I noticed Dad was sporting bright pink nail polish and looped my arm with Wyatt’s. “Has Reagan been giving manicures?”
Wyatt chuckled, setting her hands over her belly. “She totally has. She’s in her pink phase.”
“You know, he used to let me put makeup on him.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” She beamed at me. “He is the best man I’ve ever known.”
“Me too,” I breathed out. “Well, second best now.”
“I’m so glad you have that, honey,” she said, squeezing my hand.
I dropped my head on her shoulder and we stood watching our men pretend to be taken down by ‘very strong’ toddlers and loving every minute of it.
Aero caught my eye and grinned, standing and making his way to us. “Gonna steal my girl for a bit.”
Wyatt nodded, and I followed Aero into the kitchen, where he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. “You still want an accountant?”
“No fucking way,” I breathed out.
He raised his pinky and I wrapped mine around it.
“Love you, beautiful.”
“Love you too, honey. Thank you for this. Thank you for everything.”
“Back atya.”
He kissed me again, then we returned to our family to relish in our happily ever after.
Unedited Excerpt from Rocky Mountain Christmas
Copyright ©2020 – Trixie Publishing, Inc.
Copyright ©2020 – Piper Davenport, Jack Davenport
The Primal Howlers gather for their favorite time of the year, but as the snow falls, so do hearts. Join the club as they celebrate the holidays and watch a beloved couple finally find their happily ever after.
CHAPTER ONE
Kennedy
“Seth, stop,” I begged.
“Bitch, I told you there were going to be consequences when you didn’t do what you were told.”
I whimpered, my arm tied tightly to the headboard of his bed, the zip tie cutting off circulation to my wrist. My other arm was free… for the moment, but it was only so I could use it to do Seth’s bidding.
I don’t know how I fucking got here. He was a monster, and yet, I went back. God, what the hell was I doing?
He leaned over me and his face morphed into another. The face of the man I loved.
“No,” I breathed out on a gasp.
“You will yield, Kennedy.”
I screamed, sitting up and settling my hand to my chest as I tried to catch my breath. It was a dream. Just a dream.
Crap, I needed to get a grip.
No, what I needed to do was get rid of the dirty little rat who had infested my life. I shook my head.
Flopping back onto my pillows, I rubbed my tired eyes, and glanced at the alarm clock. Four a.m. I had to get up in three hours. I could do this. I just needed to close my eyes and let sleep take me away.
At five, I gave myself another pep talk.
At five-fifteen, I calculated my sleep time again, rolling to my other side, convinced six hours of sleep was plenty.
At five-thirty, I rolled again, and prayed for just a few more minutes.
At five-forty-five, I got up to pee, climbing back into bed.
At six a.m., I gave up.
After making my bed, I headed into the shower feeling the weight of exhaustion covering me. I hadn’t slept uninterrupted in months and it was beginning to show. I was snappy, emotional, occasionally irrational, and paranoid.
Totally out of character for me.
I was pretty even keeled, but ever since my break up with a man who ended up being a serial killer assistant (and a murderer in his own right), and the death of one of my best friends, I couldn’t seem to pull myself together.
I’d also fucked a man who’d rocked me to my core, and I just couldn’t shake him. Partly because he’d managed to worm his way into my soul, but also because the fact he’d rocked me to my core scared the shit out of me.
After Seth, I’d sworn off men. I was obviously a horrible judge of character, so I couldn’t be trusted to make rational decisions when it came to my heart.
But I ached for him.
Maybe it was just my vagina that ached for him, but that was enough to make me go back for seconds. And thirds. And twelfths.
But I was done. We were done. We’d had a great two month run, and now we were over.
At least that’s what I’d told him as I sobbed in his arms. Jesus, I was pathetic, but I was determined. The problem was, he was just as determined to get me back in his bed.
So we were now at an impasse.
And I was starting to fold.
My other bestie, Remington, had fallen for and married a biker by the name of Finch, marrying him and moving to Portland, Oregon. After Michelle died, we were both kind of a mess, but she’d had Finch who’d introduced me to Mouse, and Mouse gave me some much-needed distraction from my grief.
He’d also introduced me to a world I never thought I’d like. Case in point, girls’ night out with the Dogs of Fire Club ladies three weeks ago. Even though Remington was back in Portland, the women had adopted me as one of their own, which meant I had an awesome girl posse, but it also came with strings attached.
Those strings were in the form of one very intense and gorgeous biker.
“You promise there are no hidden cameras in the club,” Olivia said, gripping Doc’s cut and staring up at him.
Doc was the club’s president and he’d married Olivia not long ago, although, they’d been together for years.
“I have no fuckin’ idea if there are hidden cameras in the club, baby,” Doc said. “I don’t own it.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Who do you have on the inside reporting information back to you?”
“You have a vivid imagination.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
He grinned, leaning down to kiss her quickly. “Go have fun, baby.”
“You have a reprieve, but I swear to god, if someone tries to make us go home before we want to, you and I are gonna have a very tense conversation.”
“I’ll hide the kitchen appliances,” he retorted, smacking her butt as he helped her into the van.
Jasmine and Willow burst into laughter as they followed Olivia.
I waited until the sliding door was closed and everyone was buckled in. “Spill,” Parker demanded, and Jasmine grinned.
“Before Olivia and Doc made it official,” Jasmine said, “Liv had a penchant for throwing small kitchen appliances at Doc’s head.”
“Or frying pans,” Lyric added.
“Oh my god,” Parker rasped, snorting with laughter.
“In my defense, I was a little insecure about where I stood with Doc.”
“Even though he told you over and over again how much he loved you, and showed you every second he could,” Jasmine countered.
Olivia grimaced. “I was a little unstable then. But it’s all good now. I haven’t even thrown a pillow at him. I’ve evolved.”
“We’re all so, so proud,” Lyric said, and Olivia laughed.
“We’re here.” Mouse pulled the van into the parking lot of Blurr and turned off the engine, turning to face us. “Y’all know the ground rules, right?”
“Dance until we can’t stand, and fuck the first hottie I come across,” I quipped.
Mouse turned his head toward me…slowly, and I heard Quin whisper, “Oh, shit.”
Continuing to stare me down, Mouse said, “Ladies, go ahead and step out. Kennedy and I are gonna have a quick conversation.”
“No, we’re not,” I countered.
Mouse gently took my arm as I tried to move to the door. “Ladies. Please.”
Being the traitors they were, the ladies scrambled out of the van and Shadow had to steady a couple of them as they fled.
“Close the door, brother,” Mouse said, and Shadow nodded, sliding the door closed.
I shook my head, pulling myself from the memory, and turned off the water. Christmas was rapidly
approaching, and my boss needed me in the office early so we could get everything sorted before the office closed for two weeks. I was the executive assistant for the vice president of marketing for one of the largest tech companies in Savannah.
And I hated it.
My passion was sugar. Baking to be exact. I loved to create confectionery masterpieces and I was damn good at it. My dream was to open my own bakery, but for the moment, I was grinding it in the real world and saving every penny I could.
I took time to enjoy a giant cup of coffee, considering I didn’t have to leave for another hour, then I locked up my little one-bedroom apartment and headed into work.
* * *
Mouse
“Mouse!” Doc bellowed from the other side of the great room.
“Yeah?” I replied from the kitchen. I was currently pouring myself a cup of tar in an effort to wake up.
“Come help me with this fuckin’ tree.”
It was the club’s tenth annual holiday party for foster kids, and we were busting our asses to get everything ready in time. The party was Saturday and since today was Thursday, we were running a bit behind.
I walked into the great room and laughed. The Christmas tree was at least twelve feet tall and made Doc look like an elf.
“Don’t start,” Doc ordered.
“You didn’t want a bigger tree, huh?” I asked as I grabbed hold of the trunk so Doc could secure it.
“Olivia wanted this one. She said she wanted it to be ‘spectacular.’ Fuck me, never again.”
I held back a chuckle. If Olivia wanted an even bigger one next year, Doc’d chop it down himself if he couldn’t find one to buy, so his edict was a load of shit.
“Oh my god, baby, that looks amazing,” Olivia said, strolling out from her office down the hall.
Doc frowned at her. “This is bullshit, woman. Total overkill.”
“It’s perfect. The kids are going to love it.” She grasped her hands in front of her. “I love it.”
“You’re gonna need to water it every day,” Doc warned.
“We can get recruits to do that,” I countered.
Doc glared at me. “Or, my woman can do it since she insisted on having a sycamore in the middle of the goddamn barn.”
I smiled at Doc. “Recruits’ll do it, babe.”
“Oh, I know they will,” she sassed.
“We don’t even have enough decorations to cover this monstrosity,” Doc grumbled.
“Oh, no,” Olivia said in mock horror. “I’m going to have to take the girls into town to shop.”
“You did this on purpose,” Doc accused.
She raised her hands in surrender. “I will neither confirm nor deny.”
I chuckled and grabbed the tree again while Doc wrapped a zip tie around it and anchored it to the wall.
“Hi, honey,” Olivia said. “I thought you weren’t coming until later.”
I glanced up to see Kennedy walking in, her hands full of groceries.
“You good, Doc?” My president nodded, and I rushed to help Kennedy. “Hey, baby. Did you get off early?” I asked, easing her load.
“You could say that,” she evaded. “And don’t call me baby.”
“Not gonna happen.” I frowned. “What happened?”
“I got laid off.”
“What the fuck?” I growled setting the bags on the kitchen island. “Right before Christmas?”
“Yeah. Right before Christmas.” She sighed. “It’s fine. It’s not like I had time for a job right now anyway.”
“Baby, we’ll figure it out.”
“I’ll figure it out,” she countered. “You’ll stay out of it.”
I took her hand and tugged her toward the bunk room.
“Mouse, what are you doing?” she squeaked.
I didn’t enlighten her as I pulled her into the room and closed the door. “When, Kennedy?”
“When, what?”
“When are you gonna stop lyin’ to yourself?”
She dropped her head and I sighed.
“Baby, I’m here. You know that, right?”
“I wish you’d just walk away, Mouse,” she whispered. “I wish you’d release me from whatever this is.”
“When you tell me the truth, just fuckin’ once, Kennedy, I’ll consider walking away.”
* * *
If you want more of Mouse and Kennedy, you can pre-order HERE!
A percentage of all PRE-ORDER proceeds will go to B.A.C.A. Mt. Hood Chapter
Welcome to the Family
Davenport Family Band
The Guardians Series
Witness
Justice
Spotlight
Dogs of Fire MC Series
Road to Desire
Road to Redemption
Road to Absolution
Road to Passion
Road to Victory
Road to Peace
Road to Forever
Road to Hope
Road to Grace
Road to Freedom
Dogs of Fire Spin-Off Stories
Ryder
Reese
Hatch
Jake
Kissing the Biker’s Boo-Boo
(Children’s Book)
The Davenport Christmas Chronicles
Dogs of Fire MC: Savannah Chapter
Saving the Preacher's Daughter
Stealing the Biker's Heart
Redeeming the Biker's Past
Quieting the Biker’s Rage
Keeping the Biker’s Oath
Hacking the Biker’s Code
Calling the Biker’s Bluff
Primal Howlers MC
Primal Howl
Primal Need
Primal Heat
Primal Hunger
Cauld Ane Series
Bound by Blood
Bound by Fire
Bound by Secrets
Bound by Song
Bound by Dreams
Bound by Tears
Bound by Light
Bound by Joy
Bound by Sight
Bound by Fate
Limelight Series
Broken Road
The Road Back
Civil War Brides Series
The Bride Price
The Bride Found
The Bride Spy
The Bride Ransom
The Rebel Bride
The Bride Star
The Bride Pursued
The Bride Accused
The Brides United
Connecting Books
Witness
Justice
Road to Desire
Road to Redemption
Road to Absolution
Road to Passion
Road to Victory
Road to Peace
Spotlight
Ryder
Road to Forever
Reese
Saving the Preacher's Daughter
Road to Hope
Stealing the Biker's Heart
*Bound by Sight
Road to Grace
Hatch
Road to Freedom
Jake
Redeeming the Biker's Past
Quieting the Biker’s Rage
Keeping the Biker’s Oath
Primal Howl
Primal Need
Hacking the Biker’s Code
Primal Heat
Calling the Biker’s Bluff
Primal Hunger
*Dalton’s book Bound by Sight can be read after Stealing the Biker’s Heart, but I recommend reading Bound by Blood first.
Piper Davenport is the alter-ego of New York Times Bestselling Author, Tracey Jane Jackson. She writes from a place of passion and intrigue, combining elements of romance and suspense with strong modern-day heroes and heroines.
She currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with her author husband and two kids.
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Primal Hunger (Primal Howlers MC Book 4) Page 17