by Kara Hart
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Olivia
Chapter 2: Cole
Chapter 3: Olivia
Chapter 4: Cole
Chapter 5: Olivia
Chapter 6: Cole
Chapter 7: Olivia
Chapter 8: Cole
Chapter 9: Cole
Chapter 10: Olivia
Chapter 11: Cole
Chapter 12: Olivia
Chapter 13: Cole
Chapter 14: Olivia
Chapter 15: Cole
Chapter 16: Cole
Chapter 17: Olivia
Chapter 18: Cole
Chapter 19: Cole
Chapter 20: Olivia
Chapter 21: Cole
Chapter 22: Olivia
Chapter 23: Cole
Chapter 24: Olivia
Chapter 25: Cole
Chapter 26: Olivia
Chapter 27: Cole
Chapter 28: Olivia
Chapter 29: Cole
Chapter 30: Olivia
Chapter 31: Cole
Chapter 32: Olivia
Chapter 33: Olivia
Chapter 34: Cole
Extended Epilogue
Mr. Naughty
A Second Chance Christmas Romance
Kara Hart
Kara Hart
Copyright © 2017 by Kara Hart
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
Contents
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Also by Kara Hart
Prologue: Kael
1. Chapter 1: Olivia
2. Chapter 2: Cole
3. Chapter 3: Olivia
4. Chapter 4: Cole
5. Chapter 5: Olivia
6. Chapter 6: Cole
7. Chapter 7: Olivia
8. Chapter 8: Cole
9. Chapter 9: Cole
10. Chapter 10: Olivia
11. Chapter 11: Cole
12. Chapter 12: Olivia
13. Chapter 13: Cole
14. Chapter 14: Olivia
15. Chapter 15: Cole
16. Chapter 16: Cole
17. Chapter 17: Olivia
18. Chapter 18: Cole
19. Chapter 19: Cole
20. Chapter 20: Olivia
21. Chapter 21: Cole
22. Chapter 22: Olivia
23. Chapter 23: Cole
24. Chapter 24: Olivia
25. Chapter 25: Cole
26. Chapter 26: Olivia
27. Chapter 27: Cole
28. Chapter 28: Olivia
29. Chapter 29: Cole
30. Chapter 30: Olivia
31. Chapter 31: Cole
32. Chapter 32: Olivia
33. Chapter 33: Olivia
34. Chapter 34: Cole
35. Epilogue: Olivia
36. Extended Epilogue
Want more Kara Hart? Continue with Single Dad Boss…
Prologue: Michael Vanderbilt
37. Michael
38. Emily Carter
39. Michael
40. Emily
41. Michael
42. Emily
43. Michael
44. Emily
45. Michael
46. Emily
47. Emily
48. Michael
49. Emily
50. Michael
51. Emily
52. Michael
53. Emily
54. Michael
55. Emily
56. Michael
57. Emily
58. Michael
59. Emily
60. Michael
61. Emily
62. Michael
63. Emily
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Also by Kara Hart
Most girls wouldn’t run from the richest man in the city. I guess I’m not most girls. He has a dark secret, and no amount of money can keep it hidden. Then again, I have a secret of my own. I had his baby, and now both our worlds are crumbling to pieces.
My girl would do anything for her master.
And she’s willing to play my little game.
One Night. All the domination she can handle.
Only, I gave her more than she bargained for.
You know what they say: Don’t hate the player. Hate the game.
When your heart is broken, you start to understand just how the world works. I said I’d never forgive him, but there’s a first time for everything.
Prologue: Kael
I’ve always been a naughty son of a bitch. Can you blame me?
When I open my eyes, I can barely see. My head is pounding and a bottle of booze is next to my face. “Christ,” I mutter out loud. “What the fuck happened last night?”
My buddy Eric and I have been fighting fires for over a decade now. They used to call us heroes. Now, they talk smack about us behind our backs.
I’ve practically given up the career. Ever since the fires destroyed half of the city last Christmas, I couldn’t take it anymore. Neither could Eric.
We saw too much. Now, we’ve just become a couple of dogs on the hunt for pussy.
Sorry, mom. Sorry Santa. Sorry everyone.
The party last night was too hectic: women were all over us. And I kept running to the bar to drown myself in whisky.
I know, it’s insane. You never turn down a hot chick who’s willing to fuck. But I’m not like most men. I find those plastic bimbos boring.
I don’t know what it is. I think I’m looking for the real deal. Sure, I’ve been on the naughty list my whole fucking life. That doesn’t mean that I want to be.
One thing I’ve learned from life is that the only thing you can expect is a good time and a swift kick to the balls when you aren’t watching for it.
“What about love?” she asked me. Some hot number, dancing up on me. I smirk at the question.
“Love?” I ask. “I think you’ve got the wrong guy.”
I met Olivia when I was sixteen. We had the time of our lives together. We went to different high schools, so it was a whole adventure to get back to each other again.
I remember spending my time in class, waiting for her call. This was right when cell phones just came out. We didn’t have the luxury of texting each other whenever we wanted to. Data wasn’t unlimited and neither was our patience.
I remember wanting to fuck her every damn second. That’s what love is to me. A good fuck and a kiss goodbye.
By the time we saw each other, we’d throw our backpacks into the bushes and screw like bunnies. I had no idea what I was doing back then. I was just a kid. Christ, if only I could go back and do it right this time…
I don’t know why I’m thinking about her today. Olivia is just my ex-girlfrien
d. I shouldn’t be conjuring up her image again.
In reality, I’m just not excited about the dates I’ve been going on. The holidays are almost here and they look at me like I’m the grinch.
Let’s back up a bit…
Olivia was the worst woman I had ever gotten to know, but that’s only because she strove to be better than the rest of them.
You know what I mean. She was as hot as they come and as smart as Einstein. Double trouble.
She had the longest and most beautiful hair out of all the girls I knew. She bore a pair of thick and sexy thighs. Damn, I miss those thighs.
The girls hated her body, but the boys couldn’t stop staring. If I had been in any of her classes, I would have failed.
Did I mention she had an ass too? Well, she had the ass of all asses. If I knew what the hell I was doing back then, I would have devoured the thing every chance I got. I would have pounded it into oblivion!
I need to stop reminiscing. She’s not a queen. She’s more like a devil. A hot, fiery devil.
Look, it’s been a lifetime since then. It’s not like I’m hung up on her or anything. Though, whenever I take these women out, I can’t help but think about how Olivia might treat me, compared to them.
Sometimes, when I feel all empty and angry, I think about the feeling she gave me when she told me she “loved me.”
Bliss. Pure bliss. That’s the only way to describe it. But it’s not real. It’s something you say when you get too excited.
“I love you, babe.” Sure.
In the moment these words work. But what happens when I accidentally say hi to another woman? What happens when you start talking to some other guy who goes to your school?
Well, all bets are off. The love disappears. It turns to hate. You immediately start to realize that what you’ve been expecting is one big fantasy world.
“Yes, love is a fantasy,” I said to the woman last night. She actually winced when she heard it.
“Well, I don’t think so,” she said.
I don’t blame her for hating my guts. My theories go against the whole of mankind. Fuck it. Someone has to be controversial every now and then.
“What I mean to say is that you’re my fantasy.” I actually said that.
She just wants to be seen with the muscular guy at the bar. She wants to tell her friends, “he’s a firefighter.” Typical.
That’s not really what I am anymore. I’m a nobody. A nothing.
I tell people what they want to hear and they give me what they want. That’s the game, right?
Olivia set me up for failure. She took out my heart and tore it apart with her sexy teeth.
When all was said and done, she told me she didn’t believe in love anymore. Soon after that, I didn’t either. I’ve been free of it ever since.
I’m as free as a fucking bird.
So thank you, Olivia.
You ruined that Christmas for me. You left me in the snow. We were just eighteen. You taught me that love was a stocking full of coal.
Now, I only care about the chase. Trust me. It’s a lot more fun than love. There’s nothing like a beautiful set of tits, resting against my face.
That’s just the life I live now. In reality, it’s the only Christmas present I can give myself.
Chapter 1: Olivia
Love was something I fell into. I dated one man and he ruined everything. Cole was my life and my rock. We did everything together.
In the forest nearby, we took long walks into what felt like no-man’s land. When you’re young, everything feels important, I guess. Holding hands is the best feeling in the world and that first kiss changes everything.
Now, sitting here at the bar, I’m thinking about those feelings and wondering if it’s all one big lie. It’s the lie that men give about love. Love isn’t a forever thing to me anymore. It’s just a word that men use before they break your heart.
Cole and I used to walk the forest path near his parents’ home. We’d take the exit of the trail and never look back. We even found a little sanctuary and christened it as our new home. That was our first Christmas together. We dreamt of everything there. When the sun set, we’d sit and look at the stars, wondering what might happen next.
That’s when he held my hand for the first time. It’s also when he put his lips near my ear and whispered, “I’ll love you to the ends of the earth and back.”
The plan was simple to us. Love was for us. We’d never be like my parents. We’d hold onto this feeling forever, and we promised never to let go.
Walking back to the house, hand in hand, we’d close our eyes and the feeling never left our bodies. When my mother had to pick me up, angry that we stayed out too long, we would smile. We’d never apologize. He’d kiss me on the cheek and wait for my mom to pull me away, back to home. He’d call me thirty minutes later and we’d stay up through the night, talking about our future.
When it all ended in a fiery wreck of confusion and sorrow, there were no calls. There were no hands to hold, or lips to kiss, nor were there any dreams to discuss. We became adults and moved on. Love was a dream everyone woke up from eventually. Once your eyes were open, it was time to dive into real life. It was time to pursue your career, pay rent, and talk about politics.
“In the future,” my parents told me, “you’ll be able to come back to those feelings.” In the future, everything would fall back into place.
Yeah, right.
I’m sitting alone at this bar and reminiscing way too hard. It’s Christmas time, after all. You know what that means? It means, I’m depressed and am looking for some avenue of comfort.
There’s another guy at the bar, but he’s with his date. That doesn’t mean he’s going to stop staring past her, straight at me.
When he gets up from the table, I quickly look away. With confidence, he slides a piece of paper across the table. I glance down and notice the seven-digits.
His number? The guy is really trying to give me his number, while he’s on a date?!
I look back at the man. His body is built. I mean, it’s utterly perfect, like a brand new BMW.
I want to dislike the guy for being arrogant enough to just slide his number across the table. But I don’t know if I should yell at him, or if I should pounce on him.
It’s just such an arrogant move. I’m not for sale. I don’t care about his nice looking arms, his perfect abs, or his strong face.
Okay, who am I kidding? I love those things. But he’s not about to take me home while he’s on another date with someone else.
Did he think I was staring at him? I mean, I was looking above him. Doesn’t he realize there’s a TV above his head?
he truth is that I’m just bored. I came here to get away for a while. Sometimes, getting out of your house is half the battle.
I can’t lie to myself, though. I did sort of hope that I would meet someone here. Someone I could touch, someone who holds you down and rocks your world. I’ll admit it. I was looking for someone to sweep me off my feet.
I keep walking around the city lately, alone. The snow floats down. Everyone’s Christmas lights are shining brightly on their neighborhood homes.
I don’t have a man like that to hold me. I don’t know what arms like that even feel anymore.
I could get it from that guy if I wanted to. Women hold that kind of power. However, when I see his date quickly check her mirror for any stray lipstick smufges, I dismiss that idea right away.
“Poor girl,” I think to myself.
She’s trying her best to get this guy to fall in love with her and it’s not working out at all.
I look at his number again and laugh. What a prick. What a selfish bastard. He takes a beautiful woman on a date, only to give his number to another woman? It’s pathetic.
I walk over to her table and tell her, “Sorry, but your date just gave me his number.” I hold up the card in front of her. “You might want to leave that loser behind.”
She takes the card from
me and looks at it, dumbfounded and hurt.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I just didn’t want you to continue with your dinner without knowing what a scumbag he is.”
I quickly turn around walk out of the bar. No, I won’t be going home with anyone tonight, but at least I did a good deed, right?
This is love. It really doesn’t happen for anyone, does it?
I thought I was in love once. Turns out, I was just young and naive. Cole. I don’t even remember what he looked like. I just remember how it all felt.
He was about as close as I got to it. I know it sounds bad, but I just couldn’t do it after a while. It just all felt too fake after my friend told me what happened with him.
He cheated on me. Liana told me during lunch. God, that was forever ago. I believed in so much back then, but that was the last straw. After that, I didn’t believe in love. I barely believed in anything after high school. I grew up, as adults tend to do. I got a job. I fell into my career. I worked on building myself up, rather than a man.
And now, I’m right where I want to be.
I could have had that man tonight. I could have had him eating me, while he sat on his knees. Instead, I’m going home alone. Another lonely night with my cats. Okay, maybe I’m not exactly where I want to be yet. But I’ll get there someday. For now, that’s A-okay.
Chapter 2: Cole
She slaps me right in the fucking face. Right in front of everyone, my date slaps me!
Her handprint feels warm, as she releases her palm from my cheek.
“And this is for lying to me and telling me I was the most beautiful woman you had ever seen!” She screams as loud as she can, so everyone in the restaurant can hear her.
“Josie, I—” Another slap on the cheek shuts me the hell up.
She turns and walks out of the restaurant, crying crocodile tears.
