Haunted, page 19
“You called my name, then I saw the light from the stairwell.” He groaned before adding, “The orange light. Looked like the fires of hell were burning down here.”
He’d seen it, too, and heard her mother. “David, that wasn’t hell…”
He sighed. “That’s where I’d be if I lost you.” His arms tightened around her. “Ariel, I love you. I’d die before I’d let anyone hurt you.” And he almost had.
“I know,” she said, hoping he believed her. Knowing, as a grin spread across his face, that he did. “I love you, too, so much.”
“Then show me,” he challenged her with a wicked grin.
“You’re hurt,” she reminded him.
“So be gentle with me.”
“David—”
His lips silenced her admonishment as they closed over hers in a deep kiss. His fingers, surprisingly nimble despite his wound, plucked at the knot tying her shirt closed.
She pulled back. “David, I can’t believe what you did for me, how you put yourself at risk, joining that cult.”
“I love you,” he said simply, as if that explained his willingness to die for her.
Finally she understood real love and total acceptance. She would never doubt him again. “I’d do anything for you, too, David,” she promised.
His wicked grin stole over his mouth. “Then make love to me.”
She kissed him, first gently, just softly pressing her lips to his. Then she deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue into his mouth, enticing and teasing him until he groaned.
Out of concern, she stiffened and drew back. “Your arm?”
“What arm?” he scoffed.
“You’re not hurting?” she asked, eyes narrowed as she studied his handsome face for any flicker of pain.
“Just with wanting you. I need you, Ariel.” Then he grimaced as he added, “But…”
He was hurting.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re going to have to do all the work.”
A smile teased across her lips as she intended to tease him. The heady rush of power triggered the rapid rate of her pulse, heating her blood and fueling her passion. She shrugged his good arm off her shoulders and stood up.
“Ariel…”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised him as she slowly slid the straps of her black satin bra down her arms. Then she undid the clasp between her breasts, letting it fall away.
David groaned. But she knew his physical hurt had nothing to do with his injury. He shifted against the bed and reached for her.
Ariel stepped back, out of the circle of his arms. Turning around, she presented him with her bare back as she shimmied out of her torn skirt. She wiggled her hips once, twice, until the gauzy fabric slowly slid down over her hips and legs, pooling at her feet. She took her time with her panties, hooking a finger in the lace at her hip. With a peek over her shoulder at David’s face, his dark eyes hot as he raptly studied her, she slowly pulled the satin down the length of her legs.
“Ariel, you’re ki—you’re—”
David, speechless—that was an unusual state for him. But then, so was this—her in control and him the one on the bed helpless with desire. His face flushed, a muscle ticking in his cheek. “Damn it, come here,” he growled at her.
She turned to face him and shook her head, her silky hair sliding back and forth across her breasts in an inadvertent caress. She bit her lip, then reached up and cupped her breasts, as if holding them up for his inspection.
He kicked back the sheet as if to stand, but she pushed him down, her hands firm on his shoulders. “Not so fast,” she warned him. But he caught her around the waist with one arm, lifting her enough that he was able to close his lips around a nipple.
Ariel moaned as passion spread from her breast to pool between her legs. She reached for him, her hand gliding over his silk boxers to the hard ridge of his erection. As he’d once tortured her with the sheets, she slid her hand up and down, using the silk for delicious friction as she pumped him.
“Ariel.” He groaned. “I want you! Now!”
Even weakened by blood loss, the man was commanding. Powerful. Ariel pushed his boxers down, then she mounted him, taking him deep within her, closing her muscles around him as she’d closed her hand.
She bit her lip as her passion ignited even more, burning hotly inside her. She rocked her hips, then rode him up and down. He held one hip, helping her frenzied pace. Then he lifted up and bent his neck forward until his mouth closed around her nipple again, tugging at one, then the other, pulling orgasms from her body as she shuddered against him.
He stiffened and shouted out her name. “Ariel! I love you!”
Ariel laid her head against David’s chest, damp with perspiration. God, the man was passionate. No matter how long they had together, she’d never tire of him, never want him any less than she did now. And she’d only love him more. She turned the diamond on her finger.
“I’ve made up my mind,” she told him.
“About what?” he asked, his chest moving up and down as he struggled to regain his breath.
“Your question,” she reminded him. “I have an answer for you if you still want one.”
He closed his eyes as if overcome with emotion. “I want one. I want you. Forever.”
“So let’s set a date,” she said.
“Really?” he asked, his eyes bright with hope.
“Oh, so you just gave me the ring to shut me up,” she teased as she snuggled against his chest. “To stop me from nagging you for a commitment.”
He laughed, his chest rising and falling beneath her cheek. “Yeah, you’re such a nag.”
“You were warned,” she said with no sympathy. “That’s why I want to set a date—so you don’t change your mind and back out.”
“Never.” He reached across her, grimacing as the bandage on his arm moved. “Hand me the phone.”
“For what?”
“I’m going to speed-dial a judge, get him over here to marry us pronto.”
“You’re not getting out of it that cheap,” she said, clicking her tongue in mock disgust. “I want a wedding. A big one. And I want all my family there.”
David sighed. “Ariel, I want to promise you that you’ll have that. But…”
She pressed her fingers against his lips again. “Shh…you don’t have to promise me anything…but to love me forever.”
He grinned. “Done.”
“So let’s set a date.”
He nodded even though skepticism darkened his eyes. “You decide. I’ll be there.”
“You better be,” she threatened, her heart lurching at the thought that he almost hadn’t been—if the knife had cut a little deeper, if she’d shot the wrong man. But her mother had guided her and the charm had made her strong. Trusting them, trusting herself, had been the right thing to do.
“I wouldn’t miss the first day of the rest of our lives for anything,” he promised.
She settled back in his arms, content. “This is the first day,” she said. “The wedding is just the party to share the commitment with our friends and family.”
“I am committed to you, Ariel,” he vowed. “To our love. To the life we’ll build together.”
Ariel nodded. “Me, too.”
And they would have a life. She was sure of it. She felt safe, not just in David’s arms but with the orange glow shining under the bedroom door.
She realized now that her mother had been watching over her for her whole life. As she’d brought David to Ariel’s rescue, she would keep them safe.
For the first time in her life, Ariel had no doubts—about David and his love, about who and what she was…or about the future they would build together.
She trusted that she would be reunited with both her sisters and that the killer would be caught before he killed again.
Epilogue
With shaking hands, he gripped the pewter trifold frame. Through eyes blurred with pain and rage, he stared at the redheaded girl in the middle. She had been the easiest to find but the hardest to kill. She was stronger than she looked and far more powerful.
His head throbbed, the pain hammering at his temples in rhythm with his rapid heartbeat. He’d been so close. He’d had the noose wrapped tight around her throat. She’d nearly breathed her last. But for him, the man trapped under her spell, so bewitched that he would lay down his life for hers. God, she was a witch!
His shoulder throbbed, burning with pain from the bullet she’d put in him. He had connections, though, knew a doctor who asked no questions. The bullet wound wouldn’t kill him, but she might. He had to be stronger before he took her on again. For now, he’d leave her alone.
He dropped the frame on his desk, fumbled open the bottom drawer and reached for his flask. After twisting off the cap, he sucked down a fiery swallow.
He’d wait to kill her…after he’d killed her sisters. Then she’d be weaker. And he would be stronger. He needed their combined powers to do what modern medicine could not—to stop the inoperable tumor growing inside his head. Before it killed him.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. In his head, the witches danced. The hoods of their robes covering their faces and all but the bright red of their smiling mouths, they moved in and out of the flames that threatened to consume him.
But that wouldn’t happen. He would kill them first. Fighting against the pain, he opened one eye and glanced down at the picture frame. His gaze fell upon the blond girl. He’d seen the very same face, framed by pale hair, just recently. The daughter looked exactly as her mother had twenty years ago. But no one would ever know if she would continue to look like her as she aged because the child would grow no older.
She would die. Soon.
ISBN: 978-1-55254-759-5
HAUNTED
Copyright © 2006 by Lisa Childs-Theeuwes
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
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.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Visit Silhouette Books at www.eHarlequin.com
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If you enjoyed the eBook you just read, then you’ll love what we have for you next month!
ON SALE IN JANUARY 2007
SHADOW HUNTER by Linda Conrad, Silhouette Intimate Moments
DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK by Harper Allen, Silhouette Bombshell
BLOOD SON by Erica Orloff, Silhouette Nocturne
CRY OF THE WOLF by Karen Whiddon, Silhouette Nocturne
Lisa Childs, Haunted
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He’d seen it, too, and heard her mother. “David, that wasn’t hell…”
He sighed. “That’s where I’d be if I lost you.” His arms tightened around her. “Ariel, I love you. I’d die before I’d let anyone hurt you.” And he almost had.
“I know,” she said, hoping he believed her. Knowing, as a grin spread across his face, that he did. “I love you, too, so much.”
“Then show me,” he challenged her with a wicked grin.
“You’re hurt,” she reminded him.
“So be gentle with me.”
“David—”
His lips silenced her admonishment as they closed over hers in a deep kiss. His fingers, surprisingly nimble despite his wound, plucked at the knot tying her shirt closed.
She pulled back. “David, I can’t believe what you did for me, how you put yourself at risk, joining that cult.”
“I love you,” he said simply, as if that explained his willingness to die for her.
Finally she understood real love and total acceptance. She would never doubt him again. “I’d do anything for you, too, David,” she promised.
His wicked grin stole over his mouth. “Then make love to me.”
She kissed him, first gently, just softly pressing her lips to his. Then she deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue into his mouth, enticing and teasing him until he groaned.
Out of concern, she stiffened and drew back. “Your arm?”
“What arm?” he scoffed.
“You’re not hurting?” she asked, eyes narrowed as she studied his handsome face for any flicker of pain.
“Just with wanting you. I need you, Ariel.” Then he grimaced as he added, “But…”
He was hurting.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re going to have to do all the work.”
A smile teased across her lips as she intended to tease him. The heady rush of power triggered the rapid rate of her pulse, heating her blood and fueling her passion. She shrugged his good arm off her shoulders and stood up.
“Ariel…”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised him as she slowly slid the straps of her black satin bra down her arms. Then she undid the clasp between her breasts, letting it fall away.
David groaned. But she knew his physical hurt had nothing to do with his injury. He shifted against the bed and reached for her.
Ariel stepped back, out of the circle of his arms. Turning around, she presented him with her bare back as she shimmied out of her torn skirt. She wiggled her hips once, twice, until the gauzy fabric slowly slid down over her hips and legs, pooling at her feet. She took her time with her panties, hooking a finger in the lace at her hip. With a peek over her shoulder at David’s face, his dark eyes hot as he raptly studied her, she slowly pulled the satin down the length of her legs.
“Ariel, you’re ki—you’re—”
David, speechless—that was an unusual state for him. But then, so was this—her in control and him the one on the bed helpless with desire. His face flushed, a muscle ticking in his cheek. “Damn it, come here,” he growled at her.
She turned to face him and shook her head, her silky hair sliding back and forth across her breasts in an inadvertent caress. She bit her lip, then reached up and cupped her breasts, as if holding them up for his inspection.
He kicked back the sheet as if to stand, but she pushed him down, her hands firm on his shoulders. “Not so fast,” she warned him. But he caught her around the waist with one arm, lifting her enough that he was able to close his lips around a nipple.
Ariel moaned as passion spread from her breast to pool between her legs. She reached for him, her hand gliding over his silk boxers to the hard ridge of his erection. As he’d once tortured her with the sheets, she slid her hand up and down, using the silk for delicious friction as she pumped him.
“Ariel.” He groaned. “I want you! Now!”
Even weakened by blood loss, the man was commanding. Powerful. Ariel pushed his boxers down, then she mounted him, taking him deep within her, closing her muscles around him as she’d closed her hand.
She bit her lip as her passion ignited even more, burning hotly inside her. She rocked her hips, then rode him up and down. He held one hip, helping her frenzied pace. Then he lifted up and bent his neck forward until his mouth closed around her nipple again, tugging at one, then the other, pulling orgasms from her body as she shuddered against him.
He stiffened and shouted out her name. “Ariel! I love you!”
Ariel laid her head against David’s chest, damp with perspiration. God, the man was passionate. No matter how long they had together, she’d never tire of him, never want him any less than she did now. And she’d only love him more. She turned the diamond on her finger.
“I’ve made up my mind,” she told him.
“About what?” he asked, his chest moving up and down as he struggled to regain his breath.
“Your question,” she reminded him. “I have an answer for you if you still want one.”
He closed his eyes as if overcome with emotion. “I want one. I want you. Forever.”
“So let’s set a date,” she said.
“Really?” he asked, his eyes bright with hope.
“Oh, so you just gave me the ring to shut me up,” she teased as she snuggled against his chest. “To stop me from nagging you for a commitment.”
He laughed, his chest rising and falling beneath her cheek. “Yeah, you’re such a nag.”
“You were warned,” she said with no sympathy. “That’s why I want to set a date—so you don’t change your mind and back out.”
“Never.” He reached across her, grimacing as the bandage on his arm moved. “Hand me the phone.”
“For what?”
“I’m going to speed-dial a judge, get him over here to marry us pronto.”
“You’re not getting out of it that cheap,” she said, clicking her tongue in mock disgust. “I want a wedding. A big one. And I want all my family there.”
David sighed. “Ariel, I want to promise you that you’ll have that. But…”
She pressed her fingers against his lips again. “Shh…you don’t have to promise me anything…but to love me forever.”
He grinned. “Done.”
“So let’s set a date.”
He nodded even though skepticism darkened his eyes. “You decide. I’ll be there.”
“You better be,” she threatened, her heart lurching at the thought that he almost hadn’t been—if the knife had cut a little deeper, if she’d shot the wrong man. But her mother had guided her and the charm had made her strong. Trusting them, trusting herself, had been the right thing to do.
“I wouldn’t miss the first day of the rest of our lives for anything,” he promised.
She settled back in his arms, content. “This is the first day,” she said. “The wedding is just the party to share the commitment with our friends and family.”
“I am committed to you, Ariel,” he vowed. “To our love. To the life we’ll build together.”
Ariel nodded. “Me, too.”
And they would have a life. She was sure of it. She felt safe, not just in David’s arms but with the orange glow shining under the bedroom door.
She realized now that her mother had been watching over her for her whole life. As she’d brought David to Ariel’s rescue, she would keep them safe.
For the first time in her life, Ariel had no doubts—about David and his love, about who and what she was…or about the future they would build together.
She trusted that she would be reunited with both her sisters and that the killer would be caught before he killed again.
Epilogue
With shaking hands, he gripped the pewter trifold frame. Through eyes blurred with pain and rage, he stared at the redheaded girl in the middle. She had been the easiest to find but the hardest to kill. She was stronger than she looked and far more powerful.
His head throbbed, the pain hammering at his temples in rhythm with his rapid heartbeat. He’d been so close. He’d had the noose wrapped tight around her throat. She’d nearly breathed her last. But for him, the man trapped under her spell, so bewitched that he would lay down his life for hers. God, she was a witch!
His shoulder throbbed, burning with pain from the bullet she’d put in him. He had connections, though, knew a doctor who asked no questions. The bullet wound wouldn’t kill him, but she might. He had to be stronger before he took her on again. For now, he’d leave her alone.
He dropped the frame on his desk, fumbled open the bottom drawer and reached for his flask. After twisting off the cap, he sucked down a fiery swallow.
He’d wait to kill her…after he’d killed her sisters. Then she’d be weaker. And he would be stronger. He needed their combined powers to do what modern medicine could not—to stop the inoperable tumor growing inside his head. Before it killed him.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. In his head, the witches danced. The hoods of their robes covering their faces and all but the bright red of their smiling mouths, they moved in and out of the flames that threatened to consume him.
But that wouldn’t happen. He would kill them first. Fighting against the pain, he opened one eye and glanced down at the picture frame. His gaze fell upon the blond girl. He’d seen the very same face, framed by pale hair, just recently. The daughter looked exactly as her mother had twenty years ago. But no one would ever know if she would continue to look like her as she aged because the child would grow no older.
She would die. Soon.
ISBN: 978-1-55254-759-5
HAUNTED
Copyright © 2006 by Lisa Childs-Theeuwes
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
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.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Visit Silhouette Books at www.eHarlequin.com
Coming Next Month
If you enjoyed the eBook you just read, then you’ll love what we have for you next month!
ON SALE IN JANUARY 2007
SHADOW HUNTER by Linda Conrad, Silhouette Intimate Moments
DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK by Harper Allen, Silhouette Bombshell
BLOOD SON by Erica Orloff, Silhouette Nocturne
CRY OF THE WOLF by Karen Whiddon, Silhouette Nocturne
Lisa Childs, Haunted
