Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 1

woke from a deep sleep; a small cry filled the air. I cracked my eyes open. My daughter Grace needed me. I shut off the monitor and rolled out of bed. I wanted Kyle to get some sleep. I went to her room and looked in the crib. Her face all scrunched up as she screamed her little lungs out. I lifted her up into her favorite position against my chest and patted her back. I turned to see Kyle at the door, a bottle in his hand.
    "Go back to bed babe… I got this," I said, taking the bottle.
    "You sure?"
    "Yeah, you have an early morning tomorrow." I sat in the glider we used when we fed Grace and rocked back and forth.
    "I know, but I like the two AM feedings. She's so peaceful."
    I certainly couldn't argue with that. She settled immediately into eating as her eyes closed. I looked down at her little hands wrapped around her bottle and savored the warmth of her in my arms.
    Rupert's wife, Liza, had carried her for us. Lena donated the egg. Kyle had done his doctor magic and voila, we had a daughter.
    In the end, I got everything I ever wanted— the perfect mate and a chance to help my people. Life couldn't be better.
     
    THE END
    Author bio: Kathryn Sparrow has had stories spinning around in her head her whole life and finally decided it was time to write them down. During the day, she works in the Software Industry as a Software Quality Engineer, so she gets a particular thrill including geeks in her stories. She lives in Massachusetts with her geek husband and adorable, infuriating young daughters, who are too smart for their Mommy's own good. If she had spare time she would spend it knitting, crocheting, cross stitching, and doing any other handicrafts that catch her fancy.
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BABY, CUFF ME ONE MORE TIME
    by Stephani Hecht

    I was only trying to help a client get out of a sticky situation when I suddenly found myself cuffed and hauled out of my accounting firm. This is a first for me, a world class nerd who's never even had a parking ticket. To top it all off, I've been abstinent for so long (due, of course, to aforementioned nerdiness) that despite my fear, being cuffed by Officer Alpha is hot!
    ~ Barb

    genre: contemporary
    tags: friends to lover; law enforcement; accountant; reunited; crime; blow job; mutual masturbation
    content warnings: This book has a Politician in it, but don't worry, he's the bad guy. So we can all hate him together.
    word count: 5,601
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    BABY, CUFF ME ONE MORE TIME
    by Stephani Hecht
    Anson was well and truly fucked. Not in the good, slap and tickle kind of way, either. No, he was screwed in the you're going to prison and will probably be sold for a carton of cigarettes way.
    He glanced through the window of the break room, his heart clenching as yet more police officers came spilling into the office. Shit, could things get any worse?
    The chain to his handcuffs rattled, as if to remind him, duh, dickward! There is no way that things could get any 'badder' than they currently were. Hell, Satan himself could come waltzing in with his horsemen in tow and it would be an improvement. At least then Anson would know that the apocalypse was coming soon, so he wouldn't have to live in misery much longer.
    It didn't even matter that his death would be a fiery one. Not any more than it mattered that 'badder' wasn't even a real word. Who in the hell worried about little things like that when their whole world was crashing down around them?
    The squelch from one of the cop's radios gave him yet another painful reminder of his situation. The army of police officers seemed so out of place in the opulent office. Their boots were leaving behind scuff marks on the marble tiles. That was in addition to all the fingerprints they were leaving behind on the floor to ceiling glass walls.
    "Helga, the cleaning lady, is going to be so pissed when she comes in tonight," Anson muttered to himself.
    There was a flurry of activity as Anson's boss, Ted, was led by. Like Anson he was handcuffed, although both of Ted's hands were restrained. He glanced through the window, a look of fury making his normally handsome face ugly. Even his five hundred dollar haircut was off. The brown strands flying in every direction.
    Anson cringed under the glare. What had he ever seen in Ted? Not only had Anson crossed several lines as far as business ethics went, but he'd fallen for the jerk. So much so that for a while Anson had believed that he actually loved