Giselle had visited us a few times with Brady and Rob. She gave me a few tips on making the pregnancy go more smoothly and I appreciated the time I spent with her. She wanted to know the sex of the baby, but we didn’t even know—we wanted it to be a surprise. I was looking forward to calling Giselle my sister-in-law.
Vincent lifted his head up and smiled down at me.
“But I like where we are now.”
“You’re not worried about how our lives will change with a baby in the picture?”
He propped his head up with his other arm, his expression turning serious. “I’m excited. In fact, I’m going to come inside you and we’re going to make twins.”
I laughed. “I hate to burst your bubble but that’s not how it works.”
“It might be improbable but we’ve beaten the odds before.” Vincent kissed my round belly before laying the side of his head against my chest.
“So you’re going to break the rules of biology now?”
I pushed myself up until I was propped against the headboard. Vincent shifted and grimaced as he put his weight on his injured arm.
“Maybe when I get my full strength back, we’ll give it a shot.”
After we had talked in the hospital, we decided that it would be best if I left my job at Waterbridge-Howser and helped Vincent manage his wealth until I gave birth. With the way things had been going at Waterbridge-Howser, I would’ve been forced out sooner or later, and I would always have to sleep with one eye open, knowing that Richard had it out for me.
Our plan was that Vincent would help me establish my own wealth management firm afterward. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but he’d convinced me that I had all the skills I needed and he had the connections to get me up on my feet. Vincent started delegating a lot of his work in order to spend more time with me, and in preparation for taking care of the baby. He also cut out the riskier aspects of his love of extreme sports, though he still enjoyed surfing occasionally.
I’d moved out of my place with Riley and in with Vincent. Riley had a few blush-worthy comments about sex during a pregnancy, but she was overjoyed for us and insisted on being involved in planning the wedding.
I’d finally called my parents and invited them to the wedding that was happening six months from now. It was still awkward, but they’d seemed happy for me. I don’t know if I will ever be close with them, but at least they could still be a small part of my life.
“Not feeling so invincible anymore huh Mr. Risk-Taker?” It felt good to be like this, just lounging around and teasing each other.
“I feel great. How do you feel?”
“I don’t know, maybe you can make me feel even better,” I said smiling.
“Insatiable.” Vincent kissed me and rolled me onto my back. “That’s the woman I love.”
“The heart wants what the heart wants.”
It turned out Vincent had been right all along. Nothing worth pursuing comes without risk. I took a risk in a bar in South Africa with deadly spiders. I took a risk dating Vincent when it could have cost me my job. And I took a risk trusting Vincent, Mr. Trouble-At-First-Glance, when I was afraid nothing good would come of it.
Vincent held me tightly and I relaxed into his arms as two—no—three hearts beat together. Everything my heart ever wanted was right here with me.
Thank you for reading!
If you could spare a moment to leave a review it would be much appreciated.
Reviews help new readers find my books! They also provide valuable feedback for my writing!
: )
Kristen and Vincent’s story may be over for now, but don’t miss out on Hunter and Lorrie’s story in:
Wrecked (The Forever Series)
Keep reading for an exclusive excerpt!
Sign up for my mailing list to find out about when I release new books!
http://eepurl.com/sH7wn
or visit:
PriscillaWest.com
The Forever Series Reading Order
The Forever series currently follows three different couples. You can choose which couple you start reading about, but for each couple there is an order to their story.
Forbidden Surrender (Vincent & Kristen 1)
Secret Surrender (Vincent & Kristen 2)
Beautiful Surrender (Vincent & Kristen 3)
Wrecked (Hunter & Lorrie 1)
Rescued (Hunter & Lorrie 2)
Reckless (Jax & Riley 1)
Fearless (Jax & Riley 2)
Wrecked (The Forever Series)
A New Adult Romance Novel by USA Today Bestselling Author Priscilla West
“There would be no happy ending for us. He was too damaged. I was too broken.”
Two years ago, Lorrie’s mother was murdered. But that wasn’t the end of it. Reeling from the tragedy, Lorrie’s father spiraled into alcohol, depression, and finally suicide.
The two most important people in Lorrie’s life are both gone but she’s still alive.
Trying to recover from the tragedy, Lorrie returns to campus, ready to pick up the pieces of her life. All Lorrie wants is to get back to “normal.”
Then she meets Hunter. The man, the legend, “The Hammer.”
Hunter is a cage fighter who takes on every fight like he’s got nothing to lose. His life is a tangled mess of girls, booze, and fist fights. And while it may seem like he’s got a devil-may-care attitude, he’s fighting a private cage-match with a monster he can’t defeat.
Lorrie knows that Hunter is exactly the type of guy she should stay away from, especially in her fragile state, but Hunter has other ideas.
As Hunter and Lorrie grow closer together, will they be able to overcome their pain and heal each other? Or will they both end up wrecked?
Wrecked (The Forever Series)
An Exclusive Teaser from Wrecked
I didn’t know what I expected to see, but this certainly wasn’t it. There was a large tent set up outside that looked like it came straight from a carnival. People were huddled around an elevated octagon stage surrounded by metal fencing. The whole area was lit by bright spotlights. What was all of this?
Attracted by curiosity as well as the energy of the crowd, I found myself wiggling through a sea of bodies to get a closer look at the stage. Inside the octagon was a mat that had a large logo of a squirrel wearing fighter gloves that said “The Bearded Brawl”. After noticing faint blood stains on the mat, it became clear to me that this was some kind of fighting arena.
A suave man in a white suit entered the cage with a microphone. “Ladies and gentleman,” he announced with dramatic flare. “We just had an exciting opening match but we’ve got something even more exciting in store for you. The match you’ve all been waiting for. Our main event.”
The crowd cheered and whistled. Some rattled their beer mugs against the fence.
Two men stepped up onto the stage and entered the cage. One was wearing a red hoodie with matching trunks and the other was wearing a dark blue version of the same outfit. They both had their hoods over their heads so I couldn’t see their faces, but their sweaters were partially open and I could snag a peek at their torsos. And what a peek it was. From the teasingly little I could see, it was clear each had ripped abs and sculpted pecs like they were carved by a sculptor. The one in blue particularly caught my attention. He was bouncing on his toes and shaking his arms to stay loose and to keep himself warmed up for the fight. Each bounce sent ripples through his hard muscles, which in turn made my own heart bounce. A surge of desire through my body made me realize how affected I was just by the sight of him. I was unwittingly reminded of Tattoos and Muscles, except I couldn’t tell if this guy had any tattoos underneath his hoodie. Tim had a gorgeous bod but I don’t think he could compete with blue trunks.
“On my left, standing at six feet, two inches and weighing in at two hundred pounds of pure, raw muscle. Don’t let his friendly face fool you, he’ll squeeze the life out of you if he gets you in his hold. We’ve got Abram ‘Mr. Hyde
’ Wallace!”
The crowd cheered for the man in red trunks. Abram hopped around, shadow-boxing the air, displaying his quick fists and dexterous footwork. I squinted, trying to get a view of his face but I couldn’t see much beneath the hood. I could see his smile though; it was wide and showcased neat rows of white teeth, which made it seem like he was just happy to be here.
“And on my right, standing also at a height of six feet, two inches and weighing two hundred and five pounds with fists of steel, it’s your defending champion, Hunter ‘The Hammer’ Jensen!”
The crowd erupted once again but louder than they did for Abram. I heard a girl cry out, “I love you Hunter!”
Hunter didn’t make as much of a show as Abram. He simply continued shaking out his limbs and bouncing on his toes. Although his head was down seemingly in deep focus, he seemed to be soaking in the cheers, absorbing the crowd’s energy to channel later in the fight.
“It’s exciting isn’t it?” a male voice said next to me.
I turned to see a tall guy around my age with a smooth head standing beside me. He had hard, chiseled features that complemented the defined muscles stretching against his t-shirt and jeans. I wasn’t really a fan of bald guys, but this dude was quite attractive. A quick scan of his build and I wondered why he wasn’t in the cage himself. He had a smile on his face that looked friendly.
“Yeah, I’ve never seen this before,” I responded. “What kind of fighting is this?”
He chuckled. “So you’re not a devoted fan of Hunter, apparently. It’s mixed martial arts. Punching, kicking, wrestling—pretty much anything goes except for biting, crotch shots, and eye gouging.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That sounds brutal.”
“It’s exciting to watch for sure. And it’s not too bad for the fighters when it comes to safety. Probably no more dangerous than playing professional football or doing boxing. I’d even say it’s safer than boxing.”
Curious, I asked, “How can it be safer when you can do much more than punching?”
He shrugged. “Some fighters win through holds and submissions. Usually the guy in the submission just taps out before he gets really hurt.” He pointed to red trunks. “Abram’s strength is in his submissions; he has a wrestling background. As for striking—” He pointed to blue trunks. “Hunter’s strength is his stand-up game. He throws a mean punch, which is why he earned the name ‘The Hammer’. But the refs tend to stop matches before fighters get seriously hurt. There’s no ten count that allows a fighter to get back up and continue fighting again after a mild concussion. Once someone goes down after a good punch, the ref pretty much always ends the fight.”
“Wow, you know a lot about this.”
He grinned. “Name’s Gary.” He extended his large hand.
I took it and he shook firmly. “Lorrie.”
His grin widened. “Well Lorrie, all I got to say is you’re in for a treat if this is your first time watching this.”
“Is this like a sanctioned event or something? Why are they having a mixed martial arts fight at this bar?”
“It’s sponsored by the Bearded Squirrel. As far as being sanctioned . . .” He shrugged. “Let’s just say it’s semi-legal. Legal enough—and good enough for business—that they’re willing to take the risk.”
The announcer stepped out of the cage and a man in a light blue button-down and black pants entered. Judging by his formal attire, he was the referee. He stepped into the center, rolled up his sleeves and pointed to his left.
“Red corner, are you ready?” he shouted.
Abram peeled back his hood and removed his sweatshirt, throwing it over the cage to his coach. He tilted his chin up, beat his fist against his chest, and nodded. He had neatly combed brown hair parted on the side and a soft face with a wide nose. He reminded me of Mr. Rogers from the kid’s show Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood—except this version of Mr. Rogers was on steroids and too big to fit in sweaters.
“Blue corner are you ready?”
Hunter removed his hood then slid the sweater off his massive arms and threw it over the cage. That’s when I saw his face; and the tats around the side of his chest and neck.
My heart stopped.
He was Tattoos and Muscles.
I heard women screaming Hunter’s name and one or two of them shouting for him to marry them. He didn’t seem to notice, rather his focus was solely on the opponent before him. The hammer I’d painstakingly drawn in my sketchbook was etched on the side of his arm. There was no mistaking it. I’d finally found out his name.
Hunter Jensen.
Beautiful Surrender (The Forever Book 3) Page 11