Big Man’s Claim Wylder, Penny (you can read anyone .TXT) 📖

walking to my door and opening it for me. “Right on time,” he says. Reaching out for me, I give him my hand and he helps me out of the car. With my fingers in his, he takes a step back and looks me up and down. “Wow. You look amazing.”

“Thank you. So do you.”

“I do clean up nice, huh?” Chuckling, he flicks his collar.

“Who knew all this handsomeness was underneath there.” Circling his entire body with my finger, I grin.

Kissing the top of my hand, he starts to pull me toward his house. “I hope you like seafood.”

“I love seafood. Where are we going for dinner? Ocean Mist? The Blue Crab?”

It has to be one or the other, those are the only two seafood restaurants around.

“Neither.”

“You know of another place?” I ask, arching a brow.

“How does Bran's sound?” Pushing his front door open, I almost fall over when I look inside.

He set his table up with candles and a small vase of flowers. There are candles all around the cabin and soft music is playing in the background.

“Bran. . .” His name comes out my mouth as my heart halts in my chest. “You did all this for me?”

Placing his hand on the small of my back, he guides me inside. “I figured that since this town is so small, and we both know how people like to talk, that the best way for us to get to know each other is by not letting other people see us together.”

“You're so right.”

He leads me to the table, pulling out my chair for me to sit. Clearing his throat, he lays a towel over his arm and stands pencil straight.

“For dinner tonight, we have stuffed scrod, with a side of rice and steamed green beans. The green beans are home grown from my garden out back, and the fish is freshly imported from Maine.”

He's using a terrible French accent and I can't help but laugh. “Sounds delicious.” Giggling, he starts to laugh too. “I don't think you're going to win an Oscar for that accent, though.”

“Yeah, it's pretty bad.” Chuckling, he walks to the kitchen and pulls a glass dish out of the stove. Plating our food, he brings both to the table and sets mine down in front of me. “I hope you like it.”

“It smells so good.”

As we eat and talk, I realize I'm falling for this man. The man in front of me isn't anything like the man my brother described. And the longer I'm with him, the less I care what other people think.

But I do care about what Bran thinks. We can be a match made in heaven, but if we have different dreams, then we'll never have a future together.

For now, I'm just going to enjoy this. Dinner with a man who makes me smile and laugh. An evening with a man who holds me in his arms and isn't afraid to take control of me.

And as he carries me up the stairs for the second time today, I let all my worry and fears drift away.

Right now I'm happy, and that's all that matters.

Despite the heartbreak I might feel in the end, it will all be worth it to have him for a little while.

9

Branson

I feel her in my arms before I even open my eyes. It's a feeling I really enjoy. She's been here almost every night since our first date.

Our first date. . . It's a strange thought.

We haven't really had an official date. Just little ones at my house or hiking in the woods. I'm afraid of the people in town seeing us together. The rumors about me are enough to drive any sane person away. I want to bring it up, but there's a fear that she won't believe me.

I don't want to lose her.

Not yet.

This feels too good to let it get tainted by the voices I can't control. Maybe I'm reaching for something that's intangible, but all I want is for this to be real. Melody is so full of life and sass and excitement that the thought of losing her hurts.

I'm hooked. She's my drug. All I want is more and more of her. One more laugh, one more smile, one more touch, one more incredible night of mind blowing sex.

I tried to force myself to forget her and our night on the mountain, but she came to me, she sought me out, knocking on my cabin door. And she just keeps coming.

“Good morning,” she says.

“You're awake,” I say, slightly startled by her voice.

“I am.” Stretching her entire body from fingers to toes, she curls her body around me. “So, what's the plan for today?”

“I was actually thinking we should take a hike to Gloster Falls. What do you think?”

“I think that sounds great. I have my boots in my truck ready to go.”

Pushing up, I rub her back a little as she rolls onto her belly. “Coffee?”

“Please,” she says, snuggling deeper into the blanket. Her phone pings on the nightstand. Picking it up, she groans. “It's my brother. He's so nosy.”

“He's your brother, he's supposed to be nosy.” Chuckling, I smile at her. “Be nice to your brother.”

“Yeah, easy for you to say. He's not your brother, he's mine.”

“I know a thing or two about older brothers, I have two of my own. The only difference is they used to beat the shit out me, at least yours is just overprotective.”

Melody laughs. “True.” Tapping her keypad, she sets the phone back down. “I told him I was working. Hopefully, he'll leave me alone for a bit now.”

Plucking at my lip, I ask, “Does he know about me?”

It's a loaded question. I'm not sure what he's heard about me. I'm not sure what she's been told about me. A rumor can live in so many ways, it all depends on who's listening.

“Yes and no. I told him about how you helped me, but that's it. I haven't told him anything else. He's in my shit