“I do.” She sucked in a deep breath and embarked on her own pledge. She’d practiced it one hundred times or more, but she’d wanted to get it just right. “Zane, you were once only a dream to me. And now you are my reality. When we’re together, I feel nothing less than loved and cherished. When we’re apart, I’m sad, but you’re still there with me, in my head and in my heart. I promise to always keep you there, to support you in all your endeavors, and most of all, I promise to always love you.”
“Zane, do you take this woman to be your wife?” Scott asked.
“Do I ever.” Zane didn’t wait for Scott to make the final proclamation. He gathered Allison in his arms, picked her up to her tiptoes and laid an incredibly hot kiss on her. It might not have been totally appropriate for a family gathering, but she was glad it was a taste of things to come. Their guests all clapped, hooted and hollered.
“Well, then,” Scott said. “That makes you husband and wife.”
After a few minutes of hugs and congratulations, everyone gathered to board the boat, with Zane and Allison last in line. They were actually hanging back a bit, taking their chance to wade through these warm waters, hand in hand, husband and wife. Zane pointed to the honeymoon cottage up on the hill. “I can’t wait to spend the next few days with you up there.”
“No storm this time.”
“Not unless I manage to brew one up on my own.”
Allison laughed and swatted Zane on the arm. “It’s going to be perfect.”
“It’s where we fell in love,” he said, pressing another soft kiss to her lips.
Allison knew then that all those years she’d lusted after Zane, it hadn’t been love. Now it was nothing less. In fact, it was everything she’d ever wanted. “It absolutely is.”
Dynasties:
Seven Sins
It takes the betrayal of only one man
to destroy generations.
When a hedge fund hotshot vanishes with billions, the high-powered families of Falling Brook
are changed forever.
Now seven heirs, shaped by his betrayal,
must reckon with the sins of the past.
Passion may be their only path to redemption.
Experience all Seven Sins!
Ruthless Pride by Naima Simone
Forbidden Lust by Karen Booth
Insatiable Hunger by Yahrah St. John
Hidden Ambition by Jules Bennett
Reckless Envy by Joss Wood
Untamed Passion by Cat Schield
Slow Burn by Janice Maynard
Available May through November 2020!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Upstairs Downstairs Temptation by Janice Maynard.
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Upstairs Downstairs Temptation
by Janice Maynard
One
Farrell Stone didn’t like asking for help. Rarely would he do so when it came to business, and even less in his personal life. He went his own way. Handled his own affairs. Kept his own counsel.
Unfortunately, his administrative assistant, Katie, was a pro at butting in...which was why he now found himself in the midst of this odd interview with Katie’s protégée.
The woman who sat quietly across the desk from him was thin and not too tall. Barely five-three, perhaps. Her thick, shiny hair, the color of rich chocolate, was cut short in choppy layers that emphasized her pointed chin.
Huge, long-lashed eyes seemed too big for her face. The expression in her wary feminine gaze was equal parts fearful and hopeful. Hazel irises sparkled with flecks of gold and green.
Though she was not traditionally beautiful, there was something compelling about her. Farrell was drawn to her soft femininity and her almost palpable aura of vulnerability. She was exactly the kind of woman he found sexually appealing. The fact that he felt a flutter of physical response alarmed him.
He had trained himself to ignore sexual need. Now was not the time to break that habit.
Though she was originally from here in Maine, Ivy Danby had spent most of the last two decades in South Carolina. The résumé in Farrell’s hand was so slim as to be nonexistent. Graduated high school. Worked a handful of jobs. Married. Then nothing. Although the fact that the woman held a sleeping baby in her arms pointed to a few details that might have been omitted.
He dropped the single sheet of paper and drummed his fingers on his desk. “I appreciate you coming in for an interview, Ms. Danby, but—”
She leaned forward urgently, taking him by surprise. Halting his polite brush-off. “Whatever you need me to do, I can learn,” she said. She stared at him, unblinking. As if sheer determination could manipulate him.
He liked her confidence, but with every minute that passed, he became more sure that he didn’t need the complication of being attracted to an employee.
The woman’s voice was husky and slow as honey in winter. Whatever you need me to do... It was only Farrell’s surprisingly naughty libido that added the sexual subtext.
It irked him that he wasn’t entirely ready for this conversation. But opportunity had come knocking, as they say. He sighed. “I haven’t advertised for this position. You understand that, right?”
Ivy nodded. “I do. But your administrative assistant, Katie, apparently knows something is coming available. And she also knows I need a job. I’m currently sharing an apartment with her sister.”
Farrell rubbed the center of his forehead with two fingers, trying to stave off a headache. “My admin is now my sister-in-law. She and my brother Quin were married three months ago.”
The woman lifted an eyebrow. “And she still comes to work every day?”
The question struck Farrell as odd. “I think Quin assumed she might quit. But Katie is very much her own person. She likes running the R & D department. I honestly don’t know what I would do without her.”
Ivy Danby nodded. “I’ve only met her once, and it was a wonderful conversation. She’s an amazing person.”
“That she
