by Elise Faber
Swiping away a traitorous tear, she started to turn back to Mason, ready to tell him that she loved him, and would stop pushing. That someday she hoped he would find the peace he sought and would fully come back to her.
“You want to handcuff me to the bed?” Amusement coursed across the bond. “Didn’t know you were into the kink, Sunshine.”
“I—”
He appeared right in front of her, ran his fingers over her cheekbone. She gasped in surprise, her feet slipping out from beneath her, and she hit with a bone-jarring thud, her hands scrabbling for something to slow her because . . . she was sliding toward the edge of the waterfall.
For the third fucking time.
He grabbed her, swept her up into his arms, and yanked her to the trees before she even had the chance to scream.
“Woman,” he said, panting, sweat and water dripping down his forehead, his arms still tight around her waist. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Nothing!” she yelled. “I push and it doesn’t help. I give and you stay distant.” She tossed up her hands. “What the fuck do you want from me?”
He went perfectly still for one long heartbeat of time.
Something monumental was aligning in his mind, and the reverberation of that realization pounded across the bond.
“I want everything,” he whispered, his arms contracting, pulling her tight against him. “Good God, Gabby, I’m an idiot.”
Dumbfounded, she shrugged.
He cursed again then released her, letting her find her feet before one palm came up to cup her cheek. “I could have lost you. From a stupid accident. If I wasn’t here”—he shoved a hand through his hair—“I know life is too damned short. I know how easy it is to lose someone you love. I know and I’ve still been so stupid.”
“What are you saying?” she asked, hopeful and yet so damned scared.
“The same thing everyone has tried to drill into my stubborn ass brain a hundred times.” He pushed back her damp bangs and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “But I couldn’t believe it. No, I had to pretend that I was the exception, that I—”
“Mason!” she said, cutting off the flow of words. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I’m sorry I’m an idiot. I’m sorry I hurt you by staying away.” His voice cracked. “I spent a century hiding from emotions. Then I met you and was able to feel again. I can’t just throw that away. I can’t throw you away, Sunshine. You mean too much.”
Her heart thudded, her throat contracted. “You promise?” she asked, touching the bond with her mind, trying to ascertain how sure he was.
“It’s more than a promise,” he said. “It’s the damned truth. I don’t want to lose you because of a slip.” He raised his other palm to her face. His eyes, his mind were filled with such earnestness that her uncertainty faded away. “And God forbid, if something happens, I don’t want to regret not having more time with you.”
“I—” She shook her head. “But why now? What’s changed in the last five minutes?”
“It’s simple”—his lips twitched—“I just can’t bear to watch you throw yourself off that cliff in another attempt to get me to pay attention.”
Outrage bubbled in her blood. “I—”
“I love you,” he murmured and pressed his mouth to hers, proceeding to kiss the irritation right out of her. “I can’t promise you I won’t screw up, Sunshine,” he said after he’d finally pulled back, their hearts galloping, their minds and bodies firmly meshed. “But I’m done with throwing away our time together.”
“And if you have another nightmare?” she asked.
“I haven’t had any since I talked to Tyler the first time. But if they come back, rouse me through the bond. I’ll know it’s you.” He smiled and thought to her, “I’ll trust in the bond, have faith that I’d know you even in the deepest, darkest circle of hell.”
“Well,” she murmured. “That’s a start.”
Mason laughed and pulled her into his arms. “Let’s get you away from these falls.”
“No argument there.”
As they walked down the trail, Gabby knew that though they’d crossed the first hurdle, there would be more. Their relationship was new, still growing and developing into what it would one day become.
But what she had faith in now was that their bond ran deeper than fear. That so long as one of them was willing to fight for the other, then nothing—the past, the demons that masqueraded as nightmares, even slippery-as-hell waterfalls—would ever be able to separate them.
Love had stitched them together, soul to soul, magic to magic, mind to mind.
Nothing could sever those ties.
“Promise me that you’ll never go there by yourself,” Mason said as they approached the Colony.
Considering her track record, she didn’t argue.
“I promise,” she said, love filling her to near bursting. “I wouldn’t jump out of a plane without a parachute and I wouldn’t risk living without the other half of my heart.
In Flames
Suz
Another date.
Another loser.
Sighing, she waited long enough so the man—said loser—would have vacated the hallway then slipped out of her room and made her way to the infirmary.
It was empty, but she could always find something to do.
And, if she waited long enough, someone would get hurt and she’d have something to do, something that wasn’t sitting around being jealous because her friends were ridiculously happy and bonded and . . . she was dating losers.
Which wasn’t entirely fair.
The Rengalla she’d gone out with that evening was a nice man.
Just not the one for her.
And, if she were being completely honest, he was a little boring.
As her life had been . . . for decades.
Nearly a hundred years old, she’d lived through medical and technological advancements, she’d lived through wars and loss, and . . . she was bored out of her mind.
She wanted excitement.
She wanted to feel something, anything aside from this heavy weight sitting on her chest.
The one that told her she was missing out, missing something.
Not doing enough. Not helping enough. Not living—
Enough.
Yes, that was a trend with her.
Lonely.
That was also a trend. Because as much as the men she’d dated had waxed poetic about liking strong women, that hadn’t actually come to fruition, especially when she was pulled into the infirmary because someone had broken their leg, or burned their arm, or because a baby had decidedly to make an untimely arrival.
Then they realized that dating the Rengalla’s top healer wasn’t all fun and games.
Then . . . they went away.
And circling back to lonely. And horny.
Because that was the crux of it, too. She was tired of her hand and her vibrator. She wanted an orgasm courtesy of someone else. She wanted a man to look at her with desire, to want, to need her.
Like Dee had.
Like Gabby had.
Like she would probably never have.
Sighing, she grabbed the doorknob, started to push into the infirmary. Maybe she wouldn’t ever bond, or have a man devoted to her like her friends did, “But, is it too much for me to have just one night of hot sex?”
“Pent up, Suzie girl?”
That voice.
Liquid honey down her spine, heat drifting between her thighs, desire making the tips of her fingers itch—
To loose her magic, to wipe that smirk off his gorgeous face.
To . . . wrap in the strands of his deep brown hair and yank his head down for a kiss.
She let go of the knob and turned to face Graham.
Cocky, funny Graham.
Who everyone liked. Who was nice to every Rengalla big and small.
Every Rengalla except for her.
Her he liked to torment.
>
She couldn’t stand the man. He was too arrogant by half, and never failed to infuriate her. But he wasn’t dating anyone, and clearly after that evening, she wasn’t either.
And . . . she wanted him, had spent years wanting him.
She stepped toward him, close enough to smell him—all damp forest floor and warm summer sunshine—closer enough to feel the heat from his body, sense his strength in the hard planes of his body.
“You offering to help me out?” she asked, taking another step, her breasts brushing against his chest.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Suz,” he muttered, putting some distance between them. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Hurt. God, it sliced right through her, tore at her insides.
Not even the man who’d slept with half the single women in the Colony wanted her.
Cool.
She forced a laugh, her eyes burning. So stupid. “Right,” she said and spun around, reached for the knob. “I’m busy. Now go away.”
“Wait.” He grabbed her arm.
She shook him off, pushed into the place that had become her sanctuary. Maybe there were some bandages to organize, some charts to file—
Click.
That wasn’t the sound of the door closing.
Rather, it was the sound of the door locking.
On a gasp, she spun around.
Graham was there, eyes hot as he stepped away from the door. “So little Suzie girl is all pent up,” he said, the words sending a shiver down her spine. He crowded into her. “She needs help scratching an itch—”
She lifted her chin. “Go to he—”
He kissed her.
In Flames
Into Flames is coming January 25th, 2021. Preorder your copy at www.books2read.com/inflames
Also by Elise Faber
Billionaire’s Club (all stand alone)
Bad Night Stand
Bad Breakup
Bad Husband
Bad Hookup
Bad Divorce
Bad Fiancé
Bad Boyfriend
Bad Blind Date
Bad Wedding
Bad Engagement
Bad Bridesmaid (March 1st, 2021)
* * *
Gold Hockey (all stand alone)
Blocked
Backhand
Boarding
Benched
Breakaway
Breakout
Checked
Coasting
Centered
Charging (December 28th, 2020)
Caged (March 2021)
* * *
Love, Action, Camera (all stand alone)
Dotted Line
Action Shot
Close-Up
End Scene
Meet Cute (April 5th, 2021)
* * *
Love After Midnight (all stand alone)
Rum And Notes
Virgin Daiquiri
On The Rocks
Sex On The Seats (April 26th, 2021)
* * *
Life Sucks Series (all stand alone)
Train Wreck
Hot Mess
Dumpster Fire (February 15th, 2021)
* * *
Roosevelt Ranch Series (all stand alone, series complete)
Disaster at Roosevelt Ranch
Heartbreak at Roosevelt Ranch
Collision at Roosevelt Ranch
Regret at Roosevelt Ranch
Desire at Roosevelt Ranch
* * *
Phoenix Series (read in order)
Phoenix Rising
Dark Phoenix
Phoenix Freed
* * *
Phoenix: LexTal Chronicles (rereleasing soon, stand alone, Phoenix world)
From Ashes
In Flames (January 25th, 2021)
To Smoke
* * *
KTS Series
Fire and Ice (Hurt Anthology, stand alone)
Riding The Edge (December 7th, 2020)
* * *
Stand Alones
Someday, Maybe (YA)
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author, Elise Faber, loves chocolate, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and hockey (the order depending on the day and how well her team -- the Sharks! -- are playing). She and her husband also play as much hockey as they can squeeze into their schedules, so much so that their typical date night is spent on the ice. Elise changes her hair color more often than some people change their socks, loves sparkly things, and is the mom to two exuberant boys. She lives in Northern California. Connect with her in her Facebook group, the Fabinators or find more information about her books at www.elisefaber.com.