Sweeter Than Chocolate: Valentine's Day Anthology

by Gina Kincade

  They connected in a way he had never experienced with another being, alive or dead, and by the time they fell into Wendy’s bed near midnight, he knew he’d fallen more in love with her than he’d already been.

  Kissing her, touching her, caressing her was not enough. He wanted to be with her always and as he made love to her, tears of happiness and regret leaked from his eyes to fall onto the pillow beside them. As he took her to the greatest of heights, his own joy was tainted by the fact that he would fade from her existence with the morning light.

  Indeed, on this night, after making love, instead of falling to sleep in each other’s arms, they remained awake, talking throughout the hours, staring at each other, knowing they were spending their last moments together.

  As dawn approached, he could feel the familiar tug in his soul. He held her; his arm wrapped possessively around her.

  “Wendy, it’s almost time.” Her back stiffened and her hands tightened around his arms as if she might keep him in this existence by sheer will and physical force. “I want you to promise me something.”

  “Anything.” Her voice wobbled over the word, and he knew she was as near to tears as he.

  “Don’t come back next year.”

  “What?” She surged upright, turning to face him fully, her bare breasts hanging for his hungry view.

  “I don’t want you wasting your life by waiting to spend one day each year with me. You deserve more. Find someone you can love and who can return that love fully. Please, I want better for you than I can give.”

  “No,” Wendy snapped. “I won’t agree to that. If all we have is one day a year, then that’s what we have. I won’t walk away from that.”

  “Wendy, please, you mean too much to me. Your life—”

  “Is mine to do with as I please,” she stated. Then she touched her hand to his cheek. “And I wish to spend whatever days I am granted in the future with you.”

  She leaned in to kiss him. He felt the caress of her lips a moment before the sun breached the sky and his body dissipated into a wisp of nothingness. He saw the moment she knew he was gone. Her head dipped onto the pillow where he had been resting and she wrapped her arms around it, pulling it close to her body and sobbed.

  Chapter Six

  She cried herself to sleep that morning after he disappeared. When she woke, it was to a flashback of last year. Waking to find the space beside her empty. This time, at least, she wouldn’t wonder where Magnus had gone.

  This time, she knew.

  Surprisingly, the knowledge didn’t make it easier.

  Somehow, Wendy pulled herself from the bed. Her body was deliciously sore as it had been last year. She ran hot water in the shower to wash, then dressed and packed her bag. She brought little for the single night she’d rented the room. After all, she only came here for Magnus. To spend the night with him.

  And she would do it again next year. And the year after that. And for as many years as she was alive, she vowed to spend each Valentine’s Day in this room with Magnus Campbell. Together they would spend their short time talking and learning more of each other and then making love until the sun rose to take him away.

  It would be an unusual life, she mused. But she meant what she said to him before he disappeared with the morning sun. If all they were given was one night a year, then she would hold on to that. Tightly with both hands. She would not let that go.

  She had her belongings in hand as she descended the stairs to check out at the desk when the front doors to the inn opened wide, letting in a blast of cold winter air.

  It was near midday and the sunlight streamed inward, but it wasn’t the chill air that took Wendy’s breath away. It was the man who entered the inn.

  His tall frame towered within the doorway, his dark hair, blue eyes and cleft in his chin easily recognizable.

  “Magnus?” She stood frozen on the stairs afraid her knees might buckle beneath her. How could he be standing there? Was it Magnus? Or was it a man who appeared identical? What were the chances of that?

  As the many thoughts flitted through her brain, the man’s gaze found hers and the smile that broadened his lips left her with no doubt as to his identity.

  “Wendy!” He ran to meet her on the stairs, his arms opening as he ascended.

  She dropped her bag, her fingers releasing the strap without a thought, letting it tumble down the last few steps as she lifted her arms to embrace him.

  He’d wrapped his arms around her, he lifted her off her feet, kissing her deeply as she clung to him.

  The warmth that spread through her body felt right, amazingly perfect as if her entire world had been off-kilter and had now adjusted itself.

  She felt whole. As if a part of her had been missing, and she hadn’t even realized it.

  When, at last, he leaned back, giving her time to breathe and gaze upon him again, he grinned, his face alight with radiance.

  “What… How…” Her many questions tumbled so quickly through her brain that she couldn’t decide which one to start with, but it didn’t matter. Words between them were unnecessary. He knew what she meant to ask.

  “I don’t know,” he said with a brief shake of his head. “One moment I was in bed with you. The next I woke stretched on the ground in the garden surrounded by people looking down at me and asking if I was all right. They could see me, Wendy. Men and women. They could see me, and I could touch them, and I knew… I’ve been given a second chance. I don’t understand it. And, frankly, I don’t care. I don’t want to question my good fortune. I’m here with you…the day after Valentine’s Day. That’s all I care about. I ran to find you as quickly as I could.”

  “Oh, Magnus,” Wendy whispered, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

  He knelt then, bending at one knee a little awkwardly on the stairs, but he kept her right hand clasped tightly in both of his.

  “We haven’t known each other long, Wendy. But my every instinct screams that you are the one. Will you allow me to court you properly? To woe you, as a woman should be wooed. Because I have every intention of marrying you if you’ll have me.”

  “Oh, Magnus…” Wendy smiled, the tears she’d been struggling to hold back now fell unchecked. “Yes. Of course.”

  At her words, he scooped her into his arms once again and rained kisses upon her face.

  “I love you, Wendy,” he whispered between the kisses.

  “Magnus, I love you, too.” She laughed with delight as she held onto him. “I’ve finally found my Mr. Wonderful.”

  Where to find Tricia Schneider

  Website

  Blog

  Newsletter

  Facebook

  Twitter

  BookBub

  Goodreads

  Other Titles by Tricia Schneider

  The Witch and the Wolf (The Merriweather Witches Book 1)

  The Witch and the Vampire (The Merriweather Witches Book 2)

  The Witch’s Thief (The Merriweather Witches Book 3)

  The Witch’s Kiss (The Merriweather Witches Book 4)

  The Pirate’s Lady

  Pirates: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology

  A Wink and a Smile Anthology

  A Kiss and a Promise Anthology

  Fire & Ice Boxed Set

  Loving Boone (Cougar Shifters Book 1)

  About the Author

  Tricia Schneider is a full-time dreamer who writes romance novels, novellas and short stories. She’s been an archaeologist, a spaceship captain and a vampire hunter. She’s sailed the Seven Seas with sexy pirates and danced the night away with Prince Charming. Before the supernatural took possession of her pen, she worked as Assistant Manager and bookseller at Waldenbooks. She firmly believes there is a book for everyone. After the bookstore closed, she turned to writing full-time, publishing paranormal and historical romances. From werewolves and witches to Regency lords and ladies, she escapes into sensual stories where happily-ever-after is a guarantee.

  Tricia lives in Penn
sylvania with her four children and two rescued cats. When she’s not typing away on her laptop, she’s riding shotgun in a ’67 Impala while keeping her eyes open for a madman in a Big Blue Box.

  Your Wolfish Heart

  Shifting Hearts Dating App, Book Two

  Erzabet Bishop & Gina Kincade

  4 Flames

  Skip To Dear Reader

  About Your Wolfish Heart

  App Tastic...

  They were supposed to have the app live by Valentine’s Day. At least that was what Paige’s brother, Rafe, agreed to. Now here she was hoping and praying that with a little goddess power, and whole lot of technological know-how, he and his team can pull off a V-Day miracle.

  Flower power...

  Valentine’s Day was Liv’s least favorite holiday, even if she was part owner of Bluebonnet’s, one of the busiest flower shops in town. The holiday coinciding with her daughter’s death at the hands of a drunk driver, and then her marriage dissolving, was just another reminder of how empty her life was. But when a very familiar doctor starts coming into the shop, she feels a tug on her heartstrings, not to mention her lady bits, and wonders if maybe there is someone out there for her after all.

  A Wolf in Need…

  Dr. Thomas Merton fills his days tending to the needs of others, but he can’t ever forget the dark-haired woman who lost her child to a drunk driver. Not one to poach on another man’s woman, he put his wolf’s attraction and his own on the back burner. But when a fortuitous meeting at a local flower shop leads to a second chance at making a connection, can his wolf convince them both that the right kind of love is worth everything?

  Dedication

  To Gina: To the moon and back.

  For my husband and fur babies…love and chicken strips.

  Mariana: You make me laugh and I love hearing about the mischief your kids get into. One of these books is going to be for you.

  For the fans who love shifters just as much as I do: This one’s for you. Cause we all need a hunky man bearing chocolate for Valentine’s Day. And flowers. Let’s not forget the flowers…

  Each time you love, love as deeply as if it were forever.

  —Audrey Lorde

  Love is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction.

  —Antoine De Saint-Exupéry

  Chapter One

  “What do you mean it’s not completely ready?” Paige tightened her grip on the water bottle until it crunched. Standing in the entrance to her brother’s office always felt like a doorway into something from Weird Science or Tron. Computer equipment lined his work bench and the white board that covered the wall was filled with enough equations that it absolutely gave her a headache.

  All she wanted to do was run the front side of the business and leave the technical stuff to him, where it belonged. But Valentine's Day was fast approaching and she hadn’t even seen as much as a sniff of a demo.

  She wasn’t going to admit to her partner, Sylvia, that she was beginning to panic. Not ever.

  They needed a dating app, and pronto, if they were going to compete in the big leagues. And they needed it yesterday. Her brother would come through. Even if that meant she had to prod him a little.

  Her cat flexed her claws and rubbed along the underside of her skin and Paige gave her a mental hug.

  The launch party would be a success. It had to be. She’d already booked the new event space at Blue Willow House, one of the most popular local sites for weddings. Gracie at Death by Chocolate was bringing her most awesome deserts and Chef Patrick from Kimball’s was catering the rest with bite-sized mouth orgasms of his smoked steak and potato awesomeness.

  Heck, even Amanda from the Silver Wolf Winery was providing samples of her amazing 2020 lineup.

  It was a win-win for everyone. There were date night passes and a raffle basket from one of the cruise ships out of Galveston… She was ready. All except for the damned app.

  Paige struggled for calm and suddenly wished her mate had time for lunch today. He always had a way of settling her anxiety and right about now, she could really use the moral support. Sylvia wasn’t in yet. It was just as well. She had to send out more emails and make sure all the details were set and ready. Her friend Caroline, who’d opened a flower shop, had agreed to donate some table arrangements and she needed to finalize how many guests were going to be there.

  It was going to be fine.

  Rafe would do it.

  He would do it or she would set him up with the worst date in the history of ever.

  And she had a few candidates in mind, too, if he decided to be an ass.

  Whatever. She just needed a moment to talk to him before Sylvia got back and then she could start on the emails.

  Shandra, one of the new part timers in the office, was already at work putting files together on prospective clients, so at least that part of the plan was working well. Now they just needed to get the technology part off the ground.

  She came further into the office and crossed her arms, giving her brother a death stare.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or do I have to pry it out of you?”

  “Look, there are stages to this process, okay?” Rafe ran his fingers through his dark hair and she noticed not for the first time just how tired he looked. His team had been working around the clock. She knew that. But Valentine’s Day was just around the corner and this was cutting it too close for comfort. Her’s or anyone else’s.

  “I realize that,” she responded, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.

  “Rafe. I think I have a solution for the issue we ran into… Oh.” Jessica, one of the new members of the technical team, burst into the office. Seeing Paige, she clamped her lips shut and stared down at the floor.

  “Jess,” Paige said stiffly. She wasn’t sure what to make of the girl. Awkward and fashion challenged, she was more into computers than actual conversation with a live person.

  No wonder Rafe picked her for his team. Paige wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about dating now that she thought about it.

  Her gaze sharpened as she took in the telltale blush lining the other woman’s cheeks.

  Bunny.

  The scent was unmistakable. She hadn’t bothered getting close enough to care before today. Rafe had conducted the interviews for his tech team and she’d had the pleasure of hiring the office part timer. It worked out fine. Each to his or her own.

  She wouldn’t know the first thing to ask in a tech interview anyway, so it was just as well. As long as the new members of their team did what they hired them to do, then they had a chance of keeping this ship on course.

  So the bright young bunny had a thing for her brother…hmmm.

  Her cat stretched, rubbing against the inside of her skin, eager to get out and run.

  Well, now. That was interesting. And she didn’t guess Rafe had the first clue. A smile tugged at her lips and she coughed, passing Jess on the way out the door. As she stepped into the hallway, she turned back to her brother.

  “Guys. I have an event booked. Please make sure we have something to show our guests.”

  With that, she turned and made her way back toward the main bullpen of the office. A jangle of bells accompanied her partner, Sylvia, through the front door with a blast of frigid air.

  Goddess bless, she didn’t much care for winter.

  “Hey. How’d it go?”

  “Great. Demi’s shop is flourishing and the hunky polar bear shifter she connected with are still as hot as ever.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Paige grinned. It was especially amazing when a lead from a friend brought two people together. A little goddess magic never hurt either. Especially for familial relations like Demi.

  Sylvia dropped her purse on her desk and looked down with a frown. “Where is Allison? There aren’t any emails.”

  “I took care of them already,” Paige responded. “Unless something new came in. Besides, she had an errand to run for the Valentine
’s Day party, so I sent her to get us some supplies.”

  “Ah. The app launch. How’s that going?”

  “Oh…you know. Fine.” Paige wrapped a long strand of hair around her finger and pretended to leaf through some paperwork on her desk. If she made eye contact now, Sylvia would totally know she was lying.

  “We’re getting quite the crowd. And I reached out to a friend of mine with ties to the local hospital. She’s donating some flowers and has promised to send some candidate our way for the event.”

  “Wonderful.” Sylvia beamed. “I knew you had it all under control. If you need me, I’m going to just run over to Star Pizza and pick us up some lunch. Oh…and make sure a few of the singles are set to attend.”

  “Sure.” Paige blinked. Gotta hand it to Sylvia. Her goddess powers were more than just a little amazing. One suggestion and people were putty in her hands. The whole descending from the Goddess of Love thing was really working in both of their favors. Now if she could get the technology angle in place, there wouldn’t be anything they couldn’t handle.

  Chapter Two

  “Jenna Paulsen, you get your backside back into bed and stop putting chocolate pudding in Mariana’s hair.” Dr. Thomas Merton tried to hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth but he was losing the battle.

  His wolf chortled at the child’s antics, settling down into the daily routine.

  Jenna gave a mock salute and scurried back toward her side of the bedroom, behind the blue curtain. He heard the telltale sounds of the child crawling back into bed and made a mental note to have the nurses look in on the girl a little more frequently.

  “And how are you doing today, Mariana?” He wiped at the blob of chocolate pudding on the girl’s forehead.

  Kids.

  “Can I have some pudding?” The girl asked, her big eyes hopeful.