Double Mountain Trouble

by Katerina Cole

  “I didn’t mean to be a dick.”

  I kissed him tenderly, tasting the soap and traces of myself on his lips. “I know. Don’t leave me out next time.”

  “I won’t.”

  He picked me up, cutting off the water with his free hand. He grabbed up two towels on his way out of the shower. “I bought you another early Christmas present.”

  “You did?”

  He nodded. “Mmhmm. This one has two settings. I think you’ll like it. And I swear it’s whisper quiet.”

  My body tingled. “What every girl wants for Christmas.” I giggled.

  “As long as my girl wants it, that’s all I care about.”

  “I love you, Hawk. Now take me to bed and fuck me with everything you have.”

  He laughed loudly. “Done, baby. You don’t have to say that twice.”

  Epilogue

  Two weeks later

  I stretched out and looked at the sleeping goddess next to me. It was game day. It was Christmas day. Seemed like a double win. I reached my hand around my waist to draw her toward me when I heard pounding on the bedroom door.

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  Mia yanked the covers and wrapped the sheet around her bare breasts, eyeing me. “He’s excited.” She smiled.

  “I want my game day ritual,” I groaned, trying to pry my hand between her legs. The door was locked. “He can wait a few minutes.”

  She swatted at me and giggled. “Later. We have an eight-year-old on Christmas morning. Patience is not a thing here.”

  We climbed out of bed and dressed.

  “We’ll be right out,” Mia called through the door.

  As soon as we opened it Cameron was jumping up and down in the hallway. “You won’t believe what’s out there.”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “An Xbox.”

  Mia laughed. “No way.”

  “Come on. Come on.” He tugged on both of our wrists. We followed him to the living room.

  The tree was lit. The fire was roaring. There was snow on the ground. And I had the two most important people in my life gathered under the tree.

  Cameron landed on the floor in awe of the gifts sprinkled around. We didn’t want to go overboard, but I don’t think we did a very good job of reining it in. There were enough toys here for all the kids at the group home. I wanted him to have everything I didn’t. Maybe it was excessive, but I couldn’t help it.

  Mia and I had made a generous donation to the home in Cameron’s name. We wanted to make sure his friends had presents too.

  Mia’s hands wrapped around my waist. She leaned into my back. “Merry Christmas.”

  I pulled her around to face me. “Come here.” I dipped to kiss her.

  “I have a present for you,” she announced.

  She bent by the tree and rifled through the gifts. She rose, holding a box tied with a blue ribbon.

  “Wait. I want you to open mine first.”

  I ran to the mantle and grabbed the box. I had put it there last night when everyone had fallen asleep. I didn’t want to take a chance it would get lost under the tree with the wrapping paper flying all over the place.

  “But—”

  “No, please. Open it first,” I urged.

  “But this is really something you’ll like,” she protested.

  “I know I will, baby, but please.”

  She shrugged. “Ok.”

  Cameron was busy with a set of cars that raced each other on the track. We had our own moment on the couch. The two presents rested between us.

  As soon as she held the box in her hand my chest tightened. My life was getting ready to change. The lid on the box cracked as her eyes widened.

  “Oh my God,” she gasped.

  I dropped to my knee. “Will you marry me?”

  I plucked the diamond from the velvet cushion and held it toward her finger.

  She nodded, the tears filling her eyes. “Yes. Oh my God. Yes.”

  I slipped the ring on her finger. It looked good. Huge. Glittery. Expensive.

  “All this time you wanted to get married?”

  “Yeah, I guess I did.” I laughed. “I want to marry you.”

  She looked at me nervously. “Now you have to open mine.”

  “Got it.”

  I tore the paper from the box and dropped the lid on the floor. My jaw fell. I stared inside.

  My eyes met hers. “This is for real?”

  She nodded. “It is.”

  I picked up the stick with two double lines on it. “You’re pregnant?”

  “I took it yesterday. I thought it was a pretty good Christmas present.”

  And I thought the ring was a big deal. What the fuck did I know?

  “This is unbelievable.”

  “But unbelievably good, right?” Her voice was shaky.

  “I’ve never had a better Christmas ever.” I kissed her, pressing my lips against hers. “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you too.”

  Cameron walked over. “What is going on?”

  “We’re getting married, bud. And having a baby.”

  His eyes widened. “Wow.”

  It was pretty fucking wow.

  Mia pulled him into a hug. She didn’t seem to have to ask him anymore. He fell into her embrace just like he had always belonged there.

  “Are you ok with all of this news, honey?”

  He nodded. “I get to stay?”

  “Oh, yes. Of course. That doesn’t change. It just means you have a baby brother or sister now,” she explained.

  “Can we open more presents?”

  We both laughed. He was eight after all. On to another topic before we had even digested the first one.

  “Yeah, let’s do that. I’ve got a game this afternoon.”

  Cameron fastened a Santa hat to his head and started sorting the presents under the tree.

  “Hold on, bud. We’ll be right back.”

  Mia looked at me questioningly. I ushered her back to our room.

  “What’s wrong? Are you upset about the baby?”

  “God no. The opposite.”

  My mouth landed on hers as I pulled her into my arms. My hands coasted to her breasts, squeezing tenderly, flicking over her nipple. She groaned as my tongue twisted along hers.

  “So fucking beautiful.” I breathed.

  My palm rested on her stomach.

  “I can’t believe you’re having my baby. Our baby.” I looked into her eyes.

  She nodded. “I am.”

  “You have never looked so fucking sexy before. And it’s killing me. You know that.”

  “I know. I want you too. I want you like this. We’re getting married. We’re having a baby.” She pulled my hand to her lips, kissing my fingertips. “What if it’s a girl?”

  “A girl?” Damn. I’d never thought about having a daughter.

  She nodded, grinning. “I’m sort of out-numbered around here. I need backup.”

  “Then I hope she’s a pretty as you, but as tough as me.” I winked. I would have a heart attack trying to keep the guys off her, but I’d do it.

  “Do you know how amazing you’re going to be with a baby?” she asked.

  “A baby. I can’t believe we made a baby.”

  “I kind of knew it was going to happen. There was no way that IUD was going to hold out with the kind of sex we had.”

  “That’s right.” I felt some kind of insane male pride, knowing I had given her a baby. We had loved each other so much this baby was coming into the world. “When did you start to think you might be pregnant?” I asked.

  “I started feeling differently. It was just this gut feeling. I knew it was going to be positive before I even took the test. I’m so glad you’re not freaked out.”

  I brushed the hair off her shoulder. “I didn’t say I wasn’t freaked out.” I grinned. “But I’m fucking happy. I bought that ring two weeks ago. I wanted to give it to you every night since then.”

  “It’s
hard to wait, isn’t it?”

  My hand moved back to her breasts. God, they were bigger than they had been. How had I not seen it before now. She looked incredible.

  “Marry me, Mia.”

  “I said yes.”

  “I know. But I want it to happen as soon as possible. New Year’s Eve?”

  Her eyes widened. “That’s in six days.”

  I nodded. “It is. But I can’t wait.”

  “You want to get married in the middle of playoffs while I’m pregnant?”

  I tugged on the tie on her robe, letting it fall to the side. Her chest heaved with a giant breath. She was carrying my baby. I was in love with her. We were going to adopt Cameron together.

  “Yes. Marry me.”

  She nodded. “New Year’s Eve sounds perfect.” Her eyes closed as my hands explored the newness of her pregnant body. I growled with lust.

  “Did you ever think we’d end up here?”

  “No. Honestly never.” She moaned as I plucked at her sensitive nipples.

  I wanted to shred that plaid robe from her and take her now. Love her like she deserved. Fill her with pleasure and joy. Give her the most incredible fucking Christmas of her life.

  “Think he’ll notice if we’re gone a few more minutes?” I waggled my eyebrows.

  She sighed. “Yes. Delayed gratification is going to have to be your aphrodisiac today,” she teased.

  “It’s going to kill me,” I groaned.

  She held up the rock on her hand. “We have time, right?”

  “We do.”

  “We are forever. Merry Christmas.” She leaned into me and I devoured her lips as if they were made from pure honey.

  I don’t know how it happened. How a guy like me. A guy who had made every wrong decision at every turn. Ended up with this perfect woman. With a son. With a baby on the way. But I did. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to screw it up.

  Ever.

  Bucking Wild

  Maggie Monroe

  Copyright

  Bucking Wild

  Published By Maggie Monroe

  Copyright © 2017 Maggie Monroe

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places or events are entirely the work of the author. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, or places is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in piracy of copyrighted materials.

  BUCKING WILD

  Prologue

  What do you do when the lies catch up to you? When the truth blows in like a hurricane and destroys everything you tried to protect?

  I fucking lost her. And there’s no one else to blame. The escape I built on bricks of lies became my reality. She was never supposed to be a part of it. She wasn’t supposed to be trapped inside those walls.

  I wasn’t looking for salvation, but it found me anyway the day I met her. My hope. My redemption. She was the most perfect part of my life, and I let her be torn apart in the wreckage.

  I’d always been too cocky. And this time it finally caught up to me. It cornered me. Imprisoned me.

  She could have saved me. If only I had told the truth. Started with honesty instead of lies.

  I fucked it up and I don’t know if there’s any way to go back to the beginning. Back to the place where I could make it right. The place where I could be a better man.

  I might be too arrogant for my own good—even hers—but my arrogance is what I need to fight for her. Because I never lose. I don’t give up. And I’ll do whatever it takes to prove this time, I’m right.

  One

  Ben

  I grabbed the first thing I could find in the mini-bar. Tequila. It burned going down. I sputtered, but finished two bottles, tossing them on the floor.

  My phone buzzed. I ignored it every time it rang. The calls and texts were all the same. Had I seen the story on Becs?

  Who the fuck hadn’t seen the story? It was everywhere. I couldn’t avoid it. No one could.

  I looked at the empty bottle in my hand. Wasn’t that what we drank in Cabo? Straight tequila after we started on a few rounds of margaritas?

  I remembered watching her dance that night. She was free and wild. Her dark hair swirled around her, while she kept one eye on me. She shook her hips with promises of what was to come. That’s what she did. She teased. She tempted. And fuck, did she deliver.

  I knew what I was getting into with Rebecca Campbell. And somehow, I couldn’t stop myself. She was gorgeous, but in that way most actresses were.

  We drank more margaritas while the mariachi played. She even coaxed me onto the dance floor. My hands wrapped around her tiny waist, pulling her to me. She smiled sweetly, placing her palm over my heart. We swayed back and forth at that cantina, pretending we were both different people. I imagined she was an angel and she convinced herself I could love her.

  We worked together on one movie. I swore she soaked her lips in honey before our scenes, just to lure me in. I couldn’t shake the taste of her kiss.

  I could see the green glitter in her eyes when we stumbled into that Cabo suite. She was drunk. We both were. But damn it, if she wasn’t fun. Becs could party.

  I peeled the sundress from her arms, watching her perky breasts bounce before I descended on them. She had perfect tits. Every part of her was designed without flaw. Even the way she purred when she came. Dripping with sweat, reeling in one orgasm after another, and Becs looked like a damn movie star underneath me. A sex goddess with the glow of a model.

  “Don’t stop fucking me, Ben,” she begged as I slammed into her. “You feel so good. I love it. God, I love it. Don’t stop.”

  “Oh, I won’t, darlin’.” I grinned.

  Her ankles hooked around my neck and I angled deeper, driving home. She grabbed the headboard, breathing erratically as I pumped in and out, taking us to the peak.

  We didn’t care that the windows were open and the curtains fluttered on the balcony. Sex like this was raw and electric. Sex with Rebecca was always wild and spontaneous.

  “Fuck, baby,” I groaned, looking into her bright eyes.

  She wore a cat-like smile. She had me where she wanted me, but there was no denying I liked where I was—so did my cock. The margaritas erased any inhibitions we had left and we clung to each other, riding harder and faster.

  We stayed in the suite all weekend. I knew everything about her body. How to make her come harder than any man ever had. Where the birthmark was on her inner thigh. How she cooed when she sucked my dick. The way she liked being taken from behind more than any other position. Hell, I memorized everything about that girl.

  But that was Cabo. Months ago—basically a lifetime in Hollywood relationships. I emptied another bottle of tequila. Becs and I hadn’t seen each other in weeks. I couldn’t remember if we talked yesterday. I hadn’t been very good at checking in. I was a shitty boyfriend.

  I fell back on the empty bed, picking up my phone to scroll through the latest headlines. I was wrapping a shoot in Atlanta, and she was supposed to be extending a shoot in Hawaii with a girls’ weekend. I told myself that’s why I hadn’t called her—I tried to respect her girl time.

  Girls’ weekend my ass.

  She had screwed me. Fucked another man on vacation. And the entire world knew it.

  I exhaled. I wasn’t taking the blame for this.

  I didn’t think I could stay here. I couldn’t face the press. The questions. The looks of pity and embarrassment. Flying back to Hollywood wasn’t going to give me what I wanted either. The press would camp out at my Texas ranch. There was no escape from being tied to her. Her headline was now mine. I owned tha
t decision the first time I fucked her.

  I had been warned. But I didn’t want anything more than fun and fucking, so I ignored the cautionary tales. My star was bigger than hers. What did it matter? I liked having a good time. I misread her. We were never on the same page.

  But now she had a way to drag me through the mud. To throw me into a scandal I wanted nothing to do with. I didn’t have to be in a room with her right now to know she loved this attention. She didn’t love anything as much as she loved a headline.

  I felt the walls closing in. I dropped my phone.

  I needed to sober up if I was getting out of here. I started the coffee and turned the shower on.

  New Bern. It was only one exit ahead. The burning sensation had crept to both eyes. Eight hours of driving had that effect. There had only been one stop since I set off this morning, and I had made that as quickly as possible—enough time to stretch my legs and convince myself heading north was the right direction.

  I rubbed my eyes before reaching for the cell phone.

  There were ten missed calls and too many texts to count. I gripped the phone in my fist. The tightening in my chest wrapped under my ribs and pressed against my sternum, forcing the clamped breath I was holding to escape through my mouth.

  When I saw the city’s name splayed across the sign in front of me, my hand relaxed its hold on the phone. Clara wouldn’t expect my call, much less expect me to be only miles from her hometown. She always talked about New Bern as if it was the most idyllic place in the world to grow up and live.

  The entire time we dated, I never visited. Maybe that was part of the problem. She had tried. She had invited me. It was another reminder I couldn’t hold a relationship together. What kind of man didn’t go to this girlfriend’s hometown? This one. The selfish one. The one who would rather party and have a good time than deal with something serious.

  And what was I doing now? Dragging Clara into this like a complete asshole. Was she really the one who could help me escape?