Thrice Shy

By Frances Pauli

Jane Johnston has always nursed her crush on the boss in silence. Then a rare invitation to the company conference drops a golden opportunity in her lap. She’s got the dress, she’s got a plan, but when she gets lost along the way, a roadside attraction leads her to a sexy Vampire who thinks Jane is the answer to his prayers. When he shows up at the conference hotel, all her plans go right out the window. Will Jane choose the man she’s always wanted, or the one who claims to own her soul?

• Language: English
• Publisher: eXtasy Books Inc
• Release date: Feb 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781771110112

Frances Pauli

Frances Pauli is a hybrid author of over twenty novels. She favors speculative fiction, romance, and anthropomorphic fiction and is not a fan of genre boxes. Frances lives in Washington state with her family, four dogs, two cats and a variety of tarantulas.

Book preview

Jane Johnston has always nursed her crush on the boss in silence. Then a rare invitation to the company conference drops a golden opportunity in her lap. She’s got the dress, she’s got a plan, but when she gets lost along the way, a roadside attraction leads her to a sexy Vampire who thinks Jane is the answer to his prayers. When he shows up at the conference hotel, all her plans go right out the window. Will Jane choose the man she’s always wanted, or the one who claims to own her soul?

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

Thrice Shy

Copyright © 2011 Frances Pauli

ISBN: 978-1-77111-011-2

Cover art by Martine Jardin

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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Smashwords Edition

Thrice Shy

By

Frances Pauli

Chapter One

The last rest stop passed fifteen miles before the coffee kicked in. Jane ground her teeth together and watched endless acres of dusty nothing slide by. No hope of a bathroom…not along this stretch. She’d be lucky to find a bush large enough to use as a shield. A roadside sign declared that the next services could be found forty miles ahead. Great. She was going to pee in her pants. She dug her fingers into the steering wheel and prayed for strength. Not behind a bush, please, and not on the boss’ upholstery.

Jane shivered at the thought of Rodney Grant, regional manager and her direct supervisor. It didn’t exactly help her bladder dilemma. She shifted in her seat and focused on the road and the mileposts passing at a crawl. He just had that polished, confident attitude that made her all fluttery and lightheaded. The eyes didn’t hurt either—deep blue and full of collected power. His dark, soft hair added the final touch…the nail in her coffin.

Unfortunately, his professional status also meant Jane, as his employee, suffered from a serious case of the invisibles. She sighed and squinted at a billboard on the horizon. Maybe the conference this weekend would offer a chance to change that.

Junior sales reps rarely attended, but Rodney needed someone to bring his car along, and Jane had jumped at the opportunity. Her track record screamed reliable. The boss had noticed at least that much about her. Now if the slinky red number she’d dropped a whole paycheck on could just get him to notice her a little bit more. If she didn’t pee in his car, that was, if she could survive a stupid, three hour drive through the hick-infested, agricultural boonies.

The billboard neared. Jane squinted through the dusty windshield and made out the enormous words….Halloween Corn Maze. Great, a celebration of rural idiocy. Still, she’d bet good money they had a bathroom. Saved by the holiday. She noted the exit number and stomped on the gas pedal.

That’s a bathroom? Jane stared at the shack and shook her head. She’d have been better off trying a bush. The wood slats had warped until she could see daylight