by Nina Levine
“Good man.” I motion at her glass. “You need to pour me one too. God knows I could do with it.”
Her brows pull together. “Why? What’s happened?”
“You know how we were talking about Winter and me maybe needing to see a counsellor?” At her nod, I continue. “I think the time has come. And it freaks me out a little. Digging into our shit.”
She squeezes my hand. “Yeah, I know it does. But there’s a lot of stuff you two need to talk about.”
I swallow down the fear clawing at me. “What if it’s stuff we shouldn’t talk about? What if it rips open too many wounds we can’t recover from?” I’ll never leave Winter again and I know he’s a loyal-to-the-end man; my greatest worry is we become disconnected and live our marriage as two lonely people.
“Birdie, not talking about it may cause those wounds to fester to the point that nothing can heal them. There’s that possibility too, and you need to consider that.”
She’s right. I know she is, and I’ve already made up my mind to convince Winter of counselling, but still, this fear never leaves my side these days.
Zara joins us before I can agree with Lily, and greets her mother with a kiss. “Holy shit, these fans are bomb. Did King get them?” she asks as she surveys the backyard of King and Lily’s place where huge industrial fans are scattered around.
“Yes,” Lily says. “I don’t know where from and I don’t care. I’m just happy I’m sitting in front of one. And I’m also happy that the kids are playing with the other children, not a fight in sight. I know I’m gonna have to get up and do some work at some point, but for now, I’m getting my wine on.”
“Lil,” Tatum calls out from under the marquee near us that’s set up with the food. “Are the salads in the fridge upstairs or downstairs?”
“Upstairs,” Lily says, making a move to get up.
I slow her. “I’ll go. You keep getting your wine on.”
“This is why I love you, B,” she says. “By the time you get back, I’ll have one ready for you.”
I don’t get to see Lily often these days, but when I do, it’s like we were never apart. We came into the Storm world around the same time and helped each other find our footing. And being married to club presidents means we share many similarities in what we’re dealing with club wise. It’s at times like this, when we get the chance to catch up and talk about our struggles that I’m reminded of how blessed I am to have her in my life.
Leaving her with Zara, I head upstairs for the salads. I’m surprised when I find Winter exiting the kitchen.
“Hey, you,” I greet him. “Good timing. Can you help me carry some salads downstairs?”
An easy smile fills his face and he takes hold of my waist. Pulling me inside, he says, “Only if you do something for me.”
That smile of his, along with the sexy hum of his voice and the way his hands are all over me, stirs a wave of flutters in my tummy. “That depends on what it is you want. I mean, there’s no way I’m dropping to my knees and sucking your dick right now, but I’m open to other options.”
“Angel,” he says with a grin, “I would never ask you to do that. I’d at least find us a room if I wanted my dick sucked.”
I move into him, loving when he banters with me like this. It used to be our way, but everything we’ve gone through has slowly taken that from us. Every now and then we find our way back, but it never lasts long. Life can be a cruel bitch sometimes; I want to look her dead in the eyes and punch her out. But for now, I’ll take every minute with Winter like this that I can get.
“Okay,” I say. “Tell me what you want me to do, sexy man, and I’ll see if it’s a possibility.”
“Sexy man,” he rumbles, heat gathering in his eyes. “I like that. You should call me that more often.”
Goodness. My tummy is flip-flopping all over the place now. Give me more. “We’re running out of time here. Are you gonna tell me?”
His easy mood shifts into a more serious one. “I want you to get out of here with me.”
Not what I was expecting. Not at all. “As in, you want to leave already?”
“As in I want to spend the day alone with you. We could take a drive to the beach. Maybe go swimming. Eat ice creams. Talk. Just you and me. Like we used to before life got so fucked up.”
Every inch of my skin buzzes with excitement and happiness at what he’s just suggested. “I would love that.”
He takes that in and nods slowly. “Yeah, me too. Show me where the salads are and I’ll take them down while you go and tell Lily we’re leaving. I know you two were looking forward to catching up.”
I reach for his neck and bring his face to mine. “I love you, sexy man.” I kiss him and don’t miss the smile on his lips. I can also feel how some of the tightness in his body has disappeared. I don’t know what’s caused that, but I’m all for it.
“You keep this sexy-man business up,” he says, “and fuck knows how many orgasms you’ll get tonight.”
“What, you mean I won’t get any this afternoon?”
With a shake of his head, he says, “No. This afternoon isn’t about sex, Birdie. While I won’t be able to keep my hands off you, I want us to spend some time doing the things we don’t do enough of these days.”
I just fell in love with my husband all over again.
Maybe there is light at the end of this dark tunnel we’ve been in for years. I’ve always believed that to be true, but after our greatest loss three months ago, I’ve started to doubt it. Now, my heart is hopeful again.
9
Lily
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“The kids are out,” King says, joining me in our bedroom just after 9:00 p.m. “How are you feeling?”
I smile, feeling every ounce of it in my entire body. After a rocky start to the day, it’s been a good Christmas. King came through with everything—well, except for the air conditioning, but I’ve moved past that—and he went out of his way to help me make the barbecue a good time for his guys. “I’m feeling happy.”
He brings his hand to my throat, wrapping his fingers around it. “Good,” he says, his voice filled with gravel. “Are you tired?”
I know what he’s asking and the answer is no.
I shake my head.
He bends his face to mine and kisses me.
He’s rough.
It’s a promise of what’s to come.
And I’m weak at the knees for more.
But just when I think I know what’s next, he surprises me by ending the kiss and letting me go. “I’ve spoken to Winter and I won’t be staying in Melbourne once we’ve taken care of the thing we’ve got on this week.”
My brain is slow to catch up to what he’s saying. “What? You’re coming home straight away?”
“Yeah. I’ll leave tomorrow and I should be back home in a week or so.”
“And then you’re what? Staying here?”
He nods. “You need me here.”
I put my hands up between us. “No, King. I won’t come between you and what you need to do for the club. I’m good now. I can—”
“You’re not good, Lily. And neither are the kids. They need me here as much as you do.”
I shake my head repeatedly. “This isn’t what I want. Not if it’s not what the club needs. I just wanted you home for longer than a few days, that’s all.”
“This is what’s happening.” His statement is forceful. It’s his way of saying “end of story,” but as far as I’m concerned, it’s not the end of anything. We need to discuss this some more.
“Okay, so you do this. How long will it be before you resent the fact you’re home when your club needs you?”
“They won’t need me in Melbourne after this.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
He scrubs a hand over his face, his eyes glinting with frustration. King’s not a fan of defending his decisions, but sometimes I challenge him regardless. “Fucking hell, Lily, I thought you’d be happy about this.
”
“If it’s what you actually want, then I’m all for it. But if you’re only doing it because you think it’ll make me happy, I’m out. We should come to a better compromise. One that works for both of us.”
He turns silent. Contemplative. And then, moving faster than I see coming, he takes hold of my throat again and rasps, “This is what I want. Fuck”—his voice is strangled with the level of emotion I rarely see in my husband—“it’s what I need. I need to be home with you and the kids. Don’t fucking fight me on it.”
His words, and what I hear from him and see in him, all combine deep inside me, and I’m unable to hold myself back. I’m overcome with emotion that his admission brings out in me.
I love everything about King, even his moods and bossy ways, but this is one of my favourite parts of him: his raw honesty.
Grasping his face, I say, “God, I love you.”
With that, he finally gives in to our need for each other. Keeping one hand around my neck, he kisses me roughly again while undoing the tie of my dress. Once he has it undone, he pulls his lips from mine and strips me of my dress.
His eyes roam my body, hungry and filled with dark desires.
I’d do anything to grant him those desires.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he growls right before he lifts me and carries me to our bed.
In a few quick moves, he has me on the mattress and his clothes off.
Positioning himself on top of me, he says, “This is gonna be fast. Hold the fuck on,” right before he thrusts inside me.
I wrap every limb around him and hold the fuck on as he shows me exactly what he meant last night when he said he wanted to slam his dick so hard inside me it’d break me.
He doesn’t break me. But fuck me, he does a good job trying.
And I love every minute of it.
He’s right: it is fast. We come together, the pleasure so intense I lose myself until King pulls out of me.
Kneeling, he runs his hand over the bare skin of my stomach, his eyes glued to my pussy. I know from experience that he’s already worked out how he wants to fuck me tonight. And that he’ll take his time with me now.
Bringing his eyes to mine, he says, “I haven’t given you your Christmas present yet.”
“We said no presents for each other this year.”
He ignores me and moves off the bed, disappearing into the walk-in robe. A few moments later, he reappears and comes back to me, a jewellery box in his hand. The blue box he knows I love.
“Shit, King, I didn’t get you anything. I thought we agreed to put the money towards—”
“We did, and I don’t want anything, but there’s no fucking way I’m not getting you something.”
I open the box and almost squeal with delight when I see the beautiful silver Tiffany bow bracelet inside. “Oh my God, I love it!” With the box still in my hand, I scramble so I can climb into his lap. Kissing him with every bit of love and happiness I’m feeling, I then say, “And I love you. Not because of this bracelet, though, but because I know you would go to hell and back to give our family and me what we need. Thank you for loving us so well.”
His arms come around me. Tightly, like he’s keeping me close, protecting me from something. But then that’s King, always protecting me. “I never liked Christmas until you came into my life.” He stops talking abruptly and I know that whatever he has to say is going to be big for him.
“I know,” I say softly, running my fingers through his hair.
“Still then, it took me a few years to let those old feelings go. Now, I look forward to it, your crazy shit and all. The kids, the toys, the arguments, the food, all of it.” He squeezes me tighter. “You gave that to me, Lily, and every fucking day you give me your love and care. I’ll fucking do anything to keep you happy because you’ve made me the happiest fucking man alive.”
My heart fills with love for the man in front of me, and I’m almost certain I’m going to cry, but for now, I manage to keep my shit together. “For an asshole, you sometimes say the nicest things to me.”
He lifts me and forces me onto my back. “Put the bracelet on,” he growls. “And stop talking. The only thing I wanna hear while I taste your cunt is your screams of pleasure.”
I might love King’s infrequent declarations of love, but what I need even more than that is him like this. Filthy, demanding, and unapologetically untamed.
Merry freaking Christmas to me.
Thank you so much for reading Christmas Hearts!! I hope you loved it as much as I loved writing it. Being back with my Storm couples is a happy place for me.
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WANNA READ A BONUS SCENE featuring Fury & Zara? I mean, he promised her a “rain check and then some” and we never got to read that in this story! I’ll be sending that bonus scene out next week! Sign up here for it.
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NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES
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BATTLE HEARTS
COMING JANUARY 28, 2020
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Love, fight, battle, protect: the Morrison way.
The only fucking way.
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This is Winter's journey to MC president.
This is Winter & Birdie's journey to building a family.
This is one epic MC battle.
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The conclusion to everything started in War of Hearts.
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PREORDER BATTLE HEARTS
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Also by Nina Levine
Storm MC Series
Storm (Storm MC #1)
Fierce (Storm MC #2)
Blaze (Storm MC #3)
Revive (Storm MC #4)
Slay (Storm MC #5)
Sassy Christmas (Storm MC #5.5)
Illusive (Storm MC #6)
Command (Storm MC #7)
Havoc (Storm MC #8)
* * *
Sydney Storm MC Series
Relent (#1)
Nitro’s Torment (#2)
Devil’s Vengeance (#3)
Hyde’s Absolution (#4)
King’s Wrath (#5)
King’s Reign (#6)
King: The Epilogue (#7)
* * *
Storm MC Reloaded Series
Hurricane Hearts (#1)
War of Hearts (#2)
Christmas Hearts (#3)
Battle Hearts (#4)
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The Hardy Family Series
Steal My Breath (single dad romance)
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Crave Series
Be The One (rockstar romance)
* * *
Billionaire Romance
Ashton Scott
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www.ninalevinebooks.com
About the Author
Nina Levine
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Dreamer.
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Coffee Lover.
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Gypsy at heart.
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USA Today bestselling author who writes about alpha men & the women they love.
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When I’m not creating with words you will find me planning my next getaway, visiting somewhere new in the world, having a long conversation over coffee and cake with a friend, creating with paper or curled up with a good book and chocolate.
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I’ve been writing sinc
e I was twelve. Weaving words together has always been a form of therapy for me especially during my harder times. These days I’m proud that my words help others just as much as they help me.
www.ninalevinebooks.com
Copyright © 2019 Nina Levine
Published by Nina Levine
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author at the email address below.
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[email protected]
www.ninalevinebooks.com