Dream a Little Dream of Me, page 18
Trent snorted. “Then you can get the hell out of here.”
“Language, boys. Language.” Lizzie covered Bea’s ears. “Play nice.”
Seth could barely bite back a grin, and Trent gave in and laughed just a moment later.
After the cake had been served, and they’d sung “Happy Birthday” to Abby, Seth finished his beer and decided he needed a break from the chatter and noise. It was already twilight, and he leaned against the back wall of The Fainting Goat and stared out at nothing.
Now that Lizzie had moved out and married Trent, Seth lived in the apartment alone. He didn’t mind, really, but he knew in the back of his mind that he should get a job. Do something productive. But he’d lived and breathed the Marines for so many years that now that he was on inactive duty, he couldn’t decide what he wanted to do. Or what he could do. It wasn’t like anyone needed a sharpshooter here in tiny Fair Haven.
He’d considered moving to Seattle, disappearing into the embrace of a big city. Nobody would give him strange looks when he flinched from loud noises, or expect him to be something he wasn’t. He’d saved most of the money he’d received from the military and still received a small stipend, but it wouldn’t last forever.
Trent had offered him a position at La Bonita doing office work, and Seth was tempted to accept it. It would pass the time, at least.
He snorted. This was his life now? Just trying to pass the time until… what? He figured out what the hell he was going to do with his life next?
He’d thought he had it figured out. He’d joined the Marines to find a purpose, and a goal, and although he’d excelled as a Marine, he also acknowledged that the Marines had used him up and spat him back out. Although he’d avoided serious injury for the most part, he’d lost that drive, that sense of purpose.
Seth’s attention was diverted when he heard voices around the corner. Normally, employees sat outside on their smoke breaks, shooting the shit, but then he heard a woman’s voice—a distressed woman’s voice.
Seth listened, and waited.
“I told you to leave me alone,” the woman was saying. Although she didn’t sound panicked, Seth could hear the fear underlying her words.
“Come back with me, and I won’t have to keep bothering you.” A man’s voice this time. He sounded almost pleasant. “We told you you couldn’t run far.”
“And I told you that me and Johnny are over and have been for a long time now. Him sending his lackey to plead his case isn’t exactly going to get me on his good side.”
So, a lover’s quarrel. Of a sort. Seth continued to listen as he slowly moved along the wall that led to the small alleyway where the pair were speaking.
“We can either do this nicely or not. Your choice,” the man said. His tone wasn’t so pleasant now.
“Leave me alone. I need to get back to work.”
When Seth heard the woman gasp, he didn’t stop to think. He moved into the fray and quickly took stock of the scene before him: a man with beefy arms, tattoos scrawled up one forearm, his beard dark and his expression darker. He held a woman by the wrist, a woman Seth had never seen in his life.
The man saw Seth only a split second before Seth knocked the guy onto his ass with one solid punch to the gut. He collapsed onto the ground at Seth’s feet, groaning and swearing, the wind knocked out of him. Seth grabbed the man by his shirt and shook him, like a dog catching a rat.
“I think this lady told you to leave her alone,” he said. “So I’m thinking you should apologize and then get the hell out of here.”
The man spat blood onto the cement. “Eat shit, asshole.”
When Seth gripped the man’s neck so tightly he started turning purple, the man nodded frantically. After gasping for air, he croaked, “Sorry.”
Seth hauled him up to his feet. “Get out of here. If I see you again, I’ll do worse.”
The man spat again and staggered off, swearing under his breath.
Seth looked at the woman, and he was struck dumb by her beauty. She was a tiny thing—she only came to Seth’s chin—and she had wide blue eyes, a pert nose, and bold red lips. Her hair was dark mahogany with bright blue tips. She looked like a fairy. Seth wasn’t prone to thinking about women in terms of fairies or pixies, but there it was.
Her expression, though, was decidedly not fairylike.
“Seriously?” she demanded, her hands on her hips. Her cheeks were flushed, which made the few freckles dotting her face stand out. “What the hell did you do that for?”
Seth gaped at her. Snapping his mouth shut, he countered, “I was helping you.”
“Then how about you help me by leaving me alone?” She tugged at her hair. “You just made that whole thing worse. I had it under control. When Johnny finds out—”
“Under control? That guy was about to haul you off to God knows where, and you’re whining at me about intervening?”
That pert nose wrinkled. “Like I said: I have it under control.”
“Sure you do, princess,” Seth drawled. “You keep telling yourself that.” He couldn’t help but move closer to her until they were only a hairsbreadth apart. This close, he could see that her nose piercing was blue like her hair, like her eyes. “You know that most people would say thank you in this situation.”
She practically bristled with fury. “No thanks, asshole. I’m good.”
Why was he baiting the bear? Or the fairy, to be more precise? She smelled of roses and her hair looked like silk. But it was her refusal to back down that intrigued him.
Where had she even come from?
She licked her lips, and that small movement sent his body into overload. When her gaze flickered to his lips, he couldn’t stop the growl from low in his throat.
Her expression showed every emotion, and he knew she was as aware of him as he was of her.
“Thank you, then,” she whispered, her earlier bravado disappearing.
That made him smile. “You’re welcome.” He touched a tendril of her hair—just a brush of his fingers. “But how about you give me a reward?”
She stiffened. “Like what? I’m not going home with you.”
“Nothing like that.” He leaned so close he could feel her breath against his chin. “Tell me your name.”
He never did this, never seduced women with words and looks and touches. Women flocked to him without him trying, and if he wanted company, he could find it.
But this woman was different. He knew it with a certainty that shocked him.
“My name? That’s it?” she asked, her tone skeptical.
“That’s it.”
Nonplussed, she replied, “It’s Rose DiMarco.”
“Rose. Suits you. Well, then, Rose, I’ll see you around.” He brushed his thumb along her jaw, and when she shivered, he rejoiced.
“What’s yours?” she asked.
“Seth Thornton.”
She looked like she wanted him to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her. It was like a fever in his blood. As if realizing that she was about to kiss a stranger, she jerked away and glared at him. Her earlier anger effectively snapped the thread that had started to connect them.
He smiled, a hunter’s smile. This wouldn’t be the last time he saw her. “See you around, princess.”
A moment later, she yelled at his back, “Don’t call me princess!”
And he laughed.
The End
Thank you for reading Dream a Little Dream of Me! I hope you loved Lizzie and Trent’s story.
And don’t miss Seth and Rose’s story in Someone to Watch Over Me.
After his last tour in the Marines, Seth Thornton finds himself adrift when he returns to Fair Haven, Washington. A capable soldier who moved up the ranks, Seth struggles to find his place in a town he once called home as the memories of war continue to haunt him—until the day he encounters the beautiful Rose DiMarco.
Seth saves Rose when a man accosts her, yet to his surprise, she spurns his help. Her beauty and her headstrong ways captivate him, and he can’t forget about her.
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Did you love meeting Trent’s siblings? Then don’t miss Ash Younger’s story in Then Came You!
Ash might be a playboy, but the night he meets a mysterious and beautiful widow, suddenly he wants more than just one night…
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Find out what happens the day Lizzie and Trent get married…
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Enjoy this exclusive excerpt
From Someone to Watch Over Me
When a figure appeared from the shadows only feet from her door, Rose reached inside her jacket to pull out her gun. Until she realized it was Seth.
“Now you must be stalking me,” she groused. She was halfway tempted to point her gun at him anyway.
He had his hands up, although he didn’t look scared. Of course not. Rose was fairly certain nothing scared Seth.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked when he said nothing.
He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. It’s nice out. I thought I’d say hi to my neighbor when she got home. The usual.”
“Uh-huh. Well, you’ve said it, and now I’m saying goodbye. I need to let Callie out before I go to bed.”
“Then I’ll walk with you.”
She wanted to stomp her foot, she was so frustrated, but she had a feeling that would only make it worse. Sighing, she went to get Callie, ignoring Seth even as he walked alongside her.
Callie, to Rose’s annoyance, decided she was not going to do her business quickly. The dog wanted to sniff every bush and every mailbox, and despite Rose’s continued commands, Callie ignored her entirely.
“Do you carry your gun everywhere?” Seth asked quietly as Callie sniffed a hydrangea.
“Why do you want to know?”
“Curiosity.”
“Yes, for the most part. I’m legal, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
That made him smile. “I wasn’t. You seem to know how to handle a gun regardless.”
“You sound surprised.”
“No, merely impressed.”
Pride filled her, and she ducked away so he wouldn’t see her smile. Coming from a military man, she considered that to be a high compliment.
She suddenly wished she could tell him the reason why she carried a gun—why her memories forced her to protect herself the best way she knew how. Under the night sky, the moon heavy and low, it seemed as if they were the only two people in the entire world.
“So what happens now? Is this how you’re going to live your life forever?”
His voice was calm, like he was asking the time, yet she felt the tone stiffen her shoulders. She didn’t need another man judging her for her choices. She had Heath for that, thank you very much.
“Here’s a real question,” she countered, “why do you care?”
Seth didn’t answer right away, and Rose barely restrained herself from looking away from his intense gaze.
Finally, he muttered, “I don’t know.”
Callie did her business, and Rose brushed by Seth to return to the apartment. They’d only walked a block, although it had felt much farther.
“Rose.”
He caught her by the elbow, forcing her to slow down. Her back was to him, yet she felt his touch like a brand. She gripped Callie’s leash harder.
“I don’t know why I care,” he admitted into the night air, “but I do. I can’t explain it.”
She let out a laugh. “Maybe you should figure that out first.”
He brushed his other hand down her arm until he embraced her from behind. Now Rose trembled, and she felt her body go hot and cold at the same time. His breath heated her cheek.
“You feel it too. I know you do.” His stubble brushed her cheek. “Tell me I’m wrong, princess.”
“Don’t call me that.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
He turned her head so she met his gaze. Although he had his arms around her, she had the feeling that if she pushed him away, he’d let her go. It was that realization that burst something inside her, something she couldn’t yet understand.
When he bent down and kissed her, she was certain her heart would explode inside her chest. He tasted like spice and something she couldn’t identify, and within a moment the kiss turned heated, like a fire catching on dry tinder. She opened her mouth to his invasion, and his grip tightened around her waist.
Rose had been kissed before: some kisses had been good, others had been worth forgetting. This kiss, though, turned her inside out. Her heart beat in her ears; a flush traveled from her chest to her cheeks until she was thankful for the darkness around them. She moaned as he kissed her, licking inside her mouth, making her tremble even harder.
When Callie yanked on the leash, Rose returned to herself. Turning, she pushed Seth’s hands away. Like she’d thought, he let her go.
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Also by Iris Morland
Love Everlasting
including
The Youngers
Then Came You
Taking a Chance on Love
All I Want Is You
My One and Only
(January 2019)
The Thorntons
The Nearness of You
The Very Thought of You
If I Can’t Have You
Dream a Little Dream of Me
Someone to Watch Over Me
Till There Was You
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Heron’s Landing
Seduce Me Sweetly
Tempt Me Tenderly
Desire Me Dearly
Adore Me Ardently
About the Author
A coffee addict and cat lover, Iris Morland writes sexy and funny contemporary romances. If she's not reading or writing, she enjoys binging on Netflix shows and cooking something delicious.
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