and the clenching of her stomach turned unbearable. The addiction drove a knife through her insides.
Just a few drags.
A small hit.
The air had turned cool from another glorious New York City fall afternoon and a wispy chill in that part of the loading dock hallway cooled her heated cheeks. To her right was a dead-end. All cinderblock.
Just a few puffs. Was that too much to ask?
From her Prada wristlet, she took out her cigarette case. If she were going to have a disgusting loathsome habit, might as well look sophisticated with an engraved gold-plated flip case and matching lighter.
She couldn’t help but feel sexy fingering a sleek ciggy from the vintage holder. The black and gold-tipped Black Owl Special Flavor was her latest obsession. Special Flavor was code for chocolate to prevent marketing to kids. Because, yeah, only kids liked chocolate, not a stressed-out thirty-year-old woman everyone thought should be married.
The shiny gold butane lighter clicked open and after one turn of the igniter wheel the sexy orange flame danced out.
“Hello gorgeous,” she did her best Barbra Streisand impression.
Don’t judge!
Her lips wrapped around the forbidden column and she breathed in.
The kind of inhale that made her feel whole. Calmed her down. Screw the judgment because she had a vice.
Most men hated smokers. She’d found that out. What a shame how the moments when she felt so alive, so sexy, so...ravished was when she held the satiny rolled-up heaven between her fingers.
And her lips. Why didn’t that turn men on? Eat a banana or lick an ice cream cone and men tripped over their own feet. A beautiful satiny stick in her mouth with a beautiful glowing orange tip and people looked at her like a pariah.
Caught in her reverie, the minutes had gotten away from her. Figuring out the locked door had eaten up her precious smoke break. She puffed and puffed to get her fix, the tip glowing brighter and brighter.
Tilting her head up with her eyes closed she let go of the white smoke, snowy plumes floated all around her like a cloud. As the last bit of heaven slid past her lips, she blinked her eyes open.
And saw the smoke detector.
“Oh shoot.”
A piercing wail, swirling red lights, and a wicked spray of cold slimy water rained down on her. Ruining her hair, her makeup, and her dress, the central piece of her collection.
My collection.
Dear God, no.
Not...
Not her designs, her beautiful clothes all pressed and ready to be shown to a ballroom of four hundred people, including Vogue and Maire Claire...
Find out what happens next...
Grab FIERY BILLIONAIRE in Saints & Sinners Romance Anthology (15+ Romances for 99 cents)
MEET THE LORDS OF GOTHAM
New billionaires navigating the world of serious money and the women who can’t be bought.
A high-heat romance series set in the glitzy and wealthy world of New York City about HAF guys who’ve gone from middle classy to filthy rich. These alphas never had trouble with women before they were loaded. Now they have fortunes and secrets to protect. They need strong women who want a man for richer or for poorer.
Trophy wives need not apply.
The Lords of Gotham series features a recurring cast of sexy billionaires, but each book can be read as a stand-alone. No cheating. No cliffhangers.
Get the whole series:
Reluctant Billionaire, Book 1 (includes the Hart Brothers Prequel Book 0 ~ The Good Billionaire)
Daring the Billionaire, Book 2 (Hart Brothers Book 1)
Bossy Billionaire, Book 3 (Hart Brothers Book 2)
Rebel Billionaire, Book 4 (Hart Brothers Book 3)
Fiery Billionaire, Book 5: A Novella* in the Lords of Gotham Series.
*Part of the Saints & Sinner’s Anthology for 99 cents, releasing January 2021. (Theo Markham, Jr. and Victoria Holden)
MORE BOOKS BY DEBORAH GARLAND
Standalone Office and Billionaire Romances
Wait for Me: A Steamy Office Rivals Second Chance Romance
Stay with Me: A Billionaire’s Best Friend Accidental Baby Romance
Small Town Mallory Family Romances
Must Have Faith: A Second Chance Romance (North Fork Heroes Book 1)
Must Be Crazy: A Single Dad/Fireman Romance (North Fork Heroes Book 2)
A Must for Christmas: A Family Drama Holiday Romance (North Fork Heroes Book 3)
The Princeton Allegiant Series (Paranormal Romance/Vampires)
Drawing Bloodlines
Guarding Bloodlines
Matching Bloodlines
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I mostly want to thank fans of this series who waited patiently for Grayson’s book. It’s important for me to put out a quality romance instead of delivering just something. Grayson’s story was clear to me a year ago when I thought of Luke, Tristan, and Grayson as just billionaires and not brothers. Their stories were written independently. When I went to link them together, I noticed both Luke and Grayson were not the men I thought they were. Luke’s book was easy to re-write, but Grayson was a problem. He really earned his Rebel title.
Thank you, as always to my critique partner, Julie K. Cohen for her amazing edits and suggestions. I sometimes think she knows my characters better than I do. Also, a big thank you to my beta readers, Karen F. and Kia B. The reader’s opinion always rules supreme. I can’t deliver quality romances without you.
For now, this is the end of the Hart Brothers journey in the Lords of Gotham, but not the last book. It’s my hope 2021 more ‘lords’ will find themselves brought to their needs by sassy heroines who can’t be bought.
As usual, I thank my husband for standing by me during this insane year.
HERE’S DEBORAH
Deborah Garland is an Award-Winning author of emotional and funny, steamy romances!
She lives on the beautiful North Shore of Long Island with her very patient husband and their mischievous pug. She had to learn how to make her own Cosmopolitans and right now there’s a bartender who will NEVER see her again. She eats cheap mac and cheese with expensive red wine, her heroes are ALWAYS over six feet tall, and they fall, hard, HARD for the girl.
STAY IN TOUCH WITH ME...
My newsletter followers get not only a good laugh each month, but also updates on new releases, sales and giveaways.
SIGN UP HERE
Don’t forget to follow me on any of these great platforms:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookBub
I love to hear from readers. Contact me at:
https://www.deborahgarlandauthor.com/blog/