Sweeter Than Chocolate: Valentine's Day Anthology Read online

  Sweeter Than Chocolate: Valentine's Day Anthology

  Coordinated by Gina Kincade

  Published by Naughty Nights Press LLC

  ISBN: 9781773571355

  Copyright ©2020 Naughty Nights Press LLC

  Gina Kincade, Erzabet Bishop, Raine English, N.J. Adel, Vicki Green, J.A. Owenby, Carly Carson, Gina Azzi, Sheri Lynn, Kiki Howell, Billie Dale, Roxy Matthews, Tricia Schneider, Angelica Dawson, Kat Parrish, Nikki Sparxx, Abby Hayes

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  About Sweeter Than Chocolate: Valentine's Day Anthology

  Romance Heat Levels

  Individual Story Blurbs

  Contemporary Romance

  Seeing Red

  Key To My Heart

  Old Flame Burns Again

  Perfect Stranger

  Lattes & Loneliness

  Satisfy My Craving

  One Great Love

  Royal Masquerade

  Love & G-Spots

  Dancing with the Enemy

  All the Teacher’s Valentines

  Forever My Valentine

  Paranormal Romance

  Magically Delicious

  Love, Creativity & Magick

  Her Haunted Valentine

  Your Wolfish Heart

  Dear Reader,

  About Sweeter Than Chocolate: Valentine's Day Anthology

  Sweeter than chocolate and hotter than your heart’s desire.

  Celebrate the day of love with sixteen sweet and spicy stories from some of your favorite USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Authors. Brimming with love, passion, and angst, this anthology will satisfy your sweet tooth, set your heart on fire, and leave you yearning for more.

  So tear into your favorite box of Valentine’s Day chocolates, pour a glass of wine, and start reading for some decadent, melt-in-your-mouth Valentine-themed romances.

  Romance Heat Levels

  1 Flame: This story is as clean and wholesome as they come. No cheating, no swearing, no sex on-screen, or hint thereof. Not even any PDAs. Nothing. Emphasis on CLEAN. Just two soulmates finding each other and living happily ever after.

  2 Flames: Still a clean story with no cheating and no sex, but may contain some on-screen petting and light swearing, sex is still fade to black. As always, a happily ever after.

  3 Flames: Starting to warm up. The bedroom door is open during sex, but the emphasis is on emotions, not as much on the physical aspect. Some swearing is absolutely okay, but never the F-bomb. Certainly a happily ever after, or at least a happy for now.

  4 Flames: Now we’re really cooking. Sex is right there on the page, full open, could be heating up and using more vulgar terms for organs. The F-bomb and all other swear words are used a little more often. The relationships are always consensual and almost always monogamous (RH can be an exception), and still focus on the emotional in addition to the physical aspects. Sex toys are starting to show up. A happily ever after, or at least a happy for now.

  5 Flames: Multiple Partners (includes RH) usually find their home here. The emphasis is typically on the physical aspect of the relationship with the emotional aspect as a secondary. Explicit sex and sex toys could be on almost every page. Whips and chains and bondage could make an appearance. Sex is still always consensual but not monogamous. The F-bomb and other swear words are used liberally, and you should only touch your ereader if you have heat protective gloves on. At least a happy for now.

  Proceed with caution. You have been warned…

  Individual Story Blurbs

  Contemporary Romance

  Seeing Red by Abby Hayes

  5 Flames

  This year on Valentine’s Day, a conversation with her long-time guy friend, Mark, lands Shannon Murphy in a situation beyond any she has experienced before. Mark wants to change the way things have been between them, take the “friends with benefits” relationship to the next level, but Shannon shares none of his feelings on the matter. Or, so she tells herself.

  Key to My Heart by Nikki Sparxx

  4 Flames

  When Charlotte goes speed dating with her best friend, Kelsey, for moral support, she doesn’t expect to meet the man of her dreams, Logan, especially after just breaking up with her cheating ex. But will Logan be able to to win the key to Charlotte’s heart, or will she keep it locked away?

  Old Flame Burns Again by Angelica Dawson

  4 Flames

  This Valentine’s Day is nothing any of them expected.

  Ben has been in love with Diane since he met her. At the time, he didn’t know about her previous lover, her college roommate, Lisa. When the curvy brunette turns up on Valentine’s Day, old thoughts and fantasies resurface.

  Is Diane interested in rekindling her lesbian love affair? Would Lisa consider including Ben? Is Ben destined to be taking cold showers until Lisa leaves town?

  Perfect Stranger by Roxy Matthews

  2 Flames

  Learning to live after loss hasn’t been easy for Pam Mason. So when her best friend sets her up with a ‘New Year, New You’ adventure, Pam isn’t convinced it’s what she needs.

  That is until a perfect stranger’s indifference sparks a flame inside her, one that tears down her defenses and melts his chilled heart.

  Together they can build happy memories, if only they can get past their volatile one.

  Lattes & Loneliness by Billie Dale

  4 Flames

  When you're single, the best part about Valentine’s Day is the day after when eating your sorrows away with chocolate is half-priced.

  I’m the poster child for dating disasters. Still reeling from my latest fall into the bucket of the dump-me truck, a propositioning, surly barista spurs my bizarre imagination into overdrive.

  Am I so extra my best chance for love is a relationship formed from a wrong number text or a vulgar offer from an apron-wearing hothead?

  Sexy Rhodes Milam is more than my nemesis and keeper of my caffeine. He’s also the man I’m trapped in an elevator with on the one day for lovers.

  Satisfy My Craving by Sheri Lynn

  4 Flames

  Luckee, Lucille Aiken, didn’t hide away from life in her uncomplicated, somewhat isolated existence; she simply didn’t desire exposing herself to certain behaviors. And Preston Ingram incorporated too many that tested her boundaries.

  Rich. Hot. Smokin’ hot. Super sexy. Confident. Popular. Luckee didn’t want any part of it. But attraction is a beast not easily confined. And the more he pursues her, the weaker she becomes.

  Some habits are hard to break, especially the ones we use as defense mechanisms. Preston is linked to the tragic event that altered Luckee’s perception of herself. Will she allow it tear them apart or join them together? Will he?

  One Great Love by Gina Azzi

  3 Flames

  Four years ago, Lachlan Begay moved to London and broke my heart.

  Despite my best efforts, I never truly moved on.

  Every time Lach visits Scotland, we fall back into old patterns that result in new hurts.

  My hurts.

  Now, my heart is breaking for a different reason.

  Preparing my nanna’s final Valentine’s Day gala at our family farm, the last person I need twisting my emotions is Lachlan.

  But here he is, setting me on fire with a single glance.

  This time, he swears he’s mine.

  This t
ime, he promises me a future.

  This time, he says all the words I’ve been waiting years to hear.

  The only problem?

  I don’t believe him.

  Royal Masquerade by Carly Carson

  3 Flames

  Alessandra is forced to adopt a name that isn’t really hers, when she returns to Austria to claim an inheritance…that isn’t really hers. She’s certain that her Romany grandmother left her the property nestled in the foothills of the Alps.

  Raul, heir to the Stirling dukedom, is determined to unmask Alessandra’s masquerade. He knows she’s lying. More importantly, he needs the same property she’s claiming, and he’s sure that his need is more desperate than hers. Because the duke is not all he seems, either.

  This battle will be fiercely waged.

  Not in a court of law.

  But in the hearts of Alessandra and her fairy-tale duke.

  Love & G-Spots by J.A. Owenby

  4 Flames

  A proper Southern girl never uses the F-bomb, considers sex toys in the bedroom, or taking erotic pictures for her fiancé. But I’m no longer a proper Southern girl. I’ve moved beyond my religious upbringing and my violent past. I’m ready to try new things with Hendrix, to prove to myself that I’m strong and sexy.

  With the nudge of my best friend, I come up with a special Valentine’s Day gift for the love of my life. But being a famous singer quickly puts me in an unwanted spotlight and unleashes a media frenzy.

  Now the people I love the most are reaping the consequences. Did I make a huge mistake?

  Or is this the push I needed to create the life I’ve always wanted in the bedroom?

  Dancing with the Enemy by Vicki Green

  4 Flames

  A man who lost his heart.

  Punished himself for things beyond his control.

  Blame.

  Guilt.

  A charity masquerade ball on Valentine’s Day.

  A mysterious woman intrigues him.

  She becomes his conquest.

  Someone to make him forget.

  But at what cost?

  All the Teacher's Valentines by N.J. Adel

  4 Flames

  I’ve never had a Valentine’s Day date.

  And I’m a twenty-five-year-old virgin.

  Laugh at me all you want, but I truly believe I’m cursed. Otherwise why do all my boyfriends break up with me right before Valentine’s Day? Or when it’s time for that third date?

  This year is no different, except when I have a meltdown at the mall, screaming to the world how I think I can be very good in bed if someone actually gives me a chance, a man, Kyle, tells me his cousin Zach can help me with my…issue. The only thing I have to do is go on a fake date with Zach to Kyle’s wedding.

  I agree, but when I go to his house, I discover Zach is my student’s hot single parent’s twin. And when I’m snowed in with the three Beastly hunks for the holiday, scorching secrets unravel and threaten to tear us all apart.

  Could I finally have my Valentine’s Day date and eventually lose my V-card to one of these three gorgeous men? Or will this holiday leave me more cursed than I’ve ever been?

  Forever My Valentine by Raine English

  2 Flames

  She left him... He loves her...

  A snowy Valentine's gives them a second chance.

  Returning home after a disastrous job relocation, Miranda Kane is determined to avoid the man she left behind and whose heart she broke, until she finds a hidden treasure in a music box—an engagement ring engraved with a decades’ old date. But the only man who can help reunite the precious ring with its owner is the last man she wanted to see.

  When Ian Anders sees Miranda come into his antique shop, his defenses go up. She walked away from him once without a backward glance. Since then, he’s given up on love. But when their eyes meet and sparks fly, he wonders if maybe there’s a Valentine’s Day miracle in store for them.

  A snowy night’s journey to bring the ring to its elderly owner turns into a second chance at romance for Miranda and Ian. But as the frost melts from around their hearts, it exposes old hurts and deceptions. This Valentine’s Day could be the start of something wonderful. Or the proof that their love was never meant to be.

  Paranormal Romance

  Magically Delicious by Kat Parrish

  1 Flame

  Love is the secret ingredient.

  Lily Ostrander is a witch whose talent is spreading love through her cooking—healing families, strengthening marriages, and generally helping everyone feel better about themselves.

  Too bad the talents she has don’t work on her.

  Or do they?

  When she’s hired to cater a Valentine’s Day anniversary party, Lily’s glad of the distraction from her single state. She knows she’ll be busy that day and into the night; what she doesn’t expect is to find herself falling for the most unexpected guest she encounters.

  Thomas Eakins is a Seattle celebrity, an abrasive attorney and justice warrior, who is the unlikeliest white knight Lily has ever encountered.

  Maybe opposites do attract.

  Maybe all it takes is a little magic.

  Trigger warning.

  Love, Creativity & Magick by Kiki Howell

  3 Flames

  All acts of magick take on shades of gray in the end. Especially for Emma, one of four, female witches, who, by birthright, belongs in the social circles of the privileged, upper ten thousand in London. Yet, by rumor of the unknown and the misunderstood, she stands apart, cut by her peers along with her cousins.

  Most of their nights at parties and balls were spent creating a magickal comedy of errors. Nowhere was the color of steam more evident than helping the uptight aristocracy side step their fastidious standards. Only, this year, Emma is not quite sure what is happening to her. Something dark and seductive, something not of this world, is luring her, possessing her, and she has no comprehension of what, or who, the presence really is.

  When he does finally show his face, and she feels him to be a nightwalker, she must fear not only the threat he poses to her blood and to the magick he can suck from her, but also the danger he poses to her heart.

  To complicate matters further, his propositions are as exciting as they are scandalous. When Valentine’s Day rolls around, a secret is revealed, leaving her even more unsure of her future.

  Her Haunted Valentine by Tricia Schneider

  4 Flames

  When Wendy Miller’s best friend sets her up on a blind date for Valentine’s Day, she’s hopeful this guy will be Mr. Right Now if not Mr. Right Forever. Imagine her disappointment when he doesn’t show. Instead, a man named Magnus appears, saving her from a lonely evening. He’s charming, he’s handsome, and he’s single. But there’s one thing Wendy doesn’t know...

  He’s a ghost.

  Magnus was murdered on Valentine’s Day over two hundred years ago. Now, his spirit haunts the inn where he died, searching for the one who can save him from this ghostly existence. The one who will hold his heart forever.

  Your Wolfish Heart by Erzabet Bishop & Gina Kincade

  4 Flames

  App Tastic...

  They were supposed to have the app live by Valentine’s Day. At least that was what Paige’s brother, Rafe, agreed to. Now here she was hoping and praying that with a little goddess power, and whole lot of technological know-how, he and his team can pull off a V-Day miracle.

  Flower power...

  Valentine’s Day was Liv’s least favorite holiday, even if she was part owner of Bluebonnet’s, one of the busiest flower shops in town. The holiday coinciding with her daughter’s death at the hands of a drunk driver, and then her marriage dissolving, was just another reminder of how empty her life was. But when a very familiar doctor starts coming into the shop, she feels a tug on her heartstrings, not to mention her lady bits, and wonders if maybe there is someone out there for her after all.

  A Wolf in Need…

  Dr. Thomas
Merton fills his days tending to the needs of others, but he can’t ever forget the dark-haired woman who lost her child to a drunk driver. Not one to poach on another man’s woman, he put his wolf’s attraction and his own on the back burner. But when a fortuitous meeting at a local flower shop leads to a second chance at making a connection, can his wolf convince them both that the right kind of love is worth everything?

  Sweeter Than Chocolate:

  Valentine's Day Anthology

  Collected Authors

  Naughty Nights Press LLC

  Contemporary Romance

  Seeing Red

  A Valentine’s Day Story

  Abby Hayes

  5 Flames

  Skip To Next Story

  Second Edition 2019

  Published by Naughty Nights Press

  http://naughtynightspress.com/

  Photography By Marcus Ranum

  Cover Design by Shane Willis, RAD ACT Photography

  http://www.radactphoto.com/

  Copyright Abby Hayes 2012

  All rights reserved. This book is under copyright by the author and is protected by law.

  Chapter One

  “Man, mention you hate Valentine’s Day and everyone is out to save your god-damned soul! Not like I committed some crime here! You’re acting like I committed a federal offense and need a death row pardon or some other kind of shit like that. You all need to chill out and just let me be. Valentine’s Day, Humbug!” Shannon laughed, despite her rant, at the ridiculous old saying coming from her mouth. Her body was literally shaking from the anger and the adrenaline rush of the same old argument. She had valid reasons for hating the blessed holiday and it was time her friend accepted that.