by Angel Payne
I’m thankful for the chance to laugh, using it as an excuse to step away from him. Truth be known, I need the space. He’s talking big dreams about a big life. A really big life. The kind of big that comes after the L word. The scope of a life we’ve never discussed with each other…
“Reece.” I concentrate on infusing it with encouragement and not chastisement. “It all sounds…incredible…”
“But?” He fills in where I’m going just as he wheels around and fills up the air in front of me. His posture is taut, his lips a tight line, and the chest I raise both hands to draws only shallow breaths.
Nevertheless, I don’t back away from my own wary move. “But you can do all of that without my help.”
His answering growl is instant and vehement. “The hell I can.”
“Reece—”
“The hell I can,” he repeats, bringing along an even bigger tiger to his voice. All the same, he’s the one to stomp away now, pacing so hard across the road that small clouds of dust burst beneath his feet. “You seriously think I can do this—any of this—without you, Emma? Do you think I can be even half the man, let alone the super man, that I now need to be, without you?” He stops. Turns. More dust rising around his feet. More lightning-bright emotion in his eyes. “Without the honor you’ve taught me to believe in. The strength you’ve shown me that I have, beyond just these fuckers.” He lifts his hands, fingers splayed, before swiping them down to his sides again—and continuing his steady steps back toward me. “Without the heart you’ve awakened inside me—and the connection you’ve given it by giving yours in return.”
Now I’m the one butted up against the Rover—well, at least the edge of the tailgate—which gives me stability as tears cloud my eyes…and pure love floods my being. “Reece.” I’d run to him if I could, but he really does make me weak in the knees with his determined stride, wind-billowed hair, and entrancing, electric stare. I focus on simply continuing to breathe as he gets closer.
And closer…
And then close enough to allow stuff like kissing me senseless again…
But he doesn’t.
At two feet out, he stops again.
And lowers himself to one knee.
“Reece?”
He leans over just enough to lift the tips of my fingers beneath his own. Then to raise his face so I can see every gorgeous angle, every loving nuance, every perfect effort that goes into his next words. “I’m not a hero without a heart, Emma—and you’re my heart.”
From an inner pocket of his sports jacket, he pulls out a blue velvet box. He pops the lid—and spikes my blood pressure. Holy God. The ring inside is…outrageous. No, really. That’s the only word I can conjure as I gawk at the stone the size of my own eyeball, its dark-blue facets surrounded by tiny diamonds, nestled against indigo velvet.
“Holy…Reece…”
“It’s tanzanite,” he tells me. “It’s supposed to have properties of connection and communication. Most importantly, it opens hearts to the possibilities of the universe—which is exactly what you’ve done for me, Velvet.” When I don’t say anything for a lot of long seconds—when I can’t say anything—he utters, “Don’t freak out, okay? If this is too fast, then just accept it as a symbol of everything you are to me, and everything I want you to be, of all the more you are to me.” His lips twist a little. His jaw clenches. “But for God’s sake, Emma, accept it.” He jerks for a second, as if the strangest thought in the world has just jolted him. “Unless…you don’t want to accept it?”
Through my tears, I laugh and jerk his hand hard. “Would you just shut up and put that damn bowling ball on my finger?”
Once he’s returned a laugh and fulfilled my order, I’m able to see that the rock isn’t going to really put someone’s eye out if my hand slips. I do notice that the sight of it on my finger has turned my man—my fiancé—into an even more devastating sight of masculine pride and burgeoning love. And how I do love him. With everything I am and everything I will be, connected to him by a power beyond even the flimsy four-letter word I use to identify it with…bound to him by a magical electricity that intensifies and grows as he finally tugs me in close and kisses me like the human transformer he is.
Marrying a power cell won’t come without its challenges. There’ll be craziness, heartaches, and yes, probably more danger. Hell, the last week has proved that one clearer than anything. But unplugging isn’t an option. Not loving Reece Richards will never be an option again. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
As the sun dips completely into the ocean and the stars transform from tiny sparks to full blazes of light, Reece folds me close, nuzzling his lips into my hair.
“Hey…woman of mine?”
“Yes, man of mine?”
“What do you say we go home?”
I burrow tighter against him, sighing as my ear fits over the center of his chest. The heart to which I am forever connected.
“Baby, we’re already there.”
Continue the Bolt Saga with Bolt Saga: 7
Available August 28, 2018
* * *
Enjoy Bolt Saga: 6?
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Also by Angel Payne
The Bolt Saga:
Bolt Saga: 1
Bolt Saga: 2
Bolt Saga: 3
Bolt Saga: 4
Bolt Saga: 5
Bolt Saga: 6
Bolt Saga: 7 (Coming August 28, 2018)
Bolt Saga: 8 (Coming August 28, 2018)
Bolt Saga: 9 (Coming August 28, 2018)
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Honor Bound:
Saved
Cuffed
Seduced
Wild
Wet
Hot
Masked
Mastered
Conquered (Coming Soon)
Ruled (Coming Soon)
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Secrets of Stone Series:
(with Victoria Blue)
No Prince Charming
No More Masquerade
No Perfect Princess
No Magic Moment
No Lucky Number
No Simple Sacrifice
No Broken Bond
No White Knight
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Cimarron Series:
Into His Dark
Into His Command
Into Her Fantasies
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Temptation Court:
Naughty Little Gift
Pretty Perfect Toy
Bold Beautiful Love
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For a full list of Angel’s other titles,
visit her at
AngelPayne.com
About Angel Payne
USA Today bestselling romance author Angel Payne loves to focus on high-heat romance starring memorable alpha men and the women who love them. She has numerous book series to her credit, including the popular Honor Bound series, the Secrets of Stone series (with Victoria Blue), the Cimarron series, the Temptation Court series, the Suited for Sin series, and the Lords of Sin historicals, as well as several standalone titles.
Angel is a native Southern Californian, leading to her love of being in the outdoors, where she often reads and writes. She still lives in Southern California with her soul-mate husband and beautiful daughter, to whom she is a proud cosplay/culture con mom. Her passions also include whisky tasting, shoe shopping, and travel.
For more information, please follow Angel Payne at:
AngelPayne.com
