Love and Always (A Pound of Flesh #1.5)

Copyright © 2015 Sophie Louise Jackson Cover image © Tom Merton/Getty Images The right of Sophie Jackson to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Published by arrangement with Pocket Star Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

First published in this Ebook edition in 2015

by HEADLINE ETERNAL

An imprint of HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library eISBN 978 1 4722 2474 3

HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

An Hachette UK Company

Carmelite House

www.headlineeternal.com

www.headline.co.uk

‘[Sophie] writes the type of stories today’s reader wants: beautifully created characters filled with emotion, and a storyline that sticks with you long after you turn the last page’ Tara Sue Me,
New York Times
bestselling author of the
Submissive
series

‘
A Pound of Flesh
is an intriguing tale of acceptance, and understanding, and finding love in unexpected circumstances. What sets it apart from others is the way Sophie weaves storylines to build suspense before everything ultimately comes together, leaving the reader guessing and gasping until the very end’ J. M. Darhower
‘This forbidden love story is rife with danger and will impart that feeling of sneaking risqué books under the bedcovers with a flashlight and staying up past your bedtime to finish an amazing story. Jackson convinces readers that love can be found in the most unlikely places and situations. This one is entirely heartfelt, hot and should be the very next book on your TBR list’
Romantic Times

‘This book truly was outstanding and I can’t express just how much I loved reading it. It’s the kind of book that I felt in my chest and made me angry when life got in the way of my reading. I was thinking about Kat and Carter whenever the cruel world required me to put it down. The writing was beautiful and poetic; Jackson made me feel every single feeling and emotion.
A Pound of Flesh
is a breathtakingly beautiful story about conquering your fears, finding love, redeeming oneself, and reminds us all to never judge a book by its cover’
Holly’s Red Hot Reviews

‘Their relationship was intense, drama filled and certainly filled with sex. But I couldn’t have loved them more if I tried. It reminded me of Travis and Abby’s relationship from
Beautiful Disaster
by Jamie McGuire and it certainly holds the appeal of
Fifty Shades of Grey
fans. This may be the book of the year for me’
Book Bitch Reviews

‘Wow!! I loved, loved, loved every single thing about this book. If you are a fan of forbidden love stories, you are going to love this one . . . Sophie Jackson has incorporated everything I love into this delicious story. It is a must read’
Hopeless Romantics

A Pound of Flesh Series
A Pound of Flesh
Love and Always (e-novella)
An Ounce of Hope

Theirs was a love that broke every rule. But the searing attraction between Wes Carter and Kat Lane was instant and impossible to deny.

Against all the odds, this all-consuming love between prison tutor Kat and her dangerous, brooding student flourished and healed the deep scars borne by each of them.

But as they face real life together and share the news of their engagement with those closest to them, Kat and Carter realise that they will still have to fight for their love if it is to survive forever and . . . always.

Find out where it all began in the unforgettable
A Pound of Flesh
– and don’t miss Max and Grace’s passionate story in
An Ounce of Hope
.

For Rosanna and Jaime, who I love. Always.

Wesley Carter had never been a big believer in fate. Until recently, he didn’t believe in anything. Not even himself.

If he’d been asked eighteen months ago, when he was sitting in a cell at Arthur Kill Correctional Facility, if he ever imagined he would be here, his response would have been a cynical laugh. Back then he’d been drifting aimlessly, stumbling from one ginormous fuckup to the next, with no rhyme or reason to his life, and no inclination to even find one. He’d been rebellious and lost, and happy to be that way.

Until she found him again.

Breathing in deeply from his place on the beach house’s sitting room floor, he could smell pine and cinnamon wrapped in the scent of lovemaking that clung to his skin like a warm blanket. Oblivious to Carter’s epiphany, Kat hummed blissfully into his collarbone, making a high, sated sound. Her naked thigh rested just below his belly button while her leg curved around his hip, with the heel of her foot pressing deliciously into his ass. His hand meandered from where he cradled her temple, over her hair to the damp, warm skin of her bare shoulder. He smiled and turned his head, whispering his lips across her sweat-speckled forehead, nuzzling gently, breathing her in, knowing that he’d never been more content. His woman, his Peaches, in their home, it was a dream he’d thought out of reach.

Her small fingers danced through the sporadic hair on his chest, conjuring a satisfied sigh from deep within him. Opening his eyes gradually, he watched as the diamond he’d placed on the third finger of her left hand sparkled in the lights of the Christmas tree they’d made love under. Taking her hand in his, he brought it to his lips and placed a tender kiss on the stone.

“It’s perfect,” she whispered, her voice slightly hoarse from the screams of pleasure he’d elicited from her not twenty minutes before.

He dipped his chin at the same time she moved back and looked up at him. “You’re perfect,” he said and kissed her because Jesus, what else was there to do?

She gripped the back of his neck and pulled him to her, making their bodies roll until he was back on top of her, cradled between her thighs. He smiled at the one leg of her work pants that was still attached to her ankle and the silk blouse underneath her that would have to be replaced after he’d ripped it open in his haste to have her. Fuck it. It was only money. And who cared about shit like that when the love of your life had just agreed to marry you?