His chest heaves with an unholy gasp, and then another one. He must see his panicked eyes reflected in mine, because he tries to make his face look calm. For me. It’s for me. “Better with you,” he manages, and the next gasp sounds wrong. So very, very wrong.
“It’s not better to die with me. That’s not happening.” I try to smile and fall way short. “I won’t let it.”
A smile curves up the corner of his mouth. “I was better with you. You—” Leo’s starting to sound strangled. Like his lungs can’t move enough air. Like they’re filling up with blood. “You made me want to become a better man.”
The only sound in the room other than the crackle of the fire is the nightmare of Leo struggling to breathe.
“I love—” A cough cuts him off. A deep one. Wet. Blood at the corner of his mouth. I’m falling through the center of the earth and into a black void. I dab at that red stain with my sleeve and put a hand on Leo’s face. His eyes are unsteady on mine and then he looks past.
I shake him. I’m not proud of it. I shake his face a little, a desperate sob turning itself inside out in my chest. “Stay here.” His eyes come back to mine. “Stay with me. Please.”
Another cough. More blood. A wretched gasp, and he squeezes his eyes shut. They open again but it’s hard, I can tell it’s hard.
“Just hang on. Please, please, please. God, please.” I’ve never been much for prayer. Wouldn’t know what to say. But I’ll try anything. “Don’t go. I’m right here. I’m not leaving.”
There’s a high-pitched whine in the distance. Shrill. Pained. For a moment I think it’s an animal, a wild animal, but then it gets louder. Sirens. They’re coming.
Leo’s lips move, but no sound comes out. His thumb brushes over my cheek.
A thundering crash shatters the silence of the house, followed by men shouting. I take a huge breath and shout at the top of my lungs. “In here. In here, in here.” I can’t be more specific. I keep shouting. I won’t stop until they save him. They’re not going to be too late.
I look down at Leo’s perfect face. He’s watching me with the trusting confusion of a child.
One more gasp. It hurts to hear it. The footsteps come closer. “In here,” I shout again.
Leo’s hand falls. Drops, like he has no control over it anymore. The light in his eyes is going out, the fire dimming to embers. I try to gather up his arm. I try my best with my heart tearing, shredding, dying. “In here.” My voice breaks. I can’t modulate it. Can’t get it to work right. “Stay. Stay. Stay.” A chant. A plea. A prayer. Two men crowd into the doorway and push through, followed by two more. Panic forces my prayer into a jagged cry rising to a howl.
Leo’s eyes close.
The howl turns into raw grief.
And the grief becomes a scream.
Thank you for reading SECRET BEAST! We hope you loved Leo Morelli and Haley Constantine’s emotional love story. Find out what happens next in HIDDEN BEAUTY.
Haley Constantine traded her life for her father's safety. Now she's trapped in a castle with the Beast of Bishop's Landing.
Her own family wants her dead.
The only man who can save her is the one she can't trust.
Dangerous. Tortured. Furious. Leo Morelli wears a mask of cruelty to cover up a lifetime's worth of scars. He's been injured, but that only makes him fight harder. The entire city will feel his wrath. The only thing he cares about more than revenge is the woman he’s come to love.
One click HIDDEN BEAUTY now >
And you can read Ronan’s love story right now!
The flare of a cigarette and the handsome Irishman in the shadows–I wanted it all, but I wasn’t allowed to want. Ronan was danger and beauty, murder and mercy. To me, he was a mystery, but he was also the only man who ever knew me.
Read STOLEN HEARTS right now >
The warring Morelli and Constantine families have enough bad blood to fill an ocean, and their brand new stories will be told by your favorite dangerous romance authors. See what books are available now and sign up to get notified about new releases here…
Connect with Amelia
Amelia Wilde is a USA TODAY bestselling author of steamy contemporary romance and loves it a little too much. She lives in Michigan with her husband and daughters. She spends most of her time typing furiously on an iPad and appreciating the natural splendor of her home state from where she likes it best: inside.
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Copyright Information
Secret Beast
Dangerous Press
Amelia Wilde © 2021
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book only. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Dangerous Press LLC.
This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the authors’ imaginations, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For more books by Amelia Wilde, visit her online at www.awilderomance.com