The Year of Living Shamelessly Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  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

  EPILOGUE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PRAISE FOR THE “SIZZLING”* ROMANCES OF

  Susanna Carr

  “The guys are hot, and the sexual tension is unbelievable!”

  —New York Times bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries

  “A must read for everyone.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Be sure not to miss out on this one, after all, being wicked and being in love can fall hand in hand. This is a keeper, definitely.”

  —The Romance Readers Connection

  “I can’t say that I have ever laughed so much while reading erotica, but Susanna Carr definitely delivered. I love this book. It was an enjoyment to read such a change from the average erotica.”

  —Romance Reader at Heart

  “Delightfully humorous, with sizzling chemistry between the characters, great secondary characters, and a love story that won’t be soon forgotten. A definite recommend!”

  —*Love Romances

  “A hilarious romantic read that will have you turning page after page . . . a must-read story.”

  —Romance Junkies

  “Carr’s stories are full of well-matched characters, exhibitionist-style lovemaking and some wedding faux pas that are sure to entertain married and single women alike.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Witty and sexy . . . what a huge amount of fun!”

  —Just Erotic Romance Reviews

  “Sexy, sassy, delicious fun.”

  —Shannon McKenna

  “Delivers exactly what readers want.”

  —TwoLips Reviews

  OTHER SIGNET ECLIPSE TITLES BY SUSANNA CARR

  Pink Ice

  Bad Girl Bridesmaids

  Red-Hot and Royal

  SIGNET ECLIPSE

  Published by New American Library, a division of

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

  New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,

  Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

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  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:

  80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  First Printing, October 2009

  Copyright © Jasmine Communications, LLC, 2009

  All rights reserved

  SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

  Carr, Susanna.

  The year of living shamelessly/Susanna Carr.

  p. cm.

  eISBN : 978-1-101-14549-4

  1. Man-woman relationships—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3603.A77435Y43 2009

  813’.6—dc22 2009022211

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  To my editor, Becky Vinter, with thanks.

  PROLOGUE

  December 31

  “Grab hold of your dates, ladies and gentlemen,” the bandleader announced. “The countdown to the New Year will start in one minute.”

  It was time. Katie fluffed out her long black hair and smoothed her hands over her little black dress before pressing her palm over her nervous stomach. She was going to start her wild affair with Ryder Scott. Tonight.

  Her skin stung with awareness at what she was about to do. She had never had the courage to really go after him until now. Well, what she currently had wasn’t so much courage as it was imagining her regret if she never let him know how she felt. This unrequited crush was entering its eleventh year and no one was getting any younger. Katie gave a little sigh and fought her way through the crowd of shiny dresses and ill-fitting suits as she searched for Ryder.

  Unfortunately, Ryder was best friends with her brother, Jake, and he still saw her as Jake’s little sister. That was the downside of always having him around the house when they were growing up. Ryder’s family life was sad and neglectful, but the Kramers had been happy to open their home to him.

  In return, he was protective toward the family, Katie in particular, which was great when he wanted to check that her car had enough oil, but not so great when she wanted him to sweep her off her feet and make mad, passionate love to her.

  Katie thought back to the one moment during the summer when she’d thought he might feel the same way. She had been hot and sweaty, wearing a threadbare tank top and Daisy Duke shorts while gardening. When Ryder had walked into the yard, he had folded his arms across his chest and run his eyes over her, giving her a certain look that suggested he was seriously considering pouncing and ripping her clothes off. But instead of pressing her against the dirt and doing some wicked and wonderful things, Ryder had clenched his fists, pivoted on his heel and walked away without looking back.

  If he hadn’t gotten the hint by now that she was a sensual woman ready for the taking, then it was time for her to make the first move.

  “Ten . . . ,” the crowd started to chant.

  New Year’s Eve was the perfect, symbolic night, Katie decided as she stood on the tips of her toes an
d looked over people’s shoulders for Ryder. She thought she could see him in the far corner of the Women’s Auxiliary Hall.

  “Nine . . .”

  Katie hurried toward him, her progress slow as she dodged and swerved around people. It was just her luck that she was on the other side of the hall for the countdown. She had to get to Ryder in time for her New Year’s kiss!

  “Eight . . .”

  The specially ordered black velvet dress hadn’t quite turned her into Cinderella for the night. She glanced down at it with a frown. It was certainly feminine and elegant—but utterly the wrong choice for a seduction. The dress said sweet and demure when she needed naughty and sexy.

  “Seven . . .”

  The fitted bodice and full skirt didn’t compete with the slinky dresses worn by Tatum and Sasha, Ryder’s ex-girlfriends. Those two grabbed every man’s attention with their scandalously short dresses in bold jeweled colors while Katie felt invisible. As usual.

  “Six . . .”

  It didn’t help that Tatum had been all over Ryder all night like a leech, while Sasha had flitted around him, constantly readjusting her bra to draw his attention to her chest.

  “Five . . .”

  All night, Katie couldn’t figure out how she was going to pry Tatum and Sasha off Ryder before the countdown. Ryder usually kept an eye on her, especially when the men were drunk and rowdy, but tonight he had only nodded and smiled at her once from across the room and that was it. Hilary and Melissa had kept nudging her to tell her he was looking at her, but every time she glanced his way, he was engaged in a new conversation.

  “Four . . .”

  The moment everyone shouted “Happy New Year,” she was going to plant a long, wet and thorough kiss on Ryder Scott.

  “Three . . .”

  Then suddenly, she was in front of him. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw his dark brown eyes, high cheekbones and molded biceps. But it appeared that if she wanted her New Year’s kiss, she was going to have to stand in line. Tatum wasn’t waiting for any countdown.

  “Two . . .”

  The platinum blonde was kissing Ryder so deeply, she was probably tickling his spleen with her tongue. And Ryder certainly wasn’t doing anything to stop her.

  “One!”

  Sasha stood on the other side of Ryder and grasped his chin with her hand. She determinedly pulled Ryder’s face toward her and kissed him with enthusiasm.

  “Happy New Year!”

  Katie stood right in front of Ryder as everyone rang in the New Year. A shower of confetti drifted in front of her eyes, but she didn’t blink. She wanted to yank Tatum away from Ryder and push Sasha aside. Then she would wipe the smears of red and pink lipstick from his mouth and claim him with a kiss that would make him forget everyone else in the room.

  But she didn’t make a move toward him. She felt her shoulders slump. Ryder could have his pick, and if the rumors were true, he might go home with both of them and enjoy a ménage à trois to start off the New Year. There just didn’t seem to be any reason why Ryder would choose her.

  Katie took a few steps back, turned and melded into the crowd. But something in her told her she couldn’t let this setback get her down. She would have an affair with Ryder. She just needed to figure out a way to make him see her as someone other than meek and mild Katie. The girl he would rather undress than shove aside to get to the fridge.

  It was time for a makeover. One just like in the movies. She had to become totally irresistible. A vixen. No one would dare give a noogie to a vixen. It would probably require some professional advice, and there was only one place in town where she could get it.

  Katie squared her shoulders back and thrust her chin out. The journey to a new and improved Katie was going to start right this second.

  Sex Goddess Secrets!

  Katie wanted to know every one of them. She grabbed for the magazine, tucked it under her arm and kept searching.

  21 Bad Girl Sex Tips!

  And here she thought that sex was sex. She added the magazine to her pile.

  10 Things That Will Make Him Beg for You!

  Oh, yeah. She needed that one, too.

  “Do we have to do this now?” Hilary complained. Melissa nodded in agreement.

  Katie glanced at her friends, who were leaning tiredly on the magazine stand. Their party clothes were as limp as their hair, and the harsh fluorescent lights revealed that their makeup had melted off hours ago. Hilary shifted from one aching foot to the next while Melissa’s eyes drifted shut.

  “I need this stuff,” Katie insisted, returning her attention to the magazine covers. She hoped there was something about seducing a sex god, because Ryder Scott was not just any man.

  “It’s two o’clock in the morning,” Melissa complained with a whimper.

  “And I don’t want to start the year in a convenience store!” Hilary declared.

  “Fine.” Katie scanned the magazines and scooped up any that showed cleavage or used the word “sex” with a bunch of exclamation points on the cover. “I’ll just take them all.”

  That jerked Melissa awake. “All of them? Why?”

  “Because I totally blew my New Year’s resolution one minute into the New Year!” Katie explained as she marched over to the counter.

  “It’s not the end of the world. You can kiss Ryder anytime you want,” Hilary said as she trailed after Katie. “Start a hot and heavy affair tomorrow. You know, right after a good night’s sleep.”

  “I wanted to kiss him at the stroke of midnight. But I couldn’t. Why?” Katie dumped the magazines on the counter. “Because he was already being kissed. Not by one woman, but by two!” Ryder hadn’t even noticed she was there. “I didn’t stand a chance.”

  “And these magazines are going to push the women aside for you next time?” Hilary asked.

  “It’s time to show Ryder my wild side, and these magazines are going to help me unleash it. This year I’m going to be the sexiest woman Crystal Bend has ever seen.” She caught the look of disbelief from the guy at the cash register. “I will!”

  The cashier looked away and scanned the magazines as quickly as he could.

  “I’m going to be a sex goddess that Ryder can’t resist,” she told her friends.

  “Katie, have you been drinking?” Melissa asked, watching her with suspicion. “You’re supposed to be the designated driver.”

  “I’m sober and I’m serious. This time next year I will be knee-deep in a wild affair with Ryder Scott.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  December 24

  ONE YEAR LATER

  She was here.

  Ryder couldn’t stop the tension from entering his body. He was surrounded by coworkers, who, thankfully, hadn’t noticed his spine growing rigid. They were too busy singing along to “Santa Baby” so loudly that he bet the music pulsed through the walls of the Student Union Building. He was on the other side of the ballroom, far away from the entrance, with a sea of reindeer antlers, elves caps and Santa hats between them, but he still knew exactly where Katie Kramer stood.

  He didn’t like this sixth sense he had when it came to his best friend’s little sister. It was probably developed from years of keeping his eye on her. Even when she was young, he’d wanted to protect her from the ugliness of the world, like when she was being bullied at school. He’d put a quick stop to that.

  But now things were different from when they were younger. Now, he was painfully aware of her. He wanted to claim her body, her heart, and make her his in every way, but he knew it would be a huge mistake to act on his desires.

  Ryder cautiously looked over his shoulder and instantly spotted her at the door. Tonight, Katie looked aggressively sexy. Dressed in all black from her figure-hugging turtleneck sweater to her leather skirt and dominatrix boots, she stood out in a crowd of red, green and gold.

  She teetered slightly on those five-inch stilettos. Ryder automatically took a step in her direction, ready to catch her. He stopped just as she regained he
r balance. He watched as she flipped her long black hair over her shoulders and confidently strode into the crowd as if she owned the place.

  He had hoped she wouldn’t show up at the Christmas party. Yes, she worked as an administrative assistant for the college, but was a small reprieve too much to hope for?

  Eight days, he reminded himself. He only had to be strong for eight more days.