She stared at Poppy—so composed in her cashmere, with her tea. “You don’t seem like an angry person.” “Therapy. And”—she gave a slightly wry smile—“Colt, oddly enough. She understands wild things. Sometimes he just takes me out into the middle of nowhere, and I screams until there are no screams left. Then we lie in the bed of her truck and watch the sun set and the stars come out.” “That sounds way better than therapy.” “And there’s always action movies.” She made an absolutely ferocious face and mimed firing what I presumed was an automatic weapon. “Eat this, motherbitches. Very cathartic. Especially if you have an unholy vendetta against blue screens.” Cole burst into rapturous applause. “And the award for best motherbitches goes to…” “Now you know why I’m an actor, not a writer.” Poppy put down her gun. “But you are, aren’t you? Nikki said you were a journalist?” “Well, I’m working on it.” Cole was doing it again. She took a breath a
The next day, Cole said goodbye to Harper, made sure it wasn’t stupid o’clock in England, and rang Bellerose. He answered quickly, just like always. “Hello, Cole.” “Knitted anything cool?” “I sincerely wish I hadn’t told you that.” “Do you make your own yarn and stuff as well, or do you buy it?” “My yarn is none of your business. Now, is there something you need?” Cole couldn’t quite contain an eager squeak. “I’m ready to come home.” “Aiden will be delighted. When would you like the jet?” Oh dear God. She was never going to get used to being able to order a plane like a pizza. “As soon as possible?” There was a pause. Presumably Bellerose was… actually, she had no idea. Calculating stuff? Organizing things? “You will be departing at nine a.m. tomorrow. Be at the airport in good time.” “Yay. Thank you.” Since Bellerose couldn’t see her, and she was in a city where nobody knew her, she skipped abo
"Come on,” Aiden said, releasing Cole at last. Once again, her body decided that the best place for her was in a wobbly heap on the ground, but he grabbed her hand just in time and pulled her, along with her case, toward the exit. Into the waiting—oh fuck—limo. And onto his lap. Where they kissed again. Again. Again. Forever. As the streets of London unraveled around them in ribbons of gold. Finally, they stopped. Mainly, she thought, for breathing purposes, rather than any particular desire to separate their mouths. “I’m going to put a collar round your neck,” Aiden murmured, “and chain you to my bed.” Thankfully Cole knew how to interpret this. “I missed you too.” She thought he might laugh. But, instead, he pulled her against him so tightly that she flailed and squeaked like a squeezy toy. “Oh Cole.” “It me,” she wheezed. “My Cole.” He pressed his face against the crook of her
“God. I do,” Cole wailed. “I really do. But I feel incredibly weird about being the reason you’re not going to do something that would help people who… well… need help.” No answer from Aiden. Unless you counted the way his fingers curled tightly against his knee. She felt awful from about six different directions at once. “You can see where I’m coming from, right?” “I can.” He reached up and flipped on the intercom. “Change of plan, Lloyd. To the Sheldrake. And quickly, please.” Wait. What was happening? She slithered along the seat as the limo swung round. Was he going to make her sit in the car like a puppy while he went to a society party? She opened her mouth to say, well, she wasn’t sure what, but Aiden looked so forbidding that all her words dried up on her tongue. And so they just sat there in the worst silence. Great. She’d spoiled her own homecoming. But Aiden was kind of being a dick too. Not that mentioning it to hi
“Uhg, Raph.” Kelda rolled her eyes. “He’s such a goodie-two-shoes.” “He’s a divine LightDuke,” Logan laughed as he dialed the contact number Raph had given them after their battle with Azar. “You don’t get much more pure than that.” “Oh, please,” the blonde waved her hand in front of her face. “I know Raph, and he’s anything but pure. Yet I’m the one who got kicked out of the Army of the Divine, and he’s the one who was promoted. Same crime, different punishment.” “If I didn’t know any better, sister, I’d say you’re still bitter,” Abina chuckled. Kelda lifted her slender hand and ran her fingers through Abina’s dark hair lovingly. “Maybe just a little, but there’s a silver lining to everything. If I hadn’t fallen, I would never have met you or Beth or Logan.” “I think I got all the blood cleaned off,” Rafe shivered as he returned through the hole where the patio door had been. “I even used those little water jet thingies in the shower to make s
Cole couldn’t help but wonder which of his houses was home. And if she’d ever get to see it. “Do you have any pizza preferences?” she asked instead. “None at all,” Aiden replied. “Do you even like pizza?” “Probably.” Her rummaging had miraculously failed to turn up some sexy yet sophisticated lounge wear. Mainly because she didn’t have any. “What do you mean probably?” “I mean…probably. I haven’t had it for a long time.” “You don’t have baths. You don’t eat pizza.” Cole compromised on her CHILL OUT Olaf the Snowman trousers and her I DON’T CARE I’M A UNICORN T-shirt. Okay, okay, it wasn’t a compromise. It was all she had. “What on earth are you doing with your life?” “Well,” Aiden said mildly, “I’ve been quite busy at work.” Wandering out of the bedroom, she found him already waiting for her. She’d seen Casual Aiden before—at Kinlochbervie when he’d come to get her back—but it was stil
And, for Cole, watching him was better than watching the movie. It wasn’t what she would have pictured at all. But, then, doing something like this with Aiden had always been a daydream she’d never really believed would happen, so her imagination had been hazy on the details. She guessed she had been expecting his usual careful detachment: an elegant man bathed in the silver light of a screen. What she got was a boy’s wide-eyed wonder. A delight in TIE fighters, Wookiees, and lightsabers that might have started as affection for his father but was now entirely his own. And he was sharing it with her. The pizza came and went, and he barely noticed. And, once she’d got rid of the box, he let her rearrange the duvet over them both—for maximum coziness—and squeezed right up against him. She even got to wriggle her hand into his. She didn’t think she’d ever liked Star Wars quite as much as she did right then. She felt half drunk
“See,” Cole leaned in and brushed her mouth over the stark crests of his collarbones, remembering the way he’d responded in Kinlochbervie. He trembled now, her gorgeous man, felled by the gentlest of touches. “You can imagine you’re Alexander and I’m Bagoas, and I’m disrobing you after some great battle.” He cupped a hand beneath her jaw and drew her up for a brief kiss. “I think I’d rather you were Arden.” “I can definitely live with that. I’m still yours, though.” “Is that so? How’s your dancing?” “I’ve got some moves. How’s your global conquest?” “Largely financial.” He was stalling. It was cute stalling, but stalling nevertheless. Shuffling lower on the bed, she slipped her fingers gently under the waist of his lounge trousers and slid them all the way down. Swear to God, if she’d attempted a sexy move like that on herself, she’d have got them tangled in her knob. Or around her knees. But, for Aiden, she found grace.