Once Upon A One-Night Stand

ONCE UPON A ONE-NIGHT STAND ZOEY LOCKE Z.L. ARKADIE Copyright © 2023 by Flaming Hearts Press All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. ISBN: 978-1-952101-91-5 Cover by Books and Mood Star-Tree Editing & Proofreading: Beta Read and Proofreading CONTENTS BLURB 1. Xena St. James 2. Xena St. James 3. Xena St. James 4. Lynx Grove 5. Xena St. James 6. Xena St. James 7. Lynx Grove 8. Xena St. James 9. Xena St. James 10. Xena St. James 11. Xena St. James 12. Xena St. James 13. Lynx Grove 14. Xena St. James 15. Lynx Grove 16. Xena St. James 17. Lynx Grove 18. Xena St. James 19. Xena St. James 20. Xena St. James 21. Lynx Grove 22. Xena St. James 23. Xena St. James 24. Xena St. James 25. Xena St. James 26. Lynx Grove 27. Xena St. James 28. Xena St. James 29. Lynx Grove 30. Xena St. James 31. Lynx Grove 32. Xena St. James 33. Lynx Grove 34. Xena St. James 35. Lynx Grove 36. Xena St. James 37. Lynx Grove 38. Xena St. James Epilogue BLURB BLURB Xena St. James always plays it safe. Not only is Lynx Grove anatomically perfect, but he's the youngest ever owner of a professional sports team, a member of the most powerful tech billionaire families in the world, Manhattan's most eligible bachelor, and according to Xena's favorite cousin, he's a good guy. So on paper, a one-night stand with Lynx Grove is a safe choice, right? Wrong! So quickly Prince Charming turns into a frog, dropping several commitment-phobic bombs that should send Xena running for the hills. But Lynx is shaping up to be an expert lover, and that's how her safe decision becomes a reckless one-night stand. When it's over, Xena vows to forget Lynx ever existed. But oddly, he keeps showing up at her lowest moments, offering to save her from the unfortunate outcomes of her safe decisions. He even wants to hire her. Lynx Grove? Her new boss? Yikes! Billionaire Lynx Grove isn't looking for love. But there's something about Xena that dissolves his defenses. Maybe that's why he offered her a job and insisted she becomes his roommate. WTH. Lynx knows he's being careless, and Xena's wise to be cautious. He doesn't do vanilla relationships. But could his beautiful and exciting new employee chip away at his wall one encounter at a time? THE BOOK’S TROPES WE LOVE One-Night Stand Roommates Boss/Employee Forced Proximity Innocent Cohabitation Sworn Off Relationships Oblivious to Love Afraid to Commit Commit for Her Can’t spit it out/Say how they feel Friends to Lovers Right Person Right Time ONE XENA ST. JAMES Wednesday Evening I can't believe what just happened. That’s why I’m pacing in front of the stacked washer/dryer unit in my cousin Lilly’s apartment. I’m like a pinball bouncing between two pegs, mortified by what came out of my mouth. I shouldn’t have said it, even if it was true. Not every thought or emotion a girl experiences needs to be expressed verbally. I exhale heavily, expelling the air from deep within my throat. My head feels like it wants to burst as I picture myself blurting out to our unexpected dinner guest that his mere presence has made me wet down there. Those were the words that came out of my typically thoughtful and wise mouth. Sure, I can be a little cynical sometimes. But crass? Never. “Ugh…” I groan. I know why I feel less inhibited this evening. Today was a tough day at work, but to unwind, I brought two bottles of red wine and rum to my cousin Lilly’s apartment in Chelsea, mixed the drinks in a glass pitcher, and enjoyed a few too many. Then, Mr. Gorgeous Billionaire crashed a dinner which was just supposed to be Lilly and me complaining about our exes, our jobs, and before the night was over, my mom. Our guest had no idea my tongue was looser than usual. He must think I’m a floozy and an idiot. All of a sudden, a realization hits me and I come to a halt. I would, though. I would do him in a New York minute. Our unexpected guest’s name is Lynx Grove—yes, he’s the Lynx Grove, one in a family of prominent tech billionaires. When he crossed the threshold carrying Lily’s grocery bag, I couldn’t help but notice how incredibly attractive he was in person. No man’s bone structure should be so perfect. And his lips…. They’re like succulent rose petals. I still have the urge to kiss them. I take a deep breath to control my long-burning arousal toward the man in Lilly’s kitchen peeling and deveining shrimp, which seems like a mediocre task for a person of his stature. The worst part of my blurt is that I wasn’t lying about my panties. While preparing dinner, Lynx and I had been reaching around each other to grab this or rinse that. Although Lilly’s kitchen is much larger than mine, it’s still too tiny to fit a man of Lynx’s height and athletic build. He’s like a statue carved by the hands and imagination of Michelangelo. One of his arms even brushed against mine—twice! It was solid—like granite. And he’s wearing navy blue track pants made of a generous satiny material. He’s all lean muscular legs and a firm bubble butt. Ooh, and the way his tan T-shirt extends across the hard ridges of his chest is so sexy. His tapered waist is the icing on the cake. Or is the icing his citrusy, sandalwood, and vanilla-scented cologne that makes me want to eat him up? Any red-blooded woman would react to him the way I had. It’s unavoidable. Lynx Grove is objectively a solid ten out of ten. So,