Cultivated box set, p.29
Cultivated Box Set, page 29
part #1 of Cultivated Series
“I heard that,” he shouted at her.
“I meant it in a lovin’ way.” Kit grinned and then she lit up when River came running around the house with Charles walking behind her.
“I saw Damian’s car out front.” River was smiling from ear to ear when she ran to give Kit a hug.
“Didn’t I tell ye to stop growin’?” Kit hugged River and moved her around to stand back to back. “Liv, tell me that I’m still the tallest.”
I got up to measure. “It’s a tie.”
Kit rose up on her toes and River followed until Kit turned around and pressed her palm down on top of River’s head.
The blonde girl laughed. “Next time you see me, I’ll be taller than you for sure.”
Kit gave up, waved a hand, and took her place on the sunbed again. “We’ll never know, ’cause it’s the last time I’m letting anyone measure the two of us.”
“Charles says that Nathan and I are growing like weeds.”
I kissed River’s cheek when she came to hug me. “River sweetie, go get your swimwear and jump in the pool with Lumi. It’s so nice today.”
She was quick to comply and disappeared into the house.
“Oh, that lass is such a charmer. If ye get tired of her, I’ll take her.” Kit turned her sun hat a little.
“Can you take all of them for a week?” Charles sat down next to me and pushed my long brown hair away to kiss my shoulder. “I could use a little alone time with my wife.”
I melted like I always did when he kissed me.
“No problem. Damian and I are happy to help.”
“I’d like that.” I wiggled my finger at Kit. “But I’m warning you. Our kids may look idyllic, but they come with a lot of issues.”
“Are ye talking about the nightmares?”
“Uh-huh. River and Nathan have them the most, but those are just some of the things that we’re working on.”
Charles moved to sit behind me and I leaned back against his chest as the three of us sat in silence watching the others in the garden for a moment.
“I wish I could peek ten or fifteen years into the future and see where the children are in life,” he said and massaged my shoulders.
“Me too,” I sighed.
“Me three.” With Kit’s accent making her not pronounce the h, it always made me smile.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Aye, and if Atlas finds the answer to what makes people follow lyin’ psychopaths, I for one would like to know. It’s scary!” Taking her sun hat off and waving it in front of her, Kit got up from the sunbed and called out to Lumi. “Wanna watch me make a bomb?”
Lumi swam to the side just in time to get out of the way before Kit ran to the pool, jumped up with a loud howl, and pressed her body into a cannonball making the water splash in all directions.
Maximum had seen it and came running to make his own bomb and soon Damian and Nathan followed with impressive splashes of water.
Charles and I watched them with goofy smiles on our faces. “They’re crazy.” I laughed.
“Yes, but the good kind of crazy.”
“Aww, look at how happy the kids seem.”
“I know. It must be because they have the world’s coolest adoptive parents in the world.”
“If we say so ourselves.” I squeezed his hand just as he bit my earlobe and whispered into my ear, “I need to show you something.”
“Okay. Now?”
“Mmmm…” Charles stood up and offered me a hand. Kit and Damian were having fun with the kids in the pool and even Lumi was allowing Nathan to put her on his shoulders and throw her into the water.
“Liv and I will be right back. We just need to look over some papers that have to be signed.” Charles led me through the house and up the stairs. I recognized the look he gave me. It was pure desire and lust, and as always, it gave me butterflies in my stomach.
“We’re not signing papers, are we?”
“Nope.”
The laughter from outside reminded me that everyone in that pool was capable of looking out for themselves. I could steal a moment with Charles, couldn’t I?
Like two naughty school kids, we intertwined our hands and ran up the stairs and into the bedroom, where we locked the door and laughed together, like we had pulled off some great escape plan.
“Come here.” Charles kissed me while nudging me to the bed. “I’ve missed you all day, and coming home to see you in that bikini made it hard for me to think. Wanna know why I placed myself behind you?”
I smiled when he took my hand and placed it on his hard erection.
“Wow, is that all for me?” My laugh was swallowed by our kissing.
“Every inch is yours.” Charles growled low and removed my bikini top. “God, you’re so tempting.”
“So are you.”
He looked into my eyes with a serious expression. “I can’t tell you what this last year has meant to me, but I know that you feel it when we make love.”
My face softened. “I do!” Kissing him slow and enjoying his soft lips on mine, I admitted, “The truth is that sometimes you still make me shy and nervous, like I can’t believe I scored the guy out of my league.”
“I was never out of your league. If anything, you were out of mine.”
We looked deep into each other’s eyes and then he kissed his way from my mouth to my earlobe and then down across my neck and collarbone. With a small moan, I leaned my head back in surrender. Charles was a master at seducing me and sure enough, his thumb ran down over my throat just as a reminder that he was in control.
“This bikini looks amazing on you, but I still prefer you naked.” He pushed the fabric of my bikini bottoms down and they landed next to my top that he’d already removed. Heat spread at my core and I fisted my hands into his dark hair, when he bent down to lick and suckle on my nipple.
Right then his tics came out and in response, I tightened my grip on him. “I love you so freaking much. Do you know that?”
Charles responded by picking me up and placing me on the bed where he pushed me down on my back and got nose to nose with me. “I know it, but I’m still not sure I understand it. You’re like a dream come true with the way I can be myself around you. I never have to hide my issues or my tics.”
“And I can be open about my weird fetish.”
He rolled down next to me on the bed before lifting his hand to my throat with his dominant smile that made my body vibrate with lust. Pushing myself against him, I lifted my thigh to his hip.
“Mmm.” He growled low against my ear. “There’s something amazing about two quirky people finding each other and making it work.”
“Are you calling me a weirdo?”
“A sexy weirdo.” He licked my lip. “My sexy weirdo.”
I gave a seductive smile. “How about I show you how sexy a weirdo I can be?”
“I was hoping you would.” Biting my shoulder with just the right amount of pressure, he moved to position himself between my legs. “But first let me taste you.”
The warmth of his breath on my pelvis bone made my most sensitive parts tingle with anticipation.
“Liv… are you in there?” The doorknob wiggled.
We both stopped moving and I called out, “Yes. What’s wrong, River?”
“I can’t find my blue bikini. I’ve looked in Lumi’s room and my own. I’ve even looked through the laundry. Can you help me?”
Charles closed his eyes and moved onto his back, letting go of me.
“Just a minute, sweetie,” I called back to her before turning to him. “We signed up for this. Five children, remember?”
“I know, but I’m so fucking horny for you.”
Taking deep breaths, I tried getting my breathing under control. “How about we let Damian and Kit move in here while we go away for a few days? They’ve offered several times and we need it.”
“Yes! When?”
“Maybe tomorrow? I’ll talk to them.”
I was rolling off the bed, when Charles reached for my arm and made me look at him. “I can’t wait for some wild undisturbed sex.”
The door handle wiggled again. “Liv?”
“I’ll be right there love.” I put my bikini back on, and just before walking out of our bedroom, I looked back at him. “Are you coming?”
“I’ll need a moment alone first.”
My eyes fell to his mid-section with longing, but there was a child on the other side of the door. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Saffron, and I still think you’re the most precious spice in my life.”
“I’ll see you downstairs at the pool.” I was just about to open the door when I paused and whispered to him, “It’s so hard to leave when I’m dying to finish what we started.”
Charles had a look of pure devotion on his face when he whispered back, “You and I will never finish; I’ll always want more of you. Always.”
I felt like a schoolgirl with a huge crush when I smiled back and walked out the door.
River was waiting on the stairs and looked up when she heard me. “How come you look so happy?”
I walked over and gave her a sideways hug and led her down the stairs. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m surrounded by people I love. I feel very lucky that I get to be here with you, Charles, and the others.”
“You mean that?”
I gave her a genuine smile. “One hundred percent. Now let’s find that bikini, shall we?”
This concludes Charlie – Cultivated #1
Thank you so much for reading Charles and Liv’s story. If you liked it, I hope you’ll take a moment to leave a review on Amazon and spread the word to your friends.
The truth is that your review is a big part of other reader’s buying decision and therefor makes a huge impact for a self- published author like me.
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Want more?
When I first had the inspiration to write the Cultivated series, I wanted to take on the issue of smooth talkers who slowly gain control of you without you even realizing that you’re under attack. The psychopaths who are skilled at making you trust them until you’re in their net and they hold power over you.
No one deserves to have mentally or physically abusive relationships. If you’re in one, I hope this book helps you reflect and gives you some valuable insights to recognize the traits in people who look inviting but are toxic for you.
Charlie, the book you just read, was supposed to be a short prequel to the five stories about the children surviving the cult. For some reason, I don’t know how to write short stories. It’s the second time I try, and they always end up the same length as my other books, but it’s all good.
In the next book, we’ll jump ahead eleven years and see what’s it like for Atlas to carry the fear of becoming like his father
Atlas – Cultivated #2
People think that I’m a nice guy.
They’re wrong!
What they see is the polished, non-threatening, good guy that I want them to see.
It helps distract them from the darkness within me.
No one can know that I have a sick mind like my dad, the infamous monster from the Red Manor Cult.
Except, unlike him, I suppress my urge to dominate, hurt, and control.
Every day, I tell myself that I’m NOT my father; that I’m a better man.
But after Jolene began working for me, my control is slipping.
It feels like there’s a wolf inside me, stirring, growling, and pushing to get to Jolene. The fantasies of the disturbing things the wolf wants to do to her, haunts me.
I can’t allow the wolf to get control over me… or Jolene!
Atlas is the second installment in Elin Peer’s contemporary romance series, Cultivated. For the best reading experience and to avoid spoilers, it’s recommended that you start with the first book in the series, called Charlie.
Elin Peer is the author of the popular series, Men of the North, Clashing Colors, and the Slave Series. Her books are fast-paced, thought-provoking, and always offer humor and a solid romance story at the core.
If you like stories with authentic characters that will stay with you for a long time, continue reading on the next pages.
ATLAS BOOK #2
Copyright © 2019
All rights reserved.
By Elin Peer
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, excepting brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
ASIN: B07Y49YYLD
Atlas – Cultivated #2
First Edition
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons or organizations is coincidental and not intended by the author. Recommended for mature readers due to adult content.
Cover Art by Kellie Dennis: bookcoverbydesign.co.uk
Editing: www.martinohearn.com
DEDICATION
To Karina
For teaching me about healthy eating and showing me the healing power of food.
Elin
CHAPTER 1
Red Manor House
Atlas
Complete silence filled the car the moment we drove into Howth. Nathan was driving, and from the way his knuckles turned white around the steering wheel, I could tell he felt as tense as me. I was in the passenger seat and took a quick look at the back seat where Maximum sat between Lumi and River. All three of them had solemn expressions on their faces as they looked out the window.
The gravel driveway leading up to the house had once been a beautiful sight with the pruned trees creating a canopy above, but now the trees were overgrown, and some of the branches scraped the top of Nathan’s Jeep as we drove through.
“Look at all the weeds,” Maximum said from the back.
My eyes fell to the ground lit up by the headlights of the car as he continued in a low mutter:
“I used to love using the flamethrower to burn weeds from the gravel.”
“You were probably the last one to do it.” River’s tone was dry as she leaned forward to see the manor come into sight in front of us.
When Nathan stopped the car, all five of us got out. No one spoke as the sound of car doors closing filled the night. We gathered in front of the stairs leading up to the main entrance.
For a moment, we stood shoulder to shoulder, and then I felt a hand in mine. River was the youngest of us, and even though she was twenty-three now and no child, I squeezed her hand.
“Why did we have to do it at night?” she whispered. “The house looks scary, and we haven’t even gone inside yet.”
I answered her in a calm voice, hiding that my heart was beating fast too. “Because we don’t want anyone to see us. We don’t need a stupid article about how the five surviving children from the suicide cult in Howth returned to confront the demons of their past.”
River sighed. “No, you’re right.”
“Come on!” It was Lumi who took the first step, and we all followed up the stairs, watching her unlock the double doors.
Stepping inside, Nathan turned on the light so we could see, and it made me gasp. The entrance that led into the living room had always been bright and welcoming with fresh flowers and a constant scent of home-cooked food. Now the place looked like a squatter’s house. Only a few pieces of furniture stood around, and walls and floors were painted with graffiti.
We were quiet as we moved further into the house, and it was only then that I realized that it wasn’t graffiti. “It’s markings from where the bodies were.” I counted the outline markings of the twenty-eight friends and family members whom we lost that night.
“Why are most of them in a line?” Nathan’s eyebrows were knit together as he took in the twenty-five markings in one long line and the three that were spread out in the living room.
“You don’t know?” I asked him.
“Why would he?” Maximum walked closer to Nathan. “Some of us had no interest in seeing pictures or reading articles. Nathan and River were led out of the house without getting a look at what happened here, or did you forget that detail?”
My brother, Maximum, hadn’t wanted to come tonight, and his tone told me he was pissed that I’d pressured them until they agreed for us to go together.
Lumi stood with a stern expression looking at the drawings on the floor. “Conor had them sit in a long line, like a human train on their way to the next destination. My mom fell over here, and those two markings are of Conor and Ciara.”
I took a step closer to her, placing my hand on her shoulder. Of the five of us, only Lumi and I had been in the room that night eleven years ago, when the emergency response unit had stormed the house and saved us from my father’s madness.
“If any of you want to see photos, I have copies.”
River looked up at me. “You have copies?”
Nathan shook his head at me. “You can keep them. I’m happy the guards made sure we didn’t see the bodies then, and I have no need to see it all now.”
I shrugged. “No one is forcing you to.”
Maximum walked around the living room and stopped by the dusty French doors to look into the darkness of the garden. “I wonder how it looks outback. The garden is probably overgrown.”
“Yeah, probably,” I agreed.
His hand rested on the doorframe, and his eyes glazed over. “The garden was my favorite part about this house. The bonfires in the evenings, the tennis court, and the hours of playing pétanque with Carlos.” Maximum turned to us. “He always cheated, but I still played with him.”
