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

by Violet Duke

  Hunter lifts me, wrapping my legs around his waist and holding me tight as we kiss our way up the stairs, our mouths hungry and devouring. My pulse is electric, every nerve and inch of skin alight as he strides down the landing and into the bedroom, slamming me back against the wall.

  Yes!

  I moan as his body shocks hard against me, the weight of him crushing me into the wall. Hunter tangles his fingers in my hair, pulling my head back to take my mouth again in a hard, hot kiss. I arch up, greedily running my hands over the broad planes of his back, following the ridge of muscle all the way down to clutch the chiseled contours of his butt. Now the layers of half-truths and pretense have been stripped away, I don’t want a single thing between us anymore. I yank his belt undone and push his jeans down, and oh, now I can really feel him: the hot, steely outline through the thin fabric of his briefs. The ache of desire twists deeper between my thighs, and my body rises up, grinding into him, hungry for the pressure of his body between mine.

  Hunter groans into my mouth and I reach for him, sliding my hand between us and closing my fingers around the length of his cock.

  Oh.

  The feel of him is incredible, so thick and hard it sends a fresh shiver of anticipation shooting straight to my core. I slide my hand down his shaft, and he shudders under my touch, but before I can move again he suddenly breaks our kiss, yanking my hand away and pinning my wrists against the wall up above my head. His grip digs into my skin, desire racing through me as he braces above my body, gasping for air, his blue eyes wild with desire.

  “No going back,” he growls, his voice low and hoarse with lust. “No running away this time. I’m going to take you, all of you, everything. You’ll be mine, you understand? ”

  His words shock through my haze of lust, so demanding, it takes my breath away. I fall back, but I’m trapped, crushed against the wall as Hunter slides one hand down my body, shoving down my shorts to cup his hands against me and drag his thumb across my clit.

  I cry out, writhing as he strokes relentlessly, but I’m trapped under his iron grip, my arms still pinned. I gasp for air but there’s no escape from the dark friction building, rising, aching deep inside of me as his thumb circles, maddeningly slow.

  “I want all of you, or nothing at all,” he whispers, pressing one finger, and then two, deep into the wet, aching heart of me. I sob in his arms, my head tipped back, helpless against the wave of desire crashing around me. “Give me everything, Brit. Give it to me.”

  Hunter releases my wrists, clutching my jaw in his hand so I have no choice but to look at him, deep into those eyes that burn so bright with desire and possession and love.

  Love.

  My heart rises. My pulse is racing, and I know, this is the moment I step off the edge. To hell with my rules, and walls, and endless bitter defenses—I want him more than I want to stay safe. More than anything. More than air.

  “Yes.” I stare back, deep into his eyes so he can see the truth I’ve spent so long trying to hide. “I’m yours, Hunter. Everything, I swear. I love you. I love you!”

  Hunter’s eyes flash with a primal possession, and then he sweeps me up, dragging me across the room and tipping me back on the bed. He tears the last of my clothes off, until I’m naked and gasping beneath him. “You’re so fucking perfect,” he gasps, eyes blazing hot across my body. “God, I could come just looking at you.”

  He claims my lips again, his tongue plunging deep into my mouth, but it’s not enough. I need him with a hunger I’ve never known before, every part of me stripped raw and aching to feel him fill me up. “Hunter,” I gasp, arching up against him. “Now…”

  He drags himself away, leaving my body for a moment to reach for the bedside table, but then he’s back, his body warm and solid, pressing me down into the soft mattress. I gasp for air, locking my arms up around his neck as he parts my thighs and braces himself above me.

  Fuck, he’s beautiful. His hair is ruffled and damp, his body arched, glowing liquid gold in the shadows. I could spend a lifetime tracing every muscle, an eternity lost in those blue eyes. But now, now I need him, God, so much. I’m wet and ready, I can’t wait another moment longer. I can feel it rise in me already, the force ready to take me over the edge, and I need him inside me, there with me.

  “Brit,” Hunter whispers, pausing above me. I whimper in protest, but he stills his body, reaching to gently push a damp strand of hair from my face.

  I look up into his eyes, and the emotion that flashes between us shakes me to my very soul. This is it, I realize, through the low ache and pounding heartbeat and swell of desire. Hunter, my Hunter, everything I thought I’d never have—gazing down at me like I’m a goddess, holding me like he’ll never let me go.

  He slides into me slowly, every inch a revelation.

  Jesus Christ.

  The sensation is overwhelming, like nothing in the world. He moves deliberately, controlled, slowly filling me up until I don’t think I can take any more. But I want it. I cry out, arching up to take him even deeper, all the way, until we’re poised on the edge together; our bodies bound as one. Hunter starts to move, but I can’t join him, not yet, not when I’m still reeling from the simple feel of his body, covering me, inside me, surrounding me.

  “Wait,” I gasp, clutching his biceps. Hunter groans, but he stills himself, his breath coming in ragged gasps as I stretch beneath him. I inhale, sinking against his body, letting myself feel the thick fullness everywhere; a dark fire in my veins, every cell in my body molding to his shape. I tense, flexing around him, and his body shocks with the secret embrace.

  “God, Brit,” his jaw clenches, eyes dark and wild—for me. Only me. “I can’t,” he gasps, “I can’t hold back—”

  I meet his eyes, ready now. “So don’t.”

  I rise up, thrusting wantonly against him. Hunter’s eyes flash darkly, and then he’s unleashed. With a low, rough growl, he slams me back against the bed, plunging hard, stroking me with deep relentless pleasure, over and over until I’m crying out for mercy in his arms. Every last doubt is ripped away; every moment of indecision is obliterated under the damp slide of his body and the fierce desire in his eyes.

  Everything. I want to give him everything.

  The thought shocks me as Hunter scoops me up and rolls, his body sliding damp against mine, until I’m straddling his lap, the steel cage of his muscle locking me tight in his arms.

  Oh God!

  A cry rips from my lips as he surges up inside of me, the pressure hitting me inside and out, slamming new waves of pleasure out through my system. I rock against him, mindless, sinking deep into the darkness where nothing exists but aching flesh and wild, craving blood; the hard rhythm of our bodies that’s beyond sense, beyond meaning, nothing but pure instinct. Hunter tangles his fingers in my hair, locking his dark gaze on mine, and I move with him, meeting every thrust with my own, lost to the shudder of friction and waves of ecstasy swelling deep inside, rising higher, calling to us. Closer. Harder.

  “Baby,” he groans, his blue eyes frenzied with desire as he surges up into me again, biting down on my neck in a desperate kiss. “Jesus Christ, Brit.”

  I whimper in response, falling into him until my forehead rests on his shoulder, my body slowing now, overcome. I can feel the tension in his every muscle, locked tight with desperate self-control, poised on the edge, ready to explode. I sob, rocking into him. I’m almost there, but it’s too far; I’m helpless against the devastation, strung out and aching for release but too paralyzed to take another breath.

  “I can’t,” I gasp, clawing, desperate. “Hunter, please—”

  “I’ll take you there,” he swears, forcing my head up to look at him. I stare, dazed, into his eyes. “Feel it,” he orders me. â€�
�Every stroke. Feel me inside of you.” His drawl is low and hypnotic, sliding over me like honey. “I’m everywhere, baby, I’m deeper than you’ve ever known.”

  “Yes, God yes,” I shudder, his body rocking against me in a slick motion, hitting the pressure against my clit just right, a sweet, gorgeous rush that leaves me breathless and aching.

  “You’re mine now. Only mine.” He surges again, deliberate and slow, and I cry out. I can feel it build, stronger now, everything shifting hard into focus, sharp and bright. “I’m the only one who can get you there,” he growls possessively, his breath hot on my skin. “Say it, Brit. I’m the only man who knows what you need.”

  “Yes!” I sob. “You, it’s only you.”

  I thrust against him, hungry, but Hunter holds me still, locking me in place. “Don’t stop,” I beg, my voice broken and hoarse. “Hunter, please!”

  “Shhh,” he murmurs, pulling back from my body. His jaw is clenched, every muscle in his body strung out and quaking with tension, but still, Hunter keeps ragged control. He trails one hand down my body between us, toying and teasing with my breast.

  I gasp for air. Hunter gives me a dark look, eyes bright with such reckless desire I shudder from the rush. “Are you ready?” he demands.

  My breath catches, blood pounding in my ears, desire burning in my bloodstream. My body is crying out for him, yearning for release only he can provide. I couldn’t deny him even if I tried.

  “Please,” I sob, shaking in his arms. “Anything. I’m yours.”

  Hunter’s lips find mine in a kiss so tender that I exhale, relaxing into him, a moment of soft bliss in the whirlwind of my desire. Then he pulls away, and before I can collect myself, he lifts me from his lap, turning me over and shoving me facedown on the mattress with my hips lifted back towards him. With a ragged groan, Hunter slams into me.

  I scream.

  The angle is devastating, the pleasure more than I can stand. I claw at the sheets, sobbing, as I feel him drive into me, hard and fast, pulling almost all the way out then plunging back, hitting deeper than ever before, a new dark sweetness that sets my world ablaze.

  “Brit!” I hear him growl my name like a desperate prayer, but I can’t find the words to answer. I’m mindless, lost in the tornado of sensation crashing through my body, pulling me helpless towards the edge. Hunter falls against me, bracing his arms tight under my body to hold me up, still driving so fucking deep I could die from the pleasure. He reaches to find my breasts with one hand, squeezing and rolling my nipples in a sweet flash of pain.

  I cry out, over again, sobbing, aching, totally surrendered.

  “You’re there,” Hunter gasps behind me, a low growl against my neck. He slides his other hand lower, right to the heart of me, stroking my clit in a swift, hard caress that sends stars bursting behind my eyes. “You come when I goddam say you will, and I’m telling you, Brit, you come for me. Now!”

  He plunges into me one last time, crying out with the wild force of his release, and then I can’t help it anymore. I give in, I give him everything. I break apart, shattering, screaming out his name as I fall headlong into the velvet darkness that rises up to meet me, the waves of ecstasy crashing over our bodies, again and again, until the world is black and there’s nothing left but him.

  Hunter.

  Only him.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  I SLEEP RESTLESSLY, tossing and turning, and when I wake, the room is pitch-black, no sound at all but Hunter’s breathing, steady against my back. I’m spooned against him, his body warm against my naked skin, his heartbeat drumming a gentle lullaby in the dark of the night.

  I carefully lift his arm and slip out from under his embrace. I grab blindly on the floor until I find fabric, pulling his shirt over my head as I tiptoe out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

  The house is dark and silent, but the moon outside shines brightly through the bare windows. I flinch at the cold of the tiles on my bare feet as I scamper over to the kitchen, checking the cabinets in turn until I find a glass to pour myself some water.

  I lean back against the counter and slowly drink it down, letting myself think and feel for the first time since we… Since he…

  I have no words.

  What happened last night was more than sex—at least, not the crude pursuit of an orgasm I’ve known before. It was a revelation, something pure and true. When Hunter was inside me, holding me, driving me on… I was more than just myself anymore. We became more—body and soul, two spirits joined, together.

  I didn’t ever want to let him go.

  So what makes you think you won’t fuck it up again this time?

  Before I can stop myself, the first whispers of doubt begin to chorus in my mind. What comes next? I’ve never even had so much as a steady boyfriend, let alone kept a man like Hunter around. As much as we shared tonight—the barriers crumbling down around both our hearts—I can’t help but remember the way everything else in my life has gone; how everything good falls apart somehow.

  How everyone I love always leaves.

  I shiver, fear snaking through my veins like ice even in the warm night breeze. What if it’s not their fault? What if it’s me, doomed to screw up every good thing that ever comes my way? Hunter is, without a doubt, the best thing that’s ever happened to me, so what kind of messy, tragic ending are we heading for right now?

  A noise comes from behind me, interrupting my spiral of self-doubt. “Who’s there?” I yelp, whirling around. The glass slips from my grasp and smashes, loud on the floor, as I see Hunter coming down the stairs.

  “Oh,” I catch my breath. “You scared me!”

  “Don’t move.” Hunter hurries down the final stairs. He’s naked save a pair of sweatpants. “You’ll cut yourself.”

  I wait in place until he reaches me, lifting me up in one easy movement and placing me to sit on the counter while he flips on the light and bends over to pick the shards from the floor.

  “Sorry,” I apologize quickly, “I didn’t mean to make a mess.”

  Hunter sweeps the last of the fragments aside. “I didn’t know where you were.” He straightens up, and I see for the fist time the uncertainty on his face, shadowed in the moonlight. He turns away from me to put them in the trash. “I woke up, and you were gone. I thought…” He stops, shoulders hunched.

  My heart catches with the painful truth. He thought I’d do what I’ve always done: disappear before things get too real; run and save my heart, no matter what the price. But after everything we’ve been through together, I know one thing for sure now: this time, I’m not listening to their lies.

  “I was thirsty.” I reach for him, pulling him into the cradle between my legs, soothed just by the touch of him, his skin so warm and smooth against mine. “I came down to get a drink.”

  “I know that now.” Hunter gives me a crooked grin, his hands sliding up my bare thighs. “I just…” he trails off.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him softly, leaning in to drop a kiss on his forehead. “I’m right here.”

  Hunter rests his head against my lips for a moment, just breathing in and out. I feel him relax, the tension in his body melting away, and I’m overcome with a sudden flash of gratitude. This is my second chance.

  How many times have I wondered what might have been? How many nights did I look back at the time we spent together, aching with a secret regret that I didn’t stick around? I have a chance now with him to set all of that right: for both of us to put aside so much of our guilt and grief, and create something new together. All our own.

  “Let’s go back to bed,” I whisper, finally slipping down from the counter and taking his hand, leading him ba
ck up the stairs.

  “Hey, Brit?” Hunter pauses a moment on the landing. I turn back to find him watching me, his lips curling in a bashful smile. “I’m glad you stayed.”

  He knows.

  My mouth drops open in surprise as I stare back, into those soulful blue pools that somehow see all the way to my darkest soul. He knows I thought about leaving, that my instincts were screaming out to run.

  “It’s OK to be scared,” Hunter steps closer, so I can feel the warmth radiating from his bare chest. He cups my cheek in a gentle caress, eyes full of understanding. “I know you’ve got a lifetime of disappointment haunting you, and this, right here? This is big, Brit. It doesn’t get much realer than the two of us. Any sane man would bet against you sticking around.”

  I wait, heart in my chest, feeling like all my insecurities are exposed.

  “But I’m not a sane man, Brit, I’m crazy about you.” Hunter smiles at me, so full of tenderness it takes my breath away. “So you be scared, and freak out, and feel whatever it is you need to feel. Just promise me you’ll do it here, by my side. Because I can’t take losing you again,” he adds, determined. “If you run, I’m running after you, and dragging you right back home again. You understand?”

  I nod, a shy smile curving across my cheeks. He understands. He knows a part of me will always be at war with myself, but he’s not giving up on me all the same. Relief washes over me, bright in the dark hallway. I’m not in this alone: I can’t make the same mistake again, because he won’t let me.