Tucking a loose curl behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her skin, Carson returned her smile. “You know when I think I realized what I felt for you was real? When I knew, no matter what, I couldn’t just let you go? When you tore off up that mountain with Ever. No fighting skills, no plan other than stopping St. Clair before he did any more damage. I knew from that moment there would never be a dull moment with you by my side.”
“That hardly seems an endorsement for a long life together.”
Carson shrugged. “Maybe not, but maybe it’s exactly what we both need. Besides, how could I pass up the chance to see what idiotic, amazing thing you do next?”
“Is that all you’re interested in?” She shrugged and huffed out a sigh. “I suppose I can take care of that. Next, I plan to—” Without warning, she reached up and pulled him toward her, pressing her lips to his, kissing him with a passion and freedom he’d never felt from her before.
He returned the kiss with vigor, only pulling away when a steam carriage rolling by brushed the back of his jacket. He tugged her closer to the fence around the cemetery. “Nice try, but you won’t get rid of me that easily.”
Henri’s laughter rang in the air, tickling his nerves. “Does that mean you’d like me to try again?”
“It means I’ll take whatever adventure you want to throw at me, for as long as you’re willing to keep me around.”
She nestled against him and let out a satisfied sigh. “And how long do you propose?”
With her in his arms, he thought of months and years and forever.
“I don’t know. Ask me again next time you try to kill me.”
“Now, Carson, I never tried to kill you.”
He smiled, content for the first time in as long as he could remember, and brushed his lips across hers. “Then I guess you’ll never need to ask again. I propose forever. How does that sound to you?”
“Like it can’t possibly be long enough.”
* * * * *
Discover how it all began in Seleste deLaney’s
Badlands, available now!
Badlands
After a brutal Civil War, America is a land divided. As commander of her nation’s border guards, Ever is a warrior sworn to protect her country and her queen. When an airship attacks and kills the monarch, Ever must infiltrate enemy territory to bring home the heir to the throne, and the dirigible Dark Hawk is her fastest way to the Union.
Captain Spencer Pierce just wants to pay off the debt he owes on the Dark Hawk and make a life for himself trading across the border. When the queen’s assassination puts the shipping routes at risk, he finds himself Ever’s reluctant ally.
As they fly into danger, Ever and Spencer must battle not only the enemy but also their growing attraction. She refuses to place her heart before duty, and he has always put the needs of his ship and crew above his own desires. Once the princess is rescued, perhaps they can find love in the Badlands—if death doesn’t find them first...
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About the Author
At a young age, Seleste discovered that the trick to not being afraid of the monsters under the bed was to turn them into heroes. Since that time, she’s seen more than enough of human monsters that she prefers to escape into worlds where even the demons have rules to play by and the good guys might end up battered and bruised (or dead) but they always win.
Currently residing in southwest Michigan with her husband, two kids and her fierce, attention-hungry slobber-monsters, she’s hard at work on her next book. And, in those rare moments when she’s not hunting vampires or rogue clockworks, she can be found online at www.selestedelaney.com or indulging in her addiction to Facebook and Twitter.
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ISBN: 978-14268-9541-8
Copyright © 2013 by Seleste deLaney
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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