by Alicia Rae
The severity of his statement penetrated my soul, and I knew he deserved my honesty before I could hold him to his declaration.
“Damien, I need you to understand something.”
His gaze searched mine. “Okay.”
I opened my mouth to speak, yet I couldn’t seem to make any words come out. My lower lip began to tremble, as did the rest of me. Fear was choking me.
“Raelyn…” Damien drawled, delicately caressing my face. “Nothing you tell me will change how I feel about you.”
A sob escaped as I knew my secret could change everything. I swallowed and asked him my deepest, darkest fear, “Will you still want to be with me even if you don’t get the chance to love me for very long?”
Those gray eyes of his briefly widened before they were flooded with an array of emotions, some reflecting my own.
I had to continue before I lost my voice, “The illness that made Nick pack his bags and break off our engagement was…well, I’d been diagnosed with a brain tumor. It was supposed to be incurable.”
His eyes filled with water. My hands automatically came to his face to offer him comfort.
“The odds had been stacked against me, yet I somehow beat them…until now. I need you to understand that you might not get forever with me.”
When a droplet slipped down his cheek and landed on my chest, he lowered his head and tore his gaze from mine. I skimmed my hands up his soft stubble to find his hair, giving him some time to pull his thoughts together.
“You might be wrong,” he said. “Your symptoms might be something different.”
“Yes, they might.”
“This changes nothing between us, Raelyn.” He looked me square in the eyes. “Not a damn thing.”
Right then and there, I wanted to tell him that I loved him, reverently and forever, however long that might be. But I held myself back. Even though I’d inadvertently admitted my feelings to him earlier while in the living room, it felt unfair to pledge my love to him until I knew where I stood with my health.
“You don’t have to say anything else.” He settled his body into me. “I’ll be strong enough for both of us. I’ll love you enough for both of us.”
Once again, he reached for my hands and set them on his shoulders. “Now, touch me, and kiss me, gorgeous girl of mine.” He smiled softly and nipped at my lips. “Because I’m going to make love to you.”
My hands lightly skimmed over the raised marks on his skin. I wanted to weep at how painful it must have been for him to endure such an unspeakable thing. But I didn’t. I wouldn’t let his past win, just like he wasn’t going to let my illness win.
He was going to fight for me, and me for him.
We were going to fight together, as one.
As we made love into the night—gently, passionately, ardently—I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring or where we would go from here. All I knew was, without a shadow of a doubt, I was where I belonged, wrapped in Damien’s arms.
Please join me for the continuation of
Raelyn & Damien’s story.
RELEASING NOVEMBER 19, 2015
ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS HERE
TATTOOED SCARS
“Don’t you see, Damien?” I cried. “All I want is to enjoy every second that I have left with you.” I swallowed thickly and dug deep within myself for the courage to finish as tears streamed down my face. “You are supposed to be my perfect ending, but I’m just your beginning.”
Damien’s gray eyes darkened beyond anything I’d ever seen before while filling with unmistakable heartache. “Don’t you ever fucking say that to me again, Raelyn.”
He stepped toward me and pulled me into his arms where he gently used his hand to force me to look up at him. “There is no ending for us.”
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read my book.
As with each of my stories, the couples weave their way into my heart and become a part of me. I hope you enjoyed Damien and Raelyn’s story and continue the rest of their journey with me.
For the most up-to-date information on releases, please sign up for my email list at www.aliciaraeauthor.com.
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Twitter @AliciaRaeAuthor
I have so many wonderful people to thank. Each person has truly been a blessing throughout this new chapter in my life.
First and foremost, I cannot express enough thanks to my remarkably talented editor, Jovana Shirley, at Unforeseen Editing. She was the first person I met when I started this journey of writing, and I’m forever grateful for her friendship, advice, and the endless late nights she shares with me while perfecting every single word of each of my novels. She takes my original manuscripts and makes them shine. Thank you for your continued dedication and hard work! Much love, lady!
To my family, who has always supported me with unconditional love, even during the times when I practically live in my writing cave—Thank you, and I love you all dearly. *Hugs & Kisses*
To Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations—Thank you for taking all the photographs and creating a work of art with all my covers. I am in awe of your extraordinary talent, and I absolutely love each and every cover.
To my dear husband, Travis—A special thanks for taking the time to read my manuscript at a moment’s notice, for giving me sincere words of affirmation when I needed them the most, and for always being my rock. You are my high school sweetheart who has made all my dreams come true. Love you, always. ♥
To Tammie Lee—Thank you for all your heartfelt thoughts and suggestions for my manuscripts, the way you always go above and beyond for me and my books, our late-night messaging filled with laughter, and most of all, for being such a dear friend. Many, many hugs.
To my dear friend across the pond, Felicity—Words can never express my thanks to you, not only for reading my novels and helping me perfect them, but also for being such an incredible friend to me. Our friendship has only blossomed with time. I’ll always cherish it. Your beautiful card sits proudly on my bookshelf, and I smile every time I see it.
To Elle—I just adore you, lady. You and I are kindred souls who share a love for the country to anything with wheels and a motor. I can picture us on our ATVs, doing burnouts and racing through open fields—all the while, not giving a damn that we have mud on our jeans or caked in our hair. Someday, we are going to meet, and I truly can’t wait to squeeze you.
To Athena—You are truly an amazing woman. It always brings a smile to my face when I see that I have a message from you. I adore our friendship and our shared love for writing, and I love your insight on my stories. You have a wonderful talent.
To my beta readers—Thank you for your countless hours of reading my novels and for giving me the push I need with your kind and encouraging words. You all help me perfect my work and make it the best it can be, and I’m extremely thankful to each of you.
To the many bloggers who put their hearts and precious time into reading and promoting my book—Many, many thanks to you all! Truly, I’m deeply humbled and grateful for all that you do for us authors and, even more importantly, for the many friendships I’ve made along the way.
To all the ladies at InkSlinger PR—Thank you for your guidance and hard work in organizing my blog tours, cover reveals, giveaways, and so much more. Without you, I never would have known what steps to take.
To all fellow authors who have become friends—Thank you for writing books where I can lose myself for hours and for inspiring me to write love stories of my own. You have all welcomed me with open arms, and I’m extremely thankful.
And especially to my readers—I can never thank you enough for reading my book. All your support means the world to me. ♥
Image Credit: Golden Czermak with FuriousFotog
Alicia Rae is a contemporary romance author who lives in Dekalb, Illinois, with her husband and
three beautiful boys. Alicia has a passion for reading all types of romance, writing to bring a story to life, and photography.