Torrid Love: Friends to Lovers Romance (Bad Boy Studs Book 1)
Torrid Love
Scarlett Avery
Copyright © 2020 by Scarlett Avery
Edited by John Hudspith
Proofread by Ali Skrzypiec
Proofread by Chrissy Becker
Model: Kerry Smart
Photographer: Wander Aguiar
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental. This book is for sale to adults over 18.
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Torrid Love / Scarlett Avery
ISBN 978-1-989778-35-7
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
My Own Experience
Scarlett’s Book Banter!
Get the Secret Chapter and Storyboard
Sneak Peek of Torrid Book 2
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Bad Boy Studs Series
Romance #1: Torrid Love
Romance #2: Coming soon!
Romance #3: Coming soon!
Romance #4: Coming soon!
Romance #5: Coming soon!
Romance #6: Coming soon!
Romance #7: Coming soon!
Romance #8: Coming soon!
Romance #9: Coming soon!
Romance #10: Coming soon!
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Author’s Note: Torrid Love touches on the subject of rape. Those parts might trigger bad memories for those who have been in a similar situation.
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CHAPTER 1
Roderick
“I’ve had it up to here!” my business partner Lochlan (Loki) Berkshire shouts, barging into my office.
“What now?” I ask, shifting my eyes from my iMac Pro screen—and all the priorities demanding my attention—and stare at the very tall man standing in front of me.
“This younger generation is useless! Useless!” Loki’s hands go flying over his head and land in a loud thump against his thighs.
“Says the twenty-nine-year-old,” I chuckle.
Loki squints his furious hazel brown eyes at me. “Don’t you dare compare me to Mr. Woo-woo Pixie Dust, Rod,” he warns.
“You kill me with that nickname,” I chuckle.
“It suits him! He’s a chronic complainer who lives in an imaginary world where money grows on trees and gold paves the streets!”
“Auburn Sorrel is at it again.”
The irony is both names mean reddish brown. Our blue-eyed replacement video-director-slash-producer is as blond as a Viking—the complete opposite of me.
“He’s driving me to drink.”
“Our temperamental temp is on another one of his legendary rants?”
“Yup.”
“Let me guess. ‘His chakra isn’t aligned with the volume of work we demand’, or is it, ‘His qi isn’t responsive to extra hours’, or ‘Working more than three hours a day is poisonous to the soul’, or maybe ‘He refuses to be a slave to capitalist bullies’?”
“All of the above! The idiot can’t fucking decide!” Loki shouts again.
“The guy is delusional. And lazy.”
“Exactly! My parents instilled work ethics in my sister and I. We don’t expect to coast by like Auburn.” He’s right. His parents are amazing. I wasn’t as lucky. “Whatever happened to taking pride in an honest day’s work?”
“Where did he drop the ball this time?” I ask.
“Have you seen Unmerciful Fury’s video?”
Auburn is working on the video for the group’s comeback song.
“Not yet,” I respond.
“It’s crap. I mean, a five-year-old could’ve done a better job… even blindfolded.”
“Yikes.”
“How the hell did Auburn manage to graduate from film school with such mediocre editing skills? And who on God’s green earth are these people who gave him all those glowing references? Lies, I tell ya.” Loki jams his hand in his dark brown hair and pulls hard.
He looks like he’s about to blow a gasket.
“Not everyone has our high standards,” I remind him.
“Apparently not.”
“I thought Auburn was supposed to make all the changes the band required and include our feedback. We sat down with him on Tuesday and spelled it all out… for three hours.” I honestly thought I was going to put a bullet to my head at some point. It was excruciating.
“He did!” Loki’s face is beet red. “His third take is still garbage.”
“Get him to do a fourth one. We need a stellar video by next Friday. I don’t want to let Unmerciful Fury down.”
“Trust me, I know. I’m as unhappy as you are we’re stuck with a crybaby wailing about working extra hours and demanding more work-life balance. This is the music biz. There is no such thing.”
“Maybe if Auburn knew what he was doing, he would’ve nailed it the first time around.”
“Thank you!” Loki exclaims.
“Where is he now?” I ask.
“Gone for the day.”
“What?” I shout.
“Yup!”
“But it’s only twelve.”
“He mumbled something about not being able to stay past four o’clock because of an ultimate tournament scheduled weeks ago.”
I’m incredulous. “Our reputation is on the line and he needs to leave early to play Frisbee in the park with some friends?”
“The guy is twenty-seven, but apparently a stupid game of
ultimate is more important than his career. Go figure,” Loki shakes his head. “Talk about having your priorities screwed on backwards.”
“Jesus Christ. He needs to get his butt back here.”
“I fired his ass,” Loki says. “I told him to pack his belongings and get the hell out of my sight. I even had security escort him out. I don’t need that shit. I already called Unmerciful Fury’s record label and told them we might not have anything to show them until later next week.”
“What did they say?”
“They’re okay with it. As long as we deliver a finished product by next Friday.”
“Good call,” I nod my approval.
Loki and I own Pending Inference Productions. We pride ourselves on our creative and edgy music videos. In the past three years, we’ve worked with some of the biggest singers and bands in the industry. Yeah, we’ve been lucky. Believe it or not, this is my second career.
“This is all your fault, Rod,” Loki shakes a warning finger at me. “The next time Dom is away, we’ll stick to hiring pros or we’ll schedule work around her absence.”
Auburn is the third video guy we’ve hired in the last six weeks. That’s what happens when you get used to working with the best.
“You won’t hear any arguments coming from me.” I lift a hand up in truce. “In my defense, I never thought giving a chance to up-and-comers would come back to bite me in the ass.”
“Speaking of which, when the hell is Dom coming back from Europe? I can’t handle hiring another amateurish and untalented editor. We’d have to go with a top editor, but that’ll eat into our profits since we’ve already wasted money on three incompetent idiots.”
Dominika Jacek is my best friend. She’s also a kick ass video-director-slash-producer.
“She got back in the middle of the night. She’ll be here on Monday.”
“We need her back, Rod.”
“And I said, she’ll be back on Monday.”
“Are you sure she’s back in LA? She hasn’t seen her family in a while. What if she decides to extend her holiday? Have you heard from her?”
“Calm down, Loki. I texted her last night before falling asleep, but I haven’t heard back from her yet. The jetlag is going to be a bitch and I’m sure she’ll feel it.”
“Call her!” Loki points to my iPhone sitting on my desk. “Make sure she’s okay. How many people catch nasty airborne viruses on a plane? It’s like a fucking germ factory. Maybe she’s sick and bedridden.”
“Good point, Doctor Berkshire.”
He rolls his eyes at me.
“If it’s jetlag, I’ll get my executive assistant to send her whatever kind of medication she needs. We’ll pay. We need Dom back on Monday, Rod!” he repeats.
My best friend has her own company—independent from ours—but you’d never know listening to Loki.
“Yes, boss. I’m right on it, boss. Anything else, boss?” I mock.
He rubs his hand over his face. “I’m sorry. I’m overreacting. Clearly, I’m stressed out. Just call her, Rod.”
“Don’t worry, I will.”
“Hopefully her time away will have cleared up whatever tension that’s been playing out between the two of you in the last few months.”
He’s never brought this up before.
“What are you talking about?” I choose to play dumb.
“The way you’ve been acting around each other, you’d never know you’ve been best friends for the past twelve years. You’ve been bickering like an old married couple.”
“I’m sure she was overwhelmed with all her projects and her pending trip. And I’ve been knee deep as well.”
Loki pins me with a suspicious stare. “Let’s hope that’s all it is.”
“Why do I feel you’re accusing me of something?”
He arches an eyebrow in response.
Whatever.
“Hopefully the yacht party will lighten your mood,” I veer the conversation.
“Having Dom back is the only thing that will put my mind at ease. That said, I am looking forward to it. After all, nobody throws a party like Eddie Michaels. What a way to kick off the weekend!”
“That’s for sure.”
Our buddy Eddie is what you call a triple threat in showbiz. He started out as a heartthrob popstar with some impressive dance moves before taking Hollywood by storm.
“The guy always parties hard, but now he has a really good reason for celebrating.”
“And that means a bevy of smoking hot women for all of Eddie’s friends,” I chuckle.
“The guy sure knows how to attract ’em. Not that you have anything to complain about. Hanging out with you is always a blessing,” he laughs. “Well, last night being the exception. Maybe we’ll get luckier than we did last night,” he grimaces.
“One would hope so, but who knows with Eddie’s entourage.”
Loki and I hit a few clubs last night. He ended up with a sexy petite redhead. I hooked up with her friend––a stunning blonde with big brown eyes and spectacularly enhanced DD tits. We went back to her place. As things were getting hot and heavy, she excused herself. I never expected her to walk back into the bedroom carrying a platter of uppers. She claimed speed kept her thin, happy, energized and horny. That’s a deal breaker for me nowadays. I kicked my drug habit to the curb and I’m not going back. No pussy is worth a relapse. I zipped up and got the hell out of there. Turns out Loki was in the same predicament.
“All right. Eddie’s yacht sails at three. Let me tie up a few loose ends and we’ll head out to the port.”
“Sounds good.”
“In the meantime, call Dom!”
“Go!” I wave him off.
* * *
Loki is right. Things have been pretty weird between my best friend and I. It seems like everything about me irritates the hell out of her. The only problem is, I don’t know why. Maybe it’s a natural progression when people have been this close for this long. I’ve been tiptoeing through it like I’m walking on glass, careful not to make matters worse. I can’t afford to lose her as my best friend. She means too much to me. Whatever it is that’s caused this friction between us, I hope her time away will have mellowed her out. Eager to hear all about her trip and catch-up, I dial her up. She answers on the first ring.
“Hey, Dom, you’re finally back.”
“Rod, how are you?”
“Good. Did I wake you up?”
“No, I’ve been up for a while. I got your text message. I was going to answer after coffee.”
“No problem. I’m sure you’re still a little tired.”
“That’s the understatement of the century. I’m so jetlagged, I don’t even know what planet I’m on. Is this Pluto or Mars?”
I laugh. “I hear you. When I came back from Australia two months ago, I thought I woke up on Jupiter. Are you going to be able to stay awake until tonight?”
“I might have to take a nap if I want to make it to Zoe’s birthday party. I wasn’t planning ongoing since I just landed, but she insists. She also invited me to dinner—just her and her best friend—before we head out to her party. Something about thanking me.”
“It makes sense. You’re responsible for her big break.”
“It was just an introduction,” she says.
“It’s much more than that and you know it.”
She doesn’t answer.
Thanks to Dom, Zoe secured a phenomenal job at my brothers’ TV production company. Dom would never take credit where credit’s due. She’s so self-effacing.
“Will you stop by Zoe’s party?” she asks, changing the subject.
“I’ll head there the second Eddie’s yacht docks.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Remember how Eddie proposed to the so-called love of his life after a three-day sex marathon?”
“Don’t tell me. It wasn’t love ever after.”
“It was a shotgun Vegas wedding that lasted seven days. The six-month waiting period has e
lapsed and his divorce was finalized on Monday. Since she’s already loaded, she didn’t ask for a dime, so it ended up being a smooth divorce. Eddie says her father is relieved.”
“I don’t blame the man. At least she isn’t pregnant.”
“Yeah, I don’t see Eddie as the father type. The guy isn’t wired for commitment.”
“One could say the same about you, Rod.”
“I never professed otherwise, Dom,” I snap. I know who I am and I’m upfront about it. I don’t need a reminder from my best friend. “Anyway, back to the divorce. Eddie invited a bunch of us to celebrate his newfound freedom by chartering a yacht.”
“The usual suspects will be present?”
“No doubt.”
“Kudos to Eddie. Nothing like getting back on the horse,” she says.
“Yeah, well, Eddie loves women.”
“Just as much as you do.”