Tainted
Page 28
“I love you, Antonia. You brought the light back into my world.”
In the last glowing rays of the sun as it sank beneath the far horizon, he saw the shimmer of tears in her beautiful eyes.
“And I love you, Gawain.” Her whisper sank into his soul, a healing balm. “You and Cassia are my world.”
Epilogue
Two Weeks Later, Londinium
Gawain stood at the dockside beside Antonia as the passengers on the ship bringing her daughter disembarked.
Since that night at the crossroads, he’d spread the word that he would lead any displaced Celt back to Cymru. Several of the Druids he had met through Rhys had come forward. By the end of this week, they would return to their homeland.
The queen, along with several of her Druids, had decided to accompany them. With her connection to Carys, who had helped avert genocide, and Maximus, whose name carried great weight in the Roman world, they would receive due respect from the invaders when they returned as the exiled rulers.
Gawain caught the stony glare of Antonia’s adoptive father as he stood on the other side of her. The older man did not approve of either Gawain or their plans to move to Cymru. But he had given his daughter his blessing. And intended to join them in their new life.
He looked at Antonia. There was an aura of excitement surrounding her, of anticipation and relief but threaded through there was also a tremor of fear.
Will Cassia still remember me? Her whisper from last night haunted him.
He disregarded Roman protocol and threaded his fingers through hers. Her hand was chilled but she turned to look at him, and the love in her eyes stilled the breath in his throat.
Tomorrow this woman would be his wife in the eyes of Rome. But she was already his wife in his heart, where it truly mattered.
An elderly couple emerged from the crowds and Antonia stiffened. The old woman held a small child, a replica of Antonia in miniature. The baby caught sight of them and a smile illuminated her face.
“She remembers you, my sweet Antonia.” He squeezed her fingers and she laughed, and finally the last shadow died from the depths of her eyes.
Together, they went to greet their daughter.
The End
About Christina Phillips
Christina Phillips is an ex-pat Brit who now lives in sunny Western Australia. She has always loved writing, and while her efforts in eighth grade usually involved space ships, time travel and unfortunate endings, as soon as she discovered romance novels a whole new world opened up.
She writes hot ancient historical romances about tough Roman warriors, sexy Highland warriors and deliciously bad vampires who, no matter how torturous their journey, are always guaranteed their happily-ever-after.
Christina welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Tell Us What You Think
We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email the author directly or you can email us at Service@ellorascave.com (when contacting Customer Service, be sure to state the book title and author).
Also by Christina Phillips
Betrayed
Bloodlust Denied
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Tainted
ISBN 9781419940347
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Tainted Copyright © 2013 Christina Phillips
Edited by Victoria Reese
Cover design by Syneca
Cover photography by Diniz/shutterstock.com, romancenovelcovers.com
Electronic book publication August 2013
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book.
The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume any responsibility for, author or third-party websites or their content.
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com to find erotic reading experiences that will leave you breathless. You can also find our books at all the major e-tailers (Barnes & Noble, Amazon Kindle, Sony, Kobo, Google, Apple iBookstore, All Romance eBooks, and others).
www.ellorascave.com