Hungry Cowboy

by Charlize Starr

  “Does she make you happy?” His father steepled his fingers on the desk and offered Matt a stern expression.

  “Very much.”

  “Then everyone in this company will be at your disposal. Get your wife back.”

  ***

  Two days after turning in her resignation, Brooke woke up because her phone wouldn’t stop ringing. She’d gone to see her father day before yesterday. Then she’d come home, put on her pajamas, and spent the last forty-eight or so hours crying.

  She was finally getting some sleep, and someone was calling her at… what time was it?

  “Eight-thirty on a Saturday? Ugh, why?” She picked it up to see a number she didn’t recognize. She did, however, know the caller ID. Cross Hospitality Industries.

  She sat up in bed and tucked the covers tighter around her. She was not answering that call. Except, she kind of had to. What if it were something only she could handle? She’d given her notice but promised on her resignation to be available for the next month to answer any questions.

  “Oh, hell.” She slid her finger over the answer bar. “Yes?”

  “Brooke, don’t hang up.” It was Matt, talking fast.

  “I’m hanging up. I promised to be available to the company, not to you.” She tried to tell herself to hit the end button, but she waited a moment longer.

  “Are you still here?” Matt asked.

  She sighed. “Yes. What do you want?”

  “I need to show you something. There’s a car outside your apartment. I want you to go get in the car, gorgeous.”

  “Why would I do that? I’m not sleeping with you for twelve more days only to go through this heartbreak again.”

  “I promise you, I will not ask you for twelve days.”

  Brooke climbed out of bed and went to her window. His normal car wasn’t outside—there was a full stretch limousine. “Why the fancy car? Fancier car,” she corrected. His regular customized Mercedes was hardly drab.

  “The sooner you get in the car, the sooner everything will make sense. Please, I know I haven’t earned it, but if you could just give me a little trust today, you won’t be sorry.”

  “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “I’m not in the car.”

  Brooke glanced at the phone as if it could explain away her confusion. Slowly, she put it back up to her ear. “Then why am I getting in the car?”

  “Because it’s customary for the groom to not see the bride on their wedding day.” There was a slight chuckle in his voice. He knew how crazy this all sounded. Knew her curiosity would get the better of her because he also knew her.

  “We’re not getting married. We’re supposed to be getting divorced. Please tell me this isn’t some freedom party or something.” She walked over to her closet and started rummaging. She wasn’t getting dressed up. She didn’t care how Matt saw her, not anymore.

  “No, but it is a celebration. Just throw on some clothes, get in the car, and do exactly as my father says.”

  “Excuse me?” She’d been in the process of pulling a pair of jeans out of the closet, but she froze.

  “My dad is going to take you to a church. There’s a team there waiting for you, to do whatever you’d like. If you want to wear one of the white dresses I bought you, that’s fine. If you want to come in cutoffs and a t-shirt, that’s fine, too. What matters is I need to ask you something, in front of God and everyone we know. Will you come to the church?”

  For the first moment since she and Matt had agreed to stay married, Brooke had no clue what was happening. Even when they’d split up, she’d known it was only a matter of time. It was expected. This was not. “Yes.”

  She had to know what he wanted to ask her. She was sure of one thing—he wouldn’t gather everyone just to ask her for a divorce.

  ***

  Matt stood at the front of the church in his tuxedo. He’d been waiting a half-hour longer than the longest he’d anticipated. What if Brooke had changed her mind about showing up?

  He didn’t care if she didn’t want to wear the dress—would understand it, even. More importantly, he didn’t care what she wore or how she looked. He just wanted her to show up.

  He hadn’t heard a peep from either her or his father. The plan had been clear. Bring her to the church, hand her over to the makeup artist, stylists, and seamstress, and then his father would take his place in the church.

  Over the last two days, Matt had enlisted the help of nearly everyone he knew to make sure this went off perfectly. All their friends and coworkers had helped plan this and he was so proud they’d be here to help them usher in the best part of their lives.

  Matt had brought Brooke’s father here, and he waited by the door to escort her down the aisle. If she said yes, he intended to make sure she got the wedding she’d always dreamed about.

  Just when Matt was deciding that maybe he should go check in, see what had gone wrong, the doors opened. Brooke stood in the doorway, the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. She was even more breathtaking than usual, dressed all in white. He’d had several dresses and veils brought for her to choose from and left his mother’s diamond earrings for her to wear.

  She’d chosen perfectly. A gown fitted down to below her hips flared out and a veil fell in cascades down her back. She gave him a nervous look then saw her father and smiled at him.

  Matt’s father hurried to his seat on the front row. He gave a sheepish shrug when Matt arched an eyebrow at him. His father and Brooke had scared him out of his wits. He’d been a wreck, but she was here now.

  The music swelled and her father slowly walked her down the aisle, bringing her closer. Matt tried to remember all the things he wanted to say, wondering if he’d be speechless when the time came.

  She stopped and the pastor said, “Who gives this woman away?”

  Mr. Monroe said, “I do,” in a querulous voice. When Matt had called and told him what he wanted to do, her father had been thrilled.

  Brooke joined him up on the stage. Matt held out his hands and she took them both in hers.

  “Why are you doing this, Matt?” She murmured to him so that the room full of guests couldn’t hear her words.

  “Because I’m crazy about you. I’ve fallen so in love with you over the last few months.” “Maybe it’d be better if we talked in private.” She gave a pointed look at his father.

  He clutched her hands tighter. “He knows everything. I’m not ashamed of how we came together. I’m so grateful for that night, the night I really saw you.”

  “Is this for real? It’s not some game to grab power in the company or to keep me in your bed a little longer?” Tears rimmed her eyes.

  “It’s completely real, wife. The company will always be there, but I nearly lost you. I couldn’t let that happen. We’re a perfect team and we’ll be one for the rest of our lives if you say yes.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat. She didn’t look convinced. “Will you please marry me again?”

  “Does that mean a family, too? Because I want kids.” Her voice shook.

  “A boat load, if that’s what you’d like. Just please, marry me—again. Forever this time.”

  “Yes.” She placed her lips on his and the room erupted in applause at the kiss.

  The pastor went on to perform the wedding ceremony. They both spoke their parts without too much fumbling. He couldn’t stop beaming at his wife.

  Matt would forever remember both their wedding days—the day fate had brought them together and the day they had finally found their way to each other, in love, and started their future.

  *****

  THE END

  Vampire Romance Collection

  The Vampire Prince's Mate

  Description

  A BBW trying to save her coven PLUS a hot vampire prince claiming her PLUS a brewing war between humans and vampires!

  It’s not easy being a vampire, and Calissa knows it better than anyone else. She hates having to hide from the world and strategize as a top
militant official, locked away in the vampire manor. But she hates even more that Lee, the sexy vampire prince of her coven, has an insatiable appetite for her and her alone. He will stop at nothing to win her heart and claim her as his mate and future wife.

  Meanwhile, a storm between human hunters and the vampire coven is brewing, meaning that if she wants her race to survive, Calissa will have to set aside her hatred for Lee and work together with him to destroy the hunters before it is too late.

  Can Calissa convince the Lords of the Vampire Council to defend the coven? And can she resist Lee’s attempts to make her his?

  Chapter One

  The sun had long since risen above the horizon line, and yet Calissa found herself wide awake. Her ruby red lips, redder even than the blood she was drinking from the wine glass to her left, were pursed in frustration, while her long, immaculately manicured fingernails drilled rhythmically against the hard wood of her desk.

  Three younglings had been staked the previous night, and it had been due to a serious lack of foresight on her part, something she found highly inexcusable.

  As she looked over a hand-drawn map, detailed with all the attacks against vampires in the past month, the door to her study opened. A male vampire dressed in simple blacks entered, without any form of warning or permission.

  A sigh escaped her lips and she bared her fangs in an unfriendly fashion as the man invited himself to a chair, flopping into the soft, maroon cushion with a noisy sigh.

  “You’re not invited,” Calissa snapped, eyeing the man in clear irritation, at which he merely shrugged, a grin on his face.

  “And I didn’t ask for your permission to be here. Last I checked, this manor belongs to me, so I can go anywhere I want. This chair is the most comfortable, so I think I’ll sit here for a while,” he hummed.

  “If you enjoy it so much, why don’t you take it somewhere else, hmm?” she asked, rolling her eyes when he merely sank deeper into the chair and made a show of getting more comfortable. “I don’t have time to deal with you today, Lee. Your people are dying. You’d think you’d be a little more interested in how to stop the humans from killing them.”

  This highly infuriating creature was none other than Lee Dameron, the prince of the vampire coven she belonged to. The fact irritated her to no end, particularly because he showed absolutely zero desire to rule his coven, which meant that, as the coven warlord (or lordess, in her case), any responsibility not fulfilled by his “royal highness” fell to her.

  As if she didn’t have enough problems in her own job description to handle.

  “Oh come now, Leesi—”

  “Calissa,”

  “It can’t be nearly as bad as you say. You’re just simply not sending out the right vampires to put a stop to the humans’ shenanigans,” Lee hummed. Had Calissa had anything but her map and the wine glass of blood, she’d have thrown something at his smugly smiling face. “Besides, one of these days the Council will step in.”

  “Careful, Lee. Arrogance is not a trait that attracts women,” Calissa snapped. Her eyes, dark brown and brooding, glared daggers at the crowned prince, yet, as always, he didn’t seem perturbed in the slightest.

  In fact, he snatched her glass from her desk and took a deep drink, his eyes fixed on her in amusement.

  Disgusted, Calissa slammed her hands down on the table, stood up from her chair and walked threateningly over to Lee, her skin tight jeans and low cut shirt accentuating every curve and angle of her body.

  “Listen here, Lee Dameron,” she hissed, a strand of her usually perfectly curled, pinned up hair flopping into her face. “If you have nothing productive to contribute towards destroying the human hunters, then you can march your pretty little ass out of my office so I can try to save your people. Understand?”

  To her surprise, a feral light flashed in the vampire prince’s eyes and he moved with inhuman speed and grace, so fast that she could barely track him with her eye. Before she really understood how it had happened, she was pinned against the wooden wall of her office, his hands on either side of her shoulders and his fangs sinfully close to her throat.

  “Be careful, Leesi,” he purred. A tongue like ice flicked out from between his lips and licked against her neck, while the very points of his fangs pricked against her skin, leaving beads of dark, red blood welling up to meet his tongue.

  Calissa shivered softly and her hands instinctively tangled in Lee’s dark hair as she pulled his mouth closer to her throat. Faint memories swirled in her head; memories of many nights of passion, drunk off lust and with the thirst for blood satiated by the taste of another vampire.

  A hum rumbled deep in Lee’s throat as he sank his fangs deep into Calissa’s pale throat, his lips locking around the wound he had made. Blood welled up into his mouth, leaving the searing burn of lust on his long dead heart. As he pulled away, and Calissa whined despite herself, a smirk crossed his bloodied lips.

  “That’s what I thought,” he purred smugly. “Now, where can’t I be?”

  Calissa just glared as she brought her hand up to cover the bite wound in her neck.

  “Satisfied?” she growled, a husky, lustful hint in her tone despite her hostilities.

  Lee nodded and licked his lips free of her blood as he moved toward the door. Just before he shut it, he poked his head back in and grinned wolfishly. “Oh. If you happen to finish anytime soon, you know where my bed is,” he winked, cackling as this time Calissa chucked her wine glass at the door.

  By the time it shattered against the wood, Lee had already disappeared, leaving a trail of laughter behind him.

  Chapter Two

  Like every other time Lee had interrupted her planning, Calissa found herself waking up naked in his bed, wrapped up in his arms, the following evening. His chest rose and fell softly as he breathed, and, as if he was mocking her even in sleep, a smirk quirked at his lips.

  “I hate you,” she whispered angrily, and yet, despite her words, she remained wrapped in his embrace with her heart-shaped face pressed against his cool chest.

  She knew the love-and-hate they shared did not make the healthiest relationship, but it never affected her the way it did as of late.

  Because it was no longer just about the two of them.

  Sighing, Calissa wondered if she would ever gather the strength to tell Lee that consequences finally caught up with their wild passions.

  She had known that she was pregnant for three days now, and kept telling herself that all she was waiting for was the right moment, but in her soul she knew she was simply too afraid of his reaction. The volatile mix of dread and joy that the knowledge that she would soon become a mother filled her with was torment enough even without being reminded that the only thing that worked in the relationship with the baby’s father was sex.

  Lee was only ever tolerable when he slept, and if she moved then she’d have to listen to him speak. This was much easier to handle. Besides, if she got up now she’d have to listen to reports on how many vampires had been staked during the day, and demands about why she hadn’t sent in a formal petition to request military support from the Lords of the Vampire Council.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t have multiple petitions drafted, it was more that Lee had the attention span of a goldfish, and he was the one who had to actively submit and present the petition as the ruling monarch of their coven. Every time she’d tell him exactly what needed to be said, and every time he’d come back without the Council’s support.

  The very thought left her blood boiling in her veins, and she shoved the naked man away from her with a huff. A satisfied smile formed on her lips as the air audibly whooshed out of his lungs.

  “W-What was that for?” Lee gasped, after wheezing for a few long moments. Genuine hurt filled his dark eyes, and for a moment a pang of guilt tore at Calissa’s heart.

  “Nothing. You deserved it anyway,” she snapped, already on her feet in all her naked glory. As she moved, her neck and shoulders protested in pain. She k
new they’d be all marked up and bitten to shreds.

  “Calissa?” Lee called out to her, a frown on his face, but she was already storming out of his room. “Calissa!”

  Eyes moved all over her form, some openly staring at her plump breasts or taut butt as she walked by, but she couldn’t bring herself to care in her irritation. Why did Lee have to be so incredibly useless?

  Speak of the devil... Familiar hands gripped forcefully at her bare hips from behind just as she reached her room. If she turned around now and looked Lee in the eye then she’d end up broken hearted, angry and confused later on.

  “Calissa. Turn around and look at me,” Lee demanded. His tone rang with tension and pain, and as he turned her around his eyes glared with anger.

  “Don’t you dare walk out on me again,” he snapped, ignoring the stares and glares his naked form received as he towered over Calissa.

  Part of her wanted to reach out to him and allow him to pull her into his arms. Her heart ached to be loved and coveted, but her head could not forgive him for his incompetence and his indifference.

  “Until you do your job, there is nothing between us!” she said, her hands pressing weakly at his chest. Had she truly wanted to push him away, she would have, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. “Until you act like a ruler… Like a leader, we are nothing!”

  With each accusation, Lee’s eyes filled with pain and his hands dropped to his sides. With the way he hunched over, it looked like he’d been punched in the stomach, and when he opened his mouth to speak, she already knew what he was going to say. This happened every time they shared a bed together.

  “I love you, Calissa. Can’t you see that?”

  Of course she knew he loved her. She knew he wanted her as his mate, but she couldn’t forgive him for getting his people killed. For getting their people killed.