by Anna Brooks
“Josey, shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t think… I thought that—fuck!” He puts his hands on my shoulders and leans down so he’s face to face with me. “I’ll pay her off and get that shit taken care of. Then I swear to you I’m going to be there for you.”
“I know you will be.”
His relieved breath tickles my face as my hair flutters against my cheek. “I’m really sorry, Josey. I was afraid you’d find out about it, and I didn’t want you to be dragged into it in the first place.”
“Were you just going to let me walk out of your life forever?”
“No. I was going to take care of this court shit and then beg you to take me back.” He smiles and kisses my forehead.
“Hmm,” I tease. “You think I’m that easy?”
“Hell no. But when I’m with you, everything else is easy. You make me happy and I’ve been dying these past six weeks without you.”
My heart leaps a few beats and I throw my arms around him. “Me too. I wasn’t expecting any of this and I know I’m probably losing girl points by taking you back so easily, but I’m scared to do this on my own, and now I don’t have a job and—”
“I’ll take care of you. We’ll take care of each other, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Let me make a phone call real quick so I can get the paperwork started.” I nod as he pulls his phone out, and I walk to the window and look out at the city below. Shortly after, his arms wrap around my waist from behind and he kisses my neck. “Everything’s started. She’ll have them delivered to her and the money deposited as soon as she signs.”
“Are we crazy?”
“Maybe a little?”
“I’m serious. We don’t even really know each other. And I’m wondering if maybe we just happened to come into each other’s life at the right time and it feels… convenient. I’m kind of scared, but I feel things for you that I never have before.”
He turns me around and pulls me to his room, then sits me on the bed before he starts digging through drawers. When he comes back to me, he has a couple of yearbooks in his hand. “This is unbelievably embarrassing.”
His fingers turn to a dog eared page and I bite my lip in anticipation. “I still feel like this about you, but now that I’m an adult, it’s taken on a whole new meaning.”
The picture of me from my senior year has a heart around it. His sloppy handwriting next to it says: The most beautiful girl in the world.
“Aww, Alex.”
“I had a crush on you back then, but when I saw you standing at the front desk, shoeless and with a bottle of champagne wrapped in a paper bag, all of those feelings came back tenfold. And when I touch you, or kiss you… when we made love, I knew that I didn’t want another day to go by without you in my life. I know it was stupid and I know I fucked up by walking away, but I hope you understand I only had your best interest at heart. And now that all of that will soon be cleared up, I’m going to make you the happiest woman in the world, because you being you, and you giving an idiot like me a shot to prove myself worthy, makes me the absolute luckiest man to ever walk the face of the earth.”
My eyes well with tears and he uses his thumbs to wipe under them.
“Ah! Pregnancy hormones.” I fan my face. “Okay. Okay, so we’re doing this?”
“If you’ll let me.”
“Because… I missed you. A lot. But I really missed the shower.”
He throws his head back and laughs. It’s a look he doesn’t wear too often, and I love that I’m the one to put it there. Maybe this is a mistake, maybe it’s too fast, but if I don’t leap, I’ll never know if I can make the jump or not.
“Well, then. Let’s go.” He stands and holds his hand out for me to take. When our skin touches, he links our fingers together and I follow behind him. He looks back at me and smirks, then squeezes my hand, and in that moment I know everything is going to be okay.
My reasons for moving here may have been to get away from one guy, but this one, the man in front of me, he’s the reason I want to stay. Forever.
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MAKE ME FORGET
Prologue
Six months ago
Even though I’m blindfolded, I squeeze my eyes shut, willing my body to cooperate, while my mind screams at me in protest. Todd grunts as he picks up his pace, effectively slamming my head into the wall. I’m grateful for the pain, as it distracts me from what I’ve allowed myself to become.
“I’m coming!” He never talks when he fucks me, except to tell me that he’s coming.
I can’t say anything, can’t move, can’t see. I can do nothing but wait. He collapses on top of me for a few minutes before pulling out and sitting up. Then he unties my ankles and wrists. Next, he removes the blindfold, followed by the gag. I rub my wrists and take a deep breath.
“Be right back.”
He disappears out of my bedroom, returning a moment later with a wet cloth to clean between my legs. What I thought at one point was a sweet gesture turns into another moment I have to endure his touch.
“That was amazing.” He runs a hand through his curly blond hair and smiles at me.
Even with the gag removed, I still can’t speak to him right now. I fake a smile and crawl under the covers.
“I have to go to that conference in Boston this weekend. Be a good girl when I’m gone?”
I’m not sure if he’s asking or telling; either way, I nod and shut my eyes. If he thinks I’m tired, he’ll leave sooner. He’s never stayed the night, not once in three years. He always says he has to go back to work. He doesn’t know that I know the real reason.
“Good girl.” He kisses my forehead and shuts off the light.
I watch his tall, lean figure exit my bedroom and wait until his car pulls away before I hop out of bed. I run to the bathroom and barely make it to the toilet in time. Once I’m done losing the contents of my stomach, I quickly brush my teeth, but avoid looking in the mirror, because I know what will be looking back at me: sad blue eyes that used to be bright with excitement and hope, framed by blond hair that is dull and too long.
I grab the packed bags I have hidden in my closet and set them by the front door. I can’t be here anymore. Not in this house, not in this city, and definitely not in the same state as him. I know his routine, and he won’t know I’m gone until next week. I have time, but I’m still paranoid. Running back upstairs, I grab anything and everything that is of value to me. Not that there’s much; my mom’s jewelry, some photo albums, paperwork, things like that. I shut all the lights off upstairs, do the same in the kitchen, and make my way out the front door. I have to make a couple trips to my car, but once I have everything packed, I drive away without looking back.
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Sneak Peek of Easy Sacrifice
DESPITE DANCING AMONG THE crowd of steamy bodies, my skin doesn’t feel too heated, but when I get outside and see him, it begins to burn. He’s leaning on his truck right outside the club, watching me. Waiting, maybe? The door closes behind me, and the bass from inside dissipates as the pounding of my heart begins to echo in my chest.
His eyes don’t move from my own, and if I could walk, I’d run to him, but he’s got me paralyzed. I haven’t seen him in six years, not since he was behind a glass partition when he told me he never wanted to see me again… I was the one who pulled the trigger, but he took the blame.
Now he looks… fucking hot. His arms are huge. His eyes are still beautiful, but they’re definitely harder. His hair’s a tad longer than it was before. And in the pants he’s wearing I can see the outline of his cock.
“Ready?” he asks, pushing off of the door.
I don’t think I heard him correctly. “What?”
“Ready?”
He certainly can’t be asking what I’ve dreamt of since the first minute I laid eyes on him. Since he kissed me that night, all I’ve ever thought of is that I want more. I’ve always wanted more. “Huh?”
“Jessa,” he sighs.
> “What?”
“Are you ready?”
“For what?”
He walks right up in my personal space and crowds me into the closed door without actually touching me. The warmth from his body ignites me even further, and I feel my face reddening and my panties dampening. His index finger traces the outside of my mouth, and his eyes turn darker as he watches his finger.
“Me,” he whispers.
He bites his bottom lip, and I instantly remember the last time he kissed me. I’ve never experienced that magnitude of lust since then, and all he did was kiss me. I try to push the rest of the memories from that night far into the back of my brain and just focus on the few minutes he had his hands on me and how badly I want more of it. Of him.
When I’m alone in my bed, he’s who I imagine when I touch myself. When I had sex with the measly two other men in my life, I pretended they were him. I know what I want… what I’ve wanted since I was a teenager.
“Yes.”
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A preview of:
NOT YOUR HERO
Since I’m walking across the street right past her car, I can’t very well ignore her. I open her door and take a step back when the streetlight reflects a cut on her face. An unwelcomed rage courses through my bones at the marks on her face. There’s no more make-up on, and despite the dried blood, she looks so much better with a clean face.
“Hey,” I say cautiously.
“Hi, Sam.” She steps out and winces when her foot touches the ground, then lifts it up again, grabbing onto the doorframe.
“What happened?”
“Umm, just got into a little scuffle at work.” She gingerly walks forward, and I shut the car door. When the locks beep, she tries to walk to the sidewalk but ends up lifting her left foot and hopping on her right.
“Courtney, let me help you.”
“No. I’m fine. Thanks, though.” She continues hopping, and I stand in the street watching until she reaches the steps. I should walk right past her. Ignore her independent ass. Fuck it.
I jog to her, and without warning, I scoop her up in my arms. I forgot that I’m not wearing a shirt. She realizes it at the same time I do because she immediately retracts her hand.
“Sorry about that,” I say.
“I’m fine, Sam. Really.”
“You’re not. Let me at least get you up the steps.”
I might be an asshole, but I’m not gonna watch as she struggles.
Arriving on our shared porch, I set her down, and she leans on the house for support.
“What do you mean by a scuffle?”
“I work at a bar.” So that’s what she tells people. “One of the customers got a little grabby, and I fell to the floor, twisted my ankle, and scraped my cheek. No big deal.” She waves me off, but there’s something in her eyes. Shame, maybe?
Protectiveness rises in my chest, and the unfamiliar feeling pisses me off. I was there. I saw what kind of ‘customers’ she’s talking about.
“What the fuck? Did someone kick his ass?” I would have. No, I wouldn’t have let it get that far in the first place. She’s a nice lady; she doesn’t need that shit.
“Yeah. Well, security escorted him out. It’s fine. Stuff like this happens working in a st- a bar.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Thanks for carrying me. I need to go ice it though, so . . .”
“Yeah. Have a good night.”
“Thanks.”
She unlocks the door and hobbles in. Before she can close it, I call for her. “Hey, Courtney?”
She sticks her head through the crack and raises her eyebrows.
I take a deep breath before saying, “Let me know if you need anything.”
“’Kay. Thanks.” Then she shuts the door and I walk into my house.
What in the fuck did I just do?
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Other Books by Anna Brooks
It’s Kind of Personal Series
Make Me Forget
Show Me How
Prove Me Right
Tell Me When
Remember Me Now
Give Me This
Not Your Hero
Easy Sacrifice