Fire Bound (Sea Haven Sisters

by Christine Feehan

  She had woken three times to him in her hospital room. Casimir. Risking everything. His very life. Just to check on her. Just to make certain she was safe and unharmed. Love welled up, so strong, an almost painful, terrible love, one she knew would always last. He would always be her first thought. He would be her last thought.

  “Malyshka.”

  She loved that he called her baby in his language. Well, not baby exactly, more like little girl, but all the same, she loved the endearment, especially when he said it in a velvet soft voice that seemed to slide over her skin in a long caress.

  She licked along his hip bone, sliding her tongue along the edge, wondering at the fact that she could be so lucky. So happy. She was alive when she hadn’t expected to be. She was with her husband. Husband. The best man in the world.

  “Casimir.” She breathed his name against his belly. Her hand caressed his inner thighs. She loved how strong they were. She especially loved the way his muscles tightened under her brushstrokes. She kissed him, right along the sweet line of dark hair rising around his amazing erection.

  “You’re hurt, Giacinta. You need care right now.”

  “I do.” She murmured her agreement and licked along his long, beautiful shaft. So thick. She loved how hard he was, just like steel. Her body reacted, going damp at the thought of him inside her. She loved how that steel seemed to be encased in velvet, soft and silky, sliding inside her body, giving her such pleasure.

  He groaned softly in reaction to her tongue, his body shuddering.

  “I do need care.” She murmured her soft agreement, pleased with his reaction. Her sex contracted, a powerful reaction to his.

  Her fingers moved up the inside of his right thigh until she found his heavy sac, already tight. She stroked more caresses there while her tongue ensured his shaft was wet and slick. Her fingers moved lower, brushing that soft spot that had him groaning and shifting his legs restlessly. She chose that moment to take him in her mouth, engulfing him, sliding her lips tight around him.

  His hips bucked. She tightened her suction, determined she had the control. Her fingers never stopped their worship of him. Her mouth settled in for enjoyment of her task. She was merciless, driving him higher and higher, wanting him to feel the intensity of the love she had for him.

  “I’m close, golubushka.” He groaned the admission. The warning.

  She immediately slid up his body, straddling him. “Sit up, Casimir.” She kept her fist wrapped firmly around his heavy erection.

  He complied instantly, his back toward the headboard, Lissa on his lap. She kept her fingers curled around the base of his shaft and slowly lowered her body so she could impale herself. She kept control, going slow, her tight muscles protesting the invasion, giving away reluctantly.

  His arms went around her body, holding her close to him so that her nipples brushed his chest. Her breath exploded when she was fully seated on him. Instantly his arms tightened even more until her body seemed to melt into his and there was no separation between them. It seemed as if they shared the same skin. She felt his every heartbeat. His every breath.

  She wrapped her cast around his back and leaned into him as she rode him. Slow. Easy. Her muscles tight. Her body hot. A lazy, sexy ride that she hoped made him feel as loved as she was trying to convey with her body. He nuzzled her shoulder, his mouth on the side of her neck. She’d have a strawberry there.

  She rode him for a long while, holding him close, savoring their bond. “I love you,” she whispered into his ear. “I love you more than life, Casimir. I’ll always love you.” She spiraled down his shaft, a slow, tight fist gloving him. Stroking him with scorching-hot caresses. Slowly milking him. An exquisite torture.

  He bit her gently, right where he’d sucked and licked. The spot that drove her wild. The little bite of pain sent sparks radiating through her body. She cried out. Dug her nails into his shoulder.

  “Not yet, malyshka.”

  She took a breath. She was so close. So very close. She hadn’t thought it was possible, not going so slow. Not with her doing all the work. She hadn’t even recognized that she was coiling so tight, the pressure building, the fire burning so hot. She was so busy working him, wanting this moment for him, that she hadn’t even seen that she was so close.

  “I don’t want it over. Not yet.”

  She breathed deeply. For him. Stopping herself. For him. She didn’t want to end this moment either. She was in his arms – safe. She’d always be safe with him.

  “I love you, Giacinta Prakenskii. So much. You’re my life. My everything. There’s no more danger for you. No more putting yourself in harm’s way. I can’t ever do that again. Those hours without knowing…” His body shuddered against hers. His hand slid down to her bottom, fingers digging deep as he urged her body into a deeper, faster rhythm.

  Fire streaked through her. She actually felt the stark terror unfolding in him for her. She thought it was the worst, those hours under the desk while overhead the roof creaked and spread more debris. On the floor were the dead men, crushed beneath the heavy fall of cement, rock and dirt. His terror was worse. She knew that. He’d been safe. He hadn’t known what happened to her.

  “Say it,” he demanded, his other hand sliding down the curve of her back to her hip. “Say you’re finished.”

  “Anything for you, honey,” she whispered.

  “Anything?” His hips bucked up hard into her.

  The fire turned scorching. Her breath left her lungs in a rush. “The world.”

  “Babies?”

  “Anything. All of it.”

  “Now, malyshka, with me now.”

  She fragmented. Shattered into a million pieces. He was there. Casimir. To catch her. To keep her safe. To put all those pieces back together. He was there. She laid her head against him, gasping for breath while her body rocked around his, gripped his like a vise, a velvet, silken glove, squeezing and milking so that he was right there with her. She would have collapsed, but his arms held her tight against him. They held each other for a long time.

  “I wanted you to feel loved,” she whispered.

  “I feel loved,” he answered. “I want to go home. I’ve never had a home, and that farm of yours feels like the real thing.”

  “It is the real thing. And it’s ours. We’re married.” She lifted her head and frowned up at him, suspicion in her eyes. “You don’t have a really weird chair or something ugly you’re going to want to put in our front room, do you?”

  He laughed and she felt his laughter vibrate right through his body to hers. She wanted to hear his laughter until the day she died. “I love you,” she whispered again. Meaning it. She had that now. Her own family. Her sisters. His brothers. Casimir Prakenskii. Her husband.

  SHADOW RIDER

  Keep reading for an excerpt from the first book

  in the new Shadow series by Christine Feehan

  Shadow Rider

  Coming in 2016 from Piatkus

  Stefano Ferraro pulled on soft leather driving gloves, his dark blue eyes taking a long, slow scan around the neighborhood. His neighborhood. His family knew everything that happened there. It was a good place to live, the people loyal. A close-knit community. It was safe because his family kept it safe. Women could walk the streets alone at night. Children could play outside without their parents fearing for them.

  He knew every shop owner, every homeowner by name. The Ferraro family territory started just on the edge of Little Italy. He knew every inch of Little Italy as well, and those residing and working there knew him and his family. Crime stopped at the edge of the Ferraro territory. That invisible line was known by even the most hardened of criminals, and no one dared to cross it because retaliation was always swift and brutal.

  He glanced at his watch, knowing he didn’t have a lot of time. The jet was fueled and waiting for his arrival. He needed to get into his car and get the hell to the airport, but something held him there. Whatever it was, the feeling he had was disturbing.
The compulsion to stay was strong, and anytime that happened, every Ferraro knew there was trouble coming. He carefully and very quietly shut the door to his Maserati, rounding the hood and then retreating to the sidewalk.

  Urgency was always about work, and nothing ever interfered with the Ferraro family business. Nothing. He played hard when he played, but work was important and dangerous, and he kept his head in the game when it was time to get down to business. He needed to get his ass moving, but he still couldn’t force himself, in spite of all the years of discipline, to get into his car and get to the airport. The compulsion in him was strong, not to be ignored, and he had no choice but to give in to it.

  A voice drifted to him above the normal sounds of the street. Elusive. Mysterious. Musical. He turned his head as two women rounded the corner just at the very edge of his territory and began walking deeper into it. He recognized Joanna Masci immediately. Her uncle, Pietro Masci, was a longtime resident in Ferraro territory, born and raised there. He owned the local deli shop, a very popular place for residents to buy their produce and meats. Pietro had taken Joanna in when his brother died years earlier. A good man, everyone in the neighborhood liked Pietro and respected him.

  It wasn’t Joanna who caught his interest. The woman walking beside her was dressed totally inappropriately for the weather. No coat. No sweater. There were rips in her blue jeans, although the jeans clung lovingly to her body. And she had a figure. She wasn’t thin like most girls preferred; she actually had curves. Her hair was wild. Thick. Very shiny. She wore part of it pulled back from her face in an intricate, thick braid, but the rest tumbled down her back in waves. The color was rich. Vibrant. A true black. He couldn’t see her eyes from that distance, but she was shivering in the cold Chicago weather, and for some reason he had an entirely primal reaction to her constant shivering. His gut knotted and a slow burn of rage began in his belly.

  It wasn’t her looks that caught his interest or made him stand utterly still. It was her shadow. The sun was throwing light perfectly to create tall, full shadows. Hers leaked long tentacles. Thin. Like streaks reaching out toward the shadows around her. Everywhere there was a shadow, hers connected to it with the long feelers – with long tubes. His breath hitched. His lungs seized.

  She was the last thing he ever expected to happen because, frankly, a woman like her was so rare. He didn’t know how to feel about it, but suddenly there was nothing else more important, not even Ferraro family business.

  He had his cell phone out and punched in numbers without taking his gaze off of her. “Franco, I’m going to need to take the helicopter this morning. I have business to attend to before I can leave. Half an hour. Yeah. I’ll meet you.” He ended the call, still watching the two women and the strange shadow the stranger cast as he punched in another number. “Henry, I’m not going to use the car after all. Please return it to the garage for me.” The Ferraro family had a temperature-controlled garage with a fleet of various cars and motorcycles. They all liked them fast. Henry took care of all vehicles and kept them in top running order.

  Stefano snapped the phone shut and stepped off the sidewalk to cross the street. He held up his hand imperiously and of course the cars stopped for him. Everything stopped for him when he demanded it.

  Francesca Capello prayed she wouldn’t pass out as she walked with Joanna toward the deli. She’d never felt so weak in her life. She was hungry. She’d made tomato soup using ketchup and water, but that was all she’d had to eat for the last two days. If she didn’t get this job, she was going to have to do something desperate, like ask the homeless woman she’d given her coat to where the nearest soup kitchen was.

  Maybe it hadn’t been such a great idea to give the woman her coat. Her clothes weren’t the best for a job interview, but they were all she had. She needed the job and she definitely wasn’t looking very professional in her faded but very soft vintage blue jeans – a perfect fit, which was rare for her to find in the thrift stores. There were holes in the knees and one small one on her upper thigh, but some of the designer jeans featured rips. The tears in her jeans just happened to be from real wear.

  “Wow, the deli’s packed,” Joanna observed as they stopped in front of a glass door. She yanked it open and ushered Francesca inside.

  Francesca thought she might faint from all the smells of food. Her stomach growled and she pushed on it with one hand, hoping to quiet it. People were three deep at the counter and every small table throughout the room was filled.

  “Popular place,” she observed, because she had to say something. She’d let Joanna do most of the talking because, well, she couldn’t talk. She wasn’t bursting into tears in front of her friend. Not after all Joanna had done for her.

  “I told you.” Joanna flashed a grin, caught her arm and tugged her through the crowd to the window on the far side opposite the door. “We can wait here until Tio Pietro has a couple of minutes.”

  Francesca didn’t think he was going to be free anytime soon. Now all the smells blended together, making her feel nauseous. She didn’t want to throw up right there in his deli. She was fairly certain that wouldn’t get her the job, but her stomach was so empty.

  Her lungs burned from holding her breath, waiting for Joanna’s uncle to get free enough to come interview her. Joanna had promised her the job. Francesca had spent nearly every cent she had – the money she’d borrowed from Joanna – getting to Chicago and into the tiny apartment right on the very edge of Little Italy. She had nothing left for food or clothing. She had to get this job. She could survive another week if she was very, very careful, but not much longer. She’d be living on the street with Dina, the homeless woman. She’d done that once already and it wasn’t fun. Truthfully, she wasn’t altogether certain that her apartment was better than the street. Still, it had a roof.

  Francesca couldn’t stop shivering, no matter how hard she tried. The cold was biting and penetrated right to the bone. It didn’t help that after the wild storm there were puddles everywhere, impossible to avoid, and her shoes and socks were soaking wet. The soles were thin and the water had easily gotten inside her shoes. Not only were her feet wet, but her toes were numb.

  Still, if she got the job, this was the perfect place for her. The neighborhood was small. Everything was in walking distance. She didn’t own a car, or anything else for that matter. She was starting over, determined to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. But seriously, if Pietro didn’t hurry up, she’d be on the floor soon.

  If she didn’t need food and to warm up so bad, she would have been happy with the evidence that the store was popular as a small specialty grocery store and sandwich shop. Clearly Pietro needed help. She could handle a cash register, no problem. She could make sandwiches. She’d held a job in a deli while putting herself through school and she was certain this would be a piece of cake.

  The door opened and a blast of cold air swept into the shop, chilling her further. She turned her head and froze. She had never in her life seen a man more gorgeous or more dangerous. He was tall, broad-shouldered, tough as nails and totally ripped. His hair was jet black and seemed messy, but artfully so, as if even his hair refused to disobey him.

  He wore a three-piece dark charcoal pinstriped suit that had to have been tailor-made in Italy or France and looked to be worth a fortune. His tie was a darker gray to match the thin stripes in his suit and was worn over a lighter shade of charcoal shirt. He wore butter-soft gloves and a long, dark cashmere overcoat. Even the shoes on his feet looked like he’d paid a fortune for them. He made her acutely aware of her shabby clothes.

  She wasn’t the only one who noticed him. The moment he entered, all chatter in the shop ceased. Completely. No one so much as whispered. No one moved, as if they were all frozen in place. Pietro came to attention. Beside her, Joanna took a deep breath. The atmosphere in the store went from friendly chatter and light-hearted gossip to one of danger.

  His face was carved in masculine lines and set in stone. He had a strong
jaw covered by a dark shadow. He was easily the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. His eyes were such an intense blue she almost didn’t believe they were natural. The blue eyes swept the room, taking in everything and everyone. She knew he did. So did everyone in the room. Just like her, they were all staring at him. The eyes came back to her. Settled. Narrowed.

  The impact was physical. Her breath rushed from her lungs. He could see right through her. She had far too many secrets for him to be looking at her and seeing so much. Worse, his gaze drifted over her, taking in the cropped sweater that molded to her breasts and just barely reached her waist. Her jeans rode a little lower than her waist, so she had to resist pulling at the hem of the sweater, although her fingers automatically curled around the hem to do just that. The sweater was one of the few things she owned that was warm.

  His gaze traveled down her holey jeans to her wet shoes and back up to her face. She wished the earth would open up and swallow her. The tension in the deli went up several more notches. Francesca knew why. Not only was this man gorgeous and dangerous, he was angry. A black wall of intense heat filled the room until no one seemed able to breathe. She could actually feel his anger shimmering in the air. The room vibrated with his fury.