The Irresistible Curves Collection
Page 29
And fell into oblivion.
When Velda opened her eyes, she discovered the ceiling had changed positions. Looking across the curve of her stomach, she saw Shane's dark crown of hair bobbing between her thighs, felt the bristle of his beard and his gently stroking tongue. His mouth drifted to her thigh and sucked at the flesh with enough pressure she was certain to have a hickey come morning.
"Shouldn't you wait until a girl is conscious?" she teased.
Shane snorted, nipped ever so gently at her mound.
"Baby, you've been on your back all of two minutes and speaking in tongues the entire time."
"Speaking in tongues," she echoed.
"Truth, love." His head popped up, a grin on his face. "My Babylonian is a little rusty, but they all translated as 'more, please' and 'yes, right there, only harder.'"
A fresh blush warmed her cheeks. Lashes fluttered at his teasing.
He crawled over Velda until his cock sank slow and deep inside her sticky, wet pussy.
Together, she and Shane sighed.
He kissed her neck, rubbed his cheek against hers.
"You always make me hungry, love. I've been starving all month."
An incredulous spark flickered inside Velda. She ruthlessly squashed it before its rebellious flame could grow.
"Well," she smiled as he slid down to her parted thighs once more. "The buffet is officially open."
Epilogue
Sitting in the stands at the Exactech arena, Shane slipped his arm around Velda's shoulder. He leaned in, nosed her cheek.
"Happy tears, love?"
She nodded, a ridiculously large smile cracking her face open. A little more than seven years had passed since Shane's arrival at the shelter. Much had changed and the ceremony about to begin marked a major milestone.
The first of her shelter kids was graduating from college with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. Knowing the statistics as she did, Stefan's accomplishment warranted more than a few proud tears.
She nuzzled Shane, gratitude spilling past her lips.
"You made this possible."
With Stefan's mother sitting next to her, Velda whispered the words directly into Shane's ear.
He shook his head, hugged her.
"Baby, you have always been my inspiration."
Two seats down, Stefan's future stepdad heckled their public display of affection.
"You two are a fire hazard if ever I saw one."
Shane's lips parted in protest. Velda stopped him with a wink.
"Considering he’s Gainesville's lead arson investigator, we probably shouldn't argue with Jamie about public safety."
Melanie's gaze jumped between her fiancé and her "angels."
"No one make me cry!" she protested.
Jamie patted her hand. "You are definitely going to cry, mi amor."
"But I don't want to look bad for the pictures!"
He pulled Melanie into a tight hug. "First time I saw you, blood and soot covered your face and uniform and you still looked like a goddess!"
Watching the exchange, Velda squeezed Shane's knee. It wasn't just Stefan's dreams he had made possible. Melanie had been covered in blood and soot when she met Jamie Rivas because she had finished her RN studies and landed an elite nursing job at a trauma center. She was the second mother from the shelter to finish a degree and was starting a master's program in the fall.
Not all of the kids or mothers who passed through the shelter since Shane's arrival went on to college. But they all received their high school diplomas or GEDs.
To the public, that might not seem like a win.
To Velda, it was a total victory.
"Thank you again for coming," Melanie said, dabbing at her cheeks. "It means so much to Stefan and me. I know the two of you could literally be doing anything in the world right now."
Shane flashed a wicked grin at Velda as he shifted against the hard stadium seating.
"We usually spend Saturday at home," he told Melanie. "Kind of a regularly scheduled game day."
"Figured you for football," Jamie laughed. "I don't even know what sport plays on a Saturday."
Catching the impish gleam in her husband's eyes, Velda rushed to paper an explanation over his playful innuendo before he made his meaning even more obvious.
"Board games. Not sports."
"Chess?" Jamie asked.
"I prefer something more linguistic," Shane answered.
Sweet Heavens! Velda thought. I love this man, but I just might have to strangle him in public.
"Oh, like Scrabble," Melanie offered. "Do the girls play yet? I don't expect at two and four that they can."
"No." Shane rolled his lips, lifted his brows. "But they sure try their best to interrupt."
"Which is why we only play during nap time," Velda tacked on as she nervously scanned the crowd. Spotting her best chance at salvation from Shane's "cunning" jokes, she stood and pointed. "Look, there's Reggie!"
Waving her arms, she motioned him over. No longer thirteen, he had just finished his sophomore year in the university's accounting program. In another two years, she would be back in the same stadium waiting for his name to be announced.
"Saved you a seat, Reg," Shane said. "Are they lining up yet?"
Reggie flashed a thumbs up. "The Dean is about to come out. Stefan's third in line and flirting with the girl in front of him."
Struck once more with motherly sentiment, Melanie pulled a tissue from her purse then blew her nose. "I can't believe this is happening."
Velda patted the woman's shoulder. "You were a great role model, Mel. You worked your ass off to get your degree."
Melanie bobbed her head, looked at her fiancé, then Velda and Shane. "So were all of you—great role models."
Wrapping her arms around Reggie, she squeezed the air out of him. "And you with the study groups!"
"It's starting," Reggie said, pointing to a white-haired woman in a blue skirt suit as she approached the microphone. "That's the Dean for the CIS program."
Melanie gave an excited squeak then fell silent. Velda tried to follow the words being spoken onstage. Her attention returned again and again to Shane. Each time she looked at him, he was already looking at her, his gentle touch ready to erase the tears she couldn't quite hold back.
"This is it," Melanie whispered as the Dean announced the first name. "My baby is a college graduate!"
Velda strained to focus. The first student was a James Finley Abbot. The bouncing young woman who followed was Sela Lynn Acton. Velda drew a deep breath, gaze pinned to Stefan as he waited to step onto the stage and into the next chapter of his promising young life.
Three…two…one…
Stefan Michael Adams.
Velda's group had politely joined in the audience applause for the first two students. Now they jumped to their feet and went crazy. Melanie shrieked like a teenaged girl at a One Direction concert. Jamie and Shane whistled. Reggie pumped his fists in the air and shouted.
Then the Dean called the next name and it was another family's time to forget decorum and go wild.
Velda collapsed into her seat. Shane captured her shaking hands, brought them to his lips. She pulled free, cupped his cheeks, and kissed him hard.
"I owe you so much," she said.
He touched the locket around her neck that held pictures of their two daughters. Shaking his head, Shane stroked her cheek.
"No, love, I owe you for this incredible life we’re finally going to get to have together.”
— The End —
In the mood for a fun, feel-good romcom with
a meddling cameo by Velda & Shane?
Check out this NEW crossover story I co-wrote with my fabulous friend Tessa Wood —>
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— Available Now —
Book Description
* * *
Laney: It all started with a blind date. For him, at least. Me? I didn’t even know I was on a date with the guy. Honestly, I p
robably would’ve botched it up if I did. Instead, I just dazzled him with how awkward and odd I am—exactly the kind of qualities any man is looking for in the new PR manager assigned to him, right? Seriously, story of my life. I regrouped though, you have to give me that. Now, all I have to do is not fall hopelessly in love with the hot, gritty, good-deed-doing man while working with him over the next few weeks. Yep, easy peasey…
* * *
Gary: Talk about memorable first meetings. It would be just my luck that the smart, sweet woman I thought was my blind date would turn out to be the PR guru from New York attached to my upcoming project. Here I thought the universe got it right for once. That’s okay though, I actually like this better. I figure a few weeks working on this campaign I’ve put my blood and sweat into will be a great way to get to know her better. Yeah, I’m aware we’ve got a few hurdles to navigate past here. And her living a thousand miles away from me? That isn’t even the biggest one…
* * *
Author’s Note
* * *
This new sweet & steamy standalone short is actually a crossover novella with cameos (aka meddling) by a few characters you may recognize from the Irresistible Curves series (Claiming Her Curves and Capturing Her Curves) and the Untouchable Curves series (Curvy Seduction), not to mention a quick run-in with the fabulous matriarch of the His to Claim series herself. So many worlds colliding, so much fun making it happen.
* * *
— Now Available! —
Also by Christa Wick
the Far Too Tempting collection
Tempted Beyond Reason (Wake & Lacey)
Tempted Beyond Relief (Wylie & Rhea)
Tempted Beyond Return (Logan & Lily)
the Untouchable Curves collection
Curvy Attraction (Aiden & Cecelia)
Curvy Seduction (Owen & Gemma)
Curvy Perfection (Cayce & Ashley)
and
His Curvy Temptation (Declan & Melanie)
[an extra curvy Untouchable Curves standalone novel]
the Irresistible Curves collection
Chasing Her Curves (Hawk & Ginny)
Claiming Her Curves (Blake & Pippa)
Capturing Her Curves (Shane & Velda)
and
Keeping Her Curves (Ian & Juno)
[an extra alpha Irresistible Curves standalone novel]
the His to Claim series
Book 1: Every Last Touch (Walker)
Book 2: Every Last Look (Barrett)
Book 3: Every Last Secret (Sutton)
Book 4: Every Last Reason (Emerson)
Book 5: Every Last Call (Siobhan)
* * *
Bonus Freebie (big brother Adler & Sage’s standalone novel: Every Last Doubt) available FREE at christawick.com/free
the Until You series
Unraveled (Corwin & Belle)
Unveiled (Lucas & Theresa) *all new story!*
Untapped (Teague & Charlie)
a standalone crossover novella
Hot Nights Winter Lights *all new story!*
[with character cameos from 3 different series]
Check out Christa’s DARKER, DIRTIER Side
Writing As C.M. WICK
* * *
The Contract (Beckett, Jace, and Gabby)
[a standalone ménage]
Tempted By Trouble (Austin & Gina)
[a standalone erotica]
the Savage Trust series
Wrecked (Luke & Marie)
Scarred (Mikhael & Alina)
Frayed (Trent & Daniella)
the Savage Hope duet
His Trust (Collin & Mia, Book 1)
Her Heart (Collin & Mia, Book 2)
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Thank You For Reading & Reviewing!
Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the story and will consider taking a quick minute to drop off a review at the eretailer where you purchased this book. Every single review means so much to me, and helps us authors so much in terms of book visibility. Reviews not only affect online presence on eretailer search engines, but also marketing/promotion opportunities as well. And most of all, it helps readers like yourselves find books and authors. It’s one of the best ways you can support us indie authors and help our books find their way into more readers’ hands. Review or not, I appreciate all of you readers for continuing to hang out with the characters in my head and letting me continue to do what I love.
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Christa Wick has been hybrid publishing since 2012 (yep, she’s one of the O.G. indie authors). She’s written 50+ romances starring curvalicious heroines and alphalicious heroes whose stories span the spectrum of: steamy & sweet, steamy & emotional, steamy & suspenseful, steamy & paranormal, steamy & dark, and…well, you get the idea. She also writes sci-fi thrillers and suspense novels under other pen names.
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