Sweet Persuasions

Sweet Persuasions
Rochelle Alers

Settling down isn't high on Xavier Eaton's list–he's having too much fun playing the field, sharing his bed but never his heart. All that changes when the high-ranking military man and longtime bachelor comes back to South Carolina and walks into Selena Yates's tantalizing patisserie….Charleston is a long way from Selena's West Virginia mining hometown. And the gorgeous Eaton war hero isn't like anyone the wary chocolatier has ever met. Xavier's kisses spark desire… and a powerful yearning to belong to him. As his kisses heat up the sultry Southern nights, Selena is tempted to say "I do" to a lifetime of passion. But is she ready to take her rightful place among the Eaton women as Xavier's beloved and adored bride?

Xavier’s mouth covered Selena’s, surprising her.

Within moments, his hands searched under her pajama top, massaging the tight flesh over her ribs, her breath coming in quick gasps from the pleasure radiating in her chest and on downward. Ensnared by her own burning desires and awakened passion, Selena’s hands were just as busy, moving over his chest to his flat belly.

Reaching between his thighs, she caressed his hardened sex through the cotton material of his sleepwear. The heat from his flesh warmed her hand. Her fingers moved to the drawstring, untying it as Xavier raised his hips to aid her removal of the offending fabric. And just a moment later, her pajamas joined his at the foot of the bed.

Selena closed her eyes and felt the length of heavy flesh between Xavier’s muscular thighs. Her breathing quickened. Sensations she’d forgotten came alive. Liquid fire rippled through her veins as a rush of sexual awareness held her captive.

Xavier lowered his head, his mouth searching for Selena’s, and she returned his kiss.

ROCHELLE ALERS

has been hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today’s most prolific and popular African American authors of romance and women’s fiction.

With more than sixty titles and nearly two million copies of her novels in print, Ms. Alers is a regular on the Waldenbooks, Borders and Essence bestseller lists, regularly chosen by Black Expressions Book Club, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Gold Pen Award, an Emma Award, a Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award and a Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.

Ms. Alers is a member of the Iota Theta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and her interests include gourmet cooking and traveling. She has traveled to Europe and countries in North, South and Central Americas. Her future travel plans include visits to Hong Kong and New Zealand. Ms. Alers is also accomplished in knitting, crocheting and needlepoint. She is currently taking instruction in the art of hand quilting.

Oliver, a toy Yorkshire terrier, has become the newest addition to her family. When he’s not barking at passing school buses, the tiny dog can be found sleeping on her lap while she spends hours in front of the computer.

A full-time writer, Ms. Alers lives in a charming hamlet on Long Island.

Sweet Persuasions

Rochelle Alers

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Seek ye the Lord while He may be found,

call ye upon Him while He is near.

—Isaiah 55:6

Dear Reader,

The Eatons are back! So far, the setting has moved from Philly to D.C., and now we’re moving to the sultry low-country.

When Xavier Eaton left Charleston after graduating with distinction from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, his plans did not include returning and making The Holy City his hometown. The former career military officer is now a civilian, looking to begin the next phase of his life as a teacher at a small military academy.

What he doesn’t plan on is falling in love. But when he walks through the door to Sweet Persuasions, it doesn’t take much persuasion before he offers chocolatier Selena Yates his heart, protection and a love that promises forever.

Settle down in a comfortable chaise with a glass of sweet tea or lemonade and enjoy the heat, passion and a whirlwind romance that will not only leave you breathless, but panting for more.

The Eaton summer wedding duet continues next month with Dr. Mia Eaton’s Sweet Destiny.

Read, love and live romance.

Rochelle Alers

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 1

Xavier Philip Eaton maneuvered into the empty parking space on King Street. The owner of one of the antiques shops lining the street had called him the day before to let him know that she’d been able to acquire some crystal and silver serving pieces from an estate sale, which he was thinking of giving his sister as a wedding gift. In less than three months, his sister Denise would be getting married and changing her last name from Eaton to Fennell.

He’d been as surprised as his parents were when Denise announced that she’d reconciled with her college sweetheart—after a six-year separation—and was marrying the successful Washington, D.C. businessman Garrett Fennell on New Year’s Eve. When Xavier had asked his mother Paulette Eaton about a wedding gift, she’d suggested giving the couple something in keeping with the late-nineteenth-century architecture of their D.C. town house. His future brother-in-law, Garrett, had purchased a four-story town house just blocks from the city’s trendy, upscale Dupont Circle, renovating the first three floors for his various holding companies and the fourth floor as their personal residence. The renovations were scheduled to be completed before the end of the year, and Denise had decided to decorate the town house with period antiques and reproductions. Besides the wedding gift, he also had to buy something for his sister’s upcoming birthday.

As the brother of the bride, Xavier was not only part of the ceremony, but he would have the honor of walking his sister down the aisle, since their father Judge Boaz Eaton had agreed to officiate. For the moment Denise’s wedding had taken the pressure off of him, since his mother was obsessed with having her children get married and giving her grandchildren. It seemed Paulette Eaton was competing with her sister-in-law, Roberta Eaton, whose children had all married and made her a grandmother many times over.

Xavier wasn’t against marriage, per se. It was just that he hadn’t met a woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Considering his former girlfriends, he could honestly say there hadn’t been “one that got away.” He’d been forthcoming with the women he’d dated, admitting that he wasn’t ready to settle down and become a husband and father. And at the time, he wasn’t certain where he’d wanted to go with his military career. Most of the women respected his honesty, and many of them had remained friends even after their relationship ended. Those who wanted marriage opted for a more permanent break.

In the past year, he had undergone major changes in his life. A combat injury had ended his military career, and he had moved back to Charleston, South Carolina for the second time in more than a decade. In college, he’d been a student at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, where he’d graduated with distinction. He’d subsequently enrolled in The Citadel’s graduate school, earning a degree in U.S. History and then went on to earn another degree at the Marine Corps War College. This time, he was back in Charleston not as a student, but as a teacher at a small, elite military prep school, teaching U.S. Military History. Just when he’d thought his days of wearing a uniform were over, he found out he still had to wear one whenever he was on campus.

It was late September, and the sultry heat of summer had not yet subsided. After growing up in Pennsylvania, he’d come to appreciate the relatively mild Southern seasons. Walking along King Street, he slowed his pace when he peered into the window of a pastry shop that displayed desserts and sweets reminiscent of a Parisian patisserie.