A Bubbly Holiday - Short, Sweet and Kinda Sexy Romances in Tropical Paradise: Short, Sweet, and Kinda Sexy, #2

By V.K. Black

Chase away those winter and work blues with V.K. Black's second volume of short, sweet and kinda sexy tales, this time all set in tropical paradise.

A Bubbly Holiday ~ Lots of bubbles and a hot temper provide Ellen with her only protection when a handsome intruder bursts into the bathroom of her tropical island resort. But good manners dictate she share the champagne…

Moonstone Magic ~ Caitlyn and her boss Jack had been attracted to each other once, but all that joins them now is work. At a little, wooden beach house in the remote tropics, they see each other with new eyes—although that story about her mum's moonstones having magic powers is nonsense. Isn't it?

Lifesaver ~ If you're going to be saved from certain death, your lifesaver may as well be tall, dark and handsome. That's what Alexa thought when a gorgeous stranger rescued her from the raging surf. But when she recovers and wants to thank her hero, she can't find him. Luckily, fate takes a hand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: V.K. Black
• Release date: Jun 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513029764

V.K. Black

V.K. Black is from Queensland, Australia. She loves tropical beaches, fine wines - with a decided preference for champagne, but a nice red is only a heart beat behind  - and delicious food. You'll find at least one of these(sometimes the lot!) in every one of her books!   Victoria's novellas include Lies and Seduction (published by Cobblestone Press, under her name Victoria Black), Heavenly Revenge (published by Secret Cravings Publishing, also as Victoria Black), and Unexpected Places (published by Escape Publishing). Her short story, Reef Magic, is part of an Emerald Romance anthology called Annie Seaton's Coastal Collection Boxed Set.

Book preview

A Bubbly Holiday

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I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus's bathtub in the sha-a-ade...

Laughing at her wittiness, Ellen opened her eyes and gazed out at the view. Not a bad view, she had to say, as views went, seeing as the window took up an entire side of the bathroom.

The brilliant, blue ocean twinkled and sparkled at her. Dark patches of reef beneath its surface were dotted here and there. A ripple of white, tumbling waves showed the edge of the shallow water before the land dropped into the deep blue Pacific beyond.

As she lay back in her decadent, sunken bathtub, surrounded by frothy bubbles, she breathed in. Hmmm. What was that smell? She tilted her head to one side. It was delicious. Sort of minty, mentholly. Was that a word? Whatever.

She stretched like a satisfied cat and reached for the champagne bottle. Yes, dear ocean, she called out to the blue water as she sloshed more Bollinger into her fine crystal flute. Whoops. She giggled. I will explore your depths soon, soon, my dear, but this wonderful bath is my first love.

As she carefully placed her glass on the rim of the tub, her eyes rested on a bar of white soap. She picked it up, lifted it to her nose, and inhaled. Heaven. Heaven is a bar of soap, she mused out loud, nodding. Why had that never occurred to her before?

The new tiny bikini she'd bought for her first ever luxury holiday beckoned from the king-sized bed in the adjoining room. Soon, soon, my sexy swimsuit, we'll swim in the salty sea! And didn't she absolutely ace alliteration? Chortling, she sank beneath the bubbles.

Who the hell are you?

Coughing and choking on the water she'd inhaled, she sat up, knocked her champers into the bath, clasped her arm to her chest, and looked up, up at a dark haired, well-muscled, nearly naked man whose blue eyes blazed down at her.

Get out. Now!

Every last bubble of giggly happiness popped and vanished. With her heart thumping hard in her chest, she tried to take a deep breath. She could only manage quick, shallow ones. Her skin turned clammy. The doctor in her, buried beneath the layers of alcohol, knew these were early symptoms of shock.

Her intruder looked to be somewhere in his mid-thirties. She glanced at his muscled chest and abdomen. Men with six-packs who were handsome, six foot tall, and somewhere in their thirties were normally her favourite kind of man.

But definitely not right now.

She sank lower in the tub.

He growled. I said, get out.

Some semblance of her backbone reappeared. Cowering in a bathtub was not the way she intended to leave this world. She'd go out fighting. She hadn't had five brothers for nothing.

Risking another glimpse up at her probable schizoid, bi-polar murderer, she swallowed her gasp and stared back down at the bubbles. Her stomach roiled. Sweet Jesus, help me.

Security was a long, long way away.

A memory of a strong, violent dementia patient flashed into her mind.