Through The Water: Fairest Series Book Two

by Myers, Shannon

  I nodded dumbly and positioned myself at her entrance, unable to resist taking a bite from her breasts, thrust up at me in offering.

  “Please,” she whispered, legs spread and red hair completely untamed. Wild. Mine.

  Ari gasped when I entered her, and I lowered my head to capture her mouth. If I thought she felt good before, nothing came close to the feel of sinking into her body bare.

  I angled her hips upward and thrust, completely filling her in one stroke. Her tight muscles clamped down, and I shuddered as the first waves of her orgasm broke.

  She dug her fingernails into my shoulders with a cry, meeting me stroke for stroke as she rode it out. I wanted it to last, but the sensations of her spasming left me greedy and beyond any form of reasonable restraint.

  I drove into her body twice more before pushing deep and flooding her body with my seed. When my arms gave out, I collapsed against her chest, fighting to catch my breath.

  Ari stroked my hair, and I drifted off in her arms, our bodies still connected. She was my safe place, and I was hers.

  We laid together like that for a long time, before she sleepily asked, “What do you think Bailey and Morgan are doing right now?”

  After pressing a kiss to her throat, I rolled onto my side, bringing us face to face. “Well, he offered to drive her to Georgia’s. But, if he’s got a brain cell in his head, they’re back at his place, doing this.”

  She laughed and snuggled against me. Our legs were tangled together, my hand draped across her hip. It was a nightly routine I’d missed fiercely when we apart. We fell into a comfortable silence again, not quite awake but not yet asleep.

  “There’s an expression in French, tu me manques which, when literally translated means, you are missing from me,” she whispered.

  “I like that,” I said softly, turning the phrase over in my head. I’d felt Ari’s absence like the loss of a limb or vital organ. She was the piece of me I hadn’t known I needed, but one I couldn’t live without.

  “And I don’t know that there’s a more accurate description of how I’ve felt when we’re apart. It’s why I came home, Killian. Because you were missing from me.”

  Epilogue

  Ariana

  “And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many.”

  -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

  “Hey, I thought I might find you here.” Morgan settled on the beach beside me, watching the waves roll onto the shore.

  I closed my notebook and turned to her with a welcoming smile. “Hey, are the guys back yet?”

  We’d flown down to Florida a little over a week ago for the start of spring training. Killian and Bailey had rented a four-bedroom house just a short walk from the beach.

  The third baseman had tried to play coy, insisting that he’d only invited Morgan along to keep me company during the day. However, it hadn’t escaped my notice that her bed hadn’t been slept in even once. For a lovable goofball, he was surprisingly tight-lipped when it came to his feelings.

  Morgan dug her toes into the sand with a relaxed sigh. “They were just walking in when I left to come find you. Gosh, it’s nice here, isn’t it?”

  The sunset had cast the almost cloudless sky in a brilliant blend of pinks, blues, and oranges that reflected on the water. Night after night, I made my way down to the beach to watch nature’s show.

  “It really is.” I stood and stretched, before dusting the sand off my backside. “You ready to head back, or do you want to stay a little longer?”

  Morgan tried and failed to hide a smirk. “We’d probably better get back before they break something.” She waited until we’d taken a couple of steps, before gesturing to the notebook. “How’s it coming along?”

  The sand shifted beneath my bare feet, engaging the muscles in my legs and forcing them to work harder. “These songs just keep coming to me. Killian says it’s a sign.”

  “Well, if the skeptic has become a believer, then it must be something big.”

  It was. And I had plans of tracking down a guitar in the next few days, so I could put them to music.

  “What about you?” I asked. “Have you thought more about what you want to do?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’m still thinking about going back to school, maybe getting my degree in counseling. I just want to help people who might have gone through something like I did.”

  “Have you reached out to Ashlynn? She and Matt might have some recommendations for schools.”

  “I did. She’s going to do some research and get back to me. For now, it’s just nice having the freedom to consider it, you know?”

  I did. In the two years and two months since Tristan’s kingdom had fallen, Ashlynn and I had spoken on the phone almost daily. Our combined actions had not only destroyed a monster but saved the sisters who’d been sold as well. Some had fared better than others, but as we worked to piece our family back together, I couldn’t help but remember a Bible verse we’d been taught growing up:

  ‘So, I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.’

  The ocean breeze swept my hair across my eyes as we reached the driveway, bringing the raucous sounds of laughter with it.

  We exchanged an amused look and slipped through the side gate around to the back of the house. Killian and Bailey had gotten their hands on a couple of inflatable flamingos. They were perched on them in the middle of the pool, using plastic bats as paddles. Or swords. I couldn’t decide if they were attempting to paddleboard or joust.

  “Tip over!” Bailey belted, the corner of his mouth quirked up.

  “No,” Killian tossed back with a breathtaking grin that never failed to leave me weak in the knees. “You tip over!”

  I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted, “Why don’t you both tip over?”

  Their heads jerked in our direction, smiles stretching from ear to ear. They were like children. Giant children who made me laugh until my sides hurt. I hoped that never went away.

  “Ari, go get your suit on. I’ll let you ride on mine.”

  Bailey chuckled and cocked his head to the side. “Yeah? Well, that seems like an unfair advantage, Mr. Reed. Morgan, hop on so we can beat ‘em lawfully.”

  She pressed her lips together, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she crossed to the patio. “No, thank you. I don’t have any desire to drown this evening.”

  “C’mon,” Bailey pleaded.

  Morgan paused and glanced back over her shoulder at him. “I was actually thinking of grabbing a quick shower to wash the sand off, but y’all have fun.”

  Bailey grabbed the flamingo by the neck and tipped himself into the water. “Shit, Killian. I almost had you there. Well, better luck next time, right? Morgan, wait up! You might need some help in those hard to reach areas!”

  He hauled himself out of the pool and followed her inside, leaving us alone.

  Finally.

  I felt a little winded, but it was probably just due to my walk on the beach and not the nerves currently gnawing a hole in the pit of my stomach. I frowned at my trembling hands and willed them to obey.

  We’re fine. Nothing to worry about.

  Killian raised a brow, looking almost mischievous. “You coming in, slugger? Water’s warm.”

  My breath came faster, and I spun the engagement ring around my finger before nodding. “Sure, I’ll sit and put my feet in.”

  I placed my notebook on the patio table and rolled up my leggings, mentally tweaking the song lyrics I’d written on the beach.

  When Killian abandoned the inflatable flamingo to take a few laps, I made my way over to admire the view. His body glided through the water with ease, muscles rippling with each stroke.

  His beauty, inside and out, left me suddenly fighting the urge to cry. If the dampness on my cheeks was any indicator, it was a battle I was clearly already losing.

  Stupid hormone
s.

  Finding a spot near the shallow end, I sat down and waited for him to resurface. A couple of seconds later, he swam over to join me. I slowly kicked my legs, letting the bubbles tickle my toes.

  Killian reached for one of my feet, gently kneading along the arch. “Morgan said you were down by the beach. Did you write again today?” His gravelly voice pulled me from thoughts of songwriting and directed me toward the bedroom.

  He was good at that.

  Maybe a little too good.

  “I did.” I drew my lower lip between my teeth. “It’s a little different, though.”

  “How so?” Killian might have been rubbing my feet, but I knew I had his full attention.

  Something wet landed against my cheek as I leaned in to brush the drops of water from his lashes, and I realized I was doing it again.

  I lifted my eyes to the darkening sky and blinked to clear my vision before softly admitting, “Well, it’s a lullaby.”

  “A lullaby?”

  I sensed he was smiling but didn’t dare look. I’d never get my words out if I did. “Yeah, you know, songs for babies.”

  “Babies,” he repeated, definitely grinning. “Well, that is different for you, slugger.”

  “Right?” I agreed, my face still tipped up to the sky.

  Killian lowered my feet back into the water and moved between my legs, sending flutters throughout my lower belly. His hand lifted to my jaw, tucking several strands of windswept hair behind my ear before bringing my eyes down to meet his.

  “That’s better,” he murmured, the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Now then, tell me more about these songs.”

  I took his free hand in mine. “Well, I just started writing it today. It just kinda came to me this morning. And now I don’t know if I want to wait to do a big wedding after the season’s over because this, um, song, it might be really big by then.”

  “Is this song—is it one you want to write?” Killian asked quietly. The pad of his thumb stroked along my cheek while his blue-gray eyes surveyed mine.

  “Absolutely,” I answered without an ounce of hesitation. “It just changes things a bit.”

  A smile tugged at his lips. “Alright, so what are you thinking, slugger?”

  “We could elope.” My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat. “I mean, just so we would have more time to focus on the song together. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

  Killian ran his tongue over his teeth with a soft chuckle. “Yeah. Seems to me there’d be only one reason a girl like you would wanna elope with a guy like me. You’re trying to lock me down before the ladies come knocking this season, aren’t you?”

  I let my head fall back with a dramatic groan. “Yep, that’s it. Back off, ladies. Killian Reed, World Series champion, is mine.”

  This only made his smile grow wider, but he made a show of cocking his head to the side, as if deep in thought. “Well now, wait a second. There is another possibility. Since the night we got engaged, song, uh, prevention hasn’t really been a priority for us, has it?”

  I shook my head, trying to keep a straight face at his analogy. I could count on one hand the number of times we’d taken preventative measures in the almost four months we’d been engaged.

  “What are you thinking right now?” I asked, feeling the familiar surge of heat moving up my throat.

  Killian tugged me off the stone decking and into the water, drenching me from the waist down. Before I could form a protest, he was wrapping me up in arms. “The woman I love is having my baby. I’m fucking ecstatic! When did you find out? How far along are you? Do you feel okay? Do—”

  “Babe,” I giggled against his chest, tucking my body tighter around his. “One question at a time. I just found out this morning. I’m only a week late, so I can’t be too far along. And I feel fine, just weepy at unexpected times. Otherwise, I’m perfect—”

  “You are perfect, baby. So perfect,” he murmured against my temple. “I’m going to take such good care of both of you—”

  “You already do.” With that, I tipped my face up to meet his mouth in a gentle kiss, relaxing into his touch. I knew with every fiber of my being that I was safe in his arms.

  Happily-ever-after made for a sweet story, but real love wasn’t perfect, and things didn’t always go according to plan. We were born on the banks of Lake Karankawas, so it seemed only fitting that we’d be together in another body of water when the current sent our lives in a new direction.

  My heart skipped when his hand moved down to cradle my flat stomach, already protective of the life we’d made together.

  All those years ago, I saved his life, never imagining that one day, he’d save mine too.

  When I pulled him from the water, I wasn’t just looking into the eyes of another lost soul.

  I was looking at the man who’d become my world.

  The man who would give me the courage to fight back.

  I’d fallen in love with his heart before I ever even knew his name. He was the melody in my head, the song I would never forget the lyrics to—as if some part of me knew it was always meant to be Killian.

  When he was just a boy who needed saving, and I was a girl running.

  I don’t run anymore.

  I’m finally free.

  The end.

  * * *

  Need another fairy tale fix? Keep reading for a sneak peek of Through The Woods, book one of the Fairest series.

  * * *

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  Afterword

  “Now I know, that only love can truly save the world. So I stay, I fight, and I give, for the world I know can be.”

  -Diana Prince, Wonder Woman

  PREVIEW OF THROUGH THE WOODS

  CHAPTER ONE

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  Once there was a princess...

  Forced to run from her drug-dealing boyfriend, Neve ends up injured and alone in the middle of the Colorado wilderness. She never planned on being rescued by seven bikers and brought to their clubhouse. While the other bikers welcome a female presence, their leader, Charm, is not impressed. As Neve recuperates, she begins to see that there's much more to this club president than she thought possible. However, while she might've run, she can't stay hidden forever.

  This is book one of the Fairest series, but all books are complete standalones.

  Through The Woods is available for purchase now. Simply tap on the title.

  * * *

  One Year Ago…Age 21

  My eyes fluttered open to piercing red and blue lights flashing all around me. Men’s voices carried from nearby as they yelled to each other, amid sirens screaming in the distance.

  I had no idea where I was.

  “Miss? Can you hear me?” A yellow man asked, as he knelt next to me, concern marring his features. I was disoriented—exhaustion threatening to pull me back into blissful oblivion. He obviously wasn’t yellow, just wearing a suit that color.

  Aramid fibers, my brain urged, and I struggled to remember how I knew that.

  “Miss?”

  I began coughing until my eyes watered, but I couldn’t get a full breath. My chest felt as if it would crack open from the strain.

  The outer shell usually consisted of a Kevlar type material…what was it called?

  Someone else knelt down on the other side of me, shining a small light into my eyes. Mouths moved, but I only heard the rush of blood in my ears. I turned my head ever so slightly to the left and that was when I saw it.

  An inferno.

  Incidentally, that was when I remembered that the material was NOMEX, but instead of being relieved, I was left with more questions than answers. I felt the moisture on my cheek as a tear escaped, before being lifted onto a stretcher and driven away from the devastation.

  I wanted to wail and scream, but I’d caused this.

  Not so v
ery long ago, the sirens wailed loudly and the world that I’d known ceased to exist.

  I discovered that, sometimes, it’s not giants with booming voices or cackling witches who swoop down from the sky—it’s not even a curse cast by an enchantress. Sometimes, the foe that steals away everything you held dear is the reflection in the mirror. The villain you never imagined—the evil you never saw coming…you.

  * * *

  Four Years Ago…Age 18

  There was a soft knock at my door before Sofia poked her head around the door. “Did you check Blackboard? Because I did and I’m thinking a study break in the form of a campus party is in order.” She gyrated her hips, hands swaying above, as she moved to the beat of something only she knew.

  I dropped my pen and stretched my arms overhead. I’d been sitting at my desk for who knew how long; my body stiff from hours spent hunched over a textbook, taking notes. I wearily opened a new tab on my laptop and entered my login credentials.

  I’d been anxiously awaiting my mid-term grades for the last week. And I’d been regretting my decision to double major in Psychology and Neurosciences for even longer than that.

  Things had started out promising enough. I’d scheduled my college classes much like I’d done my high school classes, thinking that I could handle the course load.

  My academic advisor had recommended that I not overload myself until I got a feel for the program and the instructors. I didn’t want to just take the basics though—I’d wanted to get into the meat of my studies.

  So, I ignored his advice and loaded up with a mix of basics and upper level courses that didn’t require a prerequisite.