Scent of Fear

By J C Gordon

Dashing Irishman Flynn Doherty sweeps Evie Harris off her feet in a whirlwind holiday romance. His passion overwhelms her though and she vanishes from his life without a trace. Years later they meet again, only Flynn's heart has become embittered and Evie must decide if their love is worth fighting for or if they would be better to remain apart.

Furious at her rejection, Flynn persues Evie relentlessly, determined to work her out of his system so he can move on with his life. The more he tries to hold onto her, the further she slips from his grasp.What is Evie running from? What is the secret she hides behind?

Can Evie's love heal Flynn's bitter heart or will their tempetuous relationship end up tearing them both apart?

• Language: English
• Publisher: J C Gordon
• Release date: Sep 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301840410

J C Gordon

I have been married to George for almost 15 years. We weren't blessed with any children though I am incredibly close to my nieces and nephew, and my beautiful great niece Maddison.I live in Edinburgh, Scotland and class myself as being Scottish though I was born in England. I have lived here most of my life now so Edinburgh is home.I work in Finance and write, write and write some more in my free time. My dream is to one day be a full time author so I can do what I love most.

Book preview

Scent of Fear

Published by JC Gordon at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 JC Gordon

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Warning: Adult Reading Material

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Covert Art by Dawne Dominique

Edited by Mistress of Shadows & Angel N Disguise

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Acknowledgements

My grateful thanks to my editors Mistress & Angel and to Dawne for walking me through my very first experience of having cover art designed especially for me. Thank you all so very much.

This e-book would still be a pipe-dream waiting to happen without the love, unwavering support and amazing generosity of Alice Wade, Jasmine TeRina and last, but not least, EvanG54. I can never thank you all enough for believing in me. Love you all! #yourock!

Chapter One

Evie looked around the large ballroom and tried to contain a deep sigh. She hated these parties but her editor had insisted that she attend, saying it was crucial to ‘network’. She hated that word and all the connotations associated with it. Why was networking so important? What really was the point to it? Either someone liked your work or they didn’t. It sold or it remained unsold. It was perfectly simple to her, but seemed to be a blasphemous concept to the publishing world.

She sipped at her glass of champagne as she scanned over the dense crowd. Finding Grace would be challenging enough in a room filled with patrons and sponsors; add in the others with money determined to chase the limelight, and it was damned near impossible. She sighed in frustration and sipped at her glass again.

Grace seemed to forget that Evie had no desire to be in the spotlight. The fact that she turned down all book signings and refused to allow her editor to introduce her by her pen name should have driven her point home by now. However, Grace was a powerhouse and refused to be daunted.

Evie knew Grace had high hopes that tonight would be the night she could introduce her as Charlotte Somerville, author of the top rated supernatural stories currently on the Best Sellers List. She didn’t have a hope in hell of getting her client to agree to it though. Evie was happy with the way her life was playing out. She liked the anonymity; it gave her the peace and solitude she needed to write with no distractions.

So why had she agreed to come to the party tonight? She didn’t really know. Perhaps it was because she had finished her latest novel. Usually, she had some new idea already forming but, for once, she didn’t have a new project to begin. If she hadn’t come she would only have been sitting at home with nothing to do. The completion of her last book made her realise she had nothing else in her life…apart from her writing.

When was the last time she had gone out for dinner with a man or taken in a movie? It had been so long ago that she couldn’t remember exactly when it had been. Six months? Possibly even a year? She may not have been the life and soul of a party, but she had dated a few guys in the past, though none of them had been serious. Here she was, just turning twenty-five and already she was feeling like an old maid.

For some reason, no man held her interest for very long. They all seemed to fall short of the strong, alpha male characters she wrote about in her stories. There had been one such man who fell into that category. However it had been such a long time ago, when she was quite young, and too inexperienced and naïve to realise what a rare find he was.

She smiled as she thought of how gauche and impressionable she had been at eighteen. It was somewhat embarrassing to remember how she had swooned over Flynn Doherty that summer. He had been so vibrant, so sure of himself and she had been like a moth attracted to the flame.

It was no coincidence that her male characters reflected many of Flynn’s character traits. To this day, he was the only man she could think back on and remember every single detail; every word he had spoken, the cadence of his voice, the intense expression in his eyes as he talked to her. He had been so sure of himself and her. He had quite literally scared her witless with his barely constrained sexuality.

Evie shook herself out of her reverie and finally spotted Grace standing surrounded by a group of men. She watched as her editor worked her magic on them; her short blonde curls swaying against her face as she treated each man as if she hung on his every word. Grace was beautiful in a delightful little pixie manner. She had big blue eyes that sparkled with a hint of mischief and she was not above using them to get what she wanted.

Grace was more of a friend to Evie than an editor. She had picked up her first novel with enthusiasm five years ago and hadn’t stopped selling her books for her ever since. She relied on Grace so much that she didn’t know what she would do if she lost her. Evie thought the world of her friend and was thankful for the day they had met.

As she watched Grace charm the group of men, something about one of them caught her attention. He was standing with his back to her, dressed impeccably in what she surmised was a black Armani suit. He was tall, close to six feet, if not a little taller. His wavy black hair was slightly long, brushing his collar in an unruly manner. The way he held himself seemed familiar for a moment, as she stared at his broad back. Had she met him before? It was hard to tell because he was facing away from her.

Her attention was distracted as a waiter appeared at her side to relieve her of her empty champagne glass. She took another one and turned back to Grace, disappointment welling up inside her. The man who had attracted her attention was no longer with the group, and she had to smile ruefully. The first man to spark her interest in a long time and in the blink of an eye, the opportunity had passed. With a fixed smile on her face, Evie began walking across the room to her friend.

*****

Flynn Doherty had spotted her the moment she had entered the room. He had been nursing his drink, letting bored green eyes travel over the throng of people. His heart suddenly faltered as he recognized the exquisite brunette who stood just inside the doorway beside a cute little blonde. For a moment he had forgotten how to breathe, then his heart had kick started again and