“Fuck you,” Joel growls.
I give his arm one final squeeze. “Say it or I break your arm.”
A painful moan escapes his mouth, but still he doesn’t relent. I hate this man, and I don’t want to break his arm but I will if I have to. When it comes to Sylvie’s well being, I’ll do anything.
“Wait!” Sylvie cries out, surprising everyone. Tears fall down her cheeks as she marches over to us. She leans down, putting her face right in Joels. “You son of a bitch. I put up with your shit for too long, but not anymore.” Sylvie rears back and with all of her might, knees Joel in the nuts. The strength of her blow makes even me groan. I let go of his arm and Joel falls to the ground.
“Get out of my life!” She screams. “I never want to see your face again.”
Here I was prepared to severely injure this idiot, and Sylvie’s taken it into her own hands. Her body shakes from the adrenaline when I put my hand on her shoulder. She turns into me, burying her face against my chest. I wrap her up in my arms and hold her close, until ragged breathing returns to normal.
Joel starts to get up, but I press my foot against his back. “You’re going to stay there until the Wild County Police come.” I spit at him. “Then they’ll escort your sorry ass out of town, and it’ll be like you never existed here. Understand?”
I take Joel’s moans as a yes.
And that’s exactly what happens. Sylvie remains curled into me until the police arrive. Dane must’ve gotten a call at the hospital because he’s there before the cops are.
Sylvie unlatches herself from my waist. She tilts her chin up to meet my gaze. Her bright sapphire eyes, weary and watery, search my face.
“Thank you, Bear.” Then she leans up and presses a kiss to my lips. Fireworks explode behind my eyes. She starts to pull away, but I hold her close, parting her lips with my tongue so that I can taste her sweet mouth. We stay like that, kissing like movie co-stars until the last bits of red and blue lights fade into the distance.
I told her I’d keep her safe. And I always will. I’ll do anything for my sweet Sylvie.
7
Sylvie
I can’t sleep. Bear insisted I get some rest, that we’ll talk tomorrow, but that’s not an option for me. Joel’s been carted away and now all I can do is think about how Bear saved me tonight. If he wouldn’t have followed Joel’s truck who knows what kind of state I’d be in right now. A shiver runs through me as I sit up and throw the covers off. I slip into a simple cotton dress and tiptoe down the stairs. Eden’s already asleep, poor thing, and I don’t want to wake her. Dane, however, is wide awake on the sofa in the front room.
“I need his address.” I stand in front of the television, interrupting his late night talk show. Dane’s eyes stretch to mine. “Don’t fight me on this.”
He raises his hands in surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“I’m sorry this happened.” My shoulders slump, guilt racking my body. Some houseguest I’ve turned out to be, stressing out my pregnant cousin who kindly took me in. “Maybe I am nothing but trouble.”
“No, Sylvie. You were in trouble. There’s a difference.” Dane rises and puts his hand on my shoulder. It’s all I can do to stop from crying. The last thing I wanted was to put stress on my cousin and her husband. “Bear’s at the lodge. I’ve been texting with him. He’s worried sick about you.”
I give my cousin’s husband a quick hug. “Thanks, Dane. Eden’s lucky to have you.” I grab my keys from the front table. “And please, don’t tell Bear I’m coming to him.” I bound out the front door, unable to get to Bear’s side fast enough.
I’m at the lodge in no time, rushing past the front desk and down the stone hallway to Bear’s office, but when I throw open the door, it’s empty. “Shit.” I head back up front with my eyes glued to my phone, texting and walking was never my strong skill.
“He’s in room nineteen.” An assertive voice pulls my attention. Grace sits behind the front desk, that signature smile plastered across her face. “Go get him.”
I don’t bother to ask how she knows, my feet take me straight to room nineteen. My knuckles barely leave the door when it flies open revealing Bear clad only in his boxers, his exquisitely carved torso on full display. Tattoos swirl around every inch of his taught muscles. My voice catches in my throat, but words aren’t necessary right now.
Bear pulls me into his room and his hot hungry mouth devours mine. “I couldn’t stay away,” I moan. His tongue nudges its way into my mouth. His heated, toned flesh beneath my fingertips soaks my panties.
“I’m glad you’re here.” He groans between kisses, gently pressing me up against the wall. “I want you so fucking bad, Sylvie. You’re all I’ve thought about.” He reaches up under my skirt and cups my steaming mound over my wet panties.
Flames erupt deep inside my core as his lips trail along my jawline, down my neck. He slips one finger into the side of my panties, stroking my slick opening. I groan as one finger presses inside of me. My leg raises to give Bear deeper access.
“You’re so wet, Sylvie. So tight.” My fingernails dig into his clenched shoulder blade, pulling him closer against me. To my surprise, he pulls back and meets my gaze with hooded eyes. “I want this Sylvie, more than you know, but if you’re not ready…”
I press my finger against his full lips, shushing him on the spot. “If I weren’t ready, Bear, I wouldn’t be here.” His eyes grow wild, glimmering in the hotel room’s low lighting. My panties come flying down my legs, exposing me underneath my dress. I kick them to the side and when Bear lifts me up, I wrap my legs around his waist and grind against his rock hard stiffness through his boxers. With so little fabric between us, I nearly come on the spot.
He sets me on the bed and pulls my dress up over my head. When I unclasp my bra, Bear pulls his boxers off and his length springs to life, already coated and glistening with excitement. I lick my lips, unable to believe the size of him.
“You’re fucking gorgeous.” He gives himself a stroke, eye fucking me from head to toe. “How did I get so lucky?”
A wave of self-consciousness rears its ugly head, but I push it away. Judging from how hard Bear is, I have every reason to believe he’s telling the truth. His mouth crashes against my breasts, palming and sucking at my swollen peaks.
I take the opportunity to hold him in my hand, giving his long length a smooth stroke, taking extra care with the sticky, engorged tip. A gasp escapes my mouth when he spreads my legs and tastes me, his skilled tongue hitting all the right spots. My knees fall open, begging for more, never knowing that so much pleasure can come from one man’s mouth. I ride his face, as the familiar feeling of desire takes hold, fisting the back of his hair and pushing him closer to me.
“You taste so good,” he says, kissing my inner thigh.
“Fuck me, Bear.” I say through gritted teeth, still not fully recovered. “I want more of you.”
“Sylvie,” he tweaks my nipple between his fingers. A tiny yelp escapes my mouth. “You’ve got me. And I’ve got you. You’re mine, darlin’. Forever. No one will ever mess with you again.”
“I want to be yours.” The words feel right in my mouth.
When Bear enters me, it feels like the first time. He’s gentle but insistent, stretching me with each stroke until our bodies find their groove and our hips dance together in passionate tandem. “You feel like magic.” I whisper into his ear, and I mean it. He’s hitting the deepest spots in me, sending white hot, electric waves through me that I’ve never felt before. We come together, his hips pressed hard against me, emptying all of his seed inside. My body jerks and spasms, wishing this feeling could go on forever.
As our breathing returns to normal, Bear reaches up and brushes a finger along my cheek. I jerk back, surprised. “Oh my God, this never happens.”
“It’s okay to cry, Sylvie.” His resonant voice melts something inside of me. “You’re only human.”
“I really like you. Like…” I wipe an
other tear, half embarrassed and half relieved at the sudden release. “Really.”
Bear smiles and plants a kiss on the tip of my nose. “Sylvie, I really like you, too.” He pulls me into the crook of his arm, cheek pressed against his chest, where I listen to his heartbeat and thank God I chose Wild County as my pit stop. Something tells me that it might also end up my last stop, too. With a man like Bear by my side, getting lost is the last thing on my mind.
Epilogue
Sylvie
Five Years Later
The annual Wild County Picnic always brings everyone out from the woodwork. Ever since we started sponsoring it in the lodge parking lot and surrounding wood, it’s been a hit. Booths line the edges of the pavement where local businesses show off their goods all in one spot. I never thought small town life would be for me, but this mountain community filled with good folks and great vibes has won me over. That, and a sexy former boss who insisted on making me his wife nearly five years ago next month.
I hang my vintage clothing on hangers, spacing them out so the booth looks nice. Sylvie’s Secret Stash won best retail shop in Wild County for the last three years in a row. A set of tiny, chocolate covered fingers reach for the vintage Chanel suit I got for a steal at an estate sale in a nearby town.
“Tarryn, no!” I gently grip my daughter’s tiny fingers and pull them away from the cream colored material. That would be a disaster. It’s my prized item, hung delicately on the mannequin bust, up for auction. The proceeds go to the local women’s shelter, a place to find safety and solace from abuse and other hardships. In lieu of a wedding gift, my gorgeous husband Bear opened it in my honor. Ford designed the building.
“Don’t forget to swing by and get your cards read!” Chloe’s voice startles me. Tarryn’s eyes light up when she sees Chloe’s brought her daughter, Victoria, with her.
“Can I take Tarryn to the bouncy house with me?” Victoria is the spitting image of her father, Vick, complete with those golden-hazel eyes.
Chloe shrugs in approval. “Sure, why not?” The girls go running off, Tarryn almost as tall as Victoria even though she’s much younger—like her daddy.
I don’t hear Bear sneak in the back of the booth. It’s only when his strong arms wrap around my waist I even know he’s there. “Hey gorgeous.” He growls into my ear. I twist my neck up and meet his lips, growing instantly wet. My husband is a fucking beast in the sack, and he proved it twice last night after Tarryn went to sleep.
“Tell your wife to finally come and get her cards read.”
“I’m not the boss of her, Chloe.” Bear says, then leans down and whispers. “Except in the bedroom.”
“Easy, Loverboy.” I scratch the back of his head and he pulls himself away from me.
As the day rolls on, everyone swings by to check out my latest finds. Eden sits with me for a while, but leaves to oversee the library events. Dane and Bear hang out by the beer tent, gossiping like a couple of ladies. There’s always somebody on the brink of a hookup here in Wild County. Small towns breed big secrets, they say.
Me, I love it here more than I could have imagined. The idea of being in New York City, lost in the shuffle seems like hell at this point. My husband, my daughter, my town, that’s where my heart is and I’m never leaving.
After most of my goods have sold and the lights go down over the Wild County mountains, my husband pulls me into a tight hug. “Where’s Tarryn?”
“With Eden and her cousins. They’re catching lightning bugs.”
“I used to do that when I was little.”
“Me too.” Bear’s emerald eyes sparkle down at me. I’m still honored that such a wonderful man chose me. I’m sure he feels the same way. I smile to myself and press a soft kiss to his full lips. The slightest hint of beer on his breath turns me on in the strangest way. “Hey, I want a beer. You don’t get to have all the fun.”
“Well, let’s get to the booze tent before the fireworks start.”
I gasp and he takes my hand. I didn’t know it was so late. We grab our drinks, wrangle up Tarryn and find our reserved spot at the back of the lodge near the waterfall. The three of us splay across the oversized picnic blanket, legs out, chins to the sky.
The first explosion sends Tarryn’s hands over her ears. Bear pulls her tight on his lap and whispers something through her fingers, into her ear. Doubtful, she uncovers her ears. When the next big boom sounds, Bear shakes her causing her to giggle, a sound I know won’t last forever but in this moment I pray will last as long as possible. He’s such an amazing father.
My husband turns his head in my direction and I cuddle closer to him, bearing some of Tarryn’s weight on one of my legs. The three of us watch the colorful fireworks, honoring our beautiful home town. Wild Creek, where I found a second chance at life when I met the love of my life.
Bear reaches over and runs his finger against my cheek. I jerk back, mouth agape. “Are you kidding me?” I wipe my own tears away, this time fully unembarrassed. These tears of joy, I wear with pride. In Wild County, I’m home.
Also by Flora Madison
WILD COUNTY CURVES:
Book 1: Vick
Book 2: Ford
Book 3: Dane
Book 4: Bear
REDEMPTION INK:
Book 1: King
Book 2: Phoenix
Book 3: Titus
Book 4: Bone
CURVES IN THE CITY:
Curves in the City: Book 1
Curvy Librarian (Curves in the City: Book 2)
Curvy Co-Star (Curves in the City: Book 3)
INSTA LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT:
Ryker: Book 1
Dayton: Book 2
OTT ALPHAS AND BBWS:
Stick and Poke
Grind’r
Re-paired: An Insta Love OTT Alpha Romance
POSSESSIVE BILLIONAIRE BOSSES:
Possessive Alpha Boss
Possessive New Boss
Possessive Boss Next Door
POSSESSIVE ALPHAS:
Possessive Teacher
Possessive Mechanic
The Cowboy’s Curvy Love
Her Secret Billionaire Neighbor
Possessive Irish Cop
Possessive Billionaire Athlete
Possessive Mountain Man
Possessive Alpha Man Bundle
OTT STANDALONES:
The Cowboy’s Curvy Love
Her Secret Billionaire Neighbor
Bear Page 3