“Still won’t talk about it,” she said. “I’m going to have to work on that.”
“First, you’re going to sit down.”
“So bossy.”
He got her settled and started for the door when she grabbed his hand. “Thank you for this life,” she whispered, her eyes lifted to him. “Thank you for the dream.”
He didn’t answer, well, not with words.
Cedar
I stood in the hallway and looked at the new photos on the wall: Killian and me on our wedding day, at the opening of Cupcake, with Liam at the tavern, the birth of Sage, a few with Brock, Sage on his shoulders, her godfather. He loved her, was so good with her. I thought Killian would have a problem with it, but he surprised me. I supposed I shouldn’t have been surprised because everything Killian did, he did for the love of his family.
There was a new wall I started. Pictures of Killian, the one I took outside the station that day, the one of him on his horse, another of him and Sage. There wasn’t enough wall space, but that didn’t stop me from taking his picture.
My hand rested on my belly as I walked to the nursery. My eyes burned every time I came in here. I’d never forget the look on Brock’s face when he saw it. Killian and Graham had fashioned our childhood, a fort, a tree because of my penchant for climbing them, there was even a turkey. Flowers were painted on the walls…he hadn’t just accepted Brock; he’d brought him into the family. Not that we saw Brock much. I wanted him closer, but his life was in New York. I hoped, one day, he’d move here, share at least part of the dream.
Walking into the living room, my heart swelled seeing Killian on the sofa, Sage pressed up against him holding Lucifer, the dogs on the floor, all of them sleeping. I leaned against the wall and stared my fill. It had been a long, difficult journey to get here; I’d lost so much, and, at times, life knocked me down so hard, I didn’t want to get back up. But it was always brighter after the storm, if you had the strength to weather it. I’d never have to weather it alone again, would never have to worry about Killian pushing me away or letting me go. He’d hold me closer, turning me away from the storm, because that’s who he was, that’s how he loved.
Blue eyes watched me from the sofa; his palm lifted in invitation. I crossed the room, took his hand, his closed tightly around mine. Those intense blue eyes burned with love. He knew what I was thinking, and he was comforting me in that quiet way of his, saying, without words, what I already knew, but never tired of hearing. Whatever happened, whatever came, we were in it together, because he would never let go.
Down in the valley, and in the woods, a turkey stepped into the clearing, looked around, pecked at a pebble he thought was a walnut, gobbled once then sank back into the cover of the trees.
Other titles by L.A. Fiore
Savage: The Awakening of Lizzie Danton
They call him a monster.
Pale blue eyes as cold as ice that see right through you.
He’s hard.
He’s damaged.
He’s dangerous.
He lives in a castle fit for a fairy tale, but he’s no prince.
He’s savage.
He’s brutal.
He’s a killer.
By an act of fate, our worlds collide.
They call him a monster, but he is my salvation.
The Gathering: The Ivy Blackwood Chronicles
Words like unnatural and impure started the whispers.
From the very beginning, Ivy Blackwood was different. She was only a child when she was accused of setting the fire, one she passively watched engulf the small house she had called home. Her fingertips burned and her hair singed. Some who watched her crossed themselves, convinced she was soulless for she showed no emotion at all. Calm and dispassionate, even when the screaming started that quickly turned to bellows of agony before dying into nothing but the roaring of the fire.
She was locked away where she couldn’t bring harm to herself or others. To all involved, they had protected the world from a monster, but sometimes things are not what they seem.
Elusive
I didn’t set out to be a pirate.
Life for me was about surviving the ugliness that people knew existed but didn’t talk about.
I lived in hell.
Then I saw her.
I knew I couldn’t keep her, but for just a little while I had found heaven.
Eight years later, I can’t get her out of my head.
It is a mistake sailing to her island.
It is a mistake reaching out to her.
She doesn’t recognize me. Or maybe she does.
Closure, it is all I’m after.
Then my past comes back to haunt me.
She’s thrust into my ruthless world. An angel.
A romantic who has a journal that leads to a shipwreck and a lost treasure.
She wants to find the ending to a love story that is over two hundred years in the making.
I want to help her find it.
I didn’t set out to be a pirate.
I didn’t set out to fall in love with an angel.
I did both anyway.
Devil You Know
Damian Tate. One look into his sad green eyes and I was hooked. I wanted to be the one to make him laugh, to make him smile. I hadn't expected him to be the one to make me blush, to make me hot...to make me fall in love. He was my first kiss, my first love, my first everything. I wanted forever with him, but life got in the way.
He enlisted, I went to college, and for years we were never in the same place long enough to pick up where we left off.
Thirteen years after he left, tragedy brings him home. The stoic boy I fell in love with grew into a quiet, dangerous and wildly sexy man. He still tugs on all the right strings for me, but he seems determined to keep me at arm's-length.
However, when trouble comes knocking at my door, he is the one to put himself between that trouble and me.
Spending time with him might drive me insane, or it might be our second chance at first love.