“Yeah, I think so. My last customer just left right before you walked in and it’s only about twenty minutes early.”

  “Perfect.” I pull her close to me and kiss her one more time before I let her go.

  She giggles as she goes back to the register and closes it down. “What’s gotten into you? You seem excited.”

  “I am,” I say, bouncing on my toes a little.

  “Something tells me you’ve got something up your sleeve.” She narrows her eyes at me as she grabs her bag.

  “Did Mom come by the store today?” I try not so smoothly to change the subject and she lets me.

  “She did. She picked up a few books and took a look at the empty store next door. I guess Missy didn’t actually own the building and just leased it. The company who owns it came in today and cleaned it out.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah, it was kind of sad. But then I remembered what a witch she was and I’m glad it’s gone.”

  Missy pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated harassment and a few other misdemeanors. She was sentenced to a couple hundred hours of community service and three years’ probation. The second she left the courtroom she packed up all her stuff and skipped town. Last my mom heard she was living three states over and starting up a bakery. Some people never learn; I’m just glad she’s doing it away from my woman.

  “So why are you asking me to close shop early?” Barbara comes up to me and I take her hand as we walk outside and she locks up.

  “I have a surprise for you.”

  “I like your surprises.” She wiggles her eyebrows and I can’t help but laugh.

  “I want you to put this on.” I hold out the blindfold and her eyes light up.

  “Kinky.”

  “I’ll remember you said that.”

  She turns around and I tie the blindfold in place and then swat her ass playfully and she squeals.

  “Hey! I can’t see that coming.”

  I take her hand and kiss her neck as she sighs contentedly. “That’s the point.” She squeals again as I scoop her up in my arms and carry her to the truck.

  “Any chance you’re going to tell me where we’re going?”

  “Patience,” I say as I drive away from downtown.

  It’s a short ride and I turn down the tree-lined driveway.

  “I think I might be getting car sick.”

  “Good thing we’re here.” I park the truck and lean over to unbuckle her. “Just another second, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Keep them closed.” I jump out and then help her down. Once I turn her around, I move behind her and take off the blindfold. “Open your eyes.”

  “Oh my god, Shaw.” She looks around and her eyes widen. “Where are we?”

  “Our new home.” She stops moving and stares at me for a moment and only blinks. “I bought it for us.”

  “Wait, you did what?”

  “I found this cottage on the historical register. It’s been vacant a long time and I reached out to the estate to see if they’d be interested in an offer way over asking.” I shrug as I stuff my hands in my pockets, suddenly second-guessing everything.

  “I can’t, I mean, this is insane.”

  She turns around to face the cottage again and she’s looking at it like she’s never seen a house before. I had to drive out this way last week to do some work for one of Mom’s friends. When I saw the house in the distance all I could think was it looked exactly like the house in the book Barbara told me about. She said it was her favorite book as a child and the stone house with ivy clinging to the side was what she always pictured raising a family in.

  I knew it with one look, the way I knew the day I saw her for the first time. She was it for me and this house was it for her. But maybe now the dream isn’t meeting the expectation and I’ve gotten it wrong. Damn, it even has the tulip garden around the side like she talked about.

  “Hey, I can change anything you don’t like, or we can just sell it and find something else.”

  “What?” She whips around with tears in her eyes. “Sell it? Are you kidding me, Shaw? We can’t sell this house. It’s our home.”

  She runs to me and I catch her just as she jumps into my arms.

  “You like it?” I feel some of the worry leave me as she kisses my face.

  “Love it, Shaw. Love the house, love you, love life, oh god, I’m just so full of love.”

  “I love you too, babe.” I kiss her neck and hug her close as her legs wrap around me. “Want to see the inside?”

  “Seriously? Is it really all ours?”

  I fish the key out of my pocket and hold it out for her. “As long as I can carry you across the threshold, it’s all yours.”

  She squeals as I lift her over my shoulder and carry her like a fireman would. When we get to the door, I turn around and she unlocks it, and then I carry her inside. Once through the door I close it behind us and then settle her in my arms. I’m not ready to put her down as I carry her through the house and show her all the rooms.

  “I think this will make a perfect nursery because it’s right next to the master.”

  “Shaw, this is like a real-life fairytale. Do you even know how romantic you are?”

  “I don’t know if making a major purchase without your knowledge is considered romantic, but I want you to always have your dreams come true.” I kiss her softly and she wraps her arms around my neck. “I knew that I could fix it if it didn’t work out, so I took the chance.”

  “I’m glad you did. Now show me our bedroom.”

  “Right this way.”

  The master bedroom has its own terrace that leads out to a garden. It’s already starting to bloom and the canopy of trees around us makes it feel like we’re alone in the countryside.

  The bed is fitted with a white gossamer canopy. The old wood of the headboard has flowers carved into it and it looks like something that was probably made when this house was built. I made sure when I bought it that it would stay with the house, but I had a new mattress delivered this week along with several other deliveries so we could stay the night right away.

  “I can’t believe this is real,” Barbara says as she looks around the room.

  “Wait until you see the tub.” I nibble on her neck and she laughs. “We can have a soak tonight, after I’m finished loving you on every inch of this bed.”

  “We can stay here tonight?” Her eyes widen with shock just like the first time she saw the house.

  “We can stay here forever.”

  I carry her to the bed and lay her in the middle as I climb on top of her. “It’s ours, and you’re mine.”

  I push her dress up as I move between her legs, kissing her neck and between her breasts. I unbutton the top of her dress and then pull her bra down so I can suck on her nipples and taste her beaded peaks.

  “I need you inside me,” she moans, raising her hips.

  Moving my hand between us, I unbuckle my belt and unbutton my jeans. My cock springs free between us, hard and hot as it demands entry. I push her panties to the side and sink into her wet heat, and we both groan at the connection.

  It’s fast and dirty as I hump between her legs and she grips me with every thrust. She’s so damn wet that my thick cock slides between her folds easily. Seeing her splayed out under me with her tits bouncing and her hair a mess is getting me harder. She’s lost to the pleasure and I can feel her body coiling with need.

  “Good girl,” I tell her, sliding my thumb over her clit. “You’re such a good girl.”

  “Shaw,” she moans, her thighs tensing and her chest flushing.

  I lick my thumb just so I can have a quick taste and then slide it over her clit again. Her nails dig into the blanket as I thrust harder, and finally she climaxes.

  My body is so in tune with hers that I follow her over the edge and release my seed into her. I hold myself deep and grind against her until she cries out that she can’t take any more.

  With a laugh I roll us over so she’s on top of me and I don’t crush her body. “I’m glad we could break in the bed.” I laugh, and she does too.

  “The first time of many.” She sits up and rocks on my cock as it sinks deeper into her.

  “You want more?”

  She bites her bottom lip and nods, sliding up and then back down. “I’m empty.”

  “Good thing I’m still full.”

  We spend the rest of the night breaking in the bed, and then the bathtub, the living room, the kitchen and all the other available surfaces we can find. We truly make this house ours and just like our love, it’s pretty damn beautiful.

  * * *

  Epilogue

  Barbie

  Four Months Later…

  “Barbie.” I jerk awake at the sound of my name and Kayla's face is only a few inches from mine.

  “You scared the crap out of me!” I hiss at her. I swear she can pop out of nowhere. You’d think being pregnant would make her slower, but nope, not Kayla. I get why her husband calls her “bunny.”

  “I got you a root beer.” She holds it up. I’ve been addicted to them for months.

  “Forgiven.” I take it from her hand and look around the store. “Oh my god. Did I fall asleep while I was open?” My brain is mush lately.

  “I had it under control. Your snoring bothered a few people, but I told them to beat it.”

  I chug back my root beer knowing she’s full of crap. A giant burp leaves me and I surprise myself. “Where did that come from? It didn't even sound human.” I look down at my stomach, which is covered with an open book.

  “We get to blame stuff like that on the babies.” She points to her own baby bump.

  “Well, my baby is making me sleep and eat non-stop.” I let out an enormous yawn before I pick up my book. I still can’t believe I passed out. We’ve been slow today with everyone being at the fair. I glance at the clock to see it’s past closing time and I wonder where my husband went.

  “Shaw was in here watching the place while you catnapped and I told him I’d take over. He wanted to run home and grab your coat. He thinks it’s getting cold out.”

  I would roll my eyes, but that’s sweet. He’s always looking after me and it’s not something I’ve ever had and I’ll never turn my nose up at it.

  “There is going to be so much food at the fair,” I say, rubbing my belly.

  I don’t know how I’m hungry. I think the food before I took my nap knocked me out and I should still be full. Now is when I miss Missy’s place right next door, but it’s better that she’s gone. Now Cora owns it and has a yarn store that hosts classes and clubs. It’s really awesome and I’ve already made my little peanut some mittens. Okay, one glove, but I’ll still learning. I have some time to make the other.

  “The only reason I’m going is the food.” Kayla relaxes in the oversized chair next to mine. “Wish we could go now.” She sniffs the air. “I think I can smell those funnel cakes from here.”

  I sit up a little straighter and my mouth waters. This is my first time getting to see the fair. “They have funnel cakes?”

  “Oh yeah.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

  “The husbands can meet us there.” I drop the book onto the table before polishing off my root beer and getting to my feet. “How long has Shaw been gone?” Damn it. I’m supposed to wait for him, but it’s only down the road.

  “Not too long ago.” Kayla gets up with me. “But I’m down for them meeting us there.”

  “Where is your shadow?” I grab my purse. “Do you think his badge could get us to cut lines?”

  “We’ll have to see.” She pulls out his badge and I burst into laughter. She has already thought this out. “Joe is at the station and told me to call him when I’m ready.”

  “Let’s roll. I’ll text mine on the way.”

  I head out the front door and lock it behind us. We both text our men letting them know where we’ll be and follow the smell of powdered sugar and cake.

  “Did you ever think six months ago this would be our life?” I rest my hand on my stomach. You can’t really see much of the bump since my overalls cover it more than normal.

  “Both married with babies? Sure, we’re catches.” She touches her shoulders to mine as we walk to the end of the main street where the fair is.

  “No wonder my place was dead today. Everyone is here.” The fair is in full swing and not only is most of the town here, but so are a bunch of people I’ve never seen before.

  “Out of the way.” Kayla holds up the badge and I shake my head at her. People actually move out of the way and I have to fight back the laughter. “Someone tell us where to find the funnel cake and no one gets hurt.”

  “Does Joe know you got his badge?”

  “Shut it, Larry. You glare at people and don’t talk,” she fires back and I shake with laughter while Larry goes back to glaring at us.

  “I’ll help you ladies find it.” A man steps in front of us and he looks to be about my age. He’s dressed casually, so I don’t know if he’s at the fair for fun or working it. Doesn't matter, he knows where the fried batter is.

  “Did he call us ‘ladies’?” Kayla whispers loudly to me.

  “This is trouble,” I whisper back.

  “But it’s for funnel cake.” She makes a good argument. “We'd be delighted if you showed us the way.”

  The man laughs, thinking we’re joking around as Kayla puts the badge away. “It’s right this way. My friend actually makes them.” He motions for us to follow him.

  “You work for the fair?” I ask, making small talk.

  “Yeah, for a few years now.” We follow him through the crowd of people. “Best part of a fair is the food. I’m going to treat you both to funnel cake.” He winks at me but maybe it was grass or something in his eye.

  “You can just have funnel cake whenever you want. You’re living the dream.” Kayla lets out a long dreamy sigh.

  “You know if you want you can make it at home. It's somewhat of a mess, but it can be done.”

  When we get to the funnel cake stand there’s no line.

  “I don’t need that kind of power or knowledge,” Kayla says, as serious as I’ve ever heard her.

  The guy grabs two plates and hands each of us one. I pull off a piece, digging into mine, and Kayla does the same.

  “This is so good,” I moan around my bite. “I love powdered sugar.” I shove another bite into my mouth while it’s still hot and gooey.

  “I bet you taste like sugar.”

  I don’t really catch what the guy says at first since my mind is focused on sugary goodness. Then his hand comes up to brush a hair off of my face and I freeze. Before I can step back a strong hand grabs the man around his wrist and I stare in shock. I know that hand.

  “Don’t touch my wife,” Shaw barks as he flings the man’s hand back at him so hard he almost falls on his ass. Then Shaw looks down at me. “I can’t leave you alone for twenty minutes?” He puts my coat over my shoulders before he fishes out a twenty and drops it on the table next to the stand.

  “They’re free,” Kayla informs Shaw.

  “Nothing is free,” Shaw replies, and I see Joe in the distance.

  “Here comes Joe,” I warn.

  “Crap.” Kayla shoves the funnel cake into her mouth faster.

  “Get lost,” Shaw barks at the man, who is still standing there. He jumps like he’s been electrocuted and takes off. The girl making the cakes laughs.

  “I’ve never seen Sean strike out before.” That doesn't help the tic in Shaw’s jaw.

  “Bunny,” Joe barks, and everyone else jumps but her.

  “I’m eating.”

  She doesn’t look up at him as Joe pulls her in his arms. “We’re leaving because I’m going to be eating you.” His voice is low but I still manage to catch his words.

  “You’re knocked up with a ring on your finger and men are still trying to get at you,” Shaw complains as he directs me away from the funnel cake stand.

  I fight a smile because I love that Shaw thinks everyone wants me. It’s adorable because no one could ever beat Shaw. He’s a perfect husband and the man really is a hero in every sense of the word. He’s given me my happily ever after. Mine wasn’t in the pages of a book but in the arms of my man.

  * * *

  THE END

  General Joe

  Kayla may have pulled on the tiger's tail one too many times. She’s been in love with Joe her whole life, and when he leaves for the military she has the bright idea to send him dirty letters and pictures the whole time. When he comes back from his time away, he makes it clear he’s coming for her. But has she gone too far?

  Joe has been teased by Kayla for years and it’s about time she made good on her filthy words. He’s been counting down the days until he can make her his…and now the wait is over. She’s going to admit to him and herself that this is what’s right. No matter their age difference or their time apart.

  Warning: He’s a great American hero coming home to claim his reward. Don’t worry…it’s the dirty happily ever after we know you want!

  Prologue

  Kayla

  I don’t know why I’m nervous. I’ve told Joe every fantasy I’ve ever had and sent him all kinds of dirty pictures of myself. He never returned them when I sent them, but he never responded either.

  Except once.

  The day I got to the post office too late and they’d already closed, so I had to drop the letter off the next day. I made a point to send something every day because I wanted Joe to know I was always thinking about him. Thinking about him in the dirtiest ways.

  On that one day he didn’t get a letter he called me.

  I was shocked he had my cell number, but it wouldn’t have been that hard for him to find it. We live in a small town where everyone knows everyone and my dad is the chief of police. Not to mention he and Joe shared a few beers back in the day when I was too young to be fantasizing about him. It never stopped me because it isn't something I can control.

 

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