I was never one to be nervous or scared around men, but being in the same room with Jonathon Turner scared the living daylights out of me and I wasn’t used to that. It also pissed me off, knowing how much this man held a power over me.
“About?” I asked.
He shut the door and stood there, his cowboy hat in his hand. I tried not to let my eyes scan his perfect body. He was toned beyond belief. Those three miles a day of running kept the man in shape. Not to mention the nightly trips to the gym I knew he took.
“I can’t stop thinking about you.”
My breath stalled in my throat.
“I’ve already told you, Jon, this can’t work.”
He took a few steps closer to me and I stayed as still as I could. My fingers itched to touch him.
“Then why did you seem pissed off that I brought a date to Steed and Mitchell’s birthday party?”
“I wasn’t upset,” I lied.
Jonathon took two long strides and stood in my space. His large, fit body inches from mine. I had to force myself to breathe.
“Can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t feel anything for me?”
Lifting my chin, I kept my face neutral. “I’m too old for you.”
He laughed. “Fuck that, Waylynn. You’re scared and you’re using it as an excuse. Look at me and tell me you didn’t feel anything when we were together.”
My chest rose and fell with each labored breath. Goosebumps broke out across my body as I thought about that afternoon a few months back. My eyes closed as I remembered Jonathon moving deliciously fast and hard as he fucked me on the desk and then against the wall in my dance studio. It was raw. Passionate. Spontaneous, and hot as hell. And, yes…I had felt something. I felt something every time the man was near me. A feeling I’d never experienced with any other man, but I couldn’t admit that to him.
I smiled. “I felt two amazing orgasms.”
He leaned in closer, the smell of his cologne tangling with my libido.
Shit. I needed him to step back before I lost control and begged him to take me right then and there.
He reached up and twirled a piece of my hair between his fingers. “I know that wasn’t all you felt. I see it in your eyes.”
I turned my head. “I’m six years older than you, Jon. I want things you can’t possibly give me.”
He huffed. “How do you know I don’t want the same things?”
With a harsh laugh, I looked back into his eyes. “I want to get married, and I want kids. At least three. Can you honestly look me in the eyes and say you want that, too?”
“Yes!” he said, cupping my face in his strong hands. “Waylynn, I’m not twenty fucking years old, I’m almost twenty-seven and I want those things too. I’m not saying let’s run off and get married tomorrow, but why won’t you even give us a chance? I don’t care that you’re older than me.”
My heart was racing. “You want kids? What, like when you’re thirty-five, or something?”
He closed his eyes and slowly shook his head before opening them and pinning me with his intense stare. “You can’t push me away with that, because I can honestly tell you if it were up to me, I’d already be settled with a wife and kids. But no one has made me want to even think it’s a possibility…until you.”
My body trembled. “It…it could never work.”
“Why? And stop saying because you’re older than me.”
“It just wouldn’t.”
He pressed his body into mine, causing a rush of lust to race through my veins. His lips were inches from mine. The wall I had built was beginning to crumble piece by piece. I needed to be stronger.
When his lips brushed across mine, I gasped.
His hand moved up my dress, slowly pulling it up as he pushed his hard-on into me. I gripped onto his strong arms to keep my legs from going out under me.
Damn it. What is this man doing to me?
“Please don’t push me away. Waylynn, I want you in more ways than just fucking you against a wall. Please give me a chance to show you that we can make this work.”
Electricity ripped through my body. I was about to break—give in to what I knew my heart truly wanted.
Maybe we could be together one more time and that would satisfy the itch I had for Jonathon Turner. His fingers brushed across my panties and I squeezed his arms.
One. More. Time.
No. This feeling was more than an itch. It was an aching desire to have more from this man. So. Much. More.
My mouth opened to tell him to take me, when the perfect moment came to an immediate halt with a knock on my office door.
I pushed Jonathon away and dragged in a deep breath as I fixed my dress.
Jonathon walked around to the other side of my desk, his hat positioned in front of his jeans to hide the bulge in his pants.
“Come…come in.”
Shit. My voice was shaky.
The door open and Cord walked into my office. He smiled when he saw me, which made my heart drop. I was still leaning against the windowsill, trying like hell to act like I wasn’t turned on or that my panties weren’t soaking wet.
“What’s up, big sis? I saw your car parked out front and thought maybe you’d like to go to lunch?”
My eyes darted over to Jonathon.
Cord turned to see Jonathon. “Hey! I was hoping I’d see you here. Was I interrupting anything?”
“No,” I said.
“Yes,” Jonathon said.
Cord bounced his gaze between the two of us.
Jonathon grinned. “I mean, no, it’s fine. I needed to find out if Waylynn had picked out which flooring she wanted.”
My head was spinning. I thought I had already told him.
“Birch is fine,” I softly said. Jonathon nodded.
“Listen, I know this is last minute, but a few of us are heading to Vegas tonight for the weekend. I’m taking a few days off from the bar. We’re each renting our own room just in case there hook-up potential in the making.” Cord wiggled his brows while I looked away and I rolled my eyes.
Jonathon looked at me. “I can’t, I’ve got to handle installing the light fixtures in the ballet room.”
Our eyes met, and I knew what he was doing.
“You can’t take the weekend off, dude? I mean, it’s Vegas. Flights are wide open so getting a ticket won’t be a problem.”
Jonathon continued to stare at me. I regretted my next set of words before they even came out of my mouth.
“It’s fine, the lights can wait and Cord’s right. It’s the weekend.”
Jonathon narrowed his eyes at me.
Cord clapped his hands. “Awesome. Then you’re free to go. What do you say?”
The look in Jonathon’s eyes about killed me. He looked so hurt and it gutted me that I was the person who’d made him feel that way.
Placing his hat back on his head, Jonathon faced Cord. He plastered on a fake smile and nodded. “Yeah, sounds like a plan. I could use a little bit of fun, it’s been awhile since I’ve had any. Count me in.”
My heart dropped to my stomach and I had to grip the windowsill to keep myself upright. It took everything out of me not to show any physical reaction to Jonathon’s words. They hurt me more than he could ever know.
Making his way toward the door, Jonathon cleared his throat. “I’ve got to run if I’m heading out with y’all.”
Cord gave him a light slap on the back as he walked by. “You won’t regret it.” He leaned in more and said, “I promise.”
Before leaving my office, Jonathon looked back at me, tipped his hat and said, “Waylynn.” It was meant to sound like a goodbye, but I knew what he was doing. He was giving me one more chance to stop him.
My heart was fighting with my head. I swallowed hard, trying to convince myself I was about to do the right thing by letting him go. “Enjoy Vegas, Jonathon,” I replied, trying to keep my voice even.
I thought I was pulling it off until his next set of
words fell like a knife straight into my chest.
“I will.” Jonathon looked at Cord and said, “Maybe I’ll even get lucky this weekend. Hell, maybe I’ll even find myself a girlfriend, someone to marry and have three kids with.”
Cord laughed and said, “Jesus dude, we’re going to Vegas, not church. Hey, let me walk you out, I’ll fill you in a bit more on the plans.”
Glancing over his shoulder at me, Cord called out, “Be right back, Waylynn.”
Look for LOVE AGAIN coming April 2018
Contains Spoilers
Vince Gill – “Trying To Get Over You”
Beginning of Tempting Love
Vince Gill- “I Can’t Do This”
Mitchell and Corina in Cord’s Office
Carly Pearce – “I Dare Ya”
Corina and Mitchell at the land he bought
George Straight – “Carried Away”
Mitchell cooking dinner for Corina
Brett Young – “In Case You Didn’t Know”
Mitchell telling Corina he was crazy about her before the street dance
The Chainsmokers and Coldplay – “Something Just Like This”
Mitchell and Corina in Canada
Lifehouse – “You and Me”
Mitchell asking Corina to marry him
Miranda Lambert – “Pushin’ Time”
Mitchell telling Corina he wants to start a family
Love and Theft – “Love Wins”
The entire Parker family getting ready for the wedding
“Taylor Swift – “This Love”
The whole book! This songs reminds me of Mitchell and Corina’s love story!
Brad Paisley – “Then”
Mitchell and Corina’s wedding
As always, thank you to Darrin and Lauren. I couldn’t do this without y’all! Thank you for all of your patience with me with each book I write. I know I keep saying I’ll be ahead soon and I promise I will be!
Lauren – I can’t believe you are a senior this year. When I was writing Wanted you were having a birthday party and I think it was sixth grade! Time is going by way too fast. I love you to the moon and back!
Darrin – Don’t stop giving me endless things to write about…I seriously need to just tie a recorder around your neck. Seriously though, thank you for supporting me with this crazy dream called writing. It takes a lot of my time away from you, but we somehow manage to make it all work! I love you more!
Danielle Sanchez – Thank you for everything you do for me! I couldn’t do this without you!
Kristin Mayer – Where to start? First off…I CANNOT believe you’ve never seen Will & Grace or Seinfeld…or FRIENDS! How are we BFF’s? We need a marathon weekend for each one. Okay I got off the point of this thank you…thank you for always being there when I need someone to help me through a scene…or a synopsis, or a word that makes me sound smarticles (yes I know that isn’t a word…I like it) or just brainstorming in general. Thank you for being an amazing friend in general. You make me laugh. You support me in everything and are there when I just need to talk. I love you, Special K. I’m so glad to have you in my life, even if you don’t know what “JUST JACK” means. rolls eyes.
To Kelly’s Krew – Y’all…where do I EVEN begin. This is the best reading group on the planet! Yes…the planet! Thank you so much for being such amazing people. Your love and support for each other is something I love to see each time I’m in the group. I’m blessed to have each and every single one of you in my life. Even you lurkers…oh yeah…I know you’re there!!! Love y’all to the moon and back!
Wranglers – Without y’all release day wouldn’t be the same. THANK YOU for everything you do for me. Each of you go above and beyond and I am in awe of your support. You’ll never truly know how much I appreciate each of you. Love y’all to the moon and back!
The readers. The best for last right? Totally! If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be typing up these thank yous! So thank you so very much for your support. Each story I sit down to write is a part of me. In every single book there is something…whether it be big or small…that is a part of my life. Every story comes from a place in me that longs to keep filling pages with the movies I see in my head. For you to invest in that is something I don’t think I will ever get used to. It means a great deal to me so thank you doesn’t even really seem like enough. I hope that you are enjoying the Cowboys and Angels series. I am totally and utterly in love with the Parker family and the deeper I get into this family the harder it will be to walk away. But we still have a few books left!!!
So with that said…happy reading y’all.
Love you to the moon and back!
Enjoy a preview from
Untouched Perfection
a Timeless Love Novel
by
Kristin Mayer
Prologue
The streets of Paris were bustling as we left the Catacombs. I welcomed the warm air after having been chilled underneath the city with the dead for nearly an hour. I always welcomed the heat since I lived in Florida.
As we moved down the street, the images of the skulls stuck with me. So many bodies claimed the Catacombs as their final resting place. The suffering, the loss, the death—all things I hated to think about. Instead, I focused on the positive. The reverence had been like nothing I’d experienced in my life—paying respects to thousands upon thousands of people who once had walked this Earth. But still, we’d been surrounded by thousands of skeletons. Among them, I’d felt almost hopeless.
Dylan hugged me closer, breaking me out of my thoughts. “What a rush! You never know when your time is up. That’s why it’s important to live each day like it’s your last.”
That was his motto, always had been. I scrunched my nose, not wanting to talk about this now. “Let’s change the topic.”
He laughed. “Thanks for going down there. I know it wasn’t your thing.”
“Now you can make it up to me by kissing me at the top of the Eiffel Tower.”
He kissed the top of my head. “I would love nothing more, Mrs. Reynolds. Where are we meeting our tour guide?”
I pulled out my map as Dylan wrapped his arm around my waist and brought me closer to him while pedestrians passed us on the sidewalk.
At times, I still had to pinch myself. I was on my honeymoon—in Paris—with the love of my life. Until we checked in at the airport, the honeymoon location had been a surprise. One by one, he was making my dreams come true.
“We have to take the Metro to Champ de Mars.”
When he said nothing and remained still, I looked up. Dylan’s beautiful caramel-colored eyes stared back at me. In his eyes, I saw the promise of a lifetime together making beautiful memories. And one day we’d have a family. I loved my life and the man fate gave me.
A corner of his mouth turned up. “What?”
“I was thinking about how much I love you. How lucky we are. And we’re in Paris on our honeymoon. I can’t believe you did all this.”
His mouth found mine in the gentlest of kisses. Against my lips he murmured, “I love you, Mrs. Reynolds.”
I sighed and smiled when I pulled away; I’d never felt this happy before in my life. “I love the sound of that. The first thing I’m doing when we get home is making my name change official.”
Since there hadn’t been time to change my name, all my documents still said Knoah Knox on them. I loved how Knoah Reynolds sounded.
Dylan nibbled my neck. “I can’t wait for your name change to be official. I’ve waited nearly five years to make you my wife.”
“It took you long enough to ask me out. I had to wait almost four months after you started school and us being friends.”
On the streets of Paris, we grinned at each other, madly in love. Everyone deserved this overwhelming happiness.
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
I shook my head and grinned. “Never.”
“It was a legitimate fear. You turned
down every other guy who asked you out. I had to get creative. But if you were my best friend, I could keep any other guys from asking you out until I worked up the courage.” His face turned serious, which was rare for the free-spirited Dylan. “You were the best chance I ever took.”
I loved him with my entire heart. Oh, how I wished we were back in the hotel room.
He shook his head and smirked. “I can see what you’re thinking and I want nothing more than to be inside you. But, we can’t miss the Eiffel Tower. Ours was the only opening they had left for a tour. And I know how you’ve always dreamed of seeing it. I’m not letting my girl miss it.”
It was the symbol of love. For as long as I could remember, I’d wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower with the love of my life for a kiss. It was item number two on my bucket list—right after marrying the man of my dreams. With a huff, I said, “You’re right.”
Dylan nipped the pout that had formed on my lips. “Where do we need to go to take the Metro?”
Refocusing on the map, I stared at the different stations. “It’s four blocks away.”
“Perfect.” Dylan’s voice trailed and I watched his eyes focus on a flower cart not far from us. “Would you get us some water, baby?”
Dylan loved surprising me with sweet gestures.
I turned to see a small little convenient store. “I’ll be right back.”
His eyes lit up. With another peck on the lips, I walked inside and grabbed two waters. The differences in brands and pricing amazed me. I loved Europe.
“You look like a woman in love,” the older man behind the counter commented as I approached.
“I am. My husband and I are here on our honeymoon.”
I glanced out the window and saw Dylan walk across the street as suspected.