Series: House of Payne Series
Author: Stacy Gail
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: December 18, 2020
Cover Design: Stacy Gail
Baby steps…
Mads Daniels may have landed at House Of Payne, but she sure as hell doesn’t want to be there. Her tattooist father started out with Payne, and his tales of the boss stealing artists’ work freaks her out in a big way. If Payne ever attempts to steal her art, she’ll have no choice but to unveil him as a fraud. And that could bring down House of Payne itself.
Step by step…
Sage McCormick never had a stable home until he joined House of Payne. It’s such a sweet gig he’s even willing to get involved in events like its annual charity auction. Everything is just about perfect, except for the newest recruit, Mads. She refuses to fit in, and he’s determined to find out why. Getting her sexy ass involved in the auction is only the first step in getting close to her… in more ways than one.
Leap of faith
The cocky charm Sage exudes like a pheromone bowls Mads over straight into his bed. But as Sage tries to coax her into thinking of the House as her new home, she realizes she has a decision to make—listen to the poison her father spews, or put her faith in the man she loves.
***This standalone contemporary romance contains lots of cursing from both the hero and heroine, multiple sex scenes, and a protective Alpha male who will use any trick in the book to get his chosen woman out of her shell. No cheating, no love triangles, no cliffhangers. HEA guaranteed, along with a satisfying epilogue. Due to adult language and sexual content, this book is not intended for people under the age of eighteen***
Mads Daniels may have landed at House Of Payne, but she sure as hell doesn’t want to be there. Her tattooist father started out with Payne, and his tales of the boss stealing artists’ work freaks her out in a big way. If Payne ever attempts to steal her art, she’ll have no choice but to unveil him as a fraud. And that could bring down House of Payne itself.
Step by step…
Sage McCormick never had a stable home until he joined House of Payne. It’s such a sweet gig he’s even willing to get involved in events like its annual charity auction. Everything is just about perfect, except for the newest recruit, Mads. She refuses to fit in, and he’s determined to find out why. Getting her sexy ass involved in the auction is only the first step in getting close to her… in more ways than one.
Leap of faith
The cocky charm Sage exudes like a pheromone bowls Mads over straight into his bed. But as Sage tries to coax her into thinking of the House as her new home, she realizes she has a decision to make—listen to the poison her father spews, or put her faith in the man she loves.
***This standalone contemporary romance contains lots of cursing from both the hero and heroine, multiple sex scenes, and a protective Alpha male who will use any trick in the book to get his chosen woman out of her shell. No cheating, no love triangles, no cliffhangers. HEA guaranteed, along with a satisfying epilogue. Due to adult language and sexual content, this book is not intended for people under the age of eighteen***
“Here. Hold the lower stick like this.” Dropping his own sticks, Sage reached over and helped her cradle one of the chopsticks in the curve of her thumb, then steadied it by her last two fingers. “That pretty much stays there, so don’t mess with it, okay? Now, take the other stick and hold it kind of like a pencil, making sure that the ends meet up so that they can grip the food. Got it?”
“Oh, wow. I think I do get it.” Experimentally she clicked the chopsticks together, and was amazed when they didn’t fly out of her hand and put her eye out. Emboldened, she went to pluck a mushroom out to swirl it in the yellow heart of the egg topping her ramen. Instead, she flipped the mushroom completely out of her bowl, only to watch in horror at it landed in the middle of the table between them.
Great.
“At this rate, it’s going to take the entire dinner break just to get a couple bites,” she muttered while heat crawled up her neck. “Why don’t you just get this meeting started so we can get out of here.”
“An empty stomach means shaky hands, and that’s the one thing a tattooist can never have.” Plucking a mushroom out of his own bowl, he held it up to her mouth. “Eat. Then we’ll talk.”
Surprise locked her brain into dumbfounded silence even as she found herself taking the morsel into her mouth. Only when her lips closed over his chopsticks and the blatant intimacy of putting her mouth where his belonged snapped her out of it.
What in the world was she doing, allowing a virtual stranger to feed her? And how weird was it that she hadn’t even given it a thought. She was just letting him feed her like it was the most natural thing in the world. It wasn’t, of course. But…
Somehow it felt right.
Like this closeness between them was meant to be.
Though she knew all too well there was no such thing as meant to be.
That was just a fairy tale.
But still.
Putting her mouth where his had been, while he watched her with an intensity that stopped her heart, felt right. Perfect, even.
Meant to be.
“Oh, wow. I think I do get it.” Experimentally she clicked the chopsticks together, and was amazed when they didn’t fly out of her hand and put her eye out. Emboldened, she went to pluck a mushroom out to swirl it in the yellow heart of the egg topping her ramen. Instead, she flipped the mushroom completely out of her bowl, only to watch in horror at it landed in the middle of the table between them.
Great.
“At this rate, it’s going to take the entire dinner break just to get a couple bites,” she muttered while heat crawled up her neck. “Why don’t you just get this meeting started so we can get out of here.”
“An empty stomach means shaky hands, and that’s the one thing a tattooist can never have.” Plucking a mushroom out of his own bowl, he held it up to her mouth. “Eat. Then we’ll talk.”
Surprise locked her brain into dumbfounded silence even as she found herself taking the morsel into her mouth. Only when her lips closed over his chopsticks and the blatant intimacy of putting her mouth where his belonged snapped her out of it.
What in the world was she doing, allowing a virtual stranger to feed her? And how weird was it that she hadn’t even given it a thought. She was just letting him feed her like it was the most natural thing in the world. It wasn’t, of course. But…
Somehow it felt right.
Like this closeness between them was meant to be.
Though she knew all too well there was no such thing as meant to be.
That was just a fairy tale.
But still.
Putting her mouth where his had been, while he watched her with an intensity that stopped her heart, felt right. Perfect, even.
Meant to be.
A competitive figure skater from the age of eight, Stacy Gail began writing stories in between events to pass the time. By fourteen, she told her parents she was either going to be a figure skating coach who was also a published romance author, or a romance author who was also a figure skating pro. Now, with a day job of playing on the ice with her students, and writing everything from steampunk to cyberpunk, contemporary to paranormal at night, both dreams have come true.
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