by Ivy Rose
Contents
I’m Avery Carmichael
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
You stole my heart…
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
When you’re lost and broken
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Afterword
Afterword
Playlist:
About the Author
Dominic…
Acknowledgments
Shattered Love
First Edition published in 2018
Text Copyright © Ivy Rose
All rights reserved.
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without the prior written permission of the author. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Editing by Elizabeth Hesse
Cover Design by Abigail Davies at Pink Elephant Designs
Formatting by by Abigail Davies at Pink Elephant Designs
“What if I fall?”
“Oh, but my darling. What if you fly?”
—E.H
Love your faces <3
Thank you to Abigail Davies, Kerry Humphreys,
And Elizabeth Hess.
Thank you for teaching me to fly.
This book wouldn't have been possible without you.
I’m Avery Carmichael. This is my story and how I fell in love with a man who only knew how to love fiercely. So fiercely you had to feel it to believe it. He let his guard down with me. I was his sun, his star, his home...only I made a choice that shattered him more than life ever could. The worst thing is if you asked me if I would do it again, my answer would be yes. Don’t judge me until you know my story & know I will always love Dominic Stone.
Avery
Dominic is home. My body clenches at the sound of his footsteps approaching.
I smile. Hearing him before I feel his hands on my waist, his scent mingling in the air around me. Dominic’s voice is a deep, sharp whisper. “Honey…I’m home.”
I can’t help but snort. “You’re such a dork.”
I continue stirring my meatballs.
Dominic’s got a serious addiction to my Italian food and coming from a traditional Italian family I had learned to cook before I could walk.
He wraps his thick arms around me. “Something smells nice.” His tone is husky. My breath hitches instantly, my heart beating to the beat that belongs to him. Burying his head in my neck to place a single, soft kiss just under my ear. He trails a small line of kisses down my neck, my stomach twisting in pleasure it’s like his lips have a direct line to the spot that drives my ovaries.
I squirm as his hands explore me. “Stop or we won’t eat!” My face flushes. It has nothing to do the warmth from the cooker. “I’ve made your favorite.” Lips curling into a smile against my neck like he knows exactly what he’s doing to me before he bites gently. Goosebumps cover my skin as I purr. “Dom.” I succumb and lean into him as he turns me to face him, pulling me by the waist against his muscular body.
I can’t resist him. He’s my addiction.
He doesn’t say a word as his green eyes take me in like it’s been a thousand years, not a couple of hours, since I saw him last. The intensity behind his gaze darkens as his eyes dart to my lips. He bites his own just slightly before looking back into my eyes. One of his hands finds its way into my hair then to the nape of my neck. The other is tugging on my waist firmly He leans in slowly and the moment his lips touch mine, my body automatically bows to him. All I feel are his lips. Nothing else exists. The world disappears. I’ve been kissed plenty of times before, but no other kiss comes close to one from Dominic Stone.
Demanding and passionate.
You would think after five years I would be used to his touch, but every time his breath closes in on mine, it’s like the first time all over again.
He pulls back. “Hey, beautiful.”
Trying to control my breathing, I smile up at him. “Hey.” It comes out a whisper as he runs one of his fingertips down my face, as if he’s trying to catalog every feature to memory.
Gaze intense, as if he’s searching for an answer that only my eyes can give. His whole body relaxes when he seems to find it.
“Go have a shower. Dinner's nearly ready.”
Dominic slaps my ass.
“Ouch!”
His lips turn up into that sexy smile I love.
Dominic had always been the bad boy from the other side of the tracks—the wrong side. He was always on a most wanted list, especially with the ladies. The girls followed him around like he was the Pied Piper and the guys considered him their hero.
Me, I was the nerd. Always had my head in a book and never thought for a second that Dominic knew my name.
Rumors were he’d only dated college girls and that high school girls weren’t enough for his experienced taste. Dominic looked older for his age, so the rumors of the wild parties he attended were believable. He didn’t have a baby face or that lanky awkwardness that most teenagers go through. No, he was defined and cut like a Photoshopped image right out of a magazine. A body created only in imagination. His jaw was as chiseled as his cheekbones, his dark hair styled effortlessly. I envied the lucky girl who ran her fingers through it.
Dominic demanded attention when he walked into a room, even though he hardly spoke a word. There was something about him that just mesmerized a crowd. To watch him, to listen to his every word…he was hypnotizing.
Imagine how I must have felt the day he stopped in the corridor and asked me—no, told me—that I was going to prom with him. I was convinced I was on Punk’d. He was Dominic Stone and I was, well, just me. Avery Carmichael.
Avery
I guess I considered myself pretty, but I had no clue Dominic Stone thought so, too. Up until he told me I was going prom with him, he hadn’t spoken a word to me.
No one knew of my crush on Dominic, so, naturally, there were stolen glances on my part as my eyes always found their way to him. But in those instances where our eyes locked for just the briefest of moments, I had always assumed it was accidental—like I was in his way or something.
I hadn't dared dream that it could mean that Dominic shared the same feelings I had tried so hard to hide.
Dominic was the perfect gentleman at prom. His brooding intensity was calmer, and he was relaxed. At the end of the night, he kissed me, and that kiss was everything I wished for. It was the kiss of all kisses, the kind described in my books. It left my lips swollen, I swear. He imprinted himself on me that night. I saw no one but Dominic. The world could have burned down and turned to ash, but I wouldn’t ha
ve noticed.
As we got to know each other, I knew people had Dominic pegged wrong. He was an alpha, they had that right. Dominant as they came. But I knew another side of him.
He was guarded, showing the world only his perfected mask of arrogance and his strength. Nothing could shake him. He was fearless, dark and dangerous. But when he removed that mask for me, I saw who he really was. The most beautiful person I had ever seen.
Dominic refused to allow his junkie parents to stand in the way of bettering himself. He managed to keep his grades up and he ran every day to stay trim. He was going to make a difference in the world. Seeing too many kids his age slip down a road they would never recover from. Instead of going against the law like everyone expected, Dominic joined the forces.
He told me he wanted to be the man he saw in my eyes. That every day he needed to strive to be that man. He had said that from the moment he first saw me, he started to better himself to become the man he thought was worthy of me—of my love.
I only wish he could really see himself through my eyes. Then he would understand he was the greatest man in the world and I was the unworthy, lucky one.
Dominic, in his leather jacket, ripped jeans and biker boots were enough to set the most powerful women alight. Dominic in his police uniform was like adding gasoline to fire. The bad boy that every writer tries to capture, every reader claims as their ultimate book boyfriend. But only a few got a glimpse of what was laid underneath in his heart. It’s what made me completely utterly crazy in love with him. It wasn’t the sappy, romantic song kind of love or the gentle summer breeze love, it was just…Dominic.
Fierce, demanding and owning.
I sigh at the memories, a faint smile on my lips and the heat of Dominic’s hands still on my waist.
I set the plates on the table just as Dom walks in, his grey sweatpants hanging low on his waist, showing off the holy grail of v’s. Licking my lips shamelessly, knowing just how he tastes when I run my tongue over the lines.
His shoulders demand the space and his narrow waist is decorated with intricate ink. Oh, he is still that same bad boy, it’s in his stare. His hair is disheveled and damp from his shower as he walks toward me.
I can’t help but suck in a sharp breath. “Food’s ready.”
His eyes darken as if he can read my every thought. His lips pull up on one side, as if promising to make my deepest, darkest fantasy come true.
“Carter says thank you. Molly got the flowers you sent for the RSVP and said they were beautiful.”
Carter is Dominic’s partner. They have worked together for the past three years. Carter and Molly are getting married in a couple of weeks. It all happened very quickly. They have only been dating a few months; Carter was head over heels for Molly. When Molly sent us the invitation just days ago, it was a lovely surprise. I had met Molly a few times, she seemed perfect for Carter, and we had quickly become friends.
“I’m so glad she liked them, RSVPing always seems so boring.” Nobody really wants the little card and I thought flowers were better anyways.
Dominic eyes soften to a warm jade. Lacing his fingers with mine. “Baby, you go out of your way for everyone. You knew Molly would be stressed.”
“Weddings are a stressful time.”
Rubbing his jaw he studies me. “Do you wish we’d done the whole big wedding?”
I shake my head, annoyed and hurt. “How could you say that? I loved our small wedding. Okay, it wasn’t fancy but we’re not fancy. I loved how private it was. It’s us in our marriage, not everyone else. Just marrying you was everything I ever wanted.”
I push my food around the plate suddenly not hungry anymore. Okay, it wasn’t the nicest. We had a store-bought cake and the only people we had in attendance were Carter and my friend Cecelia. It was a small ceremony at the edge of the water. The sun was just setting, shooting pinks and purples into the sky. I’ll never forget the day. The smell the ocean, the waves breaking, the sun making its way across the sky as if it had been painted. It was beautiful. Then seeing Dominic at the end of the aisle waiting for me as Daughtry’s “Start of Something Good” played—he had picked it himself—it was perfect for us.
As soon as my first tear fell he was there beside me. I hadn’t even got halfway to him.
My parents didn’t agree with my relationship with Dominic. The Stone name had a bad reputation around town and everyone knew Malcolm and Jillian, Dom’s parents. They came for the roughest trailer park and lived up to their reputations; people would see them around town drunk shouting in the streets.
My family refused to come, but not even their absence spoiled the most amazing day of my life—the day I become Avery Stone.
I hear him shuffle.
“Baby, look at me.”
I keep my head down. He will take one look at my eyes and see the truth. I can never hide anything from him.
“Avery, I said look at me.”
Like my body is commanded by his demanding voice, my eyes shoot to his.
He squats down to be eye-level with me, cupping my chin gently. Searching for the answer he wants. “Fuck.” Growling the next second, he lifts me into the air, my legs automatically going around his waist and my arms around his neck.
“Dominic, what are you doing?”
“I’ve never been good with words, baby. You know that. But I know how to make you feel what I feel. I know how to show you what I feel, and baby, I’m gonna show you all night, until you forget all the shitty remarks I’ve ever made.”
I let out a deep sigh. “They weren’t shitty. It’s just that I loved our day and I thought you did, too.”
Cursing, he sets me to my feet, caving me in with his arms against the wall. His nostrils flare and the muscle in his jaw tick. God, those green eyes bore into me. “Bullshit.”
His tone is low, sexy and dangerous and all rolled into one.
My eyes widen. “What?” I am completely confused.
He leans in, his forehead against mine his whisper instantly makes my body ache for him. “Bullshit. Beautiful, you know I didn’t care who was at that wedding or how big it was, as long as you were there. As long as at the end of it, you became my wife. You were mine from the moment you said ‘yes’ to me in the damn school corridor. Fuck. Even before. Ring or no ring, you are mine!” His lips land on mine, punishing and demanding.
I should correct him, because technically I didn’t say yes to him in the corridor. He demanded then, just as he’s demanding now.
The tip of his nose moves up my cheekbone.
My stomach quivers and my fingers tighten on his shoulders.
“My girl, my wife, mine.” He bites my ear causing me to moan. The stroke of his tongue licks away the pain left by his teeth. “You’ve owned me, Avery, from before you even knew. I didn’t approach you. You weren’t ready for me.” His breath is a whisper across my skin, sending a shiver down my spine and goose bumps across my skin. My eyes flutter shut as his hand goes to the nape of my neck and squeezes slightly.
“As soon as I knew, I came after you. There was never an option for you, Avery. From the moment you said yes to me, I wasn’t letting you go. Nothing could take you away from me. Others got my body but only you got my heart. When you’re not with me, it’s like I’m missing something, the most important part of me. I think about you all the fucking time. Your smile, your lips, this amazing body, your eyes—you fucking consume me.” Urgent and emotional like a plea.
I suck in a shaky breath. As he looks me in the eyes, something makes me want to reach out to him, my fingers instantly tracing his jaw. “Dom!”
“You are my everything. I live for you.” It’s a hushed whisper but I feel as if he’s shouted at me.
It kills me seeing Dom this way. The little, lost boy, so unsure of himself, surfaces, and it reminds me of how vulnerable he can be. He wasn’t given love freely until me. To him, love was cruel, unkind. Those who were meant to love him left him in the cold. He never spoke of his past. It’s som
ething he keeps hidden even from me.
Normally, he’s so sure of himself. Completely fearless. He sets goals for himself and succeeds. When I look at him, I can’t deny his strength. Nothing with him is ever reckless. It is always thought out. Planned. Controlled.
He might appear strong, but his heart is still fragile—the same heart he placed in my hands. He gave me something he never given anyone else his trusts that I will forever hold it safely, and I will.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” I hold his face in my hand, his stubble rubbing against my hand as he leans into my touch before kissing my palm.
He picks me up as if I weigh nothing, carrying me to our bed. Placing me down, he stares at me. I see the very second his eyes darken, and his pupils grow large. Crawling over me, his muscles tensing underneath his skin like a lion. His nostrils flare and there’s a look in his eyes like he’s found his prey. My mouth dries at the sight and my tongue pokes out to wet my lips.
As he stares at me, his eyes going between mine and my lips, he shows me everything he can’t say. All the words he’s can’t find, they’re there in his eyes. His lips land on mine and it’s the gentlest of brushes, a ghost of a kiss before taking my breath. He quickly deepens the kiss, stealing the remainder of my air until I’m left with nothing but him consuming me, erasing any doubt that this is our place. I might belong to him, but he belongs to me, too.
This doesn’t happen every day. For some people, it never happens.
