Title - Chasing Treasure: A Granite Lake Romance
Author: Jody A. Kessler
Genre: Contemporary Romance
After spending the winter apart, Treasure can’t stop thinking about her former paramedic partner, Bodie Everett. But, with her unfortunate history of dating, and an overwhelming fear of commitment, Treasure doesn’t know how she’ll react when Bodie returns from training at Wilderness School. Or, if the irresistible and sexy, Bodie, wants to continue where they left off back in December. With a flooded apartment and a ridiculous suspension from her job as a paramedic, Treasure heads to Granite Lake and back to her childhood home—a rundown apartment and a garage packed full of motorcycles.
Now that Bodie has new Search and Rescue certifications under his belt, he’s ready to move forward with his life. He hopes that includes a relationship with Treasure. After an unforgettable night together, he can’t seem to shake her from his head or his heart. He’s ready to take their friendship to the next level, but his intruding family members have their own agenda. Opening a brewpub with his brothers, joining the Mountain Division of Search and Rescue, and the surprise return of his ex-fiancé complicate and distract Bodie from chasing and catching Treasure.
"Exciting, steamy, romance that's heartfelt and entertaining!" – New York Times Bestselling Author Nancy Segovia
Treasure rolled over and admired, not for the first time, Court’s hard, delicious deltoid muscles. They capped broad shoulders and flowed seamlessly down to meet bulging biceps. His muscles elicited a baser need to climb on top of him, squeeze him between her thighs and stroke every inch of his incredible arms—and the rest of him too. His triceps were ripped. His forearms could have belonged to Popeye. She glanced at his chest and almost drooled at the sight of the smooth bronze pecs and rippling abs.
Court caught her attention the moment he entered the bar last night. She’d been chatting with friends and he quickly became the game of the evening. She supposed she’d won. In all honesty, her girlfriends hadn’t been as driven to win the prize as strongly as she had. Treasure knew going to Paradiso would more than likely provide a new boy-toy, or two, and she thought she was in the mood to fool around with someone new.
She hadn’t exactly meant to end up in bed with him, but she hadn’t been opposed to it either. Now, she was in Court’s brand new condo wondering where her clothes were while trying not to berate herself for sleeping with someone she just met. What did she even know about this guy? He told her he was new in town, which explained why she and her friends had never seen him before. He said he moved to Reno for a job and his last name was Prescott. Court Prescott. That should have been a huge flag to their sexual incompatibility. His name sounded ridiculously pretentious to Treasure even though he didn’t come across that way. And who names their kid Court anyway? It reminded her of basketball or tennis. Which brought on the image of balls and that made her snicker as she mentally renamed him Court Tennis Balls Prescott. Yeah, balls had definitely been involved last night, she thought, and knew it was juvenile, but ball jokes never got old. Except for actual old balls and that was unpleasant to think about.
Lying next to him, Treasure slid Court the side eye. This wasn’t the first time she’d done something like this, but it was the first time she regretted it with such whole-hearted distaste. He’d been a sloppy and unrefined lover. The thought of kissing him made her queasy. His lips were beautiful but had no finesse. She should have known after the first kiss sex with this man would be disappointing, but she’d pursued him and kept the foreplay going with the hope that the night would get better with a little coaching. It hadn’t. She cringed remembering the lackluster roll in the sack and his less than stellar performance. For all his good looks, the man had no moves. Was it the tequila shots? Some men couldn’t handle their liquor and their women in the same night. In her own experience, she thought alcohol improved her sex drive, lowered her inhibitions, and generally made naked encounters with men much more exciting. She’d have to rethink this approach. Either way, in her current state of undress, the insufficient stimulation after they left Paradiso clung to her like slime-coated cellophane.
She inched across the mattress and paused, listening for a change in Court’s breathing. If she could sneak away without waking him, it would save her a headache. She never wanted to see him again. Uggg, she groaned to herself when he rolled over and his hand brushed her side.
His eyelids fluttered before opening. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot. Treasure swallowed and wished she had pretended to be asleep. A sly grin crept across his face. His body had originally attracted her, but those damned dimples sealed the deal.
The dimples reminded her of Bodie and sent her mind reeling with vivid memories of her friend and work partner. When you watched Bodie smile, you had to search for the dimples, like they were a secret hiding just below the surface. Bodie’s dimples weren’t as deep as Court’s, but Bodie’s were sexier. She wished she could see them now, damn it. Why was Bodie always on her mind?
“Hi. I won our bet. You owe me a fantasy.”
“Hi to you too,” Bodie said on the other end of the line. “Where are you?”
“Granite Lake. I, umm,” Shivers crept over her skin after mentioning Granite Lake with Bodie’s voice in her ear. She wanted a replay of their night together. She needed him triply bad after her experience with Court.
“Hmm….” he hummed into the phone.
She didn’t know if any sexual innuendo existed in the smooth purr coming out of him, or if it was the sound of curiosity being answered, but her inner thighs shivered. The phone beeped its low battery warning. Tamping down her lust, she said, “It’s not as great as it sounds. I have a mess to clean up at my dad’s old place. And I have a disaster at work to handle when I return to civilization. Cheer me up before my phone dies.”
“No charger?”
“Uh-uh. I rushed to get to the mountains and accidentally left it behind.”
“What’s going on at the ambulance barn?”
“I don’t want to get into it.”
“That bad?” he asked.
“Sort of.” And worse, she thought to herself. “Working with you was a thousand times better.”
“About that…” he said.
Treasure filled the gap. “You’re a total punk. A paramedic demigod compared to what I’ve been dealing with.” She didn’t want to rehash her time spent with Court. Luckily Bodie shifted gears.
“Boosting up my ego again? You better watch yourself Treasure or I’m going to think you’re a nice girl or something.”
“I can be nice. When I want to.” Treasure walked into the apartment and curled up on the couch.
“You may not be so kind when I tell you my news.”
“I’m not sure I can handle any more bad news today. Can’t you just tell me your naughtiest fantasy before my phone dies? I need something tantalizing to get me through the night.”
“You’re so not ready for one of my fantasies.”
“Now you have to tell me. I promise I can handle it.”
“I don’t think so. Besides, I didn’t agree you won,” he said.
“I did. But since you object, I’ll tell you a secret.”
She almost said, ‘I can’t wait to see you again. You’ve totally ruined my chances at ever having a worthwhile orgasm and you need to help me out immediately.’ Instead, she bit her lip. They weren’t a couple and she didn’t know what he thought about jumping into a relationship. “I miss you, Bodie. Work was pure hell this week.”
He stayed silent for a beat too long. Treasure regretted her confession. Speaking her emotions was difficult. She’d rather have a root canal in most cases. The secret she shared wouldn’t be hard for any normal person to say aloud, but it felt a little too real for Treasure. In the next moment, she erased her regret. She wanted to be truer to herself where Bodie was concerned.
“Now it’s my turn. I miss you too. I’m fantasizing about a hot day.” He paused again.
Treasure’s dour outlook perked up a bit. She liked when he said “fantasize,” and “hot.”
“You and me,” he continued. “I want to take the boat out on the lake. You up for it?”
“Definitely,” she said.
“Good.”
He didn’t continue like she hoped.
“That’s it? That’s your fantasy?”
“No. Of course there’s more. It has to be hot enough to swim. We’ll bring beer. Good beer. IPA beer. And chips and donuts. Why you like those awful mini powdered donuts is beyond me.”
She smiled into the phone. “And mini cherry pie.”
“Yeah, those too. And I can’t wait to put my hands on you…” he paused for affect.
Treasure held her breath imagining his hands on her body.
“And push your ass into the water.”
“Nice. Real nice,” she said sarcastically. “Your fantasy is lacking…umm,” she paused, searching for the right words. “Zing. Zest. Color. Sexiness. Give me something to warm me up and keep me company while I sleep.”
“What are you talking about? My fantasy is perfect.” He sounded offended. “I’ll let you wrap your hands around my…fishing pole if you want.”
“Fishing pole better be code for something else, Bodie Everett,” she warned, and laughed when she heard him snickering.
Jody A. Kessler is the winner of the Readers’ Crown Award for Best Paranormal Romance and an international bestselling author. She writes contemporary romance, historical time travel fiction, and paranormal fiction. She is the author of the An Angel Falls series, Granite Lake Romance series, The Night Medicine and more.
Jody invites you to stop by her website and see what’s new at: www.JodyAKessler.com. Subscribe to the newsletter and receive a FREE eBook.
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