For the Bond (Romantic Suspense) (Beyond Blood, #3) (16 page)

Breathe. Yes. I couldn't get over the fact she was still alive.

Watching her from the shade of a tree, I waited. Interrupting her would have been wrong. This was an important moment for her, significant in what it meant for her freedom.

Marina's chains had been removed. She'd set out to get vengeance, completed her task so she could move on. Peace was slow in coming, though. Kite and I had both woken to her nightmares. Over the last week, they'd become shorter... softer.

She always slept better with us nestled at her side.

Turning, she lifted a hand, capturing her dark strands as they blew into her face. Coiling them behind an ear, her eyes went to the sky. I wanted to see what she did. Whatever it was, it made her smile.

Spotting me, Marina waved a hand, heading across the grass. For the occasion, she'd put on a flowing, buttery-yellow dress that waved around her knees. I loved her no matter what she wore, but seeing her so angelic was stirring me up.

Leaning off of the tree, I took my hands from my jacket pockets. I planned to coil my fingers on her cheeks, but she beat me. Tan arms snaked around my neck, she stood on tiptoe to reach me with her kiss. It was quick, too quick. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

Smiling sideways, I hooked my hands around her middle. “Anabelle insisted I get some air. She said I'd been inhaling more paint fumes than I realized.”

“So you came and found me?” Lifting an eyebrow, she cocked her head. “It's only been a few hours, did you miss me that badly?”

She was teasing, but I was a champion at this game. Thumbing her chin, I tilted her jaw up and spoke with cool intensity. “I miss you every second you're out of my sight.” Her blush was a treasure trove.

Clearing her throat, she stepped back, slid her fingers into my hand. Our bandages touched.
That
had been fun to explain to Anabelle. She'd noticed our matching wounds. Kite had blurted out that we'd had a bad accident with a blender and some margaritas.

No. I didn't think she believed him.

“It's strange,” Marina whispered. Facing towards the cemetery, she looked like she was listening to the wind. It jostled the leaves over our heads. “I'm still having trouble believing it's over.”

Pushing her hair off of her collar bone, I drew her to my side. It was where she belonged. “When Kite and I killed his uncle, I don't think we slept well for weeks. Maybe months.” She angled her face, staring up at me. “It was supposed to free Kite. And I think, in a way, saving him was freeing me. Sometimes, the scars we carry take time to heal over. Even if the wound was made for a good reason.”

Her lips glistened, parting and begging to be touched. “I wanted to ask you something,” she said gently. “Your Gram... and your father... what ever happened to them, do you know?”

It was my turn to smile sadly. “My dad killed himself in the psych ward. I didn't know until I was a teen, I looked him up and found his obituary. As for my Gram...” Shaking myself, I gazed over the tombstones. They made me think of my younger brother's funeral. “That day we made our bond, Kite and I cleaned up at his uncle's home. I knew we needed to leave, and fast, but I wanted to see her. I don't know.”

My nostrils flared from my brisk inhale. “I told her I loved her. She looked up from the TV long enough to tell me that she loved me, too.”
I love you too, Bill.
Before our new Blood Bond, I would have omitted this from Marina. Now, I lifted her hand, kissed where the scar was hidden. “She called me my father's name. By then, I was never Jacob to her.”

Wet hurt flooded Marina's eyes. She did me the courtesy of not allowing her tears to spill. “I'm sorry,” she whispered. “That must have been hard.”

“She did me a favor.” The wind was cool on my neck. “If she'd been more clear headed, she might have begged me to stay. I was spared that problem.” The memory was a pit in my stomach. Rejection made leaving easy... but it had helped form the shell around my heart. A shell Marina had chiseled through.

Reminding myself that my past was not my present, I hugged her to me and kissed her forehead. Together, we huddled in the shade of the tree and listened to each others' heartbeats.

My phone buzzed, and without looking, I knew it was Kite. “Come on,” I said, leading her down the slope. “He'll be wondering where we both are. Let's not make him worry.”

Laughing, clear as silver bells, she tugged me down the sidewalk. She was as eager to reunite our triad as any of us was. “Hurry up, then! I want to see what my new room looks like! You've kept me out of your apartment for too long, were you building me a god damn castle?” she teased.

We'd moved her belongings from storage, divided them between Kite's place and my own. Sharing everything included an arrangement we'd all agreed on. Kite couldn't hog her.

Marina's spare room in my place was finished, and I'd gone to great lengths to prepare it to her liking. The surprise closet of expensive clothes would either impress her, or make her furious. Either of those reactions would delight me.

Once, I'd been sure that money was the key to happiness. To our freedom. When we had enough, we'd stopped taking contracts, abandoned our lives as killers. Life didn't become freeing or beautiful. It had ended up leaving Kite and me hollow. Without the rush, we didn't know what we were doing.

Following that smiling girl down the street, my heart topped off. It could have burst, surely no man was meant to feel so happy. This was as close to perfection as I would ever reach.

I'd found—we had found—what was lacking.

Here, with her... this was surely paradise.

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THE END

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A
USA Today Bestselling Author, Nora Flite loves to write dark romance (especially the dramatic, gritty kind!) Her favorite bad boys are the ones with tattoos, the intense alpha types that make you sweat and beg for more!

Inspired by the complicated events and wild experiences of her own life, she wants to share those stories with her audience. Born in the tiniest state, coming from what was essentially dirt, she's learned to embrace and appreciate every opportunity the world gives her.

She's also, possibly, addicted to coffee and sushi.

Not at the same time, of course.

Check out her blog,
noraflite.blogspot.com
, also email her at [email protected] if you want to say hello! Hearing from fans is the best!

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-N
ora Flite

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H
ard Body Rock

She thought she was stepping into fame:

Meeting Drezden Halifax should have been a dream. But dreams are supposed to be sweet, fragile things that whisk you away. Not monsters crafted from hard fingers, gritty vocal cords and a voice so powerful it could tear my guts right out.

Maybe my heart, too.

Becoming the guitarist for Four and a Half Headstones was everything I needed.

Too bad the band's lead singer is doing his best to ruin everything I am.

He thought she would solve his troubles:

Lola Cooper, god damn Lola Cooper. She was the perfect guitarist, fingers that could summon a sweet song or punch a chord. She's supposed to save my band, make us come out of this tour in one piece...

But I just want to tear HER to pieces.

No one should make me feel this way. One look at her, one smell, and I knew I'd have to have her. She does things to me that scare the shit out of me. Make me want to slam her on a wall and listen to her cries: eager or fearful, it doesn't matter.

I'm a monster...

And I don't even care.

Genre: New Adult Rockstar Romance

This is the first installment of the Body Rock Series

25,000 words

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S
low Body Rock

He knew he was addicted:

I thought it'd be smoking that killed me. Lola is more addictive than tobacco could hope to be.

After feeling her warm body, touching her skin... even if it was an accident, I've given up.

The monster inside of me is going to consume her.

I'm too tired to fight it.

And I honestly don't want to.

She knew it was risking everything:

Why is he trying to mess up my ONE opportunity at success?

My very god damn existence?

I can't handle this pull between us... a gravity that wants to knot our bodies together and leave me merged.

Ruined.

I thought Drezden cared about his band, that he wouldn't dare do anything that might break them— and me— apart.

When did I become the one thing worth losing it all over?

Genre: New Adult Rockstar Romance

This is the second installment of the Body Rock Series

25,000 words

Flawed Body Rock

She wanted to be a rockstar:

I finally have everything.

Fame, presence, the world knows who I am.

Now my life is even harder.

What do you do when every eye watching you is full of jealous hate?

I'm strong enough to not let strangers hurt me...

But when it's my own brother, the stakes change entirely.

He just wanted her to himself:

My claws are in her, but I'm trapped, too.

Waking up, my first thoughts used to be about music.

Lola's changed all of that.

She consumes my dreams; my existence.

My band... the girl I'm obsessed with...

Is there room in this world for both of them?

If not, which do I choose?

Genre: New Adult Rockstar Romance

This is the third installment of the Body Rock Series

25,000 words

True Body Rock

He never wanted to look back:

I've always run from my past. It's what keeps me sane; whole.

But what if not facing it means losing the girl I love?

Telling her the truth must sound so simple.

It's a request that could leave me more broken—more hollow and wrecked—than ever before.

She never saw it coming:

Answers.

Answers answers god damn answers.

How far do I have to go to find out what I need? To get to the bottom of the filth and finally find the real person waiting? The man behind those delicious green eyes and intoxicating lips?

If Drezden won't talk to me...

I'll find someone who will.

But why does it feel like they're the one who's been waiting for me?

Genre: New Adult Rockstar Romance

This is the fourth and final installment of the Body Rock Series

29,000 words

O
nly Pretend

If you hated your life—wanted to prove to the world that you could change—how would you do it?

I had a plan. I also had no family, no friends, and definitely no jerk of an ex-boyfriend who thought I was boring.

I was tired of being me.

In Vegas, I could be anything.

And then I saw him.

His hungry smile wanted a taste of the new me.

Only a boring person would have said no.

It was reckless to follow a stranger to his bed. Dangerous to take the drink he handed me. I thought the worst regret I'd have would be a hangover, a walk of shame through the hotel.

Except I didn't wake up in the hotel.

Or in Vegas.

I doubt my face will end up in the news. “Woman missing,” the headline would say. “A stupid person who thought she could be someone else.”

I'm not someone else. I was only playing pretend.

Too bad he was playing for keeps.

—Author's Note— This is a dark romance novel, it contains themes of violence and mature situations that could make readers uncomfortable.

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W
atch Me Fall

Pain, abuse, brutality. That was my life. I struggled and stressed; cried until I forgot what tears were. But I worked hard. I clawed to the peak.

And then I lost everything.

Most people would have shattered.

I'm not most people.

My dreams are gone, but that's fine. I could have lived this tiny, broken life. I could have suffered in silence.

Until I met her: Noel.

God, she's so alive. She makes me ACHE and I just...

I can't ignore her.

So I won't.

Noel thinks she can handle me. Survive me.

If she knew the truth—could see into my mind—she'd smarten up and run.

I'm so lucky she doesn't have a clue.

—Author's Note— This novel is a stand alone. It contains scorching sex, violent themes, and mature situations that could make readers uncomfortable.