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THE BABY CONTRACT BY OLIVIA STARKE
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The Baby Contract by Olivia
Starke
Genre(s): Erotic Contemporary Romance
Digital ISBN: 9781940744339
Length: Novel
Price: $4.99
Genre(s): Erotic Contemporary Romance
Digital ISBN: 9781940744339
Length: Novel
Price: $4.99
Having a baby is Abby's dream. Will
Liam's enemies stop her happily ever after?
Liam Whitmore III is floored by the
surprise stipulation in his father's will—provide an heir within one year or
he'll lose the controlling portion of Whitmore Incorporated to his cousin
Spencer. The corporation is Liam's life. He'll do anything to keep his cousin's
hands off of it, including finding a woman who'll bear his child. Though
finding the right woman seems an impossible task since he doesn't have room in
his life for anything except running the company. He doesn't want a wife, just
an heir.
Abby Haden's family is about to
lose their ranch, the only life her ailing father and brother have ever known.
She feels helpless and is desperate to help. When the most coveted bachelor in
Austin, Liam Whitmore III, also known as the Takeover Tyrant, offers to pay her
to have his child it seems too incredible to be true. She's all but given up
hope of ever having a baby. Not only will her dream of being a mother come
true, but she can also save the family ranch.
It was just supposed to be a
business deal, but Abby and Liam find it hard to keep their hearts out of what
it takes to make a baby. Even as they sort out their feelings, others have
their eye on Whitmore Incorporated. Liam and Abby will soon discover how far
they'll go to make sure Abby never produces that heir.
Content Warning: contains graphic
sex, explicit language, mild violence, and a heroine with a history of domestic
abuse
The Baby Contract – Excerpt
Abby closed her eyes tight and pressed send
on her phone. Liam's phone rang once, twice, three times. A bit relieved, she
waited to be routed to his voicemail.
"Liam Whitmore's office."
She sucked in a hard breath and nearly
dropped the phone. "Uh…hi…this is Abby Haden, Abigail Haden that is."
"Yes, Miss Haden," the
receptionist said quickly. "Please hold."
Several seconds passed.
"This is Liam."
"I…" Abby paused, searching
her heart one last time. Her grip on her cellphone tightened, and her courage
failed. "I…I…"
"What's the holdup?" Liam
asked, his voice gruff.
She flinched. "H-holdup?" she
stammered.
"Seven hundred fifty thousand
dollars, and that's the final offer, Miss Haden. Take it or leave it."
Abby blinked. "That's not—"
"Take it or leave it," Liam
interrupted. "I want an answer now."
His brisk tone set her on edge and
raised her ire.
Her courage returned. "Fine, but I
have a requirement."
His pause felt tangible through the
phone, and she feared he'd had second thoughts. Not that she'd back down from
her decision.
"What is it?" He nearly
growled the question.
She filled her lungs with air. "I
want two hundred fifty thousand upon conception, the rest after the baby is
born."
Another pause. "We have a
deal." His anger had disappeared, his voice holding no hint of emotion.
Abby blew out her pent-up breath.
"Okay, good. I've been unable to find a clinic for the…the artificial, um,
you know." She placed a cool palm on her flaming hot cheek. If it was
possible to die from embarrassment, she'd be a goner for sure.
"I'm not following you, Miss
Haden," Liam said. She heard papers shuffling in the background.
"I'll have the contract drawn up."
"Artificial insemination,"
Abby blurted out.
"Artificial insemination?" He
sounded taken aback. "I hadn't considered any such thing."
Abby frowned in confusion. "How
else are we going to get me pregnant?"
Liam's laughter echoed through the
phone. Rich and throaty, it sent a hot tingle down Abby's spine. Goose bumps
broke out over her skin.
"Miss Haden, there are such
pleasurable ways of making a baby that are quite successful," he said, his
voice dropping to a deep rumble over the phone. Abby took a shuddering breath
as it did obscene things to her insides. His tone returned to its more
business-like manner. "I have a cabin in Aspen. As soon as your cycle is
at the most likely time for you to conceive we'll fly up there for a
week," he said. "AI would take too much time," he added.
"I-I didn't plan on that,"
Abby stuttered, her mind reeling. Sex hadn't been in the equation when she'd
made her decision. Sex? With Liam? Oh my God. Her heart kicked into
overdrive. "Look, Mr. Whitmore—"
"I'll set up an appointment with my
physician for STD tests. Can you be there tomorrow afternoon by, say…" He
paused briefly. "Three-thirty?"
"Mr. Whitmore, I—"
"Do you know when you'll most
likely ovulate again?"
Abby blinked, she was being steamrolled.
"Miss Haden, it's a simple
question. I need to know."
She looked at her calendar, she'd
already figured up the days in case she'd gotten an appointment at one of the
clinics she called. "Um, next week, but listen—"
Liam pushed on. "I'll have
everything set up. We can leave for Aspen late Sunday evening. My personal
assistant will be in touch tomorrow morning to give you directions to my
physician's office."
"Mr. Whitmore, there's no way I can
get off work for a week on such short notice. It's Tuesday," she insisted,
trying to backpedal.
"It's taken care of. Don't worry,
Abigail," he said.
The sound of her given name rolling off
his tongue caught her off guard. It stopped her next objection dead in its
tracks.
"What's your contact number?"
he asked.
Abby gave him her cellphone number.
After a quick 'thank you' Liam hung up,
leaving Abby in a bit of a stupor. His driven personality explained his
business success, as well as the rumored success he had with women. He was a
raging river and she had been helplessly swept along in its current.
Pedicure.
To pedicure...or not! I just have never seen the need to have one...I mean it's easy enough to care for your own feet...isn't it?
Oh my God...I had one and I'm converted. It was one of the best experiences...ever! My feet and calves were soaked, massaged and creamed until they were baby soft. Then my nails were coiffed to perfection. And if that wasn't enough the sweet lady who did my feet then proceeded to paint flowers on my toenail and add jewels...so artistic and pretty.
Loved it!
Oh my God...I had one and I'm converted. It was one of the best experiences...ever! My feet and calves were soaked, massaged and creamed until they were baby soft. Then my nails were coiffed to perfection. And if that wasn't enough the sweet lady who did my feet then proceeded to paint flowers on my toenail and add jewels...so artistic and pretty.
Loved it!
Speculative Romance Author Regina Paul: Spotlight on Dilys J. Carnie
Speculative Romance Author Regina Paul: Spotlight on Dilys J. Carnie: Bio: My home is on the beautiful island of Anglesey on the west coast of North Wales with my family. I am extremely close to all my famil...
2012-2014
2012-2014 seven published books in two years, it's been a whirlwind! Two more to come before the end of this year.
Ageing with style.
Yes I’m over fifty and some days I feel it but age is like a good wine
the older it gets the better the taste.
I’ve always been into alternative medicines and exercise and with spondylitisthesis
I find that I need to keep my limbs strong and supple to support the framework.
Getting enough exercise was running around after little ones but now that they
are all older I’m finding that apart
from work I need to do extra exercise to keep fit. Even more so after having a
full hysterectomy at the age of forty-six which left me with an early menopause
that seemed to last for ever. Hot flushes immediately after surgery drove me
mad.
At my age I’m not necessarily looking to pound the streets, now I need a
more sedate way of keeping my body fit to accommodate the weariness and
stiffness that the more mature time of my life brings. The unexpected pain that
comes from my back is like a knock at the door, sometimes it’s pounding every
second of the day and other time it only comes once in a while.
A Pilates reformer has been my saviour and for six years now it’s
something I’ve trained with for three to five times a week. But now I find I’m
really enjoying Yoga which is something I haven’t practised for ten years. I remember
vividly that trying to do meditation in those days was never going to happen
with teenagers in the house there was always a drama going on. Actually it’s still
kinda hard to do, so last thing at night I take time to do this for ten minutes
which helps with my insomnia.
The pilates has made my limbs more supple, but yoga is great for core
strength and I would recommend this for any back sufferer. I like that you don’t
have to spend hours doing it, I might be cooking dinner and I can do a small
sequence in-between the veggies cooking. It’s not sweaty and it makes you feel
so good afterwards.
The Invisible Illness!
As we enter into the start of summer it seems that we're almost into half the year and I wonder where it has gone. Where is the warm weather? I ask myself! Although why I'm surprised that in the month of June I'm still wearing my Ugg boots I don't know. This is Great Britain after all where we could have hailstones in July and warm weather in October.
The strange wet weather that has been with us since last year is dismal and I wonder is it ever going to end. From hurricane force winds to hailstones the size of golf balls, I proclaim the weather has gone crazy. All I want is some warm weather long enough to colour my extremely white legs.
We all experience mood changes that are affected by what we see when we draw our curtains in the morning. Sunshine= smile, rain= sad face. But in actual fact a lot of us use the word depression loosely and it is by far the most underrated word in the dictionary. It has so many different meanings that when we are faced with knowing someone who has hit a brick wall, who doesn't want to get up in the mornings...who doesn't want to live we don't know what to do.
The invisible illness! You have nothing to show that you are ill, and understanding a person who has it can be difficult. It is so easy to dismiss it as having a bad day which makes it harder for someone to talk about what they are going through. People are unsure of what to say, it's not that easy to heal and sticking a band aid on it will not work.
It shows itself in various different ways and will almost certainly interfere in a persons ability to function. The feeling of hopelessness, emptiness and a numbness that has the power to completely lock out everything and everyone is overwhelming. The stigma of depression is easier today than in latter years although it still isn't the easiest thing to talk about.
Finding out about someone you know and care about and had been feeling this way was a wake up call that I didn't like. You wonder what you did wrong and why you didn't pick up on it before that person tried to take there own life!
I'm a big fan of tough love and saying it how it is after all we don't want them going down that same path again. Letting a person talk and being there to listen can mean the world to someone who suffers from depression. Realizing when something is wrong and recognizing the signs, and making them aware that being depressed is not something to frown at...depression is an illness...an invisible illness!
http://www.dilysjcarnie.com/
The strange wet weather that has been with us since last year is dismal and I wonder is it ever going to end. From hurricane force winds to hailstones the size of golf balls, I proclaim the weather has gone crazy. All I want is some warm weather long enough to colour my extremely white legs.
We all experience mood changes that are affected by what we see when we draw our curtains in the morning. Sunshine= smile, rain= sad face. But in actual fact a lot of us use the word depression loosely and it is by far the most underrated word in the dictionary. It has so many different meanings that when we are faced with knowing someone who has hit a brick wall, who doesn't want to get up in the mornings...who doesn't want to live we don't know what to do.
The invisible illness! You have nothing to show that you are ill, and understanding a person who has it can be difficult. It is so easy to dismiss it as having a bad day which makes it harder for someone to talk about what they are going through. People are unsure of what to say, it's not that easy to heal and sticking a band aid on it will not work.
It shows itself in various different ways and will almost certainly interfere in a persons ability to function. The feeling of hopelessness, emptiness and a numbness that has the power to completely lock out everything and everyone is overwhelming. The stigma of depression is easier today than in latter years although it still isn't the easiest thing to talk about.
Finding out about someone you know and care about and had been feeling this way was a wake up call that I didn't like. You wonder what you did wrong and why you didn't pick up on it before that person tried to take there own life!
I'm a big fan of tough love and saying it how it is after all we don't want them going down that same path again. Letting a person talk and being there to listen can mean the world to someone who suffers from depression. Realizing when something is wrong and recognizing the signs, and making them aware that being depressed is not something to frown at...depression is an illness...an invisible illness!
http://www.dilysjcarnie.com/
I want you all to welcome Holy J Gill to my blog. She is the fabulous author of the Desires Series and the creator of that wonderful specimen called Dan ;) Thank you Holly for joining me in a glass (or two) of wine and a decadent box of chocolates.
Book 1
Desires blurb
Desires—a place where fantasies are
made flesh and dreams become real. From BDSM to being a dog, Desires can
provide it with bells on, if that’s your kink.
Stacie Clifford’s only desire is to
regain her sexual confidence after her recent escape from an abusive marriage.
She joins Desires looking for re-education in the joys of her body. There is
only one condition; her contract states emotional attraction between tutor and
student is forbidden. Stacie is fine with that; her heart is so battered she
has no desire to give it to anyone else.
Then she meets her instructor, Dan.
Instantly attracted, at first Stacie thinks it will help to make her sexually
comfortable with him. But when she realises she is falling in love, she can’t
tear herself away, contract or no. Stacie knows that, no matter how kind and
caring Dan appears, he’s just doing his job. Can Stacie overcome her own
Desires and walk away?
Book 2
Touching Angel’s Desires blurb
Angel’s life was one, big, long, dream come true. Young, beautiful,
sexy, and in charge of Desires—the best sex club in the country. An entire
staff of delicious men and delectable women was at her beck and call, ready to
indulge her every carnal whim.
When vulnerable abuse survivor Stacie Clifford tentatively approached
Desires for help getting her sexual confidence back, Angel had no qualms about assigning
her secret favourite Dan McVeigh as her tutor. Gentle and sweet, Dan was just
what Stacie needed.
Angel hadn’t realized just how powerful her suppressed feelings for Dan
were until she noticed Dan and Stacie were getting on a little too well. Despite
Dan’s insistence that all was strictly professional, maybe it was time to
persuade Stacie that Desires was not for her. Just how far would Angel go to
keep Dan to herself?
No one touched
Angel’s Desires.
Book 3
Desires Secrets Blurb
Two and a half years
after her first visit to Desires, Stacie Clifford’s life has done a 180.
Settled and happy with her beloved Dan, baby Ryan has completed their lives.
When Dan suggests
revisiting Desires for some sexy couple time away, Stacie is unaccountably cautious
until she finds that Angel will not be there. She didn’t know why, but she
always had a gut feeling that Angel was not to be trusted. With Angel out of
the way, she and Dan, together with their good friends Jason and Chrissie,
proceed to indulge in the many and varied delights of Desires. Stacie even
decides to explore some of her own secret fantasies.
But events soon take a
dramatic turn, threatening to shatter Stacie’s new, happy life. What secrets
lurk inside the walls of Desires?
Links to me:
Crazy Occupation!
As a writer I find
that I work better with a dead line whether it be self-imposed or from my
publisher. I'm very good at sticking to my guns and plodding
on until it’s all done and finished but I have to admit the most
favorite part of the process is not the drafting out but the editing...Oh my
God I love the editing for me this is where my story takes shape and becomes
the book that I want to send to my publisher.
Usually for me I am a planner and I know right at the beginning where my story is going and how it will end, but something strange has been happening to me with my last two books. I have started writing and all of a sudden the characters have completely taken over and it’s not me that's doing the writing its them telling my fingers what to type and they are inside my head even through the night I am compelled to get up and write because they are pushing ahead with their story and I don't want to miss out by not getting it down on paper. Does that sound weird? Honestly I'm not crazy...well only a little!
You have to be a little crazy to be an author, the hours are rubbish, the extreme isolation is beyond anything I have ever experienced before and there absolutely is no time off, I am constantly thinking about my latest manuscript whether it be when I am cooking, perhaps cleaning and even in the very rare occasion that I do iron. I can be having a conversation with friends or family and all of a sudden something comes to me and I drift off into the world I am creating on paper until I unceremoniously get poked in the arm to be reminded I'm supposed to be part of the conversation that is going on.
The winter is for me a great time to write and if we get snow like we have had I find it so much easier to stay cooped up in my writing hole or aperture because it is more like a small passage way, a gap under the stairs where every time my twenty year old son goes running up to his room it’s like a herd of elephants are stampeding in my head.
So the nights are getting lighter and the days longer it has been a very long winter and I am looking forward to spring. The newly born lambs, the sprouting bluebells, the splash of golden yellow from the daffodils of yes at last spring is on the horizon.
Usually for me I am a planner and I know right at the beginning where my story is going and how it will end, but something strange has been happening to me with my last two books. I have started writing and all of a sudden the characters have completely taken over and it’s not me that's doing the writing its them telling my fingers what to type and they are inside my head even through the night I am compelled to get up and write because they are pushing ahead with their story and I don't want to miss out by not getting it down on paper. Does that sound weird? Honestly I'm not crazy...well only a little!
You have to be a little crazy to be an author, the hours are rubbish, the extreme isolation is beyond anything I have ever experienced before and there absolutely is no time off, I am constantly thinking about my latest manuscript whether it be when I am cooking, perhaps cleaning and even in the very rare occasion that I do iron. I can be having a conversation with friends or family and all of a sudden something comes to me and I drift off into the world I am creating on paper until I unceremoniously get poked in the arm to be reminded I'm supposed to be part of the conversation that is going on.
The winter is for me a great time to write and if we get snow like we have had I find it so much easier to stay cooped up in my writing hole or aperture because it is more like a small passage way, a gap under the stairs where every time my twenty year old son goes running up to his room it’s like a herd of elephants are stampeding in my head.
So the nights are getting lighter and the days longer it has been a very long winter and I am looking forward to spring. The newly born lambs, the sprouting bluebells, the splash of golden yellow from the daffodils of yes at last spring is on the horizon.
Michael Buble Concert!
This week I was lucky enough to go to a concert where
the incomparable Michael Buble was singing.
My daughter and I were high up in the stadium which
held twenty-one thousand adoring fans.
And what an
incredible night it was with the amazing Naturally 7 starting off the concert
with their awesome music. My daughter had never heard them before but by the
time she was as much as a fan of their music as I was. They are incredible
singers, and gave us an amazing start to the concert.
The anticipation of the night could be felt in the few
minutes we were waiting for MB to come out and as soon as he did in a fire
blazing beginning (literally by fire jets raging in the front of the stage) the
stadium erupted into a frenzy of whistles, screaming and clapping.
He was awesome, the most charismatic man I've ever had
the pleasure of listening to. He was all those concepts we have about a man,
sexy, funny, charming, kind, caring and of course so utterly entertaining.
He sings with a voice so full of soul and meaning that
you find you’re totally mesmerised by the lull of his music. Woman were crying,
laughing, singing, dancing and when he came into the crowd everywhere just erupted
into a frenzy of grabbing hands and cries of “Michael we love you”
He spoke to a woman whose husband was serving in Afghanistan
and stood while her mum took a picture of them both. He sang to a little girl
who was standing on her seat to watch him. He thanked the audience for giving
up there pancake day to come and see them and then had his staff pass out
pancakes for the crowd.
What a great down to earth guy, I would absolutely go
again to see him and next time we are going to be sitting right at the front, I
don’t care how much those tickets cost it would be well worth the money.
Thank you to my son for buying me the tickets as a Christmas
present it was the best ever.
Here are some of the pictures we took.
The one good thing about having an office under the stairs with no
window is that you never know what the weather is like. On sunny days there is
a down side to that but on horrible rainy days it works well for me, I can look
at my little plaque on the wall and my mind is back on that beech last summer.
Off course that only works until the dog wants to go outside for his daily
constitutional and I realize it’s snowing and freezing cold. You would think
that he would hurry; after all he doesn't have the luxury of wearing woolly
socks and slippers like me but oh know it’s a ten minute sniff and poke around
because he just has to find the right spot to go! In the meantime I’m stood
there freezing those nice woolly socks off and wondering why I hadn't had the foresight
to wear boots and a coat…ahh… I know why, because in my office I was on the
beach enjoying the sunshine… Now I’m so cold that I can’t even envisage the
beach!
And look at him now, all nice a cozy with Lucy.
A Writers Life!
I start the computer up in the office, sit at my desk, look at the
screen and look, and look, sometimes my brain is so frazzled that I have to
take ten minutes just to get into the zone. This is when my yoga breathing
comes in, I flex my fingers, open my eyes and the words come to me, sometimes
so fast I can’t type quickly enough.
Whoever said that being a writer was glamorous needs to be hit over the
head with a hammer! The only glamour I see is the sparkle on my nails as I type
furiously. Two lots of edits with plenty of yellow marks staring back at me. One
book coming out in February and one in April, two more books in the pipeline…I
kid you not it is exhausting! What with working at the day job and writing all
evening and beyond, it doesn't leave much time for anything else. Then there is
the promoting side of things, I mean how are you meant to do it all, sometimes
my day is eighteen hours long, my brain is tired and I need a holiday!
Somehow I fit in gym work and the endless piles of laundry that accumulates
in my house. I have suddenly realized why I do everything myself…because I can’t
bear to watch the men and how long they take to do one job, it drives me crazy . I think they do it on purpose just so they don’t have to do anything around
the house, seriously that’s what I think!
I have my little companion who sits by me in my office, a large cup of strong black coffee and
Michael Buble playing in my ears and I close my mind to the world about me and
enter my world, a world filled with gorgeous heroes and defiant heroines and remember
why I love writing so much!
My companion Jim!
Sustenance!
Glamour! 
Beware!
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