Finding Hope

by Krystal Shannan

“Addi, she was going stir crazy.”

  “No.”

  ***

  The door slammed behind her, rattling the walls of the house. He and Roger stared at each other for a moment before the older man grunted and followed her out. The door clicked shut, and Adrian was left alone.

  He sipped his hot chocolate in silence.

  Fucking mess you’ve made. She thinks you’re here to find out if she’s pregnant. Way to go, Colter.

  ’Course, he couldn’t think of many guys who would fly across the country and spend three weeks with a girl they’d met at a wedding, and who’d just lost her grandfather. But then again, he couldn’t think of many guys who would do that to find out if a girl was pregnant either…

  Something wasn’t working quite right in his head. Apparently, it wasn’t working for a lot of people. News stories had been popping up on his phone all day. Media was calling it “impulse crime week” –everywhere. The rise in crime wasn’t isolated to Nashville, Tennessee, or even the US.

  On the up side, he had been calmer and more focused since arriving in Montana and seeing Addison. The anxiety-driven impulse urges he had struggled with the past few days in Nashville had vanished. Her presence seemed to have simply soothed them away. He couldn’t think of any other explanation. But, what was the solution for the other millions of people having trouble with their emotions?

  He washed out their mugs in the sink and set them on the drying rack before grabbing his coat from the hook by the door. With a silent prayer, he opened and stepped through the front door onto the porch. An icy sting nipped at his face. It had been a God-awful storm. The blizzard in Tennessee hadn’t even been this bad. He said another quick prayer, grateful it wasn’t snowing at the moment. The sky was clear except for the occasional puffs of snow thrown about by the gusting wind. Lanterns lit the walkway between the main house and the large barn.

  He hurried along the walk and ducked inside the barn. Addison’s voice echoed through the building, and he could tell she wasn’t any happier now than she’d been when Roger had announced the mishap with the horse named Lily.

  “What the hell, Carl? Were you trying to kill yourself or Lily? Huh? Which was it?” Addison screeched. “Hey, sweetie. It’s okay. I’m going to make you all better.” Her tone flipped a one-eighty.

  She was still crooning to the horse when he approached the stall. A big, burly redheaded man, easily six-foot-eight, gave him a leery glance.

  “Don’t let me ever catch you riding my horse again, Carl Parkins,” she hissed over her shoulder.

  “Roger said—”

  “My horse, Carl. My. Horse.” She straightened, turning away from the ranch hand. Her eyebrows rose when her gaze met his. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Adrian murmured back. “Is she going to be all right?”

  A quick nod was all the answer he got before she knelt back beside the horse’s front right leg to finish wrapping it.

  “You should be more concerned about how you are going to keep making payroll with your cattle disappearing from under your nose,” Carl growled, leaning over the stall door. Adrian whirled to face the jackass ranch hand. He was going to give him a piece of his mind and maybe a little of his fist, but Addison beat him to the punch.

  A flash of blond jumped between him and the other man. She ducked under the stall bar and jabbed Carl in the chest with her forefinger. “Get out of my barn,” she snarled. “You think because my grandfather is dead I suddenly don’t know how things should be run? Fuck you! I’ve been running this ranch with him successfully for the past five years.”

  “You can’t afford to fire me.”

  “Get your crap out of the tack room and get off the property. Now.”

  “You’ll be sorry.”

  Adrian took a step closer, muscles tensed and ready to respond should the jerk decide to press the issue further.

  Movement to his left caught his eye. Roger stepped out of a nearby stall and folded his arms over his chest.

  Carl huffed and stomped away from Addison. Tension kept her standing stiffly until Carl had closed the barn door behind him.

  He reached forward to touch her shoulder, surprised when it startled her.

  “Sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Her shoulders slumped down with a long sigh. “He’s right you know. I couldn’t afford to fire him.” Tears were welling in her eyes. If only he could take away all her problems. Instead, she probably thought he was one of them.

  He held out his arms, taking a chance that she would accept the comfort of an embrace. The risk was rewarded. She stepped into his arms and snuggled against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. He caught Roger’s gaze again and smiled when the older man nodded before disappearing back into a stall.

  Adrian kissed the top of her head and inhaled her rich, citrusy scent. He loved her.

  God! I love her!

  What was he supposed to do with that?

  He could decide later. Right now he just wanted to relish the feel of a beautiful, soft woman in his arms.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The funeral had been beautiful. Her grandfather had everything planned down to the last song to be played as they carried him out of the small-town chapel —“Don’t Blink” by Kenny Chesney. She’d bawled through the whole song. Without Adrian to hold her upright, she probably wouldn’t have made it through the burial either. When she’d let that handful of soil seep through her fingers onto her grandfather’s casket, the emptiness in her heart had threatened to suffocate her.

  She scrubbed the kitchen counter, cleaning away the crumbs left from the houseful of people who had invaded the ranch to pay their respects, offer condolences, and eat. The Connellys had lived in Wolfe Point for generations. The ranch had passed from eldest son to eldest son since the late eighteen hundreds. Everyone cared deeply for her grandfather, but mostly everyone wanted to know if she would stay.

  Addison Erin Connelly held the fate of the family legacy in her hands. The few far removed cousins living around the country would sell the ranch in a heartbeat. None of them had even bothered to show up for Gramps’s funeral. One had emailed to ask if he was in the will…Greedy asshole.

  The crash of a breaking dish startled her out of her daze. She yelped and jumped away from the broken glass and smatterings of macaroni and cheese. More tears trailed down her face, and she cursed her clumsiness. She’d leaned down to pick up a large piece of glass when heavy footsteps approached from behind.

  “Addison.” Adrian’s voice flowed over her tense body like a soothing balm. “Sweetheart, go lie down. I’ll get this.”

  She nodded and wiped the tears from her face. The way he called her sweetheart comforted the ache in her soul she kept so well guarded. Hope that he really cared about her had started to take root the second he’d walked through the kitchen door. It was probably stupid, but she couldn’t help it. She left the kitchen and walked down the hall to her bedroom.

  A quick shove closed her bedroom door behind her. She pulled her gray sweater dress over her head and tossed it into the high-back chair next to the window. After shimmying out of the black leggings and furry boots, she climbed into her bed in just her bra and panties. The flannel sheets were soft, warm, and inviting, but all she could think about was the comforting feeling of Adrian’s arms wrapped around her.

  Clanking and scraping echoed from the kitchen. It would take him a while. The macaroni salad had gone everywhere when the dish hit the hardwood floor. She had even seen flecks of it on the leggings she had peeled off.

  She stared at the beams in the ceiling and listened to Adrian. His boots thumped on the hardwood, making her smile. He didn’t give himself enough credit. She was lucky to have spent a few days with him at Missy’s wedding. Even if he was only here to see if she was pregnant, at least he cared enough about a possible baby to fly halfway across the country and spend three weeks with someone he barely knew. He said he would have come regardless, but she had a hard
time feeling worth that kind of effort.

  Billy, her ex from hell, had mentioned on more than one occasion that she was not a great partner in bed and was lucky to have him. She’d believed him and listened to his abusive crap for three years. Even though she knew now he had been verbally abusive, something she’d never shared with Gramps, listening to that horseshit for so long had taken its toll. It had taken all her strength to break away from the hold he’d had over her.

  After spending those three glorious days in bed with Adrian, a small spark of hope had been lit. He’d opened doors to her sexuality that she didn’t even know could open. Sex had been fun. Hell, sex had been fantastic!

  The bedroom door creaked open. She looked up, meeting Adrian’s gaze. Raw male desire oozed from him. Disappearing into his arms and losing herself for a while sounded pretty good. She tossed off the sheet, scooted toward the center of the bed, and patted the mattress.

  His eyes crinkled from the small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You sure?”

  “Yes.” She’d never been more sure of anything. All she wanted was to feel his strong arms wrapped around her.

  He locked the door and walked to the duffel bag he’d stowed in the corner of her room. They hadn’t slept together last night, but he had refused to leave her alone and had spent the evening in the chair across the room from her bed. So all his things were cohabitating with hers in the bathroom and bedroom.

  Jeans slid to the floor with a thunk, and he was in bed next to her in seconds. Warm, naked, and pine fresh. Whatever his cologne or soap was, she loved it. Addison ran her hands along his shoulders and down his muscled arms.

  Adrian rolled to her side and trailed kisses along her neck and down across her collarbone. Shivers of excitement coursed along her skin and awakened an ache she hadn’t felt since she left Tennessee. He leaned over her and nuzzled her nipples through the lace of her bra, nipping just a little with his teeth. She gasped and arched her body into his.

  He pushed her back down and proceeded to trail even more kisses along her breasts, torso, and arms. The slow, methodical movements were heightening her arousal and her frustration.

  “Adrian.”

  “Shhhh. You need this, sweetheart. Just relax.”

  She settled her head back into the pillow and sighed. It did feel extraordinary.

  He started to massage her hand while he kissed along the inside of her arm. Addison closed her eyes and moaned. Her panties were already soaked, and even she could smell her arousal. Surely he can tell. She lifted her hips toward him and was met by a firm palm to her stomach that pushed her back flat on the bed.

  The click of her bra clasp snapped her back to attention. He’d unhooked the front clip and was slowly releasing her breasts from dark lace. She slipped her arms through the straps to aid his removal and smiled when he tossed it carelessly over his shoulder.

  Both of his hands were on her breasts, gently kneading. His attentions soon had both throbbing and the nipples hard as rocks.

  “So beautiful.”

  His pleased rumble washed over her like a caress. He leaned over her again and began sucking on her tender nipples. Addison gasped and tried to wrap her arms around his neck, but he caught her wrists and held them up above her head. She growled in frustration until he nipped at her breast.

  “I told you to relax.”

  “I can’t anymore. My whole body is on fire. I need you inside me now.”

  The rumblings of a chuckle vibrated from his chest.

  “I can’t say no to a plea like that, now can I?”

  “Noooo,” she moaned.

  He hooked his fingers under the waistband of her panties and yanked them down and off. The crinkle of foil next to her head was followed by the distinct sound of a condom being unrolled. He nudged between her legs and settled into the cradle of her hips. The tip of his erection teased her entrance for a few seconds before he slid inside, completely filling her. She moaned her appreciation before he leaned in and captured her mouth with his.

  Their tongues danced and sparred in rhythm with his thrusts. He slowed and sped up, driving her absolutely mad. Every time he slowed back down, her building orgasm would sink back. Then he would speed up until she was burning with anticipation, only to back off again, denying her the release they both desperately wanted.

  “Adrian, please!” She gasped between pants. He reached between them and pressed down hard on her mound. She shattered instantly. Every muscle contracted as the pleasure flowed from her center out to the very tips of her toes. She clung to him as if she would come apart if she let go. Her fingers clenched at his sculpted shoulders, and she cried his name into his chest.

  He came with a groan, driving deep against her womb. He completed her. There was no getting around the feeling she had when he was with her. She needed him like a human needed water to survive. What the hell was she going to do when he up and left in three weeks? This man affected her so strongly it scared her. Her doubts came crashing down, drowning out the pleasure she had just found in his arms.

  “You’re thinking…too much,” he muttered against her breast.

  He rolled to the side and stretched out next to her. She sighed as he ran his knuckles across her cheek, down her collarbone, between her breasts, and continued trailing toward her mound. It tickled a lot. Not being able to stand it any longer, she swatted his hand before it could reach its destination.

  “How do you know?”

  “Your body stiffened,” he answered before leaning over and swiping his tongue across her closest nipple.

  She shivered.

  “Addison—”

  “Why do you call me Addison when everyone else calls me Addi?”

  “Addi sounds like a sweet little girl with ringlets. You are a gorgeous, sexy woman who deserves a full-grown name.”

  Her cheeks heated at the compliment. Every other part of her body was still pretty warm too.

  “Would you rather I called you Addi?” He quirked an eyebrow.

  “No,” she answered, shaking her head. “I like it. It’s nice.”

  ***

  “Any change?” Artemis asked, materializing next to Aphrodite’s bed.

  Ares grimaced. The pain in his chest had gotten worse. He could only imagine the agony Aphrodite was experiencing.

  “The relief she got from the pool was short-lived. The pain grows worse again.”

  “Her essence is thin.” Artemis pointed at the nearly transparent white wisps hovering near Aphrodite.

  Ares nodded. Most of her essence had left hours ago. She was barely hanging on. Whoever had taken the soul had not drained it completely, and it left Aphrodite in a sickly state. If the soul had died already, the connection would have snapped and she would have recovered consciousness. But, until they either found the soul and returned it to the pool or it was drained completely and died, she would remain vulnerable. And so would the pool.

  “I’ve put up wards, and the warriors you left behind are patrolling the grounds, but I can’t keep out the gods above me. I could try and hide her on the human realm, but we need to stay close to the pool too.”

  “Zeus is helping Hera, and it’s making her hard to track. I’m sure he’s told her by now that Aphrodite is weak.”

  Ares sighed and rubbed the pain in his chest.

  What were they trying to accomplish? Destroying the world?

  A whimper from the bed turned his attention back to Aphrodite. She thrashed a little, calming only when he began stroking her cheek —soft, creamy, and a little on the pale side right now.

  Dionysus phased into the bedroom. Ares met his solemn glance. It couldn’t be good news. Gods! Why couldn’t they just find his bitch of a mother?

  “It’s getting bad down there. People are acting like children, and let me just say, temper tantrums thrown by thirty-year-olds do not mix well with automatic weapons.” Dionysus sank into a chair across the room. “Riots and domestic fights are through the roof in large communities. I
n smaller towns…not so much. It seems the less people crowded together, the less crazy comes out to show its ugly head. Plus, percentage-wise, there are more married people in small communities, and the happily paired up are the only ones still acting semi-normal.”

  “We have to find that diamond!” Ares roared and stood from his seat on the edge of Aphrodite’s oversized white canopy bed. “The whole mortal realm is in danger because my parents are greedy, self-serving assholes.”

  “What’s new?” Artemis snorted. “I can call in some favors, but it means letting more people into the know on her condition.”

  “Like who?”

  “I was considering the forest nymphs.”

  “Good thought, they always know everything,” Dionysus piped up.

  Ares shook his head. The forest nymphs were the supernatural equivalent of the human realm’s most notorious gossip rags.

  “Those pixies can’t keep a secret from anyone. I don’t like it,” he growled.

  “Ares! We have to try something.” Artemis threw up her hands.

  He could see lines of frustration etched on her face. She was trying so hard. They both were, but with both Zeus and Hera against them, it was difficult.

  “We track them to the end of a scent trail, and then it just vanishes.”

  “Go to the nymphs, but try not to tell them anything is wrong.”

  Artemis nodded. She flipped her long platinum ponytail over her shoulder and phased from the room with Dionysus in tow.

  Ares stared at his reflection in the polished white marble floor beneath him. He could see pain reflected in his eyes. He had not been able to calm himself, and they continued to glow bright with his red essence. His temper would not get the better of him this time. Aphrodite was counting on him to make this right. He was not going to fail her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Bye, Roger.” Addison waved to her foreman before she climbed into the passenger seat of her gramps’s big red pickup. Adrian turned the key, and the big diesel engine roared to life. Roger waved from the door of the barn. She slammed the door closed, and they jolted forward.