I closed the doors but didn’t go to her. “You left something special behind.”

  She walked toward me with a purposeful stride. “Yes, I did.”

  “Why?” I lifted my arm, showing off her bracelet.

  She stopped. “I knew you would bring it back to me.”

  “What if I hadn’t? Would you have come back and taken it from me?”

  “If you didn’t see me by the end of today, I would have found you.” She drew me in close. “How else would I have given you your ticket for our flight?”

  I rested my palm on her chest where her heart beat rapidly, much like mine at that moment. “Ticket to where?”

  “Where do you think?” She took my hand and kissed the inside of my wrist uncovered by her bracelet.

  “No more games, just say it.” I barely stopped from sighing as her lips brushed my skin.

  “You’re coming to England with me.”

  The heavy weight I’d been carrying drifted away. I wrapped my arms around her neck and smiled. “We’ll make it work between us.”

  “It’s not going to be all roses and champagne for us.” She sounded more contemplative than apprehensive.

  “I’m up for the challenge.” I kissed her long and hard.

  “You won’t be disappointed,” she whispered against my lips.

  Before I lost myself in her arms, I noticed the décor in her office had changed. The walls had been painted a vibrant red. The carpet and furniture was also new, with the exception of Victoria’s desk.

  “You redecorated your office?” I asked, amazed she could concentrate on something like that with all her current drama.

  “Yes, but the desk and the chair are the same.” She untied my scarf. “Both were my uncle’s.”

  “A big improvement.” I ran my hands down her back.

  “But you’re not here to talk about my office.” She unbuttoned my jacket and then my blouse. “I’d rather not talk at all.”

  “Has your new couch been tested yet?” I caught my breath as her hand disappeared inside my bra.

  “Not yet. But you’ll be the first to try it out.” With her hand on my breast and her other cupping the back of my head, she kissed me soundly, guiding me over to her new couch, discarding the rest of my clothes, and then hers, until I was left wearing the pearl bracelet. We christened her office for the first time.

  This leg of our fantastical journey had ended, but the next one waited for us right around the corner…

  AVAILABLE NOW FROM KT GRANT:

  SHAME OF IT ALL

  Revenge is a dish best served cold. But for Mercy Pryce her revenge will scald one’s soul and leave behind a burnt-out husk if she has her way.

  Mercy has returned to her hometown of Cartleigh, New York after twenty years. The lakeside community is the perfect location for Yakim Zeldovich, her Russian billionaire employer’s state of the art manufacturing facility. Acting as a consultant for Zeldovich, she’s on an undercover mission, not as an angel of mercy, but one of mischief, deceit and torture. Her ultimate goal is to ruin Cartleigh because of a horrible trauma she suffered in high school. The one responsible for her wrath is Colton Hahn, Cartleigh’s beloved mayor, and the object of her retaliation. The town’s golden boy, who she once adored as an impressionable teenager, brutally raped her and left her for dead at seventeen.

  Consumed by years of grief and growing rage, she has targeted Colton, who may also be responsible for the death of her best friend, Marina, his fiancé. She will avenge Marina and finally take down the monster who tried to ruin her life.

  Her success may come at a horrible price. But it will all be worth it if she can take away everything Colton holds dear, including him surrendering his heart and soul to her in the process.

  Excerpt:

  I entered the restroom consisting of a small sitting area that led to three stalls and a sink. The light automatically came on when I entered, but it could also be turned off manually. I sat on a love seat and waited all of three minutes before the door opened and Colt entered, shutting it behind him.

  He blocked the door but didn’t lock it. I wasn’t worried because for him to attack me again would be monumentally stupid on his part. The camera in the hallway had recorded him entering after me. I could bring it up as an extra layer of protection but only if necessary. Plus, I would be taking control of this situation, not him.

  “Nice dress. It suits you.” He leaned on the door with his hands in his coat pocket.

  He was dressed in an almost-identical tuxedo to most of the men here. Other than his good looks, nothing would make him stand out in this crowd. But I would be nice and play along with the compliments.

  “You look good in a tuxedo, but you already know it.” I stood, laying my clutch on the seat next to me.

  “In my line of work, wearing a tux or a suit is a given.” His sad sort of smile didn’t move me in any way.

  “Why did you follow me here?” The answer would be obvious, but I wanted to hear him say it.

  “You wanted me to.”

  The lack of accusation in his voice annoyed me. He was stating a fact, but his words had a huge underlying meaning because of our past. A man accusing a woman of wanting something from him was beyond insulting. Because it was Colt, I assumed it would be sexual in nature. What I would give freely, he would take.

  “You assume I want many things from you. Have you thought I just want you to notice me and nothing else? You used to do the same in high school, before and during our hidden affair.” I used air quotes around the word affair and approached him.

  “Did you ever tell Ari about us?” He took his hands out of his pocket and lowered his arms to his sides.

  “Why would he care about something twenty years ago that doesn’t concern him?” I folded my arms behind back.

  “He doesn’t know anything?” He shifted closer.

  “What is the anything you’re worried I’ll tell him about?” I tapped my chin with a lacquered nail. “Perhaps the same anything you didn’t share with your dead fiancée?”

  He grabbed me by the arms and spun around, shoving me into the door. He breathed heavily, and his grip tightened to the point he might leave marks.

  “Have I triggered you without saying the actual words? What if I say them?” I wanted to snarl and hit him but remained impassive, as if he wasn’t manhandling me.

  He closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose, ending with a short rattle. “I can’t do this with you. It’s…shit.”

  I should be impressed I had such power to affect him in such a way he was torn up inside. If only I had the same power when we were teenagers. It was going to be easier than I thought. I relaxed into the door. “You want me.”

  He opened his eyes and mouth but didn’t make a sound until he groaned and knelt in front of me and clutched my hips. He pressed his face in my stomach, making me spread my legs open so I wouldn’t join him on the floor.

  If he expected me to rub his head and hold him while he was wracked with guilt, he would be horribly disappointed. Any sympathy would be a mockery. Any intimacy acted upon was a means to an end for me. This time, I would have all the power.

  “You want me to forgive you for raping me?” Finally saying to him directly what he did to me should have been cathartic, but I wanted to be cruel. I tugged on his hair, making him stare up at me as vindication swept through my body. For the first time since Marina died, I felt so alive.

  “I don’t know.” He fell back on his heels. “What I did was wrong but it was so long ago, so if you’re thinking of—”

  “Hush.” I tapped his nose and stepped around him to sit on the love seat. “You can make it up to me, and no, I’m not going to blackmail you.” Yet. “What I want from you will be enjoyable for us both.”

  I wanted to cackle, not that I had ever done anything like it, but the astonishment on Colt’s face was beyond comedic. He must think I was crazy since it was beyond comprehension his victim would proposition him for some type of sexual act after he violated her violently years ago.

  If he had dropped to the floor in shock, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But he remained standing, just staring like one would do if they saw a car accident.

  “What do you want from me?” His voice cracked, but the front of his pants tented with his penis.

  “You owe me gratification because you took it away from me so long ago.”

  Never Find Her

  Deborah Murnay has a life most women would die for. She has a loving wife of four years who gives her anything she wants. But, she hides a dark secret. Her wife Genevieve not only enjoys kinky, dangerous sex, but is insanely jealous and possessive. When a violent argument between the two leaves Deborah bruised and battered, she has no other choice but to run away.

  Through some intricate planning, she’s able to trick Genevieve into thinking she’s dead. Deborah ends up hundreds of miles away in the small town of Woodberry Creek where she can start over again, even though she lives in fear Genevieve will find her and kill her.

  When grade school teacher Bridgette Woodberry notices her new neighbor, she quickly figures out Woodberry Creek’s new resident is hiding something. Deborah knows she can’t have a future with Bridgette, but finds herself attractive to the kindhearted redhead whose kisses and warm embrace makes her feel protected.

  As Deborah turns to Bridgette to help heal her scars, Genevieve is waiting for the right moment to take back her wife and make her pay for deceiving her.

  Excerpt:

  Less than five feet in front of her, a black Rottweiler, with its ears back and nostrils flaring, snarled at her. She stepped away with her hands out in front as the rabid-looking dog stalked her. When she landed into the garage door, a whimper left her mouth.

  “Ni-nice doggy. Where’d you come from?” she asked the creature in a soothing voice to not upset it any more.

  The dog let out a sharp bark and scurried over to her. Its nose brushed the top of her thighs, venturing toward her crotch.

  “Hey!” She yelped as the dog molested her. She was ready to make a run for it, but the fear of being mauled and having her head torn off froze her in her tracks.

  The dog barked again, and when it landed back on its haunches, it released a low rumble from deep within in its mouth.

  “Help me.” Her throat closed up and she shut her eyes, praying the demon dog would get bored and leave.

  “Rotquel! Get over here now!”

  Rotquel? What the… She opened one eye as the dog lifted its head upon hearing the voice. Its tongue flapped out of its mouth as it trotted to a woman in the middle of the driveway.

  Her legs trembled, and she slid down on her butt as she waited for her racing heart to calm down. Not only was she completely covered in sweat, but her bladder was begging her to empty it.

  “Good girl.” The redheaded woman Deborah met days ago in the drugstore, knelt and hugged the evil dog. Her hair, Deborah noticed, was now in a more subdued braid.

  When she finally caught her breath, she rested her arms on her knees and glared at the duo, who continued to ignore her. “I thought dogs like that had to be on a leash. It gave me the scare of my life.”

  The woman—Bridgette rose and patted her demon dog on the head. The creature raised her leg and licked a spot under her leg that made Deborah turn away from in disgust.

  “I’m sorry about Rotquel frightening you. She got away from me, a first for her since she’s always by my side when we go for our midday run.” Bridgette came up to Deborah and blocked the sun, holding out her hand for her to take. “I guess she wanted to meet our new neighbor.”

  She stood without her help. She wiped off her butt and did a quick scan of Bridgette, who wore running sneakers, gray cotton shorts, and a well-worn T-shirt. Her face was red, a healthy glow. She bit her tongue, surprised her neighbor ran, seeing as she had too many curves to be considered athletically fit—

  Wait. They were neighbors?

  “Did I hear you right? You’re my neighbor?” She eyed the dog called Rotquel. I must be hearing things. It has to be the heat.

  “Yup.” Bridgette smiled broadly and finally lowered her hand, not looking annoyed at Deborah for not taking it. “I live in the house right across from yours. My aunt found you your new place.” She motioned around them.

  “Are you kidding me? You two are related?”

  “Yup again. You’ll be tripping over Woodberrys soon enough. You’ll eventually meet my brothers, parents, and rest of the clan,” Bridgette said proudly, jutting out her chest.

  She quickly peeked at Bridgette’s chest then back up at her face. Bridgette’s smile widened, and she glanced at her T-shirt, much the same as Deborah did to her. Her cheeks warmed and, when she crossed her arms, her nipples poked out.

  “Must be nice to have such a…big family.” She brushed her damp head. “Listen, I’m pretty busy right now—”

  “Woof!”

  She backed away when Bridgette’s dog from hell tried moving in between them.

  “Rotquel, heel,” Bridgette ordered and the dog did as she was told.

  “What did you call her? Rockette, like the dancers in Manhattan?”

  Bridgette placed her hands on her hips and chuckled. “It’s Rotquel. I’ve had her for five years. At first, she was named Raquel, but then my brother Bryan thought he’d be funny and started calling her Rotquel because she’s a Rottweiler. It stuck. She hasn’t answered to anything else in years. Right, girl?” She patted the top of Rotquel’s head and was rewarded with a loud bark and a swipe on her hand with a tongue.

  “I’m surprised you don’t keep hand sanitizer with you at all times, seeing as your dog has the unsanitary habit of licking your flesh—I mean skin.” She swiftly corrected. Bridgette had more than enough abundant flesh she couldn’t stop eyeing.

  Bridgette released a girlish laugh and tilted her head. “That’s quite a sense of humor you got there.”

  “Glad you think I’m funny. I can’t crack a joke to save my life,” she admitted.

  “Who told you that?” Bridgette’s expression changed to a more inquisitive one.

  Not going there. “There are too many people to list,” she said lightly, although only one had ever criticized her.

  “If you say so.”

  She wiped her arm on her forehead, feeling like she had been in a sauna, while Bridgette acted as if she wasn’t bothered by the humidity in the least.

  “Before I forget, I should apologize for what I did to you at the drugstore the other day. It was rude of me and I didn’t think before I spoke. That’s one of the quirks I have,” Bridgette confessed as she tucked a few stray hairs behind her ears.

  “There’s no need for you to feel bad. I was cranky because of, well, you know. And where I moved from, not too many people go out of their way to be as helpful as you were.” She lowered her arms to her sides and glanced at her feet as Bridgette stared closely at her.

  “That’s a relief! I’d hate to think you would be upset with me.” Bridgette lowered her voice. “I just admitted another unfortunate quirk about me.”

  What is with her and her quirks? She moved in closer, and when Bridgette’s tongue came out and swiped her bottom lip, her nipples twitched. She moved back and shook her head. “I take it when you mean quirk, you mean a fault?”

  Bridgette nodded her head. “Exactly. I hate saying someone has a fault. It sounds too harsh. Saying I have a quirk sounds kinder, don’t you think?”

  She found herself speechless. Bridgette’s seemingly sunny disposition and naivete was both refreshing and, in a way, disturbing. When was the last time she’d met someone so open and honest who wanted nothing in return?

  “Either you don’t know what to make of me, or the heat has stolen your speech. I’d like to think it’s the humidity and not my quaint personality.” Bridgette tapped her chin as she scrutinized her.

  She opened her mouth to ask what Bridgette’s deal was with her constant staring when Bridgette tugged on the collar of her shirt and fanned her face with her hand. “Jeez, it sure is hot today. I bet you don’t even have a fan or air conditioner hooked up yet. My house is nice and cool. Why don’t you take a break from moving in and come to my house for some homemade lemon meringue pie and lemonade? I used the lemons straight from the tree in my backyard,” Bridge whispered, as if sharing a secret. “I’ll have you know my pie has won the country fair three years straight.”

  When Rotquel whimpered, she got down on one knee and laid her cheek on the side of her dog, giving Deborah a pout. “See, even Rotquel wants you to see her home. I promise you she won’t attack you again or give you unhygienic doggy kisses. She might try to swipe the slice of pie off your plate, but I have treats available to keep her happy.”

  She blinked as Bridgette finally took in a deep breath at the end of her long dialogue. Rubbing the back of her head, she shifted from one foot to the other. I really shouldn’t—but what would be the harm in sharing lemonade and pie with this exceedingly kindhearted woman?

  “I suppose I can take a short break. It wouldn’t help if I passed out from the heat since I’ve been so busy cleaning.”

  Bridgette got to her feet and lightly clapped. “Great. Follow me.”

  “Wait a minute,” she said to Bridgette’s back as she started to walk away.

  “Yes?” Bridgette stopped and twisted to look at her.

  “I must smell rank and should wash up first. Plus I need to lock up the house.”

  “I just ran for forty minutes, so you can imagine what I must smell like. Also, there’s no need for you to lock up anything. We’re going across the street.”

  “Um, where I come from—”

  “Sharon, you’re in Woodberry Creek now. There’s no need to worry someone might sneak into your house and steal your things. It’s okay. Trust me.”