by Dani Dundee
Flakes of snow were drifting down from the sky onto an already-white forest. Daeglan stood before the window of his cottage and watched, unable to draw forth the appreciation he normally had for his home.
The faery realm was divided into four sectors, each one representing a single season. This place was the Winter, where it was perpetually cold and snow-covered. With a frustrated sigh, he abandoned the view and went to the larder to find something to eat. Almost without thinking, he grabbed one jar of peanut butter and one of marshmallow, then began cutting slices of crusty bread.
He'd learned of "peanut butter and fluff" sandwiches from a child he'd visited in a dream. It had sounded so delicious to him that he'd made arrangements with a faery living in the human realm to send him the provisions he needed to make it. It quickly became one of his favorite meals.
And as happened nearly every second of every day for him now, he was reminded of Meggie. He hadn't visited her again after the last time, hoping that he could soon forget her. Unfortunately, it seemed absence only made his heart long for her more.
But there was no future for them, and so to continue the sweet torture would do the two of them no good. His mind still caught glimpses of her, sometimes during the daytime when she was awake and always at the moment she entered a dream-state.
The separation from her was nearly making him crazed. He couldn't sleep, and he'd taken to locking himself away in the cabin without any other company just to cope. He thought that if he could give himself a little more time, then the bond he'd strangely developed with Meggie could be broken.
But time wasn't working.
"No future, Daeglan. No future for the two of ye," he reminded himself.
And it was true. All he could ever have with her were dreams. She lived in the human world and he in the faery realm. The two were separated by an ancient spell that prevented anyone from crossing between.
At least without consequences. He could certainly open a portal to her that very moment, but to cross the threshold of it would strip him of all of his magic. And while part of him believed she was worth it, another part chided him that all he really knew of her was the Meggie she represented in the recesses of her imagination. Reality might be very different.
Still, he couldn't seem to believe that.
Just as he was bringing his sandwich to his mouth, a strange pull developed in the pit of his stomach. Her psyche was tugging at the tether between them. She did this often when she slept, mentally searching and hoping to find him again.
Daeglan swallowed and shook his head as he closed his eyes, fighting the urge to take a deep breath so that he could join her in dreams. His chest grew tight and burned, his heart thudding wildly. His soul agonized, demanding that he accept her invitation, but his mind fought so hard that he grunted with the exertion.
***
DREAM FOUR
Meggie was seated in the center of an almost barren room, legs crossed and hands palm up on her knees. There were the markings of a pentagram all around her, and candles flickered an orange glow to her face.
"Meggie?"
Her dark eyes snapped open, and she grinned, closing her fingers but not removing her hands from their resting spot. "It worked."
Confusion washed over him, and he moved his head side to side in denial. "I dinna intend to come to ye. I dinna know how I did."
She uncurled her legs and crawled closer to him. Palms to the floor, she put her feet onto the ground and then leaned back on her haunches beneath him. He watched in wonderment as she put out her hands, fingers moving eagerly to touch him. When both palms grazed his calves, moving up the outside of his thighs, he hissed.
"Shhh." She smiled up at him as her touch reached his back side, caressing the tense muscles of his rear as if she wanted to memorize each and every nuance of his body. "I summoned you, Daeglan. Why didn't you come back? I waited. I longed to see you again. Every night, Daeglan. You didn't come."
There was a desperate complaint in the tone of her voice, and he wanted to answer, but the heat of her mouth was so close to his throbbing erection that all he could think of was grabbing the back of her head and bringing her lips to that part of him.
But he remained still, waiting. She'd brought him here and so he would give her the courtesy of setting their pace.
"Why?" she asked again, reaching for his hands. He offered them and she used them to leverage herself up to stand in front of him.
"I didna want te torture us, lass. We canna be together except in dreams. ‘Tisn't fair to ye."
"Men always think of things in such simple terms. There are ways. They require sacrifices, but there are ways."
And his heart surrendered. There was no use in denying it. She had touched him in a forbidden part of his soul, and no matter if he had to claw his way out of some burning pit, he would never deny himself contact with her again. "Aye, Meggie. Ima fool. I canna be without ye. I'll never fail to come to ye."
That delectable heart-shaped mouth turned up into a smile, then she slipped her arms around his waist to nuzzle his broad chest. "Good. I need you, my love. Please…" Her arm motioned to a spot behind her, and he was surprised to see a large four poster bed appear in the far corner of the otherwise empty room.
"How are ye doing this, lass? Yer magic is strong if yer commanding yer own dream."
She didn't answer, just led him to the bed where she stopped and faced him. He hadn't until that moment taken note of her clothing. She reached a hand up to release the buttons of a long, flowing white gown. Somehow she looked very much as a faery, her brown curly locks wild around her face and layers of thin material draping the lovely curves of her body.
When the buttons were open, she released the dress and it slid in one fluid movement down her shoulders, from her arms and over her waist until it pooled at her feet.
His eyes feasted upon sheer perfection. The porcelain he'd previously admired on her lovely face and neck covered every wonderful inch of her body. The large dark areolas of her breasts stood out against the beautiful cream of the rest of her skin, and as he stared at those beautiful mounds, each nipple tightened into a sharp nub in reaction to his hot gaze.
"Lass, ye are a goddess," he breathed, then leaned in to lift her heavy mounds up in his palms, bestowing a long kiss to each one.
Meggie melted into him, eyes closed in pleasure. She gasped when he quickly scooped her up into his great arms and gently laid her upon the bed. Her dark eyes watched him intently as he pulled off his shirt, then unlaced his trousers and removed them as well.
The way she devoured his body with her eyes had him twitching in painful need to touch her. He didn't spare any longer than it took to kick his clothes away, then he settled atop her and groaned when all of the curves of her body fit perfectly against him. She took him by the neck and pulled his head down, mouth open and eager to taste his lips. He didn't deny her, thrusting his tongue deep so that he could explore the hot recesses of her mouth.
His palm found one of her breasts, kneading her until she writhed up against him, then skimmed lower to the mound of dark hair between her legs. Her thighs parted when he touched her there, and she was so wet with need for him that a tremor of desire rocked his body.
"And I thought I coulda deny myself this?" He gritted as his lips made their way down her neck towards her chest. "Ye're as necessary to me as the air I breathe, lass." Then he took one hard peak into his mouth and suckled her hard even as he pressed one of his fingers inside her.
"Daeglan…." She whimpered, her body bucking in reaction.
He knew he couldn't wait another moment to have her. Finding her lips again with his mouth, he shifted between her legs. He dipped his erection into her wetness, then entered her with ease.
Meggie kissed him harder, clutching his back as she wrapped her legs around his waist and forced him in deeper. When he was completely buried, he felt her sigh into his mouth, and that was nearly his undoing. He braced one palm on the mattress, while the othe
r arm snaked under to hold her close, then he pulled almost completely out of her only to drive hard again. The sweet sound of her moans and whimpers urged him on as he plunged harder and faster.
The aching desire that had been building in him for all of these days overtook him. He might have worried about the roughness of his lovemaking, but his Meggie met him thrust for thrust, nails scraping his back in wild abandon.
They each cried the other's name in tandem as their bodies quaked in release. When Daeglan opened his eyes, he saw a sparkling show of colors and lights all around her, and that was when he realized this wasn't like the other dreams. Somehow he could see her aura, could see her magic, and he knew that this moment was real.
Meggie panted to catch her breath, then brought a trembling hand to his cheek and caressed him. "I love you, Daeglan. No matter what happens, I will always be yours."
"Aye, ye're mine. Now and for always, Meggie. I love ye, lass. I love ye with all of my being."
***
THE WOMEN
Roon stood atop the grey, silent hill and waited. The Women had called him here from the Summer, and although he'd arrived quickly, they didn't seem to be in a hurry to acknowledge him. He raked a hand through his red hair and kicked at the colorless soil while the five of them spoke.
"She is without power now. She's made a grave decision to cross into our world," the woman of Spring spoke, her eyes sad despite the radiant glow of her face.
"It was a foolish decision," sniffed the cold, hard woman of Winter. "Doesn't she know what she's done?"
Summer laughed. "A person in love does foolish things." She cut her gaze to the Center woman in alarm, as if she'd said something she shouldn't have.
"There is no use going through the mistake. What will we do to protect the child?" Autumn asked of her sisters.
The woman in the middle of the other four rose up on a wave of water, her face impassive even as tears streamed continuously down her cheeks. "A person in love does indeed do foolish things," she confirmed, and Roon was sure he saw all the other women shrink back just an inkling from their more powerful sister. "But love is what has created the gift she now carries within her womb. And that must be protected. She cannot remain in the faery realm. The child will be born soon, and she must leave."
"Yes," all of the others agreed together. "She must leave."
Then all five of them turned eyes to Rooney. He felt a blush creep into his fair cheeks as he stood before them. When he realized his fingers were tapping against his thighs in a nervous cadence, he quickly switched them behind his back and held them still.
He'd come into the service of the Women some time ago, but they'd never once summoned him to the Hill as they had this day. He knew deep down in his gut that whatever mission they had for him was very important. The woman in the center reached out her hands and a glistening orb appeared. In the center of it he saw an image of a lovely woman, belly swollen with child. As he stared, he saw a little lump appear against her abdomen, evidence that the baby had kicked.
Somehow he knew in that moment that the child the woman carried would be very special. He knew that she would change his life forever…
***
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About Olivia Hardin
Olivia Hardin always realized how strange she was to have complete movie-like character dreams as a child. Eventually she began putting those vivid dreams to paper and was rarely without her spiral notebooks full of those mental ramblings. Her forgotten vision of becoming an author was realized when she connected with a group of amazingly talented and fabulous writers who gave her lots of direction and encouragement. With a little extra push from family and friends, she hunkered down to get lost in the words. She’s also an insatiable crafter who only completes about 1 out of 5 projects, a jogger who hates to run, and is sometimes accused of being artistic, though she’s generally too much of a perfectionist to appreciate her own work. A native Texas girl, Olivia lives in the beautiful Lone Star state with her husband, Danny, and their puppy Bonnie.
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Table of Contents
Red Hot Candy
Table of Contents
The Things I Never Said by Jo Raven
Perfectly Equipped by Lacey Silks
Billionaires in Disguise: Rae, Kidnapped by Blair Babylon
A Fan-TAB-Ulous Night by Olivia Rigal
Take it Easy by Daisy Prescott
Before Flesh by Sky Corgan
Scorched into Submission by Daizie Draper
Pandora's Box by Sarah M. Cradit
Braving Love by SJ Mayer
Always Enough by Molly McLain
Mine In Dreams by Olivia Hardin
Like Home by Mira Bailee
Unshakeable by JC Valentine
Yearning to Yield by Pavarti K Tyler
First-Class Scoundrel by Liv Morris
Mated in Bearfield by Jacqueline Sweet
Le Moulin by JC Andrijeski
Jesse's Girl by Alison Foster
Dude by Gillian Cherry
Biker Billionaire's Bitch by Layla Wilcox
Swaying Fate by Irma Geddon
Gender Studies 101 by Dani Dundee
Disclaimers and Copyright Notices
LIKE HOME
by Mira Bailee
LIKE HOME
by Mira Bailee
LIKE HOME © Mira Bailee 2015
Olivia Margot left small town Lake Eaton, California four years ago and never looked back. Now she and her boyfriend, Devon, are returning for a friend’s wedding, and the reunion will be unforgettable.
Devon Stone--a troublemaking, tabloid favorite of Stone Record Label fame--is intent on making sure Olivia’s first trip back home goes as perfectly as she wants it. But where there’s a Stone, there’s a scandal, and this time, it’s Olivia’s past that’s coming back with a bang.
Betrayal. Old love. New revelations.
There’s no place like home.
CHAPTER ONE
Devon
Normal.
Olivia wants me to spend the next few days acting normal, as she puts it. I stare at her naked body, a white satin sheet draped over her lower back. Her wavy, dark hair cascades over her shoulder, and I brush it out of the way, leaning down to kiss the nape of her neck.
I feel her shiver from my touch as I bite the soft skin just under her ear. “You mean franchise restaurants and Sunday matinees, normal?” I speak quietly as though the mundane can be incredibly sexy.
No offense, my beautiful girlfriend, but I’ve had twenty-eight years of VIP access and high-end privileges. Of course, it all came with sacrifices—my private life made public, a dysfunctional family, being forced to parade down the red carpet for meaningless events, and scandals around every corner. But that’s what it’s like being a son to the founder of Stone Records.
Signing international sensations paid for a graduate degree I didn’t want to begin with. And the family entertainment law firm provided quick bail money when I’d act up. Yes, I work there too. I’m not some lazy schmuck who takes everything that’s handed to him. But when you ask me to be normal? I don’t know where to begin.
She laughs at me and rolls over, grabbing her glass of champagne from the side table. The sun is blazing through the small windows, giving me a clear view of Olivia’s nakedness. I avoid gaping at the sexy curves of her breasts and instead wait for her to tell me who she needs me to be this weekend. We’re on our way to her friend, Marlena’s, wedding. Olivia’s a bridesmaid. I’m just her date. I lucked out, and the open bar’s already calling my name.
“I mean backyard barbecue and cheap beer, Devon. Lake Eaton is a small town. We don’t do all that glitzy, showy stuff where I’m from.”
I look around the inside of the Stone Records private jet. We’re twenty
-eight thousand feet in the air, drinking three hundred-dollar champagne after having sex on the plane’s king size bed, and Olivia has the gall to tell me she’s not into the glitzy, showy stuff? “Sure, I can do normal,” I concede. “About as much as you can now.”
Olivia catches on to her own hypocrisy and nods slowly. “Fair enough. I just don’t want them thinking I’ve turned into some spoiled brat. Have I really changed that much?”
I lean over her, taking her glass and putting it back on the table. I trace my finger along the side of her cheek to her chin and tilt her face toward mine. Her full lips pout at me, luring me to come closer. I lick my lips and close the space between us, pressing my mouth to hers. I taste the sweetness of the champagne on her tongue and groan as her bare legs wrap around my hips. The kiss lasts as long as she wants it to—she has that effect on me. And when we stop for air, I tell her, “I wish I’d known you long enough to tell you if you’ve changed, how you’ve changed. But I love who you are right this second. And your friends love you too.”
Her face fills with a mix of relief and affection. The “I love yous” have gotten more frequent these past few weeks, and while I do wish I had this woman in my life earlier, I’m grateful she didn’t have to know the old me. Let’s just say I had a lot of room for improvement.
The phone on the nightstand rings. I pick it up.
“Mr. Stone, we’re preparing for landing,” my pilot says.
I hang up. “We should probably put our clothes back on.”