1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Nine Read online

  1001 Dark Nights

  Bundle Nine

  Six Novellas By:

  Carrie Ann Ryan

  Heather Graham

  Jennifer Probst

  Christopher Rice

  And introducing

  Melanie Harlow

  and Lili Valente

  1001 Dark Nights

  1001 Dark Nights Bundle Nine

  ISBN 978-1-945920-58-5

  Hidden Ink: A Montgomery Ink Novella

  By Carrie Ann Ryan

  Copyright 2016 Carrie Ann Ryan

  Blood on the Bayou: A Cafferty & Quinn Novella

  By Heather Graham

  Copyright 2016 Heather Graham Pozzessere

  Searching for Mine: A Searching For Novella

  By Jennifer Probst

  Copyright 2016 Triple J Publishing Inc

  Dance of Desire

  By Christopher Rice

  Copyright 2016 Christopher Rice

  Some Sort of Happy: A Happy Crazy Love Novel

  By Melanie Harlow

  Copyright 2016 Melanie Harlow

  Magnificent Bastard

  By Lili Valente

  Copyright © 2016 Lili Valente

  Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Table Of Contents

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three

  Foreword

  Hidden Ink

  Blood on the Bayou

  Searching for Mine

  Dance of Desire

  Some Sort of Happy

  Magnificent Bastard

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Four

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  Special Thanks

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Click here to explore

  FOREVER WICKED by Shayla Black

  CRIMSON TWILIGHT by Heather Graham

  CAPTURED IN SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING by Tina Folsom

  DUNGEON GAMES by Lexi Blake

  AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione

  NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones

  SHOW ME, BABY by Cherise Sinclair

  ROPED IN by Lorelei James

  TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  CARESS OF DARKNESS by Julie Kenner

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights:

  TAME ME by J. Kenner

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Click here to explore

  WICKED WOLF by Carrie Ann Ryan

  WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING by Heather Graham

  EASY WITH YOU by Kristen Proby

  MASTER OF FREEDOM by Cherise Sinclair

  CARESS OF PLEASURE by Julie Kenner

  ADORED by Lexi Blake

  HADES by Larissa Ione

  RAVAGED by Elisabeth Naughton

  DREAM OF YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  STRIPPED DOWN by Lorelei James

  RAGE/KILLIAN by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  DRAGON KING by Donna Grant

  PURE WICKED by Shayla Black

  HARD AS STEEL by Laura Kaye

  STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  ALL HALLOWS EVE by Heather Graham

  KISS THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  DARING HER LOVE by Melissa Foster

  TEASED by Rebecca Zanetti

  THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights:

  THE SURRENDER GATE By Christopher Rice

  SERVICING THE TARGET By Cherise Sinclair

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three

  Click here to explore

  HIDDEN INK by Carrie Ann Ryan

  BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham

  SEARCHING FOR MINE by Jennifer Probst

  DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice

  ROUGH RHYTHM by Tessa Bailey

  DEVOTED by Lexi Blake

  Z by Larissa Ione

  FALLING UNDER YOU by Laurelin Paige

  EASY FOR KEEPS by Kristen Proby

  UNCHAINED by Elisabeth Naughton

  HARD TO SERVE by Laura Kaye

  DRAGON FEVER by Donna Grant

  KAYDEN/SIMON by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  STRUNG UP by Lorelei James

  MIDNIGHT UNTAMED by Lara Adrian

  TRICKED by Rebecca Zanetti

  DIRTY WICKED by Shayla Black

  THE ONLY ONE by Lauren Blakely

  SWEET SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  One Thousand And One Dark Nights

  Once upon a time, in the future…

  I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.

  I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and

  the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast

  library at my father’s home and collected thousands

  of volumes of fantastic tales.

  I learned all about ancient races and bygone

  times. About myths and legends and dreams of all

  people through the millennium. And the more I read

  the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered

  that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually

  become part of them.

  I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher

  and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I

  would not be telling you this tale now.

  But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off

  with bravery.

  One afternoon, curious about the myth of the

  Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to

  see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar

  (Persian: شهریار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then

  sent yesterday’s wife to be beheaded. It was written

  and I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,

  the vizier’s daughter, he’d killed one thousand

  women.

  Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived

  in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged

  places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had

  never occurred before and that still to this day, I

  cannot explain.

  Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have

  taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can

  protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to

  protect herself and stay alive.

  Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.

  And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a

  point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.

  And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that

  he might hear the rest of my dark tale.

  As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new

  one... like the one that
you, dear reader, have before

  you now.

  Hidden Ink

  A Montgomery Ink Novella

  By Carrie Ann Ryan

  Acknowledgments

  I am so grateful to be able to write the worlds I love and work with 1001 Dark Nights again. Thank you Liz Berry, MJ Rose, Kim, and Jillian, as well as the rest of the 1001 Dark Nights team!

  This book and the characters inside hold a special place in my heart. I had hoped to write Hailey and Sloane’s story almost two years ago, but the timing never truly worked out. Now it’s finally time for them to find their HEA as well as for you readers to be able to see what secrets Hailey and Sloane hold.

  Diving into Hailey’s, as well as Sloane’s, past made me look into myself more than I was ready for, but I am truly blessed that everyone will be able to read their story.

  I want to thank Kennedy Layne, Shayla Blake, Carly Phillips, Lexi Blake, Angel Payne, and Julie Kenner for helping me along with this book. Writing it broke me ever so slightly.

  And as always, thank you readers, for being with me for each step of my journey. You guys rock!

  Chapter One

  Hailey Monroe bit into her lip, closed her eyes, and moaned. Loudly. Dear gods and goddesses that was…heavenly. Earth shattering. World changing. Orgasm inducing.

  That was the best damn cream cheese turtle brownie she’d ever baked in her life.

  She may have baked pies, cakes, tortes, cookies, muffins, biscotti, and other kinds of decadence in her past. But right now, with this beautiful, mouthwatering cream cheese turtle brownie in hand, she knew she’d never achieve such greatness again.

  At that depressing thought, she ate the last of her treat and frowned.

  Seriously? The pinnacle of her success in life, the greatness she had hoped to achieve lay in a brownie.

  A brownie sent from heaven, mind you, but a brownie nonetheless.

  She quickly wiped up any spare crumbs then went to the sink to wash her hands. It was kind of upsetting that in her twenty-seven years of living, this baking achievement was it for her. Most people would think finding a cure for the common cold, painting something that reaffirmed beauty and life for others, or building homes for the unfortunate would be something that made a pinnacle a pinnacle. Instead, Hailey had dessert. This divine brownie.

  It probably didn’t help her thoughts that she kept calling the damn thing heaven-sent and divine. It was just a baked good, one that crumbled when roughly handled, like the rest of them. It would be consumed wholly and forgotten in the next moment, never to be heard from again.

  At least Hailey herself was stronger than that. Some days.

  She cracked her knuckles, wincing at the pain in her joints—a wonderful side effect of all the drugs and treatments she’d poured into her system over the years—and rolled her neck. Today was a new day, a new adventure. It was the same mantra she repeated to herself every morning.

  Hailey owned and operated Taboo, a café and bakery in the middle of downtown Denver. She had prime placement right off the 16th Street Mall and the business district. During prime hours, she had men and women in suits and neatly pressed clothes, begging for coffee and leaving with something sweet and delicious. No one could rightly say no to Hailey and her baked goods if she were really trying.

  Her shop catered to more than just those in a hurry on their way to a meeting or working on a very important case. Families came in on late afternoons or on non-school days with children in tow. Her hot cocoa and cookies went quickly when school holidays met cold Denver weather days.

  People in all shapes and sizes ventured into her shop, and she loved it. There was never a dull moment. Even when the place was only filled with a customer or two, they were hers. After thinking she’d never see the middle of her twenties, she was now looking at the back end of those years and owned her own business besides. She was a caretaker, a businesswoman, a baker…a survivor.

  She pressed her lips together at the last word.

  A survivor.

  If she kept telling herself that, kept letting the news and random websites tell her more of the same, then one day she might believe it. However, she hated that word and everything that came with it. She’d fought and won, but at what cost?

  Hailey shook her head. There was no time for those kinds of thoughts this early February morning. Today, she had to make sure she was at least competing with the chain coffee shops around her—the Mega Starbucks two blocks over on each side of Taboo. Seriously, Denver had a Starbucks on every other corner, and where there wasn’t a Starbucks, there was a Caribou Coffee or something else of the like. It wasn’t as if she’d ever make as much money as them, but she did well. Her goal wasn’t to become a millionaire or turn her small shop into a chain—she just wanted to live.

  That’s all she ever wanted to do.

  So she’d compete in her own little way and make sure her shop looked ready for the next holiday. Valentine’s Day. It was almost here. Actually, the clock calendar had just changed to February at midnight. Her decorated cookies and cupcakes would have hearts and pink all over them, and that morning, she’d put out her best festive Valentine’s Day decorations. It wasn’t overboard or cheesy, but just enough pink to remind her of happiness and love—not the pink that became an overbearing reminder in October.

  Hell. Twice in one morning. She needed to stop being depressed about the past and look to her future with the same wide-eyed wonder she had as a teenager. Her aching bones and muscles could use the happiness.

  Hailey rolled her shoulders back and finished up her morning prep. She’d been at it since four thirty that morning. Baker’s hours were evil, but she didn’t have to wake up as early as others, she knew. Her store opened at six a.m., and it was almost that time now. She had two people who worked for her, but Hailey was the one who did the baking and most of the cooking. The others worked the register and served while they were here. They also helped build the sandwiches or paninis—depending on the special on any given day—and heated the soups. Hailey made sure there was never a dull moment in Taboo.

  The door between her shop and the one next door opened, and she pressed a hand to her stomach.

  “I smelled coffee,” Callie said as she walked in, her red-streaked black hair looking shiny that morning. In fact, the woman herself glowed. Her ink stood out on pale brown skin, and she smiled as if she had the best news in the world.

  Considering Callie was six weeks pregnant, Hailey supposed she did.

  “You scared the crap out of me,” Hailey said with a laugh and rubbed her stomach again. She remembered the time when she used to rub the space over her heart if she was nervous or freaked out, but that was a long time ago.

  Callie winced and bit into her dark ruby lip. “Sorry about that. I got to Montgomery Ink early to work on a sketch and needed coffee.”

  Hailey frowned and went to the coffee pot that she’d turned on only a few moments before. “I’m only giving you decaf. I don’t want your very sexy, silver fox of a husband getting all growly with me. While you might like it when he gets growly with you because you get a spanking and orgasm out of it, I do not.”

  Callie pouted. “Fine. Decaf. Maybe I can trick my body into thinking it’s real so I can pep up.”

  Hailey raised a brow as Callie bounced from foot to foot. “Honey, if you’re any more pepped, you’ll pep the heck out of Maya and Austin when they get into the shop.”

  Callie rolled her eyes before looking around Taboo. “Oh, I love when you decorate for a new season and holiday. You know how to do it so it’s not all crepe paper and hearts dangling from the ceiling.”

  Hailey started the pot of decaf and held back a yawn. Maybe she needed some caffeine herself. With a sigh, she poured herself a cup of the regular coffee and set to work adding creamer, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings. It might not be an espresso since she didn’t want to bother making that from scratch just then, but she could still have fun with the toppings.

  “
I don’t mind the crepe paper and dangling hearts,” Hailey said as she started work on Callie’s decaf. With a little caramel and whipped cream, the sugar would help Callie feel like she was drinking the real thing. Plus, everything Hailey made was all-natural, so there wouldn’t be any extra chemicals messing with the baby.

  Callie took the offered cup with a smile. “My precious.”

  Hailey rolled her eyes. “Okay, Gollum. Drink up. And take a seat, okay? You’re way too wired this morning, and yet you wanted caffeine. What’s up?”

  Callie sat and licked at her whipped cream. “I’m just happy, you know? This time two years ago I was just starting to work for Austin and the rest of the Montgomerys. Austin and Maya took a chance on me. And my sketches. Now I get to tattoo for a living. Plus, my Morgan was my first piece all on my own once Austin promoted me from apprentice to full-time artist. I not only got to ink the best phoenix in the world—because oh my God, have you seen his back? Heck, yeah—but I fell in love with him, too. And he loves me back, even though we’re totally not the same age, and I say totally way too much. Now we’re married and having a baby! It’s unreal.” Callie smiled big, her eyes bright. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve it. Like one day I’ll wake up and everything will be just a dream and I’ll be back working four jobs to pay rent on my ramshackle home. And Morgan won’t be beside me every morning. He’s my everything, and yet he shows me how to be more than that somehow.”

  Tears filled Callie’s eyes and Hailey quickly handed over a few napkins. Her heart ached for some reason when it should have been only happy for the other woman. She and Callie were close in age, yet they had gone down such different paths that some days Hailey felt years older. The two of them and Miranda—Austin and Maya’s youngest sister—were the youngest of the crew that hung out together. The Montgomerys and their circle ranged in age from mid-twenties to early forties, and most days, the age differences didn’t matter. Hell, Morgan was in his forties and having a baby with Callie.