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  COME WITH ME

  SABLE HUNTER AND RYAN O’LEARY

  Lacy spends her time planning events at a country club. Her latest and greatest project is the big Fourth of July celebration. Fireworks lighting up the sky – Red Hot and Boom! She loves the excitement and the spectacular display of sparkles and heat gives her a thrill. The only problem is… Lacy has never had any fireworks of her own. Despite having to listen to her friends tell of their sexual escapades, she has never experienced the big ‘O’. According to the only man she’s ever given herself to, Lacy is frigid. Is something wrong with her or has she just not met the right man for the job?

  Jake is the manager of the golf course at the country club. He’s designing and overseeing a building project and the sight of him shirtless and sweating and flexing…has given Lacy ideas. Jake has a certain reputation of being able to handle almost any task he’s given. Rumors of his sexual prowess are legendary. Now, every time Lacy sees him working with his hands, doing some heavy lifting, his body gleaming with the sheen of exertion – she begins to hope that Jake can give her what no one else ever has.

  IF - she can just figure out how to ask him. But what Lacy doesn’t know is that Jake has ideas of his own. His outlook on love and life has been molded by the mistakes of his family. He doesn’t think true love exists, there’s just sex. Until he meets Lacy. This Fourth of July celebration proves to have more explosions in store than those in the sky, for Jake sets out to prove that he can give Lacy exactly what she needs. In fact, Jake intends to show Lacy that what she needs – is him.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 Sable Hunter

  sablehunter.com

  Beau Coup Publishing http://beaucoupllc.com

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

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  PROLOGUE

  JAKE

  “You are one stubborn man, Caleb Knight.” Jake watched Doctor Percy Barnes shake his bony finger in his grandfather’s face. “You know selling me that land is the right thing to do. Your business is gone. Face it, you’ve lost. If you don’t sell, I’m on the board at the bank. And we’ll foreclose, I promise we will. And then you won’t have anything!”

  Jake felt his stomach tie itself into a knot, watching the face of his hero, his granddad, cloud over with doubt. He seemed about to give in. Selling what was left of their home place would kill him. Even though Jake was only twelve, he could tell the old man was going through hell. He knew the story.

  Time had passed but the wound was still as fresh as it had been the day his family had found out the lake was coming in. The Ebarb Community would be going underwater and the residents who’d lose their towns, their farms, their cemeteries, and their very livelihoods would only get pennies on the dollar for what they were sacrificing—an insult instead of a fair recompense. His folks had been luckier than most. Knight land had bordered what would become the very edge of the lake, leaving the family with some waterfront property which should have been worth a fortune. But the lakeshore wasn’t building up as fast as the investors thought it would, there was still controversy over the decision to even build the huge reservoir with twelve hundred miles of shoreline. Caleb had taken everything he had and built Knight Marina and Fishing Guide Service on the Louisiana side. But it wasn’t prospering, mainly because Percy and his cronies were trying to squeeze them out.

  Jake hated the way the doctor was sneering at his grandfather. He hated the stories he’d heard of how the authorities had come to his grandfather’s place, which was now underwater, and forced him out at gunpoint, even taking bulldozers and pushing his house down so he couldn’t return to it—trying to stake his claim, stand up for his rights. The powerbrokers of the area had stolen his home, now they were going after his livelihood. Jake hated them. He hated this lake. Sorrow swept over him as he realized his little brother’s drowning, even his parents’ bitter divorce all stemmed from that damn lake and what it had stolen from them. He hated this town and he promised himself he’d leave this place the first chance he got.

  “Grandpa, let’s go.” In his childish mind, if they walked away from this evil man, they’d be walking away from the problem.

  “All right, son.” Caleb gave Doc Barnes one last glance. “I’m not going to just hand over my business and my life to you, Percy. You and this damn town have taken enough from me and my family. One day you’ll realize something, you rich blood-sucking tick, you’ll realize money is not the only measure of a man. My family is just as good as you are, and one day you’ll know it. If I don’t prove it to you, my grandson, Jake, will.”

  Jake didn’t know exactly what his grandfather meant, but his words stayed with him. Jake never forgot that day and he vowed to make Caleb Knight proud if it was the last thing he was ever able to do.

  LACY

  “Stephen, I don’t think we should get married.”

  Her fiancé rolled off of Lacy with a sneer on his face. “What the hell did you say?”

  Lacy jerked at his angry voice. She had struggled with this decision for weeks. Breaking up with Stephen Waters was not going to go over well with her family or his. They were neighbors, went to the same church—heck, their mothers were best friends. But Lacy knew in her heart she was making a huge mistake. Stephen didn’t love her. He rarely listened to her when she wanted to talk to him. He didn’t call to check on her when she went out of town on her job. Stephen didn’t even act like he cared if she arrived safely at her destination or not. Lacy was very afraid they were just slipping into a relationship that their parents wanted—not them.

  Lacy didn’t want a loveless relationship.

  She didn’t want a relationship without passion. Their sex life left a lot to be desired. Even Lacy, as innocent as she was, understood that. What they did together was fast, unsatisfying and a little bit embarrassing. If this was what intimacy was like, Lacy didn’t really see much use in it.

  “I don’t think we’re compatible, Stephen,” she answered timidly.

  “Not compatible?” He repeated, standing and whipping his robe up to cover his nakedness. “Do you realize how difficult it is to have sex with a woman who just lies there? You’re a cold fish! You’re frigid! I can barely get it up for you.”

  Mortification made Lacy go still. She felt her whole body heat up. Actually it was the first heat she’d felt in Stephen’s bed, but it wasn’t the right kind. “Then why are we getting married? I don’t suppose things will get better. Aren’t the first few months supposed to be the most excit
ing?”

  He didn’t answer. She pulled herself up in the bed and studied the man whose ring she wore. Truly, he didn’t even seem to like her very much, let alone desire her. “Stephen, talk to me.”

  He sighed, looking completely put out. “I don’t know why we’re getting married either. Habit, I guess. Our folks have been planning our wedding since we were twelve.”

  “So, you’re not attracted to me?” God, this was getting worse and worse.

  Stephen had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Yea, you’re pretty and all, but…we don’t seem to have any chemistry. I orgasm, but it’s too quick. You don’t do anything to make me last or make it exciting.”

  “So, it’s my fault?” Lacy didn’t know what to think.

  “Yea.” Stephen looked affronted that she’d even ask. “I get hard. I perform. You can’t even climax.” He stared at her with disdain. “There’s something wrong with you.”

  Lacy turned away, pulled her ring off and handed it to him. “Goodbye, Stephen.” The sooner she got out of his bed, out of Omaha—heck, out of Nebraska, the better off she’d be.

  “You need to work on that, Lacy. You need to learn how to be good in bed or no man is ever going to want you.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  “I need a man.” Lacy sighed as she headed toward the conference room where the three women who owned The Right One Dating Service were holding a meeting. They came to Willow Cove once or twice a month and sometimes stayed for several days. Lacy had worked out a deal with them to have the facilities they needed for about three hundred and fifty dollars a visit.

  As she pushed a cart carrying the power point projector they’d requested, Lacy let her mind wander to how dull her own social life had always been. More than once she’d considered signing up for online dating but Lacy was far too shy. After what she’d gone through with Stephen, she dreaded the day she tried to be intimate with a man again. But a girl had needs, right?

  “Here you go.” She pushed open the door and entered to find one of the girls, Trinity she believed it was, standing up in her chair trying to reach the top of the window to adjust the blinds. “Let me help you.” Lacy abandoned the cart and went to assist her before the chair slipped and she had to file an accident report. “If you turn this lever, the whole blind assembly moves.” She took care of the problem.

  “Thanks.” Trinity breathed a sigh of relief. “That afternoon sun reflecting off the lake was killing my eyes.”

  “You’re too sensitive, Trin. About everything.”

  “I need a pair of big sunglasses like you, Cody, and the light wouldn’t bother me. And an attitude.”

  Lacy glanced over at Cody, who didn’t seem to be offended by her partner’s comments but carefully adjusted the glasses and her hair, which covered part of her face. She seemed to be hiding behind them. But why would a beautiful lady like Cody be hiding?

  “Thank you so much for bringing the projector.” Marnie, the last of the trio came over to Lacy. “You’d better show me how to work this. My partners aren’t as technically gifted as I am.” Quickly Lacy ran through the instructions with the pretty brunette.

  Making people feel at home at Willow Cove was one of her main jobs as Event Coordinator, but it wasn’t hard with this group. The resort on Toledo Bend was a central location for them, so Lacy had helped entertain the women several times before. “Are you about ready to take your website live?”

  “We are.” Marnie smiled. “Did you see our new brochure?” She held up a glossy, colorful pamphlet. “Read this. If you want to sign up, we’ll give you a friend’s discount.” She winked at Lacy.

  From their previous conversations, Lacy knew they weren’t married nor even dating anyone consistently, so curiosity got the best of her. “Are you all going to try it out on yourself?” Lacy couldn’t help but ask as she accepted the paper.

  “No, not me,” Trinity answered, shaking her head. “I’m a born matchmaker but not for myself. I’ve sworn off men for the foreseeable future.”

  “You need to quit thinking about Crockett, Trin, and find someone who can really appreciate you.” When Cody glanced back at her friend to see how she took her comment, Lacy could see what looked to be a scar on Cody’s face. As if Cody could sense Lacy’s eyes, she immediately brought her hand up to cover the area.

  Trin didn’t answer, so Marnie jumped in, apparently trying to ease the tension in the air. “Cody’s been trolling online for a man for months. We think she’s caught something.” Marnie teased, throwing one of the brochures at her friend.

  “I have not.” Cody was quick to answer. “You’re a fine one to talk. What’s going on with you and David anyway?”

  “Nothing!” Marnie responded in a flash. “Less than nothing. David is my neighbor, my landlord, nothing more.”

  Lacy didn’t know exactly what was going on, but the partners seemed to have more on their mind than business. But again, they were in the business of love which was the strangest business of all to Lacy, one she had next to no experience in and no prospects for the future. “Last time you were here, you said there was something unique about the dating community you are creating?”

  “Sit down with us?” Trinity invited. “We’ll explain.” As Lacy walked around the table to find a chair, she began to read. It was almost three in the afternoon, coffee time and she deserved a break. After all, she’d met with the grouchiest man in the world this morning. The brochure read…

  Are you happy? Are you with the one of your dreams?

  Wherever you are today, whatever your outlook on life, whoever you see when you look in the mirror—these things are a direct product of your past. The people in our lives and the circumstances of our days mold our future. And when we don’t like where we are, what we see or who we have become, it’s up to us to change it. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we have a date with destiny. But when we do, we still must have the courage to grab onto our happiness with both hands and never let it go.

  Let The Right One Dating Service help you find your happiness.

  The words reverberated in Lacy’s mind. Could she ever have the courage to do something like this?

  Cody poured herself a cup of coffee from the credenza next to the hall wall. “Our company encourages honesty from the start. We ask our clients to reveal their faults right along with their assets. Believe me, hiding behind a lie is something that never ends well.”

  “You need to quit beating yourself up about Hunter.” This time Marnie’s voice was gentle.

  Cody ignored her. Lacy looked around the room, wishing she saw these women more often. Something told her they could be good friends. “Honesty is hard. There are some secrets which could drive a man away before he has a chance to notice the good things,” Lacy said softly, as if speaking to herself. In her case, what good things? She could just imagine her profile. It would read: Lacy Allen; average looking, boring, inexperienced—and, oh yeah, frigid. Her self-assessment made Lacy smile, even if it was sad.

  “Our way does take courage but no one is without faults so it evens out the playing field.” Trinity looked positive about their idea. “The people who have signed up so far seem excited about it. Baring your soul can be freeing.”

  Lacy was skeptical. She just couldn’t imagine people drawing attention to their faults. Of course, no one could hide the fact that they were overweight or bald or had a stutter, but telling someone you couldn’t have an orgasm would be a bit much. “I wish you all the best of luck.” She laid the brochure down like it had grown hot in her hands. “Well, I guess I’d better get to work. If you need anything, please let me know.” She encouraged them as she went out the door, looking back at the women and not where she was heading.

  “Oops, easy, girl.” Strong hands grabbed Lacy around the waist. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

  Lacy jumped at the warm, electric contact. She knew that voice.

  Jake.

  Her heart fluttered, her knees went weak and all of her girl par
ts woke up and took notice. “Excuse me, I was just going back to work.” Lacy was just about to make her escape when he stopped her.

  “Hold on, Miss Allen. I need to ask you something, but I need to speak to these ladies first.”

  Lacy hugged herself, watching the guy who’d lately invaded her dreams on more than one occasion. Jake Knight was the golf course manager and a sexier man existed nowhere on Earth. What did he want with her? The moment she posed that question to herself, she knew what she wished he wanted—a date, a kiss and hours of mind-blowing sex. Not necessarily in that order.

  “I wanted to stop by and tell you three that I can take you for a round about four tomorrow. How does that sound?”

  “Perfect!” Marnie exclaimed with a smile. Jake looked at the other two and they both nodded their agreement.

  “Great, I look forward to it.” He wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, but Lacy thought he was perfect. She tensed, still wondering what he’d have to say to her. He started toward her, but stopped and picked up one of the brochures. It seemed all four women froze, waiting to see what his reaction would be.

  “Can we sign you up?” Trinity asked.

  With a raised eyebrow and a smirk, he replaced the slick pamphlet back on the table. “No offense, but I wouldn’t touch this with a ten foot pole.”

  “Why not?” Marnie asked. She was a hopeless romantic.

  “Simple.” Jake threw them all a killer grin. “I’m allergic to love.”

  Cody snorted. “I bet you’re not allergic to sex.”

  Jake held up his hands. “Guilty. I love sex, but I don’t believe in love. No one I know has ever been happy in a long-term relationship. And it’s my opinion that you shouldn’t start something you can’t finish.”