by HELEN HARDT
I’m sated, so sated, enrobed in warmth and contentment, my body and heart full, so full.
Something warm touches my forehead, and though I’m still awash in alpha waves and that dreamlike state right before awakening, I open my eyes.
It’s a bright ray from the sun streaming through the smallest opening between the drapes.
Where am I?
Right. The Carlton Hotel. With Dale.
I smile and close my eyes once more, letting one hand wander to the other side of the bed. I want to touch his skin again, pull him toward me and make love.
God. Last night.
After the second time, we rolled over to rest a little before beginning again.
Except again never came.
We fell asleep, our toes touching.
When my hand finds nothing, I stretch my leg, searching for his feet.
Then I sit up abruptly.
He’s gone. Dale is gone.
He’s probably just in the bathroom. After all, he swore he’d use me until I couldn’t move. So we fell asleep. We fucked hard twice. He was no doubt exhausted. We’ll finish this morning.
I rise from the bed and pad toward the bathroom. The door is closed, so I knock. “Dale?”
No answer. I turn the knob slowly and open the door.
“Dale?” I say again.
Okay. He went down to the lobby to get coffee.
Except a coffee machine sits in the room, blaring at me like an ambulance siren.
I scan the room.
His clothes. Gone.
His key fob. Gone.
Dale.
Gone.
Only then do I see the hundred-dollar bills on the night table. Two of them, along with a note scribbled on the hotel notepad.
This will get you back to the ranch. Take today off.
* * *
Dale
Money left on the nightstand.
So fucking cliché.
I should be angry.
I’m not.
I should be hurt.
I’m not.
I should be disappointed.
I’m not.
Oh, I will be.
I’ll be all of those things, and soon.
But not now.
For once, all my senses are silent, and I’m an empty shell.
Now, I’m only numb.
Numb…and in love.
Epilogue
Dale
The sun rises over the Rockies and casts light on my vines.
I won’t stay long.
I have to get home to feed Penny and let her out.
But for a moment, this is where I need to be.
Away from the chaos.
Away from the fear.
I let her in.
I fucking let her in.
What’s worse? She let me in.
Now, I have to hurt her, and though I’d rather burn in flames from the inside out than hurt Ashley White—the woman I love—I have no choice. It can’t be avoided. Once you’re steering toward the cliff, it’s too late to stop the catastrophe.
She awakened me.
Made me want something I have no business wanting, made me want to confront the demons hiding somewhere inside me.
She awakened emotions left dormant for decades.
And though it led to the best and most profound moment of my life, the price is too high. Far too high.
For I know the truth. The problem with letting the good out is that the bad must come along for the ride. There’s no escape.
The monster inside me is loose now. Loose in the midst of the chaos.
And I’m on that ride into hell.
Continue reading the Steel Brothers Saga with Book Seventeen
Coming March 23, 2021!
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* * *
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Message from Helen Hardt
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Awakened. If you want to find out about my current backlist and future releases, please like my Facebook page and join my mailing list: http://helenhardt.com/signup/. I often do giveaways. If you’re a fan and would like to join my street team to help spread the word about my books, you can do so here. I regularly do awesome giveaways for my street team members.
If you enjoyed the story, please take the time to leave a review on a site like Amazon or Goodreads. I welcome all feedback.
I wish you all the best!
Helen
Also By Helen Hardt
The Steel Brothers Saga:
Craving
Obsession
Possession
Melt
Burn
Surrender
Shattered
Twisted
Unraveled
Breathless
Ravenous
Insatiable
Fate
Legacy
Descent
Awakened
Cherished
Freed
* * *
Blood Bond Saga:
Unchained: Volume One
Unhinged: Volume Two
Undaunted: Volume Three
Unmasked: Volume Four
Undefeated: Volume Five
* * *
Misadventures:
Misadventures of a Good Wife (with Meredith Wild)
Misadventures with a Rock Star
* * *
The Temptation Saga:
Tempting Dusty
Teasing Annie
Taking Catie
Taming Angelina
Treasuring Amber
Trusting Sydney
Tantalizing Maria
* * *
The Sex and the Season Series:
Lily and the Duke
Rose in Bloom
Lady Alexandra’s Lover
Sophie’s Voice
* * *
Daughters of the Prairie:
The Outlaw’s Angel
Lessons of the Heart
Song of the Raven
* * *
The Cougar Chronicles:
The Cowboy and the Cougar
Calendar Boy
* * *
Collections:
Destination Desire
Her Two Lovers
* * *
Non-Fiction:
got style?
Acknowledgments
When I was in high school in 1980, Teri DeSario and K.C. released a pop song called “Yes, I’m ready.” I didn’t know it at the time, but it was a cover of a track released in 1965 by Barbara Mason. It tells the story of two people who fall in love but don’t know how to love each other. When I created the story of Dale and Ashley, this song played in my mind. Dale, the loner, who has limited experience with women because of his past, knows how to do the deed but not how to do the little things. Ashley, a young woman with a lot of sexual experience, doesn’t know how to love a man like Dale, who’s so different from what she’s used to. Yet they fall in love, and though they haven’t quite learned how to love each other yet, they will.
I loved writing this story. Sometimes, a story rushes out almost on its own. Craving was like that. So was Breathless. And now Awakened. Ashley and Dale flew out of my fingers and onto the pages with such ease. This doesn’t happen often, and I embrace it when it does. There are a few parallels with the original Steels, Talon and Jade, but Dale and Ashley’s story is very much their own.
Awakened means a lot to me for another reason as well. This is the last book that benefited my from personal editor, Celina Summers. Celina passed away suddenly mere weeks ago, and I already miss her. She was a gifted writer and editor, and she had a hand in nearly all my books since 2009. I learned a lot from her, and she’s a light gone from this world too soon. Thank you for everything, Celina. May you rest in peace.
Huge thanks to the always brilliant team at Waterhouse Press: Jennifer Becker, Audrey Bobak, Haley Boudreaux, Keli Jo Chen, Yvonne Ellis, Jesse Kench, R
obyn Lee, Jon Mac, Amber Maxwell, Dave McInerney, Michele Hamner Moore, Chrissie Saunders, Scott Saunders, Kurt Vachon, and Meredith Wild.
Thanks also to the women and men of Hardt and Soul. Your endless and unwavering support keeps me going.
To my family and friends, thank you for your encouragement. Special shout out to Dean—aka Mr. Hardt—and our amazing sons, Eric and Grant.
Thank you most of all to my readers. Without you, none of this would be possible.
Dale and Ashley will return soon in Cherished.
About Helen Hardt
#1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Helen Hardt’s passion for the written word began with the books her mother read to her at bedtime. She wrote her first story at age six and hasn’t stopped since. In addition to being an award-winning author of romantic fiction, she’s a mother, an attorney, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an appreciator of fine red wine, and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She writes from her home in Colorado, where she lives with her family. Helen loves to hear from readers.
For more information, please follow Helen Hardt at:
www.HelenHardt.com