by Whitley Cox
“Harper Melody Reynolds,” he starts, squeezing my hands just a tad too tight. “I, Samuel Forsyth Wright, will protect, love and cherish you for the rest of my days. You are sunshine on my dark days. My perfect fit. Without a shadow of a doubt, you are the love of my life, and I consider myself the luckiest man in the world to have found you, won your heart and been given the gift of sharing your life with you. You saved me. You rescued me. And you continue to inspire me. Your tenacity, zest for life and adventure amaze me. How loving and patient you are with my children, it makes me fall harder and deeper in love with you every single day. Everything you are makes me a better man. Knowing you, being with you makes me want to be a better man, be a man worthy of your love. And I will spend every day for the rest of my life striving to be worthy of that love. I love you with everything that I am, and I will never stop even past the final beat of my heart.”
I hiccup and snort as tears run hot and fast down my cheeks and across my lips. Tears are in Sam’s eyes, too, but he’s much more stoic, just slightly flushed and glassy-eyed.
Letting out a shaky breath, I look up at him. “Now what?”
His smile melts everything inside me.
“Now we kiss.”
His lips slant over mine, and he takes. Takes everything from me while giving me so much more in return. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down to me, lifting up on my tiptoes and meeting his tongue plunge for plunge, dip for dip. I’m in rapture from his kisses, and my body wilts into his. Slowly, he guides me back onto the bed. Before I realize it, he’s hovering above me. My legs part shamelessly so he can settle between them.
“We can’t,” I pant as his mouth drops warm, wet kisses down my cheek and neck.
“We can,” he murmurs.
“B-but the wedding is going to start any minute.”
He grins against my chest as he fishes a sharp and needy nipple out of the top of my dress. “Ah, but we already had the wedding, remember? Said the vows, sealed it with a kiss. That out there is just the pomp and circumstance for the lookie-loos. This, now, this is us, and we need to consummate our union, wife of mine.”
When a groan drifts up from my throat as he lashes at my tight bud with his tongue, there’s nothing I can do but acquiesce to his demand. “Quick, then.”
His chuckle is low and deep. “This time. But tonight, Mrs. Wright, I’m going to worship you. Take my time and make you scream my name and claw up my back.”
I bury my hands in his hair and join his laughter. “Just tonight?”
“Tonight and every night and every day after that.”
His mouth travels up my neck and over my cheeks again until he’s staring down at me. Those gorgeous blue eyes, sparkling and so full of love, draw me in and claim my heart. Claim my soul. “Every day for the rest of my days, Harper. It’s you, me and the kids. Forever.”
One more rogue tear drips down my cheek as I guide his mouth down to mine. “And ever.”
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Whitley Cox
Sneak Peek of Quick & Restless
Quick & Reckless
Book 3, A Quick Billionaires Novel
Chapter 1 - Quick & Restless
Silver
Stupid motherfucker. Selfish jackass. Prickless prick. If she ever saw that son of a bitch again, she’d rip his balls off with her bare hands and shove them down Candy’s throat. Lord knows that home-wrecking slut had other parts of Silver’s fiancé down her throat at some point.
Fuckers. Both of them. And they could rot in hell for all she cared.
Handing the cab driver a hundred dollar bill and not even bothering to get change, Silver stepped out of the taxi, slammed the door and made her way toward the wide double doors of the hotel bar. She’d asked the cabby to take her to a bar, far, far away from the church. To a place where she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew and could just wallow, drink and forget. He’d nodded solemnly, taking in her state of dress and tear-stained face, and then driven roughly forty minutes out of West Vancouver and toward downtown.
The June weather was warm. Perfect wedding weather. Fuck weddings. Fuck grooms. Fuck commitment. Fuck life.
The hinges squealed as she heaved on the brass handle and pulled open the door. The bar was dark, but clean and inviting. There were no weird stains on the carpet, the smell of Lemon Pledge hung gently in the air, and the bartender appeared to have all his teeth and not be a lecherous weirdo. Things were looking up … slightly.
It was a newer hotel, so everything still seemed shiny and fresh. Yet, even then, there was an Old World vibe to the place. A grand piano sat on a stage near the back along with a microphone stand, there were dark booths lining each of the walls, and all the lighting was muted and intimate. The perfect place to get lost in one’s problems and not be noticed by a soul as the alcohol slowly numbed the pain. Dusk was setting in, so the outside patio seemed to be hopping, but inside was still rather quiet, and only a scattering of people rimmed the horseshoe bar.
Silver pulled up a stool at the bar. It wasn’t lost on her that she was drawing a few glances. She was hard to miss. But she hadn’t had time to run home and change. At least not to their home. She fought back tears.
I will not cry.
Their home. God. She couldn’t live there anymore. Not with the knowledge that Trent had probably fucked Candy all over their goddamn apartment. Besides her clothes, Silver was going to have to burn the rest of her stuff, or at the very least disinfect the bejesus out of it.
She shuddered at the thought.
“What can I get you?”
Silver’s head snapped up from where she’d been staring at the engagement ring on her finger to find the bartender, an attractive man in his mid- to later fifties, giving her the curious lone eyebrow quirk. “I’m guessing something hard and mind-numbing?”
Silver nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
The bartender nodded back and walked away for a moment. He returned seconds later with a clean lowball glass and a bottle of what looked to be decent whiskey. He poured an ounce.
“More.” Silver nodded, tapping the bar.
He added another ounce, then glanced up at her.
She nodded.
He poured.
When it was around four ounces she finally tapped the bar again. He sniffed through his nose and gave her a lopsided smile filled with sympathy before taking off to the other side of the bar.
Silver brought the glass to her lips and took a sip.
It burned.
She winced.
She took another sip.
It still burned.
But she liked the pain. It matched the pain in her heart. It matched the pain she wanted to inflict on Trent and Candy.
“People only drink like that for two reasons,” said a deep and sexy voice with what sounded like an Australian accent. “They’re either wallowing or celebrating. And I’m guessing right now,” his eyes traveled the length her, climbing her body with such lazy indulgence you’d think she was naked, “you’re the former.”
Yes, definitely an Aussie. Her skin broke out into gooseflesh despite the warmth of the bar. She could have sworn she felt his hand travel up her arm. But he was several seats over, and both his hands were cradling his beer bottle.
“What gave it away?” she asked with a snort.
His smile stole the breath from her lungs, and she swayed where she sat. Glancing briefly at her glass, Silver contemplated another sip. Was she already drunk? Or was he just that handsome?
“You here alone?” she asked. Glancing at her glass again, she shrugged, tipped it back and drained it. This time both the bushy brows of the bartender lifted on his forehead. She nodded. He was over in a jiff, topping her up.
Aussie man chuckled. Fuck, even his laugh was sexy. Throaty and deep, and just rough enough to
suggest he may at one point have enjoyed the odd cigarette or indulged in a weekly cigar. He was tucked just far enough away, near the dimly lit corner of the bar, so she couldn’t quite tell how old he was or what color his eyes were. She knew his hair was dark, but if his eyes were blue, she was a goner.
“I’m here alone,” he finally answered. “Why do you ask?”
Silver’s eyes drifted to the vacant seat beside her. “I hate to drink alone,” she said.
Taking her invitation, he moved over three seats and joined her. One of the pot lights overhead was shining down on him now, giving her the perfect opportunity to see every inch of his big, hard body.
He was younger than she would have thought, given the deep voice, maybe twenty-eight or thirty? But his face didn’t hold an ounce of baby to it, it was all man. Chiseled and refined, with a dark, close-shaved scruff hugging his angular jaw.
His laugh stirred her from her scrutiny. “Ya done checking me out?”
Silver swallowed and removed her eyes from the V of his legs. Fuck, had she really been staring at the crotch of his dark-wash jeans? She was biting her lip, and her face was warm.
Yup, she had been.
Shit.
With embarrassment clinging to every cell of her body, she slowly lifted her head.
Double shit.
Those were some blue eyes.
“Hmm?” he hummed.
Swallowing again, she nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Good.”
She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth again. Could she? Should she? She’d never done a reckless or spontaneous thing in her life, and look where that got her. Sitting in a random hotel bar on her wedding night, contemplating asking a hot, sexy foreigner to fuck her brains out on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Yep, if this wasn’t rock bottom, Silver didn’t know what was.
“You, ah, you staying at the hotel?” she asked, nerves running rampant through her at the idea of what she was doing. She’d never propositioned someone before; hell, she’d never even hit on a guy before. But just like a bolt of lightning, that whiskey hit her in the brain hard and then whooshed right down until her toes tingled. She could do this. She was going to do this. Tipping back her glass one more time, and with new whiskey-fueled confidence, she signaled for the bartender.
He was back in a flash. “Careful, Miss. I hope you intend to cab home.”
“Cabbed here,” she said, flashing him a big, drunk smile.
He nodded solemnly as he poured her two more ounces.
“So.” She turned to face Mr. Sexy-Accent Man. “You staying upstairs? Got a room?”
His smile was slow and sexy, and the way it made every muscle inside her clench had Silver crossing her legs and squeezing before she knew what she was doing. “I don’t fuck drunk chicks.”
Her bottom lip dropped open. “I ... uh ... ”
Reaching back down the bar closer to where he’d been sitting, he snatched a big leather menu off the top of a pile. “Pick something to eat. I’m buying. You need to put some food in your belly, otherwise you won’t be able to walk, let alone talk or fuck in an hour.”
“I ... uh … ”
He flipped open the menu and started perusing. “I could go for a burger. You?”
She hadn’t even been thinking about food. After this afternoon, nothing but booze and lots of it had been on her mind. But then the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was starving. She’d been too nervous to eat this morning. Her aunt had said it was cold feet, the jitters, but now Silver thought perhaps it was intuition. That she knew, deep down, how the day was going to play out.
A burger sounded perfect. A greasy, gooey, cheesy burger with lots of fries. And onion rings. She didn’t have to fit into a dress anymore, so she’d eat whatever she wanted.
She nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
Other Available Books by Whitley Cox
Love, Passion and Power: Part 1
The Dark and Damaged Hearts Series Book 1
Love, Passion and Power: Part 2
The Dark and Damaged Hearts Series Book 2
Sex, Heat and Hunger: Part 1
The Dark and Damaged Hearts Book 3
Sex, Heat and Hunger: Part 2
The Dark and Damaged Hearts Book 4
Hot and Filthy: The honeymoon
The Dark and Damaged Hearts Book 4.5
True, Deep and Forever: Part 1
The Dark and Damaged Hearts Book 5
True, Deep and Forever: Part 2
The Dark and Damaged Hearts Book 6
Lust Abroad
Quick & Dirty
Book 1, A Quick Billionaires Novel
Quick & Easy
Book 2, A Quick Billionaires Novella
Upcoming in 2018
Quick & Reckless
Book 3, A Quick Billionaires Novel
Hard Hart
Book 1 of The Harty Boys
Hard, Fast and Madly: Part 1
The Dark and Damaged Hearts Series Book 7
Acknowledgments
As always, this is a team effort. There are so many incredible people I want to thank. First and foremost, my friend and editor Chris Kridler, you lady, are a blessing, a gem and an all around amazing human being. Thank you for your honesty and hard work and I’m so grateful to have found you.
The honest, fabulous and kick-ass author, Jeanne St. James, who did the first beta-read. Author Bonnie Edwards for your suggestions and critique on the first three chapters. My girls, Justine and Krista for your honest and helpful beta-reads. I love that I can hand you the rough, unedited stuff and you’ll read it and give it to me straight. Thank you.
Tara at Fantasia Frog Designs, as always I love your covers. Another home run.
My Romance Writer’s Behaving Badly Blog crew, I love being part of such a tremendous set of inspiring, talented and supportive women. Thank you for letting me learn, lean on and join the team.
My reader group, Whitley Cox’s Curiously Kinky Reviewers, you are all awesome and I feel so blessed to have found such wonderful fans. Sam Wright and all his Hot Dad deliciousness are for you.
Thank you, Krystal Hardy for suggesting I make Sam a firefighter, excellent idea.
The ladies in Vancouver Island Romance Authors, your support and insight have been incredibly helpful, and I’m so honored to be apart of a group of such talented writers.
And lastly, of course, the husband. The Hot Dad in my life. Nothing revs my engine like watching you be super-dad with the Small Human. P.S. Thank you for giving her your eyelashes.
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About the Author
A Canadian West Coast baby born and raised, Whitley is married to her high school sweetheart, and together they have a spirited toddler, a brand new baby and a fluffy dog. She spends her days making food that gets thrown on the floor, vacuuming Cheerios out from under the couch and making sure that the dog food doesn't end up
in the air conditioner. But when nap time comes, and it's not quite wine o'clock, Whitley sits down, avoids the pile of laundry on the couch, and writes.
A lover of all things decadent; wine, cheese, chocolate and spicy erotic romance, Whitley brings the humorous side of sex, the ridiculous side of relationships and the suspense of everyday life into her stories. With mommy wars, body issues, threesomes, bondage and role playing, these books have everything we need to satisfy the curious kink in all of us.