Bio:
S.L. Scott has a degree in Journalism and is the author of the
novel, Naturally, Charlie, and several novellas, including Sleeping with Mr.
Sexy and Morning Glory--all currently available on Amazon. Pursuing her passion
for telling stories, she spends her days escaping into her characters, letting
them lead her on their adventures. She is a Contributor to Huffington Post as
well as writes for her own blog along with several other popular sites.
Travelling, music festivals, and surfing are a few of her hobbies
she loves, but she doesn't get to enjoy on a regular basis. She has an
obsession with movies, a varied taste in books, and collects Fitz & Floyd
teapots. With a memory full of useless trivia facts, and a Keurig addiction,
she loves a fun night in with her family as much as a loud night out with her
friends.
Scott lives in the lively city of Austin with her husband, two
young sons, and two Papillons, enjoying life in the beautiful hill country of
Texas.
She welcomes your notes at sl@slscottauthor.com.
PICK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING EXCERPTS:
Excerpts
#1
Evan saunters to me, and
says, “About that undying devotion, Miss Wray.”
“And here I thought
you’d only be focused on the naughty you threw into the bet at the end there.”
“You caught that, huh?”
I lean forward as if I’m
going to tell him a secret, but don’t bother whispering. “Hate to break it to
you, but I had you all figured out at the airport and I still slept with you. I
kind of expect some naughty when it comes to you, Mr. Ashford.”
Grabbing me around the
neck in a pretend headlock, he laughs. “This is why we make such a great team.
We understand the dynamics of our relationship and have our priorities straight.”
“Always the charmer when
it comes to sex,” I add, rolling my eyes, and patting my hair back into place.
“Worked on you.” He
smiles, taking my hand and kissing it. “Luckily for me.”
#2
She stops, and with a
telling grin says, “You know, despite what you may think, I’m actually not an
easy lay.”
I can’t stop the laugh.
Trust me, I try. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone how fast you jumped my
bones.”
“Jumped your bones? I
did not jump your bones. You have clearly forgotten how the events of our first
date went down.”
“Well,” I say, rubbing
my chin. “It wasn’t really a date from what I recall and you still ended up in
my bed… under me one time…” I close my eyes remembering how fucking sexy she
was that day. “… on top of me another. Oh, and I can’t forget how hot your ass
looked from behind. I clearly remember three different times.”
“I thought it was two.”
“I didn’t include the
pool action, so definitely three… at least, and I wore you out, Miss
I’m-Not-An-Easy-La—Ouch!” I rub my arm where she knuckles me, then laugh.
“You’re feisty, Miss Wray.”
“It’s one of the reasons
you fell in love with me.”
“It’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.
Your easy ways were another.”
She jerks me to a stop
in the middle of the lobby. “Oh my God, Evan, you make me sound like a whore.”
Wrapping my arms around
her neck, I pull her close, and whisper, “Do you regret being with me that
first day?”
“No, none of it.”
“You’re not a whore.” I
kiss her on the nose. “You’re not easy. We both knew there was something more
between us, something different. We did what we wanted and what felt right, and
it doesn’t matter now anyway. Here we are thousands of miles away from where we
started—”
“Starting a new life.”
“Our new beginning
starts today.”
With a heavy sigh, she
says, “Oh no.” Her smile falls away. “I let you have sex with me right when we
first met. I am a total whore.”
“Only for me, baby.”
She rolls her eyes.
“You’ve turned me into a very bad girl, Mr. Ashford.”
“I like bad girls. Now
c’mon and let’s do all this romantic stuff so I can take you home and fuck you
properly.”
Laughing, she rolls her
eyes again. “You’re terrible.”
“You love it.”
“I love you, so yeah, I
guess I do love it.”
3
My dad straightens his
back and clears his throat. “I may not have seen the bill, but I can guess how
much it was and I’m just wondering why he has access to that kind of money.
He’s not a drug dealer, is he?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.
You know me better than that. You know I wouldn’t date a drug dealer.” I take
my napkin, unfolding it slowly as if this is the most interesting thing in the
world and doing my best not to get caught up in an Evan’s financial means
conversation, so I try to put it to rest. “I’ve told you, his family has a lot
of money.”
“The boy is in his
twenties and still living off his parents—”
“Clay,” my mom says,
touching his arm. “I’ve told you he’s working with his family this semester and
transferring in Boulder next semester, so stop giving Mallory a hard time.
She’s with a nice guy who, from watching him last night, clearly is in love
with her.”
My dad furrows his brow.
“I thought he seemed a bit obsessive hanging on her every word—”
Focused intensity. He’s always like that with me. I smile… like a
stupidly, giddy smile.
“Look, she’s in love
too. Let’s just be happy for her,” my mom says, smiling at my dad. She leans
closer and kisses him on the cheek.
But when my dad is
concerned about something, he fixates. “I hope you’re using protection. Don’t
go messing up your life now.”
“Oh my God, Dad. I’m,
uh, so… just never going to talk about that with you,” I stammer, throwing my
hands up into the air.
“She’s twenty-two, Clay,
and as much as we’re worried about her welfare, it’s really none of our
business.”
“You had her two years
younger than she is now, Elise. I’m sure you don’t want her giving up her
dreams—”
“Dad! I’m being careful.
Can we just please end this embarrassing conversation says
the-mistake-my-parents-made-at-twenty?”
“You were the best
mistake we ever made, honey.” My mom, the
eternal optimist.
“What you’re really
saying is that I can be friends with certain guys because they don’t want to sleep with me, but not all
guys because they do want to sleep
with me. This is kind of ridiculous, you know.”
“I never said they
wanted to sleep.” He pulls me closer
and holds me. “Come here.” He kisses me again—hard this time with no reluctance
and all the passion we had in Hawaii is back, making me whole.
#4
Our lips part and I
watch him as his eyes slowly open, and he says, “I don’t want to fight with
you, but this…” He rubs his hands over my hips. “…Is all mine. This…”
Continuing, his fingers slide across my mouth. “…Is mine. And this…” He strokes
between my legs, firing every nerve into a frenzy of sexual hypertension.
“…Will never be touched by anyone other than me again. I told you, I’m not good
at losing or sharing. You remember that when I’m back in New York.”
#5
If my dad wasn’t
receiving an award from the mayor himself, I’d blow off this event. But I’m
expected to be there with the family to represent the company, so I shower and
shave, then return to my closet to put on the tuxedo that was delivered to my
apartment yesterday— a perfectly tailored white jacket… I sigh, rolling my
eyes. “So fucking pretentious.”
My hair is dried, my
teeth brushed, and I leave. Mallory was losing the battle with a nap when we
disconnected earlier, but we both left the video chat on a high. The car is
waiting for me when I walk out the building. The door is held open by the
chauffeur and I slide across the cold leather as the driver resumes his
position up front. I don’t tell him where to go because all that information
has been provided already.
I’m not in the car but
for a few minutes when my phone rings. I answer quickly when I see it’s Mallory
calling. “I thought I wore you out?” I say, leaning back and getting
comfortable, happy to hear from her again.
“I should have told you
sooner, but your mothe…” she starts to say, but hesitates. “Evan?”
“Yes?” The world settles
into a disheartening silence, but I can’t fill it. My heart begins to race
waiting for her to continue.
“If you meet someone… someone that interests you, you should—”
No. No. “No. No! Why are you talking about meeting other people? Why
are you saying this?” She’s giving me an out and I won’t let her. “No! Mallory,
it’s you and me. Us. This is us. Remember? Please don’t say it.”
Her voice is quiet, hard
to hear over the noisy Manhattan traffic. “You need to know that I love you
enough to let you go if you meet a more suitable partner.”
“A more suitable
partner? What the fuck? No! That’s
like saying I don’t love you as much because I don’t want you to be with anyone else. I’m your suitable partner.
You’re mine. So what you’re saying is bullshit because I love you more than I
knew it was even possible to love someone. What brought this on? I just left.
We were fine.” I know she can hear the panic in my voice.
“I promised myself I
wouldn’t say anything, but as time passes, I keep wondering if she’s right.”
“Who?” I sit straight
up, listening to my world begin to crumble. “And right about what?”
“Your mother. She only
pointed out the obvious, Evan. You have so much to gain and achieve on top of
the foundation your parents laid out for you and Kate. You deserve more than I
can give—”
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