Busy and cynical Rachel could not have expected to run into her old school crush at the grocery store, much less imagined what he has in mind for her.
University undergrad Rachel Perkins has given up on dating. She’s busy with classes and a job. One night she goes out grocery shopping in the middle of the Michigan winter. At the store she runs into a guy with whom she had a brief romance in high school. It doesn’t take long for the old sparks to start flying again, and Rachel can’t decide what to do.
When she follows her heart to Jeff’s place, she learns that he seems quite different from her, particularly when it comes to desires—or is he? His revelation that he is into dominance both frightens and excites her. She has fantasized about being submissive under the right circumstances but never expected those circumstances to pan out. When Jeff offers her an opportunity to explore, she wants to take it.
However, when her own fears kick in, Rachel must grapple with her sexual identity. Does she have the power to give up control? Jeff is confident that he can give her what she needs, but that’s a tall order when she herself is unsure what that is.
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of breast play, light bondage and public sex.
General Release Date: 3rd November 2015
It was a cold and dreary January evening and I didn’t want to leave the warm two-bedroom flat I shared with my roommate Savannah. If only I’d stocked the cupboards on my way home, but that would have been too sensible. I had to brave the elements to get everything I needed to make lentil soup—my student diet staple—then return home to my crock-pot and space heater. My roommate was lounging on the sofa, reading a textbook on the indigenous peoples of New Zealand, which I’d sold to her for a few bucks after I’d taken that particular anthropology course.
“Want anything from the store?” I asked, applying layers and layers. I had long johns beneath my jeans and about three different sweaters underneath my parka.
“How about cake?”
“Cake?”
“Yeah, like from the frozen section. Maybe chocolate,” she said, looking up. Our living room was cozy with just the reading lights on and she looked so comfortable in her sweatpants and slippers.
“You really want frozen cake in the middle of January?”
“Sure. Why not?”
I shook my head at her. I’d never understand how she could embrace the temperatures. In the Michigan winter, I was dreaming of tropical vacations and had cut out pictures of the sun to put up in my room, just so I’d remember that seemingly long lost concept called summer.
“See you in a little while,” I said and closed the door behind me. The chill burned my face as I marched through the snow-laden streets to the market.
* * * *
Blasted with heat upon entering the store, I hurried to take my scarf off and open my parka so I wouldn’t start sweating. Basket in hand, I picked out carrots, potatoes and onions for the soup, then went to the frozen foods section for cake.
Thinking about the essay I still needed to finish that night, I stood mesmerized in front of the cheesecakes and pies. I hadn’t been prepared for the vastness of the aisle, the magnitude of possibilities.
“What are you going to choose?”
Jolted back to reality, I looked toward the source of the question. It was Jeff from my old high school, sporting a friendly and confident smile. I hadn’t seen him in years and here he was, looking just as drool-worthy as he had back then.
“Huh?” Get it together! I hugged him, and tried to recover from my awkwardness. “Jeff!”
“Rachel,” he said. “What dessert are you going to choose? What’s your favorite?”
It was just like him to be so casual. It had been ages since we’d last seen each other. I was self-conscious that he’d caught me without any makeup or anything and he looked like he had come straight from a job downtown.
“Uh.” I tried my best to pull it together. I had not considered, even remotely, that I would see the big crush of my teen years while out dressed as the Abominable Snowman. “It’s for my roommate, actually.”
“What does she like?”
“She said to bring home some kind of frozen chocolate cake.”
“In January?”
I laughed. “That’s what I said. She’s crazy, right?”
“Sounds like it, I’m afraid.”
“I don’t even want to open the freezer door.”
“Smart of you. Besides, if you want a good chocolate cake, this is not the place. Follow me.”
Romance heroines have saved my sanity numerous times through break-ups and life changes. I find escaping into a romance both soothing and revitalizing—and even better when there are some steamy scenes to tantalize the imagination.
For most of my adult life, I’ve concentrated on carving out a serious career, but a number of love-hungry, sassy characters keep taking over my mind, insisting that I daydream, live vicariously through them and tell their stories. Watching these women emerge on the page gives me a different sort of satisfaction than I get from my day job. It is a joy to share them with readers.
I live in a tiny apartment in a crowded city and I like to think there is something romantic about this. I did manage to find my soul mate here.
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Destiny Moon - Female First feature
It's almost inevitable that the grocery store is where you'll run into the guy who got away. It's Murphy's Law: your guard is down, you're in yoga pants, maybe humming a song to yourself while you're looking at cake mixes.
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