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    An Emerald Heart
    An Emerald Heart
    An Emerald Heart
    Ebook50 pages43 minutes

    An Emerald Heart

    By Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

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    About this ebook

    Dr. Maya Sheppard adores her green-eyed lover, Irish history professor Ashton O'Neill, and the sex is the best she's ever known. She's deep in lust with him, and she adores his storybook house with amazing gardens. But Maya isn't sure they have much of a future anywhere except between the sheets.

    Ash, however, has become more than just her passion and when she arrives unannounced to find a stranger in his house. Maya soon realizes there's much more to the man than she ever imagined. Unexpected events draw the pair closer together and with any luck at all, Maya just might realize the kind of love she's dreamed about all her life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEvernight Publishing
    Release dateOct 13, 2012
    ISBN9781771301411
    An Emerald Heart
    Author

    Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

    Growing up in historic St. Joseph, Missouri, Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy scribbled her stories from an early age. Her first publication – a poem on the children’s page of the local newspaper – seems to have set her fate. As a full time author, she has more than twenty full length novels published along with assorted novellas and short fiction. A contributor to more than two dozen anthologies, her credits include Chicken Soup For The Soul among many collections of short fiction. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Missouri Writers Guild, and the Ozark Writers League. Lee Ann earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Missouri Southern State University as well as an Associate Degree from Crowder College. She has worked in broadcasting, retail, and other fields including education. She is currently a substitute school teacher. As a wife and mother of three, she spends her days penning stories, cooking, reading, and other daily duties. She currently makes her home in the Missouri Ozarks, living in what passes for suburbs in a small town.

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      Book preview

      An Emerald Heart - Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

      Published by Evernight Publishing at Smashwords

      www.evernightpublishing.com

      Copyright© 2012 Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

      ISBN: 978-1-77130-141-1

      Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

      Editor: JC Chute

      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

      WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

      This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      DEDICATION

      For all the Irishman I've known and loved, especially the O'Hara brothers, Tony and Patrick (Patsy). Cuimhnigh i gconai!

      AN EMERALD HEART

      Romance on the Go

      Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

      Copyright © 2012

      Chapter One

      Ash’s eyes, green as a jungle cat’s, intrigued Maya from the first time he answered her gaze with his. He moved with a tiger’s prowl: lethal and luscious, powerful and proud. As she watched him stroll across the broad grassy expanse between the campus buildings one spring afternoon, Maya yearned for him in the most basic way. Her imagination conjured up images of him, naked and willing, with his long legs wrapped around hers on satin sheets––or maybe a bearskin rug before the fireplace––at his vintage home on Galewood Street in Sherman Oaks. The Advanced American Literature textbook in her lap fell to the ground as she strained to catch a glimpse of his thumbs. They were one of her favorite things about him, because the old wives’ tale proved quite true. Ash boasted large hands with sizeable thumbs, and his cock matched it, making him a lover of considerable talent. And Maya knew her addiction to Ash and the intimacy they shared was real.

      Dr. Sheppard?

      The voice cut through her wanton thoughts and brought her back to reality. Yes? One of her students stood a few paces away.

      I wondered if I could talk to you about Nathaniel Hawthorne and my thesis, the young woman said. "There’s some stuff I don’t get about The Scarlet Letter."

      Sure, Maya said. She remained distracted until Ash vanished beyond the trees nearest the faculty parking lot. He must be leaving … but I thought he had one more class session. And I thought we’d make plans. Make an appointment with the department secretary.

      Disappointment soured the student’s expression. I thought maybe we could talk now.

      Maya retrieved the textbook and gathered up her other things. I’m sorry, she said. I’m running late and I don’t have the free time … but I’ll be happy to talk with you later.

      Her final class of the day met on the third floor of Alexander Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus. She climbed the steep, narrow stairs and arrived at the classroom door at exactly three o’clock, breathless, but not from the climb. Her daydreams involving Ash––Dr. Ashton O’Neill––often left her winded. Maya didn’t want to lecture about 19th Century poets like Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. She’d rather describe Ash’s emerald eyes or his lean, muscular body. It would be so easy to spend the entire class period talking about his voice, the deep, husky tone with the richness of the best Irish whiskey, flavored with just enough of a brogue to add a musical sweetness. At thirty-one years old, Maya wasn’t sure if she

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