by Cassi Carver
“Kara, it’s not my place to discuss this with you.”
“Don’t you dare play that game with me. Did Gavin sire a child during his time in the Shadowland?”
Aiden faced her. “He hasn’t wronged you.”
Kara placed her hands on her hips. “Really? Did you know that after we put Julian in the ground to regenerate, Gavin said he wanted a place by my side even after Julian woke? He said he was going to change the law, Aiden! I was gullible back then, and I thought he really meant it, so forgive me for being shocked when he bailed on me, and I hear ten weeks later that he’s going to be a father.”
“He doesn’t deserve your anger.”
She poked his chest. “You think this is anger? You haven’t seen anything yet. Watch me kick his ass and ensure he can never father another child again.”
His eyes were cold when he brought them level with hers. “Listen carefully. He doesn’t want you to know this, but I think you deserve it. Gavin was in the Shadowland those two long months working off a debt. Your debt—for killing Gable.”
“What?” What in the hell was he talking about?
“His choice was to get one of Brakken’s females pregnant and hand the child over to Brakken, or allow Brakken to rape you until you finally conceived. And you may have claws and fangs now, Kara, but it could be years until you are fertile. Years.”
Kara just blinked. She replayed the words over and over in her mind until they finally formed sentences she could understand. And then her legs promptly fell out from under her.
“Oh my God.” She looked up at Aiden from her spot on the jungle floor and whispered, “Take me to him.”
Gavin sat at his desk, signing documents given to him by the O.P.A.—more fallout from the Great Black-wing Blood Battle, as the men were calling it.
Truth be told, for all the training they did, the men rarely saw much action, and Gavin imagined they would probably live on the memories and stories of that day for years to come. Already, the number of witches defeated had gone from somewhere around twenty to closer to one hundred and twenty. And instead of just one powerful witch drinking Julian’s blood, the entire coven had been blood-drunk monsters, virtually undefeatable.
A soft fist rapped against his door. Gavin frowned and cast his consciousness out to see who it was. “Kara?” he said softly and quickly pushed from his chair to make his way to the door.
When he opened the door to her, his heart dropped to his feet. Her cheeks were spilling over with tears. His hands fisted helplessly at his sides. “Oh, princess. I’m so sorry. I knew it was too early for you to attempt travel to the Shadowland. But you are maturing now. You can try again.”
She looked momentarily confused, but then she set her jaw. “Are you going to be a father?”
Gavin stepped back and swallowed. “Yes.”
“Did you get that female pregnant because of me? And are you…giving the child to Brakken?”
“Who told you that? Aiden?” Gavin knotted his fists, turned and walked to the center of the room. Why would Aiden do this? A quick death would be too good for the back-stabbing lord.
A moment later, Gavin felt a tug on his sleeve. “Look at me.”
He tried to look at Kara, but he couldn’t bear it. Her face was streaked and wet, her eyes rimmed in red.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.
His voice was thick. “I didn’t want to add to your burden. And I didn’t know what you would think of a man who could…give up his own son.”
“I’ll tell you what I think. I think you’re a good man who puts every other person in this clan above yourself. I think you should have told me about Brakken’s threat and let me have some say in it. And lastly, I think we’re going to get your baby, free those women and send your father to the Abyss.”
Gavin’s eyes widened, and he almost laughed. Kara Reed was a force of nature—as was his love for her. “If anyone could do it, princess, I bet you could.”
“Well, we have seven or eight months to come up with a plan, right?”
He couldn’t tell her that what she was suggesting was virtually impossible. Perhaps her time with the risen Julian hadn’t given her the proper view of true Aniliáre. But in this moment, he didn’t care. If she could forgive him, that was all that mattered. “That’s right.”
She finally closed the gap between them, wrapping her slender arms around his waist. “I promise you. We’re going to save your son.”
Emotion overcame him, a burst of clear, bright joy as he squeezed her tight and drew in her essence with a long, contented breath. “How can I doubt you, when you’ve already saved me?”
Kara was surprised Gavin hadn’t fitted her with a helmet and kneepads with the way he was prepping her for her first trip to the Shadowland.
“If you’re able to make the journey, I’m not leaving you for more than an hour. You’re too young yet. And if I sense anything off along the way, we’re abandoning the idea and returning at once. Understood?”
Kara nodded, trying not to smile. It wasn’t that she wasn’t scared out of her mind to travel to an entirely different reality, but, well…Julian was there. He was alive, and he was expecting her, and that was that.
“Thank you for taking me. I know Aiden was relieved not to have to strain himself on my account.”
Gavin cocooned her in his arms as his silver wings extended. “It’s my honor.”
And then they were off. It was so much worse than her previous experiences flashing, so excruciating that Kara was sure she lost consciousness somewhere along the way.
But when her eyes opened, she and Gavin stood in a land of gray clouds that reached never-ending across the skies. It might have gone on forever.
“This is it,” he said. “Julian’s little piece of the Shadowland. We’re so far removed from the kingdoms that I doubt anyone will bother you here.”
“Wow.” She felt different in this place, and her father’s ring seemed to be humming—happy even, if jewelry could be happy.
“One hour,” he reminded her.
She nodded, taking in the immensity of being in a non-earthly realm for the first time. She might as well have been walking barefoot on the moon. “Got it.”
Gavin released a breath and smiled. “Don’t leave him waiting.” As the last word left his lips, he was gone.
Kara turned to where he’d been looking to see a dark-haired black-wing approaching in the distance. “Julian!” she yelled, running to him. If she’d had wings, she would have flown.
They hit so hard, it almost knocked the wind out of her. Julian laughed and picked her up in his arms. “You made it.”
When he set her back on her feet, she nuzzled against his bare chest and hugged him tight, savoring the feel of him, solid and real beneath her cheek. “Of course I did. A little reality surfing wasn’t going to stop me.”
She drew back an inch and glanced around. There was no sun in the sky, yet light filtered in from all directions. Although there was a certain beauty in the way the rays turned the billowing clouds from gray to silver-laced bursts of white, there was also something bleak about this place. “How have you been, Jules?”
His dark eyes searched her face, and he smiled. “I feel stronger here, like anything is possible. But my world wasn’t complete until you arrived.”
Tears prickled at the corners of her vision. “We only have an hour. I wish it was longer.”
When a tear broke free, he captured it with the tip of his finger, and Kara was shocked to see it glistening with swirling colors like a jewel lit from within. He lifted his hand and the small, sparkling drop rose above their heads, stretching wider and shining brighter, until it was a vivid rainbow that pushed back the edges of the clouds. “No sadness, love. Clearly, I need to remind you what we can accomplish in one hour.”
His low chuckle sent shockwaves through her core, and she grinned in spite of herself. She wasn’t going to waste another minute missing him when he was right here in her
arms. Instead, she grabbed his nape and kissed him with everything she had.
Who knew? Maybe in a land where tears could become rainbows, their short time together could last forever.
About the Author
Cassi Carver lives in sunny Southern California with two dogs, four kids and a hubby who gives great massages. She gets to the Gaslamp Quarter for research (okay, happy hour) as often as possible. She’s never saved the world, but she keeps sexy boots on hand just in case the opportunity arises.
Website: www.cassicarver.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @CassiCarver
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Look for these titles by Cassi Carver
Now Available:
The Shadow Slayers
Slayer’s Kiss
Coming Soon:
The Shadow Slayers
The Silverwing’s Sorceress
When the past flies in your face, clip its wings.
Slayer’s Kiss
© 2012 Cassi Carver
The Shadow Slayers, Book 1
Kara Reed is a supernatural failure. But where her magic falls short, her fists get the job done. The criminal element doesn’t stand a chance once she hits San Diego’s dark streets.
When two smoking-hot tenants move in next door, she thinks her love life might finally be heating up. Just being near Gavin and Julian is enough to make her want to offer her body on a platter.
Gavin and Julian know it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out. They’re fallen angels sent to watch over the king’s daughter, one of the last females of her kind. Trouble is, she doesn’t seem to think she needs watching—unless they’re watching her shimmy out of her clothes.
No matter how tempting her guardians, Kara’s not about to let anything stop her from tracking down a sadistic killer who carves into his victims and leaves them for dead. Even when she realizes her target may be the very scourge of heaven from which her angels swore to protect her…
Warning: Contains a kick-ass heroine with a foul mouth, a kind heart and a raging libido, and two fallen angel warriors who wouldn’t have her any other way. Watch out for sex in the clouds, a magical island of hedonism and a love triangle that gives new meaning to the term “hot-wings”.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Slayer’s Kiss:
Kara glanced at the unfamiliar area code and frowned. “Hello?”
“Hello…Miss Reed?” a deep, masculine voice answered. “This is Gavin. I wanted to let you know I’m in the lobby, waiting.”
Kara scrunched her face, glancing at the phone as if the man had spoken a foreign language. “Waiting for…?”
“Our eight o’clock appointment. It’s eight thirty.”
“Oh, crap.” She grabbed her purse and ran to the kitchen, glancing at the level of food in Mr. Pibb’s half-full dish on the way to the door. “I’m late.” She was planning to get to work early tonight to talk to her boss about more regular hours. She still had time if she walked fast.
“That’s all right. No problem.” For whatever reason, the man sounded appeased by her panic.
She glanced at the phone again as she went out the front door and made her way to the elevator. “Who are you?”
“Gavin. Gavin Cross.” He sighed into the phone. “Your new tenant. We had an appointment at eight for me to pick up the keys to my apartment.”
Kara blew out an incredulous breath, realizing this was the man who’d been on a waiting list for a tenth-floor apartment with a view. Three days ago, newspapers had starting arriving on the doorstep of the vacant unit next to hers—and she was enjoying reading them. “Yes, Mr. Cross—eight this morning. And you never showed. Who does business at eight o’clock at night?”
Kara lived on the top floor of her building, and the stairs didn’t bother her, but even witches didn’t enjoy hiking ten flights in high-heeled boots. She jammed her finger impatiently against the elevator’s button and jumped in before the doors fully opened.
“I thought it was scheduled for tonight,” he protested. “I told you I work during the day.”
The floors wouldn’t count down fast enough. She was already late, and now some bonehead thought he could convince her she had the time wrong. She tried to keep firm boundaries with the tenants or they walked all over her. And even so, she still got the occasional call in the middle of the night because someone’s window was sticking or a strange smell was coming from a drain.
“Yes you did, but I didn’t agree to meet in the evening.” Even apartment managers have lives, buddy. “I’m sorry, but I’m busy tonight. I thought you’d decided to take an hour off work this morning.”
When the doors opened, she shot off the elevator and ran smack into a man’s brawny chest. Her phone slid from her grip and clattered to her feet.
“Sorry!” With a phone in one hand, the man reached out to steady her with the other. “Are you okay?”
Kara sucked in a breath, staring straight into the heart-stopping eyes of the towering man before her. He was stunning. Dark blond hair, hazel-green eyes framed by thick, dark lashes and an incredibly large, muscular frame wrapped in a slick charcoal suit and tie.
“Gavin Cross?” she confirmed, her palms pressing against his chest as a tremor ran through her body. She’d never met a man who could make her salivate at first glance, but he looked like he’d taste better than a slice of cherry cheesecake after a month of tofu.
“Miss Reed?” His eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened as he took in her attire. “You really were in a hurry, weren’t you? Going clubbing, I see.”
“Not exactly. I mean, yes. The Hoolecha Inn. It’s a club, but I work there.”
“And I’m making you late for work?”
“Late for being early.” She scanned him up and down and bit her lip. “It’s fine. Really. It’s just down the block on the corner of 6th and F.”
Gavin shook his head. “I’m such an ass. Sorry about the misunderstanding. You must think I’m an idiot.” He glanced down at her hands on his jacket but made no move to back away. She might have been imagining it, but it felt as if he actually leaned closer.
“Gavin…” she began. “Can I call you Gavin?” Kara trailed her hand from his chest and placed it on his arm. He smelled like musk and soap. She wanted to slather herself in him. “It’s completely my fault. I’ll grab the keys and show you to your apartment. It’s the one next to mine.”
When Gavin placed his own phone in his jacket pocket, then knelt to pick up hers, Kara’s breath hitched. His head was only inches away from the juncture of her thighs. What was wrong with her damn libido lately?
Balanced on the balls of his feet with her phone in hand, he stopped and looked into Kara’s eyes. His head angled slightly toward Kara’s short skirt, and his nostrils flared. She could have sworn she heard a low rumble rise in his chest. Her body responded with a flood of moisture and a pounding throb between her legs.
She knew logically she couldn’t screw him right here in the lobby. She wasn’t even that type of girl, regardless of what it looked like when she and Abbey went hunting.
“Your phone.” He placed it in Kara’s palm, grazing his hand along hers.
“Thanks.” She was so breathless she could barely get the word out.
When Gavin stood, Kara didn’t have the sense to stifle her surprised gasp. His slacks were stretched to bursting with an impossibly huge erection straining against his zipper. He followed her eyes to his groin. “I guess I owe you another apology.”
“Don’t worry, I get that a lot,” she joked, trying to hide her fierce reaction to him behind a smile.
His gaze swept slowly from her head to the tips of her boots, lingering on her large breasts and rounded hips. “I’m sure you do.”
“Come on, I’ll show you up.” Kara turned and gestured for him to follow her into the elevator. Just being in the enclosed space with him made every nerve ending in h
er body tingle. The night air under her skirt had never felt so sensuous…teasing her, tickling her thighs, suggesting she hike her skirt up even farther and bare herself to this man.
Damn it, this wasn’t like her.
Even so, as she stopped at her apartment and unlocked the door, she heard herself asking, “Do you want to come in?” The breathy sigh in her voice offered more than her simple words.
“Come in?” he echoed. “Would your roommate mind?”
She could barely pull her eyes away from his groin. “It’s only me. I live alone.” But I don’t want to be alone tonight. “Will you come inside, Gavin?”
It seemed for a moment as if he stopped breathing, but then his lungs finally expanded again. “Thank you, but no.”
She wasn’t sure how those four little words of rejection could cut so deep coming from a man she’d met only minutes before, but something about him felt so right. His essence was like warm sunsets and French kisses on the beach. She swallowed hard as her cheeks warmed. “Sure. Just let me grab the keys.”
She opened the door and reached a hand to the key organizer by the entryway. Only one set was ready and waiting, so it wasn’t hard to find. She would have willed the earth to open up and swallow her whole if not for a quick, final glance at Gavin’s burgeoning interest. His mouth might say no, but his body disagreed.
Kara swallowed her pride and took one last chance. Curving her mortified lips into a small smile, she dropped the keys in his hand. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
The one man she wants is the one man destined to destroy her.
Soul Bound
© 2012 Anne Hope
Dark Souls, Book 1
Sooner or later we all end up dead. Jace Cutler doesn’t have the luxury of staying that way. After receiving a fatal stab wound, he awakens in a hospital room in Portland, Oregon, with no memory and a big hole where his soul used to be. Worst of all is the glow. Everyone is surrounded by a strange white aura he hungers to possess, none more compelling than the one enveloping Dr. Lia Benson.