by Maddie Wade
~~~
They were married in front of all their friends and family. Zin gave her away and Zack was best man. Of course, the icing on the cake was the adoption ceremony that came afterwards. They were a true family now and she couldn’t have been happier.
The after party was held at the Cunningham Estate. They laughed, drank, ate, and then they cut the cake. The cake had been decorated with two chess pieces—a King and Queen. Tears had filled Kanan’s eyes as he saw his very special chess piece on top of the cake.
“You can have it now, K, I don’t need it. I have you instead,” Natalia had said as she’d danced with him. K looked over at Katarina who was dancing with Zin as Roz chatted with Celeste and Ava. Daniel was dancing with Paige as she stood on his shoes letting him move her around the floor. Lucy and Jace, Nate and Skye, Megan, Drew, Will, and Jack were sitting at the table chatting while Dane and Lauren were sneaking off out the door for a quickie by the looks of them. He smiled and tried to think of a happier day in his life and realised there wasn’t one.
“Thank you, honey, I won’t let you down,” he said as he looked down at her.
Later that evening as he guided his wife towards the doors, he passed Daniel having a heated conversation with Megan and frowned. Those two had a lot to work out.
“Where are we going?” Roz asked as she followed him down the path behind the Estate.
“You’ll see,” he smiled.
He led her by the hand until they stopped on the other side of the wooded area.
“We’re here.” He smiled as she looked around in confusion.
“I don’t understand.”
“This afternoon, I bought this piece of land from Zack. I thought it would be a good place to build our forever home.”
“Really?’ she squealed as she jumped into his arms and kissed him. He did not deny her, kissing her hot and hard, taking in every flavour of the woman in his arms.
“I take it you’re pleased?’
“Best day ever,” she said and threw back her head and laughed.
~~~
Daniel knew he was behaving like a complete asshole and couldn’t seem to stop himself. Ever since Russia, he had been unable to stop himself from being an absolute bastard to Megan. She hadn’t done anything wrong except show him what he wanted and could never have. He was in denial and trying like fuck to resist the pull of her, knowing full well it would open up a hornet’s nest.
Plus, the guilt was like an all-consuming, living breathing being in his gut every time he looked at Claire’s picture. It was just over a year since she had died and here he was having feelings for someone else, someone he had no business having feelings for.
As he stood talking to Alex and Mustique, barely listening to what they were saying, he watched her, the way she tilted her head when she laughed, the way she held Aaron close when she fed him his bottle, and he swore he saw her eyes mist.
He moved closer, the pull of her like a drug. He just wanted to talk to Jace, nothing to do with her. He sat beside Jace and they started chatting.
“Not drinking tonight, Luce?” he asked as he watched the woman he considered a sister sip her orange juice.
“No, that tummy bug kicked my ass and I still can’t tolerate much food, let alone alcohol,”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah, but as long as I have a cheesy pop song to dance to I’m good.” She grinned as she got up and pulled Jace up to dance with her. He stayed at the table all evening, hating it, and having fun as he and Megan studiously ignored eye contact or any contact for that matter.
Around midnight Nate stood. “I’m going to take Skye home, she doesn’t feel too well. Can you let K know we left?”
“Sure, of course. Feel better soon, Skye,” Daniel said as he looked at her slightly green complexion and grimaced. She looked dreadful.
Taking a sip of the beer he had been nursing, he studied Megan. Her skin looked perfect, soft, inviting, full of colour. Her lips plump and begging for him to kiss her. Just the thought of her soft pliant body and the way she had looked at him as he had sunk into her hot, tight, warmth made his dick hard.
It also made him inexplicably angry with her. “Just you and me left,” he said goading her.
“Yes, I was actually just leaving so don’t worry about your fake nicety anymore. I think if I hear one more insincere word out of your mouth I might vomit,” she spat as she stood.
He clenched his fists at her words, fighting the desire to bend her over his lap and teach her not to be such a brat. “Watch yourself, Megan, you don’t want to piss me off,” he said with a calm control which belied the anger and arousal that pumped through his veins. What was it about this woman that brought out the animalistic need to own her, every part of her—heart, body, and soul.
“Or what, Daniel, what will you do? You’re all talk and no action,” she spat as she stood abruptly and spun on her heel. But not before he caught the unmistakable sight of tears filling her eyes.
Fuck, what have I done? Making her cry had never been his intention. He should go and apologise. Rising, he walked around the table and caught sight of her mobile phone on the floor. He knew it was hers because his daughter had put butterfly stickers all over the case. Bending he went to pick it up and saw a white stick under the table. Kneeling he crawled to the middle of the table where it had been kicked and sucked in a breath. Picking it up, he backed out and stood up, his eyes glued to what was in his hand.
A pregnancy test with the words Pregnant 3+ was in his hand, meaning whoever the test belonged to was more than three weeks pregnant. As he stared at it, his mind flew over the possibilities before his mind stopped on the one that terrified him the most.
This belonged to one of the women at the table tonight. So, either Lucy, Skye or…
His hand shook, and he felt the colour drain from his face and he sat down heavily as the possibility hit him that he and Megan could have created a baby!
Sneak Peek
She’d already decided to stay at her father’s tonight, she couldn’t take much more of the shit Daniel was dishing out. It had taken two of them to have sex that night and now he had reduced it to something sordid. She’d thought they were friends, that perhaps he liked her but since that night he had been a complete dickhead.
First thing tomorrow she was moving out of the Estate. She would miss her family and friends and especially Paige, but she was not going to escape one monster just to be treated like a pariah by another. Even though deep down she knew Daniel wasn’t a monster. He was just a man who had given into his weakness, in this case her, and now regretted it.
She was the designated driver tonight, but at the last minute, her father had said he was going to stay with Lauren and Drew. He’d tried to get her to stay but she had insisted she was fine to drive home and perfectly safe now that most of the threat with Rhea Winslow had gone underground and the Doctor was off the radar.
Turning the last corner in the Volvo V60 her brother insisted she have because it was safe, she saw headlights coming at her. The bright, full beams blinding her as the car headed straight for her.
Ironically, it was the same corner that killed her mother she thought as the other vehicle hit her with a bone-jarring impact that spun her car. Metal crunched, and she felt air underneath her as the car went up in the air, the smell of blood and oil hit her nose as pain radiated through her entire body until she felt like every part of her was broken.
Finally, the car came to a stop upside down. She felt blood trickle into her eye as blackness began to creep into her field of vision from the pain in her body. Footsteps sounded on the road as she fought unconsciousness. She saw a light shine on her face but couldn’t speak, her brain too foggy to compute what was happening.
“She’s dead.” She heard the woman’s voice and shuddered at the sound.
“Are you sure?”
Megan knew that man, she knew him. Shock and terror ran through her as her brain processed the betrayal.
>
“Yes, she is dead. Now, let’s get out of here before anyone comes.”
“That will teach them not to underestimate us!” the man exclaimed as the footsteps faded.
She needed to warn Daniel and Dane, oh God, her family. Megan fought the panic as blackness crowded her, taking her under where pain and betrayal could not hurt her.
Thank you
Thank you for reading Arctic Fire. If you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, please consider leaving a review. Reviews can be as long or short as you wish and help other readers find new books. If you do leave a review, please let me know, and you will be eligible for the bonus chapter from Healing Danger.
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Once again thank you for reading Broken Butterfly, I look forward to sharing the next instalment from the Fortis Team with you.
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If you haven’t read the others in the series, then here is your chance to start Healing Danger Fortis Book 1 for FREE
Healing Danger
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Dealing with the horrific murder of her best friend is more than enough for school teacher Lauren Cassidy, but now a madman has decided that she needs to die for her part in that death. With her life in danger and her past catching up to her, will she stay alive long enough to trust the one man she never forgot with her heart?
With the promise to catch a killer and keep Lauren safe, Dane Bennet must now protect her from the evil in her past and present. A sick cult group with ties to the government and the rich and powerful are determined to use her powers for their own evil gain. Will Dane be able to protect the woman he loves, or will he have his chance at happiness snatched away? Dane must use every ounce of his elite special forces training to keep her safe, even if it means breaking her heart. Determined to stop the evil that threatens the world and avenge the death of a friend, will Lauren and Dane be able to overcome their intense attraction to stop the people determined to end her life and start Armageddon or will their passion blind them?
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Nate Jones is unlucky in love. He’s watched his parents love story play out his entire life and wants that for himself. His whole world was rocked when he walks into a hospital room and falls head over heels in love with Skye and Noah.
Skye Mitchell is a single mother to an exceptional young boy. Noah has a unique and terrifying gift, which in the hands of the wrong people, could risk his life. A life that is already under the shadow of a terrible disease. All she has ever wanted was her child healthy and to feel cherished by the man she loves. Skye and Nate are ready to take a chance on a once in a lifetime love, but The Divine Watchers have other plans.
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A woman with a secret past!
Lucy Bennett is not what she appears to be. When she overhears a devastating conversation, she decides to fight the betrayal head on. To do that Lucy must let her past and present lives collide, face the hurt and guilt, she buried years ago, and reveal the real Lucy to the world.
A man with a gift.
Jace Ward, Fortis operative and Ex-SAS soldier, is dealing with his new gift of hearing people's thoughts. All except the thoughts of the woman he loves! Jace has loved Lucy Bennett since he first laid eyes on her nearly twenty years ago. Her beauty, her love for those around her, and the fact that she is a badass makes her the perfect woman for him.
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He will stop at nothing to keep those he loves safe!
Zack Cunningham is the sexy, brooding leader of the Fortis Team. He has spent most of his life fighting evil, first as an elite SAS operative, and now running Fortis, a group comprised of ex-special ops men and woman.
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Ava Drake has spent her life living in a man’s world, and she knows she is strong enough to go it alone. She now must decide if that is living or is risking her heart and that of her sons a risk worth taking. Does she stand and fight for what she wants and needs from the only man she has ever loved, or does she run and keep her heart safe but dead?
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A man who lives in the shadows.
Zin “The Viper” Maklavoi has lived his life in the shadowy world of espionage, shedding the blood of evil and soaking up the darkness. Now, he needs to step into the light and allow the woman who has stolen his heart and soul to see the man behind the mask, even if it costs him everything. Can he convince her that he is damaged but not broken, or will he have to let his butterfly fly free?
A woman who longs to fly free.
Celeste Bourdain learned from a very early age to keep to herself and hide her gift from those that would hurt and exploit her. After a painful rejection by the only man she has ever loved, she decides to embrace life on her own.
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