Tall, Dark and Paranormal: 10 Thrilling Tales of Sexy Alpha Bad Boys
Page 55
“Thank you, Sam, thank God. Your acceptance of me…it eases the burden I have carried for the sin of what I am. Your love has helped me forgive myself. And that is a gift, Samantha, a priceless gift, this feeling of absolution. I have been searching for it my whole life.”
“Oh, Lucien,” Samantha whispered against my lips.
Our mouths found one another, and we lost ourselves. The kiss was filled with love and acceptance and forgiveness and longing. It was glorious and life-giving. It might have gone on for minutes or hours.
A knock sounded against the door. We pulled back but remained embraced.
“Come in,” I called, still staring in Samantha’s now-bright eyes.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Griffin began with a small smile, “but the time... “
“Oh.” I broke my gaze at Samantha and looked at the clock on her nightstand and nodded. We had only six hours to do whatever needed to be done. “Dolcezza, time is short. May I ask my family to begin packing the house?”
She nodded and offered instructions about what could stay and what needed to go. Much of the furniture in the house was a mishmash of things her father had gathered in his bachelorhood. That fortunately left us with a smaller job than if she’d wanted to take everything. William pulled the moving truck around. Soon the house was a frenzy of activity.
Griffin came to me once work got underway. “Lucien, I think you should leave the city now. I don’t want you here anywhere near the deadline. I don’t want any of us here then. You should take Samantha and Ollie and leave now.”
Samantha and I debated him for a bit but eventually agreed. Samantha packed overnight bags for herself and Ollie. After I cleaned myself up, I scooped Ollie out of her bed, hating to disturb her yet again from her slumber.
As I lifted her, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you, Ollie,” I whispered. “You saved my life tonight. But don’t you ever do something like that again.” I hugged her to me, so incredibly grateful to this child. She had seen me, accepted me, loved me, and saved me. Time and time again.
Ollie remained asleep, even as I lowered her into the back seat of the Silverado. The Maserati had little back seat to speak of, so William and Jed engaged in an almost immediate negotiation over who’d get to drive my sports car back to New York. Their good humor was welcomed.
Henrietta came with us in case Ollie needed her assistance in the night. Griffin kissed her good-bye and then shook my hand. “We’ll be right behind you, old friend.”
“Thank you, Griffin. There aren’t words.”
“You are family, Lucien. None are needed.” Then he nodded, waved to Henrietta, and jogged back to Samantha’s house.
Soon we were turning off Frederick Street. I was once again en route to the interstate. The similarities ended there.
Whereas before, I’d been filled with grief and despair and rage and self-hatred, now I was filled with hope and love and intense gratitude. Before, I’d been broken, and now I was whole. Before, the future appeared bleak and empty, but now the future seemed full of possibility and potential. Now there was a future worth living.
And the difference?
The difference was Samantha and Ollie, here with me.
The difference was love.
Epilogue
It was the first May 13th in one hundred fourteen years I wasn’t wracked with guilt and grief. I hadn’t forgotten—I would never forget. But life moved on. And for the first time, I moved with it.
Samantha even helped me mark the anniversary. She’d shyly asked if she could go out to visit my family’s graves. She took huge bouquets of flowers she cut with her own hands and then spent an hour on her knees talking to Lena.
At her request, I’d stayed far back, wanting to give her privacy for her conversation. But I was curious beyond belief. Whatever she’d said, the very fact of the conversation further cemented my love for Samantha and endeared her to me impossibly more.
After the morning trip to the cemetery, we drove out to our house. Or, what would be our house whenever we were done building it.
On the way to Milwaukee so many months before, we’d had a long discussion about what her ideal house would be. After a month of living in Orchard Hill’s guest suite, I’d surprised Samantha with blueprints for a new house, designed entirely around the things she’d specified in that conversation. We adjusted the designs once she had a chance to consider them and broke ground in early April as the soil thawed.
Samantha was intent on helping with the build, wanting the house to be the result of both of our efforts. For that reason, she’d yet to return to work. She regretted leaving her job at the children’s hospital in Detroit, but knew she could find work in Ithaca when she was ready.
The upside was how much time we had to spend together. We made good use of it and got to know one another in ways we couldn’t as long as I’d hidden myself from her. The time off also allowed her to be available to help Ollie adjust to the move.
Although, of course, she adjusted better than we could’ve hoped. I didn’t know why we were surprised.
And so, on that beautiful May morning, we stood at the edge of the construction site and stared longingly at the big hole in the ground, the one that would literally and figuratively become the foundation of our life and love.
The future lay bright and open in front of me, in front of us. But I’d become a big fan of focusing on the here and now. The past was gone. The future was only an idea. It was now that mattered.
And right now, I had Samantha, warm and soft, her back pressed against my chest as we tried to envision the way the yellow farmhouse with the wrap-around porch and green shutters would look nestled amongst the New York trees.
I spun her around to face me and captured her throaty laugh with my lips as I kissed her over and over and told her I would love her for all time.
She said it back.
And I was freed, finally, forever.
Acknowledgements
The story of my writing begins with Lucien, Sam, and Ollie in the summer of 2008. So much has happened since and there are so many people to thank. First, I must thank Eilidh Mackenzie, my editor at The Wild Rose Press, who saw something in an unusual male first person point of view story that made her willing to take the chance. Without Eilidh’s belief in Forever Freed, it’s hard to say what the trajectory of my career might’ve been.
Next, I have to thank my best friend and YA paranormal author Lea Nolan, who critiqued many early drafts of the book and helped me plot and brainstorm along the way. This journey wouldn’t have been the same without her.
I must also thank my husband, Brian, and daughters, who supported me in my frenetic need to get this novel out of my system and down on paper when I had no guarantee of ever getting it published. That support is something I’ll never forget.
Finally, I want to thank all the bloggers and readers who have read Forever Freed, loved Lucien, Sam, and Ollie, and let me know how much you want more. Lucien and Ollie remain very lively characters in my imagination, so I cannot rule out that one day I’ll return to their story. It’s on the list!
Thanks to each and every one of you for going on this incredible journey with me. It means the world. ~LK
Want more Vampire Romance from Laura Kaye?
Vampire Warrior Kings Series
IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING
Kael, Warrior King of the Vampires, loathes the Night of the Proffering. He needs the blood of either his mate or a human virgin to maintain his strength, but hasn’t enjoyed the ritual since he lost his mate centuries ago. Kael doesn’t want a new companion, yet his resolve is tested when he lays eyes on his new offering, Shayla McKinnon.
He is drawn to Shayla’s beauty and poise... and the submission she offers. She is eager to give him anything he wishes, including her innocence, to please him. Will Kael give in to their overwhelming desire—even if it means risking Shayla’s life?
SEDUCED BY THE VAMPIRE KING
America
Grieving over the deaths of his brothers, Vampire Warrior King Nikolai Vasilyev has thrown himself into battling his enemies, focused only on vengeance. Until the attack that brought him to Kate. Their sexual attraction explodes into a night of uncontrolled passion—a night that marks them as mates. Is their connection strong enough to convince them to embrace a destiny neither of them was expecting?
TAKEN BY THE VAMPIRE KING
Henrik Magnusson is supposed to be immortal, but a mysterious ailment leaves the vampire king near death, and not even the blood of the Proffered, human virgins trained to serve the elite, can sustain him. Then he rescues a beautiful young woman from his enemies, and is filled with blood lust and desire he hasn’t felt for centuries.
Photographer Kaira Sorenson’s life takes a nightmare turn when she’s attacked by blood-thirsty creatures—and saved by a vampire. She should be afraid of Henrik, but she can’t deny her intense attraction to this regal, enigmatic being—nor the fact that her blood may be his only salvation. Now she must decide if she’s willing to be his forever…
Other Books by Laura Kaye
Hearts of the Anemoi Series
NORTH OF NEED
WEST OF WANT
SOUTH OF SURRENDER
EAST OF ECSTASY
HEARTS OF THE ANEMOI BOX SET
Vampire Warrior Kings Series
IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING
SEDUCED BY THE VAMPIRE KING
TAKEN BY THE VAMPIRE KING
VAMPIRE WARRIOR KINGS BOX SET
Hard Ink Series
HARD AS IT GETS
HARD AS YOU CAN
HARD TO HOLD ON TO
HARD TO COME BY
HARD TO BE GOOD
Heroes Series
HER FORBIDDEN HERO
ONE NIGHT WITH A HERO
Stand-Alone Titles
HEARTS IN DARKNESS
DARE TO RESIST
FOREVER FREED
JUST GOTTA SAY
About the Author
Laura Kaye is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly twenty books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Laura grew up amid family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses, cementing her life-long fascination with storytelling and the supernatural. Laura lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
Visit Laura Kaye at www.LauraKayeAuthor.com
Follow Laura on Twitter at @LauraKayeAuthor
Like LauraKayeWrites on Facebook
Sins of the Flesh
by,
Caridad Pineiro
She never expected that she would become someone’s lab rat . . .
World renowned musician Caterina Shaw is losing her battle against an inoperable brain tumor. Her one chance to beat the disease stealing her life is a risky experimental gene therapy. It’s a risk Caterina is willing take to save her life, but now she’s something she doesn’t understand. Extraordinary powers and abilities have made her something other than human. As she tries to understand what she has become, she finds herself accused of a vicious murder and on the run for her life.
He’s the kind of man who’s hired to take care of problems . . .
Even if it means eliminating them. Mick Carrera is a hired gun and gifted at dealing with the most difficult of situations. He’s been hired to hunt down a woman who is nothing like he expects: Caterina is vulnerable, injured and inhuman. But hidden beneath the weird powers she’s exhibiting is a determined and strong woman whose beauty tempts Mick and makes him think about things that can never be. As passion erupts between them, danger threatens from those who would eliminate Caterina’s existence to safeguard their secrets.
Prologue
The day the music died, Caterina Shaw did as well.
Not physically, although she understood the death of her body was inevitable. She had come to terms with that reality some time ago. She had even managed to deal with the blindness caused by the tumor eating away her brain. But then the pain had become so great that it had silenced the music, stealing away the only thing that had made life worth the anguish.
“You understand this treatment is new and uncertain,” Dr. Rudy Wells explained, his voice smooth and comforting. The touch of his hand, warm and reassuring, came against hers as it rested on her thigh.
“I understand,” she said and faced the direction of that calming voice.
Another person abruptly chimed in, his tones as strident and grating as a badly played oboe. “We’ll begin with laser surgery to remove the bulk of the tumor followed by two different courses of gene therapy.”
Two? she wondered and sensed Dr. Wells’ hesitation as well from the tremble that skated across his fingers. He removed his hand from hers and said, “Dr. Edwards believes that we can not only shut down the tumor growing in your brain, but possibly regrow the portion of your optic nerve that the tumor damaged.”
Caterina’s only wish when considering the experimental treatment had been to stop the pain so that she could play her cello once again. So that her last months would be filled with the vitality her music provided.
It was through her music that she lived.
That my mother had lived, Caterina thought, recalling the passion she had felt as a small child when her mother had played the piano for her; the way her mother’s fingers had coaxed life from the keys much like she now did with a stroke of her bow and the deft touch of her fingers on the strings of her cello.
Or at least like she had up until the cancer had put an end to her music, bringing her life to a close. Except now she was being told something different.
Caterina had never thought about eliminating the tumor. Every prognosis so far had been that she was terminal. Now these new doctors were telling her that she might not only live, but that she might actually see again too. She didn’t dare believe that she would be able to get her old life back completely, as well as her sight but . . .
“You think I’ll be able to recover? To see again?” Caterina asked, needing to be sure she had understood correctly.
“The risks are great, my dear,” Dr. Wells urged gently.
“But you qualify for the human trials because of the advanced state of your illness, Ms. Shaw,” Dr. Edwards added, annoyance at his partner evident in the staccato beats of his voice.
Her advanced state which could possibly bring death even with this treatment, Caterina thought. Not that she feared death. What she did fear was letting the pain in her head rob her of the one thing she could not live without.
Her music.
She knew without hesitation that it was worth any risk to regain that part of her. To drive back the illness so she could play her cello once more and reanimate her heart for as long as she had left if the treatments couldn’t stop the tumor.
“What do you need me to do?”
Chapter 1
Six months later
Mick Carrera understood what kind of man he was.
Ruthless.
Determined.
Skilled in the art of killing.
People came to him when no one else could handle their problems because Mick either solved their problems or eliminated them – if Mick thought elimination was justified. Some scruples remained buried in his soul, a secret he closely guarded. In his line of work, having scruples equated to weakness.
Dr. Raymond Edwards had presented him with the kind of job that possibly ended with elimination, although Edwards hadn’t come right out and said so during their short telephone conversation. The doctor had skirted around the subject with the skill of a ballroom dancer, insisting time and time again that all he required were the services of a security specialist to assist with a problem at their facility.
Mick’s initial misgivings made him wonder why he had even come to the doctor’s office for this additional discussion. His typical clientele preferred meeting places that were much less public, but then again, maybe such transparency meant that the doctor had been truthful about the nature of this assignment.
He scoped out the office as he entered, taking note of the fact that there was only one entrance in and out. Not good in case of the need for a quick escape.
As he passed a credenza located beneath a wall filled with diplomas, framed news articles and photos, he noticed a small bronze statue of a horse mounted on a heavy marble base.
The size and weight of the statue would make it a handy weapon for either cracking open a man’s skull or breaking through the plate glass windows which lined one long wall of the office. The clear windows were now darkening, the color becoming as deep and dense as squid ink and likely for the same reason – concealment.
Mick had noticed all the high tech security on his way through the entrance of the building. He had expected it even while worrying about it. He knew his image would end up saved on a hard drive somewhere from the assorted closed circuit cameras, but if Dr. Edwards was on the up and up, this was one job that was too good not to consider.
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