Wild Horses: Cold Cold Winter Read online

  Wild Horses:

  Cold, Cold Winter

  A Stirling Falls Novella

  Asha King

  Published by Phaze Books

  Also by Asha King

  Near to You

  Wild Horses

  Sympathy for the Devil*

  Gimme Shelter*

  How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

  Still in Love with You*

  Let’s Stay Together*

  *Forthcoming

  This is an explicit and erotic novel

  intended for the enjoyment

  of adult readers. Please keep

  out of the hands of children.

  www.Phaze.com

  Cold, Cold Winter

  Copyright © 2012 by Asha King

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  Edited by Adrienne Jones

  Cover Art © 2012 by Asha King

  First Edition December 2012

  Ebook ISBN-13: 978-1-60659-715-6

  Published by:

  Phaze Books

  An imprint of Mundania Press LLC

  6457 Glenway Ave., #109

  Cincinnati, OH 45211

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, Mundania Press LLC, 6457 Glenway Avenue, #109, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211, [email protected].

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Legal File Usage – Your Rights

  Payment of the download fee for this book grants the purchaser the right to download and read this file, and to maintain private backup copies of the file for the purchaser’s personal use only.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this or any copyrighted work is illegal. Authors are paid on a per-purchase basis. Any use of this file beyond the rights stated above constitutes theft of the author’s earnings. File sharing is an international crime, prosecuted by the United States Department of Justice Division of Cyber Crimes, in partnership with Interpol. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by seizure of computers, up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 per reported instance. Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights and livelihood is appreciated.

  Dedication

  To the readers who wanted more Dani, Adam, and their happily ever after.

  I hope you enjoy.

  Chapter One

  Danyiah Jackson stared at her phone, chewing at her bottom lip.

  She really, really wanted to set it up on the dresser with the camera running. It would be better to have a visual record of this—way better than how she could tell it. But then she had a conscience, which really sucked sometimes.

  Such as when it told her not to secretly record her boyfriend’s reaction to a surprise.

  Stupid conscience.

  Briefly she navigated to her Twitter app and composed a new tweet in answer to the site’s eternal question: What’s happening?

  Waiting for Hot Cowboy. She tapped the keyboard swiftly with her thumbs. Xmas surprise. Wish me luck & I’ll tell u soon.

  Immediately several mentions popped up with tweets of encouragement and she grinned. Even if she didn’t have their confidence, she enjoyed the enthusiasm.

  Snow tapped on the window and gathered on the sill outside; it was a blustery day in Stirling Falls, both in town and out in the country. An hour ago she’d left the small downtown core covered in old slush and fresh snow. Her apartment was above a kitchen store right in the main four quarters of town, and the traffic outside was especially loud in the winter with tires sloshing in the streets.

  The country brought silence, though, which Dani particularly enjoyed.

  The dull, gray afternoon outside didn’t take away from the brightness in Adam’s quarters, a one room apartment above the farm’s party hall downstairs—she’d be surprised if anything could make the place drab after what she’d done. Lights around the windows, the walls, hanging from the ceiling. Garland. Tinsel. She had carted in a palm tree from home and decorated it, complete with a star on top and wrapped presents below.

  And then there was the...surprise...in the center of the room. She’d moved furniture and everything to accommodate it. One of a couple surprises planned for that not-quite-Christmas evening. Adam had been a little distant recently, tired—she knew—from working long hours on the farm, preparing things for the arrival of winter, and keeping a watchful eye on all the horses. There was a disconnect between them more and more, and she sought to bridge it the best way possible—besides sex. With humor.

  Once more she looked at her cell phone, but no, she could restrain herself.

  Probably.

  A car door slammed outside and the ranch owner Gus’s dog, Jenny, began to bark. Dani moved for the window and leaned over the bed to look outside. Adam was back from the farm store and he was hauling bags of feed to the barn. For a moment she stood there, watching. Even beneath the winter jacket, he moved with strength, lifting the sacks of grain and carting them with ease. She preferred simply watching him work in the summer, but she grinned absently as even though he was mostly covered up now, she could picture everything beneath.

  Six months had passed since she moved to Stirling Falls. Six months with a boyfriend she loved—they didn’t live together but saw one another nearly every day. He worked at the farm, she helped out on occasion but made her income blogging at home where her hits had exploded and advertisements brought in good money. As she’d long suspected, a stalker was good for business, and she was determined to get something out of the trauma now that legally she was allowed to talk about it without naming names. A few online speaking engagements via Skype and paid articles had solidified her freelance income quite nicely—she didn’t even miss her old job working as a barista in the city.

  The country had brought its own set of challenges. The people were pleasant enough but they were very white, very religious, and rumors had spread quickly about her being the girl a crazed stalker followed into the area. Violent crime had been sporadic enough over the years and she couldn’t help but feel a slightly chilly reception among some of the elderly in town. Still, Danyiah greeted everything with a smile, and that seemed to ease some of the tension. She had Adam Cooper and a few friends—little else seemed to matter.

  Her stomach was in knots as Adam finished unloading the truck, locked the door, and started toward his place. This had to go okay. Had to. So much to tell him and though she tried to sort it out in her head, the words weren’t there. Dani glanced down at her T-shirt and skinny jeans. Maybe she should be waiting for him naked. That might ease the tension. At least it would be fun. In fact, it was the one idea of fun they had in common—usually she just exasperated him.

  She pulled back from the window, rounded the thing occupying the center of the room, and rushed for the door, clothes still on. The room had a chill, even with the heat on; she’d wait until another body was nearby to keep her warm before she stripped.

  Dani bounded down the stairs and the creak of the door opening set her heartbeat speeding.

  Ada
m stepped inside, shaking flecks of snow from his dark hair, and his gaze trailed to her. A smile lit his face. “Hey—”

  Two feet away, she leapt at him before he’d even shut the door. Adam caught her easily, his strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifting her off her feet. The cold snow soaked her shirt and sent a rush of goose bumps over her flesh but she didn’t care, slipping her arms around his neck and holding him tight.

  “Hey there, cowboy,” she said with a smile. Her face was inches from his and besides the fresh air clinging to him, she caught a hint of his morning aftershave though rough stubble cupped his jaw this late in the day.

  “Hey, princess.” Adam grinned widely despite her faux-pout. The nickname, originally said with distaste months ago when she wasn’t exactly the most helpful farmhand in existence, had become a term of endearment that he teased her with.

  She’d never tell him that she secretly liked it.

  Adam started to let go but she held on, and he raised on brow in question. “So happy to see me, I can’t put you down?”

  “Mmm, I missed you.” Really, if they were anyone else, she would’ve made fun of them for being embarrassingly saccharin, but she indulged in a bit of tooth-aching sweetness because it made her happy. She leaned forward, bringing her lips to his, and he tightened his arms in response. His mouth descended, hitting hers passionately, and a delicious thrill ran through her at the contact. Dani yielded, arched into him, drew her knees up to his hips as he lifted her higher. They moved, turning, and her back hit the door, slamming it shut and rattling the frame. Despite the final rush of cold air that blew over her skin, her body heated straight down to her toes.

  No matter what disconnect she felt might be there some days, he still kissed every time like it was their first, devouring and feverish, mouth moving hotly against hers. She felt his want of her in his every touch, in every skin-to-skin contact, and relished in the effect she had on him.

  Pinned between Adam and the door, Dani could safely remove her arms from around his neck. Her hands moved of their own accord, slipping between their bodies to tug on the zipper of his winter coat. She drew it down, the harsh zipping the only sound in the room besides their panting breaths and rustle of movement. His jacket parted, her hands roamed, across his broad chest and down to slip under his T-shirt. His skin scorched her fingertips as she dragged them over his taut muscles.

  He reached up to cup her jaw, gave her a long kiss, and then their mouths parted, foreheads resting together. “We should go upstairs,” he whispered, his breath hot on her lower lip.

  Dani shivered. She ached all over for him right there, right then, wanting to strip them down to nothing and fuck against the door. But... “Gus, Dewey, random boarder showing up.” She sighed. “I know.” Some privacy would be lovely but they generally only got that in his room or back at her apartment. Romps in the barn had been cut to a minimum since Dewey’s fiancée, Carlee, caught them a couple of months ago.

  Reluctantly she let his T-shirt fall back down and Adam gently returned her to her feet. He leaned down for one more kiss and then scooped up her hand.

  “Come on,” he said with a grin, tugging her in the direction of the stairs.

  She started to go with him and then remembered what was upstairs; immediately she dug her heels into the floor, but just wearing socks, she merely slid on the floor after him. Still, she leaned back and tried to slow him down. “Wait!”

  Adam halted by the stairs and cast a glance over his shoulder. “What?”

  The look he gave her—it was like he already knew. Dani swallowed and cleared her throat. “Um...I have a surprise.”

  He winced. “Oh God.”

  “It’s one of your Christmas presents.”

  A tinge of hope entered his eyes and then she really felt like shit—he was going to get his hopes up. This might go badly very, very quickly.

  But then he loved her. She truly believed that. And despite his scowliness, he had a pretty good sense of humor about things. Most of the time.

  She hoped this would prove one of them.

  ****

  Adam eyed Danyiah cautiously.

  Her full lips, still kiss-swollen and inviting, curved into a half smile.

  Oh God, he knew that look. She had an absolutely terrible poker face, and whatever was upstairs... He took a deep breath and let it out. He’d indulge her, whatever she was up to. A small price to pay for the woman he loved.

  Even still, her tight jeans hugged every curve and her T-shirt, damp from the snow on his jacket, plastered to her chest, displacing a hint of pale blue lace. Everything about her was maddening, from wanting her to merely wanting to shake his head and sigh at her.

  It was December 22nd, not yet the official holiday, and their plans involved Christmas Eve in the main house with Gus and some locals for a party—he couldn’t imagine what she wanted to give him now that couldn’t be given then, but it was slightly intriguing.

  Or maybe very intriguing.

  “You trust me to keep my eyes closed?” he asked.

  Dani turned her dark brown eyes upward, gazing at the ceiling as she made a show of thinking it over. “Um, no.” She moved ahead of him, still with her hand clasped in his, and hopped onto the top step. Her free hand came up over his eyes. “There.”

  With a resigned sigh, Adam grasped the railing to his left and let her lead him up the stairs.

  “Do I get a hint?” he asked as they slowly ascended.

  Dani stepped softly ahead of him, her hand wavering on his eyes enough that some light poked through. “No. You’re too good at guessing.”

  He rolled his shoulders as he took another careful step, the heavy jacket starting to be too warm after a few minutes away from the cold. But the sound of her stumbling ahead as she walked backward, muttering under her breath, reminded him why they couldn’t rush; he’d endure the coat a bit longer, then hopefully divest both of them of their clothing.

  “Okay...” Step. “We’re almost at...” Step. “The top!”

  His hand wrapped around the end of the railing and he carefully felt with his foot—yeah, they were at the top. He stooped slightly so she could keep her hand easily over his eyes, and she led him forward. Bright light peeked around her fingertips but he couldn’t make out anything beyond.

  “You ready?”

  Maybe if I don’t answer, we can go back downstairs. Adam sighed. “Sure.”

  Dani darted back and light flooded his vision.

  Adam blinked a few times, adjusting to the brightness.

  And to the giant moose in the middle of his apartment.

  Chapter Two

  It wasn’t a real moose, and for that he was grateful. Not a stuffed one either—it was some kind of sculpture, painted green and red, with a Santa hat on top. Perhaps most disconcerting was that it was, actually, the size of a real moose, at least six and a half feet high at the shoulder. It dwarfed him, her, and the entire bachelor apartment he lived in.

  Adam blinked but it didn’t go away. “What in the...hell....?”

  “Surprise!” Her voice wavered at the end, clearly unsure of herself.

  He couldn’t quite stop staring in abject horror long enough to bother worrying about her feelings. “What in the hell, Dani?”

  “Uh...I...saw it and thought of you?”

  “What about me reminds you of a fucking moose sculpture?”

  “Your penis?” she offered helpfully.

  At last he cut her an exasperated look.

  Her brows were raised over wide, pretty eyes, looking almost hopeful, and for a moment he felt bad for her.

  And then he remembered that she’d put a giant moose in the middle of his room.

  He was sweating under his coat and his boots had trekked melting snow inside, but removing either was about the farthest thing from his mind. “Dani, I need you to be completely honest with me.”

  “Is it about the current state of my mental health?”

  Truthfully, he was more worr
ied about his own mental health at the moment. “No. Is there a camera on me at the moment?”

  “No! No, no way. I mean, I almost did, but then I decided—”

  He thrust his hand out to stop her and she immediately went silent. That the possibility had even entered her mind...well, he’d love to pretend to be disappointed, but of course that had been her first instinct. It was a constant war with them: he liked his privacy, she made a living exposing her life to the world. Despite her assurances—and the fact that, yes, she’d never betrayed him yet—he continued to worry that someday, somehow, too much personal information would appear online. She’d already had one stalker; God knows if there were more out there.

  The longer he stared, the more of the rest of the room he took in. She’d decorated. And decorated. It sort of looked like a dozen Christmas trees exploded on his walls. There was something cheery about it, all the mismatched colors and excessiveness, even the silly palm tree at the foot of the bed. All that, he didn’t mind.

  But...the moose. He still wasn’t getting past that.

  It was just so...so like her. Strangely, sadly, like her. Like she couldn’t take anything seriously. Everything was a joke, a blog story. Even the stalker thing had turned into one. She’d been scared then, he remembered clearly—at least before he’d been whacked on the head, as the concussion messed with his memory afterward. Genuinely scared for herself and for him. But the fear faded and the story turned into a tale where the weirdness and humor was exaggerated and everything else had been left behind.

  Danyiah was funny and a truly gifted humor writer, but the “Dani-Girl” blog persona was very much in line with the real her, and it grew wearing.

  Especially since the Christmas “gift” for her he was going to offer was on the other end of the spectrum entirely.