Lust

by Melissa Andrea

  “Keep your voice down,” she hissed, stepping outside and pulling the front door closed.

  “You said you lost the baby.”

  She was shaking her head vehemently. “No, I never told you I’d lost the baby. You assumed.”

  “Why the fuck did you let me assume, Meela?”

  “I wanted you gone!” she shouted as tears fell, leaving wet streaks down her cheeks. “I was angry and hurt, and I wanted to hurt you.”

  I stared at her. “Like I hurt you,” I finally said what she didn’t. We had said these same words months ago, only the other way around.

  “It was wrong. I know that, but at the time, I would have said or done anything just to get you to leave. I was devastated the moment I realized who Ma- Nicole was to you, Reed. I felt betrayed, humiliated, and lied to.” She looked down and swallowed hard. “I fucked up, Reed. Royally fucked up.”

  I couldn’t find it in me to be furious with her. I remembered the way she looked that day she had found out about Nicole, and I hated that I had caused her so much pain. We had both done things we weren’t proud of, but I wanted Meela despite it all. If I had never lied to her about Nicole, none of this would have happened.

  “Were you going to tell me?”

  She was nodding vigorously. “Yes. Of course, I was.”

  Seconds passed and then I lifted her chin, forcing her to look at me, and when she finally did, she frowned.

  “Why are you grinning?” she asked, confused.

  “I’m just wondering if you were going to use all my lines against me. They do sound a hell of a lot sexier when you say them, though.”

  She pulled her chin from my grasp, and her eyes narrowed at me. “This is serious, Reed. Do you not see how we’re not good for each other? All we do is hurt each other.

  “That’s not true, Meela. We both fucked up, and now we’re even.”

  She didn’t react well to that as her voice rose again. “Now we’re even? Really? We can raise a child in an environment where her parents are constantly trying to one-up the other?”

  “That’s not what I meant, Meela. I’m just saying we can start over. Fresh.”

  She was shaking her head. “I don’t know, Reed.”

  She had moved away from me, so I closed the distance between us again. “Do you know why I’m here?”

  “No,” she whispered, her eyes searching mine.

  “I got the divorce papers.”

  She swallowed, and her eyes dropped. “Oh.”

  “Getting those papers nearly killed me, Meela. I don’t want to sign them.”

  “Reed,” she moaned and dropped her forehead into my chest.

  I wasn’t going to make this easy on her, and I pulled her back, forcing her to look at me. “Do you want this, Meela? Do you want me?”

  She chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t know what I want.”

  “I do. I fucking love you, Meela. I love your goddamn rambling, I love that you’re not afraid to put me in my fucking place, and I love—”

  My fingers tangled in her hair, her hands clung to my wrists, and I waited for our lips to touch, and when they finally did, everything fell into place.

  “I love you too, Reed. I love you more than I ever thought possible.”

  Wrapping her arms around my middle, she pulled me close or as close as her stomach would allow.

  We both froze.

  I pulled back, staring down into her face I asked. “What was that?”

  “I’m pretty sure my water just broke.”

  Looking down, there was a puddle at our feet.

  “Holy hell,” she breathed. “Our daughter is coming, Reed.”

  Excitement lit my voice, and I was kissing her again. “We’re going to have a baby, Mrs. Pierce,” I whispered against her lips.

  L U S T

  I stared down into her little face, realizing she already had me fully and completely wrapped around her little fingers, not finger.

  All fucking ten of them.

  She was a gorgeous mix between Meela and me with her dirty blond hair and hazel eyes. She resembled Meela more with her long eyelashes and full lips, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She’d only been here four hours, but I was so fiercely in love with this tiny little thing, my heart ached.

  “How is she?” Meela whispered from behind me, and I turned around to see her sitting up. She had been in and out of sleep since Sophia had been born, and I didn’t want to wake her just yet.

  “She absolutely perfect. Seriously, she’s amazing, Meela.”

  Meela smiled, and the way she looked at this exact moment was something I would remember for the rest of my life. She was breathtaking.

  “How are you?”

  She rested her head back against the bed. “Tired, but at the same time not.”

  “You’re a fucking warrior, Meela.”

  She laughed and touched her tousled hair. “I feel more like a mess.”

  “You’re gorgeous.” Her head tilted, and her brows pulled. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m having a strong case of Déjà vu. I had a dream of you, holding our daughter, just like you are now.”

  “You did? When?”

  “It was right after I found out I was pregnant. I was so freaking scared, and I had no idea what I wanted to do. And that night, I had a dream of you holding the sweetest baby girl, staring down into her face and talking to her. When you turned around, you walked over to me and thanked me, and when I asked you for what, you said, ‘For giving me the stars, the moon, and the sun, Meela. This little girl, she’s my world and you’re everything else, Meela. You’re the stars, the moon, the sun.’” She blinked, bringing me into focus. “When I woke up, it felt so real, but it was then that I knew I wanted to keep our baby. I wanted that with you.”

  Walking over to her, I sat on the edge of her bed and handed Sophia to her. “I need both hands for what I’m about to do.” My hands covered the sides of her neck, and my thumbs massaged her jawline. “I don’t have anything nearly as smooth as dream me, but there won’t be a single fucking day that will go by when you ever have to question how much I love you or our daughter. I will never hurt you again, Meela.” Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the black velvet box and opened it. “Stay my wife, Meela. I’d be fucking lost without you.”

  She nodded, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Yes, Reed,” she whispered. “Yes.”

  E p i l o g u e

  MEELA

  I leaned against the doorframe, coffee mug in hand, and watched Reed as he lifted the tiny pink teacup up to his lips.

  “No, Dad-dy,” Sophia said, dragging out the y and shaking her head, sending the mass of blond curls bouncing in all directions. “Like dis,” she chided and proceeded to climb into his lap and fix his pinky so it was sticking out.

  “Oh, gotcha.” He nodded and corrected his mistake, bringing the teacup again. “Better?”

  Sophia nodded and then kissed his cheek, before spilling out of his arms and running over to her toy box.

  We’d been living in our home a little over a year and a half, and Sophia would be celebrating her second birthday here. Life with Reed these past two years had been nothing short of exceptional. While it wasn’t perfect, it was never boring. I proved I didn’t have to control everything, and he proved he would always be someone I could count on. We were building a life, and it was beautiful.

  Reed turned, catching me watching them, and then lifted his teacup in my direction with that damn grin of his. I returned the gesture with my mug and then used it to hide my smile when he blew a puff of air from the side of his mouth and loose feather from the hat Sophia had put on him out of his face.

  “How long have you two been up?” I asked.

  “About an hour. Ms. Sophia wanted pancakes. We saved you some.”

  “We did, Mommy. We did.” Sophia chanted from the other side of the room.

  She had managed to pull out every toy in her toy box in the process.

  “Come here
.” Reed’s deep command made me push away from the wall and move toward him. Setting my cup down on the small table where Sophia had set up her tea party.

  He pulled me down onto his lap, nuzzling the side of my neck.

  “I saved some whip cream for later too. I made a list of everywhere I want to lick it off your body,” he growled into my ear for only us to hear.

  I shivered, shifting in his lap, and he groaned, biting my ear love.

  “How’s my other baby doing?” His hand moved under my shirt to stroke my stomach. I was only fourteen weeks, so I was barely showing.

  “Better. Hungry, though.”

  “Well, let’s go feed my babies. Sophia, shall we go feed Mommy and the baby?”

  “Yesss,” she squealed.

  I took the hat from Reed’s head and put it on mine. “This is a good look for you,” I teased. “The pearls are the perfect touch,” I said, twisting the strand around my finger and pulling him close to me.

  “They fucking look better on you, though,” he whispered nipping at my mouth.

  “With all these tea parties and dress ups, do you think you’ll remember how to throw a ball around when our son comes?”

  3 … 2 … 1 …

  L U S T

  REED

  My head snapped up, and I swallowed hard. “Are you fucking serious?”

  She bit her lip, pulling it through her teeth, and smiled. “Dr. Harris called a little bit ago with my blood work. It’s a boy.”

  “We’re having a boy? Holy shit, Meela!” I flipped us, lying her down on the floor as I hovered on my arms above her. I kissed her face, neck, and belly before Sophia came running toward us, throwing herself at my side.

  She squealed as I lifted her up in the air. “You hear that, Sophia baby? You’re going to have a baby brother.”

  She threw her arms out and chanted bra-der, bra-der over and over.

  After setting Sophia down, I leaned over Meela again who had been watching us with a big smile. “Thank you, Meela,” I whispered against her lips.

  She tilted her head, looking at me curiously. “For what?”

  “For giving me the stars, the moon, and the sun.”

  ALSO BY MELISSA ANDREA

  Series

  The Edge of Darkness

  The Grace in Darkness

  The Beauty in Darkness (COMING SOON)

  Little Black Book

  Little Black Break

  Little Black Beginnings

  Standalones

  LUST

  The Wrath of Sin

  The Procedure

  Jack Hammer

  TV-MA: The Box Set

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  Sometimes a little heat is all it takes to lighten a heavy heart.

  Shannon Daniels is afraid of men, but when Matthew Ellis literally falls into her lap, fear is the last thing she feels. For the first time in years, she desires a man, and she plans on taking advantage of her new craving. Shannon hatches a plan to satisfy her sudden hunger, but dancing with the devil will get you more than a one-way trip to hell, and Shannon finds out quickly that even the best-laid plans go awry.

  Matthew Ellis swears he will never get caught in the tangled web of a woman. After a devastating heartbreak, he’s determined to die a bachelor. When he meets Shannon, a chubby redhead with a firecracker personality, he decides to add her to his list of conquests. The good news is she’s okay with a hot and heavy fling. The bad news is, for the first time since he was a teenager, being caught doesn’t seem that unappealing.

  HOT & HEAVY IS NOW AVAILABLE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED!!!

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  The Fucking End

  LUST had been a long time coming.

  I had written it as a short story for a box set a couple of years ago

  with no intention of making it a full length. However, after it was released I had gotten so many messages demanding, begging, and pleading I give Meela and Reed a complete book and there was no denying you. Even though it took this long to finally finish it, I’m so happy I did. I love their story and I hope you did too. For those of you who read the short, and wanted more, this is for you. Thank you!!

  A shout out to Tabatha Vargo for always being on my ass and pushing me to write,

  I’m thankful for you every day!! We say it at least once a day, but we have this, and I think 2018 will be our year. MWAH!!

  To Letitia Hassar for creating the LUST cover.

  It’s GORGEOUS and one of my favorite covers ever!! I love and adore you and your amazing talent!!

  To Jenny, my editor, thank you so much for being so patient with me and helping LUST be the best it can be. Also, a HUGE thank you for getting this done in time to meet deadline.

  You never dropped the ball even when I did. HAHA!

  To Ceej Chargualaf for beta reading LUST and giving me your honest feedback,

  it means more to me than you know!! I look forward to working with you more in the future!!

  And, last, but never least to my family!!

  They love and support me beyond words and I have no idea where I would be without you guys. My louver man who holds down the fort when I’m in deadline mode. To my mom who is always there to cheer me on and brag about me to her friends. To my sister and brother, I love you dorks! And to The Hulk and my girls- you guys give me meaning!! I love you more than you’ll ever know!