Man Detox: A Novel Read online

  “It was nothing, I swear.”

  “That is what she said you would do. That you would be in some kind of denial state…”

  “I am not in denial about anything. I stopped it before it went too far. I swear. I bit his hand and kicked him in the nuts.”

  “Seriously?”

  “I took karate classes in college,” she laughed, trying to tie his hands down. “You know, for self-defense from the menace of irresponsible jerks.”

  He adored her more for what she was saying. He didn’t want to dwell more on the issue of the attack. He wanted to love her for her resilience.

  “She told me something else too…” He said, grinning widely.

  “Good or bad.”

  “Depends on how one looks at it, as you said earlier.”

  “What did she say? Please tell me,” she bent down to rest on his chest, her breasts pressing down on him, feeling the broadness and firmness of his body.

  “Well, I don’t know how to say this…”

  “Tell me!”

  “She said… you… are… a… virgin…”

  “God! I am so embarrassed!”

  “It is nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s actually a mark of honor. I couldn’t believe it when I heard.”

  She wouldn’t bring herself up to look at him. Instead, she clung to his body, unwilling to let him go.

  “Is that why you don’t want to do it with me... because I am a virgin and wouldn’t know how to do it?”

  He laughed at her. How much more adorable can she get?

  “You won’t have to worry about knowing how to do anything when the time comes…”

  “Because you have all the expertise in the world, right?”

  “You could say that…”

  “If I say I want to learn right now…”

  “That would be a tempting offer… But something would have to come before it…”

  “What? Would I have to prove myself first? I want to come clear and say I watched some porn… You know, because I was curious and wanted to know what I needed to do when the time comes…”

  “Yeah right,” he laughed again.

  “I swear, it was just curiosity...” She was too shy to look at him.

  As she kept talking, he took off the necklace he was wearing and lifted her off his body momentarily.

  “I can’t believe I am so ill prepared for this moment. But would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “I am sorry I don’t have a ring, but this is a necklace my mom gave me before she passed away…”

  “Oh, my God! Are you serious, Ethan? Are really you sure?”

  “Absolutely. Never been wrong about my instinct. I have loved you since the moment I saw you, would you give me the eternal pleasure of being by my side at all times?”

  “Yes, of course. Absolutely yes!” She cried out lowering herself to kiss him wildly. It turned out there was another level of desire and ecstasy in life. She was beside herself.

  “So, now your education shall begin!’

  He lifted her off his body and set her down on her back as he quickly dispatched his jeans revealing the huge surprise he had been keeping from her. She looked at him in shock, up to his eyes and down to his hand holding the wand of his manliness. Everything about Ethan had a way of exceeding expectation, and this surpassed them all.

  As he lowered his body down on her, kissing her more tenderly than before, delicately pointing himself at her split body, stretched out as far as she could muster wanting to give herself completely to him. The slow and caring and loving and sensual and erotic nature of everything was enough to wipe away the memories of every bad experience they shared together.

  Ethan waited until she was on the verge of explosion before he slid himself down from her clit that was by now reverberating and erect, more so than before. Every time she pushed up against him, he would keep away. A game of escalating expectation until he finally let himself inside of her.

  Slowly... Holding her down so that he was in control of everything. She closed her eyes again in total surrender. She was past the end of the old chapter of her life. This was to be the beginning of a new life.

  This time, the piercing pain mixed with the overwhelming sensation of completeness in the fullness of him inside of her, she was lost. Biting every surface he let her bite freely, piercing her very own fingers into his body as he continued to methodically open her up to the new world of joy.

  Inch by inch, new layers of pain and meaning and connection, oneness unlike anything she had ever imagined. She cried out in joy and wailed in agony as he continued to make love to her.

  “I love you, Irene. I will protect and defend and honor you in all the days of my life…”

  In her mind, she was screaming her love for him, too. But no words formed. She opened and closed her lips, kissing him desperately.

  It was all worth it. The wait and pain and agony and longing had all been worth it. She couldn’t be happier for having saved herself for Ethan and now to give him all of her completely, until their bodies touched fully. All of him inside of her. Held together in her trembling legs, overcoming all the pain of stretching and all that was being torn apart.

  This was the meaning of love, she said to herself. This was the meaning of surrender. The pain stopped being painful. That was her gift to him. The one treasured possession she owned and was now delighted to give to the only man she ever loved fully.

  ∫---∫

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later

  “Do you think we will make our flight on time?” Irene asked. It had been a long and busy day.

  “Won’t miss it for anything,” Ethan said, holding her hand and leading her to a black SUV waiting outside a TV studio.

  The day had started with a whirlwind of activity. Early morning, they stood together on the platform ringing the official bell at the Stock Exchange opening the day’s trading activity in celebration of Ethan’s company going public. Along with making Ethan Anderson officially the youngest CEO to lead a publicly traded company, the day had marked a milestone of their sixth month anniversary since they became one.

  Inseparable from that moment forward, the business of leading two companies had gone on unabated for Ethan. With Irene by his side, he had redoubled his efforts to achieve his goals, and they had purposefully delayed their wedding to see this day come to fruition.

  Now, after a full day of interviews and receiving congratulatory remarks from peers and heads of industry, Ethan was anxious to get away. He loved Irene for patiently supporting and encouraging him in the difficult months.

  “Do you know how much I love you?” He asked as they settled in their seats.

  “I think I have a little idea… I will know more in a day…” She said, finally taking a deep breath after all day of activity.

  It was Friday evening, and they were ready to get away for the long weekend. The itinerary called for traveling to a private island in the Bahamas where a wedding among a select list of fifty guests was due to take place.

  “I’m told almost all guests have arrived and the party has already begun.” He said, after taking off his coat and loosening his tie.

  “Hope they enjoy themselves.” She said, propping her legs on the backseat and leaning into him.

  “It won’t be the same without us,” he said, kissing her on the lips.

  For the past many months, Irene had served the role of a fiancé, counselor, protector, advisor, and all-around defender of Ethan Anderson. She had substituted her nursing job for this 24/7 hour responsibility born out of love and commitment.

  Although his friends complained of the control she had on him, Ethan had never been more productive and focused, making one tough decision after another with incisive discipline and astuteness.

  The day after his proposal, after an all-night of lovemaking, he had woken up assured of his instincts. In addition to the new found love he felt for Irene, he
adored her for having reinvigorated his sense of compass for the right thing to do at any given moment, which had made him thrive in school and startup ventures.

  The first order of business was confronting Rob and getting to the bottom of what happened. He had requested for Rob to show up at the house in Atherton in the morning.

  “Is everything alright, boss?” Rob asked immediately after he was advised to sit down.

  “Not gonna waste time here. I know what happened in Mexico and I am unbelievably disappointed in you.”

  Rob, the hardened military man, started crying on the spot. He knew his days had come to an end. He was going to pay for his recklessness.

  “I will give you this one chance to come clean,” Ethan had said, on instinct without figuring out the whole story, but knowing there was more background he needed to get to.

  Of all the wild explanations he expected to hear, the one Rob confessed to was beyond the pale. It was one thing to put a wedge between him and Irene. But to be put through the ordeal for a pretend kidnapping that had gone terribly wrong was most unforgivable.

  “I can’t believe this, Rob. I trusted you with my life. I have been good to you. Is this how you pay me back for my trust?”

  “I’m so sorry. I was assured nothing of the sort of trouble would come to pass…”

  “I can never trust you again. You see that, don’t you? I’m terminating my contract. Not only that, I am going to tell every single person I know about what you did to me. I could destroy your reputation if I wanted to. I could get your thrown in jail, for God’s sake. You’d better close shop and start thinking of doing something else.”

  In the next week, Ethan would hear Rob’s business had closed for unexplained reasons followed by a letter that arrived a month later informing Ethan he had taken a job on the East Coast hoping to rebuild his career.

  With that chapter closed and a fuller understanding of what had transpired over that fateful weekend becoming clear, Ethan had fallen more madly in love with Irene. He would go on to show her the extent of his devotion insatiably kissing her and delighting in her company along with regular training in the fine arts of sensual and erotic sex.

  It was only after Ethan shared with her what Rob had done that Irene came clean about what happened that weekend. She wanted, more than anything, to relieve Ethan’s guilt. Unfortunately, discovering it was Jared who tried to rape her hadn’t made him any less furious.

  Without telling Irene, he had looked into Jared’s background to discover he had a reputation for taking advantage of women. He had used his leverage to get him fired from his job likely not able to find another in the private equity world.

  “Did you hear Jared got fired?” Lauren had asked, breaking the news to her many days later. “Tom says something about women filing complaints about his behavior. Pretty much blacklisted, can you believe it?”

  “He is kind of a jerk, isn’t he? He probably got away with so much stuff. It serves him well,” Irene said, happy about the karmic coincidence that had brought justice to the man who tried to violate her trust. The consolation of discovering this news was the fact that Lauren and Tom were very much in love again.

  “He is so madly in love, you have to see him. It’s like he is trying to make up for lost time. Kind of pathetic, but I love it. I knew he would come around.”

  “What changed?”

  “After everyone left, we had a heart to heart… I know how to get a man to like me…”

  When it came time for her wedding, Irene was happy to appoint Lauren as her maid of honor, along with her younger sister and cousins.

  “Can I say when I saw him the first time I had no idea,” Lauren had said to her. “But I am so happy for you, hun!”

  Lauren hadn’t changed one bit, Irene observed, hating and loving her for it. She has been a friend who above all wanted to be loved. Her jealousy and insecurity were rooted in the fear of losing Tom, and Irene couldn’t be happier that they worked out their lives.

  Now, on their way to the island, all that had gone wrong in the past had been rectified, and it was all about love and surrender and celebration. In the privacy of their cabin in the plane, Ethan and Irene had already been through two rounds of bone shaking orgasms before they landed on the airstrip directly leading to the big mansion at the center of the island. They were welcomed by an adoring cheer and applause.

  The day after, on the day of the wedding, everything had gone as planned and flawlessly.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the master of ceremony announced, as the sun set on the horizon. “We have not one but two first dance songs in keeping with the grandness of this beautiful and most romantic occasion. These are choices by the bride and groom. ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran and ‘Because You Loved Me’ by Celine Dion. Please give the bride and groom a round of applause as they take the stage for their dance.”

  In the ebullient cheer and applause of the family and friends gathered to celebrate with them, Irene and Ethan sang words of love and devotion to one another, bringing them closer to each other than they had been before.

  In the days that followed, they made it a point to explore the picturesque island enjoying themselves to the fullest, wiping away all the difficult memories of the past and making new ones.

  “I love you so much, Ethan,” Irene said to him as he carried her on his back and ran on the white sand beach.

  Ethan could see there were security guards in the distance assuming their position to protect them.

  ~~~ The End ~~~

  Thank You!

  Thank you for reading Man Detox! If you enjoyed the book, would you mind taking a minute to write a review on Amazon and GoodReads? Even a short review helps, and it'd mean a lot to me.

  If someone you know is passionate about love stories, please send them a copy of this book. If you'd like to order multiple copies of this book for your group of friends or your organization, please reach out to me on Twitter or Facebook @kjkilton.

  Finally, if you would like to receive updates on exclusive giveaways and latest info on new book releases, please sign up for my mailing list @kjkilton.com And, you can always email me at [email protected].

  Here's hoping for lots of romance and steamy passion!

  ∫---∫

  Further Reading

  ~~~

  Here Tomorrow

  A Novel

  Two lives are brought together by a serendipitous encounter at the Oregon coast.

  He, broken-hearted, carrying the burden of a lost love on a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. She, reliving the guilt of an unforgettable past, answering the call of a familial duty.

  Here Tomorrow is a tale two lovesick young adults in search of meaning for a new life. What happens when their paths cross and tragedy brings them closer revealing deeper secrets about the desires of their hearts?

  ~~~

  Endless First Kisses

  A Novel

  From the Bestselling Author, K.J. Kilton, comes an addicting and sexy standalone contemporary romantic suspense novel.

  She is the daughter of a Senator on the fast track to the Oval Office. He is the hotshot young alum and top professional golfer invited to give the commencement address at her college graduation.

  He is the infamously relentless hole-in-one expert. She has no idea what she wants to do with her life, living for momentary pleasure. Except that she has used all her power to lure him to campus.

  Now he is here, on the sidewalk of Charles River about to give her a CPR, with his own secret intentions in tow. A new adventure of kisses and love ensues, which she is not ready for at all.

  Will their connection survive beyond the weekend of festivities or the love confession of the brother she never had? What happens when her friend is found unconscious few days before graduation? A crazy sex-cult of adolescent debauchery gone wrong? Or, innocent accident of obsessive infatuation? Dive into this romantic tell of intrigue and passion to find out the answers.

  ~
~~

  Bay of Venture

  A Novel

  From the Bestselling Author, K.J. Kilton, comes a gripping and addicting romantic suspense novel about a passionate love affair and ferocious struggle for survival.

  Alyce Miller has survived much while trying to make it in Silicon Valley, San Francisco. Nestled in the City by the Bay, new and world-changing technologies are brought to life while devastating secrets are kept in the dark. And lives are routinely destroyed and transformed. Is she the next target? Someone is after her incisive brain. Her best friend has gone missing and Marcel Blanc, who recently stole her heart, is nowhere to be found.

  To survive, she must fight to gain legitimacy in a world dominated by men. To come alive, she must rescue Marcel from the grips of despair and the biggest conspiracy of the Internet era. With dazzling determination and ingenuity, Alyce faces formidable foes who can read her mind and anticipate her every move. In crunch time, reality blurs with fantasy as she wages her last rescue mission fighting the enemy determined to control and wipe her off the face of the map. Can she trust her closest friends and colleagues, and survive to see the only love she has ever known come to fruition?

  Bay of Venture presents the adventurous story of Alyce and Marcel, along with their close confidants and adversaries, that unfolds in a canvas of suspense and mystery; traversing between San Francisco and Paris with interested parties in the White House keeping a close eye on the drama and intrigue.

  ~~~

  Trophy Life

  A Novel

  A heartwarming and thrilling romantic suspense novel about two lives that intersect in unexpected ways, facing challenges and tragedy while learning a thing or two about themselves.

  Life is not fair. Rona Crown isn't a stranger to struggles. Only the fittest survive. And survive she has; from the foster care system all the way to the man's world of Wall Street. None of her past life has prepared her for the challenge she faces when she gets laid off from work for a sketchy reason. Someone is after her, threatening to reveal her darkest secret. She needs to get away, and college reunion is the perfect distraction. For at least a few days. Maybe she will rediscover her way. So much has changed about her. Some natural, others of her own choosing. What will her long lost friends think of her?