A Touch of Summer Read online

  A Touch of Summer

  A Sweet & Spicy Curvy Girl Romance

  Nichole Rose

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright © 2020 by Nichole Rose

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover by: FNG Designs

  Dedication

  To You – Sometimes, all a happily-ever-after takes is a little bit of courage and a whole lot of love.

  Table of Contents

  About the Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Epilogue

  Her Alpha Daddy Next Door Excerpt

  Also Available

  About the Author

  About the Book

  To keep his ray of sunshine in his life, he'll lay it all on the line.

  Dominic

  Summer Daniels is everything I ever dreamed about finding and more.

  She stole my heart the minute I set eyes on her, but I'm her boss.

  Trying to keep things professional between us when I want to claim her as my own is hard.

  I thought keeping her at a distance would keep me from losing her altogether.

  Now I might lose her anyway.

  Forget that.

  I'm not giving up my sunshine.

  Summer

  Dominic Alessi is the best man I've ever met. He's also the best boss I've ever had.

  I thought we were friends. I hoped we would become more.

  And then he pulled away.

  Working beside him every day when I dream about him every night is killing me.

  I want love and a family, but he doesn't feel the same way about me.

  At least I didn't think he did…until I accidentally told him how I really feel.

  Oh my goodness. What did I just do?

  Warning

  When this older alpha male finds out his younger BBW is quitting, he'll stop at nothing to change her mind. If accidental confessions, office romances, and over-the-top men make your heart race, get ready to fall for Dominic and Summer in this sweet, steamy romance from Nichole Rose. As always, a sticky sweet and guaranteed HEA are coming your way.

  Chapter One

  Summer

  "Oh, please," I groan, my eyes falling closed. That single action seems to be the only defense I have remaining against the gorgeous man quickly unraveling me at the seams. The rest of my defenses lie in tatters around me, little more than scraps of fabric littering the bedroom floor.

  He started slow, with teasing brushes of his rough fingertips against my soft skin. My shoulders. My arms. My neck. His simple touches and whispered words wrecked me.

  You’re beautiful.

  You’re so soft, so warm.

  Each touch of his skilled hands, each word from his full lips, acts like a melody, lulling me further into the here and now. Here, with my clothes strewn across the floor. Now, with my eyes closed and my body aching and on fire. This is what I've wanted since the first time I set eyes on this man, and it's torture. Exquisite, beautiful torture.

  He's light and shadow, fire and ice. An artist working with his teeth and tongue, molding me into a piercing, all-over ache. I can't take any more of his torment. There's no way my body was designed for this level of pleasure.

  Every part of me wants more anyway.

  "Please, I need you." The plea is so faint, I'm not even sure he hears it.

  Of course he does, though. He hears every little sound that passes my lips.

  "Open your eyes, beautiful girl," he whispers. He trails his fingertips across the soft valley of my stomach. "Let me see you."

  "I can't." I shake my head in a slow denial, my body arching toward his warm touch of its own accord. Even with my eyes closed, I feel the heat of his gaze on me and know he hasn't missed the way my body seems to seek him out, silently begging for another caress. Every inch of me craves him and those rough, strong hands.

  "Look at me."

  "I can't."

  "You can." His fingertips sweep across my hipbones, pulling another soft groan from deep within my chest. "I need to see you."

  "Please," I whisper again, knowing he's going to see how I really feel about him if I open my eyes. He'll know that I'm head over heels in love with him.

  "Show me, beautiful girl."

  I try to resist him, but I've never been particularly good at refusing him. On some level, I think he needs the connection between us more than I do. When he looks into my eyes, I think he's peeking through the doorway into my soul. He's taken up residence there. His strength and my softness meet in those deep recesses like yin and yang, sustaining both of us. I'm not sure which one of us loves it more.

  I give in and open my eyes.

  "Beautiful girl." His gratitude comes as a soft sigh against my overheated skin.

  His dark emerald eyes meet mine.

  What I feel for him—what he makes me feel—shines in my eyes, I know it does. Pleasure and pain burn through me. Desire for more wars with the intrinsic need to protect myself, buttress walls, and build defenses to keep him out. I let him see that, too. I can't hide it from him when we're like this.

  He's already taken me too far, playing my body like a finely tuned instrument. For him, I think maybe it is. One he was created to play. He seems to know it—know me—better than I do. In the dark of night, when he comes to visit me, he whispers that he was made for me. That my pleasure belongs to him.

  I believe him.

  The way he looks at me with tenderness searing his emerald eyes makes me want to wrap myself around his powerful body and stay there.

  He dips his head, hiding those eyes from me. His rough hands dance across my overheated skin like an artist blending light and shadow with his brush. His warm breath wafts across those secret places only he knows. Somehow, he fans the flames higher and soothes the burn at the same time.

  His tongue dips, traveling the same path he's explored a thousand times already. Down the valley of my stomach, across the soft curve of my waist, and then around the peak of my hip. He rakes his teeth across my skin, a stinging nip bringing me to the edge of heaven.

  I feel the tingling pleasure everywhere. Feel him all the way to my soul.

  "Please." This time, I'm not pleading for him to stop, but begging for more. For everything. I arch beneath him, seeking relief.

  "I'll take care of you, beautiful girl," he whispers, his breath blowing across my hip. His tongue follows, tracing that delicate bone and making me shudder.

  I know he'll take care of me. He always does.

  He dips his head again, his messy hair brushing like silk across my stomach, my hips…my inner thighs. His tongue touches my folds first, tentative, soft. His lips follow. Starbursts of warm, white light dance behind my lids as his mouth works against my core, his lips and teeth and tongue driving me right to the edge of heaven and then easing me over.

  The blissful lights come again when he rises up over me, wrapping my thigh around his hip.

  And again when he slips inside, sheathing his hard length inside me.

  "Dominic," I sob, delirious with pleasure.

  "I love you," he breathes against my neck, raining gentle kisses across my face. "Always, sweet girl."

  Hot, happy tears make silent tracks down my cheeks. I've waited so long for him to say those words to me.

  He rakes his teeth against the tendon in my neck, whispering soft
promises of forever as starbursts rupture behind my lids again, tumbling me over the edge into warm waves of euphoria.

  "Are you ready to be mine forever, Summer?" he asks as I drift in that radiant spot between heaven and earth.

  I nod, reaching eagerly for what he's offering. Babies and a family of our own. Forever.

  "I love you, Dominic," I whisper.

  He dips his head, his teeth sinking into my flesh as he comes apart for me.

  I jerk upright, a soft cry echoing in the inky darkness surrounding me. My heart hammers, pounding like the beat of hooves in my ears. Beads of sweat drip down my body, sliding across my overheated skin and soaking into the sheets twisted around my legs. I slap my hair out of my face, clutching my neck and the crescent-shaped love bite I can still feel there.

  Except…there is no bite. There's no Dominic either.

  "Jesus, I'm going insane," I groan, collapsing back against my pillows. I grind the heels of my hands into my eyes, tug on the tangled strands of my hair. Dominic's intense gaze refuses to fade from my mind. I think his gorgeous eyes are imprinted there, refusing to dislodge no matter how hard I try.

  And I have tried. A thousand times since I started working for Dominic Alessi six months ago. No matter how many times I tell myself that he isn't interested in me, I still can't seem to keep my mind off him. My dreams about him are becoming more frequent. Every night for the past few months, I've dreamed about him and of…well, of things I won't be writing home about, that's for sure.

  My mom would have a heart attack if she knew how much time I spend fantasizing over the gorgeous man who hired me to manage his office. She'd think I'd lost my mind if she knew how many times I've thought about what my life would be like with him and a bunch of adorable little boys who look just like him. If she knew how badly I want him to mark me so everyone knows I'm his.

  She raised me to be independent, capable of taking care of myself. And I am capable. I graduated a year early with a degree in business. I spend my days keeping Dominic's office from falling into chaos. I'm good at it. I don't second guess myself or hesitate to make decisions. But I ache for something more than my mom had. She was single her whole life and she was happy that way. I'm not built the same. I want a family and love.

  Maybe I have lost my mind.

  In my dreams, he's started telling me that he loves me. He tries to get me pregnant.

  I'm a twenty-two-year-old virgin, but the things my mind conjures up each night make my entire body ache with need like I've never felt before. Even now, I feel the press of his fingers to my skin, smell the spicy, all-male scent that drives me crazy in my dreams. I hear his voice as if it still echoes in the corners of my room. The painful rush of desire, the crushing need to feel more of him, and the utter sense of euphoria from my dreams linger.

  I place my fingertips over the side of my neck, where part of me—the not quite awake, not quite sleeping part—still whispers that his mark should be. That wild, defiant part refuses to believe my attraction to him is completely one-sided. That part desperately wants to believe the softness in his gaze when he looks at me is reserved just for me. That the way his eyes seem to linger on me is evidence that he wants me too.

  But he hasn't made a move. If anything, it's been the complete opposite. When I first started working for him, he stopped by my office all the time to talk, see how things were going, or ask me random questions. He would call me on weekends or text me random questions. We were friends, quickly on our way to becoming more…or so I thought. Two months ago, I thought he was going to kiss me when we were working late one night.

  He tucked my hair behind my hair, leaned in…I did too. I felt the heat of his body searing into me. Smelled his incredible scent. Heard the way his breath rasped in his throat before spilling across my lips. I whispered his name, my heart pounding like a drum. And then…nothing.

  He pulled away.

  Five minutes later, he rushed out like he couldn't wait to get away from me.

  Everything changed between us after that.

  What were once long, drawn out conversations have become short and clipped, full of frustration. He looks angry when he sees me, like I've done something wrong, but I don't know what. I've started trying to avoid him simply because seeing him makes my heart ache.

  I want him so badly. I think he knows how much I like him. As hard as I try to hide it, I don't think I'm doing a very good job of it.

  He clearly doesn't return the feeling.

  Part of me still refuses to believe that. Despite all evidence to the contrary, part of me still thinks he wants me too. That he almost kissed me because he feels the pull between us too.

  The other part has already written up my resignation.

  I'm just trying to find the courage to turn it in. I don't want to do it. I love working with Dominic. He's smart, driven, and compassionate. He could be a billionaire if he wanted, but he gives most of his fortune to various charities, saying they need it more than he does. Even though he hates being the center of attention, he'll smile for the camera all day long if it means he gets to talk about the causes that matter to him or the software he develops to make life easier for nonprofits and small businesses.

  He's gorgeous, but he's oblivious to it. I've never met anyone with a body like his. I thought they only existed in movies and romance novels, but no. He's built like a god. His body is solid steel that stretches the seams of his clothes to capacity. He's powerful, strong…and so damn sweet. He doesn't take crap from anyone and can be bossy as hell sometimes. He's also stubborn and never follows anyone's rules. But he's never mean or cruel. He's never anything less than an amazing boss and a kind, compassionate man.

  I think I fell in love with him the moment he asked me about my favorite charity during my interview, and then let me ramble on for an hour about the homeless shelter my mom and I lived at when I was a baby. I volunteered there three times a week through my teen years, trying to give something back to the people who were there for my mom and me when no one else was. When I told Dominic about living there when I was a baby, he immediately wrote a check and dropped it in the mail.

  I love the intelligence that blazes in his eyes when he listens to his software development team update him on their progress, and the way his lips tilt into a mischievous smirk when he's up to something. I love the way he mutters under his breath when he's irritated, and how he could ramble on all day about how we aren't doing enough as a society to care for our most vulnerable populations. I love how nerdy hot he is when he's wearing his glasses…which he loses almost daily.

  But I don't think I can keep working for him when I spend every night fantasizing about him. When all I want is for him to wrap me up in those strong arms and tell me that he's crazy about me too. That can't be healthy or normal. It's been months. I need to move on and get over my crush. And there's no way I can do that when I spend every day two doors away from him, just waiting for him to sweep in and tell me that he feels the same way I do.

  If he did, he would have made a move by now, given me some hint that I'm not crazy. He hasn't. He hasn't even called me once unless it was for business since the night I thought he was going to kiss me. He simply doesn't feel the same.

  I need to accept that and move on. Even though it's going to break my heart to leave, I think I have to do it. It's the only way I'll ever stand a chance of getting over him.

  "Today," I vow, kicking my feet to free myself from my twisted sheets. "I'm turning in my resignation today."

  "Are you insane?" Liberty Connor, my best friend and fellow employee at Alessi Technology Inc., blurts out when I share the news while we're huddled together in the breakroom. "You can't quit!"

  "Shh," I hiss, quickly glancing around to make sure no one heard her. No one else is around, thank God. Everyone has cleared out of the breakroom, headed off to start whatever projects Dominic has them working on today. The last thing I want is for everyone to know before I can tell Dominic myself. Even if he doesn
't feel the same way I do, he's been an incredible boss. I don't want to leave on bad terms.

  "Seriously, Summer," Liberty says, her hazel eyes wide with shock. She brushes her long blonde hair away from her face, pulling it up into a quick ponytail. "What's the problem? You love it here. You can't quit."

  "I do love it here," I mumble, fighting not to cry.

  "Then why are you leaving?"

  I shrug a shoulder, reluctant to tell her that I'm head over heels in love with our boss. I've kept it to myself out of sheer self-preservation. Liberty is a sweetheart and would never say a word about it, but some things are too private, too embarrassing. I don't want her to look at me with pity in her eyes. It's such a damn cliché, falling for your older, hotter boss. I did it anyway.

  "Did something happen with Dominic?" she asks, crossing her arms over her ample chest. Like me, Liberty is full-figured. She wears it well. She's as beautiful as she is smart. She's a software engineer here and is insanely good at her job. She's also intuitive and caring. Genuine concern filters through her expression. "Did he do something?"

  "What? No, of course not!" I hurry to assure her. "He would never cross a line like that." Which is precisely the problem. I fell in love with someone who is too honorable to ever see an employee that way.

  I see the doubt in my friend's eyes, the worry that he did something to me. The last thing I want is for anyone to think he did something wrong.

  "Dominic is amazing, Liberty. He's been nothing short of incredible to me. I think it's just time for me to move on."

  She cocks her head to the side, her hazel eyes scrutinizing my expression. The doubt slowly fades, understanding creeping in. "You're in love with him," she guesses, her voice soft.

  I shrug again, refusing to confirm it. Which I guess is confirmation enough because she gives me a sympathetic smile.