Inn Love: A Steamy Standalone Instalove Romance Read online

  CONTENTS

  Inn Love

  NEWSLETTER

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Two months later

  One year later

  Ten years later

  NEWSLETTER

  A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS

  BRATVA BEAR SHIFTERS

  LAIRDS & LADIES

  RUSSIAN UNDERWORLD

  IRISH WOLF SHIFTERS

  INKED BY LOVE

  Collaborations

  About the Author

  INN LOVE

  AN OLDER MAN YOUNGER WOMAN ROMANCE

  _______________________

  A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS, 294

  FLORA FERRARI

  Copyright © 2022 by Flora Ferrari

  All 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.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The following story contains mature themes, strong language and sexual situations. It is intended for mature readers.

  INN LOVE

  Elijah

  I’ve never really been into the West Coast women, all glitz and glamor. They just want what you can do for them.

  I am so tired of looking for the right woman, I don’t even date.

  I look at all my single male friends and it looks like such a hassle to deal with. Different women, all the time.

  I’ll know my perfect mate when I see her, but not if I can only associate with actresses and groupies. So I need a break from all the directors, actors, producers, and cameramen….

  Returning home to restore my family’s Inn seems like a step down from my Hollywood stardom.

  But I guess I came here for a reason because a beautiful stranger is walking toward the doorstep of my parent’s Inn, looking for an inexpensive room to spend the night.

  It’s her.

  I instantly recognize that this is the woman who I have been waiting for to walk into my life, just begging for me to make her mine….

  She’s young and beautiful. She could have any man she wants but would she want an older man like me?

  Olivia

  It’s truly been a lonely and oftentimes scary life for me since I was a child.

  Moving from home to home, never really finding my place with another family, never mind if they liked me or not.

  All I really wanted was to find a place to belong and to be loved.

  Living in the city, though, I haven’t been able to find a job that can afford a better apartment, never mind the dump I live in now.

  Plus, just my luck, there is a strange man stalking me. I have no idea who he is or why he is following me, but anywhere I go, he seems to be there.

  So, getting kicked out of my apartment seems like a blessing in disguise this time.

  When I show up at the one Inn in town that has a room, I’m greeted by the most handsome man on Earth. His appearance just stops me in my tracks.

  Never have I seen such beauty in a man before. I could tell when our eyes locked that he would play an extremely important part in my life from here on out. But I have a secret, and it may threaten to destroy this thing between him and me….

  * Inn Love is an insta-everything standalone instalove romance with a HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.

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  CHAPTER ONE

  Elijah

  This small town is a far cry from LA. I might have grown up here, but it feels like that was a different lifetime.

  I haven’t been back here in a long time, and as I drive through town, it feels like something I dreamt up rather than somewhere I used to call home.

  Ever since I became a Hollywood star and moved away, I guess I’ve not had much time for this place. Of course, there are good memories here, but they also tear at my heart even though they were great ones.

  As I get out of my sleek black car outside my family’s Inn, it feels like everyone in the square turns to look at me. Who can blame them?

  A man from a place like this isn’t expected to go on and do big things. But now, I’ve been heralded as the hottest man in the movie industry. The guy who always gets the best roles, the guy who all of the ladies are swooning over. If they only knew how alone I felt at times, not having anyone to share my life with.

  And yet here I am. Back in town to help my parents out with their Inn. Surprisingly, having a famous son hasn’t really done wonders for their business. This place is in need of some serious TLC, and that takes time and money. Something I have a lot of right now. So, since I needed some time to myself and to think about the rest of my life, I decided to return to my hometown and help my parents renovate the old Inn they owned.

  I only agreed to come and help them because I knew they were desperate.

  I don’t really like coming back here if I can help it. I wasn’t happy here growing up, always feeling like an outsider. But I’d do anything for my parents, and since I’m taking a break from acting roles, I guess it’s the least I can do.

  I can put some money into the Inn and some manual labor. Then maybe I can help bring some tourists in. I mean, who wouldn’t want to visit the Inn where their favorite actor grew up?

  As I head up toward the Inn, I feel a sense of nostalgia I can’t deny. This is the place where my Mom taught me how to ride a bike, where my father and I played basketball in the garden, and where my brother and I bonded.

  But that’s a long time ago.

  I sigh. I guess I neglected my family a little after I got out of this place. I only wanted to see the world, to make something of myself. I didn’t consider that I’d be leaving them behind as well.

  I guess I temporarily lost my sense of family when the acting roles and other accolades came pouring in.

  I knock on the front door, which feels odd considering that I still have a set of keys for this place. I used to live here, after all. But still, I wait for my Mom to come and answer the door. Her face breaks into a smile when she sees me, and that’s how I know it’s been far too long since I came home.

  It’s like she never expected to see me again.

  “Welcome home, Elijah,” she says, pulling me in for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. You’re going to be a big help around here.”

  “I hope so, Mom,” I say, looking over her shoulder at the state of the place. It kind of looks like it’s falling apart. The lobby of our family Inn has peeling wallpaper, and the place where the room keys are hooked is full. I’m guessing they don’t get many guests here at all, though Mom would never admit that. She has her pride.

  “Come in, let me make you a coffee….”

  “No need, Mom. I may as well go straight to
work,” I tell her gruffly. After a long journey, I just want to be alone for a while and get lost in some work.

  Work has always been something for me to disappear into, to escape reality for a while. Unfortunately, I don’t have a movie character to lose myself in now, but I can sure as hell get started on the projects around this place.

  Mom blinks at me in surprise. I guess she was hoping we could sit down and catch up, but after the few months I’ve had, talking is the last thing I want to do. I don’t want to tell her about my failures.

  I don’t want to see her pitying eyes when I talk about why I’m taking a break from my life in Hollywood. She would only make the whole thing seem worse.

  “I’m fine, Mom,” I say, maybe a little too sternly, pulling away from her embrace. “Just tell me what needs to be done, and I can do it,” I add trying to soften my tone.

  “Well, alright then…I guess we could really use some help chopping some firewood for the hearth in the lounge. It’ll be winter soon, and your father is getting too old to do it himself. You can start on the renovation work tomorrow, perhaps.”

  I nod. Monotonous work is probably what I need to keep me occupied.

  “Do you still keep the wood in the shed?”

  “Yes…Elijah. Are you sure you don’t want to sit for a while?” she asks hesitantly.

  “Later, Mom. I promise,” I sigh.

  She nods with uncertainty in her eyes. I realize returning home with little notice was a bit of a shock to her. It’s like she doesn’t know how to be around me. I guess a lot of people close to me feel that way right now. I honestly hadn’t changed much, I just didn’t care to share my problems with the world at the moment.

  But I ignore her pitying looks and head out to the back of the Inn to find some wood to chop. I take my ax to the front yard and begin to chop the wood.

  It’s hard work. Before long, the autumn sun is beating down hard on me, and I feel myself sweating. I take off my shirt, revealing my toned torso. Working in Hollywood requires me to keep my body looking good, and as a few young women walk by the Inn, they giggle to one another, checking me out. But right now, I don’t feel like the object of desire. All I can think of is how hard things have been lately.

  Life in Hollywood takes its toll after a while, especially when you’ve just lost someone close to you. Last year, my brother, my best friend, died of cancer. He was only a few years older than me, and he should have had his entire life ahead of him. Losing him was like a punch to the gut, and I guess life just spiraled downward from there.

  I started drinking more, partying more, and spending my time on things I shouldn’t. I was too miserable to even think about having a life, even though I knew my brother would have wanted that for me. If he were here with me, I know he would give me hell for being so down in the dumps, especially with the career and success I’ve had.

  But I guess the one thing that has stuck in my mind is how I still haven’t found love. My brother never settled down either, and I know that was his biggest regret. But he and I were different. He fooled around with hundreds of women, sampling each one that came his way, dipping his toes into unchartered waters.

  But not me. I’ve never been with a woman. I always told myself that once I found a woman that I wanted, I’d know right away. But so far, that hasn’t happened. Maybe I’m fussy. Maybe I’m incapable of love. Whatever is wrong with me, love just hasn’t come my way.

  And I’ve had plenty of opportunities to be with women. Being a handsome actor has its benefits, or at least it does for most men. I could have the pick of anyone I want, but the problem is I haven’t found a single woman that I want to spend my time with.

  I sigh. I guess since my brother’s death. It’s made me feel even more alone. At least when he was alive, I had my brother at my side. I know that some siblings aren’t close, but he and I always were. We had the same passions, friends, and ideals. We were there for one another through thick and thin. The way family should be. And now that I don’t have him, I don’t have anyone.

  I always thought I would have found love by now. That I would settle down with a woman, quit acting, and raise a family with her. She would be the center of my universe, and nothing else would matter. But as hard as I have looked for love, no woman has ever fit the bill. There are beautiful women, intelligent women, funny women…but none of them are what I want. I know that if I ever meet the one, it’ll hit me like a ton of bricks. She’ll be perfect, and I’ll know instantly.

  But that time hasn’t come yet.

  I continue chopping wood, taking out my anger at the world as I swing the ax. How did my life come to this? Back home at the age of forty, my brother was gone, and there was no wife by my side.

  Sure, I’ve had success in my life. Sure, my career is one that plenty envy. But now, it feels like I’ve lost so much. I drink almost every day just to numb the pain. I wake up alone, and I go to sleep alone.

  I spend my days drifting around, feeling like my feet barely touch the ground.

  I need something to make me come alive again and to relight the fire inside me. I used to have such passion for life. I used to want to do so much. And now, it feels like I’ve lost the will entirely. I don’t want to give in to this misery. My brother would never have wanted that for me. But if something doesn’t change soon, I fear that my life will continue down this dark path for eternity.

  I swing the ax over and over. Soon enough, I’ve obliterated most of the wood, hunks of it prepared in a pile for the hearth. But I wish there was more to do. More to distract me. More to stop me from having to face my mother, to talk about how hard it’s been since we lost my brother, her son.

  And that’s when I stand up and see the young woman looking at me. She’s not a local. I’d know if she was.

  She looks like a deer in the headlights, her beautiful green eyes wide with something like fear. She stares back at me, and I can’t help taking in the curves of her body hidden beneath scruffy clothes. She looks like she’s been on the road for a while and seems tired, but nothing can detract from how beautiful she is. She’s the most incredible creature I’ve ever seen in my life. Long blonde hair spills over her shoulders, and I find myself wanting to run my hands through it. There’s something more, too. She can’t be older than twenty-one, yet she looks like she’s seen so much in her short years.

  I growl under my breath before I can stop myself. She’s so enticing that she’s brought out this animal inside me that has never surfaced before. My cock hardens at the sight of her, and I realize that I need her.

  I need her right now more than I’ve ever needed anything in my life.

  I immediately know that she is the one I’ve spent all these years waiting for. She’s the one who can give me everything I’ve craved for so long. She’s the one who can change everything for me, to bring me back to life.

  And now, the fire inside me reignites and is back in full force.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Olivia

  When I leave my apartment in the middle of the night, all I know is that I need to get away as soon as possible. Far away, where no one will be able to find me….

  Especially him.

  There’s not much to leave behind, to be honest. This place that I call home is just a disgusting rental that I can barely afford to live in. Now, my landlord has kicked me out, and it’s almost a relief. I’m sad to be leaving New York City and all of its occasional excitement, but the further away from here I get the better.

  I take a late train out of the city with just one bag in my hand. I feel like I haven’t slept in years, but I force myself to stay awake and alert. I never know when or where I might be followed. It always feels like there are eyes on me these days, ever since the stalking began. I know that someone can’t be watching me all the time, and yet, whenever I close my eyes, I’m certain that I’m not safe.

  Maybe this fresh start is exactly what I need. Maybe I’m finally going somewhere that I can’t be followed. I barely paid at
tention when I asked for a ticket anywhere, so I just found my platform and got on the train without thinking. Wherever this train takes me, I’ll stay. I guess even if I don’t know where I’m going to end up, the chances are that I’m not going to be followed.

  The train is due to arrive in the late morning, so my heavy eyes win the battle, and I fall asleep for a while. When I open them again, sunlight is streaming in through the window, and we’re just about to stop at a little town that looks idyllic as I watch it go by from the window. I grab my stuff and head for the door, feeling a pull to the place that I can’t describe. It seems like a good place to make a fresh start.

  But as I step off the train, realization dawns on me. I have nothing. I left my cell phone in a dumpster to stop the calls from my stalker. I don’t have any money. My last paycheck was used to cover my rent before I was kicked out. I have nothing of value and nowhere to go.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, but what choice do I have? I walk into the town with a heavy heart, hoping that maybe some good can come of this. Maybe I’ll find somewhere to stay just for tonight, and then I’ll be able to sort my life out from there.

  But the town is buzzing when I arrive.

  It seems like it’s market day because there are stalls dotted around the place, and though it seems like a normally quiet place, there’s an energy in the air today.