One Night Forever

www.beautifultroublepublishing.com

One Night Forever

Marteeka Karland

Copyright © 2011 by Marteeka Karland

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or

shared in any form, including but not limited to: printing,

photocopying, faxing, recording, electronic transmission, or by

any information storage or retrieval system without prior

written permission from the authors or holders of the

copyright.

This book is a work of fiction. References may be made to

locations and historical events; however, names, characters,

places and incidents are the products of the author’s

imagination and/or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to

actual persons (living or dead), businesses, events or locales is

either used fictitiously or coincidental. All trademarks, service

marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are

the property of their respective owners and are used herein for

identification purposes only.

Published by

Beautiful Trouble Publishing, LLC

PO Box 61

Colfax, NC 27235

www.beautifultroublepublishing.com

Cover Art: Les Byerley
http://www.les3photo8.com/

Editor: Cindy Da
vis, http://www.fiction-doctor.com/

Proofreader: Novellette Whyte

http://authorgurunovellette.blogspot.com/

Formatter: Jim & Zetta,
http://www.jimandzetta.com/

E-book Conversion: Jim & Zetta
, http://www.jimandzetta.com/

ISBN: (ebook) 978-1-61788-158-9; (print) 978-1-61788-159-6

To Motherhood. Because, though it can be a

bitch at times, from beginning to end, it's more

rewarding than anything in the universe. I love

you, baby!

Note about eBooks

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sharing or giving away eBooks is a copyright

infringement. No part of this book may be

reproduced or transmitted in any form or by

any means without written permission of the

author or Beautiful Trouble Publishing.

CAVEAT

This work of erotica contains adult language

and sexually explicit scenes, which are smoking

hot. This book is intended only for adults, as it

is defined by the laws of the country in which

the purchase is made. Keep this book out of the

hands of under-aged readers.

Chapter One

What a fucking day. Ariel blew her nose as she

walked briskly down the sidewalk. It was after

midnight. If she had any sense, she’d have called a cab,

but her cell was still at the bastard’s house, and she

was too stubborn to go back for it. She’d passed her

last final earlier that day, gone to work that evening,

and gone home early to the sounds of eternal bliss in

her bedroom. Ariel had come to tell Tom the good

news—that she was pregnant, only to find him in bed

with Reanne, her best friend. Needless to say, the

confrontation had been bitter. In the end, though,

Ariel simply walked out. She had a good job, a good

education. No problem, she could take care of herself

and anyone else who came along.

The sound of a car driving up behind her made

her quicken her pace. It took him long enough—

probably because he’d been buck naked—but Tom had

come after her.

“It’s not what it looked like, baby,” he called

from the car as he pulled up beside her, passenger

window down.

“Well, it
looked
like you were fucking my best

friend into the middle of next week in the bed you and

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One Night Forever

I sleep together in every night. If it wasn’t that, what

was it?” Ariel kept walking, not looking at him. She’d

be damned if she’d shed a tear over the lying, cheating

bastard. And if she looked at him she’d cry.

“It’s not like I love her or anything,” he whined.

There was nothing worse than a whiny man, as

far as Ariel was concerned.

“I love you, baby.”

She could practically see his pouty lower lip.

Funny how she used to love that lip. Now, she just

wanted to punch it. “That’s too bad, Tom. Really. I’d

have hoped you’d do something like that for love, not

for a cheap thrill.”

“Come on, Ariel. You’re being unreasonable. It

was a onetime thing. Just get in the car and let me take

you home.” That was about all Ariel could stand.

Gritting her teeth, she whirled to face him, crossing

her hands over her breasts. She was more angry than

she could ever remember being, but she still felt

vulnerable beyond words.

“If you think for one moment I’m getting in that

car with you, now or ever again, you’re more stupid

than I thought. Leave me alone, Tom. I don’t want to

see you again.”

He revved the engine of the GTO hard, making

as much noise as he could. It was how he’d bullied her

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Marteeka Karland

in the past. Knowing she detested scenes, Tom would

do something that would call attention to her. This

time, however, it wouldn’t work. If he woke half the

neighborhood, so be it. It wasn’t her fault. She was just

walking down the sidewalk. Immediately, dogs barked

all over the place. He continued to rev the motor, all

the while looking at her as if to dare her to defy him.

Ariel merely rolled her eyes and started walking

again. Inside, her heart pounded and she glanced

around nervously, but she absolutely would not give

in. She was going to her sister’s until she could get her

own apartment. Nothing would stop her.

Tom continued to keep pace with her, making all

kinds of racket with the souped-up car. It sounded like

a truck pull at the county fair. Fumes from the exhaust

made the back of her throat itch with the urge to

cough. She was about to just bolt for her sister’s three

blocks down the road when a light came on in the

house a half a block away. A huge, shadowy figure

stepped onto the porch, paused, then skipped down

the steps and headed their way. Ariel didn’t recognize

the man, but the figure was decidedly male and hella

big.

He strode toward them, confidence in his gait.

As he neared, Ariel noticed sleek, black hair streaked

lightly with silver and pulled back from his chiseled

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One Night Forever

face. He wore jeans and nothing else. Bare chested,

and bare footed, his feet making little noise on the

sidewalk. Though his fly was zipped, the top button

was undone. She swallowed hard. The street lamps

gave glimpses of a determined line to his mouth and

slashing, silver eyes. This wasn’t really the kind of man

she wanted to run into at midnight on a deserted

street. Even Tom was looking good about now.

“What seems to be the problem?” His voice was

a deep, raspy rumble. He looked straight at Tom when

he spoke, inserting his body between her and Tom’s

car.

“It’s none of your business,” Tom snapped. “Me

and my girlfriend are having a discussion, so butt out!”

The stranger didn’t even glance at Ariel. “It

becomes my business when you disturb my sleep. If

the lady had wanted to talk to you, she’d be in your

car, so I recommend you move along before you have

problems.”

“What? You gonna call the cops?” Tom sneered

his question and Ariel’s heart sank. He was friends

with most of the guys on the force. They both were. It

was a small town and Tom had played sports with

most of the local guys in high school and college. Tom

knew no one would give him any grief. The stranger

didn’t.

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Marteeka Karland

“No.” He didn’t raise his voice. He leaned down,

placed his hands on the door of the car, and looked

Tom dead in the eyes. “I’ll take care of you myself.

When I’m done,
you
can call the police.” He

straightened, a deadly smirk on his face. “If you’re

able.”

For once in his life, Tom didn’t argue. He paled

slightly, but grumbled as he put the car in gear and

took off down the road leaving Ariel alone with a man

more than twice her size, who was obviously capable

of violence when necessary. Tom was definitely a

bastard.

“You should really pick your boyfriends with

more care.” The man turned to her as he spoke, his

intense expression softening only slightly. “For all he

knows, I could be an ax murderer, yet he left you here

all alone with me.”

“That’s funny.” Ariel rolled her eyes, taking a

tentative step away. She wanted to be brave, but her

heart was breaking all over again. She refused to shed

a tear over that sorry excuse for a man, but her

hormones were working against her in that regard. “I

was thinking the same thing.”

He stuck out his hand in greeting. “Damien

Carter.” That was all he said. There was no apology for