Sweetest Obsessions - Anthology

by Anthony, Jane

  He lifted his hand and rested it against her hip as his other hand cupped her cheek. “Will you do me the greatest honor of my life and marry me?” he asked as he watched her face go soft and felt his belly flip.

  She covered his hand with hers. “I would love nothing more.”

  Dipping his head, he kissed her then and it was soft and sweet and so full of love and promise. He heard the clearing of throats and pulled himself back before touching his nose to hers. “Let’s do this, Syd.”

  Hand in hand they turned to the officiant and officially became husband and wife.

  * * *

  Five Years Later

  The call came in the middle of the night, waking her from a dead sleep. She moved to grab the phone and saw the text come through. Stepping out of bed silently, she yelped when a hand snaked around her waist and pulled her back into a hard, warm chest.

  “Is it time?” Kingsley’s voice was deep and gruff from sleep. The sound always made her want to crawl back into bed and run her hands all over his body.

  “Yes, honey, it is. The puppies are coming,” she replied, knowing she was needed elsewhere and crawling back into bed with Kingsley would have to wait.

  “Want me to come with you?” he mumbled sleepily, his dark eyes on her.

  “No, go back to sleep. Jamie can go to your mom’s in the morning.” She knew their son loved spending time with his grandmother.

  “I’ll bring him to the office with me, he’ll want to see you anyway.”

  Sydney grinned. Their son was the image of Kingsley. Dark hair, dark eyes, relaxed nature, but to her delight he was a complete mama’s boy. He loved his father too, but she was his world, and he was hers.

  She had worried when she fell pregnant she wouldn’t have enough love to go around. She adored Kingsley, and they were so good together, barely fighting, and even when they did, the making up was something else. But what she felt for Jamie was on another level. It couldn’t be explained, and it only made her love Kingsley more for giving her all that joy in her life.

  “Are you sure?” she asked bringing herself back to the present.

  “Yeah. Hopefully he won’t want to bring another one home.”

  She laughed at that as she kissed his shoulder and moved from the bed, almost tripping over Kimba who was asleep beside the bed. “Sorry, girl,” she said patting the beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback dog on the head.

  Kimba was their first dog and had come from the litter she had seen with Caitlin when she was going through everything with her uncle. They also, thanks to Jamie, had Benny and Coco. Benny was a one-year-old German Shepherd, and Coco was an Australian Shepherd. They lived downstairs though, in the mudroom.

  Sydney quickly got dressed and moved to kiss Kingsley. It was meant to be a quick kiss on the cheek, but he grabbed her and flipped her, so she was on the bed with his body over hers. She laughed low as she faced him, her hands resting on his chest.

  “I want a proper kiss,” he growled, and she wondered if she would ever get sick of the sound of him wanting her.

  “Yes, sir,” she murmured and lifted her head as his lips took hers in a firm, demanding but sweet kiss that had her rubbing her thighs together to ease the pressure in her pussy.

  He pulled away and grinned a knowing smile. “Hold that thought, baby. I booked us a night away tonight. Mom is having Jamie for the night, and Caitlin is watching the dogs. I’m going to worship this sexy body.” He ran a hand down her softly rounded stomach despite the fact she was four months pregnant. His mom had moved to Miami not long after Jamie was born, wanting to be close to her family and they had been thrilled.

  Sydney shivered at the thought, and her heart flipped. She had once thought her life was over. Empty and devoid of affection, she now had more love than she’d ever imagined and her heart it just kept growing to accommodate it. She ran her hand along his stubbly cheek. “I love you so much, Kingsley.”

  His eyes went soft, and he dipped his head. “I love you more than you’ll ever know,” he replied.

  But she did know because he showed her every day.

  The End

  Want to read how the Alliance Agency began?

  Check out book one ‘Deadly Alliance’ now.

  https://www.maddiewadeauthor.co.uk/page/alliance-agency

  About the Authors

  Maddie Wade

  Maddie Wade is a married mum of three children. She was born and raised in Hereford. Maddie loves to spend time with her family and friends, eating out, going to the cinema and generally just enjoying life. She is an avid reader and is never found without her kindle, or smartphone. Maddie is a huge advocate of all things martial arts and got her black belt at age 14 years. She has also studied Jujitsu and has encouraged her children to do the same.

  http://www.maddiewadeauthor.co.uk/

  India Kells

  India Kells is a romantic suspense and paranormal romance author from Montreal, Canada. Her idea of heaven is cozying up on her sofa during cold winter nights, reading lots and lots of books. Inside her wild imagination, she weaves stories filled with the adventures of kickass women and courageous alpha men. When India’s not writing about sexy thieves, dashing soldiers and cunning villains, she’s traveling the world to find inspiration for her next stories. Human nature is her greatest muse!

  Heartbreaker

  Kate Kisset

  Heartbreaker ©2019 Kate Kisset

  * * *

  Copyright notice: All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Created with Vellum

  Heartbreaker

  She just scored the story of a lifetime, but she’ll have to spend the night with a dirty talkin’ cowboy to get it.

  * * *

  When music journalist Georgia Monroe scores a once in a lifetime interview, she takes the first available flight out of New York straight to Lonesome, Montana. About to be fired and desperate, a one on one with country music's rising star Boone Beckett, will put her career back on track.

  * * *

  Her plans unravel when she takes a detour on a country road, and the wrong Beckett brother finds her and holds her up at gunpoint.

  * * *

  Bad boy Harlan Beckett, despises reporters. Famous for singing dirty lyrics and the break out hit, “Heartbreak Kid,” he’s been out of the limelight thanks to a story the press got all wrong.

  * * *

  Besides Harlan, everyone else in the small town seems to be wearing a perpetual grin. Why is everyone so happy in place named Lonesome?

  Georgia’s about to find out.

  * * *

  Her story changes when she’s coerced into staying at Harlan's Ranch and

  Discovers what Harlan’s been hiding. Along the way, she unearths the shocking secret of Lonesome.

  1

  Every person has their breaking point, and for Georgia Monroe the unraveling began forty-seven minutes ago, when it dawned on her she might not find a bathroom on this desolate, two-lane Montana highway. Downing that thirty-two-ounce blue raspberry Slurpee, no matter how delicious, was a bad move.

  She squirmed in her rental’s driver’s seat, hearing the faux leather squeak for the gazillionth time. Keeping her thighs and knees together as best she coul
d, she pressed harder on the gas pedal and white-knuckled the steering wheel.

  Maybe she could hold on until she found a rest stop? Leaning over the wheel to see around the car’s blind spots, she swept her eyes left and right over the cow-dotted fields, desperately searching for a hint of civilization, but to no avail. Sighing, she loosened her grip on the wheel, sank deeper into the beige seat, and stole a glance at the Slurpee container in the holder.

  No way was she going to use that. And she didn’t have time to waste agonizing over trying to find a bathroom. Georgia had enough problems.

  Her magazine was losing money and cutting back on staff. They fired the editor who hired her, then brought in someone cheaper to take her place. Georgia guessed her new boss wanted to bring in his own people because he was gunning for her, purposely making her job a nightmare by nitpicking over every paragraph she turned, in down to the commas.

  He outright hated her last article, but, “out of the kindness of his heart,” would give her one more chance to save her job. If she didn’t deliver an in-depth interview with Boone Beckett, one written to her editor’s satisfaction, she’d be fired.

  Harlan, Boone’s older brother, famous for dirty lyrics and the ability to strip women of their panties through eye contact alone, was already a household name, with his career up in flames due to a scandal. Georgia would be lying if she didn’t admit she loved his music—but Harlan’s personality? Never.

  An interview with his younger brother, though, would tip the scales in Georgia’s favor. Boone’s debut “Someone Like Me” was already in the top twenty on Billboard and climbing. And she and Boone had spent the past six months arranging this interview. She wasn’t about to get sidetracked now.

  Infuriated with herself for not realizing there wouldn’t be rest stops along this godforsaken highway through the boonies, Georgia hung a left onto a bumpy, unpaved road bordered by white three-rail fencing. According to her GPS, she was close to the Beckett brothers’ massive spread, if not on it. Why hadn’t she seen a ranch or any houses?

  Afraid she’d wet her pants every time the car jarred over a pothole, she kept her thighs clenched together until she stopped the car next to a plant with dense enough foliage to give her cover from the road. She hadn’t come across another living soul besides cows for over an hour, but wasn’t about to do the deed in the open.

  She grabbed her phone in case Boone tried to reach her, snatched a few napkins off the passenger seat next to the family-sized bag of chips she’d half eaten, and carefully heaved herself out of the Toyota. She slammed the door behind her, listening to the sound echo over the golden fields while she rushed, knees together, hobbling in heels, to the sheltered area behind the shrubbery.

  Ah…finally. Georgia scooted closer to the plant, appreciating the smidgeon of shade it provided. She checked the pastures around her one more time. Positive there were no lookie-loos, she pulled her jeans and panties down. Then squatted as low as possible in her heels, shifted her bare bottom and lady parts as far away from her jeans and shoes as possible, and let go…and go. And go.

  “Don’t even think about trying anything,” a deep, menacing voice called out from the area near her car.

  Georgia froze, hearing her last few dribbles hit the dirt. Was he talking to her? She tossed her cell phone aside, quickly wiping herself with the napkins. She felt bad about littering, but stashed the napkins at the base of the plant and pulled her pants up. She grabbed her phone and straightened.

  “Hands up in the air!” The man sounded pissed this time. Why was he yelling?

  “Um, are you talking to me?” She asked timidly, afraid to take a step. Georgia got up on tiptoe and peeked over the branches. “Shit!” she gasped, and lost her footing when she saw the handgun.

  She threw out her hand to catch her balance and accidentally tossed her phone in the process, deep into the middle of the mass of thick, leafy branches. The device ricocheted against a few boughs, whooshed past a few more and then—nothing. If it hit the ground, it didn’t make a sound.

  Harlan Beckett adjusted his aim at the center of her body.

  A tight black T-shirt hugged his biceps, and his worn jeans clung in all the right places, right down to his boots. Scanning up over what were clearly rock-sold abs hiding under the fabric, to his massive shoulders, chiseled jaw, and dark blue eyes, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

  Trying to think, she focused on his right hand. Another sharp jolt of fear, the primal kind, tore through her system. She sucked in a deep breath, grasping at straws. “Please put the gun down. I don’t mean any harm,” she squeaked, with her breath stuttering in her throat.

  Harlan sneered.

  What if all those rumors about him were true? What if he was a lunatic? Georgia considered making a run for it over the rock-covered hill to her right, or through the open field of weeds on her left. She’d meant to check in with her mom that morning, but got so distracted prepping for the interview she never got around to calling her. No one knew where she was. They'd never find her body.

  "Come out from behind that gooseberry bush, and keep your hands where I can see ’em.”

  Trembling, Georgia feebly lifted her arms and slowly crept out from behind the foliage. Her hands were shaking like dry branches in a tornado, her knees wobbled so violently she thought for sure she’d trip over her own feet again and take a header. She swallowed, searching for moisture in her straw-dry mouth and scanned the vast acreage around her, hoping for a way out.

  Harlan kept his gun trained on her while he sauntered past her and checked behind the shrub. For what?

  2

  It’s a good thing he found her instead of his unpredictable and potentially dangerous neighbor. But why the most beautiful woman Harlan Beckett had ever seen was straddling his and old Jeb Mahoney’s property line in high heels and tight jeans was anyone’s guess. But Harlan had an inkling.

  After confirming there wasn’t a drug deal going down behind the vegetation like the last time he was out checking fences, he’d bet a nickel and a donut he had another stalker on his hands.

  It never failed to amaze him when someone managed to track him down, even all the way out here in Lonesome, on the fifty acres he shared with his brothers. This one was the prettiest stalker yet, but with only one oar in the water she wasn’t worth a second look. Batshit crazy. Been there. Done that. “What brings you out here, darlin’?”

  The gorgeous blonde propped her delicate, trembling hands on her curvy hips. “You, sort of...”

  “Cutting right to the chase. I admire it, I do, but you best turn around and go back to wherever you came from, darlin’. Harlan’s love kitchen is closed today.”

  “Ha!” She threw her head back, puffing, trying to fool him, faking bravado. She shifted from one long, sexy leg to the other. “Not a chance. I’m here to interview your brother Boone. And do you mind putting your gun down...?” She frowned. “I thought you country boys were supposed to be polite.”

  “You’re awfully confident for an uninvited snoop. Takes real guts to be shouting orders at someone pointing a gun at your cleavage.” Harlan eyed her again, letting his words sink in, hoping he sounded scary. After what happened to him, he couldn’t trust a damn soul, no matter how innocent they appeared.

  Rethinking his need for a weapon, he studied her clothes. Her jeans were so tight he’d see the outline if she was carrying a gun. Harlan holstered his pistol. “I’m going to let it go this one time, sweetheart, but you’re trespassing.”

  “Thank you.” She groaned, sounding agitated instead of grateful.

  Harlan contemplated her pretty brown eyes, then her breasts and luscious hips. Mercy.

  “Up here, please.” She ordered primly, straightening, pointing to her face. “So, about that interview? I can assure you I'm not a trespasser. I have an appointment with your brother and got a little…sidetracked.”

  Harlan considered the way her blouse was haphazardly tucked in and chuckled as the pieces came t
ogether. “You weren’t taking a leak behind that gooseberry bush, were you?” Keeping a bead on her, he enjoyed the way he made her cheeks turn all shades of pink.

  “No.” She tipped her head back, exposing her elegant neck while she inspected the clouds. “I-I was. I had some very impor— It’s none of your business what I was doing.”

  “Whatever you say, darlin’.” Harlan shifted. “Wouldn’t be the first time some stalker peed out here. Nothing to be ashamed of.” He laughed. “You won’t find a gas station for another twenty miles.”

  “If you’re finished hallucinating about bathroom breaks, your brother is probably wondering where I am. I’m letting the stalker comment slide, by the way.”

  Harlan let her words drift into the wind. She was the one hallucinating now if she thought he’d let her anywhere near his brother. After the press destroyed Harlan’s career, he made it his mission to protect Boone’s. He planned to let the intruder off the hook for trespassing, but other than that, who the hell was she to ask for one damned thing?

  She folded her arms, which made her ample breasts plump up, making him wonder if she had one of those push-up bras on, or if all that delicious creamy flesh was hers. Is she purposely trying to distract me?

  “It’s getting late. I dropped my phone,” she explained, pointing over her shoulder, “so if you would kindly get in touch with Boone now, I’d appreciate it—"