Love Me Always: A Romance Anthology Read online

  Love Me Always

  A Romance Anthology

  Peyton Banks

  LeeSha McCoy

  Ally Vance

  Theresa Hodge

  L. Loren

  ES McMillan

  Sade Rena

  Tami Lund

  Barb Shuler

  Marie Long

  ML Preston

  Ava Mallory

  Gwen Knight

  Reina Torres

  Amanda Faye

  Cara North

  Meka James

  AC Nixon

  Amabel Daniels

  Copyright © 2020

  Cover Design donated by Dar Albert from Wicked Smart Designs.

  Photography donated by Chris with CJC Photography. Model, Kevin.

  All rights reserved. Each story in this box set is copyrighted to the respective author as noted below. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, businesses, events, and incidents are a figment of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any similarities to real people, businesses, locations, history, and events are a coincidence. The authors are in no way affiliated with any brands, songs, musicians, or artists that may be mentioned in this book.

  If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the authors’ work.

  Breaking the Rules © Peyton Banks

  Sunsets & Sweet Kisses © Ava Mallory

  My Vampire © Tami Lund

  Power Play © Sade Rena

  Ignition © ML Preston

  After This © Amabel Daniels

  Married by Mistake © A.C. Nixon

  Moment in Time © Amanda Faye

  Reclaiming Her Heart © Barb Shuler

  The Guardian © Cara North

  Queen of Hearts © E.S. McMillan

  A Dozen Kises © L. Loren

  You Can’t Run from Love © LeeSha McCoy

  Peaches and Rahim © Marie Long

  Hers to Cherish © Meka James

  Fall in Love © Reina Torres

  Give Me Your Heart © Theresa Hodge

  Fractured Light © Ally Vance

  Call of the Ocean © Gwen Knight

  Created with Vellum

  Foreword

  This anthology was the brain child of Peyton Banks. She has sat back hurting, watching her beloved country be torn apart due to racial inequality.

  In order to help in the fight, Peyton organized a charitable anthology that focused on BLACK LOVE. In the climate of today, this is what we need to see.

  Not what the media portrays of the Black race daily.

  Please note the publisher’s proceeds from Love Me Always will be donated in their entirety to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Please note that Love Me Always is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NAACP.

  Want to do more?

  Please consider making a donation to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund HERE.

  The pen is mightier than the sword. So, I shall fight with my pen.

  Peyton Banks

  Contents

  Breaking the Rules

  Sunsets & Sweet Kisses

  My Vampire

  Power Play

  Ignition

  After This

  Married by Mistake

  Moment in Time

  Reclaiming Her Heart

  The Guardian

  Queen of Hearts

  A Dozen Kisses

  You Can’t Run From Love

  Peaches and Rahim

  Hers To Cherish

  Fall in Love

  Give Me Your Heart

  Fractured Light

  Call Of The Ocean

  Never miss a Temptation Box Set release!

  Acknowledgments

  Temptation Box Sets Publishing Schedule

  Breaking the Rules

  PEYTON BANKS

  Blurb

  Tall, dark, handsome, and richer than sin. Too bad, he was her boss.

  Lusting after one’s employer could be considered career suicide. Soraya Stevens landed the job of her dreams. When she should be working, she’s fantasizing about her billionaire boss.

  How could she not think about him? As his executive assistant, their work relationship was already intimate.

  She was obsessed with everything Kincaid Hamilton...his intense eyes, intelligence, and the way the man wore a suit.

  Was he aware of her infatuation with him? Could he feel the sparks between them?

  How could he not?

  But little did she know, Kincaid had known all along. He had only been bidding his time, toying with her, and drawing her into his web.

  When dealing with a rich and powerful man, there was only one thing Soraya had to learn about him.

  The rules don’t apply.

  1

  “Mr. Hamilton is currently unavailable to take your call now,” Soraya replied in a cool, collected voice.

  She was thankful for her customer service training because the real Soraya was two seconds from hanging up on the asshole on the phone.

  “Kincade can’t avoid me forever. I demand he get on the phone this instant,” the businessman snapped.

  Soraya rolled her eyes.

  Who did he think he was to demand anything?

  “Mr. Johnson—” she tried to get a word in, but he was on a roll.

  John Johnson was an investor who had business dealings with the company she worked for. Still, unfortunately for Mr. John Johnson, he didn’t play with enough money to demand anything from her employer, Kincade Hamilton.

  “I don’t care what meeting he is in, you go get him and tell him I’m on the phone,” Mr. Johnson hollered.

  She held the phone away from her ear while he carried on with his rant.

  Soraya couldn’t do anything but laugh.

  Who named their child John Johnson?

  She bit back a sigh and waited for him to pause. Finally, he shut his trap.

  “Sir, as I was saying, Mr. Hamilton is indisposed at the moment. I will be sure to give him your message the second he arrives.” Her voice was sultry and held just the amount of calmness someone in her position needed.

  “Well, I never,” Mr. Johnson sputtered. “You see that you do. I expect a call today.”

  The phone went dead, leaving Soraya relieved. She rolled her eyes again and settled back in her plush chair.

  Hamilton Financial Corporation paid her a hefty sum for her to deal with men like Mr. Johnson. She had grown accustomed to the privileged men and women who thought they had an inside connection with her boss.

  Soraya’s heart skipped a beat, thinking of Kincade Hamilton. Just his name alone sent a chill down her spine.

  Soraya Stevens was a lucky woman. She had been hired to work at Hamilton Financial Corporation straight out of college. Her college roomie and best friend, Paris, had applied for an accounting job
at the same company, and they had both moved to Dallas, Texas, from Ohio.

  Soraya had worked her way up in the company. Her business degree from the Ohio State University helped her along. About six months ago, she was promoted to the position of Executive Assistant to the CEO of Hamilton Financial Corporation, Kincade Hamilton.

  Looking around at her luxury office located outside of Mr. Hamilton’s, Soraya held a sense of accomplishment.

  The corporation was a financial powerhouse, and she was learning so much. There was a lot that Mr. Hamilton pushed off on her, and it was Soraya who helped arrange dealings with the small companies that were worthy of executive attention. Her boss had been assigning her more clients, and her caseloads were piling up.

  Her phone rang again, and she gave it a mean side-eye. After that last call, she was going to let this one go to voicemail.

  “One asshole an hour.” She sighed. It wasn’t even nine in the morning, and already she had to deal with disgruntled clients. When the secretary couldn’t answer questions for Mr. Hamilton, the calls were usually put through to her since she was his assistant. “I’m not claiming bad juju this morning. We are going to have a good day.”

  She snagged her handy-dandy notebook off the far end of her desk and jotted down Mr. Johnson’s message. When Mr. Hamilton arrived, she would have a brief meeting before his day began. She already had a growing list that needed his attention.

  She bit her lip.

  Hell, she lived for their personal meetings.

  Not that they went any way she fantasized.

  Kincade Hamilton was blessed by the gods above with his deep midnight skin, intense eyes, and a muscular physique that could wear a suit like no one else.

  Soraya shifted in her seat, becoming aroused just thinking of Kincade.

  A relationship between them would be forbidden. Thanks to the quarterly memo from the human resource department who had recently sent out a company fraternizing policy.

  That killed any dreams of being devoured on the large mahogany desk by her boss.

  “You are crazy,” she muttered. She tried to take her thoughts away from the carnal images she was having.

  Kincade was the youngest black billionaire on the Forbes richest person list. When she was offered her current position, she had done extensive research on the man she was to work side by side with.

  What she had found blew her mind.

  Hamilton Financial started off when his grandfather founded one of the first black-owned banks, New American Bank. Grant Hamilton had a dream that his people would be able to invest their hard-working money in an organization where the bankers looked like them. Grant’s son, Ronald Hamilton, molded it into the financial institution of today, and then Kincade took over, and the company grew at incredible speed.

  Braxton, Kincade’s younger brother, was the current CFO, and together the two of them ran Hamilton Financial Corporation with an iron fist.

  Kincade, a genius, took the company and did the unthinkable. In the midst of the great recession, he’d bought up distressed assets, including mortgages, ones backed by commercial planes, and IOUs to power plants.

  His out-of-the box thinking paid off.

  The company was now one of the most well-respected in the country.

  Footsteps sounded on the marble floor, heading her way. Her gaze dropped to her watch.

  As always, Kincade was on time.

  Soraya sat up straight and tried to focus on the spreadsheets on her computer screen.

  Their offices were housed on the top floor of the Hamilton building located in downtown Dallas. She had a beautiful view of the city skyline thanks to the wall of windows. Her office was connected to Mr. Hamilton’s by a single door.

  But he was going to walk past hers to get to his.

  “Good morning, Soraya,” Kincade’s deep baritone voice broke through the air.

  Her gaze flicked up to meet his dark stare. Her core clenched at the sight of him. Dressed in a dark pinstripe suit, he stood in her doorway, holding two large white coffee cups.

  “Morning, Mr. Hamilton,” she breathed. She winced internally at the huskiness in her voice.

  But what did she expect, he was a sex god in the flesh.

  She had never thought she was a suit woman, but Kincade elicited every naughty fantasy she could think of about peeling him out of them to discover what was beneath the layers of clothing.

  “You look like you needed this twenty minutes ago.” He held up a cup and walked into her office.

  Pushing back from her desk, she stood. Her legs wobbled as she met him halfway.

  “I think you have our roles reversed.” She smiled.

  He handed her the coffee with a lopsided grin. She tilted her head back to meet his gaze. Soraya stood at five foot six in three-inch heels, and he was still much taller than her. The scent of his cologne surrounded her. She didn’t know which one it was, but she loved it.

  “I’m not above getting my assistant coffee.” He chuckled. He slid his free hand in his pant pocket and sipped his drink.

  She hid her smile by tasting her coffee. He always got her order correct. She had only told him what she liked once, and he remembered. Every morning he brought them coffee.

  “Well, one of these days I’m treating you to lunch or dinner to pay for all the coffee you’ve provided me.” She laughed.

  His eyes darkened, and it was then she caught what she’d said. Her heart pounded.

  Oh shit. Did I just offer to take him out?

  Fuck.

  “That I’m sure we can arrange.” He tossed a wink at her and spun on his heels and stalked toward the door. He had the swagger of a confident man who knew how he affected women. “I’m sure we have a lot to discuss this morning. Come to my office when you’re ready.”

  He disappeared from the room, and Soraya stood frozen in place.

  Did he just accept her offer of them going out?

  2

  Kincade chuckled as he walked into his office. His assistant, Soraya Stevens, was a woman he needed to get to know better. From the second his eyes had landed on her, he knew he wanted her.

  He didn’t give a damn about any polices regarding employee fraternization.

  He was Kincade Hamilton.

  His name was on the damn building.

  Soraya was a woman who was beautiful and had brains. His last assistant hadn’t been able to handle the workload or ethic he demanded. Soraya had taken over the position, and his office was now running smoother than ever.

  He pushed off projects to Soraya and was pleased with her business sense. He had heard nothing but compliments from the clients he had given her.

  He took another sip of his coffee before settling his cup on his desk.

  Kincade was a man who was used to getting what he wanted, and currently, his sights were on Soraya.

  She was naturally shy, but once the woman was in a boardroom, she was like a she-wolf. Fierce and loyal to Hamilton Financial.

  Taking off his jacket, he walked it over to the closet. He hung it up and snagged his coffee and stood by the wall of windows.

  The skyline of Dallas always calmed him. When he had arrived at Soraya’s door, she’d had a frazzled expression on her face.

  It was too early in the morning for that. Soraya shouldn’t be frowning, and he vowed whatever it was that had her looking that way, he’d fix it.

  He was protective of his assistant. It was rare to have someone of color in the positions they were in. He’d dealt with plenty of racist businessmen in his days.

  Hell, his entire family was used to it.

  There weren’t many financial powerhouse corporations run by a black man, and it took his grandfather fighting to get their first bank established to begin something that would become a generational success.

  Society didn’t want to see black men succeed.

  But Hamilton men were stubborn, bullheaded, and vicious when it came to taking their seat at the table.

  He
watched the hustle and bustle of the people below scurrying around on the sidewalks. The streets were backed up with what appeared to be an endless amount of cars due to construction.

  Kincade looked forward to his daily morning meeting with Soraya before his day started.

  A knock sounded at the door. He glanced over his shoulder to see Soraya hesitating to enter the room.

  “Is this a bad time?” she asked.

  “Of course not.” He motioned for her to enter. His office was extremely spacious. When he had taken over, the first thing he had done was have a decorator come in and bring the space into the current decade. His father wasn’t one much for decor.

  He hosted other wealthy businessmen quite often, and Kincade wanted them impressed. He ran a billion-dollar corporation and wanted his office to reflect his success.

  There was a seating area that faced a large fireplace that was amazing with a roaring blaze burning. Kincade’s mother had thought it was doing too much once she had seen the new decor, but million-dollar deals had been signed in front of a roaring fire during the winter when the air was chilled.

  Kincade took Soraya in, and his dick twitched. She was dressed in a cream silk blouse that had a bow at the neck. Her black skirt stopped just at her knees, and those heels of hers showcased her perfectly sculpted calves. Her smooth almond skin was flawless. She kept her makeup light while her dark hair hung past her shoulders.

  Everything about her was always impeccable.

  He wanted to see her hair mussed and spread out on his pillows. His hands ached to slide along her thick curves. He loved women with a little extra meat on their bones.