Morgan, Nicole - Sweet Redemption [Sweet Awakenings 1] (Siren Publishing Allure) Read online

  Sweet Awakenings 1

  Sweet Redemption

  Tamara is in an unsatisfying relationship with her boyfriend, Brent. She is shocked when she learns he has been unfaithful. Seething with the betrayal, Tamara throws herself into a night of passion with the sexy owner of the health club she attends.

  Jack, a former Navy SEAL and current health club owner, is wrestling with demons from his past. A former SEAL mission that went horribly wrong has left him struggling with issues of betrayal.

  Brent is prepared to do whatever it takes to get Tamara back. His desire for her becomes an obsession that he cannot control. He sets out to destroy anyone that stands in his way. Will Brent succeed? Or will the power of Jack and Tamara’s love give them the courage to fight against an unrelenting evil?

  Warning: Contains excessive violence.

  Genre: Contemporary, Suspense

  Length: 74,872 words

  SWEET REDEMPTION

  Sweet Awakenings 1

  Nicole Morgan

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.”

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

  SWEET REDEMPTION

  Copyright © 2010 by Nicole Morgan

  E-book ISBN: 1-60601-915-5

  First E-book Publication: October 2010

  Cover design by Jinger Heaston

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2010 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter from Nicole Morgan

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  Dear Readers,

  It is unfortunate that in this day and age that we have to include these types of letters to our readers, but the actions of many others have left publishers and authors with no other choice.

  E-book piracy has become a trend that is reprehensible. Figures were released earlier this year that show e-book piracy costs U.S. publishers $2.8 billion in lost sales. This doesn’t account for the amount of money that should go to the authors for the stories they have created.

  As one of the many authors who has seen their book(s) downloaded illegally on any of the various pirate sites, I implore you to please not share e-books or accept file sharing from anyone else.

  E-book piracy is a crime punishable by law. Please don’t add to the growing theft by being a part of the unlawful behavior of others.

  With deep gratitude,

  Nicole Morgan

  DEDICATION

  When I sat down to write this book I kept having one question in my mind. What would happen if two people got together for all the wrong reasons, whether it was a physical attraction, a rebound fling, or even getting revenge for being scorned? What if you did? And what if it was the best reckless decision of your life? This book will take you into the world of Jack and Tamara and what happened to them when they took a crazy chance.

  I would like to dedicate this book to my family. Without their love and support I would have never been able to bring my ideas to life and eventually to your reading eyes.

  Also, I have to thank everyone at my Publisher who has been so wonderful to me. Alison from Siren has been a delight to work with, and my books would never look as good as they do if it wasn’t for my fantastic cover artist Jinger Heaston. Thank you!

  SWEET REDEMPTION

  NICOLE MORGAN

  Copyright © 2010

  Chapter 1

  Jack Peyton closed the door to his office and sat in his chair. It had been a long day, and he felt completely worn out. Not to mention he was silently dreading tomorrow, their busiest day of the year for new members to sign up at his health club. Maybe he was still worn out from the holidays. Who was he kidding? The holidays consisted of him and his best friend, Rex, getting together, watching football, and drinking beer. There was no use in denying that he was stuck in a rut. Worse than that, despite Rex’s ability to pick up women anywhere and everywhere, Jack hadn’t had sex since Thanksgiving Day. Jack laughed, remembering that day. Only his buddy could go to the liquor store to pick up more beer and come back with two gorgeous women looking to have nothing but a good time.

  Jack was still supposed to call a member back before he headed out of here to meet Rex, so he decided he better get moving. This member seemed to have a complaint of some sort, which was one of his least favorite things about owning the health club. He had bought it a little over four years ago from an old man looking to retire. It was just a weight room with a couple of boxing rings back then. But one thing that it wasn’t lacking was space. It was an old warehouse, and Jack had used a little bit of creativity and a whole lot of money to make it into what it was now. It was a full-scale, top-of-the-line health club with a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, tanning beds, and so on. There wasn’t anything it was lacking. It was also recently mentioned in a local magazine that praised it for having the largest array of cardio machines in the greater metro area. Jack had worked hard to make this club a success, and he was pretty darn proud of himself for it.

  Leaning back in his black leather swivel chair, he saw the light blinking on his phone. He hadn’t remembered getting any pages. Maybe he’d just missed one. He dialed his voice mail box and entered his pin to retrieve his messages. Listening to the robotic woman’s voice give him instructions, he hit option one to retrieve the message.

  “Peyton, this is Chris Barnes. Listen up, and listen good!” Did he know a Chris Barnes? Maybe he was a member.

  “I found the card you sent with the money. I’ve told you before to stop sending things to my family. If you want to send a card, fine, then send a damn card. But at least have the common decency to address it to the right people. Her name is Cara Barnes, not Cara Jenkins, got that Barnes, B-A-R-N-E-S!” Oh, that Chris Barnes. Jack remembered him now. What was this guy’s problem anyway?

  “We’ve been married for three years now, and every time you send this stuff it upsets her. She hides it from me be
cause she doesn’t want to upset me also. Your gesture is causing us to fight during the holidays. We have young children. Why can’t you just leave us alone? She is happy now, she’s not sad anymore, so let us be!” Click. Jack winced as he could hear the receiver on the other end slam down with such force he was surprised it didn’t jar his own phone.

  Geez, what a jerk! It wasn’t like Jack was an ex-boyfriend of hers or something. He was just trying to help out the widow of an old…well, he didn’t mean any harm. That Barnes guy obviously has just got a chip on his shoulder.

  Hanging up the receiver, Jack picked it back up and began dialing the member he was supposed to call.

  After he introduced himself, the woman on the other end immediately went into a greatly detailed, almost rehearsed speech about her personal trainer. He listened to the woman go on and on about how she had tried every trainer in the gym and she just didn’t feel like she was getting anything out of it. Waiting, he wondered how long it would be until she asked for a refund, which was usually the case with these calls. People would get all pumped up, pay for a personal trainer, and once the holidays hit, their excitement deflated right along with their bank accounts.

  Jack was flabbergasted when she not only didn’t ask for a refund, but she asked him to train her instead. He tried to respectfully decline, telling her that he was the owner, not a trainer. Jack went on to explain how it would be more beneficial for her to stick with someone that knew what they were doing in that area of expertise.

  She was relentless, not giving up her pursuit of having him as her trainer. “Are you sure? You probably don’t remember me. I could send you a picture of me. What’s your email address?”

  What the hell? “Miss, I really don’t see what a picture of you has to do with you meeting your health goals.”

  After an exaggerated exhale, she stopped being coy. “Okay, fine, we’ll play it your way. I don’t need a trainer, I’m very fit. But I would love a little personal, one-on-one workout with you, if you know what I mean.” Her voice took on a low and seductive tone with the last sentence.

  Oh, great, she was coming on to him. He hated when women at the club came on to him. This was his business, not a dating service. He had always made it a strict policy for both himself and the staff to never fool around with the clientele. “Miss…Miss Hayworth, I do remember you.” A lie, but who cared? This was business. “As much as the idea of alone time with you is tantalizing, I’m afraid my very serious and very possessive girlfriend would shred my genitals apart with her bare hands.” Another lie. The day he ever had a girlfriend was the day Rex became gay.

  “Oh, I see. Well, I’m certainly embarrassed now. Please forget about this conversation. I don’t think I would be able to continue coming to your gym if I knew you were constantly remembering how I threw myself at you. Please accept my apologies.” Her voice echoed her words. She was embarrassed.

  “What conversation would that be, Miss Hayworth? Now, you have a happy New Year’s Eve, and if my girlfriend ever breaks my heart, I’ll give you a call.” Thatta boy, Jack, throw her a bone, it’s good for business.

  “Really! Well, okay then, bye.” With the excitement of the hope he gave her, she hung up.

  Jack shook his head. Sure, he was used to women coming on to him. Sometimes it was okay, but usually he preferred to be the one doing the picking up.

  He stole a glance at his wall clock. It was a quarter past five, and time to get out of here. He grabbed his keys and cell phone and headed towards the front of the gym. All he needed to do was go home, shower, and head over to Rex’s “love castle” as Jack liked to refer to it as. Apparently Rex had picked up a couple of stewardesses who were stranded in town for the night with nothing to do. Jack laughed, Rex had a radar system implanted somewhere inside his body that only detected gorgeous, horny women. It truly was an amazing and incredible gift.

  Walking out, Jack was stopped by Anna, his front desk supervisor. “Jack, where are you going?”

  “Sorry, Anna. Have a Happy New Year, be safe. Good night!” Jack pushed the door open.

  “But you promised.” She all but yelled it as she was staring at Jack in disbelief.

  Geez, what the hell did he do now? Anna had been with him for years, and she was always like his subconscious, hard at work. “What did I promise this time?” he asked as he turned back to look at her.

  She rolled her eyes at him in apparent frustration. “I told you earlier when Johnny didn’t show up that I couldn’t stay until closing. You said you would take care of it. We’re the only ones left. If you leave, then I’m stuck. You promised me after you did that last time that it would never happen again. I have two kids at home. The babysitter expects me there no later than six. If I am late, I have to pay double the hourly rate. You can’t leave. I can’t afford it!” Her words were frantic now.

  “Johnny didn’t show up? When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me?” Jack was sure that he would have remembered that, wouldn’t he have?

  “I did tell you, earlier, about three hours ago. And then you said you would take care of it! I tell you what, Jack Peyton. You are impossible sometimes. I have already stayed fifteen minutes past my shift, without you even asking if it was okay. All because I knew you were on the phone. I was trying to be respectful. Why don’t you try the same thing once in a while? I might be your employee, but I’m still a person with a life of her own.” She reached for her purse and swung it onto her shoulder. “I am going home and you are going to work the front desk. Maybe next time you will think before you speak, hmm?” With that remark she headed out the door.

  Jack stood staring at her. He had just been thoroughly told off, and he was the boss. She stopped just outside the doors and started to come back in. Thank god, she was going to stay after all!

  Anna walked up to him, patted his cheek, and said, “Have a Happy New Year, Jack. Don’t forget to lock up.” Then she left.

  What in the hell had just happened? Wasn’t he the owner? Who does she think…Jack vaguely started to remember her telling him something about Johnny earlier. Damn that kid. This wasn’t the first time he had missed work either. What was his deal?

  Walking back over to the counter at the front desk, Jack put his keys and cell phone in a drawer and began to look for some sort of instruction or checklist on what to do at closing time. He was sure there must be one. He remembered he’d made one years ago. Opening binders, looking in folders, and searching high and low, he still couldn’t find it.

  “Where in the heck is it?” Jack was muttering to himself as a female member walked by ogling him.

  A while later Jack slammed the phone down once more. He had called Johnny’s home and cell numbers and had gotten no answer at either place. He couldn’t even leave a message. There was no machine at his house, and the voice mail on his cell phone was full. It was now a quarter to six, and he was stuck here covering the front desk. What had he done to deserve this? He could be at Rex’s condo with two hot women. He was the owner of this place. He shouldn’t have to work the front desk.

  The phone rang again. Did the phones always ring this much here?

  “Lean and Fit. This is Jack.” Jack answered, he didn’t mean to sound so sarcastic when he answered. But, damn it, he was annoyed. When he got his hands on that Johnny…well, he didn’t know what, but he did know he was pissed!

  Tamara finished the last tape of dictation at 3:30. Since it was New Year’s Eve, most of the attorneys in the office had already gone home. The only people that were left in the office were Nina and Enrique, a very sly-looking, wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing sort of guy who was their newest law clerk. He had asked her out several times, never once caring that she had a boyfriend or that he even knew him. He was definitely the kind of man you wouldn’t want to trust with anything. She laughed, thinking it was a good thing he was going to law school to become an attorney. They were almost expected not to be trustworthy.

  “What’s so funny?” Nina asked from behind h
er.

  Nina was the secretary who had been with the firm the longest. Her hair was starting to gray near her temples, and her demeanor was sweet. Her oldest son had given her the gift of a granddaughter just one week before Christmas, and she was still beaming from it. She was always well groomed and professional looking. You would never find Nina in the brightest colors or the hottest fashions, but she had her own unique style, and it worked for her. But, more importantly, she was an extremely nice lady and always excruciatingly polite. Tamara wasn’t sure if she ever remembered Nina saying anything derogatory about anyone, well, except for some of the attorneys. But that was understandable.

  “Oh, I was just thinking how incredibly shady Enrique is. He cornered me in the break room again earlier. He tried to tell me that I should dump Brent and give him a roll in the hay.” She laughed at the memory. “He actually used those exact words. I didn’t know anyone said ‘roll in the hay’ anymore.”

  “Well, don’t you listen to him. That Brent of yours is quite the catch. Attractive, charming, financially well-off, and romantic.” Nina motioned towards the dozen long stem red roses that were sitting on Tamara’s desk. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve been dying all day, can I read the card? I love romance. It’s not like I get any myself. You hit a certain age and it’s all you can do to lean over and kiss each other goodnight.”

  “I guess I don’t mind, it’s nothing special.” Tamara really didn’t think the card was that big of a deal.

  Without waiting for Tamara to change her mind, Nina ripped the card from its plastic holder. It was one of those simple little cards you get from the florist that said For You at the top of it.

  Dearest Tamara,

  Tonight we will be ringing in another New Year together. I love you so much. I have a feeling that this year will bring us much joy and happiness. I’ll meet you at your place tonight. I have a little surprise for you.

  Forever and Always,

  Brent

  Xoxoxoxox

  “Oh, my gosh. He is so romantic. How do you stand it?” Nina cooed.