Unexpected Changes Book One
*Please note My Mistletoe Master (along with the entire Unexpected Changes series) will be re-issued in 2024 with new covers. If you want a paperback copy of the original cover be sure to purchase one from Amazon before the end of 2023, as it will NOT be available after December 31, 2023)
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Genre Information: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Holiday, BDSM
Length: 54,438 Words
Book Blurb:
Three years ago, he broke her heart. Now, she’s back in town and he’ll do anything to keep her.
When Nick catches her watching a fetish porno, Amelia isn’t sure what to expect. It certainly wasn’t a proposition to indulge her kinky side with her brother’s best friend—the man who destroyed her heart and confidence in one swoop.
Amelia’s three-year absence had taught Nick one thing—he doesn’t want to live without her. Nick isn’t willing to make the same mistake twice. He’ll do whatever it takes to show Amelia he can make her happy, even if that means learning what it takes to keep her satisfied in the bedroom.
Sneaking around during the holidays, Amelia questions if she can move past their history and trust Nick again.
Excerpt
Three years later…
Low keening moans and sharp slaps came from the speakers on her tablet.
Alone yet subtly embarrassed in her parents’ big house, she turned the volume down just a touch.
With her dad at work and her mother and brother recently gone to finish their holiday shopping, the welcome home from university hadn’t been as momentous as she’d expected. She’d been absent for three years, barely coming home between semesters. She had thought some sort of conversation would have at least occurred, not the quick ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ as her family fled the house she had received.
It was a busy time, especially with her parents’ annual holiday party. Besides, they hadn’t expected her home until late afternoon anyway, so who could fault them for rushing out the door as soon as she’d arrived?
Having dumped her stuff in the foyer, she’d proceeded to make herself a cup of tea, then had settled on the couch to check her grades.
No updates.
After scrolling social media, she’d given up trying to find a distraction and, instead, pulled up one of her favorite softcore porn videos. This one featured a Dom, clad in black leather pants and nothing else as he restrained a woman. He raised one arm, then the other, locking them in place above her head with cuffs. Suspended from the ceiling, the man went about binding the woman’s feet to the floor. Naked and spread eagle, she moaned for him. As he slowly raked his hand over here exposed ass, he denied her any form of release.
Growing wet between her legs, Amelia realized it had been too long since she’d had a man. Her body strained for more than her simple touch, but since she and her boyfriend had split two months ago, she would have to make do. To heighten her pleasure, she resisted her own needs, merely watching the two on the screen.
Pressing her palm against her jean-covered crotch, she watched as the woman cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure as the man repeatedly spanked her. Moaning aloud with the video, Amelia abandoned her restraint, rocking against her hand. Her eyes drifted shut as she tugged on the button of her jeans, eager to touch herself and work herself toward climax.
A cough sounded behind her, and she froze. “What a great way to start my morning.”
Amelia squeezed her eyes shut. No. No. No.
“Please, Sir,” the woman’s voice rang out from the tablet.
Wide-eyed, Amelia scrambled to shut the device off, finally muting the sound and flipping the cover over the screen.
A key in the front door that she would have heard, but another person already in the house? Damn it!
For a humiliating minute, Amelia prayed the floor would open up and swallow her whole. After three long years, this was not how she had envisioned facing him for the first time.
Frankly, she had planned to wear something sexy and elegant, and she wouldn’t have acknowledged his existence either. Instead, this was what Fate had in store.
Fuck my life.
Clutching her tablet to her chest, Amelia gathered what was left of her courage, standing to face him.
Nick Fuller. Her brother’s best friend and the man she’d been miserably in love with for decades.
From behind her makeshift shield, she studied him. He still took her breath away, even after he’d destroyed her fragile heart. With an unwavering stance, he stood with sleep-tousled hair, wearing nothing but pajama bottoms, and blocked her escape. His chest was broad, his stomach chiseled, and his arms corded with long, lean muscles. His expression was dark and confused.
She realized he was waiting for an explanation. Rather than provide one, she led with, “What the hell are you doing here?”
He blinked. “I’m here for the holidays, like every year.”
Amelia groaned. “My mom didn’t tell me you were here yet,” she admitted lamely, as though that explained her sinful behavior. Granted, her mother had barely said two words to her when she arrived.
“Three days.”
At a standstill, they simply stared each other down. His gaze was curious as it examined her. Her cheeks heated.
How long was he standing there watching me?
Rounding the couch, she wondered how many days she could hide in her room before her parents dragged her out forcibly. With a bit of luck, she could avoid him at least for a few days.
But that was the coward’s way out and she knew it. This year’s plan had centered on pride and confidence, no matter how much she had to fake it.
I guess that plan is out the window now.
Aiming to shoulder her way past him so she could get to the stairs, Amelia put on a brave face and stalked toward him. His big body didn’t budge as she tried to maneuver around him.
Attempting to edge by, she mumbled, “Maybe we could just forget about this. You know, pretend I’m just not here yet.” She tried for a bright smile, but it faded when she saw humor light his gaze. Growing up, he and Gabe had teased her endlessly, and now she’d handed him ammunition.
“I don’t think so,” he took a step closer.
She had to tilt her head to keep his gaze. Rascal that he was, he dared to smile at her discomfort. Her body was primed for the orgasm she’d denied herself and his nearness didn’t help matters. Masculinity and dominance rolled off him in waves. People had always taken notice when he entered a room. He wasn’t the broad and bulky type like her brother; he was lean with a natural grace that made women think: stamina.
“I can’t believe it. I would never have thought Gabe’s little sister was such a perv.”
Convinced he was merely trying to get a rise out of her, her eyes narrowed, and her determination to sock him grew. Casual as you please, she shrugged. “It’s just a little kink.”
His smile widened.
She knew better than to trust that smile.
“You’re not going to tell anyone.” She winced when her words sounded more like a plea than an order.
“What’s my silence worth to you?”
This was the Nick she remembered from her childhood. Rebel, tease…scoundrel.
She ground her teeth and insisted, “You won’t tell.”
“Well, that depends on you, sweetheart,” he whispered. And was it her imagination, or had he gotten closer?
Her tone matched his when she replied, “What do you want?”
Nick lifted his arm and clasped her chin between his fingers. Torn between pulling away or stepping closer, she merely stared up at him in fascination. Her lips parted involuntarily when he stroked the pad of his thumb across her lower lip.
His hand dropped when a key turning in the lock echoed through the entranceway. Amelia jumped away, fearful of being caught in yet another compromising moment.
A second later, her mom waltzed in, all business, with Gabe hot on her heels. “I can’t believe you forgot your wallet.”
Her brother shrugged.
“Gabe, we’re going Christmas shopping. You need your wallet. Oh, Nick, good, you’re up,” her mom said when she noticed them in the living room. “Did you want to join us?”
He expelled a pent-up breath and smiled, though Amelia noticed a distinct sag in his usually straight shoulders. “Yeah, just give me a few minutes to get changed.”
As quietly as he had emerged, Nick disappeared back down the door that led to the basement.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us,” her mother asked. She’d asked the same thing when they’d passed each other in the hallway when she’d first arrived home. Then, she’d barely gotten in the door. Now, she could go with them, but the idea of sitting awkwardly in the car so near to Nick turned her stomach. She needed to regroup.
She nodded a little too fast. “I’m sure.”
“Come on, Gabe. Let’s get a move on! I’m meeting Samantha in twenty minutes,” her mother called up the stairs. Sighing, she stepped closer to Amelia. “I’m sorry. This wasn’t the reception I had in mind, but I wasn’t expecting you until this evening. We’ll find time tonight, just you and me, and catch up?”
“Of course.” She glanced at the boxes piled in the front hall. “Maybe I can help you with party favors over hot chocolate?”
Her mother smiled. “Sounds great.” Turning to the stairs, she shouted once more for her son.
Gabe and Nick seemed to materialize at the same time.
Nick’s rapid transformation amazed Amelia. Gone was his bedhead. And he’d replaced his pajamas with dark wash jeans and a black t-shirt that stretched to its limits over his muscled chest.
Gabe vanished out the door after their mom, but Nick lingered, slipping on his running shoes. “Don’t worry, Amelia. I won’t say a word. But you can bet I’ll be back to collect.”
She frowned. “Collect what?”
His grin was wicked. “My payment for my silence about your little masturbation session.”
She wasn’t sure what part of his sentence to focus on. Swallowing, she managed to squeak, “Payment?”
He winked. “You’re not the only one with fantasies.”
The door shut between them before she could gather her wits.
What the hell just happened?
