“No, never.”
“There must be a way to break the curse.”
“It can’t be broken, only changed.”
“How can it be changed?” His fingers tightened around hers.
“We were cursed to live unloved and forgotten, but we were each given one chance at happiness.”
“Go on.”
“Each man has one true love. A woman who belongs to him alone. If she finds the glen and falls in love with him then she can make a choice.”
“What choice?”
“To remain with him in the glen forever, or to leave and never return.” Releasing her hand, he stood and walked toward the cottage. “We have a long way to go if we’re to get you back to your car so you can return to your home. I’ll put Maggie and Bennie in the cottage and then we’ll go.”
He hurried away as if the hounds of hell were after him, she thought, and hurried after him. He wanted her to leave but she would have sworn he loved her. He made love to her as if he did. Did he think she didn’t love him?
Torkel reached the cottage and stood aside so the dogs could enter ahead of him. Framed by the open door he turned to her and the sight opened the floodgates of her memory.
He was the Highlander who beckoned to her from the cottage doorway. He’d told her to come to him. When she’d ignored the summons he’d haunted her dreams and made love to her with so much passion that every touch had spoken of his love for her. Magic had cursed him but it had also brought them together.
She understood that now. Standing there with the sun directly overhead, casting shadows over them, she held her hand out to him. “I love you so much, Torkel. If you try to send me away I won’t go. I’ll stay in the glen until I make you fall in love with me even if it takes a thousand years.”
He stood so still that for a moment she thought she was mistaken and he really didn’t love her. Then suddenly he rushed to her and swept her up in his arms.
“I was so afraid of losing you. So afraid it wouldn’t be fair to you to ask you to stay with me.” He kissed her neck and ran his hands over her hair. “I love you, Ella. I’ll never stop loving you.”
She wrapped her arms around him and breathed in his scent, recognizing it from her dreams. “I can’t believe I found you,” she said, before anger at Aileen and Quinlan filled her again. “We need to return to the island.”
“Why would you want to go there?” he asked, and nibbled on her earlobe.
“I can leave a message for Aileen there, right?” She nibbled on his neck.
He kissed her cheek. “Aye, love, but time in the glen passes in its own way and it may be a while before she visits.”
Grasping his shoulders, she held him away from her. “What do you mean by that?” He shrugged, and she tightened her hands on his shoulders. “Torkel?”
“Less than two days have passed in the glen but on the island several weeks have gone by.”
“On the island and in my world, too?”
“Aye.”
“So, that’s why the weather in the glen seemed to change so rapidly when we were on the island,” she said. “That means I’ve been in the glen longer than I planned to stay at the cottage. Not that it matters as I’m never returning to my old life.”
He carried her into the cottage and sat down on the bed with her on his lap.
“How do you know when Aileen is on the island?”
“She lights a bonfire on the shore.”
“Then, we’ll leave a note for her and wait for her to show up.” She slid off his lap and moved several steps away. “I intend to give her a piece of my mind.”
“I don’t want you going daft because of me.”
Smiling, she took a step closer to him. “I forget you don’t always understand what I say. It means I’m angry and I want to yell at her for hurting you.”
“You must take care with Aileen. She’s very powerful.”
“I’ll back her down like a boss,” she said, and laughed at his puzzled expression. “We have so much to talk about, and I want you to teach me your language.”
Desire darkened his eyes. “There’s no hurry, gaol mo chridhe. We have centuries to talk.”
“But the sun is shining over the loch, Torkel, and we haven’t had breakfast.”
“My belly can wait, my need for you can’t.” Holding his arms out, he said. “Come to me, love of my heart.”
About the Author
Mardi Maxwell lives in mid-America on the plains of Oklahoma. She writes steamy sci-fi romances, paranormal romances, and contemporary erotic romances. Her books feature alpha males, sassy females, a touch of humor, and happy-ever-after endings. She talks to strangers, sings the wrong lyrics to old rock and roll songs, and loves spur-of-the-moment road trips.
You can follow her at:
Website: http://www.mardimaxwell.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MardiMaxwellBooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mardimaxwellrom
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mardi-maxwell
Blog: https://booksandroadtrips.com/
Silent Storm
Sadie Carter
In a land where monsters and magic reside, most people have done the sensible thing and left.
But no one had ever called Kaley sensible.
Trouble always seemed to find her …and somehow, so did Nicolas. Gorgeous, arrogant, and demanding, he kept popping in and out of her life—whether she wanted him to or not.
If only she knew the truth about him.
Nicolas had known Kaley was his mate for years. He’d been waiting, biding his time until he could join with her. Finally, her reckless ways push him to the brink.
He needs to reveal the secret of who he really is and claim her.
If only he knew that Kaley held a few secrets of her own.
Foreword
Earth, 2412.
Magic and monsters occupy Earth. Technology is almost non-existent. Most of Earth’s population who survived the famines and wars that ravaged the planet have chosen to move to New Earth, a colony on the moon. Only the hardy, brave, and crazy now live on Earth.
This is a story about two of them.
Enjoy.
Chapter One
Seb was going to murder her.
Kaley watched, grimacing, as the man sitting at the table across from her let out a massive burp. She couldn’t believe this was the same man she’d met six months ago. Then he’d at least attempted to pretend he was a professional. Now, he had bits of food in his scruffy beard and grease stains down his front. The buttons of his shirt strained across his large stomach as he shifted in his seat, and she prayed they didn’t pop.
He wiped his sweaty forehead with his grubby sleeve. It wasn’t even that hot in here, she was actually a little chilled. Of course, he did have a lot of fat to insulate him.
“What did you find out? Did you locate him?” She leaned forward then thought better about getting close to him.
“Now, now, not so fast. I want to talk to you about my retainer. I’ve gone through it.”
She clenched her jaw. She’d had to steal money from Bear, her middle brother, to pay the retainer this idiot demanded. Mind you, if Bear had known what she needed the cash for he’d probably have just given it to her. But Bear wasn’t here. He’d been arrested on a bogus assault charge eight months ago.
Bear was easy-going, very little riled him. But he had a big protective streak when it came to women and children. When he’d come across a man hitting a woman, he’d come to her rescue and knocked the guy out cold. Unfortunately, that man had turned out to be Captain Arthur Stanton. The captain had been humiliated. He had a lot of power and influence, and now Bear was in jail. Her youngest brother, Micah, was exploring the African continent, so that left her with Seb. Her oldest brother took his role as head of their family seriously, which is why he would kill her if he ever discovered what she was up to.
“There’s no more money, Mr. Cassidy. This search has al
ready taken far longer than I thought it would. You were supposed to have something for me when we passed by this way three months ago.” Then he’d just demanded more money. She’d given him what she had on her. That had been a mistake, she should have told him where to go. But she’d already invested so much time and cash into this guy.
He wiped his face again, and her stomach started to tighten. He hadn’t found anything. All of this time wasted and money spent, and he hadn’t found a thing.
Because he was a useless asshole who’d probably spent all her money on food and drink.
She leaned over the table. “Have you found anything?”
“If there was something to be found, I would have found it.”
She banged her fist down on the table, startling him. Around her, people stilled, watching on, probably hoping for something interesting to happen. Because it had been all of an hour since the last fight had broken out. This wasn’t the best part of town, and normally she wouldn’t come here on her own. But she didn’t want anyone else knowing what she was up to. “I paid you to find him.”
“He’s disappeared. No one has any idea where he is.”
“He has to be somewhere.” And she was determined to find him. Just not with this idiot’s help.
She stood and leaned over towards him. “A word of warning, Mr. Cassidy, the next time I’m back in town, stay out of my sight.”
His skin started to go a blotchy red. He probably didn’t see her as much as a threat. No one ever did. A five-foot-two slip of a woman might not seem that intimidating, but she had her ways of getting even. She stormed out of the bar and pulled the hood of her coat up before quickly walking around the side of the building to the alleyway. The wind whipped around the corner, unsettling a pile of rubbish and sending it flying across the street. The light was starting to die with the incoming storm. She’d hoped to be back on the Mazu by now. This was not an area of town you wanted to be wandering around in the dark.
At least she wasn’t alone.
She let out a long, low whistle and Atlas came running towards her. The huge dog was completely black except for a white streak of fur that ran across his right eye. He’d been with her since she’d found him as a puppy on the streets. Half-starved and bedraggled, he hadn’t looked like much. Now, his head came up to her waist, and he ate more than two grown men combined.
Atlas whimpered as he came close, pushing up against her. He hadn’t liked being left outside.
“I know, boy. Next time, I promise you can come in. You can help me gut him.”
He jumped up, placing his front paws on her chest so he could lick her face.
“Eeew, Atlas, did you get into the garbage?”
He gave her a woeful look, and she waggled a finger at him. “I’ve warned you about that. If your farts are as bad as last time, you’re sleeping out on the deck.”
He sighed.
“And no, I don’t care that there’s a big storm coming in. You’re on your own, buddy. Now, come on, we need to get back before Seb sends Ari out after me.”
Atlas let out a soft bark of acknowledgement as she set off for the docks. A crack of thunder made her jump. Damn it, that storm was closer than she’d thought. She glanced around. She hadn’t seen a single other person since she’d left the bar. Seemed she was the only person stupid enough to be running around these streets at night with a storm coming.
The buildings around her were rundown and looked almost menacing in the dark. The majority of Earth’s population had migrated to New Earth about fifty years ago. Only the hardy, brave and stupid remained here. Sometimes, she wasn’t quite sure which category she fell into. They’d basically been abandoned by their Government. Oh, there was the militia, who were supposedly here to enforce the laws, but most of them were crooked, grease their palms enough and they’d look the other way.
Earth was like a dirty secret the people on New Earth wanted to forget. How they’d nearly destroyed the planet with pollution and war. There were parts of Earth where no one could go, not without risking death or disease. With the population seriously depleted and vast areas of Earth abandoned, it was like the planet had gone backward thousands of years. Technology was no longer supported and now redundant. But the people who remained were a hardy lot. They were survivors.
She pushed herself to move faster. Atlas ran along beside her, easily keeping up. Head down to avoid the freezing wind, she raced around the corner of a large building into an alleyway. Atlas’ warning growl brought her up short, and she skidded to a stop as two men emerged from the shadows.
Fuck.
She should have been paying more attention. She looked over her shoulder. Two more men were moving in on her from behind.
“What do you want?” she asked, using her gruffest voice. With her loose clothing and the hood over her head, she could easily pass for a boy. Letting them know she was a woman would be a bad idea. Most women had moved to the New Earth colony on the moon and men now outnumbered women by about three to one. Human trafficking of women was becoming a very real problem.
“Hand over your wallet.”
Atlas growled, and she placed her hand on his fur, feeling him bristle.
“Keep that hound back. He attacks, and we’ll knife him,” another snarled at her.
“Easy boy,” she told Atlas, hunching her shoulders in order to appear intimidated.
Wait, wait.
“So, if I hand over my wallet you’ll let me go?” she asked, putting a tremor into her voice to show she was suitably cowed.
“Of course,” the first guy said.
There was no ‘of course’ about it. She could tell by the way they bounced from foot to foot, unable to keep still that they were juiced up on something. As soon as she handed over her wallet she was as good as dead, especially once they discovered the lack of coin inside.
“Hand it over, kid, and you can go back to your mommy,” one of them joked. The others cackled.
Oh, ha, ha, ha.
She was blown away by their wit. Idiots. How many other people had they robbed of their hard-earned money? Atlas snarled, sensing her rising anger.
The two idiots in front of her looked at each other nervously for a moment.
“Hand it over,” the one of the left ordered.
“Sure.” She undid her coat, careful not to pull it away from her body and reveal the only advantage she might have against them. She grabbed her near-empty wallet out of her pocket then threw it right into his face. He snarled as she quickly grabbed two of the chakram that hung from her belt. She held one in each hand as she widened her stance, shifting her weight forward onto the balls of her feet.
“Look, she wants to play Frisbee,” one of them jeered.
“Sure do, asshole. Catch!”
She spun one of the chakram. The man on the right howled as it embedded itself in his chest. The other man just stared in shock as he collapsed to the ground, still screaming. She turned side-on so she could keep an eye on the two behind her, but she needn’t have worried. They were too busy staring in surprise at the idiot on the ground to care about her.
Somehow, she didn’t think they were professional thieves.
“Get it out! Get it out!” the thief on the ground yelled.
“Oh, I wouldn’t advise that,” she said seriously. “That will just make it bleed more.”
The round, thin discs might look a bit like a hollowed-out Frisbee, a game which children had been playing for hundreds of years, but they were sharp and deadly. Used correctly, they could slice a limb off.
She might be outnumbered, but she was probably smarter than the four of them combined. She could find a way out of this.
She hoped.
One of the thieves made a move towards her. She flung another chakram. She didn’t have time to make certain she’d hit her mark, although his scream of pain told her everything she needed to know. Her attention turned to the two men still standing, who had realized by now that she was no easy mark.
Atlas snarled as they moved in towards her. They were about to rush her.
“You’re dead, boy,” the leader snarled.
Her heart raced, beating so hard she felt slightly ill. The urge to run pounded through her. Or to scream.
So she smiled instead. She knew it would confuse them.
She grabbed the small blade she kept in a holster on her belt. One of them laughed.
“You call that a knife, boy? What’s it used for? Stabbing roast beef?”
Pretty much, but it was all she had.
“Now, Atlas!” she yelled as she rushed forward, using the element of surprise to attack the closest thief. But he must have been expecting her because he pulled a blade out from behind his back and slashed at her. She pulled up short, diving to the right. She fell to the ground and rolled. Fuck. This was it. She was dead.
“Run, Atlas,” she screamed. She wasn’t about to let her dog go down with her.
But the expected blow never came, and she turned to see a tall figure dressed in dark clothing fighting the thief she’d attempted to rush. Another of the thieves was on the ground, his throat ripped out. Atlas stood next to him with a satisfied, doggy-grin on his face.
She swung back to see the new-comer stab his sword into the last thief’s stomach. As he turned towards her, she clumsily got to her feet, leaning back against the wall behind her, her legs weak. Darkness had fully fallen, and she couldn’t make out the features of his face. Atlas walked over to her and leaned against her.
“I’m insulted you didn’t invite me to the party.”
Relief filled her at the familiar, deep voice. Quickly followed by irritation. Fuck. This was all she needed. She’d almost have preferred to face the thief.
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