by Amelia Wilde
They walked far enough away that they could watch the carrier, but far enough that Sneaky couldn’t hear them talking. She hoped the rabbit knew he was safe and home now. She knew for herself that that feeling of coming home couldn’t compare.
Anthony kissed her temple as she leaned against him. They didn’t say anything, just stood there, watching, the sounds of the forest filtering around them. It was such a peaceful moment that Thea never wanted it to end.
After Anthony had gone to her art show and they’d gotten back together, they’d lived apart until the last week, when Thea had moved down to Seattle. Anthony had offered to move to Fair Haven, but Thea knew he couldn’t run his new publishing company from the small town. She also knew that she needed a fresh start.
They’d moved into a gorgeous three-bedroom bungalow just west of the city proper, and Thea had fallen in love with it as much as she’d fallen for Anthony himself.
“Did I tell you that Rebecca got another publisher wanting my graphic novel?” whispered Thea. Sneaky still hadn’t emerged from his carrier. “That’s four places now.”
“Five, counting me.”
“Oh yes, of course. How could I forget?” She grinned up at him, which just earned her a smacking kiss along with a pinched butt cheek.
Anthony had embraced his new company with a fervor Thea could only have expected from the former owner and CEO of Bertram, Sons, and Co. But this time, he knew that the company came second to his relationship, and he showed Thea how much he loved her every single day. Sometimes it was simply a goodbye kiss when he went into his newly rented office space. Sometimes it was a bouquet of flowers when he returned home. And sometimes it was simply the way he whispered I love you before he slid inside her, reclaiming not just her heart, but her very soul.
“Oh, look! Look!” Thea elbowed Anthony as Sneaky poked his nose out of the carrier. She held her breath, and in the blink of an eye, Sneaky stepped out of the carrier and darted into the woods.
Thea sniffled. “I’ll miss him,” she admitted. Her eyes lit up. “We should get a rabbit! A pet one this time.”
“I thought you wanted a dog?”
“We can get a dog and a rabbit.”
“I have another animal in mind,” he said, his voice turning low and seductive.
Thea raised her eyebrows as he embraced her. “Do I want to know?”
“I’m thinking along the lines of something that starts with a C—”
“Chicken? Cow?”
Growling, he pushed her up against the nearest tree, and she could feel how hard he was already. As she rubbed him through his jeans, she added, “Cat? Chameleon? Look, Anthony, there are so many animals that start with the letter C.”
He kissed her throat, licking her skin before biting down between her neck and shoulder.
“Camel?” she guessed. “No, wait, we should get a capybara—”
“Thea, do you want me to put you over my knee and spank you?” His eyes gleamed.
“Is it bad that I don’t want to say no?”
He swooped down and kissed her, and she laughed before the laugh transformed into a moan. She tugged at his shirt, wanting to feel the warmth and strength of his muscles. His tongue glided into her mouth before he began to suck her lower lip.
She gasped for breath when he pulled up her shirt to kiss the tops of her breasts. “Cougar? Cheetah? Katydid?”
“Katydid starts with a K,” he said as he sucked her nipple through her bra.
“Oh God, how can you remember how to spell things at a time like this?”
She pulled his shirt over his head as he unhooked her bra, and then they were kissing like maniacs outside in the forest. Soon he was unbuckling his belt, but not before he touched her, making her wet and desperate. He groaned as he felt how ready she was for him already.
After they got the necessary clothing out of the way, Anthony picked her up until her legs wrapped around his waist. Thea was absurdly glad that she’d gone on the Pill two months ago so they didn’t have to worry about a pesky condom. Then again, she was so stupidly in love with this man that getting pregnant sounded rather wonderful.
Anthony pushed inside her, making Thea’s head thunk back onto the tree trunk at the sensation of his hard cock sliding into her.
“So I guess you wanted a cock?” she joked, but it soon turned into a loud moan.
“I always knew you were perceptive.” His eyes gleamed.
“You’re so smug, why do I put up with you—” He started moving faster, and she lost her train of thought. He could be as smug as he wanted right now. She didn’t even care. “Oh my God, don’t stop, don’t stop.”
He didn’t stop. His fingers dug into her hips as he filled her, the tree shaking and raining leaves down around them with each thrust. Thea clutched at him, kissing his chest, her release expanding inside her until she came so hard that she saw stars. She screamed Anthony’s name right as he came, too, and they just held each other for a long moment as they panted and their bodies calmed.
Anthony gently set Thea on the ground, although she was fairly certain her legs were jelly now. They got dressed, stealing kisses from each other as they did so, before fetching the carrier and walking back to the cabin.
“We need to do that in every room,” said Anthony as they went inside. He tapped his chin, a grin spreading across his face.
Thea shook her head right before he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. “No, Anthony, where are you taking me?”
“We’re going to christen your room, then my room, then the bathroom—”
She groaned, but she didn’t mean it. She couldn’t get enough of him either.
He tossed her onto her former bed before climbing on top of her. Touching his hair, she whispered, “I love you.”
His eyes lit. “I love you. I’m so glad we got stuck together in this cabin. Even if you almost killed me.”
“You deserved it.”
Growling, he kissed her, showing her exactly what she really deserved.
Phin Younger had graduated from high school at the age of sixteen and had earned his bachelor’s from Oregon State before he could even drink legally. By the age of twenty-three, he’d earned his law degree and had been hired by one of the best firms in Portland.
It had been five years since he’d graduated from law school, had started to work as a practicing attorney, and had entered the world as a well-educated man. He could speak three languages fluently (English, French, and German); he could remember minute details of cases that he had read about years ago; he rarely lost a case. He was, to quote numerous papers and awards, a brilliant attorney.
The greatest irony? Phin would’ve thought that by now, he’d be able to talk to women.
Apparently not. They tended to find his frankness and tendency to argue his point without letting go unsettling. The last woman he’d taken home had told him that he was “too intense,” whatever the hell that meant.
He’d tried to be act insouciant, before realizing that nobody knew what the word even meant. He’d tried to say nothing in conversations, keeping things light. But then something would come up that Phin knew more about than most people, and he’d follow that subject until the other person in the conversation stared at him in confusion and, sometimes, sheer annoyance.
So, no, he wasn’t good with women. He was terrible with women. Women liked to be wooed. They liked compliments, they liked flirtatious comments. They liked it when you pursued them but didn’t pursue them. Again, whatever the hell that meant. That advice had been given by his older brother Ash, the consummate playboy turned dedicated fiancé. Ash’s advice about how to talk to women had never worked for Phin because Phin was the complete opposite of his older brother.
Tonight, Phin had been invited to happy hour with the rest of his law firm coworkers. As employees of one of the best public advocacy law firms in the state, Phin and his fellow lawyers worked around the clock, their pay being low and the cases oftentimes seemingly ho
peless. But they’d all dedicated themselves to helping others who couldn’t afford attorneys, the people who were most vulnerable.
But tonight was about letting loose. There were five other attorneys at the practice, all of whom were older than Phin by some years. At the moment, one coworker was laughing so loudly that Phin winced, while another seemed to down his drinks as fast as he got them.
The only female in the firm, Katherine, was closest in age to Phin. She was in her late thirties and married with two kids, and her no-nonsense approach to life and law had made her one of the few people Phin actually liked. Katherine didn’t care about office politics or hierarchy: she cared about getting the work done, like he did.
“How soon do you think Dave will get drunk?” said Katherine.
Phin watched as Dave took another shot. What number was that? Four? “I give him six minutes,” replied Phin.
Katherine laughed. “I give him fifteen. You’re on.”
Within five minutes, forty-five seconds, Dave was about to fall out of his chair. Katherine handed Phin a five-dollar bill with a grumble.
The happy hour continued for another hour before Phin had had enough. Saying goodbye, he ignored how everyone but Katherine looked at him like he was some self-righteous asshole for not drinking. It wasn’t that Phin was against drinking: he just preferred to stay in control of himself.
Katherine followed him outside into the misty autumn evening. “Heading home?” she asked.
“Yes. Where else?”
“No reason. I just wondered if you ever went somewhere else.”
Phin knew she was hinting at something, but it irritated him when people didn’t say exactly what they meant to say. “Either spit it out, or I’m leaving,” he said.
Luckily, she knew his ways. “I mean, do you ever go to a woman’s house? Or invite a woman over?”
He stared at her. “Why?”
“Just wondering.”
“No, you aren’t. You have an agenda. Everyone does.”
“You’re so cynical.”
“I’m an attorney,” he said dryly. “Of course I’m cynical.”
Katherine shook her head. “Look, it’s none of my business—”
“So you’re going to ask it anyway?”
“I’ve known you for five years now. We’ve worked together, we’re friends, all of that. But I’ve never heard you mention dating. Now, at first I wondered if you were gay, or asexual, or both.”
Phin waited, eyebrow cocked.
Katherine continued, “But I’ve seen you look at women. You aren’t dead. And you’ve mentioned some women in passing. So, definitely not gay. But no matter what, you’ve been alone, haven’t you?”
Phin wondered how much Katherine had had to drink. They were friends, but they weren’t this close.
“I’m going home,” he said again.
“No, wait! I just don’t want to see you alone forever if you don’t want to be alone.” Katherine giggled.
Yes, she was definitely tipsy, Phin thought.
He smiled, but there was no humor in it. “Okay, let’s get you home before you start setting me up on dates.”
“That’s a great idea!”
By the time Phin got home after dropping Katherine off at her house, her husband amused at his wife’s inebriation, he couldn’t get Katherine’s words out of his head. I just don’t want to see you alone forever if you don’t want to be alone.
Well, joke was on her, because he wanted to be alone. It was easier. People were—complicated. He worked with them, for God’s sake. He spent his time defending the people no one cared about. He’d seen the dark side of humanity, and he’d made a choice to keep himself apart. Besides, women didn’t like him. They thought he was handsome, and they assumed he was rich, being an attorney, but when they saw him for who he really was, they bolted.
Phin told himself that being alone was the practical choice. He didn’t need a woman in his life. No matter what anyone else said or thought, he’d live his life how he saw fit—and he’d live it alone.
The End
Thank you for reading Taking a Chance on Love! I hope you loved Thea and Anthony’s story.
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A brilliant, aloof lawyer, Phin Younger has focused solely on his career and on helping people less fortunate.
Living his life without romance? He’s just fine with that. Phin knows all too well how relationships make life messy and complicated.
Until the day Emily Lassiter begs Phin to help her teenage brother. Beautiful but as fierce as a lioness, Emily is like no other woman he’s met.
Suddenly, all of Phin’s plans to avoid romantic entanglements are thrown out the window the moment he sets eyes on Emily.
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THE PRINCE & THE PLAYER
TIA LOUISE
The Prince & The Player
Tia Louise
A sexy con artist.
A playboy prince.
A job gone terribly wrong.
Let the games begin...
Runaway Zelda Wilder will do whatever it takes to secure a better life for her and her sister Ava. Crown Prince Rowan Westringham Tate will do whatever it takes to preserve his small country.
"Playboy Prince" MacCallum Lockwood Tate will do whatever it takes to steal Zelda's heart...
When Zee is blackmailed into humiliating the brooding future king, she never expects to be pulled into a web of international intrigue--or to fall for Rowan's naughty younger brother Cal.
Cal is determined to capture the sexy player, but Zelda is in over her head with very dangerous men. Time is running out, and it may be too late for the prince to save this player...
Cinderella meets Ocean's Eleven in this CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE, featuring secrets, lies, royal high jinks, scams and double-crosses; breathless, swooning lust, cocky princes, dominant alpha future-kings, and crafty courtiers, who are not always what they seem.
Prologue
Zelda Wilder
My legs are wet. Thunder rolls low in a steel-grey sky, and the hiss of warm rain grows louder. I lean further sideways into the culvert, closer against my little sister Ava’s body, and grit my teeth against the hunger pain twisting my stomach. There’s no way in hell I’m sleeping tonight.
Reaching up, I rub my palm against the back of my neck, under the thick curtain of my blonde hair. A shudder moves at my side, and I realize Ava’s crying. We’re packed tight in this concrete ditch, but I twist my body around to face her.
Clearing my throat, I force my brows to unclench. I force my voice to be soothing instead of angry. “Hey,” I whisper softly. “What’s the matter, Ava-bug?”
Silence greets me. She’s small enough to be somewhat comfortable in our hideout. Her knees are bent, but unlike me, they’re not shoved up into her nose. Still, she leans forward to press her eyes against the backs of her hands. Her glossy brown hair is short around her ears and falls onto her cheeks.
Our parents were classic movie buffs, naming her after Ava Gardner and me after Scott Fitzgerald�
��s crazy wife Zelda. We pretty much lived up to our monikers, since my little sister wound up having emerald green cat eyes and wavy dark hair. She’s a showstopper whereas I’m pretty average—flat blue eyes and dishwater blonde. So far no signs of schizophrenia (har har), but you can bet your ass I can keep up with the boys in everything, which brings us to this lowly state.
“Come on, now,” I urge. “It can’t be as bad as all that.”
Her dark head moves back and forth. “I’m sorry.” Her soft whisper finally answers my question. “This is all my fault.”
“What?” Reaching for her skinny shoulder, I pull her up. She’s the only person I’ve ever known who looks pretty even when she’s crying. “Why would you say something like that?”
“I tried cutting my hair off. I tried not brushing my teeth—”
“Don’t be doing shit like that!” I snap, turning to face front. The rain keeps splashing on my side getting me even wetter. “We can’t afford a dentist.”
“I don’t know what to do, Zee.”
Pressing my lips together, I clench my fists on top of my knees. “We ain’t going back into no foster home. I’ll take care of us.”
“But how?” Her voice breaks as it goes high in a whisper.
“Hell, I don’t know, but I got all night to figure it out.” I press my front teeth together and think. We’re not that far from being legal. I’m seventeen, but Ava’s only fifteen. Looking at the sand on my shoes, I get an idea. “We got one thing going for us.”
“What’s that?” My little sister sniffs, and I hear the tiniest flicker of hope in her voice. She’ll trust whatever I tell her, and I take that responsibility very seriously.