Free Sunset Thunder by Shannyn Leah

child out in Violet. She hadn’t made eye contact with that door all week, like a terrified kid fearing what was behind it. Only, it was breathtaking recollections that ignited fire in her...and that was the problem.
    Ridiculous.
    During the day, against her objections, Ryder was playing hopscotch in Violet’s head, jumping in whenever he pleased, and taking her mind down a road of contemplation about the man she’d labeled him as and the player everyone had labeled him as, including her family. But, after Ryder’s somewhat, sweet remark, to de-buff Joel’s vulgar comment, Violet couldn’t ignore the way he’d said it: sincerely and truthfully. She’d stood there feeling like Ryder was talking to her because he wanted to, not because he felt obliged, like everyone else. If only his tone had held arrogance, humor or patronizing, and left her livid with him, then her week would have gone by in a less puzzling manner.
    Violet couldn’t fit together the pieces of Ryder that she retained from Joel and the pieces of Ryder that she clutched from her own experience of him, to add up to anything more than uncertainty. Violet didn’t like uncertainty, it only led vulnerability for others to swoop in and take advantage of you. Violet would not be taken advantage of...not again.
    After an early morning spent with Emma, partaking in the spooky decoration hunt for the annual Fright Fest, Halloween in July at the resort, Violet was hot and sticky. Normally, she would jump in the shower and then head back to work. However, today she had the day off. Instead, she slipped into her one-piece, cream colored, crocheted swimsuit and dove into the heated pool. It wasn’t only the heat of the day she was trying to escape from, but the heat that rushed through her whenever Ryder popped into her head. 
    How could sex once with a person she couldn’t even stand to look at, much less desire to touch, leave her craving more?
    Violet had done what she knew best, to rid Ryder from her thoughts: overworked herself. Including today, when she’d beat Emma to the storage room to dig out the appropriate decorations for the set-up crew to incorporate in the pavilion at the edge of the resorts property on the beach. The reclusive location was chosen in order to allow the crew advanced time to set up. With the numerous weddings in July, other events needed extra time. Violet was only getting today off because it was the middle of the week, there were no weddings, and she’d booked no appointments, which meant tomorrow was booked solid.
    She’d planned on spending her day off with Sophia and Parker, but when Joel promised them a day of fishing and their little faces lit up, Violet couldn’t say no.
    A day off. A day all to herself.
    It sounded like every working mother’s dream...except she knew the alone time would no doubt center her thoughts around Ryder. 
    As the water engulfed her body, she wished the indoor pool, centered in the heart of her family’s suites, wasn’t heated. She needed a fresh, cold wake-up call. 
    Craving Ryder Carlex left Violet feeling like one of the ogling bridesmaids that had thrown themselves shamelessly at Ryder at every opportunity...much the way Violet had.
    Did he sleep with them too? Did it matter?
    The positive point to this whole charade was Ryder didn’t run in the same circles as Violet. It would be a rare honor if he showed his handsome face at one of her mom’s charity events, waving his cheque book around and leaving a nice donation. His generous contributions made Violet consider that maybe he wasn’t as much of a jerk as her first notion of him. But, her common sense was on target to eliminate the consideration. To be more specific, it was his father’s money he was flashing and with Donald Carlex absent from parties the last couple years, it seemed like Donald was probably the generous one. Ryder was only standing in his place, with some pretty woman on his arm. A woman, who in no way he shared