Happily Ever All-Star: A Secret Baby Romance

by Sosie Frost

  “You can’t like what I do to you.”

  “I love everything you’ve done to me.” Piper pulled me close, taking her kiss. “I love it rough. I love it gentle. I love it fast and hard and so intense I cling to you to save me from the pleasure. I love it slow and tender, feeling you inside me, with me, over me. Cole, I just love you. Man and beast. Rough and soft. Raging and calm. I want you.”

  And she could have me.

  All of me. Any part of me. Always.

  I pushed her onto the bed, nipping at her lips and loving every kiss. She groaned and tugged at my shirt. It was the first to go, but Piper hesitated as she touched the bruises I’d forgotten. Her fingertips warmed over the soreness, but it did more than harden my cock. It eased me. The aches and pains faded with her caress.

  This beauty healed me with her kiss, made my body forget its ails.

  And it was time to repay that kindness.

  I didn’t rip her shirt, and I didn’t tear through her jeans, but Christ, she never needed to wear clothes around me again. I undressed her, teasing her every exposed curve with a flick of my tongue.

  Her back arched, offering me a delightful path between the hollow of her neck and shoulder. She shivered with each touch.

  Good.

  I wanted her shivering.

  For too long I’d imagined her writhing, wanting, waiting for me. I feared it’d forever be a fantasy, my own fairy tale unanswered and lost in foolish dreams.

  Not now.

  Her skin was scented with citrus, caressed soft like velvet, and contrasted the white of my comforter with dark temptation.

  Her curves enthralled me, and she encouraged my every ravenous nip with fingers tangling in my hair. I took her nipple into my mouth, and the beast bit. She gasped, but the princely swirl of my tongue banished the sting. She liked that. I liked that.

  A blending. A pairing of rough and gentle, animal and gentleman.

  Well, mostly animal.

  I doubted most refined men would ever lose themselves within their woman’s pussy like a starving beast.

  I spread her legs wide. Something about exposing this beautiful woman excited me. She rested on the bed, torn between cupping her breasts or hiding her nudity from me in that delicious bashfulness.

  It was probably a little of both. Wanton and shy. Desperate and timid.

  Not for much longer. Piper said she wanted me? That she wanted to be a part of my life? That she loved me?

  Then hesitance had no place in our bed.

  I sunk upon her, feasting on her silken, heated pussy. I had almost forgotten how hot she could get, how wet and delicious and sweet.

  Piper arched, gripping the sheets with both hands and muffling her cry with a bit lip. A special kind of torture. I licked her again, dipping my tongue inside her tightness. She whimpered.

  I needed to taste her desire. Sloppy. Wild. I dove upon her and licked, ate, and feasted like a rabid, lust-crazed monster. Piper twisted under me, eager to escape and desperate to push harder against my lips.

  My beauty was even more lovely when in complete agony, but I wasn’t a total animal anymore. All because of her. I knew the easiest way to prove how generous and caring of a man I’d become.

  I sucked on her swollen nub until her body convulsed, shook, wetted. She cried my name in shocked bliss. Her legs pressed hard against my ears, muffling what little whimpers she gave. The sweetness of her excitement coated my lips in a delicious gratitude.

  I wasn’t a good man, but at least I could be a tamed beast.

  Except I wasn’t done with my hunt yet.

  I stood, unbuckling my pants and stroking a hardness that only thickened when presented with a stunned beauty shivering in desire before me.

  I didn’t let her speak. Didn’t let her move. Didn’t let her touch me or kiss me.

  I wanted only her unconditional surrender before I gave her mine.

  Piper arched as my cock slid into her, forced into that blinding tightness. She stretched, and her excited gasp gave me the opportunity to grip her hips, shove in as deeply as I could, and slam into her soul.

  I kissed her, nibbling on her lip, struggling to hold myself up and not give in to the urge to fuck her and fuck her hard.

  Not yet.

  First she had to know. Had to feel. Had to understand.

  “I love you.” I rasped a growl, but it wasn’t meant to frighten her. My words were a vow of protection and promise. “I’ve never loved anyone before, beautiful. You’re the only one in the world who understands me and what I need and what I’d give to just…”

  I folded my hand in hers, resisting my instinct to mindlessly rut in passionate bliss.

  Piper groaned, and every shiver of her body clenched me tight. “Take me, Cole.”

  “You’re too beautiful.”

  “Take me.”

  “I want to treat you right.”

  Her voice cracked. “Then take me.”

  I wasn’t leaving a damsel in distress.

  I thrust, hard. Her breasts bounced, a beautiful sight. I gripped them, holding tight and squeezing as my hips slammed into hers.

  Piper loved it. She arched, begged, and bumped her own hips so she could meet me in furious rhythm.

  It wasn’t dominance or ugliness, nor was it gentle and timid. I pierced her, and Piper met every punishing thrust with a gasp of pleasure. She stared at me, eyes heavy-lidded, lips parted and breathing the sweetest words.

  She submitted to me and dominated me in the same breath.

  I grabbed her, rutted her like and animal. I bit her neck.

  And she caressed my arms. Murmured my name.

  Whispered her love.

  It was a balance I never knew was possible. She understood me—every part of me, even the darkness I tried to hide. That monstrous aspect worshiped her, fucked her, but it abandoned the violence and rage and aggression in the comfort of her arms.

  I offered everything that was me to her, and she accepted it.

  So did I. For the first time. Not the last time.

  I lost myself in her, and we clutched at each other in sweaty, perfect bliss.

  “Cole…” Piper’s body tightened, and she squeezed her eyes shut. “Please…”

  She didn’t have to ask. I was there with her, in perfect sync as our bodies slammed, crashed, and surrendered to each other.

  She came for me, whispering her love.

  I came for her, but my words choked in my throat.

  I had to prove it instead, thrusting hard and deep until that pulsing crest paralyzed my body and slammed me completely against her.

  Usually my mind blanked when I came.

  Not this time.

  This time, I pumped inside her, and I imagined a life where this bliss happened every day.

  Where I could have Piper. Hold her with me. Take her every night. Wake with her every morning. Let her soothe the beast. Live with her. For her.

  Marry her.

  Build a bigger family with her.

  Live happily ever after with her.

  She kissed me as I gasped for air. I didn’t pull from her—couldn’t, not while everything in life revealed itself to me in such simplicity and passion I had no idea what was real or fairy tale.

  But I knew I wanted it.

  All of it.

  I kissed her, earning her smile as she brushed her fingers against my cheek.

  “I love you,” I whispered. “Stay with me.”

  “You asked me that once before. Are you sure?”

  “You tell me.” I kissed her again, softly. “Do you think you can handle living with a beast?”

  “I don’t see any beast here.”

  “No?”

  “I only see the man I love.”

  Epilogue - Piper

  Ten Months Later

  My phone rang for the fifth time since I put Rose down for her nap.

  I answered it with a growl. “Lachlan Reed, I swear to God—”

  “Just one last questio
n.”

  There was never just one last question with Lachlan. He was worse than my toddler.

  No wonder Dad pawned the rookie off on me. It was like he knew the first-round draft pick to the Ironfield Rivets would be as easy to manage as a puppy in a mud puddle.

  “The contract says no motorcycles…” I could hear his grin through the phone, like he tried to sell me on his next latest and greatest death-defying idea. “What about dirt bikes?”

  “No.”

  “Really?”

  “Your contract is explicit. If you want your ten million dollars; you’re going to behave. No crazy sports. No dangerous vehicles. No extreme activities at all. Believe me, Lach. It’s boilerplate.”

  “Okay…what about—”

  “No, Lachlan.”

  “Lemme finish.” He presented the next idea like he expected me to join him in his quest for idiocy. “A jet ski.”

  “No.”

  “Oh. So I guess snowmobiles are out too?”

  “Yes.”

  “Damn. Fine. I’ll sign it.”

  “Thank you. Goodbye, Lachlan.”

  I ended the call but kept the phone in my hand. I gave him fifteen seconds, just enough time for the baby to decide I hadn’t peed enough today.

  “What?” I answered with all the patience a woman in her third month of pregnancy who hadn’t eaten for a day with a toddler who refused to take longer than a ten-minute nap could muster. “Lachlan, they aren’t trying to stop you from having fun. They just don’t want you to crack your skull open anywhere but the football field.”

  “I know, I know!”

  He was lucky he was cute—that pesky, swat-him-on-the-forehead brother type.

  “Okay,” he said. “What about paragliding?”

  I sighed. “And how high off the ground would you be?”

  Lachlan thought for a second. “Like a hundred feet?”

  “And how high is your vertical jump?”

  “…About thirty-six inches.”

  “Okay, I’ll make this easy.” I forced a smile. “If I see you higher than thirty-six inches off the ground, I’m going to eat you. Are we clear?”

  “…Okay.”

  I sighed. “If you want something to do, why don’t you just find a nice girl to date?”

  “Damn, Piper. I’m looking for an adrenaline high, not a castration.”

  “Goodbye, Lachlan.”

  I hung up again. This time, he didn’t call back.

  Crisis averted.

  And I once thought I couldn’t be a good agent. All it took was a tough hand, a couple threats, and Rose teaching me everything I needed to know about managing temper tantrums.

  Marrying my biggest client helped too.

  Our new house in Ironfield wasn’t as big as Cole’s old castle, but I still couldn’t hear the garage when he came home. He said he liked it that way—more room, more space.

  It didn’t make much sense to me. After working-out at night, the big teddy bear spent most of his time cuddling on the couch with me and Rose.

  I didn’t mind.

  Cole dropped his duffle bag in the kitchen and pulled me close.

  “Hey, beautiful.” He kissed me, his hand pressing against my yet-flat tummy. “How’s that baby?”

  “Doing good.”

  “Did you miss me?”

  “I’m still not used to you spending all day at practice…” My eyes fluttered closed as he kissed my neck. “But I don’t mind the way you say hello when you get back.”

  “I can think of a better way.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Daddy!”

  Cole grinned. “Hold that thought.”

  He spun and knelt to catch Rose. She flew at him, but my now two-year-old toddler still hadn’t mastered her brakes. That was fine. Cole scooped her up, kissed her cheek, and earned her squeal.

  “Daddy! Here!” Rose handed him a book she’d swiped from her bedroom. “My story?”

  “But I just got home, meatball.” Cole took the book anyway. “Let’s read after dinner.”

  Rose gave him a pout—a masterful and calculated look. “No. Now.”

  “Daddy doesn’t want to read now,” I said.

  “No.” Rose slammed her little hands on her hips. “Story.”

  “She’s just like you, beautiful,” Cole sighed.

  “We just know how to play you.”

  He glanced at her. “Hugs now, story later?”

  He drove a hard bargain, but Rose couldn’t resist a hug. She giggled and regaled him with the happenings of her day.

  “A B C D E—” Rose chattered at him, twisting the alphabet into a rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star before pointing at me with a winkled nose and wicked laugh. “Lock-In! No!”

  Cole laughed. “Dealing with Lachlan again?”

  “Uh-oh!” Rose shook her head and mimicked me. “That boy.”

  “You guys got a great tight-end,” I said. “But, one day, that man is going to make some lucky woman very…dizzy.”

  Rose squirmed off of Cole. She gripped his duffle bag.

  “Mess.” She scolded him and amused herself by trying to drag it across the kitchen. When it proved too heavy for her, she surrendered to the clutter and unloaded his clothes and shoes onto the floor. “Mess mess.”

  “Never used to have so many people reprimanding me before,” Cole said.

  I welcomed him close again, loving the feel of his arms around me. “Never used to have a family before.”

  “Got two now, at home and with the team.” He kissed me, his words still possessing that feral edge. “I couldn’t live without you beautiful.”

  “You don’t have to. This is our happily ever after.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  He didn’t let me pull away. Instead, his hand rubbed my tummy.

  “I finally have you. Rose. The little one on the way. Happily ever after means this has to end.” His words warmed, and he held me closer…

  “And this is just the beginning for us.”

  The End

  Acknowledgments

  To My Readers:

  Thank you so much for taking the time to read! I’m thrilled to say that I’ll be writing two more sports romances this spring—the next one featuring Lachlan Reed and the third in the series a fun little story with Jude Owens. I hope you loved Blitz as much as I did, because I can’t wait for you to see what else I have planned for the Ironfield Rivets!

  To Kelley:

  One of these days I won’t be frantically sending you three chapter sections to beta while I scramble to finish a book at 3 AM.

  That day was not today.

  Thank you for doing everything you do to make my books a success. I <3 you.

  To Winter:

  I know I was a basket case about this book. Thank you for sticking it out with me, talking me down, plotting, and generally fielding all my toddler-related questions without thinking I was some sort of freak born without a maternal instinct—even though I totally am.

  To My Husband:

  It occurs to me that I don’t often include you in the acknowledgements of my books. Whoops. I love you anyway.

  Once Upon A Half-Time

  Once Upon A Half-Time

  Copyright © 2016 by Sosie Frost

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy
for each person you’d like to share it with. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Creations

  http://mayhemcovercreations.com/

  Photography Provided By: Furious Fotag

  http://www.onefuriousfotog.com/

  Created with Vellum

  To L.G.

  You are a wealth of inspiration…

  1

  Elle

  The idiot was about to get hit by a car.

  I could see the headline now.

  Ironfield Rivets’ Tight-End Rear-Ended By Speeding Vehicle.

  And the quote from the scene: Who needs rims when you have a fine-looking hood ornament like Lachlan ‘Charming’ Reed?

  Sure. I’d concede the gorgeous football player might have made a one-of-a-kind decoration for any rusted out Hyundai that chose to drive on the sidewalk instead of the street. But it was equally likely that his hard head would have done more damage to the car and surrounding cement.

  Lachlan neither saw nor heard the car. Then again, he chose to dance through the crosswalk separating the Ironfield Rivet’s practice facility from the parking lot. He bobbed to the beat blaring through his headphones, shimmied across the parking lot, and stopped to moonwalk over the curb.

  Even at his most reckless, Lachlan was entertaining.

  At least he’d be the sexiest roadkill in all of Ironfield.

  He gyrated onto the road—one of the busier streets in the city, the party central strip of nightclubs, restaurants, and colleges. Just stepping foot into the street tempted fate in the form of a frazzled sorority girl blowing either her boyfriend or a red light on her way to class.

  Lachlan slowed his two-step to toss his Tinkerbell backpack over his shoulder. He then cha-cha slid directly in front of the car.

  He’d owe me for this…if he even survived.

  I dropped my camera bags and burst from my hiding spot in the bushes outside the practice facility. So much for escaping the first day of training camp without anyone seeing me.