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  Marella lifted her glass, downed her wine, then set aside her empty glass and flagged down the bartender. “Perhaps I’ll tell you my first name after a few more drinks.”

  She swirled her drink. “How about we add food into the mix? I’m starving.”

  Marella smiled and claimed her wrist with a squeeze, causing her stomach to flutter. “I’m starving also.”

  ***

  “You’re not going to be forty in October! You look ten years younger!” Kennedy finished the last of the cheese on her plate. She rubbed her hands on her napkin and settled back in the booth. They sat close together, sharing enough appetizers for triple their party.

  Marella had started out sitting across from her then moved next to her when their food arrived. After a few glasses of wine—or maybe more, she’d lost count—Kennedy felt very relaxed. Marella’s arm lay over the cushion behind her, brushing Kennedy’s back with her fingertips every so often.

  Marella grimaced as she finished her glass, setting it down on the table with a click. “I’m so fucking old. What are you, thirty?”

  “I turned thirty-one in January.” Kennedy sighed and licked some salt from her finger.

  Marella refilled Kennedy’s glass. “Everyone I work with is younger than me.”

  “You never said what you do. Something in the arts?”

  Marella arched her eyebrow. “The arts? Honey, I work behind a desk. I’m an executive.”

  She snickered and swallowed more wine. The wooziness in her head helped loosen her up, but also made her brave. She grasped her companion’s inked arm. “You’re an executive even with your tattoo and tongue piercing? You must work for a cool company.”

  She twisted her arm, taking Kennedy’s hand. “It’s one of the coolest in Reykjavik. I work for a brewery and spirits distributor.”

  “That’s why I’m here. I have a business meeting at one of the breweries. You must know Landvik, then.” Her eyelids fluttered as Marella stroked her wrist with her thumb.

  “I know them very well. Their wild honey victory vodka is amazing.”

  Kennedy’s eyes popped open. “Vic for Landvik?” She giggled.

  “What’s the purpose of your meeting?” Marella’s breath brushed her ear.

  She shifted closer. “I work for the Segal Corporation. Our headquarters are in California. We’re signing a big deal with Landvik to sell their alcohol at our properties in the United States.”

  “You’re an account executive like me?”

  “You could say that.” Kennedy took another sip of her wine. “I’d better stop drinking after this glass or someone might have to help me to my room.”

  “I wasn’t planning on getting you drunk, so maybe you should stop.” Marella took her glass and set it down. “But perhaps you’re still sober enough for one last drink.”

  “What type?” Kennedy blinked away the fuzziness in her vision.

  Marella waved for their server. “Since you haven’t tried any of Landvik’s beers or spirits, we’re having a wild honey shot.”

  “You sure you’re not trying to get me drunk?” Kennedy hiccupped. “You better order me a water chaser.”

  The server came over and took their plates. “Yes, Madame M?”

  “Two shots of wild honey vic vodka and two glasses of water.”

  After their server left, Kennedy nudged her companion. “What’s with the Madame M? Don’t tell me you’re also some government official like the mayor or governor.” She scratched her nose. “Does Reykjavik even have a mayor?”

  Marella tapped her chin with her fingers as a smile broke over her face. “You’re too cute. I’m not in politics. Madame M is just a nickname. Most in Reykjavik use it as a term of endearment.”

  “Most? How many do you know here?” Wow. Only a few high-profile celebrities were “known” by most at home in Los Angeles.

  “There’s around one hundred twenty thousand residing in and around Reykjavik, so it’s easy to know many people.” Marella’s impish smile returned. There was more to this story.

  “Your personality probably has something to with it. You’re very friendly.” The server returned, and Kennedy took a healthy gulp of water, suddenly parched.

  Marella dipped her finger in her vodka. “Just my personality impressed you? Nothing else?”

  Kennedy swallowed an ice cube too fast it lodged in her throat. As she cleared the intrusive lump, she cut her gaze away from the sexy woman next to her.

  Marella tickled her nape. “What about my fashion sense or my hair?”

  She opened her mouth to respond, but froze when a vodka-laced finger stroked down her cheek to her throat.

  “Maybe my face is more than pleasing to you?” Marella whispered in her ear.

  A rush of liquid warmth settled in her belly, and the atmosphere between them became charged with sensuality.

  “I ah, think you’re very beautiful. Most of the women here are.” She drank more water, trying to quench her thirst. Keeping her mouth to the rim, as if it would protect her from Marella’s scrutiny, she stared ahead.

  “I find you—”

  “Did I tell you I’m practically engaged?” She silently cursed the squeak in her voice.

  “What does ‘practically’ mean? To a man or a woman?” Skepticism lined her tone.

  “To a man. Why would you think a woman?” She released a nervous laugh and finished her water.

  The twinkle in Marella’s eyes gave away her amusement. But she didn’t make Kennedy feel like the butt of a joke. Nothing about the woman led her to think her cruel.

  Nervous, she set her glass down and tilted it to the side to fish out another ice cube. She froze when Marella petted her thigh.

  “You may ‘practically’ be engaged to a man, but your body isn’t as loyal to him as you want me to believe.” She squeezed Kennedy’s knee then skimmed up higher.

  The heat swirling in her belly dipped lower. “What about my heart?”

  “The heart is different. It may want one thing while the body wants another. I believe this is the case with you.” Her hand curled around Kennedy’s upper thigh.

  She dropped her hand on Marella’s. “You didn’t approach me just to be nice. You had an ulterior motive.”

  “You’re a smart woman.” Marella shrugged and linked their fingers. “You could have thanked me for the drink and left or given off the vibe you wanted to be left alone. You did neither.”

  “How often do you do this?” Her heart rattled in her chest. She might be a pushover in some instances, but she refused to be a victim or target.

  The light in Marella’s eyes dimmed, and she shifted back, although she kept their fingers linked. “I’m not, how you say, a repeat offender. I don’t go around seducing unsuspecting women or accommodating those here on holiday who want to experience something risqué or naughty. I’m not some temptress or dahlia out to steal your soul.”

  Kennedy burst out laughing. “You have an interesting way with words. It must be the language barrier.”

  Marella’s shoulders relaxed, and she finally let go, leaving her phantom touch on Kennedy’s thigh. She made a fist on her lap, tempted to caress Marella’s face.

  Their intimacy had vanished. Conversation around them had become too loud, with the arrival of a new group of patrons, and the space too crowded. She could thank the other woman for the company and go back to her room alone. But she’d only spend the rest of the evening obsessing over work.

  It had been a long time since had done something daring. The last time it had been the biggest mistake of her life, leading to years of guilt and shame. She hoped this next step wouldn’t come back to bite her in the ass.

  “Have you ever stayed here or seen the inside of one of the rooms?”

  “I’ve never stayed here. My home is less than twenty minutes outside the city.” Marella lifted her shot to her mouth.

  She snagged Marella’s wrist before she drank. “I have a huge corner room with a view of the marina. Why don’t
you come up with me to check it out?”

  Marella’s eyes widened. Then a small smile appeared. “I would love to.” She transferred her shot to her other hand and lowered the arm Kennedy still held. “A toast to new friendships, elskan.”

  “Elskan?”

  “It’s a term of endearment, like ‘sweetie’ or ‘darling.’” She tapped her glass to Kennedy’s and tossed back the drink.

  Much better than being called babe. She mouthed the strange word then drank her shot. As the smooth as silk vodka slid down her throat, a warm prickling spread through her body, making her anxious for privacy to get to know her new friend.

  All Your Love

  Cassie Slazak has been living a lie for a decade.

  As the secret lover of Bianca Durand, the daughter of Massachusetts’ newly elected governor, Cassie wants Bianca to tell the world about their long term affair. But when Bianca gets engaged to a respected lawyer, who’s admired by both of Bianca’s parents, Cassie’s dreams are crushed. She not only rejected her high school sweetheart, and her small town life she adored, but her Catholic faith for a woman who has controlled her for too long.

  When Cassie’s grandmother has fallen gravely ill, she returns to Delpoint, Pennsylvania to pay her last respects to the woman who raised her. Not only will she confront her past, but Freddie Koeman, the woman Cassie once betrayed for a possible future with Bianca. To her surprise, Freddie has forgiven Cassie, but Cassie’s guilt keeps Freddie at a distance.

  Bianca refuses to let Cassie leave her, using threats and emotional blackmail to keep Cassie under her thumb. But Cassie is finished with Bianca’s deceit, turning to her family and God to give her the strength to move on, and perhaps find salvation in Freddie’s arms, who is more than willing to share all her love.

  Excerpt:

  The creaking of the wooden floor under my chair as I rocked relaxed me. I zoned out as I listened to the wind in the trees and the soft tinkling of some wind chime nearby. I started to close my eyes, but the loud puttering of a motor drew me out of my meditation. A person in a dark helmet wearing a leather jacket drove a black and red motorcycle up the driveway and parked behind Aunt Lorraine’s car. I stopped rocking but didn’t rise to greet the visitor. The person shut down their bike and took off their helmet. Freddie flipped back her hair and hopped off the bike.

  I gripped the arms of the chair to stop from running inside. It was better to confront her before it spiraled out of control. I didn’t understand why after so many years she wanted to talk. She had stayed away the few times I came home for Christmas. I always stuck close to the house, never venturing out to my old haunts where we might bump into one another.

  She walked up the front steps, not waiting for an invitation as she sat down in the chair next to me. “Why are you sitting out here?”

  I’m enjoying the crisp Pennsylvania air. It’s different in Boston.” I dropped my hands in my lap. “Nice bike. Is it new?”

  Freddie rested her head on the back of the chair and rocked like she didn’t have a care in the world. “I’m giving the Sportster a test run. Parker rebuilt it basically from scratch. He’s thinking of expanding his shop to sell motorcycles and sport bikes.”

  “That’s great,” I said, clearing the tickle in my throat. Parker used to dirt bike race and had dreams of racing professionally, but that came to a halt when he ended up in a car accident that left him with a bad limp.

  “Yup, he’s doing great. We’re all doing quite well for ourselves.”

  She sent me a mocking grin. What did she want from me? It was apparent she was angry with me still. Telling her to get over it wouldn’t go over well, so I would remain cordial and hoped it kept her animosity at bay for my time here.

  “That’s great, really,” I said again, at a loss for words.

  “Really?” she snorted and crossed her leg over the other.

  “What do you want me to say, Freddie?”

  She exhaled and a small smile appeared on her face. “I once loved how you said my name in that breathless whisper of yours.”

  ~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~

  KT Grant is a self-proclaimed eccentric redhead who not only loves to read a wide variety of romances, but also loves writing it. Under her alter-ego, she is a well-known book blogger who doesn't shy away from voicing her opinion. A proud native of New Jersey, KT is multi-published and known for writing "out of the box" romances. KT has also been a top ten best-selling author at Amazon.

  You can visit KT at:

  www.ktgrant.com

  On Twitter:

  https://twitter.com/katiebabs

  BIBLIOGRAPHY:

  Series:

  For the Love of Mollie (Sweet and Sinful #1)

  Claiming of Suzy (Sweet and Sinful #2)

  Xavier’s Loving Arms (Sweet and Sinful #3)

  The Princess’s Bride (Pirates of Flaundia #1)

  The Prince’s Groom (Pirates of Flaundia #2)

  The Princess’s Valentine (Pirates of Flaundia #2.5)

  Christmas with the Countess’s Bride (Pirates of Flaundia #3)

  Lovestruck (Lovestruck #1)

  Burning For You (Lovestruck #2)

  If You Only Knew (Lovestruck #3)

  A Bid for Love (1NightStand Story)

  Island Pleasure (1NightStand Story)

  Sharp Bite of Pleasure (Pleasure Bite #1)

  The Gate (The Dark Path Series #1)

  The Key (The Dark Path Series #2)

  The Lock (The Dark Path Series #3)

  Single Titles:

  Alana’s Surrender

  Cinderella and the Lady

  Scandal in the Wind

  Sleeping with the Frenemy

  Hot Buzz

  Macabre Delights

  Wasting Away in Deadsville

  The Christmas Fantasy

  The Lady and the Vixen

  Red Hot Chance

  This Time Now

  The New Year’s Fantasy

  50 Shades of Pink

  First Ladylove Anthology: Mile High Pleasures

  Craveheart: The Forbidden Tale of the Loch Ness Monster

  Always Been You

  All Your Love

  Steamy Nights, Cool Lights