Fable of Happiness Book One Read online

  I swung with him, determined not to let him go.

  Our eyes locked.

  Fire to fire.

  Our hearts kicked.

  Soul to soul.

  Betrayal blackened his face as he noticed the rope that once bound me now prepared to bind him.

  His mouth opened to speak again. His gaze burning into me, making me char with guilt, making me feel things he had no right to make me feel.

  Don’t you dare stop, Gem!

  Crashing into him again, I reached for his other arm.

  I tripped as he stumbled backward, moving toward the drop off, backing away from me as if he forgot he could overpower me in a second. Undiluted fear shone in his stare before being drowned out by fierce cruelty.

  “Think you can switch roles with me?” he snarled, his arm still too high for me to grab. “You’ll pay for this.” His chest pressed against mine. His thigh wedged between my legs as I jumped like a five-year-old trying to get candy from his fingers.

  This was ridiculous.

  My plan was crumbling before it’d even begun.

  His other hand, with the rope dangling uselessly around his wrist, latched around my bicep, digging his nails into my skin. “Christ, I’m going to have fun reminding you of your place.” His cock hardened, tenting his slacks. Long hair danced around his wild face.

  And that cursed electricity hissed into being, pebbling my nipples, making my body crave his.

  No!

  Gritting my teeth, I tried one last time.

  Striking his hand off me, I gave it everything I had.

  “I’m not going back down there!” Leaping upward, I managed to grab his forearm, clinging with all my strength, desperate to drag his arm down so I could wrap them tight together.

  The only problem was.

  He was too strong.

  Too tall.

  Too much.

  It was demoralizing.

  So, I let go.

  He grinned, thinking he’d won. “You are going back down there. Or are you forgetting you’re mine now?”

  Try again.

  My thighs bunched, ready to jump and tackle for a third time. “I’m mine. Not yours.”

  “Oh, don’t worry.” He smirked. “We’ll have plenty of time to discuss who owns who when we get home.”

  “My home is in the opposite direction.” My eyes flew around the forest, assessing anchor points, galloping with new alternatives for my plan.

  I needed to incapacitate him. It was the only way I could flee.

  “Wrong.” His jaw worked, black possession etching his face. “Your home is with me now. I’m your home.”

  My heart fluttered.

  For a man as sheltered and as twisted as him, he knew how to use words as blades. Simple sentences had the power to stop me in my tracks, make me question everything, and somehow cajole me into agreeing with him.

  What if he was my home?

  What if we were destined to meet and—

  Stop.

  This was the crux of why I could never trust myself with him.

  He wasn’t just dangerous to my body. He was dangerous to my entire existence.

  My hands balled.

  I crouched.

  Last chance.

  He chuckled coldly, watching me coil to pounce. “You don’t give up easily, do you?”

  “When it’s my life on the line, never.”

  His eyes tightened. “You forfeited your life when you—”

  “Trespassed on your valley. Yes, I know.” I swallowed back fear and committed. “Consider this me fixing that mistake.”

  I leaped.

  His eyes shot wide in surprise.

  I’m sorry.

  My entire body weight crashed into him, knocking him off balance, sending him reeling, lurching...falling.

  Falling!

  “No!”

  Who shouted that? Me or him?

  His foot vanished off the edge of the cliff. His other ankle rolled, and his weight pulled him back.

  It happened sickeningly slow.

  Falling, tumbling...

  “Fuck.” He said the word calmly, detachedly, almost as if he was already resigned to his death. Already lived it, seen it, become friendly with it. His eyes met mine as he continued to fall. Almost serene. Almost grateful.

  “No...oh, God.” Instinct kicked in and I grabbed at the rope around his wrist. “I’ve got you.” I locked my fingers around the end just as he plunged off the edge.

  I caught it.

  I held it.

  His weight snatched it out of my hands.

  His stare caught mine one last time, full of lust, despair, and blistering connection.

  And then...

  ...he was gone.

  Pre-Order

  Fable of Happiness Book Two.

  Releasing 3rd August 2021

  PRE-ORDER HERE

  From New York Times Bestseller, Pepper Winters, comes the second book in Kas and Gem’s twisted romance.

  A valley full of secrets.

  A history full of nightmares.

  A man who cannot be saved.

  And a woman who holds his very life in her hands.

  Strange how the villain of a story can so easily become the victim.

  Utter lunacy to think the captive might now become the caregiver.

  Gemma has a decision to make.

  Her life or his.

  Follow her heart, even when it’s screaming at her to run? Or turn her back on the man who could become her everything?

  PRE-ORDER HERE

  Fable of Happiness Book Two.

  Releasing 3rd August 2021

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  PLAYLIST

  Harry Styles – Golden

  Miley Cyrus – Prisoner

  MEDUZA - Paradise (ft. Dermot Kennedy) – Paradise

  Imagine Dragons – Demons

  Zac Efron, Zendaya - Rewrite The Stars

  Bastille | Blame

  Bastille // The Draw

  Coldplay Fix You

  Britney Spears - Criminal

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you so much to my amazing beta readers. I couldn’t do what I do without you. A massive thanks to Heather, Rochelle, Nicole, Selena, Danielle, Cyn, Rowan, Effie, and Vickie. Your feedback and patience is invaluable.

  Thank you to the incredible audio narrators, Tor Thom and Charley Ongel for narrating Fable of Happiness. You did a fabulous job bringing this book to life!

  Thank you to all the wonderful reviewers and bloggers who took the time to read my work. For all the incredible reviews, graphics, and help spreading the word. You guys are so, so amazing and I’d be nothing without your support!

  Every message, every share, every teaser and review means the world to me.

  Thanks to my hubby who lets me sit in the corner and write about tortured men.

  Thanks to my readers for reading about those tortured men.

  Pepper xx

  OTHER WORK BY PEPPER WINTERS

  Pepper currently has over thirty books released in nine languages. She’s hit best-seller lists (USA Today, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal) almost forty times. She dabbles in multiple genres, ranging from Dark Romance to Coming of Age. She lives on a small farm with six horses, one rabbit, and one very obliging husband.

  For more information, please visit: www.pepperwinters.com

  DARK ROMANCE

  Goddess Isles Series – 5 x USA Today Bestseller

  First book, Once a Myth, is free. Click Here.

  Monsters in the Dark Trilogy – New York Times Bestseller

  First book, Tears of Tess, is free. Click Here.

&nb
sp; Indebted Series – New York Times Bestseller

  First book, Debt Inheritance, is free. Click Here.

  Dollar Series – 6 x USA Today Bestseller

  First book, Pennies, is free. Click Here.

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  The Master of Trickery Duet

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  The Ribbon Duet – USA Today Bestseller

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  Standalone Spinoff

  The Son & His Hope

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  Destroyed – USA Today Bestseller. Grey Romance

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  Unseen Messages – USA Today Bestseller. Survival Romance

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  ROMANTIC COMEDY written as TESS HUNTER

  Can’t Touch This

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