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  Easy With You

  A With Me In Seattle Novella

  By Kristen Proby

  1001 Dark Nights

  Easy With You

  A With Me In Seattle Novella

  By Kristen Proby

  1001 Dark Nights

  Copyright 2015 Kristen Proby

  ISBN: 978-1-940887-80-7

  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.

  Book Description

  Easy With You

  Nothing has ever come easy for Lila Bailey. She’s fought for every good thing in her life during every day of her thirty-one years. Aside from that one night with an impossible to deny stranger a year ago, Lila is the epitome of responsible.

  Steadfast. Strong.

  She’s pulled herself out of the train wreck of her childhood, proud to be a professor at Tulane University and laying down roots in a city she’s grown to love. But when some of her female students are viciously murdered, Lila’s shaken to the core and unsure of whom she can trust in New Orleans. When the police detective assigned to the murder case comes to investigate, she’s even more surprised to find herself staring into the eyes of the man that made her toes curl last year.

  In an attempt to move on from the tragic loss of his wife, Asher Smith moved his daughter and himself to a new city, ready for a fresh start. A damn fine police lieutenant, but new to the New Orleans force, Asher has a lot to prove to his colleagues and himself.

  With a murderer terrorizing the Tulane University campus, Asher finds himself toe-to-toe with the one woman that haunts his dreams. His hands, his lips, his body know her as intimately as he’s ever known anyone. As he learns her mind and heart as well, Asher wants nothing more than to keep her safe, in his bed, and in his and his daughter’s lives for the long haul.

  But when Lila becomes the target, can Asher save her in time, or will he lose another woman he loves?

  ABOUT KRISTEN PROBY:

  New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Kristen Proby is the author of the popular With Me in Seattle series. She has a passion for a good love story and strong characters who love humor and have a strong sense of loyalty and family. Her men are the alpha type—fiercely protective and a bit bossy—and her ladies are fun, strong, and not afraid to stand up for themselves. Kristen spends her days with her muse in the Pacific Northwest. She enjoys coffee, chocolate, and sunshine. And naps. Visit her at KristenProby.com.

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  Author Goodreads

  Novel Goodreads

  Also by Kristen Proby

  The Boudreaux Series:

  Easy Love

  The With Me In Seattle Series:

  Come Away With Me

  Under the Mistletoe With Me

  Fight With Me

  Play With Me

  Rock With Me

  Safe With Me

  Tied With Me

  Breathe With Me

  Forever With Me

  The Love Under the Big Sky Series (published by Pocket Books):

  Loving Cara

  Seducing Lauren

  Falling for Jillian

  Baby, It’s Cold Outside: An Anthology with Jennifer Probst, Emma Chase, Kristen Proby, Melody Anne and Kate Meader

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  1001 Dark Nights story

  The First Night

  by Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Kristen Proby

  Also by Kristen Proby

  Foreword

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Epilogue

  Also From 1001 Dark Nights

  An excerpt from Easy Love by Kristen Proby

  Special Thanks

  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.

  Prologue

  ~Asher~

  “You should consider moving here,” Mike says and takes a pull of the long-neck bottle of his beer, then shifts his gaze from the baseball game on the screen above the bar to me. We’re in the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, at some bar on Bourbon Street, having a few beers after a long day of work.

  I shake my head. I’ve heard this line from my brother at least a dozen times since he and his wife moved here from New York last year.

  “I’m happy in Seattle. Casey’s happy in Seattle.”


  “Casey will be happy wherever you’re happy,” Mike replies. “Don’t you want to be close to family?”

  “I’d be kicking your ass all the time,” I reply. “You’d be begging me to leave in a week.”

  “You could try, little brother,” Mike says with a smirk. “The force could use you.”

  I shrug a shoulder and drink my beer. I like working for the Seattle force. I have a dependable partner. Casey does well in school. But there’s no family for us there, and I admit it’s hard when my babysitter bails on me.

  Being a single father fucking sucks.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Mike nods and checks his phone when it lights up with a text. A group of girls behind us are laughing loudly, clearly having a good time. I wonder if it’s a bachelorette party.

  “Franny’s wondering when I’m coming home,” Mike says with a smile. “I’m getting laid, buddy.”

  I laugh and shake my head as I take a drink of my beer. “Good for you, buddy.”

  “Yes, she is good for me,” he agrees.

  “Ten years and two kids later and you still get that shit-eating grin on your face.” I smile, happy for my brother.

  “Of course, I love her.” He shoves his phone in his pocket, swallows the last of his beer, and claps his hand on my shoulder as he climbs off his stool. “I’m out. See you tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Suddenly, the sexy redhead from the group behind me is standing next to me at the bar, blinking her glassy green eyes. “Hi there.”

  “Hi.”

  “Having a good time?” I ask with a grin.

  “Yes.” She blinks some more, and then her eyes widen in recognition. “I know you!”

  “You do?” I’m quite sure I’d know if I’d met this woman.

  “Yes! You were on the plane with Lila yesterday. Asher?”

  “That’s right.” I take her offered hand and shake it, immediately remembering the gorgeous woman I caught in my lap on the plane. “Is Lila with you this evening?”

  And if she is, how in the ever-loving hell did I miss her?

  “Yep. She’s my BFF. We drink together. One time in college we made out, but it was no biggie.”

  “Okay.” I laugh, wishing I’d been there to see that.

  “You didn’t ask for her number.” She scowls and pokes her finger into my chest. I look down at it, then glance up at her with a raised brow.

  “You just assaulted an officer.”

  “I did?” She swallows hard.

  “Yes. I might have to arrest you.”

  “With handcuffs?” She smiles gleefully, clearly excited at the thought.

  “Would you like me to arrest you with handcuffs?”

  “Hell to the yes!”

  “Kate?” There’s suddenly a very tall, very irritated man standing behind the fiery redhead, staring daggers into me. I can’t help but laugh.

  “I’m talking to the hot Asher,” she says, not turning to look at him. “I assaulted him, and he’s a cop, and he’s going to put me in handcuffs.”

  “No, I don’t believe he will.”

  I laugh again. “There’s nothing going on here, man.”

  “Come see Lila!” Kate takes my hand, pulling me from my stool to the table behind us. Most of the women have cleared out, leaving just a few, including the sexy as fuck woman I met on the plane yesterday. “Where did everyone go?”

  “Declan took them home,” Lila replies, and her hand stops midway between the table and her lips, holding her drink. Her violet eyes widen when she sees me. “Hi.”

  “We meet again.” I sit next to her, my fingers itching to plunge in her dark hair and brush it over her shoulder. “How are you, Lila?”

  “Fine.” She clears her throat and smiles at me. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

  “A happy coincidence,” I reply softly. “You look beautiful.”

  And she does. Her eyes are a bit glassy from the alcohol, her cheeks just a little flushed. Her hair is straight and falls down her back and over her slim shoulders. Before I can ask her questions about her trip here, or anything about her, we are soon pulled into the conversation with the others at the table. But when Kate asks Lila if she’s ready to go, I’m shocked when Lila responds with, “I’m gonna have Asher take me home.”

  “Atta girl!” Kate high-fives Lila, making me chuckle, then turns her sights on me. “And listen up, buddy. If you hurt her, I don’t care if you really are a cop, I’ll make your life hell. Okay?”

  “Okay.” I nod soberly, glad that Lila has such fiercely loyal friends in her life.

  And I barely know her.

  “I hope that’s okay,” Lila says and turns to me with an embarrassed smile.

  “More than okay.” I can’t help it. I have to touch her. I tuck her hair behind her ear with my fingertip and then drag it down her jawline. “But I don’t think I want to take you home and end the evening.”

  “I don’t either,” she whispers, her eyes fixed on my lips. She licks hers, and just like that I’m hard as fuck. “And that’s very unlike me.”

  “Oh?”

  She nods soberly. “I don’t do this sort of thing.”

  “What sort of thing would this be?” I lean into her, enjoying the smell of her, the way her eyes dilate as I get closer.

  “Pick up strange men.”

  “Well, I’m not exactly a stranger. I mean, you’ve already been in my lap, after all.” I smile down at her, enjoying the way her cheeks redden at the memory of her falling into my lap on the plane yesterday.

  “You didn’t seem to mind.”

  Oh, trust me sweetheart, I didn’t mind at all.

  “Would it be okay if I took you back to my hotel? It’s a couple blocks away.”

  “You’re bold,” she says with a flirty grin. “And I think I’d like that.”

  I stand, take her hand, and pull her to her feet, then lead her out of the bar and onto the busy street. She’s in mile-high heels, which are going to look fantastic over my shoulders, but are not appropriate for walking around New Orleans.

  When she stumbles about a block away from the hotel, I simply lift her in my arms and carry her the rest of the way.

  “You’re strong.” She loops her arms around my neck and presses her nose to my cheek. “And you smell good.”

  “And if you keep running your fingers through my hair like that, I’m going to fuck you right here, against the side of the hotel,” I inform her, my voice completely calm but clear. She simply laughs and kisses my cheek.

  “I’m sure we wouldn’t be the first people to fuck against the side of this hotel. This is New Orleans.” She smirks as I set her on her feet by the elevator.

  “True enough.”

  When the elevators arrive, she saunters in, leans her back against the far wall, and crooks her finger at me, inviting me to join her.

  And who the fuck can resist that?

  “You’re sexy,” I murmur and kiss her forehead. She plants her hands on my sides, gripping my shirt in her small fists. God, she’s the sexiest thing I’ve seen in a very long time, and not only is coming here with me out of character for her, it’s completely new to me too.

  I don’t do one-night stands.

  Fuck, I don’t date much.

  Having a young daughter will do that to you.

  “So are you.”

  The elevator arrives on my floor. I escort her calmly to my room, open the door and motion for her to lead me inside. And as soon as the door closes, I grip her shoulders in my hands and spin her, pinning her back against the door with my body. I plant my hands on either side of her head and lean in, not kissing her. Not yet. Her eyes are wide, staring at my lips again, pulse thrumming, panting.

  She’s so fucking sexy I can hardly breathe.

  “I want to fuck you, Lila.”

  “Oh good.” She swallows. “We’re on the same page. I want to fuck you too.”

  “No, sweetheart.” I grin
and lower my face beside hers. I’m not touching her, but I can feel her. Our skin is almost touching, and I know I’m making her crazy.

  I’m making me fucking crazy.

  “I’m going to fuck you.” I drag my nose along her earlobe and grin when she shivers. “But first, I think we could use something to cool us off.”

  “Cool us off?” she whispers.

  Without touching her, I back away, take her hand and walk to the small wet bar in my room, open a bottle of Patrón that one of the guys at the precinct gave me, slice a lime and reach for the salt shaker sitting on my room service tray from lunch, relieved that I forgot to set it in the hallway on my way out this afternoon.

  “Have you ever done body shots?” I ask her. She’s watching me closely, her hip leaning against the counter, arms crossed over her chest.

  “No.” She shakes her head and bites her lip.

  “Wanna do them with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll go first.” I pull her to me, her stomach against my pelvis, and push her hair over her shoulder. “Tip your head back, please.”

  She complies, and I lick a short path down the side of her neck, making her breath catch. God, she’s so damn responsive. I shake a little salt on the wet spot, then lick it clean, take the shot, and suck on the lime.

  Her eyes never leave me. I love that she’s not shy.

  “My turn,” she says as she unbuttons my shirt and pushes it aside. She stands on her tiptoes and licks right under my collarbone, as that’s as high as she can reach, then repeats the process, making me even harder at the feel of her sweet lips and tongue on my skin.

  When she’s done, I turn her around and lick down the back of her neck, her shoulder, and pull the strap of her dress down her arm, drag my fingertips over her skin, making her shiver again. After I take the shot, she holds the lime up to my lips, offering it over her shoulder.