Sugar Page 9

  He let go with one hand he then used to guide himself to her pussy to push in ever so slowly. Another slow burst of pleasure flowed through her. Yes, this man was serving her heaping helpings of pleasure, but there was no mistaking who was in charge.

  Which made her scalp tingle every single time. So totally sexy.

  He fucked her just the way he wanted to, at his speed, at the depth and angle he wanted, wringing pleasure from her until it felt like every one of her cells sang with pleasure.

  Six years of being loved by him had made her better. Stronger. Drove her to always be her best, most creative and kind person. Which was a lot easier when he kept her sexually satisfied the way he did.

  Being married didn’t make their relationship stronger. It was already strong. Already committed and vibrant. But it felt like a natural step. It felt like exactly what was supposed to happen.

  He snarled compliments in Russian as he got closer and closer, reaching around to give her clit some love. It used to be that she was sure she couldn’t come again so soon, but she ended up doing it again and again each time he put hands on her.

  So it wasn’t a surprise when he began to wring another orgasm from her, but it felt so good she almost gave herself a concussion when her forehead hit the tile as her body jumped.

  But he was so close behind, his climax right on the heels of hers, his arms around her tight, holding her still as he rode out the last moments of orgasm.

  “I love you, Wren.” He told her this as she rinsed them both off and it brought tears to her eyes because it was the best thing ever.

  * * *

  “Okay so this is how to s’more,” she began, putting two marshmallows on roasting sticks and then handing him one. They’d relocated to the deck overlooking the river, far enough away from a city that the stars seemed to crowd out all the black in the night sky overhead.

  She laid out the graham crackers with a piece of chocolate on each and then put her marshmallow in the fire. “I don’t like a whole lot of char on the outside but I like a nice oooey gooey center. I also put an extra piece of chocolate on yours because that’s how you are.”

  She showed him how to use the crackers to hold the roasted marshmallow when she pulled the stick free and then smushed to give him an example.

  “I can’t believe I’ve lived all this time without having this. What joys you bring to my life, kotyonok.” He had two more before they settled back to watch the sky and listen to music.

  “Seems like this whole trip was a perfect thing. Not without incident, but all those incidents led to something else that we ended up loving. Never in my life would I have believed how much I’d love a road trip through Idaho, Montana and Washington eating meat sticks and going to potato and brothel museums.”

  “To be fair, you did not eat any meat sticks.”

  He snorted. “Well I’m glad you did.”

  “Now who’s making dick jokes?” she asked.

  “I’ve been making dick jokes in multiple languages for decades now. Thank you for the s’mores lesson. This will be something I will use more in the future. We certainly need a fire pit like this at our vacation house so we can have them all the time.”

  How adorable was he that she could tell how truly excited he was about this vacation idea when it came with the lure of sugar.

  “Six years ago, when you were just that beautiful bike messenger I couldn’t stop thinking about, I never imagined it was possible to feel so satisfied.” He took her hand, tracing the pad of his thumb over her ring. “I probably would have considered feeling satisfied something that wasn’t for me. Marriage had been a fucking nightmare. I was not satisfied. I wasn’t comfortable. I wasn’t secure. And yet you came into my life and made me want things and once that want was awakened, once you started filling in all those spots I thought were supposed to be empty, those parts I thought were broken, I knew I’d never be the same. You, my beautiful wife, my soul’s mate, have given me everything and more. You’ve shown me a life I didn’t think I deserved.”

  She sucked in a breath, waiting to respond until after she’d gotten herself together because if she started crying she’d never get it all out.

  “I wanted you in a way I’ve never wanted anything my whole life. It’s what gave me courage to keep pursuing you even as you tried to run. Being loved by you has been the best thing. It makes me confident and strong to know you see me the way you do. It makes me so ridiculously happy that you’d put on a helmet and swim trunks with water sandals to white-water raft. For no other reason than because it pleased me. That Gregori is one reserved just for me and a very few others. It makes me feel special.”

  “You are special. You put up with my family, which is a lot.” He laughed, rueful. “And they love you. Not as much as I do, but that’s because I love you more than anyone or anything on this planet. I do those things because you have a sense of adventure and fun and it makes my heart light. I knew you’d make this fun and you have. Because it’s what you carry with you and toss around like pixie dust. Joy. That’s what you bring to my life, Wren. Thank you.”

  “Whoa. You are so sweet I must just eat another meat stick to thank you.”

  With that, he stood, picking her up, tossing her over his shoulder and carried her back inside to add another chapter—well actually two—to their honeymoon story.

  * * * * *

  To read more from Lauren Dane,

  visit her website at www.laurendane.com

  Love Gregori and Wren? Fall in love with Gregori’s cousins in Lauren Dane’s Whiskey Sharp trilogy, now available from HQN, in ebook, audio and mass market at your favorite retailer.

  THE SHARPEST ACHE comes from wanting what you think you can’t have...

  Maybe Dolan has lived independent, free-spirited and unattached since leaving home at sixteen. Whiskey Sharp, Seattle’s sexy vintage-styled barbershop and whiskey bar, gave her a job—and a reason to put down roots. Cutting hair by day, losing herself drumming in a punk rock band by night, she’s got it good.

  But a longtime crush that turns into a hot, edgy night with brooding and bearded Alexsei Petrov makes it a hell of a lot better.

  Maybe’s blunt attitude and carnal smile hooked Alexsei from the start. Protecting people is part of his nature and Maybe is meant to be his...even if she doesn’t know it. Yet. He can’t help himself from wanting to protect and care for her.

  But Maybe’s fiery independent spirit means pushing back when Alexsei goes too far. Still, he’s not afraid to do a little pushing of his own to get what he wants—her in his life, and his bed, for good. Maybe’s more intoxicating than all the liquor on his shelf...and he’s not afraid to ride the blade’s edge to bind her to him.

  * * *

  ALEXSEI HOPED SHE wasn’t done yet because there’s no way he could have stood without the entire shop knowing she turned him on.

  Her fingers massaging oil and then shaving cream into his skin, the way she bent close as she scraped the straight razor over his beard. He could smell her skin. And her hair. Currently fire-engine red, it also smelled like apples.

  He’d been staring at her pulse point just below her ear. Her heart beat so fast he could see her skin jump. And that’s when it hit him that it was time to stop messing around and ask her out.

  More accurately, he’d been craving her more and more each day until the point where it was impossible for him to ignore. He’d woken up that morning in a bed in a house that didn’t belong to him. Housesitting had kept a roof over his head since he’d moved out of the place he and Rada had shared. And he’d been able to save up a decent amount for a down payment on a place of his own. Once he decided to look, at any rate.

  But he’d woken up thinking of her. After he’d gone to bed thinking of her, wondering where she’d been and what she’d been up to. He’d laid there, sleep slowly leaving him, but the sense of needing her ha
dn’t.

  Plain and simple, he’d come to a place where if he didn’t pursue her, he’d be lying to them both.

  Then she’d brought up that date she had later. A year ago he’d have had a pang of jealousy. Wondering what if he’d ever given in to his attraction to the strange woman who worked in his shop.

  A year ago he’d still been trying to make his relationship with Rada work though they’d both given up by that point and were just going through the motions.

  Now that he’d settled in to life after that engagement had finally been broken in public—they’d broken up privately three months before that—there was a lot more than a pang.

  He hated the idea of Maybe being with anyone else. Hated the thought of this date she was going to being the one she decided to give this other man a chance to be with her.

  Hated, too, that if she ended up with someone right then, it would have been his own damned fault for not just making his move months before.

  But he’d been antsy. Needed to roam a little. To turn over in his head whether or not he wanted to be serious with anyone at all, despite his craving for Maybe.

  And for a while, he’d led with his dick and had enjoyed himself that way.

  But he always turned his attention back to her. Over and over and finally he’d realized he was done fucking around and needed to pay attention to his feelings about her to see if they were worth investigating further.

  Not his type, or what he’d always thought was his type until he’d met her. Perhaps it was more a measure of that, the fact that no one was like her. Maybe never shut up. At first he’d been stunned by it, but over time, he tended to have better days when she was working than when she was off. Whiskey Sharp was too quiet without his little bird flitting around, chirping and chattering.

  She was the heart of the shop. Like an annoying little sister who managed to keep them all in line.

  Except for him. He had absolutely no brotherly feelings about her whatsoever.

  First things first, he had to deal with this visit from his mother and the resulting fallout among his family. Then he’d turn his energy and focus to seeing if he could nudge Maybe into a date or two. See if he could get himself into double-digit territory.

  His mother was arriving from New York in just a few hours. She’d been in New Jersey with her new husband, who’d gone back to Moscow.

  Alexsei wasn’t a fool. He knew she was only coming because his aunt had guilted her into it. His younger brother had recently bought a house with his partner. They hadn’t told her about the purchase yet and had asked Alexsei if he’d be there when they did.

  He would always be at his brother’s side. Especially to protect him from whatever mayhem his mother brought into their lives.

  The following night they had a big dinner planned at Irena’s house where this would all take place. He only hoped his mother reacted well. For his brother’s sake.

  And deep down inside, maybe he wanted his mother to see how far her children had come, how much they’d grown, and be proud.

  Maybe finished up and her work, as always, was exemplary. It gave him a bit more confidence about the next few days. A small control, but one that was all about something he could do.

  The heaviness of what he might be facing that night and over the next few days had killed his hard-on, but it twitched back to life when she slid the palm of her hand down the center of his chest, straightening his tie and adjusting his vest just exactly the way he preferred.

  “I don’t know a single mother who could look at this man and not be proud. You’re so handsome.” She grinned and then turned to clean up her station.

  He risked one long look from the heels of her boots, up long, denim-clad legs, across her shoulders where the tip of her ponytail hung.

  When his mother left, he’d need to circle back to this developing thing between him and Maybe. The time had come to finally make that move or risk losing his chance forever.

  Pick up Whiskey Sharp: Unraveled, Whiskey Sharp: Jagged and Whiskey Sharp: Torn at your favorite retailer today!

  Copyright © 2018 Lauren Dane

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks go to Angela James and the Carina Press team, who are amazing and top-notch and have always been on my side.

  Also available from Lauren Dane

  and Carina Press

  Second Chances

  Believe

  Goddess with a Blade

  Goddess with a Blade

  Blade to the Keep

  Blade on the Hunt

  At Blade’s Edge

  Diablo Lake

  Diablo Lake: Moonstruck

  Diablo Lake: Protected

  Cascadia Wolves

  Reluctant Mate

  Pack Enforcer

  Wolves’ Triad

  Wolf Unbound

  Alpha’s Challenge

  Bonded Pair

  Twice Bitten

  de La Vega Cats

  Trinity

  Revelation

  Beneath the Skin

  Cherchez Wolf Pack

  Wolf’s Ascension

  Sworn to the Wolf

  Chase Brothers

  Giving Chase

  Taking Chase

  Chased

  Making Chase

  From Lauren Dane

  and HQN Books

  The Best Kind of Trouble

  Broken Open

  Back to You

  Whiskey Sharp: Unraveled

  Whiskey Sharp: Jagged

  Whiskey Sharp: Torn

  About the Author

  Lauren Dane is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over fifty novels and novellas across several genres. She lives in the Northwest with her patient husband and three wild children.

  Visit Lauren on the web at www.laurendane.com.

  Email: laurendane@laurendane.com

  Twitter: @LaurenDane

  You can write to her at P.O. Box 45175, Seattle, WA 98145

  The Chase boys. Ridiculously hot and notoriously single.

  Don’t miss the Chase Brothers series from New York Times bestselling author

  Lauren Dane!

  GIVING CHASE (Chase Brothers, book one)

  TAKING CHASE (Chase Brothers, book two)

  CHASED (Chase Brothers, book three)

  MAKING CHASE (Chase Brothers, book four)

  The Chase is on: One small town. Four hot brothers. And enough heat to burn up anyone who dares to get close.

  Grab your copies now!

  Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers and much more!

  Visit CarinaPress.com

  Other ways to keep in touch:

  Facebook.com/CarinaPress

  Twitter.com/CarinaPress

  CarinaPress.com/newsletter

  Introducing the Carina Press Romance Promise!

  The Carina Press team all have one thing in common: we are romance readers with a longtime love of the genre. And we know what readers are looking for in a romance: a guarantee of a happily-ever-after (HEA) or happy-for-now (HFN). With that in mind, we’re initiating the Carina Press Romance Promise. When you see a book tagged with these words in our cover copy/book description, we’re making you, the reader, a very important promise:

  This book contains a romance central to the plot and ends in an HEA or HFN.

  Simple, right? But so important, we know!

  Look for the Carina Press Romance Promise and one-click with confidence that we understand what’s at the heart of the romance genre!

  Look for this line in Carina Press book descriptions:

  One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It
’s a promise!

  Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise.

  Find out more at CarinaPress.com.

  We think you have a good book in you!

  Do you write in the below genres? Harlequin’s Carina Press wants to see your manuscript.

  • Contemporary Romance

  • Romantic Suspense

  • Historical Romance

  • Paranormal Romance

  • Mystery

  • Erotic Romance

  • LGBT

  • Science Fiction & Fantasy Romance

  Submit today!

  All manuscripts receive a thorough evaluation by a Carina Press editor and a decision within 12–16 weeks. What do you have to lose?

  To learn more about our submission guidelines, visit us at CarinaPress.com/WriteForUs.

  Don’t miss out!

  Sign up for our editorial newsletter and stay in the loop on the latest submission calls and editorial news:

  Bit.ly/CPEditorialNewsletter

  Get the latest on Carina Press by joining our eNewsletter!

  Don’t miss out, sign up today!

  CarinaPress.com/newsletter

  Sign up and get Carina Press offers and coupons delivered straight to your inbox!

  Plus, as an eNewsletter subscriber, you’ll get the inside scoop on everything

  Carina Press and be the first to know about our newest releases!

  Visit CarinaPress.com

  Other ways to keep in touch:

  Facebook.com/CarinaPress

  Twitter.com/CarinaPress

  ISBN-13: 9781459290433

  Sugar

  Copyright © 2018 by Lauren Dane

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada.