Celestial Bodies (26 page)

“You’re here,” she corrected him, “because you can’t walk yet.”

“And after I can walk,” he said argumentatively, “I’m staying because I love you, not because—”

“You’re staying?” she interrupted.

“Sure. Married people usually live in the same house. Hadn’t you noticed?”

She narrowed her eyes, and once again Nick noticed the resemblance between Diana and the cat sitting at her side. “Are
we
going to be married people?”

He nodded solemnly. “I saw the way Felix looked at me when he realized who The Lovers referred to. And I noticed he was willing to point a gun at someone when he felt the situation called for it.”

“Oh, Nick.” She smiled with him at the astonishing memory before asking seriously, “Are you sure about this?”

He tugged gently on her arm, pulling her closer. With one foot he shoved Ishtar off the bed. The cat hissed indignantly and trotted out the door. Nick grinned at Diana’s expression. “I’m sure,” he said. “Don’t you want to marry me?”

“You’re still going to eat meat and drink beer and carry a gun?” she asked critically.

“Yes,” he said with certainty. “But I guarantee that I’ll only chase skirts when you’re inside of them.” With surprising strength for a wounded hero, he pulled her down to lie against his chest. “Are you still going to salute the sun and the moon every morning, feed me vegetarian glop, and listen to your father’s mumbo jumbo?”

“Yes.”

He grinned slowly. “Well, as long as we both know what we’re getting into.”

Diana sank into his embrace, eagerly meeting the tender exploration of his kiss. “I love you,” she whispered long moments later, pressing soft, hot kisses against his bruised ribs.

“Just remember that the next time I order a burger,” he muttered. “Ow!”

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” she asked, pulling away.

He pulled her back toward him. “It’s okay. I’ll live with it.”

“You’re hurt,” she said breathlessly. “We shouldn’t—”

“This is the best therapy I can think of,” he assured her, slipping his hand under her blouse. “Oh, you feel so good...” He paused for a moment and glanced at the open door. “Where is everyone?”

Diana slid the sheets down, exposing most of his naked body. “Mrs. Bouvier is giving her statement to the police. Felix is at the hospital with Peter and Jenny. He’s explaining their baby’s birth chart to them.”

Nick smiled and made a pleased sound in his throat. “Then we’ve got some time alone.” He glanced down at his body, then looked at her with sparkling eyes. “Did you undress me?”

“Yes. But it wasn’t nearly as much fun as when you’re fully conscious,” she confided. As he pressed her back into the pillows she whispered, “There’s something you should know. Not that I’m trying to rub it in or anything...”

“Mmm, yes, rub it right
there
. That’s it. Oh, Diana...”

“Don’t you want to know?”

“What?” Nick asked, his lips hot against her breast.

“Jora called this morning and told Felix to cast our charts before we set a wedding date.”

Nick went still as a rock. “What?” He glanced up at Diana. She smirked at him. He narrowed his eyes. “How did she know we were getting married?”

“You’re a bright lad. What do you think?”

He stared at her for another moment before saying, “No, Diana.”

She nodded. “Why don’t you just admit it?”

“She probably just realized, the way any normal person would, that I was in love with you when she saw us yesterday.”

“Sure.”

“And we are
not
basing our wedding date on—”

“We’ll discuss it later, darling.”

“Diana, you...” He paused. “That means Felix knows we’re getting married?” She nodded. “You mean he doesn’t mind that you’re marrying a meat-eating, beer-drinking, gun-toting—”

“He’s always liked you, you know that. And he’s always said you were our destiny. Besides, he was very moved by the way you risked your life for us last night.” She added with a promising look, “So was I.”

As Diana rose from the bed to close and lock the door, Nick said, “I didn’t really risk my life for you, honey, even though I would—”

“But you did! I thought I’d die when LeCoz pointed that gun at you!” She started unbuttoning her blouse.

“No, I’m sure I would have...” He lost his train of thought as she slid her blouse off her shoulders and began to unfasten her jeans.

“Yes?” she prodded huskily.

“Been able to jump him and...”

“In the condition you were in?”

“Sure, I’m a...”

“What, Nick?”

By the time her panties lay on the floor beside her jeans, he decided to let the subject drop. No harm in letting her think he really was the Knight of Swords, just this once.

The End

Author’s Note

When I look at
Celestial Bodies
with the benefit hindsight—a tale in which, as Nick and Diana both admit, there’s no rational or earthbound explanation for some of the things that occur—it’s easy for me to see now that I would start writing fantasy before long, though I had no notion of it when I was working on this book.
 

Within a year of finishing this novel, I would be invited (mostly by luck and by chance) to write a short story for a science fiction & fantasy anthology. I enjoyed the work; and the prolific anthologist Martin H. Greenberg liked my story and invited me into more anthologies. Within a couple of years, I had sold twenty short stories and had won the John W. Campbell Award (Best New Science Fiction/Fantasy Writer). So people started asking me when I was going to write a fantasy
novel
—and that’s when I started thinking about it. Since then, fantasy novels have become the mainstay of my writing career.
 

I always thought my interest in fantasy began with writing short stories (and I continued writing for Marty Greenberg until he passed away in 2011); but looking back at
Celestial Bodies
now, I can see that I was already enjoying playing with paranormal phenomena and otherworldly mysteries even before that. So I guess my fate found me, just as the characters in this story meet their fate, too.

I hope that you have enjoyed
Celestial Bodies.
I’m reissuing the rest of my Leone romance novels in ebook format, so check your favorite ebook vendor to see what’s available. You might also want to try some of my fantasy novels, such as my Esther Diamond series, which are paranormal novels about a struggling actress who gets involved in supernatural misadventures while being wooed by a skeptical cop.

You can find more information about my books, some fun extras, and various excerpts on my website at
www.LauraLeone.com
.

Also By This Author

Romance Novels
(written as Laura Leone)
 

(Singe Title Contemporary)

Fallen From Grace

Fever Dreams

(Erotic)

Nights of Fire

(Category/Series Romance)

Sleight of Hand

Celestial Bodies

Guilty Secrets

Ulterior Motives

The Bandit King

A Woman’s Work

Mastersons In Paradise

I:
Untouched By Man

II:
Under the Voodoo Moon

Fame

I:
A Wilder Name

II:
The Black Sheep

Oak Hill

I:
One Sultry Summer

II:
Upon A Midnight Clear

Fantasy Novels
(written as Laura Resnick)
 

Esther Diamond Series
 

(Urban Fantasy)

Disappearing Nightly

Doppelgangster

Unsympathetic Magic

Vamparazzi
 

Polterheist

The Misfortune Cookie

 
The Chronicles of Sirkara

(Traditional Fantasy)
 

In Legend Born

The White Dragon

The Destroyer Goddess

Non-Fiction

A Blonde In Africa
 

Rejection, Romance, and Royalties (The Wacky World of A Working Writer)

Short Fiction

(Collected Works)

Highway To Heaven
 

Maybe You’ve Heard of Me?
 

The Muse Afire

About the Author