Page 337 of Hate Mates

Checkmate

Unconditional

Inevitable – Aria and Bishop

Beautiful Beaumont

The Secrets We Keep

Novellas

Wrong Desires

Jingle All the Way

MarchettiFamiglia

Dancing in Sin – Nico and Ocean.

Twisted in Obsession – Nico and Ocean.

Ruined in Vows – Allegra and Dante

The Perfect Fit by Lissanne Jones

Chapter One

Paige Ellis breathed in deeply as she walked from her house to the center of Firelight Mountain, Tennessee. The cool, crisp air filled her lungs, and far from the first time she was grateful to be settled in such a beautiful place. The small town was located in the Great Smoky Mountains and now that it was October, the weather had begun to cool enough that she’d been able to dig out her favorite sweaters and enjoy everything fall had to offer. Leaves of varying colors floated down off the trees, and Halloween decorations adorned the houses she passed. She’d made an effort to decorate her own house, the first one she’d ever owned, and she loved seeing local children stop to take a good look. Come October 31st, she’d have plenty of candy for every single person who stopped by her place to ask for a treat.

She was wearing her favorite blue jeans and a light pink sweater, and for the first time since her beloved mother had passed away the previous year, she felt at peace. Making a home in the gorgeous little town had been the right move, and she was now just a week away from signing a lease for a commercial space where she’d realize a long-held dream ofowning a bookstore. Firelight Mountain didn’t have one in town, and the closest bookstore was a good half-hour drive away. Paige had spoken with the townsfolk and they’d all expressed their enthusiasm at the idea of finally having a bookstore close by.

Well, nearly all of them had. Asher fucking Stone, the town’s golden boy, had merely raised an eyebrow when he’d overheard her talking to someone else about her plans and then loudly proclaimed he was also in search of commercial space for a new business venture. What it was, Paige didn’t know. More importantly, she didn’t care. Finding a location for her store had proven to be tricky, given there wasn’t much available, but finally a corner shop right on the main street had been vacated and would be perfect for a bookstore.

It was larger than Paige really needed for her plans, but given how hard it had been to find a suitable space, she’d agreed to sign the lease with the option to purchase the building down the track if the bookstore did as well as she hoped it would. She could afford the monthly rent, thanks to her rich but absent father. He’d given her a large sum of money after her mom had died, enough that she’d been able to purchase her cottage and still have more than enough left over to set up her bookstore.

Now, the plans she’d been working on for months and months were coming to fruition, and nothing could kill her good mood.

As though the universe had heard her thoughts and decided to try its best, she happened upon the local park, several blocks from the main street. A bunch of good-looking men were running rings around each other as they played basketball. Paige stopped to watch for a few moments, not immune to some eye candy any more than the next woman.

Of course, one of the men happened to be none other than Asher fucking Stone. As though he knew she was there, he paused long enough to strip off his tank top, leaving him cladonly in gray sweats, which hid nothing. His hard chest, with pecs that showed he was toned and muscled to perfection, was glistening with sweat and lightly dusted with hair. His blond hair was slicked back off his face, and no doubt his gorgeous eyes, the same color as the oceans in Europe with crystal-blue waters, were twinkling. She knew they were framed with long, dark eyelashes any woman would kill for. He tossed the basketball he was holding to someone else, and as he began to move, she could see the outline of his dick in his sweats.

Apparently, the powers that be had not been prepared to bless Asher fucking Stone with anything other than a dick big enough that was certain to bring pleasure to anyone lucky enough to get up close and personal with it.

Not that it mattered to Paige how big his dick was. She had no interest in getting close enough to the jerk it was attached to so she could see it in person. The man was infuriating and frustrating and annoying as hell.

Pity he was so gorgeous. His good looks, charm, and sense of humor were completely wasted on the man. Paige generally got on well with everyone in Firelight Mountain; they’d all been so kind to her since she’d moved there fifteen months previously. But something about Asher had rubbed her the wrong way from the day they’d met, and even after all this time she still hadn’t worked out exactly what it was.

It didn’t matter. She avoided him as much as possible, and every time he opened his mouth in her presence whatever he said grated at her, so she’d snap back and remove herself from his vicinity, making him laugh. Which annoyed her even more. It was almost as if he enjoyed the war between them, baiting her at every opportunity he got.

“See something you like, Freckles?”

The sound of his voice snapped her back to reality, and she blinked rapidly to discover the bane of her existence wasstanding at the fence around the edge of the court, gazing straight at her. Paige had to work hard not to swear. The last thing she’d wanted was to be caught staring at him. He’d given her that ridiculous nickname after he’d bumped into her the one time she hadn’t put on any makeup to cover the freckles which spread across her nose and cheeks. Damn him.

Clearing her throat, she sniffed. “Hardly. I’m looking at you, after all.” She knew she sounded haughty, but it was his fault, being rude enough to address the fact she’d been staring at him in public.

“It’s okay. Everyone knows you’re hot for me. You just don’t want to admit it.” He winked at her, and her eyes widened as her mouth fell open.

“Hot for you? Are you actually insane?”

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