Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (Eight Fun, Romantic Novels by Eight Bestselling Authors)

by Violet Duke

  The horse snorts in agreement, nostrils flaring.

  “You have a gift,” I tell him, awed. I’m watching something special here, I can tell. I remember the horse back at the fairgrounds, and how Hunter talked it down when it panicked. The way he communicates with them, it’s like a secret language, something more than words.

  “How does it work, the way you handle them?”

  Hunter pauses. “I don’t know how to describe it.”

  “Try,” I prompt him, curious now. I’m so used to guys just crashing around the place, leaving chaos in their wake. It’s something new to see a man so in tune with the world around him, like he can sense every shift in the animal’s mood.

  “OK, so… the thing you have to understand about horses, is, they love people, but they’re wild. An animal who’s been out roaming around, he’s not going to take orders from anyone.” Hunter begins to stroll again, down towards the deserted part of the stables, where the stalls are open and freshly swept, stacked with bales of hay. I follow. “Some guys, when they break a horse, they go hard. It’s like a battle of wills, you know, who’s going to submit.”

  “But not you?”

  He shakes his head. “My grandpa taught me, you’ve got to earn their trust. You have to make it so they’re curious, they want to know what you’ve got in store. First, a leading rope, so they have plenty of room. It feels like they’re still on their own terms, you know? Then when they’re used to you, you try a bridle. A bit more control. Sometimes, I’m working for months before I even try a saddle. By then, they have to trust you completely, enough to surrender.”

  Surrender.

  The word makes me shiver. I don’t know how I’m getting turned on, standing in the middle of a stable, but listening to Hunter speak sends a thick sweetness rising in my body; my nipples tightening under the thin fabric of my tank. I can’t help but imagine those hands on me, so sure and controlling; that voice whispering forbidden secrets in my ear…

  “What was that look?”

  I glance up to find Hunter watching me, a crooked smile on his face. My cheeks burn.

  “Nothing!” I yelp.

  He raises an eyebrow, teasing. “Tell me.”

  I shake my head, blushing furiously. Damn my dirty mind, not keeping my thoughts under control.

  “Not talking?” Hunter drawls. “Shame. I’ll just have to take a guess.” His eyes meet mine, a direct challenge. “You want to know if I’m still as good as I was three years ago.

  Suddenly, the air goes out of my lungs. I gasp, shocked by how blatant he is, but dammit, even more turned on. “Whatever.” I roll my eyes, desperately trying to stay cool. “That night was nothing special.”

  “Bullshit.” Hunter’s gaze drifts lower. He smirks. I quickly cross my arms over my chest. “You loved it.”

  “It was fine, I guess.” I make an exaggerated shrug. “You were just a kid. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

  “I knew enough to make you come.”

  My legs go weak. Hunter is still gazing at my body, eyes roving over my flesh with blatant desire. I know I should say something, make some kind of protest, or deny his arrogant claims, but I’m caught, frozen in his naked stare and the sexy, forbidden words coming from that perfect mouth.

  “So what?” I finally manage, my heart pounding in my ears. I don’t know what I’m doing, taunting him like this, I just know I can’t stop. “That’s no real achievement. I can come anytime I want.” I waggle my fingers at him in a wave.

  Big mistake.

  Hunter’s eyes flash with desire, and then he’s grabbing my wrists, shoving me back into one of the empty stalls until my back hits the wall. I gasp. “Not the way I do it.” Hunter growls, his jaw clenched with tension. “Not the way I make you feel.”

  My pulse races, my gaze never leaving his. I’m trapped under his hold, Hunter’s body looming above me, a solid mass of muscle and power. “Well I’ve got news for you, darlin’. I’m not that kid anymore.” He leans closer, so his next words are only a whisper, the rough scratch of his voice sending a rush of quicksilver to my very core.

  “I’m better.”

  I feel a shudder of desire at the promise, but before I can catch my breath, Hunter’s lips capture mine in a punishing kiss.

  I moan. If our kisses before were a lit fuse, this is the inferno, wild and demanding, and raging out of control. I arch up against him, straining at the grip on my wrists, but Hunter doesn’t release me. He doesn’t need to. His mouth ravages mine, totally possessing; his tongue plunging deep in my mouth, his body smothering mine. I’m powerless against the onslaught of pleasure, every last one of my protests obliterated under the thundering force of his kiss.

  Jesus!

  I moan into his mouth, desire consuming me with its raging flame. Hunter releases my wrists in answer, moving his hands to grip my thighs and wrap my legs around his waist. He lifts me off my feet as if I weigh nothing, slamming me down against a bale of hay and covering my body with his own. I shudder at his weight, pressing me down, overwhelming. I can feel him through his jeans, pressing hard between the apex of my thighs, thick and ready, and the realization sends a new, wet ache flooding to my core.

  Hunter pulls back. “Take off your shirt.” He growls. I can only blink up at him, helpless. Can’t he see coherent thought is beyond me now?

  Hunter’s expression darkens. “I said, take. Off. Your. Shirt.”

  His words are slow. Deliberate.

  An order.

  I struggle to sit up, my heart racing. I lift the tank top over my head, breathless under Hunter’s gaze. He watches me, not saying a word, so I remove my bra too, slowly unhooking the clasp and shrugging the straps from my shoulders.

  Hunter looks down at me, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His eyes roam over every inch of my bare skin, and I shiver, feeling the hungry sweep of his gaze as if it were his touch.

  “Goddammit, Brit.” Hunter lets out a groan, then swoops down to kiss me again, his mouth desperate and fierce. I’m finally free to touch him, and God, I do: my hands roving over the solid planes of his shoulders, grabbing greedy handfuls of his shirt. I slide my fingers under the fabric, reveling in the touch of his bare skin, the taut, smooth mass of muscle and pure power, just waiting to be unleashed. I need to feel it on me, nothing between us, so I tug impatiently at his shirt, trying to lift it over his head.

  Hunter pulls back, leaving me gasping. His eyes are blazing and determined.

  “No,” he growls, harsh. “You had it your way once. Now we play by my rules.”

  He splays a hand against my bare chest and pushes me down again, so I’m laying beneath him, half-naked and panting.

  My way? My mind races to figure out his cryptic comment, but then Hunter leans in and lowers his mouth to my breast, and every thought is obliterated from my mind.

  Oh!

  I close my eyes, falling into the pleasure as Hunter teases his way across my skin, licking and swirling at my tender flesh until my whole body is shaking with sensation. He covers every inch, but each time he nears my nipples, Hunter slides around them: dragging his tongue down my stomach, lapping in the hollow of my belly button, moving back up to whisper kisses along the curve of my breasts until I’m aching and restless, desperate to feel his mouth on me.

  “Please,” I whimper, gasping.

  Hunter’s mouth strays closer. I arch up against him, eager. His tongue swirls lightly around, but it’s not enough. I hear myself whimper, unable to put in words what I need but wanting it oh-so-desperately. He drags his tongue closer, the pressure so exquisite, hot and wet, and—

  And then he’s gone.

  My eyes snap open to
find Hunter on his feet, a few paces away. “Do you trust me?” he asks, almost casually, walking to the edge of the stall.

  I gasp for air, reeling. I’m half-naked and totally undone, panting here on the hay bale, and meanwhile Hunter is fully-dressed, still completely composed. “I…” I stutter, still caught up in the desire flooding my body; my blood simmering hot in my veins. “What are you…?”

  He turns back. My heart skips a beat. He’s holding a leather bridle lead, flexing it between his hands.

  “Do you trust me?” Hunter asks again. He moves closer, standing over me. Waiting.

  Holy shit.

  My mind races, blood pounding in my ears. I’ve never done anything like this before. Let some guy take control, completely? It’s the last thing on earth I’d ever try. But when I look at Hunter, all that fades away. His expression is hungry, and there’s something else there too: a fierce intensity that robs me of my breath and sends a light shiver of anticipation rolling straight between my thighs.

  I nod. “I trust you,” I whisper.

  A wicked smile spreads across Hunter’s face, and I wonder if I’ve made the right call. But it’s too late to take it back. Hunter grabs my wrists, binding them together and pulling them up over my head. He fastens them to the railing that runs around the inside of the stall, looping the leather through and securing it with a sharp yank. I test the resistance, expecting an easy give, but instead, the leather cuts sharply into my wrists.

  Another surge of anticipation shudders through me. He’s not fucking around.

  Hunter looks down at me. “What will I do with you?” he muses, settling back so he’s on his knees on either side of my hips. His gaze slips over me, and I shiver, my bare chest rising and falling with each of my labored breaths. My breasts are tight and aching, crying out for his touch, but Hunter takes his time. “I feel like it’s my birthday,” he adds, trailing his hand lightly across my skin. “And you’re my present, just waiting to be unwrapped.”

  Hunter’s eyes burn with desire, locked on mine as his fingertips roam across my breasts, sending tiny cobwebs of pleasure shivering across my skin. I try to catch my breath, but it’s all too much. With him straddling me, my hands bound, I can’t move; I’m totally trapped below him, powerless to do anything but submit to the restless path of his hands as they tease and stroke across my whole torso, eyes locked on mine as he pushes me closer to the edge. It’s an erotic thrill I’ve never known before, to be so completely in someone’s power like this. I can’t stop him, I can’t do anything at all except feel each soft touch, whispering, infuriating, stoking the fire in my bloodstream with a slow, relentless rhythm until I’m panting with frustration; aching and wet, desperate for some kind of release.

  Finally Hunter closes his thumb and forefinger around my nipple and squeezes, hard.

  I cry out.

  His eyes flare with passion. He closes his hand around my other breast, and squeezes again, rolling my nipples against his thumbs. Pleasure floods through me, thick and sweet. Oh God, yes. He dips his head, kissing down my neck as I writhe beneath him, until at last, his mouth closes over my breast and sucks, hard.

  I lose my mind.

  The pressure is sharp and sweet, and I moan, thrusting shamelessly against his mouth. Hunter rasps his tongue across my nipple, over and over, until I’m crying out from the exquisite ache, desire clawing at my body so deep I think I’ll die.

  Hunter suddenly lifts his head. He yanks my buttons open and drags my skirt down over my thighs, tossing it aside as I lie there, breathless.

  He pauses, a grin curling at his lips as he takes in the lacy design of my panties: hot pink and edged with ribbon trim. “Cute,” he says, dipping his head lower to send a whisper of hot breath across my stomach. I shudder. “I’ll be careful not to rip them.” He looks up, devilish. “Unless you want me to?”

  I’m caught in his stare, my mind still nothing but a chaos of desire. He winks. “Next time.”

  Hunter slips down, so he’s on his knees in front of me. He takes my thighs in both hands, and slowly eases them apart.

  Oh God.

  Hunter looks up again, as if sensing my anticipation. “That’s right,” he murmurs, pausing to drop a searing kiss on the inside of my thigh. “I’m going to touch you, and taste you.” His fingers find the edge of my panties, toying with the lace. “I’m going to do whatever the hell I want, and you…” His eyes meet mine, dark with desire.

  “You can’t stop me.”

  A moan slips from my mouth.

  “Already, baby?” Hunter smirks. “I haven’t even gotten started.”

  He lowers his mouth and dances his tongue across the narrow strip of lace. I gasp. The pressure is achingly light through the fabric, but it still sends a shiver of lust spiraling through me, settling deep in my core. My panties are slick against me, and I can feel the damp between my thighs, wet and ready for him.

  Hunter loops his thumbs under the fabric, and eases it slowly down my hips. He drops kisses as he goes, inch by inch down my thighs, until my panties are gone and I’m totally naked, spread wide on the bale.

  “Fuck,” I hear Hunter swear, and I look down to see him gazing at me, blue eyes clouded with desire. “You’re perfect, Brit. So fucking perfect.”

  He settles back on the floor, lifting my legs over his shoulders and swirling kisses up the inside of my thighs; his stubble scratchy against the delicate skin. My breath comes fast. I’m waiting, strung out here, every nerve and sense in my body shivering to feel his touch. I think I might die if he doesn’t touch me soon.

  And hell, I think I might die if he does.

  Hunter pauses over me, barely an inch away. I can feel his breath, hot against me, in and out, in and out. It’s more than I can take.

  “Please,” I gasp again, not caring how it sounds. But Hunter waits, his fingers digging deeper into my thighs, like he’s holding himself back. I try and buck towards his mouth, straining, but his grip is strong as steel on my body and my bindings are too tight. “Please,” I cry, shameless. Undone.

  Still, he waits.

  “Hunter,” I gasp. I’m arched towards him, desperate, every muscle tensed to its limit. My body aches, my eyes are pressed shut, the blackness enveloping me; my whole universe contracted to just the tender throb between my thighs and the flutter of his breath against me, taunting, relentless.

  “You want me.” Hunter growls. It’s not a question.

  “I want you,” I sob, panting.

  “How much?” he demands.

  “More than anything. God, Hunter, please!” My cry echoes in the empty stables, a desperate moan of pain.

  In a single movement, he drags his tongue across my clit and slips two fingers deep inside of me.

  I scream. The sensation is overwhelming: the gorgeous pressure of his tongue, the thick slide of his fingers, invading me. I cry his name, arching up into his mouth as he licks, ravenous, hard and fast, sending shockwaves of pleasure slamming through my body. Hunter’s grip on my hips doesn’t let up, and now I’m trying to pull away, it’s too much, the pleasure’s too intense, but he won’t stop, he won’t let me go, he just thrusts his fingers deep inside me, over and over, stretching me, filling me up, and all the while lapping at my clit with that relentless pressure, trapping me under his onslaught of ecstasy as the pleasure claws at me, rising, threatening to annihilate me completely.

  I struggle against him, already mindless, but still clinging to a last distant thread of self-control. I need a moment, just a moment’s reprieve from this ecstasy, before I do the unthinkable and fall. You can’t let go, I tell myself, writhing, you can’t give in, but Hunter demands my total surrender, and he won’t be denied. He
curls his fingers up inside me, stroking a new secret nub of pleasure, moving faster, plunging deeper. My body aches, screaming with pleasure, coiled tight and wanting, crying out for the end. Then he closes his lips around my clit and sucks.

  I shatter.

  The orgasm rips through me, devastating every last one of my senses. I fall, spiraling into the waves of pleasure, sobbing his name as the tide washes over me, again, and again, filling me up and emptying me out until I’m left gasping and ravaged on the stable floor.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  HUNTER DRIVES ME home. I’m in a daze, still reeling from the most intense orgasm of my life—and the overwhelming feelings now whirling through my body: shock and disbelief and desire and exhilaration, all tangled in a mass of confusion that I don’t even know how to process.

  I can’t believe I just did that.

  It comes rushing back to me in hot, guilty flashes: memories of me spread, naked, bound beneath him; the dark look of possession in his eyes; the desperate sound of my voice, begging him for more. It’s like it happened to someone else, some kind of out-of-body experience, because nothing I’ve ever done before has even come close to being so hot, so dirty.

  So fucking good.

  I feel my cheeks burn, and sneak a glance over at Hunter, shadowed in the headlights’ beam. He’s got one hand on the steering wheel, the other draped out the open window; his eyes fixed to the dark road as if nothing’s happened.

  I feel a twist of insecurity. How am I supposed to act with him now that he knows my deepest weakness? How can I even look him in the eyes again when he’s seen me, so desperate and undone? Did he like it, or—shit—was it some kind of test? My heart drops, as the realization takes shape in my mind. Maybe he never thought I’d go so far. Maybe he was just curious to see if my reputation was true.

  Well you sure showed him. You’re just the trashy slut everyone in this town promised him you’d be.