Novels by Lorea Ashe

Saturday afternoon, Samantha was getting ready for dinner at Edward’s. Even though she didn’t see Richard at all yesterday - he was gone before she woke and back after she went to bed, he did text her a couple of times.Good morning, beautiful.She opened it, but then ignored it. The next one came just after lunch.Spoke to Uncle E. He wants you to call him to set up a date for dinner with them.Apprehension filled her as her immediate urge was to decline, but Uncle Eddie didn’t know anything that was going on. She preferred to keep it that way. Just because she was conflicted about Richard, for right now, they had an image to maintain.And Uncle Edward was a true Southern Gentleman. He was soft-spoken, proper, and didn’t outwardly show his anger, and was quick to express his displeasure. And underneath it all, even though he was Richard’s uncle, and Edward had no children of his own, he assumed the role of family patriarch.The downside was that he also believed the husband was the ‘

A giddy feeling welled up in Samantha. Daniel texted her back. She couldn’t stop the smile on her face when she read his last text.Goodnight, Samantha.He was appreciative of the meal she bought. And he asked if she got home safely. Richard didn’t even care if she was gone, as long as she was here when he was.She felt better for setting an appointment to discuss security options for her home. But it also meant he was going to need to come by to figure out what she needed.She wasn’t ready for that yet, hence why she set a meetup for Tuesday. She inherently knew she could trust him. He had already proven that her safety was a priority for him, whether it stemmed from his profession or because he cared about her, she didn’t know.

When they returned to the hotel, it was pushing nine. Thomas retreated immediately, grumbling about being up before everyone else this morning.Thomas is getting a little cranky, Daniel thought aimlessly. He poured himself an Irish whiskey.His wolf is cranky, Daniel’s wolf commented. All of their wolves are getting restless.I’ll take everyone up for a run at Blue Ridge on Saturday, Daniel promised. Why aren’t you cranky, then? Daniel heard a coughing chuckle from his wolf at the question.

Samantha returned home and retreated to her bedroom. She still wasn’t ready to be in the living room, and she didn’t want to be downstairs when, or if, Richard came home tonight.It was ironic that just a few short weeks ago, his absence upset her, and now, the thought of his presence was almost too much to bear.She ran a hot bath. It was still early in the day, but she hoped the heat and some essential oils would relieve the knots of tension embedded in her back and shoulders, and she thought about her meeting with Mandy. It didn’t go how she expected.What did you expect? The silent, sarcastic voice mocked her. She didn’t have an answer to that. She just knew now that she had some big decisions to make.Mandy laid out a few options. Talk to a psychiatrist. File a restraining order. Petition for Divorce from Bed and Board. All of it was so detailed and were huge steps. It felt like overreacting. He had already left and had a chance to calm down. That moment last night was on both of

Richard couldn’t pinpoint when his fascination with Mari began. Once she began dating Nate, she became a natural addition to their friendship dynamic.He does remember their first night, though, when they crossed that line of friendship into… whatever this was. It wasn’t love. Neither one of them was going to leave their marriages. But it was fun, raw, and dirty, and the taboo of it all appealed to their mutual need for adrenaline and danger.He got her a job in the marketing department with his brother around three years ago. She excelled very quickly and had a great eye for detail. Almost two years ago now, she was working late on a project he was overseeing. Once she had his final approval on it, they went out for drinks afterwards to celebrate.After the long night and the glowing feeling of s

Edward could see where Daniel was going with the proposed changes, but he had to admit, in his situation, he would have pushed for the same thing. He knew Richard wasn’t going to take it well, but he did what he could to make sure Richard didn’t lose his stake in the company completely out of his own idiocy.He called him on the way home, the first time going to voicemail, so he called a second time. Richard answered the phone in irritation.“Uncle Eddie, what do you need?” He asked.“It’s not what I need, it’s what you wanted,” Edward snapped. “You asked me to do you a favor, and I’m doing that favor.”“Can this wait until tomorrow?” Richard asked, sounding repentant but distracted.