At his lowest, Trent wished that Lizzie would leave him alone. He couldn’t bear to have her see him like this. And even worse, she’d heard every word out of Edward’s mouth. She’d learned things about Trent he’d never wanted her to know.She touched his hand. “Please say something. Anything. Can you hear me?”He tried to reply, but he could only gulp in air. It was like he was no longer connected to his body. He could see everything happening, but it was from very far away. He forced himself to stand, but he staggered a little. Lizzie held him up, but he pushed her away gently.“I’m okay,” he rasped. “You don’t need to be here.”“As if I’m going to leave younow?Jesus, Trent, you look like you could collapse any second.” She pushed his hair away from his forehead. “I’m not going to leave you alone.”He leaned against the wall behind him, taking in deep breaths of cool air. His head pounded. It was ironic, really, that when he’d wanted Lizzie most, she’d left him, but now
Trent didn’t see Lizzie again until the funeral two weeks later. He didn’t speak to her; he didn’t think he could say anything anyway. When she touched his hand and murmured her condolences, he could only nod.Edward had lingered on, just like Phin had said he would. When he’d passed, though, he’d finally seemed at peace for the first time in his life.That was a small thing to be grateful for.Trent had wanted to see Lizzie with a desperation that terrified him. He’d dialed her number and begun writing so many texts, but he’d always resisted contacting her. He’d ended things because it was better for her. He could find the self-control to leave her alone.He told himself that it was better this way. He thought those words like an incantation every night he lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, sleep eluding him.He worked in his restaurants for twelve, fourteen hours a day. He hoped that if he worked his fingers to the bone, he’d be able to sleep. Sometimes it worked; usually i
After a long and unsurprisingly rainy winter, Lizzie was looking forward to sunshine and having this baby born. The closer she got to her due date, the readier she was to have this babyout, and by mid-March, she was huge, cranky, and impatient.She looked over her giant belly at Trent one morning and glared at him. “What are you smiling about?”His smile just widened. “Because you’re so beautiful.” He kissed her cheek, and she gave him a grumpy smile.“Did you get me my ice cream?”“Yes, and the Kalamata olives.”“I guess I’m glad I married you.” She took him by his shirt collar to give him a real kiss, which he returned with great enthusiasm.They’d married down at the courthouse on the coldest and rainiest day in December. Lizzie had worn a blue dress with a tiny sweater, because she was always hot and she’d basically forgone coats this winter, while Trent had worn his best suit and had worried she’d freeze. In front of her siblings and his siblings—a rowdier, more opinio
When a figure appeared from the shadows only feet from her door, Rose reached inside her jacket to pull out her gun. Until she realized it was Seth.“Now you must be stalking me,” she groused. She was halfway tempted to point her gun at him anyway.He had his hands up, although he didn’t look scared. Of course not. Rose was fairly certain nothing scared Seth.“What are you doing out here?” she asked when he said nothing.He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. It’s nice out. I thought I’d say hi to my neighbor when she got home. The usual.”“Uh-huh. Well, you’ve said it, and now I’m saying goodbye. I need to let Callie out before I go to bed.”“Then I’ll walk with you.”She wanted to stomp her foot, she was so frustrated, but she had a feeling that would only make it worse. Sighing, she went to get Callie, ignoring Seth even as he walked alongside her.Callie, to Rose’s annoyance, decided she was not going to do her business quickly. The dog wanted to sniff every bush and every mailbox
Say You’re MineAll I Ask of YouMake Me YoursHold Me CloseOopsie DaisyHe Loves Me, He Loves Me NotPetal PluckerWar of the RosesincludingThen Came YouTaking a Chance on LoveAll I Want Is YouMy One and OnlyThe Nearness of YouThe Very Thought of YouIf I Can’t Have YouDream a Little Dream of MeSomeone to Watch Over MeTill There Was YouI’ll Be Home for Christmas
A coffee addict and cat lover, Iris Morland writes sexy and funny contemporary romances. If she's not reading or writing, she enjoys binging on Netflix shows and cooking something delicious.Stay in touch!irismorland.comIris Morland’s MermaidsNewsletter Facebook Twitter BookBub Goodreads Instagram
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.Dream a Little Dream of Me (The Thorntons Book 4)Published by Blue Violet Press LLCSeattle, WashingtonCopyright © 2017 by Iris MorlandCover design by Resplendent MediaAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Lizzie Thornton grabbed her ex-boyfriend Trent Younger by his lapels and hung on for dear life as he kissed her, certain that she would either collapse at his feet or melt into a puddle from the heat of his touch.Trent growled deep in his throat, something animalistic and rough, and it sent shivers down Lizzie’s spine. He smelled so good—smoky and cedary—and he kissed like a fiend. He hadn’t kissed like this when they’d been teenagers, that was for sure. Back then, they’d both been tentative, learning how to kiss each other.This Trent Younger, though? He was anything but tentative.He licked at the seam of her lips, and she let her mouth fall open in surrender. A tiny voice in her head whispered that she should push him away and end this, but that voice got smaller and smaller until it disappeared entirely.She pressed against him, running her hands through his hair. He gripped her ass as he deepened the kiss.“I want you,” he muttered, kissing down her neck. “God, Lizzie, I wan
A coffee addict and cat lover, Iris Morland writes sexy and funny contemporary romances. If she's not reading or writing, she enjoys binging on Netflix shows and cooking something delicious.Stay in touch!irismorland.comIris Morland’s MermaidsNewsletter Facebook Twitter BookBub Goodreads Instagram
Say You’re MineAll I Ask of YouMake Me YoursHold Me CloseOopsie DaisyHe Loves Me, He Loves Me NotPetal PluckerWar of the RosesincludingThen Came YouTaking a Chance on LoveAll I Want Is YouMy One and OnlyThe Nearness of YouThe Very Thought of YouIf I Can’t Have YouDream a Little Dream of MeSomeone to Watch Over MeTill There Was YouI’ll Be Home for Christmas
When a figure appeared from the shadows only feet from her door, Rose reached inside her jacket to pull out her gun. Until she realized it was Seth.“Now you must be stalking me,” she groused. She was halfway tempted to point her gun at him anyway.He had his hands up, although he didn’t look scared. Of course not. Rose was fairly certain nothing scared Seth.“What are you doing out here?” she asked when he said nothing.He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. It’s nice out. I thought I’d say hi to my neighbor when she got home. The usual.”“Uh-huh. Well, you’ve said it, and now I’m saying goodbye. I need to let Callie out before I go to bed.”“Then I’ll walk with you.”She wanted to stomp her foot, she was so frustrated, but she had a feeling that would only make it worse. Sighing, she went to get Callie, ignoring Seth even as he walked alongside her.Callie, to Rose’s annoyance, decided she was not going to do her business quickly. The dog wanted to sniff every bush and every mailbox
After a long and unsurprisingly rainy winter, Lizzie was looking forward to sunshine and having this baby born. The closer she got to her due date, the readier she was to have this babyout, and by mid-March, she was huge, cranky, and impatient.She looked over her giant belly at Trent one morning and glared at him. “What are you smiling about?”His smile just widened. “Because you’re so beautiful.” He kissed her cheek, and she gave him a grumpy smile.“Did you get me my ice cream?”“Yes, and the Kalamata olives.”“I guess I’m glad I married you.” She took him by his shirt collar to give him a real kiss, which he returned with great enthusiasm.They’d married down at the courthouse on the coldest and rainiest day in December. Lizzie had worn a blue dress with a tiny sweater, because she was always hot and she’d basically forgone coats this winter, while Trent had worn his best suit and had worried she’d freeze. In front of her siblings and his siblings—a rowdier, more opinio
Trent didn’t see Lizzie again until the funeral two weeks later. He didn’t speak to her; he didn’t think he could say anything anyway. When she touched his hand and murmured her condolences, he could only nod.Edward had lingered on, just like Phin had said he would. When he’d passed, though, he’d finally seemed at peace for the first time in his life.That was a small thing to be grateful for.Trent had wanted to see Lizzie with a desperation that terrified him. He’d dialed her number and begun writing so many texts, but he’d always resisted contacting her. He’d ended things because it was better for her. He could find the self-control to leave her alone.He told himself that it was better this way. He thought those words like an incantation every night he lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, sleep eluding him.He worked in his restaurants for twelve, fourteen hours a day. He hoped that if he worked his fingers to the bone, he’d be able to sleep. Sometimes it worked; usually i
At his lowest, Trent wished that Lizzie would leave him alone. He couldn’t bear to have her see him like this. And even worse, she’d heard every word out of Edward’s mouth. She’d learned things about Trent he’d never wanted her to know.She touched his hand. “Please say something. Anything. Can you hear me?”He tried to reply, but he could only gulp in air. It was like he was no longer connected to his body. He could see everything happening, but it was from very far away. He forced himself to stand, but he staggered a little. Lizzie held him up, but he pushed her away gently.“I’m okay,” he rasped. “You don’t need to be here.”“As if I’m going to leave younow?Jesus, Trent, you look like you could collapse any second.” She pushed his hair away from his forehead. “I’m not going to leave you alone.”He leaned against the wall behind him, taking in deep breaths of cool air. His head pounded. It was ironic, really, that when he’d wanted Lizzie most, she’d left him, but now
Trent heard the words the attending physician, Dr. Smythe, was saying, but they seemed like a foreign language. They wouldn’t compute in his brain.Heart attackQuadruple bypassWon’t survive the surgeryKidney failureAsh sat next to him in Edward’s hospital room. Thea hadn’t arrived yet, and Phin and Lucy were too far away to come on short notice. Trent stared at his father, currently sedated and lying in a hospital bed, and he didn’t know how he was supposed to feel.He should feel sad, shouldn’t he? But mostly he felt numb. It all felt like a bad dream. It felt just like when Bea had overdosed: a nightmare he’d wanted to claw his way out of, but he couldn’t even move.Ash was grim, his jaw clenched. He kept tapping his foot, and Trent almost told his brother to be still. The tapping got faster, louder, and it was like a hammer in Trent’s temples.“Can you not?” he finally said, not even looking at Ash.Ash grunted and got up to pace instead.Ash had always been the siblin
“Why am I here again?” Lizzie asked, staring at her sister and four brothers. “I thought you already grilled me about my life and my choices.”Summer was edging into September, and with it, Lizzie watched her baby bump grow little by little with every passing day. Now past the first trimester, her morning sickness had mostly disappeared, and she felt more energetic every day.It helped that she saw Trent so often. If she wasn’t at his apartment, he was taking her out to dinner, or wooing her like they’d just started dating. He hadn’t mentioned anything else about marriage, however, and Lizzie wondered if he regretted jumping the gun.Tonight, Jubilee had texted her to let her know the siblings—with their respective mates—were going to Harrison’s place for dinner. Lizzie had almost called off, but she knew very well that her brothers would show up at her door if she didn’t make an appearance.Harrison and his wife Sara, along with her son James, lived together in what had been Harri
Lizzie awoke in the middle of the night to find Trent gone. At first she assumed he’d left the apartment, and her heart sank, but as her eyes adjusted to the dimness of her bedroom, she saw a figure standing by her window.She heard the patter of rain on the roof. Trent’s back was to her, and he didn’t move from his spot. Dawn hadn’t yet arrived, and when Lizzie glanced at her clock, she saw that it was only three in the morning.She went to him, wrapping her arms around him. He jolted a little in surprise before laughing quietly.“Why are you awake?” she murmured. She watched the rain hit the window, illuminated by the streetlamps outside.“I couldn’t sleep,” was his only reply.Lizzie felt the tension in him, the same tension she’d felt when he’d burst into her apartment that evening. She’d never felt so much desperation in Trent’s kisses before, and when she’d first seen his expression, she’d been frightened. Not frightened for herself, but scared forhim.Now, that earli