Wet Ink (Plus Size Loving) BBW Erotic Romance Read online

  “Valerie.” He reached out and gripped her hand gently. “It’s alright. I was just teasing.”

  She looked down at his large, warm hand wrapped around hers—capable indeed—and her cheeks grew even hotter. “Sorry,” she said, snapping her back shut and feeling like she wanted to melt through the floor. “I… I guess I’m just nervous.”

  Alex leaned back, sensing that she needed a bit of space to compose herself. She’d seemed genuinely at ease and comfortable right up until Vanessa had high-tailed it, but then writers were often introverted or insecure. “You have no need to be worried, Val” he said, using Vanessa’s nickname for her in an attempt to get her to relax. “You’re an incredible writer. I don’t take on romance novel projects very often, but you have a great voice and strong characters.”

  Her eyes sparkled as she lifted her head, true pride in her expression. “I’m so glad you think so,” she said earnestly. “I’ve been chasing after the publishing dream for so long. And I keep having to pinch myself every time I look at you just to make sure I’m not asleep in my bed.”

  Alex laughed. “You’re a funny girl, Valerie. Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?” He was curious to find out more about this woman who’d managed to pull him to her through her writing alone, using a genre that he usually didn’t read.

  “I grew up in Kansas,” she admitted. “Small-town girl who learned to drive in a tractor.”

  “No kidding!” Alex leaned forward. “No wonder you don’t have the Long Island accent. So, farmer girl, huh? How’d you manage to get away from the fields long enough to write?” he teased.

  Valerie grinned. “I was an avid reader. My mom’s shelves were full of romance novels and I started sneaking them when I was thirteen. I got hooked, but I was tired of reading the same old things, so I decided I wanted to write my own, but with more action-adventure elements. I’m a serious action film junkie.”

  “Really?” Alex shook his head. “You look more like the type who’d sit on the patio reading Pride and Prejudice than on the couch with a glass of cold beer watching Die Hard.”

  “Well, you’d be mistaken,” Valerie said, “Give me a good dose of Double-O-Seven any day of the week, baby. How about you? Where did you come from?”

  “Me? Oh, I’ve been a city slicker from birth. Born and raised in the Windy City, and like you I was hooked on reading from an early age. Went to Illinois SU, got my degree in Professional Writing and decided that if I was going to be a big name in the business that I should move to where publishing was happening. Been here five years now, and I’ve never regretted it.”

  Valerie smiled. “Yeah, I moved out to New York for pretty much the same reason—I figured that if I was going to make it happen I wanted to be as close to the action as possible. But I wasn’t quite ready for Big City life, so I decided on Long Island instead.”

  They talked for a while longer, until Alex finally looked at his watch. “Well, I’ve got to head back to the office,” he told her, flagging down the waiter so they could get their check. “But it’s been really great getting to know you. I’m really looking forward to working with you on getting your book published.”

  “I’m really glad I got to meet you face-to-face today,” Valerie told him. She glanced at her watch as well. “Looks like I’m going to have to hustle if I want to catch the next train.”

  “Why don’t you let me give you a ride?”

  “Oh—I don’t want to impose—”

  “Don’t be silly. Penn Station isn’t too far out of the way for me anyway.”

  She relented, and he escorted her downstairs and out the front doors. The valet had his car waiting for him—a silver Lexus—and as they made their way through Manhattan traffic, Valerie couldn’t help but admire the interior.

  “Editors must make serious money here,” she remarked, and then clapped her hands over her mouth. “Oops. I didn’t mean—”

  Alex laughed. “It’s alright. Actually my uncle is a Wall Street Broker, and he helped make me some pretty good investments. If I wanted to I could retire to some beach in Maui.”

  Valerie laughed. “What a life that would be!”

  Alex grinned and glanced at her sideways. He certainly wouldn’t mind rubbing coconut oil on her… and where had that thought come from? He cleared his throat.

  “Yeah, for sure. Most people would love to retire young.”

  Valerie smiled. “So, why aren’t you enjoying the highlife, then?”

  “Oh, I take a vacation every now and then,” he admitted. “But like I said, I’m a city-slicker. I enjoy the hustle and bustle and the fast-paced life, and I also love my job. I would go stir-crazy if I bought myself a cabana on some remote island and stayed there the rest of my life.”

  “I could see that.” Valerie nodded as the pulled up in front of Penn Station. “Thanks so much for the ride, Alex.”

  “Anytime, Val. I’ll be in touch.”

  He watched her go, her curvy hips swaying as she made her way across the granite sidewalk and down the limestone staircase. Oh, she was fine. But she was also one of his authors now. Editors and authors didn’t have relationships… did they?

  A horn honked impatiently behind him, and he snapped himself back to the present. “I need to get back to work,” he muttered.

  ~ * ~ * ~

  “So, how’d your meeting with Mr. Hot-Shot-Editor go?” Nancy asked as they settled down in her kitchen for dinner with ten-dollar steaks and a bottle of wine that was only slightly pricier.

  “I felt like I was on cloud nine,” Valerie said, and she wasn’t even ashamed that she sounded a little dreamy. “I don’t think dinner with Tom Cruise or Sylvester Stallone would have been better.”

  Nancy arched an eyebrow. “He’s that hot, is he? Damn?”

  Valerie rolled her eyes. “Not because of that—though he is even more gorgeous in person. I meant because he’s one of Random House’s top editors and he is totally into my work. He gave me some seriously lavish praise and told me how much he was looking forward to working with me.”

  “Ah.” Nancy swallowed a bite of steak. “Bet you wish he was totally into you as well as your work, don’t you?” She waggled her eyebrows, and Valerie nearly spat out her mouthful of wine.”

  “What? No! Of course not,” she spluttered. “He’s my editor. That would be totally inappropriate.”

  “Why?” Nancy folded her arms. “Just because he’s your editor doesn’t mean he’s your boss. I’m sure he’d be down for a quick roll in the sheets.”

  “Stop it!” Valerie’s cheeks scalded, and then her eyes narrowed at the mirth in Nancy’s eyes. “Oh, for crying out loud. You’re just trying to get a rise out of me, aren’t you?”

  “It’s so easy,” Nancy admitted. “How could I not? But really, honey, it’s up to you. I know how much this publishing deal means to you, and I know you don’t want to screw things up. But if he makes a move and you’re interested… I wouldn’t hesitate.”

  “Fat chance,” Valerie snorted, going back to her steak. “Men like him want to be able to carry their women over the threshold without getting a hernia.”

  Nancy just rolled her eyes.

  ~ * ~ * ~

  “You staying late tonight?” Cheri asked as she packed her things up and shut down her computer.

  Alex looked up from his desk to see that the sun had gone down and the lights had been turned on. He looked at his watch to see that it was twenty minutes past the time he usually went home. “No, I should really get going,” he said. “Thanks for reminding me. I’ll just take some of these home with me tonight to work on.”

  Cheri arched an eyebrow. “Aren’t the Giants playing tonight?”

  Alex cursed and ran a hand through his hair. “Jesus. I completely forgot about the game. I’m supposed to pick up barbecue wings and be at my uncle’s in half an hour.”

  “Well you’d better get going then,” Cheri remarked as Alex hastily locked up and grabbed his briefcase. “You might ac
tually make it if you don’t change!”

  ~ * ~ * ~

  Alex hastily parallel parked on the street, and then grabbed the bucket of wings he’d picked up from Dominoes and trotted up the steps of his Uncle Zeke’s townhouse. He could hear the game blaring loudly from the living room, and rang the doorbell three times to make sure his Uncle heard him.

  The door swung open a minute later to reveal a trim middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a mustache. He should have looked odd wearing jeans and a football jersey, but Uncle Zeke had a way of fitting seamlessly into whatever role he was playing, whether it was wealthy stockbroker or sports enthusiast.

  “Hey sport,” he said, reaching out and ruffling Alex’s hair as he’d been doing since Alex was three years old. “Glad you brought the wings, but maybe I should keep them to myself. You don’t want to get barbecue sauce on that suit of yours.”

  “Sorry,” Alex said, stepping inside. “I got caught up at work and didn’t have time to run home and change.

  “You can go ahead and borrow one of my shirts,” his uncle told him, taking the wings off to the living room. “But you’d better hurry it up! The game’s about to start!”

  Alex stripped off his blazer and button down shirt, then rummaged through his uncle’s drawers until he found an old Giant’s t-shirt. When he returned to the living room, his uncle was seated on the enormous black leather couch, waving a wing in the air as he shouted at the TV screen.

  “C’mon, Rivers!” he roared as the linebacker was bowled over. Alex winced as the Patriots running backer plowed through their team and scored a goal. “That was disgraceful!”

  Alex sat down next to his uncle and grabbed a wing from the bucket, but he had a hard time focusing on the game. His thoughts kept going back to Valerie Grant. He’d finished the edits of another book and then started on hers tonight, but every time he read one of the passages from the heroine’s point of view he pictured not a tall, statuesque brunette but a curvy woman with bright green eyes and auburn curls. For some reason she’d lodged herself into his mind, and he couldn’t get her out no matter how hard he tried.

  HELL YES!” Uncle Zeke jumped straight off the couch. “Eli Manning’s still got it! Show those cheating Patriot bastards!”

  He turned to see Alex still sitting on the couch, blinking up at him, and scowled. “What the hell is wrong with you, sport? Didn’t you see that touchdown?”

  Alex blinked. “Sorry, Uncle. My mind’s… elsewhere.”

  “Ohh. I know that look.” Zeke’s eyes narrowed, and he surprised Alex by pressing the mute button on the remote control. “You’ve got a woman on your brain. Who is she?”

  “What?” He shook his head. “Uncle Zeke, it’s okay. You don’t have to tune out the game—”

  “It’s already done, sport. Now tell me what’s on your mind, and it had better be good or I’m going to have to hurt you for ruining football night.”

  Alex arched an eyebrow, but he decided not to argue. “A few days ago I took on a brand-new author, and since she lives on Long Island I decided I wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with her and her agent, so I set up a lunch meet.” He told his Uncle about Valerie—how funny and down to earth she’d been, and how he couldn’t take his eyes off her the entire time. “And now I can’t get her out of my head, and it’s driving me nuts because we have a business relationship. I shouldn’t even be thinking about getting involved with her.”

  His uncle whistled. “Whooo boy, have you got it bad. And you only just met her. I’m pretty sure I see a wedding band on your finger a year down the road from now.”

  “Uncle Zeke!” Alex’s head snapped up. “Didn’t you hear a word I just said?”

  He grinned. “I’m not deaf, boy. And what else do you expect me to say? Your Aunt Maddie and I met because she was one of my clients too. Fifteen years later and we’re still married, though judging by the amount of spa vacations she takes every year—including the one she’s on right now—I’d say she might’ve gotten the better end of that bargain.” He winked.

  Alex rolled his eyes. “Everyone knows Aunt Maddie was already rolling in it by the time you two got hitched. Sometimes I think part of the reason she fell in love with you is because cash pops out of everything you touch.”

  Zeke laughed. “I did make her a killing, didn’t I?” His expression sobered. “In any case, I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that you didn’t ask to see her again. You’ll have to fix that.”

  Alex crossed her arms. “How is that going to get her out of my head?”

  “If she’s just an infatuation, it’ll pass with repeated exposure and you’ll be able to move on eventually. If she’s not, then you’ll be stuck with her, but at least you’ll be happy. And before you give me that crap about business relationships, the last time I checked you were the lead editor. You can always pass her book on to someone else if you feel like it’s going to be a problem. I’m assuming you have her contact information?”

  “Well… yeah. But for business—”

  “Oh be quiet with the business already. Tomorrow, you’ll give her a call and set something up. Tonight, you’ll shut up and watch the rest of the game.”

  Alex watched, bemused, as his Uncle unmuted the TV. His hand went back into the bucket of wings, and his eyes followed the play intently, as though they hadn’t just had a conversation about Alex’s love life. Smiling slightly, he shook his head and reached for a wing himself. Uncle Zeke was quite a character.

  “GO GIANTS!”

  ~ * ~ * ~

  Valerie was just sitting down at her desk to write when the phone rang. Looking over, she frowned at the unfamiliar number on the caller I.D.—but it was a New York area code so she didn’t want to ignore it. Shuffling a stack of bills aside, she picked it up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey.” Her heart actually stuttered at the sound of Alex’s smooth, deep voice on the other end of the line. “I’m looking for Valerie Grant. Is she available?”

  “Umm.” Valerie swallowed, wishing for a glass of water—her throat had suddenly gone dry. “That’s me. What can I do for you, Alex?” Had he started editing her manuscript only to decide it was total trash? Had someone from Marketing changed their mind about the viability of her book’s success? All sorts of horrifying possibilities ran through her mind, and she was glad she was sitting down because otherwise her knees would have given out.

  “Oh! Hey Val.” He cleared his throat. “I uh… I was actually wondering if you wouldn’t mind meeting again.”

  “Sure. Did you want to talk more about the book?” A sinking feeling started in the pit of her stomach—maybe he really did change his mind. But if that were the case, why would he want to meet with her? “I didn’t think you’d be done with the editing yet, but…”

  “No.” He cleared his throat again, and Valerie frowned—was he nervous? “Actually it doesn’t have anything to do with your book. I… I want to see you again.”

  Valerie’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Was Alex Stone actually calling her up and asking her on a date? No way. This was so not real.

  “Valerie, it’s okay if you don’t want to. I… I just really enjoyed spending time with you the other day.”

  “I’d love to,” she whispered, her eyes shut tight as if to shield her anxiety from the man on the other end of the line.

  “Oh, great! So… what do you think about tomorrow night, at the Mill Pond House in Centerport? I’ll pick you up.”

  “Sure!” A thought suddenly occurred to Valerie, and she frowned. “Do you even know where I live?”

  “No… but Random House has your address on file and I know the town you live in is only twenty minutes from Centerport. It’s been awhile since I’ve last been to Mill Pond, and they’ve got killer seafood. Don’t worry, my trusty GPS will take care of it. And if I get lost, I’ll call you.”

  “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

 
~ * ~ * ~

  Valerie took a deep breath as she gave herself one final look in the mirror. She’d chosen a summery blue halter dress that skimmed just past her knees, and a pair of strappy heels that made her calves look longer and slimmer—like drumsticks instead of hams. She’d accessorized with a matching topaz teardrop necklace and earrings set, and had pulled her mass of curly hair on top of her head, letting only a few tendrils hang down to frame her face. The overall effect was flirty, but not too classy—after all, they weren’t going to The Mark again.

  Still, she fretted for a moment, wondering if she should pull her hair back down to help cover her cheeks, or choose a dress that wasn’t quite so short because really, those heels didn’t change her calves that much. The doorbell ringing decided it for her; and with one last quick pat of the hair she grabbed her purse from her bed and rushed to answer it.

  “Hey!” Alex greeted her with a wide smile and a bouquet of pink roses. His eyes traveled up and down her body in a once-over that left her flushed, breathless, and not a little nervous. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” She took the roses and inhaled—they smelled heavenly. “You don’t look so bad yourself.” He was dressed in beige slacks and a short-sleeved, green button up shirt that showed off lean, well-defined biceps. His sandy hair was styled in that careless, windswept fashion, and it made her want to run her fingers through it. “Let me go put these inside.”

  She placed the roses in a crystal vase on the kitchen counter, allowing her fingertips to gently graze the rose petals for a moment, and then came back outside. His Lexus was waiting at the curb, and like a gentleman he opened the door for her and helped her inside before moving around to the driver’s side.

  He started on the road, and then turned on CD player. Valerie blinked, and then smiled as the lyrics to Chop Suey came blaring out of the speakers.