We've talked a lot about some of my nice guys. I bet a few of you out there are hankering for a naughty boy. I serve up a tasty little morsel in BACK FOR SECONDS, where we get to meet Xander Davy.
Remember when I told you all that my first celebrity crush was Davy Jones? Well, he inspired Xander somewhat, in that he is British, with dark hair and enough charisma that it's impossible not to become discombobulated just from being in his presence. Hence the last name, which was a not-so-subtle homage to Mr. Jones.
When I first developed the plot for BACK FOR SECONDS, I knew I wanted to use a Brit. Like many other American women, I'm a bit of sucker for a British accent. It can make just about anything sound sexy. And don't get me started on hearing my name in an English accent. Waterboarding me would be a waste of energy. If you really need information, STAT, whisper sweet nothings in my ear with that accent, using my name often and well, and I'll tell you anything you want to know.
Like long hair, it is another form of kryptonite that will render me powerless.
The other thing I wanted to do was use an older protagonist. I write about young girls all the time, and that's been fun. But I wanted to parlay the life experience of a woman in her 40s, who has other concerns beyond finding her HEA. She's been down that road, she knows how that story ends. It ended with her cheating louse of a husband trading in his 40-year-old wife on a couple of 20-year-old employees. I wanted to riiiiiIIIPPPPPP the rug right from underneath her feet and see how she would rise to the challenge. She went from upper class housewife to an unemployed single mom in a matter of weeks, returning home to her Mama and her Gran so that they could help her get back on her feet.
Not helping in this task were her three children, who were equally thrown off balance by this sudden and dramatic change. Five-year-old Hannah couldn't understand why she couldn't stay in the bedroom she'd occupied her entire life. Fourteen-year-old Nash was quiet and sullen, not letting anyone inside his head to help sort it all through. And then there was Kari. She was fifteen, so everything happening in her world was more important than it had ever been or would ever be. When she has to move across town, to a new school, away from all her money and her popular friends, she blames her mother for the crisis.
Needless to say, our protagonist Joely has a lot on her plate. The last thing she'd ever consider adding to the list is an ill-timed affair with a younger man.
Did I happen to mention that Xander is 26? He's also the manager for her mother's restaurant, so it's not like she can ignore him. And he makes damn sure she can't even when she tries.
Still. Joely Morgan has one focus. She needs to get a job pronto in order to get on her feet, to become financially independent so that she can take care of her family. She never wants to give anyone the power to pull the rug out from under her again.
But it's Xander.
“What’s all that about?” she wanted to know.
“What’s what about?” he asked as he popped another huge bite into his mouth. His dark eyes watched her closely.
“Playing buddy-buddy with my kids,” she replied as she took his plate and headed back toward the sink. The chair scraped against the tile as he stood and walked over to join her.
His mouth was still full when he said, “It’s called being nice.”
Her look was skeptical. “Look. They’re going through a difficult time right now.”
He swallowed his last mouthful. His eyes kept hers captive as he ran his tongue around the corner of his mouth to capture any leftover frosting. “I know,” he finally said. “Your mother told me.”
Inwardly Joely groaned. That explained everything. “Great.”
He leaned against the counter. “It’s no big deal. Lillian thought maybe I could connect with Nash. He’s alone in a house full of women now. She thinks he could use a man to talk to.”
From where they stood nearly a foot apart, she could see his broad shoulders straining against the navy blue shirt he wore. His legs were long, crossed casually at the ankle, as he linked his hands and rested his elbow on the counter. Her nose filled with the scent of his cologne, a mixture of wood and spice. There was no doubt about it. He most definitely was a man. And the look in his eyes wouldn’t let her forget it. “I just,” she started but then found herself flustered and stammering. “I don’t know how long I’ll be here and I don’t want them to get attached to anything temporary. I appreciate the thought, but it’s not necessary.”
He towered over her 5’5-inch frame, studying her long brown hair and her deep brown eyes. The longer he stood without saying anything, the more nervous she got. When the tip of his thumb brushed the side of her mouth, she nearly jumped right out of her skin. Her doe eyes opened even wider as she watched him lick his thumb. “Missed a spot,” he murmured.
She was still sputtering behind him as he walked from the kitchen.
When Xander meets Joely, he can tell a few things right off the bat. She has zero self-esteem, thanks mostly to a mostly loveless marriage. She wears the neglect like a second skin. And even if she can't see it, he does. She needs a little excitement, and this young ladies' man takes it upon himself to provide it.
“Would you like to dance?”
Novanna practically shoved her out of the booth. “She’d love to.”
Joely stared helplessly back at her grinning friend as Xander pulled her to the crowded dance floor. The dance tune gave way to a Peter Gabriel classic, made popular in an iconic movie from her youth. Xander responded by pulling her closer, fitting her against his strong lines of his hard body. She gulped hard as her eyes drifted up to meet his. Those brown eyes, lightened with gold and green flecks, studied her intensely.
“What are you doing?” she finally said.
“Dancing with a beautiful woman,” he murmured in response as his gaze drifted lazily towards her mouth. “It’s one of the perks of going to a nightclub.”
“Please,” she scoffed. “You’re just taking pity on me because you think I’m some middle-aged reject.”
His eyebrows lifted. “So you think you know what I’m thinking, do you?”
All her senses were overloaded. She hadn’t been this close to a man in a very long time, even before Russell’s affair. Xander’s young sculpted body made all her senses go haywire. She held onto anger, because it was the only bullet left in the chamber of her common sense. “You tell me,” she said.
He leaned down next to her ear and murmured, “I think I already did.” His hand, which had been placed squarely on her back, splayed out as it traveled down the contour of her spine, coming to rest on the small of her back, pushing her into him. For a second there she forgot to breathe. “It’s not Spring Break in New Orleans, but it’s not a bad way to spend a Friday night.”
She glared at him. “Novanna was making all that up.”
“You never got drunk in New Orleans?” he asked with an innocent cock of his eyebrow. She sputtered in response, which made him chuckle. “You hide it well under this domestic veneer, but I get the feeling there’s a tigress under there somewhere. I’m just waiting for her to come out to play.”
“What do you think my mother would say about this?”
He ran his other hand down her arm to clasp her hand. “I don’t kiss and tell, love. Your mother doesn’t have to know. No one has to know.” He brushed his thumb against the palm of her left hand, which wedding rings no longer graced. “Just you and me alone, no restrictions, no limitations. Sounds kind of nice, doesn’t it?”
She glared at him. “So I’m just some one night stand, wham, bam, thank you ma’am?”
He held her closer so she could feel the promise of his hard body. “You can decide that for yourself.”
It was all too much. She hadn’t been touched like that in years, maybe ever. The look in his eyes was primal, like a caveman about to knock his newest conquest over the head with a club to drag her back to his cave by the hair. Whether he meant what he said or he was just teasing her because he could, it scared her straight. This was not the place for a newly single mom who was knocking on 40’s door.
“I already did,” she hissed under breath. “I’m not some booty call.” She wrenched away from him and stalked to the table. She barely said goodbye to Novanna before she stormed out of the club entirely. For the second time that day, she slammed as many doors as she could between her and that annoying, arrogant dickhead, Xander Davy.
As you can see, he's got a lot to teach her and she's got a lot to learn. When I first plotted the book, I fully intended to make it an erotic romance for more mature readers. I wanted it to be down and dirty, as this young'un showed her a few new tricks. He was dominant without being domineering, like her husband. I knew under his masterful seduction, she'd come alive in ways she hadn't been able to before. She just had to learn how to let go.
When she returned to the house, she met a delivery driver at the door, who carried a large white box. “Miss Morgan?” he asked.
She fought the urge to correct him and say, “Mrs. Morgan,” considering, like Xander and Novanna had said, that wasn’t who she was anymore. “Yes,” she said as she approached.
“Package for you,” he said as he handed it off.
She fished a few dollars from her purse to tip the young man before carrying the large parcel into the house and up the stairs. She didn’t stop until she reached the bedroom, where she deposited the box onto her bed. Before she could rip it open, her phone rang.
It was Xander.
“Good morning,” he crooned into her ear.
“I assume you had something to do with this,” she said as she sat on the bed next to her gift.
“Guilty as charged,” he admitted happily. “Open it.”
She put him on speakerphone before she lifted the top of the box away and moved the tissue aside to reveal a silky black and lace dress. “Oh, Xander,” she murmured as she withdrew it, revealing a flowing skirt, snug bodice with a sweetheart neckline that dipped low in front. The wide straps were made of lace and the style was much like the other 50s-inspired clothing he’d selected for her. He clearly preferred retro glamour. “It’s lovely.”
“I’m glad you like it. I can’t wait until tonight so I can see you in it.” She shivered in spite of herself. “There’s just one thing,” he murmured.
“What’s that?”
“You’re not allowed to wear any underwear underneath it,” he said in a voice so low it nearly made Joely groan out loud.
“Allowed?” she echoed.
“That’s right. No panties. No bra. Just you. When I hold you close to me tonight at The Ranch, I want to know that I’m just a fine bit of silk away from fucking you right there on that dance floor. And I want everyone else to know it, too.”
“Xander,” she started, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“Ah, ah,” he said, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. “I’m the one in charge, remember? And you will be a good girl and do as you’re told.”
She could barely breathe. “Okay.”
“That’s not all,” he said. “I want you to drop off the kids wearing this dress.”
Her heart nearly stopped. “Why?”
“I want him to see what he threw away.”
She made a face he couldn’t see. “He won’t care,” she said.
“Yes, he will,” Xander promised. “Because somewhere deep down he’ll know that this weekend you belong to someone new.”
::clutching pearls:: Oh, my nerves.
Needless to say almost every aspect of writing and publishing this book was a helluva lot of fun, including the research. I got to use my first sexy cover. I finally got dip my toe into the erotic romance genre. I was as ready for Xander to teach me a few things as Joely was.
Truth is this story is so much more than a book about a sexual relationship, even though it is a sexual awakening. Mostly this was about a woman learning how resilient she could be, and how powerful she could be, all on her own. And what better teacher than this guy?
So I've released a second edition of this story, with a new cover, and a new focus, with certain editorial problems addressed from the earlier edition. This new edition is gaining ground in Kindle Unlimited, but I'm giving away copies FREE all day to anyone who wants to give it a re-read. Or read for the first time. I hope you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was by this story and these characters.
This book still has all that Ginger Voight angst my fans love so much, only this time I keep it right at home, between a family as it fractures, and how they struggled to regain their footing. Complicating matters just a little bit? The fact that Joely's teenaged daughter sets her sights on Xander, who is about as many years older than her as he is younger than Joely. In Kari's mind that means she thinks she has a chance, especially since she has no clue that her mother is dating him on the sly. This keeps her from jumping all over the chance to campaign on her father's behalf for a family reconciliation, something ol' Cheater McCheaterson decides he wants when he catches a new man sniffing around the wife he threw away.
I didn't need the bright lights to tell this story. It was about as human as human gets. I even set the location right in my birthplace of Abilene, Texas, where I (mostly) grew up, just to show a little hometown pride. I consider this book my "comfort food." It's sexy and romantic, with all those titillating moments that keep ME turning the page, but it's got heart. Lots and lots of heart. In the end, I found myself looking up to Joely, hoping I can pull out my own miracle like she did. She inspired me. Xander seduced me. All the characters really kind of have their day, which is why this book is the first in a series, but not a trilogy.
Unlike my other sagas, which typically take about three books to resolve, each book is essentially self-contained, at least as far as the relationships are concerned. In this Lone Star Second Chance at Love series, three different couples will star in three different books, which each one facing new relationships in the face of losing an old one.
So fear not. If you want to know whether or not Joely and Xander make it to their happily ever after, you'll get the answers by the end of book one, before they become supporting characters in Book Two, which will branch off to Amarillo to tell the love story of one of their friends.
Consider this book a trolley car. The story will continue, but it's up to you to figure out where to jump on or off.
And right now you can do it all for free. Pick up BACK FOR SECONDS, Second Edition, FREE to everyone today only.
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