“What is this place?”
“Stockholm Cathedral,” Will said. “I like to come here when it’s closed.”
Jewel stared up in awe. Will took her hand and guided her inside.
“There’s just something about the way this place feels when nobody else is here,” Will whispered, squeezing her hand.
“It’s magical,” Jewels said. Bertolf and Willy walked in, closing the door behind them.
They walked down the center of the church, stopping in front of a massive statue of a knight on a horse, a dragon splayed out before him, and a princess watched on, with a lamb standing at her side.
“What is going on here?” Jewels asked, her voice filled with wonder. “This is amazing!”
“This is what I wanted to show you,” Will said. “It’s quite something, isn’t it? This cathedral is called the Church of St. Nicholas, commonly known as Storkyrkan, or The Great Church. It was built in 1279. Oscar the Second was crowned here in 1873. My parents were married here in 1976.”
“But this statue is my favorite thing,” Will said, his voice growing soft and low, as the two of them walked slowly around the medieval masterpiece. “As you can see, the knight has just lanced the dragon, and is drawing back for the fatal blow. The Princess and the lamb look on, knowing that if the Knight fails, they’ll be the dragon’s next meal.”
“There are many different versions to the story of St. George and the Dragon,” he continued. “But in all of them, the dragon is quite eager to devour the princess, and St. George always saves her.”
“It’s quite romantic, really,” Will whispered, turning to Jewels.
“Couldn’t the Princess just run away and save herself? Or better yet, couldn’t she just slay the dragon on her own?” Jewels asked.
“Perhaps,” Will replied. “But maybe the Knight needed to do something to prove that he was worthy of the Princess’s love.”
“Maybe she already knew that he was worthy,” Jewels replied. “Just by being himself.”
Will laughed and pulled Jewels into his arms, smiling down at her. “Maybe the Prince needed to prove it to himself.”
“Are we talking about a Prince or a Knight, now?” Jewels asked, laughing.
Willy ran up to them, circling their feet before wedging himself between them. They stepped back laughing and Jewels looked down. Attached to Willy’s collar was a small black box with a silk red bow tied around it.
Will reached down and removed it and sank to one knee.
“Will!” she cried. “What are you doing?”
He smiled up at her, slowly untying the red silk ribbon and letting it fall at her feet. He pulled open the box, revealing a sparkling silver and diamond ring.
“I’m slaying our dragons, Jewels. Marry me. It’s the perfect solution. We’ll get married before our parents, and then nobody can say a word about it.”
“What!” she cried. “Will, that’s insane!”
“Maybe. But does that matter? I love you, Jewels. I’ve always loved you. That’s never going to change, whether you marry me or not. And I think you love me, too. Marry me, hjärtat. I want you to be my Princess. I promise to remain true and devoted, and slay any dragons you don’t wish to slay yourself.”
Jewels eyes filled with tears, her heart jumping in her chest. It was a risk, but wasn’t that what love was all about? Jumping and hoping the landing was soft.
What was life without a little risk? Was that any life at all?
“Yes!” she whispered, tears streaming down her face. Will took the ring from the box and slid it on her finger.
It was a perfect fit.
He jumped up, embracing her tightly, spinning her around and around the cathedral, as they laughed and kissed. Bertolf looked on with a smile as Willy leapt into the air, barking joyfully as he ran in circles around them.
“You’ve made me the happiest man in the world, Jewels,” he said, gently placing her back on her feet and staring down into the eyes of his princess.
They walked hand in hand out of the cathedral, ready to face their future together. Was it happily ever after? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe happily ever after doesn’t really exist.
But for Will and Jewels, they were perfectly content with happily right now.
THE END
Honey Palomino is a true romantic at heart!
She loves reading and writing about dangerous bad boys and the women that love them!
OTHER TITLES BY HONEY PALOMINO
BIKER ROMANCE AND EROTICA
The Outlaws MC
Dirty Crow Motorcycle Club
Captured
Saving Rebel
Old Ghosts
Jett
Remember Me: Gods of Chaos MC
Solid Ground: Gods of Chaos MC
Broken Wings: Gods of Chaos MC My Brother's Keeper
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HOPE AGAINST HOPE
By Honey Palomino
PROLOGUE
Lee Haggard watched as Eva Montgomery unbuckled his large, round belt buckle that he won in the state bull riding competition years ago. It dangled to the ground as she unfastened the front of his jeans, exposing his unbridled stallion-sized prize.
“I told you it was big,” she said to her best friend, and partner-in-crime, Violet Taylor. “It’s the biggest in Sugar Hill!”
Violet stared, wide-eyed and mesmerized, as Lee looked on with a smirk.
“I didn’t believe you,” Violet murmured. “Or anyone else.”
“Best you found out for yourself, right, ma’am?” Lee asked, tipping his hat at the kneeling women in front of him.
Violet responded silently, and soon the only sounds you could hear were Eva’s moans of approval as she watched her best friend engulf the masterpiece of masculinity that she had come to see, followed by Lee’s moans of pleasure.
Lee Haggard was a woman’s man. He knew what the women wanted, and he found great pleasure in giving it to them. All they had to do was ask, and maybe give him a place to crash now and then, a place to escape from the overwhelming reality of life for just a little while, and he was willing to go the extra mile, taking extra care to make sure it was exactly what you needed and how you needed it.
He was the rare type of cowboy that had grown up in the ‘good ol’ boys’ club, but his first priority had always been making the women in his life happy. Nothing made his cock harder than a pretty woman’s smile.
Eva and Violet were smiling. Well, Eva was. Her friend was making being in the same room with them almost unbearable, and he decided to take charge.
“Get up,” he demanded. “Both of you.”
They stood obediently, those pretty smiles spreading across their faces like private gifts of consent.
“Undress,” he insisted, as he towered over their petite bodies. They peeled off their clothes, a tornado of billowy blouses, jeans, frilly panties and bras, until they stood stark naked in front of him.
Slowly, he pulled open the black pearl-buttoned shirt that stretched across his broad chest, revealing the results of years of hard work performed under the blazing rays of the unforgivable Texas sun. Tan, rugged skin covered his sinewy, lean muscles, hypnotizing the women as the shirt fell to his feet, landing in a crumpled pile next to his discarded black leather cowboy boots.
He pulled off his jeans and stood naked with the two gorgeous women, his eyes trailing up and down their bodies as he walked forward and gently pushed them down onto Eva’s bed.
He went slow at first. Tasting Eva’s nectar before diving in and engulfing Violet’s delicately perfumed center. Back and forth, he p
artook in their deliciousness until they were writhing on his tongue, their abandoned hands and mouths finding pleasure in each other.
He looked up and watched them, their hands caressing their soft skin, their mouths working together as they writhed under his tongue and fingers until they were crying out, their juices flowing over his hands, giving him just the pleasure he was looking for.
When he took them, Eva first, then Violet, he went slow, waiting, watching for the flush of their skin, the pulsing squeeze of their warm centers, the quickening of their breath, watching for the tiny, intuitive signs that told him to slow down or speed up or press into that spot right there until they could breathe again…and then doing it all over again, just the way they liked it, the way they yearned for it, the way they needed it.
A shiny sheen of sweat clung to his body as, hours later, he was still hard, still sinking himself into their quivering centers, his body never satisfied for long. He kissed Eva, his tongue delving deeply into her warm mouth, the passion flowing between them like a wildfire. He broke away, turning his head and kissing Violet, her warm and inviting mouth causing him to sink his cock into her harder, deeper, his body on the verge of exploding.
A loud slam of the front door shook them all out of their passionate revelry.
“Eva! I’m home!” The man’s voice sounded from the first floor.
“Fuck!” Eva hissed, standing up and digging through the pile of clothes on the floor furiously, her eyes wild and full of fear. “He’s early! I’ll distract him! Get dressed both of you! And Lee…fucking hide!”
Lee, still buried inside Violet, watched Eva leave and then turned back to Violet with a smile. His cock twitched and he began thrusting again, swelling even larger with the thrilling threat of danger on the other side of the door.
“Lee!” Violet admonished, while she opened her legs wider, her pussy quivering at Lee’s renewed vigor, and that ever present pretty smile on her face. He quickened his pace until he found exactly what he was looking for - sweet release.
The sound of approaching voices and footsteps only made him more smug. Slowly, he peeled himself away from Violet and found his clothes. Violet looked at him in awe as he shrugged on his pants, threw his shirt on, and grabbed his boots.
“Not only do you have the biggest dick in Sugar Hill, but apparently you’ve got the biggest balls, too.”
“I reckon I do, ma’am,” Lee drawled, grinning as he tipped his hat as he put it back on. He leaned down, quickly brushed Violet’s lips, and turned away, opening the French doors that led to the balcony off of Eva Montgomery’s bedroom. Stepping out into the darkness of the night, he stared up at the stars for a second before making his way down the rose trellis that led to the front yard.
“Hi there, Sheriff Montgomery,” Violet called from above.
“Violet, why in the dickens are you naked as a jay bird in my bedroom again?” the low deep voice answered her.
Lee laughed as he made his way back to his truck, hidden in the trees and out of sight of the house. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey he had left waiting on the seat and took a big swig out of it. Putting the truck in gear, he turned on the radio, and hightailed it down the Montgomery’s winding driveway, his thick tires kicking up dirt behind him, and Willie Nelson’s voice serenading him home.
Chapter ONE
Georgia
"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops — at all....
~Emily Dickinson
“Do you think they got enough balloons?” I said, as my big brother Crit, pulled dozens of red balloons from our parent’s car.
“You know how Mom is,” he replied. “She over packs, over cooks, over shops, and apparently her balloon problem is spiraling out of control, too.”
“Do you think there’s a twelve step program for over-enthusiastic mothering?” I said.
“Are you kidding? Get a bunch of women like Mom in a room, and they’ll just come up with new, inventive ways to torture us with kindness and attention.”
“I was hoping this would lighten up now that that I’ve graduated from college.”
“You’re disillusioned, sis. Did she let up on us?”
“No, I guess not.” He was right. Mom acted like we were all still six years old. I think she thought if she pretended long enough, the clock would turn backwards and she would be back in control of everything.
Now that her youngest - me - had finally graduated college, she seemed to be holding on harder than ever. Hell, Crit just turned twenty-nine and she still insisted on doing his laundry for him. Even my other two brothers, Seth and Jesse, still lived at home, and they were twenty-five and twenty-three.
Not me, though. Now that I was twenty-one, and now that I had finally graduated from Rice University in nearby Houston, I was determined to make a life of my own as soon as I could. I was starting an internship at a wildlife sanctuary outside of Houston this summer that would hopefully turn into a job after it was over.
It was going to be the best summer ever, I was sure of it. I was going to work hard to obtain a paid position at the sanctuary and spend massive amounts of time with my best friend and partner-in-boredom, Ruby Rae Rust.
I had been waiting a long time for this summer to get here. College had been a challenge, and I was thankful for being done with papers and exams.
And, here it was.
I just had to get through this party first.
I followed Crit into our family’s lake cabin and watched as he let go of the balloons in the living room. They floated to the top of the ceiling, their long strings hanging down below them, filling up the small amount of space left in the small log cabin. Mom and Dad had bought this cabin when I was ten, and we had been having family vacations and spending summers here with the Haggards every year since then.
The Haggards are our parent’s best friends and neighbors. They own the property that borders our family farm, Hope Against Hope Farms. Their sons, Beau, Lee and Finn, are basically my brother’s rivals. They’re known to cause a lot of trouble, but because our parents are friends, we have to spend time with them. I keep my distance from them for the most part, being the only girl in both families. But, at times, I am forced to endure their presence. So, I was used to the cabin being full of both families, with the boys almost always arguing and occasionally coming to blows.
It was just part of life. We’d all grown up together, and thankfully, the fighting was less and less these days. We were almost beginning to like each other.
Tonight was special, though. After the party, our parents were taking off and we would have the cabin to ourselves to continue the party into the night with our friends.
I had invited a few friends from school, and the boys had invited some of their rodeo buddies. They were all due to arrive any minute.
“Oh, that’s just so much more festive now!” My mother’s voice echoed in the living room, her smile brightening the room more than the balloons ever could. Goldie Hope had an unhealthy penchant for parties. She was always finding a reason to celebrate. Sometimes our father, Hayward, who everyone called ‘Ward’ for short, had to rein her in to keep her from running off the deep end. She’d throw a party for Flag Day if she could.
“See Ward? Aren’t you glad I made you stop and get them?” she asked, her bright green eyes that I had inherited, shined happily as she gazed at the balloons. He walked over to her and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head.
“If it makes you happy, Goldie, yes, I’m glad.” She pulled back and kissed him quickly on the lips before winking at him and turning away.
“There’s still so much left to do! Come help me, George!”
George. That’s me. I’m Georgia Hope, but everyone calls me George. Or Georgie. Every now and then, someone will throw out a Georgia, and surprise me a little. After giving birth to three boys, my parents didn’t believe the docto
r when they told them that their youngest would be a girl. Supposedly, Mom had to fight Dad to even try to agree on a girl’s name, so they chose Georgia because he insisted I would end up being a George anyway.
He was right.
From day one, everyone called me George, and it stuck.
I followed my mother into the kitchen. She and Mrs. Haggard, or Lora, as she preferred to be called, had everything organized. They were a perfect team. Anytime there was a special occasion, they were the first to be assigning chores and delegating various tasks to the rest of the family.
Lora owns a bakery in town, so she is usually in charge of the food. My mother manages our family farm. She’s also really into decorating and home-making, which explains the balloons.
The kitchen was thankfully free of balloons, which allowed me to see the incredible spread they had laid out on a table along one wall. Piles of fruits, cheeses, and an assortment of finger foods greeted me, not to mention the amazing aroma of the barbecue ribs that were being prepared outside. My mouth watered and my stomach growled in hunger.
“You’ve outdone yourselves,” I said, turning to face the two most important ladies in my life. As much as I craved freedom like anyone my age would, I couldn’t deny that I’d have a hard time leaving these two.
Sometimes, it was like having two mothers, and that was wonderful.
But other times, that was a bad thing. Like when you tried to sneak out of your house in the middle of the night when you were thirteen, to go to a party with Ruby that you didn’t have permission to go to, and Lora sees you across the meadow that stretches between your two houses and calls your mom before you can even get down the driveway. I laughed about that now, but I sure didn’t when I was thirteen.
Times like that made being so close to your neighbors a real pain in the ass.
But there were other times, like now, when it felt like a blessing.
“It’s a special occasion, George. I’m so proud of you,” Lora said, embracing me in one of her usual matronly bear hugs. Lora’s plump arms almost suffocated me, but I hugged her back, pulling my face out of her ample bosom and putting it on her shoulder as she hugged me. Her grey hair stuck out in wiry wisps around her face, tickling my ears.
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