Stoking Her Fire

by Mila Crawford

  I’d wanted to move in with Avery far sooner, but things had to be settled, a place had to be found, and I wanted things to be perfect.

  Once the moving van was packed, I helped Avery and Gigi out to my truck, got them in and settled, and the three of us headed over to the new place. I couldn’t deny that I was happier than hell over this, and I also knew that over time things would only get better. Avery was my soulmate, always had been and always would be.

  Once we got settled in the new house, I felt my heart start to pound hard behind my ribs. I had planned to wait, but hell, there was no time like the present, and with Gigi giving me the “What are you waiting for?” look, I knew I wanted to just do this.

  “What’s going on?” Avery said, clearly seeing how nervous I probably looked.

  “No granddaughter of mine is living in sin,” Gigi teased, and I watched Avery’s brows lower in confusion.

  “Sin? What in the world are you talking about?”

  That was when I took the ring out of my pocket, got down on one knee, and looked at Avery, the woman I loved more than anything else.

  “Avery Elizabeth Sinclair,” I said softly, emotion starting to choke me up. I opened the ring box and saw her lift her hand to her mouth, covering it as her eyes widened. She looked at her grandmother, tears starting to fill Avery’s eyes. Se lowered her hand and cleared her throat. “Gigi, you knew?” she whispered.

  “Of course, sweetheart. Jackson asked my permission.”

  Avery looked back and me and smiled. “God, you asked for Gigi’s permission?”

  “Of course.” Her father wasn’t in the picture, but Gigi was so important to her that I wanted things to be just perfect. I wanted to do this right. “Avery, I have loved you for as long as I can remember. You make me better. You make my life brighter, and you are my soulmate in every single way.” I felt emotion start to take hold. “Will you be my wife?”

  She started crying but had a smile on her face as she nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course I will. I love you, Jackson.” I rose and embraced her. “Now put that ring on my finger.”

  I chuckled. That’s my girl.

  Epilogue Two

  Jackson Years later

  “I’m so fat. I waddle and my feet look like they belong to a hobbit. It’s so hot. Why is it so hot?” Avery sounded like a broken record, but God, I loved that woman. I also wished I could take away her discomfort.

  For the last month she’d been a constant flux of aches and pains and it tore at my heart. She was big and beautiful while carrying my child, but I hated to see her in discomfort.

  We were expecting our first child any day now, and I knew she was ready to meet the little one, as was I. This was something I’d dreamed of for years: to have Avery as my wife and the mother of my children.

  I got down on my haunches and pushed up her shirt, exposing her roundness. I kissed her belly, feeling my love for her grow tenfold.

  “Come on out, princess. Let us finally meet you.”

  “What if I suck at this motherhood thing?”

  “Baby, you’ll be the best mother, and she’s going to be the luckiest little girl. There is no one more loving and caring than you. You aren’t your mother. You’re just like Gigi.” At that Gigi came walking in, her cane hitting the wooden floorboards in this rhythmic beat we had gotten used to.

  “That baby is going to be just as stubborn as her mama.” Gigi stopped in front of Avery and grinned. “But that just means she’ll be a fighter and not take anyone’s shit.”

  The three of us laughed softly.

  “Got Dolores coming over to do our book club thing,” Gigi said as she headed off to the sunroom. She’d made that her official hangout spot, where she’d have a handful of her elderly friends come over so they could talk about the latest romance book they’d read that week. Even at her age, Gigi was a firecracker of energy.

  “Thank you for everything,” Avery said softly to me once we were alone again.

  “For what?”

  “For putting up with me through all this. I know it hasn’t been easy.”

  “I’d walk through hell for you, Avery. I can’t begin to imagine how difficult it is to be pregnant. I wish I could take away your discomfort. All I can say is it’ll be worth it in the end.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, it will be.” I pulled her in close, already aroused for her. “How the hell can you be attracted to me right now?”

  “You’ve never looked more beautiful. Don’t you know that?”

  “You’re crazy,” she whispered.

  “Only for you. Only for you, Avery.”

  Epilogue Three

  Avery- Ten years later

  Motherhood was about sacrifice. It was about loving someone so much that you would give up your own life for them. I had a mother. Her given name was Amanda, but I called her Gigi. And even if she’d been gone for the last five years, I knew she was still with me, watching over this life I’d created with Jackson.

  Now I was a mother of three. Amanda, Lucas, and Landon.

  Jackson gave me so much throughout the years, but what I cherished the most was our family. Jackson allowed me to heal, and by giving me these children he allowed me to flourish.

  Sitting in the backyard, hearing my kids yell at each other made me smile. My life was chaotic, but it was also beautiful.

  “Can we have a few more?” Jackson said from beside me, referencing us having more kids.

  “You’re insane,” I said on a chuckle.

  “Don’t you miss having a baby around?”

  I stared at the kids, all of them growing like weeds. “Yes, I do, but you know what happens when they all get grown and out of the house?” I stared at Jackson and saw the realization in his face. “You finally have me all to yourself again.” I winked at Jackson. He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me on top of him. He started kissing my neck ferociously.

  “I suppose I can still have the making baby time without making the actual baby.” I chuckled. “But you know, beautiful, when you are pregnant and cranky it’s pretty damn sexy.”

  I just grinned and shook my head.

  “No, really, knowing that you’re putting yourself through all that to bring our children into this world is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m fortunate to have you as the mother of my children.”

  “And I’m fortunate to call you mine.”

  The End

  Snow’s Huntsman: A Fairytale Retelling

  By Mila Crawford & Aria Cole

  Web: www.MilaCrawford.com

  Email: Milacrawfordauthor@gmail.com

  Copyright © May 2018 by Mila Crawford & Aria Cole

  First E-book Publication: May 2018

  Cover Artist: Popkitty

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental. Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  Hunter

  If she ran I’d chase her … I’d find her.

  Snow White had been the only woman I loved, the one woman I’d saved myself for. What she didn’t know was that she was mine, always had been, and it was high time I showed her exactly that.

  Snow

  Hunter was my father’s head of security and the man I loved. I was tired of the gilded cage my father had built for me. I wanted my freedom, but that meant leaving Hunter.

  But when he told me I was his I knew there was nothing more I wanted than to surrender to the alpha that he was. And it was in those moments where he was memorizing every part of me that I knew one thing…Hunter owned me.


  Warning: Mila has teamed up with Aria to bring you one short, filthy fairytale retelling that’ll make you question your morals but have you turning the page for more.

  1

  Hunter

  I curled my hands into tight fists at my side and stared at Snow’s father, knowing that the man would never know the lengths I’d go for his daughter. This had nothing to do with me being the White family’s personal security either. This was because Snow was mine, had been for a long time.

  “She left sometime last night. She was smart enough to do it during the security shift change.”

  I clenched my jaw even tighter as I listened to Robert White talk--worry--about his daughter. Snow was stubborn, smart, but didn’t want to play by the rules. At twenty years old she sure gave her father a run for his money.

  And it was a hell a lot of money, too.

  “I’m going to need you to find her,” Robert said, the worry and strain on his face clear. “I know after her mother passed away she retreated within herself. I know she’s staying here because of me. I don’t want her to hate me over it, to resent me because she thinks I’ll crack being alone.” He stared off over my shoulder. “Maybe I would,” he said softly, almost to himself.

  Robert ran his hand over his face, exhaling roughly. He leaned back against his seat and stared at me, a hell of a lot of trust reflected back in that gaze.

  “I’ll find her. I’ll bring her back safely.” I knew he could hear the determination in my voice. It didn’t matter where Snow was, where she ran. I’d chase after her. I’d find her. And when she was back home, under the safety of her father‘s roof and my protection, I was going to show her exactly who she belonged to.

  I was going to show Snow White that she was mine.

  Snow

  I leaned back in the driver’s side seat and stared out at the coast. I wasn’t trying to be dramatic by leaving in the middle of the night, but the truth was I was tired of having round the clock security. I was done with having everybody know my every move, knowing exactly where I was every moment of every day.

  I wanted a normal life, one that didn’t include my high profile political father, the wrought iron gate that surrounded our property like a prison, or having to watch what I did so I didn’t give the family a bad name.

  It wasn’t just that. I was tired of seeing Hunter, my father’s head of security, day in and day out when what I felt for him wasn’t like anything I’d ever experienced before. Truth was I loved that man, had since before I probably even knew what the emotion was. But he was almost double my age, and I knew that he would never cross lines to be with me.

  I snorted at my thoughts, even wondering why I thought a man like Hunter Sterling would be with someone like me. He was rough around the edges, tall and masculine, muscular in a way that only a male was. He made me feel feminine, small and petite. And he didn’t even know how much I wanted him.

  I looked down at the red apple I’d taken with me before I’d left. The flesh was shiny, perfect. It fit perfectly in my hand, the weight heavy. I lifted it to my mouth and took a bite, the flesh cracking as my teeth went through it. As I watched the ocean I thought about everything I had in life, how I was truly lucky, but at the same time I remembered what I’d lost.

  I wasn’t running away, even if my father probably thought so. I just needed to get away for a little bit, even for a few hours, without having someone tail me. I needed to get my head on straight, to think about what I really wanted in life. But the very thought of not having Hunter by my side, not just as a protector that my father hired, but the man who loved me in return, was a hard pill to swallow.

  The waves crashed against the sandy shore, the sound calming, yet almost frantic as well. The sun was already rising, yellows and oranges, pinks and reds casting along the water and the beach. I opened the car door and climbed out, shutting it silently behind me. At this hour of the morning the beach was empty, no life to be seen.

  Finishing the apple, I tossed it in the trashcan beside my car and pulled my shoes off, setting them on top of the hood. I then made my way down to the beach. As soon as my feet touched the sand I sighed in contentment. Walking toward the water’s edge, I looked on as I let the cold liquid splash on my toes. I stared out at the horizon, the sun this huge ball of orange in the distance.

  The wind picked up, moving my hair along my shoulders. I should just move out because that would be the smart, responsible thing to do. If I didn’t want to be under my father’s thumb anymore I needed to just make that leap. But after my mother died last year, I hadn’t wanted to leave him alone.

  He might always have people around, but that was hired help. He had no family aside from me. And so it had been love and guilt that kept me in place. I knew my mother would want me to live my own life. She wouldn’t want me to stay in the past, to live at home just because I didn’t want my father to be lonely. I’d still see him, daily, but I needed my own space. Not even a mansion could give me the isolation I wanted or needed.

  But then there was Hunter, the man who consumed my thoughts, who made me want to break out of the mold I’d made for myself. Maybe I should just tell him that I loved him, that I wanted him. But even thinking that gave me anxiety.

  The very real possibility of being rejected by the only person I’ve ever wanted was enough to have me keeping my mouth shut. And it was because of that very reason that I kept my mouth shut. It was because of that reason that I probably would never tell Hunter exactly how I felt.

  Hunter

  I’d found her easily enough. I knew where she would be going before she probably did.

  The beach. The one place she’d been going to for as long as I’d been working for her father.

  I parked the SUV and cut the engine, seeing her small form sitting on the sand as she watched the waves.

  God, I loved that woman. Everything about her drove me insane. She had marked me in every single way and I wanted her to be obsessed with me like I was with her.

  I headed toward her, knowing she wouldn't know I was here until I was practically on top of her.

  On top of her.

  My cock thickened at that very thought. I envisioned a hell of a lot with Snow, more than I deserved to. But she was mine, had been, and always would be.

  And I was going to make her see that, know that, right fucking now.

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