A Bitter Man (Special Forces: Operation Alpha), page 21
“Because! See that purple iris over there? That’s old Widow Hawkin’s tongue, the gossipy old bitch. And that pink tulip? That’s something my mawmaw called Hooker Pussy.”
“Oh, holy shit. You can’t―”
“And that peony? The kind of blush-colored one? Mama called that Bessie’s Boobs, after this big-bosomed woman at church who just couldn’t keep those puppies covered up. And the hydrangeas were Brother Armbruster’s Balls on the years they were blue and Pappy’s Florida Sack on the years they were pink. I can hear my mawmaw now … ‘Well, child, wonder if we’ll have old Brother Ambruster’s Balls this year or Pappy’s Florida Sack? You know, they’d stay white if the old fool kept his shorts on!’ And we’d laugh and laugh.”
Porter’s laughing too. “What about the roses?”
“Oh, the red one was Love Me Do. Mama had a thing for The Beatles. The pink one was Sunny Day, the white one was Front of the Bus, and―”
“Front of the bus?”
“Yeah. Only whites were allowed on the front of the bus.”
“Ah. Got it.”
“Yeah. The yellow ones were Pissing in the Sunshine. And the peach and yellow tea roses were Punkin’ Glow.”
He leans back and spreads his arms out across the top of the bench. “I’m thinkin’ maybe Mr. Prescott should do a reverse image search on Google for these flowers to get their actual names.”
“I’m thinkin’ you’re probably right!” We’re both still laughing, the sun is shining, the breeze is gentle, and the scent of all the flowers is hanging in the air. “I love you, Porter. You’ve made all my dreams come true.”
“You’ve done the same for me. And you know what I’m dreaming of now?”
“What’s that?”
He grins at me. “A rack of those ribs you’re so good at making.”
“Oh, is that right?” I play scowl. “That’s all I’m good for, cookin’ and cleanin’?”
“Nope. But you do make the best ribs in the whole world. I mean the entire world. Everywhere. All the time.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Absolutely.” He stands. “You ready to go home?”
I take the hand he offers me and let him pull me to standing. “Yep. Time to go home. And thank you.”
“For what?”
“For giving me a reason to hold my head high in this town.”
“Baby,” he says as he wraps an arm behind my waist and pulls me toward the car, “you’re mine, and you’ll never have to hang your head again.”
I look at the man beside me, gorgeous and sophisticated and mine. He’s right. The rest of the world can piss off. Audrey Sinclair will become Audrey Winthrop. And I’ll never, never have to hang my head in shame again.
Never.
Curious about Tony and Nikki, Vic, and John Henry? You can find them all in the Bluegrass Dynasty series here.
Have you met Ethan Watson and the men of Eagle Point SAR? You can find Susan Stoker’s Eagle Point SAR series here.
Want more Kentucky romance and suspense? Grab the Bluegrass Bravery books in Susan Stoker’s Operation Alpha: Police and Fire world. They’re all here, and some of the guys will show up in the Appalachian STAR series too! Just click here.
So what’s next? Keep reading.
COMING NEXT …
A Broken Man
Ghost
Ten more strokes. If I can just get in ten more strokes, I’ll drive her over the edge, and I’ll go too. “Come on, girl. Give it all ya got.”
“Fuck, Ghost. Oh, fuck, yeah. Damn, pound me, baby. Yeah, just like that. Ohhhh, my god, that thing’s big and hard. Harder, babe, harder. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. Give it to me. Faster, baby.”
“You like it like that, huh? Hard and fast?”
“Oh, yeah. Hard and fast, baby. Just like … Oh, yeah, uhhhh … Oh, yeah, fuck me, fuck me, fuuuuuuck … Oh, god! Ohhhh, yeahhhhhh. Uh-huh. Mmmm-mm-mmmmm.” I can feel her tighten around me, pulsing and clamping down hard.
And that’s it for me. I unload with a torrent, hoping I don’t blow the tip off the fucking condom. That’s all the trouble I need but, damn, this woman is fine. She’s still groaning, but I don’t say one damn word. Nothing. Not a peep, just set my jaw and turn loose. I don’t want any woman knowing how much I enjoy them. I want them to always think they didn’t quite go far enough to really, really get to me. Always striving for more, for better, for harder, for faster. That’s what I want. Highly-competent pussy. Absolutely.
“Was that good, baby? Enjoy it?” she asks as I drop to the mattress beside her.
“Yeah. That was real good, doll.” I don’t make a move to pull her up against me, just lie there, staring up at the ceiling. Don’t let them think they’re important. Just let them think they’re a good time.
“Good. I wanna make sure you’re satisfied.”
“And you? You satisfied?”
“Oh, hell yeah. I don’t think I’ve come that many times in my life. Holy hell, that was awesome.”
I hop up and head for the bathroom. “Good. Gotta go. Hang on.” Once I’m in there, I take off the condom and tie it closed. No sneaking sperm out. I’ve heard horror stories about guys who left condoms in trash cans and later found out they were daddies. Apparently some women get desperate. I don’t need that shit.
After I’ve taken a piss and cleaned myself up a bit, I make my way back out into the bedroom. She’s lying on her stomach on the bed, her chin propped up on her fists. “Wanna go again?”
“Nah. We’ve got, what, seven hours of flight time to put in tomorrow? Gotta get some rest.”
“Yeah. I guess that’s true. Suppose we should. Be right back.” She disappears into the bathroom, and I watch that heart-shaped ass sway as she goes. Tomorrow it’ll be in a flight suit, but for tonight, it’s bare for my pleasure.
Maybe fucking my flight instructor isn’t very smart, but it’s an eight-day, round-trip flight, and I’ll never have to see her again. This trip will nab me my pilot’s certification and ten nights of hard riding her beautiful body. Nothing wrong with that from where I sit.
Plus let’s not forget what this is costing. Thousands of dollars that the Walters family is paying. Because of that, I figure I should get their money’s worth in every way you can think of. And I do mean every way. She takes three weeks off, then teaches another two-week course, so I figure she’s getting ten different guys a year, if every one of us is her cup of tea. If not, she might go longer between. Apparently, I am her cup of tea, or at least one of them.
Seems like she’s been in the bathroom a long time. “Izzy, you okay in there?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She steps into the bedroom, still totally naked. “Had a big knot in my hair and it took me a minute to brush it out.”
“Good thing you don’t have a sistah’s hair or you’d still be strugglin’.”
“Yeah. Not this. Too silky.” She’s right. That head of cornsilk would never nap up like a black girl’s hair.
Thirty minutes later, she’s sound asleep. I look over at her name tag on the nightstand. Isolde Bruce. Perfect name for a white girl in America, the name of an Irish princess. What do I know about that? More than I’d like to, seeing as how I have a mother who was a history professor. I went to Ireland when I was about nine. To Greece when I was about twelve. At thirteen, I went to Australia and New Zealand. Fifteen, to France and Italy. At fourteen, to Peru. My gift for my sixteenth birthday was to go to Alaska to see the polar bears.
And on my eighteenth birthday, I had my first child. A baby girl. Her mother was a neighbor, someone I grew up with and had been friends with all my life. We agreed we didn’t want to get married, much to my parents’ disappointment, a sentiment echoed by her parents as well. One thing we did agree on, however, was co-parenting our daughter.
Next thing I knew, I was in college, and my nursing degree was an important element to supporting Kiana. Anaia had gotten a degree in psychology and was well on her way to becoming a clinician. I got heavily involved in triage and critical on-location care, and I really wanted to become a MEDEVAC nurse, which led me to life flights and how they worked.
We were happy. Kiana was a beautiful kid, smart and funny and popular. Anything she needed or wanted, Anaia and I provided easily. We lived across town from each other, so we got to spend plenty of time together. Anaia finally married a man she met through her work, another clinician. I dated around, but it was clear to me that marriage just wasn’t in the cards for me. And that was fine. I had my work, and I had Kiana. That was enough.
I thought I knew her. I thought I was spending enough time with her. I thought everything we’d said to her had gotten through to her. But what really got through to her were her friends, and what they really got into was heroin. My baby girl was unlucky enough to get hold of a batch cut with strychnine. The dealer who’d sold them the drugs was unlucky enough to be easy to find. And I was unlucky enough to own a forty-five.
Two days after I buried my baby girl, I was arrested for the murder of the dealer who’d sold those kids that heroin. She wasn’t the only one. Two more of her friends died with her. Their parents were relieved that the guy was off the streets, but not relieved enough to send themselves to prison for fifteen years.
And now, here I am, Marvelle Connors, ex-con, doing his flight hours for pilot’s certification to work with a group of men like me in a search and rescue operation. And making knives to support myself. I look across the bed at Izzy. What do I know about her?
I know she served in Enduring Freedom. I know she did CASEVAC. That’s one of the reasons Patch approved my choice of instructor, because he knew what she had to be made of, even though he was surprised that he didn’t run across her in his service. I know her parents are blue-collar, working-class people. I know she grew up outside Philly. I know she’s been working for the training center for eight years now. I know she’s been married, no kids. But I don’t know what her favorite color is, or her favorite food, or her favorite band, or her favorite song, or her favorite flower.
And honestly, I don’t really care. I’m just here for the party. She is too. At least I hope that’s all she’s here for.
Otherwise, she’s going to be very disappointed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deanndra Hall is a working author living in far western Kentucky with her partner of 30+ years, crazy little dogs, and maybe a snake or two. She's written for business, industry, religious institutions, non-profits, and owned her own graphic design business, as well as working as a fiber and textile artist. When she's not writing all things romance from sweet, simple plots to explicit, erotic suspense, she can be found working out at the local gym, hiking, kayaking, reading (of course), or working on a healthy recipe. And wherever she is, chocolate is sure to be nearby.
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ALSO BY DEANNDRA HALL
Bluegrass Dynasty Series
Bluegrass Dynasty:
The Love Under Construction Novels
Laying a Foundation (Book 1)
Tearing Down Walls (Book 2)
Renovating a Heart (Book 3)
Planning an Addition (Book 4)
Bluegrass Dynasty:
The Citadel Novels
One Simple Mistake (Book 5)
One Broken Promise (Book 6)
One Poor Choice (Book 7)
One Wrong Glance (Book 8)
Bluegrass Dynasty:
The Legacy Novels
Atonement (Book 9)
Legacy of Pride (Book 10)
Legacy of Freedom (Book 11)
Legacy of Faithfulness (Book 12)
Legacy of Hope (Book 13)
Legacy of Memories (Book 14)
Legacy of Love (Book 15)
Bluegrass Dynasty:
The Moonlight & Moonshine Novels
Kindred Spirits (Book 16)
High Proof (Book 17)
Angel’s Share (Book 18)
The Bliss Series
Adventurous Me (Book 1)
Unforgettable You (Book 2)
Incredible Us (Book 3)
Completely Mine (Book 4)
Undeniably His (Book 5)
Eternally Yours (Book 6)
Blissfully Hers (Book 7)
The Harper’s Cove Series
Karen and Brett at 326 Harper’s Cove (Book 1)
Becca and Greg at 314 Harper’s Cove (Book 2)
Donna and Connor at 228 Harper’s Cove (Book 3)
Savannah and Martin at 219 Harper’s Cove (Book 4)
Cheryl and Samuel at 323 Harper’s Cove (Book 5)
Tasha and Davis at 333 Harper’s Cove (Book 6)
Lily and Brock at 343 Harper’s Cove (Book 7)
Siobhán and Gabhain at 241 Harper's Cove (Book 8)
The Witch of Endor Series
Laid Bare (Book 1)
Ripped Open (Book 2)
Torn Apart (Book 3)
Bound Together (Book 4)
The Silent Cove Series
Awakening (Book 1)
Independent Novels
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The Celtic Fan
Rough Stock
Books included in Susan Stoker’s
Police and Fire: Operation Alpha World,
Badge of Honor
Bluegrass Bravery Series
Shelter for Sharla (Book 1)
Justice for Aleta (Book 2)
Shelter for Martina (Book 3)
Justice for Daesha (Book 4)
Shelter for Jerrica (Book 5)
Justice for Landee (Book 6)
Shelter for Tanna (Book 7)
Justice for Liella (Book 8)
Justice for Maisey (Book 9)
Shelter for Nita (Book 10)
Justice for JoElla (Book 11)
Refuge for Flora (Book 12)
Refuge for Phaedra (Book 13)
Refuge for Cherilyn (Book 14)
Refuge for Ailsa (Book 15)
Justice for Samara (Book 16)
Tarpley Volunteer Fire Department Series
Fighting for Carly (Book 2)
Tarpley Volunteer Fire Department Series 2
Fighting for Lorna (Book 4)
Fighting for Amethyst: A Tarpley VFD Novel
Books included in Susan Stoker’s
Special Forces: Operation Alpha World,
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The Appalachian STAR Series
A Desperate Man
A Bitter Man
A Broken Man
A Twisted Man
There are many more books in this fan fiction world than listed here, for an up-to-date list go to www.AcesPress.com
You can also visit our Amazon page at:
http://www.amazon.com/author/operationalpha
Special Forces: Operation Alpha World
Christie Adams: Charity’s Heart
Linzi Baxter: Dangerous Rescue
Misha Blake: Flash
Anna Blakely: Rescuing Gracelynn
Julia Bright: Saving Lorelei
Cara Carnes: Protecting Mari
Kendra Mei Chailyn: Beast
Melissa Kay Clarke: Rescuing Annabeth
Samantha A. Cole: Handling Haven
Lorelei Confer: Protecting Sara
KaLyn Cooper: Spring Unveiled
Janie Crouch: Storm
Jordan Dane: Redemption for Avery
Tarina Deaton: Found in the Lost
Riley Edwards: Protecting Olivia
Dorothy Ewels: Knight’s Queen
Lila Ferrari: Protecting Joy
Nicole Flockton: Protecting Maria
Hope Ford: Rescuing Karina
Amy Gamet: Guarded by the SEAL
Desiree Holt: Protecting Maddie
Danielle Haas: Crossroads of Betrayal
Jesse Jacobson: Protecting Honor
Rayne Lewis: Justice for Mary
Ireland Lorelei: The Detective
Kristin Lynn: Worth the Risk
Callie Love & Ann Omasta: Hawaii Hottie
JM Madden: Rescuing Olivia
A.M. Mahler: Griffin
Ellie Masters: Sybil’s Protector
Trish McCallan: Hero Under Fire
Naomi McKay: Twist
Rachel McNeely: The SEAL’s Surprise Baby
KD Michaels: Saving Laura
Olivia Michaels: Protecting Harper
Annie Miller: Securing Willow
MJ Nightingale: Protecting Beauty
Melinda Owens: Betraying Katie
Victoria Paige: Reclaiming Izabel
Danielle Pays: Defending Sarina
Lainey Reese: Protecting New York
KeKe Renée: Protecting Bria
TL Reeve and Michele Ryan: Extracting Mateo
Ariana Rose: Chasing Paige
Deanna L. Rowley: Saving Veronica
Angela Rush: Charlotte
Rose Smith: Saving Satin
Tyler Anne Snell: Cowboy Heat
Lynne St. James: SEAL’s Spitfire
E.M. Shue: Discovering Tyler
Bella Stone: Rexar
Jen Talty: Burning Desire
Reina Torres, Rescuing Hi’ilani
LJ Vickery: Circus Comes to Town
R. C. Wynne: Shadows Renewed
