapphire was worried about how Shauntie would react about Brian and the news about using him on her blog, but she had called for advice which meant she would have to tell her. “About my blog, do you remember how I was having a hard time thinking of a new topic,” she said. “Yes, I know and you were so upset about it,” Shauntie answered. “Did you ever find anything to get you over that hump?” “My writer’s block is gone. I’ve been working on it and my followers are eating up the new topic. It’s a hit!” “Okay Doctor Rhodes, are you going to let me in on your topic? I know how much working on Sapphire’s World relaxes you. I’m thrilled you’re back at it again.” “The hunks challenge Emerald suggested we all become a part of.” A long pause came from the other end of the phone while Shauntie digested the information just given to her. “Are you telling me you’re writing about me and Nash on the internet?” Shauntie demanded. “How could you do that to me?” “No, I only mentioned you and Nash once I swear to you. However, the other posts have been all about Brian along with our time at the cottage. I haven’t given a lot of details about him, but my followers do know I picked him to fulfill my hunk requirement.” “Sapphire, please tell me that Brian gave you his okay before you did this,” Shauntie pleaded with her. “Brian isn’t aware of the hunks challenge or my blog. He’s totally clueless and I’m very nervous about telling him. I get the feeling he’s sort of a private guy and wouldn’t be into being placed on the internet. What man in his right mind would?” Sapphire didn’t miss the curse that came from her friend’s mouth on the other end of the phone. Panic began to settle in the pit of her stomach. If Shauntie was this upset with her then how would Brian react to her news? “Where’s Brian right now?” “He went out for a jog. He’ll be back later on and we’re going to do some things around the cottage. I want to tell him when he gets back but I’m not sure how he’ll take the news.” “How would you take the news that Brian’s attraction towards you was to win a bet? I admit Nash wasn’t too happy with me at all. But we overcame it and now we’re getting married.”

Everything else stopped in Sapphire’s head after hearing Shauntie’s last statement. Nash proposed to her best friend! “Shauntie, why didn’t you tell me Nash proposed when I first called? When did it happen, give me all of the details. I want to know every single detail. How does the ring look?” Shauntie retold her how Nash decorated their hotel room and then popped the question. She was so thrilled for her friend after J.T. and his mistreatment of her. Her girlfriend never thought she would find love again in her life. “I’m so happy for you,” Sapphire said sincerely. “Nash is a great guy. I know you’ll be so happy with him. Start having those babies pretty soon because I’m ready to become an aunt.” “Come on. At least let me get down the aisle first and then I’ll see about having babies. However, you can find the same happiness with Brian too. But not if you don’t tell him about everything and I do mean everything. I can hear it in your voice how much you like him. I can almost bet you’re falling in love with him. Don’t risk it by not coming clean with your secrets. Yes, he might be pissed at first but I know he’ll forgive it in the end.” Would Brian be as forgiving as Shauntie thought he would be? The question stabbed at her heart. Just thinking about the possibility of losing Brian shattered her. “Alright, I’ll come clean as soon as he gets back. Why should this come between us?” “You’re right. You’ve gotten yourself all worked up for nothing. Well, I better go. Nash is getting out of the shower. We’re going sightseeing. Call me back and let me know how things turn out with Brian.” “I will,” Sapphire promised right before Shauntie hung up. Sapphire placed her phone down on the night stand and tossed the covers off her body. She’d better get dressed and eat breakfast because she couldn’t come clean to Brian on an empty stomach.

Chapter Thirty-Three Brian’s feet pounded across the hard, cold ground, the wind blowing against his face as he ran the trail in the woods behind the pond. He needed this time to get his racing feelings together about Sapphire. Last night, he laid in bed next to her getting completely and truly lost in how wonderful it felt to finally care about a woman longer than having her in his arms for one night. Something about Sapphire’s aura made him feel at ease and not so guarded. Usually he only had good times with females because neither one of them were looking beyond having a hot night of sex. For a very long time in his life, he lived his life like he was the carbon copy of Chance and only thought about the day he was living and without any concern about his future. However, Nash along with Chance never saw past his outer layer. He wasn’t turned off by the idea of marriage and a few kids running around. The only thing that concerned him now was adding Sapphire to the picture he painted in his head. Successful women like Sapphire usually weren’t happy to think about getting married to a struggling blue collar working man. How would she be able to introduce him to her colleagues? She sure wouldn’t introduce him as her mailman boyfriend and surely not her husband. No, he would impress her more by having his own business. Sapphire should have a man next to her who she could be proud of in every aspect of their relationship. Besides doing this big move for Sapphire, he was also doing this step for himself as well. Becoming a professional web designer was something he’d kept on the back burner from his friends and family until he felt it was the right time for him to take the giant step. Brian was nervous of failing at something new, but now was his time. Sapphire had been so honest with him and it was about time he showed some honesty with her. She needed to know he was going to change his career partly for her. She wasn’t aware how she ended up being a huge deciding factor in him leaving his current job.

She might think he was out of his mind to leave a paying job for one he would be working to build, but how could he push his dream away anymore? He got a feeling Sapphire would tell him to rethink it. However, this ultimately was his decision and he knew he was making the right one. Brian only hoped she would accept his love enough to stand by his side while he made this transition into a new phase in his life. His feet continued to pound over the dirt as he turned around going back in the direction of the cottage. He loved the thought of going back there to Sapphire. Getting all of this out in the open was more important to him than finishing up his workout. Brian was positive later on tonight he would get another type of work out to burn the calories he missed during his run. Not once in his life had Brian ever cut his exercise routine short for a woman; however, Sapphire had changed him and he knew it was for the better.

Chapter Thirty-Four Opening the cottage’s front door, Brian walked inside and spotted Sapphire curled up in a chair by the fireplace reading one of those romance books his sister loved so much. Sometimes, seeing her there like that seemed right to him almost like home. “I can see from how engrossed you are in your love story that you didn’t miss me one single bit,” Brian said, closing the door behind him. “You would be so wrong,” Sapphire said as she unfolded her legs. Getting up from the chair, she tossed the book down in the empty seat then made her way over to him. “What woman would want typed writing on a page when I got my real life romance hunk standing right here in front of me?” Standing on her tiptoe, Sapphire kissed him, slowly running her tongue along the edge of his bottom lip. Opening his mouth, Brian let Sapphire tongue tease his for as long as he could take it before he gently eased her away from him. “As much as I love doing this with you, I want to talk to you about something and it’s very important.” Taking a deep breath, Sapphire stepped back from him. “I want to discuss something with you too.” Brian’s heart skipped a beat. From the tone of Sapphire’s voice, he could tell it wasn’t going to be good. Could she be getting ready to dump him? No, that wasn’t possible. Sapphire would be crazy to give away or blow off this natural chemistry they shared with each other. Whatever she was planning on telling him wasn’t as bad as his mind believed it was. However, whatever it was they would be able to work through it. Nothing Sapphire confessed to him would make him not want to be with her. “Do you care if I go first?” Taking Sapphire by the hand, Brian led her back over to the couch. Sitting down he tugged her down next to him. Brian could tell from Sapphire’s tense body language she was puzzled and more than a little nervous. “I guess it would be okay for you to go first,” she said, turning her body so she was facing him. “What I have to say isn’t going to change.”

A wave of apprehension swept through Brian. It gnawed away at some of his confidence, but Brian wouldn’t let it stand in his way. “You don’t know the real reason Nash convinced me to come out here. So I thought it was about time I came clean with you. I don’t want to have secrets between us because if I’m not wrong I believe we’re forming something really special here. Am I right?” “You’re right,” Sapphire agreed, smiling at him. “Good, I would hate to think I’m the only one who feels this.” His confidence was coming back from the encouraging look in Sapphire’s eyes. “I’ve been thinking about doing something different with my life for a while now; yet, I didn’t think I could do it until I laid eyes on you. I knew a professional woman like you wouldn’t be drawn to a man like me.” Frowning, Sapphire leaned back from him. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.” “I was worried you wouldn’t agree to go on a date with a man who didn’t run in the same social circle as you. I knew after I found out you were single I had to give myself a fighting chance at a shot with you.” “Brian, I never thought you were beneath me because of your job. The moment I saw you in my office I wanted you. Are you quitting your job for me? You shouldn’t do it. I mean...it isn’t right.” “Could you fall in love with someone who wasn’t walking around with endless money and working hard to keep his wealth?” Brian wasn’t dumb. Sapphire had never in her life dated someone like him and he had to make sure she’d stay with him. “I wasn’t sure if you could watch me pursue my dream of starting my own professional wed design business. You were giving me a second chance to live my life and do what I truly wanted. I guess you could say that you were my inspiration without even knowing it.” Moving her hand away from him, Sapphire laid it back on her leg. Brian sensed she was taken aback by his confession to her. Was he moving too fast? Maybe he should have waited to tell her this after they had been together longer. “You quit your job because of me? I’m not sure how I feel about you doing something so drastic. You should only make a career change for yourself and no one else.” Reaching out, Brian grabbed Sapphire’s hand making her look back at him. “You don’t understand what I’m trying to tell you. Sapphire, I wasn’t

happy at my other job anymore. It wasn’t rewarding enough for me. I always felt like something was missing each and every day I was there. “I would hear Nash and Chance talk about their jobs with such passion and I could never do it,” Brian confessed. “This change was for me but I’m hoping you’ll go along for the ride. We truly have something special here. Yeah, I know it happened in a matter of days and a lot of people will find it odd or even maybe stupid on our parts. But I know how I feel when I see you and it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before in my life. So, what I’m asking is do you think you’ll want to continue this after we leave here after New Year’s Eve is over? I’ll understand if your answer is no. In addition, you won’t have to worry about me making you feel uncomfortable any time we’re around Nash and Shauntie together.” “Brian, I would love to see you more after we leave here,” Sapphire told him. “Nothing else would make me happier.” Pulling her to him, he cupped Sapphire’s face in his hands. “You don’t care about our differences in careers? You’ll always have more money than me.” “I’m not judgmental and I will never be. I date a man for who he is and not what he can or can’t do for me.” Relief washed over Brian at Sapphire’s acceptance of him. She wasn’t going to hold his lack of career or not being her equal against him. She was the woman he wanted in his life for now and always. “Do you know how amazing you are?” he asked. Right then and there, Brian knew whatever it took, he would find a way to make Sapphire his wife. “I feel like I can open up to you about anything without being judged. Most of the time, I keep things to myself because I’m a pretty private person. I don’t like everyone knowing everything about me. I hope I make you feel as comfortable. Whatever you want to tell me, I’m here to listen.” **** Sapphire never felt so bad in her entire life. She couldn’t tell Brian now. Not after the heart felt speech he just gave about her honesty and being able to look past his lack of money to the man beneath the surface. If she confessed to him about the hunks challenge now she would look like a damn liar and she wasn’t about to lose him for anything.

How could she get through this weekend without Brian figuring out something was wrong? He could read her emotions pretty well after only knowing her for such a short period of time. “Sapphire, are you listening to me?” Blinking a couple of times, she found Brian grinning at her. The corner of his eyes crinkled making his dark eyes sparkle even more. “No, I was daydreaming. Sorry,” she apologized. “I told you that I was ready to hear what you had to tell me. It seemed very important. I should have let you go first, but I got a little ahead of myself.” “It was nothing,” Sapphire lied. Please God. Don’t let this come back to bite me. A frown marred Brian’s smooth forehead. “Are you sure? You really acted like you couldn’t wait to tell me.” “Sweetheart, it was nothing at all. Why don’t we just sit in front of the fireplace and relax for a little while. This is supposed to be a mini-vacation for the both of us. Why aren’t we acting like it?” Resting his back against the couch, Brian pulled her against him so her back was pressed against his chest and his arms were around her waist. “I could stay with you like this for the rest of the day. It’s going to be hard to find moments like this with each other when we both get back to work, but I know we can do it.” “Hey, if Nash and Shauntie can make it work with their schedules then I know we can do it too,” Sapphire agreed, snuggling closer pushing aside the fact she still hadn’t been completely honest with Brian. When the time was right, she would tell him and anyways, it wasn’t like it was a big deal. Didn’t Shauntie tell her that Nash forgave her, so why wouldn’t Brian overlook this little deception on her part? What they had going on was too good to throw away over something like her blog and the challenge.

Chapter Thirty-Five Pulling off the highway, Emerald drove down the road that would take her to Shauntie’s getaway hideaway. She had tried numerous times to get Sapphire on the phone but without any luck. So, she decided to make a trip to her friend’s house to see if Sapphire was in the mood for a spur of the moment shopping trip. On the drive to Sapphire’s house Emerald was very excited about spending the day with someone since it was the first day she’d gotten off in a while. Things at work were so hectic. She’d been working almost sixteen hours a day. However, when she arrived there Sapphire wasn’t even at home. She already knew Shauntie was in New York with Nash to celebrate New Year’s Eve as a couple, but Sapphire hadn’t mentioned going anywhere. Thank God, one of Sapphire’s neighbors caught her before she drove off and was nice enough to tell her where Sapphire was staying. She should have known Sapphire would have gone somewhere. Why didn’t she think of the cottage? Sapphire loved being out there with all of the wildlife. Emerald made another left turn at the end of the road. She knew Sapphire would be so shocked to see her way out here. The wilderness, Bambi, Flower and the other Disney woodland creatures weren’t at all on the top of her list of things to see today. She would rather be at a spa getting a massage. Being out this far from anyone was too much for her, she was too much of a people person to put herself away from the rest of the world. However, here she was looking for something to do since she wasn’t having any luck finding her hunk. Sure, her deadline hadn’t passed yet, but it was fast approaching and she was getting nervous. Emerald was woman enough to admit she was jealous at how fast Shauntie found Nash. She should have been first. Shit! It was her plan. At least, Sapphire hadn’t found anyone. Pulling up in front of the cottage, Emerald got out of the car shivering when the cool air hit her. Why hadn’t she brought a warmer jacket with her? She took a quick glance at the second car parked next to Sapphire’s

and then brushed it off. Right at this very second she was more concerned about getting inside than finding out who it belonged to at the moment. She was dying to be back in the city instead of out here with the cold and God knows what else. Running up the stairs Emerald knocked on the door and then jogged in place praying that Sapphire was in there instead of back in town buying something. The minutes seemed to drag on before the door was finally opened by Sapphire looking like she just rolled out of bed. “Sapphire, what are you still doing in bed this late in the day?” Emerald complained, brushing past her stunned friend. “Aren’t you usually working on that blog of yours that you’re so obsessed with?” Emerald stopped in her tracks as she caught sight of perfectly cut abs before a shirt was pulled down over them. She stared at the very handsome man with thick, dark brown hair and a killer pair of gray eyes. He just looked at her then back at Sapphire. “Who in the hell are you?” Emerald sputtered, “and do you have a brother?” Emerald barely heard the front door closing behind her before Sapphire was standing next to her trying to fix her disheveled hair into a semi reasonable look. “Emerald, what are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?” Sapphire asked. “I went by your house to see if you wanted to go shopping, but you weren’t home and one of your neighbors told me you decided to come all the way out here. They didn’t mention you’d brought along some company.” Looking away from the man by the fireplace, Emerald gave Sapphire her full attention. “Are you going to tell me who he is? First, Shauntie ends up finding her hunk to win her end of the challenge and now it seems like you’re well on your way to doing the same thing. New Year’s Eve is coming fast. I have to tell you the guy you picked for your hunks bet is amazingly hot! I think you’re going to win faster than Shauntie.” “Emerald, shut up!” Sapphire shouted, scared. **** Sapphire stood next to Emerald in stunned silence as Brian’s eyes glanced at her friend then back at her in pure confusion. She could tell he was trying to figure out what was going on.

Why did Emerald have to show up now? Right at the moment, Sapphire hated Emerald more than anything in the world. How could she ever think they were friends? After giving it some more thought, she was all set to tell Brian the truth over dinner tonight but Emerald and her big mouth came along ripping the chance from her hands with her ‘speak first and think last’ personality. Her stomach churned with fearful anxiety as Brian moved around the couch and stood directly in front of her. Nobody had to tell her that the bomb was about to drop. There was a long, brittle silence as Sapphire waited for Brian to speak. “What is she talking about, Sapphire?” Brian asked, in a low controlled voice. “It’s nothing,” Sapphire denied. “Emerald was only running her mouth but she’s going to leave.” Sapphire reached out to grab Emerald by the arm, but Brian stopped her. “No, let her stay. I don’t care about her being here. I want an answer to my question and please don’t lie to me.” She closed her eyes, her heart aching with pain at what she was about to do. Sapphire tried to think of a way out of this but she couldn’t. Brian wouldn’t let it go until he got the answers he wanted from her. “I can’t do it,” she whispered. “The hell you can’t. Tell me what’s going on. Hell, if Emerald is lying then explain what she’s lying about. I only want to know what all of this is about.” His expression was very hard to read as he watched her. “Several weeks ago, Emerald, Shauntie and I were having drink during one our girls nights out. We were talking about how we were fed up dating men who weren’t into us and would rather be focusing their attention on their careers.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Brian continued to watch her with an unblinking stare. “Go on. Tell me more. I know you’re leaving out a lot of things.” “Baby, how about we talk about this another time.” Sapphire reached out to touch Brian and her heart broke when he took a step back. “No. Finish telling me.” A pain squeezed at her heart at the thought of losing Brian forever because of this. Sapphire glance at Emerald and noticed how she wouldn’t meet her eyes. Oh, now her motor mouth friend wanted to look away and not tell the world about her stupid idea. “Sapphire...”

Swinging her eyes back over to Brian, Sapphire took a deep breath then continued. “Emerald suggested we should date men who weren’t as rich as us. She thought they would know how to respect us more since they wouldn’t be in competition with us.” Brian shot Emerald a look, but she ignored him as well. “I know there’s more so tell me.” “She gave us all deadlines to find our men and the one who did it the fastest would win. I never thought of it as a bet, but I guess Emerald did.” “What were the deadlines for the three of you?” Dark gray eyes pinned her to the spot and Sapphire knew she was one step closer to losing this wonderful man in front of her. “Please...let’s just stop this. I mean it isn’t going to get us anywhere.” Tears blinded her eyes and choked her voice. Brian was seemingly unmoved by her tears. “No.” “Shauntie’s deadline was Christmas. Emerald’s deadline is Valentine’s Day and mine is...” She couldn’t do it. Sapphire couldn’t say the words Brian wanted to hear. “You don’t have to tell me. I already know. Your deadline is New Year’s Eve which is your favorite holiday. Am I right?” Brian demanded. “But there’s even more you’ve been keeping from me, isn’t there. You have a blog. What kind of blog is it?” “I won’t tell you.” “Either you’ll tell me or your good friend here will. I deserve to know the truth especially after the way I opened my heart to you earlier.” Sapphire replayed every single thing her and Brian had done with each other since coming to the cabin and it might not have been much, but the last few days were the best in her life. How could she taint them by telling Brian about her blog? He might have been able to get over the ‘bet’ Emerald tossed at them. However, he wouldn’t forgive her for writing about him on the internet. Why had she done it? Why didn’t she think it through more before she typed that first sentence? “This is your last chance to come clean with me,” Brian warned her and the honesty in his words filled the room. Her thoughts quickly filtered back to the day she’d met Brian and how things had changed so fast between them. Just a few hours ago, she was happy and planning a future with him. Now, all of that was gone because she hadn’t told him the truth before Emerald showed up at the door.

“I have a personal blog called Sapphire’s World and I write about different things going on in my life. I mean we live in a reality world now and everyone wants to know what the other person is doing behind their closed doors.” A muscle flickered angrily in Brian’s jaw as it began to set in what she was telling him. More tears poured down her cheeks as the love she used to see on his face slowly faded away right before her eyes. “You wrote about us on your blog didn’t you?” Brian shoved his hands into his pockets, his shoulders hunched forward as he shook his head. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. I thought you were so different, but you aren’t.” A hot distraught tear trickled down her cheek as she watched Brian turn away from her and make his way towards the stairs. “Where are you going?” she asked. “Do you really need me to draw a picture for you?” Brian tossed back over his shoulder as he headed up the stairs. “I’m leaving. I can’t stay here with you. God, it’s bad enough I was only being used to fulfill a bet, but you had to embarrass me more by placing it on the internet. What is wrong with you?” Sapphire flinched when Brian went into his room slamming the door closed behind him. A flash of wild grief ripped through her as she dropped to the ground covering her face with her hands. She ached with an inner pain that she knew would never be healed. “Sapphire, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I just was so surprised to see Brian here and my mouth just...You know how I can be. Let me talk to him. I can make him see this was all my idea. I know I can fix this.” Emerald pleaded touching her on the shoulder. “Don’t touch me,” Sapphire shouted hating the sound of her former friend’s voice. “Get out of here. I don’t want to see you. Leave me alone.” “Sweetie, I don’t think you should be alone after Brian leaves. You need someone here with you.” Raising her head, Sapphire glared at Emerald so hard that she took a step back. “Yes, I might need someone but that person sure in the hell isn’t you. NOW GET OUT!!!” “Okay, I’ll give you time to calm down and then I’ll call you after I get back home. If we use our heads, I know we can come up with a way to get you back together with Brian,” Emerald said, watching her then she turned and went out the door.

The sound of Brian’s footsteps coming back down the stairs made Sapphire pull her body up off the floor. Fresh tears filled her eyes at the sight of his black duffel bag in his hands along with his car keys. “Brian, please stay and talk to me. I know what I did was wrong, but we can work through it. I know we can,” Sapphire pleaded as she rushed up to him, but Brian walked around her and continued towards the door. “I have nothing else left to say to you. It’s over between us. You’re just upset you didn’t win your bet before New Year’s Eve, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find another man to fill my void. It’s not like you were looking for love or anything.” Opening the door, Brian went out slamming it closed behind him. Sapphire stood in the same spot staring at the door for what seem like hours before she finally made her way back over to the couch. Sitting down, she sat in lonely silence staring into the fireplace already missing what she ruined having with Brian by listening to Emerald. As long as she lived, Sapphire would never forget the anguish in his voice as Brian walked out the door leaving her all alone.

Chapter Thirty-Six Moving away from her living room window, Sapphire couldn’t stand there any longer watching all of the happy couples holding hands as they walked down the street. After what happened with Brian at the cottage, she couldn’t stay there so she packed up her bags and left. She’d been home for two days now and the pain of losing Brian still cut deep. How could she have been so stupid? Brian was every woman’s dream and she lost him by being a complete and utter fool. New Year’s Eve was here and once again she was alone with a glass of white wine in her hand. Everyone constantly told her how smart she was so why in the hell did she feel so dumb? Sapphire knew tonight would have been different if she had not put Brian in her blog, and had told him about the hunks challenge the night they’d made love, but she backed out of doing it . Every time the perfect chance came to her she found an excuse to sweep it under the rug. As much as she wanted to keep putting the blame on Emerald, she couldn’t do that any longer. Emerald might have thought of the challenge, but she was the one who went through with it and now she was paying the consequences. At least she had liquor to numb her pain until the New Year started; Sapphire brought the glass to her lips and realized it was empty. Damn it! Walking across the room, Sapphire headed toward the kitchen and the bottle of white wine waiting for her on the kitchen table. She was halfway there when the doorbell rang surprising her. Brian! Her heart jumped in her chest only to end as fast as it started. No, he wasn’t having anything to do with her. She had tried calling him on his cell phone, but all of her calls went automatically to voice mail. Brian was done with her and she couldn’t blame him. She had torn his heart out of his chest. Why would he want anything to do with her? Sighing, Sapphire made her way over to the door and without bothering to check the peephole she opened it, frowning when she saw her unwanted visitor on the other side. “I thought I told you days ago to stay the hell away from me. Haven’t you caused me enough trouble?”

“I know what I did and I’m about to make it all up to you,” Emerald said, brushing past her walking right into her house liked she owned it. “Get out! I don’t want to hear anything you have to tell me. We aren’t friends anymore. Anything you have to tell me isn’t worth listening to.” Sapphire held the door open, waiting for Emerald to leave. “Even if it’s about Brian,” she said. Hope raced through Sapphire’s body before she quickly banked it. Emerald was lying to her. Brian wouldn’t tell her a damn thing. He probably hated Emerald more than he hated her. “Stop lying. You don’t know anything about him. You’re just trying to get me to let you stay, but it isn’t going to happen. Now leave!” “I’m not going anywhere until you hear me out,” Emerald told her. “I might have cost you Brian once, but I’m not about to do it again. It’s New Year’s Eve and you are going to get your man. Even if it means, I have to drag your skinny ass all the way down to Peppers to do it.” Closing the front door, Sapphire moved across the room until she was standing in front of Emerald. “Brian is at Peppers?” she asked, momentarily forgetting how much she hated her friend. Her breath caught in her lungs. “You actually saw him there?” “Yes. He’s sitting in the very back of the room nursing a jack and coke. The bartender told me he’s been there for about forty-five minutes. You need to leave and go to him. Peppers is having a singles dance. Don’t you dare let any of those other women there take your man.” Biting her lip, Sapphire looked away from Emerald. If Brian was at a single’s dance then he wasn’t interested in seeing her. He was actually looking for someone else and on New Year’s Eve at that. The pain she felt came hard and swift. “No, I’m not going over there. Brian is proving he doesn’t want me anymore if he’s at a single’s dance.” Emerald glared at her. “Have you not been listening to me? If Brian is on the hunt for a new woman, why is he drinking alone?” Swinging her head back around, Sapphire took a step closer to Emerald. “Let me tell you why. You had to come out to the cottage and open up that mouth of yours. He left me because of you. Shit, why can’t you just leave me alone?” Anger made her voice harsh and unrelenting. “You know what. You’re right. I shouldn’t have opened my mouth but I did and now I’m trying to make up for it, but you won’t let me,” Emerald shouted back at her. “What I want to know is when did you become such a coward?”

Sapphire was so furious she could hardly speak. How dare Emerald call her a coward? She wasn’t scared of going to see Brian at Peppers. She just didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. She’d already hurt him enough. “I’m not a coward,” she replied, in a low voice, taut with anger. “Prove it,” Emerald taunted. “Alright, I will.” Sapphire handed Emerald her wine glass and went to get her purse off the couch. She was going to go down to that singles dance and get Brian back. No matter what he said to her, she wasn’t going to leave until he heard what she had to tell him. Spinning around, she turned towards the door. Sapphire wasn’t about to admit how scared she was about seeing Brian again. It wouldn’t do her any good to allow her fear to take over now. It was a good thing she’d only had one glass of wine today because she needed all of her mind to face what was about to happen. Sapphire opened the door and she was about to go out when Emerald’s voice stopped her. “Good luck. I hope you can work things out with him. Don’t worry about your house. I’ll lock it up for you.” Glancing over her shoulder, Sapphire saw the sincerity on Emerald’s face and some of the anger left her body. Emerald was always going to be Emerald and staying mad at her wasn’t going to work out for either one of them. “Thank you, Emerald,” she said, and then closed the door behind her.

Chapter Thirty-Seven Walking into the nightclub, Sapphire was taken back by how packed it was for single’s night. Usually Peppers was pretty busy but never like this. She guessed there were more single people in town than she knew. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her nerves before she found Brian. She would need all of her strength to deal with whatever reaction he gave her. She was prepared for him to yell at her and demand for her to get out of his face. He still had a right to be mad at her, but she hoped she would be able to ease some of his pain. Hopefully, Brian would at least be willing to hear her out for a few minutes. She wasn’t going to ask for a lot from him but she needed him to, at least, accept her olive branch. Sapphire eased her way through the crowd looking for Brian, but to her disappointment she didn’t see him anywhere. Maybe she’d missed him while she was at home with Emerald. Brian could have spotted Emerald and decided to leave because he knew they were friends. No. She wasn’t going to give up this easily. Brian was still here and she would find him. Sapphire continued towards the very back of the club and thought about giving up her search until a couple moved out of the way. Her breath caught in the very back of her throat as she spotted a lone figure sitting at a table tucked away in the corner. His head was bent over a shot glass, the light above his head dancing off his dark brown hair making it almost look black. Brian looked as lonely as she felt and it tore at her heart she was the one who caused him this pain. Easing her way around the few people who separated her from the man she loved, Sapphire stopped at the side of his table taking the extra few minutes to just look at him before he realized she was there. “Hello, Brian.” His head snapped up and his beautiful gray eyes became flat and unreadable as stone when he looked at her. “What in the hell are you doing here?” he demanded, picking up his drink and taking a drink. “I came to see you. Can I have a seat?” Sapphire asked, softly. “No, I don’t want to be bothered with you.”

Ignoring him, Sapphire pulled out the seat next to him and sat down. She laid her purse down in front of her. “Baby, I’ve missed you so much. I tried calling you but you haven’t picked up your phone.” “Shouldn’t that have been your answer?” Brian snapped, glaring at her. “I don’t want to be bothered with a liar. Why are you really here? Did you need another post for your blog?” She closed her eyes, feeling utterly miserable but Sapphire knew she deserved Brian’s anger. “No. I don’t have my blog anymore. I deleted the account the same day you left me. I want you, not the blog. Will you please listen to me?” Sapphire reopened her eyes and looked at Brian, hoping he saw the love on her face. “You’ve already told me enough. There isn’t anything else I want to hear from you.” His voice was absolutely emotionless now and it chilled her. Raising his glass, Brian took another drink. “I have a suggestion for you. Why don’t you stay here and find another man to use for the hunks challenge. I’m taking myself out of the running.” “You damn idiot,” Sapphire snapped. “Why can’t you get it through your head that I don’t want another man? I love you. I only want you. I told you before and I’ll tell you again. I wanted to be with you from the first moment I saw you.” “Well, your love isn’t going to be returned because I don’t love you. Why would I? What do you have to offer me? Unlike Nash, I would hate the thought of being married to someone like you. I need a woman who isn’t so clingy and needy for attention. Only a desperate and sad woman would have agreed to that dumb challenge in the first place.” Falling back against the chair, Sapphire couldn’t keep back the sudden tears that filled her eyes. Brian’s words were brutal and swift just like he meant them to be. He didn’t have to be so cruel. If he wanted her gone all he had to do was tell her to leave again and she would have gotten up leaving him alone with his drink. “Don’t you have anything to say?” Brian asked as he placed his glass back down on the table. Unable to speak, Sapphire just shook her head as hot tears rained down her cheeks. She had to get away from Brian. Picking up her purse, she jumped up from her seat almost knocking over the table in her hurry to get away. Nothing Brian had said to her before now was as hurtful as those words. He knew how to wound her and he’d used his final card to do just that.

“Sapphire, wait a minute,” Brian said, softly. “Please...listen, I need to tell you something.” He touched her on the arm, but she shook off his touch. “Don’t,” she whispered before running away from the table and back through the crowd towards the front door.

Chapter Thirty-Eight Busting out of the front entrance, Sapphire brushed the tears away from her cheeks as she ran towards her car parked at the very back of the parking lot. Damn Brian! She wasn’t about to sit there and let him talk to her so hatefully. He had no right to insult her the way he just did. Yes, she loved him and probably would for a very long time, but if he wanted to be alone so badly instead of with her she would leave his ass alone in the dark corner with his drink. Sapphire was so lost in her own misery that she didn’t hear the person behind her until a hand wrapped around her arm. “Sapphire, why didn’t you stay and listen to me when I asked you,” Brian asked, spinning her around to face him. “You just ran out of there leaving me alone at the table.” “Let go of me,” she snapped, jerking her arm away from him. “You wanted me to leave you alone and I did it. Why did you follow me? Oh, did you want to toss another insult at me for good measure?” Sapphire spun back around, but Brian didn’t let her get three steps before he stepped in front of her blocking her path. “I’m sorry for what I said to you...I didn’t mean it.” “Why are you telling me this now? Did that last sip of your drink give you a conscience?” she questioned. “I’m telling you this because I love you.” Brian reached out to touch her, but she took another step back. “Don’t you dare touch me. Remember you don’t want to be with this sad and desperate woman.” Dropping his hand, Brian sighed running his fingers through his hair. “Do you want to know why I was drinking tonight?” “Not really. I came here to tell you how I felt and you got a lot of pleasure in telling me to get lost. So, I’m not interested in anything you have to tell me.” Sapphire walked around Brian and this time he didn’t try to stop her. “I called Nash tonight and he told me about his engagement to Shauntie. I was hoping he would be on my side; however, when I told him

about what happened between us, he wasn’t. He actually told me I was the biggest asshole in the world for letting you go and he was right.” Stopping in her tracks, Sapphire slowly spun back around. “Why do you think he’s right?” “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me in a very long time. I shouldn’t have taken what you did so hard, but I think hearing it from someone else is what drove me over the edge. I wanted to take your calls all of those times you called me but I couldn’t.” “Why not?” she asked, taking a step closer to Brian. Sapphire wanted to know what he was going to tell her. “I guess part of it was my ego. I mean what man really wants to admit he was the wrong one? It was hard for me and I couldn’t go see you because I was afraid you wouldn’t even open the door for me. So, instead of trying to get back with you before New Year’s Eve I came here and decided to drown my sorrows with liquor.” “If you wanted to get back with me, why were you so hateful to me when I came here? You’ve been the only thing I thought about for days.” “Don’t you know?” Brian wrapped his hand around her wrist tugging her to him until their bodies were touching. “My pride had taken a hit. Here I was sitting at a nightclub on single’s night drinking and secretly cussing my stupidity for dumping the woman I love then you show up looking beautiful. I couldn’t take it and I lashed out. But, baby, you have to know I do love you and I want to be with you. I’m willing to take a step back if you want to but I just don’t want to lose you. Do you think you can overlook my dumb lapse in judgment for the past couple of days?” “Yes, I think I can forgive you under one condition,” she teased, staring up into Brian’s handsome face. “I would do anything for you. I hope you know that but if you don’t I want to prove it to you each and every day while we’re together,” Brian whispered in her ear while he held her close to him. “We might have moved too fast the first time, but I will make sure we won’t this time around.” “Take me back inside and dance with me. I want to celebrate when the ball drops with the man I love.” Leaning back from her, Brian wrapped his arms around her waist. “I love you Sapphire. I love you so damn much and I’ll make it up to you for walking away from you the way I did. Let’s get inside before we miss the count down on the big screen television. It’s been such a long time since I kissed your beautiful mouth and I’ve missed it more than you know.”

A smile of contentment and happiness spread across Sapphire’s face as she allowed Brian’s words to settle into her mind. He was right. They had moved fast, maybe too fast, but they were back together which meant they both knew now not to keep secrets from each other. Brian might not know this but his love had made her into a new woman, a woman who was no longer afraid to speak her mind or give her opinion without using a faceless blog to do it. The End