MAIL ORDER BRIDE: ARISTOCRAT: The Duke’s Engagement (Historical Victorian Duke Romance) (New Adult Romance Short Stories) (53 page)

Coming Soon… “Powerful Tools for Manifesting a Soul Mate” How I Manifested 6 Soul Mates in 6 Years!  This is my next book that will give you in depth descriptions on techniques you can use to manifest a soul-mate into your life.  

As I read this book for the last time before publishing it a little white speck of light flew out of the screen and hung around the air for a few seconds.  I can only assume that it was a spirit giving me a sign.  

A sign of magic…  

The End

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Knocked Up by the Navy Shifter

By: Silvia Pierce

Chapter One

Alexandra looked out at the place where she would be spending her next eight hours working.  She didn’t mind being in retail for the most part, except when she got the boring shifts where all she would do is sit at the cash register and wonder if anyone would come on in.  It’s not like she wanted the place to be filled, but man did it get boring when there wasn’t anyone around.  She wondered if there would be a dark and mysterious man, or at least something to engage her attention while she thought about why the hell she continued to work here.

She sighed.  This was going to be yet another long night.  She didn’t have anyone else working, and she wondered if maybe, just maybe something would come about.  She tapped her fingers on the counter, wondering if anyone would even bother to come to the store this late.

She worked at the local department store in a dead mall.  She was shocked at the fact that they were still in business.  It was probably because all of the rich, old people came in early on, and in the evening very few showed up.  She was also in the worst department ever, the home improvement department.  Apparently they put her here because she knew the difference between a drill and a saw, unlike the other chicks that they hired.  Alex was usually seen as the dykish type, mainly because she didn’t really look very effeminate, even though she was only attracted to men.  She was strong though, so that didn’t help the cause.  The rest of the employees were dainty little things, and she had more muscle than many of them.

She wondered if she would ever meet someone who would be fitting for her.  For Alex, she wanted a guy who could compete with her, who could actually help her out.  She wanted a man with an adventure attached to it, someone who seemed ready and willing for whatever.

Suddenly, she heard a presence in the store.  She looked up, and in front of her was a man.  He had brown hair, and his face was perplexed.

“Hello there,” he said.

“Hi there.  How can I help you?” Alex asked. 

He was really sexy, and after trying to get her bearings, she smiled at him.  He was totally her type, tall, dark, and mysterious.  His body was tight and rippled with muscles that were apparent through his fitted white T-shirt and blue jeans.  His steel toe boots and his assertive stance added to his masculine nature and attractiveness.  He wasn’t just a gorgeous body though.  His hazel eyes and perfectly full lips were extra enticing to say the least. 

The fact that he actually seemed interested in the store was something.

“              I’m here to get a couple of screws for a home improvement project I’m working on.  Do you think you can help me?” he asked.

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” she replied. 

They looked together, and he told her exactly what he needed.  She provided it for him, but not before she awkwardly bumped elbows with him.  She looked up at him, blushing madly.

“Sorry about that.  My hand slipped,” she said.

“It’s totally fine.  Trust me, I get it,” he replied.

Great, now she felt like an idiot.  She wanted to talk to him, but after staying silent for a bit, she really didn’t know what to say.  He was an attractive man, and she felt like such a nerd in comparison to him.  A part of her wanted to be more upfront about the feelings that were stirring inside of her, but at the same time, she didn’t even know him.

After they finished up, she rang him up at the counter.

“So, what are you using these for?” she asked.

“Oh, just a project that I’m working on.  Do you know a bit about building a porch?” he asked.

“You would be surprised.  Despite how I look, I love reading about home improvement.  I’m kind of a nerd like that,” she admitted.

“Well that’s my favorite type of girl.  I like someone who is handy,” he said.

She blushed at that comment.  She totally got what he was saying, and already she felt like she was turning as red as a tomato.

“Sorry about that.  I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said.  He gave her that damming smile once again, and suddenly, she reddened again.

“No, it’s fine.  Trust me, I’m used to it.  But I’m glad that I can help,” she replied.

The truth of the matter was, if this was any other guy, she probably would’ve smacked him, but there was something different about him.  He was interesting, that’s for sure, and a part of her wanted to find out more about him.

“Say, do you live around here?  I’m surprised that someone as handy as you hasn’t frequented this store,” she admitted.

“Well, I’m here on a personal business matter.  My name is Darren,” he said.  He extended his hand, and immediately, Alex shook it.

“Alex.  And that’s cool.  I just work here.  I don’t have a cool past or anything,” she admitted.

“That’s fine, you’re still really cute,” he said.

She blushed.  He had a way with words, and being blunt was definitely something that she didn’t mind sometimes. He looked into her eyes with an intense stare as if he wanted to ravage her right there on the cash register.  They both looked away and she wondered if she had imagined his attraction for her.  

“Well… I hope to see you again,” she said awkwardly as she was trying to pretend that she hadn’t noticed his intense gaze.

“Oh you will.  Trust me,” he replied with a cute grin.

He walked out, and immediately, she blushed again. She didn’t know what to think about this man.  He was so mysterious, but so forward with his words.  A part of her wanted to go after it, but there was something within her that said otherwise.  For whatever reason, she got a bad feeling about this, and she wanted to figure out just what those bad feelings that enveloped over her were.

She didn’t see the man for a few weeks.  A part of her thought that it was because she was trying too hard, and she was asking for too much.  But then, one day as she was working yet another night shift, she saw him enter the store once again, smiling at her.

“Oh great, I caught you once again,” he said with a suave voice.

“You did,” she squeaked.

He moved towards her, looking at her with a smile.

“I need some more screws.  This project has been pretty hard on me,” he told her.

“Well I can help you with that,” she blurted out.

They got the screws once again, their arms brushing against one another.  Alex didn’t want to fall too fast for this man, but it was already proving fruitless.  She didn’t know what to think about all of this, but instead she went with the flow, hoping to god that everything would be okay.

At the end of it, she looked at him once again, and the two of them made eye contact.

“Your total is $16.55,” she said.

“Thanks.  Also, I have something else to give you,” he murmured.  He gave her something, and when she looked at it, she could feel the blood rush to her face.

“What’s this for?” she asked.

“Well, I figured I should give you my number.  You seem like a very interesting woman, and I definitely am curious about you,” he cooed.

She immediately reddened.  This damn man was making her go crazy with want and need.  She wanted to give into her desires, but at the same time, a part of her wanted to take this slow, to wait for the right moment.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Not a problem.  I hope you have a great night,” he told her.

He left, and Alex looked at the number. She wanted to call the man right away, but at the same time, she was very nervous about what would happen next.  She was definitely wanting to learn more, and this man certainly seemed like the perfect type for her, that’s for sure.  She didn’t know if she could trust him or not, especially since he seemed to be hiding something.  What it was, she didn’t really know. 

Chapter Two

She called him after her shift, and after a couple of rings, he picked up.

“Hello?” he asked.

“Hey.  This is Alex.  From the store,” she stated.

“Oh hey!  What’s up?” he asked.

“Oh not much.  Just the usual things.  I wanted to call you back, since you gave me your number and all,” she replied.

“Oh yeah.  You seemed pretty cool, and I wanted to get to know you better.  You want to come hang out sometime this weekend?  I work at a local bar, where sometimes I perform, but mostly I bartend.  I’m off this weekend though, and it’s a decent hangout spot, so if you want to meet up there, I’m game,” he offered.

She thought about it.  It wasn’t every day that she was asked out by a guy that she liked.

“Sure, that sounds fine by me,” she said.

“Great, I’ll text you the details.  I feel weird, I haven’t really told you a whole lot about myself,” he admitted.

“It’s fine.  That’s what our time this weekend is going to be for,” she replied.  She did want to get to know him, and it made sense that it would be a fitting time to discuss everything.

“Hell yeah.  I’ll see you then,” he said.

He ended the call, and for a moment, Alex wondered if there was more to this than what met the eye.  She thought he seemed interesting, but Darren was acting almost as if he was hiding something, and she didn’t know what it was.  She felt like she wanted to learn more about him, but she wasn’t too sure of how to do that.  Maybe it would be okay though.  Maybe.

That day, Alex felt like a bundle of nerves.  She put her brown hair down for once, and she wore a pretty pink dress with pink shoes, which was a stark contrast from what she normally wore.  She felt like dressing up and being pretty, and this would be one of those moments.  She went to the location, and when she got there, she immediately started to grow more nervous.

This was a happening place, with girls dancing with guys and some guys talking with girls.  Was Darren really here for her?  It’s not like she was ugly or anything, but she was a stark contrast to the normal girls that frequented places like this.  She saw him in the corner, and when she waved, he waved back.

“Hey there,” she said as she slipped into the booth.

“Hey yourself.  Sorry for being so obscure, it’s busy tonight,” he told her.

“Yeah, I imagine,” she replied.

“Well, I guess introductions are in order.  I feel weird for never telling you about this until now, but I’m glad that you agreed to this meetup, so we can get to know one another better,” he said.

“Yeah, totally,” she replied.  It was obvious that she was nervous as hell about this whole thing.

“So for starters, I’m Darren.  I’m a former navy seal, and I’ve been out for about a year now.  I did my service, and I was happy with the results.  I just didn’t think a career in that was fitting for me, if you get what I mean,” he said.

“Kind of.  I’m shocked that you didn’t go into that to be honest,” she admitted.

“Well, there were a few complications associated with it.  I don’t feel comfortable getting into that just yet, but I hope someday I can tell you a bit more about it,” he explained.

She nodded.  There was something almost hidden within his words.  What exactly was he hiding from her?  This seemed almost surreal in a sense, and a part of her wanted to know more information about this.  She wanted to ask, but she wasn’t so sure.

“Well, I’m Alex.  I work in a hardware store, and I usually just do that and sometimes work on my writing.  See, I’m writing a story, and hopefully when it gets published I can make money off of that.  I also am working on my accounting degree online, but mostly working to keep myself afloat through all of this,” she said.

“That’s interesting.  What’s your story about?” he asked.

“Well, I writing about vampires and werewolves, so that’s the gist of it,” she explained.

He looked at her with a wry eye, curious about this.

“Is there a chance I can read it?  I mean, if you’re not okay with that, then fine.  I mean, I don’t want to push you or anything,” he said.