Five minutes later, she stood against the wall beside the door to their suite, listening as Joseph’s footsteps, muffled slightly by the oriental carpet in the corridor, came to a stop, and he tapped softly.
“Bunny, are you there?” he said, without entering. They were following tradition so he couldn’t see her dress yet.
“I’m here, Sir,” she said, sliding her trembling fingers around the doorjamb. His hand was wonderfully warm as he squeezed hers and stroked her palm.
“Are you nervous?”
“No. I’m excited,” she said, sighing with pleasure as she felt his lips on her knuckles. “I have something for you, Sir. I…I wanted us to start out on the right foot, and I thought you might need this.” She slipped the tiny packaged, wrapped in tissue and a red ribbon, through the opening in the doorway. “You should open it now. It’s good to be prepared.”
He cleared his throat as he unwrapped it and then chuckled. “What am I going to do with you, Bunny?”
“I dunno. Love me maybe?”
“Absolutely. Why do I need a handheld tally counter?”
“To help you keep track. You’re gonna need it, Beastly. I’m sure.”
Click.
He reached a hand into the doorway. Without him asking, she cupped it to her cheek and then kissed his palm. “I love you, Sir.”
“I love you, too, fiammetta.”
“Is Samson downstairs making goo-goo eyes at Cassie?’
He snorted in amusement. “Yes. He says she’s avoiding him.”
“And Tristan?”
“He’s waiting at the bottom of the stairs. He’s sweating bullets, afraid he’s going to trip you or mess up, poor guy. Are you ready?”
“Am I ever, Sir. Let’s get this party started.”
Tristan did a marvelous job of walking her down the aisle, stopping only once to hug Miss Louisa, who was standing, sobbing into her hankie while Jesse patted her back. It was the most gorgeous of weddings, set on the back veranda as the sun set.
Joseph was so ruffled up with pride and emotion when he saw her, he looked as though he might bust out of his jacket. Hector presided over the service with Juno looking on from nearby, holding their tiny infant son in her arms, born a couple of weeks early, but just in time to be the youngest wedding guest.
She blinked away tears when Joseph slid her one-of-a-kind wedding band onto her left ring finger. Completely original, the band mimicked her cuff, with a single thumbprint on the otherwise smooth, glossy gold. It nestled against her diamond engagement ring, and the rings would be soldered together after they returned from their honeymoon. She hadn’t known what he had planned, but she loved it, and loved him even more.
“I can’t tell you how much I love this dress,” he murmured as they greeted their guests as Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hazelle for the first time. His hand slid down her spine, caressing and tantalizing her until he reached that sensitive spot at the small of her back where the lace began.
“Then you’ll also appreciate that I’m not wearing any panties at all.” She smiled innocently at him and shook her head. “Not a stitch…Beastly.”
Click.
The French doors at the rear of the mansion were all opened, and reception guests mingled between the lounge, the dance floor set up on the veranda, and the white reception tent. Strings of white lights had been hung by the Hazelle House staff, giving the event a warm and festive atmosphere.
Joseph chuckled as Bunny sat in his lap in the lounge and they watched Samson finally corner his prey. Cassie blushed as she looked up at him, clenching her champagne glass so hard it looked as if the stem might snap.
“There’s a story there,” Joseph said as he sipped from his rocks glass, which contained a shot from the bottle of Glenlivet XXV that Hector had given him as a wedding gift. His growl as he swallowed moments later made her think of a contented bear, and she nestled against his chest.
“Cassie said she knew him and his brother from years ago. I didn’t know he had any siblings.”
“Yes, a twin in fact. Samson and Ivan. So, she is an old acquaintance?”
“Yeah, he didn’t tell you?”
“No. Samson doesn’t talk about his young years much.”
Bunny grew more intrigued by the moment as Samson reached up to touch one of the curls that had come loose from Cassie’s up-do, and she blushed scarlet as he caressed her shoulder and up her throat. She didn’t seem to know where to look until he spoke to her, and she finally looked up at him. A moment later, he held out his hand, and she let him lead her to the dance floor.
Bunny said, “Cassie is a sweet person. I wonder if she knows he’s a sadist.”
“That remains to be seen, fiammetta. There’s lots worse things than being a sadist, you know,” he added with a grin as he nuzzled her throat.
“Speaking of sadists, did you give any more consideration to my idea about having a Sadie Hawkins Switcheroo Night at Hazelle House? Subs dressed in leather, wielding whips and taking names. Doms feeling the sting. It would be awesome.”
“I told you, little flame, I’d have a mutiny on my hands. No way in hell.”
“Okay, well then, can we talk about switching?” she asked, sliding her fingers through his tuxedo shirt and teasing one of his nipples to a tight nubbin.
He chuckled and finally gripped her fingers. “That tickles. You’ve been doing your research, haven’t you?”
“Uh-huh, can we?”
“Absolutely. I have a pretty new willow switch I’d love to try out on your lush little ass.” The humor in his eyes told her he knew exactly what she was talking about…and he wasn’t having any of it.
“You suck—Sir.”
“So do you, fiammetta. Beautifully, I might add. So, is that your final answer on the willow switch?”
“I’ll consider it, if you’ll let me redecorate the dungeon.”
He gave a soft chuckle and stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “With your beauty and your fire, you already have, love.”
“Oh, Beastly.”
Click.
THE END
WWW.HEATHERRAINIER.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Heather Rainier lives and writes in South Central Texas. Her stories offer up the content of her fantasies, with humor, tragedy, and triumph mixed in.
Heather’s love of romance fiction began as a teenager when her mom gave her copies of Kathleen Woodiwiss’s The Flame and the Flower and Bertrice Small’s Skye O’Malley. To this day she’s pretty sure that was her mom’s version of the “birds and the bees” talk.
Heather writes the type of novel she loves to read: more erotic and edgy than the mainstream, with plenty of sweet romance mixed in and a happily ever after guaranteed. Heather’s favorite type of hero is the gentle, lovable giant but readers will discover a wide variety of heroes and alphas on the pages of her novels.
When not happily typing at her keyboard, Heather is usually busy corralling her kids, or loving on her smokin’ hot husband, who thankfully loves to cook.
For all titles by Heather Rainier, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/heather-rainier
CAST OF MAIN CHARACTERS IN BOOK READING ORDER
Divine Grace
Grace (Stuart) Warner is a published author. Jack Warner is a building contractor. Ethan Grant co-owns The Dancing Pony nightclub. Adam Davis is an HVAC and electrical contractor. The men are distant cousins and owners of the Divine Creek Ranch. They have a daughter, Rose Marie and a son, Grant Jason.
Her Gentle Giant (Part One & Two)
Rachel (Lopez) Wolf does the books for Discretion and is a stay-at-home mom and a published author. Eli Wolf was one of the bouncers at The Dancing Pony and is now an EMT. They have one son, Levi.
Heavenly Angel
Teresa (Palacios) Martinez is a stay at home mom. Angel and Joaquin Martinez handle the breeding operation on the Divine Creek Ranch. They have two sons, Michael and Eleazar, and a daughter, Isabella.
Rosema
ry’s Double Delight
Rosemary (Piper) Garner manages her husbands’ business, Garner Custom Furniture. Wes and Evan Garner are self-employed furniture craftsmen. They have one son, Thomas.
Spurs and Heels
Juliana (Meyer) Peterson is the buyer for Discretion. Ash Peterson is the foreman of the Divine Creek Ranch. They have a son, Will.
Maya’s Triple Dare
Maya (Daire) Warner is a registered nurse. Kendall, Boone, and Richard Warner are brothers and partners in the MWTD Cattle Ranch.
Summer’s Indiscretion
Summer (Heston) Webster is a co-owner of Discretion. Ace Webster and Kemp Whittier are partners in a security and private investigation operation.
Lydia’s Twin Temptation
Lydia (Webster) Carlisle is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef. Chance and Clayton Carlisle are twin brothers who own the Rockin’ C Ranch.
Their Divine Doctor
Doctor Emma (Guthrie) Rivers is a family practitioner in Divine. Duke Rivers and Gage Randall are IT consultants.
Divine Phoenix
Lily (Valentine) Cook works with her husband at Clay Cook Jewelry. Clay Cook is a jeweler and sculptor and Del Cook is a rancher and former private military subcontractor.
Sparks Fly! A Divine Creek July 4th Family Reunion
Jayne (Sheridan) Carter is head librarian at the Divine Memorial Library. Seth Carter is a tattoo artist and owner of Divine Ink. Sparks Fly! features their introduction and sexy reunions with all the previous main characters in the series, centered around a July 4th family reunion.
Margot’s Hunger
Margot (Heston) Redman is co-owner of Discretion. Jake Redman is a security subcontractor. Gil James is the foreman at the Rockin’ C Ranch.
His Tattooed Virgin
Jayne (Sheridan) Carter is the head librarian at the Divine Memorial Library. Seth Carter is a tattoo artist and owner of Divine Ink. They have a son named Toby.
Tiny Dancer
Camilla (O’Neal) Parks owns the Twisted Bull night club and Chantilly’s Steakhouse. Ben Lawrence and Quinten Parks are partners with Ethan Grant in the Dancing Pony nightclub. They have twin boys, James and Joshua.
Tangled In Divine
Gwen (Henderson) Alvarez is a horse trainer and teaches barrel racing techniques. Julian Alvarez and Chris Potter run the Bucking H Ranch in Colorado and the Bucking H2 Ranch in Divine. They’re proud parents of a brand new bouncing baby boy, Peter Christiaan Alvarez.
Lucy’s Revenge
Lucy (Carter) Owen is a licensed massage therapist and owner of A Divine Retreat. Patrick Owen is an architect and Beck O’Malley is a beekeeper. They have one son, PJ.
Maizy the Bear Charmer
Maizy (Owen) Welsh is an online educator focusing in Pre-K and kindergarten instruction. Cody Welsh, Heath Lindsey, and Spencer Ketchum provide security at the Twisted Bull nightclub.
Awakening Veronica
Veronica (Benedict) Stinson is a bestselling romance author. Hank Stinson is the Sheriff of Divine County and Travis McDaniel is the facility coordinator for a local boys’ ranch.
Divine Charity
Charity (Stuart) Connors is a phlebotomist and Grace Warner’s sister. Justin Connors is a Master Welder and metal artist and Val Teller and Ransome Cross are retired bounty hunters.
Brokenhearted Beauty
Leah (Woodworth) Elder is the manager of Stigall’s Department Store. James and Vincent Elder are local police officers.
Absentminded Angel
Presley Ann (Woodworth) McCulloch is a self-employed seamstress. Kendry and Jared McCulloch are both firefighters and new to the town of Divine. They have one son, Whit.
Lumberjack Weekend
Violet Tyler is the proprietress of Violet’s Emporium. Josh and Lucas Abbott are partners with their father and brothers in Abbott Brothers Construction.
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www.SirenPublishing.com
Bunny and the Beast [Divine Creek Ranch 22] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Page 25