Then There Was You: A Single Parent Collection

by Gianna Gabriela

  Her eyes darted to the side when a set of headlights swung toward the front of the cottage. Cursing softly, she grabbed her bag and hauled ass toward the door. Opening it up, she took a moment to look at everything inside, her gaze lingering on Hunter’s bedroom door for a moment. Stepping outside, she closed the door and got into the car.

  “The airport, is it?” the driver asked.

  “Please.”

  Two months later…

  Ava leaned closer to the passenger window, taking in the sight of the main house. Just a little farther and the house would reveal the secret cottage at its rear. She hadn’t seen or spoken to Hunter since she left here in a cab two months ago. Two months. Two agonizing months where she longed for Hunter like she’d never longed for anything in her whole life. At university and med school, she was driven, yes, but never so focused on the goal that everything else disappeared. Hunter did that to her.

  She’d had to return to Seattle to get her affairs in order, drafting her resignation letter and giving it to her boss. He’d asked if she was sure, what she’d do. With a smile, she’d told him she was going to do some philanthropic work for a while before settling into another surgical position on the east coast. Ava sold her apartment, sold her car. Putting her furniture in storage temporarily, she packed what was left of her clothes and got on a plane.

  And now, she was here.

  Home.

  She was suddenly nervous. What if Hunter didn’t want her back? She’d just left him without leaving a note. The only consolation was he knew she was leaving; he just hadn’t known when. The driver pulled to a stop and looked behind him.

  “That’ll be one-hundred and fifty all up.”

  She pulled out the money and handed it to him before opening up her door. He got out too, rounding to the back of the car to open up the trunk and retrieve her luggage.

  “Good luck, lady,” he said, getting back into the driver’s seat and reversing back down the drive.

  Ava turned to look at the cottage, noticing how the railings were freshly painted and in good repair. It even looked as if the door had a fresh coat of varnish and new curtains were hanging in the windows. Leaving her bags, she walked up the porch steps slowly.

  Her heart was pounding under her ribs as she reached up and knocked. There was a squeal of happiness, followed by a female voice. Casey must’ve been looking after Grace. She couldn’t wait to see that little girl again.

  The knob twisted and Ava felt the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. That smile vanished, however, when an unfamiliar female stared back at her.

  “Hi. Can I help you?” She bounced Grace on her hip as she waited for Ava to find her tongue.

  “Ah...no. Sorry. I think I got the wrong address.” She turned around, eyes downcast. She was too late, it seemed. Hunter must’ve found someone else when she up and left him. She couldn’t blame him—not really.

  “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” someone said.

  Ava’s head jerked up, her gaze settling on Hunter “I’m sorry.” They were the only words she could think to say. “I’ll go.”

  As she walked past him, he reached out and pulled her to a stop. “Where are you going?”

  Without looking at him, she mumbled, “I made a mistake.”

  “Leaving without saying goodbye to me? Yeah, you’re damn right you made a mistake.” He tugged her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. She blinked, unsure what the hell was going on.

  “I’ve missed you, Ava,” he murmured, leaning in and gently kissing her on the mouth.

  When he pulled back, she stammered, “Wh-what about her?”

  “Who?”

  She turned to look at the cottage, at the female standing on the porch with a smile on her face as she looked at them both. “Her.”

  Hunter’s eyes drifted over her head, a grin forming. “Oh, I see you’ve met my cousin, Louise. She comes over a few times a week to look after Gracey while I take care of pack business.”

  Her eyes widened. “You got help?”

  He nodded. “It took me a while to figure it out, but yeah.”

  “That’s great, Hunter. Really.”

  “You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.” His eyes slid down to her suitcases. “With a lot of stuff.”

  “I don’t know,” she replied softly.

  “Yes, you do, Ava. Did you come back to me?”

  She smiled gently. “I came home.”

  About the Author

  Lauren Dawes is an urban fantasy/paranormal romance writer and the author of the Half Blood Trilogy and the Dark Series. She likes her vampires dangerous, her werewolves vicious and her Norse gods ruthless.

  When she’s not writing, she’s reading, hanging with her young daughter or designing book covers. She currently lives in Canberra, Australia.

  Feel like stalking me?

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  RESISTING RAYNE

  HL Nighbor

  1

  Travis

  “I can’t believe you talked me into this, Cass.” If she hadn’t begged me and I didn’t already owe her a million favors, I wouldn’t have agreed. “What’s the point of this exactly?”

  “I told you, Travis,” frustration evident in her voice. “Stranger shoots are all the rage right now. You put two strangers together and place them in front of the camera in intimate situations. Then you watch the magic happen. Kevin’s doing a web series for the magazine on the subject and I’m the photographer assigned. You should know this, since you were there when we pitched the idea.”

  As CEO of Emerald City Corp, one of the nation’s largest media conglomerates, I find it hard to keep track of every idea pitched. Between the magazine, both web and print, and the numerous publishing houses, pitches happen all the time and keeping track proves difficult, especially now, with Riley in my life.

  “I know. I know. At the time, I didn’t realize my pictures would be the ones being used. I own the company and prefer to stay behind the scenes,” I grumble, sounding like a petulant child.

  This is not my idea of fun.

  “Buck it up. My first choice backed out and that leaves you. And please, don’t be an asshole.” Before Cassidy can continue to scold me, the sound of tires crunch on the gravel driveway and she claps her hands in excitement. “Perfect, she’s here. This will be over before you know it.”

  I direct my gaze to the woman I’ll be shooting with and I’m struck speechless.

  This may be easier for me than I originally expected.

  The woman walking toward me personifies sex. Silky, black hair grazes her shoulders and provides a striking contrast to her porcelain skin. Her sinful body sends all blood flow to my dick, barely able to be contained behind the zipper of my jeans.

  Lush.

  Curvy.

  Perfection.

  A body I would love to explore all day and night.

  “Did you have any trouble finding the place?” Cassidy’s question pulls me from the obscene thoughts running through my mind. “I know it’s in the middle of nowhere, but the setting’s perfect for my image of this shoot.”

  I couldn’t agree more, since I own the place.

  “I didn’t have any problems.” Her raspy, slightly accented voice sends lust south, not helping the situation in my pants. “I’m familiar with the area.”

  She could read the phone book and I still wouldn’t get tired of listening to her talk.

  “That’s great. Let’s make some quick introductions and we’ll get started.” Cassidy nudges my side with her shoulder. “Rayne, this is Travis.”

  I extend my hand in her direction. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  She places her hand into mine and electricity shoots through my body. “It’s nice to meet you too.” Releasing her hold, a slight frown appears on her lips.

  Did she feel it too?

  “Let me explain how this shoot will go.” Cassidy hooks her elbow
through mine, walking toward the back of the house. “We’ll kick the shoot off with some basic shots as you warm up to each other. After those, we will switch to shooting in the pool. Does this sound good to you, Rayne?”

  “Uhm… I’m sorry.” Rayne stands there with a puzzled expression, staring at where Cassidy’s arm’s looped through mine. “I completely missed everything you said. Isn’t this going to be weird for you guys? You know… uh… being a couple and all.”

  Is that jealousy or discomfort I detect?

  “Oh, this?” Cassidy nods toward our linked arms. “We’re best friends. Nothing more.”

  Relief crosses Rayne’s face as Cassidy repeats her previous instructions and then elaborates. “I’ll throw a few prompts and suggestions at you. Roll with it and have fun. Pretend you’ve known each other for years and lower your inhibitions. At first, it may be awkward, but you’ll get the hang of it, I promise.”

  Rayne turns her head in my direction and for the first time, I get a clear view of her features and I gasp. Gorgeous smoky violet eyes stare back at me.

  I’ve never seen anything like them.

  Caught staring, I quickly offer up an explanation. “I’m sorry. I’m awestruck by your eyes. Are they real?”

  “I get asked that all the time. Honestly, it gets old.” Rayne rolls her beautiful orbs at my question and her voice fills with irritation. “I’m not wearing contacts. They’re actually a strange blue color, but…”

  “No,” I cut her off. “They’re not strange, but beautiful and unique. They remind me of the exotic purple in an after-market duo chrome paint job on a high-end sportscar.”

  What the fuck word vomit did I spew just then?

  I sounded like a lovesick idiot.

  The annoyance washes from Rayne’s face, and her expression softens.

  “Thank you… uhm… I think.” She ducks her head and her shoulders shake slightly.

  Oh fuck. Is she crying?

  Great, Travis. You’ve offended her now.

  I lift Rayne’s chin to offer my apologies. Sure enough, tears run down her face, but not from crying.

  Nope.

  The little vixen’s laughing at me.

  “Oh. I see how it is.” I raise an eyebrow in question.

  “I’ve just… never… I mean nobody ever…” Rayne chokes on her words through laughter. “I’ve never heard my eyes described quite like that before.” Her laughter gets louder with her final words. “It’s sweet… mmm… really.”

  Great. I was going for suave and smooth, not funny.

  Can I fuck this up anymore?

  Camera poised, Cassidy whispers loudly, “Wow, Travis. Is she mocking you?” She clicks her tongue and shakes her head. “Hmm… I bet she’s ticklish. Maybe you need to give her something to laugh about?”

  “Good idea, Cass,” Mentally thanking Cassidy for the suggestion, I focus my attention to Rayne. “You find me funny, huh?” She shakes her head, eyes wide.

  I take a step in Rayne’s direction, wiggling my fingers on the approach, and she takes one back. Taking another large step, my hands lower to her waist and I launch into a tickle assault.

  “No. No.” Her pleas can barely be recognized over her giggles. “I’ll stop laughing at you, I promise.” She breaks free from my hold and darts behind the loveseat on the patio.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” I circle slowly to the right and she moves left, keeping the piece of furniture between us. “I will catch you and when I do, you’ll be in real trouble.”

  We continue the pattern of rotating around the loveseat. Her eyes calculating an escape plan with every step. When her gaze lingers too long in one direction, I prepare for her to run. She makes a break for it and manages to get five steps before I catch up and throw her over my shoulder.

  Cassidy did say to let our inhibitions down and roll with it, right?

  “Caught ya.” I hold on to her tightly with one arm as I proceed to resume tickling her with my other. “Say uncle and I’ll put you down.”

  “What are we… five?” She ramps up her squirming, making it more difficult to keep my hold without dropping her. “No. I won’t say it. I’ll never admit defeat.”

  “I guess I can toss you into the pool instead.” I walk toward the edge and position both hands on her waist, ready to lift and toss her in.

  “Okay. Okay. I’ll say it,” Rayne screams in panic. “You win. Uncle. Uncle.”

  I slide her off my shoulder and down the front of my body. Sparks ignite along every inch she presses against me. Once her feet are firmly planted on the ground, she rests her forehead against my chest, gasping to catch her breath.

  What the fuck’s going on?

  Now, that I’ve touched her, I can’t seem to let her go.

  Rayne

  I take a moment to compose myself. When I can finally breathe again, I raise my head and stare back into a pair of deep blue eyes, full of heat and lust.

  “Sorry. You’re a mess.” Travis gently wipes under my eyes with his fingers. “Your make-up is a little smudged.”

  My breath hitches at the intimacy of the act.

  Sweet Jesus, the things this man does to my body.

  I already need a cold shower and we’ve barely gotten started.

  “It’s fine. I was going to have to take it off before we got into the pool anyway.” Taking Cassidy’s directions to heart, I raise my hands and place them on Travis’s chest.

  With a growl, he pulls my body a hair’s width from his. “But still so beautiful.”

  “You’re not bad yourself, Travis.” I decide to lay my cards on the table.

  Everything about this man does it for me.

  Deep, alluring voice. Check.

  Closely shaved facial hair. Check.

  Tall, tone body; muscular but not bulky. Check.

  Medium brown hair flecked with silver at the temples. Check.

  “This shoot appears like it may not be too bad after all.” Travis admits, unashamed. “To be honest, when Cassidy called me to step in for the guy who backed out, I fought hard. I was still complaining when you pulled up.”

  “Do you always tell it like it is?” I ask, trying to get a read on this beautiful man with his arms still wrapped around me.

  “Always.” He pulls my body toward him until every inch of my front presses against his.

  “I must admit, your honesty’s refreshing.” I allow my body to lean into his and drape my arms over his shoulders.

  “At my age, I don’t have time for games. Not with my company and definitely not with my personal life.” His hand lightly strokes my back, leaving behind a trail of tingles.

  “I agree.” Intrigued by this man, I continue with my game of twenty questions. “What do you do for work?”

  He abruptly dips me back over the pool and I hold on to him for dear life. When he pulls me back up, a naughty smirk plays across his face.

  Holy shit. Travis defines trouble.

  “Let’s talk about the boring stuff later.” He skillfully dodges the question, and I let him. “I want to talk about the important things, like are you in a relationship with anyone?”

  “Nope and I’m assuming the same’s true for you or you wouldn’t be asking.” My flirty response garners a deep chuckle from him.

  “No, ma’am. Very much single.” Without a word, he swoops me into his arms bridal style and carries me over to the loveseat we ran around a few minutes ago like children.

  “Whoa.” I’m surprised when he sets me on his lap. “What are you doing?”

  I remember Cassidy’s words.

  Go with it, Rayne.

  Be honest with yourself. You want to be here in his lap, touching him.

  “This would be called getting to know you.” He shifts me slightly into a more comfortable position and I relax into him. “I mean, you’re going to see me practically naked in a few minutes. I want to know a little more about the woman who’s going to have her hands all over me.”

  Why does that sound
so dirty?

  And, oh so, delicious?

  “You make it sound like I’ll be pawing at you.” I brush my hair behind my ears. “How do I know it won’t be you who can’t keep his hands to himself, huh?”

  “I’m not denying it for one moment, honey.” His voice deepens as he whispers his next words. “And I’m going to enjoy every moment of it too.”

  A dip in the pool sounds real nice right now. Anything to cool off my libido and get some distance from Mr. Charming.

  I attempt to climb off Travis’s lap, but he places me back where he wants me. “Not letting you up yet. I’m not finished getting to know my co-model. Let’s continue. How old are you?”

  “You first.” I flip the question to try to wrangle back some control.

  I can’t control my body’s reaction, but I can attempt to lead the conversation.

  “Thirty-eight.” He casually places his hand on my upper thigh and gives it a little squeeze. “I’m guessing you’re around twenty-seven. Am I right?”

  Can someone say silver fox? Yum.

  Older men have always done it for me. There’s something about the touch of gray and their life experience that can get my libido revved from zero to sixty in no time.

  “Close. I’m twenty-four.” I watch his expression to see if there is any hesitation after revealing my age. If he finds issue with it, he doesn’t show it. “What else would you like to know?”

  “What do you…” His next question dies off as we both notice Cassidy standing next to us.

  Shit.

  I got so wrapped up in Travis I forgot all about today’s purpose and the fact someone else’s here with us.

  “Wow, guys! You did great!” Cassidy stares at her camera’s display and cycles through pictures. “I got some fantastic shots. We’re ready to take this to the pool. Unless, you need more time for…” She trails off as she waves her hands back and forth between us, with a smirk, as if something scandalous is going on.