by Emma Roman
“Look at me, Annie. Look at the man who loves you more with every passing heartbeat,” Brannoc sent directly into her mind as he lightly pinched her swollen nub between his thumb and forefinger. Annie’s eyes snapped opened and together they screamed their release to the Heavens. Her pussy held him tight, coaxing every last drop of his release from him. As she began to relax, he slowed his pace, wringing the last of her orgasm from deep within, smiling as she shivered from the sensation of his cock rubbing against her sensitive walls.
A satisfied sparkle replaced the clouds of passion as Annie’s eyes began to clear. His heart skipped as the lazy grin of contentment once again graced her lips. Needing to stay close, loving the feel of her skin next to his, he let his cock slide from the haven of her body as he rolled to his side, taking her with him, only stopping when their heads rested comfortably on the pillows at the head of the bed.
He recognized the gleam in her eye and the wicked grin on her lips and asked, “What are you up to, mo iompróidh beag?”
“Oh, nothing,” she sighed, bringing her lips to his and as she kissed him, whispering into his mind, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Daddy.”
It took a moment for her words to register but when they did, Brannoc tore his lips from hers and shouted, “Are you?... Am I?... Are you kidding?... But how?”
With a contented smile and pure happiness in her eyes, Annie answered, “Yes, my big strong dragon, we are going to be parents. No, I am not kidding.” Then with a chuckle and a waggle of her eyebrows, she added, “And if you don’t know how, maybe we should practice some more.”
Pulling his bear to his body, the dragon looked deep into her eyes and whispered, “Happy Valentine’s Day, mo ghrá. You have made me the happiest dragon alive,” as his lips touched hers.
And his heart nearly exploded with love and joy when, “We’re expecting twins,” floated through his mind.
“Life just does not get any better than this…Happy Valentine’s Day, mo ghrá, forever…”
12
Sitting on the rocks, sunning herself under the waterfall, Talullah, or Lulu as her sisters had called her since she was a little girl, waited for a ship or whale or anything to pass by and break up the monotony of just another day of the same old crapola. She’d left the house before dawn, needing to be anywhere but in the vicinity of her six sisters and her parents. The last few sleepless nights had left her restless and cranky and basically unwilling to deal with the everyday hassles of being the youngest.
The only place she felt like herself anymore was in the water. She knew it was something all the females of their kind went through, however, during all the endless lectures about maturity and mating, no one had ever warned her about the crazy dreams she’d experience. It would’ve been nice to have a heads up that she could expect nightly visions of a man with long, scraggly, auburn hair and gorgeous violet eyes begging for her help. The man, whether he be real or a figment of her imagination, had Lulu tossing and turning like baby sea turtles in the undertow. Every morning she would awaken, more tired than the night before, more irritable than the day before, and needing the comfort of the water to soothe her frazzled psyche.
“Did you really think the Falls was a good hiding place, Lulu?” Nessa, the middle daughter of the O’Halloran pod asked as she made her way down the side of the cliff. “You always come here. It’s no secret.”
“Wasn’t hiding?” Talullah rolled her eyes and harrumphed.
“Then what are you doing here, not in the water but with your tail on, looking out at the sea?”
Nessa was the least offensive of Lulu’s sisters and usually easy to get along with…well, usually. On this occasion, however, it appeared she was going to do her impression of a reporter and ask endless questions.
“I’m thinking. Okay? Just thinking,” Lulu sighed, running her hands through her long platinum hair and wondering what it was going to take to actually get some alone time.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Nessa asked before adding, “Those dreams you’ve been havin’?”
Turning on her sister, Lulu asked through gritted teeth, “Have you been pokin’ around in my mind again?”
“No!” Nessa quickly replied, rubbing her arm. “I still have the mark from where you hit the last time.”
“You better not be.” The youngest mermaid threw a scowl with a narrowing of her eyes at her sister to make sure there was no mistake that she meant business.
Reading minds was just one of the many talents that came naturally to mermaids. It helped them talk to the undersea life in their daily interactions and kept them apprised of danger in the deep dark waters they frequented, but using it on one another was a huge no-no. Not that it stopped any of the O’Halloran sisters from taking advantage of their gifts. A gift that for Lulu was a double-edged sword since she’d been born with what her mother called ‘an extra dose of mind power’. It allowed the youngest of the O’Halloran pod to hear anyone’s thoughts, at any time, with about a thousand-mile range, without even thinking about it.
She’d embarrassed her oldest sister just before her first real date by saying, “You’re right, Ailbe, he does have a nice butt.” She’d caused her mother to find a new butcher by repeating, “Your pork chops look like pig slop,” just after her mother had thought it. But the kicker had come while they were attending a picnic with the humans her parents insisted they get to know. The afternoon had been going pretty well, except for a group of teenage boys who kept harassing Ciara and Daireann, sisters two and three. It seemed the girls’ long yellow-blonde hair and bright Kelly green eyes were too much of a lure for the pubescent buttheads to resist, so they had begun chanting, “Freak! Freak! Freak!”
Hearing her sisters’ distressed thoughts, Talullah had screamed. “Do it, Ciara, just do it. Turn them into sea slugs!” And to make matters worse, when her sisters only reacted with a gasp and a shake of their heads, Lulu dipped her hand into the fountain, tapped into the magic of the water, and did it herself.
Needless to say, the O’Hallorans gave up their attempts to appear normal, moved to the cliffs overlooking the sea, and that had been their home for almost two hundred years. It was safer. They didn’t have to hide their abilities or their tails and it meant no more swimming in the bathtub.
Yeah, moving to the shore had been great but it hadn’t stopped Talullah’s abilities from growing stronger with each passing year. Not only could she read anyone or anything’s mind at any time, if she was asleep or distracted or let her mental blocks slip just the tiniest bit, her sisters could listen to hers, too.
Luckily, she led a boring life and the worst thing that had happened had been when she fell asleep watching Terminator and Nessa heard her thinking about the caves under the reef where they were forbidden to go. Of course, her sister had shouted, “Lulu’s been to the caves.” Which had resulted in three weeks of being grounded and two additional weeks tending the nets for her father’s seaweed business. From that night forward, she only dared to sleep in her room with the wards her grandpop had taught her to put in place.
Hoping that ignoring Nessa would get her to leave, Lulu soon groaned in frustration when her sister quietly asked, “I promise I haven’t been snooping but I still gotta ask. Who is that guy and why does he look so creepy?”
“He doesn’t look creepy,” Lulu unintentionally spat, staring at Nessa for daring to say the man who haunted her dreams was anything less than perfect. “He’s been hurt or something. I think he’s trapped.” She looked back at the sea. “I can feel his pain.” The mermaid rubbed the spot on her chest just over her heart and added with a whisper, “And his anger.”
Shaking her head, she decided to tell Nessa more. Turning back to her sister, she grabbed Nessa’s hands and looked her in the eye. “He keeps begging for my help. He calls my name like he knows me, like I’m the only one who can help him.” She let go and turned toward the water again. “I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. My heart hurts. It’s just a bunch of emotions all tan
gled in a ball making me crazier by the minute.”
Finally saying it out loud, Tallulah immediately knew what she had to do. Without a second thought or a glance back at her sister, the mermaid jumped off the ledge into the cool water of the falls, diving straight for the bottom of the pool and the underground cavern that led to the open waters of the sea.
“What the hell are you doing, Lulu? Where are you going?” Nessa’s scream sounded in her mind.
“To save my man from my dreams. You coming?”
About Julia
Hey Y’all! I’m Julia Mills the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Dragon Guard Series. I without a doubt admit to being a sarcastic, southern woman who would rather spend all day laughing than a minute crying. Living with my two most amazing daughters and a menagerie of animals, keeps me busy but I love telling a good story. Now, that I’ve decided to write the stories running through my brain, life is just a blast!
My beliefs are simple. A good book along with shoes, makeup, and purses will never let a girl down and no hero ever written will compare to my real-life hero, my dad! I’m a sucker for a happy ending and alpha men make me swoon.
I’m still working on my story but I promise it will contain as much love and laughter as I can pack into it! Now, go out there and create your own story!!! Dare to Dream! Have the Strength to Try EVERYTHING! Never Look Back!
I ABSOLUTELY adore stalkers so look me up on Facebook and sign up for her newsletter at JuliaMillsAuthor.com. Send me a message!
Thank you for reading my stories!!!
XOXO Julia
Acknowledgments
Edited by Lisa Miller, Angel Editing Services
Proofread by Tammy Payne with Book Nook Nuts
Cover Designed by Linda Boulanger with Tell Tale Book Covers
8. Cupid Stupid
Sylvia McDaniel
About the Book
Nothing says bad judgement like trying to prove a superstition true…
Taylor Braxton, along with a few adventurous girlfriends, decide to test one such superstition on Valentine’s Day – the day Taylor’s ex-fiancé is to be married. A few bottles of wine help lower her inhibition and go a long way to giving her the courage to try to heal her broken heart. After all, Taylor reasons, what is the worst thing that can happen – the superstition of finding her true love might come true?
Sheriff Ryan Jones is used to getting calls about the odd dancing around the downtown fountain. When you live in Cupid, Texas, there were always some residents who believed if you dance naked around the fountain, you were guaranteed to find your true love. What he doesn’t expect is to find the lovely, but spirited Taylor Braxton confronting him at midnight – sans clothing. Unfortunately, a long-held promise and his badge stand between him and what he wants – Taylor.
Will the Cupid Superstition help Taylor and Ryan overcome the past and take a chance on love again? Or will a promise he made to her best friend, and his career, deflect Cupid’s arrow?
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To Krystal Shannan
For your dedication to helping authors and also Autism
1
Cupid, Texas
"Valentine's Day. Today is the cheating snake's wedding day," Taylor Braxton said, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder before taking a sip of wine. Her third glass of the evening. "I'd like to propose a toast to his new wife. May she never find him in her bed with someone else, like I found her in mine."
The three women clinked glasses.
"Maybe it was for the best. After all, lawmen are known for being serial cheaters," Meghan, one of Taylor's best friends, said in her quiet librarian voice. She gave a shake of auburn hair, her emerald eyes filled with sympathy.
Still the same after all these years, Taylor wondered if Meghan ever raised her voice even during a climax. Did she scream with passion, or just say oh? And Taylor never wanted to know the answer to that question.
Yes, lawmen cheated, but many men were sleazebags who thought infidelity was nothing.
Kelsey, Taylor's other best friend leaned in close. "Well, if you hadn't found him locked in the arms of another woman, you wouldn't have come back to Cupid."
"True," Taylor agreed.
Pushing her dark brunette hair back over her shoulder, Kelsey smiled. "I can't believe we're all here together again. Just like the old days when we were young and naive and so vulnerable. Now, we're all grown up and--"
"Still single," Meghan said with a sigh.
"Yep, no eligible man on my radar," Kelsey admitted. "Who would want to date a woman with three pain in the ass brothers watching over her?"
Kelsey's announcement surprised Taylor. Of the three of them, Kelsey was who she thought would walk down the aisle first. Instead, not one of them was wearing a ring, and frankly, she found it odd she'd come the closest to a honeymoon.
"I don't want a man. I'm giving up. I'm going to remain single the rest of my life," Taylor announced.
After her last attempt at love, the time to step away had arrived in the form of a revealed booty call. Now, her focus on the family business was the most important thing in her life.
"Oh yeah, that's the life I want," Meghan replied, sarcasm dripping in her tone. "Always the third wheel when you're around couples. Every holiday your relatives asking if there is something wrong with you or have you tried online dating. Blind dates with your next-door neighbor’s son, who is so kind that he still lives with his mother." She shivered. "No, thanks."
Meghan's appearance fitted the sweet, innocent librarian image, but her tongue was sharp and precise. Sometimes even Taylor was shocked at what came out of her smart mouth.
Setting her wine glass down on the table Kelsey leaned forward. "Or your brothers’ glancing at every man you bring home like he's a terrorist, and should they learn he's sleeping with their sister, he would wake up six feet under." Kelsey giggled. "They don't know, but I lost my virginity the first semester of college during pledge week."
"Ohh...with someone you cared about?" Taylor asked.
She sighed. "Not really. We were two virgins who wanted to rid ourselves of the stigma. A fumbling, truly awful, awkward experience. After that horrible first time, I concentrated on my studies and not on men."
"What about you, Taylor? When did you lose your virginity?" Meghan asked.
"Prom night," she said, shaking her head. "Billy Ray Smith."
"Oh my gosh, he's married and living one town over."
"Thank God. He was mistake number one. I was young and foolish." And oh, so stupid, she thought.
That night he'd convinced her everyone was doing the nasty and if she didn't give it up, she would be the only virgin left in school. Curious about the forbidden fruit and wanting to fit in, she listened to him.
Meghan laughed. "Well, we certainly know who popped my cherry. Max Vandenberg, football superstar jerk.”
The three women sighed. Kelsey shifted uneasily in her chair. "We thought we were going to change the world."
Taylor snickered. "I think the world changed us."
Meghan giggled. "Remember that silly superstition from high school?"
"Which one? There were several," Kelsey said. "I especially liked the one where the football boys had to put a pair of girl's panties on the top of the goal post if they wanted a winning season."
So many things happened in a small town where gridiron was king. The football team could get away with so much more than the other school sports.
"While the drill team practiced in our uniforms, all our undies were stolen from the girls' gym. I remember going commando, like, yesterday." Taylor chuckled.
Kelsey turned toward her. "Max Vandenberg was the panty thief. Did you hear that he played professional football for the Dallas Cowboys for a while?"
"Until he got hurt. Now he's back." Meghan shook her head. "Right back here under my nose - the big jerk. He’s coaching at my school."
"Why does i
t seem like many of our classmates left and eventually returned."
"Yes, Ryan Jones is back. My brother told me he's sheriff now," Kelsey said, drinking another glass of vino. "He was my ex. So two exes back in town and another one's married and lives nearby."
"I don't consider Billy Ray an ex."
Sure, Taylor lost her virginity the night of prom, but recognized she would never marry Billy Ray. Redneck was a polite term for that kid. The ex that crushed her was in Dallas where he belonged with his skanky new wife.
Sitting there, she glanced at her besties from grade school.
"Wonder how many girls fell for that Cupid superstition? Did you guys ever do that one?" Taylor asked.
"Oh no," Meghan said. "I didn't like getting undressed in gym class."
"Oh no," Kelsey echoed. "If my brothers caught me dancing naked around the statue in the town square, I would have been sealed away in a nunnery until my female parts shriveled. What about you?"
"No," she said, thinking she didn't believe that nonsense.
Taylor looked at the two women sitting at the table. She poured the last of the second bottle of wine. The music seemed louder, the laughter shriller, and yet she was having so much fun, she didn't want to stop. Tomorrow she'd probably regret the amount of alcohol they were consuming, but tonight felt good. Old friends, memories, and alcohol helping her forget the importance of this damn day.
"You remember when all the cheerleaders did the naked Cupid dance, all hoping to find their true love. How did the magic work out for them?" Kelsey said with a laugh.
Taylor shook her head. "I remember. The football team showed up unexpectedly with cameras in hand and when the squad returned to school they faced suspension."
