Bad Reputation, page 28
I’m still just a numbers guy.
We also bought two thousand acres in the hill country of Texas. I can’t have a queen with no land to rule. She says it’s a perfect place to raise our Everest clan one day.
One day can’t come soon enough.
I climb over her and lie down, putting my weight on her like she makes me do all the time. Well, I don’t put it all on her. I’m six foot four to her five foot four. I’m not trying to crush her. I bring the covers down far enough for me to see her face and then rest on my elbows. “Because a safe word is used during sexual acts. I’m just tickling you.”
“Oh, is that when I’m supposed to yell spider?”
“What? No. Not spider. Aunt.” Now she has my mind muddled.
“What’s the difference? They’re both insects.”
I start laughing. “Not aunt. Ant. Ant is an insect.” I can’t even continue to torture her with tickles right now. Stitches from laughter are forming in my sides.
“They sound the same.”
I fall to the side of her, and say, “You’re actually supposed to call out uncle. Not aunt or ant.”
“Why?”
Grabbing my side, I sit up. “I have no idea, but that makes me wonder what else you missed out on living in the palace. Did you ever play Marco Polo as a kid?”
“There’s a children’s game named after the Italian explorer?”
I shake my head. “We have a lot to catch you up on.”
She stretches to reach the remote and clicks on the TV. “Another time. It’s Monday. You know what that means?”
“Do I need to worry about your football addiction?”
“No. Shhh. We missed the first quarter.”
Standing totally naked next to the bed, I ask, “What is it that you love about football so much?”
“What’s not to love? Tight pants. Big men.”
“How do you feel about no pants? I’m working that angle hard right now.”
She glances and then does a double take. Clicking the TV off, she says, “No pants on you should totally be a thing, a regular thing. Like always. We can make it a bylaw.” She comes crawling right across the top of the bed, and when she reaches me, she looks up. “What do you want to do?”
“You. Are you up for a little role play?”
“Let me get the tiara.” When she scrambles to the end of the bed, she lifts her grandmother’s crown from the post and sets it on her head. My wife is stunning with her bare breasts, full hips, and the confidence to wear a tiara valued over one million dollars to bed.
It’s crooked. As it should be.
When she lies back down, she asks, “Want to make a baby?”
“Absolutely.”
“Now about that mustard . . .”
“I love you, my queen.”
She pulls me to her and kisses me hard. “I love you, too, my king.”
You met Ethan Everest in Bad Reputation, but now is the time to get to know him and what obstacles he has to overcome in his romantic suspense story. This bestselling novel will charm you as well as keep you on your toes as the story unfolds. Turn the page for a sneak peek into his book.
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Everest
Prologue
Ethan Everest
Every female here has eyed me up and down, even the ones with boyfriends. They don’t even try to hide it. They want me to see. They want me to know I can have them if I want them.
Except her. Blue dress. Red lips. Hair the color of a golden sunset in winter.
Several girls made themselves more than available. I was offered a fast fuck in the bathroom within fifteen minutes of arriving. Fantasies may be taking over, but there’s only one woman who catches my eyes—the demure beauty sitting on the couch.
I want to stare at her.
She’ll see me though.
I want to sit next to her.
There are no more spots on the small futon.
I want to talk to her.
What do I say when she makes all the blood rush from my brain and shoot straight to my dick? Damn, I want her.
She’s given me no reason to think of her naked beneath me. No indication that I should have dirty thoughts about those delectable lips. Absolutely no sign that I could have the pleasure of stroking her bare back while I take her from behind.
Fuck. Me.
While images of her cloud my thoughts, I’m not sure I have a shot in hell of even taking up a minute of her time, much less a night. Nope, not one clue if I have a chance with this beauty.
I’ll take the risk, something I’m adept at doing. More often than not I win in the end. She won’t be an easy target, but nothing worth having ever is. I’m determined to find out if her tongue is as seductive as her eyes.
Although she brings out my instinctive side, this is not about sex and passing time. It’s about spending time with someone who challenges my mind while turning on my body.
Nudging the guy who lives here, I signal across the room and ask, “What’s her name?”
“Who?” He follows my gaze. “The hottie on the couch?”
Heart-shaped face, flawless skin, ample tits, hourglass shape at her waist. She’s not built like a girl who doesn’t eat. She’s shaped like a woman I want to meet. “Yeah.”
“Dariya Rostavik. She’s fucking hot.” He pats my shoulder. “And single. If my girlfriend wasn’t here, I’d be all over that.”
“Cuz you’re an asshole.” Her name, Dariya, rolls around my mouth, spikey instead of rolling off the tongue naturally. The name doesn’t fit her.
“Pretty much.” He laughs. “You gonna hit it, Everest?”
“I don’t know.” I feign interest to him, lying to get his eyes off her. “Fuck, they scored again.” My diversion works, and his attention is back on the big screen.
The truth is, I don’t know if I’m going to hookup with her. I’ve caught her looking at me when she thinks I don’t notice. But is she looking at me the way I’m looking at her?
Was I busted moving closer when she was talking to her friend? Did she see me eavesdropping to hear her voice? Did she notice when I joined a conversation behind her to be closer? Or that I stepped out of the way of the fridge when she wanted a bottle of water?
I never get shot down by women. I’ve lived on easy street when it comes to my looks and, from what I’m told, my personality, attracting the most attractive. Something tells me I might be rejected by her.
She’s not like the other girls here. Nothing about her fits in this environment—a party with a bunch of guys getting drunk while watching sports and yelling at the TV and girls dragged here by their boyfriends or convinced by their friends to stop by.
She’s an innocent among sycophants. Everyone wants something from me, except her. Sexy and smart—speaks right to my heart.
I catch her eyes on me again. This time I stare back until she looks away with a pretty pink coloring her cheeks.
This game with her is much more interesting than the one on TV. I follow her with my eyes as she gets up and joins a group by the window. She seems to know the other girl, but not so much the two guys.
Good, I inwardly growl.
Keith hits me in the chest. “Who do you have your eyes on?”
“The woman by the window.”
My best friend shakes his head. “No. Check out eleven o’clock. She’s a model from Romania. Hot as fuck.”
“Not interested. I want more than a fuck.”
“I’m sorry. Have we met?” His sarcasm is as annoying as he’s been lately at the office.
“I’m for real.”
“So am I.”
I exhale and shoot him a glare. “I really am. I can fuck anyone. I want to spend time with someone who interests me.”
“You’re working too much. You’re so caught up in your head lately you’re missing what life is really about.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I indulge him. “And what is life really about?”
“Doing everything in your power to get it while the gettin’s good.”
“Are we talking about business or women?”
“Both.”
The model is hot, but I feel like I’ve been there done that. I don’t care what he wants. He can have shallow, meaningless relationships. They’re more hassle than they’re worth.
Glancing toward the woman outside, an ease comes over me, releasing some of the pent-up pressure that’s been expanding lately. “You go for the model. I’ll go for Dariya.”
“Dariya?” I’m knocked on the arm, and he points toward the couch. “That’s Dariya, man.”
“The model?”
“Yeah,” he says, laughing.
Thank fuck I didn’t go outside and call the beauty by the wrong name. “I’ll be back.” I grab two cans and head toward the window. I stop briefly by the group she was talking to prior, but they’re buried deep into a conversation about American consumerism. I’m not interested in their philosophical views on finances. The only thing I’m interested in is the pretty woman sitting alone outside. The woman excuses herself and I ask, “Hey, you guys know her name?”
They look outside. “Singer.”
“She’s a singer?”
“No,” he says, chuckling. “Her name is Singer. Singer Davis. She came here with her friend, Melanie, who just left.”
I don’t hear most of what he says because I’m stuck on the woman with the red lips. Singer. Singer Davis. “Thanks.”
Singer’s been sitting on that fire escape by herself long enough to not feel like I’m invading her space, like she’s taken over my thoughts. I seize the moment and climb out.
This is where our story begins . . .
EVEREST - Read Now: CLICK HERE
From New York Times Bestselling Author, S.L. Scott, comes a ROMANTIC SUSPENSE STANDALONE that will have you on the edge of your seat and swooning over this new ALPHA BILLIONAIRE. Now Available.
On a Personal Note
What an amazing experience it was to write this book and create a new world where women rule and the men who love them. And the reverse because Hutton is awesome and his steady love and patience gave Ally the strength to be who she was really meant to be.
I owe so much to the team that helps me through all the stages of my publishing journey with their insight and friendship. Each person adds so much to make this story shine. Thank you: Adriana Locke, Andrea Johnston, Kristen Johnson, Lynsey Johnson, Marion A., Marla Esposito, and Devyn Jensen.
My family is my everything. I’m so grateful to not only have their support, but their love <3
XOXO,
Suzie
About the Author
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Also by S.L. Scott
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Everest - NOW AVAILABLE
Bennett Everest - Coming in 2019
The Crow Brothers
Spark
Tulsa
Rivers
Ridge
Hard to Resist Series
The Resistance
The Reckoning
The Redemption
The Revolution
The Rebellion
The Kingwood Duet
SAVAGE
SAVIOR
SACRED
SOLACE
Talk to Me Duet
Sweet Talk
Dirty Talk
Welcome to Paradise Series
Good Vibrations
Good Intentions
Good Sensations
Happy Endings
Welcome to Paradise Series
From the Inside Out Series
Scorned
Jealousy
Dylan
Austin
From the Inside Out Compilation
Stand Alone Books
Bad Reputation
Everest
Missing Grace
Until I Met You
Drunk on Love
Naturally, Charlie
A Prior Engagement
Lost in Translation
Sleeping with Mr. Sexy
Morning Glory
S.L. Scott, Bad Reputation
