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After several decades of looking for true love and never finding it, aging model and lingerie designer, Alexa Ranger, has finally given up the search. A couple years ago, she got tired of the game completely and just stopped dating. Now friends and family keep her mostly content, so it’s shocking at 50 yrs old to find herself suddenly wanting a sex life again. It’s even more shocking to be attracted to a much younger man this time. She definitely thinks medically retired Marine, Casey Carter is sexy, but can’t get passed their twelve year age difference to even consider a fling. Not that it matters anyway, anything resembling a normal dating relationship is totally out of the question because Casey is related to and living with her daughter’s boyfriend. The very last thing Alexa needs is yet another talk-show worthy drama in her already complicated life, no matter how amazing Casey’s kisses make her feel.
Excerpt:
As they pulled into her neighborhood,
Casey saw that Alexa lived in a gated community with a live guard.
She had yet another security gate on the area around her house, and
told him she had an electronic door lock that only worked with the
key inserted. All of which meant Alexa had not been kidding when she
had described her home as a fortress.
“So exactly who are you keeping out
with all this security?”
Alexa looked at him as she raised the
garage door. “Is that criticism I hear in your tone? I thought as a
military guy you would appreciate it.”
“I do,” Casey replied, “but—well,
it seems like a lot, even for a well-known model turned lingerie
designer.”
Alexa pulled the car into the attached
garage and turned off the ignition while she pondered how to answer.
“For many years, I wanted to keep out
the media people who just wanted to get a picture of the man I
brought home for the night. Truth was I usually went home with my
date when I was inclined, not the other way around. The only men who
came to my home were Jenna’s father and Sydney. But I have always
felt a need to protect my family from my public life.”
Alexa looked out into the dark garage.
She was momentarily lost in thought, realizing how tame her life was
now compared to even five years ago. “I wasn’t always successful
in keeping my private life private, but I tried. The security helped
me feel like I was doing that.”
Casey reached over and took one of her
hands in his. “It wasn’t a criticism, just a curiosity type of
question.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Sorry
I’m so glum.”
When Casey squeezed her hand in
support, it turned her smile into a genuine one.
“I haven’t been asked anything
about myself in a while. I don’t mean to be so defensive. My
don’t-give-a-damn is honed from years of practice.”
“I know you’ve had a very different
life than mine. I’m far too curious about you to not ask
questions,” Casey warned, playing with her fingers. “I like you
and want to get to know you.”
Alexa did laugh openly then. “Your
mind is clouded by lust, Casey. We’ll see how you feel in the
morning.”
Casey grinned at Alexa, hearing the
unspoken fear in her voice. He had his own worries, but no doubts
about being with her. “Morning, huh? Are you already asking me to
spend the night?”
Alexa smiled back. “Why? You fishing
for an invitation already?”
“Hell yes,” Casey replied quickly.
“But I need more than one night. I want to spend the weekend. I’m
even wondering if I can talk you into taking the day off tomorrow.”
Alexa laughed with genuine amusement at
that one. “No man is that good in bed. I have a business to run. I
work when I want to and need to. Men are fun, but they don’t
distract me from my greater purpose. I’m a business owner as well
as a woman.”
“Sounds like a challenge to see if I
can change your mind about which priority should come first,” Casey
said, lifting her hand to his lips for a kiss.
Alexa laughed again at his macho
bragging. “Been there, seen that movie. Orgasms don’t last that
long, Mr. Carter.”
Casey laughed hard at her statement,
his whole body vibrating with excitement. “Wow, you definitely are
jaded and cynical. Or maybe you’ve just never had really,
really, really great sex. I plan to rock your world lady—not
bragging, just fact—but I admit it will probably take a few times.
I’m a bit out of practice.”
“Well, you’re in luck,” Alexa
said, laughing. “Pleasing me in bed will be easier than you think.
I have a short fuse.” She paused to consider what she’d just told
him. “Does this count as our sex talk?”
Casey barely kept the rolling laugh
building inside him from escaping. The woman was so damn forthright.
It was hard to frown when he was so tempted to pull her across the
console into his lap. “No. I want to know how many men you’ve
been with, but at the same time, I really don’t. I’m having a
morale dilemma, so I’m stalling.”
“You mean moral dilemma, don’t
you?” Alexa asked with a giggle.
“No. I mean morale,” Casey
said easily. “There have only been six women in my sex life. When I
found Susan, she was it for me. And honestly, she gave me everything
I wanted. I never looked beyond her—until I met you.”
Alexa could only look at Casey and
sigh. He had so much to give a woman whose heart was as open and
trusting as his seemed to be. She wondered again why he wasn’t
pursuing someone a lot younger than her. He could have a wife and
children if he wanted them, not just settling for sex with an older
woman like her. She could still send him away, but now she didn’t
want to.
While she looked at the man holding her
hand as they sat in the car, all she could think was how great it
would have been to have met Casey twenty years ago. Instead of her
fifty-year-old self, Casey would have been sleeping with a very
different woman tonight. He was certainly not getting the nice
version of her for sure.
“Do you seriously want to know how
many men?”
“Yes. I’m not naïve, you know.
Given the differences in our ages, and the fact you never married,
it’s only reasonable to assume you’ve been with more partners
than me.”
Alexa snorted at his statement. Here
comes the judgment, she thought. “How magnanimous of you, Mr.
Carter. So do you want a drink first to brace yourself?”
Casey held Alexa’s gaze trying to
determine if she was worried or not about what he thought. He decided
he couldn’t tell. Either he was too nervous to figure it out, or
Alexa truly didn’t care. In the end, he decided neither would
change their reality. It was a waste of time to worry about how many
men had been in her bed before him.
“Am I going to need a drink to hear
the answer?” he asked finally.
“Depends. Are you a person who peels
off a band-aid slowly or just rips it off all at once?”
Casey contemplated the warning,
recognizing it for what it was. He watched Alexa tracing the steering
wheel with her hands as she waited for his response. He badly wanted
those capable, confident, experienced hands on him, stroking him as
boldly as they had every other time she’d touched him. That
was the real answer—and the only one that mattered.
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