Play Fling (A Stupid Cupid Book) (36 page)

“Mmmm. Decadent.”

Apparently Elliott needed little more
encouragement because he got her into the bathroom and out of her
dress in record time. He filled two glasses with bubbling champagne
while Brooke slipped into the foamy hot water.

“I’m so glad your dad made it after all that
mess with his flight. He really seemed to be having fun. Everyone
seemed to have fun,” Brooke said, trying to focus her mind away
from that laugh, away from the past.

“Still are.” Elliott joined her, handing her
a glass and a strawberry. “My brothers and your sister looked ready
to take the whole town on.”

“I don’t know,” Brooke laughed. “Gordon and
Armon might beat them to it.”

Elliott pulled her into his lap, cradling
her. “You might be right. Although, for only being together a
couple months they act a bit like an old married couple already. I
wouldn’t be surprised if they were in bed before nine.”

“I’m so tired, I’ll probably pass out by
eight,” Brooke said, leaning her back against his chest.

“Oh, you’ll be in bed long before that,” he
teased, kissing her neck. “What time I’ll let you get to sleep is a
whole other story.”

She giggled, enjoying the tickle of his
stubble down her shoulder. “I love you, Elliott.”

“Mmmmm.” He kissed her neck, his hands
traveling up her belly. “I love you too, Mrs. Jovovich.”

A thrill passed over her. Mrs. Jovovich. The
name sounded so sweet to her ears, so right. She still hardly
believed this fairytale come true was actually her story. If not
for Millie, heartbreaking or not, Brooke wondered sometimes….

“You know, I thought I heard Millie’s laugh
downstairs,” she said in a rush. “Is that crazy or what?”

Elliott tensed behind her. She should know
better bringing up such a sore subject today of all days. Too late
now.

“No,” he said after another kiss. “Not crazy.
She was a big part of how we fell in love. It makes sense that you
would think of her today.”

“I suppose. If she hadn’t stood me up that
day in the bookstore,” she said, knowing he would finish the
thought, as he always did, telling her what she needed to hear.

“Then I still would have approached you.
Maybe not exactly the same way or the same day, but I would have. I
was already far too intrigued not to.”

She loved hearing him say it every time. “I
can’t help wondering what happened to her, though. Where she
is.”

“Hmmmm,” was all he said.

Brooke sighed. She had known better and still
had pressed. The last thing she wanted was to ruin today. “I’m
sorry. I can’t help but miss the friend she was to me before that
night. She helped me figure out who I was and what I wanted. And
that included you.”

Elliott gently flipped her around. Water
sloshed between them, over the edge of the deep tub. “We both know
that without her, I might not have you here with me now, but it is
what it is. Just imagine that wherever Millie is, she wants you to
be happy. And you are, aren’t you?”

Brooke kissed the tip of his nose. “Beyond
happy.”

“I am too, Brooke.” He hugged her close,
nestling her head into the crook of his neck. “Now, what do you say
we get out of this bath and into some dry sheets? We have some baby
making to practice for.”

Brooke nodded, laughing, and all the tension
from her memories evaporated.

She watched him step out of the steamy water,
a dripping wet Adonis and sighed. Who knew happily ever after would
be so hot?

~The End~

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read
Millicent Match’s first adventure in matchmaking. Millie is a riot
to write and her next adventure will be coming soon. In the
meantime, for a peek at her sentencing, look for “Just Desserts” on
Smashwords.com, a fan freebie.

I’m a multi-genre and while I write a
variety, one thing you’ll always find are fate, love and plenty of
complications. .

I’ve included a peak at my paranormal
release, Fierce Dawn, one addictive paranormal romance. For extras
and insider news, sign up for my newsletter at my weblog,
www.AmberScottBooks.com. I love to chat on Facebook and Twitter,
too.

Happy reading,

Amber Scott

Weblog:
http://AmberScottBooks.com

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/AmberScottBooks

Twitter handle: @AmberScottBooks

~~~

In this world, human blood is a drug and
vampires are the immortals addicted to it…

Fierce Dawn

By Amber Scott

Prologue

Sadie Graves did not have time for this. But
the fear shimmering in her sister Heather’s eyes sent guilt pinging
through her. “What did she say?” Sadie asked, setting her backpack
on her bed before flopping down next to it.

“It was bad this time,
Sadie,” Heather repeated. “Real bad. It isn’t just
end
-
of
-
the
-
world
stuff anymore. She’s chanting about her daughters, about angels and
vampires.”

Sadie rolled her eyes despite the dread
clutching her belly. “I know she’s getting worse, Heather. But I
don’t know what to do. You want me to get her committed or
something? She’s our mother. I can’t live with that.”

“What about Aunt Molly?” Heather tugged at
her ponytail, worrying the tips of her long hair.

Sadie hated that she didn’t
have a better answer. One of them at least deserved a childhood. A
sixteen and fifteen year old girl should be worried about boys and
driving lessons not self
-
mutilation and social services.
“Aunt Molly knows. I told her. She has her hands full already with
Jen.” Jen, who was waiting for Sadie as they spoke. “Just make sure
she doesn’t get a hold of scissors again. I promise I’ll be back
before she wakes up.”

Slinging her backpack over one shoulder,
Sadie stood to leave out the window, recognizing the revving engine
outside as her cousin’s signal to hurry the hell up. Heather stood
as well, her pajama hand me downs too big on her young, slim form.
She dug under her pillow and shoved a book into Sadie’s hands.

“What’s this?”

“What do you think? It’s Mom’s. She tried burying it
in the backyard. I dug it up.”

“Heather, she does this.
She always has. I know it sucks
,
but you have to realize it’s nothing but words
scribbled on paper.”

“Just read it, okay? Read it and tell me it
isn’t different this time.”

Sadie glanced at the
window
,
but
seeing the urgency in Heather’s stance, dropped to her bed once
again. Jen and the club would have to wait. Wouldn’t be the first
time little sis did whatever she could to stop a good sneak
out.

She paged through the journal, pausing at
certain passages.

“…
three realms. He will come for my girls.
Wings to steal them and use them…”

Alright
,
so the tone of her mother’s
written mania had evolved a little.

“…
more than blood that’s a drug. Sorrows and
sorrows….Feeding off souls and leaving shells behind….All the
stories come true….three becoming two….hide the Book…hide the
book….the Book….”

“She thinks she’s a prophet,” Heather said in
a near whisper.

“And we know she’s not.” The heartache
pinched her chest and burned her throat. “I don’t know what you
want from me, Heather. I can’t do this. I’m sorry, okay? But in a
couple of years we can get jobs and keep her safe and have some
kind of life that is normal. Until then, we have to stick it out.”
Or go insane as well. “Okay?”

Heather’s sense of betrayal showed in her
intense gaze and crossed arms. Sadie knew the look, the same one
from every time Sadie had played with someone else as a child or
didn’t want to share a toy. Only this was worse. This, she honestly
deserved. But Sadie couldn’t stay. If she stayed, she’d go nuts
worrying about what to do. And how would that help?

It wouldn’t, she told herself again and again
as she eased out the window and sprinted through the shadows to
Jen’s car. It wouldn’t help.

Nothing would.

Chapter One

A shiver of wariness raced under Elijah
Stokes’ skin. The compass’s needle spun erratically, finding no
energetic trace of Lyric’s positioning. “Why would Lyric be
cloaking?” he asked Holly, who sat to his right pretending to read.
“Moreover, who would be helping him cloak?”

Holly put down the horror
novel. Elijah ran his thumb over the gold
-
framed face before snapping the
contraption shut. It fell with a thud against his chest, its chain
jangling in the quiet of the library. He sensed danger coming, but
couldn’t be sure his senses were on target.

“Trust me, if Lyric needs help, cloaking or
otherwise, he’ll still know how to get it. Going rogue probably
improved his skills.” Holly’s eyebrows furrowed. “And as for why,
maybe he doubts how welcome he’ll be?”

“More like how useful,” Elijah said. Lyric
could be the danger. Or Elijah could simply be biased from their
past. “And more likely evading Enforcers.”

“Well, useful, evading or not, he’ll be here.
He promised me.”

Elijah glared at Holly. If they weren’t in a
public—a mortal—place, Elijah would react to the reminder that
she’d contacted Lyric behind his back. But if he unleashed his
irritation here, the handful of humans studying nearby would pick
up on the violent energy.

If Lyric didn’t have enforcement on his
heels, an energy surge could snare some unwelcome immortal
attention on its own.

What if the danger he sensed wasn’t related to Lyric
at all?

“Hate me later,” Holly said, crossing her
arms, making the plastic chair groan. “After Lyric gets here and
proves I’m right about Sadie.”

“You should have waited to summon him. We
agreed to wait.” He inverted his magnetism, along with his wings,
again to be certain he and Holly blended in.

Holly took the text Elijah had already
scanned, their latest dead end. “We put off summoning Lyric long
enough. We’re out of options, Elijah. If I don’t find Crusoe….”

“Not you, Holly. We.” A girl bent over a
medical reference manual two tables away glanced their way, her
interest clearly resonating. Elijah exhaled an indrawn breath,
keeping his energy even keel. “We’ll find him, Holly. I swear it.
We will.”

Holly’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. The
worry in her words showed in her dark hair licking blue flames out
the tips. Her fingers sparked at every touch. She wasn’t herself.
The wear of stress over Crusoe’s disappearance showed.

Crusoe was more than a friend. More than
their leader. He was like a brother to Elijah.

“Sadie’s work shift started
two minutes ago. But I haven’t seen her. Can you locate her?”
Holly
asked
.

Elijah retrieved his compass, this time
focusing on the human girl Holly had honed in on. The dial showed
Sadie’s signature energy immediately approaching the building.
Elijah concentrated on signs of Lyric again, asking the compass
with his own energy. The needle spun aimlessly.

"When did you contact him?" Elijah said,
hearing the edge in his voice. His frustration went beyond feeling
he’d failed Holly and Crusoe. Working with Lyric again, after what
had fallen between them, after the lifestyle the feeder had taken
to since, left Elijah cold.

"Four days ago," Holly
said, her gaze wavering. The flames in her hair licked higher. She
smoothed the locks
,
but attraction for him emanated off of her. Her stress must
be making her vulnerable to his ability to attract immortals and
humans alike, like bees to honey.

Elijah tried to invert his
magnetism further. Lust between friends sounded like a new layer
of
H
ell neither
of them needed at this point. Plus, the glancing girl was beginning
to stare.

Holly had sent for Lyric four days ago. They
were running out of time. Crusoe had been gone hundreds more than
just four days.

"Elijah, I know you don’t
want to hear it
,
but I’m on the verge of believing Crusoe is truly gone.” She
took a shuddering breath. “Dead. I’ll go crazy if we wait any
longer. Not if Lyric can help."

“I know.” He scrubbed a hand over his face.
“When will he get here?"

Her hair sparked but Holly didn't answer. She
didn't have to. Elijah heard the feeder's approach, recognized his
vibration’s pitch. “Nevermind.” He examined the compass. Speak of
the energy sucker. Lyric looked to be within a mile of the
building, skyward. His pulse hitched.

He hadn’t seen Lyric in more than a year and
the last time had been ugly. The last thing Elijah wanted was a
spectacle. Would the feeder still be volatile?

"How much does Lyric know?"
He kept his voice low and his energy even keel. The smattering of
mortals present
wasn’t
evolved enough to detect flames and wings, but violence and
danger
were
palpable to any human brain.

"The barest bones. That Crusoe is still
missing. That we are still trying to find him. That we need him. I
haven’t told him about Sadie yet if that’s what you’re worried
about."

Elijah absorbed what she said. And the
implications. Though Lyric had left them before Crusoe’s
disappearance, he doubtlessly heard of Crusoe being linked to the
Illeautians and their anti-human activity.