Sizzle.
Bad Boy Rockers.
Lexi Buchanan.
Dedication.
I would like to dedicate this book to two special people:.
Kristy Louise Garbutt, my Australian friend who read the very rough draft of this book and helped me name the characters when it was pointed out to me that all the characters names began with the letter J, apart from Thalia!!
I'm not going to mention the scene you suggested for the book, or I'll make you blush. LOL Kristy, you are my best friend and I love chatting to you at all hours of the day and night. I hope you know how grateful I am to have you for a friend and how much I appreciate everything you do for me. I love you loads. xx Nadine Winningham, my American friend who also read the very first draft of this book. You helped me to get untangled, spotted inconsistencies, pointed out the "J" names and stayed up nearly all night reading Sizzle. How many times have you read it now? LOL You are always there at the end of an email for my cry of help, for which I will always be grateful.
Nadine, you have become a great friend and I hope you know how much everything you do means to me. Love you babe. xx.
Acknowledgements.
A big thank you to everyone listed here, for their help and encouragement.
Editor.
Sirena Van Schaik (you are amazing).
Cover Artist.
Robin Harper, Wicked by Design.
Beta Readers.
HM Bendana, Kristy Louise Garbutt, Suella Holland, Saska Kovacic, Hildred Livesey, Marsha Thalleen, Gabriela Tortolano and Nadine Winningham I would also like to mention:.
Morning After a Good Book, Shhh, Mommy's in the Bathroom.,.Reading, Miles Apart Books, Hooked on Books, Reviews of a Book Maniac, My Fictional Boyfriend and Book Whore Page, Confessions from Romaholics, Read This a Hear That, Three Chicks and Their Books, My Secret Romance Book Reviews, Page Flipperz, I Love Lady Porn, Books Books Books, Sugar and Spice Book Reviews, The Book Cafe Blog, Book Addict Mumma, Smokin Hot Book Blog, Storm Goddess Reviews, Reading is my Time Out Book Blog, The Book Blog, Book Wormin Barrie, Love Between The Sheets, Island Lovelies Book Club, Book Addicts Not So Anonymous, Seductive Romance Reviews, If These Boobs Could Talk, Naughty and Nice Book Blog, Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews, Scandalous BOOK BLOG, Falling in Fall Book Blog, Alpha, Authors and Books oh my, Book Crush Book Reviews And Facebook pages:.
Erotica Book Club, Flirty and Dirty Blog, S&M Obsession, Spreading the Word, TotallyBookedBlog, Shh Mom's Reading, What to Read After 50 Shades of Grey.
Chapter 1.
Thalia.
The lumps of the new sofa dug painfully into my back as I wriggled to a new position; equally as uncomfortable as the first. I would never understand how Callie had convinced me to purchase it. I hated it a from the color, a sickly brown; sienna according to the designer, to the numerous lumps and bumps that you couldn't escape, regardless of how you were sitting on it. It reminded me of the old, beat up sofa in my mom's sunroom. The very one my uncle had hauled out and deposited in the tree house we'd built behind the tall cottonwoods.
I smiled at the memory. My first make out session had happened in that tree house, on that sofa. Ethan. Ethan Rock; the school jock and biggest asshole. He'd sweet talked his way into the tree house with every intention of getting to third base. I'd ended up kneeing him in his junk when my father shouted at me from the base of the tree; he'd frightened the shit out of us. Ethan, of course hadn't spoken to me again, but what a memory.
"Thalia, what the hell are you grinning at?"
"Ethan Rock," I replied to my roommate Callie, her voice shaking me from the memory.
"Huh, I don't think I know him. You going to eat this Spaghetti Bolognese?"
I turned my head to look at her and burst out laughing. "Is there any left in the pan?" Her apron seemed to have a hell of a lot of red sauce all over it.
Callie was the world's worst chef, and always insisted the next meal she cooked would be better than the previous one. That was so not going to happen.
"Ha, funny."
"When's it ready?"
"Ten minutes," she said, before turning back into the small, cramped kitchen.
"Okay." I hoped I wouldn't regret eating what she'd made.
I'd met Callie within a couple of weeks of starting our freshman year at college, both of us studying English Literature a close to three years ago. After the summer break we'd be back as seniors. We couldn't wait to strut our stuff around campus. Shit, who was I kidding? We couldn't wait to graduate and finally be out in the real world. We had it all planned, or at least Callie did. I had no clue as to where I wanted to go, or what I wanted to do, but I figured if I had an English degree, it would open more doors for me, once I'd fully made my mind up.
All I did know was that I wasn't going home when I graduated next year. I shuddered at the thought.
Both of my parents treated me like a child when I was home, right down to the nine pm curfew. I sighed thinking of them. I was twenty-one and, wanted to be like most twenty-one year olds; allowed to enjoy myself before I got completely snowed down with a job and other responsibilities.
Wherever I ended up, I knew that it would be with Callie, although at that thought I realized I'd have to learn to cook if we didn't want to survive on take-out or die from food poisoning.
Dragging my carcass from the sofa, I walked the short distance to the bathroom, which was as small as the kitchen. In the tight space, I could touch the toilet, washbasin and shower and feel cramped in doing so. There was barely enough room at the sink to wash up for dinner.
Rent was cheap so I guess I shouldn't complain too much. My parents gave me a monthly allowance that covered the rent, bills and food. I even had some left over, which I put away for rainy days or when I'd finished college, along with the money from my part-time job.
I sighed, turning the faucet on, I splashed cold water onto my face. Green eyes returned my gaze in the mirror. Groaning, I realized my dark curly hair, which had been secured in a band at the back of my head, had come loose. Stray hairs were sticking up all over my head in disarray. I pulled the towel from the rail and dried my face, with an extra swipe over my freckled nose, in hope that one or two freckles would get stuck on the towel. I hated freckles! My red hairbrush was in the container to the side of the tub, so I quickly grabbed it, removed the band from my hair, and ran the brush through it, deciding to leave it hanging around my shoulders.
Refreshed, I walked into the kitchen, and took a seat at our two-person table while Callie spooned sauce on to the pasta.
She placed the plate in front of me and I couldn't hold the grimace in as the sharp odor of unknown spices drifted from the plate. Oh boy.
"Thalia, I promise it's...tasty," she reassured me between bites. "Are you for real?"
"Okay, I'm hungry so here goes." I picked up my fork, rolled up the long noodles dripping with sauce and placed it hesitantly into my mouth. Flavor burst on my tongue and to my surprise it was...edible! I glanced at Callie in surprise.
"Told you so." She smirked.
"What happened? Why does it taste good?" That's the thing about best friends a you could insult them without it going to heart. Callie was also honest with herself and knew she couldn't cook.
"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. I kept telling you I'd get it right one of these days," Callie replied, waving her fork around in the air.
"Yeah, you did and watch what you're doing with that fork."
We ate the rest of the meal in silence then I poured us both a glass of wine, which we carried through to the living room along with the rest of the bottle. We got comfortable on the sofa with our feet resting up on the coffee table, the conversation and wine flowing easily between us. Before we knew it we were on our second bottle of wine.
"So who's Ethan Rock?"
I frowned at her. "It took you long enough to ask."
"You still haven't answered."
"Ethan Rock was the school jock, aka school asshole, who tried to get to third base in my tree house. It was cut short by my dad calling me," I giggled. "I kneed him in the junk. He ended up rolling all over the floor in his shorts while I tried to hold a conversation with my dad without laughing. Ethan never spoke to me again."
"Oh my God. How old were you?"
"Sweet sixteen," I replied, starting to feel the effects of drinking nearly two bottles of wine with Callie.
"Nothing sweet about what you nearly did." We fell into each other laughing.
After picking ourselves up from the floor, I walked into the kitchen for more wine and the cake I'd brought home with me from work.
"Here, share this with me." I passed Callie a slice before sitting back down beside her.
"Why didn't I get the job in the cake shop instead of the dry cleaners?"
"Because you have a sweet tooth. You're skinny now; if you'd taken the job with the cakes you wouldn't be able to walk through the door," I teased my sulking friend.
"I thought you were my friend."
"I am. That's why I work in the cake shop and you don't," I laughed.
We both hated our jobs, which we considered slave labor, although I did have the slightly better one in the cake shop. Unfortunately today had been my last day. The cake shop was on campus, and only opened during the college semesters, whereas the dry cleaners where Callie worked was open twenty-four-seven, much to Callie's constant dismay.
"Before you get too drunk to think, I want to know what's going on between you and Liam... and don't tell me nothing."
I digested Callie's question. How could I answer when, in actual fact, I had no idea? Over the past six months we'd been on a few dates and to the movies once or twice, but there was something missing. In honesty, I think if I hadn't been so busy with my studies I would have said something to him, about the lack of closeness between us. He hadn't even kissed me, other than a peck on the cheek. Liam was good company and rather entertaining so I'd just gone along with him as his 'girlfriend'.
Callie was staring at me with the patience of a saint. Her long legs rested beside mine on the coffee table and she was slouched on the couch. Her eyes half closed in a lazy manner; blonde hair falling in disarray from the 'up do' she had going on from the morning.
"Liam is good looking, but he hasn't tried to get into my pants; not even once. He's kissed me, kind of, but no other touching..." I hesitated before blurting out, "I'm going home with him this summer."
Callie choked on the swallow of wine she'd just taken, the red liquid staining her white top as her eyes widened in shock. "Are you crazy?"
"Probably," I groaned.
Callie dabbed at her shirt as she stared at me looking flabbergasted.
"Look, you know I don't want to go home." I numbered out the reasons on my fingers. "All the summer jobs around here have already been taken. You're going away with your family, and I don't want to touch my savings. I can use some, but the majority I want to save; you know that."
I avoided her gaze as I reaffirmed all my reasons for going. "Liam said his parents want him to bring me home. He also said, I'll have my own room, and I do like him, but as a friend. To be honest I think that's what he wants, although he keeps referring to me as his girlfriend." I frowned.
"This can only end in disaster." Callie sat up, her gaze serious, "What are you going to do if this is all a ruse to finally get in your panties? Because I can tell you're not into him like that; though I doubt you ever were to begin with," Callie finished, truth ringing in her words.
"Then I'll deal with it, if, or when that happens," I muttered.
Callie's hard gaze bore into me, making me shift uncomfortably under it before she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. "I need to get some sleep and don't forget we're going shopping in the morning," she reminded me as she struggled up from the sofa and stumbled into her room.
Despite her warnings, I was looking forward to going home with Liam, although I was a bit apprehensive about meeting his parents. Hopefully I'd meet a HOT cowboy there. They had cowboys in Alabama, right?
I pulled myself up from the sofa and headed to my room where I collapsed on top of my bed. I was so tired.
Chapter 2.
Thalia Both Callie and I were still suffering the effects from last night's wine drinking; Callie had been sick and I'd woken up with drums beating in my head. I'd taken some painkillers about an hour ago so the drum in my head had dimmed enough that I'd stopped feeling sick, which was just as well because we were in one of Callie's favorite stores trying on dresses.
I'd bought a pair of cowgirl boots about six months ago on a trip home with Callie to Texas for her parent's thirtieth wedding anniversary, and I loved them. They were authentic cowgirl boots from Allen's Boots in Austin, in soft, light brown leather. Deep brown, embroidered poppies decorated the boots making them the perfect accessory for any event. They'd set me back a bit, but I'd always wanted a pair and they were so worth it.
All I wanted were some dresses to wear them with. You see, I had it in my head that I was going to fall head over heels in love with a cowboy, but I'd worked out that 'said cowboy' had to fall in love with me too, hence the dresses to go with the boots. I mean what guy could resist a woman in cowgirl boots and a short dress? Flashing naked thighs!
As I wiggled into the third dress, music started blaring from somewhere close by. Oh my God! Where the hell was that racket coming from? My head was about to explode.
I could hear Callie groaning in the changing room beside mine. "Thalia, answer your goddamn phone," she shouted.
It was me? Shit. My fogged brain hadn't registered the fact. I grabbed my jeans from the floor where I'd thrown them in my haste to try on the white lacy dress, and quickly retrieved my iPhone from the back pocket. My stomach rolled with nausea, so after taking some deep breaths, I answered, which cut off one of my favorite songs, 'Here Without You' by Three Doors Down.
"Hello," I answered, sliding to the floor, shutting my eyes, praying that everything stopped spinning.
"Thalia, dear. Is that you?"
"Mom," I groaned, just what I needed, a lecture when I was still feeling the effects of too much red wine from the night before. "Yes, it's me."
"I just wanted to know when you're going to arrive home for the summer. We need to make plans."
"Ah... Mom, about that." I took a deep breath, mentally bracing myself. "I'm not going to be coming home. I've been invited to a friend's home in Alabama for the summer. So, having never been to Alabama before, I've accepted. I mean it's not as though you and Dad will be there all the time, you both usually head out on a cruise." I crossed my fingers.
"Well! Do we know this person who you prefer over your own parents?"
Ugh. Why did she always have to make me feel guilty? "No you don't know him." The silence on the phone was icy. I sighed before continuing, "His name is Liam. His father has a law firm which he jointly owns with another guy, so totally trustworthy."