by Shayla Black
I know what he’s asking. I swallow. “I’m a virgin.”
A smile softens his face. “I should have guessed sooner. You’re a girl who always keeps her word. You’re not actually engaged to Derek, are you?”
“No.”
“And you never have been?”
I can’t quite look Hayden in the eye. “He’s a really good friend. I do love him…but he’s like a brother to me.”
“So why did you come here and…”
“And pretend? Derek offered me a job at his new start-up in Seattle. Before I accepted, I had to come here and see if there was any chance that you could finally want me. He offered to help.”
“I always wanted you…even when I shouldn’t have. So this farce was for me?”
I nod. “I figured if it didn’t matter to you now that I belonged to someone else, it never would. Then I could move to Seattle and try to get on with my life.”
“You need to turn down his job and tell him to go to hell.”
I laugh. “He won’t be terribly surprised. He’s only flying back tomorrow because—”
“He’s not even fake marrying you at noon.”
I shake my head. “He’s not. He just needs to get his stuff and say goodbye.”
Hayden raises a brow. “If he wants to stay tomorrow and watch me marry you for real—just so he knows you’re off-limits—I’m all for that.”
“You mean…you and I get married? For real?”
“Why let a perfectly good wedding go to waste?”
I giggle, giddy with happiness. Hayden is giving me everything I could have wanted. Well, almost. I’m still waiting for him to join our bodies and make me his in the most primal way possible.
“I love it,” I murmur. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. In a few hours—if I can stand not being inside you—I’ll get the engagement ring I bought you out of my pocket and slip it on your finger. Then we’ll open that bottle of champagne and drink from the glasses I sent with it, the ones that say Mr. and Mrs.” He flashes me a self-deprecating smile. “I was thinking positive because there’s no one else I want to be Mrs. Hughes except you.”
“That sounds great. But right now…”
“Right now, I’ve got to have you. I feel like I’ve waited my whole fucking life.”
“Me, too.”
Then silence falls between us. Hayden lowers his head and takes my lips again in a kiss both solemn and passionate. His hands roam, outlining the curve of my waist, then he grips my hips as he braces himself and nuzzles my neck.
After tracing an erotic path over my pulse point, his lips drift to my ear while he aligns his naked cock against the entrance to my small, aching pussy. “Tell me you’re mine, Perrie.”
“I’m yours.” I close my eyes in anticipation.
I’m only seconds away from feeling that on a deep, visceral level.
“Open,” he insists. “Your eyes, your cunt, your heart. Spread them all wide for me.”
I lift my lashes with a flutter and part my legs wider under him. My heart is already open; it has been for years.
He pins me with a commanding stare that makes me shiver. “Tell me you’ll be mine forever.”
“I will. And you’ll be mine forever,” I insist.
“I will.” He speaks the words like a vow.
My heart pounds and traps my breath in my chest. Time slows. I know only this man. And I’ll remember the way he’s looking at me in this moment for the rest of my life.
Finally, he bares his teeth, growls, and shoves his way past the thin barrier of my hymen with one rough push. Even as he tears into my body and I gasp at his invasion, our joining mends the fracture he left in my heart four awful years ago.
The discomfort between my legs is a small price to pay for the feel of Hayden working himself inside me, inching and pushing, only to withdraw and sink in again, this time deeper, more insistent.
“Oh, god… I’ve never felt anything better, princess. Ever.”
I raise my hips to meet him as he slowly strokes downward again. Even though I feel packed full of him, he’s still not completely inside me. The stretch of my flesh to accommodate him burns and stings, but I welcome it.
“Deeper…” I moan.
He hisses as he balances above me, his dark eyes burning with both passion and the strain of holding back. “You’re so fucking tight. And it feels so different bareback.”
I’m shocked. “You’ve never…”
“Not without a condom, no.” He eases out, then forces his way back in—finally to the hilt.
We both groan. I feel him everywhere—inside me, around me, overwhelming me. I throw my head back, cling to him, dig my nails into him.
“I can’t believe I’m finally inside you,” he breathes. “I fantasized about being your first, princess. I’ve wanted to make you mine for so long. The fact we’re together now, that there’s nothing between us, and you could get pregnant tonight…” Impossibly, he swells inside me. “Oh, fuck, yes.”
I manage a little mental math. “The timing would be right.”
“Really?”
“Is that okay?”
“Okay?” Suddenly, he thrusts into me like a wild man, claiming me with a hard, ever-increasing pace that fires all my nerve endings. “I’m going to stay inside you all night, make you come for me until you’re wrung out, and fucking fill you every chance I get. I’d love for you to be pregnant when I marry you tomorrow.”
“Yes…”
All talking stops then. He pumps me deep, one strong push after another, increasing his pace into something raw, primal, insistent. Teeth bared, he groans as he grinds his way inside me, claiming me masterfully and turning my body inside out. Every shove of his wide cock scrapes nerve endings inside me that has my eyes flaring, my body tensing, my heart thundering.
“You’re tightening on me.”
“You’re unraveling me,” I manage to cry out between labored breaths.
“Good. I want to watch you come.” He rolls onto his back and grips my hips until I’m situated on top, straddling him.
He’s so huge, I swear I can feel him everywhere inside me.
“Now be a little good girl and fuck me.”
I sense Hayden is holding back a bit since it’s my first time, and it’s sweet. But he’s giving me a glimpse of the fact he’ll be dirty and raw in bed.
Yeehaw!
As I move carefully over him, my hair brushes sensually over my back. I splay my palms across the solid width of his working-man’s chest and drink in the sight of tribal ink around his thick biceps. As he guides my hips, my breasts bounce and my pussy catches fire. Incredibly, I feel him in places I didn’t before. And when he tightens and slams up inside me in rapid-fire strokes, my desire churns out of control. I start to come apart.
He hurries my loss of sanity with a thumb over my clit. “Come for me. Yes. Oh, fuck. Yes, just like—”
I can’t hear the rest over the pounding of my heart. I tense and cry out as I feel the storm gathering between my legs and need tearing through my veins. It spills over and sends me skyrocketing to an ecstasy where I’m only aware of pleasure and Hayden deep inside of me providing it. It jolts me. I shudder, disintegrating before him, and scream my throat raw until a heavy roll of satisfaction hits me and I feel utterly boneless.
A split second later, he tosses me on my back again, jackhammers into me as if he can’t fill me deep or fast enough, then an animal growl rips from his throat as he impales me with one last powerful thrust, shudders, and floods my womb with his hot seed.
The moment is perfect, powerful, profound—and far more amazing than any teenage fantasy I ever had about making love with Hayden Hughes.
A moment later, he catches his breath and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Feel good, princess?”
“Yeah.”
“Happy?”
I smile. “Yeah.”
He shoots me a sly grin. “Is that token you gave me good fo
r more than one ride?”
The curl of my mouth turns naughty. “It’s good for the whole night.”
“Hallelujah. How about we break out the bubbly, I slip that engagement ring on your finger, then you can spread your legs for me again so I can make you deliciously sore and ensure you look well fucked tomorrow when I marry you?”
There’s my Hayden—audacious and challenging and perfect for me.
I wriggle under him, earning a hiss, then whisper in his ear, “I can’t think of anything I want more.”
4
Hayden
I’m in heaven.
Six days ago, Perrie came home, “fiancé” in tow, and forced to me re-examine my feelings for my best friend’s sweet, virginal daughter. Thank god I don’t have to fantasize anymore what being deep inside Perrie is like. After last night, she’s all woman—my woman. And as she walks down the aisle to me, looking stunning in a simple white satin floor-length sheath with lace insets along the back and the thigh-high slit, I could swear she’s glowing even more than usual.
Fingers crossed she’s pregnant.
Yeah, maybe it’s wishful thinking, but the notion makes me pretty damn ecstatic.
“I’ve never seen either of you look so happy,” Dan murmurs in my ear as he stands beside me.
“Thanks for being my best man.”
He nods. “Happy to. I’m honored to be beside you both as you become man and wife.”
“Will I be returning the favor soon?” I look at Hannah in the front row. “My sister looks teary-eyed…and she’s wearing a rock on her left hand that didn’t used to be there.”
“I proposed last night. She said yes. We’re going to Vegas next weekend.”
“Perrie and I will be there.”
Dan claps me on the back and falls silent as my bride glides toward me. I have eyes only for her. And a full heart that belongs to her alone.
Finally, she reaches the front of the aisle. Beside her, Derek—who barely made it in time for the ceremony—lifts her veil and kisses her on the forehead. “Be happy, darling.”
“I will.” She glances at me with love in her eyes before regarding her friend one last time. “You find your person and be happy, too, huh?”
He nods, then takes his seat in the front row. On the other side of the altar stands one of her former college roommates I managed to fly in at the last minute so Perrie would have someone she adores to stand up with her. And the way she and Derek are eyeing one another tells me that neither will be spending the night alone.
I tuck a finger under Perrie’s chin. “You ready to become Mrs. Hughes?”
“Yes. Come on, slowpoke. Let’s get hitched.”
“Slowpoke?” I raise a brow at her. “Who managed to bring your maid of honor in from Connecticut in less than twenty-four hours? And get us a last-minute marriage license on Saturday morning?”
“You,” she concedes, then glances down at the two-carat cushion-cut diamond with surrounding halo I picked out yesterday morning, determined to make her my wife. “And you’ve made me the happiest woman.”
“I’m going to keep doing that for the rest of your life.”
“And I’ll make you the happiest man, I promise.” She smiles, then whispers my way as we face the officiant. “You know I never break my promises.”
I know. And as I promise to love, honor, and cherish Perrie for the rest of my life, I figure she’ll learn soon enough that I don’t break my promises, either.
About Shayla Black
Shayla Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than seventy novels. For twenty years, she’s written contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances via traditional, independent, foreign, and audio publishers. Her books have sold millions of copies and been published in a dozen languages.
Raised an only child, Shayla occupied herself with lots of daydreaming, much to the chagrin of her teachers. In college, she found her love for reading and realized that she could have a career publishing the stories spinning in her imagination. Though she graduated with a degree in Marketing/Advertising and embarked on a stint in corporate America to pay the bills, her heart has always been with her characters. She’s thrilled that she’s been living her dream as a full-time author for the past ten years.
Shayla currently lives in North Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband and two spoiled tabbies. In her “free” time, she enjoys reality TV, reading, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.
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Prologue
Birmingham, Alabama
Jessica walked into Gideon’s office, her heart in her throat. Something had gone very wrong with her boss today.
He’d closed the blinds so only a little light filtered into the dim office. Gideon sat behind his desk, his face turned away from her.
She knew the barest bones of what had happened. Reid had slammed out of the office an hour before he would have normally left, his handsome face a mask of rage and pain. Reid was sunny and happy, the light of her day. The fact that he’d barely spoken to her had hurt.
“Gideon?” Her voice sounded small in the huge, opulent office. She could still remember the day she’d walked in for her interview. She’d been awed by the office and the men who ran it. Two lawyers. How had she ended up working for two lawyers?
Maybe it would have been okay if she hadn’t fallen in love with them both.
She was an idiot.
“What do you need, Jessica?” Gideon didn’t bother to turn around. He remained staring at a closed window, but that dark, rich voice rolled over her anyway.
“Are you okay?” It was a dumb question since the answer was obvious.
“No. I’m not okay. Is Reid gone?”
“Yes. He left with his briefcase and told me he won’t be back until Monday. Did the two of you have a fight?” Occasionally Gideon and Reid would fight over whether to take a case. Reid liked doing a lot of pro bono work while Gideon preferred high-profile cases.
“Oh, dear, Reid and I have had this particular fight for years. We’ll get through it. You should follow him. Go and have a couple of drinks with Reid. He loves spending time with you. He’s crazy about you, you know.”
He was also openly gay. Reid Watkins was one of the most stunningly beautiful men she’d ever met in her life. She often suspected she drooled a little when he walked in a room. But he liked men. Though he didn’t seem to date at all. He spent a lot of his time with her. And Gideon was engaged.
“I don’t know about that. He seemed really angry.”
Gideon waved the thought away. “He’s only angry at me. Everyone’s angry at me today.”
She wasn’t sure why, but it was important that she know what had happened. Somehow these two men had become the center of her life. She cared about them. She was more than half in love with them. “Please tell me what happened. I want to help.”
“Fuck, Jessica, you have no idea what you’re asking.” The words came out on a low growl that should have sent her running. “You said you want to help in that soft, sweet voice of yours and you have no idea what it does to me. What I want would tear you up.”
“Did something happen with Anna?” Anna was Gideon’s gorgeous fiancée. She was everything Jessica wasn’t. Tall, slim, blonde. She looked like she’d walked off the cover of a fashion magazine. Anna and Gideon were the picture-perfect couple. So why had Jessica always thought Gideon deserved more? Anna had seemed utterly cold and uninvolved in anything beyond the endless round of social events she organized.
“Anna called off the wedding. I’m afraid my family is a bit upset with me. Father hand-picked Anna, you know. They are no longer going to fund my election run.”
Since the moment she’d walked in the office, she’d known Gideon was planning to run for a judgeship. From what she could tell it had been part of his life plan since he wa
s a kid.
She’d never spent time with his family. His father had only come into the office a few times, and he utterly ignored her unless he wanted a cup of coffee. From what she could tell, Gideon’s father thought they were back in the fifties and he was the supreme overlord of the family.
It had to have been hard to grow up in that household.
“I’m sorry.” She moved around his desk.
He was in real need. He’d been such a good friend to her. After he’d found out she was on her own with no one to lean on, he’d taken over in little ways. He made sure the oil got changed on her car. He’d helped her move into a safer apartment, insisting the one she was living in must house at least five serial killers. He walked her to her car at night. She couldn’t leave him when he was hurting.
She got on her knees in front of him. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Do you want a drink?”
His eyes were deeply hooded as he looked down at her. “I’ve already had a drink. Or four. I lost count. I don’t need another drink, and if you don’t leave very soon, you’re going to become intimately acquainted with what I do need. I think it would be best if you left now. I’m on the edge of something nasty.”
She could hear it in his voice. She should get the hell out. She should run as fast as she could. He was in a nasty, predatory mood. He was dangerous—not to her body, but definitely to her heart.
It was stupid. So stupid. Any woman with half a brain would be out the door, but she put a hand on his knee, her heart thundering in her chest. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”
It was the closest she could come to saying I want you. She waited for him to reject her. He would be smart. He would spare her. God, what was she doing? She’d been falling madly in love with both Gideon and Reid for the six months she’d been working for them. They worked so much—sometimes twelve hours in a day—that they had formed this odd little family. Her own parents were gone. She didn’t have any friends since her divorce. It was her and Gideon and Reid. She knew she’d never have Reid. Why was she risking everything?
