Modern Fairy Tale: Twelve Books of Breathtaking Romance

by Kristen Proby

  She bites her lip. “It would be more convenient to be up here to welcome the guests.”

  “And I’ll get to see you.” I offer her my best grin, the one that’s been splashed on dozens of magazine covers.

  “It’ll only be for a couple of days,” she says.

  “It’s settled, then.” I nod and reach for a box full of decorations. “Let’s get this done so it’s ready for your guests.”

  “Thank you.”

  I stop and look back at her. “You do realize that I have ulterior motives, right? We’ve been interrupted twice today, and I don’t intend for it to happen again.”

  “Damn right,” she says.

  * * *

  “So tired,” she murmurs and stretches out on the small couch next to me.

  “You should be tired.” I kiss her head as she snuggles down and lays her head on my shoulder. “You worked your ass off.”

  She finished decorating all three units, stocked kitchens for incoming guests, and still managed to run down to her house to check on the status of things.

  “It’s no more than usual,” she says and smiles up at me. “Wanna go up to the turret?”

  “Sure.”

  She stands and offers me her hand, then leads me up the circular staircase to the loft. I’ve been using the king bed on the main floor, so I haven’t been up here much since I arrived. There’s another king-sized bed and a set of bunk beds along with another full bathroom.

  Jenna starts to climb the ladder to the turret, which I don’t love, and I reach for a couple of condoms in the bedside table.

  I may not have been staying up here in the loft, but I was sure to stock the condoms on both floors, just in case.

  A man can hope.

  Jenna flipped on the tiny star lights in the ceiling of the turret and nothing else. I follow her up and climb under the covers of the king-sized feather mattress that is the only furniture up here and hold her against me, with just the glow of the stars shining down on us.

  “How did you come up with this?” I ask her.

  “A dream. I dreamed of these, and when I woke up in the middle of the night, I sketched it really quick before I forgot.”

  She glances out the window, then sits up in excitement.

  “The sky cleared.” She reaches over to turn off the star lights. “Look.”

  I look out the window and catch my breath at the view of real stars in the sky.

  “We don’t get views like this in L.A.”

  “I know.” She settles back against me again, and I’m spooning her now as we both watch the stars outside.

  “Did it bother you, killing these huge trees to make the tree houses?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They sit on enormous tree stumps. They must have been ancient trees.”

  She laughs and then turns to smile up at me. “They’re not real. The center of them is steel, and I had them covered in fake tree bark, just like they use at Disney.”

  “Really?”

  She nods and goes back to staring outside. “There weren’t trees big enough to support a building like this, and I would never kill a tree that old. But I wanted them to look real, so I did research on what Disney uses in their parks to make the trees look real, and that’s what I used.”

  “You’re incredible,” I whisper, leaning down to kiss her ear, then down to her neck. “I never would have thought of that.”

  “I’m a dreamer,” she says and pulls my hand up to her lips. “And I’m a firm believer in making dreams happen. Now, at the risk of you not kissing my neck anymore, because that’s my sweet spot, you should look out the window.”

  I don’t lift my lips from her skin. “I’m busy.”

  She laughs, and the sound goes straight to my groin.

  “Really,” she says. “You definitely don’t get to see this in L.A.”

  I glance out the window, and sure enough, there’s a show I’ve never seen before. “Is that the northern lights?”

  She nods. “They’re green tonight. Sometimes, they’re orange or red. Blue.”

  “I see a little red on the side over there.”

  “Oh, yeah.” She’s whispering now, watching the show outside. “This is why I built these here. There’s so much to see. Wildlife and northern lights are just the beginning.”

  “Amazing,” I agree, but now I’m looking down at her. Have I ever been so captivated with a woman? Pulled in so tight that I don’t ever want to let go?

  “I’m getting warm,” she says as she shimmies out of her leggings, then throws them over the side of the turret to the bedroom below.

  “Well, by all means, take it all off.” I grin and lay back to enjoy a whole new show. Jenna sits and pulls her shirt over her head, then also tosses it aside. “No underwear?”

  “Nope.” She lies back down and snuggles against me, pressing her breasts to my still covered torso. The fact that she does all of this with complete confidence and reckless abandon only makes me want her more. “That’s better.”

  “Except, I’m overdressed.”

  “You’re definitely overdressed,” she agrees. “You should just take it off. It’s nice. You’ll see.”

  I can hear the smile in her voice as I drag my hand from her ass to her neck, then back again.

  She has the softest damn skin and smells like citrus.

  I hurry out of my clothes, then join her under the covers.

  “See?”

  “Oh, yeah, it’s good.” I pull her to me once more and kiss her gently. “You smell amazing.”

  “Thanks.”

  She hitches up her leg around my hip, opening herself to me beautifully.

  I can’t see much of her, only shadows in the darkness, but she feels like heaven.

  “If you don’t want this to happen,” I warn her, “I need you to say something now, sweetheart. Because I’m finding it very hard to hold myself back.”

  She grins against my mouth. “I’m not telling you to stop, Christian. But I am going to need you to breathe. You’re holding your breath.”

  That’s all I need.

  I smile and take that breath. I wasn’t even aware that I was holding it.

  I roll her under me and feast on her lips, my hands gliding over her body. I’m cradled between her legs, my hard, pulsing cock resting against the wetness of her core, and I’m slipping back and forth.

  The heat is so fucking inviting, my teeth ache with it.

  Before I slip inside her, I need to taste her, so I kiss slowly down her collarbones, then spend some time licking and teasing her nipples.

  They pucker beautifully as she arches her back, moaning quietly.

  “So amazing,” I whisper against her skin, leaving wet kisses down her belly until I finally reach her pussy.

  “Fucking hell, you’re wet.”

  “Kind of turned on,” she says, lifting her hips in invitation. I cup her ass in my hands and circle her clit with the tip of my nose, then barely graze over it with my tongue. “Oh, God, don’t tease me.”

  “Harder?”

  “Much harder.”

  I wrap my lips around her clit and suck. That’s all it takes to make her legs start to shake and her head thrash from side to side.

  I press two fingers into her, and my own hips begin to rock against the bed. I can’t help it, I’m so fucking turned on right now, at the taste of her, the noises she makes.

  I kiss my way back up her body, never moving my hand from her core as I continue to pet her there, softly and then more aggressively.

  Her breath is ragged, and she’s covered in a light sheen of sweat.

  “Need you,” I whisper against her neck. She plunges her hands into my hair and kisses my cheek.

  “I’m right here.”

  Chapter Six

  Jenna

  Holy fucking hell, the man is good with his hands. And his mouth.

  And all the things.

  If he were to stop touching me now, I might kill him.
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  His hair is soft in my fingers, and he smells musky and masculine. And for right now, tonight, under the stars and northern lights, he’s all mine.

  How did Christian Wolfe come to be here, wrapped around me?

  “You’re overthinking,” he whispers into my ear. “And if you’re thinking at all, that means I’m not doing my job.”

  “Oh, you’re doing it,” I reply and tilt my pelvis up, feeling his hard cock rub against my core.

  He growls, then reaches between us, protects us, and presses the tip against my lips.

  “Jesus, you’re wet.”

  “Your fault.”

  “I’ll take the blame.” And then he pushes inside me until he’s balls-deep and pauses. “Fuck.”

  “So full.” I arch my back, and he buries his face in the crook of my neck, licking and nibbling. My entire body is on fire.

  I scratch my nails up and down his back as he starts to pick up speed, pushing and pulling in the most intense rhythm. He moves effortlessly, in the sexiest dance I’ve ever seen.

  “You’re so damn sexy,” he says before kissing me and biting my lower lip. He pushes one hand under my ass, encouraging my hips up, and the slight change in the angle makes my eyes cross.

  “Fuuuuck,” I moan, just as the first tremors work their way through my body. I’m contracting around him, my entire body tense and on high alert.

  “Go over.” His voice is firm. It’s not a request.

  And I can’t hold back.

  I cry out as my body explodes into light that could rival the night sky above us. Christian’s body tenses above me, and he groans as he follows me into his own orgasm.

  We’re covered in sweat. We’re panting.

  I’m not sure that I still have arms and legs.

  No wait, there they are.

  I giggle as I brush my fingertips down his back.

  “It’s not a good sign when a woman laughs at you after some of the best sex of your life,” he says as he boosts himself up on an elbow to stare down at me.

  “I’m not laughing at you.” I kiss his arm. “I might be delirious.”

  “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

  I cup his cheek, delighted with the rough whiskers that cover his skin. “I’m perfectly great, and I don’t need anything at all.”

  “Are you tired?” he asks. He shuffles in the bed, then rolls back to me and pulls me into his arms, cradling me so I can rest my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat.

  “Definitely tired.” A yawn escapes, the kind that fills your whole chest, and when it works its way out, you have to smack your lips together.

  “That sounded like the best yawn ever,” Christian says with a laugh, and then succumbs to his own yawn. “That was your fault.”

  “They’re contagious,” I agree. “You know what just occurred to me?”

  “My physical prowess?”

  “Besides that.”

  He chuckles and kisses my head. “What’s that?”

  “My tree houses are called Snow Wolf Cottages. And your last name is Wolfe. Is that your real name?”

  “No. It’s Wagner. My parents gave me a pseudonym when I was small and first starting in the business.”

  “Well, I like it,” I reply. “But Wagner isn’t bad either. Is Wagner still your legal name?”

  He pauses, and I feel like I’ve overstepped a line. But on the other hand, the man was just inside me, and I feel like I can ask whatever I want.

  “No, it’s Wolfe. It’s just easier. I changed it a few years ago.”

  “Hmm. Well, my real name is Jenna Maxine Hull. And I don’t plan to change it.”

  “Even if you get married?”

  I frown, staring out the window at the lights moving across the sky.

  “I don’t know. I have a lot of business holdings in my name, and I think it would be a pain in the ass to change it all.”

  “It is a pain,” he says and kisses my head again. The man is very affectionate; I’ll give him that.

  “I guess I’ll deal with that if and when it happens.” I yawn again and snuggle closer to him. “You’re quite comfortable despite being so muscular.”

  “Thanks. I think.”

  “It’s a compliment.”

  I can’t keep my eyes open now, and the warmth of his arms, with the beating of his heart, is lulling me to sleep.

  “Goodnight, Christian.”

  “Goodnight, beautiful.”

  * * *

  It’s early. The sun hasn’t come up yet, but given the time of year, that doesn’t mean too much. Being this far north means that we have short days in the winter.

  I roll over to look out the windows and can just barely see the first signs of daylight eking their way over the mountain.

  It’s probably around seven.

  I slept like the dead.

  Because it’s still dark outside, I can’t see well in the turret, so I flip the switch for the ceiling stars to help guide my way to the ladder.

  I need coffee, STAT.

  Careful not to wake Christian, who is still sleeping like a baby, I move around him and down the ladder, then pad downstairs to the kitchen.

  While the coffee maker does its thing with the first cup of caffeine, I use the restroom and dig in my overnight bag for the oversized T-shirt I brought to sleep in.

  Doesn’t look like I’ll be doing much sleeping in it.

  I smirk as I pull it over my head and return to the kitchen to finish our coffees, then climb the steps, wondering how I’m going to climb that ladder with two full cups of coffee.

  But that worry disappears when I reach the top of the stairs and find Christian sitting on the king bed in the loft, looking at his cell phone.

  “Good morning.”

  He looks up, and his eyes warm as he takes me in from head to toe.

  “Good morning,” he says and accepts the cup I pass him.

  “I don’t know how you take your coffee, so I just made it the way I take it.”

  He takes a sip and then smiles. “Sugary.”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  He reads the mug. Blow me I’m hot.

  “I mean, you are hot.”

  He laughs and sets his coffee aside. “Let me see yours.”

  I oblige him.

  I do my own stunts.

  “I even climb ladders,” I confirm and earn a laugh from the sexiest man I think I’ve ever seen.

  Ever.

  Before I can take another sip, he takes my mug and sets it next to his, then tumbles me back onto the bed.

  “We’re awake too early,” he says and pulls me against him.

  “Don’t you have to go ski?”

  “Nope.” He grins. “Everyone needs a day off now and again. Let’s go get breakfast. It’s early enough to beat the crowds.”

  I think it over, juggling my day. “I have to go to town anyway to check on the house.”

  “And you have to eat,” he reminds me.

  “Yes. I’m feeling particularly hungry this morning.”

  “You burned quite a few calories last night.” He shifts, tucking me under him and pinning my hands over my head. He’s stretched out above me, and his body is long and lean in the early morning light just beginning to come through the windows.

  “Are we about to burn a few more?”

  His lips twitch as he nestles his way between my legs. I’m already turned on.

  I’m permanently aroused when I’m with him.

  My hands are suddenly free as he dives for the bedside table and returns with a condom. Once he’s taken care of that little detail, he covers me once more, but I’m able to touch him now, and I can’t keep my hands off of him.

  “I could become addicted to you,” he says as he slips inside me and immediately begins to move in a steady, quick rhythm. “The sounds you make, the way you grip my dick like a damn vise.”

  I press on his shoulder, and he lets me flip us over so I can ride him, bracing my hands on his chest.


  He grips my hips, his fingertips biting into my ass. It’s fucking delicious.

  I ride us both into a frenzy, and just as we both come, he sits up, wraps his arms around me, and kisses me like his life depends on it.

  It’s the most intense sex I’ve ever had in my life.

  Finally, when we’re able to talk, he says, “I’m so hungry.”

  I grin. “Let’s get ready and go get some food.”

  “Excellent plan.”

  * * *

  “It looks like the guys did a good job,” I say an hour later as we walk through my house. “The water’s gone, and they said they replaced the pipe.”

  “Is there damage?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I have some drywall to replace, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that the floor will be okay once it dries. It’s original to the house, so I’d like to keep it if at all possible.”

  “I really like your house,” he says as he walks around the kitchen.

  “I’m sure it’s much smaller than what you’re used to.”

  “It’s smaller, but it’s beautiful.” He shrugs. “I’m only one person. Why do I need a twelve-thousand-square-foot house?”

  “Your house is twelve-thousand square feet? Jesus, this one is eighteen hundred.”

  “It’s pretty ridiculous,” he says with a nod. “But I have to invest somewhere, and real estate is usually a sure bet.”

  “Very true, and exactly why I started this business. I had some inheritance and wanted to do something that would make me money. Real estate in Cunningham Falls is expensive, and only on the rise because of the number of celebrities we have here. It’s quickly becoming another Vail or Breckenridge.”

  “Really?” He leans on the countertop and crosses his arms over his chest.

  “Oh, yeah. We have a few locals who went on to be celebrities. Joslyn Meyers is one.”

  “I’ve met her,” he says with a nod. “She seems nice.”

  “She was a little younger than me, but I know her family. She’s very sweet and super successful. Oh, and the football player Tucker McCloud is from here.”

  “So, Cunningham Falls is no stranger to the rich and famous.”