Afraid of Love: Bid on Love Series Bachelor #8 & Hard to Love Book #1

by Annelise Reynolds

  “She’s hot too,” I say trying not to smile at the annoyance that shows on her face. She is jealous, but she has nothing to be jealous of, “Her body is amazing.” I slide my hand down her back from her shoulders to her bottom. “Her ass is firm and plush. It’s got a nice heart shape to it.” I squeeze her cheek.

  Jaci’s annoyance turns to anger, but I keep on where I’m going with this. It is too late to stop now. “Her tits,” I move my hand to cup her breasts and tweak her nipple. “God, her tits are perfect. They’re more than a handful, and the nipples taste like heaven.”

  When her anger fades and hurt clouds her eyes, I pull her over me to where she is straddling my hips. “I’ve fucked her twice now,” I cup her cheek and brush the tears away with the pad of my thumb, “and she’s rocked my world both times.”

  Understanding floods her face with relief. “You finished it?” Her voice is breathy and excited.

  “Yes, a few days ago.” I pick her up and carry her towards the bathroom. Her legs wrap around my waist as she clings to me. I trap her between my body and the door jam, “Go grab a shower while I make some coffee and breakfast, then we’ll switch.”

  “You could always shower with me.” I kiss her softly and pull her closer, before pulling back.

  “I could, and I will eventually. Baby if I get in that shower with you, I’m going to fuck you again, and you’ve had enough right now.”

  “Ok.” She nods with reluctant agreement, thank god. Because there is no way in hell, I can watch rivets or water slide across her skin and not want to sip it from her body. If I did that, I’d want to push her against the wall and fuck her until she screams my name again and the world spins beneath both our feet.

  “Better yet, take a bath to relax your muscles. I don’t want you uncomfortable or sore all day.” I’ve no clue how painful it is for a woman to lose her virginity. “I’ll take a shower in the other bathroom to give you time to soak.” I place another kiss on her hair and move away as hard as it is to do so, and it is hard. I’m hard.

  It doesn’t take me long to take a cold shower and start breakfast. My kitchen is bare since I hardly ever eat at home, but luckily, I have a few eggs that are just barely still in date. I scramble them and make some toast. The coffee is just finishing when she comes in wearing one of my t-shirts and a pair of my running shorts.

  “The walk of shame looks good on you.” I pull her against me needing to touch her again. Her long brown hair is wet and curling loosely over her shoulders.

  “Anything you do or say could wind up in a book and I think I’m going to use that line.” She smiles up at me wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “Have at it, babe. Here, I’ll get you a better lunch, but at least this is something.” I scoop most of the eggs onto her plate and give her a few pieces of toast taking the smaller portion for myself.

  “You should have the bigger portion.” She says pushing her plate back towards me, but I stopped her.

  “Eat.” I block her hand from scooping her food onto my plate. “You’re going to need it.”

  I’ve never made breakfast for a woman beside mom and Nadine. Hell, I’ve never had one stay for breakfast at my house, period. They don’t stay the night most of the time. It feels right having Jaci here, and I plan to make it permanent.

  We stop by her house, and she ran in to grab her computer and change clothes. When she comes out, she also has a dog on a leash.

  “Do you mind? She’s got a certification and a vest. I just don’t want to leave her alone today.”

  “I don’t mind.” She loves her dog, and that pup has kept her calm through the years. I’d never prevent her from bringing the dog anywhere she wants to go.

  “Thanks.”

  She puts the dog in the back seat and hops in beside me with her computer. “You ready to see your tattoo?”

  “Yes. Let’s go.” She reaches over her shoulder to buckle in. The drive to the shop is a little longer from her place than mine, so we fill it with her trying to guess what her tattoo is going to be.

  “It’s a surprise, and actually, there are two for you to choose from, baby. There’s an element in one that isn’t in the other.”

  “Does it hurt?” I see her twisting the hem of her shirt again, so I reach over and twine her fingers with my own.

  “Depends where you put it, but most of the time it just feels like a sunburn. I’ll take good care of you Jaci. That’s a promise.” I bring her fingers to my lips and kiss them.

  Chapter 32

  Jaci

  “Have a seat.” He notches his chin towards the reclined chair I’ve seen his other clients sitting in while being tatted. Rainbow must’ve sensed my nervousness because she rests her head on my knee.

  Sebastian goes to the front desk where I usually sit and writes something down. Curiously, I watch as he goes to the front door and tapes a sign to it, then switches the lock.

  “You’re closing down to do this tattoo? How big did you make it?” I chuckle and bite my lip nervously.

  “I can scale it down to fit the area you want, but yes I closed the shop for this. I don’t have any appointments this morning, so I’m just stopping any walk-ins.” He walks back over to me with a sketchbook in his hands.

  Since I met Sebastian, he’s been nothing but calm, cool, and steady. He is confident and strong, never shows any weakness or vulnerability. Watching him walk towards me, I see the slightest hesitation and wonder why.

  He sits on the stool across from me as I study the sketch. It is gorgeous. A book lays open with a double-headed rose laying across the pages. Written on the pages in script lettering is, ‘A thousand lives… One love.’ At the bottom is written ‘No’ it isn’t part of the tattoo, just randomly written there.

  “I love it. Take off the no, and it’s absolutely perfect.” I smile at him.

  “Look at the other one, Jai.” He smiles and turns the page for me. It is the same sketch the only difference is the stem of the rose goes through a diamond ring and the word ‘yes’ written at the bottom.

  When I look back at him for confirmation of what he means with the tattoos, he is holding the ring from the sketch in his fingers.

  “I’ve never been afraid to fall in love; it’s just not something I’ve ever experienced. Then I met you, someone who’s afraid of love and letting anybody close. Before I knew it, I fell hard.” He takes a deep breath, “I like having you around the shop and in my life. I like your sense of humor and that your kind of a basket case.” I didn’t realize I was crying until I chuckle at his words. I wipe the tears from my face and listen as he continues. “I love having you in my bed and having your trust. I won’t take that for granted Jaci, ever. Will you marry me?”

  I don’t say anything; I can’t. Emotions are choking me. My heart is pounding in my ears. Instead, I hand Bas the sketch as my answer—the one with ‘yes’ written on the bottom.

  Epilogue One

  Jaci

  A few weeks later . . .

  “What are you doing?” Sebastian laughs when he comes up behind me and catches me on a porn site.

  “Research.” I shrug, but the blush staining my cheeks at being busted is hot as fire.

  “Damn, maybe I need to write romance novels if that’s the type of research you get to do.”

  I reach out and playfully slap his thigh. “I’m just trying to figure out if something would work or even feel good.”

  “And you do that by watching porn?” I look up into his laughing eyes and grinning face.

  “Hey, it’s worked in the past.” I stick my tongue out at him, and Sebastian reaches over to close my laptop.

  “You don’t need porn sites to do research anymore, plus watching porn doesn’t tell you how it feels and it sure as hell isn’t as much fun as a more hands-on approach.” He bobs his eyebrows at me, and I shake my head with laughter. “What are we researching today?”

  I give him a super sweet innocent smile before telling him in exact detail what I
’m looking to do. Before I can finish, he has me by the hand and is dragging me to the bedroom.

  I’m laughing but turned on and ready by the time we get to the bedroom.

  “How do you want me?” He strips his shirt over his head revealing his chest and tattoos. My mind goes blank for a moment as I stare at him. His body never ceases to make me pause with lust and longing.

  “Here, let me just show you.” I grab my phone from my pocket and look up my bookmarked website. “I want to start like this and once we get in the groove of things move to this. I’m not sure how we will move like this, which is where this is considered research. We’ll be able to see which one works and feels better.”

  “I’m here however you need me, baby.” He is already hard and ready, and my body is already slick with arousal. I can feel it on my thighs. Sebastian takes my phone from my hands and pulls me against his naked body.

  He kisses me, and I melt against him. Together we strip me down bare, and he lifts me into his arms. I wrap my legs around him as he carries me to the bed. His skin is hot as a furnace, but I shiver as chills dance up my spine.

  Sebastian scoots back on the bed still holding me to him. I groan when we get into position and slides inside me. We kiss, my hands on his shoulders, and my legs out behind his back. He cups my ass and starts moving me up and down his hard length. I dig my heels into the pillows to try and give myself leverage with him.

  We move slow, but I feel every delicious inch of his length inside me. The kiss brakes as we start moving faster together. “Hold onto me.” He says before I feel his legs shift beneath me. He crosses them which changes the angle a bit, but it isn’t until he has my legs up on his shoulders and I’m bent in half that he punches deeper than I thought possible.

  I’m not able to move much, but he has no problem thrusting me up and down his shaft. He feels huge inside me and hits hard and far back that I’m coming in no time.

  “Oh my god. Yes, don’t stop.” I’m convulsing around him, and it feels like heaven. I don’t want it to end.

  “No chance in hell baby.” He keeps thrusting into me, and I start trying to move with him. My hips can swivel on his cock when he is inside me. When I did it, he groans and leans his head forward on my shoulder.

  Twenty minutes and two orgasms later, we are both out sweaty and sated. I breathe in, and out, “You’re right, research is so much better this way, and I get a better perspective to give my readers.” We both laugh as Bas tickles my stomach.

  Epilogue Two

  Sebastian

  Three months later . . .

  “Did you finish it?” I ask after the last client leaves. It is a free tattoo I’d put up in the auction and Dylan has put it off and rescheduled a few times. Things with his work life and girlfriend keep coming up, but he finally came in, and I was able to get it off the books. It is a simple tattoo on his bicep that says, ‘Never give up.’

  “Yes. I sent it to the editor after lunch. Now, I’m just working on the dedication.” Jaci spins around in the chair and looks up at me with a mischievous grin.

  “Dedication huh?”

  “Yes. I’m trying to decide if I should put this one in or not. I think I’ll leave it up to you.”

  “Dedication, it’s your book baby. Dedicate it to whoever you want.” I’m so damn proud of her. She’s been working like crazy to finish the book on top of everything that goes with planning a wedding and our families, both getting together to celebrate. Plus moving her into my house. She has a lot on her plate and it still only took her a couple of months to finish.

  “You’ll see what I mean.” She hands me a piece of printer paper with just the dedication centered and italicized.

  Dedication

  I may not be the President’s daughter, but I’m having my biker’s first baby.

  I love you.

  My eyes meet hers, “You’re sure?” I ask my voice comes out a little more than a croak.

  “I’m sure.”

  “Fuck. I love you.” I pick her up and spin her around kissing her hard until we both have to pull back for air and giving her soft pecks instead. “I think you need another tattoo,” I say between kisses.

  “I think you’re right.”

  The End

  Also by Annelise Reynolds

  Steel Demons Series

  Phoenix Bar

  Ember’s Burn

  Holiday Heartthrobs Series

  Bidding on Santa

  Stupid Cupid

  Christmas Calamity

  Hard to Love Series

  Afraid of Love

  Standalone Works

  Ridin’ Nerdy

  Sweet Treats

  Acknowledgments

  I have so many people to thank for this incredible journey I’m on. First and foremost, I need to thank my kids. My Little Miss and Mr. Man are amazing, and I know how unbelievably blessed I am to have them in my life. Thank you, My Loves, for putting up with all my crazy hours.

  Thank you to Judi Perkins, Samantha A. Cole, Heather Anne, KL Shandwick, KL Myers, Kristi Avalon, and M.A. Stone for allowing me to take part in this amazing series. I had a blast with this story and getting to know you all better. It is truly an honor to have worked with you ladies on this project.

  I want to give a shout out to Melinda Grier for doing the first round of editing, and KL Donn and Needa Warrant for helping me with the second round. I greatly appreciate your support and encouragement.

  To Dawn Sullivan, Pepper Lynn, and V Kelly, KL Donn, and Amy Jones… I fucking love the hell out of you ladies. You guys always listen when I’m freaking out because of a looming deadline, this time included. I don’t know where I’d be without y’all’s guidance and friendship. Thank you for everything you do for me.

  Last, but not least, to Grace Underwood, Paula Pipes, and Katie White, the sisters of my heart. I love you all so much. You’ve supported me my whole life. You’ve encouraged and taught me over the years, you’ve given me strength when I felt like giving in. You are my family, and I don’t know where I’d be in my life without y’all’s love and support. I love you guys.

  About the Author

  Annelise is a single mother of two in south Texas. She’s been an avid reader since she was a kid, and in 2015 she decided to try and make her lifelong dream of becoming a published author come true.

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