Carny: A Bad Boy Small Town Romance Read online

  Carny

  Simone Sowood

  Edited by

  Victoria King

  Contents

  Carny: A Bad Boy Small Town Romance

  1. Ride to Live, Live to Ride (Steel)

  2. When I See You Smile (Emily)

  3. Caught in a Mosh (Steel)

  4. Kickstart my Heart (Emily)

  5. Ace of Spades (Steel)

  6. Wasted Years (Emily)

  7. Stargazer (Steel)

  8. I’m a Rebel (Emily)

  9. Holy Diver (Steel)

  10. Never Say Goodbye (Emily)

  11. Victim of Changes (Steel)

  12. Alone (Emily)

  13. I Remember You (Steel)

  14. All by Myself (Emily)

  15. The Memory Remains (Steel)

  16. Love Walked In (Emily)

  17. Stranger in a Strange Land (Steel)

  18. More Than Words Can Say (Emily)

  19. Rock You Like a Hurricane (Steel)

  20. Silent Scream (Emily)

  21. She’s the Woman (Steel)

  22. Symptom of the Universe (Emily)

  23. We’re Not Going to Take It (Steel)

  24. Running with the Devil (Emily)

  25. Hell Bent for Leather (Steel)

  26. Drop Dead Legs (Emily)

  27. Every Rose has a Thorn (Steel)

  28. Welcome to the Jungle (Emily)

  29. Peace Sells (Steel)

  30. New World Man (Emily)

  31. One (Steel)

  32. Orgasmatron (Emily)

  33. Rainbow in the Dark (Steel)

  34. Wind of Change (Emily)

  35. Into the Void (Steel)

  36. Home Sweet Home (Emily)

  37. Symphony of Destruction (Steel)

  38. The Big Money (Emily)

  39. A Touch of Evil (Steel)

  40. Reason to Live (Emily)

  41. Glory of Love (Steel)

  42. Epilogue - Emily

  Join Me

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Simone Sowood

  Copyright © 2016 by Simone Sowood

  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 products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Carny: A Bad Boy Small Town Romance

  Different town every week means a different woman in my bed. No complaints here. That’s how I f*cking want it.

  One look of my handsome smile has them weak in the knees. One touch of my rock hard muscles has their panties dropping. One night of pounding with my pierced, tattooed c*ck and they beg me to stay.

  But when the weekend’s over, I move on to the next town, and next woman.

  Until Emily.

  One look at the beautiful blonde and I know she’s the one I want in this town. One taste of her innocence and I need more.

  The last thing she wants is anything to do with me; she know’s I’m nothing but trouble — until a fight with her parents pushes her straight into my arms.

  I’ll be damned if I’m letting her walk away, no matter what her rich parents think of their precious princess with a bad boy.

  I finally have a woman I wanna keep. I’m not letting her go.

  *** A steamy STANDALONE contemporary romance with a smoking hot alpha. No cliffhanger, no cheating, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.***

  (Newsletter link is at end of book, or visit my website simonesowood.com)

  Never opened myself this way. Life is ours, we live it our way.

  Metallica

  1

  Ride to Live, Live to Ride (Steel)

  “Cocksucker, watch what you’re doing!” Whiskey yells, snapping his hand away from the Ferris wheel car and shaking it.

  “Kill it, Whiskey,” I say. “I know what the fuck I’m doing better than anyone here. Pay attention, you might learn something.” I’ve spent ten years in the carnival, there’s nothing I don’t know better than everyone else here.

  “If you know what you’re doing, why’d you push it when my finger was still in the slots?” Whiskey says, pushing his long hair away from his eyes.

  “Shithead, even greenies know not to stick their finger in the slots. That is what a screwdriver’s for.” I grunt as I adjust the hundred-pound pig iron in my hands.

  “What’s the matter, Steel? Whiskey high already?” Razor asks from the other side of the half-assembled Ferris wheel. He’s my closest buddy. He’s like a brother, but I don’t even know his real name. When you join the carnival, real names are left at the gate.

  “Shit, seriously? I thought you were just hungover like the rest of us. This ride’s a bitch to put up. What the fuck are you doing spliffing up before we get it together?” I say, dropping the heavy piece of metal. I wipe my sweaty forehead, getting a whiff of the diesel and grease on my hands.

  “Whiskey, you better not let Papa Smurf find out you’re working fucked up, he’ll slough your ass so fast you’ll be stuck in this town begging for bus fare,” Razor says, walking over to us. His short brown hair is soaked in sweat from busting his ass all morning.

  “Like I’m supposed to believe you two fuck ups never do?” Whiskey says, his bloodshot eyes moving between Razor and me.

  “Not in the morning,” I say.

  Razor laughs. “At least not on mornings we’re working.”

  “You guys are full of shit,” Whiskey says.

  “Go get Zombie, I’ve had enough of you today,” I say, shoving Whiskey’s shoulder and sending him scrambling.

  “Fuck you, man.” Whiskey collects himself and saunters away. He’s so stoned, it’d be faster for me to walk to the bunkhouse and back several times.

  “Come on, Razor, work with me. I want time to shower before it’s beer o’clock.”

  Razor and I get on with our work. I’m surprised how fast Zombie appears, and after busting our balls for eight hours, we finish assembling the wheel.

  “Safety check,” I say. As if.

  I hook my hand around the outer frame and hop up, landing with my feet on the radial strut. Like a monkey, I make my way up the side of the wheel, stopping at various points to examine the lights.

  When I’m near the top, I swing myself into the red car. Sitting, I pull off my sweaty Metallica t-shirt and use it to dry my face before letting it drop to the ground. It feels good to sit down for the first time since breakfast.

  It’s great up here, I can see all over this shitty little town. I don’t even know what it’s called. I don’t care about nothing, and number one on the list of things I don’t care about is the name of the town we’re in.

  The Golden Arches tower over the place. It’s not quite a one-light town, but close.

  Most of the houses are average, full of average rubes with average lives. Lives full of nine to five, bills and debt collectors. Fuck that shit, I need my freedom.

  My life is all right. I work hard, but it’s not nine-to-five bullshit. I have a place to lay my head, food in my belly and every day is a different adventure. That’s about all I need in life.

  I turn my head in the other direction. East of the park we’re in, there’s a cluster of big houses. You can even see their perfect lives from here. Now that’s something I might consider leaving this life for.

  It’s actually a pretty nice town, I’ve seen a lot worse.

  “Steel! You think
we’re going to stand around busting our asses while you have a chill out session?” Razor yells.

  “I’m doing a safety check,” I say, banging my fist against the metal car.

  The car jolts and the wheel flies into action, hurling me and the car forwards. I lean back into the corner of the seat, rest my arm across the back and put my feet up on the edge. I know these shitheads, this wheel ain’t stopping anytime soon.

  “I hope you assholes are having as much fun as I am,” I shout as my car passes the lowest point of the wheel.

  “Hold on,” Razor grins as he leans on the speed lever.

  The wheel speeds up to near its maximum. Any townie would be puking right now, but I’m used to it.

  For this town, the Ferris wheel is at the back corner of the lot. The carnival is set up so you enter and walk down the midway, then loop to the right for the rides, it’s pretty much a big circle. Little kiddie rides at the front, shakers at the back.

  The rides and midway are taking shape. Most of the big stuff is up, it’s just the little things left for tomorrow. The ticket booths, the matting, and we have to check every single damn light bulb. That’s a pain-in-the-ass job.

  It’s empty now, waiting for the crowds to fill it up. I always get a kick out of the happiness on the little kiddies’ faces, and I get a lot of joy out of the local girls who are happy to spread their legs for a carny.

  There’s nothing better than a rough fucker like me corrupting the local pastor’s daughter.

  “I’m enjoying my sunset ride, assholes!” I yell to no one in particular.

  The ride comes to an abrupt stop, my car wildly swings back and forth.

  “Get your ass down here and work,” Razor yells.

  “Papa Smurf said we’re finished at sundown tonight, woo hoo!” I holler at them.

  I’m at two o’clock on the wheel. The car’s still swinging, but I hop up and grab onto the wheel’s framework.

  “About time,” Razor says and starts the wheel moving again, although not at full tilt this time.

  I tighten my grip on the strut and get my feet ready to take the change in direction as we go over the apex of the wheel.

  With my feet nestled in the joint of the frame, I hold on with one hand and lean way out. As we come to the bottom of the arc, I hop off. Without breaking my stride, I walk towards the carny cafeteria.

  My stomach groans as I near the greasy goodness smell of burgers and fries. I normally heat up some ramen noodles in my bunkhouse cabin, but Wednesdays are rough work and I always treat myself to the mess tent for dinner. Somehow dollar store food isn’t enough when you’ve been chucking heavy pig irons around all day.

  “Evening, Cess,” I say as I reach the line-up for grub.

  Cess turns to me and smiles, she always did have a welcoming smile. Welcoming everyone and anyone to her pussy. Though she must be over thirty now, and her age is starting to show. The straggly blah brown hair doesn’t help her looks.

  “Hey Steel, feel like visiting tonight?”

  “I’m good.”

  “You sure didn’t think like that when you joined us as a little virgin teenager.”

  I roll my eyes. That was ten years ago, I’ve had hundreds of pussies since, and I’ll still never hear the end of being a virgin when I joined the carnival at seventeen. A guy doesn’t get much chance to lose his virginity while he’s in juvie, at least not to a female.

  “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Why don’t you come and see me tonight?” Because I don’t need to touch the lot lizard is why.

  “Fuck, Cess, you know I’m all about local pussy. I’m going to find myself a pretty blonde this week.”

  2

  When I See You Smile (Emily)

  My best friends Courtney and Maddie pick me up to go to the carnival. The annual Lions Club Carnival is the most exciting thing that happens in the town of Colmar.

  I’m glad it’s a warm enough October evening to wear my new Burberry dress. I bought it last month, and haven’t had a chance to wear it yet.

  Courtney looks perfect, as always. Not a single piece of her chestnut hair is out of place. Unlike Maddie’s wild red hair.

  It’s Saturday evening. We’d planned to come last night too, but got distracted with a zombie movie marathon on tv and never made it.

  Well, I distracted them with the zombies.

  I didn’t feel like going last night, I was too busy stewing over the conversation with my father, right before my parents left for the airport on yet another of their vacations.

  “Have fun at the carnival. It should be a good one, they’re a new carnival company this year,” my mom said, her overnight bag clenched in her hand.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” my father said, “I have a reputation to uphold. And as my daughter, your actions reflect on me.”

  It was the same crap I hear all the time. I had to breathe deep, count to ten, and wish my father didn’t have the attitude of a man straight out of the fifties. I swear this entire town is stuck in the fifties.

  I am twenty years old. An adult. What does my father’s reputation have to do with me?

  Just because he’s president of the Lions Club, and has the largest car dealership network in North Carolina, doesn’t mean he has to have a daughter who never gets to have any fun.

  As Courtney, Maddie and I near the gates, the noise of the rides and people screaming, as well as the incredible smell of funnel cakes make me regret the zombie movies. I can watch those anytime, we missed all the fun here.

  The carnival is super busy. Half the young people in the town of Colmar are here, waiting in line to get in.

  “What are we doing first?” Maddie asks.

  “Let’s go on the rides before the lines get too long,” Courtney says.

  “Ooo, good idea,” I say.

  “Five bucks each admission,” the ticket man says. I recognize him as John from the Lions Club, this whole weekend is their biggest fundraising event. They keep the entrance price, the carnival takes everything else. My father helps organize it.

  We pay our money and bustle each other into the park.

  “Let’s go straight to the back and work our way forwards,” Maddie says.

  “The Ferris wheel first?”

  “Come on,” Courtney grabs our arms and we rush through the midway to get to the rides.

  “Hey pretty girls, come win yourself a SpongeBob,” a guy at a game stall calls.

  “First try is free,” another man at another stall says, spinning a basketball on his finger.

  “Don’t look at them, just ignore them all and hurry up,” I say. I hate the games, I don’t see the fun of them. They’re all rigged or impossible to win.

  “How is there already a crazy long line-up?” asks Maddie.

  “Ferris wheels always take forever to get on, since they have to put someone on, move the wheel and put someone else on,” Courtney says.

  “It’ll still be faster to get on now than it will later,” I say.

  “Okay, let’s do it,” Maddie says.

  We join the end of the line. There are dozens of people ahead of us.

  Two guys with tattoos poking out from their yellow carnival worker t-shirts walk from the Ferris wheel and along the line.

  “They’re cute,” Maddie says.

  “Definitely yummy. Too bad they’re carnies,” Courtney says.

  “All muscley hard coated-in-tattoos carnies,” Maddie says.

  “Stop it, we’re staring at them,” I say, trying to drag my eyes away from the taller one.

  Both their bodies are pure muscle, but his chest strains the seams of his shirt. He looks surprisingly clean, even though he’s covered in tattoos. Oh God, he even has a neck tattoo. A scorpion crawls across the right side of his neck, as if it’s crawling from the back of his neck. Its pincers reaching forward, and its tail curled and ready to strike.

  His dark hair is cut short in a stylish way even my father would approve of.
But most of all, his piercing blue eyes are looking straight at me, dazzling me.

  “Why, you three are the cutest girls I’ve seen in weeks. Especially you, Goldilocks,” the blue-eyed guy says without slowing down or breaking his stride.

  Courtney and Maddie laugh.

  “Do you use that line in every town?” Courtney asks.

  He chuckles, transforming his already attractive face into movie star quality. I try to look away, to let the lights of the moving Ferris wheel lure my gaze, but I can’t. Courtney’s right, of course, but I can’t help being flattered that he singled me out.

  His blue eyes rake up and down my body. My cheeks heat in a blush, and I look away before Courtney notices.

  “See you girls around,” he says, as the two of them walk by us.

  I turn my head to watch them, but recoil in shame when I find him looking back at me. Swallowing hard, I shuffle forward to keep up with the long line.

  My mind drifts back to the conversation with my father.

  “Funny how you don’t care who your sons hang out with, aren’t you worried about them ruining your reputation?” I said, trying not to sound angry.

  “My sons are both men now, their reputation is their own.” One of my brothers is eighteen, younger than me.

  “But I’m a woman, so my reputation isn’t my own?” I said, widening my eyes but actually wanting to slap him.

  “And my assistant business manager, who will one day be my full business manager.”

  “So what? You’re letting Max run one of your dealerships, and no doubt you’ll give one to Cody too. It’ll probably be a high school graduation present.” My brothers get everything.

  “That’s got nothing to do with you,” he snapped. Of course it has everything to do with me, he gives my brothers everything, and me nothing but a hard time.

  “Why don’t you give me one of your dealerships?” I say this a lot.

  “Because you’re better as an office manager.”