Detective Kyle Anderson is a man of simple tastes and reasonably low expectations. Give him a juicy steak and no homicides, and he’d call it good. When his sister Katelyn got engaged to his best friend Dominic, he’d figured the worst of the unnecessary drama in his life was over. But that was before Dom’s free-spirited, twig-eating, exasperating sister Demetria came back to Nebraska and completely hijacked the planning of the wedding, starting with inviting Dom’s ex-wife Isabel. Now Kate’s so determined to prove Isabel is up to no good that she insists Kyle date her to keep her away from Dom. Soon Kyle is so knee deep in Anderson-Valentini dramatics, he’s thinking of changing his name and moving to Tibet. If he could just get Demi the impossibly sexy granola-flake off his mind long enough to do it…
Author’s Note: Contains both Dom and Kate short romances The Bird Day Battalion and The V-Day Aversion as well as the full length novel The Good Life.
Bonus Stories:
The Bird Day Battalion
Meet Katelyn Anderson, a play by the rules, temporarily out of work archaeologist desperate to pull off the perfect Thanksgiving dinner for her family. Enter Dominic Valentini, her oldest friend and former neighbor, a take chances, take control, think outside the box kind of man. Kate needs his help. Dom just needs her.
The V-Day Aversion
It's two days from Valentine's Day, and Dominic is a man with a plan. Katelyn is a woman with her own plan: avoid whatever Dominic's got planned. When Katelyn's sister Kandace asks Kate to help catch her estranged husband cheating, Kate jumps at the opportunity because she hates Valentine's Day. Poor Dom just wants Kate to stand still long enough to give her a Valentine's Day to remember. Can he offer her something to change her mind?
The Good Life Buy Links
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/GoodLifeDK
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/446614
The Good Life excerpt
#1 (~760 words):
“I can’t stay with you!”
“Why not? It’s not like we didn’t start the evening in bed
together. All joking aside, I’m not in the habit of molesting my girlfriends
while they sleep.”
“Kyle! That’s not—Err…” Demi growled, flailing her hands as
she paced. “How—I mean why—I just…” she stopped and drew in a large breath.
“How did you go from thinking I’m an idiot to deciding to hound me for a
relationship?”
“Correction, I have never thought you’re an idiot. I think you
are the farthest thing from an idiot. You are an intelligent, successful woman
with an incomprehensible hatred of bacon who occasionally pretends to be a flake. Hence the nickname granola-flake. Which is way worse than actually being an idiot.”
She huffed.
“That’s my point though. Underneath all this,” she waved her
hands again. “…is still that undercurrent of disapproval from you.”
“So change my mind. You’ve already proved me wrong on one
major thing. I’m more open minded than you give me credit for. You seem
determined to still see me as a narrow-minded bigot. This is a two-way street,
woman,” Kyle growled.
“What was that one thing?” she asked, blinking in
consternation.
“Let’s put it this way… I can tell when a woman hasn’t had a
lot of sexual experience. Either that or you have shitty ass taste in men who are selfish in bed. But you
deliberately cultivate this flower child, free love, come-and-get-it, sex
goddess persona.”
Her mouth worked for several seconds. “I have too had a lot
of sex!” She cringed and looked side to side, then spoke in a lower tone, “I
mean, not a lot…but plenty.” Of
course, most of it had been in the same calendar year, but he didn’t need to
know that.
“So shitty taste, then,” he shrugged. “Alright, fine.
Mystery solved.”
“Uh,” she huffed. “What’s that say about you?”
“Nothing, since I picked you.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did. I am currently the only person in this
relationship who’s done any conscious picking.”
“We are not in a relationship!”
“Says who?”
“You are a maddening
man…” she replied, utterly flabbergasted. “It takes two people to be in a
relationship. You can’t just wake up one morning and decide you’re going to be
with someone.”
“Sure you can. Technically speaking, it was you who made the
first move.”
“No, I didn’t!”
“I guess that’s just how us Andersons roll. When we decide
to do something, or change our minds about something and go in a different
direction we just…” Kyle skipped his hands together, making a clapping sound,
“…do it. Some, like Kate, take
forever to get to that decision, but there’s no hesitancy on the course of
action once the decision’s been made.”
Demi narrowed her eyes, mouth slightly parted. “You wouldn’t
be saying that if you’d participated in any of the wedding planning with her.”
“That has never been about doubting her decision to marry
Dominic and everything about Kate’s bad habit of trying to please everyone even
knowing it is simply not possible to please everyone at the same time,” he said,
then stood up and grabbed her again, scooping her off her feet.
She gasped and reflexively grabbed his shoulders. He sat back
down on the chair and tucked her head with his again.
She sighed with a sudden realization, “You’re just trying to
distract me, aren’t you?”
He smiled at her, “Maybe.
A little bit.”
She reached up and gently traced his swollen lip again then
laid her head back against his shoulder.
“That’s what boyfriends do,” he continued.
She laughed and smacked his chest, “Are not.”
“She says while sitting on my lap… hours after having
exchanged bodily fluids—”
“Stop!” she laughed and smacked him again.
He chuckled and squeezed her.
“Thank you,” she whispered after a moment.
He answered with another kiss to her head. She was willing
to admit the ‘solid, dependable type’ did have its benefits.
She sighed and squeezed him back. “You’re a good man, Kyle
Anderson.”
“Eh, I’m alright,” Kyle kissed her again. “I just wanted to
let you know… I mean, I try to ease my girlfriends into this, but… my family’s
sort of insane. Just so you know.”
She laughed so hard she started crying, and that seemed so
silly that it made her laugh some more. He rocked her a bit and it wasn’t long
before she dozed off again, held tight in his arms.
--The Good Life © 2014 by Genevieve Dewey, All Rights Reserved.
The Good Life excerpt #2 (~750 words, sexual content):
He stood up and led her onto the dance floor to join the
bride and groom. No one looked askance at them, after all, they were the maid
of honor and best man; it was tradition anyway. But when he kept her in a close
embrace even into the next song, Demi caught her brother’s eye. He had that
protective look back on his features. She pushed Kyle away just slightly. He
obliged, but only just.
Kyle’s eyes were smoky and dark like the underside of a
storm cloud. He began to sing along with the song in a soft baritone, “Wise men
say… only fools rush in… but I…”
“Stop,” she hissed. Her voice sounded insincere even to her
own ears. It didn’t help he was doing a pretty good impression of Elvis, and
her favorite song, no less.
He grinned and the laugh lines at the edge of his eyes
highlighted a scar next to his eyebrow she hadn’t noticed previously.
“Where’d you get that scar?” she asked.
“Dom and I and some college buddies were white river rafting
about six years ago and my tube tipped over. He actually saved my life. It’s
extra ironic because at the time we still disliked each other, and were only
there together because we had a mutual friend invite us both. But after that,
and a bottle of Wild Turkey, we’ve been tight.”
“I didn’t realize that,” she whispered, wondering why she
had never thought to ask.
“A lot’s happened while you were away,” he said. For once
there was no accusation or judgment in his tone.
She looked over his shoulder again. Kate was unsubtly
dragging Dom from the floor where he was glowering at Kyle and Demi’s dance.
She urged him to sit down at the table with her parents, back facing towards
them. Shortly thereafter, Kyle began to guide Demi towards the edge of the
room, making her wonder if twins had some sort of ESP.
“Kyle…” she warned. “Someone will notice.”
“Let them.”
“Kyle…”
“I want to be with
you, Demetria. Go on dates, have sex and pointless arguments, figure out why
you like to eat rabbit food, be the person you call first when you’ve had a bad
day, come over and hold your hair when you’re sick. How much clearer can I make
this?” he asked.
They were now at the edge of the hall. He dropped his
embrace and tugged her by the hand. She didn’t know why she followed. Maybe the
daze brought on by his goofy list, maybe the way her heart raced at the simple
sweetness of it. Maybe it was the sugar high.
Kyle tugged her into a side room and shut the door. Just
like their first time, Demi was the one to draw his mouth to hers. His hands
undid his belt and slacks then pushed her dress up, and yanked her hose down.
He hitched her up and backed into a chair, keeping their mouths locked. He
grabbed her hips as he sat and she knelt to straddle him in it.
“Ungh,” she moaned
when he entered her without any more preparation than a few dozen sensuous
kisses. She was just dry enough that it felt forceful, but wet enough for it to
not be painful. For some reason the rough sensation was an incredible turn on.
She grabbed his head and deepened her kisses while he moved her up and down on
his cock. He broke the kiss and moved his mouth to her neck.
“Say yes,” he whispered.
She shivered from the tickle it made on her skin. She had
forgotten what she was supposed to be answering. She gripped his head firmer
and started moving faster on his lap. He grabbed her hips and stilled her, then
waited until she looked in his eyes.
“Say yes,” he repeated. “Take a chance on me. On us.” His
voice and expression were passionate and demanding.
Her flesh and soul felt inexorably tangled up in lust and
longing, yearning not just for his body, but to discover what it would be like
to be cherished by him.
--The Good Life © 2014 by Genevieve Dewey, All Rights Reserved.
About the Author:
Genevieve
lives in Nebraska with her husband and three children. She has a Master’s
Degree in Anthropology and a passion for reading, writing, and research. Her
favorite subjects are organized crime, anthropology, and Chicago where her
family is from (she still hasn’t quite forgiven them for leaving). Her books
include:
The Downey Trilogy
First, I
Love You
Second of
All
Third Time’s
The Charm
Dom & Kate
The Bird Day
Battalion
The V-Day
Aversion
The Good
Life
Please feel free to connect with Gen online:
(Get missing scenes and supplemental flash fiction!)
Thank you, Travis!
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