Beautiful No More

by MJ Nightingale

  * * *

  After a brunch reception, Andreas and Cat made their departure for a quick honeymoon. When he’d asked her three days ago if she wanted to go somewhere, she’d nodded. “Home.” That was her reply. When he gave her a quizzical look, she clarified. “Amsterdam.” He saw tears shimmering and understood. He made all of the arrangements.

  * * *

  The first night after arriving, they went straight to the hotel. He held his wife and showed her what forever would be like. They basked in their love for one another. For the first three days she allowed him to wine and dine her, taking her to the palaces and castles she had seen from only the outside as a child. On the fourth day, she was ready and took charge. She showed him the Amsterdam she knew as a child. The canals, the alleys, and the red light district.

  On their very last day, she took him to the apartment she remembered from her childhood. Where her grandparents had raised her. Andreas tipped the young couple who lived there now, so they could go in. He watched her as she looked into the three rooms, touching the walls, the old gas stove, the radiator, things he assumed had not changed. When she nodded that they were done, she asked to go to a nearby fishing village where she had fished with her grandfather, and taken boat rides.

  When they got there, they bought sandwiches and sat on a bench near the beach and watched the world go by. Sighing after she was done eating, she laid her head on his chest. “Thank you for bringing me here, there are some things I needed to say goodbye to.”

  “Believe me, darling. I understand. I may need to go back to New York. Do the same with my parents.” He reached for her hand and held it. Holding on and giving each other strength.

  After a few minutes more Cat got up, and he followed her as they walked back towards the village and his rental car. But instead of turning right, she turned left. He walked by her side and just followed. Up ahead he saw it. A set of wrought iron gates, the words above etched with “Markermeer Cemetery.”

  Soon enough they stood before several small markers. The names on them showed they were Cat’s aunt, mother, grandparents, and great grandparents.

  He stood behind her as she let out a tremulous breath. “Grandpapa, I have rolled, I have gathered no moss. Like stone I have survived and persevered, and weathered. But I am a Marino now. And I am happy to put the past behind me.”

  Her felt her take several more calming breaths to keep from crying. He held her shoulders which were straight and proud. He loved this remarkable woman.

  “Grandmama, thank you. Thank you for making me strong. And thank you for always telling me to never lose hope. You withstood, and by sharing your stories, I knew I could as well. I wasn’t in Auschwitz, or the Soviet Army, but I was in hell too. Your stories and strength gave me the fight to live, and love. You found your home and comfort here.” Her hands reached to Andreas, and she held the hands on her shoulder. He heard her sniffle but her posture remained strong. “And I have found it with this man. And you were right, Grandmamma, he came. My prince did come. It is not just a dream.” And with that Cat Marino turned into her husband’s arm, while he provided her the comfort only he could give. And, he kissed his beauty.

  Epilogue

  One year later . . . A New Beginning

  “Push, now,” the doctor coaxed.

  Andreas held onto Cat’s hand as she blew through her pain. He with her. He felt light headed, with dread and fear, but excitement too. His baby was being born. They didn’t know the sex, had both decided to let life, and fate reveal that to them in its own way.

  Cat relaxed, head thrown back on the pillow. She was still breathing hard. But she was smiling at him. “You are doing great, baby. Just great.”

  “Yes, she is,” the doctor repeated. “The head is here, and just one more ought to do it. Are you ready?” he asked Cat and when she indicated she was, and resumed her position, he gave her the call to push once again.

  Her hand gripped his like a vice. Her small fingers causing no pain despite the strength he could feel behind them, but Andreas felt it, the pain she was enduring to bring their child into this world. A new life in their lives that would further join them together until the end of time.

  “The baby is coming,” the doctor called out from his position at the foot of the bed. And just like that, it was over, as Andreas watched the miracle of his daughter come into the world.

  “It’s a girl,” he whispered in awe of the precious baby. Tears streaked down his face. She was small. So tiny. She looked like her cousin Maria, Blaze and Bella’s daughter. But she looked like Cat too. He looked in Cat’s glowing silver grey eyes and kissed her quickly. “You gave me a daughter. Thank you.”

  “We have a daughter,” came her happy cry. It was joined by the cries of the child. The tears were flowing as Andreas released her long enough to go cut the cord. The doctor had cleaned the child, and a nurse was waiting with a blanket to bundle her up.

  Andreas made the cut perfectly where the doctor had indicated. The nurse swaddled the child quickly cleaning her off a bit more. “She’s perfect,” the nurse said having done her quick assessment. The baby’s color was already pinkening up.

  She handed the baby over to the proud father whose hands shook as he carried his little girl gently over to her mother, and placed the squalling infant on her mother’s chest.

  With tears in her eyes, Cat gazed down at the daughter she shared with Andreas. Their lives were connected in this one tiny being. “Her name is Suzanne Rose.” Cat whispered, but Andreas heard. Cat had told him months ago she had picked out a name for either gender and that he wouldn’t be allowed a say. She wouldn’t tell him what the names were, wanting it to be a surprise, no matter how much he had tried to coax it out of her.

  And he had tried to in many pleasurable ways. But she hadn’t budged. He had just called the baby, ‘baby x’, when he had talked to her swollen abdomen these past months.

  The fact that she chose to name the baby after his mom and her grandmother touched him more than words could say. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and then to the baby’s forehead. “Hi Suzy,” he whispered to the infant who had settled down and appeared to be sleeping already. His sleeping beauty.

  “What if it was a boy?” he asked teasingly, trying to insert his finger into the tiny baby’s clenched fist.

  “You’ll have to wait and find out,” she teased back, knowing that she wanted to give this man a son someday.

  That would be a surprise worth waiting for, he thought. Andreas laughed and kissed her again. And again. And again, before he left to go tell his family. All of them were waiting. Together. To hear the news. That Andreas had a daughter, and that mom and child were both healthy. And they were.

  A new Marino was here. Suzanne Rose Marino was here.

  A very proud husband, and a very happy father walked into the waiting room. And everyone stood up.

  The

  End

  More Books by MJ Nightingale!!!

  Fire in His Eyes

  Ex-army buck, Victor, teaches innocent sexy school teacher, Monica, all about sex, and not the old-fashioned variety your grandmother was used to either. Filled with gut wrenching emotional turmoil due to Victor’s secrets, you can be sure one of them will melt and the other will burn.

  Afraid to Love

  Teddy is not your average bartender by any means. A cop on the mend from 9/11, he wants nothing but good times and to live each day to the fullest. When it comes to sex, well, hmm, let’s just say he is not your average Joe. Then, he meets a fiery red-head named Ana, and she can teach him a thing or two in the bedroom. He falls for her, but she pushes him away. Why? Because she has so many secrets, and they make her Afraid to Love.

  Afraid to Hope

  Jay and Louisa are both battle scarred, but ready to start anew. His scars are not just from the war in Iraq, and hers are not just from a teenage pregnancy that resulted in raising a child alone. The scars in them run deep, and they both have secrets. Can two people so dee
ply wounded learn to trust each other enough to share those secrets? And if they do, will those secrets make or break them?

  Her erotic romance series, Secrets & Seduction, is the tale of three different couples with secrets that may destroy their chances of finding their happily ever after. These books are definitely books you will NOT want to read in public. Check them out.

  All three of MJ’s books in the Secrets & Seduction Series will have you turning pages, reading in the dark, and wanting more. Will her characters find their happily ever after? You’ll have to read to find that out. But one thing, I can tell you is they are hot, hot, hot!

  More Bounty Hunters!

  Beautiful Bounty by MJ Nightingale

  (Book 1 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.)

  Ronnie Sears has a college degree, a promising future, a boyfriend, and a plan. But her perfect life comes crashing down around her in the blink of an eye. Arrested, framed for drug smuggling, and facing years behind bars, Ronnie sees no choice but to run. Only she can prove her innocence.

  Nikko Marino is a sexy, devastatingly charming bounty hunter. His job, as told to him by his older brothers, is to keep an eye on the curvaceous blonde. Make sure she doesn’t run. But what his brothers don’t know is that he and Ronnie have a past. He and the Ice Princess are more than mere passing acquaintances. She makes his blood burn, and he knows how to warm up this woman.

  Nikko wants to prove himself, but this beauty might just take him down. With his reputation on the line, will Nikko, the hot-blooded youngest Marino, fall for this temptress? Will he be able to protect this beautiful bounty from herself, from the man who framed her, but most importantly can he protect his heart?

  Beautiful Bounty is the first book in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.

  Suspenseful, erotic, and romantic, these books are packed with passion, sex and characters you will love. What more could you want?

  Beautiful Chase by MJ Nightingale

  (Book 2 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.)

  Bella Chase led a simple life. She was a good girl who worked hard at a job she loved, had good friends, and enjoyed her life. She just fell for the wrong guy. A bad boy with a bad reputation. When he maliciously involves her in a crime that goes awry, and someone is killed, it is her life on the line. She has no choice, but to flee. She not only faces life in prison, she faces a death sentence if she talks.

  Blaze Marino is done with women. They can’t be trusted. Period. Not even the good girls. When his next case lures him to the hills of Tennessee, hunting down another “good girl”, Blaze is torn between taking down this natural beauty, and losing himself inside of her. He, who has vowed to never love, or need again, is drawn to Bella and he just can’t help himself.

  Terrified, Bella doesn’t know which way to turn. She doesn’t know who to trust.

  Jaded, Blaze can’t fight the pull of attraction. He doesn’t know if he can trust her.

  He has to chase her for his job. Or so he keeps trying to tell himself.

  Beautiful Chase is the second book in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.

  Suspenseful, erotic, and romantic, these books are packed with passion, sex and characters you will love. What more could you want?

  Beautiful Regret by MJ Nightingale

  (Book 3 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.)

  Lisa Rasmussen, formerly Lisa Raphael, has had enough of her manipulative abusive husband. He has forced her to his will, tortured her both physically and psychologically, and she wants out. Her sham of a marriage to Albert, son of the blue blooded Rasmussen’s of Manhattan, has to end. But, Albert has vowed to never give Lisa her freedom. He owns her. Body and soul. Her plans to blackmail him to get out, will not go unpunished. Albert will strike first.

  Gio Marino knows Lisa. He knows of Albert. After all, Lisa left Gio to marry the son of the luxury classic car dynasty. So when Lisa calls him begging for help, he is floored. Not only because she called him, but because of the charges against her. Attempted murder! She had meant everything to him, but after what she did nearly a decade ago, he knows not to trust her, but the temptation to see her in an orange jumpsuit is just too hard to resist.

  Lisa is full of regret. She has a lot to feel guilty about. But, she doesn’t have any one else to turn to. She needs Gio. He is the only one she can trust even though he might never be able to trust her again.

  The minute he walks into Riker’s and sees her, he knows he has made a big mistake. The emerald eyes, the flawless skin, the fiery hair, bring it all back. Especially the regret. Can he help her? Does he want to? And why, after all these years, does he find her beauty so hard to resist?

  Beautiful Regret is the third book in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.

  Suspenseful, erotic, and romantic, these books are packed with passion, sex and characters you will love. What more could you want?

  Beautiful No More by MJ Nightingale

  (Book 4 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.)

  Catarina Stone is a woman of mystery, and she likes to keep it that way. But she is thrust into the limelight when two of her “girls” are slain by a serial killer. The Tampa Madame, as she has been dubbed by the press, is being hounded by the media who want to find a connection between the killer and her. She reaches out to Andreas Marino of The Marino Bros.

  Cat has done her research, and knows she needs a professional, a person experienced in catching psychopaths. She needs Andreas. The police are baffled, and the killer must be caught before another one of her girls is mutilated, then murdered.

  Andreas Marino, the striking eldest Marino, does know serial killers. It used to be his job. But not anymore. Not since one of those sick bastards claimed his parents’ lives, and destroyed his own. He doesn’t want this case, not at all. Not until he sees her.

  The strikingly elegant Madame intrigues him. She is an enigma. And, Andreas can’t get her out of his head . . . and the need to have her in his bed. When she shows him copies of the note left by the killer, signed “Beautiful No More,” the thought of her exquisiteness destroyed reignite a flame in him he thought long dead. He must catch a killer. He must save the girl. If he doesn’t, Andreas will be lost this time . . . forever.

  Beautiful No More is the final book in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.

  Suspenseful, erotic, and romantic, these books are packed with passion, sex and characters you will love. What more could you want?

  What is Next for MJ Nightingale?

  Mystic Nights!

  Chances (Book 1 of Mystic Nights Series)

  Mystic Nights Casino is the newest gambling hot spot to hit Lantern Hill, and Tawny Sassacus runs it. For her people, the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, she is determined to make it a success despite trouble with politicians, and a rival tribal nation. With the help of her children, she is determined to fight for what is right.

  As Vice-Chair of Mystic Nights, Jonathan Sassacus doesn’t have time to chase women. He only likes a sure bet. When he crosses paths with the new dancer, things change. Tall, with legs that won’t quit, she’s a distraction he doesn’t need, but can’t resist.

  One night of passion is all it takes. Aliya Chance can’t get the sexy as sin Jonathan out of her head. His powerful and domineering ways are not what she needs in her life. She has her own dreams that don’t include giving private dances to the boss.

  Jonathan has much to do. He has to hunt down skimmers and embezzlers in his casino before the big audit. The trail he follows leads him down a road filled with murder and betrayal that brings danger to his very door. When his faith is rocked by the woman stealing his heart, will it be too late to save them? Or, will he risk throwing the dice by taking the biggest chance of all?

  Triple Diamonds (Book 2 of the Mystic Nights Series)

  Mystic Nights Casino is the newest gambling hot spot to hit Lantern Hill, and Tawny Sassacus runs it. For her people, the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, she is determined to make it a
success despite trouble with politicians, and a rival tribal nation. With the help of her children, she is determined to fight for what is right.

  Joseph Sassacus, corporate attorney for his reservation’s casino, would rather be fighting for justice for his people, but the casino sucks him in time and time again. A dark haired beauty with almond eyes might be able to alleviate some of the stress he is feeling. He can’t help but imagine doing things to her he shouldn’t, but her allure keeps him coming back for more.

  A life altering tragedy prevents Jewel Diamente from pursuing her dreams of her own restaurant. She finds herself doing things she never thought she would have to do. She has no time to pursue her own ambitions, let alone Joseph Sassacus. But the man with the sexy smile, and electric touch, has her pulse pounding and her senses reeling.

  A rash of robberies at the casino, an increasing drug problem on the reserve, and Jewel Diamente will test Joseph’s loyalties when the three collide. With all the signs pointing to her, will he risk his family, people, and ambition? Is his ‘diamond’ the real deal? If he goes with his gut, gambles and wins, he just hit the jackpot, but he could also lose it all.

  Lucky Strike (Book 3 of the Mystic Night Series)

  Mystic Nights Casino is the newest gambling hot spot to hit Lantern Hill, and Tawny Sassacus runs it. For her people, the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, she is determined to make it a success despite trouble with politicians, and a rival tribal nation. With the help of her children, she is determined to fight for what is right.