Rachael Wade

Hey Kate, you coming to our show Friday night?" He leaned in close and touched my shoulder. "The guys would love to see you there.""Yes. Yes, the guys would indeed." Carter rolled his eyes and smirked. I held back my grin, well aware that he was laughing inwardly at the same thing I was. When Dean spoke of 'the guys,' he mostly meant himself. With a body like a Ken doll and hair like Meredith's McDreamy, I couldn't figure out for the life of me what he wanted with me.

Well, in the meantime, Carter and I have been discussing the matter of Ryan." This time it wasn't the clang of a pan I heard, but instead a messy smack--the contact of Carter's backhand with Dean's head, I presumed. "Just hear me out. You have options. I have an Italian uncle. He'll make sure Ryan is sleeping with the fishes by next week.""Dean!" Unable to repress my amusement, my eyes flew wide and my grin grew."Either that, or we can go all Sweeney Todd on him and--""Oh, will you stop?" My laughter was crippling. "There will be no calls to your uncle and no trip to the barber shop--please, leave Sweeney Todd out of it.

I better go," Carter squeezed me once more and stood, grabbing his wallet from the coffee table. "I need to hit up the lottery if I want to get you out of this mess. Will you let me buy a monkey if we win, though?""Only if you buy me an island off the coast of Fiji.""You crazy-ass woman. A monkey is so much cooler than an island.""How about a monkey IN Fiji?""Now there's a woman after my own heart," Carter slapped his hand to his chest, sighing dramatically. "I'll let you know if we win." He started for the door."Uh huh.""You'll know if we do. I'll be the one streaking on Pike Street.

What do you see when you look at me?__y eyes narrowed and I pressed my lips together, weighing my thoughts. All of his bimbo admirers aside, what did I see? What did my gut tell me about this man? What did it say that allowed me to wind up here with him, under such impulsive circumstances?__ou__e a sad man,_ I swallowed. __ou__e arrogant and set in your ways, but that creates a fortress for you. It__ your safe haven. Behind the moat is someone who has lost something he loved, only I__ not sure what, or who. You__e afraid of something and your loyalty is hidden away in a cell, wounded by betrayal._ I rested my head on the pillow. __hat__ what I see.___n second thought,_ he exhaled, letting his head drop next to mine. __ou__e psychic.

I winked and locked my arm in Carter's, and we stood there, watching Dean stroll away."You know the guy's never gonna give up," Carter nudged me, letting out a sigh."We'd have really pretty babies, huh?""Yup. They'd be rad little Brangelinas, running around tearing the place up.""Yeah, you're right. My rejection is such a disservice to the world...

Stumbling closer, I held up the manuscript, the pages flapping frantically in the wind. __ take it this is a murder mystery? You killed the ex-fiancée and thanked her in the dedication? Mighty dignified of you, I must say.___ah. It__ a horror novel. But yeah, the bimbo dies in the end. Bob Hall says it__ going to be a bestseller, so I figured I owed her some thanks for the inspiration._ He edged a few feet closer, his smile spread from ear to ear. The glimmer in his eyes flickered toward the ocean, breaking our connection. He hung his head, licked his lips, then returned his eyes to mine, restoring the connection with an intense smolder. __re you gonna get over here, or what?__etting out a soft chuckle, the tears began to blind me. __ake me.

Please, let me take you home. You__e drunk.___ am not._ I shoved him, spilling some kind of delicious poison on him. __o home and have a wild time with Ms. Scarlet. In the bedroom. With the____kay, you__e starting to talk board game. Let__ go home, babe. I__l get you into bed.

Is there a problem, Ms. Parker? Something you want to say to me?" Reaching for his tie, he began to loosen it, unraveling it with his fingers, angry eyes still locked on mine."I'm not sure I like being your pet. Or science project, I don't know which.""You have a smart mouth.""You make smart observances.""You're going to make this invitation difficult, aren't you?""If you're dishonest with me, yes.""You'll regret it if you don't accept.""Is that a threat?""That's a promise.

Gavin, I never thought you__ be the irrational one in this relationship, but I__ happy to report that you__e just thoroughly shocked me._ He rolled to his side to lean on his arm, keeping my hand resting on his chest, buried underneath his shirt. __ know. My timing is impeccable._ He smirked, letting his hungry gaze drift over my body. __ut I__ sorry, love. I cannot take seeing you all tucked up in this sexy corset anymore. The ties are so tight, they__e just begging me to undo them._ His fingers trailed over the top of my chest and down over the corset__ binding, tugging at the edges of the lace as he went. __orcefully,_ he winked.

Joel__ face swam across my vision and I blinked, goose bumps running up my arms. I shook his memory away, determined to stay focused, although my heart caved at the thought of his last words to us, right here in this very spot: Take care of each other. I__ be damned if I was going to let him down now.

Samira__ guards are coming for you. You__e being summoned. Didn__ you hear the horn? Come on, they__l be here any second looking for you._ I bit my lip to hold back a smile of my own at why we hadn__ heard the horn.__ummoning me ___our guess is as good as mine, now come on. Cam, for crying out loud, fix your hair._ She cocked her eyebrow and gave me the I-know-you__e-been-messing-around look. __nd you,_ she shot Gavin the same look, __ip up your fly, Don Juan._ She rolled her eyes and turned for the door.

The second he slipped inside of me, all I'd doubted, questioned, or feared evaporated, leaving me with one single, definite truth--I'd fallen in love with him in an all-consuming blaze that would blind me if I wasn't careful. We fit together like poorly cut puzzle pieces, but when the edges joined and were positioned just right, our scattered images came together to create a solid, deliberate piece of art, completely crystal clear and in focus. I was a goner.

So help me, if something crawls out of one of these bags, I will castrate you.___ bet you__ love that._-Emma and Jackson

Gavin! What__l I wear home?___loak._ His voice roughened and he ripped harder, tossing the material to the ground. I felt his smile when he kissed my neck, and shivers ran down my back at the sound of his low growl.__ made that! I don__ have many of those, you know.___am,_ he snaked one hand around my stomach and made his way north, slipping one hand into my corset top to grope my chest. __ou won__ be thinking about it when I__ inside you._ His hips shifted off my back and he separated my legs with his knee, his breathing ragged against my shoulder. __ow forget the damn dress.