Just One Kiss Read online

  Just One Kiss

  By Sherri Renee

  Copyright © 2016 S.R. Booth. All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters, locations, and events in this book are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarities to real persons, either living or deceased, locations, or events is purely coincidental.

  To everyone who enjoys a far-out story and sweet romance.

  Books by Sherri Renee

  Sweet Romance with a Supernatural Twist

  Just One Kiss

  Teen/YA Romance

  High School Hero

  High School Heartbreak

  Second Chances

  If I Were a Rich Girl

  Coming Soon:

  Redefining Summer

  Chick lit/Women’s Adventure

  There’s Got to be More

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek: If I Were a Rich Girl

  Chapter 1

  “Best. Day. Ever.” Tamara Worth sang to her reflection as she worked curls into her long, golden blond hair.

  She pushed tubes and vials aside to set down the hot curling iron, then squeezed her eyes shut tight as she spritzed a mist of hair spray all over the perfect ringlets. It was almost a shame to hide them away—she was twenty-two years old, not eighty—but a bun would look more professional.

  With experienced hands, she quickly worked the shiny curls into a loose knot at the base of her neck. Turning from side to side, she eyed her reflection critically in the water-spotted mirror then pulled out a tendril to frame her face.

  Oh, yeah. She had it going on. Even if she did say so herself. Professional, certainly, but that didn’t mean she had to look stuffy. She leaned close to the mirror and added a little more eyeliner under her dark blue eyes.

  Not that her appearance was what was going to get her the job today. This interview was simply a formality, according to Sean Richards, head of finance at Rogers, Grace, and Roberts—and her boyfriend. It was the last four years of hard work at college that got her the job of her dreams.

  Top of her class. Head of the programming club. And secret hacker—thanks to some tips from her last boyfriend—but not even Sean knew about that. It’s not like she ever did anything with her skills, just tested them, stretching and reaching and privately preening with each new conquest.

  She’d been struggling with a military system and had recently broken through its firewalls. Talk about a thrill! It was like being given a glimpse of heaven. The system was so advanced, it was a dream to work with.

  That was the kind of thing she would love to share with someone, but computer talk bored her friend Jamie, and Sean, well she wasn’t exactly comfortable sharing something like that with him just yet. But she would eventually. Once they’d been together a little longer she’d fill him in. Probably.

  “Ah, Sean.” She put thoughts of code out of her mind and focused on her boyfriend. With a contented sigh she rested her palm on the sink and pictured a screenplay of their perfect lives together.

  They would transfer to the head office in New York City, then climb the corporate ladder at R, G, and R—Sean slightly ahead of her, since he’d already been working there two years. Get married. Travel the world. Have two perfect children and the perfect life.

  She had a spreadsheet with timelines, and she’d dreamt about her future every night since she was a little girl. She knew exactly where she was going, and how she was going to get there. She not only didn’t understand anyone who left such important decisions to chance, she felt sorry for them.

  She refocused on her makeup, when a sudden jolt jerked her hand, leaving a trail of eyeliner halfway to her hairline. “What the . . .” Slapping the makeup down on the counter, she raced for the tiny window in the bedroom.

  Yanking back the super-cheap cheesecloth curtain she’d dyed yellow and hung to add a homey feel to the otherwise drab apartment, she squinted down at the quiet street. Everything appeared normal. No traffic accidents below or bombs falling from above. After another hard look, she flicked the curtain back into place and retraced her steps to the bathroom.

  That was weird. She grabbed a tissue and frowned at the streak of brown that extended far past her eyebrow. If not for the proof in her unintentional clown-like makeup she would have thought she’d simply imagined the jolt.

  She scrubbed at the errant eyeliner. They were tearing down that old warehouse a couple of blocks over. Maybe they were using explosives?

  She dismissed the whole thing without another thought. She had more important things to think about right. With her makeup repaired, she grinned at her reflection. Yes siree. No more small time for her. No more cheesecloth curtains or living over smelly old bookstores.

  She would work hard for it, but she was going to have a fairytale ending, after a less than glamorous start. Just call her Cinderella. She imagined herself in a gown and tiara at a formal ball and laughed. Sean wasn’t exactly her Prince Charming, but that didn’t mean the rest of her dream couldn’t come true.

  Her excitement built until she couldn’t resist twirling a quick circle in the minuscule bathroom. Her hip bumped the corner of the sink and ricocheted her into the doorframe like a pinball machine.

  “Ouch!” She pressed a hand against her hip with a wince then glared at the tiny space. Utilitarian white shower, toilet, and sink were all but stacked on top of each other. Yes, the room had the necessities, but that did not mean she had to like it.

  She would have a bathroom as big as her current apartment as soon as she put her life plan in action. Bigger, with a giant tub to soak in. And a window.

  A dreamy smile touched her lips. There would be windows in every room. She was tired of being trapped in a box—even though she considered this box a step up from the trailer house she’d grown up in.

  As soon as she could, she would leave it all behind. In between her formal balls, she grinned at her reflection, and wonderful job she would see the world. Niagara Falls. All the oceans. The pyramids in Egypt. The Eiffel Tower. Ah, it made her happy just thinking about it.

  College hadn’t been easy for her. She wasn’t stupid, but she wasn’t one of those brains who could ace any class without ever cracking a book, either. While she breezed through any course involving a computer, English and history almost did her in every stinkin’ semester. Who cared what happened fifty-bazillion years ago?

  She’d studied hard every single day with one goal in mind: escape small-town U.S.A. and move up in the world and out of this tiny apartment—and then help her parents do the same.

  Aching hip forgotten, she gave the mirror another dazzling grin then leaned in to rub pink lipstick off her teeth. Today was the first day of her carefully planned out life.

  Crystal and silver blended and swirled—a work of art as much as science. Two of Aerth’s most abundant resources, selected for their conductivity as well as availability. The tetrahedron dominating the center of the lab was an elegant adaptation of the primitive stone structures they’d guided the Outsiders to build, oh, so many yea
rs ago.

  Riesel Walsh, Queen of Aerth, swept into the room with a swish of her crystal-encrusted gown. Tall and stately, she was a beautiful woman who easily fit her role of queen, commanding attention and respect wherever she went.

  She found the lab in an uproar; a cacophony of musical buzzing and beeping coming at her from a multitude of frequencies along with the scientific chatter that only sometimes made sense to her. She tuned it all out. Her focus narrowed until everything disappeared except the enormous, sparkling contraption that caught light with her slightest movement, scattering it into dazzling starbursts.

  A physical symbol of hope.

  This pyramid, so similar yet so different from the ones they’d designed for the Outsiders, just might hold the answer to saving both the Outside and her adopted people, Riesel thought.

  “We don’t know if it’s safe yet!” lead scientist Markum Max interrupted her thoughts, wringing his hands then slapping them against his thighs in growing agitation.

  Then again, it might not. Riesel let out a very un-regal sigh as the tentative wisps of hope from a second before vanished.

  She continued to eye the pyramid in question as she addressed Markum. “And if we don’t try the transport now, when will we next be in the proper position to try?” she asked, not for the first time.

  They’d had one version or another of this conversation for the past five years, ever since Markum stumbled upon a working theory of teleportation. In the past, they’d simply visited the Outside in a vehicle—a spaceship her people had called it, more willing to believe in aliens than advanced humans. Unfortunately, that was no longer an option.

  “One year.” Markum’s answer was the same as it had been before. “It will be a full year at minimum before we’re in proper position to reattempt, Your Majesty.”

  Although painful, she kept her breathing slow and measured. Control could never be sacrificed. Her powers were weak without her spouse. Alone, she could never shut down the seismic activity that would lead to the next ice age, but she might be able to calm it for another year. Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

  She lifted a dainty hand to her brow and wished for the millionth time that her beautiful husband, Reign, was still alive to share his wisdom. This was his world. But he’d not only made her part of it, he’d left her as sole ruler upon his death.

  The risk was high, but if something did go wrong on this attempt, they would have a year to fix the transporter and could then try again. If they waited and something went wrong at that point, odds were great they wouldn’t have another chance. She couldn’t hold back the forces of nature forever.

  And Nicolas had only a little over a month to find a mate if he was to access his full powers. He would be forced to settle for an unsatisfactory match if they weren’t allowed to search the Outside for one better suited.

  Riesel moved forward in one smooth gliding step and gripped Markum’s arm with a surprisingly strong hand. He jerked his head up and clenched his teeth as his cheeks flamed.

  Intense green eyes met and held his. “Do you believe it is ready?” she asked, peering into the depths of his being.

  Swallowing hard to clear the lump in his throat at the unexpected contact, he nodded before doing something completely out of character. He placed his hand on hers. “I do, my lady. I sincerely do.”

  She looked down at the lighter skin of the hand resting on hers and blinked. Markum hadn’t changed much since she’d met him when she was brought to Aerth almost thirty years before. A sprinkle of grey marked the passage of time around his temples. Otherwise, he was as strong and fit and as attractive as she remembered him.

  He could have been her soulmate just as easily as Reign, but Reign had needed—Aerth had needed—the power their union would provide. So, she’d put her feelings aside and had done what she’d believed was true and noble. She’d joined her abilities with Reign’s for the good of mankind.

  She would never regret the choices she’d made, but suddenly, long-since-denied yearnings nipped at her. She quickly swatted them back like pesky gnats. She could appreciate the touch, the gesture, without reading anything else into it. Markum was simply being supportive. He knew just what she stood to lose.

  Her head dipped in a formal nod. “Thank you, Markum. Your hard work is appreciated and will be rewarded.”

  She dropped her hand from his arm and straightened perceptibly, with her chin lifting in a regal tilt. “We will do it.” Her tone was frostier than she intended. But her eldest child, the son of her dearest Reign, would be the first to risk this new contraption. If anything went wrong ... she didn’t think she could survive the loss.

  She averted her eyes. “Either way, you will be rewarded.” She swept towards the far wall, and her companion hurried to adjust her gown so it flowed behind her in a rippling train, hovering just above the floor. “Begin preparations,” she directed as she walked to the side wall. “He will leave in thirty days.”

  After a final, uneasy glance at the beautiful box that would hold her son’s fate, she stepped through the wall and disappeared.

  “I can’t believe I didn’t get it.” Tamara moaned, before shoving another bite of marshmallow cream into her already stuffed mouth. “I mean,” she chewed and worked to dissolve some of the sticky sweetness so she could be understood, “the job was mine. Mine!” She jabbed the spoon into the plastic jar of white happiness and looked up at her best-friend-since-forever, Jamie Holt.

  She reached back to pull the pins from her thick hair then slammed them down on the counter, sending one skirting off the edge to the floor. “Sean told me all I had to do was show up at the interview, and I’d be on the payroll by next week.”

  Jamie hid her eye roll by bending down to find the rouge bobby pin on the scarred linoleum. She was almost a polar opposite to Tamara in appearance. Where Tamara was tall and curvy, she was petite and . . . compact.

  Her shiny black hair and olive skin were direct contrasts to Tamara’s blond waves and sun-kissed complexion. But that hadn’t stopped them from being the best of friends since childhood.

  They’d seen each other through the ups and downs of growing up, including the occasional drama that resulted from Tamara’s unfortunate choice in her current boyfriend. She knew Tamara liked him, but she could never see Sean as anything more than an overstuffed shirt with a roaming eye. But this wasn’t the time to rehash that argument.

  “And I think Sean and I broke up.” Tamara jabbed the spoon down through the thick cream.

  Jamie set the bobby pin on the counter and perked up. “Really?!” At Tamara’s sharp look, she tucked her excitement under a frown and added some disbelief to her tone, “I mean, um, really?”

  “I called him from the parking lot and told him what happened, and he blew me off.” She raised surprised eyes to Jamie. “He told me it was probably just as well that we wouldn’t be working together because he needed some time to think. He sounded embarrassed to be talking to me.”

  “Do you think he lied about the job being yours? Maybe he was just saying that to get you in bed?”

  “Thanks a lot, James.” Tamara glowered at her before her expression crumpled as she considered the comment. “Do you think this was some kind of twisted revenge for not sleeping with him?”

  Her lip quivered. “You know I never led him on. I told him from day one it wasn’t happening before our honeymoon. He claimed he was okay with that.”

  Jamie wisely kept quiet and answered with a noncommittal shrug. She nibbled at the tip of her own marshmallow-covered spoon. It wasn’t her favorite. Way too sweet for her taste, but she was much too good of a friend to let Tam drown her sorrows alone.

  If Sean was truly out of the picture, she could only say good riddance. He was so full of himself, and he really didn’t have that much going for him. He was okay looking. Had an okay, midlevel job at R, G, and R and a slightly-less-than-okay personality.

  She couldn’t count how many laughs she’d had to manufacture for his lame
jokes—or how many times she’d had to push his all-too-friendly hand off her knee. But since she knew how perfectly he lined up with Tamara’s carefully laid out life-plan, she’d worked hard to hide her revulsion.

  “How do they ‘accidentally’ hire someone else?” Jamie maneuvered her thoughts and the conversation away from the jerk of a boyfriend and focused on the less-explosive subject of the interview. Tamara was going to have to come to the conclusion that the love of her life was a big dud all by herself. “I mean, they’re a huge corporation; it’s not like this is the first job they’ve filled.”

  “I don’t know,” Tamara wailed and worked her fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp before giving her head a good shake. She’d already taken off her jacket and heels, but that was as far as she’d gotten before her loyal friend showed up at the door, holding out the emergency jar of marshmallow cream to ease her pain.

  “The woman I interviewed with said there was a miscommunication. She didn’t realize I had already been promised the position and gave it to the person right before me. So I, oh, so politely asked why she didn’t un-hire the person she’d mistakenly hired and was told she couldn’t.”

  She thought about that for a minute and tipped her head to the side. “Or maybe she said ‘wouldn’t’. Either way, my dream job is gone.”

  “Well,” Jamie swirled her spoon through the air as she talked, “why can’t they hire you for another position until everything gets sorted out?”

  “There aren’t any other openings right now.” Tamara grimaced. “Believe me, before I was escorted from the building, I started groveling. I told them I could clean the offices, collect trash, anything to get my foot in the door.”

  “You did not!” Jamie plunked her sticky spoon down on the imitation-granite-covered island and stared at her friend wide-eyed. “Tamara Worth! You graduated top in your class.” She slammed her hands on her hips.

  “You do not have to lower yourself to beg for a job.” She circled her head from shoulder to shoulder, full of attitude. “R, G, and R isn’t even all that. Just because their corporate office is in NYC ...”