by J. K. Coi
Graham turned to Lillian and Hartman. “You will always have a home here if you need one,” he assured them.
Lillian thanked him, and they left to begin preparations for departure.
As soon as they were out of sight, Graham took Anna in his arms. “That was close. I don’t ever want to come that close to losing you again.”
“You’ll never have to.”
He retreated and smoothed the loose strands of her hair back from her forehead. When she looked up, he drew in a deep breath but it was time to tell her the truth. “You might change your mind about that,” he said. “When I told you before that I wasn’t the same—”
“You don’t have to tell me this now.”
“Yes I do,” he insisted. “I didn’t want to admit my weakness to you earlier, but you have to know, and afterward I promise that I won’t try to make you stay.”
“What could be so bad that I wouldn’t want to be with you? I love you, Graham. You have to know that by now.”
“Don’t say that. You have no idea the horrible things I’ve done. Things that follow me into my dreams. It’s gotten so that I don’t sleep at all anymore because I close my eyes and relive it all over and over again. And the thing is…I’m afraid I might never get over that. The night terrors and cold sweats alone would drive you away. That’s no way to treat the woman that I love.”
“After what we survived tonight, there’s nothing we can’t weather together.” She flattened her palm over his pounding heart. “You and I will chase those nightmares away. But if it turns out we still can’t sleep…well, I think we’ll just have to find another way to spend our nights, don’t you?”
At her smile, he groaned and tugged her right off her feet into his arms.
It was to be a soft kiss, but at the touch of her mouth on his and the feel of her curvy body against him, it too quickly went from sweet to explosive. They were both swept up in a fiery passion that dared him to try throwing it away. He couldn’t. In fact, he looked forward to exploring just how deep and strong their passion would grow in the many years to come.
They broke apart with heaving chests and hurried breaths. Graham took a heavy step away from her. She blinked and tugged her bottom lip between her teeth.
He shook his head. “We must get you back home. It won’t do to let your father know you haven’t been tucked safely in your bed all night—if he isn’t already on his way over here with a pitchfork, looking to take my head off.”
“You’re probably right. But first there is something we must do.”
Graham stood looking across the gently rolling hills of his lands at the horizon, where the early morning sky glowed pink and yellow with the rising sun.
He took Anna’s hand before turning his attention to the newly polished marble stone. It had been placed beside another, darker stone. His mother and his father.
“They would both be very proud of you,” Anna whispered. “They would want you to be happy, and not let the darkness of your past put a shadow on your future.”
“When I returned home, I was afraid the war had changed me too much, that you wouldn’t be able to accept me.” He squeezed her hand. “But you helped me realize something.”
“Yes?”
He smiled, turning to face her. “With all the craziness in the world, I would be crazy myself if I allowed my fear to get the better of me and let you slip away without a fight.”
“And I wouldn’t have let you escape me that easily,” she promised. “I fear we’ll be stuck with each other for the rest of our lives.”
“And beyond?”
She laughed and threw her arms around him. “Perhaps.”
About J.K. Coi
J.K. Coi is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She makes her home in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and son and a feisty black cat who is the uncontested head of the household. While she spends her days immersed in the litigious world of insurance law, she is very happy to spend her nights writing dark and sexy characters who leap off the page and into readers’ hearts.
J.K. welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Tell Us What You Think
We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email the author directly or you can email us at [email protected] (when contacting Customer Service, be sure to state the book title and author).
Also by J.K.Coi
Brazen Games
Howling Sacrifices
Immortal Duty
Iron Seduction
The Morning After
Print books by J.K. Coi
Don’t Ask, Never Tell anthology
Watching it All anthology
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Warm Bodies
ISBN 9781419944482
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Warm Bodies Copyright © 2013 J.K. Coi
Edited by Raelene Gorlinsky
Cover design by Syneca
Photos: Chaoss and Ronald Sumner/Shutterstock.com
Electronic book publication January 2013
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book.
The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume any responsibility for, author or third-party Web sites or their content.
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com to find erotic reading experiences that will leave you breathless. You can also find our books at all the major e-tailers (Barnes & Noble, Amazon Kindle, Sony, Kobo, Google, Apple iBookstore, All Romance eBooks, and others).
www.ellorascave.com