Have I told you all how I got the
title of Any Way She Wants It,
West Coast, Book 6? First of all, let me say how much I love that old Journey
song Any Way You Want It. So I was listening to that album, and it was so
perfect for Tricia. It made me imagine exactly how she viewed sex, and I just
knew she was a woman who would absolutely ask for it any way she wanted it.
But where did the idea for Tricia
and David’s story come from? Of course you remember that David and Tricia have
been dancing around each other since she started working at West Coast. But
where did that whole dance start in my mind. Well, gosh, it’s been there for
almost ever. So let me tell you…
Did you have a crush on an older
man when you were 16? Or an older woman if you're a guy? Of course you did.
It's sort of universal. I had a crush on my best friend's brother. He was ten
years older than us. And I remember the actual day of my 16th birthday when he
kissed my cheek and wished me Happy Birthday. I swooned. I was in love. I made
up all sorts of fantasies about him waiting for me until I grew up. Of course
we moved away that summer and I never saw him again. But it was a lovely
fantasy! And that's what writers do. They take a small, insignificant memory or
a newspaper article they read or a slice out of a dream and explode it into an
entire story. Or they listen to a song and grab the title because it makes them
actually see, hear, and feel the
characters they’re writing about.
So I’ve got a blurb and an
excerpt coming up for you, but first I have to tell you about what you can win!
To celebrate the release of Any Way She Wants It,
I’m running a fabulous contest! Enter for your chance to win a $100 Zappos gift
card (so you can get the sexy red high heels that Tricia loves to wear!) and a
3-month subscription of UnderClub from Cratejoy! That means for three months in
a row, you’ll receive a box of luxury lingerie customized for you (or for
anyone you’d like to give it to!). There are a ton of ways to get entries into
the contest, too, like following me on Bookbub and Goodreads, and just going to
my website to learn more about me! The contest starts on release day March 21!
So make sure you get your entries in! Just go to Jasmine's
Sexy Giveaway!
And before I forget, for those of
you who loved Open
Invitation Series, catch up with all of your favorites in Any Way She Wants It,
West Coast, Book 6!
Blurb
He was engaged to be
married.
She was his sister’s
best friend and his dirty little secret.
Twenty years later,
it’s all about to explode.
David Farris has been
a widower for almost a year. He should have been able to handle Tricia Connelly
walking back into his life. After all, it’s been over twenty years. But now
that she’s here, she’s the embodiment of his greatest desire…and his worst guilt.
Keeping everything between them strictly business is the only way to preserve
his sanity.
Tricia wants nothing
more than to make David totally crazy with need for her. When she realizes they’ll
be working side-by-side, day in and day out, her heart clamors for this second
chance to make the one man she’s always wanted fall for her. But David can’t
let go of the past.
Her only choice is to
seduce him with steamy kisses and delicious caresses to show him how perfect
they could be for each other.
Can David forgive his
past sins? Or will he sacrifice their future?
Excerpt
©
2018 Jasmine Haynes
Any Way She Wants It, West
Coast, Book 6
Chapter
One
She sat
three rows in front of him, on the groom’s side of the garden wedding. Her
dress was a satiny blue that draped her curves, no ruffles or frills, just
spaghetti straps that left her shoulders bared to the late September sun and
his gaze. Her short blond hair kissed the nape of her neck, silky and
touchable.
Not that
David Farris would ever think of touching Tricia Connelly.
Liar.
He
thought about her when his guard was down. Jesus, he dreamed of her when his
subconscious mind took over in the middle of the night. Hot, sexy, sweaty
dreams he couldn’t quite banish when the alarm blared to wake him.
So it
was safer to say that he would never act
on any of his thoughts. Tricia Connelly was off limits. For so many reasons,
but mostly because of their mutual past that he couldn’t forget and couldn’t
forgive himself for. Because of his dead wife, as if her cancer was a
manifestation of his guilt as well as his penance for all the wrong things he’d
done.
God,
yes, there were too many reasons, but the opening bars of the wedding march
allowed him to shove them all from his mind. Everything except the sight of
her.
Holt
Montgomery’s back garden had been transformed into a chapel, with an arbor
trimmed in flowers and ivy on a raised dais which would be converted to a
dancefloor once the ceremony was over. White folding chairs had been set out
for the guests with a center aisle the bride would walk down, all in a very
traditional setting. Though Ruby Williams was anything but traditional.
The
guest list wasn’t large, considering the fact that Holt was a Silicon Valley
CEO with a huge contact base. Mentally cataloguing the seats, there was room
for only fifty, and they were occupied mostly by employees from West Coast
Manufacturing, including the executive team, a smattering of senior management,
and the chairman of the board. Ruby and Holt had probably kept the number to a
minimum in order to have the wedding in Holt’s backyard.
He would
have expected more show from Ruby, five hundred attendees, a rented hotel
ballroom, ice statues, and fountains of bubbling champagne.
But Ruby
walked down the aisle with no escort and no entourage, wearing a magnificent
cream confection David knew Cassandra Montgomery, Holt’s daughter, had
designed. The halter-style dress tied at Ruby’s nape and dipped deep into her
cleavage. The beaded bodice trimmed in lace ended in an arrow over her stomach,
while the satin hugged her hips, finally flaring halfway down her thighs. Her
dark hair pulled up in an elegant knot, she’d allowed a smattering of curls to
artfully fall free.
No
matter what David thought of her personally, he had to admit Ruby was stunning.
Her face was radiant with a smile that could only be called happiness, though
that had never been a word he’d used to describe Ruby. Yet as she walked down
the aisle alone, as if she were the one giving herself away, she had eyes only
for her soon-to-be husband. And her gaze was literally alight. Holt was a fine
figure, CEO all the way, as commanding up on the dais in his formal tuxedo as
he was in the boardroom. Ruby Williams had never been a woman that inspired the
word love—she was too aggressive, too calculating, too predatory—yet
love radiated from the look Holt graced her with. Somehow they’d found a way,
the most unlikely couple.
Just as
Ruby was without a maid of honor, Holt had no best man. David could only
presume it was because the logical choice, Clay Blackwell, had lived with Ruby
before taking up with Holt. Talk about complications. West Coast Manufacturing
had turned out to a hotbed of sexcapades. Ruby and Clay, then Clay and Jessica
Murphy, who’d become Jessica Blackwell only last month, then Holt and Ruby.
Yes, the
Blackwells had been invited to the wedding. Though they were seated in the
second row, Ruby glided past them without a glance, as if she didn’t care, as
if marrying Holt made up for all that had gone before. When Ruby was a step
ahead, Clay raised Jessica’s hand, bending slightly to kiss her knuckles. It
could have been reassurance, yet the way Jessica smiled in return, her face and
her blond hair as bright as a beam of sunlight, she had all the assurance she
could ever desire.
The
music hushed as Holt took Ruby’s hand, and he helped her onto the dais amid
afternoon birdsong. For endless seconds, he looked down into her face, his gaze
speaking to her. The moment was almost too intimate to watch. It kindled
vestiges of David’s own wedding day, his fears, his duty, the love he’d told
himself he felt for his bride, the other feelings he’d denied. He’d been
denying them ever since.
His eyes
fell on Tricia. Always back to Tricia. She was his past, she was his guilt.
He’d never thought to have her in his present, and he could imagine no future
that included her.
Except
in his dreams.
A
minister in traditional robes began the vows—David had no idea where Ruby had
found him since he didn’t believe she’d ever stepped inside a church.
There
were no embellishments, no personally written vows that seemed to be the rage
these days. Yet somehow, with her hands clasped in Holt’s, Ruby’s declaration,
murmured in her husky, sexy tone, was touching. “I take you as my wedded
husband, to have and to hold from this day on, for better for worse, for richer
for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and obey, till death
do us part.”
David
had expected her to remove the word obey, yet Ruby said the word with
more force than all the others, giving it weight and meaning.
With his
vows, Holt added his own stress on “Till death do us part,” as if it were a
message that this marriage would be different. Especially since his ex-wife and
her husband sat next to Holt’s daughter in the front row. Cassandra turned
slightly, whispering into Ward Restin’s ear, then leaning her head on his
shoulder. Ward was the company’s VP of Research, and Cassandra had been living
with him almost since she’d moved up from L.A. five months ago to open her own
fashion boutique. She was to have a spread in the Sunday social section of the
newspaper, featuring Ruby in her magnificent dress. There might be only fifty
guests today, but Ruby would have her limelight tomorrow, and so would
Cassandra.
Short
and sweet, the minister closed in on the end. “I pronounce you husband and
wife.” He beamed widely, his smile another wrinkle in an already wizened face.
“You may now kiss the bride.”
Ruby
wore no veil, and Holt placed her hands on his chest then cupped her face with
such tenderness it opened a wound in David’s chest, though God only knew why.
Ruby blossomed for her new husband like a night-blooming flower, and that first
kiss was both gentle and carnal, tender yet deep, as much an exchange of vows
as their words had been.
God help
him, his gaze came to rest on Tricia once more, his heart tearing right down
the center.
That
first kiss. She’d been so young. He remembered her tears, remembered how they’d
slain him.
Why
doesn’t anyone want to kiss me? What’s wrong with me, David?
She’d
been sweet sixteen, and the boys she knew were too young to see the beauty she
would become. But he was a man, ten years older, and she was his little
sister’s best friend. He’d understood what the boys his sister knew never
could, that Tricia was on the cusp of blooming into something extraordinary.
He’d wanted only to prove to her that she was gorgeous no matter what the boys
said. He’d wanted only to dry her tears and reassure her. Words could never
have done it, only actions. So he’d kissed her.
And
changed both their lives.
The
depth of desire he’d felt floored him. That night destroyed him. It haunted his
marriage. It consumed all his feelings for his wife. It burned him up with
unquenchable guilt and irresistible desire. He hated himself for taking
advantage of Tricia, hurting her, and yet it had been his pivotal moment,
affecting everything that came after, even his dreams.
Because
Tricia had lived in his nocturnal fancies, where she’d grown into the
beautiful, stunning woman he’d known she would eventually become.
Until a
few months ago, when she’d walked out of his dreams and back into his life,
fulfilling his prophecies for her.
He
shuddered, a slight movement of his shoulders as if he could shake off all the
memories.
His
fantasies had to end now, especially with Tricia so close and the endless hours
of budgeting that loomed ahead. In the past, he’d spent the equivalent of days
with Greg Stevens working on yearly forecasting. Tricia had taken over Greg’s
position as Finance Manager when Greg was promoted to Controller.
David
would never survive the year-end budget process unless he got himself under
control.
He came
out of his fog to find Holt and Ruby had descended from their dais. Instead of
a procession back down the aisle and a receiving line, they greeted all their
guests in a slow walk, stopping at each row.
Cassandra
hugged her father, holding on tight for one long moment. They’d never been
demonstrative, and in fact she called him Holt rather than Dad, yet there was a
special bond in that hug. She’d gotten her red hair from her mother and her
gorgeous features from her father, as well as his commanding aura. Ward had his
work cut out with Cassandra if he wanted to wear the pants.
Then
Holt shook Ward’s hand and bussed his ex-wife’s cheek while Cassandra gave Ruby
a restrained hug. She might have designed the wedding dress but the two women
weren’t suddenly BFFs. Unconventional, Cassandra wore a flame-red dress that
absorbed the color of her hair rather than clashed with it. In any other
circumstances, these two women would be rivals. Maybe they would be tomorrow.
When
they turned to the other side of the aisle, David became aware of the silence
as every breath was suddenly held.
“Cat
fight,” Spence Benedict muttered in his ear.
David
hadn’t been aware of Spence’s arrival, let alone that Spence sat right behind
him. A guilty flush spread up David’s neck. He’d been watching Tricia too
intently, and he wondered how much Spence had picked up on.
Instead
of acknowledging that, he gave his own low murmur back. “They’ll be on their
best behavior.”
That’s
exactly what Ruby and Jessica did, smiling politely at each other, Jessica
saying something, probably congratulations, Ruby thanking her, while the male
parties exchanged handshakes and backslaps.
“Jesus,
I think he’s going to hug her.” Spence’s laughter was cut off at a snort when
Zoe elbowed him.
“Shh,”
she hushed him, though he’d spoken softly enough that no one but she and David
had heard.
The hug
didn’t happen. Instead Clay kissed Ruby’s cheek, as chaste as a father or a
brother.
With the
moment over, the chatter started again as Holt and Ruby moved on down the
aisle, receiving handshakes, hugs, and congratulations.
“You
look marvelous,” David told Zoe.
“Thank
you.” She was a pretty woman with long dark hair, and she’d made Spence happy.
Spencer
Benedict had always been good for a laugh, always found the joke in everything,
and yet he’d never seemed quite as…what was the word? Complete? Yes, that was it. Zoe completed Spence. If David didn’t
miss the mark, he’d say Zoe would soon be making them a complete family, too.
There was the slightest bump beneath the summer dress she wore. The problem,
David knew, was that Zoe’s divorce wasn’t yet final.
“Okay,
come on.” Spence took Zoe’s hand in his. “I gotta give Ward some crap and see
when he’s going to follow in Holt’s footsteps and marry that girl.” He pulled
her to the far end of the aisle, obviously skipping the congratulations for
now.
“Don’t
hold your breath,” David muttered, though they were now out of earshot. He
didn’t believe Cassandra Montgomery was the marrying kind. Then again, he had
to admit she seemed to adore Ward.
Everyone
else was merging toward the center aisle to await Holt and Ruby’s greeting,
while the staff began at the sides, moving chairs and bringing out the cocktail
tables for mingling, beginning the garden’s transformation from chapel to
reception. They set aside the trellis and unlocked hinges on the dais that
allowed them to extend it to make a larger dancefloor.
David
shifted back to the front, judging the newly married couple’s progress down the
aisle, gauging how long before he could make his escape.
And
turned right into Tricia’s sky-blue gaze. Her eyes were focused, as if she’d
seen every thought he’d had about her, every wet dream painted on his face like
prison stripes.
The
guests, the minister, the bride and groom, they all seemed to fade. Except her.
His breath constricted in his chest, his heart lodged somewhere in his throat,
and his stomach plummeted to the ground he stood on, shaking it beneath his
feet.
Over the
last few months, since she’d started working at West Coast, Tricia had tried to
talk to him. Christ, she’d actually cornered him a couple of times. How he’d
shut her down, he couldn’t even recall. He’d probably run like a coward or a
fool.
Her gaze
was so direct, so straight, lancing him.
Yes, he
was a coward. Eventually, they would need to have the confrontation. But not
today.
Holt
saved him, reaching Tricia’s row. She shook hands, no hugs, no pecks on the
cheek.
To the
left of David’s row, the wait staff carefully placed the wedding cake on a side
table. A three-tiered confection, it was topped with a Day of the Dead bride
and groom. Despite the emotions roiling inside him, he chuckled. It was so
un-Ruby. But then he had to wonder about all the things he didn’t know about
her. Didn’t know about Holt. Or about their relationship.
Every
relationship wore a different face behind closed doors. Every relationship had
a surface hiding its depths. There was what you wanted people to see versus the
actual truth.
It was
his turn now and Holt grabbed his hand in a hardy shake.
“Congratulations,”
David said. His smile felt forced. It had been a mistake coming. The wedding
was a reminder of his dead wife, his dead marriage, and Tricia was the
embodiment of his guilt, of all his mistakes, of the harm he’d caused. And a
token of the things he desired but could never have.
He shook
off all the memories. He was here. He had to act. He took Ruby’s hand in both
of his. “You make a stunning picture, Ruby. I wish you all the best.”
She
smiled without artifice, even though Ruby always had artifice. “Thank you,
David.” She poked him in the chest. “Now, I want you to get out there and dance
once the music starts. Be the life of our party.” She elbowed Holt fondly. “He
says he’ll only do the first dance so I’m going to need lots of partners.”
Ruby had
definitely had her share of partners.
“She’s
teasing, David.” Holt wrapped a proprietary arm around her, pulling her close
and tight, staking his claim. “But we want you to enjoy yourself.”
He saw
the words between their lines. He saw the last ten months since his wife’s
death where he seemed to be living in a world of grief. And there were the
endless months before that, the diagnosis, the treatment, then when the doctors
finally destroyed all their hope. He’d been aware of the thoughtful gazes at
work, the worry, the desire to help, the inability to do so. Now they all
wanted him to move on, to get better, to be the man he’d been before the
cancer.
His son
and daughter wanted it, too. They missed their mom, but they were both in
college now and starting their own lives, creating new priorities.
What
none of them knew was that the genesis of his guilt came long before the
cancer, before his kids were born, before he’d married Marie.
It began
that night with Tricia.
~
Can David resist Tricia? To find
out, pick up you copy of Any Way She Wants It, West
Coast, Book 6 today!
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