The third installment of the Table 21 series finds Loraine and Rick after their demons have resurfaced. Taking matters into his own hands, Rick  tries to convince Loraine it’s never too late. Little does he know, despite her addiction, Loraine has a new life, one that can’t include him.

Gage, the assistant pastor at her sister’s church is everything a woman could want, well almost. Great with her daughter and Rick’s  complete opposite, he’s been Loraine’s rock, a rock she’s been lying to  their whole relationship.

Caught between a rock and a hard place,  Loraine sinks deeper into Rick’s darkness only to find her own. She  begins to question whether love is patient and kind or if love is  demanding and… hot? Loraine’s question is answered in a shocking way  when she discovers both men in her life have been keeping secrets. She’s left thinking a happy ending isn’t in store for her until one man offers her a beautiful beginning.

“I’ve finally figured it out. I want to be force fucked. I’ve set it up. Next week, five guys, it is going to happen,” she beamed.

Ms. Collins’ face stayed neutral. “So, you are saying you have arranged an ambush. You are having some men pretend to coerce you?” I was so thankful she didn’t say rape. Ms. Collins was always careful. She had to be, she was leading a support group for sex addicts.

Crystal nodded her head cheerfully, clearly proud of herself.

What was I doing here? Besides, sitting between Crystal’s gang rape fantasies and old man Charlie’s foot fetish? Looking down to hide the contempt on my face, I was just beginning to rethink my resolutions before Ms. Collins asked me to introduce myself again. We had to at every meeting because half of the members rarely attended. A long-term member would roll in after a particularly bad night.

Plastering on a forced smile, I began, “Hi, I’m Loraine.” Last names were off limits. “As I said last time, I am not a sex addict, but there isn’t a support group for my problem. So here I am.”

“You could join the frigid club if you don’t like us,” Crystal sneered.

Ms. Collin’s cleared her throat. “Loraine is not frigid. She seeks out sexual pleasure as much as you.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Crystal continued to study her nails.

“Loraine, please go on. We have some lifetime members joining us today who have not heard about your situation.”

Having rushed into the meeting, I finally scanned the room to get the shock of my life. I tried not to drool but across from me was the finest man I’d ever laid eyes on. Inhale, Loraine. Mortified, I couldn’t lie. Most of the group heard my story on my first visit. Now I’d have to spew my secret to the most desired, eligible bachelor in town. Always straight faced and serious, he now squinted, scrutinizing me before a flash of recognition shone on his face. Shit! His sultry eyes locked onto mine, I couldn’t read his reaction but could tell he was really paying attention now.

What’s worse, Richard Mahoney was my boss, the owner of the high scale restaurant I’d worked at for the last month. Only thirty, only a little older than I was, there’s no way he should ooze such sophistication. He was a fine wine where I was an American cheese. Rick was the kind of man classic novels were written about, the big sexy fish no one could catch. Sure, everyone called him Rick the dick at work, but the man made women’s panties hit the floor, and he loved every second of it. Being made of money, his main redeeming quality, at least for me was he’d worked hard to make Table 21 the hottest place in town and hadn’t stopped working when he’d succeeded. Even though he could be off playing golf on a tropical island somewhere, Rick rolled his sleeves up and was in the middle of the action.

While I contemplated if running out of the door would be just as embarrassing as speaking, Ms. Collins motioned for me to go on. I’d have to; I’d promised my doctor and my mother I’d give this a try. Assuring myself Rick’s presence alone meant he’d had to have heard worse stories, my curiosity kicked in as I realized he was sitting in this group of weirdos with me. Rick had his own demons, secrets no one in town had even whispered about. He was a sex addict.

Finding my strength, I started all over again. “Hi, my name is Loraine, and I am 25.” I shook my head. Why did I say my age? “I am not addicted to sex but to getting off. I seek out men on a nightly basis who are willing to do anything to please me. And they get nothing in return.”

“Meaning?” Ms. Collins probed. “Loraine, we all explain our addictions specifically in here.”

“I am addicted to being orally pleasured but not having actual intercourse,” I said through my teeth.

I couldn’t miss Rick’s eyes popping out of his head. “Have you had, um, intercourse before?” he asked in an odd voice.

Looking away fast, I said nothing. I didn’t want to have to go through this every time I came here. Of course, a group of actual sex addicts would think I was the strange one. Feeling exposed, I crossed my arms over my chest.

Ms. Collins patted my knee. “You don’t have to answer his question, but we all heard it last week. Rick has been with us a long time. He is a very supportive member and shares frequently.”

A girl with red hair snorted, causing Ms. Collins to give her a look of death. I spotted her nametag, Diane.

“No, I haven’t had intercourse. I’ve never been penetrated by a man, by anything,” I answered clearly and concisely. Maybe the questions would stop, but I doubted it.

“So you’re still a virgin?” Rick uttered slowly, noticeably shocked.

Eyeing Ms. Collins instead of anyone else, I blew out a breath of frustration. I so didn’t feel like a virgin. “Actually, my hymen is broken.” I knew that didn’t really mean anything
after my doctor explained it, but it shut most people up. “I’ve been given the option to go through some physical therapy to try to help,” I managed to get out next. I‘d also flat out refused.

Ms. Collins provided a reassuring smile. “If you would like to share first, go ahead.”

Nodding to her, I remembered I needed this, to be understood. My therapist said it was necessary to share with people other than my mother and him. He said what I had wasn’t just a problem but an addiction. That I needed rehab but this would have to do. Here I promised not to behave badly, but came to confess my sins weekly when I did anyway. Maybe these confessions would help me make sense of myself.

“Last night, I went out to a club with a girlfriend,” I said keeping things as vague thus anonymous as possible.

Crystal perked up. “Lesbian?”

“No, a female friend. I met this guy, a college student. I have been out of college a few years now. Anyway, he was an easy target.”

“Meaning?” Diane, the red headinterrupted to huffs from other members. “Trust me this is the good part,” she told Rick, touching his leg.

“Meaning, he was harmless. He was hot enough, they all are, but he was naïve. I could tell he would be thrilled someone like me chose him over his more popular friends. He’d be thrown off guard that I wanted to go somewhere more private instead of getting to know each other. We went back to his dorm, not to his room, but to the showers. He got down on his knees, pulled my jeans down and ate me out. I was in control, standing, leaning against the wall with my hands in his hair like I was a guy getting my dick sucked.” Just remembering it caused my nipples to harden as I tried not to squirm in my plastic seat.

“What happened next?” Ms. Collins directed.

“I got off and made my excuses to leave soon after.” I shrugged then laughed, “He was pretty, pissed. I don’t think he’ll call.” I didn’t give him my number.

“So you are a cock tease,” Rick blurted out.

“Now Rick, Loraine has tried to go all the way but found she can’t. It may be a phobia,” Ms. Collins studied me with her pencil to her chin. “You have no experiences with abuse, right?”

“None,” I answered honestly. It was usually the first and last question ever asked. After I denied abuse of any kind, no one took my problem seriously.

“Yeah, right. Just a cock tease,” Rick mumbled to old man Charlie.

Richard Maloney, striking black hair and light blue eyes with a statuesque body or not, was really starting to piss me off. “I am not a tease!” I almost shrieked. “How many times
have you gotten your dick sucked and didn’t return the favor, not even had sex afterwards?” I challenged. Guys did that sort of thing all the time, at least in the movies. I’d never been able to date one very long.

Rick shrugged. I was right.

Crystal spoke up, “Rick won’t eat pussy. He’s not scared of it; he’s just too good for it. I for one have never slept a man who wouldn’t go down.”

Old man Charlie babbled, “I’d ram my rod up that tight pussy, fix Loraine right quick.”

“Mmm hmm,” Rick agreed.

“Gentleman! That is enough.” Ms. Collins scolded all of us and defended me gloriously to my embarrassment. Then we discussed as a group how my behavior was dangerous, no matter how careful I thought I was. Plotting daily to find sexual enjoyment had taken over my life.
The others related their problems to my own. We all vowed to change, but that was easier said than done. We weren’t stupid; we were addicted.

After class, I spoke to Ms. Collins alone to tell her Rick was my boss. Reminding me he signed the same agreement I did, she added, “We all have secrets here. There has never been an issue with anyone in the group breaking our pact.” That explained why I hadn’t heard of
Rick coming here. I wanted to be comforted by her assurances, but I didn’t need any more trouble in my life. Never having told my secret before in this group, I left the community center more troubled than ever.

Bestselling paranormal romance and erotic romance author, Morgan Jane Mitchell spent years blogging politics and health trends before she rediscovered her love of writing fiction. Trading politicians for bloodsuckers of another kind, she’s now the author of bestselling post-apocalyptic fantasy novel, Sanguis City. Her action packed series of vampires, witches, demons and zombies is paranormal romance, dystopia, urban fantasy and erotica in one bite. When Morgan Jane is not creating the city of blood or conjuring up other supernatural tales, she’s dreaming up erotic and dark romances. Morgan Jane lives in the beautiful bluegrass area of central Kentucky with her husband, 3 sons, 3 cats and a greyhound shepherd mix dog named Miss Penni Lane.

To truly understand a story; you need to start from the beginning, but to start from the beginning; you have to go back, further than just you. After all, our stories don’t start with us, do they? Our stories start with the person before us, and the person before them. We are created from the stories of those people – from their mistakes, from their achievements, from their love and their hate.

No one’s story is ever truly their own.

I tried to create my own story, my own path, and my own actions. I’ve seen things people only see in their worst nightmares, but I never let it beat me down. I never let it become who I was. I picked myself up, and I kept going. Everything was what it was.

There was no point analyzing what it could be.

Could be’s didn’t matter.

Until Maddox came into the picture. He saved my life. He changed my world; giving me the second chance some of us only dream about. There was only one thing missing in my second chance, and she was the reason I fought so hard to survive.

My sister.

My sister who is supposed to be dead, well, at least, that’s what I thought.

That’s what he told me.

Now is where my story changes, but to understand this story, you have to start at the beginning…where it all began…and before.

This story is the second book in a series. You can get the first book on all major retailers. (Precarious – Jokers’ Wrath MC Book 1)

This contains no cliffhanger and has a HEA. 18+

Jokers’ Wrath MC