Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (Eight Fun, Romantic Novels by Eight Bestselling Authors)

by Violet Duke

  “So what’s next?” I ask, with a hint of sadness. Dusk is falling, and the lights from the fairground are starting to glow neon and bright against the darkening skies. I only have a little while left of this night of make-believe, before reality sets in again, and my perfect date is over. “Ghost house?” I suggest. “More manly shows of strength? More food?”

  “More?” Hunter widens his eyes dramatically.

  “Hey!” I laugh, shoving at him. He catches my hands, pulling me close against him, and my heart skips at the feel of his body, so hard and warm against mine. He dwarves my tiny frame, and it makes me weak, just imagining those arms braced above me; those rock-hard abs pressed down against my skin…

  “One more stop.” Hunter’s eyes sparkle. “Right here.”

  I look up. The Ferris wheel.

  “For real? My voice is doubtful.

  “Come on, I know you’re not scared of heights, the way you hide up on that rooftop of yours.”

  “No, it’s fine,” I answer. “It’s just, kind of dull.”

  “Being alone with me is dull?” Hunter raises an eyebrow teasingly.

  OK, scratch that. Not dull. Dangerous.

  As if reading my mind, Hunter winks, teasing. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe?”

  But who’ll keep me safe from him?

  “Fine.” I agree, not seeing a way to say no without revealing my feelings. Better we’re up there in a tiny carriage than down here on solid earth, surrounded by dark corners to pull him into, and solids walls to get pushed up against… “Let’s do it.”

  The line is short, and soon, Hunter is helping me into the small two-person seat. He chats to the operator for a moment, shaking the guy’s hand, and then settles beside me, pulling the safety rail down into place.

  “So you were really serious, about the ranch thing,” I say, as the wheel jerks, and then lifts us smoothly into the air. “I saw you, with that horse before… I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “My grandpa taught me, before he died. I always just had a way with them.” Hunter looks bashful.

  “So you bought her? The chestnut.” I ask.

  “I couldn’t resist. She’s a beautiful animal.” Hunter nods.

  “She looked kind of wild to me.”

  He nods, but with an affectionate smile. “It’s nothing. They left it too long to break her, so now she’s skittish even taking a lead, but once I’m through working with her, she’ll be good to work, compete, whatever.”

  “I never pictured you out on a ranch,” I say thoughtfully. “I figured you’d go be a lawyer or doctor or something.”

  Something fancy, I silently add.

  “You and my parents both.” Hunter laughs shortly, but I can hear a bitter note in his tone.

  “I can imagine,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood. “A Covington, up to his elbows in horseshit. At least your brother is doing something respectable, right? He was always the good one.”

  “Something like that.” Hunter looks out at the view, the fairgrounds slowly getting smaller as we climb higher in the arc. “What about you? I saw your designs, the dresses. You’re really good.”

  I fidget with the teddy bear, awkward. “Thanks.”

  Hunter scooches a couple of inches closer to me, slinging his arm around the back of the seat. “You ever thought about going to design school, or sending your work out to any designers?”

  I shrug. I don’t want to tell him about my stack of rejections, and what a failure I really am. “Maybe, one day.” I say instead, like it’s not my biggest dream. “I like to do my own thing.”

  Hunter chuckles. “You don’t say.”

  I shrug again, not sure how to take that, but Hunter adds quickly. “It’s a good thing. Most people, they just do whatever anyone else wants. But you always go your own way. I like that about you.”

  I feel myself blush again, and look down. We’re nearing the top of the Ferris wheel’s arc now, the fairgrounds twinkling below us. I force myself to let out a breath of tension, and relax.

  You’re on a date. You’re on a date with Hunter, and you haven’t screwed it up yet.

  I repeat it to myself for reassurance, trying to ignore the fact we’re pretty much alone now. I’ve kept it together so far, I just need to make it to the end of the night without doing anything stupid, and everything will be fine.

  Suddenly, there’s a shudder. The slow movement of the wheel comes to a stop.

  “What’s happening?” I ask, a note of panic creeping in my voice. I look down at the cars below us, but we’re all suspended, swinging gently in place.

  “Relax.” Hunter settles back, unconcerned. “Probably just a glitch. They’ll have us down safe in no time.” He casually drops his hand from the back of the booth, and starts stroking soft circles on my bare shoulder.

  The sensation that sparks through me is out of this world. If he’s trying to distract me, it works; suddenly, the frozen wheel is the last thing on my mind, not with the soft sweep of his fingertips sending a delicious ripple of electricity across my skin.

  I shiver with longing.

  “You’re cold.” Hunter notices my shiver. “Damn, I didn’t bring a sweater, I should have thought.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “It’s not. C’mon,” He pulls me closer, and even though my goosebumps are nothing to do with the chilly night air and everything to do with his presence, I willingly move into the circle of his warmth.

  It’s a mistake.

  I realize right away, but it’s too late; his presence is overwhelming, and it’s all I can do just to absorb the feel of him, closer than he’s ever been before. His masculine heat radiates through the thin fabric of his T-shirt, and with his arm wrapped tight around me, I can feel the rise and fall of his every breath, the power coiled tight in those biceps.

  God, I want him.

  Desire snakes through me, and it’s all I can do to stay frozen in his arms, forcing my breathing to stay steady and not betray the dirty thoughts flooding my mind.

  I want to tear that T-shirt from his body.

  I want to lick my way down his chest.

  I want to feel that weight bearing down on me, surrounding me, invading me…

  “Better?” Hunter murmurs, oblivious to the X-rated movie playing in my mind. Of course he’s oblivious: he’s trying to keep me warm, and meanwhile, I’m using any excuse to be close to him.

  “You’re such a gentleman,” I tell him, guilty.

  And you’re such a slut, the voice in my mind adds.

  “I’m not.” Hunter answers.

  I laugh. “Please. Taking me out, planning all this stuff. You’re like the dictionary definition of chivalry.”

  “Don’t say that.” Something hollow in Hunter’s voice makes me lift my face to see him. He’s got a twisted look marring his face, a shadow in his eyes.

  “I’m no gentleman.” he mutters darkly. “Believe me.”

  “You are—”

  He speaks over my protest. “If I was a gentleman, I wouldn’t have picked this ride, just to get you alone someplace you couldn’t run. I wouldn’t have slipped the guy twenty bucks to stop when we reached the top,” he continues, with self-loathing expression, “And I sure as hell wouldn’t be hard right now, crazy with wanting you.”

  What?

  I blink at him, my mind reeling as I try to process what he’s just said.

  He wants me.

  He wants me.

  The words are like a lit fuse, igniting my ravenous desire. It’s more than I can stand. Before I stop to think, or even
breathe, I reach across the booth and grab him by the shirt, pulling him across and kissing him with everything I have.

  Hunter freezes against me, shocked, but it’s too late to take it back. His lips taste of cotton candy; forbidden and achingly sweet. I have to have it all. I run my fingers through his hair, kissing him hungrily, delving into the dark warmth of his mouth to drink him in deeper and tease his tongue with mine.

  He breaks.

  Hunter lets out a tortured groan, and then he’s yanking me closer, kissing me with a fevered intensity that blots the world from my vision and fills my mind with stars.

  It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. My blood sings, pounding wildly in my ears as Hunter’s mouth devours mine. His hands rove across my body, clutching at my waist, my back, my hair, sending fresh waves of desire through me with every touch. I clutch at him, overwhelmed, dizzy with the sensation, but it’s not enough. I break away, kissing a trail down his jaw, licking daringly at the salty-sweat taste of his skin.

  “Goddammit.” Hunter groans again, gripping my hips and lifting me so I’m straddling his lap. The safety bar of the Ferris car digs into my back, but I’m beyond caring. All I can feel is the sweet friction of Hunter, pressing hard between my thighs, and the blazing path of his mouth as he kisses down my neck and licks across the sensitive hollow of my throat.

  I shudder in his arms.

  “You’re so beautiful.” Hunter gasps, lifting his eyes to meet mine. “Your body is a fucking miracle.”

  I can’t speak. The feelings crashing over me are almost too much to take. We’re suspended here, high above the world, but if it wasn’t for the hard steel behind me, and Hunter’s arms, gripping me close, I feel like I could take off and fly.

  I lower my lips and kiss him again, hard and fast, falling in the depths of him. Hunter moves his hand down from my face, sliding his palm down my neck and against the swell of my breast.

  Oh God.

  A forbidden thrill shivers through me. We’re out in the open, with people in the cars above and below us, but nobody can see his wicked touch, hidden by our bodies. I bite down on his lip, daring. Hunter pauses, then reaches for me again, his fingers dancing this time across the sensitive skin at the neckline of my tank. Shocks fly through me. I gasp for air.

  Hunter lets out a low growl. He pulls away from my lips and dips his head, kissing a blazing path down my neck and along the curve of my collarbone. Jesus. I shudder in his arms, trying my hardest not to make a sound, but I can’t control the whimper of pleasure that slips from my lips.

  Hunter’s body clenches beneath me, and I feel him exhale in a shudder against my skin. God, he feels so good, I can’t help but rock against him, lost in the sensation of his lips blazing on my skin and his tongue—oh, his tongue—snaking lower, dipping beneath the fabric of my tank to—

  There’s a jolt, and the Ferris wheel begins to move again.

  I sit up with a gasp. My eyes meet Hunter’s, the daze in his expression matching my own. “Fuck!” he swears, panting. “Jesus, fuck!” He lifts me off his lap, setting me back down beside him as I scramble to pull my shirt back into place. My heart races, skin burning with the memory of his touch. I smooth my hair down, reeling from the explosion of passion, and the lust still clawing at me, demanding. Insistent.

  Too soon, the fairground rises up to meet us. The wheel slows, passengers climbing out of the cars in front.

  “You good?” Hunter asks, his voice thick and ragged.

  I nod, wordless.

  “OK,” he says, still short of breath. “OK.”

  Our car descends the final distance. The operator lifts the safety bar with a grin. “Enjoy the trip?” he asks, with a knowing look, as Hunter takes my hand to help me out. My legs are unsteady, and I stumble, falling against him. Hunter holds me up.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he tells the man, before dragging me away.

  I’m still so dizzy from what just happened, I don’t even notice until we’re back in the parking lot beside Hunter’s truck. It’s dark here, and there’s nobody around to see, just rows of empty cars forming a screen, hiding us from the world. I pull him close, reaching up on my tiptoes to kiss him again.

  “Brit,” Hunter breaks away. Disappointment crashes through me. “Not here,” he answers, as if he can read my mind. I reach for him again, but he stays back, clenching his hands into fists at his sides. “I can’t,” he says, like he’s trying to convince himself. “If you kiss me, I won’t be able to stop, and the things I want to do to you…” Hunter takes a long breath, then gives me a crooked grin. “Let’s just say they would get us arrested in every damn state in the union.”

  My legs go weak again.

  “Then where?” I ask, breathless.

  “Your place,” he answers, pulling open the truck door for me. “Or…”

  “Or?” I echo.

  Hunter looks at me, eyes blazing with a dark desire. “Or I could show you the ranch.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  WE RIDE BACK to Beachwood Bay in near-silence, just the radio playing an old rock mix CD Hunter throws in the player. Incubus, I recognize, from when I was a kid.

  Meet me in outer space…

  The song fills the cab of the truck, wrapping us in a restless melody. Hunter keeps his eyes fixed to the road, and I sneak a look at him whenever I let myself take the chance. His profile is shadowed; chiseled and perfect, his T-shirt sleeve riding up his bicep whenever he reaches for the dashboard.

  I feel a shiver. Anticipation fills the space between us, billowing larger with every breath. The dark roads fly by, a cool breeze whipping through the open windows, but the chill does nothing to soothe the hot fire licking in my veins.

  Desire.

  The fairground was one thing. However shameless we were on that ride—and it makes me flush, my stomach twisting in a delicious dance just to think of it—we were in public. There were limits how far we could go, how many boundaries we could break. But as Hunter turns the truck up a long, winding driveway, past the ranch gates, I realize how completely alone we are out here in the middle of the country. Fields and paddocks stretch on every side, dark and silent under the starry sky. No people. No crowds.

  No limits.

  Hunter pulls up in front of the large main house. To our left are stables and a barn, looking bright and freshly painted under the security lights. He gets out, and then before I can open the door, he quickly circles the truck and does it for me, holding out his hand to help me down.

  “I’m good,” I tell him, but he grabs my hand anyway, rolling his eyes at my protest.

  “Get down here.”

  His touch is warm and strong, and his fingers close around mine even when I’m safe on solid ground.

  I turn to the ranch.

  “So, this is it,” he says, almost bashful. “It was in a pretty bad state when I first got down here. The family pretty much just left it to rot after grandpa died, but I managed to find some guys to help out with construction and getting it back in shape. I was lucky,” he adds, glancing up at the place. “Old buildings like this are built to last.”

  He leads me past the big front porch towards the stables. Everything is freshly swept and clean, the scent of hay and horses in the air. “I’ve got three right now, but when this place is fully up and running, there’ll be ten, maybe more. I’ve got my eye on a stud down in Tennessee I want to breed, he took a bad fall in the Derby, but his bloodline is the best.”

  “It all looks great,” I tell him, glancing around. I realize for the first time the scale of the place. This isn’t just some tiny house and a couple of horses, this is a full-on, sprawling property—a huge barn, the stables, farm buildings out on the e
dge of the field. And all of it brought up to date with loving care. “How long have you been back?” I ask curiously. “No way you got all this done since Friday.”

  “I got here a few weeks ago,” Hunter replies.

  “Wait, what?” I turn to stare. “That’s impossible. I haven’t seen you anywhere in town. And nobody said a word… Beachwood loves to gossip. It was all over town within hours when Emerson bought the beach house.”

  Hunter gives a shrug, looking away. “I like to keep a low profile. My family has a history in this town… I guess I wasn’t ready to see everyone again.”

  Everyone…

  Hunter keeps walking, past the barn and into the stables, but I fall behind, my mind racing. Does he mean me?

  No, he couldn’t. This is just me reading too much into things. It was one night we shared, years ago, and Lord knows a man like Hunter has had dozens of nights like that since, with hundreds of other girls. Sure, something’s happening between us now, when I’m right in front of him, but I bet I never even crossed his mind until the night he stopped by Jimmy’s and found me about to rip Trey’s cheating face apart with my bare hands.

  “And these are the girls,” Hunter says, as we reach three occupied stables.. The horses are resting, curled up in the corners of their stalls. “You got them on a good night, usually, there’s some kind of drama kicking off.”

  One of them, a sleek bay, sees us watching. She unfolds herself, and paces over to investigate. “Hey girl,” Hunter’s voice drops as the horse pokes her nose over the stable door. He reaches to pet her, she shies back, hooves skittering on the floor. “Easy there,” he murmurs. Hunter pulls a pack of mints from his pocket, and slips one onto his palm. He reaches for the horse again, murmuring softly the whole time in a low, soothing voice. “That’s right, it’s OK. Nothing to worry about here. See? Just some candy for you. You like that, don’t you?”

  I watch the horse settle, sniffing suspiciously before snaffling the treat and crunching it down. Hunter pets her slowly, gently stroking the soft hair on her cheek. “She’s a good girl,” he tells me, smiling. “She’s just a little skittish, isn’t that right?”