by Ella Fields
I wasn’t immune to that kind of violence. I didn’t think I ever would be. But I respected that part of him, and I knew he got more than financial gain from it.
Perhaps one day, his need for that kind of release would fade some more. Maybe even completely.
But if it didn’t, I’d still be there, shining what light I could on my dark prince.
My dad set two beers down on the table with a thump, foam exploding from the top of the bottles as he eyed Thomas, then took a seat.
“How’s the new job going, Jem?”
I took a sip of water. “Good. It’s only part time, but …” Thomas took my hand in his and squeezed a little. “I think I can see myself staying there a while.”
Three months ago, I started a new job teaching third graders at a small school in Minnen, a neighboring town of Glenning. The very same school Hope and I had attended as kids.
There were only twelve children in my class, and I was job sharing with a woman who’d just returned from maternity leave, but I liked it.
And so did Lou, which is how I came to apply for a position there in the first place. Thomas had transferred her at the start of the new school year, and although she was upset over not seeing Rosie as often, the change was good for her, and she adjusted quickly.
“It’s gotta be like taking a trip down memory lane every day,” Dad commented with a smile. “Much nicer than that uppity place in the city anyway.”
“It is,” I agreed.
Dad set his sights on Thomas. “So what is it you do for a living again?”
“I run my own business,” Thomas said. “Dental surgery.”
I sawed into my steak, taking a bite and chewing slowly.
“How was the parade, Dad?” I asked to steal his glare away from Thomas.
Thomas didn’t seem to care and cut into his food with measured precision.
“The kids loved it. Raised a lot of money this year.” He took a sip of his beer. “It’d be great to have you attend once in a while. You don’t need to be a kid to enjoy it.”
“We’ll take Lou,” I told Thomas.
Thomas paused with his fork halfway to his mouth, then nodded.
I guess attending a parade thrown by local police departments wasn’t exactly high on his list of fun things to do. But reaching under the table, I squeezed his thigh for at least acting as though he’d do it.
“Lou? Is that the daughter Jem was telling me about?”
I grinned as a smile transformed Thomas’s neutral features. “It is.” He paused, seeming to weigh his next words. “She’s excited to meet you.”
My dad stammered around the smile he tried to hold back. “She … yeah? Bring her over next time.”
Lowering my grin to my plate, I focused on eating, all the while wondering how Thomas could win my dad over, even just a little bit, without even trying.
Word never got back to my dad about my visits to Lilyglade’s police department. I suspected the employees were told to keep their traps shut, and I knew Beau had his friend hack into their database to wipe any evidence.
The conversation turned to Lou, Thomas telling Dad about her upcoming piano recital, and then turned to football as it just so happened a game was on in an hour. Thomas wasn’t interested in sports, other than swimming, but he knew enough to humor my dad.
I could tell he’d reached his limit when he placed his cutlery down and gently pushed his plate away. “Thank you, it was delicious.”
My dad nodded, acting as though he thought nothing of it. But even though he knew his steak was always overdone and his mashed potatoes too runny, I knew he appreciated it.
“While I’m here, I’d like to ask your blessing for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”
My hand almost missed the table as I set my glass back down.
My dad’s eyes widened, his brows gathering as he rubbed his chin. Seconds dragged into a minute. Then finally, he said, “Are you going to ask her anyway?”
“Of course.”
Dad bobbed his head side to side. “I like your honesty.” He looked at me. “You want to marry this one? For real this time?”
I looked at Tom. “Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
I gave my eyes back to Dad. “Yes.”
“Has he asked you?”
“At least once a month for the past six months.”
Dad’s eyes bulged even more, and his gaze swung to Thomas before he shook his head in disbelief. “Right. Well, shit. Don’t let me stop you.”
I took our plates to the kitchen and scraped them clean as Thomas listened to Dad prattle on about some of the livestock he’d had trouble with lately, and some more about the previous week’s game.
Spying on them through the little window, I saw Thomas nod and heard him say one-word responses at all the right moments.
It wasn’t until I was stacking plates in the dishwasher that I heard Dad say, “Say, what’s your last name? I could’ve sworn I’d met you before.”
“Verrone.”
Shit.
“Huh.” A pause, then, “Were you related to the family who used to live here in Glenning?”
Thomas didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I’m their son.”
Double shit.
I ditched the plates and raced back into the dining room where the sound of crickets could be heard above the two men staring at each other. “It’s been so great to see you, Dad. We need to go—”
“Wait a damn minute,” he said, pushing his chair back and standing. “You live at the abandoned place next door?”
“It was never abandoned,” Thomas said, rising slowly and buttoning his suit jacket.
My dad’s mouth opened and closed, and I knew it was due to him not knowing what to say. If he said too much, he’d have to admit too much to me and possibly to himself.
So, he snapped it shut and let me kiss him on the cheek. He even shook Thomas’s offered hand before we raced down the porch steps and headed for the trees.
“Dove, the car is back that way.”
“We’ll get it later.”
We made it to the tree line before I couldn’t hold it in anymore, and I doubled over, laughter pouring out of me. The sound of Thomas letting his own free had my head rising, and I took his hand, dragging him inside the woods. “He liked you.”
He grinned. “For a few minutes.”
I swiped beneath my eyes, still smiling. “That’s longer than he’s given anyone else.”
Thomas shrugged, pulling me in the other direction. “I don’t care.”
“No?” I frowned.
“No. Because now”—he stopped and dropped my hand to retrieve the ring I knew he’d been keeping in his jacket pocket for months—“I can finally see you in this.”
Three clustered diamonds shimmered beneath the glow of the moon and stars. Small, elegant, and … “It’s stunning.”
“Marry me, Jemima Dianne Clayton.” Our eyes locked. “Marry me because even though it will be hard at times, I promise you’ll never once regret it.”
“Put it on, Thomas Antonio Verrone,” I whispered.
With gentleness that set every nerve ending aflame, he took my hand and slid the ring into place.
His lips stretched into a satisfied smile, and pulling me closer, he lifted my hand to kiss it. “It’s not worthy of your finger, but I’m starving to see you wearing this and this only.”
I hummed and took a step back.
With curious eyes, Thomas watched me lift my dress over my head.
When I unclipped my bra, dropping it to the dirt, he found his voice. “What are you doing?”
“Wearing the ring only,” I said while shimmying my panties down my legs.
He looked around at the trees, then snapped into action.
His jacket was first to go, and he didn’t even get his pants all the way down before I hauled him to me and took his mouth.
His hands were everywhere as his tongue slid over mine. Up my back, holding my breasts, framing my face, and the
n finally, they settled on my stomach, and he carefully spun me around.
He moved my hair aside, his hardness pressing into my lower back. “So not only does our baby make you feisty, but he makes you daring, too.”
We’d found out I was pregnant two months ago when I’d made plans to go back onto the pill and taken a pregnancy test first. It was early; I was six weeks along at most when we’d found out, but the look of pure, unbridled joy on Thomas’s face erased any worries I had.
He’d already ordered nursery furniture and informed his clients he’d be taking a leave of absence for six months after he or she arrived.
“He?” I sighed as his lips moved down my neck, sucking and licking.
“He,” he stated with that unnerving confidence.
Before I could press him more, a hand snuck between my legs, and my thighs shook as they opened.
“I love you,” he murmured, lips hot on my shoulder as he slid his fingers through me, then raised them to his mouth.
My legs almost buckled, my need for him too strong to keep standing.
And with the stars, the trees, and the glowing eyes of wildlife watching us, he lowered me to the ground and settled between my thighs.
“Monster,” I said on a sharp inhale when he pushed inside.
“Mmm?” He moved my legs behind him, then cradled my head in his hand.
“Give me your eyes.” The day I’d almost lost something I never knew I’d need so fiercely was permanently etched in the center of my heart, and on bad nights, the memory turned dreams into nightmares.
After a few nights of Thomas holding me to him as I woke drenched in fear and sweat, I’d told him about it. That I feared what might happen if I couldn’t see them, see him.
“After,” he’d murmured to me then, just as he did now. “No end, Little Dove. Only always.”
In the place where I first saw him with the eyes of a girl, in the place where fate first threaded my soul to his, I took his face. I took it and held it with the hands of a woman as he made love to me beneath a blanket of winking stars, and I wished for nothing.
Regretted nothing.
Not when every step I’d taken, every good and bad decision I’d made, brought me to him.
To my dark prince, my monster, and my after.
The End
Frayed Silk
Cyanide
Corrode
GRAY SPRINGS UNIVERSITY:
Suddenly Forbidden
Bittersweet Always
Pretty Venom
Ella Fields is a mother and wife who lives in Australia.
While her kids are in school, you might find her talking about her characters to her cat, Bert, and dog, Grub.
She’s a notorious chocolate and notebook hoarder who enjoys creating hard-won happily ever afters.
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I almost didn’t write these. I worry I sound like a broken record every time, so I’ll keep this short.
My husband and children. Thank you for putting up with a crazier than usual wife and mother while I battled crippling indecision over this book.
My beta readers. Michelle, Allie, Lauren, Brynne, and Serena. Thank you for the encouragement, your time, feedback, and love for this story. I love you all.
Brynne. You needed a paragraph, and you know it. I can’t thank you enough for the time, care, and every slice of information and feedback you gave me. The fact you beta read this book like a boss while you were insanely busy and most would’ve said no, including myself, makes me want to weep with gratitude. Anything you need, I’m all yours, baby.
Michelle. Thank you for reading this story countless times and still loving it just as much, if not more, than me. Even if you didn’t, you’d still be one of my greatest loves. Thank you for all you do for me.
Lucia. Thanks for being the Lucia to my Ella and fact checking mafia stuff with your hubby. Here’s to being the best kind of assholes.
Allison. Thanks so much for being an extra pair of eyes.
The rest of my amazing team. Sarah Hansen, Jenny Sims, Stacey Blake, Nina Grinstead, and Sarah Grim Sentz. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of women to work with.
And my readers. Writing these quirky and kinda crazy stories is so much of my heart, and therefore, you guys are the ones who help nourish it. Thank you for taking a chance on something different and for following me wherever I take you. You’ll never know how much that trust means to me.