I woke to slow, teasing kisses against the bare skin of my shoulder. Each one left a tickling wetness that made goosebumps rise on my arms as Bratt’s breath blew across it. I hummed softly, a little laugh escaping my mouth as my eyes remained closed. “Aren’t you worried about Noah walking in on us?” I said sleepily. “Uncle Travis just came to pick him up,” he said, desire heavy in his voice. We spent the first few days after the attack healing. We talked through all of our miscommunications, and we apologized properly instead of those clumsy, rambling apologies we’d rattled off when tensions were high. Finally, on the night we decided to really define what we were to each other, we made love. He’d wanted desperately to do it again. Hell, I had, too. But a five-year-old with super-sonic hearing down the hallway was a surefire way to kill any bedroom activity. “Ah, is this what we’ll be doing until we soundproof the bedroom?” I teased, my toes curling as he pressed a kiss to the s
Accepting her fated mate’s proposal could prove deadly…Ciara Quinn wants to have it all and is beginning to believe that it’s possible when her fated mate Cillian proposes. But as soon as his family sees the ring, they start pressuring Ciara to consider a merger between their two companies.Ciara is torn between marriage to the man she loves and losing her personal freedom. Then they learn that there are some potentially sinister business practices occurring in Cillian’s family company, so Ciara agrees to use the guise of a merger to investigate.When footage of Ciara’s recent capture by The Raze is leaked to the media revealing her real identity, it puts her entire reputation is at risk. Ciara begins to suspect that the board members aren’t the only ones in Moon Valley keeping secrets. And if she doesn’t act fast, she may not live to see her wedding day…***Sheets twisted and tangled around my ankles, pinning my legs in place. My eyes popped open as I clung to the bottom sheet, try
CILLIAN How do I tell her? Should I just blurt it out and spill everything like some manic? Or am I supposed to be sensitive? Why does this have to be so complicated? I should be able to blurt things out to her. It’s not like she can’t sense my hesitation, and knowing her, she’s probably already thinking the worst. Okay, get a grip. Just open my mouth and tell her. Let it all out—consequences be damned. I glanced over my shoulder when I heard the clicking of metal as the doorknob to the guest bedroom twisted. To my sensitive ears, it sounded like nails on a chalkboard and caused my blood to run cold. My heart skipped, and my stomach flipped as time seemed to slow down. Ciara stepped out of the room. She brushed her hand over her shoulder to clear her dark, raven hair off her slender shoulder, and it was as if the world had stopped completely. I knew there would never be another capable of holding my attention the way she did. Ciara always had the ability to steal the very breath f
Iwrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold in the warmth of my body as I stepped outside. The ground was soggy from the torrential rain that had just come through, but the air smelled crisp and refreshing. It always blew my mind how the desert always seemed so barren and devoid of life, yet after a good rain, things always managed to come back to life.Moon Valley was no exception to the rule. Even though it was surrounded by a forest and tucked near the base of the mountains, the trees still suffered when there was a drought. Still, it could have been like Vegas, where instead of evergreens, there was steel and concrete. I could only imagine how Vegas would look under a few feet of water. The last time a monsoon this bad had come through, it damaged a few of the houses here but never touched the city.“And just what do you think you’re doing?”I whipped my head around to find the groundskeeper shaking his fist at me. Vlad had been tending to Harkness Manor since before I was born
CILLIAN “Ican’t believe they would even suggest such a thing. And did you hear them? They made it sound like they weren’t trying to steal your business out from under you,” I growled as I pushed through the side door and stepped out into the warm summer sun. Ciara was on my heels, and I could taste her irritation on my tongue. Every ounce of happiness drained from me as we trudged to the river. It was the only place I could think of to go to have some privacy. I needed fresh air, and to get as far from my parents as possible. I wondered if they’d follow us out, but when I tested the cord that bound me to them, I knew they weren’t stupid enough to talk to me at the moment. “Did you really not know what they were planning?” Ciara asked once we were out of earshot of the manor. I whipped around and grabbed her by the arms. The question stung me, but it was justified. My head shook profusely from side to side. A small part of me was offended that she would ask me such a question after
“You ready?” Cillian asked as he reached for the glass doors to the medical center.A lump of fear formed in my throat, but I nodded. Half of me felt numb like I was walking through a dream. The idea of telling my parents that I was now engaged terrified me.Although I knew everyone in the pack already believed that Cillian and I were fated mates and that this path was inevitable, it didn’t make it any easier for me. I mulled over how I was going to tell my parents about the engagement. But no matter which route I took, it seemed the words refused to come off my tongue.“It’ll be fine,” Cillian whispered as I shoved my left hand into my pocket to keep the ring out of sight. To me, it felt as if I could hide such a thing from the world. Yet, I knew it was only a matter of time before I’d have to use my hand, and then everyone would gravitate to the ring just as they did when it was on Lourdes’s finger.“Maybe we should wait,” I said, glancing over my shoulder.Cillian shook his head, b
CILLIAN What was it about my family that made them get under my skin so easily? Was it because I was the alpha, and they wanted to test my endurance to see how many buttons they could push and get away with? And the fact that they got Evelyn involved! Who did they think they were? Did they think I’d just roll over and take it? Or that Ciara would gladly hand over her company and her career to them? I wanted to fucking break something. I mulled over the punishment I would inflict on my parents for going behind not only my back but Ciara’s as well. It was clear they were stuck in some sort of power struggle. I was almost certain that if my father were alpha, he would have been the one to push the issue sooner. After all, he had a mind for business—anything to make a dollar. My mother, though? I knew she had her hand in the pot, trying to concoct a scheme for us to marry and the companies to merge the second we’d said, “I do”. My nails dug into my palms as I tried to alleviate some o
“Cillian.” I reached out a wary hand hoping to draw him to me. The way he paced the length of Evelyn’s office made me nervous. It was strange to feel him so disconnected. It was as if the world around him was crumbling. I could only assume his anxieties stemmed from the fact that he was a bystander with no legal authority in this case. Cillian had always assumed being alpha meant he would have his hands in everything. But the fact that we weren’t married yet, and Argentum was mine, meant his hands were tied.“Please, sit down,” I said. His lips formed a thin line as he scowled at me. I wagged my hand at him, and he grumbled as he finally crossed the room and stood by my side. Rolling his eyes, he slipped his hand into mine, and I felt the tension rolling off him. He was beyond perturbed by his family, but I couldn’t help but wonder if his anger was misdirected. “You need to sit and listen. I’m not saying you have to like what you hear, but as alpha, you need to be objective and open t