by Conn, Claudy
Apparently the bitch had wanted to be a ‘rock star’. Her family had the money and the power to launch her, but when she got pregnant they withdrew their support for her career and she had to marry Wade’s father.
She told me all this while Wade squirmed beside me and drank more than I usually saw him drink. His limit had always been two—three, tops—glasses of wine.
When last I’d looked, he was on his second bottle, not glass, and as his mother was a recovering alcoholic and I was still sipping my first glass, I knew he was not enjoying himself.
I got up after dessert was served by her live-in maid (who should, I thought, have been awarded a gold medal in tongue-biting and patience) and said, “Well, this has been … a very different Christmas Eve. Thank you for your hospitality. I am afraid we have to go.”
She looked surprised.
She had never seen a woman with Wade, let alone a woman, or I suppose even a male friend, willing to take the reins. I was in protective mode.
I turned to Wade and said, “Ready?”
He was slightly buzzed, but he grinned from ear to ear and said, “Anytime, anywhere … always for you.”
His mother’s jaw dropped.
I gave her a look and said, “You know, Mrs. Devon, you have the brightest star any woman could have ever reached for … time to take stock.”
With that, I took his hand, and we marched right out of her swanky Park Avenue Condo.
In the elevator, Wade looked at me and started to chuckle. That chuckle turned into an outright laugh and now that, calmed down a bit, I realized what I had just done, I joined in, partly from release and partly from ‘like I can’t believe I just did that’.
We laughed all the way home. His home, no longer mine. He had expanded it, redistributed the rooms, enlarged the master bedroom into a suite, and I liked it. I liked it a lot.
I suddenly remembered what I wanted to give him for Christmas and hurried to where I had stashed it earlier that week. I produced it and shoved it at him wrapped in a wide red ribbon.
He looked at me with disbelief. “But you love this … this is Spike.”
“I want you to have it … a remembrance of me and our time together.”
“I don’t need anything to remember you by, Charlie,” he whispered and carried me up the stairs.
In that suite, he removed his jacket and shirt, and I ran my hand up his hard, defined chest. He took my hands, kissed my fingers, and said as he had been saying since the Sother’s event, “Mine.”
I ran my hand down his chest, opened his silky pants, and found my way to his erection. “Mine,” I said.
He growled, “Show me.”
And I did.
* * *
It was six in the morning. I was sleepy from an all-nighter session with Mr. Hard-On Never Quits. A woman should always be sleepy from that. It makes you all soft and dreamy, and that was how I felt.
He wasn’t coming with me. Christmas would be with just my parents, and that was a big and major disappointment for me. I had hoped we had progressed beyond his fear of commitment.
But I told myself how much we had progressed to and was content. Well, perhaps content would be too strong to describe what I felt. Perhaps frustrated would be better.
Dad was always reminding me that once I ate my cupcake it would be gone, so I’d learned to save a piece, just a piece, in case I wanted to taste it one more time the next day.
That was what I was doing, savoring the now, saving what could be for another day.
Wade took me through security, and I turned and said, “How did you get through? I thought you had to be flying.”
“Who says I’m not flying?” he said and grinned.
“Wait … what?”
“Escorting my girl to her family.”
“Escorting? And then what?”
“I’ll be nearby in my hotel suite, and after Christmas I’m taking you and your parents to the Keys, to a little island I discovered.”
“My parents?”
“I spoke with your dad last week, and he was receptive.” Wade grinned.
“You did all that, but you won’t have Christmas day with us …?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he kissed me long and sweet, and then we were on the plane. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a deck of cards and said, “Gin rummy?”
“Gin rummy?” I was astonished.
He laughed and pinched my nose. “Afraid you can’t take the champ?”
“Deal, mister,” I said. “Deal.”
* * *
He escorted me all the way to my parents’ door, kissed me long and hard, and stopped my hand from knocking. “Wait,” he said, “till I leave.”
I turned hopeful eyes to him, and I heard the plea in my voice. “You sure … you won’t come in? We do turkey again for Christmas, and you could eat my share.”
“No can do,” he answered glibly, and his attitude made me frown.
He went back into the elevator, and I stood feeling lost for a moment before I knocked on the door. My dad opened it wide and scooped me in for a hug.
I wasn’t there more than five minutes when a knock sounded once again. I frowned. “You expecting people today?”
My dad grinned. “Only one.” He opened the door wide, and there stood Wade, looking like a schoolboy who had swallowed something everyone else wanted.
“Wade, my boy,” my father said and clasped Wade’s hand.
Wade, my boy? Since when had Wade and my dad become friends?
Wade stepped in, holding something behind his back with his free hand. My dad slapped him on the shoulder and went to stand with my mother. They looked like they were about to attend a musical as they held one another and my mom made little sounds of delight.
Wade cleared his throat, and I saw at once he was nervous. I had never, ever seen Wade Devon nervous.
He said, “I have already gotten your father’s blessing—”
“What?” I said.
“Shhh,” my father said.
“But—” I said.
“Hush,” my mother admonished.
Wade produced a small black velvet box. He got down on one knee, and my mother squealed. It dawned on me what was happening. It all became clear. He had called and asked my dad for permission. My parents knew. They knew.
He flipped open the box and said, “Charlene Wells, I love you beyond redemption. I love you with my mind, and my heart … no war there, they both call for you. I need you beside me always. You are all I need. Will you marry me and make me the proudest, happiest man on earth? Please, Charlie, because I am fairly certain that I can’t get through this life without you.”
I was dazzled by him, by this speech, and by the size of the beautiful diamond in the box. Dazzled speechless.
“Charlie,” Wade said on a plea.
“Baby,” I said and pulled him off his knees, “I said yes the moment I met you.”
He roared with pleasure, and we all started laughing as he slipped the ring on my finger and my parents surrounded us with love.
Epilogue
THE KEYS, OH my gosh, the Keys.
Jimmy Buffett’s place was where I watched my mom burst out with song and my dad pull her up for a dance. I turned to Wade, and he said. “Happy?”
Could I be any happier? I nodded my head vigorously and said, “Boardwalk … want to go for a stroll and watch all the performers on the boardwalk.”
We waved at my parents and, hand in hand, made our way over to the boardwalk overlooking that beautiful water.
“Yeah, but I think we’ll leave your parents here for now. We’ll come get them when we’re ready to take the ferry back to the island.”
Wade had booked us rooms at Little Palm Island, an island with one small but luxurious inn. He always does it up right.
He even brought my easel and paint supplies. The orders for my paintings were coming in faster than I could ever imagine.
Life, I knew, would not always be good. Life is lik
e that, full of ups and downs, and I told him that.
“Sure, I know, but as long as we travel the ups and downs together … it will belong to us, this life. I had a hole in me, Charlie. It was too big to repair. I filled it with sex, but it was never enough. You came and, Charlie … you didn’t just fill that whole, you filled all of me. You are in my mind all the time. I can’t eat something without wondering if it is something you might enjoy. I can’t feel the breeze without thinking, ah Charlie would love this breeze in her face … or see a TV comedy show without wondering if you would find it funny … Charlie … you fill me.”
I hugged him and then nearly screamed out loud because there was a performing cat show on the boardwalk. Cats … performing to commands. Little cats …?
I exclaimed and pulled him along, and we laughed. He kissed my hand and said, “I talked to your mom and told her I’ll pay for any wedding they would like to throw for you, but my deal is that we do it in three months. I won’t wait longer to make you Mrs. Wade Devon.”
“I wonder why you can’t be Mr. Charlie Wells,” I teased.
“Charlie, I will be anything you want … just stay forever, stay with me.”
“Says the man who doesn’t stay or do relationships.”
“Until he met his Waterloo—Charlie.”
I slapped him. “Don’t compare us to a bloody battle, you naughty, wonderful man.”
He kissed me then, and he kissed me again, and if I’d had socks on, he would have knocked them off.
*** *** ***
About Claudy Conn
Claudy Conn, a native New Yorker, now lives with her husband, Bob; their wolf, Cherokee; and Cherokee’s son, Rocky Man, who weighs in presently at 190 pounds.
She loves horses and riding and raised her ten-year-old gelding Southern Pride from the moment he was born. She also loves gardening, swimming, skiing, hiking, and travel—and of course, reading, writing, but no, she says, no arithmetic!
To get her monthly news, reviews and excerpts for all her new paranormal and regency romances, visit her at her website: http://www.claudyconn.com
To see pictures of Cherokee—and her shepherd-wolf son!—have a look at her Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Claudy-Conn-Paranormal-Romance-Author/135826686471445
And sign up for her newsletter at http://claudyconn.com/contact-the-author.html
Read more about Claudy Conn’s books
Legend Series
Spellbound—Legend
Maxie is a reluctant heroine who travels to Scotland to find and save herself. Julian is a Druid priest in a modern age, and he is full of guilt. Can Maxie turn to him? Or will she turn to Prince Breslyn, a Royal Fae hunk offering her everything?
Shee Willow—Legend
Half-human, half-Fae Willow Lang has never felt she truly fit in either world, but she’s doing her best to ignore her Fae nature. But when she finds herself in the middle of a conflict between the Seelie Fae and the evil Dark Fae, she must embrace her Fae powers in order to protect the Human Realm.
Prince in the Mist (Novella)
Fact one: By tradition and treaty, Fae do not interfere with the human world—it is against the rules. Fact two: For a Royal Fae prince who suffers from the ennui of immortality, watching and interacting with humans—especially lovely, spirited human females—can be entertaining. Fact three: When entertainment changes to affection, and affection becomes love, rules will be broken.
Prince Prelude—Legend
In this stand-alone tale and the backstory for the Legend series, we find ourselves in 1814. Gais and the prince come head to head over a woman. We will see Lamia DuLaine when she first sees Julian Talbot, and we will meet the first Maxie Reigate. Come along and see their world unfold …
Aaibhe—Shee Queen (Novelette)
This is a love story but it is fringed with envy, jealousy, and bitterness—oh and more. It is laced with the havoc those devastating emotions can bring. It is about the seeds of hate born of love, and what chaos that hate can wantonly roar over even immortals. This is a story of Aaibhe, Queen of the Seelie Fae, because she deserves that it be told.
Trapped—Legend
Magical powers, a castle, and a charming prince sound like the ingredients for a fairy-tale life, but for BJ Mulroy reality turns out to be a whole lot more complicated. The war between the Seelie and the Unseelie is heating up, BJ has been drawn into the fray … and there’s the matter of the seventeenth-century hunk in the painting.
Free Falling—Legend
They call her Z, and she is a handful ready to explode. She has entered the war against Gais and the Dark Fae and means to take him on all by herself. She is driven. Aaibhe, Queen of the Seelie Fae, has other plans, and she sends in Prince Danté to execute and preserve her wishes. When Z and the prince meet, hackles go up on both sides.
Catch & Hold—Legend
Half-human/half-Daoine Fae Radzia MacDaun—Z to her friends—finds herself in the Dark Realm, where she’ll have to fight Gaiscioch on his own turf. Danté, Prince of the Tuatha Dé and Z’s lover, is not about to let her face this danger alone, however, and the two of them are thrust on a ride that takes them to the edge of life as we know it …
Through Time Series
Through Time—Pursuit
Revenge is the driver. Will love be the equalizer in Through Time—Pursuit? Milesian immortal Chance LeBlanc and Fae Princess Royce are about to find out in this contemporary fantasy romance that picks up where Catch & Hold—Legend left off.
Through Time—Whiplash
Prince Trevor has one goal: bring the Dark Princes to justice—preferably at the end of his Death Sword—before they can march out of the Dark Realm with an army of monsters at their backs. But complication arise when Trevor is thrown two centuries into the past along with Jazmine Decker, a Fios (a human unaffected by Fae concealment spells) who has more power than either realizes.
Through Time—Slamming
In book 3 of the Through Time series, Jazmine and Trevor’s relationship develops while danger to both human and Fae worlds grows. As the Dark Princes use all the powers at their disposal to create an unstoppable army to destroy the human realm, Queen Aaibhe faces treachery from a traitor in the Council, Frankie discovers who her Fae father is, and Prince Breslyn is hit with news that will change his life forever.
Through Time—Frankie
Frankie is all grown up and ready to spread her wings, and she knows the man she wants by her side. But first she needs to convince her Dark Prince—and her family—that he is the one for her. And it will take all of them working together to deal with the Dark Prince’s brothers, who are once again plotting to take over the world.
Through Time—Compulsion
Through Time—Compulsion finds a new demon on the loose, and this one thinks he’s a god. He isn’t, but he is powerful enough to use time itself to get what he wants—and what he wants is Frankie by his side as he takes over first the Human and then the Fae Realms.
Awakening Series
Harley—Awakening
Harley has everything a vampire-white witch hybrid could want: wonderful parents, a hunky sort-of boyfriend, and a clan of loving friends. When that life is taken away from her, Harley doesn't want to serve revenge up cold. She wants to serve it up now, and she wants to serve it up HOT.
Awakening—Bray
A war between the vampires and the werewolves is on the horizon. Its outcome will affect all the world as it plays out in the wilds of the Rockies in Canada. Wendy has been in love with Bray all her life. Now that she is a woman, will he look her way? She is mortal; he is an immortal Royal Fae. Can he love her?
Shadow Series
ShadowLove—Stalkers
Shawna Rawley has no choice but to run when Pentim Rawley, one of the most evil vampires who have ever lived, discovers she is his daughter. Chad MacFare has an offer for Shawna he thinks she can’t afford to refuse: he’ll protect her from Pentim and his minions. But Shawna doesn�
��t trust the sexy immortal. She knows he has his own agenda—he wants to kill her father, and he wants to set her up as bait …
ShadowHeart—Slayer
Damon Drummond and Nikki Walker are on opposite sides. He is a potent vampire; she is a skilled and powerful vampire slayer. Problem right there … but when they look at each other, sparks of all kinds fly. Too much stands between them: He will live forever. She will not. And yet …
ShadowLife—Hybrid
WB and his clan have moved in, and section by section Dublin is going dark. When the team needs help, they turn to a shapeshifter, Roxie MacBran.
Hungry Moon Series
Hungry Moon: Quicksilver
Ravena is running from who and what she is, but the more she runs away, the further she falls.
Hungry Moon: Destiny
Luke says Kelsey isn’t his type, and Kelsey is sure Luke is a heart-breaker, but the hybrid and the wolf shifter must find a way to work together to fight a threat of unthinkable proportions.
Hungry Moon: Jodi
Jodi is a witch with formidable powers fighting a battle against an insidious dark force. She meets Shane MacGrath and needs him in so many ways, but she doesn’t know if she can trust him. Can she trust him, and will she survive this battle?
Risqué Regencies
Myriah Fire
Myriah meets Kit under the worst circumstances and their meeting was an explosion of wills, and actions, and it was what finally set Myriah on fire …
Oh, Cherry Ripe
Cheryl Elton has been in London for three seasons and refuses to be courted. When her mother takes matters into her own hands, Cherry runs!
Rogues, Rakes & Jewels
What happens when an eligible marquis pretends to be a rake and a gambler, and the woman he is supposed to be courting disguises herself as a masked French card dealer? Find out in this spicy, risqué Regency romance.
Taffeta and Hotspur
Hotspur wants Taffeta—how far will he go to make her his? Taffeta has a secret—will it land her in trouble?
