Forever With Me

  FOREVER WITH ME

  Book Eight in the With Me In Seattle Series

  Kristen Proby

  Copyright © 2014 by Kristen Proby

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover Art:

  Photography by: Kristen Proby

  Models: Kara Coco and Michael Anthony

  Cover Design: Okay Creations

  WITH ME IN SEATTLE SERIES:

  Come Away With Me and on audio

  Under the Mistletoe With Me and on audio

  Fight With Me and on audio

  Play With Me and on audio

  Rock With Me and on audio

  Safe With Me and on audio

  Tied With Me and on audio

  Breathe With Me and on audio

  Forever With Me and on audio

  LOVE UNDER THE BIG SKY SERIES, available through Pocket Books:

  Loving Cara, UK, AU

  Seducing Lauren

  This book is dedicated to the Montgomery, Williams, McKenna, Nash and Salvatore families. Thank you for this wild ride. I’ll never forget you.

  Dear Reader,

  Writing this series has been an incredible journey for me. And to think, when I began writing Come Away With Me, I didn’t intend to write a series. That book was intended to be a stand-alone. But once I met Jules and all of her brothers, how could I resist giving everyone their own love story?

  I couldn’t.

  And I’m so happy that I didn’t. Many of you have sent me letters and notes telling me that the Montgomery clan has become a part of your own inner circle. Your family. This moves me more than I can ever tell you. It’s the same for me! I’ve lived with these people for more than two years, and they are very dear to me. I can’t imagine my life without them. It’s been a joy and a privilege to watch this family grow. To watch the friendships form, the babies be born. And I admit, saying goodbye is hard.

  I struggled with ending the series with Forever With Me. But I truly believe that I’ve given each of our couples the best happy ever after possible. The Montgomerys will always hold a very special place in my heart, and the best thing about books is we can always revisit them.

  So get comfortable, grab a steaming cup of coffee or perhaps a glass of wine, and settle in. I have a story to tell you…

  Kristen

  Prologue

  “Wake up, sweetheart.”

  What the—?

  Soft lips skim down my neck to my collarbone, making me moan and arch my back. A strong hand pulls me from my side to my back and those lips slide back up my neck to that spot right behind my ear that makes every nerve in my body come alive.

  “What are you doing?” My fingers find their way into his thick, dark hair as I feel him grin against my skin. My nipples pucker almost painfully. His body is deliciously firm and warm next to me. I manage to open my heavy eyes to find Dominic smiling down at me, those ice blue eyes of his glowing in the moonlight.

  “I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m doing, bella.” He cups my face in his large hands and lowers his lips to mine, kissing me gently at first, his lips sliding back and forth across mine, and then he settles against me, one leg planted between both of my thighs, his hard thigh pressing against the center of my universe with just enough pressure to make my hips tilt up against him, and he lays the sexiest kiss I’ve ever had on me. He tastes like wine and mint and sexy man. He’s devouring me in the most delicious way.

  I knew Dominic Salvatore would be an excellent kisser.

  My hands roam from his soft hair down to his shoulders and arms…his impossibly chiseled, strong arms.

  “Don’t tell me no, bella.” His voice is rough as he kisses his way down my chest to one breast where he pulls my nipple into his mouth and tugs gently, making me rub my core against his naked thigh again. “Please. I need you.”

  “This is crazy.” But I don’t push him away. Instead I plunge my fingers into his hair again and drag him up for another long, deep, hungry kiss. God, I can’t get enough of his mouth.

  He shifts, settling his pelvis against mine. His cock is long and thick and moves easily between my slick folds, the head massaging my clit in a mind-numbing staccato.

  “You’re so wet,” he whispers harshly. “Open your eyes.”

  It’s not a request.

  He’s staring down at me with an intensity I’ve never seen from anyone before. God, he feels so good. I drag my hands down his back to his ass and grip him firmly as I raise my knees high against his sides, opening myself up to him.

  “I wasn’t going to do this with you.”

  He clenches his eyes shut and tilts his forehead against mine.

  “I can’t stay away from you. I’ve tried, bella.”

  I can hear Italy in his voice. His body is tight with yearning, but he’s holding himself steady, waiting for my decision. Every muscle is pulled tight. He’s trembling.

  How can I say no to this?

  I don’t want to say no to this!

  “Dom?”

  “Anything. Anything you want.”

  I circle my hips. A slow smile spreads over my lips, as his jaw clenches and he mutters an Italian curse word through gritted teeth.

  “Yes.” I whisper.

  His hand palms my breast; his thumb circles my tight nipple.

  “Are you sure?” His hand glides down my side and around to my ass, pulling me more tightly against him.

  “Yes.”

  “You’re so damn wet, Alecia.”

  “I know.”

  He grins down at me, pulls his hips back, and then slides inside me in one smooth motion, filling me completely.

  We both gasp, eyes locked, as he stills, buried inside me, and I swear to God, buried in the very heart of me.

  Except, I don’t do hearts and flowers.

  “Don’t make me fall in love with you,” I plead. His eyes soften, but he doesn’t reply, he just pulls out all the way, looks down between us and pushes back inside me and repeats the motion twice more.

  “Faster,” I beg.

  “No.”

  I glare up at him, but he simply smiles back at me before kissing my forehead, linking his fingers with mine and pinning my hand above my head. And then he begins to really move those hips, setting up a punishing rhythm. His pubis nudges my clit with every thrust of his hips, pushing me closer to the edge.

  “Do you know how badly I’ve wanted you, Alecia?” he whispers against my ear as his free hand continues to cup my ass and he controls the speed and depth of his thrusts.

  “No.”

  He kisses my ear, my cheek, my nose, and finally my lips as he picks up speed, fucking me harder, faster, making me squirm and moan and pant.

  Jesus fucking Christ I can’t take it.

  My hand grips his harder and my toes curl.

  “You’re going to come, bella.”

  “Yes.”

  “Let go. Do it.”

  I’m almost there. I’m just on the edge. Fuck me, if he keeps hitting my clit just like that…

  BEEP BEEP BEEP!!

  I sit up, sweaty, panting, and every nerve in my body on fire, eyes wildly searching my bedroom. Everything is normal. Except all of the covers have been pushed onto the floor, my tank and panties are gone, and I’m on the brink of the most explosive orgasm of my life.

  A
nd very alone.

  I slap my hand on the snooze button, swearing long and loud. Seriously?

  Seriously?!

  He’s in every daydream I have, and now he’s invading my sleep too? And I’m about to come without him even touching me.

  Son. Of. A. Bitch.

  Chapter One

  I’m late. I’m never late. I don’t do late.

  It’s Dominic Salvatore’s fault.

  Okay, maybe that’s far-fetched, even to me, but seriously, does he have to infiltrate every thought? Even my dreams? Dreams that leave me sweaty and panting and…and…damn it.

  I stare at myself in the mirror and shake my head.

  Get it together.

  I don’t have time for this. I don’t have time for him. I have a day packed full of meetings and appointments with potential clients. No time to dwell on the hot Italian that I can’t seem to shake from my subconscious.

  My hair doesn’t want to cooperate as I twist it up into its usual knot and secure it with bobby pins. What’s up with my hair today? I do my best to smooth it out and try again, but at just past 7:30 in the morning, my day seems to already be in the crapper.

  I blow a wayward lock of hair off my forehead with a deep sigh and prop my hands on my hips, glaring at my hair. I wear it up every day. Every. Day. It’s professional.

  I’m not wearing it down today.

  So I do my best, then dress in my favorite pink summer suit—maybe it’ll improve my luck today—with pink Jimmy Choo heels and turn back to brush on my makeup and dash out the door. But just after I finish with my mascara, I sneeze, leaving black marks on my cheeks from the wet makeup.

  Seriously? If this is the way my day is going to go, I should just go back to bed.

  My phone rings just as I wipe away the black marks and am heading for the door.

  “This is Alecia.”

  “Hey, boss lady. I’m already here. Where are you?”

  “Wishing I were back in bed,” I reply dryly, and press the call button for the elevator. “This day sucks. Is the client there?”

  “Not yet. You’re just now leaving your condo?” Emily, my assistant, sounds shocked. And for good reason.

  I don’t do late.

  The elevator arrives and as I step on, the heel of my shoe catches in the rail of the door and snaps right off.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I just broke my favorite Choo heel.” I throw my arm out to stop the doors from closing, pluck my precious heel out of the track and walk back to my door, up, down, up, down, swearing ripely the whole way.

  “Wow, that’s some language you have going there.”

  “Eight hundred dollar heels, Em.”

  “You can probably have them fixed,” she says.

  “I can hear you laughing at me.”

  “I’m not. I swear. I think the client just got here, and you’re still thirty minutes out?”

  “That’s if I don’t hit traffic. Damn it. Start without me. Buy her coffee. Chat her up. I’ll get there in twenty.”

  “A speeding ticket won’t help.”

  I hang up without responding and take a precious two minutes to mourn the loss of my shoes. The break on the heel isn’t fixable.

  So much for my favorite suit turning my luck around today.

  ***

  The speeding ticket I got on Interstate 5 held me up by an additional fifteen minutes, putting me almost forty-five minutes behind. Emily jinxed me.

  Damn her.

  “I’m so sorry,” I begin, as I walk briskly to the table Emily and a potential client, Summer James and her fiancé, Robert, are sitting at. I hold my hand out to shake theirs and smile brightly. “Traffic this time of day is horrific.”

  “I would think you would have planned for the traffic,” Robert replies and glances down at his phone, checking the time. Summer scowls at him and then smiles at me.

  “I understand. Emily has already given us a lot of great information.”

  “Perfect.” I grin at Emily, who is eyeing my hair like it’s a three-toed sloth, and I turn my attention back to the couple. “I’m sure you’ve already discussed some of your thoughts and plans with Emily, but I’d appreciate it if you’d quickly fill me in.”

  As I ask the couple about their date and go over some of their preferences on bridal party size and guest count, Emily fetches me a much-needed coffee.

  Thirty minutes later, after we’ve covered the basics and I’ve gone over the prices for my services, Robert looks mildly sick to his stomach from information overload and sticker shock, and Summer is beaming.

  Typical.

  “I think…” Robert begins, but Summer interrupts him.

  “I think we should hire her too!”

  “No, babe, I was gonna say I think we can do this ourselves.”

  Her jaw drops and she blinks rapidly. “Really? When will we have time?”

  “You have weekends off,” he reminds her.

  “So do you. But this is a full time job. I can’t do this alone!” She’s becoming very shrill, making the pounding at my temples even worse, so I do what I do. I step in to avoid a crisis.

  “I understand,” I begin calmly and lay my hand over Summer’s arm. “This can be overwhelming, and it’s a big financial commitment. Take the weekend to think it over and call us next week.”

  “Absolutely,” Emily agrees with a wide smile. “You don’t have to decide today.”

  “Really?” Summer looks like she’s on the verge of tears, and Robert now looks mildly panicked.

  “Yep.” I nod and pat her arm, then pass her a file full of the information I’ve just gone over with her. “Have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy your engagement party.”

  “Thank you,” Robert replies and leads Summer out of the coffee shop.

  “I’ll bet you a thousand bucks he talks her out of it,” Emily says, when they’re out of earshot and we’re gathering our things to leave.

  “I’ll take that bet. I need new Choos.”

  “You think she’ll talk him into it?”

  “She will.” I sigh and take one more sip of my now-cold coffee. “I don’t think I grabbed my bottle of Advil this morning.”

  “You okay?”

  “I got a speeding ticket, thanks to you jinxing me.” I turn and glare at her, but she giggles. “I don’t find it particularly funny.”

  “You don’t look great today.” Em tilts her head and watches me thoughtfully. “Did you go on a bender last night?”

  I laugh and shake my head. “I wish. No, didn’t sleep well.” I can’t very well tell her that I had wild sex dreams about the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.

  “Insomnia.” She nods wisely. “You should take melatonin. It works wonders.”

  “I’ll remember that,” I murmur and check the time on my phone. “I have to be in Olympia by noon.”

  “Are you meeting with Will Montgomery?” she asks. She smiles softly and sighs.

  “Yes.”

  “Can I—”

  “No, I don’t need you to come along for this.”

  She pouts, making me laugh. Emily has never made it a secret that she has a crush on the handsome football star.

  Hell, we all have crushes on the whole Montgomery family. They’re all fine specimens of men, and their women are sweet and funny. What’s not to like? They’re also my best clients, and are the reason I can afford my condo and my shoe fetish.

  And I like to think that they’ve become friends as well.

  “You get to have all the fun,” Emily says.

  “I do. And I also get to handle all of the bridecrazies and complaints. I believe it falls in my ‘owner’ job description.”

  “Yeah, you can keep those. I’ll meet you back at your place later this afternoon?”

  “Yes. You’re meeting with the Peterson couple to go over their flowers, right?”

  “Yep. The MOB is a pain in the ass.”

  “The mother of the bride is
paying for a one hundred thousand dollar wedding. She’s paid for the right to be a pain in the ass.”

  “True.” Emily holds her fist out to bump mine and grins. “Have a good time with the hot Will Montgomery.”

  “I will. I’ll have my cell on me if you need me.”

  “Back at ya.”

  With that, Emily climbs into her Honda Civic and drives away. I pause and take a deep breath before I jump into my SUV and head toward Olympia. It’s still early, but that’s okay.

  I should be early for something today.

  ***

  “You look…interesting.” Blake, the caterer and my best friend, cocks his head to the side and watches me with humor-filled eyes as I walk into his office and sit on the edge of the chair across from his with as much dignity as I can muster.

  “Fuck you.” I smile sweetly and pull my iPad out of my handbag.

  “We’ve been there, done that. I think you still have some of my T-shirts.”

  “I sleep in them,” I remind him, and bring my iPad to life, thumbing through client files until I find McBride-Montgomery Wedding. “But if you want them back, you can have them.”

  “I don’t give a shit about the shirts.” I glance up to find his chocolate brown gaze watching me. Blake is a looker. He’s no Dominic Salvatore, but then, few are. Blake is tall and thin. His arms are muscular, thanks to all of those hours in the kitchen. He has a solid, square jaw and short dark blond hair. He’s the only person I’ve ever allowed myself to fully trust in my life.

  “Are you ready for Will and Meg?” I ask, hoping to change the subject.

  “I’m ready for you to tell me what’s up with you today. And what’s up with your hair?”

  “It’s not that bad.” I roll my eyes, but Blake smirks.

  “It’s not your usual perfect. Which means you were flustered this morning.”

  “It’s just been a shitty day. Bad hair day. Broke the heel of my shoe.” I pout, making Blake grin.

  “The expensive ones?”

  “They’re all expensive.”