Seven Sleepless Nights

by Chloe Walsh

  No, because when Hope Carter danced with me tonight, she would be all mine.

  And when this party was over, she would be coming home with me.

  She looked up at me, those big blue eyes shining bright, and took a step closer.

  That was all I needed.

  I would take it from here.

  I didn’t give two fucks if her former in-laws were watching us.

  "Hey, sweetheart," I slurred, having tossed back one too many shots with her brother. "You good?" I asked – slurred – pulling her close to press a kiss to her hair.

  Tall as Hope was in her skyscraper heels, the top of her hair grazed my chin and I smirked. I could take care of this woman. Be what she needed. Set her on fire and push her boundaries. I'd never been with a woman twice, not since Hayley, but Hope? Hope made me want to come back for more repeatedly. Hope made me want to stay.

  Forever.

  "Um, sure." She shifted around nervously. "Do you wanna get out of here?"

  I could see the trepidation in her eyes, the anxiety in her body as she jittered from one foot to the other, and it made me anxious.

  "Why?" Hyper-alert to all things HC, I frowned down at her." What's wrong?"

  "Nothing," she replied, still shuffling around clumsily.

  "HC," I pushed, not swallowing an ounce of her bullshit. "What happened?"

  "Nothing," she continued to protest. "Honestly, it's not even a big deal –"

  "What isn’t a big deal?"

  Chewing on her lip for a long moment, she finally blew out a heavy breath. "There were some women in the bathroom…" She eyed me warily. "Talking about me."

  Anger rushed through me, so fucking hot that it turned my blood to lava. "And what were they saying about you, HC?" I asked, managing to mask my rage.

  "I brought you as my date to his parents' wedding, Hunter," Hope said with a defeated sigh. "I brought the baby we conceived while I was still married to him to their wedding." Her small shoulders sagged in resignation. "What do you think they were saying about me?" Another sad sigh escaped her. "Doesn’t even matter anyway, because Teagan heard them and she went completely batshit…"

  Thank you, blondie!

  "It just sucks, you know?" she sighed, snuggling into my chest. "They don’t have a clue… not a damn clue of what I did for him, or how many years of my life that I sacrificed for him –" her breath hitched, "Or what he did to me."

  "We're not leaving because of them," I told her, tipping her chin up. "We're not running from them, HC, and we're not hiding." Keeping my eyes locked on hers, I lowered my brow to rest against hers. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'll be dammed if I don’t show you off to these assholes."

  "Jesus, Hunter, you reek of whiskey," she said with a sniff, pulling back to arch a brow at me. "What did you do tonight; drain the whole bar?"

  "Shit." Who knew? "Probably." I shrugged. "I wanna dance with you."

  Her eyes lit up. "You do?"

  "Yeah, sweetheart." Pressing a kiss to her lips, I caught ahold of her hand and led her onto the dance floor. "Let's give these bastards something to talk about."

  Ironically, The Verve's Lucky Man was playing when we reached the middle of the dancefloor.

  Chuckling, Hope wrapped her arms around my neck while I tried my best to keep some semblance of a rhythm. I was failing miserably, the alcohol I had poisoned my body with tonight no doubt the cause of my clumsy movements, but I kept going, needing to keep her close to me.

  "Hunter?" she whispered, stepping up to me, so close that our bodies were flush together.

  "Yeah, HC?"

  "I'm yours."

  "Fuck." A shiver rolled down my spine.

  She had no idea how badly I needed to hear that right now. Her hands came up to cup my face, causing my body to ignite in an almost pained sensation.

  It was too much.

  She was too fucking much for me.

  "I love you," she whispered, blue eyes snaring me one blink at a time. "So much." Reaching up, she pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. "Only you."

  Exhaling heavily, I rested my forehead against hers and closed my eyes, absorbing this moment, taking it all in.

  I tried to loosen my hold on her waist, desperate not to hurt her, but only ended up tightening it instead. I was drowning in my feelings for this woman.

  "I love you more," I admitted, my words a slurred truth, but a truth all the same. I opened my eyes then, taking in the sight of her. "With everything I have in me."

  "I know you do," she replied, her voice a breathy whisper, barely audible above the music, but I heard it.

  Hope Carter

  Hunter's lips crashed down on mine again; hard, warm, and entirely welcome. Every insecure thought, notion, and worry I had was washed away when his tongue plunged into my mouth, stroking mine with passionate reverence, as I drowned in his familiar taste of mint, nicotine, and alcohol.

  Jesus, his hands on my waistline, the feel of his warm, hard grip as he rocked against me to the rhythm of the music, was unbearably erotic.

  Drunk or not, he was more than capable of giving me exactly what I needed.

  Kissing me recklessly in the middle of the dance floor, with dozens of disapproving eyes on us, was his private fuck you to the man whose life he spared.

  I didn’t care about any of them. Let them think what they wanted. Hell, they already did.

  Regardless of the skanky hoes in the bathroom earlier, I'd lost count of the number of times I'd overheard guests talking about how trashy I was, prancing my lover in front of my ex-husband all damn day.

  I knew those people would suggest that our relationship was built on secrets and lies, but I knew better. It was built on friendships and moments. Hunter had taken the time to get to know me. My insecurities and flaws. My quirks and interests. He came, he stayed, and he conquered my heart. He knew more about me than I knew about myself, and our love was one that had grown from the solid foundations of friendship and respect.

  He was my best friend, and I had two choice words for the people who thought otherwise; fuck off.

  I was through with the worrying.

  I left that part of me in the past, signed off on caring around the same time I signed those divorce papers.

  Right now, I was dancing with the father of my child, and the man I loved most in the world. I was connected to him on another level. It wasn’t like any other relationship I'd ever had with any other person in my life. It was different. More. He was just so much more.

  If that made me trashy then so be it.

  Hunter swung me out for a twirl and then quickly pulled me back to his chest, one hand pressed possessively to my lower back, the other tenderly clutching my hand, moving to the sound of The Verve's Lucky Man as it drowned out the noise around us. He smirked down at me, eyes glazed over but still focused on me, always me. It was unnerving how alert and aware he was of me.

  I love you, my heart screamed at him, I love you so freaking much it hurts.

  I loved him desperately, shamelessly, recklessly, and every other way humanly possible.

  There was a saying that went something along the lines of people throw rocks at things that shine. There had never been a truer statement. We had more than our fair share of rocks thrown at us, but we were still standing. Still side by side. Still taking on the world together.

  Being with him, having him sleep beside me at night, after going through six months of torture was the sweetest form of heaven.

  "I hope you know that you have never been second best, Hunter Casarazzi," I heard myself say, as we moved to the music. "You were just…late."

  He arched a brow. "Late?"

  "Yeah." Chest heaving, I nodded at him in confirmation. "And I made some mistakes while I was waiting for you to show up in my life, but that doesn’t mean that you're not number one, or that you're second best." Blowing out a shaky breath, I smiled up at him. "I know coming here wasn’t easy for you, and I just…I needed you to kno
w that."

  "Well shit, HC," he replied, voice thick and gravelly. "I think you put a bullet in me with those words, sweetheart."

  I didn’t have time to respond, because in the blink of an eye, we were on the move. With my hand firmly clamped in his, Hunter pushed through the crowd, moving like a man on a mission, as I struggled to keep up with him.

  The moment we crashed into the foyer of the hotel, his lips were back on mine, his tongue seeking entry, his hands wild and wandering.

  My back slapped hard against the cool metal doors of the elevator, causing our lips to break apart and a breathy laugh to escape my lips.

  Releasing a frustrated growl, Hunter reached a hand out and slapped the keypad before claiming my mouth once more.

  My head was too clouded to think rationally, everything inside of me was completely wrapped up in this moment – in the way he made me feel. I was aching all over, the need to have him inside of me unbearable.

  Moaning into his mouth, I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck. He took my weight easily, and I was glad. My legs were shaking so badly, I could hardly keep upright.

  "Fucking love you, HC," he groaned into my mouth as his lips attacked mine almost viciously. "Want you like no one else."

  "Oh god…" Whimpering into his mouth, I bit down hard on his bottom lip, hungry for more of him – dying for all of him.

  Our actions were clumsy and desperate, neither one of us caring about the other wedding guests, as we fumbled into the awaiting elevator.

  The instant the elevator doors closed around us, Hunter backed me into the corner, crowding my body with his.

  And then his hands were on my dress, dragging it upwards to pool around my waist.

  "Oh god." Frantic to feel him inside my body, I ripped and tore at his suit pants, desperate to free him. "I need you."

  "You need me everywhere, don’t you baby?"

  I nodded. There was no point in lying. I'd take him wherever he wanted to put himself and that was the truth.

  Clumsily, I clung to his shoulders as I stepped out of my panties, and then I was airborne, being hoisted up by this powerful man.

  When he freed himself, my hand automatically reached for his cock. A sharp breath tore from his lips when I fisted him roughly, dragging him closer to me. "This is mine," I warned him, tightening my grip for emphasis, as his fingers dug into my thighs so hard, I knew I would bruise. "Mine."

  He bit down roughly on my lip until I was sure I could taste my own blood on him. His tongue swiped out, lapping and suckling my cut.

  "I'm gonna fuck you until I lose myself in you," he warned, his voice a low warning snarl. "Until you feel how hard you make me hurt."

  My clit thrummed in excitement when I felt the head of his cock rub against my slit. "Oh god," I cried out, attacking him with my own version of passionate pain.

  Reaching under his shirt, I scraped my nails down the deep ridges and grooves of his stomach, fingers finding the gun holster strapped to his back beneath his crisp white shirt.

  Fuck…

  He hissed from the contact and I reveled in the pain I was causing him.

  I hooked my thighs around his hips just the same as I always did; my body pliant and completely submissive, programmed to accept and succumb to the dominance of his sheer masculinity.

  With my back pressed against the elevator wall, I braced myself for the pressure I knew would come, and when it did, when he filled me up to the point of pain, the stretching sensation inside of my core caused me to cry out in pained pleasure.

  "Say it, sweetheart," he ordered, eyes locked on mine. "Say. It," he repeated, his voice a raspy snarl, as he fucked me almost violently.

  "I'm yours," I strangled out, hardly able to form the words, as his body crashed against mine over and over; a frenzied onslaught of passion and pain.

  This man knew how to fuck, and he did it with as much dedication and skill as he did everything else in life. He was thorough and exceptional.

  I enjoyed every second of him spearing into me.

  I wanted nothing more than everything this man was and all he would ever be.

  Screaming into his mouth, I came apart in his arms as an orgasm ripped through my body just before the elevator reached our floor.

  When the elevator pinged, Hunter smirked down at me. "I hope you're not tired, HC, because I'm only getting warmed up."

  Oh fudge…

  Thoroughly fucked into submission, I fell onto my elbows, boneless and aching for more of whatever Hunter Casarazzi wanted to give me. He was the definition of the apex predator, and I his willing victim. For hours, he fucked me relentlessly and I continued to give myself up to him.

  I felt Hunter's hand on my lower back, touch gentle, as he smoothed his palm over the globe of my ass, before lazily trailing his fingers up my spine.

  And then his hand was between my shoulder blades, pushing my face into the mattress. I obliged, spreading my legs wide open, too aroused to overthink what we were doing.

  "You good, HC?"

  "Hmm." Breathless, I nodded, listening to the distinct sound of a bottle cap snapping shut. Lube. "All good."

  "Hmm?" His cock was digging into the curve of my ass as he slowly rocked behind me, enjoying what he was doing to my body. "Too tired for more?"

  "Don't you dare stop," I warned, my words a breathless moan, and then his face was there, in my most intimate of areas, followed by his tongue, as he touched and tasted me in ways I was sure should be illegal.

  I could feel his tongue probing me, and then his finger was inside me, pushing past the point of no return, thrusting in and out against the bunch of nerve endings designed to drive a woman to insanity.

  And fuck did he know how to work those nerve endings.

  Lucky Casarazzi

  I didn’t realize I was looking for a partner until I found her, and I didn’t know two bodies could be so compatible until ours fused together. Hope Carter blew my mind and I fucked her senseless.

  "It's so intense," she mewled, bucking restlessly against me.

  Yeah, she needed to stop pushing her ass into me. If she didn’t, I was going to lose that tether of self-control I was clinging to.

  Her ass was tighter than anything I'd ever experienced.

  Fuck me, she was clamping down on me so tightly I was close to coming.

  "Oh my god," she cried out, louder now. "Hunter!"

  "Relax, sweetheart," I coaxed, smoothing my hand over the curve of her ass. "Keep squeezing on me and I'm gonna lose it."

  "It's too much," she groaned, still thrusting against me.

  "Do you want me to pull out?"

  "No!" came her bark of a response. "I want you to fuck me like a dog."

  That's my girl.

  I grinned.

  "Harder," she ordered, bracing herself for the impact.

  Muscles tensing, I accepted the fact that I was a twisted bastard and began to fuck her hard and rough.

  "Hunter," she whimpered. Dropping her face to the mattress, Hope bit down on her small fist, and held her ass up for my onslaught. "Don’t stop," she begged. "Please…don’t ever stop."

  Insanely aroused, I fucked her to the point of pain for both her and me.

  Sweat glistened on her body, while I was sweating all over from the sheer concentration it was taking not to come. I wanted to be everywhere. In every part of her. It wasn’t enough. I couldn’t get close enough.

  "Jesus Christ," I groaned, vein bulging in my neck. "I'm gonna come in your ass, sweetheart."

  "Good!" she screamed. "I wanna drown in you."

  Ah fuck...

  "I love you," I hissed, hips bucking frantically against her round ass. The sound of my balls slapping against her flesh was fucking audible. Jesus, I needed to slow down. I needed to take it easy but she wouldn’t let me.

  "I want it all," she commanded. "Every inch of you."

  Reaching around, I found her pretty little clit and pinched. The way her tight ass clamped my cock when she
came had me spilling into her with a guttural snarl.

  "I love you," she whispered, flopping face down on the mattress. "I love you so much it hurts my chest."

  "I know, HC," I soothed, pressing a kiss to the middle of her back. "I feel it, too."

  Read all about Lucky and Hope

  in the Carter Kids series,

  available now.

  8

  Thursday

  Early 1900’s, Ireland

  Maggie McBride

  Barefoot and trembling from the cold, I continued to run, forcing my feet to move through the dirt. My nightdress was soaked right through, the downpour of rain assured that. I knew my feet were bleeding, toes cut from the sharp rocks beneath me, but I refused to give in.

  "Where is he, Maggie?" he demanded, closing in on me. "Tell me where Donal is!"

  "Leave me be!" I wailed, running as fast as my legs could carry me through the woods. "Go away, Daniel!"

  The faces of the dead were fresh in my mind; the half-starved children, the sounds of weeping mothers, the fallen fathers and sons, brothers and husbands.

  Boys younger than ten forced to take up arms to protect their families and homes.

  Their bodies scattered around the country.

  "Murderers," I cried out brokenly. "The lot of ye!"

  "I'm trying to help you," he called out, but his words and the sound of his impending footsteps crunching behind me gave me no comfort. "Don’t run from me."

  "If you strike at, imprison, or kill us, out of our prisons or graves we will still evoke a spirit that will thwart you, and perhaps, raise a force that will destroy you," I began to chant Connolly's words, breathless and terrified. "We defy you," I added, strengthening my resolve as I strangled out the words. Leveling him with a cold gaze, I spat, "Do your worst!"

  "Maggie–"

  "You've come to ruin us!" I screamed, backing away from the giant of a man walking towards me. "To take our homes from us."