Naughty Little Gift -- A Temptation Court Novella (Temptation Court, Book 1) (25 page)

Mishella

“A
re you out
of your fucking mind?”

Answering my brother’s snarl with a manic giggle, even from thousands of miles away, does not feel like a good idea. He sounds like a completely different person. A forceful man has taken the place of my sweet little Saynt. How can so much have changed in just two weeks?

All too easily, my heart answers that one.

Two weeks can change everything.

One
night
can change everything.

I drag my head up. Force myself to gaze at my weary reflection in the window of the hospital’s hallway. Beneath the denim jacket Prim offered from her own back after she and Hodge arrived, my gown is torn and dirty. I behold each smudge proudly. I am not the same person who first climbed into this dress.

I am a survivor.

I have earned the full right to laugh in my brother’s face.

“I shall accept that as a supreme compliment, brother mine. And the short answer is:
yes,
I probably
am
out of my fucking mind. And proud of it.”

Saynt huffs more heavily. “Mishella, you were assaulted—”

“Because I wandered somewhere I was not supposed to be, in the middle of the night.”

“—by
three
men—”

“And Brooke was taken captive by twice that many, less than a mile from the Sancti Palais.”

“—in a city full of savages!”

“
Saynt
.” My laughter vanishes. “That. Is. Enough.”

Moody silence. Then another guttural growl. “I told Court that if
anything
happened to you…if one
hair
on your head was hurt—”

“Enough!”

His answering breath is so rough, static invades the line. “Mishella…
please
,” he finally grates. “Come home, where I can protect you.”

I sigh, but with conviction to match his. “Do
Paipanne
and
Maimanne
know you are asking this?”

“Do
you
know how unfair that question is?”

I give a mixture of grunt and hum, our sibling shorthand for an apology. He is right. My brief call with our parents, just thirty minutes ago, yielded their subdued concern—mostly about whether Cassian would hold his “misfortune” against me or not—but little else. If the decision is solely theirs, I am definitely staying in New York.

As Vy would say:
oh, the glorious irony.
For the first time in a long time, I want exactly what Mother and Father do.

“But what
you
are asking is equally unfair, Saynt Austyn Santelle.” I let the rebuke set in before softly going on. “I know it sounds strange, even unbelievable, after what has happened…but please,
please
try to understand. I…belong here now, Saynt. In New York. With Cassian.”

“Because you signed that fucking contract?”

“Because I have fallen in love with him.”

And it took nearly losing him to realize it.

Another long silence.

As I have expected.

Saynt emerges from the shock with a few sputters—and I brace myself for the string of questions to come after
that
—but Cassian’s nurse sprints into his room, clawing me with new dread from head to toe. Past the exposed nerves in its wake, I blurt a promise to Saynt that I shall call back, and race in behind her.

“What is it? What is wrong? Is he—”

“Being completely difficult?” The nurse spits it over her shoulder, fighting Cassian for control of his oxygen mask.

“Oh.” My fingers press my laughing lips. Surely I have earned a spot on the woman’s “shit list” because of it, but holding back my exhilaration is a physical and emotional impossibility.

Ridiculous, tenacious, wonderfully
alive
man.

My
man.

“This is New York Presbyterian,
not
Court Tower, mister.” The nurse forces the plastic dome back over his nose and mouth. “You’ve just had three bullets pulled out of your body, which means
I’m
the boss for a while—and the boss says this stays on until your oxygen levels are better.”

To my wonder—and, it seems, to hers—Cassian sinks back to the pillow. Gives a terse nod. She returns the action, looking satisfied with his sincerity.

I bite my lip.

I know better.

Sure enough, as soon as her footsteps fade down the hall, he shoves the mask away. His other hand is already full of mine, dragging me as close as his wounds will allow. Not being his immediate family, I have only been given generalities for updates. By the grace of the Creator, the punk in the park was a lousy shot, and none of the bullets hit major organs. The trauma surgery went well—and one look at the magnificence of Cassian Court’s body, even encased in a hospital gown, is testament to his outstanding base health.

Still, the intensity of his grip is enough to pop my stare wide. “
Cassian
.” I almost add a maternal cluck, despite the
non
-maternal thoughts inspired simply by his exposed knees. “Save your strength. The nurse is right. Your levels—”

“Will be fine.” His throat sounds coated in twelve layers of rust—though after one second of his gaze, it is clear some are not physically related. “I have my air again.”

Oh.

Him.

I lift the union of our hands. Several tubes take up the space on the back of his, so I turn it over, then press a kiss into his palm. “And I have mine.”

His beautiful lips push together. He swallows heavily. “My mother—”

“Has been called,” I assure. “Hodge handled it. He and Prim are downstairs, waiting for her.” I crunch a little frown. “For some reason,
he
was listed as your emergency contact.”

“Yeah.” He nods before closing his eyes for a moment. “He can break things to her better than emergency personnel.”

My frown deepens. “Has he had to do this before?”

He lets that fall into a long silence. Keeps his eyes closed the whole time. When he finally looks back up at me, it is with his lagoon-dark eyes—and his not-to-be-brooked intent. “I was awake…for a little while…before you came in. I heard you on the phone…with Saynt.”

His allusion rests between us like a wick just catching fire—beautiful but uncertain. At last I whisper back, “Oh you did, did you?”

His hand lifts. Frames my face. “Did you mean it? Have you fallen in love with me, Ella…despite the secrets, the ghosts, the flying martini glasses, the New York City wildlife…”

I lean over…unable to hold back from sealing my mouth to his now. And yes, even here and even now, I am shocked we do not make the building’s lights flicker with the flare of our attraction. Before his monitors dance too crazily, I pull away—if only by a few inches.

“Living in the wild is just perfect for me, Mr. Court…as long as I live in it with you.”

*

Cassian

Nurse Ratchet is
going to have to deal.

Kissing my woman again isn’t negotiable.

Of course…this is more than a kiss.

It’s a seal. The signet of my spirit, my soul, my heart…

Everything she has given back to me.

Everything I thought I’d never have again.

Everything that was robbed from me because of pain and loss and fear, instead of hope and belief and light.

And love.

Yeah…that.

I curl fingers into her hair. Pull her down a little more.

“I’m in love with you too.” As a smile brims her lips and tears edge her eyes, I quickly clarify, “But
favori
, I’m rusty at this shit.
Really
rusty. I’m…I’m not going to get everything right.”

She caresses through the stubble along my jaw. “And
that
is a news flush?”

“Well. It might be a news
flash
to some—but if you’re patient, I promise…I’m a fast learner. It’ll get better.”

Fuck. So much better. My little sorceress probably doesn’t realize it, but she’s just dangled the biggest carrot for recuperating I could ever have. Dammit, I
will
get my ass out of this bed—then get cracking on making every one of her dreams come true. There’s an action item list well underway…

One: make love to her for a week straight.

Two: take her to turret two—and include
all
the details this time.

Three: make love to her for another week straight.

Four: bid on chocolate factories—preferably near libraries.

Five: take her to the newly purchased factory. Collect on preferred calendar status for date night.

“
Cassian
.” Her sweet, high sigh refocuses me on the here and now—and the temptation of her full lips, now parted in perfect invitation. I lift up…and sweep in. She moans, sighing again. I steal her breath, and give her back my own.

My air…

Our tongues tangle. Taste. Conquer. Surrender.

My love…

But the completion of the moment…is the beating of her heart. Pressed to mine, matching mine…knowing mine so far beyond the flimsy confines of the time we’ve had physically together. She knows me from the depths of fate—from the forever of the destiny that has completely, absolutely, brought us together. The destiny I’m trusting again now…no matter how fucking terrified I am.

But I refuse to live in that fear.

Once more, despite the fear raiding every cell of my body because of it, I choose love.

I choose her.

I’m opening the gift.

*

More of Cassian and Mishella’s love story is on its way…

Part 2, coming in
Pretty Perfect Toy (Temptation Court, Book 2):

Available on August 23, 2016.

PRE-ORDER HERE

Part 3, coming in
Bold Beautiful Love (Temptation Court, Book 3):

Available on September 27, 2016.

PRE-ORDER COMING SOON

Discover the Cimarrons of Arcadia:

The Cimarrons:

They’re the mysterious, magnetic ruling family
of the most secretive kingdom on earth: The Island of Arcadia.

No westerners have ever been allowed inside Arcadia’s borders…until now.

Book 1: INTO HIS DARK

(Evrest and Camellia)

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