Glow (Glimmer and Glow #2) Read online

  Copyright © 2015 Beth Kery

  Cover photo © kai keisuke/Shutterstock.

  Cover design www.isitdesign.co.uk

  The right of Beth Kery to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  First published in this Ebook edition in 2015

  by HEADLINE ETERNAL

  An imprint of HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by arrangement with Berkley Publishing Group,

  A member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC,

  A Penguin Random House Company

  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

  eISBN 978 1 4722 3070 6

  HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

  An Hachette UK Company

  Carmelite House

  50 Victoria Embankment

  London EC4Y 0DZ

  www.headlineeternal.com

  www.headline.co.uk

  www.hachette.co.uk

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About the Author

  Praise for Beth Kery

  By Beth Kery

  About the Book

  Acknowledgments

  Dear Reader

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  It all began with Glimmer

  Indulge in The Affair by Beth Kery

  All it takes is One Night Of Passion

  Treat yourself to Beth Kery’s Because You Are Mine Series

  Find out more about Headline Eternal

  About the Author

  Beth Kery is the New York Times ebook bestselling author of Because You Are Mine and recipient of the All About Romance Reader Poll for Best Erotica. Beth lives in Chicago where she juggles the demands of her career, her love of the city and the arts, and a busy family life. Her writing today reflects her passion for all of the above. She is a bestselling author of over thirty books and novellas, and has also written under the pen name Bethany Kane.

  You can read more about Beth, her books and upcoming projects at www.bethkery.com, discover her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/beth.kery, or follow her on Twitter @BethKery.

  Just some of the irresistible reasons to indulge in a Beth Kery romance:

  ‘One of the sexiest, most erotic love stories that I have read in a long time’ Affaire de Coeur

  ‘Wicked good storytelling’ Jaci Burton

  ‘A sleek, sexy thrill ride’ Jo Davis

  ‘One of the best erotic romances I’ve ever read’ All About Romance

  ‘The heat between Kery’s main characters is molten’ Romantic Times

  ‘Action and sex and plenty of spins and twists’ Genre Go Round Reviews

  ‘Beth Kery just became an auto-buy’ Larissa Ione

  ‘An intensely sexual love story’ Kirkus Reviews

  ‘Some of the sexiest love scenes I have read’ Romance Junkies

  ‘Addictive, delectable reading’ USA Today

  ‘Intoxicating and exhilarating’ Fresh Fiction

  ‘Holy hell HAWT’ Under the Covers Book Blog

  ‘Fabulous, sizzling hot’ Julie James

  ‘Scorching hot! I was held spellbound’ Wild on Books

  By Beth Kery

  The Affair

  Glimmer

  Glow

  Because You Are Mine Series

  Because You Are Mine

  When I’m With You

  Because We Belong

  Since I Saw You

  One Night of Passion Series

  *Addicted To You

  *Bound To You (e-novella)

  Captured By You (e-novella)

  Exposed To You

  Only For You

  Wicked Burn

  Daring Time

  Sweet Restraint

  Paradise Rules

  Release

  Explosive

  *On The Job (e-novella)

  *previously published under the pseudonym Bethany Kane

  About the Book

  Alice Reed never dreamed she’d escape the stigma of her past. Stunned to be handpicked by the CEO of Durand Enterprises, she was even more shocked to discover that Dylan Fall desired her for pleasure, as well as business . . .

  But their deliciously forbidden time together is shattered by a startling secret. The shadows of Alice’s past are brutally surfacing, her true identity being revealed. It soon becomes clear that she’s battling a mysterious enemy, intent on destroying her.

  Dylan will do anything to protect Alice. But as Alice falls helplessly in love, she’s forced to question how deeply she can trust him. What secrets of her past is he hiding? And can their future survive the truth?

  Alice and Dylan’s passionate, explosive romance began in Glimmer.

  For more electrifying romance, don’t miss the other captivating titles by Beth Kery: The Affair, the One Night of Passion series, and her bestselling erotically charged series which began with Because You Are Mine.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  As always, I’d like to give thanks and love to my husband, who gives me everything from rich factual information to much-needed support while I’m writing a book. My thanks also go out to my wonderful readers, whose encouragement, feedback, and good wishes offer much-needed daily fuel for a career that is mostly carried out in solitude.

  Dear Reader,

  I’m so excited that the sequel to Glimmer is finally making its way to your bookstores and e-readers! This marked the first time in my writing history that I had a story arc that I felt was just too big to squeeze into one book. After writing Glimmer, I knew there was much, much more to tell about Alice and Dylan. In Glow, I wanted to give Alice the opportunity to surmount the incredible challenges associated with her past and grow to a self-confident woman who is learning how to trust . . . and love. I hope you are as thrilled with the conclusion of Dylan and Alice’s intensely passionate and emotional romance as I am.

  Thank you for reading!

  Beth

  ONE

  The night after the fierce storm, Alice dreamed while she lay in the circle of Dylan Fall’s arms.

  She was again sitting in front of the vanity mirror at the Twelve Oaks Inn—that lovely home overlooking the lake where Dylan had first told her she was special to him, where she’d first realized she was more than passingly pretty in an edgy, “I don’t take any shit” kind of way. She was beautiful. Desirable. That was a truth she’d read in Dylan’s eyes that night.

  In the dream, Deanna Shrevecraft, the sophisticated, kind owner of the Twel
ve Oaks Inn who had been so knowing and compassionate of Alice’s awkwardness during the romantic getaway, was once again applying her makeup.

  “Your eyes are so pretty,” Deanna murmured as she gently stroked on eye shadow.

  “Dylan doesn’t like the way I wear my makeup,” Alice confessed impulsively, once again experiencing a sharp pain of embarrassment at the memory of Dylan’s words. “I hate that you darken your eyebrows. And you shouldn’t put so much liner and mascara on your eyes.”

  “He doesn’t like to see you hiding yourself. He knows there’s something special underneath,” Deanna said matter-of-factly.

  “If you think basket-case geeks are special,” Alice mumbled.

  “Some are,” Deanna assured with a glance of amusement. She reached for a tray of eye pencils. Something glittered on her wrist, capturing Alice’s attention. An uneasy feeling coursed through her.

  “How did you get that bracelet?” Alice demanded. She noticed Deanna’s startled expression. “I mean . . .” What did Alice mean, snapping at Deanna that way? “It’s so pretty,” she faltered awkwardly. The vision of the unique bracelet on Deanna’s wrist felt wrong somehow. Out of place. But Alice’s dreaming brain struggled to recall why exactly.

  “My husband gave it to me,” Deanna said, stepping toward her with an eye pencil in her hand. Alice lunged back when she saw the stains and burns on her gripping fingers, the dirty fingernails. A familiar chemical odor entered her nose, toxic and foul. She looked up, startled, and saw the gray pallor of a ravaged face. Deanna had disappeared. In the magical way of dreams, Sissy had taken her place.

  Alice’s mother, Sissy Reed, was forty-five years old. She could easily pass for seventy. It was one of the many hazards of being a methamphetamine cook and abuser.

  Anger flooded Alice, not because of the vision of her mother, but because Sissy dared to wear the exquisite rare bracelet. She grabbed at her mother’s bony wrist, lifting the bracelet with the ridge of her finger.

  “This isn’t yours. You stole it. Your husband didn’t give it to you! You don’t even have a husband, Sissy.” She pushed at the other woman’s arm disdainfully, guilt mixing with disgust when she realized how hollow and insubstantial Sissy felt . . . when she saw how she stumbled back at her shove.

  “You never would call me Mom,” Sissy accused, her passive-aggressive whine an all too familiar splinter under Alice’s skin.

  “You never did earn the title.”

  Her disgust and guilt stung like acid at the back of her throat. So did her longing for something different. Something more.

  Before her eyes, Sissy altered, transforming into a beautiful pale-faced woman with large blue eyes—eyes that looked very much like Alice’s, except they were wide with terror. Alice realized with her own sense of dawning horror that there was bright crimson liquid wetting the side of the woman’s cheek and neck. She reached out to Alice, desperate in her intent, and Alice again saw the delicate gold bracelet on her wrist.

  “Run, Addie. Hide!”

  Alice awoke, gagging in fear.

  She looked wildly around the shadow-draped bedroom, searching for a threat. Her heart was beating like it might explode any second now.

  Within seconds, Dylan’s embrace penetrated her anxiety. Eased it. She was in Dylan’s suite at Castle Durand. She was in his arms.

  Safe.

  She exhaled shakily, willing her racing heart to slow.

  With waking rationality and returning memory, Alice recognized that the unique gold bracelet belonged to neither Deanna Shrevecraft nor Sissy Reed. The last woman in the dream, Lynn Durand, had been the true owner of it.

  She’d seen that bracelet and the wearer in dreams before tonight. In fact, she’d thought she’d seen the woman walking right in front of her while she was wide awake. At the time, she’d wondered if it was a ghost. Later, she’d realized it was her own long-forgotten memory resurfacing within the familiar setting of the Durand mansion.

  Lynn was the wife of Alan Durand, the maverick brilliant businessman who had founded Durand Enterprises, the multibillion-dollar international company that manufactured everything from candy to yogurt to sports drinks. Durand chocolates and confections were a mainstay across every candy counter in the world. Just through the surrounding woods was another Durand legacy: Camp Durand, an acclaimed summer camp that served at-risk children from Chicago and Detroit. Camp Durand was Alan and Lynn’s favorite charitable endeavor. Alice was a Camp Durand counselor, one of fifteen MBA graduates who had been hand-picked by Durand executive officers to compete for nine highly coveted Durand junior management positions.

  Was she really just going on her third week at Camp Durand? Time had become so difficult to gauge. Especially since a few days ago, when Alice’s life had been heaved completely upside-down.

  Really, the first shaking of Alice’s known world came the moment she’d walked into the business department’s dean’s office months ago for an interview with the impossibly gorgeous, light-years-out-of-her-league CEO of Durand Enterprises, Dylan Fall: the man who currently held her naked body against his own.

  The man who currently held her naked heart in his hand.

  “I knew I would care about you. I had no idea I’d fall in love with you.”

  She pressed her fingers against her breastbone. Her heart squeezed with anguished wonder at the memory of Dylan saying those words just hours ago, following their stormy lovemaking. The memory felt very beautiful to her: fragile and tender, new and raw, the weight of the reality of his words seemingly too big to hold inside her. She was desperate to believe him, but she wasn’t sure she could.

  Especially given the magnitude of all the other information she’d been told in the last few days. The nightmare from which she’d awakened brought it home to her. She was very confused.

  Very afraid?

  In his sleep, Dylan shifted slightly and pulled her tighter against him. Unnamed emotion swelled in her chest, feeling like an expanding balloon. For a few panicked seconds, she couldn’t breathe from the pressure of it. Jesus. How was it possible for her to have acquired this level of feeling for him when she’d barely known he existed these last few months, and only been intimate with him for an even shorter period of time?

  You’ve known him longer than a few months, that’s why. You’ve known him for most of your life, a firm, authoritative voice in her head said. She flinched instinctively at the harsh reminder, air popping out of her lungs. Alice could only withstand the truth in small, rapid doses. It was like her body and her brain weren’t entirely her own. Her weakness mortified her. She needed to do better. She needed to be stronger.

  Alice Reed didn’t run from the truth.

  The comforter and sheet had slipped beneath her breasts. The air conditioner felt chilly against her bare skin, but Dylan warmed her backside. Alice craved the sensation of sinking deeper into his embrace, of melting into him. He made her forget everything. His heat and touch were the sweetest addiction.

  But just like the first time she’d awakened in his arms, she furtively eased out of his embrace.

  Abandoning her defenses and submitting to comfort was something Alice had been nearly hardwired to resist. As a child, she’d forced herself to sleep with the windows open, even in the most frigid nights of a Chicago winter, warding herself against the toxic fumes inherent to Sissy’s “business.” Although the trailer resounded with the abrasive, harsh voices of her uncles and Sissy’s customers, Alice never used a fan, radio, or television to trick her brain into the safety of solid sleep. She needed to hear a threat coming to her locked bedroom, to prepare herself for a fight or an escape. A potential fire from Sissy’s meth lab was yet another nightly reality for which she had to prepare herself. Escaping her history was proving to be a challenge.

  She shivered as she stood next to the bed, and then cautiously moved through the dark room. Earlier, she’d seen Dylan hang her clothing in the bathroom. The thunderstorm had caught them in its first furious lash. They’
d only arrived at the rear entrance of Castle Durand several seconds after the rain began to pour down in torrents.

  Her T-shirt was still a little damp. She hauled it on nevertheless, willfully ignoring the fluffy, cozy, dry robe Dylan had bought her. Her shivers amplified as she unrolled the damp fabric over her breasts and belly. She ignored her jean shorts and sufficed with her mostly dry underwear.

  When she silently exited the bathroom, she paused for a moment in the still room, listening. Everything was silent. Dylan slept on. It was for the best. He wouldn’t approve of her mission. Or at the very least, he’d insist on being there by her side while she undertook it. She vividly recalled his words during their heated lovemaking last night as the storm raged around them.

  “I don’t like you being down at that camp, Alice. I can’t control what happens to you.”

  “You can’t control what happens every second of my day,” she whimpered, because he’d pressed her to him, her back to his front, and was reassuring himself of her existence and safety in the most elemental way.

  “Maybe not,” he rasped, running his teeth over the skin of her neck and molding her breast to his hand. “But right now I can.”

  Mixed feelings of renewed arousal, irritation, and stark compassion at his concern swept through Alice at the volatile memory. She’d struggled to be independent and self-determined for her entire life. Dylan’s proprietary attitude over her nettled a little. His possessiveness also thrilled her a lot, a fact that often had warning sirens going off in her head.

  But Dylan had a right to his worry, didn’t he? He’d earned it. He’d been consumed for more than half his life at the idea of finding Alan Durand’s kidnapped and assumed-dead daughter, Adelaide “Addie” Durand. Everyone else had long ago accepted that Addie had been murdered and lay in some long-forgotten makeshift grave. It was Dylan’s unwavering conviction—a stubborn refusal to concede defeat, a bullheaded determination even against horrible odds that had been born and bred in his youth in the rough, unforgiving streets of Chicago’s West Side—that had eventually led Dylan to Addie.