Sweet V
ICTORY
Nikki Winter
Copyright © 2011 by Nikki Winter
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or shared in any form, including but not limited
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system without prior written permission from the authors or
holders of the copyright.
This book is a work of fiction. References may be made to
locations and historical events; however, names, characters,
places and incidents are the products of the author’s
imagination and/or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual persons (living or dead), businesses, events or locales
is either used fictitiously or coincidental. All trademarks,
service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service
marks are the property of their respective owners and are
used herein for identification purposes only.
Published by
Beautiful Trouble Publishing, LLC
PO Box 61
Colfax, NC 27235
www.beautifultroublepublishing.com
Cover Art: Les Byerley
Editor: Stephanie Parent
Proofreader: Novellette Whyte
http://authorgurunovellette.blogspot.com/
Formatter: Savannah J. Frierson,
E-book Conversion: Jim & Zetta,
ISBN: (eBook) 978-1-61788-098-8; (print): 978-1-61788-
099-5
Three times the charm is what they say! Well, they lied
because this one had to be the hardest to get out since I
wanted it perfect but I will say it was the most fun also.
Once again BTP, I’ve got to say thank you. Jayha and
THE Jeanie I’m doing my best to make you guys proud
so you can keep doing the ‘I told you so’ song and dance
you love so much. To my editors, your patience knows
no bounds because I can work a nerve. To my cover
artist, keep them coming because I love every one of
them.
Last but never least to my readers, I so wouldn’t be
doing this again if ya’ll hadn’t fallen in love with me
that first time, so to all of you I just want to say
‘THANK YOU’.
—Nikki
N
OTE ABOUT E
B
OOKS
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Beautiful Trouble Publishing.
C
AVEAT
This work of erotica contains adult
language and sexually explicit scenes,
which are smoking hot. This book is
intended only for adults, as it is defined
by the laws of the country in which the
purchase is made. Keep this book out of
the hands of under-aged readers.
There’s a Thin Line
She just needed him to do it
one…more…time. That was all it was going to
take. Eyes closed, slowly inhaling, she mentally
begged for him to do it just one more time. And
when he did, she was going to snap his hand in
half like a wishbone and then watch him
whimper and fall to his knees. Victory Graham
waited for what she knew was coming: for
Jason Malone’s little, creepy hand to rub across
her behind—and she wasn’t disappointed.
Dropping her tools, Vic spun and
snatched his hand before bending both sides of
his palm in opposite directions. She delighted
in the sickening crunch and the subsequent
shout of agony, but she didn’t let go. Instead
she moved on to his fingers, snapping them one
by one until she was down to his pinky. Already
on his knees, Malone tried to move but she just
squeezed harder. “Unh-unh.”
“What the hell is your problem? Lemme
go!” Malone yelled.
Ignoring the footfalls and the circle of
ranch hands who until five minutes ago had
been mending breaks in the corral fences, Vic
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12
simply enjoyed the view of her boss on his
knees. “For the last two years I’ve been ignoring
the looks and double talk. While I can take the
innuendos and the graphic, disgusting
language, I draw the line at you putting your
hands on me, Malone.”
Face red, eyes watering, he stared up at
her with pure rage. “I never touched you! What
the hell are you talking about?!” Her boss either
couldn’t stop shouting, or the pain was so great
that screaming was his only outlet from it.
Fury had a stronghold on her. Enough
was enough. She’d joined Malone Ranch after
graduating with a master’s degree in supply
chain management. Originally, the ranch was
run by Malone’s father, but the old man
decided to hand over the reins to his oldest son
four years ago. The problem with that was the
fact that his oldest son was a jackass with an
inferiority complex.
That probably wouldn’t have affected her
if she were less of a target for men with issues.
Standing six feet tall in her bare feet, she
looked most men dead in their eyes, that is, if
she wasn’t looking down at the top of their
heads. When she hit her first growth spurt,
she’d quickly learned that men would either
Sweet
V
ICTORY
13
tease her or stay the hell out of her way. Being
one of the men who had to look up at her,
Malone figured that picking on her was a good
way to keep her in her place. Moreover, being
the boss, he figured that she’d take it. That was
the kind of thing that happened when you were
as smart as a pet rock.
It had started with light teasing about her
being a “tall drink of water.” After that, it had
slowly moved on to comments about how
healthy her figure was. She’d ignored the barbs,
which just made Malone try harder. Somewhat
of a self-proclaimed charmer, he didn’t seem to
grasp that she wasn’t interested until she told
him outright that she’d rather date the creepy
character from the Leprechaun movie than
him. That probably wasn’t the best idea, but
the Napoleon complex-ridden jackass had used
up all of her patience. Now here they were,
with Malone in a very uncomfortable position,
and she was on her way to losing a job that she
needed.
Trying to let go of her rage wasn’t
working. He had touched her. The first time his
hand brushed her, she simply ignored it,
refusing to give him the reaction that he was
looking for. The second time she ignored it
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14
hoping that he’d stop, but after that third time,
the Southern fury that was such a big part of
her came through full throttle. Her head
snapped up as one of the ranch hands stepped
forward.
Archer Davis—a ranch hand—held his
hands out as if to placate her. He was a little
older and had been one of the first to show her
the ropes when she’d started. In a way, she
could even consider him a friend. “Now Vic, I
think you just need to settle down and let Mr.
Malone go.” His normally booming voice was
soft and hesitant.
In the midst of considering the request,
Malone spoke and robbed her of any
compassion she might’ve had for him. “I don’t
need any of you fighting my battles against
some giant bi—”
Before he could call her out of her name,
she broke that last finger. Dropping his hand,
she stepped back, still watching him. She
didn’t have to look around to know that the
crew all wore identical looks of astonishment.
Who wouldn’t, because it sure wasn’t every day
that you saw a man get handed his ass…by a
lady.
Sweet
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ICTORY
15
Staring down at Malone, she kept her
tone quiet and spoke. “Remember your pain
and consider what I’ll do to you if you ever put
your hands on me again.”
While Malone was sure to get back at her,
right now she didn’t care. She kept her gaze on
him as she walked a good distance backwards.
“You’re fired, Graham!” he shouted,
probably in an effort to save face.
Chuckling a little, she flipped him the
bird over her shoulder as she got far enough to
safely turn around. “I quit, you sexist SOB!”
The walk to her truck was the longest one
she’d ever made. How in the hell was she going
to pay her bills? Luckily, her truck was paid for,
but she still had bills. She also needed a work
environment where she wouldn’t be sexually
harassed.
She’d just swung open the driver’s door
on her Ford when she caught sight of someone
behind her. Not even hesitating, she reacted.
Spinning around, she had the man pinned
against her truck before she had time to process
who it was. Archer stared back at her,
completely calm. Releasing him, she asked,
“Any reason you’re prowling around?”
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He took a breath. “Sorry, Vic, I just
wanted to talk to you.”
“Next time just call my name. You were
two seconds away from turning three different
shades of the rainbow.”
Understanding dawned over his features.
“We underestimated you the whole time, huh?”
Shrugging her shoulders, she answered,
“I’m not very surprised. I’m a woman and I’m
quiet. That usually spells ‘target.’”
Archer shook his head. “No, Vic, I mean
we really underestimated you. Unless you were
dealing with your nemesis Rod, I’ve never seen
you anything but quiet and gentle, but this was
different. You wanted to kill him. I saw it in
your eyes.”
She stiffened, suddenly uncomfortable
with Archer’s assessment. “He touched me. I
can take the barbs, but touching me is
different.”
“Are you really quitting?”
Nodding, she answered, “It’s either that
or really kill him next time, Archer. It won’t
stop with a few broken bones.”
It was his turn to nod. “I understand that,
but where are you gonna go?”
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ICTORY
17
“I’m going someplace where I don’t have
to break bones to get some respect,” she said as
she climbed into her truck.
I’m also going someplace where I don’t
have to have eyes in the back of my head.
While she didn’t like to fight, her Marine daddy
had made damn sure she could. If she told her
Daddy what had happened, he’d be proud—and
then he’d be on his way to jail for homicide.
***
Rod sighed long and hard. Today was
going to be a rough day. Something had felt off
from the moment he’d rolled out of bed. If he
were honest with himself, he’d admit that
rolling over to find her gone again was what
had him bugging.
Quietly freaking out as he walked the
property of Halima Ranch, because he realized
he’d have no peace until he had her with him
every single day and night, he almost didn’t
hear Bianca Halima when she called him.
Turning, he took a moment to appreciate the
beauty of the woman headed his way with a
baby girl on her hip. Bianca was one of those
rare finds, and was beautiful inside and out.
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18
She had been one of the few women with whom
he’d formed a genuine friendship. Dating her
had been on his mind long ago, but he knew he
wasn’t right for her. Evan Halima knew it, too,
and he wasn’t about to let him anywhere near
Bianca. After a long time of dancing around it,
Evan and Bianca had finally admitted that they
were meant for each other.
Taking credit for the love match between
the pair, he often touted his skills as the love
doctor since it was his date proposal that finally
made Evan take action. She usually ignored
him and threatened to stop making him red
velvet cake, which usually shut him up. It did,
however, take a while for Evan to look at him
without scowling. His boss had held the notion
that Rod was still trying his hand at Bianca.
Once the other man had finally seen that
Rod wasn’t trying to move in on his woman,
he’d stopped threatening to kill him. Now if he
could just get Dane Halima to stop sizing him
up for a shallow grave, that’d be good. While
he’d had a history with Dane’s wife, Brianna, it
was in the past. The two had gone their
separate ways with no hard feelings since they
both knew it was a bad idea in the first place.
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ICTORY
19
Other than Dane, they were all good
friends. He enjoyed his friendship with the
family, even though one of Bianca’s kids made
him nervous. Of course, Bianca would have
that kid in tow right now. Bailey had golden
eyes just like her mama’s, and as always, she
stared at him intently. Shifting back and forth,
he felt the same way a gazelle probably does
right before a lion takes its ass halfway off.
Bianca sighed. “I wish you two wouldn’t
do that.”
“Do what?” he asked, still staring at
Bailey.
“The staring thing. It only makes her
stare harder.”
“Well, if you didn’t bring your creepy
wide-eyed kid around me then we wouldn’t
have this problem. Her freaky stare makes
people grab for their throats.”
Bianca smirked. “Calling her creepy
doesn’t make her want to like you, Rod. She
may not be able to understand words fully yet
but she can sense the tone behind them.”
Raising a brow, he simply said, “I’m sure
she can. I bet she can also sense when the
apocalypse is coming, considering the fact that
she’ll have a hand in bringing it about.”
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“You’re just upset because she’s one of
the few females that you can’t charm,” she
replied, chuckling.
“Oh, I can charm her, but then she won’t
like anybody else.”
A dimpled smile peaked from Bianca’s
pretty face as she shook her head. “You just
need one woman to bring all that cocky down a
notch.”
Grinning, he retorted, “Sorry sweetheart,
I have too many lovely women trying to bring it
up…a notch. Now what is it that you, oh
wonderful baking Goddess, need from me?”
“Evan’s busy with some paperwork and
wanted me to ask if you have any
recommendations of who should take the
position of another foreman to manage crops
and land irrigation along with stabling.
Between the workload and our wonderful little
merchants of evil, he’s ready to pull his hair
out. I love his hair so I can’t allow that to
happen.”
Honestly, he’d been thinking about
recommending that same thing. With a
growing family, Evan couldn’t devote all of his
time to the ranch like he used to. While Rod
was great at his job, he needed help.
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ICTORY
21
“I really can’t think of anybody from this
crew with the time or patience for that. Maybe
he should start looking outside of the ranch
hands. We need the help.”
“I told his giant, corn-fed ass the same
thing, but he won’t listen to me. He doesn’t
want to hire somebody outside his normal
crew. It’s getting under my skin since he’s
starting to get too tired to tend to my needs.
And we all know I get real cranky when he’s not
tending to my needs. Nobody wants me cranky,
Rod.”
This was true, since a cranky Bianca
meant an “I’m not baking a damn thing”
Bianca. That could not happen. Cake was one of
his best friends. “I’ll start looking, but in the
meantime, if you know anybody with the
experience and in need of work, you can point
them in my direction.”
She gave a sharp salute. “Will do,
Captain!”
“You do enjoy your bouts of sarcasm.”
Her face was solemn when she said, “It
makes me the loved and adored woman that I
am. I simply can’t leave it alone.”
Between Lust and Hate
Vic needed sweets, lots and lots of sweets.
That would do a world of good for making her
feel better. Of course, it wouldn’t do any good
for her hips and thighs, but currently she
couldn’t give two damns. Right now a sugar-
induced spastic attack on her nervous system
sounded like a small piece of heaven, and she
knew just the place to overdose. Hitting the
locks on her truck, she made her way inside of
Sweet Temptations. The smell of freshly baked
pastries made then tension in her shoulders
melt.
Smiling as she walked in, she was startled
by a war cry that rent the air. A second later a
small body raced from behind the display cases
and slammed into her legs. Grinning, she
looked down into Elijah Halima’s adorable face.
“Vic! Vic! Vic!” Elijah chanted. It seemed
like he was always chanting something, but
what was strange was his lack of pants. She
scooped him up and headed toward Elijah’s
mother.
Bianca was busy ringing up a customer
when Vic reached her. “Your child doesn’t have
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ICTORY
23
on any pants,” she announced to anybody who
would listen.
Rolling her eyes toward the ceiling,
Bianca retorted, “He won’t keep them on. I put
them on and he takes them off again. I don’t
know whether I should be concerned that he’s
showing signs of being a nudist or if he’s just
rebellious.”
“I would go with rebellious, since he
hasn’t tried to take off his pull-ups.”
When Bianca just stared at her, she burst
into laughter. “He didn’t!”
“Oh yes, he did. At least until he figured
out that going around half naked just makes it
easier for Mommy to spank his little caramel-
shaded ass.”
Still chuckling, she hugged Elijah to her.
“Watch it unless you want him running around
naked and cursing.”
Biting her lip, Bianca said, “Then that
would just remind me of the way his daddy was
acting the other night when I decided I wanted
to play.”
“Gah! That’s disgusting and just way too
much info!”
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Grinning now, she responded, “You
sound like Bri. Why are you here correcting my
etiquette instead of at work?”
“I quit this morning,” Vic answered,
kissing Elijah’s dimpled cheeks.
Bianca’s head snapped up. “Did you quit
or finally kill Malone? Are you here to say your
final good-bye?”
“Ha ha. No, I didn’t kill Malone, although
I came mighty close to it after he wouldn’t keep
those creepy little hands off my precious,
delicate body.”
Snorting, her friend replied, “Delicate
could apply to you if you hadn’t managed to put
a man twice your size in traction for a month.”
Growling, she said, “You people just
won’t let that go! He scraped my truck! You
also fail to mention that he refused to pay for
the damages!”
“So you thought that slamming his head—
repeatedly—into his driver’s-side door was a
productive idea?”
“It made me feel better after he called me
every name but the one my mama gave me.”
Bianca chuckled. “I swear between you
and Brianna, I need to keep bail money
around.”
Sweet
V
ICTORY
25
“I still say that Dane didn’t have to take
me in.”
“That idiot cried like a baby with all that
moaning and saying, ‘Oh my face!’”
“Yeah, he was a bit of a whiner, wasn’t
he?”
“So what are you gonna do now?” Bianca
asked.
“I have no idea, but since I didn’t want to
have to flee to Rio de Janeiro for killing him, it
was for the best.”
Bianca stared at her for a moment. “It’s
nice to know you have your escape plan already
mapped out.”
She shrugged. “Plans are good.”
“I have an idea that I wanna run by you.”
“What, you have a contact in Rio who has
a safe house?”
“No, you nutcase. Evan is looking for a
new foreman and you have all the credentials,
so how about applying?”
“That sounds absolutely great, but I have
one problem…”
“And that would be?”
“My arch-nemesis also works there.”
“You and Rod have been fighting for
years. At some point it’s going to have to end.”
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26
“It will as soon as he takes back what he
said that day.”
“You mean when he was eight years old
and said boys were better than girls?”
“Precisely.” Well, she had to come up
with a partly legitimate excuse, even if it was
insane.
Bianca sighed one of her long “you’re
ruining my day” sighs. “Vic, Evan is coming to
bed later and later every night because of the
workload he has.”
“Uh-huh.”
“That means he’s tired while I’m alert.”
“Uh-huh.”
“This results in his immediately falling
asleep and my staying awake and in a…mood.”
“Okay, that’s just nasty.”
“And every time I have to go to sleep
without having my needs taken care of…well, I
get cranky, Vic, and we all know what happens
when I get cranky.”
Her eyes widened as she realized what
Bianca meant. Cranky Bianca was a no-baking
Bianca, which meant Vic’s unlimited supply of
all things sweet stopped. That could not
happen. “So do I have to come up to the ranch
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ICTORY
27
to apply or just call Evan? Either one works for
me.”
Bianca’s smile was full and bright. “I
thought you’d see it my way.”
***
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rod said,
sending a pleading gaze toward his boss,
silently praying that what Evan had just said
was some cruel, sick joke.
Evan shook his dark head, a smile in
place as he retorted, “No joke, Rod. Vic’s our
new foreman.”
Rod’s shoulders slumped as he stared at
the glaring woman before him. The Amazon—
as he liked to secretly call her—stood there,
arms folded across her ample chest, pretty face
set into a scowl that could scare a grizzly. His
life was officially ruined. The thought of having
to look at her every day… “But she’s…she’s Vic!”
Grinning, Evan just nodded. “Yes she is,
and now she’s Foreman Vic.”
“So get used to it, Cro-Magnon,” the
Amazon added.
He hated when she called him that, but
what could he do about it? Years of resentment
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28
for one comment still hadn’t faded. It was a
good possibility that Victory wouldn’t hate him
if he retracted his statement that boys were
better than girls, but he just couldn’t do it. Rod
knew women could do anything a man could
and that in some cases women could do those
things even better, but he wasn’t about to admit
that to Vic.
Sure, he could apologize to Vic and clear
up the animosity, but there was no fun in that.
He so loved the way her wide brown eyes
narrowed on him when he said something to
piss her off. Good lord, the woman was
gorgeous.
Yes, it was indeed much fun to get Victory
Graham good and worked up. It had always and
would always be the only way she’d
acknowledge him outside of bed. Amazingly, he
could be smooth and charming with everyone
else but her. Vic had a bullshit meter and called
him on his every single time. With her he found
himself blurting things out—it was something
he’d been doing for years. He’d get her fired up
just to watch her go. How twisted was that?
Rod had plenty of women who’d fall all
over themselves for a shot, but none of them
made his heart stop with a smile or made his
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V
ICTORY
29
mouth feel like it was full of cotton with a
glance. Day or night, no matter how hard he
tried, he couldn’t get her out of his head. He
couldn’t stop wanting her. So of course he had
to have a smartass remark for her now.
“Guess that makes me king of the bedrock
then, baby,” he said as he winked at her. He
just adored the way her jaw clenched at that.
“’King of man whores’ is a more fitting
title.”
“You say whore and I say connoisseur.”
“You say connoisseur and I say you’re
gonna be in need of a penicillin shot real soon,”
she smirked.
Bursting into laughter, Evan clapped one
large hand on Rod’s shoulder. “I can see that
you two will be just fine, so I’m going to laze
off, which really won’t be lazing since I have to
make sure my son doesn’t destroy the whole
ranch and my daughter doesn’t destroy the
whole world.”
“I thought we were just worried about
Bailey taking it over,” Victory responded,
smiling.
“That was before. Now she just has a look
on her face that says we—her minions—are no
longer entertaining, therefore we should all
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30
perish,” Evan said before heading back toward
the ranch house.
“So I guess I’m stuck with you being
here,” Rod said.
“You don’t have to be,” she replied.
“Really?”
“Yes, you can always quit. Then I’d
actually want to come to work every day.”
He just snorted. “Not on your life, baby.”
Vic’s growl cut across the space between
them. “I’m not your baby. I told you to stop
calling me that. Remember my rules for the
workplace?”
Grinning, he asked, “Scared you’ll start
following me around and begging to hear my
deliciously deep baritone say it again?”
He watched her take in a deep breath and
shake her head. “No, I’m scared that I’ll
eventually give you a spinal injury just for
annoying the hell out of me.”
“There’s one way that I would gladly let
you injure my spinal cord, Vic, and it involves
me on my back.”
She nodded and then said, “Done.”
Suddenly, Rod found himself looking at the
world from a whole new perspective. On his
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ICTORY
31
back with Vic standing over him, he wheezed
out a question. “What…”
“Your spine injured?”
“No.”
Victory snapped her fingers, mouth
twisting before she said, “I didn’t hit hard
enough—maybe next time.”
Rod only had enough energy to watch her
strut—and it was a strut—across the property
and toward the stables. Was it strange that
instead of being pissed she’d laid him out, all he
could think about was how absolutely amazing
her ass looked in the jeans she was wearing?
Damn, he wanted her so bad.
***
He made her crazy! That fact wasn’t very
different from any other day of their lives
they’d been sniping at one another. Rod was
infuriating. The man managed to tap dance on
the last fragment of her last nerve every single
time they were in the same space. Vic honestly
couldn’t understand what women saw in him.
Sure, he was good looking if you went for the
six-foot-three,
broad-shouldered,
thickly
muscled type. Yeah, his sun-kissed blond hair
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32
was silky looking, his face a combination of
hard angles, along with baby blue eyes and a
devastating smile. Rod’s features should’ve
made him look like a pretty boy, but he looked
more like an Olympian. When he turned those
thickly lashed eyes in a woman’s direction…
She shuddered and then froze. What in all hot
hell was she doing?
The last thing she should have ever been
thinking about was Rod’s looks. He pissed her
off, made her temper flare, and she couldn’t
stand his whorish ass. He…he made her horny
as all get out. Letting out a groan, she started
back toward the horse stables. Being attracted
to Rod was a truly frightening thing that just
resulted in her despising him even more. The
more she wanted him, the more she hated him
for making her want him. Roderick Hines was
not her type, and her hard nipples so did not
have a say in the matter.
That Can Always Be Crossed
“That was a really nice act you put on in
front of Evan today, baby.” The way he crooned
in her ear combined with the way his large
hands ran down her sides in a smooth sweep
sent a shudder up her spine.
“What act? And cut that shit out,” she
hissed, kicking backwards as she peered around
the trailer they were hidden behind.
“You know exactly what act I’m talking
about,” he answered, smoothly sidestepping the
blow. Rod’s lips found her earlobe. “Have
dinner with me tonight?”
“Um…no. I’ve got plans.” It totally
counted as plans if one had a marathon of
nothing but Jason Statham movies lined up.
“With whom?” he growled, spinning her
around just to pin her to the side of the trailer.
“His name is Nunya Dammy, now move.”
“Have dinner with me tonight, Vic.”
“What, am I speaking Gaelic? I said no.”
“Yeah…see, I’m ignoring that because it’s
not the answer I want.”
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“And you won’t be hearing what you
want, so,” she made a shooing motion with her
hands, “Get.”
“Give me one good reason why.”
“Reason number one, I told you that
whatever it was we were doing had to end as
soon as I started here, and reason number two,
you wanna share way more than a meal. I know
you.”
Chuckling, he leaned in and nipped right
under her chin. “You know exactly what we’ve
been doing, or do I need to remind you, baby?”
“Kiss my ass.”
“I’ve been trying to arrange that for
months now, baby.”
“What is wrong with you?”
He got closer, and Vic’s breath left her.
There was a steel pipe between her legs all of a
sudden, and it took a supreme amount of
willpower to stay very still. “You’re what’s
wrong with me. I’ve been watching you for
weeks.” Leaning in, he whispered in her ear.
“Watching that cute ass walk past me has been
driving me nuts. Do you know how hard I get
every single time I see you mount up,
imagining you riding me the same way you do
those stallions?”
Sweet
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How was she supposed to answer to that?
Vic really should’ve been more concerned about
being caught getting groped, but damned if his
hands didn’t feel good and damned if he hadn’t
found her spot. “C-cut that out.”
Ignoring her, Rod sucked a little harder
right beneath her earlobe —which inevitably
sent a homing beacon right to her clit and
swelled it. Vic moaned. “Rod, I’m serious.
You’ve gotta stop. We’re at work and…and…”
Her words trailed off as his hands gripped
the bottom of her thighs and he wrapped her
legs around his waist, pushing that deliciously
hard denim-clad cock right into her.
“Oh…God…”
“I want you so bad, baby. You think I
fight with you for fun?” He shook his head and
ground into her. “No, it makes you pay
attention to me, and when I have your
attention…” As his large hands reached up to
cup her breasts, his thumbs rubbing her
nipples, Vic let out a whimper. “Fun things like
this happen.”
Then his kissed her. No, that was the
wrong word. He took her mouth and stole the
moan right out of her throat.
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His tongue stroked hers as his hips
continued their slow grind. For just this
moment she forgot how much they fought,
forgot that somebody could find them at any
time because this man took her that much out
of her mind. That was why she hated him so
much sometimes. He could make her forget
everything, and it was as disconcerting as it was
fun. It felt too good--he felt too good.
Breaking the kiss, Rod gripped the
bottom of her tank and pushed it up, along with
her sports bra. He wasted no time when her
nipples were free and latched onto one and
then the other. Vic’s breaths poured out in
harsh pants as she felt an orgasm clawing its
way up her spine. Rod let go of her nipple long
enough to kiss her and catch her groans in his
mouth.
Inhaling deeply, he pulled her shirt and
bra back down, unlocked her legs from his
waist, and set her gently back on her feet. Then
all he said was, “Dinner’s at my place. Nine
o’clock sharp.” Giving her one last kiss, he
ambled off, leaving her wide eyed and feeling
some kind of way that she just couldn’t find the
words to describe.
Sweet
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***
Rod sighed as he trudged out of his
shower, rubbing his wrist and wondering if
maybe he’d gotten just a little too “happy” while
getting cleaned up. A man could only take so
much, and that wasn’t the first time he’d had to
have man-to-hand combat because of Vic. He
almost chuckled. How one woman could
inspire that much of a reaction from him was
utterly amazing. Checking his digital clock, he
realized that he only had about twenty minutes
to finish getting ready. Luckily he’d ordered
dinner already, Vic’s favorite: Italian. There
was always the slim chance that she wouldn’t
show up, but after their encounter today, he
was deeply hoping she’d give in.
Her constant fight was starting to wear on
him. Though he had no clue what it was they
were doing, he was enjoying every minute of it.
One unplanned night together had turned into
days that turned into months and so on. Now
here he was trying to figure out how to keep her
in other parts of his life besides his bed. He
could get why Vic didn’t take him seriously,
being that his reputation wasn’t the best, but
she happened to be the only woman who really
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did it for him. If he could just get her to see
that, everything would fall into place.
When the doorbell sounded just as he was
pulling up a pair of jeans over his boxers, Rod’s
heart jumped and he headed down the stairs.
He’d barely swung the door open when she was
pushing past him and pacing through his living
room.
“I came to say one thing and one thing
only.” Vic sounded so sure that he almost
laughed. Since whatever crazy argument she
had now was sure to be a good one, he sat down
and made himself comfortable.
“We’re not doing this anymore, Rod.”
“Unh-huh.”
“Whatever this is, it’s over, definitely over
this time.”
“Unh-huh.”
“I simply came to tell you that what
happened at work today was totally
unprofessional and can’t happen ever again,
under any circumstances. From now on we’re
co-workers. Not lovers or fuck buddies but co-
workers.”
“Okay.”
She drew in a breath and squared her
shoulders. “I’m leaving now.”
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39
He swept a hand to the door. “All right,
baby.”
Giving him a curt nod, she marched to
the door. “I’m really going now.”
“I heard you the first time.”
“And I won’t be back,” Vic added.
He hid a smile. “I gathered that, baby. I
enjoyed us while we lasted.”
Rod stared at her back as she took in deep
breaths, her hand reaching for that knob. Not
waiting too long, he walked over to her,
standing just a few inches away. “Turn around,
Vic.”
Her forehead hit the door. “No.”
“You and I both know that you didn’t
come over here to tell me any of that utter
bullshit you just spewed.”
“Yeah…I did,” she mumbled.
He placed a hand on either side of her.
“No, you didn’t, so turn around.”
Vic simply shook her head.
Rod tried a different tactic. “Then open
the door and leave, since you seem to wanna do
that so bad.”
Her hand reached for the knob again but
balled up and landed at her side. “I hate you,”
she whispered.
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Gently turning her around, he held the
sides of her face to make her look at him. “You
wish you did. Every day you look at me and you
get angry with yourself for wanting me. Stop
doing it to the both of us, Vic, because that ache
isn’t going anywhere.”
“I just don’t understand how or
why…some days I feel like I’m coming outta my
skin.”
Rod kissed her forehead, the tip of her
nose, and then her lips. “You need me as much
as I need you. You fight me to distract
yourself.” His voice was low as his hands made
a slow journey down her sides. “I picked up on
that too long ago to not see the signs now.”
“I shouldn’t be…”
Whatever she’d been about to say next, he
stole with his mouth and enjoyed the way her
hands ran through his hair. The kiss was
supposed to be a simple way to stop her rant, to
truncate her doubts, but it quickly spiraled into
something that had him pulling her shirt up
over her head with her back against a wall and
him moving between her thighs.
The gentle push of her tongue against his
made him groan as his hands ran up her back.
Breaking the kiss, he tugged her head back and
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41
ran his lips down her throat and to her still
bound breasts. Freshly showered, he was
guessing, she smelled like brown sugar and
vanilla. It was driving him insane, but the way
her nails bit slightly into his shoulders when he
got rid of her bra and latched onto a nipple
made him move against her just a little bit
harder.
“Oh…Rod…please…”
He planned to—as much as he could and
all night long. “I will, baby. I promise.”
Stepping back, he unlocked her legs from
his waist and stripped her shorts down her long
legs before dropping to his knees. He
repositioned one of her legs over his shoulder
and buried his tongue in the one place he’d
been fantasizing about for years, and he
delighted in the wail that left her in response.
This time his name got mixed up with the
Almighty’s, but then returned to his again. A
smile flitted across his lips. Apparently Vic also
had the small habit of letting out some serious
four-letter words while coming.
When she finally stopped grinding down
on his tongue, he stood again. “Be right back.”
Practically sprinting from the living room, he
tore through the house looking for a box of
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condoms. He let out a sigh of relief when he
found some in a downstairs bathroom. Making
his way back to the living room, he slid to a halt
at the sight of Vic propped against the wall.
Damn, she was beautiful; curved in all the right
places, covered in smooth cinnamon-brown
skin.
Her eyes lifted and caught his. Still
watching her, hr unzipped his jeans and
gripped his cock as soon as it bounced free
from the confines of his boxers. Vic’s gaze
immediately shifted from his face to his hand,
and he did his best not to come when she licked
those full lips. “Later,” he rasped. Ripping open
a condom, he managed to get it on and had her
right back where he wanted her, up against the
wall with her legs around his waist.
“No going back, Vic. It’ll be hard as hell,
but if you want me to stop you have to say so.”
Staring him directly in the eyes, Victory
just lowered her hips until she had the head of
his cock inside her. Rod caught himself before
he whimpered like a puppy. “I’m not changing
my mind at any point, so stop talking and get to
the part where you keep making me feel good,”
she whispered near his ear right before nipping
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43
his neck, and the next thing he knew his hips
were moving on their own accord.
Her thighs gripped his waist tighter, her
nails dug into his shoulders harder, her pants
came out faster, and her moans grew louder.
Moving with him at a frantic pace, she begged
him not to stop. He couldn’t stop.
This wasn’t supposed to be how it went.
He was going to romance her and ease her into
things with him, but dammit, she felt too good.
She screamed his name just right, and her body
gripped his cock so hard when she finally came
that she pulled him right over the edge with
her.
***
Vic took a deep breath and tried to wiggle
from beneath the arm that was holding her.
Hours and hours after using almost every
surface in Rod’s house, they’d finally settled in
his bedroom, in his bed. She frowned. His bed,
the same bed that he’d slept in with others. The
same one Brianna may have been in. Yeah,
they’d discussed his brief stint with her best
friend, analyzed it even, but what about the
rest? What about every other woman who knew
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what this felt like? Suddenly feeling as if she
were suffocating, Vic tried to sit up, but that
arm just held her tighter.
“Rod,” she said softly. He slept on. “Rod,
let me go!” Vic slapped at his shoulder.
He jerked awake. “What?” Looking down
at her, he frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to go.” Finally able to get from
under him, she got up and starting looking for
her clothes.
“Vic, what’re you doing?”
“I’m trying to find my clothes. They must
still be downstairs,” she muttered, heading for
the door. But she suddenly found herself flat on
her back with Rod over her, and he was
frowning.
“You wanna tell me why you’re fleeing
like you just found a collection of human ears
and a shrine in my closet?”
It was her turn to frown. “You don’t really
have any of that, do you?”
“Vic!”
“It was a plausible question!”
He stared at her.
Sighing, she relaxed on the bed. “I don’t
get how we got here or why. I don’t get what
you see in me half the time.”
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45
Scowling now, he practically growled,
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You had Brianna. Did it ever occur to
that if you couldn’t appreciate her, you can’t
appreciate me either?”
“We’ve talked about this.”
“Yes, we have, but I’m still not too clear
on why you and Bri stopped seeing each other
in the first place.”
“We weren’t good for each other, that’s
why.”
Shaking her head, she focused on a point
over his shoulder. “That doesn’t tell me
anything.”
“I don’t know how to make it any plainer,
Vic. You pull this shit all the time.” He let her
go and rolled away.
She sat up. “Pull what shit?”
“Every fucking time we get remotely
close, you bring up something completely
irrelevant to us. It never fails, whether it’s
work, past relationships or other doubts.
Maybe if you opened your goddamn eyes for
once, just once you’d notice the flaming hoops I
jump through just to get you to notice me. Our
sleeping together doesn’t mean shit to me
anymore! And do you know why?” Those baby
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blue eyes that were normally filled with a
constant laughter stared at her with nothing
but pure fire now.
Vic just shook her head.
“I’ve been relegated to your plaything.
You pull me outta the nightstand when you get
the urge and then put me right back. No dates,
no dinner, no mushy stuff, remember? When
you need a good fight or a great fuck, then you
call me—other than that, I’m your dirty little
secret. I can be the first to admit that I don’t
have the best reputation. Yes, I’ve dated and
slept with more than my fair share of women,
but I always, always made sure they were in the
same mindset as me. Stop throwing Bri in my
face because
we got
together
under
circumstances where we’d tricked ourselves
into believing it could be something more. If
you wanna leave, then man up and say you’re
too goddamn scared to give me a chance. Don’t
throw bullshit excuses in my face when I’ve
given you no reason to doubt me.” And with
that said, he left the room. He didn’t slam the
door or tell her she had to leave; he simply
walked out, and for the first time since she
could remember, Vic truly regretted opening
her mouth.
And When It Happens
He kept his eyes on the ceiling, even as he
heard those soft footfalls coming down the
stairs, especially when he felt her slowly climb
onto his sectional. Never once moving, he took
in a small breath when she straddled him. Rod
didn’t look at her until her face hovered a few
inches above his. “I was being a bitch.” That
was just like Vic. She’d state something cut and
dry. When Rod started to open his mouth, she
shook her head.
“You were right. I haven’t been giving you
a chance from day one, and that’s not fair.”
Shrugging, she added, “Normally I don’t give a
shit about fair and then somebody ends up
needing surgery, but this time I care.” Her
mouth twisted sardonically as she stared down
at him. “This freaks me out, Rod. You freak me
out. You gotta give me time to adjust because
I’m used to wanting to maim you on a day-to-
day basis. I’m not trying to box you in as my
own personal toy. I just really don’t know
where this is going, and like it or not, I can’t
just forget that you were with Bri…”
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His kiss stopped her words. Pulling back,
Rod stared up at her. “You think too much, way
too much. Firstly, you make me feel things that
I can’t even dig too deep into because it scares
me. Secondly, I think I should finally stop
evading it and tell you what happened with
Brianna so I can put all those doubts to rest.”
Vic shook her head. “You don’t have to do
that.”
“Yes, I do.” He sat up a little but kept her
in his lap. “We slept together, twice.”
Her brows went up. “That’s it?”
He nodded. “Yep, that’s it.”
“There’s no severe story of getting drunk
and doing it or leaning on each other through a
time of need?”
Chuckling a little, he answered, “No, we
were lonely and horny. The end. When I tell the
story it makes me sound like a detached
asshole, so I like to avoid it whenever I can.”
“So there was nothing special there. No
deep longing?”
Vic looked so thoroughly confused that it
just made him laugh a little harder. “No, baby,
there wasn’t. I wouldn't call Bri a mistake, ever,
but it was more out of curiosity, just to see if
there was a spark there—which there wasn’t.”
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49
Nodding, she looked at him and asked,
“But there’s a spark here?”
Sobering, he replied, “Yes, there’s
something here. There’s always been something
here, and I’m glad I finally got the balls to make
both of us see it.”
Victory’s brown eyes twinkled with pure
amusement. “I never said I saw anything.”
His brows winged when she giggled. “Oh,
really?”
She slowly slid off his lap and nodded.
Rod stalked her as she slowly backed
away. “I’m giving you a chance to take that
back.”
Shrugging, she started for the stairs. “And
I’m bypassing it.” He lunged for her, chuckling
when she swung around and ran up the stairs
with a squeal.
***
How could one man be so sweet, yet so
stupid at the same time? Rod claiming her was
absolutely adorable, even if it was temporary,
but the way he was going about it was doing the
Mamba on her last nerve. Vic was working, or
at least she was trying, because every time she
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asked for help from anybody but Rod, he
popped up like a freaking whack-a-mole on
crack to take on the task. What the hell was
wrong with him? Getting fed up with his ‘Mr.
Helpful’ act, she grabbed his hand and pulled
him out of the stables where she’d been trying
to fix a broken stall door.
“Where’re we going?” Rod asked as she
pulled him along. Not paying him any mind,
she just kept on walking until she reached the
barn, which was thankfully empty. Vic shut the
doors behind them and then faced Rod.
“What in all hell is your problem?” The
teeth grinding would have to stop, or a trip to
the dentist was in order.
He frowned, looking mildly confused.
“What’d I do?”
“You, oh sovereign ruler of stupid, are
making it obvious t0 everybody that you wore
my ankles as earrings last night.”
He bit his lip, and she was sure it was to
keep from laughing at her. “And how exactly
am I doing that?”
“Each and every time I ask for any help
from somebody besides you, you appear like
cellulite after an all junk food diet.” Folding her
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51
arms across her chest, she leaned against the
closed door. “What gives, Rod?”
Widening those baby blue eyes, he
shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m
just trying to be helpful.”
Shaking her head, she replied, “Rod, I
know you. There’s so much more to it than that.
So your next answer better be the truth, or you
will be surrounded by a world of hurt.”
He looked up at the ceiling and then
down at the floor before muttering, “They’re
always staring at you and grinning and acting
so…nice. It’s pissing me off.”
“You’re standing there and telling me that
because the crew likes me and isn’t rude…it’s
pissing you off?”
“That about sums it up.”
“You’re just so…so…I don’t even have
words to describe that besides ones that would
make you cry.”
“You are entitled to your opinion, baby,
but those idiots will use any method they can
just to get next to you.”
She rolled her eyes. “What? You think I’m
suddenly gonna hop on one of the crew and
ride them right in front of everybody? That was
a rhetorical question, phrased oddly but
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rhetorical none the less, so if you enjoy being
able to speak, you will not answer that.”
“I just don’t like the way they look at you,
Vic.” For a second her ever cocky foreman
looked…well…not so cocky. Those baby blue
eyes were hesitant and unsure.
“And how do they look at me?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly
seeming uneasy. “All moon-eyed and shit. I
know that look since I’ve been giving it to you.”
Well that just took the wind out of her
sails. She sighed. “They may be looking at me,
but the only one I'm paying attention to is you.”
Which was true. Since the night before,
Vic was feeling way more attuned to Rod than
she’d ever been, but she’d drawn a line. They
could be a couple everywhere but work. She
wouldn’t have the hands and staff picking on
her. Some shit she just couldn’t take.
Walking closer to Rod, she kissed him.
“You’ve gotta cut it out before someone catches
on. I don’t wanna be the topic of discussion
here.” Especially not since she’d been that at
Malone’s.
He put one large hand on the nape of her
neck and bought her a little closer. “I’m sorry,
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53
but watching them watch you is driving me
crazy.”
Kissing him again, she rubbed his
shoulders. “I get that, but I’m not paying them
any mind. Okay?”
Nodding, Rod pressed against her and
kissed her back, once and then twice. “Okay.”
She had no idea who made the next move,
but when Vic came to her jeans were around
her ankles and Rod had her bent over at the
waist, just a few seconds from taking her.
“Wait, wait, wait...Rod, we have to stop. We just
talked about this.” She panted, standing
upright again.
He made a sound somewhere between a
groan and a whine before he slid a hand down
her waist and between her thighs. “I’ll be quiet.
I swear.”
Ignoring the lightning that shot up her
spine when he circled a finger around her clit,
she pushed away and fixed her clothes. “We
can’t, not here and not now.”
For a second she thought he’d ignore her,
but he just looked down at his cock. “See the
way she leaves us? I thought she’d changed, but
she's still mean as ever.”
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Snorting, she shook her head and zipped
up her jeans. “I’m not even going there with
you. Fix yourself and c'mon.” He did as she said
while grumbling like a five-year-old.
They shared a few heated glances while
getting redressed, both wanting nothing more
than to go right back to the haystack, but they
knew they had work to do. Rod held her hand
as they walked out of the barn and down the
small hill, but they both froze when they saw
Bianca heading up to where they were. Turning
to each other at the same time, they said one
thing: “Run!” And they would have done just
that if Bianca hadn’t said, “I’ve been looking for
you guys everywhere!”
Cringing, the pair turned back around
and forced smiles as Bianca got closer. Vic’s
friend stopped and tilted her head to the side,
studying them both. “Vic, you have hay in your
hair, and Rod…your shirt is on backwards.”
Confusion cleared and gave way to a sneaky
smile. “Any reason for that, you guys?”
“Nope, there’s no reason at all,” Vic said
quickly, maybe a little too quickly.
Bianca’s grin widened as she backed away
from them. “Ooooooooh, I’m telling!” Then she
turned and ran down the hill.
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55
“Dammit, Bianca, get your ass back
here!” Vic yelled, dropping Rod’s hand and
heading after the loudmouth.
“Vic and Rod sitting in a tree, F-U-C-”
“Don’t you dare complete that!”
Bianca’s forward momentum picked up,
and she lost her around the horse stables
because she had doubled back, but she heard
Bianca’s voice and followed it, finding her near
the bull corral with Evan and the crew
surrounding her. Vic caught Bianca in mid-
sentence. “And they were in the barn…”
Running, she grabbed ye ole loud mouth
and slapped a hand over said mouth. “Shut it,
B.” Vic had to pull her hand away when Bianca
licked the palm.
“I’ll rinse my mouth with bleach later
since I don’t know what that hand has been
doing, but for now I shall announce what I
witnessed.”
“You’ll regret it.”
“I doubt that. As a matter of fact, I believe
that nothing other than joy shall come of this.”
“Bianca.”
“Victory.”
“Don’t.”
“Oh, but I must.”
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Evan stepped out from the group of silent
bystanders. “Exactly what’s going on?”
“Well baby, I went to go find Rod and Vic
and they were…” Evan and the whole crew
winced at the high pitched squeal that had left
Bianca’s mouth, cutting off her tattle tale.
Sadly for Bianca, Vic had a really good
grip on her underwear and had pulled it up her
ass as far as it could go, making Bianca stand
on the tips of her toes. “I told you to shut it,”
Vic said in a quiet tone.
***
Damn, she could be vicious. Rod had
followed the pair after they’d taken off and
ended up with most of the crew and Evan,
watching the way Vic pulled Bianca’s panties so
far up that she practically had B suspended in
mid-air, like a harness. As Hal, and older crew
members, wandered over to him, a slap fight
commenced
between
Vic
and
Bianca.
Interestingly enough, Vic never let go of her
underwear.
“She’s giving her the most atomic of
wedgies,” Hal stated.
“Yep.”
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57
Chuckling, Hal nudged him and said, “I
wouldn’t mind giving Vic one if it could get my
hands near that ass.”
Rod smirked and placed an arm over the
other man’s shoulders, gripping the back of his
neck. “Hal, I’m sure that you see that perfect,
perfect ass right?” he questioned, turning Hal’s
head in the direction of the two women.
“Yes,” the crew member answered.
“Well that perfect, perfect ass is my ass,
and if I catch your hands anywhere near my
ass…well, you won’t have an ass to speak of.
Got that?” He kept his tone low, while staring
Hal straight in the face. The crew member must
have seen something disturbing, because he
paled a little and nodded, stepping back. “Glad
we understand each other,” Rod said, giving the
most charming of smiles.
Things Can Get Crazy
“You’re such an ass, Rod! Don’t you ever,
ever cut me down like that in front of the crew
again!” Victory shouted, stomping into the
horse stables.
“You could’ve gotten hurt, Vic! What the
hell were you thinking?!” Rod yelled back, close
on her heels.
“I knew what I was doing! I don’t need
you making me look…”
“Making you look like what?! Like you
couldn’t handle that bronco? Because you
couldn’t, Vic! He was two seconds away from
charging you head on, and you challenged him
to do it!”
“And I would’ve handled it!” She spun to
face him. “I don’t need you undermining me in
front of the hands! That makes me look like I
can’t handle simple tasks!”
“No, it doesn’t, but it keeps you from
lying in a hospital bed! You have nothing to
prove here, Vic! Nobody’s saying you can’t
handle yourself, but when you jump into a bull
corral with no backup somebody has to step
in!”
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“I knew what I was doing! I didn’t need
you!”
“Stop! Just stop it, all right?!” Rod
exploded. “You could’ve gotten hurt! I don’t
give a damn how mad you are or how loud you
yell! When it comes to your safety, all bets are
off, and you’ll get that reaction from me every
damned time you put yourself in danger like
you did today. I don’t want to ever see anything
like that again! We clear?!”
“You aren’t my daddy, Rod! I don’t have
to…”
“I said are we clear?!” he roared, cutting
her off.
Vic stood there feeling like a damned
child, watching the way he was inhaling, trying
to control himself. He had embarrassed her in
front of the crew. His jumping in the corral
with her wasn’t the problem. It was the way
he’d yelled at her and chastised her like some
kid that pissed her off. She was simply trying to
rope a male so she could move him to a
bullpen. However, she hadn’t realized it was the
same bronco that put Evan in the hospital a few
years ago but Rod did. He chose to inform her
of that as soon as they got the bull squared
away. The yelling wasn’t that bad. No, it was
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the fact that the hands stood and listened to
him while he did it that was the problem.
The only reason she’d even gotten mildly
thrown off was because she could swear she
saw Malone heading for the main house while
she was out there. They’d had a pretty nasty
encounter a week before in public where he’d
decided to try and embarrass her, saying that
she ran away from problems instead of facing
them. It’d been hard as hell not to break his
neck, but she’d held out, even with the name
calling and the taunting. Vic knew the only
reason he’d been bold enough to do it was
because he figured she wouldn’t cause a scene
in the middle of a grocery store. He’d been
right; she wouldn’t. Walking away wasn’t easy,
but she refused to give him the satisfaction.
Seeing him today brought all that pent-up rage
back to the surface but that still wouldn’t be a
good enough reason in Rod’s eyes, so she chose
not to even mention it.
Finally answering him, she spoke through
clenched teeth. “Yeah, we’re crystal.” He
nodded with anger still in his gaze before
turning and walking out.
***
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Didn’t she get it? Didn’t she know why he
exploded? Seeing her almost charged head-on
by a bull that was known to be aggressive… Rod
rolled his shoulders, shook off the tension
building there. Vic could’ve been hurt. She
knew this job well, knew how to handle herself.
Hell, he had seen her rope broncos more than
enough times, but when she went across the
corral gate something in him snapped. It wasn’t
that he didn’t think she could do it. It was just
that protective instinct. He could admit that
losing it in front of the crew wasn’t one of the
best things to do, but she needed to know that
she’d put herself in danger. Sitting back and
watching her do it without a word just wasn’t in
him.
Rod walked away from the stables. He
inhaled deeply, trying to get his heart to stop
hammering. It was amazing how one woman
could make him want to shake her and kiss her
all at the same time.
“Hey, Rod! Is everything all right? Things
got pretty tense back there.”
Turning, he looked at the hand that had
approached him. “No, Dex, everything isn’t all
right. You ever see Vic doing something asinine
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like that again, the first thing you better do is
come and get me. We clear?”
“Yes sir.” Dex nodded. “You’re pretty
protective of her, huh?”
He gave a curt nod. “Yeah, I am.”
“Good, she needs that here. I heard she
had a rough time at Malone’s.”
Rod stopped and looked over at Dex.
“What do you mean?”
The other man shrugged. “Yah know, the
typical male posturing BS. He did his best to
make her feel small; make her feel like she
couldn’t do her job. From what I know, she
broke his hand when he decided touching her
was a good idea,” Dex said absently. Then he
added, “As a matter of fact he’s here now for
whatever reason, which is probably why Vic
was thrown off with the bull. I’m sure she
spotted him when she was trying to rope the
mean bastard. Heard he followed her into the
store last week harassing her. Just from the
names alone that he’d called her he needs an
ass whooping if you ask me.”
Rod had heard more than enough and agreed
wholeheartedly. His feet were moving before he
could even think about it. They were taking him
to the main ranch house, taking him to Malone.
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***
“I don’t know how to make it any clearer,
Malone. I’m not selling you a stud.” Evan
Halima glared down at the irritating prick in
front of him. He couldn’t stand Malone, never
could. The rancher was greedy and too shifty
for his tastes.
Evan had no doubt that selling him a stud
would result in disaster and of course cause
him to kill someone. Nope, he just couldn’t do
it. Especially not after the way said prick
treated Victory while she’d worked for him. For
that alone he should whoop his ass, but he had
five feet and ten inches of “wife in a bad mood”
threatening him with her eyes not to fight from
across his office. She’d finally gotten Elijah
down for a nap and Bailey too, so apparently
unleashing his wrath to smite Malone was
being frowned upon today.
“C’mon, Halima, I’m laying two hundred
grand at your feet here for one horse. Tell me
that don’t look appealing,” the prick said. The
only reason Evan had even let him in was so he
could turn him down for whatever he was
asking for and do it joyfully.
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He looked Malone square in the eye.
“Nothing from you is appealing, Malone. I don’t
want anything those grubby little hands have
touched. Yes, it’s completely personal because
no, I don’t like you. Could I be a reasonable
businessman and tell you yes?” He shrugged.
“Of course I could, but I’m not feeling really
reasonable today.” Looking over at Bianca, he
asked, “Was that nice enough?”
His wife didn’t stop rocking the sleeping
toddler in her arms when she sighed. “I
suppose it’ll have to do. At least you didn’t cuss
and there were no threats of shoving anything
anywhere.”
“Take Bailey and put her in the nursery
and that could change,” he retorted.
Bianca rolled her eyes. “Just please
politely and quietly escort Mr. Malone off the
premises.”
Evan looked at the other rancher, who’d
sat quiet through the whole exchange. He could
tell Malone was agitated that his offer had been
rebuffed. “Since my wife insists that I must
have manners, could you please get out?”
Throwing up a hand, Bianca sat back and
shook her head. “What?” Evan asked. “That
was polite and quiet.”
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“Halima, just give it a chance. I’m sure…”
“Son, there’s nothing you can assure me
of. Now I’ll give you a few seconds to move
yourself or I’ll do it for you, which won’t be fun
for you, but it’ll be a joy for me.”
Malone stood. “You’re making a big
mistake.”
“So are you. You’re still standing here,”
Evan answered.
The other man thrust his chin up a bit
and headed for the door. Then Evan watched
him fly past said door a few seconds later and
couldn’t help but say, “Well, things just got a lot
more interesting.”
***
Rod picked Malone up and dragged him
toward the front door and then outside before
shoving him away. “You son of a bitch!”
Malone got his footing and stood. “What
the hell, Hines?”
“You ever go near Victory again and I’ll
kill you! I don’t mean ‘idle threat that I’ll never
follow through’ kill you. I mean I’ll snap your
neck and watch with glee as the light fades in
your eyes! You got me, jackass?!”
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A twisted smile formed on Malone’s lips,
pure hatred shining in his eyes when he said,
“What, are you fucking the stuck-up bitch? Is
that why you’re so mad? Hines? I’m surprised
she gave you a go. I’ve been trying for months.”
Okay, so obviously the asshole didn’t
think he’d attempt to kill him just because
there were witnesses around. He didn’t know
Rod very well, now did he? Before he could talk
his body out of it, Rod was charging the bastard
head on with a roar of pure fury exploding from
his chest. Only about five foot eleven or so, he
had him in height, but Malone was a little
thicker. It didn’t matter because Rod didn’t
have time to be logical about weight class. He
was seeing blood red, and pretty soon he’d only
be seeing blood.
***
“Uh…Vic?”
She turned at the sound of Dex’s voice.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Well first you’ve gotta promise not to be
pissed at me,” Dex said, taking a small step
back.
She raised a brow. “What’d you do?”
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He rubbed the back of his neck and
winced. “Well, I kinda leaked it to Rod what
happened between you and Malone…”
“Oh shit…”
“And then I realized that Malone was
here but I didn’t stop talking, so he also knows
about what happened last week…”
“Double shit…”
“Then before I could stop him, Rod
headed for the ranch house, and he’s currently
beating the hell outta Malone…”
“Shit, shit, shit!” Without pause she
dropped the hay that she’d been dropping into
stalls and ran.
***
Hands were pulling at him, voices were
yelling, but he couldn’t focus on any of it. All he
knew was that another man had touched his
Vic; another man had insulted and disrespected
her. That demanded redress, which Rod was
giving by the dozen.
“Rod! Rod, you’ve gotta let him go!
C’mon, man!”
Hands strong enough to hold him finally
grabbed him and dragged him back. He fought
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the whole way, trying desperately to get loose,
but what had him in a murdering rage was the
fact that Malone just lifted his battered head,
spat blood and smiled. “She must’ve been real
good in bed.”
“Does this dumbass have a death wish?”
one of the observing hands muttered.
“Apparently he does.”
The red haze mildly faded as his head
snapped up. Vic’s brown eyes glared at him
briefly before she looked down at Malone as
she stepped over him. “Still poking tigers, I
see.”
“And I see you’re letting tigers poke
you…period.” A few hands chose that moment
to step in and grab him, since Rod was up and
heading for the prick in seconds, but Vic
stepped in his way. “Stop,” she said softly. Her
eyes were angry, but her touch was gentle when
she grabbed his face. “At least he managed to
get one good hit in.” She poked at his black eye.
“Ow!”
“Oh, sorry. Did that hurt?”
“You know it did.”
“Good. C’mon so I can get you an ice
pack, dumbass.” She walked past Malone
without even acknowledging him.
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“So did you just beat the living shit outta
him for no reason?” Evan asked from behind
him. “Because she seemed completely unfazed
by the fact that you just beat the living shit
outta him.”
Rod watched Malone try to stand on his
own. “No, I beat the living shit outta him
because it was fun. When I come back from the
cussing out that Vic’s about to give, please have
him gone, otherwise…”
“You’ll beat the living shit outta him
again?” Evan asked almost gleefully.
“No…I’ll kill him like I promised.” With
that, he walked away.
***
She didn’t wait for him to get all the way
up the front porch before she yanked the screen
door open. Elijah and Bailey were down for a
nap, so she’d keep her voice as low as possible,
but she was so pissed it would be a hard thing
to do. “What in all hell is wrong with you, you
jackass?” she hissed.
He sighed and walked in, headed straight
for the kitchen and sat at the island. Vic went to
the freezer, grabbed an ice pack and smacked it
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over his face. “Don’t yell, the babies are asleep,”
she whispered when it looked like he would. He
grimaced but said nothing.
“Why would you go doing something
crazy like that?”
“The question is,” he said in a low voice,
“Why didn’t you tell me about this weeks ago
when you got here?”
“Because firstly it’s none of your damned
business, and secondly I handled it already.
Why would you do that?”
“He deserved to get his ass whooped,
therefore I stepped up for the job.”
Vic let out a frustrated grunt and slapped
her hand against the countertop. “Stop doing
that, stop going around like I can’t fight my
own battles.”
“He put his hands on you.”
“And I broke his hand! It wasn’t even that
big of a deal to begin with. I just wanted to
prove a point! Dammit, Rod, I can handle
myself!” Realizing that her voice had risen, she
calmed a bit.
“You can be pissed all you want, Vic, but
there was no way I was letting that go,” Rod
retorted resolutely.
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Fury hit her so hard that for a moment
she felt dizzy. “You don’t get it.” There was
something in her tone that made him look at
her differently. “You just told every single
person out there that we’re fucking. Not just
one or two, but the whole goddamn crew and
our boss knows that we’re fucking. Do you have
any idea or understanding of the amount of shit
I will catch for this? I left Malone’s specifically
because I wouldn't sleep with him and he
couldn’t take no for an answer. Exactly what
personal brand of hypocrite do I look like
now?” Vic slowly stood. “We’re so done.”
Before she could make her way out of the
kitchen, Rod spun her back around to face him.
“Are we done because of what I did or because
you've been looking for any reason imaginable
to run?” He snorted and stepped back from her.
“It never fails. No matter what I do or how I do
it, you’ll always find a reason that we shouldn’t
be together.” Throwing up his hands, he added,
“I quit, Vic. I’m done. You want us to be
finished? Well we are, because I can’t keep
doing this with you. There’ll always be
something wrong, and I can’t keep fighting
when I'm fighting alone.” With that said, he
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walked away from her, and for some reason she
felt it like a gut punch.
But Sticking It Out
“Good Lord, what is the stench flowing
around in here?” Vic didn’t lift her head from
its resting place on her couch where she'd been
crashing for the past week.
“Obviously something died, and oh look,
there it is!” This time she did lift an arm to flip
her friends the bird as they made their way into
her house. “Fuck the both of you,” she
muttered, her voice muffled by throw pillows.
“I knew I shouldn’t have given you keys.”
“You gave us keys for a purpose, and
we’re glad, because dude, you look like shit.”
How was she supposed to ignore that
comment? This time Victory did lift her head to
glare at her friends. “Get out.” Bianca and Bri
both smiled and did as they pleased, which
consisted of taking spots on the couch and
getting cozy.
“You’re being a jackass and we’ve both
come to tell you that. Since we don't wanna
hear the lamenting and the list of reasons that
you’re so goddamn miserable, we’re giving you
a choice. Either you go clean up and go talk to
the man-whore, or we will hose you down
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ourselves, and it will not be a pleasant
experience. What shall it be, dear friend?”
Brianna asked.
“I choose the option where both of you
leave before I have to dig two more shallow
graves,” Vic answered.
Bianca did one of her classic dramatic
sighs. “I guess we gotta hose her down.”
Shaking her head sadly, Bri tsked and
then hauled herself up. “I tried, Vic, I really did,
but you leave us no choice.”
Bianca followed suit. “Now we gotta take
matters into our own hands.”
“And while we don't want to…” Brianna
shrugged. “This should prove to be fun.” Vic
tried to run, she really did, but the heifers just
caught her en-route to her bedroom.
***
All that doorbell ringing was getting on
his goddamn nerves, and he couldn’t take it
anymore. Rod unrolled himself from the
lounging position on his couch, the same place
he'd been all week, and finally went to unlock
the door. He would've laughed if he'd been in
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V
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75
the mood, but right now he was just
so...confused.
Frowning a little, he looked down at the
hog-tied woman on his front porch. “Vic?”
Whatever she was yelling behind the tape on
her mouth couldn't have been good.
“Enjoy!” Rod looked up to see Bri and
Bianca waving at him from Bianca’s truck
before the pair took off. He sighed and picked
her up, glad that her arms and legs were tied
because he was very close to laughing now, and,
well, he didn't want to be hurt. Putting her on
the couch, he pulled the tape off her mouth and
cringed when he could finally hear her shouts
clearly. “Bitches!”
Trying desperately now to keep a straight
face after noticing something else the sisters
had done, he cleared his throat. “Is there any
reason there’s a bow stuck to your chest?”
They’d done a good job with dressing her and
she smelled amazing, but that damn bow was
distracting.
“Because,” she started, speaking through
clenched teeth, “those bitches thought it would
be fun to leave me like a present.”
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He bit the inside of his cheek and waved a
hand at her outfit. “I'm betting that you didn't
consent to the lace bra and boy shorts either.”
“No, I didn’t, and when I catch them
Damon will have two less people to count in the
population,” Vic said softly.
“Why exactly did they Christmas-wrap
you and leave you on my doorstep?” Rod
questioned as he untied her hands and legs.
“For some reason they seem to believe
that you’re the answer to cheering me up.”
He stopped and stared at her until she
looked up at him. “Why would they think that?”
Shrugging, she answered, “Because I’ve
been camped out on my couch all week.”
Grunting, he plopped down next to her.
After a few minutes of silence Vic finally asked,
“We’re one fucked-up pair, aren’t we?”
That made him smile before he replied,
“Yes, we really are, but I don't wanna be fucked
up with anybody else, baby.”
She smacked his shoulder. “Then why in
the hell did you just leave me like that?”
“You were trying to leave me first!”
“Because you embarrassed me! I would’ve
gotten over it!”
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“Oh cut the shit! You went into your ‘Woe
is me’ routine!”
“Did not!”
“Did so!”
Rod couldn’t even begin to claim
knowledge of how she ended up in his lap, her
hands running through his hair and the velvet
softness of her tongue pushing against his, but
nothing had ever felt better. They pulled away
panting at the same time. “Are we making up?”
Vic asked, pelting kisses across his face and
down his neck as she pulled at his tank top.
“Uhhh...yeah, I think so.” His hands were
rubbing across her skin, relishing how soft she
felt as he unhooked the bra.
“I mean making up usually involves sex,
right?” Her hands were busy untying his
sweatpants and pushing them down her hips.
“Uhhh...yeah, I think so.” God, he had to
get inside her before he imploded.
“So that means we say 'I'm sorry'?” When
she finally sheathed his cock, Rod's eyes almost
rolled back.
“Uhhh...yeah, I think so.” Gripping her
hips, he bought her down hard.
Vic moaned and then gasped out, “I'm
sorry.”
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He nodded hard and croaked, “Me too.
No more fighting or running, okay?”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Unable to tell whether
that answer was for his question or the deep
stroke he was doing, he stopped caring. She felt
too good to be thinking about anything else.
With the way her hands gripped his shoulders
and her hips found that perfect rhythm, they
could fight every day for all he cared as long as
it ended just like this.
Growling, his hands went to her hips,
sliding her up his length— just to slam her back
down again. Victory’s moan made him smile
before his hips lifted as hers came down. It felt
so good—no, she felt so good. The way she
gripped him as if she were custom made had
Rod almost biting his tongue.
Vic’s pants worsened as his mouth found
a hard nipple and sucked it in until it hit the
roof of his mouth. She cried out, her breath
harshening as she came down harder on him.
Rod grunted and sucked harder, his palms
finding both halves of her ass and kneading
them as he pumped upward faster.
“Oh God…don’t stop…please don’t stop.”
Vic sobbed.
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79
He released her nipple before gasping
out, “I won’t, and I really don’t think I can.”
“Good…because…I’d have to…kill you.”
“Killing me this way, baby —would be
wonderful.” As he replied, he made sure to
grind his hips into hers and winced when she
bit his shoulder right before her muffled
screams of release reached him. When she
contracted around him, he quickly followed her
over the edge.
Vic sighed and said, “This was really
romantic.”
***
“This was in no ways romantic, Vic. You
took me… on my couch...like a whore,” Rod
said with a serious face, his forehead leaning
against hers.
She bit her lip to stop herself from
laughing, but when his shoulders started
shaking, she couldn’t help herself.
Slapping him on the ass, Vic replied, “You
are a whore; my whore.” And goodness knew
that she’d missed him. If she were honest with
herself, she could also admit that she loved
him, almost more than anything. He made her
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smile, he made her laugh, he pissed her off, he
made her crazy, and the man just made her
adore him.
He gasped and sat back, placing a hand to
his chest. “Is that supposed to make me feel
better?”
She shrugged. “It should because at least
I’m claiming you.”
“Yes, as your whore!”
“And your point would be?”
“I am not a whore. Contrary to popular
belief, I didn’t sleep with every woman I dated
before you.”
Snorting, she just kissed his forehead.
“You don’t have to defend your whorish
activities to me. I just better be the only one
you’re doing them with currently, otherwise
nobody will be able to call you Rod anymore.”
His mouth opened, and then he looked
down to where they were still connected. “And
amazingly, he hasn’t withered like a leaf even
after your horrible threat.”
“Because he’s been used so much, he has
staying power. It’s a defense mechanism, Rod.
If the damn thing feels threatened, then it’s
gonna do just like a captured jellyfish.”
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81
He raised a brow. “And what, pray tell,
would that be?”
“Try to reproduce until the bitter end.”
Rod laughed as he stood and un-wrapped
her legs from around his waist, placing her feet
back on the ground. “You can be such a dork.”
She thumped him in the forehead. “But
you adore this dork, and don’t you forget it.”
He just gave her a lazy smile as he
grabbed her hand and kissed the center of it.
“Trust me, baby, I won’t because I more than
adore you. I love you.”
Her heart stopped and then started
beating a mile a minute while she thought of
something sassy to say. Swallowing to regain
moisture in her mouth, she said, “I know you
do, and you should, because I'm amazing.”
Rod grinned and started to slowly follow
her as she backed up toward the stairs. “You
gonna say it back, baby?”
“Make me,” she taunted. Before she took
off running, she heard him say something
about her “needing a firm hand.” Damn, did
that sound good.
Can Bring Sweet Victory
Five years later…
“Oh Lord, what in all hot hell is that?”
Vic laughed along with her youngest
child’s giggles. Watching Rod change a diaper
was a very rewarding experience.
“Enjoy it, Daddy,” she said, staying in the
doorway. The rest of their troop, which
consisted of two more girls and one lone little
boy who seemed to know that he was
outnumbered, were busy being hypnotized by
all-day cartoons.
“Why…why is her face getting all red like
that?” he asked, staring down at their baby girl
with something akin to horror.
“Oh that? That’s just the ever lethal baby
gas face. In a moment you shall figure out
where the lethal part comes in.” Chuckling, she
watched his face turn a lovely undertone of
green as baby Tori’s fumes reached him.
“That’s just nasty.” Rod shook his head.
“Yes, but it’s just so much fun to watch
when she does it to other people.”
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“You see this, Tori? Do you see how cruel
your mama is to me, her perfect, perfect
husband, and the one that made you so pretty?”
he crooned, picking the wiggling little bundle
up.
“HA! I made them all pretty. You did
nothing except for defile me to get them here.”
“And you enjoyed every minute of it,” he
replied, finally managing to get Tori into her
diaper.
That fact was true, but she’d never admit
it. Fighting was just too much fun. She took
Tori from him. “Enjoy this last one because
there shall be no more.”
He just smiled. “Says you.”
“No, says me and my uterus, which is
quite happy empty, thank you.”
***
Vic could protest all she wanted, but as
far as he was concerned the more, the merrier,
and having more babies just seemed like a good
idea. Not responding to her, he followed her
back to the playroom, which was in fact nice
and quiet. Robbie lay between his sisters, eyes
glued to the TV while Tatum and Raven
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watched in complete awe of the continual and
annoying singing paired with horrible dancing
that was happening on said TV.
“Is that subliminally telling them that
they can take over the universe? Because I
think Bailey would object to anyone trying to
interfere with her plans,” Rod whispered.
Vic grinned. “Either that or she’d be
happy to have partners.” She sat on the
sectional and snuggled into his side when he
plopped down beside her. Tori was busy trying
to eat her fist while everybody else seemed to
be thoroughly entertained with the TV. Rod
stopped a moment and just looked at everyone,
first his wife and then his munchkins, trying to
figure out how he’d managed to pull it off.
Years and years of fighting and getting on one
another’s nerves, and here he was with Victory
and all was right in his world.
He just smiled and pulled her closer,
laying his cheek against the top of her head.
Lord, he loved this woman. She was violent and
goofy while being sweet and sexy all at the right
time. Twenty-odd years ago when he’d first
argued with her on the playground, he’d never
thought they’d be here now, but he wouldn’t
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V
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85
trade it for anything. Conquests had come and
gone, but this, no, she was the sweetest victory.
**
NW
**
Nikki Winter
When Nikki wrote her first story in the tenth
grade, she knew without a doubt she was
destined for greatness. Now if she could just
convince everyone else…
Buckling down, she’s taken the time to polish
what she refers to as her “writing superiority.”
She hopes that the tales she has created grab
the readers’ attention, and make them devoted
slaves to her will fans. If you want to let her
know just how absolutely, positively awesome
she is, you can always e-mail her at
, friend her on
at
http://www.facebook.com/people/Nikki-
Winter/100002445230428
, or follow her on
Twitter as @NikkiWinter19.
