10 Nights (36 page)

As he knelt there,
waiting, he felt his heart become like lead and sink into his stomach. She was
going to reject him, he knew it. How could he blame her though? After what he
had done how could he honestly expect her to accept his proposal? She was
perfect, and beautiful, and he had been a bastard to her, he didn’t deserve her
love.

After what seemed like
an eternity, though she was sure it was only a minute or so, Leah nodded, still
not capable of verbalizing a response. They had a million and one things to
discuss, but the thought of becoming Mrs. Rhett Hammond pushed all of those
things aside. It was more than she’d ever thought possible.

The look of shock in
Rhett’s eyes when she nodded made Leah smile, and her smile grew wider as, with
shaking hands, he slid the huge diamond on her finger. She’d thought him
nervous when she first entered the gazebo, but it was clear he was even more
nervous just then as he looked at her, his expression indicating his desperate
need for her approval.

“If you don’t like the
ring we can get another tomorrow, you can choose anything you want.” He looked
up at her anxiously, hoping he wasn’t making a mess of things, though he was
sure he was. He’d never thought he would find a woman that could make him feel
the way Leah did, but now he had he didn’t want to go back to the way he’d been
before. He’d been cold, he knew that now, and cold wasn’t good.

If it took him the rest
of his life to make up to Leah for how he’d treated her during their nights
together, he would use the whole of that time. She was the most important thing
to him, more important than any business deal or property, or indeed anything
else.

“I love the ring, Sir,
and I love you.” Leah finally found her voice. Dropping to her knees she threw
her arms around him. Though she loved the vulnerability he was showing her just
then, it was a side of him she’d hoped he possessed, she had fallen in love
with the strong, decisive persona he had shown her in the beginning.

“Princess, you never
have to call me Sir again.” He held her against him, prepared to do whatever it
took to become the man she wanted him to be, the man she needed him to be. If
he had to he would change everything about himself, to become worthy of her
love.

Pulling back from his
embrace Leah looked into Rhett’s eyes, her hands moving up to either side of
his face. “I fell in love with the man who showed me that passion could be
found when I truly submitted my heart, body and soul, Sir.” She told him,
speaking earnestly. “Please don’t ask me to give up everything you have shown
me about myself, not when I waited so long to discover it.”

He couldn’t believe
that she was still willing to submit to him after the way he had treated her. It
blew his mind. He was prepared to give up everything that had meant the most to
him, his desire for control, and submit to her, if that what was it took, but
here she was, submitting to him.

Her willingness to give
him not only her love, but her will, was more than he could have ever hoped
for, and it left him speechless, for the first time in his life. He lowered his
lips to hers, kissing her with all the passion he’d held in check, showing her
without words what her submission meant to him.

“You’ve given me more
than I deserve, princess,” he said when he finally broke their kiss. “I
promise, I will never hurt you again, ever.”

If she had any doubts
about his sincerity the look in his deep blue eyes melted them away, leaving
her certain of her decision, he was what she wanted. Taking his hand she
allowed him to pull her to her feet. “Sir, this is our tenth night together.”
Pink spots appeared in the center of her cheeks as she spoke, her eyes straying
over his perfectly clothed form. “What will you teach me?” she asked, a slight
smile playing about the corners of her mouth.

Rhett chuckled at the
spirit of his future wife, pleased by the thought of all the things they would
share, and her willingness to surrender to his teachings. “I will teach you
everything there is to know about your body, and the pleasure it can enjoy. In
the process I will push you beyond your limits,” he told her, lifting her into
his arms.

He laid her gently on
the cushioned bed she hadn’t even noticed and then he pulled the curtains
closed so they were isolated from the rest of the world. Turning back to her
his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the look of innocent curiosity
on her face. He knelt beside the bed and reached out to caress her cheek softly
with the back of his hand. “And you need never fear because I will be here to
catch you, so you’ll never fall.”

Looking up at the Adonis
above her Leah thought back on the nights they had shared. In ten nights she
had discovered passion, love, fear, heartache and so many emotional and
physical changes that it took her breath away. As he joined her on the bed she
surrendered herself, body, mind and heart, to the man who had shown her how to
be more than she had ever believed herself capable of being.

BY THE AUTHORS

Michelle Hughes

Undercover Submissive

Twin
Sisters, hidden secrets, and dark passions.. let the deception begin!
Cayce Miller is a serious minded librarian. She
adores her twin sister Cait, but they are identical only in looks. When
Cait goes missing and the police department seems unwilling to help, Cayce
is forced to assume her identity in an effort to discover the truth.
Taking her sister's place leads to a charged and
dangerous game, played in a steamy world where all the rules have
changed.  Time is running out and Dylan St. Clair may be her only
source of hope in revealing her location.
Will going undercover destroy Cayce or will it
reveal a side to her she never knew existed?
 
Only time will tell in this tense erotic
thriller....

Michelle Hughes

A Night at Tears of Crimson

"A
Night at Tears of Crimson" is a slow burn on a hot Southern Night.
 Step into our world of Vampire where eternal love or eternal damnation is
just a bite away!

Continue
the burn with "Eternal Crimson", the second book in the series.
 Eternity begins here and it's going to steam up your kindle with a
journey you won't soon forget! 

When you think it can't get any hotter
surrender your Kindle to "Gabriel's Diary", the first in the Tears of
Crimson shorts.  Our favorite Master Vampire Gabriel, is aching to show
you just how far you'll go to please him!

Give in to the Craving of Crimson at
tearsofcrimson.com we'll be waiting for you.

True Blood fans
 will fall in
love with the Tears of Crimson Vampire Series

Searching for a book that's full of sexy
vampires and incredible characters that you'll fall in love with?  Do you
enjoy Vampires that remember how invincible they are as a species?  How
about a story that goes in depth about the background of these incredible Gods
that will leave you mesmerized?  Then you MUST surrender to the nights at
Tears of Crimson, the New Orleans Vampire Bar!

Karl Jones

Shattered

A killer on the loose,
a village in terror. When he discovers the body of a murdered girl in an out of
the way location, former detective turned thriller writer, Jason Denton,
arouses the suspicions of Sergeant Underwood.

After Jason is linked
to a second murdered girl, and more girls go missing, the Sergeant vows to
prove the author doesn't just write about murder, he commits it.

Constable Donna Harp
isn't as convinced of Jason's guilt as her superior, but is she being swayed by
the author's looks and charm?

Is Jason playing games
with the police, like a character from one of his books, or is Donna right, and
they should be looking elsewhere for the murderer?

Contains graphic
violence.

Karl Jones

A Brother’s Debt

Rival gangsters, a
smuggled package, and what seems like an entire sector of space wanting to hit
him.

If Step Velkin had
known what awaited him he would never have answered his brother's latest plea
for help. Now he's stuck with an inheritance people would fight to avoid, not
claim, and no way out of the mess his brother has left him.

All he can do is hope his
naval training is enough to keep him alive, and his ship flying, as he pays off
A Brother's Debt
Now contains the bonus short horror, Lauren's Nightmare and a preview of my
best selling thriller Shattered
A novel of 47,000 words
First in the Step Velkin series of adventures.