Freeing Her (40 page)

Silence hung in the room. For a moment she
thought he’d hung up on her.

But then she heard him clear his throat and
say, “He was such a great kid.”

“
A great kid? Do you want
to know what that great kid would say to me? He’d call me a cunt
and would tell me if I ever spoke a word of what he did to me, he’d
hurt me even worse the next time. Shall I tell you all the things
he did to me? I tried to before, but you and Mom wouldn’t listen.
Do you know how many nights I’d curl up in my bed, trying to
breathe through the pain of cracked ribs, but I was afraid to tell
you, because I’d end up getting punished for lying?”

“
I … I didn’t
know.”

“
Yes, you did. You wanna
know how I know? Danny told me. He told me the truth about you.
That you’re his father. And he blackmailed you. And you didn’t have
the goddamn balls to stand up to him because you were scared he’d
tell everyone. So instead, you let your daughter get raped. Over
and over. And beaten. Over and over. You knew. But the only thing
you cared about were appearances. And mom only cared about her
booze. And then you’d tell me that I was a difficult child. What
the hell did I ever do to deserve that? Was your pride that
important to you? Maybe you should’ve thought about all that before
you fucked your brother’s wife.

“
Goodbye, Dad.”

She ended the call, lost in her thoughts,
high on adrenaline, until Kolson’s voice brought her back to
present.

“
You clearly surprised
him. He never expected you to come at him like that.”

When Gabby glanced at Kolson, she was
surprised to see the admiration written all over his face. A
contagious smile spread across his face and she felt herself
respond to it.

“
Yeah, I believe you’re
right. And you wanna know something? That felt really good. I felt
damn strong when I was talking to him. For the first time in my
life, he didn’t make me feel browbeaten.”

“
The way you spoke to him,
I don’t think anyone will ever browbeat you again, kea.” And there
was that gorgeous smile again.

“
If you keep looking at me
like that, you’re going to have to take your clothes
off.”

“
Hmm, tempting as that
sounds, I’m late as it is. I’ll see you tonight,” he
said.

She sat back and watched him leave the room.
She hoped he would let his burden fall off his shoulders soon. The
weight of it was showing. He tried to hide it from her, but he
wasn’t doing too well. The lines around his eyes and the increasing
tension were all the evidence she needed. He was playing off the
upcoming weekend at his parents’, but it was eating at him, gnawing
him up inside. He thought he could hide these things from her, but
she was an expert. She’d lived that life for so long so she knew
his game. If there was one thing she wanted to do, it was to free
him, like he freed her. She knew how life changing it was. When the
time was right, she’d be there for him, ready to help him in any
way that he needed her.

She heard a buzzing noise
and realized Kolson had forgotten his phone. It vibrated on the
bedside table. Reaching over to grab it, a text popped in from his
dad. Gabby was surprised to see it, but not too much since they
were going there on Saturday. But when she read the words, she
puzzled over them:
Looking forward to
Saturday. Favor is done. Now the debt is owed.

The End
…

Until

FREEING HIM (A Hart Brothers Novel #2)

If you enjoyed
Freeing Her,
please
consider leaving a review wherever you purchased this ebook. If you
could help spread the word, that would also be appreciated. Tell
your family, friends, aunts, cousins, uncles (well, maybe not your
uncles—not unless they like romance novels!),hell, tell your
frenemies. Whatever. We Indie Authors appreciate any kind of buzz,
so I’ll even take that, as long as it doesn’t come with a drive-by
egging. And illegal substances. Just saying. ;-) This author thanks
you in advance for doing so.

Acknowledgements

The idea for this book was
born from one of my other novels,
Dirty
Nights
. When I was writing it, as soon as
I created Gabriella Martinelli, M.D., I knew there was a story
within her. She had serious issues buried inside of her that would
take another book to uncover. Enter a Facebook conversation between
Kristie Wittenberg, Krista Tangora, and me and well, Freeing Her
was born in my brain. Kolson’s story evolved rapidly from a taxi
driver into a man with a freaky father and the rest is history.
It’s amazing what happens on Facebook. So thank you Kristie and
Krista for the inspiration for Kolson—at least with the beginning.
Oh, and to Lesley, too, for her visual inspiration!

This road I’m travelling wouldn’t be what it
is without the phenomenal friendships I’ve made so I’d like to
thank my writerly friends for all their help, advice, and support.
They always know what to say when I need it the most. Michele
Leighton, Lila Felix, Rebecca Ethington, Mary Smith, Quinn Loftis,
just to name a few. I could go on but this would take too long to
read!

And now for my incredible beta readers.
There aren’t enough words I can write here that can adequately
express my profound gratitude I have for these wonderful ladies.
So, I’d like to thank Terri Thomas, Kathryn Grimes, Megan Bagley,
Heather Carver, Hetty Rasmussen, and Kristie Wittenberg. I couldn’t
do this without you lovelies. You ROCK it to the max!

This book would never have gotten published
without the mad editing skills of Jennifer Sommersby Young. Boy
does she ever keep me in line and I honestly don’t know how she
does it! Thanks Jenn!

Finally, I’d like to thank my family, just
because they’re so awesome. And I’m proud to mention that we have a
new member to the Hargrove household. I’m now a happy
mother-in-law! Thanks Hargrove Family!

Please stalk me. I’ll love you forever if
you do. Seriously.

Website

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[email protected]

And now for a brief
glimpse into
FREEING HIM (A Hart Brothers
Novel #2)

Anticipated release date October 2014

*Note—This excerpt has not been edited. Upon
release, this scene may change.

The bed shifts under his
weight as he slips in beside me. I’m not alarmed, even though I
should be. It’s been days since I’ve seen him, touched him, smelled
him, and tasted him. This isn’t something I should want. I should
be shouting at him to get out.
Push him
away now,
my mind screams. I can’t.
Because my body yearns for him, reacting so wickedly as I feel
myself getting wet. His arm slides around me, pulling me into the
curve of his side, and I hear him inhale as he nuzzles my hair. My
breath hitches in my lungs as his hand inches higher and takes a
hold of my chin. Lips graze my cheek and I sense something raw
about him, about the way he touches me. He’s different. Edgy maybe.
It’s hard to pinpoint.

Nudging him, I roll over and squirm my way
beneath him and then grab his face with both hands. In the dim
light, that’s when I notice it’s lost its fullness. It’s all angles
and shadows. My hands instantly slide to his body, reaching for the
beauty and symmetry I know I’ll find. Unyielding steel is what my
hands discover instead. Hot and smooth, but again, all softness has
vanished. Not that he was ever truly soft, but now ... what’s
happened to him that caused this drastic change?

He doesn’t give me time to puzzle it out. My
shirt is shredded as he growls in my ear. He’s all tongue, lips,
and teeth as he sensually assaults me, spiking my desire. Lust
fills my veins as I reach for him, aching to feel his cock in my
hand. He violently shoves my hands away from him, but doesn’t speak
as he continues to invade my body with his tongue. When he gets to
my sex, I cry out his name, which spurs him on. He spreads my legs
further and drives his tongue deep into my tunnel, then circles my
clit as he slips first one, then another finger inside me. My
orgasm approaches and when he doesn’t stop, I clench his fingers
with my muscles as I come all over his hand and mouth. When my
spasms pass, he climbs on top of me so he’s positioned for me to
suck him off. I gladly give him what he wants. He tastes like
nothing I’ve ever had and, oh, how I’ve missed this. He’s hesitant
at first but I hook my arms around his thighs and pull him into me,
sending his cock straight to the back of my throat. I moan and that
tiny vibration sets off a series of deep groans. That sound, that
only he can make, is a near orgasm in itself. I double my efforts
just to keep hearing it. His sack weighs heavy in my hand and I
squeeze it exactly like he loves it, pressing my finger on the
place directly behind it. I can tell he’s close by the way he
tenses when he pulls out with a vicious jerk. He scoots down, and
still straddling me, he teases my clit with his cock. Around and
around, up and down, but then he stops, grabs my arm, and pulls me
up so we’re face to face.

“
Put your arms around my
neck and don’t let go.” Those are the only words he’s spoken to me
thus far, and they make my weak hold on the tears I’ve been forcing
back loosen. They bubble past my lids and leak down my cheeks as he
enters me with an aching unhurried pace.

His tongue catches the glistening drops as
he slowly pulses back and forth, back and forth, and the heat
burgeons in me, coursing through my veins, setting me on fire. I’m
full, he’s so deep, kissing me where no man has, and I’m reeling
with emotions.

“
Don’t,” he murmurs as he
licks my tears again. The last thing I want to do is break down in
front of him, but he’s making it damned difficult.

My breath is ragged as I inhale. “Love me,
kea. Just ... just love me.”

A whimper escapes me; one I’ve tried to hold
back, as my heart stammers. I shudder as he fills me deep. My
thoughts fly back to the day he confessed how he thought he wasn’t
good enough for me and my hold tightens around him. Then his mouth
slams against mine. His tongue pushes past my slightly parted lips
as he kisses me roughly, thoroughly and savagely. He seeks
something, but I’m not sure what. Reassurance? Security? I wish I
knew, but those are things I could use right now too.

“
God, I’ve missed your
sweet mouth. No man should be allowed to live without ever tasting
something like this.”

Our tongues swirl and meet, twisting
together, taking, and giving and we fuck we other’s mouths.
Intense. Moving. Sensual. All the above rolled together. That’s
what Kolson Hart is. And I’m not sure what’s going to happen
next.

As we kiss, he his pelvis tilts in and out
of mine, until he decides to take it faster. His piercing slides
over my g-spot, hitting it, teasing it, stimulating it until I
quiver in his arms and suddenly climax, my sex clenching his cock
in a series of potent seizures.

“
Ah, ah, ah, Gabriella,”
he cries as he comes. I feel his warm fluid bathe me and when he’s
done, we gaze at each other. Is this when the awkwardness sets
in?

Once more, Kolson has the element of
surprise on his side. He shocks the hell out of me when he says, “I
love you, kea. I was right all along when I said you were too pure
for me.” He rests his forehead against mine. “There are things you
need to know. Things I need to tell you. But I can’t tell you all
of them right now. I’m so sorry. Sorry I had to leave you the way I
did. The reasons are so complicated.”

“
Kolson, I ...”

He stops me with a kiss. And then says
against my mouth, “Remember that day I told you I never intended
for you to fall in love with me?”

“
Yes. I remember it
well.”

“
I wish you hadn’t. For
all of the beauty that exists within and around you, I’m afraid
that I’m only going to be a source of hurt and disappointment for
you. But know I didn’t intend for it to happen this way. I only
wanted to keep you safe. Forever. It doesn’t make sense to you now,
but it will one day. And when that day comes, promise me, promise
me you’ll at least try to understand why I did it.”

“
Kolson, ...”

He pushes me back and lies above me, resting
his weight on his arms. Eyes, hazy with torment drill into mine.
“I’ve never known anything so beautiful in my life such as you.” He
cups my face and presses his lips to mine. “Now I’m going to dirty
you with my ugly, nasty secrets. You’re finally going to hear the
sick truth about how fucked up I really am.” The muscles in his
throat constrict and he works to swallow. “You’ll finally know why
I couldn’t tell you. Why it was so difficult for me.” His face
contorts with agony as a fine sheen of perspiration glows on his
skin.

Holy shit! This was so not what I expected
him to say.

Since
Freeing Her
was born from
Dirty Nights
, I thought
it appropriate to include an excerpt in here. If you are the least
bit curious in learning more about Sky and Ryder, you and do so
in
Dirty Nights
,
which is their story: