White Lightning: Episode 2 (Rising Storm) Read online

  White Lightning

  By Lexi Blake

  Rising Storm

  Episode 2

  Story created by Julie Kenner and Dee Davis

  White Lightning, Episode 2

  Rising Storm

  Copyright 2015 Julie Kenner and Dee Davis Oberwetter

  ISBN: 978-1-942299-02-8

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  White Lightning

  By Lexi Blake

  Rising Storm Episode 2

  Secrets, Sex and Scandals …

  Welcome to Storm, Texas, where passion runs hot, desire runs deep, and secrets have the power to destroy… Get ready. The storm is coming.

  As the citizens of Storm, Texas, sway in the wake of the death of one of their own, Daddy's girl Dakota Alvarez also reels from an unexpected family crisis ... and finds consolation in a most unexpected place.

  About Lexi Blake

  Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places. Lexi believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome or foursome may seem. She also writes contemporary Western ménage as Sophie Oak.

  Connect with Lexi online:

  Facebook: Lexi Blake

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorlexiblake

  Website: www.LexiBlake.net

  Sign up for Lexi's free newsletter here.

  Also from Lexi Blake

  Click to purchase

  Masters And Mercenaries

  The Dom Who Loved Me

  The Men With The Golden Cuffs

  A Dom Is Forever

  On Her Master’s Secret Service

  Sanctum: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella

  Love and Let Die

  Unconditional: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella

  Dungeon Royale

  Dungeon Games: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella

  A View to a Thrill

  Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella

  You Only Love Twice

  Luscious: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped

  Adored: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella

  Master No

  Just One Taste: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped 2, Coming Fall 2015

  From Sanctum with Love, Coming February 23, 2016

  Devoted: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella, Coming April 12, 2016

  Masters Of Ménage (by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake)

  Their Virgin Captive

  Their Virgin’s Secret

  Their Virgin Concubine

  Their Virgin Princess

  Their Virgin Hostage

  Their Virgin Secretary

  Their Virgin Mistress

  The Perfect Gentlemen (by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake

  Scandal Never Sleeps

  Seduction in Session, Coming January 5, 2016

  Big Easy Temptation, Coming May 3, 2016

  URBAN FANTASY

  Thieves

  Steal the Light

  Steal the Day

  Steal the Moon

  Steal the Sun

  Steal the Night

  Ripper

  Addict

  Sleeper, Coming 2016

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  Thanks to Julie and Dee for creating this amazing world and letting me play in it. Thanks to Liz and MJ and the team at Evil Eye. As always I couldn’t do anything without the support of my husband, Rich, kids and my sister from another mister, Kim.

  Foreword

  Dear reader –

  We have wanted to do a project together for over a decade, but nothing really jelled until we started to toy with a kernel of an idea that sprouted way back in 2012 … and ultimately grew into Rising Storm.

  We are both excited about and proud of this project—not only of the story itself, but also the incredible authors who have helped bring the world and characters we created to life.

  We hope you enjoy visiting Storm, Texas. Settle in and stay a while!

  Happy reading!

  Sign up for the Rising Storm/1001 Dark Nights Newsletter

  and be entered to win an exclusive lightning bolt necklace

  specially designed for Rising Storm by

  Janet Cadsawan of Cadsawan.com.

  Click here to subscribe.

  As a bonus, all subscribers will receive a free

  Rising Storm story

  Storm Season: Ginny & Jacob – the Prequel

  by Dee Davis

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Lexi Blake

  Also from Lexi Blake

  Author Acknowledgments

  Foreword

  Family Trees

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Rising Storm

  Teaser for Crosswinds, Rising Storm Episode 3 by Elisabeth Naughton

  1001 Dark Nights

  Special Thanks

  Family Trees

  Allen Family

  Alvarez Family

  Douglas Family

  Grossman Family

  Johnson Family

  Moreno Family

  Murphy Family

  Prager Family

  Rush Family

  Salt Family

  Chapter One

  Senator Sebastian Rush sighed as he shrugged out of his Charvet dress shirt and hung it neatly on the valet rack where Carmen, the very efficient maid, would pick it up and ready it for cleaning. Certainly the dry cleaner could press the shirt, but it was a thing of beauty so Sebastian respected it. JFK had worn Charvet. It was a symbol of wealth and understated power. A man who could afford a $425 dress shirt was certainly a man who could be trusted with the country’s well-being. No one wanted a failure in power, after all.

  The door to the bedroom opened and another symbol of power and wealth walked in. Payton. His wife. She was lovely and well spoken, able to handle fundraisers and reporters with equal ease. She was also aging well. Unfortunately, all the Botox in the world couldn’t completely stop the press of time. Women didn’t age like men. Men became more powerful, more confident as they moved into their prime. Women simply got old. Some people would call Payton a handsome woman, but he was more concerned with how her breasts had lost their fullness. Still, he was fairly certain his advisors would tell him divorcing the respected wife in favor of some young tail would likely damage his image. There was only one thing Sebastian loved more than his wealth, and that was his image.

  “Hello, dear. How was Celeste?” The last thing he wanted to do was open that particular can of worms, but when one had so recently lost a loved one, concern must be expressed. He was nothing if not polite. Dead kid equaled sympathy. He was certain he’d read that somewhere. Possibly Emily Post.

  Payton sighed and slipped the Cartier bracelet off her slender wrist. It had been a twentieth anniversary gift purchased by one of his interns. He’d made sure the
girl got a little something of her own as well. A necklace or something. He couldn’t remember her name, but the girl had been flexible. Very flexible. He’d been able to bend her legs completely over her head when he fucked her. That had been a nice day. Ashley. Ashton. Something Ash. It was hard to remember. Interns were a dime a dozen.

  “My sister is as well as can be expected,” Payton replied. “The service was beautiful and the Murphys did a wonderful job with the reception. We need to send them and the florist a thank you note. She did an amazing job in a short period of time. I wish you’d been able to come to the reception with me.”

  And sit in the same bar with Ginny Moreno? Now there was a name he rather wished he could forget. He’d been attempting to avoid her ever since he realized she was back in town. He’d been a little shocked when she’d shown up at his home a few days before. She’d been picking up her brother who was friends with Sebastian’s son, Jeffry. He’d managed to push through that encounter. He wasn’t going to walk willingly into another one. The church had been one thing. They’d been sitting far from the girl, but he hadn’t been able to make himself go to the bar with its potluck and endless rounds of small talk.

  He was usually so smart. He usually didn’t fuck where he lived, but the Moreno girl had grown up nicely. Slim, with lovely tits and shapely legs. All that dark hair and those innocent eyes. She’d practically been a virgin. His body tightened at the thought of all that young flesh.

  Young flesh. Unborn flesh. Fucking hell. Ginny Moreno was pregnant and that could be bad for him.

  “Sorry, dear. I had a conference call with Austin. Very important vote coming up.” He’d been locked in his office with a bottle of fifty-year-old Scotch wondering how he was going to deal with Ginny Moreno’s unexpectedly fertile womb.

  Payton shook her head, waving him off. “It’s fine, Sebastian. We all know the job comes first.”

  She really meant that. For other women it would come off as passive aggressive. Payton truly believed that his job, his ambition was more important than her feelings. She really was the perfect wife. Would she still be at his side once Ginny’s spawn was out in the open?

  Something had to be done. Surely the girl didn’t want to be a mother. Maybe a little cash would grease the wheels. He could talk to her, explain that he could pay for the rest of her degree. UT wasn’t expensive for residents, but even a few thousand each semester would be tough on the Moreno family. She was likely working a job on the side. Her family was probably scraping by. Those poor bootstrap types were all about helping their families, right? He could explain to her how much extra cash would help her sister. All she had to do was take a quick trip to a quiet clinic and their problems would be solved.

  It wouldn’t be the first time he’d had to deal with the issue. He was sure he’d paid for the discreet doctor’s new boat.

  “Well, I hope your sister understands. I’ll send her my regrets.” As far as he was concerned, he’d done his duty by attending the service. Those types of affairs gave him a headache. If it wasn’t politically required, he skipped the overwrought family functions. Political gain was the only way to get him to a funeral or a wedding, or God help him, a baptism. He hadn’t wanted to go to his own children’s baptisms.

  He opened his closet door and selected a sedate golf shirt. He didn’t need to dress up to go downstairs and mull over his problems.

  “I think she’s got enough of our family for now. Brittany is staying over for a few days,” Payton said, referring to their daughter, who’d just come home from UT. “She wants to be with Ginny.”

  He rolled his eyes, happy his wife couldn’t see him. Sometimes he wished they lived in a bigger town, one where everyone didn’t know everyone else. It was incestuous the way his problems popped up in the form of his children’s friends. He’d had to be very careful when he was fucking Ginny, although even he was self-aware enough to admit that had been part of the attraction. He enjoyed the intrigue of forbidden fruit.

  He wondered if Brittany was close to the Alvarez girl. Dakota. Blonde and gorgeous and a little nasty when she turned a man down. He’d still love to get that girl under him. Even knowing how dangerous it was. Perhaps that was part of her charm.

  He needed to get laid. That would solve some of his tension. He buttoned up the shirt and looked in the mirror. Yes, he was still a powerful-looking man. Fit. Trim.

  His wife was still talking when he walked back from the closet.

  “I think it’s a good idea to let her stay with Ginny for a while. She was mad enough at me for making her finish out her finals. I know she wanted to be here, but it wouldn’t do anyone a bit of good for her to have to repeat the semester. Now she can concentrate on helping out. It’s just funny how these things work. Celeste and Travis lose Jacob only to discover Ginny’s pregnant with his child.” Payton sat down at her elegant vanity, carefully divesting herself of her jewelry as she watched him through the mirror.

  He stilled at the very sound of Ginny’s name. It was the second time she’d mentioned her. A chill went through him because that was one name that shouldn’t be on his wife’s mind. She’d just lost her nephew. Jacob Salt had been on his way to a brilliant career as a doctor, and he’d lost it all on a wet road. Perhaps if Jacob had been driving. Men were always better drivers than women. No, he’d been in the passenger seat when his best friend Ginny had hit a deer. The impact killed Jacob.

  Why couldn’t it have killed Ginny, too?

  What had she said? His wife’s words started to penetrate. “Did you say Jacob’s child?”

  She turned and smiled brilliantly, and just for a second he saw the young woman she’d been before life had tempered her. If he’d been a better man, she would have been enough for him.

  “Yes.” Tears shone in her eyes as she stood up and turned to face him. “It’s such a miracle. Celeste didn’t even know Jacob and Ginny were a couple. They’ve been best friends for years, but apparently it turned into something more this year. Poor Ginny didn’t even know she was pregnant until the doctors told her. She was shocked. I don’t think she’s very experienced, if you know what I mean. I would bet Jacob was her first lover.”

  He would do anything he could to bolster that particular rumor. “I’ve always heard she’s a good girl. Brittany’s always spoken so highly of her.”

  “Well, I’m glad she followed her heart in this case. I think Celeste would have broken down if it weren’t for the baby. I know Jacob is lost, but a piece of him is still with us.”

  “Yes. It’s a miracle.” It was a miracle if that wasn’t his kid. He remembered all the times he’d taken Ginny Moreno’s young body under his. She’d promised she was on birth control. He was far too trusting. He was the victim in all of this.

  But maybe he wasn’t. If Ginny was acknowledging that Jacob Salt was the father of her baby, then maybe he was off the hook.

  “She’s moving in with Celeste and Travis. Celeste wants to take care of her during the pregnancy. I think this baby might keep my sister sane. Ginny’s going to take some time off college so she can focus on a healthy pregnancy. I think Jacob would be so proud of her.” Tears filled her eyes again.

  He wished she would stop crying. It was becoming tiresome, but this was likely one of those times his advisors would tell him he was being less than compassionate. He put on his best “I feel your pain” face. It worked on everyone from cancer patients to idiots who’d just lost their jobs to automation. He practiced it in the mirror. It was important to ooze empathy without frowning too much. No one wanted an unattractive politician. He reached for her hand. “I’m glad to hear there’s some good news.”

  She didn’t try to move into his arms. He’d noticed a few years into their marriage that Payton wasn’t the most affectionate of wives. Quite frankly, it was another point in her favor. When he wanted sex he would find a whore. His children had been properly bred with a woman who squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered through the act.

  He was sure a shrin
k would tell him he had mommy issues. He really didn’t care. They’d served him well. He had everything he wanted in life. Money. Power. Respect.

  “Isn’t it going to be lovely to have a baby in the family?”

  As long as it wasn’t his, he didn’t care. Actually, now that he thought about it, the Moreno girl was smart. She’d figured out things very quickly. She could only really get cash out of him once. She could milk the Salts for years. He wondered how he could use this new knowledge to his advantage. “Of course, dear. I think I’ll sleep downstairs tonight. I’ve got some work to do and I don’t want to disturb you. I might need to go out for a bit.”

  She nodded and he could almost feel her relief. “Of course.”

  He closed the door behind him. He could really use a drink.

  * * * *

  Dakota Alvarez stormed into her parents’ bedroom, her heart dropping. She hadn’t been surprised her dad had skipped the funeral. He was very likely working, but she’d expected him to show up at Murphy’s Pub afterward. She’d tried to call but he hadn’t answered his phone. After the reception was over, she’d come over to talk to him. Only to find this. “I don’t understand.”

  Her mother frowned. “He’s gone.”

  The words didn’t even compute. They didn’t make a lick of sense. “What do you mean he’s gone? Is he still at work?”

  She glanced around the house she’d grown up in. It was neat and clean and utterly devoid of the one thing she loved most about it. Her father.

  Her mother brushed back a wisp of blonde hair, her eyes hollow as she glanced around the bedroom she’d shared with Dakota’s father. “I came home from the reception and it was like this. I don’t know anything. Mallory and I have only been home for a few minutes. I tried to call him but he isn’t answering.”