Never Let Go
Top Shelf Romance Collection 6
Kandi Steiner
Ella James
Tijan
Alessandra Torre
Never Let Go
Copyright © 2020
A Love Letter to Whiskey
Copyright © 2016 Kandi Steiner All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without prior written consent of the author except where permitted by law.
The characters and events depicted in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Published by Kandi Steiner
Edited by Elaine York/Allusion Graphics, LLC/ Publishing & Book Formatting
“Sloth: A Sinful Secrets Romance,” by Ella James.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.
©2015, Ella James. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Ella James.
Teardrop Shot
Copyright © 2019 Tijan
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes only. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occur- rences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created by the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
Edited by Jessica Royer Ocken
Proofread by Kara Hildebrand, Paige Smith, Heather Brown, and Chris O’Neil Parece Beta readers: Crystal Solis, Amy English, Eileen Robinson, and Rochelle Paige
Love in Lingerie
Copyright © 2017 by Alessandra Torre. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or me- chanical, including photocopying, recording, or by information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Editing: Madison Seidler
Beta Readers: Marion Making Manuscripts, Proof is in the Reading, SueBee, Wendy Metz, Tricia Crouch Proofing: Perla Calas
Contents
Also by Top Shelf Romance
A Love Letter to Whiskey
Prologue
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
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Also by Kandi Steiner
About the Author
Sloth
Summary
Letters
October 2, 2011
October 17, 2011
October 31, 2011
November 11, 2011
November 23, 2011
December 1, 2011
December 19, 2011
December 26, 2011
January 8, 2012
January 20, 2012
February 2, 2012
February 15, 2012
March 1, 2012
March 11, 2012
April 26, 2012
May 24, 2012
June 16, 2012
October 7, 2012
November 3, 2012
April 1, 2013
May 30, 2013
August 7, 2013
September 4, 2013
November 21, 2013
December 16, 2013
January 25, 2014
March 9, 2014
April 1, 2014
April 28, 2014
July 10, 2014
August 9, 2014
Part I
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Part II
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Part III
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Epilogue
Also by Ella James
Teardrop Shot
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
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Breaking News
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Epilogue
Other sport romances by Tijan:
Acknowledgments
Love in Lingerie
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
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Epilogue
About Alessandra
Also by Alessandra
Also by Top Shelf Romance
Also by Top Shelf Romance
The romance genre is addictive.
We know you need another epic read, so start reading more of our collections today!
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Featuring: Tijan, Willow Winters, Corinne Michaels & Louise Bay
Need You Now
Featuring: Skye Warren, Annika Martin, Claire Contreras, Sierra Simone & Laurelin Paige
Promise Me Forever (Free with Kindle Unlimited)
Featuring: Kate Stewart, A. Zavarelli, Kennedy Ryan & BB Reid
Make Me Yours
Featuring: Devney Perry, Amo Jones, Chelle Bliss & K. Bromberg
Don’t Break This Kiss
Featuring: Jessica Hawkins, Kylie Scott, Marni Mann & Carrie Ann Ryan
Never Let Go (Free with Kindle Unlimited)
Featuring: Tijan, Kandi Steiner, Alessandra Torre & Ella James
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A Love Letter to Whiskey
By Kandi Steiner
To Sasha Whittington,
my very best friend and the only girl who loves the burn of whiskey just as much as I do,
This one’s for you.
One day, whether you are 14,
28,
or 65,
you will stumble upon somone who will start a fire in you that cannot die.
However, the saddest, most awful truth you will ever come to find—
is they are not always with whom we spend our lives.
—Beau Taplin
Prologue
Relapse
It’s crazy how fast the buzz comes back after you’ve been sober for so long.
I opened my door and felt tipsy just at the sight of him, eyes blurring and legs shaking. It used to take me at least a shot to get to this point, but my tolerance level had been weakened by distance and time, and just seeing him warmed my blood. I gripped the knob tighter, as if that’d help, but it was like trying to chug water after passing the point of no return.
Whiskey stood there, on my doorstep, just like he had one year before. Except this time, there was no rain, no anger, no wedding invitation — it was just us.
It was just him — the old friend, the easy smile, the twisted solace wrapped in a glittering bottle.
It was just me — the alcoholic, pretending like I didn’t want to taste him, realizing too quickly that months of being clean didn’t make me crave him any less.
But we can’t start here.
No, to tell this story right, we need to go back.
Back to the beginning.
Back to the very first drop.
Chapter 1
First Taste
The first time I tasted Whiskey, I fell flat on my face.
Literally.
I was drunk from the very first sip, and I guess that should have been my sign to stay away.
Jenna and I were running the trail around the lake near her house, sweat dripping into our eyes from the intense South Florida heat. It was early September, but in South Florida, it might as well have been July. There was no “boots and scarves” season, unless you counted the approximately six weeks in January and February where the temperature dropped below eighty degrees.
As it was, we were battling ninety-plus degrees, me trying to be a show off and prove I could keep up with Jenna’s cheerleading training program. She had finally made the varsity squad, and with that privilege came ridiculous standards she had to uphold. I hated running — absolutely loathed it. I would much rather have been on my surfboard that day. But fortunately for Jenna, she had a competitive best friend who never turned down a challenge. So when she asked me to train with her, I’d agreed eagerly, even knowing I’d have screaming ribs and calves by the end of the day.
I saw him first.
I was just a few steps ahead of Jenna, and I’d been staring down at my hot pink sneakers as they hit the concrete. When I looked up, he was about fifty feet away, and even from that distance I could tell I was in trouble. He seemed sort of average at first — brown hair, lean build, soaked white running shirt — but the closer he got, the more I realized just how edible he was. I noticed the shift in the muscles of his legs as he ran, the way his hair bounced slightly, how he pressed his lips together in concentration as he neared us.
I looked over my shoulder, attempting to waggle my eyebrows at Jenna and give her the secret best friend code for “hot guy up ahead,” but she had stopped to tie her shoes. And when I turned back around, it was too late.
I smacked into him — hard — and fell to the pavement, rolling a bit to soften the fall. He cursed and I groaned, more from embarrassment than pain. I wish I could say I gracefully picked myself up, smiled radiantly, and asked him for his number, but the truth is I lost the ability to do anything the minute I looked up at him.