He was breathing heavy from their kisses when he turned to her. “What’s happening, Stephanie?”
She looked at the luggage, glanced around the room, then thought of his suitcases downstairs in the foyer. And laughed. This was going to make a great story.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned into him and rather enjoyed the feeling of his unsurprising erection pressing into her stomach.
“I’m selling this place. Just put it on the market last week. I thought when you rang the bell that you were a potential buyer.”
“You’re selling? Why?”
His confusion was adorable.
“Because I realized I didn’t want to live this life anymore.”
He looked at her with hopeful eyes although he paled just a little. Calder had put it all on the line by coming here unexpectedly and simply stating he didn’t want to be without her. Until he’d said the words, she hadn’t dared hope.
But in her secret woman’s heart—this was what she needed. For him to realize she was the one. The one that he’d give up everything for. Finding him on her doorstep had been the ultimate romantic gesture.
She’d desperately wanted him to come for her. Just claim her and be done with it. But when that didn’t happen right away, she began to see that maybe she should make the first move. It was a huge concession on her part, but the truth she’d finally come to see was that he meant enough to her to throw caution to the wind and let her heart lead the way. It just didn’t get any better than this. Especially not after what she said next.
“I was coming to you, Calder. That’s what the suitcases are about. I even have a plane ticket. One-way.”
He looked stunned. She went for the gold next.
“I’m falling in love with you, Moondoggie.”
He didn’t say anything, but his arms tightened around her.
“I hope that doesn’t freak you out,” she hurried to reassure him.
“Does Victoria know what you’re up to?”
Seemed like an odd question at a time like this but she answered truthfully.
“No. No, she doesn’t. Yes, I want to be near my grandson, but me going back to Arizona wasn’t about that. It was about you. And me. Us. I made my decision based on that. So, no—I haven’t told her anything.”
He must have liked her answer because he lit up from the inside and smiled. “You are a piece of work, Duchess, and for the record, I’m not falling in love with you.”
What the fuck did he just say? Had she read this all wrong?
His grin made her quiver. “Can’t fall for someone you’re already completely, hopelessly, totally in love with.”
Hehehe. Fucker. She was going to make him pay for that five seconds of panic.
She kissed him for all she was worth. And then some, while he slowly, reverently stripped her bare. When they were both naked, he picked her up like a warrior of old, claiming his battle prize and tossed her on the bed with a loud grunt. Stephanie squealed like a schoolgirl as she hit the mattress with a resounding thud.
As he started to climb on the bed with a lascivious smirk on his face, he told her, “You know I’m going to make you marry me, right?”
She laughed and held out her arms in invitation.
“Don’t remember being asked,” she quipped.
That was the last thing either one of them said for a very long time.
BONUS MATERIAL
Trotting along the path between the kennel and the barn, Zeus kept an eye out for the yellow puppy, detouring at the last second in the direction of the big building where all the food was. Something smelled awfully good and unless she was mistaken, the cookie lady would be there. Good chance that was where she’d find the puppy.
The closer she got, the better the smells became and just like she figured, there was her new companion rolling around on the small patch of grass by the door. Running over, she playfully pushed the puppy with her big paw, and then licked the other dog’s head.
Pup had a name. Everyone did. Even the horses in the stable had names but Zeus preferred calling everyone by other things. She didn’t know why the name Raven made the humans laugh when the baby dog with the yellow fur came on the scene, but since the laughter was a happy sound, she didn’t let it bother her. Besides, she’d come to like the goofy little dog who was getting bigger and bigger every day.
Zeus knew that Pup missed her humans but she was too active for the tiny lady with the big tummy who was Pup’s Mom. Stupid Pup ran circles around her feet and never sat still. Pup’s Dad, Zeus called him Wood because he always smelled like the trees outside the house, tried walking Pup every day but he didn’t understand that little dogs just had too much energy – no matter what.
The sweet lady with the soft voice who lived with the dark-haired man had a big tummy for a while, too. One day she went away but when she came back the tummy was gone and she carried a tiny human wrapped in a soft blanket. Dark-haired man started smiling even more after that. Zeus liked the small human – even when it howled and cried. She liked to look at it and keep guard nearby. Seemed like the thing to do.
Because she didn’t go home most days until it got dark, Pup got to hang out with Boots and his crew. Boots was what she called the guy in charge. Dad called him Brody, but he always wore dark boots that smelled like the saddles in the barn so that was how she thought of him. And he was great with all the dogs. He even let Pup sleep in his room so she wasn’t lonely on the nights she didn’t go home.
A while back, a shepherd with a bad temper tried to get territorial with Zeus. She hadn’t liked any of the shepherds since. They were a mean bunch with bad manners. This was her home, after all – the other dogs, except for Pup, stayed for a while then left with humans who Boots said were okay. When the shepherd stalked and growled at her, Zeus had gone for the mean shepherd’s throat. Next thing she knew a group of dogs circled round the fight – some snarling like they wanted to get in on it. Boots got really, really mad. He yelled and threw a fit. Nobody crossed her after that because Boots made it clear who was in charge. Her.
All of a sudden, the cookie lady came bustling out the door and dropped a big dish of biscuits in front of them. That was what she liked about her. Whenever Zeus got a chance and came by the food place, the cookie lady had a treat ready. And she always had fresh water in a big bowl by the door.
They made fast work of the biscuits, and then lapped up some water, wagging their doggie tails with appreciation. Flopping onto the warm ground, she stretched out and watched the world go by while Pup, who hadn’t learned yet to relax and sit still, jumped around. After a bit, the door opened again and the lady dropped something into the water bowl. Zeus got up, stuck her nose in the water, and found one of the cold crunchy things she loved so much. Pup tried to get there first, but she nosed her away. No. The crunchy cold things were hers. Gobbling it into her mouth, she stood there and chewed until the cold treat became mush and she swallowed it down.
Laughing, the human said something about how funny Zeus was. Pup, of course, kept jumping around, which got a chuckle from the lady. “Where you two headed?” the human asked. Zeus’s tailed thumped on the ground, her tongue lolling from her mouth as she got a good head scratch. “Someone just had a bath,” the cookie lady said. “Well, go on then,” the human laughed, “but don’t get dirty.”
Nosing Pup, she darted off toward home. They ran along the path, stopping to wrestle and roll around on the ground. It was good to have a friend.
For fun, she crouched down low on her front legs, paws digging into the dirt and playfully growled at Pup. When the smaller dog jumped and ran at her, she barked quickly and swatted her with a paw, knocking Pup onto her back. Then she took off running at a fast clip, looking back from time to time making sure Pup was close behind. The stupid little dog sometimes wandered into the brush where it was too easy to be surprised by crawly things that slithered on their bellies or those bigger animals, the ones that kept far away from the house but somet
imes strayed nearby.
Rounding toward the big house, Zeus barked for Pup and bounded to the back where the man with keys man would be. This human was called Ben, and he lived with the cookie lady. Sometimes he drove the noisy cars and when he wasn’t doing that, he took care of the huge garden. He had a big ring of keys that hung off his belt. She liked this human, too, mostly because he made a big fuss over Pup.
“Hey gals,” he called when they ran to him. Pup got a little excited and started running around the key man, making circles and barking madly. Stupid Pup. Zeus sat, her tongue hanging out, and just watched. The puppy was exhausting sometimes.
There was something in the air. What was that? Putting her nose straight up, she sniffed, looked around then sniffed again. Dad! Barking with joy she took off running toward the house. Dad! And Mom, too!
Yep. There they were. Zeus exploded with joy. Running straight to them, she stood on her hind legs, put her paws on Dad’s belly and barked happily. He leaned down and grabbed her face, scratching behind her ears. “Hiya girl!” She licked his face excitedly. He tasted a little like Mom, which meant they must have been pressing their mouths together again. They did that a lot.
“Mmmm,” he laughed while continuing to scratch. “Mommy gave you a bath, didn’t she, girl?”
She looked at Mom and woofed. The pretty lady who smelled so good and had long hair was smiling at her. Dad was happy now that the lady lived in his room. And even though sometimes they made her go downstairs, Zeus still slept in her special bed most nights.
Abandoning Dad, she jumped on Mom next, licking her face in thanks for the bath. The lady laughed and hugged her, pressing kisses on her head.
The key man came along with Pup, whose tail was wagging so hard so her butt was shaking. Pup liked Mom, too. Everyone did. Maybe because she made Dad smile a lot.
It made Zeus happy that Mom didn’t immediately grab hold of Pup but kept on stroking her head lovingly. Her humans were the best. She looked up and blinked. Mom must have known what she was trying to tell her cause she bent over and let Zeus lick all over her face.
She heard Dad say, “Tori misses Raven. Maybe we should take her by the house while Drae’s gone so she can keep her company.”
Uh oh. Pup’s human Mom got sad whenever the wood man went away. Maybe her big tummy had something to do with that. Yipping a couple of short woof’s at Pup, the little dog sat and got still. Listening. Hopefully she understood what Zeus was saying. Be good. Your humans need you. Guard your Mom and don’t poop in the house.
Mom patted her leg and asked Zeus to follow as she headed toward the cars with Pup close behind. Dad called out, “You girls be good!” Oh boy. They were going for a ride!
The End ~For now!
A year ago, I had this awesome idea that I would one day write a book.
Five books later, there are a couple of people and situations that need acknowledging!
Five books? There wouldn’t even have been ONE without the support and encouragement of
Ella Fox – She-Who-Does-Everything
Jenny Sims – Editor as in BEST DAMN EVER
Ashley Bauman – Cover Designer
Stacey Blake – Formatter
Shauna Miller – Director of Troublemaking
Suzanne Halliday writes what she knows and what she loves – sexy adult contemporary romance with strong men and spirited women. Her love of creating short stories for friends and family has developed into a passion for writing romantic fiction with a sensual edge. She finds the world of digital, self-publishing to be the perfect platform for sharing her stories and also for what she enjoys most of all – reading. When she’s not on a deadline you’ll find her loading up on books to devour.
Currently a wanderer, she and her family divide their time between the east and west coast, somehow always managing to get the seasons mixed up. When not digging out from snow or trying to stay cool in the desert, you can find her in the kitchen, 80’s hair band music playing in the background, kids running in and out, laptop on with way too many screens open, something awesome in the oven, and a mug of hot tea clutched in one hand.
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Always (Family Justice Book 1) Page 50
