Boss
Me
Rivers Edge book 5
By Lacey Black
Rivers Edge book 5
By Lacey Black
Last man standing. That’s the way it feels when Will Stevens looks at the happiness and fulfillment his siblings have found. Will isn’t necessarily looking for “happily ever after” but...what if? The one thing that helps him get through the loneliness of bachelorhood is his job. As a paramedic with Rivers Edge Health Care, Will is dedicated to saving lives. But one person has the potential to jeopardize everything he has worked for: his boss.
Carmen Brady is a
woman working in a man’s world. Determined to be taken as a serious
professional, Carmen is hard and ruthless on the job; not interested in being
anyone’s friend. There’s no room for personal relationships in the workplace,
and Carmen is unwavering in her pursuit to run a tight ship in the Emergency
Department at Rivers Edge Health Center. Yet, as much as she tries, Carmen
can’t seem to stop thinking about one man she can’t have: her employee.
What happens when
the line between work and personal is crossed? Can Will and Carmen keep the two
worlds separated? Everything comes down to a single choice: love or career?
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Excerpt
Thankfully, the
elevator drops me on the ground floor moments later. The cafeteria is at the
end of the long corridor and appears to have already cleared out from the lunch
rush. A few nurses and CNAs sit at the back row of tables, discussing the snow
that is expected later this week. With just over a week until Christmas, it
looks like we’ll have a white Christmas after all.
I grab a ham and
cheese on whole wheat, a container of yogurt, and a bottle of water and head to
the register to pay.
“That’s all too
healthy,” I hear a familiar voice behind me.
My entire body goes
on high alert. I start to tingle in places that only seem to be brought out by
one man. Will.
I slowly turn
around and catch my first glimpse of the man who haunted my dreams for the past
several nights. He’s perfection in his uniform. Tight navy pants and a fitted
white shirt hugging his entire body. I’ve never been so jealous of a pair of
pants before in my life.
I fight control
over my smile. I want to give in, really I do, but we’re in the middle of the
cafeteria and his partner for the day is standing right behind him.
Will seems to
notice my struggle to maintain my professionalism. The slight smile he sends me
is filled with cockiness and pure sex. His eyes are filled with mischief and
desire. My body responds like crazy to him. I’m all tingly and hyperaware.
“I think you should
get the chocolate cake,” he whispers so close into my ear that I feel his hot
breath fan out around the side of my face. I shiver uncontrollably. “Of course,
this cake would be a whole lot better if you shared it with someone. Maybe even
let someone eat it off of your hot, naked body,” he says, reducing me to a pile
of mush with his seductive words. My panties are soaked, damn him.
“Are you going to
hold up the entire line?” Carlos complains from behind Will. “Oh, sorry,
Carmen. I didn’t see you there,” he adds, as he peeks around Will’s shoulder
and catches his first glimpse at me.
I quickly
straighten up and turn to face Carlos. “Sorry, it was my fault for holding up
the line,” I tell Will’s partner.
“No worries,
Carmen. I was just giving Will a hard time. I didn’t realize it was you in
front of him,” he mumbles sheepishly and goes about rearranging the food on his
tray.
“Have a good day,
gentlemen,” I say as I turn my steely gaze away from the men in line behind me.
After the plump
older lady at the register gives me my change, I turn to walk out of the
cafeteria. “Oh, Carmen. Did you still want to see me after shift to discuss the
new hire?” Will says from the front of the line. Carlos watches the exchange
with a questioning look on his face.
“Yes, that would be
great, William. I’ll see you at two o’clock,” I reply before turning and
walking out of the cafeteria.
My legs somehow
manage to keep me upright until I’m in the small confines of the elevator.
Then, almost instantly, they turn to mush and I practically slide down the
elevator wall. Fortunately, I’m alone and not required to make small talk or
explain why my equilibrium is completely out of whack.
Between bites of my
sandwich, answering a ton of emails and vacation request forms, time slips by.
I’m interrupted from reviewing the current request form on the top of the pile
by a knock on the door. When I glance up, piercing blue eyes are staring at me
behind sexy glasses.
Will doesn’t say a
word as he walks inside my office, closes the heavy wooden door, and throws the
lock on the knob. The look in his eyes when he turns around and faces me is
predatory. My throat is instantly dry, but I’m not so dry in another place.
“So, Carmen, you
wanted to see me,” Will says as he stalks around my desk with slow, deliberate
steps. His eyes are dilated with need, and they remain fully locked on me. Like
a heat-seeking missile, he is zoned in on his target.
“Yeah, um, yes. I
wanted to know -” I start as I stand up, but my words die on my lips as Will
runs his large pointer finger down the side of my check. From hairline to chin,
his caress is soft but powerful. This one touch says so much about the man
before me. Soft yet firm. Shy yet bossy.
“What did you want
to know?” he asks as his finger makes its way down the column of my neck to the
spot where my black sweater meets skin. I shiver at the contact. Or maybe at
the anticipation. Take your pick.
“If I could have
Janine shadow you. I, um, set it up so that she’s working with you on her first
day. On Friday,” I whisper as his finger continues to explore any exposed skin.
I feel like my brain isn’t quite connected to my mouth. I seem to be stumbling
on forming complete sentences, and I know that Will Stevens is to blame.
“I can do that,” he
answers without taking his eyes off of his finger trail.
I watch helplessly
as he seduces me to a pile of goo with one touch. The stroke of his finger is
magical. Fairytales are written on less passion than Will is displaying right
now.
“Thank you,” I
whisper hoarsely.
“Is that all you
wanted?” he asks as his finger makes its way up my neck and to my lips. The
rough pads of his finger traces the lines of my bottom lip, his eyes blazing
with heat. It’s so hot in the confines of this little office that I start to
sweat.
“Yes,” I finally
choke out.
“Good,” he answers
moments before his lips crash onto my own. His kiss is urgent, his tongue
slashing at mine as he takes everything he can from the kiss. Yet, giving me so
much more in return.
Will pushes me back
until my butt is smashed against the edge of my desk. His hard, unforgiving
body pins me in place as his hands wrap firmly around my back. Heat from his
grip radiates through me as his body meets mine. Chest to chest. Somehow he
manages to deepen the kiss, though I’m not entirely sure how.
My mind forgets
everything. Where I am. Who I’m with. Why we’re here. Everything. The only
thing I’m thinking about is this kiss. I feel the power of his need for me with
each flick of his tongue, each bite of his teeth, every nip of his full lips.
This kiss says everything about his desire. And if I had any doubts, I have my
confirmation pressed firmly against my lower stomach.
“I’ve been thinking
about you all day,” he whispers against my swollen lips as his large hands
kneed my lower back.
“Me, too,” I
confess, loving the way my body feels pressed firmly against his.
“I want you. Now,”
he states so matter-of-factly that it’s as if he just told me today’s weather
forecast.
“I want you, too.”
And that’s all it
takes.
Other Books in the Rivers Edge Series
Trust Me
Rivers Edge Series Book 1
After all of the
devastating betrayals by the one she loved, Twenty-two year old Avery Stevens
has spent three years raising her daughter alone, with her family and best
friend as a support system, never leaving her small hometown of Rivers Edge,
Missouri. Though Rivers Edge holds the pain of her past, it also holds the one
person she wants but can’t have – her brother’s best friend, Maddox Jackson. When
she learns the attraction might not be one-sided, will Avery be able to trust
Maddox with the one thing she’s held onto tightly for the past few years?
Police officer
Maddox Jackson is a ladies’ man with one foot out the door. Never planning to
settle down, Maddox fights the attraction he feels for his best friend’s little
sister, Avery. But can he continue to fight it when his body and his heart are
leading him to the one woman he shouldn’t want?
When secrets are
finally exposed, can Avery and Maddox trust each other enough to overcome the
past, handle the present, and preserve their future? Can Avery trust Maddox
with her heart? Will Maddox be able to convince Avery to take the chance?
**This book is
intended for an audience of 18 or older due to graphic sex scenes and language.
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Fight Me
Rivers Edge Series Book 2
Jake Stevens has it made. A local police officer with
an open invitation to any number of beds around town, Jake has no desire to
settle down with any of the ladies he entertains by night. After watching
his best friend fall in love with his little sister, Jake is certain that love
and marriage just aren’t in his cards. Heck, he’s not even playing with
the same deck.
After Jake encounters a blast from the past one night, he
finds himself swimming in uncharted waters. For the first time, Jake has
found a woman he can’t get out of his mind. The kicker? The woman
wants nothing to do with him.
Erin Anderson returns to the small Missouri town of Rivers
Edge for a job after a twenty year absence. Erin spent years loathing the
memory of Jake Stevens for his cruelness back in seventh grade. Now, Jake
appears to be the same self-centered player he was in junior high, and no one
seems to be able to push her button the way the cocky, yet devastatingly
handsome cop does.
Between circumstances that keep thrusting them together and
Jake’s persistence to annoy her, Erin struggles to fight her growing feelings
for Jake. But, can Erin get past the hurt she felt all those years ago at
the hands of a young Jake? Can Jake show Erin that what they have is
worth fighting for?
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Expect Me
Rivers Edge Series Book 3
Travis Stevens struggles to move on and forget about the one
amazing night he spent tangled up in the sheets with a beautiful woman who
disappeared just before dawn. Now she’s just a memory that he can’t ignore. But
what do you do when the woman invades your thoughts day and night?
Josselyn McCray spent one perfect night wrapped up in the
strong arms of a handsome stranger before running out in the early morning
light. Now she’s out of money and luck and forced to make some life-altering
decisions about her future. A future that is going to involve the man she
hasn’t been able to forget.
Brought together by one night of passion, Travis and
Josselyn are now linked forever. Will Travis and Josselyn be torn apart by
demanding responsibilities and the stresses of getting to know each other? Or
will they overcome the odds and find their way to happily ever after?
One thing is certain: life isn’t always what you expect.
*This book is intended for an audience of 18 or older due to
graphic sex scenes and language.
**Can be read as a standalone but would be better enhanced
by reading the previous books.
Cover by Gin’s Book Notes & Designs
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Promise Me
Rivers Edge Series Book 4
Holly Jenkins
watched her best friend finally get her happily ever after. While there’s no
one more deserving than Avery Jackson, Holly can’t fight the longing and ache
that settles in her chest when she thinks about her own solitary life. After
kissing so many frogs, Holly starts to wonder if Prince Charming even exists.
Jase Bentley is
worn out. As lead singer of the award winning rock band, Bent, Jase has
everything he could possibly ever want at his fingertips. When you’re on
top, the music industry moves everything within arm's reach; money, fame,
and women just ripe for the plucking. Everything except for the one thing
he’s really looking for. The one dream he can’t seem to make come true.
What happens when
two people from different worlds meet and are thrust into unfamiliar and
unsettling territory? Can Holly navigate the demands of dating
someone with a high profile profession? Can Jase walk away from the
only lifestyle he’s ever known for the first woman who’s ever made him want to?
Promises are made,
but can they keep them?
*This book is a
novella. 36,000 words
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Protect Me
Rivers Edge
Book 5
Nate
Stevens loves three things: Work, Family, Women. In that order. Having
absolutely no desire to follow in three of his siblings’ footsteps by settling
down, Nate lives for his work as a firefighter. That’s why his chance
meeting with Lia leaves him unsettled like never before. There’s just something
about the beautifully shy and reserved woman that he can’t walk away from.
Run.
Hide. Keep moving. That’s exactly what Lia Walker has done for the last nine
months. Escaping from her past, Lia continues to move from place to place
before finding herself in the small town of Rivers Edge, Missouri. Following a chance
encounter with her new boss’ brother, Nate, which leaves Lia feeling confused
and vulnerable for the first time in months, Lia has to make a decision:
to run or to stay.
When
pasts are finally exposed, Nate and Lia find themselves at a crossroads. Nate
will do anything to protect Lia from her past, but the question remains: Will
Lia let him? When Lia’s past finally catches up with her, will running be
the only way to protect the ones they love most in this world?
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Meet the
Author
Lacey Black is a
Midwestern girl with a passion for reading, writing, and shopping. She carries
her e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to
read a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate
about contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a
little suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two
children, and a chocolate lab. Lacey loves watching NASCAR races and should
only consume one mixed drink because she’s a lightweight.
Lacey’s debut
novel, Trust Me, was released in August 2014. It spent several weeks in
the top 100 in contemporary romance on Amazon’s Top 100 Best Sellers for
e-books. Fight Me, book 2 in the Rivers Edge series, released December 2014 and
was followed by Expect Me, Rivers Edge book 3 in February 2015 and Promise Me:
A Novella in April 2015. All were Amazon Best Sellers in contemporary
romance.
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Giveaway
Signed Book + $10 Gift Card
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