by K. M. Scott
Ian kisses me again and in a voice full of pain says, “Please look at me, Kristina. Show me you still love me like I love you.”
“I can’t,” I sob, wishing more than anything I didn’t look like I do. “I can’t bear to see your reaction knowing you loved how I looked.”
The bed moves as he rolls away from me, and I sense he’s finally given up. I don’t blame him. Some things are just too much to overcome. But then just as I think he’s about to leave, he sits down next to me on the side my scars are on and out of the corner of my eye I see him lift his left coat sleeve to show me his arm.
“Do you know that even though I lost the use of my arm in that accident, my biggest fear as I drove up here was that you didn’t want me anymore because I’m always going to be a recovering addict?”
I hear in his words the truth he always lives with, and I can’t let him think that. Turning to face him with my scarred cheek still covered by my hair, I say, “I loved you knowing who you were all along. You never lied to me about that, so I had no reason to not want you. But this isn’t the same, Ian.”
“I don’t know what to say to make you understand I don’t care what your outside looks like. What kind of writer am I who can’t find the words to convince the woman I love to believe me?”
“You’re a wonderful writer. Don’t say that.”
“I can’t be that wonderful if I can’t even tell you what you need to hear to trust me.”
He deserves better than to think he’s lacking because I am, so I muster all the courage I have inside me and slowly sit up next to him. I hang my head so my hair covers my ugliness, but his fingers gently tuck it behind my ear so my scars and everything I am now is on full display. Squeezing my eyes shut, I close them tightly to avoid the look in his eyes as he sees me for the first time.
“Look at me, please. Please, Kristina.”
I shake my head and whisper, “No. I can’t face you like this.”
“Please, Kristina.”
I can’t say no, even though I wish I could, and I finally face the fear that’s haunted me from the first time I saw myself after the accident. Slowly, I open my eyes to see him staring at me with that same look of love in his dark eyes that’s always made me feel so adored and wanted.
With his fingertip, he caresses my cheek, touching each of my scars as he looks into my eyes. “I missed you so much, my beautiful Kristina. Please don’t make me live without you anymore. Come home so we can begin the life we planned.”
“I can’t be an actress anymore because of how I look. What am I going to do with my life now?”
Ian leans over and kisses my damaged cheek. “I know an author who desperately needs someone to help him write. How does co-author sound?”
“Co-author? On what?”
“Silk and Steel, our story. We lived it, so you might as well get the credit too. We’ll write it together.” He lifts his left arm and smiles. “Of course, you’ll have to do the typing since I’m pretty slow these days.”
“Me, a co-author? I’m not a writer, Ian.”
His mouth turns down into a frown. “Come with me anyway. Please. Don’t give up on us now.”
I think about all we’ve been through and look into his eyes still so full of love for me, even though I’m not the woman he fell in love with, and I can’t say no to him. Cradling his face, I say the truest words I’ve spoken in months. “I don’t want to give up on us, Ian. I want to go home.”
His smile lights up his whole face, and he takes me into his arms. “I promise you won’t regret this, Kristina. I love you.”
I feel his heartbeat against my cheek and for the first time in months, I feel like I’m already home again.
Ian practically levitates off the couch with excitement next to me as the credits roll on the HBO production of Silk. I know he’s dying to hear my opinion on it, but to tease him I pretend to have to consider the answer to his question how I liked the film.
“Well? What did you think?”
“I can see why you kept it from me even when they gave you a copy to preview,” I say as I turn to face him.
He’s unable to keep his disappointment hidden. Crestfallen, he mumbles, “You didn’t like it?”
I’ve tortured him enough, so I smile and throw my arms around him. “I love it! I wasn’t sure how I’d feel since I always wanted to play the part of Kate, but it’s wonderful, Ian.”
He backs away from me and smiles from ear to ear. “I knew you’d love it. The parts the screenwriter added fit so well I can’t say I’d have done better if I did it myself. I’m so happy you loved it as much as I do. They really brought Kate and Sean to life.”
It’s been three long years since I convinced him that the film should be made even though I couldn’t play the role of Kate. We’ve grown stronger since the accident, and although his left arm still doesn’t work and my scars are still visible in certain light even after my plastic surgery, we’re as much in love as we’ve ever been. We still love completely and madly, and when we fight, it’s with the same passion as we love. I adore him as much as he adores me, but those two damaged souls we were when we met are still inside us, demons lying in wait for a time when we’re weak and they can strike again.
But after what we’ve been through, we’re both strong. Him for me and me for him. So those addictions and obsessions that are so much a part of each of us no longer rule our life together.
Cradling his face, I kiss his lips and smile. “I don’t care what critics think or anyone else. I love it because it’s the story of us. And I know that it’s not just our story anymore, but in my heart it will always be just you and me, Ian.”
As he takes me into his arms and holds me close, he corrects me about Silk as he always has. “It was you, Kristina. Always you.”
Read other books by Author
K.M. Scott writes contemporary romance stories of sexy, intense, and unforgettable love. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she’s been in love with romance since reading her first romance novel in junior high (she was a very curious girl!). She lives in Pennsylvania with her teenage son and a herd of animals and when she’s not writing can be found reading or feeding her TV addiction.
Be sure to visit K.M.’s Facebook page for all the latest on her books, along with giveaways and other goodies! And to hear about Advanced Review Copy opportunities and all the news on K.M. Scott books first, sign up for her newsletter today!
Books by K.M. Scott
Heart of Stone Series
Crash Into Me (Heart of Stone #1)
Fall Into Me (Heart of Stone #2)
Give In To Me (Heart of Stone #3)
The Heart of Stone Trilogy Box Set
Ever After (A Heart of Stone Novella)
A Heart of Stone Christmas
Club X Series
Temptation (Club X #1)
Surrender (Club X #2)
Possession (Club X #3)
Satisfaction (Club X #4) COMING SOON
Silk Series
Silk (Volume One)
Silk (Volume Two)
Silk (Volume Three)
Silk (Volume Four)
**Add them to your Goodreads shelf today!**
Love sexy paranormal romance? K.M. writes under the name Gabrielle Bisset too! Visit Gabrielle’s Facebook page and her website to find out about her books.
Books by Gabrielle Bisset:
Vampire Dreams Revamped (A Sons of Navarus Prequel)
Blood Avenged (Sons of Navarus #1)
Blood Betrayed (Sons of Navarus #2)
Longing (A Sons of Navarus Short Story)
Blood Spirit (Sons of Navarus #3)
The Deepest Cut (A Sons of Navarus Short Story)
Blood Prophecy (Sons of Navarus #4)
Blood & Dreams Sons of Navarus Box Set
Love’s Master
Masquerade
The Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy
SILK Volume Four is a work of fiction. Names, charac
ters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
2015 Copper Key Media, LLC
Copyright © 2015 Copper Key Media, LLC
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Published in the United States
ISBN-10: 1-941594-16-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-941594-16-2
Cover Design: Cover Me, Darling
Cover Photo: Taria Reed/The Reed Files
Interior designed and formatted by:
www.emtippettsbookdesigns.com
Adult Content: Contains graphic sexual content
Table of Contents
Title Page
Books by Author
About Silk
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About the Author
Copyright Notice