Trev kept going until he got to a massive live oak tree. He tugged gently on my arm and then pushed my back against the tree. I stared up at him. Those gray eyes were hooded as his gaze dropped to my mouth. Maybe he hadn’t brought me to see the stream, but make out instead. I was good with that.

  “I’ve had you in my bed all week,” he said in a husky whisper, brushing his knuckles over my lips. “I’ve been buried deep inside you more times than I can count.”

  I was starting to pant. When he talked in that deep, raspy voice and looked at me like that, it got to me.

  “But there’s this thing that’s been bugging me,” he said, leaning down to press a kiss on my neck. “I keep waiting. Been real patient. Trying to make you so fucking happy that you can’t see anyone but me.”

  I laughed. “Uh, Trev, that has never been an issue.”

  He lifted his head, and his eyes met mine again. “What? That you just see me?”

  I nodded. “I have made that clear.”

  “I need you to make it clear again,” he whispered against my lips.

  I tilted my head to capture his lips, but he pulled back.

  “What?” I asked, ready to beg.

  “Tell me why you don’t see anyone else, Lollipop.” He wrapped a finger around one of my curls.

  What was he wanting from me? I was too turned on to understand. Did he want me to talk about his dick being big? Was this him trying to get me to dirty talk?

  “Trev, just tell me what you want. I don’t understand.”

  He slid his knuckles under my chin, and I didn’t miss the pleading in his expression. I just wanted to give him whatever it was he needed.

  “Lollipop, I need to hear you say it.”

  I started to ask what, and he pressed his palm against my heart. Was I understanding him correctly? If I was wrong, this could be bad. I bit down on my lip hard. He shook his head slightly and tugged my lip free.

  “I’m afraid I’m wrong, and if I am, it will be an issue. I don’t want issues.”

  He rested his forehead on mine. “Say it.”

  “I … I don’t … see anyone else but you because …”

  “Because why?” he pushed.

  “Because I love you.”

  Trev’s mouth slammed against mine so hard that it took my breath away. He tasted me as if he needed to savor the flavor. His hands gripped my waist and held me against him. It was clear I had said the right thing. If he had wanted to hear me say that again, he’d just had to ask. I’d thought my not saying it was easier on him. Not having the reminder.

  I slipped my hand into his hair and held on to him while the dark, sweet, erotic tangle of our tongues made me light-headed. When he broke the kiss, I let out a cry, not ready to end that.

  “Look at me,” he said in a soft growl.

  I opened my eyes and met his gaze.

  “I love you. So fucking much that it consumes me. It took me a little longer to figure it out, but when something gets this damn strong, it’s hard to deny.”

  I felt tears well up in my eyes. These were not words I had expected to come out of Trev Hughes’s mouth.

  “Lollipop, if you start crying, I’m gonna fuck you right here until the only crying you’re doing is saying my name while you orgasm.”

  I laughed, then sniffled. “That’s not a threat, Trev.”

  A wicked grin spread across his face. “No, I guess not.”

  I slid a hand from his hair to touch his cheek. “You love me?”

  He turned his head to kiss my palm. “Yes. I love you. Everything about you. Not just your hot little pussy, but it did start this thing. That, and your dirty mouth that bites.”

  I laughed, burying my face in his chest.

  “Don’t go getting shy now. I’ve got bite marks all over my chest, and those filthy words coming out of that mouth make me come so hard that I see stars.”

  I lifted my face to his and smiled. “Can we do that now?”

  He groaned, picking me up. I wrapped my legs around him, and he walked us over to a grassy patch farther down.

  “Yeah, Lollipop,” he said, kissing me. “We can do that now.”

  “You’re sure you love me? This isn’t just the sex talking?” I asked him as he put me down on the grass. The fear that I was going to wake up and this was going to have just been a dream began to take root in my thoughts.

  Trev grinned as he looked down at me. “Truth be told, I may have fucking fell in love with you when you laughed at my pickup line. I just didn’t realize the things you made me feel that confused me were things that came with falling in love. I’d never been in love. I’m sorry it took me longer to realize what this was. I just assumed it was your voodoo pussy making me unhinged.”

  I laughed as I gazed up into his gray eyes. “I make you unhinged?”

  He sighed and brushed hair out of my face. “Lollipop, you have no idea the levels of unhinged you’ve brought me to.”

  Please don’t let this be a dream. My heart was so full. This was happiness. The pure kind. Untainted and real.

  “Do we worry about the future?” I asked him.

  He frowned. “What about it? The fact our parents are going to make us step-siblings?”

  I nodded.

  He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek then another to the corner of my mouth. “There’s nothing to worry about. Nothing changes for us,” He whispered.

  Closing my eyes, I shivered as his lips trailed down my neck. “If this ends,” I hate the way saying those words make me feel but I don’t get to finish that sentence.

  “It won’t. Ever. If you try to leave me, I will lock us in my room and we will live there for the rest of our lives.”

  I start to giggle and he lifts his head, his lips curl into an amused grin. “What? You think that’s funny?” he asked grabbing my butt and pulling me against him. “I’m fucking serious, Lollipop. No one else. Just you. This is for keeps.”

  For keeps. Those two words were almost as beautiful as hearing him tell me he loved me. Trev wasn’t what I expected and every time I thought I knew what he was going to do next he surprised me. Making me only love him more. My mom loved adventures the way I loved stories. Somehow while she was living her wildest adventure yet, I’d found my favorite story. The one that belonged to us–mine and Trev’s.

  Whiskey Smoke Teaser...

  One

  Aspen

  Blinking I sat up as the roar of motorcycles grew louder. The light from the television was all that lit the darkened living room. I reached for my cell phone to check the time. It was after two in the morning. Irish, my older sister, wouldn’t be home from work for another two hours. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep on the sofa watching Dawson’s Creek but since Irish introduced me to it I had gotten addicted. Television was something I hadn’t realized was missing from my life.

  Stretching I stood and picked up the remote to turn it off wondering if Gran had ever watched anything on a screen a day in her life. She had believed it was evil so probably not. It made me sad to think of all Gran hadn’t experienced in life. Death came for all of us at some point and I wanted to soak in every adventure I could until that day came. Irish lived her life that way. Although Gran died thinking Irish was headed straight for Hell, I disagreed. I believed Irish was making sure not to waste a moment. God had to respect that.

  A knock on the door startled me and I stared at the door unsure what to do. Who would be knocking at this time? Irish hadn’t told to expect anyone.

  Quietly I walked over to the window beside the door and peeked out. There were two motorcycles in the driveway. A man was on one of the bikes but the other one sat empty. I shifted the curtain to see if I could get a glimpse of who was at the door. Black leather jacket, light brown hair pulled back in a man bun was all I could see. It was intriguing. Very Sons of Anarchy. Another binge watch Irish had put me on to since I’d moved in here with her.

  Irish had interesting men in her life. Living vicariously through her stories had been what got me through some of my darker times. Being the younger, sickly sister had caused me to miss out on a normal high school life. There had been no going off to college and frat parties for me either. Unable to help my curiosity, I moved to the door and unlocked it then opened it to face the man on the other side.

  With the porch light illuminating his face I sucked in a breath. Hazel eyes stared at me under thick dark lashes. He had a short beard, just enough to be sexy and lips that made you want to stare at them. It was tempting to reach out and touch them.

  “You’re definitely not Kitty,” he drawled in a deep husky voice that made me shiver.

  Kitty was my sister’s stage name. I shook my head as I soaked in the sight of the man in in front of me. “She’s at work,” I replied softly.

  He raised an arm and leaned on the doorframe as his eyes raked down my body with what I thought was approval. I had very little experience with men except for the romance novels I read and I didn’t think those were very accurate. According to Irish real men were nothing like the ones in books. Although this one sure looked like one of the guys in the books I read.

  “I’m gonna need a name, darling,” he said as his eyes locked back on mine.

  My face felt warm and I knew I was blushing. Sure, I’d had boys flirt with me before but they weren’t like this. This was not a boy. This was a man.

  “Aspen,” I told him.

  He reached out and took a strand of my hair letting it twirl around his finger before it fell back to my shoulder. “Please tell me this is natural,” he said huskily.

  I swallowed hard. “Uh, my hair?” I asked confused.

  He smirked. “Yes.”

  I laughed nervously then. “Since birth.”

  “Tell me how a sweet thing like you ended up at Kitty’s.”

  “She’s my sister,” I told him. I left out that Kitty wouldn’t let me live alone any longer. I had tried it after Gran had passed away two months ago. When I ended up in the hospital Irish had moved me in to her house.

  He leaned closer to me and I hoped that my racing heart was because of my reaction to him and not something else wrong with it. “You planning on working at Devils? Because if you are I need your schedule.”

  Devil’s Lair was the strip club my sister worked at.

  I was probably the color of my Auburn hair. My fair skin hid nothing. I shook my head. “No, I’m uh, not a dancer.”

  “I think that breaks my heart.” He reached out and ran the pad of his thumb along my jaw. “This might be the prettiest fucking face I’ve ever seen.”

  It felt like fate was making up for all the things I’d missed in life with this one singular encounter. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “LEVI!” a male voice called out. “We staying or not?”

  He looked back over his shoulder. “Give me a minute,” he shouted.

  Levi. I liked that name. It fit him.

  “Two questions,” he said turning back to me. “How old are you, Aspen?”

  “Twenty.”

  A wicked grin touched his lips. “Legal. That just made my night. I need your number, sweetheart.”

  My stomach felt as if a flight of butterflies had been let loose. “My phone number?” I asked thinking I was misunderstanding him.

  He ran his knuckles down my bare arm. “Please.”

  Okay. Think. This man was here to see my sister. Did I give him my number? What if she liked him? God, who was I kidding? She had to like him. Any woman alive would like him.

  I bit my lip hard then let it go. “You came here to see Iri-Kitty,” I said. “I can’t, I mean, I don’t think it would be right for me to give you my number.”

  He winced. “Fuck, baby. That’s painful.” His knuckles ran back up my arm. “I can talk to Kitty. She’d understand. We just had some fun. No attachments.”

  I knew all about my sister’s fun. Irish didn’t do relationships. She was a free spirit. I envied her as much as I loved her. “Have you… uh… I mean you have slept with her before.”

  His knuckles went back down my arm. “No, sweetheart, we never slept.” The gleam in his eyes made me shiver. I was aware they hadn’t slept and he knew that wasn’t what I meant. Just like I knew I’d never feel right about giving him my number.

  “I can’t do that to her. I’m sorry,” I said softly.

  He winced. He took my hand and brought it to his lips as his eyes stayed locked with mine. “You broke my heart,” he said.

  “LEVI!” the other man called out.

  He sighed and let my hand go then dropped his other arm from the door and stepped back. “Lock up tight. And Aspen don’t open it for a stranger again. Promise me that.”

  I nodded my head and he winked at me before turning to walk away. Unable to help myself I watched him as he made his way back to his motorcycle. Closing the door before he turned and caught me I let out a loud sigh. That man was going to star in my fantasies for a very long time.

  I locked up and glanced out the window as the motorcycles drove off. Irish had the best life. I had begged her to let me go back to Gran’s house when I’d gotten out of the hospital. She had refused and informed me all my things had been moved here. I knew she blamed herself for letting me live there alone after Gran passed away but truthfully it had been my fault. The moment I had started feeling bad I should have gone to the doctor. I knew better. The result had been pneumonia and with my heart condition that meant hospitalization.

  Irish’s life was one I could never experience but being on the sidelines and watching it would be more fun than I’d ever had. Especially if men like that one showed up at the door. Smiling, I went upstairs to brush my teeth and get into bed.

  COMING AUGUST 27, 2023

  Acknowledgments

  Those who are making my insane publishing schedule this year happen:

  Britt is always the first I mention because he makes it possible for me to close myself away and write for endless hours a day. Without him, I wouldn’t get any sleep, and I doubt I could finish a book.

  Emerson, for dealing with the fact that I must write some days and she can’t have my full attention. I’ll admit, there were several times she did not understand, and I might have told my six-year-old, “You’re not making it in my acknowledgments this time!” to which she did not care. Although she does believe she is famous after attending some signings with me. But that is not my fault. I blame the readers ;)

  My older children, who live in other states, were great about me not being able to answer their calls most of the time and waiting until I could get back to them. They still love me and understand this part of Mom’s world.

  My editor, Jovana Shirley at Unforeseen Editing, for always working with my crazy schedules and making my stories the best they can be. This summer she has gone above and beyond with this crazy schedule of mine and the fall it doesn’t slow down.

  My formatter, Melissa Stevens at The Illustrated Author. She makes my books beautiful inside. Her work is hands down the best formatting I’ve ever had in my books. I am always excited to see what she does with each one.

  Beta readers, who come through every time: Annabelle Glines, Jerilyn Martinez, and Vicci Kaighan. I love y’all!

  Damonza, for my book cover. The book covers just seem to be getting better! Especially this one. I think may be my fav one and I’ve seen the next few covers already.

  Abbi’s Army, for being my support and cheering me on. I love y’all!

  My readers, for allowing me to write books. Without you, this wouldn’t be possible.

 

 

  Abbi Glines, Firecracker

 

 

  Thank you for reading books on GrayCity.Net
Share this book with friends