Innocent Secrets [Pine Valley 3] (Siren Publishing Classic)
Pine Valley 3
Innocent Secrets
Jessica Garrison is an erotic romance writer who considers herself a fraud. She is really a shy librarian and a twenty-five-year-old virgin, not the hot, steamy author that her fans think she is. She has been in love with Riley Matthews since the third grade but is scared to talk to him. In fact, she runs in the other direction whenever he gets near.
Riley Matthews has been fascinated with Jessica ever since he could remember. He just can’t get her to stand still long enough to let her know he’s interested. Finally, home after graduating college, he plans to make her his.
Jessica eventually gets enough courage to stop running and realizes that Riley is the Prince Charming she has dreamed of since she discovered reading and fairy tales. Unfortunately, there is another that wants Jessica. She had attracted a stalker, and he plans to keep her for himself.
Genre: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Length: 43,718 words
INNOCENT SECRETS
Pine Valley 3
Keyonna Davis
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
INNOCENT SECRETS
Copyright © 2012 by Keyonna Davis
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-036-0
First E-book Publication: December 2012
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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INNOCENT SECRETS
Pine Valley 3
KEYONNA DAVIS
Copyright © 2012
Prologue
The young maid, Ingrid, was aware of her employer’s eyes trailing her as she sat the tray down on the table. She felt sorry for him. A few weeks ago he walked in on his wife sharing their bed with his best friend, and since then Mr. Tate had been slowly drinking himself to death. Ingrid had been working for him for three years now, and in that time she had grown to love him. It hurt her to see him in such pain. If she ever saw his wife out in public, she was going to do her best to make the bitch hurt as much as she had Mr. Tate. Ingrid didn’t understand how people could be so cruel. Her employer was nothing but kind to everyone. He donated his time and money to charity, and he always spoiled his wife with lavish gifts. Yet she was never satisfied. She always had her hand out for more, and it always had to be the best and most expensive items. If her friends had it then she had to have it, too, only better. Ingrid learned early on in her employment to stay out of the woman’s way. As hard as Mr. Tate worked and as caring as he was, he did nothing to deserve what happened to him.
Ingrid wished there was something she could do to make her employer feel better. To get him out of the bottom of the bottle that he was slowly sinking himself into. Maybe there was. The question was could she go through with it? Aware of him watching her, Ingrid bent over far enough to give him a great view of her cleavage. She draped the napkin across his lap, letting her knuckles brush against his crotch as she removed her hand. She hoped he didn’t see it trembling from nerves. Yeah, she’d had sex before, but she had never attempted to seduce a man that was so far out of her league. From the way his pants tightened, the maid could tell that he was interested. She didn’t look up, just focused on what she was doing. She brushed the napkin aside and unsnapped his jeans. He made no move to stop her as she slowly slid the zipper down and parted his pants, revealing his underwear.
Taking that as a sign to continue, Ingrid leaned over and licked his stomach along the line of his waistband. His slightly salty skin exploded on her tongue, making her mouth water. The crisp hair leading from his belly button and disappearing into his underwear tickled her nose as she moved her mouth further down. Ingrid licked his cock through his underwear, making sure to blow warm air on the wet material. Her employer rocked his hips and moaned, encouraging her to continue. She wanted more. Slowly she lowered his pants and underwear until his cock lay against his stomach. The head was shiny with pre-cum and all Ingrid wanted to do was lick it off, but first she ran her tongue along the prominent vein on the underside.
Again Mr. Tate groaned and wrapped his fingers in her hair. Ingrid moaned as the pinpricks along her scalp seemed to travel straight to her pussy. She could feel herself moistening and preparing for him. She continued to lick his shaft as she allowed him to guide her head up to the tip of his penis. After a few seconds to catch her breath, she lowered her mouth over the tip, doing what she wanted to do since the moment she laid eyes on the man. Mr. Tate used her hair to rise and lower her head, taking in pleasure. If this was what it took to make him feel better and keep him from wallowing in misery, then she would do it. To be honest, having him in her mouth wasn’t a hardship. The man tasted great, and it turned Ingrid on to know that she was bringing him pleasure.
It didn’t take long for Mr. Tate’s rhythm to falter, signaling that he was close to finishing. Ingrid relaxed her jaw and took him deeper. When he hit the back of her throat, she choked a little before she could relax and take him all in. The man was a little bigger than average and what he la
cked in width he made up in length. She swallowed and pressed tongue against his shaft, feeling him swell just before he grunted. His release hit the back of her throat, and Ingrid did her best to swallow it all. A few drops ran down her chin, and she used the back of her hand to wipe it off. Mr. Tate was panting and staring at her when she looked up. He looked relaxed, but the blow job only succeeded in making her desperate. Her panties were soaked, and she needed him to take care of her. Looking into his moss-green eyes, she whispered, “Take me, Riley.”
Chapter 1
Delete, delete, delete! With a growl of frustration Jessica Garrison pressed the delete button a little harder than necessary. Take me, Riley, really? Why was it that every man she tried to write about turned into Riley? He was the one man who had the potential to be her Prince Charming. Also the man who turned her brain to mush and had her running scared at the same time. When she first walked into the third grade classroom in the middle of the semester seventeen years ago, his green eyes were the first thing she saw. They had taken her breath away then, and they still had the ability to do the same today.
Looking back, Jessica realized it wasn’t only her writing, but a lot of her dreams also starred Riley Matthews. He was gorgeous with his green eyes and his black curls. Since that first day in third grade, he was the only man to have ever made her pulse race and her mouth dry. He was the man she compared all other guys to.
Too bad she had never had the guts to approach him in high school. Even when she moved back to Pine Valley after college and bumped into Riley Matthews again, she immediately turned back into the blushing, mumbling idiot that she had always been. Why did he have such an effect on her? Jessica thought she would be okay with him affecting her so much if it didn’t affect her writing. She slid her chair back away from her computer, knowing that she wasn’t going to get any more work done. It had been that way for about two weeks now. Who was she kidding? It had been that way for about seven months now. Every since Riley brought Cane into the library for the first time.
Normally Jessica wouldn’t let it bother her seeing Riley with another woman on his arms. She was used to it after all, but there was just something about the way Riley hovered over Cane. He was protective and careful with her. Jessica had never seen him that way before. It also didn’t help that Cane was beautiful. She had never seen a woman with Cane’s looks. She was exotic, and Jessica knew there was no way she could compete. She felt her world crumble a little that day and had to admit that she was jealous. It wasn’t until she actually talked to Cane and learned her story that she lost her jealousy. Jessica couldn’t help but to admire her. After what she went through with her crazy ex, Cane was still able to trust and find love with not only one, but two men.
It was ironic that the woman she wanted to hate instantly on sight turned out to be her best friend. Jessica felt close enough to Cane to tell her about her “alter ego,” J. Red, and she had to admit it felt good to tell someone her secret. Cane even had Jessica in her wedding party as a bridesmaid. That had been one of the best days of her life. She was paired with Riley as a groomsmen and it was the first time she ever felt what it was like to have Riley Matthews in her arms. He stuck to her side the entire wedding, dancing, getting her drinks, and making her laugh. She knew he felt it was his job to keep her company, but she absorbed all of his attention so that she would have memories of the night after everything went back to normal. She was sure she’d made a fool of herself more times that night than all the times since she had with Riley put together, but she didn’t care. As cheesy as it sounded, it was a night to remember.
The only hard part about being Cane’s friend meant that she saw Riley on a regular basis after that. It was hard to constantly spend time with someone you wanted but couldn’t have. The only reprieve Jessica got was when Riley went back to school, but that all ended about two weeks ago when Riley finished college and moved back home for good. Now it seemed that everywhere she turned, he was there. Hence the reason she was in the predicament she was in now. She couldn’t get him out of her head, and he wasn’t helping. Didn’t he know what he was doing to her? It was like he was following her around, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had to admit that it felt good to have his attention all on her, but why now?
Jessica released another growl and ran her hands through her hair. At this rate, she would be bald before the year was out. What she needed was fresh air to clear her head. She decided that she would go to the diner for lunch and then she would pop over and check on Cane since she was so close to her due date. And if she happened to run into Riley while she was there, well, she would deal with those consequences later.
After showering, getting dressed, and denying that she changed her clothes a few extra times just in case Riley was home, Jessica walked over to the diner. It was around three in the afternoon so the lunch crowd—if around twenty people counted as a crowd—had already left. There were only two guys huddled over at a corner table. She had never seen them before, but that didn’t mean anything. They often got visitors stopping in before they headed out hiking or camping in the mountains surrounding Pine Valley. Still, after what Cane and Ali went through with the kidnapping attempt a while back, she made a point of noticing strangers. Ali was behind the counter and smiled when Jessica walked in.
“Hey, Ali, how has your day been going?” she asked as she walked over and took a seat at the counter.
Ali shrugged. “It’s been about the same as usual. A little busy with tourists coming in trying to get in one last hike or camping trip before it gets cold out.”
Jessica nodded and placed her order. When Ali went back into the kitchen to fix it, Jessica turned on her stool to study the two strangers in the corner. They didn’t look like hikers. They did look like they were use to “roughing it” though, but she had a feeling that wasn’t what they were there for. They were both big men, and she could tell that underneath all those clothes it would all be muscle. The one with dark looks had his eyes narrowed, watching the door that Ali had just gone through. He had long auburn hair braided down his back and dark eyes. He also had a scar going from his hairline to the left corner of his mouth. The scar fit with the brooding, don’t-bother-me image that he was trying to portray. The other guy looked more open and approachable. He had strawberry blond hair spiked on the top of his head and chocolate eyes. He smiled when he caught her watching him and winked. They would make great cover models for a romance novel, she thought. Too bad they didn’t get her blood flowing like Riley. Jessica sighed and turned back around again as her thoughts drifted to where she didn’t want them to go. Ali sat her lunch in front of her and leaned her elbows on the counter. After a few bites, Jessica noticed Ali’s dreamy glances over at the guys in the corner.
“Do you know them?”
Ali seemed to snap out of her daze. “I take it you haven’t talked to Cane in a few days?”
Jessica shook her head. “No, I’ve been a little busy, but I was actually headed over after I leave here.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you stopped by before going over. The place is on lockdown for a while and those are my bodyguards,” she said, pointing at the two men. “A gift from my big brother.”
“Chase?” Jessica asked. “I thought he went on vacation.”
“Well, he did, but he got a call from his old boss while he was gone, asking for his help. Turns out the guy’s daughter was kidnapped and needed guarding. She is at the house now recovering. Needless to say things are a little tense right now until this guy is caught. That’s why they are here,” she said, nodding toward the guys again. “They’re a part of Chase’s old team, and he called them in to help.”
Jessica nodded. She didn’t blame Chase for being extra cautious after what Cane’s ex-boyfriend did. “Wow, life is never boring at the Matthews’ house. Are you sure it’s okay for me to stop by to see Cane or should I wait until things die down?”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure Cane would welcome all the company she ca
n get. It’s bad enough that Duncan and Logan have been very protective of her since they found out she was pregnant. Now with this new threat, they aren’t letting her out of their sight. She is about to go crazy. Just head on out, and I will call Chase and let him know you’re on the way. Just don’t say anything to anyone in town about our house guest. Chase doesn’t want to take any chances like last time with Cane.”
Jessica paid for her lunch and left the diner. As she walked back home to get her car, she thought of what Cane had been through. Even though she spent eight years with a madman, she still had the ability to love. Jessica didn’t know if she would have been capable of trusting a man ever again. Now Cane was happy and very pregnant. You could see the love between her and her husbands grow more and more every day. That’s what Jessica wanted. She wanted to find someone that she could trust and grow to love. She wanted her fairy-tale happily ever after and in a perfect world it would be with Riley.
Once Jessica got her car, she drove toward Riley’s house, wondering if it was a mistake to want him so bad. It was quite obvious that Riley was out of her league, a fact that many of the girls in high school seemed to enjoy making Jessica aware of. They all saw the way Riley watched her, and they all thought they were going to be the ones to turn his head in their direction. Too bad Riley didn’t cooperate. The more he focused his attention on Jessica, the more of a target she became for the other girls. Jessica wasn’t a pushover, but she also didn’t enjoy the spotlight. Needless to say, high school was a miserable experience.