by Sylvia Fox
“Sir. Tim. Buddy. I know it was a shock finding out about me and Poppy the way you did. I realize that we handled it all wrong, and I’m sorry for that. I really am.” Blaze lifted his chin and continued. “But I won’t apologize for the way I feel about your daughter. She’s an amazing woman. Strong, caring, smart. I’ve never met anyone who lights up the way she does when she’s out in the wood underneath a sky full of stars.”
My mother glanced at me, surprised. Of course she wouldn’t know that I loved being out in the mountains. I hadn’t even realized it myself until I opened myself up to the possibility with Blaze.
“I know you probably think that I was taking advantage of her, but you know me well enough to know I’m not that kind of man.” Blaze cleared his throat. “I don’t just hop from bed to bed, Tim. I never have, and I never will. I invited her into my life, because well, the truth is…I love her, Tim. And I’ve come here today to ask you for her hand in marriage. We’d like your blessing, sir.”
My mother let out a cry of shock and glee, and her hand suddenly gripped mine tight to her chest. Tears pricked her eyes as a smile lit up her face. Well, at least one of my parents approved of the situation, and I couldn’t stop my own tears of happiness from filling my eyes. We were so close to having everything we wanted, but my dad’s stony face hadn’t moved a single inch since Blaze had uttered the words he’d come to say.
“Dad?” I finally whispered after several agonizingly long moments.
Dad sighed before he finally leaned forward and threw his arms around Blaze, bringing him in close for a tight hug. Blaze let out a roar of laughter and slammed his hands against my dad’s back in some weird male ritual I’d seen them do many times before. My heart became as light as a balloon as I watched them hug it out.
“Blaze, buddy, I have to say that you wouldn’t have been my first choice for my daughter, but if you love her and want to marry her, then I can’t argue with that.” Dad pulled back and finally smiled. “I know you wouldn’t be asking me this right now if you didn’t mean it. So yes, by god, yes. You have my blessing.”
“Oh, Poppy!” My mother squealed and scooped me up into a hug, the room suddenly full of laughter, smiles, and tears. Heart overflowing with hope and love, my gaze caught on Blaze’s across the room. I was going to spend the rest of my life with the man I loved, the man I’d always dreamed of.
Epilogue
The music echoed through the large cathedral, and my father smiled by my side as he walked me down the aisle. My heart beat wildly in my chest, Blaze Marshall beaming at me when he turned to meet my gaze. He looked more handsome than he ever had, and that was saying a lot. It was the first time I’d seen him wear anything other than his firefighter uniform or his usual ensemble of jeans and flannel shirt. And while I loved both those looks on him, he looked particularly sexy in his classic black suit.
I pressed down the front of my simple yet elegant dress and made my way to his side. Instead of wrapping my hair into an undo the way the hairdresser had wanted, I’d left my strands cascading down my back in a mess of wild curls, just the way Blaze loved it best.
My dad gave his best friend a pat on the back, leaving me to say my vows to the sexiest man I’d ever seen. For better, for worse. Till death do us part. My eyes swam and my cheeks hurt from the permanent smile on my face. I was his, and he was mine. And we promised ourselves to each other forever, my parents’ faces shining with happiness and pride.
After the ceremony, Blaze drove us back to his cabin. We were going on our honeymoon in the morning, but we wanted to spend our first night as a married couple in the place where we’d fallen in love. Snow littered the ground, but my feet didn’t touch the ice once because Blaze hauled me out of his truck and carried me straight over the threshold into our new life together.
When he set me onto the cabin floors, he towered over me and dropped a hot kiss on my lips. My entire body melted into his, sighing with a satisfaction I’d never felt before.
“Did you enjoy your big day?” he murmured against my lips as he began to unzip my dress.
“My big day?” I pressed my hands against his chest and looked up into his rugged face. “This day was ours, Blaze. The first of what I hope will be very many.”
His entire face lit up. This man who secluded himself from the world, showing off a gruff exterior to everyone who passed him by, now stood before me with so much love and happiness on his open face. Blaze had brought out a different side of me that I hadn’t quite known was there, and I was quickly realizing that I’d brought out another side to him as well. A softer side. A more open side. He had bared his soul to me, just as much as I’d bared myself to him.
“And how would you like to finish our big day?” he asked, his hand sliding down to rest on my ass. I’d donned a sexy, lacy number for my first night as his wife, and when he felt the material, I heard his deep growl of approval. It sent shivers along every inch of my skin.
“I think you know.” I shifted closer and pressed my breasts against his firm chest, my nipples going hard from the contact. “We need to consummate this marriage after all…”
He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me from the floor. “I think we’ll more than consummate the marriage. How do you feel about trying to start our little family, right here and right now?”
My heart skipped a beat. “You mean…you want to have a baby?”
“Sweet stuff, I want to put many babies inside you.” His grin was mesmerizing. “Starting now.”
Smiling, I wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed him hard. A burning house might have led me here, but it was exactly where I wanted to be for the rest of my life. It might be a cold and secluded cabin in the woods, but the fire of our love would keep us warm. In more ways than one.
Also by Sylvia Fox
I’ve had my eyes on my best friend’s dad for years. Brett’s a pilot, but beyond that, he’s all man.
I’m saving myself for him … even though my fantasies may never be realized. I get off to the idea of us so many times — I’m literally aching for his touch.
But then I need a ride home for Thanksgiving break … and Brett’s in town with his plane.
I finally have a chance to see his cockpit … and damn if I’m not hoping to join the mile high club with this pilot.
I’ll let him fly me anywhere … I just hope he wants to take me away.
Liam Cox is the definition of sex. Everything he does oozes masculinity, and my blood pressure rises every time he glances my way. I’ve always wanted the hottest doctor alive. Who the hell wouldn’t? He can put his stethoscope on me anytime his heart desires.
The only problem is…he’s sixteen years older than me.
Oh. And he’s also my dad’s best friend.
So, when we end up spending Christmas Eve alone at a ski resort together, my fantasies can’t help but run wild. I’m itching to feel his lips on mine, no matter how off-limits he might be.
In fact, the off-limits part of the equation only makes me want him more.
Turns out, my fantasy might not be as one-sided as I thought...
I have an ache that needs curing, Doctor Cox. And you’re the only medicine for me.
Wyatt McDowell is the only man I’ve ever wanted. He’s ripped, rugged, and raw. Too bad he’s my dad’s best friend and totally off-limits. At least, I think so…
When I head home from college for some peace and quiet while my parents are out of town, a string of robberies leaves me scared and all alone. There’s only one man I can call. And only one man who can protect me.
Turns out, there’s one thing he can’t protect me from. His c*ck.
Lock me up, sheriff, and throw away the key. I’ve been a very, very bad girl.
EMILY:
Coach Eric Sutton is the hottest man on campus. He’s what I call an Alpha Silver Fox… Older, hot, and delicious. Every co-ed on campus fantasizes about him. And every guy dreams about what it would be like to be on his team…which just
so happens to be the #1 squad in all of college basketball.
Coach knows how to win.
I could care less about the basketball part. Couldn’t tell you anything about it. I’m just a bookworm who always has her nose in a steamy romance novel. And besides, Coach wouldn’t look at me twice. And not just because I’m too curvy and too nerdy…
I’m also his daughter’s best friend.
COACH:
Emily Foster is my daughter’s best friend. She’s also a student at the college I coach at. Being with her would obliterate my career, no question about it. It would also make my daughter hate me forever.
But I can’t stop thinking about Emily’s body. And how it’s never been touched by another man. She’s pure as snow and all I can think about are the filthy things I want to do to her when we’re alone together in my house over Christmas break.
I need her. I want her. And one night, I’m able to make a choice… I just hope its the right one.
My dad’s best friend Colt is hot as sin. Like, late night vibe-fest kind of hot. Sure, he’s older, but that doesn’t matter one little bit because Colt Barrett is a man that deserves his own classification. Older. Younger. He transcends it all. He’s one hell of a man and my attraction to him was inevitable the minute I became woman enough to notice.
An early snowstorm traps us alone together in my parents’ house over Thanksgiving and the heat between us is more than either of us can handle. It should all work out just fine, right? I mean, we’re both adults and my parents don’t have to know anything about our little affair.
Until I get pregnant. All I want is a happily ever after with the man of my dreams. It could all be mine as long as my dad doesn’t kill him first.
Dr. John Hardwicke is known as "Professor Hotness" around Moultrie College.
And I'm his student. Professor Hardwicke is head of the Political Science department, which just so happens to be my major.
He's the man who can make all my dreams come true ... in the classroom AND the bedroom.
He's also my father's best friend.
So I doubt he looks at me the way I look at him ... or does he?
When my parents decide to go on an anniversary trip during my Thanksgiving break, it puts me in a bind. I have nowhere to go ... until the professor offers me a place at his table.
And on his c*ck.
Things just got a lot more complicated for this co-ed. But when it comes to the professor, this student is the highest of achievers. I always make the grade.