Steele
Page 38
To her surprise, Steele didn’t let her go, instead lowering his head and narrowing her world down to just the two of them. “I was going to offer up some shit about promises and whatever. I swear I’ll keep those promises, but right now I need to say something else. You say I brought you out of your cocoon, but what you did for me was an even greater miracle. You brought me back to life, Essie. Before you, I was dead inside. In fact, I was so far gone that I actually liked being dead and not feeling anything. Then you came into my world and made me feel. Made me want to feel. You brought light into my world, because you brought me hope. I’m now that guy that everyone hates when I go into work because I’m in such a good mood. How can I not be? I get to wake up next to you every morning. I get to listen to our kids wake up in the next room and fill the world with the sound of life. I get to feel again. And it’s all because you saved me, when I didn’t know I needed saving. For that alone I would love you forever, but with all the beauty and joy and hope you give to me as easily as breathing, I’ve learned that a man can love his woman all the way to his soul and back. I love you, Sweetness, and not even this lifetime together is going to be long enough for me.”
The sweetest, most beautiful anguish of love stormed inside her so hard it clenched her heart and tightened her throat. Not caring that they hadn’t yet exchanged rings or concluded the ceremony, she arched up to touch her lips to his. “I love you too, Professor.”
Note From The Author
Hi again! I hope you enjoyed reading Essie and Steele’s story!
For those of you who’ve read TWIST, you may have noticed a teeny little overlap. Specifically, TWIST’s epilogue had a cameo appearance in STEELE’s book, and it was a cameo that I put together during the writing of TWIST. A couple of you sharp-eyed readers spotted Essie in that epilogue, and wondered at the time why she was there. Hopefully, that’s now been made clear. Essie was there because I needed her to see Angel’s baby revelation. Witnessing this moment kick-started her own realization that, as she put it, lightning had struck. Hope that makes sense.
Now, as for the next House of Payne book… it’s going to be a while, probably the spring of 2017. Why is that? Well, next on my agenda is the long-awaited two-part story belonging to a slightly insane character that showed up in RUDE. That’s right, you guessed it—it’s finally time to put a spotlight on Marco Polo Scorpeone, a.k.a. Scorpio, the most deadly torpedo, or contract killer, in the Vitaliev Bratva. YEAR OF THE SCORPIO, Part 1 will be out by the beginning of September (if I can keep everyone in my family healthy, myself included).
Fair warning: YEAR OF THE SCORPIO is going to be a departure from anything I’ve ever written. For one thing, it’s going to be in first-person. For another, there’s going to be violence, and blood, and probably more trigger warnings. There’s also going to be lots and lots of yummy, modern-day fairy tale obsessive-Alpha love, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into that. I’m going to put Polo through soooo much… But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I LOVE hearing from readers, just as much as I love interacting with them. Please feel free to drop me a line at stacygail1@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter or Facebook. If you mention that you’ve read House Of Payne (or any of my books, heh), I promise to follow back and say hi!
For updates on my latest releases, cover art and publishing news, sign up for my newsletter—I swear I won’t spam your inbox.
Look for Year Of The Scorpio: Part 1 later in 2016!
There’s more lust, lies and love to be had in the House that Payne built. Look for Max’s and Talon’s stories in 2017:
House Of Payne: Max
House Of Payne: Talon
About the Author
A competitive figure skater from the age of eight, Stacy Gail began writing stories in between events to pass the time. By the age of fourteen, she told her parents she was either going to be a figure skating coach who was also a published romance writer, or a romance writer who was also a skating pro. Now with a day job of playing on the ice with her students, and writing everything from steampunk to cyberpunk, contemporary to paranormal at night, both dreams have come true.
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(Careful… there’s a Scorpio coming your way…)
Table of Contents
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Epilogue
Note from the Author
About the Author
Connect With Stacy Gail