Love's Taming (The Love's Series) (37 page)

“Shane, I’m right here. You came for me. You got me. I’m safe because of you.”

He grunted as he said, “Baby, you were escaping on your own. I’m so fuckin’ proud of you.”

She placed a gentle kiss on his lips, and he allowed her this emotion before taking it deeper. She moaned in his mouth, igniting his passion despite having no sleep the night before. Rolling over, he pressed her down into the mattress using his forearms to hold his upper body from crushing her. He held her head in his hands, relishing the feel of her lips against his as his cock nudged against her stomach. He felt her hips begin to move up and down, as though she were desperately seeking relief.

He slid his hand down to the bottom of her nightie while taking the kiss deeper and wetter. She had just sucked his tongue in her mouth when the sound of scratching on the door interrupted.

Their eyes flew open as they looked at each other for a moment, waiting to see if the noise would stop. The scratching continued, accompanied now by whimpers.

Shane dropped his head to her shoulder and sighed. “Gotta take Sarge out babe and you gotta feed the cats.”

Unable to stifle her giggle, she kissed him quickly before he had a chance to roll off of her. “That’s a promise of what will come later,” she assured him as his eyes skimmed over her, his smile lighting his face.

Shane walked to the kitchen, letting Sarge out into the back yard while Annie fed the cats. Flipping on the coffee maker, she turned to see Shane already setting out the cups. They moved about the kitchen in perfect harmony, making breakfast as though they had been doing it for years together.

After a quick meal, they walked out on their patio with their second cups of coffee. Shane headed into the yard to toss a ball with Sarge while Annie settled onto the patio glider. She watched him smile as he tossed the ball and then wrestled on the grass with their dog. Her mind went back to the first time she was with them, months ago…the dark alley, Sarge needing surgery, Shane hiding who he really was. She, who never took risks, threw caution to the wind that night and now she had the love of a wonderful man.
Her tamed, wild-man.
She couldn’t hold back the smile that lit her face as the memories poured over her.

At that moment, Shane stopped in his games with Sarge and looked over at Annie, sitting on the patio glider, one leg tucked under her and the other pushing the glider gently back and forth. Her beauty made his breath catch in his throat.
How the hell did I get so lucky?

The morning sun peeked over the trees into the back yard and was now streaming down on her, catching her coppery hair in its beams, illuminating all around. Just then her face, seeming lost in a memory, broke into a smile. As her eyes lifted to meet his, the smile on her face became even larger, spearing him with her radiance.

Smiling back, he began to cross the yard heading toward her.
Pure, fuckin’ sunshine,
he thought once more, knowing that he was going to hold that for the rest of his life.
Pure, fuckin’ sunshine.

(four years later)

Doctor Douglas – you have a client in room two.

T
he pleasant receptionist’s
voice carried across the PA system and Annie stood up, stretching her back as she looked out of the window before leaving the lab area to move toward the front. The window faced the field next to the clinic, the wildflowers in the meadow in bloom. The grass around the clinic was trimmed neatly and she could see the edges of the dog kennels and runs in the back. She could also see the sign that hung near the kennels –
Cranston and Donavan
.

Leon passed her in the hall carrying a wiggling Daschund pup in his arms. He leaned over to kiss the top of her head saying, “You doing okay doc?”

“Thanks Leon, but I’m okay. Just getting a little twinge, that’s all.” She walked into the exam room where her vet tech Suzanne was already finished with her part of the exam and was ready to assist Annie.

The client was with her two children and their mama cat with its four kittens in a box. Annie and Suzanne worked quickly and efficiently, their years together aiding in their harmony, examining all of the cats while answering the children’s many questions.

“Your clinic is very nice,” the client said as she tried unsuccessfully to shush her children. “Have you been here long?”

Annie smiled with pride as she replied, “We opened about a year ago. I used to have a practice in the middle of downtown Richland, but this location is so much closer to my home. And besides that, it is just what I always wanted.”

“Are you the only vet here? How can you take care of all the animals?” the little girl said.

“Well, I have two other vets who work with me and then I have four assistants.”

The little girl’s questions were endless, but Annie answered them all, remembering herself at that age wanting to know everything she could about animals.

After they left, it was near the end of the day and the others in the clinic surrounded her.

“Guys, it’s not like I’ll be gone forever,” she laughed as they all hugged her. “Just a couple of months.”

“We just want to wish you luck on your little
vacation
,” Leon joked.

“Oh yeah, my
vacation
will be really relaxing, I’m sure.”

Suzanne hugged her tightly saying, “Now call me the first minute you feel something, promise?”

Looking into the eyes of her beautiful friend she hugged back, promising.

“You ‘bout ready to go, baby?” came the gravelly voice behind her.

Annie turned around smiling at the sound. Standing in the reception area looking every bit as handsome as the first time she ever laid eyes on him was Shane, holding Ross, their very sleepy two year old son. “Yeah, honey. Just saying goodbye.”

He nodded benevolently, then waited as she quickly said goodbye to the rest of her staff as Leon and Suzanne cooed over Ross. As she walked toward him his eyes dropped down to her swollen belly and he felt the familiar pounding of his heart whenever he thought of what all she had brought into his life. A home decorated in
family
, a wife, a son, and a soon to be born child…sunshine in his dark world.

That evening, after Ross was settled in his bed, and as the sun was setting, they sat on the sofa together relishing the quiet time, knowing that in less than a week their house would be bursting with a new baby and family galore. She leaned her heavy body against his and he wrapped his arms around her, one across her chest and the other hand protectively on her stomach.

“It’s going to get wild around here soon,” she said, thinking of the coming weeks.

“You okay with all of that, baby?” he asked, pulling her in closely, lifting a hand to push her hair away from her shoulder so he could place a gentle kiss there.

“Sure, honey. It’s the roller-coaster, remember?”

Shane laughed, remembering their conversation from long ago in her tiny apartment. “I also seem to remember you telling me that you were scared of heights and falling off.”

“And I remember you telling me that it was living. And being on the roller-coaster with someone you love makes the ride worth it.” Twisting around in his arms so that she could peer into his eyes, she smiled as she cupped his strong jaw. “And honey, you were right. You and that little boy upstairs and this baby coming…make it all worth it.”

Shane leaned in and took her mouth. The kiss was soft. Tender. Full of promise. Full of love. The kiss of a wild man who had been tamed by love…and pure, fuckin’ sunshine.

The End

Emma’s Home

Laurie’s Time

Carol’s Image

Love’s Tempting

Love’s Trusting

Ex-army buck, Victor, teaches innocent sexy school teacher, Monica, all about sex, and not the old-fashioned variety your grandmother was used to either. Filled with gut wrenching emotional turmoil due to Victor’s secrets, you can be sure one of them will melt and the other will burn.

Teddy is not your average bartender by no means. A cop on the mend from 9/11, he wants nothing but good times and to live each day to the fullest. When it comes to the bedroom, well, hmm, let’s just say he is not your average Joe. Then, he meets a fiery red-head named Ana, and she can teach him a thing or two. He falls for her, but she pushes him away. Why? Because she has so many secrets, and they make her Afraid to Love.

Jay and Louisa are both battle scarred, but ready to start anew. His scars are not just from the war in Iraq, and hers are not just from a teenage pregnancy that resulted in raising a child alone. The scars in them run deep, and the both have secrets. Can two people so deeply wounded learn to trust each other enough to share those secrets? And if they do, will those secrets make or break them?

Is taking a chance with your heart worth the escape, or was it better to have never loved at all? Can forgiveness really set you free?

After the unexpected death of her Dad, and the haunting manner in which he died, Riley Shaw built invisible walls around her heart. Barriers she created to protect her from splintering into broken pieces that couldn’t be repaired. She was unable to move forward from her past, letting the guilt of her parent’s mistakes dictate her own choices.

Dean Warren was safe. Being with him was innocent and peaceful because she didn’t truly love him. His words held her captive in a false sense of security. His eyes were deceptive, and his promises of never pushing her beyond what she was willing to give were broken, leaving Riley in a state of regret and doubt.

Joshua Parker had the power to take what was left of Riley’s splintered pieces and ruin her completely, or make her whole again. He was her best friend, her next-door neighbor—everything she wanted and settled on never having. Loving him was as easy as breathing air. The fear of losing him forever was more real to her than the feelings she couldn’t escape.

When faced with the very thing she feared the most, and in the arms she thought were safe, Riley finds herself questioning every decision she has made over the past two years. When she finally escapes the doubt in her head, and accepts the truth in her heart, is it too late?

*This is book one in a series and is not a standalone.

Warning: Not recommended for anyone under the age of 17 due to underage drinking, sexual content and adult language.

Torn apart by a tragedy, pushed together by fate. Nothing is coincidence.

Riley and Josh have been through it all together, first as best friends and now as a couple.

Faced with a decision that will test their relationship, these two learn to fight harder than ever before to keep their hearts intact. Once the decision is made, there is no going back. With the past creeping into their present, and miles between them, they learn nothing is easy. Every moment matters.

Can Riley and Josh survive the first year of college apart? Will their love remain strong enough to embrace every moment that belongs to them? Or will someone from the past interfere, take what he wants and ruin them forever?

“For each star in the sky, I have a reason why I love you. When you look up at night, never forget this truth.”

—Josh Parker

Not recommended for anyone under the age of 17 due to underage drinking, sexual content and adult language.

***Warning***

This is book two in the series. To better understand the characters and the story line, I strongly encourage reading the books in order. These are not stand-alone novels.

Zoey James is in a funk. She has been through more in her twenty-three years than most people have experienced in their entire lives. After her ex-husband tries to take everything she’s worked so hard for, she makes one rule:
Never
date someone she works with.

When her father’s newly hired mechanic moves into the apartment above their family-run business, Zoey’s lonely life is flipped upside down.

As a teenager, New Zealand native, Andy Tate’s family is tragically killed in an accident, and he is taken in by his aunt and uncle. Andy is pulled away from the only place he’s ever known as home, and moved halfway around the world to Northern California.

Ten years and one failed marriage later, Andy finds himself living in a new city, with a new job at James Racing, and living in an apartment next door to Zoey, his new boss’s beautiful and damaged daughter.

After an interesting chain of events over one weekend, Andy and Zoey form an unexpected bond. Even though he’s the only one who can get through to her, she will do all that she can to keep him at a distance and not break her one rule.

Will Andy be the reason for Zoey to start living her life again, or will she continue on her downward spiral, until she finally hits rock bottom?

Available on Amazon.

How long would you wait to be with the one that you love? How much of yourself would you hide in order to keep them?

Brooks knows the moment he meets Vivian that he will do whatever it takes to protect her, even if it means leaving her. Running from his past, he spends the next decade trying to forget the shattered heart that he left behind.

Is there any betrayal worth the cost? Are there some sins that cannot be forgiven?

After a lifetime of rebuilding the walls guarding her heart, Vivian confronts the harsh reality that some fortresses are not meant to stand. Winding through a gray fog of disappointment and deceit, she must conquer her deepest fears to accept the love she believes she is too unworthy to have.