This Crazy Love: Swoon Series, page 20
It was as if I could hear the beat of time ticking as we faced each other. I gathered she was a bit embarrassed about the situation. Hence, my reason for delivering this personally. Or so I told myself.
My eyes dropped down to the box, and I bit back a chuckle. When I opened the box and saw that vibrator staring back at me, my mouth fell open. I’d been expecting a box with new work gloves. Far more boring than this. I didn’t doubt any woman would find satisfaction from this thing. It appeared to have quite a few bells and whistles.
When I looked back at Valentina, her eyes were hazy. I could see the wild flutter of her pulse in her neck and realized she might be about to faint.
“Valentina? Are you okay?”
As I reached over to steady her, she wobbled slightly before collapsing. Fortunately, I caught her by the arm, letting the box fall to the floor as I wrapped my arm around her waist. She was completely out.
I lifted her limp body into my arms and carried her over to the bed, the only obvious option at the moment. There wasn’t even a couch in here. It was either the bed or the floor.
Although alarm bells were blaring in my mind—because me, Valentina, and a bed weren’t a great plan—I eased her down gently. I quickly checked her pulse to find it was shallow but steady.
I adjusted the pillows under her head and rested my hips on the edge of the bed. Part of me wanted to simply leave at this point. Not because I wanted to leave Valentina after she fainted, but rather, to escape this crazy sense of protectiveness she elicited from me.
With that tangling up in my body’s always instantaneous response to her, I needed to be careful. Very careful.
I lifted a hand and brushed a few of her wild red curls away from her forehead, resting the back of my hand against it briefly. Her skin was cool and clammy under the flushed surface.
As a first responder, my instincts to check on things like that were automatic. Her breaths came in shallow pants, and after a few moments, her eyes opened slowly.
“Well, there you are,” I commented, unable to keep from smiling.
Whether it was in relief or this strange sense of joy I experienced being near her, I didn’t know. That odd feeling of joy didn’t make a lick of sense. Not right now. She had just fainted, for God’s sake. I knew she was fine, but still. Her eyes focused on me, slightly confused.
“What happened?”
“You fainted.”
She rose on her elbows, her skin turning pink again. “I fainted?”
“Most definitely.”
“Did I fall?” she asked as she pushed herself back up on the pillows, looking around.
My eyes lingered on the smatter of haphazard freckles on her cheeks and dropped to the tempting dimple in the center of her plump bottom lip. As she sat up, her T-shirt stretched tight across her generous breasts. I couldn’t help but notice the press of her nipples through her bra and the thin cotton shirt.
Dude. What the hell are you doing? She just fainted in front of you, and you’re staring at her breasts.
I can’t help it. They’re near perfect.
That was how bad I had it. My internal debate had a point. I didn’t like to think about it, but I had wondered more than once just how her curves felt.
“Lucas?”
Valentina’s voice, a soft Southern twang and a little raspy—yes, even her voice dripped sex—punctured my train of thought.
“You didn’t fall,” I replied, belatedly answering her question. “I was right there, so I caught you.”
Her nose wrinkled, and she lifted a hand, nervously twirling one of her curly locks around her fingers. “Oh,” she said softly. She caught her bottom lip in her teeth, and I thought I just might not be able to manage myself around her.
I’d never been alone with her. That wasn’t unusual. I was rarely alone with any woman. I had a six-year-old daughter who I was raising on my own, which didn’t leave much time for anything. I had one priority, and that was Rylie, my little girl.
Usually, I wasn’t even tempted. I was busy, fucking busy as hell. Between working as a first responder and working at the lodge and trying to be a parent, sometimes I wondered if I should schedule time to breathe. I didn’t know what the hell I would do if my mom and sister weren’t around to help me out with Rylie whenever I needed it.
To get to my point, I wasn’t easily distracted. But Valentina, damn, the woman distracted me just by existing.
She eyed me warily, her cheeks still pink. “Well, thank you,” she said politely. “I guess you saved me.”
A grin twitched at the corners of my mouth again. In the past half an hour, with the exception of the time I spent with Rylie, I had smiled more than I had in years.
That was fucking depressing.
“I didn’t really save you,” I said. “I mean, you would’ve fallen and maybe sustained a bruise or two. But you’d have been fine. Always glad to help, though.”
The temptation to lean forward and kiss her was so insanely strong that I had to force myself to stand abruptly. “Now that you’re doing all right, I’ll leave you be,” I said, stepping back.
Valentina moved swiftly, swinging her legs off the bed and following me over to the door. It was then I realized I had dropped her package in the act of catching her. The vibrator had fallen out and lay on the floor in its molded plastic.
I might’ve sold my soul to see just what Valentina would be doing with it.
Incongruously, an open pocketknife and a Bible were on the floor as well. I gave my head a quick shake, uncertain what to think of the combination of a vibrator, a Bible, and a pocketknife. I couldn’t quite sort out what Valentina had been doing before I arrived unless she had a habit of throwing random items on the floor.
She hurried past me, ignoring the Bible and knife, but picking up the vibrator and flinging it behind her onto the bed. As if we would somehow both forget it had ever been there.
The door to her cabin was still open, and I started to step through it. Just then, her hand caught my wrist. “Lucas,” she said, her tone agitated.
With nothing more than the curl of her hand around my wrist, her touch felt like a ring of fire on my skin.
Turning back, I found her standing there, chewing on the bottom lip I wanted to kiss with her cheeks almost as red as her hair. “Yes?”
“Please don’t mention this to anyone,” she blurted out.
I shook my head. “Of course not. If your name had been on it, I wouldn’t have opened it. Just so you know.”
She nodded, her hand still around my wrist. “Right. It’s just, I know how things get around. Wade’s mother is friends with mine, and I might be twenty-five, but my parents still think I shouldn’t even kiss a man unless I’m marrying him. I know that’s weird, but I love them and …” She paused to gulp in a breath.
It was downright crazy she thought I would mention this to anyone. I might keep to myself, but I wasn’t an asshole. Not to mention, even if I told Wade, he would get a kick out of it, but he sure as hell would not tell his mother. As these thoughts passed through, Valentina kept on talking.
“You see, I don’t have a boyfriend. I’ve never had a boyfriend. I wasn’t allowed to have a boyfriend. And lately, well …” She paused here to let out a ragged sigh. “I just thought I should do something about that. I mean it’s embarrassing to be a virgin at my age, don’t you think? It’s just crazy.” This time, her pause was nearly electric. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone.”
Valentina’s light touch on my skin left my control hanging by a thread. She was so damn honest it almost hurt, and there were not very many people like that in the world. I couldn’t say I knew her well because she’d only started this job at the lodge a few months ago. Wade had mentioned in passing that she’d led a sheltered life and we should all be nice to her, or his mother would give him hell.
I wondered if he had any idea just how sheltered her life had been. So there was that, and the fact my brain was about to fucking explode with the knowledge that Valentina was a virgin.
Coming August 2019!
Wait For Me
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If you love steamy, small town romance, take a visit to Willow Brook, Alaska in my Into The Fire Series. Check out Burn For Me - a second chance romance for the ages. It’s FREE on all retailers! Don’t miss Cade & Amelia’s story!
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Go here to sign up for information on new releases: http://jhcroixauthor.com/subscribe/
A note on Shay’s story
In This Crazy Love, Shay faces painful challenges from her past on the way to her happily-ever-after. In writing her story, her destiny was in my hands, but we don’t all get the ending we want. Many people move beyond terrible tragedies to heal and find happiness, and I believe it’s so important to create hope by sharing those stories.
This is not the first time I’ve written about a character who experienced domestic violence. As I wrote Shay’s story, I asked myself if I touch on the topic too often. Then, I realized it would be far less realistic if I didn’t have characters with these experiences. Statistically speaking, that is.
As I have before, I’m including resources below. Finding help creates a path to the future. The strength of those who have moved beyond these situations is incredible.
Domestic violence is a social problem of massive proportions. It is estimated that approximately 20 people per minute experience physical abuse by an intimate partner in the United States, which translates to more than 10 million victims per year (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2015). It is devastating and has life-long effects for victims, families and children touched by it. If you or anyone you know has experienced domestic violence (emotional, physical, psychological), there are resources for help.
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The National Domestic Violence Hotline: http://www.thehotline.org
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: http://www.ncadv.org
Domesticshelters.org: https://www.domesticshelters.org
National Dating Abuse Hotline (for teens and youth): http://www.loveisrespect.org
1-866-331-9474
Americans Overseas Domestic Violence Crisis Center: www.866uswomen.org
International Toll-Free (24/7)
1-866-USWOMEN (879-6636)
National Child Abuse Hotline/Childhelp: www.childhelp.org
1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453)
National Sexual Assault Hotline: www.rainn.org
1-800-656-4673 (HOPE)
National Center for Victims of Crime: www.victimsofcrime.org
1-202-467-8700
Find My Books
Thank you for reading This Crazy Love! I hope you enjoyed the story. If so, you can help other readers find my books in a variety of ways.
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1) Write a review!
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Swoon Series
This Crazy Love
Wait For Me - coming August 2019!
Break My Fall - coming October 2019!
Into The Fire Series
Burn For Me
Slow Burn
Burn So Bad
Hot Mess
Burn So Good
Sweet Fire
Play With Fire
Melt With You
Burn For You
Crash & Burn
Brit Boys Sports Romance
The Play
Big Win
Out Of Bounds
Play Me
Naughty Wish
Diamond Creek Alaska Novels
When Love Comes
Follow Love
Love Unbroken
Love Untamed
Tumble Into Love
Christmas Nights
Last Frontier Lodge Novels
Take Me Home
Love at Last
Just This Once
Falling Fast
Stay With Me
When We Fall
Hold Me Close
Crazy For You
Catamount Lion Shifters
Protected Mate
Chosen Mate
Fated Mate
Destined Mate
A Catamount Christmas
Ghost Cat Shifters
The Lion Within
Lion Lost & Found
Acknowledgments
A shout out to my readers. If you made it to here, that’s you! You keep reading my stories, cheering for my books & sending me messages when I need them most. Thank you for making it possible for me to keep writing.
Gracious thanks to my editor for not hesitating to tell me how to make every story better, and to Terri D. for proofreading like a champ.
To Janine, Beth P., Terri E., Heather H., & Carolyne B. Ya’ll don’t miss a detail!
Sometimes characters sneak into stories. I didn’t plan ahead for Mischief to be in this story. He just butted his way into the very first scene. As inspiration goes, he was definitely inspired by a real horse.
I grew up riding horses. Most of my spare time in childhood all the way through high school was spent with horses. My mother also rode horses, and it was my job to feed the horses morning and evening and clean the stalls. So, yeah, I was busy. Since I rode the show circuit, this also meant hours upon hours of riding most days after school and on the weekends. I loved every minute.
I digress. My mother still has horses and ended up with a Banker pony when a rescue program was looking for someone to take care of a cute, impish pony. He’s a bossy little guy and not even close to the size of her other horse, but he’s in charge. His name isn’t Mischief, but it would definitely fit.
I call more than one place home, but North Carolina is where I come from—I’ll always be a Southern girl at heart. A bow of gratitude to the magical Blue Ridge Mountains.
Always, DBC & my dogs. You’re there every day, in every way.
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xoxo
J.H. Croix
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes steamy contemporary romance with sassy women and alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!
Places you can find me:
jhcroixauthor.com
jhcroix@jhcroix.com
J.H. Croix, This Crazy Love: Swoon Series
