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 LOVES ME KNOT
A Second Chance Small Town Beach Romance`

Man of the Month Club - Candy Cane Key

AUBREE VALENTINE
 Contents
1. Jessica
2. Jessica
3. Ryan
4. Jessica
5. Ryan
6. Jessica
7. Ryan

Man of the Month Club 2023

Also by Aubree Valentine
About the Author
 Loves Me Knot
Copyright © 2023 by Aubree Valentine
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this book may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any medium, whether electronic,
internet, or otherwise, without the expressed permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, locations, and names occurring in this book are the product of the author’s
imagination, or are the property of their respective owners and are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual events,
locations, or persons (living or dead), is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.
All trademarks and trade names are used in a fictitious manner and are in no way endorsed by or an endorsement of their
respective owners.
Contains sexual situations, violence, sensitive and offensive language and mature topics. Recommended for age 18 years and
up.

Cover Design: Cormac Covers

Cover Images: Depositphotos
Formatting: Beyond the Bookshelf Publishing Services
Series Management: Kara Kendrick
 Jessica

A few weeks ago…

“What are you doing?” I leaned closer to my best friend Abby and whispered through gritted teeth.
It was bad enough that I let her convince me to come with her to this Manuary charity auction. Now
she was sitting here bidding on Candy Cane Key’s favorite Sheriff's Deputy, who also happened to be
my pain in the ass ex.
Deputy Ryan Albright worked the crowd of hungry local women with his piercing blue-green eyes, a
charming and seemingly innocent schoolboy smile, and that sandy blondish-brown hair that I used to
love running my fingers through. When he winked at someone in the front, a table of ladies that we
graduated high school with whistled and placed another round of bids.
Abby’s hand went up and she doubled the last bid.
“Abby!” I hissed, suddenly wishing I was anywhere but here.
Betsy Henry, my arch-rival essentially since birth, raised Abby’s bid while looking right at me with
an evil smirk on her face.
Ha. If Betsy wanted a date with Ryan, she could have him. It would serve him right, too. After
breaking my heart in two, Ryan absolutely deserved to suffer through a night with the likes of Betsy.
Besides, it wasn’t like I was the one bidding on him.
Abby pledged another hundred dollars on top of Betsy’s bid.
What the hell was she thinking?
Did she want a date with Ryan?
There was no way.
Abby would never do that to me, nor would she do that to her boyfriend Liam. And if she was merely
trying to up the bids and raise more money for charity then surely she would have placed a bid on
some of the other guys, too.
Right?
I swallowed hard and my cheeks flushed when Ryan looked in our direction and shot Abby a
confused glance before locking eyes with me.
“Abs. Really. That’s enough. Please, stop,” I pleaded.
“Going once. Going twice,” the auctioneer called out. “Sold to our very own Abby Monet!”
I gasped out loud.
Abby turned and looked at me with a satisfied grin. “You’re welcome.”
“What?” I croaked.
“That was all for you, bestie,” she winked. “You can thank me later.”
“Abbbbbbyyyyy. What have you done?”
“I just bought you one night with Ryan Albright,” she replied as if that somehow explained everything.
“Why? Why on earth would you do that?” I tried really hard to keep my voice even and not to let my
emotions get the best of me.
“Because you two have circled each other for long enough. It’s time for you both to work out your shit
and get it together.”
I huffed. “There’s nothing to work out. Ryan made that clear when he dumped me.”
“Don’t pout. It’s not cute,” Abby chided.
I rolled my eyes and picked up my glass of wine, quickly chugging what was left. “I think I’ve stuck
around long enough. I’m going home,” I said after swallowing down the last drop.
Abby sighed and her shoulders dropped. She knew me well enough to know that I was no longer okay,
and this time, it was pretty much her fault. “Come on, stay.”
“I’ve got papers to grade and lessons to finish planning.” Tears burned the backs of my eyes and
threatened to fall. “I’ll catch up with you later. This was fun…” Until it wasn’t.
“I’ll call you about lunch on Thursday.”
I stood and nodded before I made a beeline for the exit.
And ran smack into a solid wall of muscle. Really familiar smelling muscle. My God, the man still
wore the same Old Spice Swagger fragrance that he wore back in high school. I didn’t need to look
up to know who I’d just collided with.
Fuck my life.
“Jess…” his husky voice somehow still made my toes curl.
Ryan.
Looking up into his eyes made my chest ache.
“I was just leaving,” I mumbled, hoping that he would let me go.
“I’ll walk you out,” he offered, because of course he did. Ryan wouldn’t be caught dead not being a
perfect gentleman in public.
“That’s not necessary.”
It really wasn’t. Candy Cane Key was a peaceful little isle just off the coast of Florida. Everyone
knew everyone and our crime rate was nearly non-existent. Tourists seemed to respect us and none of
the townies really made a habit of causing trouble. Heck, the most action Ryan probably saw was
probably due to some bored high schoolers playing silly pranks.
I could handle walking to my car.
“I need the fresh air,” he offered up as an excuse.
“Aww, what’s wrong, Ryan? Did all that attention make you all hot and bothered?” The minute the
words flew out of my mouth, I wanted to take them back. Being this close to Ryan seemed to make my
brain cells short-circuit and any kind of filter non-existent.
“It was for a good cause. Nothing more. You know that.”
“Right. Just doing your civic duty.” I tried to step around him. To escape. But he reached for my arm
and I felt that stupid spark all over again.
“I didn’t ask Abby to bid on me. I’m not going out with her. I’ll double her donation, triple it if I have
to.”
I was not about to tell him that Abby wasn’t planning on going out with him either because that would
mean explaining why my best friend dropped a small fortune on a date with him in the first place.
I’d let Abby fulfill her financial commitment and I would forget all about her little ‘gift’.
“What you do is your business, Ryan. I don’t care.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
“No. What’s bullshit is the fact that you won’t let me leave, Deputy Albright.”
A growl vibrated from Ryan’s chest as he looked down at me. “You’ve always been stubborn.”
“And you’ve always been an ass,” I reminded him.
“Damnit, Jessica. Are you ever going to give me a chance to clear the air?”
“Are you ever going to accept that some things are better left in the past?”
“No. I can’t accept that because I don’t believe that for a second when it comes to you.”
“Sounds like a you problem, Albright,” I step away from him again. This time he doesn’t make a
move to keep me. “Now, I have more pressing things to do than stand here and verbally spar with you
the rest of the afternoon. Go back in there and make nice with your date. Schmooze the crowd.
Whatever you do, leave me alone.”
Holding my head high and clinging to what feels like my last shred of dignity, I walk away, leaving
Ryan behind me…right where he belongs.
 Jessica

A knock on my door forces me from the comfort of the couch where I was cuddled up under my
favorite throw blanket, watching this week’s episode NCIS: LOS ANGELES.
When I peek out the small window to see who it is, I contemplate not answering at all. There are only
two people in the world that I don’t want to deal with today. One is my best friend Abby, who I’m
still mildly annoyed with after the stunt she pulled at the charity auction; and Ryan, who just happens
to be standing on my porch.
He knocks again and I know deep down that he’s not going to leave until I open the door.
Taking a deep breath, I flip the lock and pull the door open as far as the security chain will let me.
The chain is probably over the top, but a single woman living alone can never be too safe.
“Jess.” He hits me with that Goddamn smile that I once loved so much.
“What are you doing here? Is there something I can help you with?”
Ryan arches a brow and stares at me for a moment. “I’m here to pick you up. For our date.”
“Our date?” I nearly choke on my words.
He lets out a frustrated sigh and rubs the back of his neck just like he used to do whenever he was
nervous. I guess some things never change.
“Our date. Ya know, from the auction. The one that Abby bought for you.”
“I’m not going on a date with you,” I argue back through the small opening.
“Can you at least let me inside to talk about this?” he asks, looking around to make sure no one is
watching us right now.
Alarm bells sound in my brain, warning me not to let him in. Not because Ryan’s dangerous, at least
not in the physical sense. He is dangerous for my emotions. But, my heart, being the traitorous bitch
that she is, feels differently and thinks I should let him inside.
“Fine,” I concede and close the door to pop the chain off then open the door again. “Come in.”
“I’m guessing Abby didn’t give you all the details about…uh…our…date,” the last word hangs heavy
in the air between us as Ryan glances around, taking it all in.
I look at my place through his eyes, trying to see what he’s seeing for the first time.
The little beach cottage I’ve been renting since I moved back home is quaint and airy. Decorated with
my own country chic flare, it brings me peace. It’s my safe space. A place away from the chaos and
hustle and bustle of Candy Cane Key’s daily holiday cheer.
Not that I mind the pretty much year-round Christmas spirit of my hometown, quite the opposite
actually, I love it. But, sometimes, a gal needs a place to escape it all. Especially when I spend my
days teaching twenty-five energetic, intelligent, and witty four to five-year-olds.
Letting Ryan in, feels a lot like bursting that little bubble of peace.
“I haven’t spoken to her since I left yesterday and I didn’t exactly stick around to find out what she
won.”
“Aww, come on. You can’t stay mad at your best friend forever.”
I know he probably means it as a joke, but Ryan Albright of all people, should know that I absolutely
can stay mad. Forever.
“Your place is nice. It’s very…you,” he says, filling the silence between us when I don’t say anything
back.
“Thanks, I’d offer you a seat but I’m personally hoping you won’t be staying long.”
Ryan grimaces and shakes his head. “Staying long enough for you to change into something else and
come with me.”
“Ohhh no, no, no. Not happening.” I immediately cross my arms over my chest and mentally prepare
for war.
“Ohhh it’s happening, Jess. It has to.”
“I never agreed to any of this, Ryan. Go bug Abby,” I reply, already way over this whole little
exchange.
“It’s not that simple. Abby gifted this whole date to you. Signed the paperwork, and bound you to it.”
I can’t swear to it but it damn sure looks like Ryan’s pleased by this information.
“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”
“Except it’s not. It was a gift.”
I snort. “Right. A gift. One that I want no parts of.”
“The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get this over with. Who knows, you may even
remember that you actually like me.”
“I think someone hit you on the head with one of those paddles at the auction.”
“Come on, Jess.”
“How about we just say we did? Problem solved.”
Sounds like a good idea to me. We can pretend we went out and call it even.
“Ah, we can’t.” Ryan holds up a camera. “Part of the deal is that I…or we…have to document the
date for social media. Part of the department’s new social media campaign. Boosting town morale
and all that.”
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I can’t help but wonder if my best friend knew about this the whole time.
This has got to be a joke. A set-up.
The whole town knows about our break-up after high school. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out
how heartbroken I was back then. Now…now the whole town wants to make a laughingstock out of
me by forcing me to go on a date with the one man who owns all those broken pieces of my heart.
“I can’t,” my voice cracks. “Ryan, I can not do this. Not with you. Not right now. Not ever,” I
continue, using all of my strength to will myself to hold it together for just a little bit longer. Until I
can get Ryan back out the door.
“Jess…” his voice is soft, tender. Caring.
The way I remember it whenever I needed his comfort.
“No,” I shake my head and squeeze my eyes shut because the wall I’ve built is about to come tumbling
down along with the dam that’s holding back my tears.
Ryan pulls out a chair and takes a seat at the kitchen table. “This may not be what you want to do right
now, Jess, but neither of us has much of a choice. Besides, you’ve been back for almost a year now
and you’re still running from me.”
“I haven’t been running from you.”
“Liar.” Ryan doesn’t hesitate to call me out. “You’ve been running from me ever since your
graduation party.”
“I ran from you? No. That’s not how this happened Ryan.”
“The hell it’s not, Jess. You started putting distance between us the minute I told you I didn’t get into
FSU and that I was going to stay closer to home. You left for Florida State and never glanced back,”
he says with a heated passion.
“You didn’t even apply!”
“Bullshit!” he raises his voice. “I applied to FSU and I didn’t get in. You didn’t want to stay behind
and apply for North Pole University. Not all of us can afford fancy elite educations either, Jessica.”
The way my full name rolls off his tongue is almost enough to make me sick. He rarely called me
Jessica. And when he did it was usually in the throws of passionate teenage sex or when he was super
pissed off at me.
One guess on how he’s feeling right now.
“That’s not fair. You can’t use it against me because my parents are wealthy.”
My mom and dad come from old money. Money that they reinvested in real estate and other properties
all over the world. They had me a little later in life and settled down in Candy Cane Key to raise me.
I never wanted for anything, but I wasn’t a spoiled brat and I knew the value of working hard for what
I wanted.
“I’m not. That’s not it at all and you know it. I’m simply pointing out that going off to college wasn’t
that simple for me. It was community college and the police academy for me while working two full-
time jobs. I didn’t get a free ride to my dream school.”
“And since I did, you thought it was a good idea to move on with the first tramp who gave you the
time of day,” I push back against his heated words.
I was there. I saw it. I came home for winter break during my first year of my master’s degree
program and saw him out with Acacia Ashley. Laughing, smiling. Having the time of his life at
Nicko's Taverna with…her.
“Jessica Ann Weaver, what the hell are you talking about?” Ryan seethes. “Christ, I wasn’t a saint
after you left but I hardly jumped into the arms of another woman right after you left. I didn’t so much
as look at anyone else for a long while.”
My eyes widen and all of the pent-up anger and hurt boils over in a fury of tears and jumbled words.
“You really are a liar. I saw you with Acacia, Ryan! You were there…at Nicko’s having dinner and
flirting!”
Ryan squints and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’ve never flirted with Acacia and I damn sure
never dated the uptight woman. She’s, what, seven years older than us?”
“Ryan, I saw you,” I hiccup past the waterworks streaming down my face.
Realization registers on his face and he starts laughing so hard that moisture leaks from the corner of
his eyes. “No. Really. When do you think you saw us out together?”
“Winter break. I…I thought I was done licking my wounds and I came back for a visit. I was going to
transfer to NPU for the rest of my master’s program and there you were.” Five years after I left town
without looking back.
He pulls me a little closer and tries to get me to settle into his lap like I’ve done so many times
before. “So, tell me Jess, would this have happened to be in January? Right around this time?”
“Maybe,” I sniffled and wiped a stray tear with my sleeve.
“Uh Huh. Sounds like you made an assumption. And an incorrect one at that.”
“Nope. I’m pretty sure that I’m right. You were on a date with an older woman. And you were happy
about it,” I try to still sound like I’m angry…and right, but the fight is quickly draining out of me.
“You’ve been mad at me for how long, Jess? And for what? Are you mad because you thought I
moved on? Or mad because I never moved forward with you?”
“You’re changing the topic. We’re talking about you and Acacia.”
“There was never a me and Acacia. She won a date with me at the Manuary Auction, Jess. We were
talking about her love of all things Hemingway and how she planned to keep his legacy alive. She’s
kinda obsessed. It was one date…for a good cause. That’s it.”
Oh. “Ohhh.”
“Yeah. Ohhh.” Ryan boops me on the nose playfully. “All this time…you’ve been jealous. You thought
I moved on without you.”
“When I left, you promised you’d wait for me,” I mumble.
“You promised you’d come back to visit. And that you’d keep in touch.”
Which I never did. I was so mad. So selfish that I refused to reach out. It’s not exactly like Ryan
reached out either though.
“I guess we both broke some promises.”
“We broke up, Jess. You broke up with me. Don’t you think it’s a little unfair for you to expect me to
stay celibate forever?”
Okay…Ryan had a point. A very valid point.
Did I mention I feel like an even bigger bitch now?
 Ryan

“A re you going to tell me you haven’t dated anyone since you left Candy Cane Key?” I raise a
brow and dare to ask her.
The thought of Jess with another guy is enough to make my blood boil, and not in a good way. Us
Albright men are known for our short tempers, especially when it comes to our women.
Getting ahead of myself by thinking of her as mine? Maybe, but I’m not worried.
Jess has always been mine.
My past. My future.
Now that I’ve broken through that first doorway back to her heart, I won’t stop until I’ve sealed the
deal and she’s officially back in my arms, in my bed, in my life; for good.
Forever.
“There were a few guys here or there. None of them really stuck.”
It might have made me an asshole but knowing none of the guys she did date after me, were serious…
or stuck as she put it, pleased me.
“Oh, and why is that exactly?” I pondered outloud, baiting her to say what I felt pretty confident was
the answer I was looking for.
Jess shrugs. “We wanted different things in life, I suppose.”
“Hm. Different things.”
“I know what you’re doing,” she says, looking up at me with those mesmerizing whiskey colored
eyes.
“What?” I feign innocence.
“You’re trying to get me to say that things didn’t work out with those other guys because they were not
you.”
Ah, there it is. And it seems she still knows me very well.
“I didn’t say that,” I still play innocent.
“You didn’t have to, Albright.”
“Whatever you say.”
I’m willing to table the discussion for now. Because we’re in a bit of a time crunch here if we’re
going to make it to the movie theater before it gets packed.
“Uh Uh.”
“Why don’t we call a temporary truce and you go change so we can get this date over with? We can
take it from there.” I offer up, hoping that this little breakthrough was enough to convince her to get
this dog and pony show on the road.
If we could make it through this date then I had hope that we were one step closer to the
reconciliation that I’ve been yearning for.
“I’m not getting out of this, am I?”
I grin. Round one goes to me.
“Nope, no getting out of this, Jess. Go change,” I lift her off my lap, instantly missing the feeling. “I’ll
wait here.”
“Yeah, yeah. Fine,” she says with a resigned huff before she disappears upstairs.
It doesn’t take long before she’s back. Dressed in a pair of painted on jeans that hug her in all the right
places and a cheerful Candy Cane Key Elementary - Go Elves! Shirt.
Her blonde hair is still pulled up atop her head in a messy bun, but it does look like she brushed it
back a little neater and tossed on a little makeup. Not that she needs makeup.
Hell, Jess is beautiful with or without it.
“Is this good?” she asks, waving a hand up and down her body.
“You look good to me.”
“Great. Let’s get this over with so I can get back to my NCIS marathon.”
I stand and place my hand on the small of her back. “Still crushing on good ol’ Special Agent Grisha
Callen?”
Jess’s face lights up. “Oh, you know it. He is one fine specimen.”
“I think Kensi is what really turned me into a brunette man,” I tease.
“Riiiight. It’s okay,” she says, patting my cheek, “we all know blondes have more fun.” Jess winks
and then we’re out the door.
Finally.

“So, what did you think of the movie?” I ask Jess on the way to my house.
Life Upside Down wouldn’t have been my top pick but by the time we got to the theater, it was that or
Pink Fong Sing-a-Long. It seemed like a no brainer but I let Jess decide. Thank God she didn’t go all
elementary teacher on me and pick the kids movie. I don’t think I would have survived.
“It was interesting. Maybe a little ironic too. You know, the whole concept of being forced to face
some things head on thanks to outside circumstances.”
“Like a pandemic?”
“Or a charity auction and a pain in the ass best friend.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a hint of a smile on her lips.
“Hey, wait a minute…I thought we were going to dinner,” she asks, sitting up a little straighter in the
passenger seat.
“We are.”
“But, you just drove past the diner and…” her voice trails off when I turn off the main road and into
the neighborhood where I grew up. “Ryan,” she growls.
“Jessica,” I rumble right back.
Of course she’d assume we’d go to the Silver Bells Diner, the place my grandmother owns.
“There aren’t any restaurants down here.”
“I know. I never said we were going to a restaurant.”
“So you were willing to bring just anyone back to your place for dinner and what? Hoped to get
laid?”
Damn she’s feisty. And if I had to guess, more than a little jealous at the thought.
“For your information,” I start as I pull into the driveway of my grandmother’s house. He is in the
very same house I grew up in and still live in to this day. “I didn’t plan to bring just anyone back here.
And I wasn’t hoping to get laid.”
“Uh Uh.”
I put my SUV in park and turn to look at her. “You have no idea what seeing you all riled up and
jealous does to me.”
“I am not jealous,” she huffs.
“Whatever you say,” I pat her leg and wink. “Come on inside so we can have dinner. And don’t
worry, Granny is out on her date and won’t be back for awhile,” I add before I climb out of the car
and hurry around to open Jess’s door for her.
“This feels like a set up,” she mumbles under her breath. “Are you sure you and Abby didn’t plan this
whole thing?”
I chuckle as I open the front door and lead her inside. “No ma’am, I didn’t have anything to do with
Abby’s little stunt. And if anyone else would have won a date with me, we wouldn’t be coming here
for dinner,” I take the chance to lean in and whisper against her ear.
I don’t miss the slight hitch in her breath or the goosebumps that break out across her skin.
Oh, my sweet, feisty, Jess. I still have an affect on you after all these years.
“Not much has changed around here. You still remember where everything is? You can make yourself
at home while I set the table,” I tell her, taking two steps back to put some space between us so I can
keep my head on straight.
Otherwise, we won’t make it through dinner without a fight or me embarrassing myself.
“How is Gran…uh, you’re grandmother?” Jess asks while I pull the homemade lasagna out of the
warmer.
“Well now, Miss Weaver, are you telling me that you’ve been avoiding Granny too?”
Jess rolls her eyes at me. “No. I’ve not been avoiding your grandmother. I was simply making
conversation,” she says, looking over the pictures hanging on the wall.
Pictures from all the years she’s missed.
Me, graduating college. Graduating from the academy. My first day on the job.
A few candid snapshots of me and Granny from various town events and holidays.
It’s just been me and Granny for as long as I can remember.
Guess that’s what happens when your parents have a child when they’re just a child themselves and
are too wild and free to take care of their own.
The way Granny’s always told it, they dropped me off on her doorstep here in Candy Cane Key and
never looked back.
They sent a postcard or a letter here and there. Whenever they remembered that I existed. But over the
years, even those little things faded away and they stopped reaching out all together. I haven’t seen
them in probably the better part of twenty years.
It didn’t matter though. Granny has always been more than enough for me. She put her life on hold to
raise me and see to it that I’m taken care of. All while keeping the Silver Bells Diner thriving. Me
and Silver Bells, pretty sure me and that diner are her pride and joy. And, I think I turned out just fine
if I say so myself.
Jess clears her throat and rubs a hand over her chest. “Looks like you and your Grandmother sure
have been busy.”
“Yeah,” I let out a laugh and set the salad on the table. “You know how she is, always smack in the
middle of the action.
It doesn’t go unnoticed that Jess isn’t calling Granny…well…Granny, like she used to. All this ‘my
grandmother’ bullshit is annoying. She’s never called Gran anything but Granny.
Wanelda Albright has always been Granny to Jess.
“Do you want some wine? Tea? Water?” I ask, shaking off the unsettled feeling in my gut.
“Uh, how about a beer?”
“Yeah, I’ve got some beer. Local IPA from Beers Bells A Brewing. Have you tried any of their stuff?”
Jess nods. “I tried Beer Humbug when it first opened up. A few of the staff from the school had a girls
night out and did a tasting and tour.”
“They’ve got good stuff. Beerlitzen is my favorite so far,” I tell her, pulling two bottles of it from the
fridge and popping the tops.
She takes the bottle I offer her and takes a sip. “Oh. Wow. That’s good. Almost like a chocolate
covered apple with a tiny hint of peppermint.”
I shake my head in agreement. “Exactly. And it’s a little sweeter. Not too sweet but not completely tart
either.”
With the table all set, I pull out a chair for Jess and encourage her to sit.
“This all smells delicious, Ry.”
My heart does a funny little flutter at the nickname.
“All homemade by yours truly.”
Jess pauses. “You made this?”
“What's wrong, Jess? You don’t think I can cook?”
She shakes her head. “No! I didn’t say that at all. I just…it’s unexpected, I guess.”
“Oh come on now, you know better. Granny has always raised me to be an independent man who can
take care of himself. You really think I didn’t learn a thing or two, growing up in the diner all these
years? All those old recipes we both loved so much? I’ve learned how to make each and every one of
them. Who do you think was cooking Sunday breakfast around here before you went to college?”
Jess helps herself to a breadstick, breaks off a piece and tosses it at my forehead. “Ryan Albright, you
never told me that you were the one making biscuits and gravy on Sunday mornings!”
I shrug it off like it’s no big deal. I never mentioned it back then or made a big deal about it because it
was just…normal for me.
“Hey, don’t you waste those breadsticks. Those are homemade too,” I playfully scold her.
“You made the breadsticks too?”
I nod enthusiastically. This time around, I’m actually quite proud of myself and the feast I’ve put
together for us. “I’ll be honest, I wanted to do something really special for you…for us…for this date.
All cards on the table, I figured Abby gave me a rare chance. One chance to get it right so, go big or
go home. Had anyone else won that auction and cashed it on it, they’d have gotten a movie and dinner
down at the diner and nothing more.”
This time it's Jess who’s looking at me with a raised brow. “And you think that you’re getting
something more out of all of this?”
I clear my throat and take a long swallow from my beer. “I sure as hell hope so, Jess. And before you
go getting all up in arms, no I’m not talking about sex. I’m hoping for another date, for now.”
She pokes at her lasagna and takes a bite, savoring it, before she says anything else.
“Why?” she finally asks.
“Why what, Jess?”
“Why a second date? What are you really looking for?”
“You,” I answer without hesitation. “The answer to both of those questions is, quite simply, you.
Because, damnit Jess, it’s always been you. Call me crazy but I never stopped thinking about you.
Never stopped craving you. No matter what I tried, it’s always been you.”
Jess takes a sip and clears her throat. “Can I ask, why you never reached out? Never called. Never
came to visit?” Before I can answer her, she holds up one hand. “I know that’s hypocritical of me.
But, I need to know.”
I nod in understanding. “Truth be told, because I was…both selfish and hurt by you leaving. Not
because I didn’t want what was best for you. Because I did. I still do. I only ever wanted the very
best for you, Jess. I wanted you to go and spread your wings and do amazing things. Whatever your
heart desired. I want that for you. At the time though, I was pissed and hurt that you were gone. And
then you never looked back, so I stayed away. I didn’t want to be a distraction and I didn’t want to
beg for your attention or affection. I’ve always been a very stubborn man.”
Jess wipes a tear away. I long to reach out and brush my thumb across her cheek, to comfort her but
this time I leave the distance between us. For now. We both need the space. To keep our wits about us
at the moment.
For me, I know, if I get too close to her the magnetic pull will take over and my own walls will
crumble. As much as I want this to be our second chance, I need to know that we’re on the same page
before I take that leap. The leap that I know will lead us down the aisle to our forever.
“I, too, am a stubborn, stubborn fool. At the time I was so clouded by anger and hurt that I wanted to
just leave it all behind. I thought that I could forget that you existed. And for a while, I was able to
distract myself. I had convinced myself that it would be best if I stayed away. Don’t call. Don’t write.
Just leave you be. Which is exactly why I’m such a hypocrite. I used to lay in my dorm at night and
dream of you, hoping that you were just as miserable as I was. I very selfishly hoped that you were
cursed with a lifetime of unhappiness without me,” she takes a deep breath and chugs the rest of her
beer. “You must think that I’m a horrible person.”
This time I reach over and take her hand in mine. “I don’t think you’re a horrible person, Jess. I could
ever think that. What I do think is that we were both young and stupid. Naive. We made mistakes.
Learned some hard lessons. And maybe, just maybe, we’ve been given a chance to make things right
now.”
She gives me a shy smile and shakes her head. “I’d like that, but Ry, I’m scared. Terrified actually.
You’re the one person who’s ever truly owned my heart. Which means you have the power to destroy
it again.”
“Right back at you, Jess. Right back atcha,” I laugh. “You hold the power to bring this man to his
knees.”
 Jessica

I don’t know what I expected after dinner with Ryan. I don’t think I anticipated him dropping me off
at my front door with nothing more than a simple kiss on the cheek.
Perhaps a part of me longed for more.
After a delicious meal and a lot of emotionally charged conversation, I craved more. I found myself
desperate to reconnect with him. To touch and be touched by only him.
What kind of person does that make me?
I’m not entirely sure, nor do I think that I really care at this point.
To be honest, I think I may actually owe Abby an apology. And a thank you.
Tomorrow, I promise myself. Tomorrow I’ll stop by her place with coffee and some of her favorite
pastries from The Gingerbread Man to make it up to her.
But tonight, I find myself reaching into the drawer next to my bed and pulling out one of my favorite
battery operated friends and imagine what it would be like to experience Ryan as a man.
I conjure up a visual in my mind of what he must look like now underneath the dark wash jeans and
teal polo shirt he wore on our date. I’m willing to bet he’s still got that killer six pack, hell he may
even have an eight pack by now. And his cock. My God I still remember his magnificent cock in vivid
detail. He always knew how to make me feel good back then. I have no doubts that he’s even more
talented now.
My toes curl and a gasp tumbles from my lips.
The silicone toy between my legs is no comparison for a man like Ryan, I’m sure of it.
Right now, though, it is getting the job done. Tiding me over until I can get my hands…my mouth…my
pussy around what it is I really want.
It’s that thought that carries me right over the edge.
Mostly sated, I’m able to fall asleep and rest as peacefully as one can when their dreams are of the
erotic kind.
When I wake the next morning, it’s to a text from Ryan wishing me a good day and telling me that he
really enjoyed last night. That he’s thankful we finally got around to reconnecting.
And another from Abby with a link to CCK’s gossip group.
The minute I click on it I’m greeted by photos from my date with Ryan. Some of which are pictures
we took to document our outing, for the Sheriff’s department PR campaign. Others are incognito from
other residents of Candy Cane Key.
CCK’s most beloved townies, back together at last! - one post reads.
A deputy and a school teacher walk into a movie theater…could Ryan and Jessica finally be
burying the hatchet? - reads another.
I think my favorite one, the one that makes me laugh out loud is the one that reads #TeamRyssi4Life.
Looks like we’ve already earned our “couple” name.
Sometimes Candy Cane Key is so ridiculous. Believers in love and all things Christmas, they simply
don’t accept anything but happiness.
Ridiculous as they may be, I love my home and I can’t believe I’m actually saying this but, I’m damn
glad I came back.
I ignore Abby’s text, for now. And reply to Ryan with a simple thank you and let him know that I
enjoyed our evening as well.
Then I drag myself out of bed and into the shower to get ready for the day.
Within the hour I’m on my way out the door and heading to The Gingerbread Man to gather my treats
for Abby.
Not one, but three coffees in hand and a dozen pastries plus a side of their trademark gingerbread
cookies and I take the short walk to Abby’s loft apartment.
She answers the door and greets me with red rimmed eyes. One look at the cup carrier in my hand and
my best friend starts sobbing.
“Oh no, Abs. What’s the matter?” I ask, brushing past her and letting myself into her apartment.
“Liam…he…he dumped me.”
I stop dead in my tracks. “What?!”
Abby nods and blows her nose on the tissue in her hand. “He said it’s been fun but we’ve run our
course. He’s…” she hiccups, “he’s been seeing someone else.”
“Noooo. No way.”
That’s got to be impossible. There is no way that Liam has been seeing someone else. Abby must be
confused.
She shakes her head and sobs harder. “Turns out, I’m the other woman.”
“That’s…no. Abby, that can’t be right.”
“All those work trips. The weeks away…he’s been with…her,” she cries out, flopping on to her sofa
and balling up in a ball.
I set the pastries and coffee on the table and flop down next to her, pulling my best friend into my
arms and cradling her like a baby. “I’m so sorry. What a douche.”
“I loved him,” she hiccups. “And he’s married.”
I can’t hold back the shocked gasp. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
“I wish I was. He has a whole family, Jess. I’m the other woman.”
“How is that even possible?” I ask out loud but more to myself than Abby.
“I looked her up on Facebook, ya know? They look so happy together. She’s from the mountains. They
have a house, in Vermont of all places. Fucking Vermont, where it snows! Can you believe it?”
“What are you going to do? Are you going to reach out? To tell her?”
Abby shakes her head, “I can’t do that. I won’t destroy their family. They have two small children.”
“Abs, you didn’t destroy anything. He did. He’s the one who lied to you. He’s got to be lying to her
too.”
“It’s not my place. I won’t be the one that breaks up their family. I don’t want that on my conscience.”
“Oh you are way better woman than me, Abigail.”
“I don’t feel like the better woman right now. I feel like…like a whore. Like a dirty little secret.”
“You are no such thing!’’ I am quick to remind her. “You are not a whore and you should never be
anyone’s dirty secret.”
My heart aches for my best friend. Liam has been in her life for two years. She thought they’d get
married one day. This…this is a really low and powerful blow to her ever the romantic heart.
“But that’s what he’s made me,” she sniffles and swipes at the tears rushing down her face.
“Absolutely not,” I tisk. “He does not make you any of those things.”
This time I untangle myself from her grasp and stand. Heading for the kitchen I pull out two coffee
mugs and the Bailey’s that I know that she’s got stashed in her tiny pantry. I pour a little coffee from
the bakery into the mugs and a whole lot of Bailey’s before I make my way back into the living room
and hand her a cup.
“This calls for something stronger than just plain coffee.”
In true Abby fashion, tips the mug back and finishes its contents in nearly one large swallow.
“I hate him.”
“That makes two of us,” I tell her between sips of my own coffee mixture.
“I love him,” she cries out.
Forget the coffee. I reach for the entire bottle of Bailey’s and pass it to her.
I don't know how long I spend there with Abby while she cries it out until there is nothing left but a
half a box of pastries and likely a whole bottle of booze later, she’s calmer. For the moment.
Somewhere deep in her drunken brain, she suddenly recalls the Mauary Auction and her face lights
up. “I nearly forgot!” This time her hiccup is from the Bailey’s and not from crying. “How was it?
Tell me everything Jessica Ann! Did you have sex? Oh please tell me you gave in and had sex with
that fine specimen of a man. No offense.”
“I hate to disappoint you, but there was no sex. It was just a date.”
Abby narrows her gaze at me. “Don’t you dare do that. Do not hold back on me Jess. I need some
semblance of happiness right now, so let me live through you.”
With an eye roll I relent. “Fine. He came by my house to pick me up. I protested. He asked to come
inside. We talked briefly and he persuaded me to go forward with the date that you so graciously paid
for,” I stick out my tongue at her before going on. “So, we went to a movie and then the slick
mastermind took me back to his place for a dinner that he cooked. We talked some more. He drove me
home and kissed me on the cheek. The end.”
“You would make a terrible romance author. And that does not sound like a ‘the end’ to me, that
sounds a lot more like a ‘to be continued’,” she smiles for the first time since I arrived.
“We’ll see.”
I may desperately crave Ryan’s body, but that doesn’t make me any less terrified about what could
happen next between us. I still feel so very new and unfamiliar. Like it could all crumble out from
under us at any given moment. Isn’t Abby and Liam proof of that.
“Ah, ah, ah,” Abby takes a drink of her coffee, bites the head off of a Gingerbread Man and shakes
her head. “I can see those wheels turning in your head.”
“What?” I play coy.
“You do not get to use what has happened with me as an excuse to push Ryan away again. I’ve
invested in the two of you and I fully expect to get my money's worth.”
I roll my eyes at her dramatics. “No one told you to bid $800 on Ryan Albright. I have half a notion to
not pay you back for the principle of it all.”
“No need to pay me back. I just said, consider it an investment. An investment in your happiness and
your future. You were miserable without him. And for as happy go lucky as that man is, I have no
doubts that he was miserable without you too. So, don’t screw it up and we’ll call it even.”
“Don’t screw it up!” I huff. “You think I’m the one that will screw it up?”
She scrunches up her nose at me. “I’m not answering that.”
“Ugh. You’re such a brat Abigail!”
“And yet you love me anyway, bestie.”
I hold up my coffee cup and tap it to hers. “Cheers to that.”
 Ryan

O kay. So, I haven’t actually seen Jessica since our Manuary date.
Which is exactly why I’m paying a little visit to Candy Cane Elementary on this fine Valentine’s Day.
Jess has turned down my attempts to take her out on a second date, insisting that she’s got a busy
schedule this time of year.
I think it’s got a lot more to do with Abby’s broken heart and Jessica’s walls that we started to break
through that night at my house.
That’s just fine though. Because…I have it on very good authority that a whole class of
kindergarteners, taught by one Miss Jessica Weaver, loves heart-shaped donuts as much as your
average Sheriff’s Deputy. And as my luck would have it, I’ll be arriving right on time for their
Valentine’s Soiree.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from quietly observing Jess over the years, the way to her heart is
through her kids. And no one can turn down Holly Jolly Jelly Donuts.
Parking my patrol car by the front door, I secure the donuts — and a little gift for Miss Weaver herself
— then jog up the steps and press the buzzer.
Candy Cane Key may be a safe and cozy little town, but we don’t take chances when it comes to
protecting our own. It’s a crazy world we’re living in these days.
“Hey, Deputy Albright,” Scarlett St. Nicole, the school secretary, sing-songs through the voice box.
“Come on in.”
The door unlocks and I make my way inside.
The first stop is the main office to sign in and drop off a box of donuts to the office staff.
“Aren’t you the sweetest?” Scarlett beams before plucking a donut from the box and taking a
satisfying bite. “If I wasn’t already married…” she hums appreciatively.
“Haha,” I tease.
We tried that, once, before she met her now husband, Javy — an out-of-towner who couldn’t resist
Candy Cane Key’s charm and Scarlett’s home cooking. We are much better off as friends.
“Kidding,” she winks and whispers, “I’m not even going to ask why you’re really here.”
Scarlett takes another bite of her donut and waves me off.
I’ve walked these halls a million times, first as a student and now as part of my daily rounds
protecting and serving my community. I know exactly where Jess’s classroom is. I’ve stolen glances
at her in action as I’ve roamed these halls, making sure things are secure.
Today, I’m breaching the threshold and entering the other domain where she thrives and kicks ass.
Being able to see her in action firsthand and not from behind a door, is exciting.
One knock and all eyes in the room are on me, including Jess’s.
Twenty-five little bodies bounce excitedly in their seats and wave at me.
Jess looks at me like I’ve lost my mind, which is probably a fair assessment.
“Looks like we have a visitor,” she tells her class as she holds open the door for me. “What do we
say to Deputy Albright?”
“Hi, Deputy Albright,” they all say in unison.
“Hey there, my little Valentines,” I lay on the charm with a flashy grin. “I heard there was a P - A - R -
T - Y about to happen.”
“Pppp-art-tee,” an adorable little girl who just moved to Candy Cane Key, pieces together the word
I’ve just spelled.
“Very good, Kara!” Jess beams proudly at her student. “Looks like Deputy Albright is here to
celebrate with us.”
A chorus of cheers echoes around the room.
“I brought some extra special snacks for this party, too. You guys like donuts, right?”
More cheers and excited kids jumping up and down.
“Ohhh, I’m so glad they’re going home in forty-five minutes,” Jessica whispers behind a laugh.
I think this might be the first time she’s been remotely happy to see me since she kissed me goodbye
all those years ago.
“Okay boys and girls,” Jess claps her hands together. “The first thing we’re going to do is deliver our
secret Valentines and then we can have snacks. After everyone washes their hands.”
Taking a step back, I let Jess get the kids on task and set up the snack station at her request.
Valentines delivered and twenty-some sets of hands washed, they’re all back in their seats with
snacks and fun holiday-themed coloring worksheets.
“You didn’t have to do all this,” Jess leans on the corner of her desk and looks up at me.
“I know.”
“You’re going to be in trouble when they tell all the big kids in the pick-up line that you stopped by
with donuts,” she says matter-of-factly.
I chuckle nervously. “I bribed the office staff, I didn’t think about the other kids.”
Jess smirks. “I guess you’ll have to buy the rest of the kids treats during the Grouch Fest.”
Ah, the Grouch Fest. “Yeah, I’m trying to get out of going to that to begin with. Sheriff Booker’s
planning on making the rounds for that event while I hold down the fort back at the station.”
“Hm. Well. They’ll need something for breakfast tomorrow,” she winks at me.
“You really want me to buy all these school kid donuts for breakfast tomorrow? Because I will. And
I’ll order up a few gallons of chocolate milk too.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I think you know I would,” I tease right back.
She holds up her hands in surrender. “Okay, maybe I was just kidding. I don’t really think they’ll rat
you out. But you might want to make a few surprise visits this week for the other classes. It would be
good PR and all,” she says, using my words from our auction date against me.
“Yeah, good PR,” I roll my eyes.
Jess picks up her cell phone off her desk and holds it up in front of us with the selfie camera on. “Say
cheese. This will look great on the school’s social media page.”
She’s already snapped a picture before I can even protest.
“Candy Cane Key’s very own favorite Deputy stopped by today with an extra special treat for Miss
Weaver’s class…and submit,” she narrates out loud.
“Great. Tongues will really be wagging now.”
The entire Key was still buzzing after their date a few weeks back. They would really be reading into
my ‘impromptu’ visit to Jess’s classroom. And my grandmother is probably already planning our
wedding.
Shit.
I didn’t plan on Jess blasting this on social media.
But, maybe, I could use it to my advantage to get what I really want.
 Jessica

“G o out with me, tonight.” Ryan’s words have me nearly dropping the pint size chair that I just
turned upside down to set on top of one of the desks.
I suspected his surprise visit wasn't just to drop off donuts to my class. Especially not when I've been
kinda avoiding him. Only a little though.
Between work and trying my best to be there for Abby, I don’t have a lot of spare time at the moment.
At least that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
“Uh, I can’t,” I tell him and continue stacking chairs on top of desks so the cleaning crew can take
care of the floors. “I have plans with Abby tonight. An anti-Valentine’s if you will.”
“Hm. That’s not what I heard,” he smirks, knowingly.
“Ryan, what did you do?” I immediately go on high alert.
“You assume that I did something. It wasn’t me.”
“Abby?” I ask, though I already suspect that I know the answer.
“I’m not saying that I hadn’t already planned to ask you out tonight. But, Abby thought you’d turn me
down, so she told me to make sure that you know that you have her blessing and that she insists you go
with me. You can check with her,” Ryan tells me.
“Oh, I’m going to check with her,” I fake a mild case of annoyance and pull my phone from my back
pocket.
Looks like I won’t even have to message her.
There’s a text from Abby already waiting for me.
 TheBestBitch: Soooo, where ya going with Ry tonight? You better have said yes. Seriously,
Jess. Say yes. For me. I’m going to stop by the brewery, pick up a six pack of Unbreak My
Heart and head over to my brother’s house to babysit while he goes out with Mike.
My fingers fly over the keyboard as I reply back to her.

Me: You brat. Were you planning on ditching me for your adorable niece and nephew all
along? How dare you! ← that’s sarcasm by the way.
Ping.

TheBestBitch: Of course not. Because I knew Ryan was going to ask you out anyway. So. Go.
Have a good time. Get laid. ;)
She’s a mess.
“Well,” I hrmph. “I think she played us both, again.”
“I guess she’s Team Ryssi too.”
“Team Ryssi,” I snort. “They’re all insane.”
“Nah, they just want their two favorite people to be happy. Together. So, why not give the people and
us what we really want.”
“Us,” I bite my lip and bat my eyes. “You assume that I want this?”
Ryan takes two sure steps toward me and wraps an arm around my waist, pressing up against me.
“Oh, I know you want this as badly as I do.”
Looking up into his eyes, I can feel myself longing to get lost in the moment.
“I’ve always wanted to make out in a classroom,” he whispers before his lips land on mine in a slow
sensual kiss.
This is all wrong. Not the kiss, but making out at work. In my classroom. And, Ryan’s still in uniform
and probably on the clock.
I should stop it. Be the responsible one and do the right thing. Except it feels too good and I’m afraid
if we stop, he’ll disappear like a cloud of dust. Like some kind of dream. Like the kind of dreams I’ve
been having for the last few weeks with Ryan as the lead.
Just one more second, I reason with myself. One more second and then I’ll push him away.
Ryan beats me to it though and breaks the kiss with a curse. “Fuck,” he hisses. “That was even better
than I remember.”
Pressing two fingers to my lips I nod and hum in approval. “Pretty sure we broke about a dozen rules
with that one kiss, Deputy.”
He groans and presses his hips further into mine. I can feel his arousal and almost wish we were
anywhere but here.
“There could be more of that, ya know. All you have to do is say yes,” he whispers. “Go out with me
tonight. Say yes, Jess.”
“Yes,” I gasp and he claims my lips once more.
Ryan steps back and tries to discreetly adjust the tent in his khaki pants. “Ahem. Oh, uh. I almost
forgot,” he reaches in his back pocket, pulls out a tiny box and hands it to me. “You have to make me a
promise before you open it.”
“Ooookay.”
“You cannot get mad at me. What’s inside that box is meant to be a good thing. A symbol of second
chances, if you will.”
Butterflies swarm in my stomach and it’s not just from his kiss.
My fingers shake as I unwrap the box and take the top off.
A breath catches in my chest when my eyes land on the tiny candy cane key chain that looks an awful
lot like the one that he gave me as a graduation gift. The same one that I gave back to him in a fit of
anger when I left.”
“Is this…” I take the keychain out and turn it over in my hand, running my fingers over the tiny red and
white gemstones.
“It is. The same one. I never got rid of it,” Ryan clears his throat and swallows hard. “It’s still in
pretty good shape, considering I carried it around on my keys every single day.”
“Ryan,” my voice cracks with emotion.
“Anyway, that’s yours. I want you to have it back.”
Not trusting myself to speak, I nod instead.
“I should get going. I need to finish up a few things down at the station. But, I’ll swing by and pick
you up around five, at your place. Is that okay?”
I blow out a breath to steady myself. “Yes. Five is great,” I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek.
“Thank you, Ry.”
He tosses me a wink then excuses himself.
I get back to work cleaning up the rest of my classroom before I head home to get ready for our date.
A freaking date.
I’m about to go out on a real date with Ryan Albright on Valentine’s Day!
Ryan shows up right on time, armed with a purple African Violet and a box of chocolates from Cocoa
Corner.
He looks absolutely sinful in black dress pants and the crisp light blue gingham dress shirt with his
hair brushed back. Smelling like a mix of spice and woodsy smoke and a hint of mint, I feel totally
intoxicated by this man.
“Jess, if you don’t stop looking at me like that, we’re not going to make it to dinner,” he says with a
lick of his lips.
I reach for his empty hand and tug him inside, slamming the door behind him.
Sure, I spent the last hour getting ready for this date. Looking forward to maybe a nice dinner out on
the town — out of town if I was lucky. And maybe I really should just set the plant and he chocolates
on the counter and walk back out the door with Ryan.
But if the hunger in his eyes is any indication, we both would be okay with staying right here.
Throwing caution to the wind, I fist his shirt and pull him into me.
His hands cup my face then dance along the back of my neck, into my hair, tugging. Exposing my neck
where he nips and kisses along my skin, across my collar bone; brushing the lace strap off my
shoulder as continues ravaging my skin.
“I’ve missed this. Missed you. So much,” he murmurs against my skin.
“Need. You,” I plead, reaching down to cup his erection through the fabric of his pants.
“Yes,” he growls.
“Please.”
“Turn around.”
“What?” I pause and look up at him.
“Turn around,” he kisses my lips. “So I can unzip your dress.”
“Oh,” I blush and spin so that my back is to him.
Goosebumps break out along my skin as his fingertips trail the zipper down my back in a torturous
dance, setting my soul on fire.
The hiss the tumbles from his lips as my dress falls to the floor assures me that my choice of under
garments hit its mark.
Ryan smacks my bare ass and pulls me flush against him where his cock nestles between my cheeks.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous.” He swoops my hair over one shoulder and kisses my skin. “Curves in
all the right places,” he hums in appreciation. “God, Jess. What I wouldn’t give to bend you over this
counter and take you from behind. Right here. Right now.”
“Do it,” I dare him, desperate for whatever he’s willing to give me.
“Is that what you want? I won’t be able to go slow. Not this time,” he warns.
“I don’t need slow,” I argue. “ I need you. All of you.”
Ryan slowly slinks down my body, kissing along my spine until he reaches the tiny straps of my thong.
My heart beats faster in anticipation, longing to know what he’ll do next. For a second I wonder if
he’ll rip the tiny scrap of fabric off of me. Instead, he slides it down my legs and taps my ankles
allowing me to step out of both the thong and my dress.
“Trust me?” he asks, standing up behind me once more.
“Always.”
“Shit, Jess,” he mumbles. “Give me your hands.”
I put my hands behind my back and feel a string against my skin. Not string. My thong.
Ryan binds my hands together and leans, pushing my chest flat against the cold granite countertop.
“Gorgeous,” he damn near growls. “Perfection.”
Hoping to hurry things along, I shamelessly shake my ass and earn another slap across my bare
cheeks. Heat pools between my legs and I whimper.
This is a brand new side to Ryan and I am not mad about it.
From behind me, I hear his belt clink and the hiss of his zipper followed the rattle of a foil wrapper
before I finally feel the girthy tip of his penis brushing up and down my pussy.
“You’re soaked,” he hums in appreciation. “Is all this for me, Jess?”
“Only you.”
“Goddamn.”
That’s the only warning I get before he thrusts inside me.
“Ryan!” I call out with my ass in the air, hands secured behind my back and my entire body quivering.
“Jess,” he grips my biceps firmly, holding me right where he wants me while he slides in and out,
over and over again. “This. Is. Uh….damn. You…Jess.”
“Yessss. More” I scream. Begging for anything and everything he’ll give me.
Ryan’s stamina is relentless as he fucks me. Owning me.
Reminding me of just how good he can make me feel.
My pussy clenches around him, greedy for another orgasm. Which number is this one? I’ve lost count.
“One more,” Ryan orders. “Give me one more, Jess. I’m right there.”
His hand slips over my stomach and dips between my legs, settling in a circular motion against my
clit and stars explode behind my eyes. My vision goes dark and Ryan thrusts harder. Once. Twice.
Until he stills and roars out a string of words that I can’t understand. His cock pulses inside me and
somewhere between reality and wherever I’ve fallen I hear him say, “I love you, Jessica.”
 Ryan

T ime seems to stand still.

I’m still buried to the hilt inside Jessica’s tight, warm, cunt while I press gentle kisses to her back.
Her entire body moves with each breath she takes. It’s the only sign that she’s still with me. Her eyes
are shut and there’s a content smile on her face.
While I wait for her to come back to me, I untie her hands and pocket the yellow thong.
Jess’s eyes begin to flutter open and I reluctantly withdraw from her body to tie off the condom and
toss it in the nearby trash can. She slowly pushes up off the counter until she's standing at her fool
height and checks her wrists.
For an instant, I feel a twinge of shame and regret. Did I push her too far? Did I let my true colors out
too much, too soon? What must she think of me now?
“Hey,” her soft voice drags me out of my self-deprecating thoughts.
Giving her a weak smile, I do my best to keep my emotions under wraps. “Hey, yourself.”
“That was…” she moves across the room to where I’m now standing, “satisfying and sexy as hell.”
“Yeah?” I ask, wondering if I’m hearing things.
“Oh, absolutely,” Jess traces her fingers across my still fully clothed chest. “I’m just a little
disappointed that you’re still completely dressed.” Looking down, she lets out a giggle. “With the
exception of the magnificent cock of yours that is still out.”
I chuckle and shake my head, tucking myself away. For now. “We should…talk? Maybe?”
“Talk about…” Jess questions. “What we just did? Because if you want to talk about it. We can. In
very vivid detail. I’d even be happy to re-enact that with you. Anytime.”
“You would?”
“Fuck yes,” she answers enthusiastically. But then she pauses and really looks at me. “Ry. Are you
alright?”
“What? Yes. Of course I am.”
“Hm,” she taps her chin. “I don’t think you are.”
Jess reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Ry. You’re not ashamed of what just happened are
you? Maybe not the sex part, but tying up my hands, thoroughly fucking me?”
“Nah,” I scoff, afraid to admit my weakness.
“Ryan Jacob Albright, I think you’re lying to me.”
I try to look away but Jess doesn’t let up.
“Was it someone else? Did someone make you question your sexual preferences?”
“Good Lord, Jess. It’s nothing. I feel like I got a little carried away, and I’m sorry. That’s all.”
“Don’t you dare apologize for serving up the best orgasms that I’ve had in my entire lifetime. No
offense to the younger you. But hot damn, Ryan Albright, you certainly know how to please a woman.”
I can’t fight the cocky grin that plays on my lips. “Oh, I do, do I?” My hands find her still naked waist
and bring her to me.
“You damn well know you do,” Jess says, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me. “And,
in case I wasn’t clear, you are more than welcome to tie me up anytime you want.”
My dick twitches and hardens. What I wouldn’t give to do just that. Every day for the rest of our
lives.
“Marry me,” the words slip from my lips before I have a chance to stop them.
“Hm. It would have to be during one of the semester breaks. Summer is out. I don’t think I want to get
married in 110 degree heat. And I really don’t want to get married in the middle of hurricane season.
How about April 15th? That’s a Saturday and school is out. That gives us two months to plan and we
could take a week long trip after, if you wanted to. I don’t need to be back to school until April 24th.”
I blink a few times and shake my head. I must have heard her wrong. “Jess?”
She bursts into a fit of giggles. “If you could see your face right now.”
“You’re messing with me.”
“Mostly,” she shrugs. “I will marry you. When you have a ring, and get down on one knee. Oh, and
after you ask for my parent’s blessing. Certainly not in two months though. Give me atleast a year to
plan.”
A year of loving her. Of rediscovering the woman that she is? Of rediscovering who I am with her?
“You have my word, Jess. You have my word.”
“Good, because you have my heart.”
I…I have her heart.
“Now. Should we go to dinner or would you like a tour of my bedroom?”
Dinner. Or dessert.
Dinner. Or Jess spread out across her sheets for me to feast on?
There is only one answer to that question. And I respond by unbuttoning my shirt and kicking off my
pants.
“My room it is,” Jess shoots me a playful grin over her shoulder before she races up the stairs,
leaving me fumbling behind her to catch up.
I barely catch her at the foot of her bed and we both go bouncing onto the bed, smiling and laughing.
“I love you,” I say it again, this time I know she can hear me.
“I love you, too. I always have. I always will, Ryan. You’re it for me.”
Jess lifts her leg and wraps it around my waist, giving me perfect access to her perfectly tight cunt.
Rubbing my cock between her legs, I ask, “Is this what you want, Jessica? Do you want my cock
inside you again?”
She bites her lip and nods. “Yes. A thousand times yes.”
“About that talk…”
“Ryan, so help me God. I do not want to talk about anything right now.”
“Too bad,” I tell her, still rubbing the head of my cock against her. “You need to know that, I like
things a certain way. I like being in control. I want to own you.”
She bucks her hips and tries to drag me closer with her leg around my hip.
“Behind closed doors, I want to tie you up. I want to spank your ass. Fuck you. Make love to you.”
Jessica hums. “You’re a…” she gasps when I brush against her clit, “Dominant.”
“I am dominant. You know that. I’m not asking for D/s relationship. I just want you to know that I like
to try new things. But that will never happen without your consent. Do you understand?”
“Yes, God yes. Please, Ry. Fuck me.”
With everything out on the table, I slide home, pressing inside my girl with slow, measured strokes.
Making love to her like I’ve wanted to for the last eight or nine years.
We stay in her room, nestled together, making love. Fucking. Until we’re both famished and on the
verge of dehydration.

“I, uh, haven’t been grocery shopping this week,” Jess says from the kitchen where she’s rooting
around in the fridge, wearing nothing but my shirt. “I don’t have much to choose from.”
I finish off the glass of what she offered me and set the glass down. “Mohagen’s is open late and
they’re serving heart shaped pizzas. I can call in a delivery for two pizza pies from there. We can curl
up on your couch and snack on these chocolates until it gets here,” I offer, holding up the box of candy
I bought for her, with every intention of sampling at least one of them off of her deliciously creamy
skin tonight.
What can I say? I had pretty high hopes. Especially when her best friend broke the girl code and let it
slip that Jess mentioned needed extra batteries because she managed to kill all of her…uh…toys.
“Mmmm. I could go for some pizza.”
“Extra pepperoni and olives?”
“You remember,” Jess holds a hand over her heart and flutters her eyelashes at me.
“Duh. What did you think, that my favorite pizza would change when you went off to college?”
“Whatever,” she takes the box of chocolates out of my hand and opens them. “Holy shit, Ry. How
many are in the box? It didn’t look that big on the outside.”
“That’s what she said,” I snark back while searching for my phone.
Shit. My phone.
It must still be in the car.
The car that is still parked out front, and running! Or it was.
I panic and quickly look out Jess’s front window. Shew. My SUV is right where I left it. The battery is
probably dead and it might be out of gas, but it’s there.
“Uh, Jess, I’m going to need my shirt back, babe,” I tell her as I pull on my pants. “I need to go out to
the car to get my phone.”
She pouts but she undoes the few buttons she had fastened and tosses it to me.
When I walk out the door, I find my keys on her front porch with a note wishing me luck and telling
me to practice safe sex, from the high school sex ed teacher, Mr. Marks.
Apparently, he turned my car off and tapped my keys to Jess’s front door.
Brushing that embarrassment to the side, I make quick work of plucking my phone from the center
console and getting back inside.
Pizza ordered and my appetizer spread eagle on the couch, waiting for me; I send a quick prayer up,
thanking the heavens that this is how I’m spending my Valentine’s Day.
What’s that phrase? Something about letting things go and if they come back, they’re yours?
Guess it’s safe to say, Jess is mine.
The End

If you loved Ryan and Jessica, look for more from them in He Loves Me - coming this July and
featuring Abby and a familiar face from Sycamore Mountain. That’s right, Myles is back and he’s
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The MAN OF THE MONTH CLUB is a steamy small-town collection featuring a new hottie (or two!) every month. In 2023, escape to
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Reeling Him In by Kara Kendrick

Bound To The Beard by Eve London
Loves Me Knot by Aubree Valentine
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Another One Bites the Dust by Katie Rae
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Hate Tea Love You by Annie Charme
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Fitting the Financier by Robecca Austin
Also by Aubree Valentine
Too Hot to Handle Series
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Coming Soon:
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Man of the Month Club - Sycamore Mountain
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Royally F*cked
Royally Scr*wed
 About the Author

Aubree Valentine began her book world career back in 2016 as a virtual assistant for a friend/author and as a book blogger. While
working with authors, PR companies and fellow bloggers, she fell even more in love with the Indie community and decided to launch her
own small scale PR company where she continued to hone her skills as a virtual assistant to several authors and studied the ins and outs
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Aubree doesn't always hang out behind the scenes though and has put her business knowledge to good use for herself as well. Her first
book, Take Back My Heart, released in the fall of 2016, with its follow up - Come Back to Me launching a year later.
When she's not working with favorite clients, you can find her penning fun and flirty stories about all of her imaginary and very smexy
alphas. This includes her current and most popular series, Too Hot To Handle.
Aubree has a degree in sarcasm and resides in Pennsylvania. She enjoys reading, chasing after her twins and her three furbabies,
cuddling with her husband, and coming up with new project ideas that often involve power tools.
She's usually always online via Facebook or Instagram @authoraubreevalentine.
www.authoraubreevalentine.org
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charged to your card, is now two weeks overdue. Please return it at
your earliest convenience. There is a charge of one cent for each
day overdue."
What on earth were they talking about? Carrie wondered vaguely.
She hadn't been to the library in months. "James," she called, "Did
you ever get me a library book called The Perfect Hostess?"
"Gosh, no, Mom," said James.
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