The Bride Hunt Box Set: Books 1-3

by Charlene Hartnady

  She couldn’t live in a state of limbo. She’d done it for eight years with someone else. A man she didn’t have half the feelings for that she did for Blaze. A half-assed relationship wasn’t for her back then, and it certainly wasn’t for her now. She was an all-in kind of girl and she needed an all-in guy.

  “Soon though?” He squeezed her hand to draw her attention.

  “Yes, soon,” she nodded. Roxy would need to have a serious conversation with Blaze and very soon. There was no doubt in her mind that she was in love with him. She only prayed that he had fallen at least a little bit in love with her as well.

  He smiled broadly. “Now, are you going to let me taste one of those cookies?”

  Roxy shook her head. “I was just about to throw them out. They’re no good.”

  Blaze gave a big sniff. “I recognize that smell.” He grinned, looking so handsome. His green eyes glinted. His long lashes lowered as he narrowed his eyes. “That night I came home to a burnt smell. Did you try and bake chocolate chip cookies then too?”

  “I planned on giving you my own terms and then celebrating with your favorite baked goods when you agreed to them.”

  “You were that sure I would agree?”

  She nodded. “I was hopeful. Besides, it’s rude to table a whole list of terms and not be willing to accept a couple in return.”

  “Agreed,” he smiled. “You trying to bake for me is very sweet.” He looked at her with such affection such… love. His gaze heated up. Then he put his hands on either side of her and caged her in against the counter, grabbing behind her.

  “Don’t,” she warned. “You’ll be sorry.”

  Blaze took a really big bite. The cookies were partially burnt but that wasn’t the worst of it. He chewed twice and stopped, trying hard not to grimace.

  “I tried to warn you,” Roxy said.

  Blaze swallowed. What a sweetheart. He actually swallowed. Roxy had spat out her bite and it wasn’t nearly as big as the one he had taken. “Um…” She had to laugh. “I think I put in too much bicarbonate of soda and not enough sugar. The chocolate chips are dark instead of milk, that’s what the bitter taste is… Oh, and they’re burnt… not as badly as last time though.”

  “Chocolate chip cookies aren’t my favorite anymore anyway.” He pushed his hips against hers and leaned in close, his mouth was against her ear.

  “They’re not?”

  She felt him shake his head. “Your cookie is my favorite. My little brother was right on the money on that count.”

  “Oh yeah,” she sounded breathless.

  “Yeah.” Just hearing him talk in her ear, feeling his body pressed against hers, smelling his manly scent, it was enough to have her panting, enough to soak her underwear.

  Then he was pulling her dress up and ripping her soaking panties right off. Roxy pulled at his pants and wrapped her arms around his neck. Blaze lifted her and entered her in one stroke. Roxy wrapped her legs around his hips. He pressed his forehead against hers. “This is where I belong. You need to say yes.” He didn’t wait for a reply; he began to thrust. Roxy lost herself to the sensation. Lost herself to Blaze.

  The next day…

  “I can tell that you’re backpedaling.” Julie sat down across from her. One hand on her back and the other on her distended belly. She lowered herself carefully, falling heavily into the back of the chair.

  “I’m surprised you haven’t popped yet!” Roxy’s eyes were trained on the other woman’s stomach.

  Julie laughed. “Any day now.”

  “How are you holding up? You seem really relaxed considering...”

  “I feel at peace.” Julie’s legs were a little apart to accommodate her belly. She looked about six months pregnant in human terms with a neat, tight belly. Her friend wrapped both hands around her stomach. “I’m not looking forward to pushing this egg out but at the same time, I can’t wait. It will be nice to get my body back. I don’t know how women do this for nine months.” She sighed. “He’ll come when he’s ready though.” Then she raised her brows. “Don’t try and change the subject. Blaze has started to get suspicious. You guys are getting along so well yet you keep refusing to mate with him.”

  “He spoke to me about it this morning,” Coal said from the kitchen. Julie had asked if she could confide in Coal and Roxy couldn’t say no. It just felt even more wrong where Blaze was concerned. It felt like she was going behind his back. It didn’t feel right. It made her feel like a horrible person. Julie kept reminding her that it was for his own good, it was the only thing that helped with the guilt.

  “What did he say?” Roxy asked.

  Coal put a plate of biscuits on the tray and came through to the living room. “He can’t understand why you won’t mate him. He asked my advice on what to do. The asshole didn’t tell me about his agreement with you. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying anything.” He poured what looked like homemade lemonade into three glasses and handed one to her.

  “You can’t put this off any longer. The guy is crazy about you, anyone with working eyeballs can see it. Thanks, baby,” Julie took the lemonade from Coal and took a sip.

  Roxy pulled in a deep breath. “Are you sure? Maybe I should wait a little bit longer just to be on the safe side.” Her gut churned at the thought of coming clean. At the same time, she couldn’t wait to get it off her chest.

  “I agree with Julie. Blaze is an extremely private person. He doesn’t confide in others easily yet he opened up to me this morning. That means that it’s weighing on him. He might suspect that something is up. I think that he really wants to mate you because he’s in love with you. He’s been out of sorts since the hunt.”

  Roxy nodded. She wasn’t convinced that Coal was right. “I will talk to him today.” She had to speak up though. She couldn’t wait any longer.

  “He probably won’t take it very well,” Coal warned. “We’ll be here for you. Come to us, night or day. Don’t let him bully you.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you know how it goes.” Her stomach churned. Roxy forced herself to take a sip of her drink. Her hand shook so she clutched the glass harder.

  “Don’t look so petrified.” Julie gave her a smile that was full of concern. “I’m sure it will go better than you think. Blaze loves you whether he likes it or not. It is what it is.”

  Roxy prayed that Julie was right. Even if he did love her, he might not admit it, not even to himself. What then? She couldn’t think too far into the future. One step at a time.

  A warm body came up flush behind her. Roxy woke up from the contact, her mind still fuzzy with sleep. It took a moment or two to orientate herself. The room was dark. The bed warm. Blaze was warmer. “Hi,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her.

  She felt something press to the side of her head. It felt like a kiss but she couldn’t be sure. “I’m sorry I’m so late,” he murmured.

  “You missed dinner.” They ate together most nights.

  “I know.” Another soft brush against her hairline. Definitely a kiss. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  “How do you propose to do that?” She felt him hard against her back.

  “Oh, I don’t know.” She could hear that he was smiling. Roxy couldn’t help but to smile as well.

  She turned to face him, putting her arms around him. The full moon caused light to spill in, making it easy for her to see him. She should talk to him first but she needed this. It might be their last time. A lump formed in her throat, she swallowed it down. She had to stay positive.

  Blaze licked his lips and she watched his tongue roll over his full bottom lip. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.” She hooked her leg over his thigh. She needed to talk to him but the conversation could wait. Right now, she needed to show him what she felt about him. What she needed most was for him to show her back.

  Roxy kissed him. Just a soft caress of the lips at first. Then she sucked on that full lower lip, eliciting a low growl.

  Screw the no kissing
rule!

  Blaze pushed her onto her back and pulled her legs up higher on his body. He rubbed his cock against her seam. Her clit fired up on all cylinders.

  Rub, rub quickly turned to slip and slide as she grew wet and needy.

  Blaze kept his mouth about a half inch above hers. Their eyes were locked onto one another. Roxy moaned softly as he ground his cock against her sensitive clit.

  Screw it!

  She leaned up and kissed him again. It was a dangerous thing to do. A no go zone. Up until now, she’d let him do the kissing. Although he touched her and kissed her all the time it was never fully on the mouth. At least, not behind closed doors. Mouth kissing was against their agreement. Blaze found it too emotional. Too romantic.

  Well screw it.

  Roxy covered his mouth with hers and shoved her tongue inside. She hooked her ankles behind him and arched her back. She held him tighter, her fingers digging into his back.

  Blaze growled. Using a careful thrust, he pushed into her, simultaneously sucking on her tongue. Sweet lord up above. Her toes curled and she groaned. He moved slowly, making love to her mouth. Kissing her like no one else had ever done before. His thrusts were just as slow yet they were also powerful.

  Blaze grunted as he cupped her jaw, changing the angle of their kiss so that he could deepen it. He continued to thrust. She grabbed his ass, feeling his glutes contract beneath her fingers. Roxy moaned. Their joining went on and on. They both became slick with perspiration. Their breaths ragged from the exertion and from the sheer pleasure.

  Blaze pulled back as her pussy began to flutter around him. He looked so serious, so angry, so intense.

  Her orgasm hit, rolling through her. This time, it seemed to affect every part of her. Every cell, every nerve ending, every inch of skin.

  Blaze’s face took on a strained look as he began to jerk against her. He grunted once, twice, then he called her name too. A choked growl. He buried his face in her neck and bit down. Another orgasm exploded through her, making her call his name. Making her back bow and her pussy clamp down. Blaze roared as he released her neck, his thrusts way more urgent than before.

  He finally fell against her. Both of them were breathing hard. Blaze’s lashes fanned his cheeks. He moved to the side to give her breathing room. His own chest rose and fell more slowly, more deeply. They normally fell asleep or had more sex and then fell asleep. They didn’t normally talk this late at night.

  Maybe she should wait till morning?

  No.

  This couldn’t wait.

  “Blaze.”

  “Mmmm?” He sounded sleepy.

  “Are you asleep?”

  He chuckled, his chest vibrated against her side. “No, but I was getting there.”

  “I’m sorry I kissed you.”

  “What?” He lifted his head, his eyes were glazed over from sleep or maybe still from coming or possibly both. “Don’t worry about it. Go to sleep.” He pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead.

  They had just made love. That wasn’t just sex. Quite frankly, their coming together had been morphing over the last period. Sometimes urgent but other times, something different, something more intense. Way more emotional. He did have feelings for her. He had to. Either way, she would soon know.

  “I liked it,” she blurted. “The kissing that is.”

  “You said it makes you come harder.” He was smiling. Trust Blaze to try to bring it back to sex.

  “I was with someone for eight years. He broke up with me about a year and a half ago.”

  She could feel Blaze stiffen next to her. He pulled away, using an elbow to prop himself up. “I’m sorry it happened to you but I’m glad at the same time, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. Now, get some rest.” He tried to pull the comforter over her but she grabbed his hand and shook her head.

  “Essentially I forced him to break up with me. I knew that Ben didn’t love me, not really. I was fooling myself into thinking that he did. It was a comfortable set-up for him, for both of us. We lived in a beautiful home, we had many mutual friends, we even had two dogs together. We had a good life, a comfortable life. We got along great, had plenty of good times. Even went on a vacation once a year.”

  Blaze clenched his jaw so hard that she heard his teeth grind. “Why are you telling me this?” He moved to a sitting position.

  “I broached the marriage subject with him every so often. Especially once we hit two years of living together. I wanted the white dress and more than anything, I wanted kids. I loved Ben.”

  Blaze growled. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you.” His back was ramrod straight, his jaw tight. His eyes blazed.

  Roxy also moved to a sitting position. “I eventually told him that he either needed to commit to me or it was over. I moved out two days later. He kept the house and the dogs.”

  “That’s not fair,” Blaze growled.

  “He bought me out of the house, and the dogs were more his than mine.”

  “I’m glad you told me. I understand now why you’re onboard with our arrangement. You were badly hurt.” He paused for a moment. “We’re like-minded. Let’s get some sleep.”

  “I want to know what happened to you, Blaze. Who hurt you?”

  His eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips. “It’s not important. Why do you need to know?”

  “It is important. You want to mate me. You want a future with me. We need to understand one another. I want to know things about you. What makes you tick. Why you do certain things. I want to know you, Blaze.”

  “Some things that happened in my past are not relevant. That part of my past is not relevant.”

  “Ben still lives in that house. He’s with someone else. He replaced me within a month or two of my leaving. I sometimes miss those dogs… I used to get really lonely living in my small apartment… all alone. I used to wonder sometimes if I’d made the right decision when I forced Ben’s hand. I loved Ben, so I would wonder if I should have settled.”

  Blaze ground his teeth, he shifted on the mattress.

  “I’m not telling you this to hurt you.”

  He pulled a face of indifference. “You’re not hurting me.”

  “I’m making you uncomfortable and I think it’s because I keep saying that I loved Ben.”

  Blaze shook his head. “We’re fucking.” Again with that face of indifference. “I don’t like hearing about this male because you fucked him too. That’s it.”

  “It has nothing to do with fucking.”

  “Of course it does. It’s those mating urges. That’s where my jealousy is stemming from.” He gave a one-shouldered shrug.

  She wasn’t about to argue with him. “I left Ben because I wanted more.”

  Blaze shrugged. “You’re going to get more. I want to mate you. I want children with you.”

  “It’s not enough for me. There were moments where I tried to convince myself that it would be, but it’s not good enough. It wasn’t before and it isn’t now. I feel even more strongly than ever.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” He shoved a hand through his hair. “We have an agreement.”

  “I said I would give it a try.”

  “Fuck!” He leaped off the bed, reminding her more of a cat ‒ one of the big ferocious kinds ‒ than a dragon shifter. “Fucking hell!” he muttered, more to himself than to her, as he walked away. “That’s why you keep refusing to mate me.” He shook his head. “You fucking didn’t.” He turned to face her. “Please tell me you didn’t fall in love with me. I hope you didn’t fuck up a good thing.”

  Roxy swallowed hard. She turned on the side lamp and pulled the comforter over herself. “You can’t tell me that you haven’t fallen in love with me either? You can’t.” She whispered the last as she watched his eyes darken.

  “Fuck! I can’t believe this.” He yanked open the closet and pulled out a pair of pants.

  “I wouldn’t believe you if—”

  “You would be wrong. I don’t
fucking love you.” He shook his head. “It’s all this touching shit isn’t it? I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to that term. You females can’t separate the hand holding shit from the emotional shit can you?”

  “I’ve seen the way you look at me. We made love just now. You can’t deny that.”

  “I’ve never denied our compatibility. You’re a good fuck.”

  Ouch! Hearing him reduce what they had to just sex hurt. It hurt like mad.

  “It’s part of the reason I wanted you as a mate.” He yanked the pants on. “Compatibility.”

  “I was already halfway in love with you when we agreed to those pathetic terms!” she yelled.

  “What?” His eyes blazed. “Why did you accept then? What the fuck is this?” He took a step towards the bed. Every muscle was taut. “Why did you tell me you weren’t in love with me if you were?” He looked so angry, even his hands were fisted. “You accused me of being arrogant to even suggest it.”

  “I was angry. I didn’t even realize that I had feelings for you. Not at that moment.” Roxy tucked the comforter a little more firmly around herself. “I wouldn’t say that I was in love with you but I knew that it wouldn’t take much for me to get there.”

  “Why did you agree to my terms if you knew you could never keep them?” His voice was soft. Everything else was hard, intense and ready.

  “I took a chance.”

  “What kind of a chance? Fuck, Roxy!” He took a small step back.

  “A chance on us. It was a risk. Stupid, I guess.”

  “Seriously fucking stupid,” he growled.

  “No!” she yelled. “I disagree. I think you love me right back.”

  “No fucking way.” He shook his head. “You’re delusional. I warned you. I thought I was clear about my feelings.”

  “You’re too scared to admit it. Too afraid to take a chance in case you get hurt again. I won’t hurt you, Blaze. I’m all in.”

  He shook his head, looking disappointed. Like she’d failed a test or something. “What we had was a mistake, nothing more and nothing less. A big fucking mistake. Pack your bags. Someone will be here to take you back in the morning. We’re done, your scheme didn’t work.” He turned and headed towards the door. “This whole thing just confirms my suspicions; humans are not to be trusted. I will replace you with a less emotional human. One who can agree to simple terms. Good-bye.” He didn’t turn back. It was the first time he had ever said goodbye to her. Up until now, he’d always said ‘later’. Goodbye had such a definite ring to it. It hurt. It hurt so damn bad. Blaze wanted her gone. He was so convincing that she was inclined to believe that he didn’t love her. What if she was wrong? She watched him walk away. She wanted to shout a whole lot of things at his retreating back.