âDonât tell me what to do,â Jocelyn said as she glared at him.
Placing her hands on her hips she added, âAnd Iâd appreciate it if you would keep from underfoot.â
âUnderfoot?â Bas growled. In the blink of an eye, heâd crossed the room and backed her against the far wall in the cramped office. âYou wouldnât know underfoot if it bit you, Jocelyn. This is underfoot,â he said heatedly, pressing his body intimately to hers.
âDonât push me,â he warned huskily. âEspecially not for all the wrong reasons.â
Jocelyn frowned, refusing to back down. âWith you there couldnât be any right reasons. And if you didnât understand, then let me make it crystal clear. Youâre not the boss of me.â
His eyes met hers and he gazed into their angry depths. He was experienced enough to see beyond the anger and to notice something else, something she was trying like hell to fightâdeep longing, need and heated desireâ¦.
is a die-âheartâ romantic who married her childhood sweetheart and still proudly wears the âgoing steadyâ ring he gave her when she was fifteen. Because sheâs always believed in the power of love, Brendaâs stories always have happy endings. A USA TODAY bestselling author of over forty romance titles, Brenda divides her time between family, writing and working in management at a major insurance company.
In her real-life love story, Brenda and her husband of thirty-four years live in Jacksonville, Florida and have two sons. You may write Brenda at P.O Box 28267, Jacksonville, FL 32226, e-mail her at [email protected], or visit her Web site at www.brendajackson.net.
To Gerald Jackson, Sr., the man who
showed me what true love was all about.
To all my readers who continue to enjoy my love stories.
To my Heavenly Father who gave me the gift to write.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning was the first day.
Genesis 1:5 KJV
Dear Reader,
When I first penned my Madaris series I knew those books would be connected by family ties and friendships. The same held true with the Westmorelands and now with the Steeles. Whenever you pick up one of my novels I want to introduce you to new friends, as well as give you the chance to visit with old favorites.
You met Sebastian Steele in Solid Soul, and from the time he made an appearance in Chance and Kylieâs story, I knew he would be the hero of the second book in the FORGED OF STEELE series. I also knew that it would take an extraordinary womanâlike Jocelyn Masonâto show a workaholic like Bas that all work and no play results in plenty of lonely nights. What Bas needed was a lesson in how to have fun and Jocelyn was quick to oblige.
Join Bas and Jocelyn as they bring on the night heat and discover how much fun falling in love can be!
Enjoy,
Brenda Jackson
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
âWhat do you mean I need to take time off work for medical reasons?â Sebastian Steele asked, squirming uncomfortably under Dr. Joe Nelsonâs intense gaze. It was that time of year againâthe company physical. An event he detested.
Last year Dr. Nelsonâwho to Sebastianâs way of thinking should be staring retirement real close in the faceâhad told Sebastian that his blood pressure was too high and as a result he needed to adopt a healthier lifestyle, a lifestyle that included improving his eating habits, taking the medication heâd been prescribed, becoming more physically active and eliminating stress by reducing his hours at work.
Sebastian had done none of those things.
It wasnât that he hadnât taken the doctor seriously; it was just that he hadnât had the time to make the changes the man had requested. Sebastian, better known as Bas, was single and used to grabbing something to eat on the run. Asking him to give up fried chicken was simply un-American. As far as taking the medication the doctor had prescribed, well, he would take the damn things if he could remember to have the prescription filled.
Then there was this thing about becoming physically active. He guessed having sex on a regular basis didnât count. And even if it did, that would be a moot point now, since heâd broken his engagement to Cassandra Tisdale eight months ago and hadnât had another bed partner since.
Last but not least was this nonsense about eliminating stress by cutting his work hours. Now that was really asking a lot. He lived to work and he worked to live. The term workaholic could definitely be used to describe him. The Steele Corporation was more than just a company to Sebastian; it was a lifeline. He thoroughly enjoyed his job in the family business as troubleshooter and problem solver.
âYou heard me correctly, Bas. I recommend that you take a three-month medical leave of absence.â
Sebastian shook his head. âYou canât be serious.â