Filled Page 8

  “Once more?” I ask, and she nods as I back her against the tree.

  “I love you,” she whispers, and this time I go slower.

  “I love you too.”

  We spend the afternoon sneaking off and fucking like bunnies. After all these years we haven’t slowed down, and it’s just a reminder that she’ll always be the one for me. Not only because of how we connect physically, but because she’s my soul mate. She’s given me more than I could have ever hoped for, and I’m filled with love.

  * * *

  THE END!

  THICK

  by Alexa Riley

  Teeny has just moved into a brand new place and curiosity has gotten the better of her. When she meets her new neighbor she’s not prepared for how big or how hot he is. The gentle giant has her fantasies running wild and she’s learning what it means to love thy neighbor.

  Bull has always been the biggest in the room and it’s annoying. He’s a former security guard who now does online consulting to stay away from the stares. But when his young little neighbor wants to make friends he can’t help himself. He’s tearing down all his walls and breaking the rules just to have a shot at what he never thought was possible.

  Warning: Will Bull be too big to make Teeny his? Will it somehow work anyway? You betcha! Find out what happens when this bull meets his china shop…because it’s wild!

  Chapter 1

  Teeny

  “Can you put that on there?” I point to where I want the next batch of boxes to go before I trip right into one and almost fall over it.

  My phone slips out of my hand and goes flying into the air. One of the movers grabs me by my shirt right before I face plant onto the ground for the second time this afternoon.

  “Jesus, kid,” the guy says as he gives my shirt a good yank and puts me back on my feet.

  “Thanks,” I tell the older man, who looks like my great uncle John on my dad’s side.

  His name tag reads Paul and tells me he’s the owner. He lets go of my shirt when he sees I’ve got my feet back under me.

  “Thank me by parking yourself in a chair until we’re done here.” He points to my daybed that’s set up in the living room. It can work as both a bed and sofa since the one bedroom I have is going to be my office. I don’t need a lot of space, but somehow I have a lot of things. Maybe I should have let some stuff go. It doesn’t help matters that my parents are downsizing and let me have my pick of a lot of stuff before they move.

  “I can help,” I try again but catch my foot on one of the boxes. It tips over and one of the movers grabs it before it hits him in the head. I cringe and my face heats. I almost nailed the guy right in the face. “Sorry.”

  “What’s in that box, air?” Paul laughs from beside me.

  “Stuffed animals.” I say and sigh.

  “You’re eighteen, right?” Paul looks me up and down. “Never thought to ask someone’s age before I moved them.” His eyebrows pull together and worry etches his face.

  “Yes, I’m eighteen.” I roll my eyes. I get that a lot. I’m small and my cheeks are round. Those two things together and people always think I’m younger than I am.

  “They’re not my stuffed animals.” I know having boxes of stuffed animals doesn’t help with the age thing.

  “You stole them?” Paul gives me a teasing smile.

  “No.” I scrunch my nose. “They’re mine for work,” I hurriedly add.

  “For work?” Now he doesn’t fight the laugh trying to escape when he teases me about having them, and a few of the other guys join in.

  “Yes for work. See? It says ‘office’ on it.” I point to the words scrawled on the box in pink marker. I know they’ll want to know what I do for a living next, but I don’t offer to tell them.

  “Glad we cleared that up.” Paul shakes his head when he sees I’m not going to give them any more information. “How about you sit.” He motions towards the daybed again.

  I don’t want to sit, I want to unpack. I’m too excited to be still right now. I’ve never had a place all to myself. It’s scary but I don’t care. I’m ready for this.

  “I don’t need a lawsuit because you hurt yourself.” This time Paul’s tone is serious and he’s not really asking.

  “Fine.” I walk over to the daybed and sit down. I know I’m clumsy.

  I get it, I just don’t care anymore. If it were up to me, of course, I wouldn’t be clumsy, but I’ve learned to accept it for what it is. I can’t sit in one spot for the rest of my life. I kick off my shoes and tuck my feet under me. I’ll stay out of their way because they’re just trying to do their jobs. I don’t need to add to the chaos of three men in my tiny apartment. With my luck I’d end up flattened.

  They all go back to working since they’re almost finished. I sit and watch and try to direct from my seat. There’s really no point because my place is so small they might as well put everything in one big pile.

  After a few minutes I give up because they’re not really listening to me. It’s another problem with being small and people taking me for a kid. You can go unnoticed even when you’re talking to someone, which is more annoying than being clumsy.

  “Fine,” I mumble as I pick up my phone to play with.

  My laptop is on the other side of the room, but Paul can cut me a look better than my dad. They’re almost done anyway, so I’ll wait.

  I pull up my emails and see if I’ve gotten anything new in the last few hours. I’m ahead on my work projects so I have some wiggle room. I’m debating on letting them know to toss a few more my way, but I’m not sure how my move will go or what I’ll be doing now that I live in the city. At least I’m calling it the city. Mom corrects me every time that it’s more of a suburb, but compared to where we live this is the city if you ask me.

  As if she knows I’m thinking of her, my phone rings.

  “Hey Mom,” I answer.

  “How’s it going, sweetheart?” I can hear a touch of annoyance in her voice and it’s clear she still isn’t happy with me about this.

  I planned my move on the same day they were set to take off on their trip. They’re going on a year-long cruise around the world where they end up back in Florida where they plan to live. With my move the same day it’s physically impossible for them to be in both locations at the same time.

  “Great.” I chirp, pretending not to see Paul watching me. “The movers are almost done and I can start unpacking.”

  “That’s good. I wish we could have helped.” She sighs into the phone. She wishes she would have hovered. It would have been sweet but annoying.

  “Mom, I’ve got this. You’ve already helped enough.”

  I was a late-in-life surprise for my parents. They’d always planned to retire early, so I knew when I turned eighteen and graduated it was off to college or move to Florida with them.

  I chose neither and instead moved to the city not far from our small town. Maybe I could go to college; it’s still an option. But living out in the middle of nowhere, I’d gotten a jumpstart on my passion and it took off when I’d only been fifteen. The Love Toy Company was surprised by my age when they signed me up but they still took a chance on me anyway.

  At this point I’m riding the wave, but maybe I should look into college. I could go for something like business maybe? Right now I don't want to think about that. I’m enjoying my first taste of being on my own. Even if I don't look old enough to be doing it, I’m doing it anyway.

  My parents are older and they should be out seeing the world. They’ve done right by me and I want them to enjoy this time. I don’t want them to be worrying about everything I’m doing. I might be clumsy, but I think I can take care of myself. I bounce back better than most and I can handle this.

  “I know, but I want to see what your place looks like when it’s all done.”

  I laugh because I’m sure she can picture it already. She helped me find this apartment and we packed up my childhood home together. Their stuff went into storage and mine
was boxed and tagged for the movers, who came the day after they flew out.

  “I’ll send lots of pictures.”

  “I know, but don’t photoshop me into them!” She uses her mom tone on me and I laugh.

  “But it will be like you’re here with me,” I say.

  “You pick the worst pictures.” I laugh harder when I hear my dad in the background laughing with me. A second later I hear a loud horn.

  “We’re setting sail, honey,” I hear my dad say to Mom.

  “I’ll email them.” I know they won’t have the best service out at sea. Mom has told me this five million times since she realized I wasn't actually going to move down to Florida and stay at the new place.

  “You be careful,” she adds. “Don’t get too worked up.”

  “I’m not.” It’s not a lie because I’m not worked up right now.

  I’m sitting on my sofa bed not moving. Mom says I only get clumsy when I get worked up. What she really means is when I get excited, and I get excited easily. I can’t help it. My parents didn't try and keep me in a cage when I was growing up, but living so far from everything, I didn't get to see much unless we were traveling. Now there’s excitement at every turn here.

  “I love you,” I hear Dad say.

  “Love you both,” I tell them before ending the call.

  When I look up I see Paul standing by the door writing on a clipboard.

  “All done?” I ask as I stand up and make sure to walk carefully to the door so I don’t fall again. I take the clipboard and sign where he points. “Thanks,” I say as he leaves with his guys and I close my door.

  I’m finally all alone in my new place and I turn around to take it all in. When I do, I catch sight of one of the movers’ hats sitting on top of a box. I grab it and open my door to call for Paul. I remember a second later I forgot my phone and I promised my mom I wouldn’t step outside my place without it. Quickly I turn to grab it and run right into my closed front door.

  “Ouch!” I yelp when as I rub my head. “Of course,” I mumble to myself as I reach for the knob.

  I pause when I hear something behind me and turn around to look to the door across from mine. Am I supposed to introduce myself to the neighbor, or are they supposed to introduce themselves to me? Maybe you wait until you run into each other?

  “Oh, you found it.” I see one of the movers making his way back towards me with his hand held out for his hat.

  “Yeah, it was on top of one of the boxes,” I say, handing it to him. He glances at my forehead and fights a laugh.

  “Thanks.” He walks away and I hear him laugh as he goes.

  I look back at the door across from mine and something pulls my attention to it. I stand there for a long moment with the urge to knock.

  So I do.

  * * *

  Available NOW!

  Lassoing the Virgin Mail-Order Bride

  When Clare Stevens walked onto the McCallister ranch, she expected her life to be a certain way. She was the mail-order bride of the owner, and she was to fulfill her duties. Clean the house, cook for his men, and warm his bed at night. What she didn't expect was the beefy cowboy who walked in and literally swept her off her feet.

  Cash McCallister didn't have time to date and find a wife. So a mail-order bride seemed the easiest way to find a partner. He thought he'd made a mistake until he laid eyes on the little piece of sunshine that lit up his life. He never imagined a true love like this. He never knew an obsession could take hold so tightly.

  When drama hits the farm and their fast love is threatened, can Clare and Cash hold it together?

  Warning: This is literally as cliché as it sounds...and just as awesome. It's country living with high-calorie foods and easy sunsets. Come sit on the porch and stay a while. You'll like what you see.

  This book is for those of us lucky enough to have a night under the stars while sipping Boone’s Farm. Here’s to the backs of trucks, cowboy hats, and tight jeans.

  Yeehaw!

  Chapter 1

  Clare

  “Miss Clare Stevens?” I turn my head to look at the man who said my name. The sun blocks my view until he takes another step forward, his cowboy boots tapping on the concrete of the train station’s entryway. His movement gives me a clear view of him now, and I’m taken aback by the sight of him.

  He looks like he could be my father’s age. Not that I knew my father, but if I had to guess how old he was, he’d be around this old. Instantly, the little bit of the fear I’d been feeling slides away. The man looks nice. The laugh lines around his mouth are evident, even with all the wrinkles. His grey hair is cut short, his skin is deeply browned by the sun, probably from years of working out on the land.

  “Yes, that’s me.” I rise from the bench I’d been sitting on for over an hour. I was starting to wonder if my soon-to-be husband was coming or if maybe he’d changed his mind. The worry had grown worse with each ticking minute that had gone by. I didn’t even have enough money to catch a train back out of Lobo, Texas. I would have been stranded in a town in the middle of Nowheresville.

  “Sorry about that, ma’am. One of the fences broke this morning and we had hogs all over the place. Had to round the bastards up.” He cringes slight at his own curse. “Excuse my language, ma’am.”

  I smile, letting him know it doesn’t bother me “Don’t hold back on my account. I grew up on a farm with ten ranch hands. I’ve heard it all.”

  “That so?”

  I nod. “Yeah, until my mama got sick and we had to move to the city.” I can still hear the pain in my own voice. It’s still fresh. I can’t hide it, even if I wanted to. She left me all alone a little over a month ago, and I don’t have anyone now. The ranch I’d grown up on was gone. It wasn’t our ranch, but it felt like it after all the years we poured into working there. The ranch hands there were the only family I’d ever really known, but the Blackwells upped and sold the ranch last year and there wasn’t the option of going back to work there now.

  I’d found myself up the creek with no paddle.

  “Sorry about your loss.”

  I just shrug my shoulder because I really don’t want to talk about it.

  “That all you got?” He nods at the one bag I have sitting next to the bench. That all you got? The words burn.

  “Yeah, that’s all I got.”

  He studies me for a second, his eyes going soft.

  “He’s never going to see you coming.” He laughs, and the lines around his mouth are more prominent now. I know he’s talking about my future husband, Cash McCallister.

  “Pretty sure he knows I’m on my way.” I go to grab my bag, but the man beats me to it.

  “Name’s Earl,” he says, picking up my bag and giving me a wink. “And no, I’m not sure he knows you’re coming.”

  With that, he turns, bag in hand, and starts heading out of the train station. I follow him as we make our way towards a black truck. He throws my bag into the back before opening the passenger door for me.

  He actually has to give me a little boost to get inside. This thing needs a freaking stepladder or something.

  Closing the door behind me, I slip on the seatbelt while he climbs in the driver’s side. He buckles his own belt before he turns the key and the truck comes to life.

  “It’s about an hour’s drive out to the ranch. It’s nothing but farmland once we pull out of this town. You need anything before we go?”

  “Where is he?” I don’t know why that’s my response, but I’m hurt that the man I’m supposed to be marrying isn’t here to pick me up. I actually thought we’d be tying the knot before heading out to his ranch. That’s what the email had said.

  “Got held up,” is his only reply as he pulls out of the train station, getting right on the road out of town.

  I bite my lip as I look over at Earl, who shoots me another wink. I debate whether I should try to grill him for information about Cash or let it be. He’d probably tell him everything I’d said. Besides, C
ash told me how this marriage was going to work and why he needed a wife.

  A marriage of convenience. Someone to warm his bed and cook his meals. He hadn’t said it in such blunt terms, but I could read between the lines. Though I didn’t know why a man as handsome as Cash needed a mail-order bride. Handsome was putting it mildly. He’d given me one picture of himself and said it was the only one he had. It looked like it was taken without him knowing. He was on top of a horse, a stern expression on his face.

  I couldn’t make out his hair with the Stetson on his head or his eye color, but there was no hiding he was attractive and massive. Intimidating was the best word I could use to describe him in the picture. I couldn’t imagine a man like him needed to get a mail-order bride, but here I am. Something about not needing the tangles of love. This wasn’t going to be hearts and flowers. We would each do our part.

  His words were cold, and at that, I’d pushed the idea of finding my Prince Charming out the window. When I’d first found out about the Cowboy Mail-Order Bride Program, I’d let those little romantic ideas dance around in my head, but it was clear from the emails and the fact that he couldn’t even bring himself to pick me up today that he hadn’t been lying. This is all for convenience.

  He didn’t even ask for a picture of me. All he wanted to know was if I could cook, clean, and work a computer. That had pretty much been the gist of it. The agency did a background check, and I’m not sure what-all they’d given Cash of it.

  I close my eyes, and soon the hum of the truck puts me to sleep. I don’t know how long I drift, but the touch of a hand to mine wakes me from my sleep.

  “We’re here,” Earl says. I look out at a large ranch-style home made completely out of wood. A deck wraps around the whole thing and I see white swings on the porch. The double front door is a dark blue, giving the home a welcoming feeling.