Sugar Love Read online

  Sugar Love

  Book 3 in the Adrenaline Series

  Callie Bardot

  Sumner McKenzie, Inc.

  Copyright

  Published by Sumner McKenzie, Inc.

  Ebook Edition

  Copyright ©2018 Callie Bardot

  All Rights Reserved.

  * * *

  License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people, but it can be lent according to the retailer’s coding. If you would like to give this book to another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to an online retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  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 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  About the Author

  As always, to John; to Rainy, my fab editor; to Charity, and, of course, to Ron.

  Chapter 1

  Effie

  Effie, standing in the library staff break room, stared with disturbed fascination at the naughty video on her phone screen. Leaning against the counter, her fingers held down the handle of the hot water dispenser, squirting steaming water into her paper cup to make her tea. Once the cup had been filled, she shuffled out of the stuffy break room, fragrant mint tea in one hand, device in the other.

  Back in the Pacific Institute of Medicine library, she settled into her seat at the front desk. She was supposed to be working. For the last hour, she’d been guiltily scanning a website her best friend Haley had told her about, on the phone her parent’s paid for, no less.

  The site, called Saucy Lady, depicted “award-winning, hand-picked, sensual images, with an emphasis on positive body image and sexual pleasure, all while conveying desire and passion.”

  The thirty-second video she’d been staring at for the last fifteen minutes showed a slender woman’s derriere, thighs, and slender waist. She poised on her spread knees, positioned over a guy’s tongue. The woman dug her red fingernails into her smooth-skinned butt over and over, while the guy’s tongue flicked and flicked and flicked.

  Both captivated and mortified, Effie couldn’t stop watching. She’d hit replay about twenty-five times. No one had ever done that to her. Nor did she think it would ever happen. Who would want to do that to me, anyway? My body doesn’t look like a porn star’s. And positive body image? Right. I’ve got anything but.

  Her nerves were on high alert. Lifting her head, she looked around for the fifteenth-thousandth time, hoping no one watched her.

  Like anyone would notice me.

  Certain she wasn’t being watched, she turned her attention back to the video. When it came to sex, she classified herself as “sort of experienced.” It was on her To-Do list to learn more about when she’d completed her education at Pac Institute, or what everyone called PIM. Her education was “top of the list” important. Dating and getting laid was not important.

  Her only encounters to date consisted of fumbling exploration of the guy’s dangly kabobs—like Jim’s crusty and crooked penis—and letting the guy fiddle with her vagina, something Jim had called her “meat curtains” when they broke up.

  That image still stuck with her, making her foot twitch whenever she thought about it. Who wanted a meat curtain between her legs?

  He’d been a sore loser when they’d split up in her senior year of high school a few years back. A science geek like her, he’d been planning commitment and babies after high school. But she couldn’t have kept dating him. Her ambitious dream consisted of pursuing bio-physiology with a focus on regenerative medicine, and getting far away from Yakima, Washington, and her parents’ trailer park reality.

  When Todd and Roy sauntered through the heavy front door of the library, she startled. Her fingers fumbled with her mobile phone, and it fell to the floor with a clatter. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she nudged it out of the way with the toe of her red sneaker.

  She pushed her reading glasses up her nose, reached for the paper cup full of peppermint tea and hunched in her chair. The remnants of her lunchtime muffin sat on a napkin near the computer monitor. Quietly extending her free hand, she pressed a couple of crumbs onto her forefinger, and popped her finger in her mouth. Slowly, hoping Todd and Roy ignored her, she slid her digit free, savoring the last bits of blueberry lemon muffin.

  It had been dead in the library today. Outside, the warm spring weather invited Seattleites to shed their layers and enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the Pacific Northwest on the last week of the semester before summer break. So, to while away her shift, she’d logged onto Saucy Lady. Now, with Todd and Roy standing a few feet away, she wanted to die.

  Todd and Roy were students at PIM, same as her. Both had football scholarships and managed to squeak through their studies with their muscles, their charm, and their television-worthy smiles. They rarely darkened the doors of the library.

  So why are they in here now?

  She sneaked a peek at them.

  They stood just inside the entrance, near one of the computers.

  Her eyes scanned their chiseled muscles and sports-star good looks. Glancing down at her attire, she wished she’d put on something more interesting than a Star Trek sweatshirt and baggy pants.

  Todd and Roy were hot—Sports Illustrated meets GQ hot.

  She was so not hot. If there were a contest for Most Likely to Never Be Noticed, she’d take first place, every time. Rubber bands kept her messy blonde hair away from her face. Big glasses perched on her nose. The nicest compliment she’d ever received had been given in the form of an insult, overheard when she stood outside of her English Lit classroom last fall.

  “That chick’s a nerdy geek,” Todd had said when Roy had dared him to ask her out. “Who wants to go out with a nerd with brains bigger than her ginormous boobs?”

  No one, if her track record with guys was any indication. Still, Effie valued her intelligence. It served to get her a scholarship to PIM and earned her enough student aid to be able to attend school full-time without having to work more than part-time. She never would have been able to pursue her studies otherwise. Her family barely made ends meet, especially with all their medical bills since her mom had undergone recent treatment for breast cancer. But now, Effie would finish school this summer. And then, she could get away from all the Todds and Roys and guys who were too chicken to ask her out because she was too smart for them. I’m proud of being a nerdy geek. I may not have been
born into money, but I’ve got more than enough smarts to make it in this world. She turned back and forth in her swiveling chair and, in the process, scuffed her red tennis shoes against the floor. The sound made her wince. She did not want Todd and Roy to look over at her.

  “So, where’s Collette? She was supposed to meet us here,” Todd said, glancing around.

  “Who the fuck knows,” Roy said. “She’s always late. Or, too wasted to remember anything.”

  Todd scoffed. “Fuck her. You need an upgrade, man.” He shook his head. “You got the tickets to the Rocket Fuel Rodeo, right? The one EXcape is sponsoring?”

  “Got ’em this morning.” Roy patted his shirt pocket. “They’re right here on my Android.” He glanced at Effie.

  Still gripping her paper cup, she slumped in her seat, wishing she would slide to the floor.

  Roy smirked. “Hey, Effie, you ever watch freestyle motocross? Guys with rockets between their legs launching into the sky?”

  Effie’s cheeks burned as she shook her head. Extreme sports ranked right up there with root canals. The most daring thing she’d ever done had been turning on the Saucy Lady website while at work. She preferred to live her adventures through books where other people took all the risks.

  Todd snorted. “Rockets between their legs…you wish.”

  “No, man.” Roy grabbed his crotch. “I know. Ask Collette. Last night, she howled my name.”

  Effie fumbled with her to-go cup, spilling tea down the front of her new Star Trek sweatshirt.

  Todd looked over.

  “Whoops,” he said.

  Roy snickered.

  She grabbed for her muffin napkin and dabbed at her sweatshirt.

  “Easy there, Effie,” Todd said. “We didn’t mean to scare you. Roy, apologize to Effie for making her spill her coffee.”

  “It’s tea,” she squeaked in a barely audible voice.

  Roy snorted and gave Todd a side-eye. “No way, man. I didn’t do anything.”

  “It’s all right, really,” Effie said. “I’m fine. It’s my fault.”

  Go away, go away, go away, assholes.

  Her desk phone rang. She lunged for it, eager to do anything but be ridiculed by Todd and Roy.

  “PIM library,” she said into the phone, turning away from the guys. “How may I direct your call?”

  “Is this Effie D’Archangel?” a woman’s voice said on the other end.

  “Yes, that’s me,” she whispered.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. Do we have a bad connection?” the woman said.

  Todd and Roy were talking to each other, not paying her any attention.

  She cleared her throat. “That’s me. I’m Effie D’Archangel.” She removed her reading glasses and tucked them in her pocket.

  Her gaze drifted under her desk where that video clip sat poised on a still of the woman’s ass. She nudged it further out of the way with the toe of her sneaker.

  “This is Suzette Blackstone. Can you come down to the Financial Aid office? There’s an issue we need to discuss.”

  “Issue? What kind of issue?” she squeaked.

  Effie started to stoop to pick up her device from the floor, but Ms. Blackstone snapped, “Come now and we’ll fill you in.”

  “Um, okay. I’ll be right there.” Distracted by the summons, she hung up the phone, and scurried around the corner toward the door to the back office.

  Mrs. Schneider sat at her desk, typing on her keyboard. She looked up. “Can I help you, Effie?”

  “Yes, please. If you don’t mind, would you watch the desk for a few minutes? I have to go to the financial aid office. They called. I’ll be quick. Right back.”

  Mrs. Schneider pushed away from her desk, smoothing her pantsuit jacket.

  “I’ll be out in two secs. I just need to use the ladies’ room.” She glanced at her wristwatch. “Your shift is almost over, anyway. I can cover for you, and you can be done.” She smiled.

  “Thank you,” Effie said. “Thank you so much.” She rounded the corner right as Todd leaned across the counter.

  Balanced on his chest, he stretched his arm across her desk and retrieved a pen.

  “I’ll give it right back,” he said to Effie.

  And then his gaze landed on her phone on the floor.

  She froze.

  “Shit. That’s hot.” He turned his head and looked at her, smirking, before calling over his shoulder, “Hey, Roy, look at what Effie watches in her spare time.”

  Roy sauntered toward the counter.

  Effie scurried toward the device, stooped, and snatched it up.

  “What I watch is none of your business,” she said. Sweat covered her face and neck. Her cheeks grew so hot she thought she would explode. She hurried toward the front door to the tune of Todd and Roy hooting and laughing.

  Outside, she scurried across the damp green grass, dodging sprinkler spray, heading for Building B, where Financial Aid was located.

  Can this day get any worse? As she hurried along, she closed the browser with the Saucy Lady website. I’m never looking at that again, at work or at home.

  She tugged open the door to Financial Aide, tripping over the sill at the bottom of the door.

  “Miss D’Archangel?” An older, smartly dressed woman said from the corner. She peered through bright red glasses. Her hair had been shaped full-Afro with a pattern of neat corn-rows over her ear.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “I’m Ms. Blackstone. I’m the one who called you. Come on back.” Mrs. Blackstone gestured to Effie. Several rings sparkled on her fingers.

  Effie made her way through the unoccupied workstations to get to the back corner.

  “Please, sit,” Mrs. Blackstone said, adding a warm smile. She made a sweep with her arm. “The others have gone to lunch. We can speak privately.”

  Effie perched on the hard-plastic chair next to Mrs. Blackstone’s desk.

  “What about?” Her heart hammered in her chest.

  Mrs. Blackstone’s coal-colored eyes seemed to grow sad. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

  Effie’s heart launched into her throat. Her fingers curled into the rigid seat. “What is it?”

  Mrs. Blackstone cleared her throat. “The institute is going through some financial restructuring.”

  Effie’s eyes narrowed. That sounds like code-speak for someone screwed up the budget.

  “We’ve got a plan in place, however.” Her red-lipped smile reappeared, conveying confidence and reassurance. “We’re, uh…” Her gaze slid away and then back to Effie. “We’re forced to drop the Disadvantaged Student Scholarship program, effective immediately .”

  Effie white-knuckled the chair.

  “What do you mean?” she demanded. Rage ignited in her belly. She hated being poor and somehow at a disadvantage because of her parents’ income.

  “Well…” Mrs. Blackstone picked up a pile of brochures about Student Aid covered with happy, smiling students.

  Your Aid, the top brochure read. Your Options.

  She tapped them into a tidy pile and set them in the corner of her desk. Again, she plastered the reassuring smile on her face. “You’re a good student, Effie. I’ve been reading over your transcripts. But, we’ll be unable to extend your scholarship. We’re sorry.”

  “But, Mrs. Blackstone…I only have summer semester left. I have to complete a summer internship and re-take the classes I missed when my mom was sick.” Effie’s mind scrambled for options.

  Her mom had gone through a breast cancer scare a couple of years ago. Since her grandma had almost died of breast cancer when her mom was in her early twenties, Mom had been freaked to the point of hysterical.

  Effie had dropped everything to help out. She’d been torn between studies and Mom, but family came first. But now Mom was fine, if not more fretful than usual.

  “I know. Maybe the library could give you a few more hours. Or, maybe you could get another job.”

  Effie’s head shook back
and forth. “Summer semester will be brutal. And the library would be more likely to cut my hours than give me more.”

  Mrs. Blackstone sighed. “Can you ask your parents for a loan?”

  Effie let out a strangled noise. “My dad works at GBS, er, Giant Box Savings. My mom teaches part-time pre-school. They barely make ends meet.”

  “What about a Student Loan?”

  Effie shook her head. “I’m going to have a hard-enough time paying back the one I got.”

  Mrs. Blackstone glanced at her Apple Watch, nestled among sparkling bangles. “I’m sorry, Miss D’Archangel, but I have a meeting. You’ll have to excuse me.” She pushed her chair back from her desk. “You’re a bright young woman with a promising future. Think of this as an opportunity for growth.”

  Right. This is more like a train wreck. Effie’s throat tightened, choking off any words. All she could picture were her dreams falling around her ankles like puffy clouds of ash, choking her emotions.

  She jerked to her feet and bustled away.

  Outside, she held her phone before her face and tapped the Connect icon for Haley.

  Haley answered on the second ring.

  “Haley, it’s me,” Effie blubbered.

  “Effie, what’s wrong?”

  “Everything!” Cinching in her emotions, she quickly told Haley about the miserable fuckery from the last hour. “I’m heading to the dorm to pack up a few items. Then, I’ll have to go home, I suppose. I can’t keep going here.”