Heroes Ever After Boxset
Books 1-3
Alana Albertson
Contents
The Beauty and The Beast
Author’s Note
Also by Alana Albertson
The Beauty and The Beast
1. Grady
2. Isa
3. Grady
4. Isa
5. Grady
6. Isa
7. Grady
8. Isa
9. Grady
10. Isa
11. Grady
12. Isa
13. Grady
14. Isa
15. Grady
16. Isa
17. Grady
18. Isa
19. Grady
20. Isa
21. Grady
22. Grady
23. Isa
24. Isa
25. Grady
26. Isa
27. Grady
28. Grady
29. Isa
30. Grady
31. Grady
32. Isa
33. Grady
34. Bella
35. Grady
36. Grady
37. Bella
38. Grady
39. Grady
40. Isa
41. Grady
42. Isa
Epilogue
The Mermaid and The Triton
About Alana
Acknowledgments
The Mermaid and The Triton
Author’s Note
Also by Alana Albertson
The Mermaid and The Triton
1. Erik
2. Aria
3. Erik
4. Aria
5. Erik
7. Erik
8. Aria
9. Erik
10. Aria
11. Erik
12. Aria
13. Erik
14. Aria
15. Erik
16. Aria
17. Erik
18. Aria
19. Erik
20. Aria
21. Erik
22. Aria
23. Erik
24. Aria
25. Erik
26. Aria
27. Erik
28. Aria
29. Aria
30. Erik
31. Aria
32. Erik
33. Aria
34. Erik
35. Aria
36. Erik
Epilogue
The Princess & The SEAL
About Alana
Acknowledgments
The Princess and The SEAL
Author’s Note
Also by Alana Albertson
The Princess and The SEAL
1. Ryan
2. Giselle
3. Ryan
4. Giselle
5. Ryan
6. Giselle
7. Ryan
8. Giselle
9. Ryan
10. Giselle
11. Giselle
12. Ryan
13. Giselle
14. Ryan
15. Giselle
16. Ryan
17. Giselle
18. Ryan
19. Giselle
20. Ryan
21. Giselle
22. Ryan
23. Giselle
24. Ryan
25. Giselle
26. Ryan
27. Giselle
The Swan and The Sergeant
About Alana
Acknowledgments
The Beauty and The Beast
Copyright © 2016 by Alana Albertson.
Cover Designer: Aria Tan of Resplendent Media
Cover Photography: Wander Aguiar
Cover Model: Zack Altland & Joli Irvine
Copyright © 2016 by Alana Albertson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Bolero Books LLC
11956 Bernardo Plaza Dr. #510
San Diego, CA 92128
www.bolerobooks.com
All rights reserved.
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment 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 recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Author’s Note
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Also by Alana Albertson
Want more romantic reads?
Try my other books!
Heroes Ever After
Military New Adult Fairy Tale Retellings
The Beauty and The Beast
Inspired by Beauty and The Beast
Meet Grady! But without her love, I’m not a man—I’ll remain forever a beast.
The Mermaid and The Triton
Inspired by The Little Mermaid
Meet Erik! I’m a Navy SEAL, a Triton, a god of the sea. And she will never be part of my world.
The Princess and The SEAL
Inspired by The Princess and The Frog
Meet Ryan! She’s a Princess and I’m a Frogman. If I kiss her, I’ll turn into a Prince.
The Swan and The Sergeant
Inspired by The Ugly Duckling
Meet Bret! Though the ugly duckling is now a beautiful swan, the girl I fell in love with is long gone.
The Angel and The Rockstar
Inspired by Rumpelstiltskin
Meet Dax! All she has to do to destroy my life is to say my name.
The Maid and The Marine
Inspired by Cinderella
Meet Trace! I will never be her Prince Charming.
Rescue Me
Romantic Comedy Series
Doggy Style
Meet Preston! When it comes to doggy style, he’s behind you 100%.
Blue Devils
Military Pilots Contemporary Series
Blue Sky
Meet Beckett! I’ll never let down my guard for this Devil in a Blue Angel’s disguise.
Blue Moon
Meet Sawyer: One Night with this Blue Devil will make you a sinner.
Blue Thunder
Meet Declan: Declan’s back in town. Homecoming hero―local boy turned Blue Angel.
Se7en Deadly SEALs
Navy SEAL Romantic Thriller
Season One:
Conceit, Chronic, Crazed, Carnal, Crave, Consume, Covet
Season One Box Set
Meet Grant! She wants to get wild? I will fulfill her every fantasy.
Season Two:
Meet Mitch! I’ll always be your bad boy.
The Trident Code
Navy SE
AL Romantic Suspense Series
Invincible
Meet Pat! I had one chance to put on the cape and be her hero.
Invaluable
Meet Kyle! I’ll never win MVP, never get a championship ring, but some heroes don’t play games.
Rescue Ranch
Navy SEAL Cowboys Series
Wild Love
Meet Chris! She shouldn’t fall for the Navy SEAL next door.
Military Contemporary Stand Alone
Badass
Meet Shane! I’m America’s cockiest badass.
(co-written with Linda Barlow)
Father Figure
Meet Gabriel! Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.
(Co-written with Jane Harvey-Berrick)
This book is dedicated to all the amazing wounded warriors who have sacrificed so much to protect our country and our freedom.
Epigraph
Love doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be true.
Beauty & the Beast
The Beauty and The Beast
Isabella—Grady Williams is a national treasure, the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient, America’s scarred superhero. With tattooed arms sculpted from carrying M-16s, this bad boy has girls begging from sea to shining sea to get a piece of his action.
When my father squanders away my college fund, I make a deal with this dirty-talking Devil Dog—I will pretend to be Grady’s girlfriend for the Marine Corps Ball, and my dad will write Grady’s war memoir.
Grady is fearless. Hell, this badass jumped on a grenade to save his fellow Marines! As much as I crave him, I refuse to allow myself to become addicted to a dangerous man who will detonate my heart.
Grady—Isabella Cuesta is an angel who can see beyond my mangled skin, a pawn used to repay her father’s debt, a woman who makes me feel like a man instead of a monster.
But I no longer believe in fairy tales.
She’s mine until our contract ends. I’ll take her hard and rough, listen to all her hopes and fears, lay down my life to protect her.
This beauty will never let herself love a dangerous man like me—a man who has killed, a man who runs towards gunfire, a man who never backs down from a fight.
But without her love, I’m not a man—I’ll remain forever a beast.
Grady
I blasted the volume on the television, trying to drown out the noise from a goddamn frat party down the street. Loud music, water splashing in the pool, girls laughing maniacally—the sounds of people enjoying their lives. At least the racket sounded better than the clamor running through my head.
The ricochet of gunshots, my friend screaming in pain, his agonizing cries during his last seconds of life—that was the clatter that racketed through my skull. And I could never turn it off, not even when I slept.
Why had I been the one to survive the battlefield? The survivor’s guilt was almost worse than my physical scars.
And now, I’d been deemed a fucking war hero. At twenty-five years old, I was the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient. I’d met the President—even shared a beer with him in the Rose Garden.
He’d invited me to be the guest of honor at an upcoming Marine Corps Ball in Hawaii that he would be attending. Sounded great, but I needed to find a date worthy of meeting the leader of the free world. I couldn’t exactly bring one of the porn stars I’d recently fucked to meet the President.
My commander-in-chief had given me one piece of advice—get an education. Sounded great in theory, but only one of my eyes worked, dirt from the attack was still embedded deeply in my wounds, and the burns on my skin itched so fucking badly that I spent my free time gouging my own flesh off. And those were just the physical problems. Mentally, I was a complete fuckup. I couldn’t shake the premonition that I was headed for some sort of Final Destination fate, doomed because I’d cheated death. The littlest noise made me as skittish as one of the wild dogs in Iraq. I couldn’t focus on any task for more than a minute, and I struggled daily trying to heal from my injuries.
College wasn’t an option for me now because the thought of sitting in a room filled with people scared me more than jumping on that grenade. I wouldn’t have time to attend even if I wanted to. For the past two years, I’d endured intensive physical therapy, nonstop burn and facial reconstruction surgeries, not to mention PTSD treatment, which was the most painful experience of them all. And I’d be too drugged up to focus. My docs forced me to try a bunch of meds that gave me at worst a limp dick and at best massive headaches and sleepless nights. I’d done group therapy, individual therapy. Fucking bullshit. I’d rather get a skin graft than talk about my feelings.
The only benefit from this fucking hell that was my life was that every time I had left my place, I’d been swimming in a sea of pussy. Women couldn’t wait to get a piece of me, like being fucked by me made them some type of patriot. But that was all they wanted. One night riding a hero, and by morning they were quick to bail, find a man who didn’t look like he escaped from the circus, a man who could take them to a fancy dinner without freaking out and having a flashback. I enjoyed all the attention at first, but sometimes I yearned to find someone who actually liked me for me.
The voices down the block grew louder. I peered out the window and could see the party raging, a bunch of rich, spoiled college kids dressed like superheroes.
Kickass. I could do this. The old me hated costume parties or anything with a theme—I’d much rather get wasted with my buddies. But since I looked like Frankenstein now, masks suited me just fine.
I pulled out my razor because I didn’t want my beard scraping against my mask. I rarely shaved because I couldn’t stand the sight of myself in the mirror. I’d never get used to looking at my face.
A freak. A monster. A beast.
My face was now split in two. On one half, my eye drooped, my skin sagged. On the other, I looked like the man I used to be.
Now I had a face only a mother could love. Too bad my mom had abandoned me years ago.
Could anyone ever stand the sight of looking at me every day? Or would I always remain some type of novelty—a patriotic pity fuck?
I dug out my favorite costume—the Hulk—stained my body with green camouflage paint, pulled on my shorts, and tugged the latex disguise over my head.
Normally, once I told a woman my name, she’d start fawning over me, and thank me for my service by sucking my cock. But tonight I wanted to try something new. I was up for a challenge. I wanted to keep my scars and my identity a secret. Maybe I’d be able to meet a girl tonight who would get to know me first before judging my appearance and my actions. Someone sweet, caring, and classy. Someone I could invite to the Marine Corps Ball. A woman who wouldn’t be scared of getting to know the real man behind the mask.
Isa
I logged into my student services account and stared blankly at the screen.
HOLD—Please contact registrar
A warning in bright, capitalized red letters. What on earth was going on? My tuition was supposed to be deducted directly from my account every month. I’d taken all the money I had earned while on Dancing under the Stars and created a tuition trust. No one else had access to the funds except my father because he was the trustee. I shot my father a quick text to call me. There wasn’t much more I could do at this point—it was Saturday night and the university was closed. I briefly considered trying to find my login for my trust, but assured myself that I was panicking and should just wait until I heard from my dad.
Now what was I going to do tonight?
My nervous hand shook as I clutched my cell phone. What was it again? Swipe right if he didn’t look like a psychopath and left if he posed shirtless in a mirror selfie? These guys didn’t have a single friend in their lives who could take a decent picture of them?
Forget this.
I deleted the app. How pathetic was I?
Pretty pathetic, actually.
After living in the public eye for so long, I didn’t trust anyo
ne. Once a man found out I was a former reality star, he treated me differently. Like I was some fame-hungry whore, good enough to hook up with but not to date.