by Kristie Cook
My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped. “After everything that happened, I think this is the last thing we should be doing.”
“What? We don’t deserve a victory party?” Owen asked, sauntering up from behind our tent with Vanessa at his side.
“A victory party?” I repeated in disbelief.
“Yeah, we still won,” Jax said as he draped an arm over Blossom’s shoulder.
“And the food’s practically ready. Everyone’s pretty excited for it,” Charlotte said, walking up to join us.
“Excited?” I blinked. My mouth gaped, closed, gaped again, like a fish. Sure, we’d run the Daemoni off, but what exactly had we won? “They want to celebrate?”
“Why not?” Tristan asked as he stepped through the tent’s door and stood by my side. “They deserve it, Lex.”
“There’s so much to be grateful for,” Sheree agreed, the last of my core group to join us.
My head snapped toward the ruins of the safe house—the one place everyone here had relied on for security. Now it was gone. I lifted my arms and swept my hands out, gesturing to all of the destruction. My house, Blossom’s house, Owen’s condo, everywhere the Amadis people had lived and worked had been damaged or even destroyed.
“What could they be thankful for?” I whispered, the question more to myself than anyone else.
“Well, I’m thankful we still have our strongest warlocks to keep us protected,” Vanessa answered anyway as she took Owen’s hand in one of hers and Charlotte’s in the other.
“I’m thankful for a chance at friendship ... and something more,” Jax said, tightening his hold on Blossom.
“Me, too,” the witch replied to him before her gaze skimmed over all of us. “I’m thankful for all of you.”
“I’m thankful for second chances and people who really care,” Sheree said. She moved up to stand between Blossom and me and took each of our hands into hers.
“I’m thankful for you and Dad and Sasha,” Dorian declared as he and the lykora ran up to us. He threw his arms around Tristan and me.
Tears stung my eyes by now.
“I’m thankful for a strong leader who brought us to victory,” Tristan said as he pulled me into his arms.
“Here, here!” cheered a crowd of Amadis that had gathered around, including Blossom’s Aunt Sylvie and several witches and wizards I’d never met yet.
My heart swelled as emotions crashed over me. My mind, always alert these days, listened as everyone mentally counted their blessings.
“I’m thankful for an excellent leadership team,” one thought. Although many others’ echoed hers, I searched this one’s out. A warlock I didn’t know yet, but the one Blossom had called Christina, tall with light brown hair and brown eyes deeply focused on Tristan. Maybe it was the mischievous little smirk on her face and in her voice that caught my attention. “I’m especially thankful to set my eyes on this man. He’s so lickalicious.”
I couldn’t help the giggle as I looked up at my husband. He was lickalicious. But licking would have to wait.
“What are you thankful for, Mom?” Dorian asked as he studied both of us.
A grin stretched across my face, and I lifted my arm to indicate everyone, although my eyes never left Tristan’s hazel ones that sparkled beautifully. “For all of you!”
Then I wrapped my arm around my son and the other around my husband and pulled them both into a group hug.
Especially for my men, I thought to both of them.
“So we can have our Thanksgiving?” Blossom asked, hope overflowing in her question.
I looked around at all of the faces, young and old, some magical humans, others were-animals and vampires, all of them full of gratitude and love. We may have lost everything material—our homes, our belongings, even our safe house—but we still had what mattered more than anything: our lives and our loved ones.
“Who am I to stop you?” I asked with a smile, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
So we ate, drank, and were merry with a Thanksgiving feast like no other spread out on the beach of Captiva Island. Blossom had worked so hard with the others on decorations that were now ashes. She didn’t get to bake the twelve cakes she’d had planned. Tristan and I didn’t get to spend hours in the kitchen together cooking up a storm like old times. But the food was delicious and the company extra special.
“Best Thanksgiving ever!” Dorian exclaimed at one point, and everyone lifted their glasses to toast their agreement.
Later that night, just before ducking into our tent for bed, Tristan whispered something to Owen. The warlock nodded and flicked his hand toward our tent, before calling Dorian over to him. He took our son and walked down the beach toward his own tent. I looked at Tristan and tilted my head with curiosity. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the tent. As soon as he zipped it closed, all of the sounds outside fell away.
“Owen muffled our tent?” I asked as excitement zinged through me.
Tristan gave me his most sublime grin. “Since today’s all about counting our blessings, I thought it only right to show what I’m most grateful for.”
“Oh, yeah?” I gave him a teasing smile. “And what is that?”
He yanked me closer to him and bent his head so his lips grazed my neck. “My wife,” he murmured, and in a flurry of movement, he had me undressed. “And her naked body.”
“Mmm ...” was all I could muster as his lips and hands explored, and my body immediately reacted. But before he brought me down on knocking knees, I tore off his clothes as quickly as he’d done mine. “And I’m thankful for this lickaliciousness.”
He pulled away and gave me a strange look. “This what?”
“Nothing,” I said with a giggle as I pulled him down on top of me. “Now show me how grateful you can be.”
And he did. And all night we shouted out our thanks as we counted multiple blessings together. It really was the best Thanksgiving ever.
About the Author
Kristie Cook is a lifelong, award-winning writer in various genres, from marketing communications to fantasy fiction. She continues to write the Soul Savers Series, a New Adult paranormal romance / contemporary fantasy, with Promise, Purpose, Devotion, Power, and the latest release, Wrath, book five, available now. She’s also written a companion novella, Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella, which details the compelling history of her Soul Savers mythology. Over 300,000 Soul Savers books have been sold, with Promise peaking at #54 on the Amazon Top 100 Paid list and at #1 in the Amazon Fantasy category.
The Space Between, consistently one of the top rated New Adult books on Amazon, kicks off her second New Adult paranormal series, The Book of Phoenix.
Besides writing, Kristie enjoys reading, cooking, traveling and riding on the back of a motorcycle. She has lived in ten states, but currently calls Southwest Florida home with her husband, three sons, a beagle, and a puggle.
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Want more by Kristie Cook?
— Soul Savers Series —
www.SoulSaversSeries.com
Promise
Purpose
Devotion
Power
Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella
Wrath
— The Book of Phoe
nix Series —
www.TheBookofPhoenix.com
The Space Between
Copyright © 2013 by Kristie Cook
All rights reserved.
Published by
Ang’dora Productions, LLC
15275 Collier Blvd
#201-300
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Ang’dora Productions and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Ang’dora Productions, LLC
Cover design by Brenda Pandos
Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the copyright owner.
Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and events are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-939859-04-4 (ePub)
First Edition November 2013
Coming very soon…
WONDER:
A Soul Savers Collection of Short Stories
Part 2 - Christmas
And if you haven’t yet read the main Soul Savers Series, book 1, Promise, is FREE. Tristan and Alexis are waiting for you...
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