Fateful Magic

by Rachel Higginson

  “You love me?” His dark eyes seemed to gloss over with the force of his emotion.

  I nodded enthusiastically. “I think for as long as you’ve loved me, Talbott.” I shrugged one shoulder nervously. “I can’t help it. I think you were made for me.”

  When he smiled this time, it seemed to glow from his inside out. “And you were made for me, iubita mea, my beloved.”

  My entire being swelled at the meaning of those words. Our Magics united at that moment in a way I’d never let them before. His became mine and mine became his.

  He leaned slowly forward until his impossibly soft lips tasted mine. And then he kissed me, sealing our union and our commitment to each other.

  He kissed me for a very long time. The woods were dark by the time we left them and the stars sparkled overhead.

  I hadn’t even noticed a minute go by.

  But I supposed that was how it was when you were so completely in love. You changed each other’s worlds and made everything else disappear.

  He’d been doing that to me since the beginning. And I couldn’t wait for the lifetime of that ahead of me.

  Chapter Seven

  Now

  “Stay behind me, Lilly.” Talbott set me down and faced the three men who had appeared from nowhere.

  They prowled toward us with thuggish sneers and hands filled with guns and swords. I gulped back fear. My wedding dress restricted my movement and my muscles and bones still felt endlessly tired from the last round of torture and kidnapping.

  I didn’t want to go through this again.

  I wouldn’t be able to Shift to help Talbott out and I was all but useless without my talent.

  Why? Why couldn’t this end? Why couldn’t we just have one happy night?

  “Get behind me, Lilly,” Talbott growled.

  One shot from one of those guns and he would be unconscious and helpless. Damn it. I hated these people. More than I’d ever hated anything in my entire life.

  I stepped behind my husband and watched his back ripple with tension beneath his black jacket. His Magic pulsed from him in angry waves. He looked like a bull about to charge. A missile ready to launch.

  He looked like destruction and our attackers were his target.

  I stopped feeling fear and apprehension. The strong sense of dread disappeared and confidence and pride replaced it.

  Talbott would not let me get kidnapped again. He would not let something happen to me.

  Those were his promises. His life’s manifesto now.

  And I felt the same toward him.

  “Kill them, Talbott. I’d like to get on with the wedding night.”

  I felt his amusement kick in his Magic, but then like a good husband, he listened to his wife.

  He moved so fast, I hardly saw him. He attacked the man farthest to our right first. He threw his arm around his neck, disabled his gun and then used the man’s body as a shield while the other guys opened fire.

  If they had been thinking straight, those men probably should have turned and fired on me. But who could think at all when nobody expected Talbott to get the upper hand. I stood gaping at him like I was seeing him for the first time.

  I had no idea he could move that fast.

  He used the gun he’d taken from the now-unconscious or potentially-dead man to shoot at the other two guys. The dropped like rocks without even an ounce left of fight in them.

  Talbott scooped up their discarded guns, gave me one and then took off again.

  He’d driven a rental BMW to get here days ago. The car somehow managed to remain untouched near the edge of the driveway that would lead back to the main road. Even better, our bags were already packed and loaded as we’d been planning to leave tonight to start our honeymoon.

  Talbott pushed me into the passenger’s seat and practically flew to the driver’s side. He didn’t have keys so he started the car Magically and away we went.

  “Shouldn’t we help the others?” I asked breathlessly as he fishtailed down the driveway, bypassing all the other cars trying to escape by driving on the side of the road.

  “No,” he growled. “For once, they can take care of themselves.”

  I laughed, surprised by his adamancy. “Talbott!”

  He shot me a look out of the corner of his eyes. “If your parents were still there, I would have saved them too. But the rest are on their own.”

  “Just because you didn’t marry them, doesn’t mean they don’t need our help!”

  He snorted. “I didn’t leave so fast because I didn’t want to help them! I left because you reminded me of the wedding night! I am… anxious for that.”

  I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing again. I probably shouldn’t encourage this kind of behavior. “But-”

  He turned to face me and reached for my hand. Keeping the car steady and on the road, he dropped his tone and told me seriously, “Lilly, I will not let anything happen to you again. This is my vow. My priority is my wife. And you are safe. I have not failed you on our wedding day.”

  “I love you,” I swore to him.

  “I love you too.”

  He returned his eyes to the road and drove us as fast as he could away from the battle zone burning in our review mirror. We stayed subdued and silent until we reached the hotel hours later.

  Originally, we planned to stay the night at another vineyard nearby. It had individual cabins that I thought would be perfect for our wedding night. But Talbott wanted to get as many miles as possible away from Terletov and his goons.

  By the time we parked the rental in front of a hotel in Monaco, the sky had turned hazy gray and lit up with predawn light.

  I tried to be upset about moving my wedding night, er, morning to Monaco, but just couldn’t find it in me. I also couldn’t find it in me to absorb the all the splendid details of the hotel Talbott chose.

  The cream siding was still lit up with all the brilliancy of the exterior lights. The black shutters and awnings matched the black, slated tile of the roof. All kinds of hotel employees stood at the ready near the door, waiting for us on the other end of a plush red carpet.

  They looked at us a little strange when we didn’t use the valet service, but without keys, we couldn’t exactly hand over the Magical car. Talbott pulled our bags from the trunk and led the way inside.

  We walked through a lush courtyard filled with exotic greenery and blooming flowers. I stared in awe at the marble floors and columns and the interesting people just getting back from the casinos as Talbott checked us in.

  We rode the elevator to the top floor, where Talbot then led me to a suite so extravagant, I felt my mouth drop open.

  “Talbott,” I gasped.

  He just grinned at me. God, I loved him.

  The gigantic picture windows revealed Monaco in all its glory. Antiquated buildings, gorgeous architecture everywhere you looked, fast cars speeding through narrow streets and a level of sophistication and refinement that made me feel like a troll.

  The room itself boasted just as much class and expensive taste. The furniture glistened with gold covers and gilded embellishments. A modern, full kitchen took up an entire wall. The bathroom made me want to weep with its ginormous tub and Jacuzzi and the tiled shower with no less than six showerheads. Everything was polished porcelain and pristine.

  I walked through all kinds of rooms before I finally found the master suite. The bed was the biggest bed I’d ever seen.

  I didn’t even know the name of it. It had to be bigger than a king-size. Maybe they called it an emperor. Or a sultan.

  Basically, two hundred people could sleep on it comfortably.

  Okay, it wasn’t that big.

  But very close.

  And that was all I saw of the bed… I mostly got stuck on the bed. I didn’t see anything else in the room.

  Talbott followed behind me and set the bags down. His cellphone rang almost as soon as the bags were out of his hands. Thankfully, he’d had his phone already sitting in the c
ar since he didn’t want it to interrupt the ceremony.

  He gave me a look and then answered it.

  “Kiran,” I heard him say.

  I didn’t move or breathe or think until I watched his shoulders relax and his face turn into his “business” face.

  Which was much better than his someone-I-know-just-died-I’m-going-to-kill-someone-now face.

  At least Eden and Kiran were safe. I allowed myself to breathe again.

  He talked to Kiran for a little while, making plans to meet up again after a few weeks. Kiran would work with the rest of his Guard, Avalon and Sebastian while Talbott took his first vacation ever.

  With me.

  His wife.

  On our honeymoon!

  When he hung up, he set his phone down and walked straight over to me. He started stripping me as he went. I still wore my wedding dress and there were lots of buttons for him to deal with. He didn’t seem to have any problem with them as his fingers flicked apart the hundred buttons with ease.

  My blush left my face and bloomed across my chest. I couldn’t believe he was getting right down to business like this! Didn’t I get a warning? Or a chance to change my mind?

  Or at least some seduction?

  Okay, I didn’t really need seduction. I already felt more than seduced. And if I pushed aside my fear, I could do this.

  I could, ahem, do this.

  Still, I had to ask, “Is everyone alright?”

  He nodded once and laid me back on the bed. I sunk into folds of silk fabric. “Eden and Kiran are safe. They have Avalon and Mimi and Sylvia. The babies are fine as well.”

  “And the others?”

  “They’re going to find out and call us back later.” He leaned over me and pressed a lingering kiss to my neck. “Much later.”

  “Was Kiran upset that you didn’t stick around? Is he mad you abandoned your duty?”

  Talbott chuckled and I felt the sound vibrate against my heated skin. “No, iubita mea, he understands.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yes, oh.” I felt his smile. He lifted his face from my throat to look down into my eyes. His gaze become serious when he said, “I’m sorry our day was ruined, Lilly. I’m sorry that trouble seems to follow us everywhere.”

  I shook my head and tried to stay the emotion. “You cannot stop the designs and schemes of other men, Talbott. It is enough that you are here to protect me. That you keep me safe. I can’t ask for a perfect world, but I can be grateful I have a man like you who is willing to do anything to protect me.”

  His shoulders lifted proudly. “Always, Lilly. Now and to eternity.”

  “Now and to eternity,” I whispered. “I love you.”

  “Mmm, I treasure this as much as the first time I heard those words. I love you too.”

  He put his hands on my waist in a very un-seductive way. I had just a second to wonder what he was going to do with me before he picked me up and tossed me up the length of the bed. A surprised squeak rushed out of me and I looked up at him in wonder.

  “What was that?” I demanded.

  With an impish grin he said, “Kiran’s children are safe. So that means they will need bodyguards that are the same age as them. You might not be ready for children just yet, but we should practice. For when you are ready. We should practice a lot.” He quirked his head to one side and seemed to think about it before saying, “See? I haven’t forgotten my duty after all.”

  Thank you for reading Fateful Magic. I hope you enjoyed reading Lilly’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. The final book in the Star-Crossed Series, The Redeemable Prince, will be released in September, 2014.

  About the Author

  Rachel Higginson was born and raised in Nebraska, but spent her college years traveling the world. She married her high school sweetheart and spends her days raising their growing family. She is obsessed with bad reality TV and any and all Young Adult Fiction.

  The Redeemable Prince, the seventh book in the Star-Crossed Series, coming September, 2014.

  Look for more from Rachel in 2014.

  Other books by Rachel to be released in 2014 are Bet on Me, an NA contemporary romance, The Heart, the third book in the Siren Series and The Five Stages of Falling in Love, an adult contemporary romance.

  Other Books Now Available by Rachel Higginson

  Love and Decay, Season One, Episodes One-Twelve

  Love and Decay, Season Two, Episodes One-Twelve

  Love and Decay, Volume One (Episodes One-Six, Season One)

  Love and Decay, Volume Two (Episodes Seven-Twelve, Season One)

  Love and Decay, Volume Three (Episodes One-Four, Season Two)

  Love and Decay, Volume Four (Episodes Five-Eight, Season Two)

  Love and Decay, Volume Five (Episodes Nine-Twelve, Season Two)

  Reckless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 1)

  Hopeless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 2)

  Fearless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 3)

  Endless Magic (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 4)

  The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 5)

  The Relentless Warrior (The Star-Crossed Series, Book 6)

  Breathless Magic (the Star-Crossed Series, Book 6.5)

  Heir of Skies (The Starbright Series, Book 1)

  Heir of Darkness (The Starbright Series, Book 2)

  Heir of Secrets (The Starbright Series, Book 3)

  The Rush (The Siren Series, Book 1)

  The Fall (The Siren Series, Book 2)

  Bet in the Dark (An NA Contemporary Romance)

  Striking (The Forged in Fire Series) a co-authored Contemporary NA

  Follow Rachel on her blog at:

  www.rachelhigginson.com

  Or on Twitter:

  @mywritesdntbite

  Or on her Facebook pages:

  Rachel Higginson