“Hello, Mother. Father,” Piper says,
“Where in the hell have you been?” my father asks, his eyes blazing.
“Mother told me to marry the right man and you would leave us alone. So I did.”
Mrs. Ross’s gaze narrows in on Piper’s hand. Her face turns bright red. “I meant someone like Mark Williams, Piper, and you know it.”
I step in front of my wife. “Mark Williams? Are you fucking kidding me? He attacked your daughter and you want her to—The two of you should be ashamed.” I pin my gaze on Piper’s dad. “Especially you. You’re supposed to protect your daughter, not hand her over like a sacrificial lamb to a scumbag like Mark.”
Her father’s face turns purple. “If anyone’s the scumbag, it’s you. You attacked him and somehow convinced my daughter to go—”
“How dare you,” Piper says, and the entire room gets quiet. “I filed a report. They took pictures of my face and my arms…he hit me. He shook me and he—If Jase hadn’t shown up, Mark would have done a hell of a lot more.”
“Piper,” her mother says, her face pale as she takes a step forward. “I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have—” She glances at her husband. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because he’s a liar and he’s making one out of your daughter. Besides, how do we know he wasn’t the one to hurt her?”
Piper stiffens, then her shoulders droop a little. I can’t blame her. Her parents would rather blame me and accuse her of lying than actually defend her. “For the last time, Jase had nothing to do with Mark Williams’s attack, but I’ve hired Lucy McBeal to represent him and she assures me that her PI will do everything he can to uncover what really happened in that video.
“Furthermore, I’ve been informed of my inheritance—the specifics, that is—and I don’t require anything from the two of you ever again. I’ll have my BMW delivered to you as soon as possible.”
“That’s not all,” I say, taking Piper into my arms. “As a wedding present to your only daughter, you will help her deal with Mark Williams and his family. You will make sure that he is punished.”
“And you’ll leave my husband and his family alone,” Piper adds. “I don’t want anything to do with either of you ever again.”
“Done,” her mother says, and then looks at her husband. “Right?”
“We’ll take care of Mark.” His jaw works. “Hard to believe that he—”
“Fuck off, Ross.” I steer Piper toward the front door and she doesn’t resist. “Don’t listen to him. We know the truth and that’s all that matters.”
Piper tips up her chin, her eyes clear. “Exactly.”
“So damn proud of you for sticking up for yourself.”
I open the passenger-side door and she gets in. “I had you to stick up for me, too. I’ve never had that before.”
Leaning down, I give her a hard kiss, full of promise, then shut the door and jog to my side of the car, sliding in.
I take her hand and kiss the back of it. “You’re my wife. I’d do anything for you.”
—
Another week passes by without a word from Piper’s parents. The police haven’t been sent to my house, either, and mysteriously the notices from the health department have stopped coming, too.
I’m not positive that it is merely a coincidence. What I do know? None of it is Piper’s fault. She can’t help who her parents are or what they do.
The only downside to our rather hasty marriage and impromptu honeymoon is that when we get back, Piper learned that she lost her job at the women’s shelter. Their policy doesn’t allow anyone who works there to be married to someone convicted of a violent crime, even if it was a crime of circumstance.
Ginger hadn’t wanted to tell Piper up front because she wanted us to enjoy our honeymoon. Ginger is classy like that. I like her.
Piper took the news better than I expected, but I made it up to her by going to Aristotle’s Closet and buying back every pair of shoes and every stinking purse I could find that she had sold in order to pay for my lawyer…at all four locations.
She actually cried over seeing the hot pink ones with the tiny bows. So I did what any guy would have done in that situation—I handed her the inhaler I kept on me, just for situations like this, had her put the shoes on, and bend over the kitchen table so that I could get rid of those tears.
Worked like a fucking charm.
My phone vibrates, taking me out of my very hot memories of watching my cock sink into Piper’s wet pussy over and over again. Her heart-shaped ass jiggles so good when I pound her in that position. And the sounds she makes…
Another buzz and I snap out of it. Pulling out my phone, I glance at the screen. It’s a text from the PI. My heart slams against my chest.
Please let him have good news. No matter what Piper and I demanded from her family, I don’t trust them.
“Be right back, Monisha,” I tell our newest artist. The woman’s skills are sick and she’s a wicked fast piercer. Very popular with our clients, too. Especially the moms who don’t want to go to the mall for their kids’ first ear piercings.
She pushes back her dreads and gives me a thumbs-up, then goes back to piercing the ears of a ten-year-old. The kid barely makes a sound and I smile.
When I get to my office, I run my thumb across the screen to bring up the message.
PI Magoo: We’ve identified MW’s attacker.
I’m pretty sure no one gets the joke over what I call the PI but me. However, I’m a firm believer that you have to find laughter wherever you can. Pretty sure Piper taught me that.
Me: Who?
PI Magoo: Emmett Dunning.
I almost drop the phone. “Son of a bitch.”
Emmett chooses that moment to walk in, and I take a good look at his hands. They’re bruised as fuck and he has scratch marks in various stages of healing. I’ve been in enough fights to know that beating the shit out of someone with your actual hands will fuck them up for weeks.
“What’s up?” He goes to the file cabinet and opens a drawer.
“Bro, we need to talk.”
“Can it wait? I got some hotties—”
“What did he do to your sister?” I ask.
Emmett’s face pales. “Who?”
“Mark Williams.”
Tears actually well in Emmett’s eyes. “He put his hands on her…and that’s not all.” His jaw works. “He…that monster raped my baby sister. She came home one night…clothes are ripped and her face…looked like she went head-to-head with Holyfield. I took her to the hospital—she didn’t want to go, but I took her anyway. They helped us contact the police.”
I understand his rage, felt it myself when Mark put his hands on Piper, and channeled it into my fists, but I can’t imagine the pain he must be in over his little sister. “Then what happened?”
“Filed a report. Kinsey refused to name Mark, but I knew it was him. If it wasn’t, she would have said so when I told her I was going to make him pay.”
Emmett slams the file drawer shut. “He pissed his pants as soon as he went down. I kicked him and kicked him, and if I could have physically done to him on the inside what he did to my sister, I would have, but there weren’t any poles to shove up his ass.”
I rub my chin. “They have a video of you—security cam at The Oaks got it. They thought it was me, which is why they took me in for questioning in the first place. Hell, they still assume it’s me, but they don’t have enough proof to do anything about it.”
“Fuck. I thought…” His head falls back. “I didn’t mean for you to get accused of anything. The dude was alive and breathing when I left him.”
“You have to tell the cops.”
“I know.”
“We can call Hunter, get him to take you in and tell your side.”
“Do you think…maybe that asshole will finally get what’s coming to him?”
I nod slowly. Piper’s dad will do something to punish the guy, but I’m a hundred percent sure it will be done privately
. Because reputation is king of The Oaks. “I think if someone finally stands up to Mark and it gets out, then hell yes.”
“Then let’s make sure it gets out.” He grabs his phone. “You think a YouTube confession will do it?”
“I’ll help you upload it.”
Chapter 22
SIX MONTHS LATER
Jase
The renovations on the house are finally complete. The project made the local news and a crew from HGTV came out to do some interviews on neighborhood revitalization projects. I let Blake and his partner handle all that. Despite how things have changed in the last eight years in regard to attitudes and even this town, I’m not about to chance someone Googling my ass and making my past the focus. So I’ve remained a silent partner in it all. A wealthy silent partner. I still can’t believe how much money they gave me for the house, or the lease deal we made on the land. It’s not as much as Piper inherited, not even close, but it makes me feel like I’m contributing. She’s put her money to work, starting a women’s shelter on the other side of Charlotte, and she’s back at school.
It’s kinda hot that my wife is a college student.
I get a text from Blake, read it quickly, and then shove my phone across the table.
“We have all but one section leased,” I announce as Piper brings a huge birthday cake to the table and sets it in the middle. “Blake’s pleased with how quickly they went.”
Piper gives a little cheer and smiles brightly at me, lighting candles. The lighter she uses is an old one of mine and I’m proud to say that I’ve been smoke-free for six months. “I’m sure you’ll find a tenant for that one in no time at all, but in the meantime, blow out your candles and make a wish.”
I pull her down into my lap. “Don’t need to. I got everything I want.”
She pouts a little. “But it’s your birthday.”
I can’t resist her pouty lips. “Fine.” I blow the candles out. “My wish is for you to get naked and let me eat birthday cake off your tits.”
“Done.” She stands up and unbuttons her dress, revealing her perfect breasts to me, as the dress slides down her body. Her very nude body. “Like my birthday suit?”
“Very much.”
Running a finger through the icing, she rubs the tips of her pink nipples with it. In the center of her chest is an intricate henna tattoo she let me apply to her skin this morning. Slowly but surely, she’s warming up to the idea of permanent ink. However, I won’t push her. It’s not my style and I want her to want it.
“Ready to eat your birthday cake?” Amusement, desire, and love flash in her pretty eyes.
Yeah, life is good, and she’s everything I want.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank Sue Grimshaw for taking a chance on this series. You are amazing and such a wonderful editor. Working with you has been the best experience.
Special thanks to my family for supporting me. In particular I’d like to thank my husband for inspiring the “having coherent conversations while completely asleep” scenes in this book. My favorite is the time you demanded that all the clocks in the hospital be turned back.
Last, but never least, my readers. Thank you for reading my work.
BY MARQUITA VALENTINE
Take the Fall Series
Take the Fall
When We Fall
After We Fall (coming soon)
Boys of the South Series
Live for You
Only for You
True for You
All for You
Wish for You
Burn for You
Need You Tonight
Holland Springs Series
Drive Me Crazy
Driving to You
Twice Tempted
Third Time’s a Charm
His Christmas Wish
Just Desserts
Not over You
Be Mine
The Lawson Brothers Series
Love So Hot
Love So True
Love So Irresistible
Love So Tempting
Love So Perfect
PHOTO: MATTHEW WINSLOW
MARQUITA VALENTINE is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Holland Springs and Boys of the South series.
Since first taking the plunge in July 2012 to self-publish, Marquita Valentine has sold more than a quarter of a million books around the world. Her books have appeared on the iBooks, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble top-selling eBook lists. She’s been called “one of the best new voices in romance” (Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews) and her books have been accused of being “a sexy, fun, and slightly addicting contemporary read” (Book Queen).
When she’s not writing about sexy heroes who adore their sassy heroines, she enjoys shopping, reading, and spending time with her family and friends. Married to her high school sweetheart, Marquita lives in a seriously small town in the South with her husband, two kids, and a dog.
Visit Marquita at the links below and subscribe to her newsletter through the contact link on her website.
marquitavalentine.com
Facebook.com/AuthorMarquitaValentine
@marquitaval
The Editor’s Corner
Happy Holidays from our hearth to yours! This month we’re sending you some hot Loveswept romances to keep the fire burning:
USA Today bestselling author Bronwen Evans’s new Disgraced Lords novel is about a marriage of convenience and its delightful pleasures—and mortal danger in A Whisper of Desire. K. J. Charles turns up the heat in her new Society of Gentlemen novel, A Seditious Affair, as two lovers face off in a sensual duel that challenges their deepest beliefs. Samantha Kane’s Birmingham Rebels series proves that three’s never a crowd…at least not for the hard-bodied football all-stars who give teamwork a sexy twist in Calling the Play. Welcome to Forever, new from author Annie Rains, introduces a small coastal town where America’s best and brightest risk everything for love. Jackie Ashenden ups the ante in the seductive Deacons of Bourbon Street series, co-written with Megan Crane, Rachael Johns, and Maisey Yates, with Hold Me Down, a story about what happens when the biker who broke Alice’s heart rides into town, and she must choose between passion and duty. Another story for MC fans is Violetta Rand’s irresistible novel about a sexy-as-sin biker who tempts a good girl to go bad, Persuasion.
In USA Today bestselling author Tina Wainscott’s gritty, emotional small-town romance Falling Hard, passions run high as a reformed bad boy reconnects with an old enemy…and gets her engine revving. In Laura Marie Altom’s tale of forbidden love, Stepping Over the Line, meet two tortured souls with an unbreakable bond. Then comes a tender military romance from Serena Bell, USA Today bestselling author of Hold on Tight, in which a war-shattered veteran gets a second chance at love with the one that got away in Can’t Hold Back.
Writing duo MJ Fields and Chelsea Camaron release another sizzling-hot Caldwell Brothers story—Morrison, which hits the Vegas strip as a bad-boy gambler from Detroit Rock City shows a single mom what it means to play for keeps. Then it’s off to Los Angeles where Hollywood’s hottest young actor hits the road to chase his big break—and discovers a leading lady where he least expects in Cassie Mae’s No Interest in Love.
I can’t believe 2016 is upon us, can you? Thank you for spending your reading time with Loveswept, and we hope to entertain you all over again in the new year.
Happy Romance!
Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher
Read on for an excerpt from
After We Fall
by Marquita Valentine
Available from Loveswept
Chapter 1
Hunter
It’s been six months since I last spoke to her. One hundred and eighty days since I last saw her battered and bruised face. Four thousand, three hundred and twenty hours since I last touched her vulnerable body. Not that I’m counting. I shouldn’t count. I shouldn’t think of her at all.
Yet…
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br /> Over the years, I’ve escorted countless women to shelters, but none has affected me on the damn level as she did. Not a single one. I can’t get her out of my head. Can’t stop wondering if she’s safe, if she’s back with her sadistic husband, or if she’s lying dead on the side of the road.
It’s where she was found the first time. Shuffling down the beltline, no shoes, torn clothes. An extra from The Walking Dead looked better than she did. Had less blood on them too.
Exhaling thickly as I get out of my truck, I head inside the bar where I’m meeting my partner for drinks. We’ve had a hell of a shift today, and a beer or two is calling our names.
Why this woman? I don’t get it. I really don’t, and it’s not like I haven’t had the opportunity to get her out of my head, because I have. Believe me, I have. A lot of women dig the cop uniform. The cuffs, too.
Only for the past six months, I’ve said no. I guess you could call it a form of self-imposed celibacy. In any case, I’m not buying what they’re offering. On one hand, it sucks to not be into any other women, but I’m twenty-eight-years old—hardly some punk with a raging boner and a drive to stick it into anything willingly standing still.
“The FNG is here,” Rollins shouts and I inwardly groan. Why in the hell did Dwight have to invite him. I can’t stand that dude, or his nickname for me.
Fucking New Guy. I haven’t been the FNG for ten years, not since I first joined straight out of high school. But since I did a lateral transfer from Forrestville’s Police Department to the city of Charlotte PD’s Family Victims Unit, I’ve been called nothing else by him. All because he was hired a day before me. Other than that, we have exactly the same amount of time in.
Shooting Dwight a glare, I join them at the back of the room. Dwight already has a cold one waiting for me. “This helps.”
When We Fall Page 19
