Celina (Connelly Cousins #1)

by Abbie Zanders

  Celina

  The Connelly Cousins, Volume 1

  Abbie Zanders

  Published by Abbie Zanders, 2015.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  CELINA

  First edition. September 18, 2015.

  Copyright © 2015 Abbie Zanders.

  Written by Abbie Zanders.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Celina (The Connelly Cousins, #1)

  Before You Begin

  Acknowledgements

  About This Book

  Prologue

  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

  Thanks for reading Kyle and Celina’s story

  If you liked this book...

  About the Author

  Also by Abbie Zanders

  Celina

  Connelly Cousins, Book One

  Before You Begin

  WARNING: This book contains alpha male characters: a badass biker, a sexy construction worker, and a brooding Army Ranger.

  Due to frequent strong language and graphic scenes of a sexual nature, this book is intended for mature (18+) readers only.

  If these things offend you, then this book is not for you.

  If, however, you like your alphas a little rough around the edges and some serious heat in your romance, then by all means, read on...

  Acknowledgements

  Cover design by the amazing (and extremely patient) Kim Killion of The Killion Group, Inc.

  Professional editing by the incomparable M. E. Weglarz of megedits.com, a woman with a true gift for spotting plot holes, character anomalies, black holes, and other potential WTFs.

  And special thanks to some very special ladies – Deb B., Anjee Z., Shelly S., Carol T., Tonya B., Susan J., Perryne D., Carla S., Stacy T., and Shayne R (and a few of you who prefer to remain unnamed – you know who you are) - for reading the first draft and making invaluable suggestions. This is a better story because of them!

  About This Book

  Celina is the first book of the standalone Connelly Cousins Trilogy.

  Many of you might recognize her from her occasional appearances in my popular Callaghan Brothers series. That’s because Celina and her brothers are cousins to the boys in Pine Ridge, and live just over the river in the small valley town of Birch Falls.

  If you’re keeping track, Celina’s mother, Erin, and the Callaghan matriarch, Kathleen, are sisters.

  In terms of timing, Celina’s story takes place the summer prior to the first Callaghan book, Dangerous Secrets.

  So sit back, relax, and come along with me for another visit to Northeastern Pennsylvania...

  Prologue

  She tangled her hands in his hair. Like black silk, it slid between her fingers and curled around them. Her constant tugging and pulling made it look even wilder, more untamed than usual. So fitting for her gorgeous, bad boy biker.

  His kisses were rough, but she could tell he was trying to be gentle. She wanted to tell him not to bother, that she wanted the full measure of all that strength and power. Wanted to be caught up in the maelstrom that was Kyle McCullough. But each time she drew in a breath to speak, he stole it away completely.

  His big, hard body was poised just above hers, so close that she could feel his scorching heat, branding her exposed flesh. Lina hovered at the edge of bliss, soaking wet and still trembling from the mind-altering orgasm he’d provided with that wicked tongue of his. Returning the favor had been an added, unexpected pleasure. The taste of his desire, slightly salty and very male, made her crave more.

  But this, this is what she needed. Everything else could – and would – have to wait. She opened her eyes half-way, carried further away by the carnal lust in his expression. After weeks of denial, he was here, now, ready to make all of her dreams come true.

  Lina slid the soles of her feet upward on the cool, smooth sheets, raising her knees. Her hips arched in blatant invitation in case her breathy pleas and tugging fingers weren’t clear enough.

  “Kyle, please.”

  He grunted an acknowledgement, and rocked his hips forward. Hard, hot, latex-wrapped steel slipped along her slick folds, teasing and torturing at the same time. She shifted impatiently, writhing to get him exactly where she ached the most. Kyle continued to rub against her, her strength no match for his.

  “So impatient,” he murmured into her mouth, nipping her bottom lip. If he’d thought such an act was a punishment, he was sorely mistaken. Each small demonstration of his power, his dominance, was like a hit of crack to her libido. Her hands left his head and scraped down the rolling, bunching muscles of his back. She gripped both sides of his tight ass, digging her nails into his skin.

  Kyle hissed; his entire body tightened like a coiled spring on the verge of exploding. She flexed her fingers again. Kneading. Demanding. Begging. When he continued to move against her but not in her, one hand extended farther to scrape along the back of his thigh. Her reward was a full-body shiver and a lusty glower from his icy blue eyes.

  Thank you, Cosmo, she thought, silently thrilled with her decision to purchase the issue with the “50 Touches That Drive Him Crazy” feature. Worth every penny.

  Finally he shifted and placed himself exactly where she needed him. She tilted her hips in encouragement, nearly sobbing in relief when she felt his weight pressing down upon her, felt that blunt tip nudge forward.

  She had known he was well-endowed; she’d held him in her hand and traced him with her tongue, but he felt even bigger now that he was between her legs. She sucked in a breath as he began to enter her, her tender skin stretching and straining to accommodate him. Lina braced for the certain pain; even as lost in her desire as she was, she knew it was going to hurt. She didn’t care. She welcomed the pain, because it meant she was finally going to know what it was like to be joined with the man she had fallen in love with. The one she had been waiting for her whole life.

  She closed her eyes and held her breath as he moved forward with agonizing slowness, once again trying so hard to be gentle. Then he was right there, his slow progression having brought him to the only part of her offering resistance. It, too, was eagerly willing to sacrifice itself for him, to give him everything.

  But instead of the sharp, searing tear she was expecting, he just ... stopped. Lina opened her eyes to find that his were no longer filled with desire, but anger.

  “You really are a fucking virgin?!?”

  Those powerful, rippling, tattooed arms pushed away from her as if burned, taking away all that hot, hard male. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  Lina opened her heavy-lidded eyes further and looked up at him, confused. Even angry, he was so beautiful. Fierce. Glowing blue eyes and flaring nostrils, his chest heaving. “What’s wrong?”

  “Wrong?! What’s wrong?! This! This is wrong, Lina.”

  He snatched his jeans from the floor. Her gaze slipped to his still-erect manhood, feeling a stab of disappointment when he selfishly tucked it away. Stalking over to the chair, he picked up the loose-fitting sundress she’d draped there earlier and flung it in her direction.

  “For Chrissakes, dress
yourself.”

  No, thought Lina, humiliation seeping in through every pore as the cold truth dawned. This can’t be happening. “But I thought...”

  Kyle paced two steps left, then two steps right, looking like a crazed panther. A very hot, sexy, crazed panther. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. His broad, tattooed chest heaved with every breath; white fire flicked in his icy blue eyes with every quick glance he directed her way.

  “You thought what? That I was the one?”

  Lina shrunk back, clutching her dress. She blinked back the tears starting to form. Bit her lip to keep it from trembling. The heat of passion turned into the burn of embarrassment, stealing up her neck and into her face.

  “You’ve got the wrong guy, Lina. My brother’s the one who is in love with you, not me. I like my women a little more experienced. I don’t do virgins.” He spat the word as if it was a vile curse. “You’re hot, honey, but you’re just not worth the trouble.”

  Kyle’s jaw clenched, then he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. Lina stared at the door in disbelief, fighting against the unwanted tears that continued to build in her eyes. It was over. Really over. She’d come here believing that her dreams were going to come true, that she and Kyle were finally going to be together.

  She was such a fool.

  Breathe, Lina, breathe, she told herself. Her autonomic systems seemed to forget how to operate, and she was forced to will them to function manually. Beat, heart. Breathe, lungs. Arms, get that dress over your head. And eyes, do not let him see you cry.

  Maybe he was right. Maybe he wasn’t the other half of her soul. Maybe this was a mistake, despite what her heart said.

  She dressed slowly, hoping that he would change his mind. That he’d come back in, pull her into his arms, and make sweet, passionate love to her.

  He didn’t.

  Lina opened the door and looked across the living room. It was empty. Her gaze raked over the masculine space until she found him. Kyle stood in the small kitchen, his back to her, opening a beer.

  Her body ached for his, craving the burning heat of his skin, the heavy weight of his muscular form, two hundred pounds of perfectly-chiseled male pressing down upon her. His every muscle was tensed, rippling dangerously beneath the tawny skin of his bare back.

  Please turn around. Please look at me. Please don’t let me walk out that door.

  He stilled briefly, as if he had heard her silent pleas. But he didn’t turn around. He didn’t ask her not to go.

  Chapter One

  Two Months Earlier

  Celina Connelly – Lina to those who knew her well – kicked the door closed behind her and paused, listening. The house was quiet. Blissfully so. Which meant that her older brother Johnny was out for the night and she’d be able to put a serious dent in the latest stack of romances she clutched to her chest with Gollum-like possessiveness. Having a friend who owned a book store was one of the great joys in life, and Amy, who knew how much she loved her happily ever afters, had been stockpiling the newest best-sellers for her.

  It had been a long day; the library had hosted two book club meetings and four elementary school class field trips. As much as she loved kids, keeping them relatively quiet and holding their attention for any length of time was a daunting task.

  Ignoring the call of the kitchen, she made a beeline for the stairs with her armload of treasures. She was looking forward to a peaceful, relaxing evening in. A light supper, maybe a load of laundry, then she’d spend the rest of the night in her room, immersing herself in the world of romance: sexy bad boys with hearts of gold and alpha heroes who saved the day and got the girl.

  Johnny didn’t understand her obsession with reading, but he did appreciate the fact that more often than not, he didn’t have to worry about where she was or who she was with. Despite the fact that she’d turned twenty-five on her last birthday, he felt the need to look out for her like they were still kids. Never mind that she’d been living on her own for the past seven years, had a job, and was working on her Master’s degree. If anything, he’d grown even more protective since she’d moved back to Birch Falls six months earlier.

  It wasn’t so bad, though. Only one year apart in age, she and Johnny had always been close. They even looked somewhat alike. They both had their father’s blonde hair and their mother’s green eyes, but Johnny was a lot bigger. He and their oldest brother, Michael, had definitely gotten their brawn from the Connelly branch of the family. Lina, thank goodness, had inherited her mother’s delicate, fae-like features from the O’Leary side.

  As protective as Johnny was, he was also a sweetheart, Lina thought as she entered her personal sanctuary. Not only had he given her the classic Jag he’d picked up at a junkyard and completely rebuilt and restored himself as a ‘welcome home’ surprise, Johnny had also turned one entire wall of her childhood bedroom into a series of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Shelves that were already more than half-full, thanks to Amy.

  But it was the box sitting on her pillow that made her squeal with delight.

  Lina unceremoniously dumped the half dozen books on her unmade bed and grabbed the package, her eyes zeroing in on the California postmark. Stacey!

  She hadn’t seen her college roommate in a couple of years, but that never stopped Stacey from sending her signed, first-edition hardbacks weeks prior to general release. Forget the mass market paperbacks. Lina knew exactly what she would be reading tonight.

  After slipping out of her sensible flats and conservative, public-library-appropriate clothes, Lina tugged on silky-soft harem pants and one of her brother’s old practice jerseys and crawled into bed. Everything else – including food, laundry, and that paper for her Mythological Studies course - could wait.

  She’d just cracked the cover when her cell phone vibrated with an incoming message. She sighed when she saw the text from Jamie.

  They’d been dating off and on for a few months. Jamie was what many women might call a ‘good catch’: handsome, intelligent, responsible, and courteous. The type of man a woman could settle down and be content with. Even Johnny would probably approve, and Johnny didn’t think any man was good enough for her. That was just a theory, though, because Lina hadn’t actually told Johnny about him.

  As wonderful as those characteristics were, they weren’t enough for Lina. It wasn’t Jamie’s fault. He was a great guy, but there just wasn’t any spark there, at least not on her end. And she needed that. She wanted passion and excitement. Edge. A man who would make her heart pound furiously and her breathing erratic with just a look. As much as she might wish differently, Jamie just wasn’t that man.

  Some might say she read too much romance, but the real root of her fantasies lay in her heritage. Lina had grown up believing in true love, like the kind of love her parents had. Her Irish grandfather called them croies – or hearts; they symbolized the one person who was the other half of your soul. That’s what she was holding out for.

  But that didn’t mean she had to be a bitch.

  She read the text and sighed again. How was your day? Hope the kids went easy on you.

  He was so thoughtful. He actually listened when she told him things. He remembered that she’d had the field trips today, even when she was sure she’d only mentioned it once last week. She wished Jamie was the one for her; it would simplify things tremendously.

  The kids were great, she replied. But exhausting.

  Her hopes that he’d pick up on the subtle hint were dashed when the phone buzzed again, this time with an incoming call. She couldn’t not answer it, not when she’d just responded to his text.

  “I know just what you need,” he said by way of greeting. “How about a quiet dinner at Calvecchios? Pasta Aglio, a nice Chablis... ”

  Damn it. The man didn’t play fair. Offering comfort carbs and wine at her favorite Italian restaurant! And why did she feel a stab of annoyance?

  “That’s very thoughtful of you, but I’m beat.”

&
nbsp; His reply was immediate, as if he’d been expecting her to decline. “Of course. You must be tired after the day you had. I could pick something up.”

  Double dog damn it. “Can I take a raincheck? Tonight I just want to curl up with a good book and make an early night of it.”

  Lina bit her lip, feeling increasingly bad as the seconds ticked by in silence. She could clearly picture the disappointment in his eyes. Turning down Jamie kind of felt like kicking a puppy. She looked longingly at the book.

  “Okay, Lina,” he finally responded. “Get some rest. I’ll call you this weekend okay?”

  “Thanks for understanding, Jamie.”

  Lina disconnected the call with a mixture of guilt and relief. Was she being selfish? Unintentionally leading him on? She liked Jamie and didn’t want to lose his friendship, but if that wasn’t enough for him, it might be kinder to let him go.

  * * *

  Damn it. Jamie McCullough cursed softly under his breath as he broke the connection. What the hell was he doing wrong? Despite his best efforts, Lina preferred hopping into bed with a book rather than him. Why read about it when he was offering the real thing?

  He’d applied the tried and true methods men had been utilizing for years – romantic, candlelit dinners, flowers, wine. Clearly, Lina required a different approach. Instead of growing closer, she seemed to be moving farther away. And the harder he tried, the farther she got.

  He needed help.

  Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Jamie was at the end of his rope.

  With his professionally cut and styled sandy hair, hazel eyes, and no-wrinkle Dockers, Jamie looked out of place among the bearded, pierced, and tattooed biker types that frequented Big Mo’s Cycle Shop. That was okay. He wasn’t there to buy a bike or to check out the latest gear. He was there to see his older brother.

  The owner, Big Mo, glared through slitted eyes to see who had the balls to come in five minutes before closing time. His fierce features relaxed slightly when he recognized Jamie, then inclined his head toward the back. Jamie ignored the curious looks of the few remaining customers and crossed the floor, slipping quietly into the area where Kyle spent most of his days, creating one-of-a-kind custom cycles.