Ready or Not (Aspen Ridge Holiday Novellas)

1. Wes

Chapter One

WES

T he hustle and bustle inside Bean Haven this morning makes me groan with irritation. The arrival of fall means that everyone is desperate for one of Hannah Haven’s signature pumpkin spice lattes. In hindsight, I should have just brewed some at home, but like everyone else in this town, I was craving Bean Haven coffee. Except I just appreciate a good dark roast coffee, not this flavored seasonal bullshit everyone’s currently in line for. It figures that the day a random craving for their coffee hits me falls on the one day a year everyone comes out in droves. I never want to be out in town, much preferring the quiet comfort of my home, and I paid my dues to be able to work in solitude. But this morning, a dire pull to the local shop consumed me, wanting a coffee like I’d lose my mind if I didn’t have it.

While checking my email on my phone, the person behind bumps into me, and it takes a massive amount of effort not to let my frustration out on them.

“I’m so sorry, excuse me. That’s my fault.” Her sweet, cheery voice is music to my ears, an enchanting melody made just for me, and my morning suddenly improves. Realization sets in, and the owner of that voice has my body heating and my dick perking up in my pants. Maybe it wasn’t the coffee calling me to Bean Haven after all.

Lilith Aspen.

Daughter of the Aspen family, descendant of the founders of our small Pacific Northwest town, and my twenty-year-old dipshit son’s girlfriend. Who also happens to be the most intoxicating woman I’ve ever seen in my thirty-eight years on Earth.

“Oh, hi, Mr. Draven. Sorry to bump into you like that, everyone seems anxious to get a latte.”

“Lilith. It’s good to see you. I’ve told you, it’s Wes. I’m not old enough to be a Mr. At least it doesn’t feel like it.”

She smiles up at me, her sparkling hazel eyes so beautiful and bright, more gold than green or blue, the center a deep brown—dark and forbidden. Just like her. I’m utterly enraptured by her, unable to tear myself away even if I wanted to. She shifts on her feet as I clear my throat.

“You in line for one?” I question.

“A pumpkin spice latte? Guilty. I love pumpkin. Everything about this time of year I’m on board with,” she replies, her voice like a siren’s call just for me.

“You like fall, huh?” I ask, enjoying this one-on-one conversation more than I should. She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, her diamond earring catching the light above us—no doubt a gift from her elitist parents. My eyes track the movement as her hand drags down the length of her hair, brushing over her chest before dropping to her side. I slowly bring my eyes forward, back to meet hers, and she smiles adoringly at me. She’s too sweet, too good for this fucked up world. But I can’t help the call I feel to dirty her up. I’m good at reading people, and something tells me this saccharine facade is a projection she puts on for the outside world. That inside, she’s just like me. Dark. All she really wants is to be herself, but can’t for whatever reason. Presumably, it has everything to do with where she came from.

“Not so much fall, but all the dark, wickedness of everything in October. It’s my favorite month. It’s chilly, the leaves are starting to shed all of their gorgeous red, yellow, and orange leaves, the nights are clear, and I can’t help but love all the spookiness. You know, some say that my ancestors built Aspen Ridge on top of a burial ground. Might explain all the haunting stories.”

Yeah, she’s different from what she’s putting out there for everyone else. The line moves us forward into the building and I hold the door open for her, placing my hand on her back to usher her in front of me. The heat from inside Bean Haven blasts us and her face flushes, pinkening her fair skin even further.

“So, not a Christmas girl then?”

“No,” she laughs. “Absolutely not. Too much of a religious holiday for me and—oh, I’m sorry, that was rude of me, considering . . .”

My eyebrows raise in question, already knowing where she’s going with this but wanting to hear it anyway. “Considering?”

“I just assumed that Adam was connected so deeply with his faith because of his parents. Is that not correct?”

I laugh lightly at her assumption, which couldn’t have been farther from accurate. Adam’s mother and I had him when we were both teenagers. After his birth, she became deeply religious, finding her faith in God and all that glorious jazz. Add that to being two teenagers trying to figure out how to be parents when we still had growing up to do ourselves. It was a recipe for disaster. Luckily, we’d been able to work out a solid co-parenting plan so we were both involved in raising him, while not being in a relationship with each other. Adam just happened to take after his darling mother.

“No, Lilith. He gets that from his mother. I have no faith. Spiritual in my own way, but no, my beliefs are far from Adam’s,” I chuckle.

If possible, the pink on her cheeks deepens further, turning a deep crimson, most likely in embarrassment. It thrills me, and I wonder what else I could do to her to see that color again.

“I don’t mean to laugh, it’s reasonable to assume that. Adam and I just aren’t close anymore, he very much prefers his mother to me. I assume that’s where you two hang out? I haven’t seen you with him in a bit.”

And I’ve been waiting for an excuse to see you again.

“Ahh. Well, actually, no.” It’s her turn to laugh uncomfortably. I turn to face her, my attention solely on her, the noise of everything around us quieting to barely a whisper. “He broke up with me. A few weeks ago.”

I can’t help the shocked expression on my face, and she laughs again. My son’s a fucking idiot. He had this perfect woman and broke up with her? A better man and father would have a talk with him to put some sense into his stupid brain, but I feel like I was just given a gift straight from whatever powers that be. I school my features the best I can, but I know she saw my shocked horror morph into relief and delight.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Are you alright?”

“I’m completely fine. Honestly.”

More relief floods my veins.

The line moves forward as we stand together in comfortable silence. I don’t fight the urge to roam over her body with my eyes. She’s the epitome of perfection. Everything about her calls to the primal, darker side of me. Selfishly, I breathe in deeply, inhaling her scent into my lungs. She smells earthy—dark floral and sage, almost like she walked through incense instead of using perfume. It’s rich and sweet, and my mouth waters. Her hair is midnight black, with rich auburn highlights throughout, and hangs to the middle of her back. My hands itch at my sides, begging to reach out and touch her. Any part of her will do. I want to feel the smoothness of her skin on mine. I want to taste her. Hear her siren voice on repeat. I suddenly need to know everything about her. Everything.

We finally reach the register where Hannah, Harlow, and Hailey Haven are working the counter to hustle the entire damn town of Aspen Ridge through their coffee shop.

“Good morning! Your usual?” Hannah asks me.

“Yes, please, plus a pumpkin spice latte and . . .” I gesture to the pastry display case next to us. “Anything to eat, Lilith?”

“Oh, uhm, just the latte please.”

“Just the two, Hannah. Happy to have your sisters home for some much-needed help?”

“Oh, yes! I needed it today. It would have taken me all day to serve everyone. Hey, Lily!”

“Hey, Hannah, I can’t believe how busy you are today!”

“It’s wild, but I’m so thankful for the business.”

Her sisters are quick to whip up our drinks, and I pull out my card to pay as Lilith digs through her purse. Using this as my excuse to finally reach out and touch her bare skin, I place my hand over hers, stopping her from pulling out her wallet. Electricity zaps through my palm on contact, and her eyes go wide, bouncing back and forth between mine, searching for answers. She felt it too.

“Let me get it. As a thank you for enduring this line with me this morning.”

She smiles, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Fuck, how I want to take those lips between my teeth. Releasing her hand before I’m ready to, I focus on paying Hannah for our drinks and guide Lilith out of Bean Haven. Once we’re outside on the cobblestone sidewalk, she turns to face me, pulling her coat closer to her neck, covering that bit of flesh I want to devour.

“Thank you again, Mr. Draven.”

“C’mon, really with the ‘Mr. Draven?’ I’m thirty-eight, not fifty-eight.”

She laughs, and I can’t help the smile I give her in return. She’s just so breathtaking and enchanting.

“Fine. Thank you for the latte, Wes.”

“You’re welcome, Lilith. I’ll be seeing you.”

Sooner than you realize.

“I ran into Lilith today. What happened between you two?” I ask my son over dinner. While Adam lives full-time with his mother now, he comes over once a week for a meal and some forced father-son time. Not that he actually wants to be here. In fact, he typically bails as often as he can, always with some excuse as to why he can’t have a simple meal with the man who created him and wants to spend time with him.

“Her name’s Lily, I don’t know why you call her that, it’s weird. And I doubt you want to know why I broke up with her.”

Curiosity more than piqued at this point, I give him a look that says try me .

“Alright, Dad, you asked for it,” he says before taking a deep breath, “she said she understood my desire to abstain from sex until marriage, so we ended up doing some other stuff, once, and not intercourse. But she asked me to give it to her rough. Like rough, rough. Degradation and shit. There’s something dark about her. I don’t like it.” Adam looks truly tortured and horrified, and if I wasn’t having a conversation with my son, my cock would be waking up, eager to take the job over. I wasn’t expecting that turn of events, or to gain that knowledge about what sweet, little Lilith Aspen likes in the bedroom. Even if it confirms my theory about her. Clearing my throat, I keep my composure firmly in place.

“And you’re not into that?” I ask, knowing full well his mother’s influence has made him the devout Christian he is. He has a set of deeply rooted values that he lives by.

“Definitely, not. I thought Lily was a good girl. Her parents told Mom that she was angelic, like the kind of girl you want to bring home to your parents and marry someday. I don’t want a wife with that kind of appetite. Her parents clearly have no idea they raised a temptress.”

I give him another look before speaking.

“So, this has everything to do with your faith?”

“That, too. Prayed on it good and hard, and Lilith isn’t right for me. She’ll find someone for her but it won’t be me. I’m sure it’ll be someone equally messed up.”

“Everyone has to do what’s best for them, aren’t you supposed to ‘not cast judgment?’” I ask.

“I can judge because it affected me. You’ve said that before. Breaking up with a potential whore for a wife was definitely the right decision.”

My immediate reaction comes on quickly and unrestrained. My fists ball at my sides and my jaw ticks before I speak through clenched teeth.

“Watch your damn mouth, Adam. Don’t call her that again.”

“For real? Why do you care if I call her a whore? Only whores want to be treated that way. Would you rather me call her a harlot?”

“Did you not hear what I just said?” My voice raises, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

“Loud and clear, Dad. Whatever. I’m heading home. I’ll talk to you later, I guess.”

Adam slings his bag over his shoulder and walks out, the door slamming behind him. Really fucking holy of him to call someone expressing their sexuality in a safe space a whore. Fuck, I hope he didn’t call her that to her face.

Letting my irritation with my idiot son go, I grab my laptop to spiral down a rabbit hole and gain access to some information. It’s what I do best.

I went to college for cybersecurity, earned several industry certifications, and found my niche when I became extremely good at hacking. I got a certification in penetration testing, and after causing some waves on the dark web, I was picked up by a private security company as a member of their red team. Then I went solo and got my license to be a private investigator. I work for clients all over the state of Washington, and a bit farther into other Pacific Northwest states if needed. Since everyone’s electronic footprint is so large nowadays, I’m overloaded with information, ready to dig up whatever someone might need.

The money I made while working in private security put me in a nice little spot to settle down and be picky about the jobs I take. The last one was actually right here in Aspen Ridge. The owner of Aspen Ridge Distillery, Sawyer Hayes, hired me to track his girl’s stalker ex-boyfriend. Luckily, I got to the bottom of his shitty-ass plans before too much damage was done. Props to Sawyer for hiring me and not giving a damn about what boundaries he had to cross to protect what’s his. I’d do the same if my woman was harmed or her life was in jeopardy. Who wouldn’t?

I get comfortable in my seat, settling in for a long night. Time to find out everything I can about Lilith Aspen.

I log in to my computer to do what I do best.

Hunt.