A Perfect Mess (31 page)
Authors: Zoe Dawson
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Genre Fiction, #Coming of Age, #Romance, #Contemporary, #New Adult & College
The music came to an end, and Mike and Momma turned toward the preacher. She reached out and squeezed my hand.
As Verity’s father started to say their wedding vows, I met Booker’s eyes. His gaze was hot and magnetic, sweet and tender. Through all that had happened, I’d grown up a little, learned a few things and found love, found it and intended for it to flourish.
Later, at the reception, while the DJ played a slow song, Booker and I danced under the awning in my momma’s back yard, just being together, thankful that our lives were now entwined.
A week later we found ourselves at Outlaw’s, where Braxton was hosting a huge barbeque. There was no way I was going to miss out on his pulled pork and his amazing barbeque sauce. When we arrived, Verity and River Pearl were already there. I felt so blessed to have so much in my life with my friends and Booker beside me.
Verity continued to give Boone nasty glances and I bided my time. She would tell me what was going on there eventually. It would be interesting to see how she handled her father and her aspirations. River Pearl continued to goad Braxton. Something was building there, too. It was only a matter of when it would explode between them. Yes, both of my friends had their own perfect journey to experience. All and all, it should provide a very interesting rest of the summer. I had decided to stay and enjoy myself before I had to return to the demands of school.
I bit into the pulled pork sandwich, and turned to Brax. “You’re going to make someone a great wife someday.”
Brax smiled with a knowing grin that was almost as good as Booker’s. “I have the frilly pink apron to prove it,” he said.
Booker blew beer through his nose, coughing and laughing, and I looked at Boone for a translation.
He said, “Don’t ask. Believe me. You don’t want to know.”
Afterwards, the Outlaws took the stage and they showed us a rip-roaring, sweaty, toe-tapping good time. Their three-part harmony told me how in tune these brothers were. At the end of the evening, Booker said, “Sugar, this one is for you. Only you.”
His voice smooth and gorgeous belted out “I’ll Be” totally without music. As he sang, he left the stage and walked down to stand in front of me. One of the unholy trinity, sexy, tough, talented—and all mine.
The rough timber of his voice, filled with so much emotion, touched me deeply. As he sang about being my crying shoulder, I remembered how he had comforted me in my momma’s guest room. The heat of him and the safe haven I’d found in his arms. That was us, unembellished, simple. We didn’t need the music to make music. We saw each other’s souls and recognized them as flawed and beautiful…and perfect. When he sang and asked me to tell him we’d always be together, I smiled and cupped his face, his eyes shining into mine, already knowing the answer. He hit the chorus and when he sang he’d be my greatest fan, I saw the conviction in his eyes.
And later, back at Booker’s place, where I was officially staying, he groaned as he half lifted me, moving me across his lap on the bed in his room, his mouth sliding to my neck, where he licked my skin, then glided back to my mouth, sucking. It was the hottest, sweetest sensation, having him practically devour me.
My mind reeled with pleasure, my body’s most intimate secrets his. The idea thrilled me. I tangled my fingers in the black silk of his hair, my body melting into his kisses, his touches, his possession of me.
Booker pressed me down, reared over me and took me, touching off a powerful release. He wrapped his arms around me and crushed me to him, holding himself still while my muscles tightened around him with powerful, throbbing bursts.
As the pulses eased, he moved slowly, pushed me toward yet another peak. He kissed me softly, tenderly. He pushed my hair back from my temples and smiled into my eyes.
I tried to smile back, my breath hitching in my throat at each deep, reaching stroke. I slid my hands down his back, over the hot, flexing, sweat-slick muscles. My hands curled over his butt as I urged him to increase his tempo until I was nearly frantic with the need for the release we achieved, one on the heels of another.
Afterwards we dozed, exhausted, replete. Booker settled on his side with one leg thrown across mine. I turned toward him and pressed my hand over his heart. He lifted his and touched my cheek, idly brushing back a strand of hair.
“So where do we go from here?” I asked.
“Just give me a few minutes to catch my breath.”
“Booker….”
He chuckled. “I’m already looking for an apartment in the city. We can live there while you go to school. I’m a writer. I can work anywhere. Hell, I might even take a class or two. And, we’re only two hours away from Suttontowne, so it’ll be very easy to visit when we can. How does that sound? ”
“Make it in the French Quarter and you have a deal.” I kissed the corner of his mouth and nuzzled my face against his.
“You’ll get fat on beignets.” He pinched the skin of my waist and I giggled.
“There’ll just be more of me to love. Think of the possibilities.”
He grinned. “Oh, sugar, I am.”
After a minute he said, “Aubree, it’s more than love.”
“It is?”
“Yes, you get to me. You always have.”
“I like that, Booker. What we share is so amazing.”
He pulled me against him, burying his face into the hollow of my neck and shoulder and blew a raspberry against my skin.
I giggled. “You do need me, you know,” I said.
He looked up at me. “Why is that?” he responded that wonderful, wicked Booker smile sliding across his face.
“You can’t even count to a gazillion, huckleberry, let alone two.”
***********
Don’t miss Verity Fairchild and Boone Outlaw’s romance.
A Perfect Mistake
, Book #2 – A preacher’s daughter, a reckless Outlaw, and a secret that will change her life forever.
Coming in 2013!
About the Author
Zoe Dawson is the alter ego of multi-published¸ bestselling author Karen Anders. Karen started her career because her grandmother gave her a book to read. That book made her fall in love with romance and started her on the trek to get published. She achieved that goal in 1996 with the publication of Jennifer's Outlaw for Silhouette. Even with many books under her belt, she can't wait for that next idea, that next exquisite sentence and, of course, the next hero and heroine who fall in love.
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Dear Reader,
Thank you for embarking on this journey with me. It's been fabulous to write this book for your enjoyment.
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