Breathe [Running to Love 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  Running to Love 3

  Breathe

  Rowan Scott is the fantasy librarian. She wears tailored suits on the job, her hair restrained in the quintessential bun, and appears every inch the academic, except for the sexy lingerie hidden beneath her staid clothing. Rowan has discovered the world of erotica and is seeking to explore it and find her place.

  She attends a meet and greet at a local club and meets Jace McEachern. Jace takes great pride in his ability to avoid commitment while bringing women the best sexual pleasure. He believes he has hit the mother lode in Rowan and is unmanned when she makes him lose his famed control. Rowan is confused and questions her own appeal because of Jace’s strange reaction.

  They both run hard from the other, only to hide in the same place. It’s a fresh start and a love story that evolves, with a little kink, of course.

  Genre: BDSM, Contemporary

  Length: 27,731 words

  BREATHE

  Running to Love 3

  Allyson Young

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

  BREATHE

  Copyright © 2012 by Allyson Young

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-803-6

  First E-book Publication: June 2012

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Breathe by Allyson Young from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Allyson Young’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Young’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  For Briana and her Irishman….love ya, Bri.

  BREATHE

  Running to Love 3

  ALLYSON YOUNG

  Copyright © 2012

  Prologue

  It was almost time for her to get over to the ceremony. Rowan Scott studied her reflection in the full-length mirror that hung on the wall in the bedroom of the compact suite she had rented upon moving to Morrisville. She was certain that no one could see past the nicely tailored gray suit with the severe white under blouse, certain that no one could see that her heart was fractured and her soul scalded... She had softened the look subtly with a pair of small twisted silver hoops that displayed well because her hair was caught up in a knot on the back of her head. All she needed was a pair of horn-rimmed black glasses, and the look would be perfect. She shook her head gently and the light caught the little earrings and reflected back at her, the only illumination piercing the depths of her brain. Her vision was perfect, and she didn’t need glasses as an affectation. No one could miss who she was supposed to be, the archetypical, if somewhat modern, librarian. She would never give anyone reason to wonder or speculate if she was anything else or had ever been anything else. That part of her had escaped once and caused nothing but heartache and turmoil, and the faint scar on her right hand had long since ceased to tingle a reminder. She would be content with her job and the ever-changing world of the written word. With the advent of the Internet, the world of books as she knew it had evolved, and she had embraced the change, moving forward in her continuing education when others with her training bemoaned e-books, online access, and the like. Rowan had made herself invaluable at the university and flourished in her job, rising through the ranks until she had attained assistant head librarian status. That very rank had allowed for her to obtain this position in the much smaller center of Morrisville, a satellite learning site, given her the opportunity to run and hide until she could heal. It had also given her the opportunity to avoid running into Jace McEachern again, in any context, anywhere.

  She had used her accrued holiday time to apply and interview for the position and, upon being the successful candidate, find a place to live and move there, all within the space of three weeks. Her new employers had been as anxious as she to fill the position, and it had felt like a blessed escape, a lucky one, and if she felt gutted and less than herself, well, that was the price one paid when one took risks, insane risks, and hoped for more than she deserved.

  Reading books had gotten her into the whole situation, Rowan mused, barely able to appreciate the irony. Reading erotic books, to be more precise. She was the much youngest child of a pair of professors, both teaching and researching in the sciences. Her older siblings had both made their careers in the same area, and Rowan had baffled everyone by her love of literature, both fiction and nonfiction. She had been able to read by age three, and moved past the ubiquitous See Dick Run to chapter books within the next year. Math and science didn’t appeal to her, although she could handle the course work with little effort. It was the sweeping vistas of imagination that Rowan lived for, from the visual painting of far-off places to the uncharted territories of the human heart. She read anything and everything and her parents quit censoring her choice in literature before the age of ten.

  Probably because Rowan was constantly immersed in books, much of everyday life passed her by. Fashion and friends didn’t interest her, and while she was well-read, most of what she read didn’t apply to present-day living. Subsequently, Rowan lacked the experience of peer influence and her social skills were somewhat delayed. She was perceived as being odd. The private school she attended was studded with individuals such as herself, so how
different and unworldly she actually was didn’t matter until she graduated and went on to post-secondary education. Rowan loved higher learning. She took every class in literature that she could, as well as continuing her study of French, because she believed that French was the true language of love, although Italian ran a close second. And while she thought she lived and breathed through the characters in the books she devoured, there came a time when she realized she hadn’t even begun to do so. Rowan picked up the Story of O one day. It was on the remainder shelf in the bookstore she frequented, just a short walk from the college.

  Rowan could feel her body flush with the memory of her reaction to O. It was as if a switch had been thrown, and she couldn’t stop reading that particular genre. Romance had been such a sweet, high-minded thing before, something she aspired to and dreamed about, longing for a knight in shining armor to find her and carry her off. Rowan was secretly ashamed of her new obsession but was highly titillated by it. She began to look at men differently, and to pay attention to the gossip of the other girls on campus. She had been close to graduating at that time, and she winced even now to think of how she had preferred to read erotica rather than study for her exams and write her thesis. In the end she graduated with honors and her thesis only marginally impacted by her burgeoning libido. Who would ever have thought that seventeenth-century romantic poets might have been referring to deeper, darker sexual acts than they seemed to present? Rowan thought it. And slept it. She became worried that people would sense it in her, and looked for ways to hide it, and then explore it, ways to fit in. She soon realized that most of the other young women her age were on equal terms with her insofar as their interest in sexuality went, if not the darker side. Rowan hesitantly struck up a few acquaintance-type friendships in her final year, and her eyes were opened further.

  Chapter One

  Several months earlier…

  Jackie examined her manicure and yawned, prettily covering her mouth with those beautifully painted fingernails. “We need to do something tonight, Rowan,” she said. “I’m sick of studying and living at the library. What do you say we hit a club?”

  Rowan, who privately thought the library was a perfect place to live, if only it had a kitchenette and a shower, nodded cautiously. Jackie and Michaela were two of the girls she felt a little comfortable with and appreciated that they had seen her as an opportunity to play dress up with, instead of teasing and ostracising her. “I’ve never been to a club,” she confessed.

  Jackie laughed. “No shit, Shakespeare! I never would have guessed. That’s okay. Micki and I’ll get you fixed up and your own momma won’t know you.”

  Rowan was a bit wary of the whole idea, but just being with the other girls, listening to their sexual exploits and soaking up the ambiance of their decadence, made her decide to take the chance. She had been warned about peer influence of course, except she’d been given the talk in junior high, along with the sex talk, and neither meant squat at that time. It didn’t have any impact now, and she nodded eagerly. Jackie stretched her petite little body in a gesture that was curiously feline, and one that drew the most attention to her perky breasts, much of what were exposed above the neckline of her scoop-necked top.

  “Well, let’s get to it then. Micki will be back from class pretty soon, and we’re going to need some time to work on your look.” Rowan stood up from the bench, and found herself looming over Jackie, the Mutt to her Jeff.

  “Don’t slouch for God’s sake, Shakespeare,” the other girl said crossly. “You’re tall, so embrace it. Lots of guys like tall and skinny. Look like you mean something.”

  Rowan had heard the hint of affection in Jackie’s voice that day, and maybe something else. Something that sounded a bit like envy. Their relationship had evolved over time, although Micki had moved on. Rowan and Jackie honed and cherished their friendship, and Jackie knew more about Rowan’s sexual interests and tastes than anyone else, just as Rowan soon figured out where Jackie was coming from. Jackie was bisexual and highly anxious about it, and Rowan’s absolute tolerance cemented their connection.

  They had headed for Jackie’s apartment, the one she shared with Micki, and Rowan marveled at the state of disarray. Jackie moved around the main living area, casually scooping up armfuls of clothing that she carried to one of the bedrooms and hurled inside. Some dishes and empty takeout containers met the same fate, only coming to rest in the sink of the little kitchen just off of the living room, and once a few papers and books were shuffled and stacked on the coffee table, the place looked quite tidy and ready for company. It was furnished in early student, but had a hint of whimsy, probably because either Micki or Jackie had scattered some colorful personal effects around and added some vibrant artwork to the walls.

  “You’re hiding an interesting body under those crappy outfits,” Jackie observed, as Rowan stood passively for inspection, something that she would find herself doing in the next few years, and in far more intense situations than this one. “Your skin is amazing, all olive toned and so clear.”

  Rowan shrugged. “It’s my Gaelic ancestry I guess. I wish my boobs were bigger.”

  “We’ll get you a push-up bra. Micki has tons that don’t fit her. That will make a difference. Holy shit, woman, you don’t have any pubes!”

  Rowan knew her face was a dark red, and she dropped her hands to cover her mons, apparently visible behind her sensible cotton underwear.

  Jackie immediately said, “No worries, hun. I’ve had mine waxed, too. I just would never think it of you. Did it hurt?”

  “I got lasered a few months ago,” Rowan confessed. “I don’t have a lot of body hair for some reason, and while I was in getting my underarms and legs done, the aesthetician suggested it. It, uh, well it just felt like I’d be tidier or something.” She didn’t share that it felt really sexy, too.

  “Lasered, huh? Well, waxing’s no party. Maybe I should consider it. I like sex better without the hair, especially oral sex. Is that why you did it?”

  Rowan said nothing and wondered why the ground just didn’t open up and swallow her. She had figured out masturbation in a big way, but while she had been checking out several of the male students on campus, no one had been looking back.

  “Still haven’t done the deed, Shakespeare? Wow. Saving it? Or just haven’t had the opportunity yet?”

  Rowan shrugged. Jackie was irrepressible. “I don’t know. I’m interested, but you know…”

  “I don’t know, hun, but that’s your business. I’ll give you a few from my condom stash, though. The last thing you want is to get knocked up. Right?” At Rowan’s emphatic nod, Jackie continued, “It is guys you’re interested in though…”

  “Yes. Not even remotely interested in women, Jackie, but I don’t care what other people do. I’ve come to see human sexuality in a very different light more recently.” It had felt so good to confide, to share, and Jackie had just nodded and smiled, although her smile had looked a little forced, and then got to work on the makeover.

  Rowan stared at herself in the mirror. Holy smokes. She was wearing a silky, dark-blue top, held up only by the thinnest of straps, and Micki’s strapless bra definitely made the most of her small breasts. They were pushed high and filled out the fabric in a way that she wouldn’t have believed. She actually looked feminine. The skirt fit snugly over her hips, accentuating her flat stomach and narrow waist, and then flared around her knees, drawing attention to her long legs and tapered ankles. It was like looking at a stranger. The heels were going to kill her before the evening was over but Rowan had to admit that they were the pièce de résistance.

  Jackie had worked her magic on her face, too. Rowan hadn’t realized that she had cheekbones, at least not such high ones, and her dark eyes looked luminous under the drift of gray shadow and liner, the lashes lengthened by the judicious use of mascara. Even her lips looked fuller, almost pouty. Her heavy chestnut-brown hair had been brutally straightened and then left to hang freely down her back, just a piec
e of it lifted and caught at the nape of her neck to frame her face. Rowan thought she cleaned up pretty well, and looked forward to the evening with anticipation.

  The first clubbing experience had been one of fascination and excitement for Rowan. It didn’t matter that she had never learned to dance. The gyrating couples and groups of women on the dance floor weren’t doing any formal kind of dancing she’d ever seen. The smoky atmosphere with the dim lighting and throbbing beat of an eclectic mix of music accentuated the tangible flood of hormones. Rowan could feel and smell the potent brew. Jackie ordered her white wine and exhorted her to guard it at all times and never take a drink from it if it was out of her sight for even a second. Rowan was at least worldly enough to understand and accept the warning.

  None of the three women lacked for partners that evening. Rowan found herself dancing with abandon, the movements fuelled with sips of wine and the even more intoxicating atmosphere. Some of the men casually stroked her flanks, and one actually cupped a breast under the pretext of supporting her when another woman bumped into them. He had backed off at her look and instant retreat, and that was really the only uncomfortable moment. She and Micki and Jackie made their way home to their apartments full of euphoria, and Rowan resolved to go shopping for more appropriate clothing the following day. She made Jackie promise to teach her how to style her hair and use makeup. It was the first step into a world Rowan may well have never known had it not been for her foray into erotica.