Hunter's Blood
The Hunter Book 1
by R Sullins
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Secrets never stay buried...
Every secret I never knew about myself was revealed by someone who should not exist.
But they do,
monsters exist.
They are all around us...
and I am the one they want the most.
They crave my blood.
The biggest secret of all?
I'm one of those monsters, too.
Now someone has created an army that threatens to destroy the Vampire King that calls me his mate.
Either I accept the monster I am or I lose one I've come to love
Approximately 73k words
Important Note: This is the first book in a series, please be aware that it ends in an HFN but the second book picks right up where the first left off.
Warning: This book has blood and gore that may offend or disturb sensitive readers. Due to sexual content, this book is not intended for anyone below 18
Jared
The Hunter Book 2.5
by R Sullins
Genre: Paranormal Romance
The reluctant vampire...
This wasn’t supposed to be my life
I never asked to become a vampire
Falling into this world of monsters turned out to be the best thing to happen to me.
The transition from human soldier to vampire sentinel was one of the easiest things I had ever done.
Now I was in for the fight of my life, convincing my mate to take a chance on me.
The mate in danger...
I couldn’t return home no matter how much I missed it.
My mother forced me to leave for a reason.
There was an evil man after me, willing to kill anyone who got in his way.
Then a man walked through the door and set my soul on fire.
He said I was his mate.
I wanted to say yes.
But, how, when I had to save my mom from a killer?
The fight for their future...
I swore I would defeat all of her demons.
I wasn’t going to let her go...ever.
I wanted to keep my mate safe, but what if I was the monster she needed saving from?
This is a 50k word novella in the Hunter series world.
It may be read as a standalone, but you would find most enjoyment by reading the series.
Lovely Darkness
Demons Within Book 1
by R Sullins
Genre: Dark Paranormal Romance
The first time she knew real happiness was when she found out that the man who raised her wasn't her real father.
She knew that there couldn't be monsters in the world that were any worse than the monster she had called 'daddy' for most of her life.
Then she stumbled into the world of demons.
The Demon King knew the second his fated mate had been brought into the world.
After living years too numerous to count, it meant little to him other than keep him from living as he had.
He now belonged to only one female - and he would have to wait years for her to mature enough to matter.
How stupid and vain he had been to think that his fated wouldn't matter.
The very moment she entered his club he knew he had been wrong to ignore fate.
She was his.
And he was going to destroy everyone that hurt her, even if he had to burn the Earth realm to the ground.
Cry For Me
by R Sullins
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Paige
Loner
Outcast
Charity case
Orphan
I was all those things.
Years after my parents died, I was still being bullied, and it was all led by my cousins.
They hated me for years as children, and moving into their house didn't make them change their minds about me.
I was counting down the days until I could finally get away from every single person in this town.
Until there was one person I wasn't so sure I wanted to leave.
Reid
My life since age 7 revolved around football and what it would take for me to get into the NFL.
I didn't have time for girls or parties.
I had never been tempted by anything that could take my mind away from the sport.
Until I walked into my new school on my first day of senior year.
One look was enough to change every plan I'd made for my future.
It wasn't long before we both realized that someone didn't like that we had found each other.
Approx 100k words
*Note from author*
While this high school romance does have elements of bullying, you will find that the hero never once says a negative thing to his girl.
For the safety conscious - this is guaranteed safe!
Just because it is set in high school doesn't mean it doesn't have adult situations in it. Only intended for those over the age of 18.
Hunter’s Blood excerpt# 1
Crispin paced the front hall, needing eyes on his Hunter. He sensed that she needed him, their bond seemingly had grown since they were together last. His rest was uneasy and disturbed. He prowled back and forth while his beast inside clawed at his chest.
As soon as he heard the car coming up the drive he flung open the doors, heedless of the waning sunlight. Soon, the car appeared and came to a stop at the base of the front entry. Crispin threw open the backdoor where his Ivy awaited him. He didn’t wait for her to unbuckle, simply knocked her fingers away and hit the button himself. He tugged her out of the seat and up the stairs. There, he left the doors wide open while he picked up his Hunter, wrapped his hand around her ponytail, tugging her head back.
He met her eyes and declared, “Never again are we spending the day apart.”
Her voice was a soft, distressed, “Crispin.”
“Hush, we will talk about it later.”
His mouth met hers and her legs wrapped around his lean waist. As he carried her up the stairs to his room, he and his Hunter never parted from the kiss.
Hunter’s Blood excerpt# 2
With a sigh I closed my eyes and shook my head. I started to sit up to climb off his large body until he startled me by grabbing my hair once again, holding my head still and making me look him in the eyes.
“You’re not ready.” He stated while his eyes skimmed over every inch of my face, taking in each detail before settling on my lips. I parted them, breathing shallowly at the hunger I saw in his expression. He looked back up at my eyes. “You are not ready, my Hunter, but one day, soon, you will be. When you are, I will be waiting for you.”
My eyes closed at the tone of his voice. It was one that brooked no argument. When I was ready for a sexual experience he was the one I was to go to. I think I could accept that. After all, hadn’t I just thought about how any woman would want him? If he was willing to wait for me then I could never ask for better. As long as he was no longer with that woman, that was. I had to make that clear to him. I sighed and nodded my head in agreement. I started to lift my hips up to climb off when his grip tightened down, again, holding me tight to him. It took all my self-control to not grind down onto his thickness again.
“One more thing, Miss Moore,” I looked back into his eyes right before he lifted his head to close the space between us, pressing my head down to meet him halfway. He took my mouth in an unexpectedly powerful and passionate kiss. I wouldn’t have expected him to devour me the way he was, it was no simple kiss. He consumed me, stealing my breath and giving it back to me mingled with his own. Lips, tongue, teeth, nothing I had ever experienced before. Something in me knew that, were I to turn away from this man, I would never experience the same type of passion again in my life. I was completely breathless when he broke off the kiss and spoke against my lips, a touch of awe in his voice as if he were as amazed at the power behind the passion we shared as I was. “You are mine, Hunter.”
Hunter’s Blood excerpt# 3
Turning slowly, I looked around. There were no visible signs of the revenants but there was a heaviness to the air. The smell was the strongest indicator. I heard Crispin give the group our location and the details so far. Still no sign of the revenants but I could swear the stench was getting stronger.
I unsnapped the scabbard and slowly drew my sword while Crispin did the same with his two. We stood back to back, something we had practiced many times over the weeks. We had become very comfortable and had gotten to where we could anticipate each other’s moves. It also helped that Crispin could communicate with me telepathically which I had found out during our training sessions. Crispin believed it was because we were growing a closer bond between us. He had explained most vampire mates were able to communicate that way. Learning about vampires, their abilities and Crispin himself was an ongoing experience.
“I see 3 sets of eyes in the darkness in front of me.”
Crispin’s voice caused my heart to jump but on the outside I held steady as I searched deeper into the reigning darkness. There, and there, two more there. One in the tree. “Oh my god Crispin, there are five over here. There’s one in the tree to my right.”
“Steady, Hunter, let your instincts guide you.”
There was an underlying steeliness to his voice, an indicator that he was pissed off. He’d told me before that revenants don’t hunt in packs, the last time they did they managed to kill the last leader’s mate of the area and caused many other deaths. Why had we heard of revenant activity but not of any deaths? With a group this large there should have been a sweep of deaths throughout the city. Instead, they were here, clustered in a tight group in a remote city park.
“They led us here.” I gasped at the unexpected shock of such a thing. It required thinking and planning, something revenants were supposed to be unable to do.
“Yes.” Crispin’s agreement was short, sharp. He’d come to the conclusion far faster than me.
“Why?” It was a whisper that received no answer because at that moment, with a blur of movement, 4 of them charged at once.
An ear-piercing screech came from the one in the tree as it hurled itself in my direction along with one from the ground. I moved back to defend myself at the same time Crispin moved to my left to avoid the 2 that came running at him from the opposite side. We were now several feet apart and facing down four of the eight revenants. I lost sight of the others as I focused on the two in front of me.
With a slash at one, I sliced through its chest, the stench enough to have my stomach heave. Swallowing back the saliva that pooled in my mouth, I spun to pierce the other one in the heart but it danced back out of reach of my sword. The one with the slash wound screeched and ran forward, this time close enough for me to swing my sword and sever the head. It rolled away while another revenant came running forward to take the fallen one’s place.
I kept my eyes between the two, not able to take my eyes off them to check my back. I could see Crispin fighting with the two that had attacked him, they were doing the same with him, lunging forwards alternately, forcing Crispin to step backward while slashing his sword. He plunged his sword through one and another ran forward to take its place.
“What is happening Crispin?”
“This is not normal behavior Hunter, be on your guard, they are separating us.”
Lovely Darkness excerpt #1
I looked back at the demon in front of me and bit back a sound of satisfaction that he was watching the letter opener with dread laced with terror.
“We’ve been here before, haven’t we, Greg?” I flipped the letter opener in my hand and checked the weight, balancing the metal on my finger. I grunted in satisfaction and set it down with a mental note to find out who the artist was. I wanted to see what other items they managed to create. “How long ago did we have Greg here, in this very office, Talon?”
My head of security grunted from where he was standing at the door with two of his newest recruits. He had his hands folded behind his back and had his usual stoic expression on his face. “Two weeks ago, sir.”
“Two weeks? Well, Greg, you’ve been busy since we last spoke,” I paused and looked him dead in the eyes, “haven’t you?”
His grey skin took on a sickly yellow cast that I was certain wasn’t a good sign in this breed of demon. The man knew he had fucked up.
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Really? That’s all you have to say about your recent activities? Yes, sir?” I stood and slowly walked around his kneeling body, my footsteps crinkling on the heavy tarp. I stopped when I was back to standing in front of him, the toes of my polished black oxfords just shy of grazing his disgustingly filthy jeans. I hitched up the heavy material of my slacks so I could squat down to face the demon that had broken my rules for the last time.
Lovely Darkness excerpt# 2
“Okay, okay, calm down. I didn’t mean any harm. I just thought the little thing would be interested. Why else would a girl come to a meat market like this?” He started backing away.
A meat market? I guess that would be an apt description of a place where everyone seemed to be bent on finding a partner for the night.
“Well, she’s not! Maybe next time you won’t put your hands on a woman without her permission!” Even in the dim lighting I could see how red her face was. I looked over to the group and saw they had a bunch of different emotions. A couple were shocked at what happened, Melissa was smirking right at me.
Suddenly, the air felt like it was charging, like the moment before a powerful storm started pounding rain and lightning began striking the earth. The bouncer from the stairs was striding over, likely to see what the commotion was and the man, the owner, that Melissa had declared her boyfriend was right behind him.
It wasn’t the bouncer that spoke first, but the owner. “Someone want to explain what is going on over here?”
His voice was deep and had a slight menacing growl to it that caused all the fine hairs on my arms to stand up. His voice had a faint accent that I couldn’t place, but was likely european of some kind. He scanned the faces of the group, making a short stop on Melissa who stood up straiter and ran her fingers through her hair. When they met mine I felt those lightning strikes hit me right in the center of my chest. I grabbed my wrist and furiously started rubbing at the ache I suddenly felt there. His eyes dropped to my hands and his jaw hardened until the muscle there jumped with the tension.
Melissa stepped forward and raised her hand to place it on his arm but he stepped back from her and turned his glare on her. She took a quick step back and pouted. He shook his head and looked back at me.
“Are you okay?” His voice, though much softer, was no less menacing than before. Having the full weight of his stare on me made those lightning strikes worse, and the tension gathering in my chest was making it hard to breathe. I tried to make my head nod but my neck muscles suddenly felt stiff and loose all at the same time. My head wanted to loll around due to the dizzy feeling flooding my brain but I couldn’t make my muscles move. I couldn’t catch my breath and my vision was growing dimmer as the edges of my eyesight got darker and darker. The last thing I knew before I passed out was hearing the boss curse viciously and lunge for me as I fell.
Lovely Darkness excerpt# 3
“You need to stop dropping your panties all over the place, Jewels.” Rake’s words were immediately cut off with what sounded suspiciously like a hand hitting upside a head. I refused to lift my face from the comfort and security of Varek’s chest.
Once the elevator doors opened up into the foyer of the penthouse we all filed out and headed to the sunken living room and each took a seat on the comfortable leather furniture. Varek tugged my hand, causing me to lose me balance and fall into the side of his body. He reached over my thighs and pulled my legs flush against his. Not an inch of space was left between our bodies once he grunted his satisfaction at how we were situated.
Everyone sat quietly for a moment before I sighed and began speaking.
“I was just finished getting dressed and was looking around for a place to put my...erm...dirty clothes when -” I looked at the woman. “I am so sorry, I don’t know your name?”
“Amara, miss.”
I nodded, “Amara came into the room. She saw me there and immediately told me I wasn’t allowed and started to pull me out of the apartment. I struggled and tried to explain but she was determined to protect your home, Varek.” I smiled at her. “You were doing your job, Amara, you did nothing wrong and I’m sorry that Varek,” I turned to him and gave a little glare, “didn’t tell you that I was here or that he has a fated now.”
Varek inclined his head. “It was an oversight that will not happen again. I will make sure all my staff are aware that you live here now and are to treat you with the same respect that I am.” I was glad when he turned to Amara. “Thank you for doing your job. It was my falt that you did not know my fated was here. Going forward you can address any concerns with her regarding the care of our penthouse.”
“Varek, I don’t think…” He cut me off and kept going, speaking to Amara.
“Make sure you consult with her about any menus or any other needs. Check with her regarding scheduling.”
I tried again. “Varek, I’m not sure that I…” This time I drifted off when Varek’s bright green gaze met mine.
“You are the lady of the house now, Juliette. I have several businesses to run and I want you to be in charge of our home. Do you not want to?”
I fidgeted in my seat, running my fingers over the hem of my shirt. “It’s a big responsibility. What if I mess it up?” My voice was small and quiet. It was obvious to anyone in the room that I was intimidated which was ridiculous because it wasn’t as if he’d just declared me as CEO of his businesses. I was supposed to help plan dinners and help make shopping lists. I wasn’t even required to do it all on my own.
Varek placed a finger under my chin and lifted my eyes back to his from where I was staring holes into my lap. “Amara will help you and guide you. If you have concerns you can come to me or call at any time, day or night. Are you okay with this?”
I studied his face for a long minute looking for the truth that I could easily read there. He believed in me and wanted me to be the lady of the house. He wanted me to belong.
I nodded.
Life was changing, moving forward at a pace nearly too fast for me to catch up with. But every time I started to feel overwhelmed by what was changing or what was expected of me, Varek was always right there making sure I knew that I wasn’t alone.
Lovely Darkness excerpt# 4
We stared into each others eyes for what felt like an eternity. I wanted to drown in the bottomless depths of his. His eyes, when black, were a deep abyss but his green ones were no less fathomless. They were ancient and told tales of all his thousands of years. I saw how tired he was, how wearing life had become after such a long time. There were no wrinkles on his skin, no silver hair on his head, but he was old, possibly the oldest soul on the Earth.
And I knew that I was the only person alive, now or ever, that would be able to breathe new life into him. More than anything I had ever wanted before, I wanted to be that for him. Because I knew, to the depths of my soul, that he would be saving me, too.
I leaned forward the few inches that separated our faces and lightly pressed my lips against his. We were still looking into each other’s eyes as our lips met for the first time. They stayed open when I pressed a little harder. But my eyelashes started to flutter when I felt his tongue lightly trace the seam of my closed lips. They fell completely when his lips coaxed mine to open and that tongue swept inside.
His moan was deep and carried a hint of desperation when he reached up and gripped a handful of my hair at the back of my head. He tilted my head to one side, allowing himself deeper access. I felt like I was being consumed whole. Flames were erupting inside my chest and spreading outward to cover my entire body. I wanted to run my hands down my chest to make sure I wasn’t actually being consumed by flames but lost the will to do so when his other hand wrapped around my back and pulled me into him.
I threw my hands against his chest, not to push him away but to brace myself against the fall.
“I will always catch you.” He whispered against my lips before deepening the kiss that I had thought couldn’t get any more intense.
Jared Excerpt 1
Waking up straddling a sleeping vampire wasn’t quite as unsettling as one might expect. He basically looked like he was in a very deep sleep. It honestly made me think of when my great-grandma was in the hospital and had slipped into a coma before passing away.
Ummm… come to think of it, maybe waking up on top of a body that was completely checked out was a little more unsettling than I had initially thought.
The first thing I did was find the bathroom and have a nice, long, hot shower. While under the spray, I let the previous night play over in my mind and felt a heat fill me that had nothing to do with the spray.
I wanted more.
But I could see that Jared was hesitant to go further with me. I thought he might have been under some misguided belief that he was bad for my health or something. He held me so gently and was so careful with me - too careful. It was apparent he didn’t trust himself, and that made me sad. I needed to find out why. I also didn’t know whether to smack him for his stupidity or hug him for caring so much.
I sighed.
I thought of Ivy and her large dangerous guy and wondered if she had faced the same type of challenge.
When I got out of the shower, I took my time to get ready. I walked back into the bedroom and stopped by the side of the bed, where Jared looked peaceful, even though there was apparently zero consciousness going on. I leaned over and kissed his handsome cheek. I almost killed myself, jumping backward and tripping over the long hem of the robe I was wearing. I landed on my ass but barely felt the harsh landing over the heavy thudding of my heart.
Jared still looked exactly as he had with absolutely no change. His face was still fully relaxed, but I would have sworn to hell and back that I had heard a soft rumble, almost like a purr, come from his chest. But everything that I had been told about vampires the last couple of days said there was no awareness while they were sleeping, which was precisely why Crispin had hired so many guards to patrol and keep all of his vampires safe during the day.
I waited until my heartbeat slowed down until it was closer to normal before slowly getting to my knees and crawling the couple of feet it would take to get back to the side of the bed. I probably looked ridiculous, slowly peeking over the side of the bed.
I realized he was out, and I realized he didn’t really look dead while in his unconscious sleep, but that didn’t stop my imagination from running absolutely wild. I had seen way too many scary movies to not expect a jump scare. He was a vampire, for goodness sake.
After staring at him for a good minute, I chided myself on my childish behavior and finally got up to leave the room. Then, to prove to myself that I was overreacting and ridiculous, I gave him another kiss on the cheek. I waited, hovering over him for a few seconds, and sighed in relief when nothing happened that time.
Even though I knew that sunlight wouldn’t cause Jared to burst into flame and turn into ash, I still decided to take the front entrance to the pool house instead of the private entrance to the guest room. I had to blink and shield my eyes. It was definitely still daytime.
During the short walk back to the main house, I took in everything I hadn’t been able to see the last couple of nights. The surrounding land was beautiful, and it smelled amazing. Scents of fresh air and pine dominated the clear blue sky. Not a single cloud could be seen through the tall trees. I simply stood in the middle of the path with my face lifted and my eyes closed.
It wasn’t the sun that I was enjoying. It was the peacefulness. I wasn’t scared for once in a long time. I was actually looking forward to tomorrow and the next day.
Jared Excerpt 2
“You’re a what?”
It was official; these people were insane.
After Jared led me to a room that was all red velvet couches, gold sconces, and a giant fireplace, I met some truly attractive people.
Ivy was sweet, quiet with haunted blue eyes and an inner strength that I envied. Her fiance, the rich guy that everyone had been talking about, was...something. He radiated this kind of energy that warned me to stay away as strongly as if he wore a sign that read “caution, danger ahead”. I was no idiot. I would not be putting his hospitality to the test. And they had definitely offered me their hospitality. I was immediately told that I was welcome to stay as long as I wanted, with no strings attached.
It all went downhill from there, though.
I shook my head as if that would erase what I had just heard. I pinched the bridge of my nose and counted to ten. I opened my eyes to see every eye in the room on me and promptly closed them again. This time I counted to 100. Surprisingly, everyone was pretty patient with me. I decided to go to 200.
I felt something bump into my fingers and cracked one eye open to see a small glass that looked thick and heavy. It was half-full of an amber liquid that I assumed was whiskey or something. I honestly had no idea what alcoholic beverages there were or what they looked like. I shrugged one shoulder, picked up the glass, and chugged it back.
I instantly regretted that decision.
Fire filled my mouth, my lungs, my stomach. I felt the burning through my nose and started gasping for breath, immediately followed by a coughing fit that threatened to expel my lungs.
“Please, don’t give me any more of that.” I sniffed and rubbed my nose and eyes. “Ever.”
When I was finally calmed down, it was to see the guys all sitting with grins on their faces. Ivy, at least, had the good grace to hide her smile behind her hand.
I glared at Miriam. “Why did you give me that drink? What did I ever do to you?”
She snickered. “You looked like you needed it. I was afraid you were on the verge of a malfunction.”
I sighed and looked back at Crispin. The vampire. Apparently, they were all vampires except Miriam, who worked for them but was more than human. But Crispin was the head vampire. An actual king. If I weren’t so freaked out, I would probably be fascinated.
“Okay, tell me more.”
Cry For Me Excerpts
CFM excerpt #1
The senior hallway was crowded as usual, so I didn't catch sight of the monstrosity that was his locker until we were right on it. Due to the school colors being red and white, the glitter and ribbons that decorated the entire 5 ½ foot locker door looked more like a valentine greeting from an overzealous lover.
Small bits of glitter slowly floated to the ground in shiny displays of tiny disco balls each time the breeze from a passing student stirred up the air around the...artwork? There was a decent-sized little pile of discarded glitter with more spread several feet away through the hall. The poor janitor would be sweeping, mopping, and burning those teeny tiny pieces out of every nook and cranny for the next year.
Reid stopped us in front of his locker, and we both stood there, staring. There were multiple sayings written on the poster board that looked like it had been cut and re-pieced together to make a full-length example of what a teenage girl with time, money, and glitter on her hands should never do. There was Go Team Go! along with his number 81 in red and silver glitter in at least five sizes and as many places. Of course, his name was plastered on there, too. If anyone in the school hadn't already known who he was, they would have to be completely oblivious to miss this display.
He reached for the combination dial with a slight bit of dread on his face. I thought he was doing a pretty good job of trying to hide it from the rest of the students, though—what a trooper.
He leaned over to me and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "Do you have a tissue or a napkin?"
I snickered and quickly clamped my mouth shut when his head spun to meet mine. I shook my head with wide eyes while he narrowed his dangerously on me.
"You know, I think it's time for you to learn how to open the locker since we share it and all."
I blinked my eyes a couple of times and stared up at him, widening my eyes as big as I could. "You don't want to open it for me anymore?" He'd been such a gentleman, demanding to open all my doors, including the locker door, that I couldn't help the tease now.
He sighed deep and loud, causing more glitter to rain down to join their lost little brethren. We both snickered at the sight. He turned to me, a pleading look on his face. The gleeful look in my eyes must have clued him in that I wasn't going to save him from his fate.
"You're really going to make me do it, aren't you?"
The pop in my 'p' was as drawn out as I could make it when I responded with a resounding "Yep!"
His hand paused only once, and then he managed to get up his courage to touch the combination dial that was covered entirely in red and silver glitter.
I took pity on him and exchanged both of our sets of books, and yelled at him to stop once when I saw out of the corner of my eye that he was going to attempt to wipe his fingers on his jeans.
The warning bell rang, letting us know we had one minute to get to class. That surprised me since I was sure we had spent at least two weeks in front of his locker while he tried to wish the glitter away.
"Run into the bathroom and wash your hands. I'll go to our class and distract the teacher." I giggled, watching him try to pick individual pieces from his fingers.
He looked relieved and leaned over to kiss my hair as he had gotten into the habit of doing, but I backed away quickly. "Not uh. Nope! You go wash first before you touch me again."
He looked down at his hands and grimaced. "You're probably right. These things migrate. Or multiply. I don't remember seeing that one on my wrist a minute ago." He dropped his backpack on the ground and took off to the bathroom without looking back.
"Good luck!" I wished him solemnly and backed away to head to class. I wanted to laugh, but I was too scared that he'd manage to get it on me, too. And we still had the rest of the day and at least four more locker trips to take today.
CFM excerpt #2
We sat in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the sounds of the night.
She whispered suddenly. “You win.”
I stilled, every part of me going on alert. “What?”
“You win, Reid. I can’t fight it, and I don’t want to anymore. I want to be yours. I want you to be mine.”
I turned her body around to face me, her legs straddling my hips so that I could see her eyes. I cupped her cheeks and made sure she was looking at me before I spoke to her.
“It was never a contest, Paige. I never wanted you to feel that way. I could see that you were struggling with your feelings, but I would have waited forever for you.”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“It will be hard to do this, for others to accept that we are more than friends. Jessica threatened me more than once.” She looked at my face, her eyes taking in everything before settling back on my own. “It is a battle, maybe not between us, but between us and everyone else.”
“Then I will fight for you, for us, but we need to stand together.”
I watched as a tear gathered and fell from her bottom lashes. It broke my heart to see her this way. I swept my thumb over the wetness, wiping away the tear the way I wish I could wipe away her fears.
Slowly I lowered my head, my lips a hair’s breadth away from hers, and waited. I watched as another tear slowly made its way down her cheek. She sighed, her breath fanning over my lips before she finally took away the small space between us and pressed her lips to mine.
The kiss was soft, gentle, just a press of our lips before she let out a shuddering sob, and we both let go. After that, the kiss turned harder, and I didn’t know who made the first sweep of the tongue, but soon we deepened that first kiss into something more.
My heart ached with pain for her but also beat harder as we finally gave in to the passion that was always under the surface. I felt like I was walking a tightrope every minute I was with her, always trying to keep my balance, to keep from giving in to what I wanted from her before she was ready. Now that she had finally opened herself up to me, I felt myself fall off that precipice and into her waiting arms.
I tilted her head with the hands that were still cradling her cheeks and deepened the kiss further, showing her everything I felt with my kiss. I soon realized I was tasting her tears and pulled back, looking into her aqua-colored eyes.
“Please don’t cry, baby. I don’t want you to be scared. If you need more time…”
“No,” she shook her head, “I’m not scared right now, Reid. I’m happy. For the first time since my parents died, I actually feel happy.”
I swiped my thumbs over her cheeks again. “Is that why you are crying because you’re happy?”
“Sometimes tears are made because the rush of emotion is just too much to handle. Tears aren’t always because of sadness or pain. Sometimes it’s because you feel too much good, and it needs to escape.”
I rested my forehead against hers and nodded in understanding.
“I love you, Reid,” she whispered so low I almost missed it.
“I love you, too, Paige. More than I ever thought possible.”
She nodded and laid her head on my chest.
“It’s fast, isn’t it?” She said after a few minutes.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “In a way, it feels like it’s been forever since I saw you for the first time. But in another, yeah, we are young, and we haven’t known each other long. People will look at us and say that we don’t know what we are doing. But do you care what other people say?”
She was quiet for a long minute before whispering again. “No, Reid, I don’t care what they say. All that matters is us.”
I couldn’t agree more.
CFM excerpt #3
I put my arm around her and pulled her into me, and kissed her head. "Come on, let's hit the locker. I'm actually curious to see how they decorated it this time. Do you know if Jessica is still my assigned cheerleader?" I didn't care who it was as long as they didn't try anything with me or try to get between my girl and me.
Paige frowned. "I don't know if she is or not. But, honestly, I hope it is."
That surprised me. "Why?"
"Because she knows that we are together, and I think she respects that now. After everything that happened and her parents finding out what she's done in the past has really made her change, she doesn't glare at me so much anymore. The rest of the cheerleaders wouldn't have a problem trying to break us up, though. So, yeah, I hope it's still Jessica."
I grunted. She was right, but I was holding my opinion on Jessica in reserve for now. I wasn't so sure she had made that much of a change, but at least she wasn't trying to hurt my girl anymore.
We passed several kids that wanted to talk, but I just shook them off with 'hellos' and 'laters' until we were in front of our shared locker. Then, we both just stood there, neither one of us knowing what to say. Or think.
The decorations were pretty much the same as last week's. I wouldn't be surprised, really, if it was mostly just recycled. But what was new were the pictures that covered most of the locker over the hideous red glitter. They were mostly the same pictures that were posted on my stalker's page, all the ones of me in my jersey at practice or from last week's football game.
The largest one in the center was of me catching a football. It was a pretty good picture, actually, one my mom would probably have liked to frame, but it had a note written on it in red marker and a big red heart.
I love you, Reid
Your #1 Fan
"What the fuck." I mumbled.
"Okay, this is creepy and out of control," Paige said. She turned to me. "I think we need to let those police officers know. The ones that came to my house. This is getting bad, Reid."
"Yeah, it is. Do you have their card with you?"
She shook her head. "No, I think my uncle has it, though."
I sighed. "Alright. You call him. I'm going to take a picture of it before someone takes them off. I don't know if the cops can dust them for prints or whatever, but we probably shouldn't touch them."
She didn't say anything next to me, so I looked down at her. She was holding her phone in her hand, but she was still staring at that center picture with wide eyes and a white face that made her bruise stand out even more. I couldn't hold in my growl and grabbed her to my chest, wrapping my arms around her.
"We will find out who this is and make them stop, I swear." She nodded her head but didn't say anything. I didn't think she believed me. And truthfully? I didn't believe myself, either.
"What are you guys doing?" Lisa walked up beside us and then let out a breathy, "What the fuck?"
The hall was getting pretty crowded since first period would be starting soon, but mostly everyone was beginning to crowd around our locker. There were some murmured conversations I couldn't make out, but it was easy to tell most of the students were freaked out. Everyone knew what had happened to Paige the other day right here at school, and the police had interviewed several of them. Everyone was aware of the social media page as well, and it was evident between the two that whoever was behind this infatuation was a little unhinged.
I looked around the crowd, and my eyes snagged on Jessica. Her face was almost as white as Paige's had been and she looked about as freaked out as my girl. Her eyes darted from the locker to Paige, and her eyes grew concerned. I watched as she pulled her phone out and pressed a couple of buttons, and brought her phone up to her ear. Before she turned to walk away, I heard her say, "Hey, dad…"
My girl was right. It wasn't her cousin. So if it wasn't her, then who the hell was it?
CFM excerpt #4 NSFW
“Where are we going?” I yelled over the sound of the wind.
We were on his motorcycle, driving through the dark. I had my arms wrapped tight around him, and my hands gripped tight to his abs, my head resting against his back. I didn’t care where we went. Nothing mattered at that moment except him and me and the motorcycle that carried us into the night.
He squeezed my leg and ran his hand up and down my thigh before putting his hand back on the handlebar without answering.
We started slowing, and I realized he had brought us back to the same lake that he had brought me last week. I couldn’t believe that it had only been a week, even less that we had made the steps to make our relationship official. Yet, it seemed like it had been so much longer. And somehow, as if it had been only seconds.
He rode slowly towards a glow that could I could see cutting through the darkness. I squinted my eyes so I could see better and then lifted the visor on my helmet. I had to wait until we rolled closer to finally see what the lights were.
In the little clearing next to the water with its own shoreline, strands of fairy lights were in the trees giving off a gentle glow of light. A blanket was already laid out on the ground. There was another folded up on top of that one and a small cooler sitting next to the blanket.
I continued to sit on the bike and watched as Reid climbed off and shook his hair out after removing his helmet. Then he walked over to the blanket and picked it up, shaking it out before laying it back out onto the ground how it was.
He turned to me and shrugged. “I wanted to make sure it was still clean.” He walked back to me and removed my helmet. “Come on, baby.” His voice was husky. When he took my hand to help guide me off the back of the bike, I realized that my breaths were coming out quick and choppy.
“You did this for me?” I whispered.
He gave me a small crooked smile and looked at the ground before looking back at me with that smile. “Yeah. Is it okay?”
I cleared my throat and tried to speak over a whisper, but it wasn’t happening. “It’s perfect.”
“Good,” he whispered back at me and pulled my body into his. “I love you.” His kiss was full of everything I had ever dreamed of. He was everything I had ever dreamed of and everything I never knew I wanted.
“I love you, too, Reid.” I stepped back from him, and his eyes grew heated as I reached down to my shirt and lifted it over my head. I stood in front of him, baring more than just my body to him. I let him see what was inside me, my scars, my fears, my hopes, wants, and dreams. “Don’t hurt me,” I whispered, knowing he knew I didn’t mean physically.
He took the step needed to be back in front of me and dropped to his knees. “Baby, I could never hurt you. It would be like cutting off a limb. You are more vital to me than the air I need to survive. Without you, I don’t exist.”
“Reid,” I choked out.
He wrapped his arms around my hips and buried his face in my stomach. “I know, baby, I know.”
We stayed there like that for a long minute until I ran my hand through his beautiful hair. He looked up at me, and I placed my hands along his jaw. “I need you, Reid.”
“I’ll always give you what you need.” He got to his feet and swept me up into his arms and carried me over to the blanket, and gently laid me down.
Silently, to only the sounds of the frogs and the nighttime insects, Reid stripped me of the rest of my clothing and then his own. He took his time worshipping every inch of my body until I was writhing and crying out his name.
When he slid inside of me, both of us were breathing with heavy, shaky breaths. He held our hands linked together above my head on the blanket, and I felt wholly surrounded by him. His eyes told me how much I meant to him, and just to make sure I understood, he whispered the words in my ear.
Hi!
I guess you can say I have a passion for romance.
You will most often find me with a book in front of my face, whether I'm in the middle of writing one or taking a break by reading one of my favorite authors.
I love my family and my pets. I need quiet time to recharge and I'd rather be deep in the middle of woods than in the middle of a city. Yeah, I don't people well.
I hope you enjoy my stories. I put all my heart into each of them and they are truly my book babies.
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