by Angel Payne
The new Cassian creature snarls again—and right now, it is the most wonderful sound in the world. “Listen to your pals, dickwad.”
I blink, battling to focus on him. Wonderful or not, he has confronted these monsters head on. I plead the thug with every exigency in my heart. Please be a good dickwad and go away. Just go away!
Creator’s mercy. There is so much movement. So many shadows. It is all happening so fast—
“You know what, fancy ass? Fuck you.”
Then entirely too slow.
And with the cruel joke of horror, I can see him again.
As three bursts of light flare in the night.
And three bullets rip into the man I love.
*
Cassian
Way to fuck up a night, asshole.
At least I think it’s still night. Police sirens sound different in the city at night. More desperate. And isn’t that the moon, over the buildings, floating in the stars? It’s right there. So beautiful. So unreachable.
’Cause you’re a sky; ’cause you’re a sky full of stars…
So cold.
Like me. Why the hell am I so cold? It’s the end of May in New York City. I’m still in New York, right? At the Literacy Ball…kissing the woman I love.
No.
Chasing the woman I love.
I’m gonna give you my heart…
“Ella?”
“Cassian!”
“Ella.” Why can’t I reach her? Why can’t I move? “Fuck. Ella.”
“Do not move!”
“Okay.”
“Help is coming!”
“Help for…what?”
“Sssshh. Save your strength. Be still, for Creator’s sake!”
“Sssshh.” I hurl it back defiantly. Reach up, needing to brush her tears back. Why is she still crying? All I’ve done tonight is make her cry. “It’ll be all right. Everything will be all right.”
Her shoulders shake. The cream curves of them are so perfect against the stars. Satin and light…my warmth in the chill. “Ridiculous man.” Her watery smile beams into me. All of me. The soul I can no longer hide from her… “That is supposed to be my line.”
“Why?”
Her head snaps up. The rest of her follows, scattering leaves—leaves?—before she’s gone and I’m cold again. So fucking cold.
Go on and tear me apart…
“Over here!” Her shout is shrill and scared. No. Terrified. “He is over here! Please—hurry!”
Why is she so frightened?
“Ella.” It resonates in my head but is just a puff on my lips. Ella. Come back. Please…
“Help him. Please help him!”
“We will—but Miss, in order for that to happen, you need to stand back.”
“Cassian. I’m still here. I’m right here. Cassian…please hang on!”
I blink, forcing my head to twist, following the call of her voice. Focusing on her. Only on her…even as the cold closes in, gripping more of me than before…
’Cause you get lighter the more it gets dark…
THIRTEEN
*
Mishella
“Are you out of your fucking mind?”
Answering my brother’s snarl with a manic giggle, even from thousands of miles away, does not feel like a good idea. He sounds like a completely different person. A forceful man has taken the place of my sweet little Saynt. How can so much have changed in just two weeks?
All too easily, my heart answers that one.
Two weeks can change everything.
One night can change everything.
I drag my head up. Force myself to gaze at my weary reflection in the window of the hospital’s hallway. Beneath the denim jacket Prim offered from her own back after she and Hodge arrived, my gown is torn and dirty. I behold each smudge proudly. I am not the same person who first climbed into this dress.
I am a survivor.
I have earned the full right to laugh in my brother’s face.
“I shall accept that as a supreme compliment, brother mine. And the short answer is: yes, I probably am out of my fucking mind. And proud of it.”
Saynt huffs more heavily. “Mishella, you were assaulted—”
“Because I wandered somewhere I was not supposed to be, in the middle of the night.”
“—by three men—”
“And Brooke was taken captive by twice that many, less than a mile from the Sancti Palais.”
“—in a city full of savages!”
“Saynt.” My laughter vanishes. “That. Is. Enough.”
Moody silence. Then another guttural growl. “I told Court that if anything happened to you…if one hair on your head was hurt—”
“Enough!”
His answering breath is so rough, static invades the line. “Mishella…please,” he finally grates. “Come home, where I can protect you.”
I sigh, but with conviction to match his. “Do Paipanne and Maimanne know you are asking this?”
“Do you know how unfair that question is?”
I give a mixture of grunt and hum, our sibling shorthand for an apology. He is right. My brief call with our parents, just thirty minutes ago, yielded their subdued concern—mostly about whether Cassian would hold his “misfortune” against me or not—but little else. If the decision is solely theirs, I am definitely staying in New York.
As Vy would say: oh, the glorious irony. For the first time in a long time, I want exactly what Mother and Father do.
“But what you are asking is equally unfair, Saynt Austyn Santelle.” I let the rebuke set in before softly going on. “I know it sounds strange, even unbelievable, after what has happened…but please, please try to understand. I…belong here now, Saynt. In New York. With Cassian.”
“Because you signed that fucking contract?”
“Because I have fallen in love with him.”
And it took nearly losing him to realize it.
Another long silence.
As I have expected.
Saynt emerges from the shock with a few sputters—and I brace myself for the string of questions to come after that—but Cassian’s nurse sprints into his room, clawing me with new dread from head to toe. Past the exposed nerves in its wake, I blurt a promise to Saynt that I shall call back, and race in behind her.
“What is it? What is wrong? Is he—”
“Being completely difficult?” The nurse spits it over her shoulder, fighting Cassian for control of his oxygen mask.
“Oh.” My fingers press my laughing lips. Surely I have earned a spot on the woman’s “shit list” because of it, but holding back my exhilaration is a physical and emotional impossibility.
Ridiculous, tenacious, wonderfully alive man.
My man.
“This is New York Presbyterian, not Court Tower, mister.” The nurse forces the plastic dome back over his nose and mouth. “You’ve just had three bullets pulled out of your body, which means I’m the boss for a while—and the boss says this stays on until your oxygen levels are better.”
To my wonder—and, it seems, to hers—Cassian sinks back to the pillow. Gives a terse nod. She returns the action, looking satisfied with his sincerity.
I bite my lip.
I know better.
Sure enough, as soon as her footsteps fade down the hall, he shoves the mask away. His other hand is already full of mine, dragging me as close as his wounds will allow. Not being his immediate family, I have only been given generalities for updates. By the grace of the Creator, the punk in the park was a lousy shot, and none of the bullets hit major organs. The trauma surgery went well—and one look at the magnificence of Cassian Court’s body, even encased in a hospital gown, is testament to his outstanding base health.
Still, the intensity of his grip is enough to pop my stare wide. “Cassian.” I almost add a maternal cluck, despite the non-maternal thoughts inspired simply by his exposed knees. “Save your strength. The nurse is right. Your levels—”
&n
bsp; “Will be fine.” His throat sounds coated in twelve layers of rust—though after one second of his gaze, it is clear some are not physically related. “I have my air again.”
Oh.
Him.
I lift the union of our hands. Several tubes take up the space on the back of his, so I turn it over, then press a kiss into his palm. “And I have mine.”
His beautiful lips push together. He swallows heavily. “My mother—”
“Has been called,” I assure. “Hodge handled it. He and Prim are downstairs, waiting for her.” I crunch a little frown. “For some reason, he was listed as your emergency contact.”
“Yeah.” He nods before closing his eyes for a moment. “He can break things to her better than emergency personnel.”
My frown deepens. “Has he had to do this before?”
He lets that fall into a long silence. Keeps his eyes closed the whole time. When he finally looks back up at me, it is with his lagoon-dark eyes—and his not-to-be-brooked intent. “I was awake…for a little while…before you came in. I heard you on the phone…with Saynt.”
His allusion rests between us like a wick just catching fire—beautiful but uncertain. At last I whisper back, “Oh you did, did you?”
His hand lifts. Frames my face. “Did you mean it? Have you fallen in love with me, Ella…despite the secrets, the ghosts, the flying martini glasses, the New York City wildlife…”
I lean over…unable to hold back from sealing my mouth to his now. And yes, even here and even now, I am shocked we do not make the building’s lights flicker with the flare of our attraction. Before his monitors dance too crazily, I pull away—if only by a few inches.
“Living in the wild is just perfect for me, Mr. Court…as long as I live in it with you.”
*
Cassian
Nurse Ratchet is going to have to deal.
Kissing my woman again isn’t negotiable.
Of course…this is more than a kiss.
It’s a seal. The signet of my spirit, my soul, my heart…
Everything she has given back to me.
Everything I thought I’d never have again.
Everything that was robbed from me because of pain and loss and fear, instead of hope and belief and light.
And love.
Yeah…that.
I curl fingers into her hair. Pull her down a little more.
“I’m in love with you too.” As a smile brims her lips and tears edge her eyes, I quickly clarify, “But favori, I’m rusty at this shit. Really rusty. I’m…I’m not going to get everything right.”
She caresses through the stubble along my jaw. “And that is a news flush?”
“Well. It might be a news flash to some—but if you’re patient, I promise…I’m a fast learner. It’ll get better.”
Fuck. So much better. My little sorceress probably doesn’t realize it, but she’s just dangled the biggest carrot for recuperating I could ever have. Dammit, I will get my ass out of this bed—then get cracking on making every one of her dreams come true. There’s an action item list well underway…
One: make love to her for a week straight.
Two: take her to turret two—and include all the details this time.
Three: make love to her for another week straight.
Four: bid on chocolate factories—preferably near libraries.
Five: take her to the newly purchased factory. Collect on preferred calendar status for date night.
“Cassian.” Her sweet, high sigh refocuses me on the here and now—and the temptation of her full lips, now parted in perfect invitation. I lift up…and sweep in. She moans, sighing again. I steal her breath, and give her back my own.
My air…
Our tongues tangle. Taste. Conquer. Surrender.
My love…
But the completion of the moment…is the beating of her heart. Pressed to mine, matching mine…knowing mine so far beyond the flimsy confines of the time we’ve had physically together. She knows me from the depths of fate—from the forever of the destiny that has completely, absolutely, brought us together. The destiny I’m trusting again now…no matter how fucking terrified I am.
But I refuse to live in that fear.
Once more, despite the fear raiding every cell of my body because of it, I choose love.
I choose her.
I’m opening the gift.
*
Thank you for reading! I truly hope you enjoyed the beginning of Cassian and Mishella’s story, because I loved getting to tell it.
More of Cassian and Mishella’s love story is on its way…
Part 2, coming in Pretty Perfect Toy (Temptation Court, Book 2):
Available on August 23, 2016.
PRE-ORDER HERE
Part 3, coming in Bold Beautiful Love (Temptation Court, Book 3):
Available on September 27, 2016.
PRE-ORDER COMING SOON
Discover the Cimarrons of Arcadia:
The Cimarrons:
They’re the mysterious, magnetic ruling family of the most secretive kingdom on earth: The Island of Arcadia.
No westerners have ever been allowed inside Arcadia’s borders…until now.
Book 1: INTO HIS DARK
(Evrest and Camellia)
Purchase Here Amazon
Book 2: INTO HIS COMMAND
(Samsyn and Brooke)
Purchase Here Amazon
Book 3: INTO HER FANTASIES
(Shiraz and Nicasia)
Pre-Orders available August 2016
Book 4: INTO HIS SIN
(Jagger and Jayd)
Available February 2017
MORE BOOKS BY ANGEL PAYNE
THE WILD BOYS OF SPECIAL FORCES
Book 1: SAVED BY HIS SUBMISSIVE
Purchase Here Amazon
Book 2: HANDCUFFED BY HER HERO
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Book 3: SURRENDERING TO HER SERGEANT
Purchase Here Amazon
Book 4: A WILDER WONDERLAND—SEXY STORIES OF THE SEASON
Purchase Here Amazon
Book 5: WET FOR HER WARRIORS
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Book 6: HOT FOR HIS HOSTAGE
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Book 7: A WILDER KIND OF LOVE
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Book 8: MASTERED BY THE MAVERICKS
Purchase Here Amazon
WILD CARD: A WILD BOYS NOVELLA
(In the ONE NIGHT IN VEGAS special box set):
Purchase Here Amazon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today bestselling romance author Angel Payne has been reading and writing her entire life, though her love for romances began in junior high, when writing with friends on “swap stories” they’d trade between classes. Needless to say, those stories involved lots of angst, groping, drama, and French kissing.
She began getting a paycheck for her writing in her twenties, writing record reviews for a Beverly Hills-based dance music magazine. Some years, various entertainment industry gigs, and a number of years in the hospitality industry later, Angel returned to the thing she loves the most: creating character-based romantic fiction. Along the way, she also graduated with two degrees from Chapman University in Southern California, taking departmental honors for English, before writing five historical romances for Kensington and Bantam/Doubleday/Dell.
Angel found a true home in writing contemporary-based romances that feature high heat and high concepts, focusing on memorable alpha men and the women who tame them. She has numerous book series to her credit, including the Secrets of Stone series (with Victoria Blue), the Kinky Truth, the WILD Boys of Special Forces, and the popular Cimarron Saga, as well as its spin-off, the Temptation Court series.
Angel still lives in Southern California, where she is married to her soulmate and lives on a street that looks like Brigadoon, with their awesome daughter and Lady Claire, the dog with impeccable manners. When not writing, she enjoys reading, pop culture, a
lt rock, cute shoes, enjoying the outdoors, and being a gym rat.
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You can also contact her at:
www.angelpayne.com
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