Callie approached Jasper’s room, wondering if this is how he had felt when she’d been the one lying in bed, broken and battered.
Once the fire at the clinic had been put out, he and Patrick were taken to the public hospital. It was a dreary place and she hated it, but Dr. Helmholtz had access to the supplies and help he’d needed to treat Jasper’s burns and remove the bullet lodged in his arm. Not to mention, Patrick had fallen prey to a deathly fever that had lasted for three days before breaking. When he did finally awake, she’d chastened him well and good for scaring her so badly before she assured him her earlier promise would still stand. She’d stay until the doctor was ready to fit him with his new legs, and be there to help him get used to them.
Jasper opened his eyes when she entered the room. Callie had done her best to make it look less like a sick room with the addition of some holiday decorations, but it hadn’t really helped.
He turned his head to smile at her. She sat on the edge of his bed and placed a small box on his lap.
“What is this?” he asked, picking it up.
“Merry Christmas.”
He opened the box and lifted out her father’s pocketwatch with a sad sigh. It was completely black, and the heat of the fire had softened one curved edge, making it look like a melted pat of butter. It was no longer working and inside, the glass had broken and the tiny daguerreotype of her mother was gone. “Oh, Callie, I’m sorry.”
“I’m not,” she whispered, heart in her throat. “If it had been made of expensive gold or brass, it probably would have melted away to nothing. But it’s steel. Hard and strong. It might be broken and ugly now and it won’t ever be the same, but it can probably be fixed. And I want you to have it back.”
He swallowed hard before looking into her eyes and taking her hand. “I have always cherished it, and it will never leave my side again. Thank you.”
She nodded and examined the bandages on his face. When he moved, they pulled, making her wince. Her own injuries had healed in mere hours. By the next day, her torn muscles hadn’t hurt at all, and the small cuts on her skin had faded as if they were a week old already. The biomechanical organisms in her blood had worked wonders.
“Do you find me ugly now?” Jasper joked, but his shoulders were tight as if he worried what her answer would be.
She repeated the words he’d said to her not so long ago. “I’m going to kiss you now. Don’t hit me, all right?”
She leaned forward and gently touched her lips to his, lingering for a long moment.
He frowned up at her as she pulled away. “That was pathetic.”
She lifted a brow.
He sighed dramatically. “I’ll let it go, but only because I can’t move to drag you on top of me for a proper kiss.”
She chuckled. “There will be plenty of time for that, don’t you think?”
His gaze turned serious. “I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I hope so.” She grinned. “I’ve discovered that I’m growing rather attached to this new and improved body of mine and there are a few things I want to try.”
Jasper laughed and then he did indeed drag her on top of him, but their whispered declarations of love were interrupted by a sharp rap at the door.
She looked up to see General Black’s wide form filling the entrance. He wore a sling on his arm and a bandage across his temple. He’d been hit pretty hard over the head by a falling beam in the fire, but had otherwise escaped relatively unscathed.
Thanks to Jasper.
“Colonel, I’ve made a decision.”
Jasper struggled to a sitting position, ignoring her hand on his arm. He glared at the general. “I saved your life, Black.”
“So you did.” He smiled, but no light reached his dark eyes. “Unfortunately, I can’t grant your demand to release Lady Carlisle. The War Office is too interested in the unique abilities she would bring to the table, should her skills be required at some point.”
“Pardon?” Callie looked from one man to the other, only now becoming aware that they had obviously been discussing her without her knowledge. “Jasper, you promised.”
His tone was sharp as he kept his gaze on the other man. “I wasn’t trying to keep you in the dark about anything. The general and I simply had occasion to discuss the matter of your apparent recruitment as an agent for the War Office, and how he was going to recommend that you be discharged from that obligation.”
“I can’t have her released completely,” Black continued. “That’s not within my power. But I can limit the types of missions she will be called upon for, and I can ensure that you would be paired with her.”
“What about Patrick?” Callie interrupted. “What will happen to him after he’s fitted with artificial legs?”
“Until the doctor completes his procedure, the War Office has no official record of the boy.” He paused. “I can probably keep it that way.”
“That’s not good enough,” Jasper snarled.
“Those are the only concessions I’m willing to make in payment for my life. Live with it.” With that, the general swung them both a mocking salute and left the room.
Jasper reached for her hand. “Callie, I—”
“Shh. This means we can go home.”
He winced. “I wanted us to be home for the holidays, and instead it’s Christmas day and you’re still stuck in a hospital because of me.”
“We’re alive, Jasper. Both of us. We can build a life together once again, and spend every holiday in each other’s arms from this moment forward. It doesn’t even matter where we are.”
“No. I’ll speak to Black again. I didn’t want that kind of life for you. You shouldn’t—”
“Shouldn’t what? Use the strength I was given for something good? I want a life with you Jasper, but I also want a life that means something. You’ll teach me everything you know, and when the War Office calls, we’ll be the best damn team there ever was.” She laid a firm kiss on his lips and twined her fingers with his, iron becoming one with flesh and blood. “We are a team, right?”
He smiled into her eyes. “Always.”
About the Author
JK Coi is a multi-published, award-winning author of dark and sexy paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She lives in Ontario with her amazingly supportive husband and son, and their cat, who is the undisputed ruler of the household. While she spends her days immersed in the litigious world of insurance law, she is very happy to spend her nights writing dark and sexy characters who leap off the page and into readers’ hearts. Please visit her at www.jkcoi.com, and if you’re a real glutton for punishment, see what she’s up to by following her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jkcoi.
Where no great story goes untold.
The variety you want to read, the stories authors have always wanted to write.
With new releases every week, your next great read is just a download away!
Keep in touch with Carina Press:
Read our blog: www.CarinaPress.com/blog
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarinaPress
Become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarinaPress
ISBN: 978-1-4268-9275-2
Copyright © 2011 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Crime Wave in a Corset
ISBN: 978-1-4268-9287-5
Copyright © 2011 by Stacy Shoeman
This Winter Heart
ISBN: 978-1-4268-9285-1
Copyright © 2011 by PG Forte
Wanted: One Scoundrel
ISBN: 978-1-4268-9284-4
Copyright © 2011 by Jenny Schwartz
Far From Broken
ISBN: 978-1-4268-9286-8
Copyright © 2011 by JK Coi
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, t
ransmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.CarinaPress.com
A Clockwork Christmas Page 38
