“Are you okay?” he asked with concern.
“Yep, I’m pregnant, though.”
Adam’s eyes widened and he stared.
Max nodded. “Probably all that history making we did in the Lincoln bedroom.”
Adam grinned.
Max was pleased with the news, too. She was a bit concerned about her age, but the doctor was convinced that with the proper care she and the baby would be fine.
Adam said, “I think I want a girl.”
“Okay,” Max chuckled. “Whatever the gender, the baby will probably be born with a pocket protector in one hand and an AK-47 in the other.”
Adam laughed, “I can’t wait.”
“Neither can I.”
The following June, Max gave birth to a nine-pound-eight-ounce baby girl that she and Adam named Lauren Michele. Young Miss Blake didn’t come into the world packing a pocket protector or an AK-47, but she was healthy, loud, and had Granny Loreli’s green eyes, just like her mother. Both parents were proud.
Author’s Note
Max and Adam were two characters I loved getting to know, and I hope you readers did as well. Wild ride, wasn’t it? Max Blake has to be one of the fiercest females I’ve ever encountered, and I hope she and Adam and little Lauren live happily ever after.
Max was born in my kitchen when a girlfriend asked why all the NIA agents had to be male. “Why can’t we have a female agent?” friend Alicia asked, and immediately Max was born. So thanks, Alicia.
The great Angolan queen Jinga, known also as Nzingha and by other accounts as Ginga, fought Portuguese slavers for thirty years. When she died on December 17, 1663, her death reportedly fueled other rulers on the continent to take up the resistance against the slave trade and European dominance—rulers such as: Madame Timbu of Nigeria; Nandi, mother of the fearless Zulu warrior, Chaka; and Dahomian King, Behanzin Bowelle and his female army. Further information on this fascinating African queen and others is just a Google click away, so enjoy reading the history.
Speaking of Zulu warrior Chaka, while I was working on Adam and Max’s story, the 2006 Westminster Dog Show was held in New York City. To my surprise, pride, and delight, for the very first time in Westminster’s 130-year history a rottweiler took first place in the Working Group class. This was not just any rottie, folks, but one with the glorious name of Champion Carter’s Noble Shaka Zulu. So a hearty BJ shout-out goes to breeder, owner, and handler Mr. Keith Carter, a brother who during his college years played linebacker for Florida State University. I was proud watching history being made, and I know Ruby and Ossie were, too.
In closing, do you all realize that I have been spinning published stories for twelve years now? My, how time flies when you’re having fun, but no way could I have done this alone, so a big thank-you to my editor, Erika, for her patience and brilliance; my agent, Nancy, for her wisdom and great phone calls; Adrienne, Pam, Tom Egner in Art, and all the other folks at Avon and Harper for their faith in me and in my work. Last, but certainly not least, beaucoup thanks to my readers. Your love, devotion, and prayers keep me writing. Stay blessed.
See you next time,
B.
By Beverly Jenkins
SEXY/DANGEROUS
BLACK LACE
THE EDGE OF DAWN
THE EDGE OF MIDNIGHT
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SEXY/DANDEROUS. Copyright © 2006 by Beverly Jenkins. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition October 2006 ISBN 9780061751578
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About the Author
BEVERLY JENKIN has received numerous awards, including three Waldenbooks Best Sellers Awards, two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times magazine, and a Golden Pen Award from the Black Writer’s Guild. In 1999, Ms. Jenkins was voted one of the Top Fifty Favorite African-American writers of the 20th Century by AABLC, the nation’s largest on-line African-American book club. To read more about Beverly, visit her website at www.beverlyjenkins.net.
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Beverly Jenkins, Sexy/Dangerous
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