by Peyton Banks
“You don’t have to thank me. I’d do anything for Anya, Mr. Graham.”
“It’s Emerson. Your parents raised you boys well, but you’ve earned the chance to call me by my first name.” Emerson pulled back. He wiped the small tears that escaped and chuckled. “I know you would, son. You’re good for my Anya. Where’s Stella?”
“She’s down the hall in the waiting area with Dallas.”
“Go to her, son.” Emerson nodded to the door.
Dalton pushed it open and found Anya lying in bed. Her eyes were dropping, and her hair had been braided into two plaits.
“Hey, baby. You doing all right?” he asked quietly. He shut the door behind him and walked over to the bed.
She held up a brand-new paper towel with a message.
Will you lie with me?
“Of course.”
She slid to the side of the bed. He kicked off his shoes. The bed was tight, but they made it work. She nestled into the crook of his arm.
He had thought he wouldn’t get the chance to hold her again. She sighed and wiggled as close as she could be.
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re safe. Rest up, babe. I got you.”
Anya stretched out on the couch and pulled the blanket over her feet. After nearly a week, she had finally been released from the hospital. Any longer in there and she would have broken out.
She glanced around at her new living room and smiled.
Well, Dalton’s living room, but now it was hers, too.
He had been adamant that she stay with him. It was as if he didn’t want to let her out of his sight. He had put in a request for some time off which his boss granted him. He’d been with her at the hospital every day. Having him lie with her in the bed helped chase the nightmares away.
Even in her sleep, he was her guardian angel.
With her computer safe at her parents’ house, she was able to slowly get back to writing. It helped her keep her mind busy and gave her something to do. All of her important files that were on an external hard drive were safe.
Writing was part of her therapy. She was going to take full advantage of it. Each morning she started her day, working on her fireman romance. She had another series in mind she wanted to start about a vigilante police officer who loved fighting crime dirty.
She didn’t know where she’d got that inspiration from.
A chuckle escaped her.
While Dalton tinkered around in the kitchen, making them snacks, she lounged on the couch, flicking through the television channels. Her bruising had started to go away. It, of course, had to get worse first before it healed. At the moment, she had dark-purple bruising that was lightening up in certain parts.
Her throat was still scratchy and sore, but she was able to speak softly. The doctors didn’t want her holding long conversations, so Dalton had purchased her a few notebooks she could keep to write down what she needed.
“Find anything yet?” Dalton walked into the living room.
Her breath caught in her throat. He was dressed in a dark LVFD t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants.
He was just too sexy for his own good.
It had played havoc on her body sleeping next to him the last couple of days since she’d been out of the hospital. She shouldn’t be having these carnal thoughts while she was healing, but she couldn’t help it.
“Not really,” she replied in her new husky voice. Her throat didn’t hurt as bad, but it was a strain to speak. She would be attending speech therapy a few times a week to help.
Dalton made her scoot over to allow him to sit next to her. He sat their snacks on the coffee table and laid her legs across his lap and covered her up.
He handed her a bowl of cherry Jello. One of her favorites. Its coolness helped soothe her throat.
“Here, give me that.” He shuffled through the channels.
Since the attack and fire, it had been hard for her to fully relax. Glenn was out there somewhere. There had been a national manhunt for him. It was only a matter of time before he was captured.
Until then, she wouldn’t feel completely safe. The prosecutor had visited her while in the hospital. According to him, there was enough evidence to convict Glenn on everything. She may not even have to testify.
But if she had to, she would.
She didn’t want to miss the chance to look the asshole in the face and show that he hadn’t broken her.
She was still here.
Dalton paused on the news. A picture flashing across the screen caught her attention.
“Authorities have finally apprehended the wanted man, Glenn Willis,” a blonde female newscaster announced.
Glenn was almost unrecognizable. There were large lumps, bruises, and cuts on his face. Both eyes were practically swollen shut.
“Apparently, there are some good Samaritans out there. Police say Willis was left out on the steps of the police station handcuffed to a railing with a sign on his chest,” the male news anchor said.
Anya gasped. She leaned into Dalton, needing his strength. Tears filled her eyes at the news.
Glenn was finally behind bars.
“No bond has been set at the moment,” the anchorwoman said. “Glenn Willis was wanted on numerous amounts of charges from arson, attempted murder, breaking and entering, to name a few.”
Sobs broke free and racked her body. Dalton grabbed her bowl and spoon from her hand. He set them down then turned to her, wrapping his arms around her.
She held on tight, letting the tears flow.
It was over.
Dalton didn’t say one word. His strong hands rubbed her back while he pressed soft kisses to the top of her head.
Glenn couldn’t touch her any longer.
She breathed in Dalton’s scent and knew that it was one she would forever love.
Finally, the sobs ceased. Anya’s head rested on Dalton’s chest. She never wanted to leave the comfort of his arms ever again.
Dalton tipped her chin upward, making her meet his gaze.
“That’s it. No more tears,” Dalton murmured. He gently wiped her cheeks dry.
“Do you know anything about the good Samaritans who captured Glenn?” she asked.
Dalton shook his head, but she had a suspicion he knew more than he was admitting.
At this point, she didn’t want to know. Since moving in with Dalton, she’d come clean to her parents and Dalton about everything with Glenn. It had been hard, but it was like a weight off her chest after sharing her pains and struggle with how her life had come to be under Glenn’s thumb.
The air was clear with her family.
“There’s one other thing I have meant to tell you,” she murmured. She reached up and ran her hand along Dalton’s beard. He was devilishly handsome with the beard. She’d been aching to braid the top of his hair, which he allowed. It gave him more of a bad-boy look that she loved.
“What is that?” he asked. His hand slowly continued to rub small circles on Anya’s back.
“Everything between us was fast, but I’ve known you basically my entire life,” she began. She searched his eyes and found nothing but love shining back at her. It gave her strength to say what she’d wanted to say since she was eighteen years old. “I love you, Dalton McNeil. You mean everything to me, and I’m so thankful to have you.”
A smile appeared on his lips.
“Anya Graham. I can’t imagine my life without you. I love you, too.”
A wide grin stretched across her face. Dalton pulled her near and gently pressed a kiss to her lips. She sighed, leaning against him.
There was no other place she’d rather be than right here in his arms.
Epilogue
A baby’s squeal pierced the air. Candi giggled while bouncing Danny on her hip while she waded through the pool.
Anya grinned at the classic look of fun on the kid’s face. He’d recently turned one year old and was taking to the water like a fish. He had on his little swim trunks and air fl
oating devices on his arms.
“There goes Aunt Anya, Danny. Wave hi to Auntie.” Candi laughed.
Anya sat on the edge of the pool with her legs submerged in the water. It was a hot summer afternoon, and the water felt great. It was a typical Las Vegas day.
They were grilling at Dalton and Anya’s house. The scent of hamburgers floated over to her, and her belly growled with hunger.
Her and Candi had hit it off the minute they’d met. She loved her sister-in-law dearly. They had grown chummy, and Anya considered Candi a very close friend. Dalton was right, she was as sweet as could be.
“Mrs. McNeil?” Dalton called out.
“Yes?” she and Candi answered simultaneously.
She glanced at Candi, and they both fell into a fit of giggles. It was still taking a little bit to get used to the new last name, but it fitted her.
Anya McNeil, proud wife to Lieutenant Dalton McNeil of the Las Vegas Fire Department.
Their decision to tie the knot came after the few months-long court trial of Glenn Willis. The prosecutor had enough evidence that led to Glenn’s conviction. Little did he know the building had cameras that showed him going in and coming from her apartment and setting the fire.
She didn’t have to testify, but it hadn’t kept her from going to the trial.
But now, it’s all over.
He was convicted of all charges and would be serving a minimum sentence of twenty-five years.
Anya and Dalton had mimicked Dallas and Candi. After all, they lived in Las Vegas, so finding somewhere to get married wasn’t hard at all.
With Dalton’s family and hers at her side, they’d made their union official.
“Is Amina stopping by?” Dalton asked.
She half turned to him and shrugged. “She said she was, but she hasn’t called me back yet. We can still put her a plate aside.”
“Will do,” he replied.
Dallas walked over to the edge of the pool and sat on the other side, holding his hands out for baby Danny.
Anya smiled. She loved her new life, free of worry and fear.
She still had nightmares here and there, but when she had them, Dalton ensured she was comforted.
Danny’s giggle brought a smile to her face. He was such a happy baby. Dallas morphed into a completely different person when he was around his wife and child.
Anya sighed and rubbed her massive belly. In just a couple of weeks, she and Dalton would be welcoming their son.
Thankfully, she hadn’t perished in that fire. Apparently, the first night she and Dalton had slept together created this bundle of joy they were waiting to meet.
“Ready to eat?” Dalton stood by her and held out a hand. At this stage in her pregnancy, she needed help with every sort of movement.
Once on her feet, she leaned into him, wrapping her arms as far around his lean waist as she could.
Dalton immediately rubbed her lower back. Anya practically purred with pleasure.
Her husband always knew the right places to touch her.
“You know what, Mr. McNeil?” she asked, tilting her face up to his.
“What is that?”
“I love you.”
He smiled that gorgeous smile for her. “I love you, too, babe. Let’s get you fed. Afterward, I’ll massage your feet for you.”
“You are a man after my heart, Mr. McNeil.” She wagged a finger at him.
“What are you talking about? I have your heart already.” He winked at her and offered her his hand.
She slid her smaller one in his and allowed him to pull her over to the patio dining table.
He was right.
He had her heart because it had always been his.
* * *
THE END
About the Author
Peyton Banks is the alter ego of a city girl who is a romantic at heart. Her mornings consist of coffee and daydreaming up the next steamy romance book ideas. She loves spinning romantic tales of hot alpha males and the women they love.
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Avalanche
Blurb
Hiking, cold weather, and cabins in the woods are not my thing. But when my two best friends beg me to join them for a trip to the mountains, I cave.
“It’ll be fun,” they said.
“You need to get out more,” they said.
Everything was fine until I realized it’s all a setup. A weekend long blind date orchestrated with the help of their boyfriends. To say I’m annoyed is an understatement. But then he shows up, looking like a lot more than a tall glass of milk. And soon, I begin to feel that maybe this isn’t a bad idea after all.
There’s only one problem. He doesn’t seem to know he’s here to meet me. Which would be cool if I could just move on and forget I nearly made a fool of myself. Mother nature has other plans and sends a bad storm our way, locking us all in a potentially uncomfortable situation.
1
Ariya
When the girls asked me to join their ski trip, I first looked at them like they were crazy. But as I rush out to the truck for the last of my things, pulling the collar of my coat close to keep away the wintry winds, I realize I’m the crazy one. Me and cold weather don’t mix. I’m especially not a fan of cabins, woods, or anything that lives in them. I’ve seen Jason, Cabin in the Woods, and the movie with Liam Neeson being hunted by wolves. Nope, not I. I refuse to fall to my death on a mountaintop trying to become one with nature and shit. Or be eaten by a bear, or a fucking mountain lion. Now, you may ask, what the hell am I doing here with all my paranoid reservations? Hell, I want to know my damn self.
I kick the door shut and crunch my way through the snow leading back inside. Something snaps in the distance, and I freeze in place with my eyes wide. I scan the area, silently praying it is not an animal, because I will surely leave all this shit right here. Fuck these clothes. When I don’t see anything, I make a hasty dash onto the porch.
“Tell me again why we wanted to do this?” I ask while entering the cabin we’ll be residing in for the weekend.
Karen walks over, closing the door behind me and taking a bag from my grasp. “Because, it’ll be fun, and you need to get out of the house sometimes.” She sits my laptop bag near the stairs on the far left of the living room.
The tips of my snow boots hit the wood casing of the last step. “I get out of the house plenty.” I grunt while dropping my overstuffed hiking bag in front of me and lean against the handrail.
Jasmine snorts from the top of the stairs. “Going to the grocery store does not count.” She laughs, making her way down.
“Thank you, Jas.” Karen opens the fridge to load the groceries we purchased on the way in. “We know you’re busy, but running errands is not the same.”
I chuckle and prop my foot up on the first stoop. “Shit, sometimes I use the store’s drop-off option.”
“See.” Karen’s voice is pitched high as she twirls to look at me.
The three of us burst into laughter.
I pick up my bags and climb the staircase but stop midway. “Y’all act like I’m a hermit. Like I don’t have a job or go for a run every morning. And…we have girl’s night a few times a month.”
Jasmine reaches the bottom and drags her hand along the railing before peering up at me. “Okay, you leave the house, but even that’s a stretch because you just go to a coffee shop. You need to be around people, get you a man.”
I make it to the top and flip the switch to turn on the lights. “The coffee shop has people. How else do you expect me to get my fix?”
Jasmine presses her lips together and snarls in my direction. “You know what the hell we mean.” She disappears toward the kitchen area.
“All I’m saying is
the coffee shop counts. And y’all can quit the you need a man talk right now. You just better be glad I’m not cursing y’all out for waiting until we got here to tell me your boyfriends are coming,” I add.
“If we would have told you they were coming, you wouldn’t have,” Karen pleads while putting the last of our items away.
“Exactly. Why would I want to be the fifth wheel? But that’s all right. While y’all are cozying up with your boos, I’ll be working.”
“No.” Jasmine returns to the bottom of the stairs with her hands perched on her hips. “You’re not working this weekend, Ariya. All you do is work. We brought you with us because it’ll be fun and different. And I thought you loved Noah and Ian?”
“I do. They’re great.” I raise my brows and shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know how they were able to convince you that coming to the mountains was a good idea, but they’re fun.”
“What’s wrong with the mountains, Ariya?” Jasmine’s expression transforms into one of annoyance.
“You know black people don’t do this shit.” I lean forward, throwing my hands to prove a point.
The fridge door slams. “What?” Karen screeches just before her shadow comes into view. “Your father practically raised you and your brothers outdoors. We’ve gone camping with your family many times.”
“And Noah’s black and he does this all the time.”
“First of all, Noah doesn’t count. He served in the military, outdoor living is a thing for them. And my dad is a crazy conspiracy theorist who thinks the world is going to come to an end every other day. So camping with him was more about learning survival than the actual act of it. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now,” I tease.
Karen pats Jasmine’s arm with the back of her hand, trying hard not to laugh at my antics. Jasmine caves first, tossing her arms up and shaking her head. Adjusting the hold on my things, I turn away from the girls and walk the hall in search of my room.