by C. R. Jane
"What if we help you get out of your contract?" Maddox asked.
Everyone stilled and I could have heard a pin drop within the room. I eyed Maddox, unsure what to say. "Explain."
Maddox ran a hand through his inky black hair as he said, "We are supernatural, with supernatural friends and resources. There must be something we can do to get you out of killing people for a living. What happens if we take out your handler?"
"I get a new one."
"Witness protection?” Alistair asked.
"You don't understand how powerful my employers are. They have people in every organization in the country. They control police, state troopers, FBI agents, CIA agents, NSA agents, and any other acronym agency that's out there. Not to mention judges and lawyers. They are insidious and everywhere."
"How many others are there like you?" Ezio asked.
I exhaled sharply. "I don't know. In the compound I live in probably 20, each with their own specialty and caseload."
"Do you have any friends?" Alistair asked quietly.
"I don't see how that's important." I could hear the defensive tone in my own voice and it made me cringe internally.
"That's a no if I ever heard one," Lysander replied.
"Friends are liabilities. They are pressure points that can be squeezed and manipulated to get me to do something I don't want to do. There is a reason I have isolated myself, and if you think I enjoy this then you are sorely mistaken."
"What if we help you take down your employers?" Maddox asked.
He was a dark horse, and I appreciated that. The idea sent a chill down my spine. Was it even possible? I knew escaping them wasn't, there was too much evidence of it failing for others, especially when I was one of the people sent to hunt them down. "You shouldn't even vocalize something like that," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper.
"Tell me something," Lysander said, pausing until I was looking at him. "Do you believe in soul mates?"
"Ugh. Not this again!"
"Just answer the question." Alistair said as he pinched the bridge of his nose, as though I was the infuriating one. Ha!
I opened my mouth to answer but before I could get a syllable out Lysander jumped in and said, "Really think about it, please."
So I did. I sat and thought for a few minutes while the guys all played with their phones and whatnot. Finally, I answered, "Yes, I do." My voice was faint to my own ears. This kind of thing was not something I was comfortable thinking about.
"And is it so far beyond belief that we, cupids, descendants of Eros and Psyche, might be your soul mates?" Alistair asked.
"All because of a hand print?" I asked, desperately trying to wrap my brain around it.
"That's what the gods decided to do for us. I don't know a better way to explain it," Lysander said.
"Maddox had a solid idea. If you can't run away or get out of your contract, then I think we should help you take them down. I mean think about all the other souls that are being held back from finding their mates, finding their family, even friends because of these people," Ezio said.
"You make is sound simple and easy, but it would basically be like taking down the government," I huffed, exasperated by their unwillingness to understand this concept.
"Revolutions happen. Maybe you’re the fire starter for this one. Either way, I think the fates set us on this path for a reason. I don't believe meeting you at the club last night was a coincidence, not when we were sent to this territory weeks ago. The fact that you guys are mates as well? It just cements this whole thing in my head." Maddox shrugged.
I sighed. This conversation seemed half dream, half nightmare. It was everything I wanted but had been too scared to consider, to even think about, let alone act on. Now, with their help, it might just be possible, and that scared me even more.
Chapter 8
Ezio
"I can hunt them. They've trained me to find anyone, anywhere, I can use that against them. Especially if I have supernatural help," Sage said quietly, her blue eyes flashing up to mine as she spoke before also looking at each of my brothers. Her eyes were captivating, a true sky blue that made me want to lie in a field and watch clouds go by. Not that I ever did that shit, but still. She was like a perfect summer day, just waiting for the chance to arrive. The trouble was she seemed to be stuck in the winter of her life right now.
"Consider us at your service," I said. The truth was, I didn't want to lose the connection we had with her, and if that meant pulling out the big guns and grinding these fuckers to ash then so be it. Soul mates weren't given out lightly by the fates, especially not to supernatural beings, so the fact that she bore both Lysander's and Alistair's mark was tempting. We were a unit, always had been, always would be, so that left one question in my mind. Was she my soul mate too? And for that matter, was she Maddox's soul mate?
Murmurs of agreement sounded around me as my thoughts continued to speed into the future. I might not be a cupid of soul mates or bed partners, but I craved a love of my own more deeply than I had ever expressed to my brothers. Now that the potential for it was sitting in front of me, looking like an assassin extra from a John Wick movie, I couldn't resist the lure of the dream.
"Okay, so we spend your vacation time tracking and taking out high ranking members of your employer, then once your free of them, we see if this soul mate stuff is for real?" Lysander proposed.
"What if she doesn't fall in love with you?" Maddox asked.
"Then we track down the fates and ask them what the fuck is going on," Alistair added. "I don't know about you, Sage, but the sex that we had was probably the best of my life, and that was without you being emotionally invested. Can you imagine what it would be like if you actually gave a shit about us?"
I expected her to blush at his comment, but she didn't. The coldness that we felt coming from her was going to take a long time to work through and I, for one, was excited to see what was at the other end. Sage looked over at Alistair and said, "I've never had sex with someone I care about, so I have no idea what it's like, to be honest."
"Never?" Lysander asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
"No. My handler is technically the only person I'm supposed to sleep with, since he demands it, but when I go out and dance I usually go home with someone, because I can't stand him being the only one to touch me."
"He'll never touch you again, sweetheart, that's a promise." Lysander's voice was low and threatening.
"If I want information then I might have to let him," Sage said, although she sounded as though she felt sick at the thought.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Not anymore. We are willing to protect you, fight for and with you, if you will let us." I spoke softly, trying to soothe the disgust that was so clearly rolling through her.
Sage barked a laugh, but there was no mirth behind it. "Fighting is more my area of expertise, not yours."
"Just because we're cupids doesn't mean we aren't knowledgeable in combat," Maddox calmly replied.
"Okay, so what have you trained in?" Sage cast critical eyes over all four of us as though she was evaluating our skill levels just from our bodies. Judging from her expression, while she appreciated what she saw, she didn't seem to think we were up to the task.
"Judo, aikido, kickboxing, Muay Thai, among others." Lysander crossed his arms over his chest, clearly unused to women questioning his physical prowess.
"Good starters. I'll have to see you move before I'm willing to fight with you, but if you aren't up to it then I'll train you myself. You might not want to be my soul mate after that, but if we are going to stand any chance of taking down the Family then you need to be on point with stealth as well as brute force."
I watched Sage as she spoke and she clearly had a teaching bent to her personality. Match that with her hair and stunning eyes and I'd let her teach me anything she wanted. Hell, she could teach me how to knit and I'd sit through it just to spend time with her. It made me envious that I wasn't the
one to go home with her the night before, but if I'd learned anything after my years of working my way up through the cupid ranks with my brothers it was that women loved twins.
"Agreed," I said as I extended my hand to Sage. She took it, her hand fitting delicately inside my own. I felt the charge of her energy run through me. It was as cold as ice but as powerful as lightning and gods if that didn't make me want her all the more.
"Agreed," Maddox said, copying me, except he extended the opposite hand to mine. He and Sage shook on it and I saw his eyes widen fractionally as her energy hit him like a thunderbolt. I wanted to grin at him, but I knew our more serious brother wouldn't appreciate it in this situation. Lysander and Alistair shook her hands as well and just like that a pact was formed.
"From now on we fight together. We bring them down, we free everyone we can, but most importantly we will set you free, no matter what," Maddox said. It sounded like an announcement, the kind of thing you see in movies when the captain addresses the crew before the final battle. The difference was we were only just beginning.
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About Helen Scott
Helen Scott lives in the Chicago area with her wonderful husband and furry, four-legged kids. She spends way too much time with her nose in a book and isn’t sorry about it. When not reading or writing, Helen can be found absorbed in one video game or another or crocheting her heart out.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank you most of all, as the reader, for giving me a chance to entertain you and invite you into my world. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed it! A big thank you to my cover designer, Natasha Snow, for helping me bring this book to life and to my editor, Ms. Correct All’s, for making sure that the readers get the best possible version of the book.
Thank you to my family for helping me pursue my dream and putting up with my wandering mind. Last, but not least, thank you to my husband for pushing me to share my stories with the world. Thanks for putting up with me every day, babe. You’re amazing!
Copyright
Cupid’s Kiss
Cupid’s Heart Book One
Copyright © 2019 by Helen Scott
Cover Design © Natasha Snow
Editing by Ms. Correct All’s Editing and Proofreading Services
All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the brief use of quotations in a book review.
This book is intended for adults only. The sexual activities represented in this book are a work of fiction intended for adults. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously by the author. Any resemblance to actual places, events, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Valhalla Bound © 2019 Embrace the Fantasy Publishing, LLC
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
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About the Book
Ashleigh has a 10-year-plan. Graduate college. Get a job as a photojournalist. Travel the world.
Dying was not part of the plan.
Thrust into Valhalla, Ashleigh is faced with more challenges and temptations than ever before. Three of which are gods.
Chapter 1
My head was two seconds from exploding. It was finals week at Boston University, and I had been cramming for every test on my schedule for hours on end.
If I wasn’t sleeping—which didn’t happen much lately anyway—I was chugging away at my books. My friends weren’t too worried since they were the exact same way. We were all hiding out, either in our room or at the library, trying to absorb as much information as possible in a short amount of time.
Not the most effective way of studying, but some of us didn’t have the pleasure of being geniuses. Some people absorbed information and kept it. Me? I had to have a leak somewhere, because I couldn’t remember what I had for breakfast, let alone who wrote the Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln, thank you very much.
“Hey, Ashleigh.” My roommate, Beverly, bumped my shoulder, making my pen skitter across my notes.
I shot a glare her way. “Hey, watch it.”
“Sorry.” She collapsed in the chair next to me, her apology genuine. She, like the rest of the students, knew the seriousness of passing these finals. So, it saved me from going off on her. Beverly folded her legs under her and glanced over my book. “How much more do you have today?”
I sighed and reached up to adjust my messy bun of midnight, crimson hair. My natural color was blonde, but rarely will you see me actually sporting it. “I have the rest of my history notes to go over and then the mythology class.”
Beverly snorted. “Like you don’t know all of the stories already.”
I lifted a shoulder and dropped it, pushing my glasses up my nose. “I still like to refresh, just in case. You know Professor Michaelson. She likes to throw you a curveball and put the most minute detail in her tests.”
Letting out a long sound of disgust, Bev leaned back in her chair. “Don’t I know it. I had her for English Lit one year.” She shuddered. “Worst semester of my life.”
We giggled together for a moment until the librarian shushed us.
Pantomiming zipping my lips, I turned back to Bev. “So, what’s up? You didn’t come to this soul-sucking cesspool just to check up on me, did you?”
Bev shoved a hand through her short, brown hair and her even darker eyes crinkled at the edges. “Of course not. I came to see if you wanted to go to this rager tonight.”
I snorted and picked up my book, hugging it closer to my chest. “I don’t have time.”
/>
“Of course you do.” Bev pulled the book out of my hands, snapping it shut with a loud clap as I cried out.
“Give it back.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s eight on a Friday night. Your last final is on Monday. You have plenty of time to kill yourself this weekend. You can spend a few hours having fun.”
“I’m not going to waste my free time getting drunk with a bunch of meatheads.” I grabbed for my book, but she held it out of my reach. My eyes narrowing, I shot a hand out and poked her under the arm where I knew she was ticklish.
It worked!
Bev dropped her arm and my book, allowing me to grab it from her greedy clutches and slide it back in front of me. My roommate pouted but didn’t grab for the book again. Instead, she picked up one of my pencils and tapped it on the table.
“Look, I don’t want to hang out with those meatheads either, but Miranda’s part of the sorority that is cohosting it. I can’t really not go,” Bev explained with a small shrug.
Miranda was Bev’s girlfriend. While Bev was more like me—bookish, and more likely to be hanging in our room than out getting trashed and hooking up—Miranda was a go-getter, a cheerleader, and an all-around party girl. How the two of them hooked up I still didn’t know, but they’re happy, and that makes me happy for them.
I stared at my roommate for a second then sighed, and threw my head back before grumbling, “Fine. Half an hour.”
