by Katy Winters
Instalove at the Falls
A Curvy Romance Short Story with Insta Love Alpha Male
Katy Winters
Copyright © 2019 Katy Winters. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Title Page
Free Book Invitation
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Epilogue
Free Book Invitation
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Chapter One
Devin
I hate hotels. I hate the smell, the neighbors, and the squishy carpets. What I don’t ever hate—could never hate—is the view. I lean against the viewing platform, watching the man that my client wanted me to case. Work rarely brings me somewhere so scenic. I can’t believe there’s a man in the world who can violently lay his hands on his wife in a place like this. I watch the green lights for Saint Patrick’s Day flickering over the falling water and the face of my client’s ex-husband; there’s nothing that I want to do more than catch this guy, but first I need to make sure it’s him. I sigh, wondering if there is anything in the world more beautiful than the Falls.
Until I see her.
Long blonde curls blow gently with the mist of the falls and I smile, knowing how beautiful the view is at night. I watch her for a moment, sitting at small bench with a blond-haired man, and turn away. My mark is wandering across the viewing platform with his girlfriend, and I try to pay attention to him, but raised voices bring my attention back to her.
I can’t make them out, but I know that it’s not going so well. I listen more closely, frowning, and can only hear them arguing; it’s louder now. I turn away, but some primal instinct makes me glance back, urges me to check on her again.
Her body language is all wrong. Something’s wrong. I walk over to them quickly, dismissing my client from my mind—he’ll be here tomorrow, and this girl might not be. I offer my most charming smile—which probably isn’t all that charming from a man as big as I am, granted—and say, “Is everything okay?”
“Don’t worry about it,” the man says, turning his back on me. He’s still arguing—in a low voice, granted, but I can hear the heat and displeasure that rolls off of his tongue. The girl’s eyes are fierce, but before I can walk away, the man grabs her arm, hard enough to elicit a squeak from her. I see red. I’m moving before I realize it, and his hand hasn’t dropped yet when I take him by the wrist and yank backward, pinning his arm behind his back.
“Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I growl, holding tightly.
He grunts in pain, squirming. I’m about twice his size—he’s a scrawny guy, at least ten years younger than me, and he doesn’t have the sense of self-preservation that God gave him. “What the hell, man? This is none of your business!”
The girl’s fingertips are touching her arm gently; this time, the red I see is for real. I know that she’s going to have a hell of a bruise from his grip, and that’s the end of it. No one is ever going to treat her like this again, I swear it. I don’t know what it is, but this woman has me by the balls—I will do whatever it takes to protect her, right here, right now.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she murmurs. She’s short—shorter than he is, but curvy, just the way I like my women. “This is a blind date! Is this really the way you try to win over women?”
She’s fierce; a fighter. I grin briefly before hauling the boy to his feet, turning him away from the girl. “You’re going to get the fuck away from her, and you will never contact her again. Got it?”
He yanks his arm away from me and mutters curses, glaring over his shoulder. “Fine, man. I don’t know what it is to you, but you can fucking have her.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk away.
Satisfied, I take her elbow gently, leading her back to the bench. “Are you okay?”
Beautiful green eyes look up at me beneath long, luscious lashes. Perfect, rosebud lips tremble slightly, but she manages a smile. “I’m fine,” she replies shyly. She hesitates. “My name is Jenny. Thanks for breaking in. I don’t normally do blind dates, but that creep pretty much turned me off to them permanently.”
“Hello, Jenny,” I reply softly. I reach over and take her hand in mine. Her hand is so small! I lick my lips slightly, running my thumb up and down her hand, and sigh, relaxing. Now that I have her here, I don’t want to let her go. “I’m Devin.”
I can tell that she’s checking me out; she averts her gaze every time I look at her, and I can’t stop looking at her. I want to bury my hands in her hair and kiss her pouty pink lips until she can’t breathe. God, what is this woman doing to me? I’ve never been a lady’s man—never wanted to be. I haven’t had a relationship in years, and this girl is driving me crazy.
Jenny
“How did you know that I needed a little rescuing?” I ask, curious. He’s holding my hand and I doubt he even realizes it. I take short little peeks at him when I can: thick biceps, a toned chest under his plain, white t-shirt. As he moves, I see a faint outline of a tattoo on his muscular chest, but I can’t make out what it is.
Somehow, I don’t even mind that that creep freaked out on me. There’s something about Devin that draws my attention; he seems...powerful, protective. He walked right into a bad situation and took control of it immediately. I blush and turn away, wondering what it would be like to have him take control of everything.
“I’m a private investigator,” he admits. His voice is quiet, but deep. “I was...supervising a case, when I heard you guys arguing.” He shrugs, stretching slowly. “I don’t care what you were arguing about, I couldn’t stand to watch what was happening.”
I can’t help but giggle a little, thinking of my bad date. Now that Jason was out of the picture, it was a hell of a lot less scary; and Devin seemed like he could handle any bad thing that came my way. “I like it when you laugh,” Devin says, stroking my hand gently. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m a second-grade teacher in Buffalo,” I smile. “One of my coworkers set me up on this date, and he thought it would be a great idea to go casino hopping. We went to the one on the American side, but I guess it wasn’t enough for him.”
He snorts indelicately. “You’d be more than enough for me,” he says mildly.
Why can he
make me blush so easily! I feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. There’s something attractive about him—the sheer size of this man made me feel small, and it’s not easy to make a big girl feel smaller. I have to admit that I like it—I like feeling sheltered, safe.
I shake my head, ridding myself of these ridiculous thoughts. “Anyway, I just have to thank you,” I reply, reluctantly pulling my hand away from his. “I can’t believe the date got so out of hand that someone had to come and rescue me.”
He pushes back the chin-length brown hair that was falling in his face and gazes down at me with deep, brown eyes. I’d never thought that brown eyes could be so soulful before. “You weren’t the one who got out of hand,” he reminds me, then looks over at the Falls. He falls silent for a moment, and I start to ready my purse to go back to my car when he turns around.
“What are you doing now?”
Chapter Two
Devin
There’s no excuse for what I’m doing by inviting her to the dining room on top of the Skylon Tower. She just left one bad date; I’m not about to give her a second one. But something about her pulls to me so strongly that I can’t resist. It’s the best view of the Falls, 775 feet in the air, and I realize that I didn’t ask her if she was afraid of heights.
We walk to the viewing windows and she gasps, gazing down at the lighted Falls. “I didn’t think it could be more beautiful,” she admits, and she puts her tiny hand against the glass. It takes everything in me not to put my arm around her waist; she’s the beautiful one, and the Falls pale in comparison to the ecstatic expression on her face.
We’re led to our table shortly after, and I sit down across from her, watching her pensively. I’ve never cared about what kind of impression I make before, but for some reason, I want this woman to like me. I groan inwardly. I’ve never been this insecure before; never cared what a woman thought about me, not since I was in college.
“Tell me about yourself,” she says finally, placing the napkin in her lap.
Shit. “I’m thirty two,” I started, rapidly trying to think of the right things to say. “I live in a cabin further into Ontario, but like I said, I’m here for work. I’m not going to say I like long walks on the beach and fine dining, but I do like reading, especially while it’s snowing outside.” I pause, tilting my head, watching the water fall. I sound pretty damn dull when I lay it all out like that. “I have a cat?”
She bursts out laughing, and I smile, relieved. “A cat? You? Really?”
I can’t find it in me to be mortified when she’s smiling like that. “Actually, yeah. I was helping my partner cut down a Christmas tree on a lot, and when I went back to my truck, there was this tiny orange thing behind my tire. It couldn’t have been bigger than my fist. And she was yelling her fool head off, which wasn’t very loud, all things considered...”
“I can’t believe a big, strong man like you has a cat! What’s her name?” she says eagerly.
I like it when she calls me big and strong. I watch her out of the corner of my eye; the way she sips at her wine, the way her fingers twirl her fork as we wait for our food. “Sassy,” I admit quietly. “Because of the yelling. You know?”
She’s snorting now, giggling, and I sigh dramatically, leaning against the window. “I’m never going to live this one down, am I?”
“You have...a kitten named Sassy?” she gasps, grinning widely. “And she probably has you wrapped around her little paw!”
“Is it really so difficult to imagine that a beautiful, feisty little thing can capture my heart?” I muse.
She quiets then, looking down at her lap. I see a small smile peeking out, however, and I relax, knowing I haven’t made her uncomfortable. Everything about her—her smile, her laugh—enchants me, and I can’t wait to see more of it. As she smiles, so very shyly, I realize at that moment that this woman has to be mine. I can’t think of any other option than not letting her walk away from me, ever. The realization stuns me.
I stammer, less-than-suavely, “But, um, that doesn’t mean I’m taken. I’m not. Taken, that is.” Damn it, Devin!
She pushes her blonde hair over her shoulder and I sigh, wondering what it would be like to bury my fingers into it and kiss her madly. Talk about wrapped around someone’s little finger. Thank God, our food comes or I’m going to make an even bigger idiot of myself than I already have.
“I’ve told you enough about me,” I declare. It’s time to get back on steady ground. I have control of this situation, not the other way around. “It’s time for you to talk about yourself.”
Jenny
Crap. “Well, you already know I’m a teacher,” I say slowly, twirling my pasta. It gives me something to do while I think. I don’t have anything nearly as cute as ‘I’m a huge, strong man with a Sassy cat.’ Which, by the way, he is NOT going to ever live down. I realize I’m talking as if this is a thing that will continue—us, here, having dinner. He’s just being nice, I know, after rescuing me from a bad date. I can’t count that this is ever going to happen again. We don’t even live in the same country.
I sigh, running my pink nails across the window lightly. Every time he moves, I can see the mysterious tattoo beneath his shirt, and I’m dying to know what it is. He turns his wrist over, laying his hand palm up on the table, and I realize that he’s holding his hand out for mine.
There’s another tattoo on his forearm; it’s an owl with a Celtic-knot style body. I frown, reaching across the table and tracing the tattoo with my fingertips. “What’s this mean?”
“Awareness and knowledge,” he replies firmly. “Both things I’ve fought very hard to gain in my life. It’s to help me remember that there’s always more to learn—and to always be aware of what’s around me.”
“Like a girl who needs saving,” I say quietly.
“Like a girl who needs saving,” he affirms, and I lay my hand in his. He closes his fingers around mine, and I can feel the strength in his hand, that he could crush my palm if he wanted to; but I’m beginning to think he uses his strength and his size for protection, not for pain.
I exhale slowly, noting the slight tingle in my fingers where he touches me. It’s like electricity—there’s a connection here, something I don’t understand. “My second graders are about to ‘graduate’ in another week or so,” I begin, stirring my mocha. “I live by myself. I’m twenty-six. I’ve never had a boyfriend...not a serious one, anyway.” I shrug, looking at the table.
“That’s not a bad thing,” he says. He squeezes my hand. “It just means that you’ll have more of yourself to give to the right man.” His eyes are gleaming, and he’s not letting go of my hand—and not looking away from me, either.
It’s almost as if he’s hinting that he could be the right man.
We eat our dinner together, chatting amicably, and I learn that he’s a Gemini, he tried very hard at karate but was always too big for it, and that he had an excellent relationship with his mother, while she was alive (God rest her soul). The more I learn, the more I want to know.
We leave the restaurant, and it doesn’t even shock me that we’re still holding hands. I find myself leaning to rest my head on his shoulder, yawning. It’s half past midnight, and I don’t even know where I’m going to stay tonight. I was planning to drive back to Buffalo after the disaster-date, but Devin had entranced me, keeping me here far past a school teacher’s bedtime.
“Shit,” I said truthfully.
“What?”
“How exactly does one go about booking a hotel room in a tourist town in the middle of the night?” I groaned, burying my face in his chest.
We stood close together, his arm around my waist as we looked down at the Falls, still brightly lit. It’s cold still; March is never easy this far north. But somehow, I’m warm now, leaning into his firm body. I sigh, closing my eyes, wishing that this night would last.
He chuckled, using a thick fingertip to brush hair back from my eyes. “This is going to sound a little weird, but I have a
hotel room with a king-sized bed. You could even put up a pillow wall if you wanted to.” He hesitates, and runs a fingertip down my cheek. “Though I wouldn’t mind if you didn’t,” he said, his voice slightly husky.
I shiver and my eyes half-close as I lean into his touch. I can’t help myself; I’ve enjoyed this evening too damn much and I’ve been staring at his strong, muscular body for over six hours. Staring at his kissable lips, his slightly-long hair, his intense brown eyes. I can’t figure out why, but I’m so drawn to him that I can’t focus. I want to know what he looks like without the shirt on.
I swallow hard and look up at him. “I don’t think a pillow wall is necessary,” I say honestly. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Three
Devin
Oh, God, she’s coming back to my hotel room with me. And it’s hard to think that she’s not coming back to my hotel room like that, no matter how much my body wants her. As we walk up the path toward my hotel, I have to wait until she looks the other way to adjust my jeans. She keeps leaning against me, and she smells like vanilla. It’s intoxicating, making me breathless, and I want more. I want all of her, now.
But I have to wait. I have to wait until she’s ready. She doesn’t know that she’s mine yet—but she will.
I sigh and smile, taking her up the side stairs and unlocking my second-story room. She raises a brow, looking around, even going so far as to poke her head into the bathroom. “You travel light,” she observes. I only have one small duffel bag on the chair, and nothing else in the room.
“Yeah. I’m only here checking into my client’s ex-husband, remember? I wasn’t planning on staying, but...” I take a deep breath as she sits down on my bed. Jenny, on my bed. Jenny, on my bed spread-eagled, letting me taste her. Jenny, with her beautiful blonde hair thrown back as she…