"Bittersweet Memories"

by Mary Ann Reed & Suzanne Merritt

Copyright ©2002
ISBN: 0-87714-813-9 eBook edition
ISBN: 0-87714-299-8 PB edition

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

THE AUTHOR

Mary Ann and Suzanne wrote Bittersweet Memories, integrating their ideas into a steamy romance. When they plot their romance novels, they hope to give readers enjoyment and entertainment throughout the book.

As sisters, they have their disagreements over what parts of the book should be left intact, or changed, but in the end, they always compromise and produce a finished story.

THE BOOK

Renay McKiensie has a secret in her past. Jake Savage fathered her son, Tyler, before she became a singing star. Jake turns up unexpectedly at her concert after disappearing from her life five years earlier.

She refuses to reveal that Tyler is his son. Renay reasons that Jake walked out on her once and he would do it again, so she is reluctant to admit the truth to him.

Desire and passion fill both characters when they meet again, but each is not ready to admit to having made a mistake so long ago. The steamy lovemaking starts all over again between the two and is more intimate and sensuous than it was five years earlier.

SAMPLE

Jake moved toward her slowly. The stillness became almost unbearable for Renay as the air began filling with an electrifying tension. When he reached for her, she didn't offer a protest, but melted willingly into his arms. He pressed her against his hard chest, with her fingers spread firmly across his silky shirt.

As his lips captured hers, she opened her mouth waiting for his invading tongue. Passion flared from his half-closed eyes as his searching mouth coaxed her into a heated response. Her lips parted hungrily only wanting to appease the driving desire that was pushing away all her control.

He lowered her gently to the soft, padded couch. Within seconds, he had moved across the room closing and locking the door leading into the main part of the house.

When he returned to her, his mouth claimed hers in another devouring kiss, heated with the fire burning through his soul for her. His fingers worked a pattern along her rib cage, exciting her to a fever pitch. He pushed the restrictive blouse to the side with his searching hands and managed to unclasp the lacy brassiere exposing her taut breasts to his hungry eyes. Moving his mouth in a warm trail down her throat, he gently covered one of her peaked breasts with his soft lips. Nibbling gently, he managed to bring out spasms of response from her overwrought emotions.

A shudder passed through her and feelings that she once thought dead, surfaced. He continued his exploration as he slowly moved to the opposite breast, his hand compulsively sliding down the length of her, caressing her smooth flat stomach.

When he unfastened the snap on her jeans, his hands continued their gentle caressing manipulation, sliding down below her stomach. The material was no longer a barrier as his hand slipped inside the silk bikini panties to the warmth between her thighs. She could feel his fingers softly massaging her dewey moistness and the fire licked its way through her entire body.

The frenzied yearning in Renay gushed forth from years of abstinence. She reached inside his shirt touching and feeling the hair-roughened chest and delighting in the quiver of arousal she felt in him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him down until she felt the hair tickling her peaked breasts.

Her hands had a will of their own as they made their way down his muscular body, finding his hard length raised with desire for her. She gently manipulated his appendage, until she felt him shudder with an uncontrolled spasm.

"Oh, Renny," Jake murmured huskily, a ragged sound invading his words. "I want you so much." His statement sounded muffled as his lips returned to her mouth and crushed it beneath his.

Renay knew she wanted him, body and soul. She needed his lovemaking, like a person who's gone without water for a long time.

Jake's mouth slowly moved down her body, touching and tasting every little crevice of her warm flesh on the way. When his hands spread her legs wider and his tongue found its mark, his frenzied movements set off another fire in Renay. He could hear her soft moan of pleasure and felt a wildness fill him with the sound.

Slowly, he worked his way up her body until reaching her breasts again. Suckling each tenderly, she reached for his head and pulled his lips to hers, drowning with his kiss.

Renay again let her hands roam his body with unhurried movements. She secured his male hardness between her fingers and massaged it in a back and forth movement. With the repeated motion, she heard Jake groaning in surrender to her efforts.

He reached for her with an urgency that shocked him. No other woman had aroused him as Renny was doing and he had to possess her body completely. Feelings of such arousal caused him to make love to her with wild abandonment. He couldn't get enough of her silky body, moving with the same motions as his. When Renay climaxed and the eruption spewed from her, he couldn't wait a moment longer, feeling the hot lava juice flowing from him.

For a long time after, they lay in each other's arms on the couch, spent and satisfied. After a time, Jake raised up and looked at her with glazed eyes.

***

A warm smile curved her lips, enveloping the thousands of fans chanting her name. Reaching for the microphone, Renay looked over her shoulder to make sure the accompanying singers were ready to begin.

As soon as the roaring noise subsided, she moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue and lifted the microphone to her mouth. "Good evening," she murmured, a vibrant, husky welcome in her voice. "I hope everyone enjoys the concert tonight." After her introductory speech, the music rose in the background and Renay began singing one of her latest hits.

As she completed each number, the clapping of the crowd rose to a loud crescendo. To say the performance was showing every sign of being a brilliant success, was putting it mildly. After the last song, she did several encores before finally escaping to the dark area of the stage. Jon was waiting for her with open arms.

***

The noisy city was bustling with activity the next evening on route to the concert. Jon had picked her up at seven to give her the additional two hours to dress and be ready for the performance.

When they arrived at the auditorium, and walked backstage, Renay could feel the eerie silence of the building trickling into her. She glanced at the rows of seats and felt a nervous flutter in the pit of her stomach.

"Are you having a case of stage fright?" Jon asked jokingly.

"I'm sure that's it," she laughed, her eyes shifting to him.

"You'll be a sensation," he told her. "You always are."

"I hope so . . . ," her murmuring phrase trailed off as she opened the door to her dressing room. "See you later," she said, giving his hand a squeeze before walking into the room. A costume hung by the lighted mirror. Jon had purchased the dress the day before and this was the first time she'd seen it. The red chiffon gown floated lightly in the breeze of the air conditioner.

Renay's eyes widened in shock and she sighed inwardly over the indecent cut of the dress. She didn't have time to find a replacement at this late hour as she slipped the sheer dress on. A frown settled across her smooth features examining it in the mirror.

The gown had slits up each side, suggestively exposing her golden thighs. The cut of the bodice dipped low in front, giving a shocking view of her navel. Why had Jon bought such a dress? He couldn't have been thinking straight.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered in disgust, twirling around to look at the back. She shuddered at the amount of flesh exposed. As she turned from her examination in the mirror, a loud knock sounded on the door. "Come in," she murmured absently, thinking it was Jon.

When her eyes clashed with Jake's, they registered a shocked expression. "What are you doing here?" she asked in astonishment.

"Never mind what I'm doing here," he blurted out. "What's the idea of wearing that dress?" The thundering question filled the silence as his narrowed gaze raked her from head to toe.

"I'll wear what I please," she snapped, turning to her make up case and fumbling with the clasp trying to open it.

"Not while you're working for me," he ground out roughly.

***

Before she was aware of his intentions, he was at her side, pinning her back against the brick fireplace. When she finally realized what, he was doing, it was too late. Her struggles only made him tighten his hold over her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she cried out in alarm, feeling the rough surface of the bricks scratching her soft flesh.

"Hold still," he spoke in a low tone, his voice coming out in almost a whisper, "you're going to hurt yourself." His head lowered slowly toward hers, his eyes sending out a message that she didn't want to see. She squeezed her eyelids closed, blocking out the sight of him.

"Renny," he murmured, with a caressing sound. "Renny," he repeated in a husky whisper, just before his mouth descended on hers passionately.

She moved her head to the side, but she was finding she wasn't any match for his strength. His tongue quickly trailed a pattern across her lips, teasing and coaxing her mouth open. When his tongue entered her mouth, she felt a response leaping from her.

She did everything in her power to block out all the tantalizing thoughts racing through her mind, but it was a wasted effort. Her senses were too alert to the persuasive intoxication he was creating in her. Euphoria washed through her, pumping adrenaline along her veins at an alarming speed.

She had intended to push him away, but the magnetism between them was too strong and she found her hands sliding under his shirt. She could feel the springy hairs against her fingers as the palms of her hands met the roughness of his chest. To her horror, her hands began to move of their own free will, caressing the bulging muscles.

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