Precious as Glass

Precious as Glass Ebony Brewer Salacious Publishings LLC Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Ebony Brewer All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. This is a work of fiction. All names, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, and events is purely coincidental. Dedication To the girls who spent their childhood wanting to be princesses. You grew up into filthy queens. Content Note Let’s start with the obvious ones here: sex. There’s a good amount of it and it’s explicit. While this couple may start out hating each other, things quickly become explosive in the very best of ways. The dynamic here is between a boss and his maid, and there’s a ten-year age gap between them. If that’s not your jam, then you’ve picked up the wrong book. Precious as Glass is not a ‘dark’ romance, so there aren’t many triggers, but the few listed on the next page are spoilers for the story. If you don’t have any limits and/or you like to go in blind, then skip right over it and dive on in! However, if you’re concerned about anything that may come up, please consider reading the triggers before deciding if this book is right for you. Trigger Warning Mentions of abortion and miscarriage, unplanned pregnancy, health scares during pregnancy, and premature birth. Brief mention of alcohol addiction, mentions of death, and past child abuse/neglect. Contents 1. Jonas 2. Cynthia 3. Cynthia 4. Jonas 5. Cynthia 6. Cynthia 7. Cynthia 8. Jonas 9. Cynthia 10. Jonas 11. Jonas 12. Cynthia 13. Cynthia 14. Jonas 15. Cynthia 16. Jonas 17. Cynthia 18. Cynthia 19. Cynthia 20. Jonas 21. Cynthia 22. Cynthia 23. Cynthia 24. Cynthia 25. Cynthia 26. Jonas 27. Cynthia 28. Cynthia 29. Cynthia 30. Jonas 31. Cynthia 32. Cynthia 33. Jonas 34. Cynthia 35. Cynthia 36. Cynthia 37. Cynthia 38. Jonas 39. Cynthia 40. Cynthia Note from the Author Books by Ebony 1 Jonas Three Years Ago After a long day at the office, fielding calls and sitting through endless appointments, all I want is to sit in front of my fireplace with a large whiskey. I don’t want to think about the over-budgeting for the new police department getting built and where the hell the city is going to get the money, or the charity gala I have to attend this weekend to make a speech on behalf of the hospital’s latest research. It’s all bullshit. I’d rather sit here, drink, and never put on another suit in my entire life. I thought being elected as mayor at twenty-nine would be a life changer — and I guess it has been. It’s made me fucking miserable. With a groan, rolling my neck to stretch my tense muscles, I collapse into the worn leather armchair that I sit in every night. Loosening my tie is like a lifeline. During the day, the damn thing seems to get tighter and tighter until I can’t breathe. The burden of my career, of my life, has gotten too constricting. As I pour myself a glass of the best imported whiskey that money can find, my cell rings in my breast pocket. The trill tone shatters the peaceful silence I savor in my office, and I curse as I jump in shock and spill my drink over my fingers. I stare down at the splatters on the floor, listening to my phone ring and ring and fucking ring. It takes a lot of restraint not to hurl the glass across the room and snap my phone in half like a petulant child. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I pull my cell phone out and give it a cursory glance. “Amanda, how are you?” I answer, trying to fight off the exhaustion in my voice. If anyone can ease some of the burdens I carry daily, it’ll be her. My future wife. She’s respectable, raised in politics, brilliant, and attractive, with her olive skin and sleek dark hair to match equally dark and enchanting eyes. The perfect woman to have on my side day in and day out. “I’m great, actually. I have some news. Can I come over?” she says, her voice excited and a bit high-pitched for my mood right now. Shifting in my seat, I flick my eyes at the clock above the mantle, grimacing at the time. It’s nearly midnight. It was another extremely late day at the office and I only got home twenty minutes ago. “Not tonight, I’m afraid. I need to get to bed. I have a conference in the morning about the uptick in crime lately and where the police should spend their time. The station is too short-staffed to deal with this properly, and spreading them too thin will only hurt the city.” Amanda makes an impatient little huff, and I rein in my thoughts. After a quick mental survey, I offer, “I’m busy the rest of the week. How about I get you early before the gala on Saturday and we can have dinner? Who knows what kind of crap they’ll try to pass off as food at the event?” “Jonas, you’re working yourself to death,” Amanda whines, and I clench my jaw at the unhelpful reminder. “Can’t you take some time off to spend with me? Please?” Pushing to my feet, I clean up my spilled whiskey and frown at the crystal decanter, so desperately craving a drink. But it’s much later than I thought, and I can’t waste time enjoying myself. “You know I would if I could,” I answer on auto-pilot, something I’ve told her countless times before now. She huffs into the phone as I turn off