“Fuck, that’s hot, baby.”
She whispers, “Do you like it?”
“I fuckin’ love it. Watching you touch yourself is turning me on.”
A burst of pleasure flows through me as I feel the orgasm building. I quicken my pace and see Raya is close to her release, too.
I grind my teeth, “Fuck, baby. I’m going to explode.”
She pants, “Duke, I’m almost there.”
In unison, we allow our bodies to unleash the intensity between us as our orgasms rock through us. I can feel my seed spill inside of her as her walls constrict and throb, milking everything from me. As we calm down from our highs of passion, I pull out of her and lie down next to her, cradling her into my arms.
Still panting, she kisses my cheek, “That was amazing!”
I chuckle, “Yes it was. I want to make love to you like that for the rest of my life.”
She smirks, “Then what’s stopping you?”
I see her wink at me as I pull her on top of me, ready for round two.
Duke
I wake up to the most beautiful girl in the world lying next to me. The sun shining on her face gives her an amazing glow. Her long brown hair flows along her naked body and her smooth legs are tangled around mine. I look at the time and carefully slide out of the bed to not wake her up. Slipping on my boxers, I walk outside to the garden where the smell of fresh flowers instantly hits my nose. Surprisingly, there’s still an abundance of them, even though the days are getting cooler. I walk over to the daisies and pick one out. This will do.
I head back to the house and into her room to grab the vase from her nightstand. Going back to the kitchen, I clean out the vase and slide the new flower into it. I tip-toe back into my room and quietly place the vase on my nightstand before walking to my dresser to ripping a piece of paper from my notebook. Searching around and finding a pen, I take a good look at her. What should I write today? How can I make this day any better? I scribble my thoughts onto the paper, fold it, and lean it against the vase.
I go into the bathroom to wash up and brush my teeth. The minute I turn off the water, I can hear the sounds of Raya waking up. Returning to the bedroom, I walk over to her as I watch her smell her flower and read my note: I promise to love you forever.
She gasps and looks at me as I bend down on one knee, taking her hand in mine.
“I know that we’ve had hard times and I know that it won’t be easy. But I’m willing to fight through the hard times because in the end, all I know is that it’s worth it. You’re worth it. You’ve always been worth it. You came to me like lightning out of the sky, striking me with a love I never thought existed. You can’t deny the chemistry and passion that we have. I realize this is sudden, but sometimes you just know. I love you and will always love you until my last dying breath. Raya Winters, will you marry me?”
Tears trickle down her face as I give her my speech. I wait for a few seconds, nervous as all hell, praying she doesn’t think I’m crazy for proposing so soon.
Suddenly, a smile stretches across her face and she throws herself into my arms.
“Yes! Yes! A million times yes!”
We spend the rest of the day in bed and I see a beauty mark on Raya’s shoulder. I lean in to kiss it.
She looks at me, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to kiss all of your beauty marks.”
I inspect her body and kiss each beauty mark that I find, whether it’s on her face, her leg, her thigh, her nose—I kiss them all over. As I glance down her leg, I see the scar from where she was shot and she tries to hide it under the covers.
She frowns, “No, don’t look at that. It’s hideous.”
I stare right at her, “Baby, all of these things make up who you are and I love every little thing about them. I know you’re not perfect, but that’s what makes you special.”
Her eyes glisten, “What do you mean?”
I breathe out, “For instance, you snore at night, or the fact that you need me to sing you to sleep at night, or how you try to hide the brand on your wrist. Even your scars or the way you eat spaghetti. Don’t you see? Those are all of the little things that make up who you are and I love you.”
She hugs me tight, “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you. You make me want to be a better person and I love you for it.”
I wake up to find the spot next to me empty. I glance around the room, “Raya?”
I notice a note on my nightstand so I unfold and read it: Come meet me outside. I smile at her request and hop in the shower for a quick wash. Minutes later, I’m dressed and ready to head out to the beach. I glance outside and see her splashing her feet in the water. How can she touch that? The water must be freezing. I walk to the closet to grab a jacket for her and I glance back outside.
As she watches the waves and wets her feet, a man strolls up to her wearing a white jacket, jeans, and a baseball cap. He walks right behind her and says something to get her attention. In a split second, I see her turn and run toward the house screaming, but he grabs onto her and applies a rag soaked in what I assume is chloroform to her face, knocking her out. My heart races and my stomach churns as I drop the jacket and race outside to stop him. He hoists her over his shoulders and takes off for the street, heading for a red Chevy pickup truck.
“Hey! Hey! Let her go!”
The man turns around to look at me and his baseball cap has the Chicago Cubs logo on it. Fuck, it’s Derrick. I silently scream at my legs to run faster but Derrick is almost to the truck. He unlocks the car and drops Raya into the seat, races to the other side, turns on the car, and speeds off.
“Fuck!”
I race back to the house, grab my phone and keys, and hop in the Mustang, determined to find him and chase him down. I dial 9-1-1 and tell them about the kidnapping and give them a description of Derrick. I hang up and head straight for the highway. He has to be headed there. A few feet ahead I see the pickup truck and haul ass. I dial Davis and tell him to call everyone he knows to come after this guy.
I follow Derrick toward the center of town as he weaves and speeds his way out of the city. He must know I’m following him. As I get closer and closer, I can see through the back window that Raya has woken up. She flings her arms at him and he pushes her off of him. As they turn the corner and near the interstate ramp, she jumps for the wheel and yanks it to the left, causing the truck to slide into the side of a sedan and spin out as it slams into the side wall of a nearby building.
I drive up behind the truck and hop out of the Mustang, “Raya!”
The driver’s side door opens and out comes Derrick, holding on to Raya with a gun pointed at her. Blood trickles down her face as she sobs. Her busted lips are starting to swell up and she has lacerations all over her body from the shattered glass.
I raise my arms in surrender, “Look, let her go. She’s not the one you want. You want somebody, then here I am. Take me. Leave her behind.”
Derrick shouts, “She’s all I’ll ever want. You were the one who took her from me. My sweet, sweet angel. I won’t give her up. She is mine.”
In that split second, Raya shouts, “No! I was never your angel and I never will be.” Then she elbows him in the gut and slams her heel into his foot, causing him to buckle over. He smacks her across the face and throws her to the ground. “You fucking bitch!”
He aims his gun at her but I rush into him before he can shoot. Slamming his body into the concrete floor, I pound my fists into his face. I can feel the bones in his face crack as I unleash my rage and hatred onto this man. Blood spurts from his nose and teeth are knocked out of his mouth. I continue to hit and hit until I hear Raya scream, telling me to stop. I look over to see Raya sprawled out on the floor and hear the sirens of police cars in the distance.
I stand and walk over to Raya, bending down to sit her upright until I hear a shot fire. A sharp pain and a strange warmth starts to fill my chest and I look down
to see blood slowly stain my shirt.
I hear Raya scream, “No! Duke! Oh God, no!”
My body starts to slide to the ground as an immense pain seeps into my bones. Raya lays her head on my chest as her wails and howls of horror echo around us. Suddenly, everything starts to blur and her screams begin to fade away. I shake my head to try to clear my senses.
Derrick is hovering over her, preparing to yank her off me. She looks into my eyes and softly nods her head, smiling with a sense of determination and malice. I faintly hear the rummage of glass as Derrick yanks her off of me and stands her close to him.
“Let the bastard rot in hell. Like I promised, you are mine and always will be.”
Then, in an instant, Raya swiftly moves her hand toward his neck and stabs him with a shard of glass. He immediately lets go of her and reaches to pull out the glass. Blood begins to gush from his neck and he tries to stop the bleeding with his hand. Raya stands back and watches as his eyes go wide with shock and terror at the imminent death that awaits him. He slowly begins to sink to the ground, and just as he hits the floor, Raya bends down to whisper, “And I promised you that one day I would kill you.” Derrick tries his best to grab for her but his strength slowly diminishes. As he takes his final breath, he chokes on his blood and a tear runs down his face.
Raya rushes to my side and pounds my chest with tears pouring down her face. “Duke, please. Please don’t leave me. I need you, Duke. You’ll be fine. You’re going to make it. You hear me? You’re going to make it.”
I look into her eyes and reach up to touch her face as I hear the sirens getting closer. My body is trembling profusely and I don’t even feel pain anymore. Everything is numb. I look at her one last time and mouth, “I love you.”
Raya
The beeping of the heart monitor is at a constant pace. Sweat runs down my face as I try to breathe through the pain. I clinch my teeth and pant through the next contraction. I cry out as the agony of it rips through my body.
Melanie holds on to my wrist, “Breathe, Raya, breathe.”
I growl at her, “I am breathing. This shit hurts!”
In that moment, the doctor comes in followed by the nurse. He places my feet into the stirrups and checks me, ensuring that I’m fully dilated. The doctor says everything is good to go and tells me to push when the next contraction comes along.
I shake my head, “No, not yet. I have to wait.”
The doctor responds, “Ma’am, you will have to push once you’re ready. You can’t refuse to push.”
“No, he has to be here. I promised him I would wait.”
Suddenly, Duke comes running through the door and races to my side.
“I’m here, I’m here!”
The doctor looks at Duke, “Are you the father, Mr. Grayson?”
He shouts, “Hell yes, I’m the father! Now let’s get this baby out!”
He looks down at me and rubs my cheek. “You can do it, baby, just breathe. Push through and we’re done.”
I look into his eyes, “I love you.”
He kisses me quickly, “I love you, too.”
I feel another contraction come back and I buckle down, ready to push. I scream out loud as I push with everything that I have. Melanie and Duke encourage me and the doctor gets his hands ready for the new arrival.
The nurse exclaims, “The baby’s almost here. Just one more push!”
I give it all I’ve got and fight through the pain as I push for my baby and then everything is silent. My pain has vanished and everyone looks down toward my feet, holding their breath. The most beautiful cry echoes throughout the delivery room and Melanie cheers.
The doctor looks at me and Duke and says, “Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, you have a girl.”
Tears fill my eyes as the nurse wraps my daughter and places her on my chest. I wrap my arms around her and I begin to cry as I look at my gorgeous baby girl. Duke leans in and kisses my cheek and I feel the tears rushing down his face.
He smiles, “She’s absolutely gorgeous.” He kisses the top of her head. “She’s so tiny. Look at her little hands. So, what are we going to name her?”
I smile at my bundle of joy, “Layla…her name is Layla.”
Wow, where to begin? There are so many people I wish to thank, it’ll probably take up a whole novel. So, let’s start from the beginning:
To my husband Carlos, I would not have written this story if it wasn’t for you. You, not only inspired me to write this story, but you also pushed me to keep going. You believe in me when I don’t even believe in myself. Having you by my side for all those late nights while I wrote and wrote meant so much to me. I’m so lucky to have you in my life and would not change any of it. And thank you for taking the time to read it, even though I know you hated some parts of the story. I love you and will always love, one hundred times over again.
To Bethany, you are the best PA ever!! I know we’ve only known each other for a short period of time, but I feel we are kindred spirits. All of your support and help has been so wonderful! All of your creative teasers and ideas really hit the mark. I’m so happy you are with me and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us!!
To Tiffany, thank you for taking a chance on a newbie author. I seriously had no idea what I was doing and literally just spit words on paper. But with your keen eye and excellent editing skills, you made my story even better! I appreciate all of your advice, comments, and words of encouragement. Thank you so much!!
To Lindee, you are so freaking talented!! I absolutely love this cover and it is literally everything that I dreamed it could be and much more. This whole experience is so new to me and you have made it that much easier. You will go far in this world. I will always keep coming back to you for my book covers and will also recommend your work to other authors. Your passion and drive is what sold me and it is displayed in your work. It truly is a piece of art.
To my models, Megan and Garrett. You have brought Raya and Duke to life. Your talent is phenomenal! Thank you for being part of this incredible journey.
To my beta girls, Jen, Lorena, April, Alexis, Alisa, and Maria. I would not have written this story without your undying support. I was so lucky to have found you all. I loved our conversations about Duke and Raya. And even though I was threatened for more chapters, it seriously brought a smile to my face, every time. Your patience with a new and unknown author speaks volumes. All of your input and suggestions helped this book come to life. I can’t wait to see what the future holds and I hope you all join this crazy ride with me.
To my partner in crime, Melissa. Where would I be without you? Probably pulling my hair out. I know that all my time spent away from the blog was hectic and out of control but you kept it in place. Thank you so much for taking on more work and supporting me while I wrote my story. Your consistent messages of motivation always pumped me up and pushed me to finish this book. I know I’m a crazy person and yet, you’re still here, cheering me on. You freaking rock!! I’m so happy to have found such a caring friend and hopefully, one day we can finally meet in person.
To my Street Walkers, you ladies are the best bunch of fans! I love all of our chats about Duke and Taylor. I’m so happy that you all want to experience this journey with me. You make the best street team out there! You’re love and support means the world to me.
To my sprinting partner, Lisa.Without you busting my butt into gear during our late night sprints, I probably would have never finished on time. I always enjoyed our sprint sessions and our constant words of encouragement toward one another. All of those late nights went by so fast especially those last minute sprint sessions. It was so much fun being able to share our writing goals and literally have a blast! We need to do it again!!
And now onto my author friends, L.L. Collins, T.K. Leigh, A.M. Madden, Ashley Suzanne, Pamela Ann, Micalea Smeltzer, and Amanda Dick. Because of you, my life has changed into a dream come true. Witnessing your own stories come to life, gav
e me the bravery and motivation to write my own story. I’m so grateful to have you all in my life. You mean the world to me.
To all of the blogs who shared my cover reveal and release day blitz. Thank you!!! I know that blogging is a busy life, and I really do appreciate all of the time spent in promoting my work. Without your support, this would not be possible. I’d like to give a special shout out to those who are always willing to share and have been with me since the beginning; Sinful Thoughts Book Blog, Reading Past My Bedtime, Book Reviews by Lexi, Author Groupies, Love Between the Sheets, Magic Within The Pages, Amazeballs Book Addicts, Itching for Books, Rosie’s Book Heaven, Books You Can’t Put Down, and Fallen for Books.
Madison Street was born in New York City and was raised in the Bronx, where she resided until she was 17 years old. After September 11, 2001, Madison joined the United States Navy to serve her country.
During the deployments, Madison constantly wrote short stories and she discovered her passion for writing. You will find Madison always on the computer, whether she’s on Facebook, designing websites, messing with Photoshop, or writing for her blog.
Besides writing, her second passion is music and dance. Even though she’s a terrible singer, she’ll still belt it out in the shower, especially if the song is her jam! She currently resides in Virginia with her husband of 8 years, 2 children, a dog, and a cat. She is so excited to start this amazing journey and is honored to be part of such a compassionate and loving community.
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Listen to the playlist on Spotify Here
Beating Heart by Ellie Goulding
Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne
Not Over You by Gavin DeGraw
Little Things by One Direction
Hold On, We’re Going Home by Drake
Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machine
Adorn by Miguel
Skyscraper by Demi Lovato
Little Things Page 27