Devils & Rye

by Alta Hensley

  “I want that, too. I love you, Alec.” The words still felt right to say even when not under duress thinking the man was about to die. That was a good sign.

  A smile washed over his breathtakingly handsome face. “So what do you feel is going to be our main issue? Do you think you can move on from all this? And do you feel I have a place in that picture?”

  I took a ragged breath to attempt to steady my composure “I can’t imagine my life without you in it. Without you by my side from this moment on.”

  “Do you want to move back to New Orleans with me?” he asked, keeping his gaze locked on me. “I love the lake house, but I really do need to be closer to Spiked Roses. I’m not ready to retire from my involvement with that place yet. I enjoy it.” He chuckled. “I might be old, but not that old. Retirement is not in my near future yet.”

  “Yes. I want that,” I almost whispered. “I had been so excited with the thought of moving and living in New Orleans before… well before all this happened.”

  “What about your father? He seemed all right with us, though I don’t think he really understands the level of what ‘us’ really is. What if he objects?” Alec leaned toward me, reaching for my hand. “I’m old enough to be your father, and that harsh reality is going to become very obvious when we thrust ourselves into day to day life.”

  “I have to live my life regardless of what my father says. But he did say he was going to join us at the lake in a couple of days, so I think that is saying something. It might take him a bit to get used to the idea, but when he sees how happy you make me… As for when we go back to New Orleans and Spiked Roses… people will assume you’re my sugar daddy.” The blush on my face began to take over. I pulled my hand away and reached for my wine, taking a large swig.

  “There’s some truth to that. I don’t mind being considered your sugar daddy. Let people talk all they want. I do plan on taking care of you and giving you whatever you want. I want you to have the luxury of following your dreams in whatever way that is. Call it what you want. I call it taking care of what is mine.”

  I took another deep breath. “I don’t even know what my dreams to be are. I have had such a sheltered life that I didn’t give myself that leeway to plan for a future. The only dream I truly had was to one day feel ordinary.” I paused, shrugged, and took another sip of wine. “I guess I have to find myself somehow. I’ve been lost in a sea of darkness.”

  “Well,” he said after a long moment’s silence, “I want you to find yourself as I stand by your side every step of the way.”

  I allowed my gaze to move from Alec to the calm surface of the lake. The unfamiliar feeling of hope seemed to ease itself into my tense body.

  Alec must have read my body language and guessed my thoughts because he continued, “I know not knowing the future is scary.” He poured each of us some more wine from the bottle. “But we survived something so ugly, that we are definitely going to survive anything that can be thrown our way.”

  “I hope so,” I said softly, then paused as our waitress approached and set down our dinner. Alec reached for my hand and squeezed. His eyes connected with mine, silently letting me know we were going to be fine. The waitress was quick and, in moments, gone.

  “You know I love you, right?” Alec said, his voice a whispered hush that couldn’t be ignored.

  I nodded as I took a bite of my salmon. “I do. But I get nervous that love might not be enough.” I stiffened in my chair and reached for my wine with a shaky hand. “The Iron Colt Brotherhood still exists and will always be there… looming in the distance.”

  “Never again. We will never be involved with them again. Your father is done. I’m done.” Alec’s voice was deep and hoarse, as if he had to force the words out. He stopped eating, blew out a breath and said, “I know it’s hard to believe. But I need you to know that I am a powerful man even without the brotherhood behind me. There is nothing I won’t do to keep you safe.”

  “I know… you proved that to me. You saved me. You saved my father. I owe you everything.” I took a long drink of my wine, trying desperately to clear the lump that remained in the back of my throat. I wondered if the awful memories would ever go away.

  Alec shook his head slowly, staring down at his steak dinner. “You don’t owe me a thing.” Alec looked up into my eyes. “I want you, Makayla. I want you in my life. But please don’t agree to this because you feel you owe me.”

  “I want you too,” was all I could barely squeak out. The man stole my breath with the way he looked at me. So powerful. So all consuming.

  Alec softly touched my hand. His palm was warm, strong, and delivered chills racing up and down my spine. I looked deep within his eyes and saw a stoically confident, determined man. How could I ever resist a man like him? Alec was in my blood.

  With a mischievous smile, he asked, “Do you want to get out of here? Let’s go check out the house and make sure it’s the way we left it.”

  I glanced at my plate and then his. “We haven’t finished eating yet.”

  “All I want right now is to pick you up, toss you over my shoulder, and carry you out of this restaurant. I want you alone, so I can show you just how much I love you.” Alec pushed his chair back, grabbed his wallet and placed a pile of cash on the table.

  “We didn’t get the bill yet —”

  “Makayla.” Alec reached out his hand and stared down into my eyes. “Either we get out of here right now, or all these people are going to see you as I bend you over this table and fuck you like I desperately want to do. I prefer to fuck you in private,” he said with a wink. “But I’ll leave that decision up to you.”

  I took a moment to think about it, playfully acting as if I were actually considering just keeping my seat. Defying him and refusing to leave, just so I could guarantee his threat would come to fruition. But I also wanted him just as badly as he wanted me. So, with a sly smile, I stood up and took his hand.

  23

  Makayla

  I snuggled more deeply into Alec’s arms. He hadn’t let me out of his sight, or the bed, since arriving back at the lake house. I was exhausted and starving, and knew he had to be as well.

  “We should go out and get something to eat,” he suggested, as if reading my mind.

  The idea of an early dinner sounded great, but I didn’t want to move. I liked it right here in his arms, my body warm, melting as I thought of all the lovemaking we had just shared and no doubt would continue to. Lots of slow, lingering kisses, mixed with passionate gasps and pleas for more. I smiled against his chest. I loved the way we drove each other crazy.

  “I’m not hungry,” I lied. I wanted to sit here like this, in his arms, until one of us was forced to move.

  “I thought for sure we worked up an appetite. Is it time for another round?” he suggested.

  Another smile pulled at my lips. “I’m not sure I can. I think you’ve truly worn me out.”

  “Then dinner it is.”

  I raised my head to look at him. “Okay, just give me a few minutes to get ready.”

  “You’re beautiful just the way you are.”

  “I’m naked.”

  “Exactly,” he chuckled.

  I sighed and collapsed against his muscled chest once more. “Do you want to eat dinner or not?”

  “Fine.” He moved free of me, and stood naked at the side of the bed. “We need our energy for later. We will have the entire night ahead of us.”

  I laughed. “You’re crazy.”

  He bent down and kissed the tip of my nose. “Promise me you won’t move. I have an idea.”

  I rolled onto my stomach, propped up on my arms and smiled up at him. “Shall we have dinner in bed?”

  “You’re reading my mind.” Alec smiled. “Stay right there. I’ll be right back.”

  He kissed me in that slow, sweet way of his, and I nearly forgot all about the growl of hunger in my stomach. I just wanted him to keep kissing me.

  Alec was gone long enough to make m
e want to break my vow of staying put. When he finally returned, he carried a tray laden with a variety of cheese, crackers, and meats.

  “Here you go.” He placed down the tray and backed toward the door. “I just have to get one more thing.”

  I nibbled on a piece of cheese. He was back in an instant, with a simply wrapped gift in his hands.

  Alec sat it on the bed in front of me. “Open it.”

  I looked at the box with surprise. Looking up to Alec, I searched his eyes for some hint as to what was inside.

  “Open it,” he urged.

  I slowly removed the silky white ribbon. I lifted the lid and smiled at the piles of rose petals that acted as tissue paper. “What’s this?”

  “You’ll see.”

  I dug through the petals, finally finding a citrine ring with the stone in the shape of an oval. I gasped and instantly burst into tears. It was my mother’s. I recognized it. I remembered it from so many years ago.

  “How did you get this? Where did you find it?”

  He pressed a fingertip to my lips. “Do you like it?”

  I placed the ring on my finger and stared with admiration. It fit just like it had fit my mother. I nodded. “It’s so beautiful! But how? This wasn’t in her belongings after she died. I know all of her jewelry by heart. This wasn’t in the collection I have back in Georgia.”

  “That’s because she lost it here at the lake one year. It was one of her favorites, and she wore it all the time,” Alec said.

  “I remember. She wore it on her middle finger every day. I still have pictures of her with the ring showing.”

  “She did,” Alec said with a nod. “But then she lost it. She thought it was when she was swimming, but she was wrong because I found it. When I was downstairs in the basement getting us a bottle of wine, I saw it shining up at me.”

  “It had been there all the time?” I asked, wiping away at the tears streaming down my face.

  “It was never lost. And now it’s here for you.”

  I was like my mother was giving her blessing on this relationship. Her blessing on my choices to move to New Orleans and be with Alec. Like she was looking down and telling me it wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t taboo. That it was what she would have wanted for me all along. She wanted me to be happy, and now that I was… she was giving me her blessing by this gift of one of her most prized and precious possessions.

  “I think she would have been happy for us. She would have supported our love, and I think this was her way to let us know that.” I looked at him and smiled. “Do you think I’m crazy for believing that?”

  “Not crazy at all. I agree, and I know this ring will make you think of your mother, but I’m hoping it will also remind you of our time at the lake… together.”

  I tugged him down onto the bed. Forgetting about the food, I kissed him with the passion that exploded from my heart. “You have given me the best gift.”

  He kissed my hand. “One of many… if you will allow it. I love you, Makayla.”

  “And I love you. Promise me that we’ll always have this love. Promise me that we won’t lose this.”

  “There’s no question in that. I love you. Always will,” he replied in a thick voice.

  “What if leaving the lake house changes all of that? What if it changes us? What if all those dark shadows we just escaped find us again?”

  “Never. Trust in us. Trust in me to protect you and never allow anything like that to happen again. I will give you normal. Trust me.” He reached for me, dragging me into his arms, holding me with all his strength.

  “I do.” I looked at him hopefully. “But can’t we just stay here at the lake forever to be sure?”

  With a warm smile he said, “We will always have the lake house, but we don’t need the lake house to be safe. Not anymore. You have me, and I have you.”

  I raised my face to him and he lowered his head, his lips coming down on mine for a long, ravenous kiss. A kiss that made me feel more loved and protected than I even thought possible. I knew that no matter what, Alec was going to make sure I had my happily ever after in what was a dark and terrifying world. And even when we had to leave and face our new reality, I knew we would always have our lake house… our past, our memories, and our home.

  The End

  Top Shelf Series

  TOP SHELF SERIES:

  BASTARDS & WHISKEY

  VILLAINS & VODKA

  SCOUNDRELS & SCOTCH

  DEVILS & RYE

  About the Author

  Alta Hensley is a USA TODAY bestselling author of hot, dark and dirty romance. She is also an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author. Being a multi-published author in the romance genre, Alta is known for her dark, gritty alpha heroes, sometimes sweet love stories, hot eroticism, and engaging tales of the constant struggle between dominance and submission.

  For More Information on Alta

  www.altahensley.com

  alta@altahensley.com

  Also by Alta Hensley

  SCOUNDRELS & SCOTCH

  I'll stop at nothing to own her.

  I'm a collector of dolls.

  All kinds of dolls.

  So beautiful and sexy, they become my art.

  So perfect and flawless, my art galleries are flooded by the wealthy to gaze upon my possessions with envy.

  So fragile and delicate, I keep them tucked away for safety.

  The dark and torrid tales of Drayton's Dolls run rampant through the rich and famous, and all but a few are true.

  Normally I share my dolls for others to play with or watch on display.

  But not my special doll.

  No, not her.

  Ivy is the most precious doll of all.

  She's mine. All mine.

  *Scoundrels & Scotch is a dark billionaire romance. If you don't like a splash of shock, a dash of taboo, and a heavy dose of sex, then don't take a sip of this TOP SHELF cocktail.

  VILLAINS & VODKA

  My life is one long fevered dream, balancing between being killed or killing.

  The name Harley Crow is one to be feared.

  I am an assassin.

  A killer.

  The villain.

  I own it. I choose this life. Hell, I crave it. I hunger for it. The smell of fear makes me hard and is the very reason the blood runs through my veins.

  Until I meet her…

  Marlowe Masters.

  Her darkness matches my own.

  In my twisted world of dancing along the jagged edge of the blade…

  She changes everything.

  No weapon can protect me from the kind of death she will ultimately deliver.

  *Villains & Vodka is a dark billionaire romance. If you don’t like a splash of shock, a dash of taboo, and a heavy dose of sex, then don’t take a sip of this TOP SHELF cocktail.

  Captive Vow

  I take you.

  To honor and obey.

  Till death do us part.

  This is my solemn vow.

  I am caught in the madness of a deep obsession. Stolen away to become his perfect and dutiful wife.

  Trapped in a twisted and dark courtship. Forced and trained in the wifely duties of an obedient bride.

  I am his.

  Captive ever after…

  ***Captive Vow is a dark romantic thriller. If you don’t like a sprinkle of shock, a dash of taboo, and a heavy dose of sex, then don’t take a sip of my cocktail.

  His Caged Kitty

  Here kitty, kitty…

  His voice.

  His command.

  I became weak.

  He became my Master the day he saved me and stole me away. I was his pet. His property.

  A caged kitty so I would not run away.

  In a dark and futuristic world, where civilization has to start over, I have no other options. I must submit to a new way of life.

  But if the cage unlocks, will I truly be free of my captor? Or will something far greater keep me contained?

  ** His Caged Kitt
y is a novella that is very dark, very taboo, and very dirty. There is graphic sex, and strong BDSM elements. This is not for the faint of heart reader wanting champagne and roses. The only roses in this book are covered in thorns. But with dark comes light, and there will be a happily ever after.

  Bad, Bad, Girl

  How can it be wrong when it feels so, so right?

  What happens when you are a very bad, bad girl?

  What happens when he is so alpha that he demands complete surrender?

  What happens when your body, mind, and soul betray you?

  You submit.

  You utter the words you never thought you would say.

  “Yes, sir.”

  They should resist. They should say no. They should walk away and never look back.

  But they won't.

  Three women. Three men. Three tales of carnal delight that push the comfort zone.

  Includes: Traditional Love, Traditional Terms, and Traditional Change.

  **bad, bad, Girl is an erotic romance that pushes the boundaries of taboo. It is far from a Traditional Love romance. There is graphic sex, there is content that will certainly make you blush, and there are scenes that could cause grandma to have a stroke. If this is not your cup of tea, then please do not take a sip.

  Delicate Scars

  Is it possible to pick that one defining moment in life that fucked you up? Can anyone look back on their life and pinpoint the exact minute it happened? I used to believe that I wasn’t fucked up. I had absolutely no reason to be.