Devoured Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  About the Book

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  About the Author

  Please Enjoy This Excerpt Of

  DEVOURED

  A Kinky Adult Fairy Tale

  Bedding the Bad Girl Book One

  By Callie Wild

  About the Book

  DEVOURED: A Kinky Adult Fairy Tale

  Bedding the Bad Girl Book One

  Because big girls like bedtime stories too (naughty ones)…

  Take one hot, troubled sex toy mogul on the search for the perfect edible panty flavor. Add one big, beautiful wrongly accused candy maker with a heart of gold. Watch the sparks fly.

  Heath and Bella find passion, love, and laughs in her cottage in the woods, but soon an ancient family curse threatens their future. Can they overcome their demons or will happily ever after remain out of reach?

  A sexy, stand-alone continuation of Hansel and Gretel perfect for a hot, fast-paced bedtime read. No Cliffhanger.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Devoured c. 2015 Callie Wild

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This erotic romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with, especially if you enjoy hot, sexy, emotional novels featuring alpha males. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work. This book was previously published as Sweetly Ever After by Anna J. Evans. It has been extensively revised and reworked before being re-released. Cover design by Bootstrap Designs.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Heath

  The Kingdom Times, August 3421

  The Parish of Deepweeds

  Annabella Quinn, the latest in a long line of renowned candy makers, was acquitted today in the case of Quinn vs. the Parish of Deepweeds. Despite the media frenzy surrounding the charges of kidnapping and attempted child boiling, the jury found insufficient evidence to support the claims of the two Procter children. The defendant was released from custody this afternoon.

  Ms. Quinn refused to comment as to why the children would fabricate such an elaborate story, saying only, “I’m just so glad it’s all over. I want to go home.”

  The father of the two alleged victims also refused to comment, insisting that, “Sometimes the truth doesn’t win out. I just hope she gets what’s coming to her, one way or another.”

  At the moment, Mr. Procter seems to be getting his wish. The profit margins of the Incredible Edible Quinn Candy Company have dropped to the lowest in their three-hundred-year history, and it remains to be seen whether sales will improve.

  Annabella Quinn may have been cleared by a jury of her peers, but the verdict is still out in the court of public opinion.

  * * * *

  Heath Miller stood on his head in the center of his office, surrounded by the products that had made him an overnight success. He was rich, he was powerful, he was having a hell of a good time, and refreshing blood was flowing down to his brain, feeding the synapses and enhancing the function of his pineal and pituitary glands.

  He should have been on top of the world. He should have been laughing all the way to the bank, but he wasn’t.

  “The new flavors are here, sir,” his assistant, Mary, announced, sticking her head in the door.

  “I hate them already!”

  “Don’t yell, sir, you haven’t tried them yet.”

  “I’ve read the list. I don’t have to torture myself.”

  “You can’t read how something will taste.”

  “Mary, how many times have I told you that I hate watermelon?” He sighed, twisting his legs around each other but staying on his head.

  What was the use in turning right side up? He knew he wouldn’t be able to stomach the new flavors any better than he had the old. They were all disgusting, imperfect, puke inducing. Each attempt fell short of the explosively sensual taste experience that he longed to deliver to his customers and claim for himself.

  After all, it was his taste for all things tasty and kinky that had been responsible for the creation of Melt Me Enterprises in the first place. No amount of rising profit shares or commercial success could satisfy him when he knew that his products were so far from being the best that they could be.

  “Several times, sir.” Mary eased into the office carrying a brown cardboard box, no doubt filled to the brim with edible underwear and flavored condoms.

  “Both watermelon flavor, and watermelon flavoring flavor,” Heath added, wrinkling his nose, even the thought of watermelon flavoring flavor enough to make his sinuses burn.

  “Aren’t they the same?” Mary asked.

  “Don’t toy with me, Mary.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it, sir.”

  “We both know better,” he said with an offended grunt. “And whoever thought it would be a good idea to mix watermelon with strawberry and grape should be dragged out into the street and shot.”

  “You’re right, as usual, sir.”

  “How many times have I told you I hate being called ‘sir’?”

  “Several times, sir.”

  “I hate you, Mary.” Heath rolled forward to lie on his back, looking up at the woman who kept his business running like a well-oiled machine.

  “I doubt that, especially when you see what I’ve brought you,” Mary said, a small, satisfied smile on her usually “all business” face.

  “Is it a motorcycle?” he asked.

  “Better.”

  “Better than a motorcycle,” he muttered, wondering if such a thing were possible.

  “I finished analyzing the profit reports on Incredible Edible this morning, and double-checked a few things with our accounting staff. We all agree that, without a miracle, the company will be bankrupt by the end of the year.” She set the box on the floor, giving Heath a clear view of the overstuffed file folders within, most of which bore her telltale color coding.

  When he’d said he wanted all the dirt on the Incredible Edible Quinn Candy Company yesterday, he’d assumed it would take at least a week for Mary to gather the information.

  “You’re right. This is better than a motorcycle.” A smile spread across Heath’s face as he clapped his hands together loud enough to make Mary jump.

  “I thought you’d think so,” she said with a laugh. “Your bags are packed and waiting in the front office. If you leave now, you can just make the next train.”

  “I love you, Mary.” Heath vaulted to his feet, enveloping his assistant in a bear hug.r />
  “Let me go, you big dork.” Mary laughed.

  “Yes! Dork. Much better than ‘sir.’” Heath released her and headed for the door.

  This was it, the moment he’d been waiting for! Now nothing, but nothing, was going to keep him from getting Annabella Quinn to sign on the dotted line.

  “Don’t scare her, Heath,” Mary called after him. “She’s had a rough year.”

  “Me? Scary?” Heath asked, genuinely shocked that Mary would consider such a warning necessary.

  Almost as shocked as he was by the fact that she’d used his first name. They’d known each other since they were kids, but she insisted on calling him sir while they were at work, keeping their professional relationship professional.

  “You know what I mean, sir,” Mary said.

  “You don’t think she’ll like me?”

  “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

  “I’m not going to take no for an answer, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be mean to the poor woman.” Heath shrugged on his overcoat, hurt that his right-hand woman seemed to think he had no more finesse than a bull in a china shop.

  “I know you won’t, sir.”

  “She’s going to like me, Mary. Hell, she’s going to love me,” Heath said, his confidence recovering when Mary smiled and rolled her eyes.

  As he opened the door, he let out a battle cry that was echoed by the rest of his staff, all of whom were hard at work on the production floor outside his office. They made such a racket that he didn’t hear the quiet words that slipped out of his assistant’s lips as the door slammed shut behind him.

  “I know, sir,” Mary whispered. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Bella

  “You have some nerve.” Bella shook her head and gave the obscenely beautiful man on her front steps her sternest look.

  She would normally be too shy to speak to a strange man, let alone one so handsome, but at this point it didn’t matter that this “Heath Miller” character was by far the most stunning male specimen she had ever gazed upon in the flesh. She hated his sandy-blond hair, golden eyes, and sparkly white teeth at first sight.

  She’d had enough of the “generous” offers creeps like him had been sending her for the past three months. Neither she, nor her company, were up for sale or rent. She’d made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t interested in what Miller was selling. Still, he’d had the guts to travel all the way out to her cabin to try to force her to see things his way.

  Bella lived in the middle of nowhere, as far back in the Deepweeds Parish as you could get and not be a resident of Outer Kartolia. Her nearest neighbor was a ten-minute carriage ride to the south and she liked it that way. She liked being alone, in a part of the Kingdom where cars weren’t allowed and life moved at a slower pace. She’d known everyone in the parish for years, and it was common knowledge that she guarded her privacy fiercely.

  It was shocking that anyone had told this man how to find the trail to her home, and even more shocking that he had been bold enough to violate the solitude that had made her family as famous as their candy.

  It was almost enough to make her lose her temper, the one thing she never did and the only thing she had left to lose.

  “Listen, Bella, I—”

  “Don’t say another word,” she warned.

  “Another word.” His face lit up when he smiled, his slightly crooked front teeth somehow making him even more handsome.

  A tingle of awareness sizzled across Bella’s skin, making her nipples tighten inside her camisole and mysterious aches begin in lower places.

  “Goodbye, Mr. Miller.” Bella started to shut the door in his face. She’d never been so rude, but her response to this man’s smile was enough to scare the good manners right out of her.

  “Please, Bella,” he pleaded, smile vanishing as he stuck a boot in her door to keep it from closing, reaching a hand through the crack to grasp her fingertips like a lover praying for a second chance.

  “That’s Ms. Quinn to you, sir.” Bella took a deep breath, struggling to ignore how nice his long, tapered fingers felt twined around her own.

  God, it had been so long since she’d felt the touch of another human being, especially a male human being.

  “Please don’t call me sir. I’m Heath, just plain Heath, and I really wish you’d give me a chance. I can promise you, whatever reasons you have for refusing me aren’t the right ones.”

  The intensity of his feelings simmered in his honey-colored gaze. His passion was real, and completely…captivating.

  “You don’t know anything about me or my reasons.” Bella dragged her focus away from the amazing depths of his eyes, and the dangerous thoughts they inspired. Those eyes might promise salvation, but his mouth was trying to convince her to sell her soul.

  His mouth. He had a beautiful mouth. Such full lips, so soft-looking and—

  “Let me go,” Bella said, squirming her fingers. “You need to leave.”

  “Not until I’ve said my piece.” He released her fingers, sending a strange wave of disappointment rushing through her.

  “I do know you, Bella,” he pressed on. “I know you’re the best. I know you create taste sensations that devastate me in the best way. I know you have a passion for your work that goes beyond the bottom line and that you’ll never be satisfied with mediocrity.”

  He fell to his knees and bowed his head until it thudded against the wooden door. “I’ll do anything to work with you. Name the price, and I’ll pay it.”

  “I don’t want your money,” Bella said.

  “I don’t mean just money, damn it!” Heath bounced back to his feet and leaned forward until his face filled the crack in the doorway. “I mean whatever I have to do to make you see that your talent wouldn’t be wasted. You would be the most treasured asset to my company, and you would be making a positive impact on the lives of thousands of people. Command me, Bella, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “You’re crazy,” Bella said with an exasperated laugh.

  “Crazy for you and your incredibly edibly talented hands.” He smiled. “Come on, let me in. Let’s sit down and talk about this like reasonable crazy people.”

  “Who said I was crazy?” she asked.

  “I did,” he said with another big grin. “You’d have to be crazy to refuse me and my generous, wonderful, fun and sexy offer.”

  Bella sighed, starting to like this man in spite of herself. “Fine, you can come in,” she said as she opened the door. “But that doesn’t mean I’m seriously considering your offer.”

  “I would hope not. I can’t stand to have anyone seriously consider anything. That’s no fun at all.” Heath strode into her cabin like he had lived there all his life. Immediately his presence flooded the room, invading every corner of her entirely feminine space.

  “Nice.” He looked around appreciatively. “I love the pictures.”

  “They’re old ads from when my great-grandmother took over the company. She had them framed.” Bella moved toward the stove in the corner of the room. She hoped a bit of tea would calm her nerves, though she sensed nothing about her would be calm as long as the man behind her was within a ten-mile radius.

  “They make my mouth water just looking at them.” He followed her to the stove, and stood uncomfortably close as she lit the burner and put the kettle on. “Very sexy.”

  God, did he have to keep saying that word? It made her feel fluttery inside just hearing it roll from his lips.

  “I don’t drink tea,” he said when she took down two cups.

  “I didn’t offer.”

  “But you were going to. Unless you’re in the habit of double fisting.”

  “Double fisting?”

  “That’s what my bartender calls it when I get an amber for one hand and a pale ale for the other. I think the term can also describe some kinky business when someone takes their fist and—”

  “What do you want, Mr. Miller?”
Bella asked, cutting him off.

  “What do I want?” He stepped even closer, until Bella found herself pinned between his athletic body and the counter, her heart beating triple time.

  “You know what I want, Big B,” he continued.

  “Big B?”

  “Little B?” he asked with another thousand-watt grin.

  “I’m not very little.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  Bella frowned. “Is that an insult?”

  He blinked. “Of course not. God, you look…”

  His words trailed off, but the look in his eyes told her exactly how he thought she looked. He thought she looked yummy. Very yummy.

  Bella’s breath caught and a pulse of awareness took up between her legs.

  “You’re perfect,” Heath finally said. “I think you’ve got a killer body. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

  “Why should that bother me?” Bella asked, the pulse between her thighs becoming an ache.

  “Because I hardly know you? Because I’m here on professional business?” His expression looked unsure for the first time since he’d shown up at her door. “Because I never think before I talk? But I don’t mean to be rude. I promise, Bella, I don’t want to make your life any harder. I want to help. I really do. I’ve admired you for a long time.”

  “I appreciate that, Heath,” she said, liking the feel of his name on her lips. “But I will never go into business with you. My family’s good name means too much to me.”

  “My company isn’t dirty, Bella,” he said, brows drawing together. “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying yourself, or making products that help other people enjoy themselves.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t like the idea of making sex toys. I’m just not—”

  “I know you don’t, but that’s because you don’t understand. They’re not toys, they’re instruments of pleasure. Wouldn’t you like someone to savor you like the first bite of a triple chocolate cake?”