by Alex Grayson
Take Me To Bed: Bed Time Quickies
Published by Twisted Fiction
Copyright © 2020
First edition, 2020
E-book ISBN: 978-1-951325-14-5
Print ISBN: 978-1-951325-13-8
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, or by any other means, without written permission from the author. The only time passages may be used is for teasers, blog posts, articles, or reviews, so long as the work isn’t being wrongfully used.
This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, events, and incidents portrayed are solely from the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual places, people, events, or other incidents is coincidental or are used fictitiously.
Some of the stories within this collection are intended for mature audiences due to graphic language and sexual content.
Cover design by Sly Fox Cover Designs
Table of Contents
Melissa Toppen
Roses Red
Ali Dean
First Kiss
Aurora Rose Reynolds
Until James
Yolanda Olson
After the Lies
Shari J Ryan
You Complete Me
Gianna Gabriela
It All Started With A Kiss
Monica DeSimone
Sacked
A.C. Williams
A Promise Kept
Danielle Norman
Dear Juliet
Lia Fairchild
Singles Week
Heidi McLaughlin
Forever Mason
Erica Marselas
Make Love to Me
D.M. Earl
My Sugar
KL Clare
Vows That Bind Us
SL Sterling
Our Little Secret
Jessica Marin
Hollywood Valentine
Flora Burgos
Obsession
Cary Hart
Take Me
Kally Ash
#CRUSH
Alex Grayson
Heels Together, Knees Apart
AJ Alexander
Unsubstantial
Sienna Snow
Sweetest Sin
Amali Rose
The Pick-Up Artist
KL Donn
Embers Falling
Brittany Crowley
Dickstagram
HL Nighbor
Secret Games
J.D. Hollyfield
Bad Daddy
Meagan Brandy
Party for Three
A.M. Wilson
One Night Only
Anna Bishop Barker
The Almost Perfect One Night Stand
Anna Brooks
Mine
Freya Barker
Frayed Edges
Claire C. Riley
Last Night in Georgia
Esther E Schmidt
Give Me Strength
Cassandra Robbins
Laying Low
Michelle Dare
A Very Avynwood Wedding
Lauren Dawes
Soul Mate
S.R. Grey
Night Skate
Roses Red
Melissa Toppen
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done for love?
1
Choices.
Choices define everything. Our past, our present, and our future.
We’re faced with many different choices along the way. Some much more significant than others. There are the small choices, the ones that are so inconsequential we’ve already forgotten them once they have been made.
Then there are the big choices. The ones that have the power to change everything.
Sometimes the path is clear. Other times it’s clouded with doubt and uncertainty. And some of those choices affect us much more than we ever realized they would.
I’m living proof of that.
Six months ago I did the unthinkable. I quit my job of ten years, packed everything I could fit into one suitcase, and moved to the other side of the country to be with a man I barely knew.
I wish I could say it was a tough decision, and maybe at first it was, but as I boarded that plane, leaving my entire life behind, I felt no uncertainty. No unease. No regrets. I knew it was what I needed to do. And it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
Sometimes life puts you exactly where you need to be when you need to be there. You just have to be brave enough to not let the moment pass you by.
Six months earlier…
Everything is perfection. Of course it is. I would expect nothing less from a couple like Blue and Harris. Their love story may have started off a little rockier than most, but it has blossomed into something I don’t think either one of them ever saw coming. For a woman who once claimed to hate love, she sure has come full circle. And as her best friend, I couldn’t be happier for her.
“Hannah.” I turn toward the sound of a man’s voice, a smile tugging up the corners of my mouth when I see Everett, Harris’ brother, step up next to me.
He looks incredibly handsome in his black suit, complete with red and blue boutonniere. His hazel eyes pop against the color of the button-down shirt peeking out from beneath his jacket. Full lips, defined cheek bones, and the small dimple in his chin work together to define his beauty. His brown hair is a little longer than it was the last time I saw him, but he’s still every bit as handsome as I remember. Maybe more so. The thought causes a small ache to form in my chest.
If only he didn’t live on the complete opposite side of the country…
It’s the same thought I had the last time we stood together in the same room. It’s been nearly five months since our first meeting. Everett was in town visiting his brother, Harris, who’d set up a double date in hopes of making Blue more comfortable meeting his brother for the first time.
I don’t think Harris expected for us to hit it off as well as we did when he invited me to act as his buffer. Neither Everett nor I could deny the instant attraction we felt toward one another, but knowing our circumstances, we were both reluctant to act on it. While we initially texted for a couple of weeks after that night, eventually he stopped, and so did I.
“You look beautiful.” His eyes do a full sweep of the red, floor length gown Blue picked out for me. Blue and Harris have a thing for reds and blues, which, to no one’s surprise, ended up being the color scheme for their wedding. And while the dress is gorgeous, I feel like it kind of clashes with my auburn hair, which is why I opted to have it pinned up in a fancy updo instead of leaving it down the way I had originally planned.
“Thank you.” I swallow, feeling suddenly nervous. “Blue will be glad to hear you made it. When did you get in?”
I had expected to see him last night at the rehearsal dinner but apparently he had been held up and wasn’t able to catch his initial flight. I know Blue was worried he wouldn’t make it at all. Being a Staff Sergeant in the Army, his schedule is less than flexible and it’s not like he had much notice regarding the nuptials. Like most things with Blue and Harris’ relationship, the wedding came together in only a few short weeks, rather than the months or even years it takes most couples to plan their union.
“About two hours ago.” His broad shoulders
rise as he takes a deep inhale, his lips parting as he slowly blows it out.
“You really pushed it down to the wire.”
“I had some last-minute things to take care of.” His hazel eyes slide to mine and my heart instantly kicks up a notch.
Everett Avery is beyond gorgeous. He’s the kind of man whose mere presence is enough to make you feel off kilter and on edge.
“Everything okay?” I ask, though I don’t expect him to tell me any details about his life. We hung out… once. It’s not like we’re friends.
“It is now.” He smiles and the action causes the butterflies lying dormant in my stomach to stir awake.
It’s the same effect he had on me the night I first met him. I spent the entire evening wishing our circumstances were different. Wishing he didn’t live in Hawaii. Wishing my life wasn’t here in Boston. Wishing either of us had a real choice in the matter.
Everett is the first man in a very long time to make me feel even remotely excited. After a slew of dead-end relationships and trying to force myself to feel things that weren’t there, being with him was like being brought back to life. At least until he left.
I had hoped that something would come of the crazy chemistry we seemed to share, but alas, Everett quickly joined the ranks of relationships that never made it past the first date. It surprises me how disappointed I still feel about this.
“You made it.” I turn to see Harris round the corner, his focus on Everett.
“Hey, yeah. I tried calling you a couple of times but it went straight to voicemail.” Everett turns, giving his older brother a brief one-armed hug.
“Sorry. It’s been a crazy day.” Harris pauses, his gaze sliding to me. “Hannah.” He nods. “How’s my bride-to-be?”
“Probably cursing at the walls because her maid of honor has been gone extremely too long.” I smile. “I should probably get back.” I turn my attention to Everett, before adding, “It was nice seeing you again.”
“Yeah.” He nods. “You, too. I guess I’ll see you in there.” He nods toward the entrance of the church where several people have already begun to take their seats, including my mom and Aunt Shari who are already planted in the second row on the bride’s side.
“Yep.” I offer a half wave before spinning on my heel and quickly making my way back toward the bridal dressing room located at the far end of the hall.
When I push my way inside, Blue is still standing exactly where I left her, in front of the floor length mirror staring at her reflection like she can’t believe what she’s seeing. If I had to guess, I’d say looking at herself in a wedding dress after claiming for years she would never get married, is a bit difficult to wrap her head around.
“There you are.” Her gaze slides to me as I close the door behind me. “I was about to send my mom out to look for you.”
“Sorry, I ran into Everett in the hallway.”
“Everett’s here?” She lets out a slow breath. “Thank god. I was starting to worry he wasn’t going to make it in time.”
“Well, he almost didn’t. He said his flight landed just a couple of hours ago.”
“Talk about cutting it close.” She shakes her head, knotting her hands nervously in front of herself.
“You okay?” I give her a knowing smile.
“If by okay you mean I feel like my stomach is about to fall out of my butt, then yeah, I’m doing great.”
“Umm.” I chuckle but before I can say more there’s a knock at the door, and Blue’s father steps inside moments later.
“It’s time.” His eyes glaze over as he gets his first look at his daughter in her wedding gown.
“Oh god.” She blows out a shaky breath.
“Hey.” I step up in front of her and take both of her hands in mine. “Everything is going to be fine. I know you’re nervous now but it’s because of the ceremony and all the people. It has nothing to do with Harris. You want to marry him,” I remind her.
“I really do.” She gives me a watery smile.
“Then take a deep breath and focus on him. I’ll be right next to you the entire time.”
“Thanks, Hannah.”
I lean in and give my friend a light kiss to the cheek, careful that none of my lipstick comes off on her face in the process.
“I’ll see you out there.” I give her another smile before turning and quickly exiting the room.
The ceremony goes by in a blur. I feel like one second I’m watching Blue walk down the aisle with her father, and the next Harris is kissing the bride.
I’m not sure who cried more – me or Blue’s dad.
It was such a beautiful moment and one I am so honored to have been a part of. And while I couldn’t be more thrilled for my best friend, a part of me also couldn’t help but feel a little sad as they were saying their vows.
The way they looked at each other, how much love they share, it’s a blinding reminder of what I’m missing in my life and what I worry I may never find.
“Well, we survived.” Everett takes the seat next to me at the wedding party table that’s centered at the head of the room.
“We did.” I smile, my gaze locked on the happy couple as they share their first dance as husband and wife. “And so did they.”
“They look so happy,” he observes, his voice soft.
“They really do. A match made in hot mess heaven. It’s hard to believe that all this started with a bet.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter how it starts. When you know, you just know.”
“You really think it’s that easy? That you can look at someone and just know?” My eyes slide to Everett’s handsome face.
“Maybe not right away, but I don’t think it takes too long to figure out whether or not someone is worth putting your whole self into.”
There’s something about the way he’s looking at me that sends a rush of heat through my body. It starts at my cheeks and quickly spreads all the way to my feet.
“Spoken like a true romantic.” I swallow hard, trying to dislodge the knot that has formed in my throat.
“Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far.” He chuckles. “It’s our turn now.”
I stare at him for a good ten seconds, my heart thudding violently in my chest as I try to process his words.
It’s our turn? Our turn for what?
Is he saying what I think he’s saying? Certainly not. Who would sit down next to someone they barely know and make such a statement?
“You ready?”
“Huh?” I manage to spit out.
“To dance. It’s our turn.” He gestures to the dance floor. As if on cue, the DJ announces it’s time for the wedding party to join the happy couple on the dance floor.
A mixture of embarrassment and disappointment seeps through me.
“Oh, yeah.” I look away, hoping to hide the pink hue that creeps across my face.
Standing, I turn and head toward the dance floor. Everett’s hand settles on the small of my back as we reach the center of the floor. It’s not the multiple people watching us that has my skin heating, but the hazel eyes that nearly take my breath away when they meet mine.
What is wrong with me?
It must be the champagne.
“You want to know a secret?” Everett pulls me close, his nose grazing my ear as he speaks.
“Okay,” I stutter out, my voice too low to carry past the music.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” His admission has me drawing back to meet his gaze. He smiles, seeing that he’s caught me off guard. “I thought maybe I was crazy. That I had dreamt up how beautiful you are. But then I saw you standing in the church looking even more beautiful than I remembered and I thought, wow.”
“Are you drunk?” I study him for a long moment, realizing he seems a little inebriated. Not that I’m judging, because I’m rocking a pretty decent buzz myself.
“No.” He grins, his hands sliding from my hips to the small of my back as he pulls me closer. “I mean
, I am intoxicated, but it’s not because of the alcohol.” His breath tickles the side of my neck as he speaks.
“Oh my god.” I sputter out a laugh. “You really are Harris Avery’s brother, aren’t you?”
At that moment, I lock eyes with Blue as she glides past us. She lifts one perfectly shaped eyebrow in my direction. A clear indication that she’s curious as to what’s going on. Yeah, me and her both.
I can’t say anything so I simply smile and quickly look away.
“You know what I think?” Everett’s cheek slides against mine as he pulls his head back.
“What?” The word catches in my throat.
“I think we should get out of here.”
“What?” I blurt. “The reception isn’t over.”
“I didn’t mean right this minute. But once all the formalities are out of the way, I say we grab some champagne and head to the roof. You won’t believe the view from up there.”
