A Case for Romance

“You should know me better than that. You only get the best, baby. And I didn’t want to keep our neighbors up since I think you’re gonna be loud.”

She opened her mouth for an indignant retort and got a mouthful of joy for her efforts. He covered her lips with his and kissed her until she was breathless. “I’m not loud,” she whispered.

“Yes, but you will be.” Still holding her hips, he pulled her closer, stroking and squeezing her butt. “Did I ever tell you what a cute bottom you have?”

“Actually, no, you’ve never mentioned it.”

started reading when she was four, and believes that’s why she’s a writer today. She was always fascinated with books and loved telling stories. From the time Melanie was very small she wanted to be a writer. She fell in love with romance novels when she began reading the ones her mother would bring home. She would go to any store that sold paperbacks and load up! Whenever Melanie had a spare moment she was reading. She loves romance fiction because it’s always so hopeful. Despite the harsh realities of life, romance stories always remind readers of the wonderful, exciting adventure of falling in love and meeting your soul mate. Melanie believes in love and romance with all her heart. She finds fulfillment in writing stories about compelling couples who find true, lasting love in the face of all the obstacles out there. She hopes all of her readers find true love. If they’ve already been lucky enough to find love, Melanie hopes that they never forget what it felt like to fall in love.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This one is for all my readers. You have encouraged me

in good times and lifted me up during bad times and I appreciate every one of you. Stay blessed and keep reading, the best is yet to come.

Dear Reader,

So many of you wanted to know if I was going to write about Ayanna finding love that I was glad I planned this story. Ayanna has been a dedicated mother for so long she’s forgotten all about being a woman. And when her beloved boys spend the summer with her mom in South Carolina, she has the perfect opportunity to have a little fun. She feels comfortable with Johnny Phillips because he’s the brother of her best friend. But he very quickly lets her know that he’s attracted to her in a very non-brotherly fashion. Their dating turns into a steamy affair that Ayanna assumes is just for the summer. Johnny doesn’t have any plans for ending their romance, ever.

I always like books in which the player gets caught up in his own game, and this is a variation on that. Johnny has always vowed that he would never get married, ever. But he can’t make that claim anymore; there’s something about Ayanna that has him sprung, totally caught up. The fact that she’s not taking their relationship as seriously as he is is a real wake-up call for him.

It’s not that Ayanna doesn’t have strong feelings for Johnny—she does. But she decides to get from him what she can, while she can. With Ayanna it’s a case of not getting her feelings hurt by not getting her hopes up.

I wanted to explore the idea that there are two big obstacles that can prevent you from getting what you want out of life. Sometimes, like Johnny, you don’t really know what you want, and sometimes, like Ayanna, you don’t think you can have it because you believe it’s out of your league.

What I have found is that you can make your wishes come true if you’re smart enough to know the deepest desire of your heart and you’re bold enough to go after it.

Stay Blessed,

Melanie

I Chronicles 4:10

[email protected]

To Gwen Osborne, Janice Sims and my sister Betty Dowdell for always being there for me. Your positive thoughts and prayers always sustain me. A special shout-out to Jan, who keeps me laughing.

And to Jamil, thanks for the running political commentary.

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

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Epilogue

P leasure swept over Ayanna like the warm water that was falling on her naked body. Standing under a waterfall in a secluded cove on a Hawaiian beach, her low moan was swallowed by her lover’s mouth, the mouth that had taught her more about love and sensuality than she thought possible. A week ago she wouldn’t have believed this kind of abandon was possible, but now she knew for a fact that it could happen. It had happened to her over and over again since their getaway had begun. Ramon had shown her passion beyond belief every day and night, and now he was giving it to her again.

“Ramon.” She sighed as his hands tightened on her butt, pulling her closer to his rock-hard manhood. The sigh turned into a sudden gasp as he lifted her so she could straddle him. The powerful muscles of his thighs were braced to hold her as she clung to his broad shoulders. He looked into her eyes, and her already rapid heartbeat seemed to triple. The way he was filling her yearning body was enough to make her faint, but the look in his ebony eyes was drowning her in sensation. Her nipples were so huge and hard she thought they might explode, but Ramon took one in his mouth and sucked hard and fierce so that the only explosion possible was the one they shared as—