His to Seduce

by Stacey Lynn

  She reached for me. My skin burned as painted red fingertips slid down my forearm. The first touch from her in weeks, and it wasn’t nearly enough. A groan fell from my throat and I stared at her hand on my skin.

  “I loved it that you did.” My eyes snapped to hers, green eyes misty with tears, and her nose crinkled as she tried to force them back. “I needed it and didn’t realize it. God, this is hard, David. So hard for me. I hate reliving it, hate thinking about it.”

  She squeezed my arm, nails digging into skin. And yes, I liked the pain. She shushed me as my mouth fell open, but what could I say other than the words that had scared her before?

  “Evan, that’s his name. He was a bartender.”

  Click. A piece snapped into place.

  “Camden.” I lifted my hand and brushed it across her cheek. She rubbed against it. My thumb wiped away a tear. “I get it now.”

  Most of it; the rest we had time for.

  “Let me finish or I might lose my nerve.”

  “Here?” I wanted privacy. But behind me, the voices that had been whispering were now silenced. Either they’d left or were listening.

  She nodded. “He showed up at our trailer when my mom was at work. Said he loved my hair, said the way I’d smiled at him told him I wanted it.”

  Click, click, click. The remaining pieces, all of them. Her hair and her demeanor…everything fell into place perfectly, and the resulting picture was more complex than I could have imagined.

  I growled, the sound low and guttural. She placed her hand on my chest, but it didn’t soothe anything.

  “I fought him, and got free when he loosened his belt…just enough to give me time to reach the kitchen. And we fought for the knife. He was so large and strong and angry, but I was scared, and that was more powerful, I guess, because even though he got it from my hand and caught my leg and cut me deep and I screamed, somehow I ended up getting it into his stomach.”

  Too bad she didn’t kill him. Or maybe that would be worse for her, taking a life. I knew the responsibility of that weight.

  She hiccupped and I pulled her to my chest. With her cheek against it, my shirt grew wet immediately as her shoulders shook and I wrapped her in my arms.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, forcing myself to be calm and comforting when all I wanted to do was hit fist to skin. Evan’s skin.

  “I know.”

  I held her, breathed out onto the top of her head. What was left to say?

  “You pushed me past all of it.” Her voice was muffled against my chest. Still the most beautiful sound. “My hair, my lists, my fears…you pushed, but you gave me so much more. For the first time in my life, I had hope.”

  Fuck. Yes.

  She pulled back then, wiping a trail of mascara from her cheek, and sniffled. “I loved you for that.”

  “Cam—”

  She shook her head. “I love you for it.”

  My hands slid to her jaw, tilting her head back. “I love you.”

  “I know. I love you, too.”

  “God…you’re killing me.”

  “Funny.” She sniffed again, lips shaking before pulling into a smile. “I feel like you’ve brought me back to life. But I want to give you everything, everything I have and everything I think, because you’ve given that to me.”

  I couldn’t hold back. Not anymore. My lips slammed to hers in a crushing kiss and she met me, responded, and gave just as much as she took.

  “I love you,” she whispered again, against my lips, the most glorious thing I’d ever tasted. “I love you.”

  We kissed for minutes, for hours, we kissed for what felt like forever, until a throat cleared in the background.

  I pulled away from Camden and brushed more tears off her cheeks, smiling more broadly than I could remember doing.

  “You guys okay, I take it?”

  I turned to Chelsea, sliding my arm over Camden’s shoulder and pulling her against me.

  “We’re good.”

  Behind Chelsea, Aidan tipped his chin up. “Good. Then get out.”

  Camden laughed, shaking her head. “We will.” She looked up at me. “I told my mom I’d come have dinner with her tonight. Do you want to join me?”

  I’d go anywhere with her. Any time. Any place.

  This was her…giving me everything she had, and I knew what that took for her.

  I would hold it like diamonds in the palm of my hand, treasuring it forever.

  “I’d love to.”

  Epilogue

  Camden

  My tiny house was cramped. Between presents and a much-too-large Christmas tree David had insisted on, plus Grant and Lindsay and Grant Jr. and Leia and our two moms, there was hardly space to walk around without stepping on someone. Or something.

  My grin couldn’t get larger if I forced it.

  Christmas morning at our house. David had moved in a week ago and we’d barely unpacked his things, moving some of them into storage. The FOR SALE sign would go up outside my house in March.

  Then we’d find something new. Something larger.

  Something that was grand enough to house the future president of McGregor Motors.

  He’d gone back to work and was currently learning everything he needed to know from Grant.

  I’d gotten a job working in their accounting and finance department. Not by using his name…but by my own résumé and merit. Most people knew we were together, but we spent most of the day on separate floors of the building and rarely saw each other.

  His hand settled on my lower back, fingers pressed into the dip just above my backside, and my whole body fluttered. I’d spent months with him, and every morning I woke up thinking thank you and more and forever.

  How I got so lucky to find a good man like David, I didn’t know. I didn’t ask. I took my hope and clung to it in tightly made fists so I would never be afraid again. Only good things ahead.

  The best.

  His lips brushed against the top of my head and he handed me a glass of orange juice. “Merry Christmas.”

  I smiled and tilted my head up to him. “You’ve already said that today.” A thousand times. I wanted to hear it a million more times. “Think the kids are ready to open presents?”

  They’d come over early for breakfast. Lindsay had insisted we do Christmas here…our first Christmas together in our first home together. She said it was tradition and important. I learned from that first meeting not to argue with her. We were all still in pajamas because I’d insisted. If they wanted to do Christmas at our place, it would be done naturally. No makeup and dresses and fanciness, just us…messy and bedraggled and happy.

  We gorged on eggs and bacon as soon as they arrived. The smell of grease and coffee and fresh fruit brought tears to my eyes.

  I never imagined a life like this. Never imagined I could have someone like this.

  I wasn’t giving any of it back. Ever.

  My mom walked into the room, her hands now devoid of the dishrag she’d been using because she’d insisted on washing plates before everything congealed on them. Jim followed her. Wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, he was the only one who’d gotten dressed. He had a slight beer gut, a receding hairline, and crooked teeth, the bottom ones stained from years of smoking. He wasn’t attractive, but damn, he was happy and nice. He treated my mom like a queen and I loved him for it. They’d been dating for months, something my mom didn’t share with me until I’d made things right with David.

  Now they lived together, in a small townhouse not far from David’s old apartment.

  I’d wanted to burn the trailer when she moved out. She’d been responsible and sold it. Then she gave me all the proceeds, and said Jim would take care of her. Of everything.

  I donated the meager amount to a volunteer organization for survivors of sexual abuse.

  “Papa Jim! Papa Jim! What’d you git me?” Grant Jr.’s voice made everyone smile. The kid had two volumes…sleeping and shouting. And every time he called Jim “Papa,�
� my mom and I got teary-eyed. They called my mom Grandma, something that made her cry harder. If they wanted an extra grandma and grandpa, who were we to argue?

  Grant’s parents lived in Texas and they weren’t close. Papa Jim was the only grandpa the kids knew, and so far, he’d exceeded all expectations.

  “How about we dish out the presents and take turns, and then you can find out for yourself?” Jim’s voice was booming and happy. He kissed my mom on the top of her head and then guided her to a clean spot on the floor, at his feet. When she sat down in front of him, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

  Everyone needed a protector like the kind she’d found.

  As wrapping paper began flying, the kids shouted, and Lindsay and Betty tried fruitlessly to get them to use indoor voices, I turned and smiled at David through my tears. “I love you. More every day, forever.”

  “I’m so glad you said that,” he said. A small box, wrapped in red and green and topped with a gold bow, slid into his hands. I turned wide eyes to Grant, who stepped back and pulled Lindsay to her feet. “Because it means, then, that I’m pretty certain I know the answer to my question.”

  Oh God. He was doing this. With family in flannel pajamas and strips of messy paper at our feet.

  I tore off the paper, dropped the bow, and popped open the box. Who knew I was so impatient? So desperate to be his?

  “Yes,” I sobbed.

  His sure hands covered my shaking fingers. “I haven’t even asked yet.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” His gleaming smile met mine. “My answer for you is always yes.”

  His hands slid to my neck and he kissed me, long and passionately, until my body heated and Grant Jr. made a barfing sound.

  Shouts rang throughout the room and I was pulled in different directions, arms enfolding me everywhere while I laughed myself silly.

  “Wait,” I said, after Leia tossed a present to her mom. Everyone stopped and stared at me. Behind me, my mom placed a box in my hand. Larger than the one David had given me. Wrapped in matching paper. A silver bow for him. Too much tape, because I’d been shaking and trembling when I wrapped it early yesterday morning. I could have told him in private, but the entire family would know as soon as David did, anyway. He was going to be too happy to keep it to himself.

  “I have this for you.”

  His blue eyes sparkled as he laughed at me and my seriousness. “What is it?”

  “Open it and see.”

  He unwrapped the paper more slowly than I had, taking his time like it was already his favorite present. And yes, I hoped it was. It was insane. Too soon. Too crazy.

  I didn’t care. It was us.

  He flipped open the box and grinned. “Wow.” His eyes flickered to mine. “I love it.”

  He was going to love it more in a minute.

  Sliding the watch out of the case, I reached for it as he clasped it closed. The jangle of metal was my new favorite sound.

  “Read the date.” I pointed to it. It had taken me hours to set. Too many curse words.

  His brow furrowed. “August twenty-third?” He shook his head. Lindsay gasped along with my mom.

  “Eight months from now, almost.”

  “Eight months…” A head shake. Three rapid blinks as it registered with his mom. She gasped and rushed me, flinging me into her arms and away from him. His gaze danced across the room and it was almost hysterical. Confused men, crying women…it could only mean one thing.

  Click.

  “You’re…” Another head shake. More rapid blinks.

  I put him out of his misery. “I’m pregnant. Six weeks.”

  His eyes jumped open and he yanked me from his mom. Shouts echoed, vibrating in the small living room…the very room where we’d created this baby.

  “A baby.” He was still stunned.

  I smiled so wide my cheeks ached. “And a wedding.”

  His hand fell to my stomach. “It’s going to be a busy year.”

  I covered his hand with mine and squeezed. “It’s going to be a beautiful life.”

  To my husband.

  Through all the ups and downs,

  Our love story is still my favorite.

  Acknowledgments

  What an incredibly fun series this has been to write! It’s so hard to say goodbye to the Fireside Grill crew, but I hope you have loved everyone you’ve met as much as I have. To the Random House and Loveswept team, I’ve absolutely loved working with you. Your kindness and professionalism and encouragement are so appreciated. This publishing experience has been beyond my wildest dreams and I’m so thankful I’ve been able to do it with all of you.

  Thank you to every single reader who has ever given me a chance, who has sent me messages and comments and emails saying how much my words have touched you. Thank you for every review you’ve left. I’ve read them all. To all the friends I’ve met along the way, from readers and bloggers to other authors, our writing community is a wonderful place full of support and encouragement, and I adore every one of you. You’ve taught me and held my hand and boosted me up when I needed it.

  And last but not least, to my family. To my kids for not burning the house down when Mom’s hidden away and working, and my husband, who always makes me laugh and gives me hope and believes in me more than I do myself. Thank you for being my safe place, my warm place, my everything.

  BY STACEY LYNN

  Fireside

  His to Love

  His to Protect

  His to Cherish

  His to Seduce

  Just One

  Just One Song

  Just One Week

  Just One Regret

  Just One Moment

  The Nordic Lords MC

  Point of Return

  Point of Redemption

  Point of Freedom

  Point of Surrender

  Standalones

  Dirty Player

  Don’t Lie to Me

  STACEY LYNN was raised in the Midwest. Over the long, frigid winters, she would read every book she could get her hands on, from John Grisham and Danielle Steel to Ann M. Martin and C. S. Lewis. She began writing poems and short stories long before she reached high school, and now, as a wife and mother to four children, she finds solace from the craziness of her life by creating steamy, sexy stories. After publishing her first book, what began as a hobby has now turned into an unending passion.

  staceylynnbooks.com

  Facebook.com/​staceylynnbooks

  @staceylynnbooks

  Read on for an excerpt from

  Love, Always and Forever

  by Alexis Morgan

  Available from Loveswept

  Chapter 1

  Mikhail Wanjek was awake. The only question was why, when for damn sure he didn’t want to be. After two failed attempts, he finally located his cellphone on the bedside table and pried one eye open long enough to check the time.

  Ten o’clock. Really? It had been less than two hours since he’d crawled into bed after working the shift from hell. On their last call, the house had already been fully engulfed in flames by the time his crew had arrived on scene. The only positive outcome was that the family had made it out before the fire reduced their home to little more than a blackened skeleton. The stunned grief in their eyes as the hungry flames destroyed everything they owned would haunt him for days to come. Just one more nightmare in his already extensive collection.

  When he’d finally dragged himself home, he’d been too tired to do more than strip naked and fall facedown on the mattress. Sleep had overtaken him seconds after his head hit the pillow. No way he should be conscious yet.

  After tossing the phone on the table, he burrowed back under the covers. But before he could dive deep into blessed oblivion, the same racket that had jarred him awake in the first place started up again, this time with a vengeance. Okay, he was going to kill somebody just as soon as he figured out who was responsible.

  Well, not really, even if the idea was really te
mpting.

  He rolled over to the other side of the bed and lifted the blinds just far enough to peek out the window. The small slice of sunshine stabbed his eyes like a jagged knife, which set off a throbbing pain in his head and added to his anger.

  Exactly as he’d feared, someone was standing just out of sight on the far side of the porch. He couldn’t see who it was, but Mikhail wanted nothing more than to ignore his uninvited guest and stay right where he was. Unfortunately, the intruder had other ideas. This time the chime of the doorbell was followed by the sound of a fist knocking on the door.

  Mikhail surrendered to the inevitable and crawled out of bed. Pausing only long enough to yank on yesterday’s jeans, he stumbled down the hall toward the front door. His two brothers were the only people who ever dropped by without calling first, but they both knew he’d pulled a long shift at the fire department and would be sleeping. If they had decided to bother him anyway, he would take great pleasure in kicking their inconsiderate asses for them.

  Even half-dead and this damn tired, he could still lay them out flat. They knew it, too.

  The doorbell chimed again just as Mikhail unfastened the dead bolt. He yanked the door open, already rehearsing the stream of curse words he planned to unleash on his favorite relatives. Except that it wasn’t Jack or Tino standing on his front porch. Instead, it was a leggy brunette he knew for damn sure he’d never seen before. Despite the fatigue fogging up his head, he was sure that much was true. He wouldn’t have forgotten a face like that.

  At least he managed to cut off the obscenity that had been his planned greeting and substitute a mumbled, “What?”

  Judging from the way the woman retreated half a step, the single word had come out a lot more unfriendly than he’d intended. Before he could fall back and regroup, the woman started talking a mile a minute.