Book
Three: Independence Falls
January
20, 2015
Synopsis
He was nobody's hero
until he landed in the wrong bed …
Armed with a golden
retriever and a concealed weapons permit, Lena Clark is fighting for normal.
She served her country, but the experience left her emotionally numb and
estranged from her career-military family. Staying in Independence Falls seems
like the first step to reclaiming her life until the town playboy stumbles into
her bed …
Chad Summers is living his
dream—helicopter logging by day and slipping between the sheets with Mrs. Right
Now by night. Until his wild nights threaten his day job, leaving Chad with a
choice: prove he can settle down or kiss his dream goodbye. But when he ends up
in the wrong bed, the one woman in Independence Falls he can't touch offers a
tempting proposition. Chad is ready and willing to give in to the primal desire
to make Lena his at night—on one condition. By day, they pretend their
relationship is real.
But their connection
extends beyond the bedroom, threatening to turn their sham into reality if Chad
can prove he's the hero Lena needs night and day … forever.
Order Hero
by Night for only $2.99!!
Other
Books By Sara Jane Stone
Full
Exposure
No touching allowed …
After serving her country,
Georgia Trulane craves adventure—and sex. She's set her sights on her brother's
best friend—now her boss, since she took a temporary job as his nephew's
live-in nanny. Only problem? Eric refuses to touch her. That doesn't stop
Georgia from seducing him. But an earth-shattering encounter leaves her fully
exposed, body and soul.
Eric has a long list of
reasons to steer clear of the woman he has wanted for as long as he can
remember. For one, he refuses to be her next thrill ride. When he claims her,
it will be for good. But the attraction is undeniable, and the more they fight
it, the stronger it pulls. But will it be enough to conquer their obstacles?
Caught
in the Act
Falling for his
rivals' little sister could cost him everything …
For Liam Trulane, failure
is not an option. He is determined to win a place in Katie Summers' life before
she leaves Independence Falls for good. But first, he needs to make amends for
the last time they got down and dirty.
Only problem?
His professional success
hinges on striking a deal to buy Katie's family business. And after Liam's
relationship with their Katie went south years ago, the Summers brothers are
more enemy than friend. If both parties agree to set the past aside, they can
reach an understanding. But when Katie welcomes him back into her bed, Liam
risks everything to make her his.
After Liam betrayed her
trust, Katie Summers will do anything to keep him from walking away with the
family business. She decides to seduce him, knowing that when her brothers find
out, they will back off from the deal. And she'll finally have her revenge. But
when her plan spirals out of control, Katie learns that payback may come at too
high a price …
Author
Bio
After several years on the other side of the publishing
industry, Sara Jane Stone bid goodbye to her sales career to pursue her
dream—writing romance novels. Sara Jane currently resides in Brooklyn, New York
with her very supportive real-life hero, two lively young children and a lazy
Burmese cat. Visit her online at www.sarajanestone.com or find her on Facebook
at Sara Jane Stone.
Chapter
One Revealed:
“Thirty minutes,” Lena
murmured. “That has to be a record.”
Lena Clark stared at the
Cascade Mountains, the postcard-perfect backdrop to the backyard barbecue on
the verge of turning into a full-blown party. Hero, her golden retriever, sat
at her feet by the man-made pond in Eric Moore’s yard. Although the cleared
field behind the sprawling timber-framed structure, home to the owner of the
largest timber operation in Oregon, could hardly be classified as a “yard.”
Inside the Portland city limits, where she’d lived on and off for the past six
years—more off than on, really, due to training and deployments—people had the
traditional postage stamp–size grassy areas behind their homes.
But she’d escaped Portland.
And landed in Independence Falls, hoping to find her way to normal. Now she was
thirty minutes closer.
“I talked to half the
people here,” Lena continued, her fingers brushing her dog’s golden fur. Hero’s
ears perked up, his head cocked to one side in what she’d come to think of as
his I’m-listening expression. A stuffed yellow duck, the doggie toy she’d
bought to keep him from chewing on furniture, hung from his mouth. “I mingled
without running away and hiding.”
She hadn’t shaken a single
hand, and Hero had been by her side the entire time, but she wasn’t looking for
major breakthroughs or big victories. At twenty-eight, she knew a war was not
won overnight. It took time, bravery, and determination. She possessed all of
those things. Even if she had lost more than she liked to admit on the
battlefield—like the ability to let anyone get close to her.
“Hey, Lena. Are you OK?”
She turned at the sound of
Katie Summers’s voice, glancing past her friend to the crowd gathered on the
blue stone patio. “Fine. I just needed some space from the party.”
And a chance to talk to her
dog …
OK, so maybe normal was
still out of reach.
“Georgia told me that you
were looking for a place to stay,” Katie said.
“Just for a night, maybe
two. I’m planning to find my own apartment soon.” Along with a job and her
equilibrium. “But I wanted to give Georgia and Eric some space seeing as Nate
is visiting his grandmother.”
“You think they might get
down and dirty on the kitchen table while the three-year-old is out of town?”
“Yes. I do.” Lena looked up
the hill. Eric stood behind Georgia, his arms wrapped around her waist, holding
her close against his body. Georgia held a beer in one hand, her other reaching
back, brushing against Eric’s leg as if she had to touch him. The kitchen table
would only be the beginning for those two—if their home was free and clear of a
guest who moved in for a couple of nights, and more than a week later, still
hadn’t left.
“The apartment over our
barn is yours for as long as you need it,” Katie said.
“Your brothers won’t mind?”
Lena slipped her hands into the hidden pockets in her long halter dress. Katie
still lived with her three older brothers on their family farm. Granted, Josh,
the youngest of the three, was in the hospital right now recuperating from a
logging accident that had landed him in a coma. But Chad and Brody might object
to Katie lending out the apartment to an almost-stranger. Lena hadn’t met Chad
yet, but she knew the family was close and the brothers were protective of
their little sister.
Liam Trulane, Georgia’s
older brother and the man head-over-heels in love with Katie, might not like
the idea either. “And you don’t need it?”
“Liam and I have other
plans,” Katie said. “Far away from my brothers’ watchful eyes. There is a spare
key under a rock to the left of the door. Once you’re inside, move it to the
right and take the key upstairs with you. That is the in-use signal.”
“But Hero—”
Katie’s expression turned
serious. “Lena, I would never ask you to leave Hero behind. He’s welcome in the
apartment too.”
Lena felt a rush of relief.
The thought of leaving her golden retriever outside, even for a night, sent her
barreling toward panic. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Maybe I’ll
see you tomorrow? Georgia and I were planning to take a hike. Nothing crazy. I
made her promise.”
“Sure.” Lena knew all about
Georgia’s need for adventure, the drive that had followed Georgia home from a
war zone. And Lena understood it too. Probably more than most, even if she
didn’t share the same pull. PTSD refused to follow a linear, predetermined
path. Nightmares and survivor’s guilt haunted Georgia. Those symptoms were on
Lena’s list, but anxiety topped the chart.
In Lena’s shattered world,
every little touch triggered fear. If her ex or one of her friends wrapped an
arm around her, took her hand, or pulled her into a hug, she would brace for an
attack. Fear would build until panic won. And afterward, once it receded, she’d
sink further into depression, cutting herself off from the world around her.
Anxiety had become her
constant companion, leading her to an isolated place. Until she’d decided to do
something about it, entering therapy and finding the golden retriever lying at
her feet, gnawing on a stuffed dog toy.
Katie turned to head up the
hill. Lena watched, wondering if she should go back to the party and try for
another thirty minutes. She scanned the group of people mingling and
drinking—and spotted him.
Jeans and a button-down
flannel shirt hugged his body, not too tight, but enough to suggest that this
man had muscles begging to be touched. He raised a hand, running it through his
short, wavy brown hair. Everything about him screamed for hands-on exploration.
That chiseled jaw, the light dusting of stubble as if he hadn’t shaved in a
day, the way he smiled …
Lena drew a sharp breath
and tried to look away. But her brain short-circuited and her eyes refused. His
sex appeal flowed down the grassy slope like rushing water. And if she weren’t
careful it would sweep her off her feet, and leave her fighting for air.
Looking at him, she wished the road to normal led straight to orgasms.
He turned his head and
their gazes met across the empty space. And she swore his warm,
I-promise-you’ll-like-me-if-you-get-to-know-me grin touched his eyes.
Lena dropped her gaze to
the ground, breaking the contact. He wasn’t touching her, not even close. But
that smile …
She turned to face the
water. It was better not to look at what she couldn’t have. And that man—he was
one giant step beyond thirty minutes of small talk.
Sometimes beauty knocked a
man on his ass, leaving him damn near desperate for a taste, a touch, and
hopefully a round or two between the sheets—or tied up in them. The knockout
blonde with the large golden retriever at her feet took the word “beautiful” to
a new level.
Chad Summers stared at her,
unable to look away or dim the smile on his face. He usually masked his
interest better, stopping short of looking like he was begging for it before
learning a woman’s name. But this mysterious beauty had special written all
over her.
She stared at him, her gaze
open and wanting. For a heartbeat. Then she turned away, her back to the party
as she stared out at Eric Moore’s pond.
Her hair flowed in long
waves down her back. One look left him wishing he could wrap his hand around
her shiny locks and pull. His gaze traveled over her back, taking in the
outline of gentle curves beneath her flowing, and oh-so-feminine, floor-length
dress. Chad had nothing against jeans on a woman. But he loved clothes that
offered access to a woman’s legs. The thought of the beauty’s long skirt
decorating her waist propelled him into motion. Chad headed in her direction,
moving away from the easy, quiet conversation about God-knew-what on the patio.
He appreciated the fact
that Eric Moore—who’d recently become his boss/business partner after Moore
Timber bought the Summers Family Trucking business—had decided to throw a party
celebrating Chad’s little brother’s return to the land of awake and alert. But
the laid-back gathering lacked excitement. Music. Dancing. Something more than
a small group of people he’d known most of his life—three dozen at
most—drinking beers and eating burgers.
The blonde, a mysterious
stranger in a sea of familiar faces, might be the spark this party needed. He
was a few feet away when the dog abandoned his post at her side and cut Chad
off. Either the golden retriever was protecting his owner, or the animal was in
cahoots with the familiar voice calling his name.
“Chad Summers!”
The blonde turned at the
sound, looking first at him, her blue eyes widening as if surprised at how
close he stood, and then at her dog. From the other direction, a familiar face
with short black hair—Susan maybe?—marched toward him.
Without a word, Maybe Susan
stopped by his side and raised her glass. With a dog in front of him, trees to
one side, and an angry woman on his other, there was no escape.
“Hi there.” He left off her
name just in case he’d guessed wrong, but offered a warm, inviting smile. Most
women fell for that grin, but if Maybe Susan had at one time—and seeing her up
close, she looked very familiar, though he could swear he’d never slept with
her—she wasn’t falling for it today.
She poured the cool beer
over his head, her mouth set in a firm line. “That was for my sister. Susan
Lewis? You spent the night with her six months ago and never called.”
Chad nodded, silently
grateful he hadn’t addressed the pissed-off woman by her sister’s name. “My
apologies, ma’am.”
“You’re a dog,” Susan’s
sister announced. The animal at his feet stepped forward as if affronted by the
comparison.
“For the past six months,
my little sister has talked about you, saving every article about your family’s
company,” the angry woman continued.
Whoa … Yes, he’d taken Susan
Lewis out once and they’d ended the night back at his place, but he could have
sworn they were on the same page. Hell, he’d heard her say the words, I’m
not looking for anything serious, and he’d believed her. It was one
freaking night. He didn’t think he needed signed documents that spelled out his
intentions and hers.
“She’s practically built a
shrine to you,” she added, waving her empty beer cup. “Susan was ready to plan
your wedding.”
“Again, I’m sorry, but it
sounds like there was a miscommunication.” Chad withdrew a bandana from his
back pocket, one that had belonged to his father, and wiped his brow. “But
wedding bells are not in my future. At least not anytime soon.”
The angry sister shook her
head, spun on her heels, and marched off.
Chad turned to the blonde
and offered a grin. She looked curious, but not ready to run for the hills. “I
guess I made one helluva first impression.”
“Hmm.” She glanced down at
her dog as if seeking comfort in the fact that he stood between them.
“I’m Chad Summers.” He held
out his hand—the one part of his body not covered in beer.
“You’re Katie’s brother.”
She glanced briefly at his extended hand, but didn’t take it.
He lowered his arm, still
smiling. “Guilty.”
“Lena.” She nodded to the
dog. “That’s Hero.”
“Nice to meet you both.” He
looked up the hill. Country music drifted down from the house. Someone had
finally added some life to the party. Couples moved to the beat on the blue
stone patio, laughing and drinking under the clear Oregon night sky. In the
corner, Liam Trulane tossed logs into a fire pit.
“After I dry off,” Chad
said, turning back to the blonde, “how about a dance?”
“No.”
Chad waited for an excuse,
expecting a lie—her dog would be lonely or she had a boyfriend. That latter
one, lie or not, would send him on his way. But she didn’t say another word.
He stepped toward her, as
close as the dog would allow. He was close enough to smell her floral scent. It
was too faint for a perfume, most likely her soap. There was a hint of lavender
and a touch of honey. As if the sight of her wasn’t enough, the smell made him
want to taste her. He leaned in, a fraction of an inch, nothing more. But the
next thing he knew, her dog was pushing at his legs.
“Hero is protective of my
space.” Lena’s voice had a breathless quality that suggested maybe this time
she wished her dog would butt out. Or maybe that was his imagination.
Chad moved back, looking at
the golden retriever with renewed interest. For a breed with a reputation for
being kind and friendly, this one looked as if he was debating dropping his
chew toy and sinking his teeth into Chad’s leg.
“So what brings you two to
Independence Falls?” he asked, keeping one eye on Hero.
“Georgia offered me a place
to stay. While I get back on my feet.”
“Between jobs?” The rest of
the country might be headed toward recovery, but rural Oregon was still
suffering high unemployment. A lot of people around here were doing their best
to “get back on their feet.”
“I guess you could say
that,” she said.
She didn’t give an inch.
And hell, he liked that. Rocking back on his heels, Chad pretended to think.
“What did you do before? I might know someone who is looking.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she
said. “I can’t go back to it.”
“Being a model is that
tough?” He offered her a teasing look that he knew for a fact helped separate
women from their panties.
Lena raised an eyebrow. “I
wouldn’t know. And you can drop the sweet-talking act.”
“You’d prefer I talk
dirty?” Chad cocked his head, studying her. There it was. A spark of interest
in her blue eyes. But she hid it quickly.
“I’ve spent most of my life
on army bases. I’m betting you don’t have anything I haven’t heard before.”
So the drop-dead gorgeous,
not-a-model woman was a military brat? He took that tidbit and filed it away.
He wanted to know more about her—where she’d grown up, where she’d worked, if
she screamed during sex or maintained the calm control he was finding wildly
attractive.
“I might use some of the
same words,” he said. “But they would have a different effect on you.”
“You’re that good with your
words?”
“Yes. And that’s not the
only thing I’m good with.” He paused for a beat, expecting a laugh and hoping
for a breathy sigh. Nothing. Her face was an impartial mask. “So how about that
dance? I could whisper naughty things in your ear.”
“No.” The way she said that
one word sounded like a reflex.
“A walk under the stars?”
“Romantic, but I can’t.”
She stepped away even though he’d been careful not to move a muscle in her
direction. “I wish I could.”
This time her words were
not a quick dismissal. She said the word “wish” with the fervor of a kid
looking up to the stars and asking for a snow day in July. Hell, if there was
one thing he understood, it was wishing and hoping for things he couldn’t have.
His mother walking
through the front door to the farmhouse and admitting that leaving her family
had been a mistake … His dad seated beside him in a helicopter one last time …
“Can I ask you something?”
Chad said.
She nodded. A strand of
blond hair fell across her face and he resisted the urge to brush it away. With
any other woman, he would not have thought twice about an innocent touch in a
public space. But he sensed Lena had boundaries that demanded respect.
“Where did you meet
Georgia?”
“In therapy.”
The words, coupled with her
matter-of-fact tone, nearly knocked him on his ass. “You’re a veteran. I never
would have guessed that one.”
“A little different from a
model,” she said with a small smile. “I was in the army. Until eighteen months
ago.”
“The job you can’t go back
to,” he said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
She nodded, her blue eyes
trained on him as if tracking his movements. Had someone hurt her? The thought
of it pissed him off. Or had the time spent serving her country left her
battle-scarred on the inside? Either way, he wasn’t the man to fix her
problems. He’d never been drawn to wounded creatures.
Chad glanced at the dog.
Whatever had happened to her, Lena already had her hero. She didn’t need him.
And he didn’t want a woman in his life he couldn’t walk away from come sunrise.
Or a woman he couldn’t touch …
He looked up at the patio
and spotted another blonde. With her jeans and low-cut blouse, the other woman
possessed the same petite build as Lena. But there was nothing striking about
her. Looking at her didn’t leave him wanting to pull her hair, or hear his name
on her lips, never mind learn her secrets.
“She looks like fun,” Lena
said.
Busted.
He glanced at the woman who
made him want to do all those things and more. “Sure you’re not?”
“I can be,” she said with a
wry smile, as if this bit of information was a carefully guarded secret. “But
not the kind you’re in the market for. Not tonight.”
“That’s a shame. I was
looking forward to whispering dirty things in your ear.”
She pursed her lips, her
eyes filled with wistful wanting. “I’m not ready for that kind of fun,” she
said, her voice low, but certain. “Not yet.”
“That’s fair.” Yeah, those
words made it crystal clear she wasn’t up for his no-strings-attached,
down-and-dirty nights. But it didn’t keep him from hoping.
“If that changes, I’d like
to know,” he added. Chad slowly backed away from the woman and her dog,
offering her one last smile. “Try and have a good time tonight, Lena. This is a
party.”
“I’ll take that under
consideration,” she said, the golden retriever returning to her side.
“Good-bye, Chad Summers.”
Giveaway
2
Signed Copies of Full Exposure and Caught In The Act
