Floored

by Paton, Ainslie

  “Where are we going?”

  “I told you I have it sorted. I want to…” He stopped deliberately.

  Her sunglass eyes shot up in the mirror. “Don’t even make a joke of it.”

  He laughed and that still hurt. He’d have to take it easy for a while yet. That’s what the holiday was for. Taking it easy and being together for the first time with no threats, no disguises, no lies and no travel agenda. “Too soon.”

  “Too awful. It will always be too awful.”

  He wanted Cait to get over this fear of him dying. A new job would help. He wasn’t sure what it would be, but no more undercover. If he had her to come home to he might be able to handle something less frontline without falling over from boredom. She needed a new job too. Something using her degree. She’d be earning more money than he would. That kind of hurt too, but it was something he could work on.

  “Sean, where are we going?”

  “Somewhere you’ll like. Belmont Street is only the first stop.”

  “How do you know what I’ll like?”

  “Because I asked you.”

  He had. All he’d been good for these last two weeks was talking, so they talked, about everything he wanted. To start again. To stay together. To win her trust. He was hoping he was going to be well enough for more strenuous activity than holding hands and falling into each other’s eyes now. He knew he’d never forget to ask and to listen again. He’d almost lost her because he’d failed to consider what she wanted, how she felt, and tried to impose his own thinking on her. He knew he’d never do that again because his body simply wouldn’t be able to stand the level of terror and pain that’d ripped through him when he’d got back to the empty house and realised she was gone.

  He didn’t ever need anyone to give him a definition of insanity, because he’d lived it. In that first hour before he’d been able to get hold of Stud. In the time it took him to figure out where Wacker might take Cait, he’d died a thousand times, by a hundred cuts of pride and arrogance.

  Being still had been impossible. Speaking without shouting untenable. He had trouble breathing, focusing, controlling the panic from whiting out his eyes. All of his senses were full of missing her, false clues and distracting images that stopped him thinking clearly. He smelled her citrus skin, so strongly, for a second he thought she’d come back. He’d gone to the bedroom to look for her. He’d stood in the doorway and his hands shook with the knowledge he might’ve held her alive for the last time, while in his ears he heard her agonised voice, over and over. “Please don’t make me choose. Please don’t make me choose”.

  He was no more capable of waiting for Stud’s team to get to Milo Newberry’s Walton Street house than he was of judging the danger, the stupidity of going John McClane on a situation he had no intelligence on. Insanity was the only excuse he had for abandoning everything he knew about policing, about gangs and violent crime and putting himself so far over the line it’d confused the gang with the sheer dumb randomness of it.

  The only reason he wasn’t dead was his non-plan was so moronic Wacker suspected it was a trick, and Grumble was better with his fists than a shooter. That, and Stud had trusted his instinct and focused all his resources on Sean’s hunch.

  “You’re not going to tell me where we’re going, are you?”

  “You already know.”

  “You told me to pack for summer. That’s a pretty broad clue.”

  “I told you to buy a blue bikini. That should’ve narrowed it down.”

  She laughed. “Since when do I do what you tell me?”

  He sat forward so he could touch her shoulder. “Since you like how it turns out, say in the bath, or…”

  “Okay, okay. I’m driving. I’ve got the point. Don’t distract the driver with very hot thoughts. I’ll agree sometimes it makes sense to listen to your superior knowledge about things like baths and beach fashion.”

  He stroked a finger up her cheek. “Only sometimes?”

  “Hey, that’s better than almost never.”

  It was better. It was perfect. He sat back.

  “So, where are we going?”

  He sighed. “Nag, nag, nag. Is this what life with you is going to be like?”

  “Would you rather I lie to you? Keep my thoughts to myself?”

  He shifted forward and spoke in her ear. “No. Never.” It came out sounding low and serious, not the mocking tone he’d used earlier. He softened it by kissing her cheek. “You’re in big trouble if you ever do that again.”

  She laughed. “Nag, nag, nag. Now sit back before you end up in the front seat by accident.”

  He sat back. “You’re going to drive me crazy.”

  “But you love it.”

  He did. He loved everything about it. Everything about her. Maybe too much. A lot of stuff he worried about felt insignificant when he was with her. She gave him clarity. He didn’t want that ever to wear off, but he knew he was at risk of smothering her. She didn’t need smothering. She needed support. Big wide highway of difference there.

  “We’re here. Pull over in front of that white house.”

  She eased the Statesman to the kerb and shut it down. “Where is here?”

  He leaned forward between the seats again. “This is where I grew up.”

  She looked at the house. “This is where your dad took Blue till we find somewhere to live.”

  “Yep. I want you to meet Mum.”

  “I liked your dad.” Cait swivelled around so she could look at him. “You’re so like him. But I think I’m scared of your mum. I still don’t understand why she wouldn’t visit you in hospital.”

  “Hold on to that fear, you might need it.”

  “Sean.”

  He shrugged. “I’m just saying she might kiss me, but she might hit me with something instead. She wouldn’t come because she’s furious at me for my Rambo stunt.”

  “Now you know why I’m scared. Won’t she blame me?”

  He squeezed her shoulder. “She’ll love you.”

  “Why would she? I almost got her son killed. More than once.”

  “Because I do.” He leaned further forward again and felt his wounded ribs protest. He kissed her cheek.

  “Easy as that?”

  She wasn’t convinced. He’d known for days how nervous she was about meeting his family. Worried she wouldn’t fit in with the noise and the invasive, impolite, in your face nature of it. “That’s how it works.”

  She looked at the house as though it might grow wheels and run her down. “I don’t get your family.”

  “You will because I want them to be your family as well.”

  “I’m a bit old to be adopted, don’t you think?”

  He wanted her to think about that, and he wanted to be next to her when she got it. He opened the back door and got out; opened the front passenger door and got in. She’d taken her sunglasses off. She looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Oh.”

  She wasn’t quite there. He grinned and her mouth dropped open. “Oh.”

  Now she got it. He went for her hand. She pulled it away. “If that’s some kind of lame-arse proposal you can forget it.”

  He kept smiling at her. She was really cute when she got cranky. Got to him every time. Christ, he hoped he was fit enough for more than hand holding and lip locking.

  “You want me to forget it. You really want me to forget it?”

  She blew out her cheeks in frustration. “At least until you tell me where we’re going after this.”

  He leaned across the console and took her face in his hand. He ignored the way his side pained and kissed her lips gently. “This is where we’re going.” He pushed his hand into her hair and pressed his fingertips gently against her skull, the pistol whip wound healed now. “And this.” He kissed her again, taking it deeper, pulled back to murmur, “And this,” before he made the kiss wet and she whimpered into his mouth. That almost derailed him entirely. He’d had a plan and this was it, but it was supposed to have
a soundtrack with actual spoken words in it. He pulled himself together enough to take her hand and put it over his heart. “We’ll always be here,” then move their joined hands to her heart. “And here.” She sighed and he caught it on his tongue before he went on. “When it’s good, when it’s bad, when it’s forty-four flavours in between. You’re going to love me when I forget to be considerate, and I’m going to love you when you forget to trust me and that’s for always.”

  If her smile was any broader, her eyes any bigger, she’d make him forget about the family visit and shift straight to an attempted booty call. He swallowed over the lump in his throat. “But right now we’re going in that door to Mum and Dad and my sisters, assorted brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews.”

  “That’s a lot of family.”

  “You’ll get used to them.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then we get back in the car and we drive off into the sunset.”

  She smacked his arm. “You’re really not going to tell me.”

  “I’m going to tell you it involves a long stay airport car park, a short flight and a small beach resort, where you’ll be needing that bikini,” he quirked his head, “or not. After that, it’ll involve a new place to live and new jobs. Where we’re going, Cait, is to a life together.” He sat back and looked at her gorgeous face. “Think you can you handle that?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe!” What! His whole body reacted to that. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph! I put my beating, second chance heart in your hands and you say maybe.” She was biting her lip. “Ah, you don’t mean that?”

  “Don’t tell me what I mean.”

  He frowned. This was not how the plan was supposed to go. He wasn’t sure if she was serious or not. Then he got it. “Caitlyn Mary Ann Murphy, I have a question for you.”

  She was trying hard not to smile.

  “It’s a simple one. A straight yes or no answer will do it.”

  She gave up the trying and she lit up. His heart did a double thump his doctor might not have liked. “I want you to marry me.” There, that was less lame arse and if it didn’t work he’d have to think of another way round it, because there was not going to be a dead end to this, only beginnings, familiar patterns and fantastic detours.

  “I think I’d like that.”

  He leaned forward, kissing distance. Triple heart thump distance. Tailgating distance. “So will you?”

  She brushed his nose with hers. “I’m glad you finished that sentence.”

  “Jesus, you’re such a freaking tease.”

  “Yes.”

  He could kiss her again. Could ask her to turn the engine on and find a hotel to chill out in for a few hours before the flight. But if he did that it wouldn’t be a hairbrush Mum’d hit him with. “Yes what?”

  “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

  He pulled her over the console into his lap and bugger the fact he had to grit his teeth. He ground out a, “Thank Christ.”

  She wound her arms around his neck. She was glassy-eyed and beautiful. His woman. His life. No more undercover. No more running or hiding for either of them. Only a wide smooth road of truth with a white line of honesty, a lovingly handmade map and the freedom to drive wherever they wanted to next.

  He was utterly, completely, compellingly and forever, floored. And the very best thing — so was she.

  We love feedback! Loved it or hated it, we’d love to read your thoughts about any of our titles; and in return we’ll give you a steamy FREE eNovella.

  All you need to do is leave a link to your review on Amazon, Goodreads, BookLikes, or any review site where you like to talk about books by clicking the image above.

  www.escapepublishing.com.au

  BESTSELLING TITLES BY ESCAPE PUBLISHING…

  Detained

  Ainslie Paton

  From one of Australia’s hottest new authors comes a story about an international scandal, a billionaire, and a fearless reporter who might just save the day…

  Confined in a cold, dull room in the depths of a Shanghai airport, a journalist chasing a career break and a businessman with a shadowy past play a game of truth or dare — deliberately not exchanging names.

  They tell each other their most painful secrets and burning desires. One dare leads to a kiss and a wild night of illicit passion, setting off a dangerous sequence of events, bringing exposure and disgrace.

  Only the brutal truth can save them. But it will also rip them apart. And it will take more than daring before they can build a new truth together.

  Find out more at Amazon.com.au

  Or Amazon.com

  Lingerie for Felons

  Ros Baxter

  If there’s one universal truth, it’s this: You’re always wearing your worst underwear when you land in trouble.

  Lola’s parents told her that everyone can make a difference. And she believed them. She’s been fighting the good fights since she was eleven years old. But at 23, Lola falls hard for an Australian stockbroker who thinks Doctors Without Borders is a porno and Joni Mitchell sounds like a harp seal being battered to death. She cuts him loose, but over the next fifteen years, through protests, misunderstandings, humiliating predicaments, and a number of poor underwear choices, their lives and paths continue to converge.

  Along the way, Lola learns a few important life lessons: Never wear a red lace thong to a strip search. Make sure you take motion sickness pills if you’re going to the Southern Ocean to save the whales. And sometimes, Mr Right can be all wrong, and Mr Wrong just needs time to find the right path.

  Funny, touching, emotional and political, Lingerie for Felons is Bridget Jones meets An Inconvenient Truth, about doing the right thing, finding the right person, and always thinking through your underwear choices.

  Find out more at Amazon.com.au

  Or Amazon.com

  Carrier

  Vanessa Garden

  For fans of The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games comes a YA novel about freedom, choice and family — and the terrifying disease that makes them mutually exclusive.

  From the day she was born, Lena has viewed the world through the jagged window of a razor-wired fence. The hundred-acre property she shares with her mother in the Australian outback may keep her safe from the Y-Carrier disease, but it is no longer enough to hold Lena’s interest, and her mother’s increasingly tight grip on her free will is stifling.

  Just as her curiosity blooms and her courage rises, she meets a boy through the fence — the first boy she has ever laid eyes on. His name is Patrick and he comes with a dangerous yet irresistible invitation of adventure beyond the fence, an invitation to which Lena cannot say no.

  But Lena’s newfound freedom is short-lived and she soon discovers that the Y-Carrier disease is not the only enemy she faces on the outside. Her new enemies want something Lena has, and they are willing to do anything to get it…

  Find out more at Amazon.com.au

  Or Amazon.com

  Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

  Sign up to our newsletter

  Share your reading experience on:

  The Escapades Blog

  Facebook

  Twitter

  Watch our reviews, author interviews and more on Escape Publishing TV

  ISBN: 9780857991492

  Title: Floored

  Copyright © 2014 by Ainslie Paton

  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 (Australia) Limited, Level 4/132 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2060. />
  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.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited and are used under license to the Publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in Australia, New Zealand, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

  www.escapepublishing.com.au