by Allen, Sara
“And my hope is that this amazing woman will agree to spend the rest of her life with me.” I pause, letting go of Melody’s hand to pull the ring from the box. “Melody Thomas, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” I ask while simultaneously slipping the ring on her finger.
“Landon,” she whispers my name through her tears.
“Say, yes.”
“Yes! Yes, I will marry you,” she nods vigorously, and pulls me up to her by the hand.
I grasp her at the hips and pull her in so close not even air can get between us. I cover her mouth with mine the way I’ve done so many times over the last few months. And just like every other time, her body melts into mine. This time the intensity of our kiss is increased because she has just committed to becoming my life partner. When I finally pull back, I wipe the streaming tears from her cheeks. The #3 that was prominent on her cheek is completely smeared, but she has never looked more beautiful to me.
“Congratulations! Melody, would you like to make a statement?” Reporters from every angle now yell and clamor for our attention, especially hers.
Walter is by our side, responding to a few of the reporters close to us. Michael has already drafted a statement that will be released to the public. I’m just interested in getting the hell out of here so I can go home to celebrate with my future wife.
“They’ll be no comment, right now. Thank you, guys,” I say, pulling Melody to my side and pushing past a few insistent reporters. I swear if one of them so much as lays a finger on my woman, I will shove a microphone up their ass. Luckily, they get the hint and back off as we’re escorted by security out the back of the stadium and into a waiting car.
“You’re stuck with me now,” I say, pulling her onto my lap.
She laughs and holds up her hand with the ring on it, admiring it with dreamy eyes. “You did good.”
“You think so?” I press a kiss to her neck and jaw line with each word.
“Hmmm…” she half answers and half moans. “I love you.”
Just like the first time she told me, those three words ignite something deep within me.
“I was thinking of a July wedding,” I tell her at the same time my hand reaches underneath her jersey to graze her taught nipples.
“In Puerto Rico,” we say at the same time.
I capture her lips in a passionate kiss that holds promises of forever. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives together. I could care less about having just lost a football game. I just won the most important prize ever: this woman’s heart.
I went away on vacation and found the love of my life, and was lucky enough that she decided to love me back. If that’s not winning, I don’t know what the hell is.
The End
A Dangerous Man
Mariah Violet
Feeling completely wiped out by too many long days and not enough rest, Serenity decided to steal some time for herself. A long weekend on a quiet lake was just what she needed. Her body needed more than a little rest though, and Craig, the sexy guy across the lake, might be just what she needed to fully recharge her batteries.
Anthony, Chris, and Melvin were on the run. Their meth house had been busted, comrades were in jail and time was running out for them to decide the next move. A weekend hiding at Anthony’s parents’ lake house seemed like a good idea…. It wasn’t.
*THIS IS A FULL STORY *
Acknowledgements:
Thank you Lord for the gift and thank you for putting me in position to use it. Grow it Lord, make it great.
Thank you beta readers, Andreka L. and Sheron W. I appreciate your input.
M.A.C. My muse. A gift from the Universe.
Reader boos, I love hearing from you! Please join me on Facebook or Twitter so we can get to know each other better! www.facebook.com/WordsmithMariahViolet or Mariah Violet on Twitter.
As always, thank you to my family, nobody loves me better than you! One time for the Sargent, Kise, Okoloise, Timmons and Johnson families. You are my life’s treasure.
Chapter One
Wednesday
Serenity took a deep breath as she put the car in park. It had been a long drive from the city, and she was tired. She had worked three fourteen-hour days in a row to prepare for this long holiday. All of her pending jobs had been filled with qualified applicants, and her manager would divvy up any new positions to the other members of her team at Start Smart Marketing. She loved her job. Helping people find work made her feel as if she was contributing to the universe. Still, she was exhausted and looked forward to her extra-long weekend.
Stepping out of her vehicle, she did a couple of deep stretches, touching her toes and performing a reverse swan to ease the kinks out of her body. She grabbed her rolling bag, slung her purse over the handle, and headed for the front door of the lakefront cabin. Pausing, she turned a complete circle, taking in the beauty of her surroundings. The lake, its surface smooth and dark, lay rippling beneath the autumn sky. Trees towered over all the cabins as if the woods behind them was stalking its way back to the lake’s edge. The cabin had a bay window, fieldstone façade, and a short pier, which was a brief walk from the porch. She planned to enjoy her coffee there the next morning.
Entering the cabin, the cozy interior charmed her. A small fireplace dominated the main room of the lower level. A low counter with stools separated the kitchen area. A gas range made cooking possible, and there was a microwave for convenience. A butcher block with knives stood at the ready, and the most charming touch of all was the temperature-controlled wine storage unit on the counter.
Rolling through to the bedroom, Serenity parked her hand luggage and returned to her vehicle. Moments later, she re-entered with two reusable grocery bags. One was filled with fresh vegetables, pasta, almond milk, tea, popcorn as well as items necessary for breakfast. The other one contained a box set of wine bottles, two red and two white. There was also a split of champagne in the event she felt the need to host a brunch for one. It was a late vacation, and she intended to start drinking at precisely noon each day.
Quickly, Serenity dialed her sister’s number. “Hey, big sis.”
“Hey there, little sister. I take it you’ve made it to your little getaway,” Brandi said.
“Yes, I’m here. It’s adorable and very quiet,” she said.
“How quiet?”
“Well, I didn’t see a single other car after I turned off the main road. I can see a light in the cabin across the lake, though.”
“Good, that gives me some reassurance. We live in perilous times. Do you have your mace?”
“Good grief, Bran!”
“Well, do you?”
“Yes, I do. I also have my mini taser,” she reassured her big sister who always imagined the worst case scenario.
“Okay, I know you want to leave your phone off, but I’m going to request you at least keep it charged, just in case you need it.”
“Fine. I’m signing off now. Phone will be off, but charged. I will be doing very little besides reading, fishing, napping and inhaling the solitude. I need a recharge.”
“I understand. No problem. I expect to hear from you by noon on Friday and again Sunday morning when you head back. Enjoy your quiet.”
“I will. Love you.”
“I love you too. Peace.”
“Peace,” was her reply as they disconnected the call.
Having done her duty and checked in, Serenity plugged in her phone and powered it off. For the next hour, she cleaned and chopped vegetables. She marinated the shrimp. White wines were stored, champagne refrigerated, and a light dinner prepped and slid into the oven.
Feeling accomplished, Serenity set up her iPad mini and filled the small cabin with the sounds of the old R&B duo, Christión. Smiling, she uncorked a bottle of red wine so it could breathe and then headed to wash off the week of work and sensation of travel in the modernized bath.
Serenity stood under the spray of the shower and allowed the pulsing water to beat on
her shoulders, neck, and back. The steam filled the room, and she took deep breaths, glad she had brought her eucalyptus bath gel. Her naturally curly hair drew up into spirals. She lathered her body with soap. When she rubbed her generous breasts, the dark chocolate nipples pebbled, reminding her it had been a while since she’d had a tune up. She’d gotten waxed before this trip because there was a hot tub behind the cabin and she intended to get in it. The likelihood she would have a few opportunities for self-gratification was high. She had been single for a while, and feeling her soft skin under her fingertips reminded her that she needed to get out more. She could take the edge off with toys, but there really was no substitute for good old fashioned dick. The notion of being outside in the hot tub, breasts bared to the night sky with no one around to watch her being nasty gave her a little bit of a thrill. She wasn’t one for risky behavior, but what the hell? She was on vacation.
Having finished her steam shower, she massaged aloe vera and lemon infused avocado oil into her skin. She followed up with argan oil for her hair, which she quickly flat twisted and wrapped in a red satin scarf. The stove light provided enough illumination for her to pour her first glass of wine. Her garlic shrimp pasta casserole in tomato sauce was ready, so she made herself a plate and ate. Then she clicked on the lamp and settled herself on the sofa and started her first book of the weekend. It was good and nasty, just what she was in the mood for.
Three hours and two glasses of wine later, she sealed the bottle and put her book in the read pile. She had several in her suitcase and more in the car. She planned to chill so hard this weekend that icicles would form on her ears. It had been ages since she had been able to spend days lost in stories. It was how she recharged.
Leaving the stove light on, she headed to the bedroom and slid under the sheets. Pleasantly mellowed from the wine and sleepy, she curled up and drifted off. It was midnight.
Chapter Two
Craig Smart had heard the car door slam a few minutes before and headed to his window to investigate. He was a bit surprised. In the two years since he’d retired, it had been rare for there to be rentals during the month of November. Typically, the last of the cabin rentals occurred in early October. By November, the school year was in full swing, the holidays were nearing, and most families weren’t headed this far out for a long weekend.
He had watched the petite woman unload the car before she went inside. He decided to take his motor boat across the lake the next morning and introduce himself. He hoped he wouldn’t scare her. She wasn’t very big, and it was pretty isolated out here. He looked exactly like what he was, a retired military police officer. He was big, hard, and mean. He had spent close to twenty-five years wrangling some of the toughest, best trained soldiers in the world. Sometimes they were just a little drunk and a lot rowdy, not a big deal. Other times they were mean and violent and difficult as hell. Soldiers didn’t take being arrested any better than their civilian counterparts did, and sometimes he had been forced to make his point violently. He could cuff them and walk them to the MP car or he could bust heads and toss them over his shoulder. Either way, they were going to the stockade.
He had to bend his knees a little bit to see out of the window. He was taller than the glass. He had been two inches over six feet since he was seventeen, and was used to having to duck.
He took a sip of his beer as he reflected on what seemed like a gift from the universe. Not even an hour ago, he’d been thinking it might be time for a trip to the nearest bar; it was time to get knee deep into some pussy. He didn’t have the patience for relationships and he was pretty disciplined about his sex life. Still, even a man with great self-control sometimes needed to let loose. Right across the lake it seemed like a tiny package of flexible sexiness had taken up residence. No one came up on a Wednesday unless they were taking a long weekend. Maybe she was in just as much need for some relaxing, relating, and releasing as he was.
He finished the beer and headed to his bathroom to do some manscaping, already planning his approach.
He was lost in thought and barely registered the local news radio station as it gave its daily tally. Apparently, some starlet had given birth and named yet another kid something useless. Some actor got arrested. Some politician was caught lying. A pet dog was returned. A meth lab was busted. An unidentified body was found at a dump. Craig paid scant attention. It was all the same as the day before, murder and mayhem the theme, foolishness and fuckery the sub theme.
Craig hopped in the shower. Water battered his muscular frame and his tattoos reflected in the mirror that he kept in the stall. He trimmed up his goatee, shaved his cock and balls, and washed his dark brown hair. He wasn’t a playboy, but he was no fool either. A man with a thick neck, huge hands and arms like boulders needed to look a little less bear-like when approaching women. It put them at ease. When his facial hair was shaggy, he looked more intimidating than was absolutely necessary. That might work in film and on television, but most women in real life were put off when a man looked like a big hungry bear—even if he was a green-eyed bear with eyelashes so long they made women everywhere jealous.
He preferred to air dry, so after exiting the shower, he walked through the darkened cabin to his main room and sat on the couch with another beer and looked out the window across the lake.
He wondered who she was and what she was doing here. He also wondered if she preferred to be on the bottom or the top. While wondering, he massaged CB until he had worked himself up into a hard-on that had surprised more than one woman with its impressive appearance. It was long, tan, and fat; just what a girl wanted if she was on vacation and looking to act bad.
He looked across the lake at her rented cabin and wondered if she was in the mood for acting bad.
Chapter Three
Chris
Anthony, Melvin and Chris were feeling a bit stressed. They had just missed being caught up in a drug bust. The three of them had been sent out to procure more chemicals for the meth lab they operated with two other guys they’d known since junior high. On one hand, they were feeling pretty lucky to have avoided being arrested. But on the other hand, they were concerned whether or not their pals would think they had set them up for the cops. The other more pressing problem was that they had a SUV packed with enough chemicals to start a small lab. They had driven past the flashing lights of cops’ cruisers and seen everything in the house being carted out earlier. Wisely, they kept driving.
Melvin, true to form, had picked up a case of beer when they stopped for gas hours earlier. He had merely given Anthony the side eye when he said, “Don’t get fucked up. You can’t cook when you’re drunk.”
Chris had murmured something from the back seat that sounded suspiciously like, “If he does, I’ll slap his shit-for-brains ass sober.”
Melvin ignored them both, and for the remainder of the trip had opened one can after another.
“Where are you going, anyway?” Chris asked Anthony as he noticed him peering through the windshield into the darkness.
“I’m looking for the lake we used to go to in high school,” Anthony said.
“You’re taking us somewhere crawling with tourists, man!” Chris shouted.
“Hell no! There won’t be anyone there in November,” Anthony replied. “What do you think I am? A dumb ass?”
Chris wisely kept his opinion concerning Anthony’s intellect to himself. He knew the situation was highly volatile, and the last thing they needed to be doing was to be fighting. Melvin was enough dead weight to be carrying. They probably would have dumped him if he wasn’t the chemist of the group. Mel couldn’t handle stress. In the event of their arrests, Mel would sing like a platinum-selling pop star. They might escape this hell yet. They wouldn’t if they got to arguing, though.
Anthony
Anthony was tired. It had been years since he had traveled with his family to this particular lake. That had been in his old life when his parents had not given up on him, his sisters still spoke to him, and h
is grades were good. His life was orderly back then. None of that mattered right now, though. He had to remember where this place was; he needed to rest and there was no way he would let Chris drive. He had a lead foot, and Melvin would surely crash and kill them all because he had gone far past what would be considered buzzed. He had to get them to the lake house. There would likely be no key under the mat, but he could always force open a back window. There was no real expectation of crime this far out, and the cabins were pretty basic. All they probably had worth stealing were televisions. This place was designed for people who wanted to unplug. There weren’t a lot of pawn shops worthy of bells and whistles around.
Just before two in the morning, he found the narrow and dark side road. It was just in time too because he had started nodding at the wheel.
He drove to the far end of the lake, lights off, radio silent. After parking in the rear, he quietly woke Chris. “We’re here.”
“Really? Finally?” Chris said in a low voice, thick with sleep.
“Yeah. We need to get this drunk bastard out of the car and we can’t have him stumbling around, mumbling and making noise. Sound carries out here due to the water,” he explained.
“I thought you said no one would be out here.”
“I don’t think anyone is, but it’s pitch black out here. I can’t see a motherfucking thing! We will have to wait until the morning to be sure.”
Chris saw the reasoning in that argument, so he set about helping Anthony get Melvin out of the car. Melvin had actually passed out, so moving him was a chore. Anthony made short work of the door lock at the rear entrance. They shuffled inside with their drunken chemist and dropped him into the recliner.