Beautiful Illusions (37 page)

“We were smoking, weren’t we?”

She blinks to life, a renewed sense of panic rife on her face. “I mean the room is smoking.”

I take a deep breath, and the scent of fresh soot infiltrates my nostrils. A grey plume curls in from the under the door.

“Oh, shit.” She jumps off and bunches her dress with her fists. “The Counts.”

I pull myself together and rise beside her. “Looks like they’re ready to play. Are you ready, love?”

“With you by my side?” A small dimple presses over her cheek. “Always.”

I pull her into a kiss as the room billows with a necrotic white cloud.

“Next time”—I brush my lips over hers once more—“we take it slow and easy. I’m going to make love to you.”

“In a bed?”

“Let’s not get carried away.” I open the door, and the handle scalds through to my bones. “I say we try the barn.”

“I’ll bring the champagne.”

“I’ll bring the whip.”

A slew of screams echo through the inferno-filled structure.

“The Counts await,” I hold out my hand.

The fire reflects in her eyes as she steps boldly toward the flames like she did once so long ago.

She gives a little laugh. “They will never know what hit them.”

“Time is running out, Skyla.”

“It never was my friend.”

Skyla and I herd the women to safety. She gathers a handful of Counts and locks them in the basement only to have them break their way out before death arrives.

We watch safe from a distant hillside as the structure burns to a glowing pile of lumber while men transfer buckets amongst themselves like a keystone comedy.

“You think the Counts learned a lesson tonight?” She wraps her arms around me tight, her head resting over my chest.

“The Celestra women that were in that building won’t go to trial—although others will. Rina’s cousin, Clara, lives to monster through another day, so if you call that a victory, you win again, Skyla.” I plant a kiss over her head. “Know this, I’m proud of you.”

“You are?”

“You’re making a difference in people’s lives.” We turn our backs to the burning building. “Rina needed you, and you didn’t hesitate.”

“I didn’t change the past, Marshall.”

“No, but you were a vital part in how it played out. Fate has interwoven you through the fabric of time, and now it’s your responsibility to fill in those gaps.”

Her eyes narrow, her features darken. “And if I don’t?”

“It all unravels one fiber at a time.”

She takes a breath and flattens her hand against my chest. “And what does that mean for the outcome of the war?”

I meet her hard stare and let her surmise the truth on her own.

“Oh, God, Marshall. We’re going to be fighting these damn battles forever aren’t we?”

“Not forever.”

“It’s going to be like holding up a granite wall.” She pounds her hand into me. “This isn’t fair.”

“Welcome to life, Skyla.” I snatch her wrist and lean in, nose to nose. “It never is.”

She slips out of my grasp and wraps her arms around my neck. “Will you be there with me?”

“Always. You will never go alone.”

“So what was this?” She glances back at the carnage brewing around the once upon a whorehouse. “Some kind of test my mother dreamed up?”

“No, love. It was simply the beginning of a new chapter in your life. Consider it a secret mission assigned to just you and me.”

“Great.” She closes her eyes, incensed. “Let me guess...the code word is
let’s get it on
?”

“I believe the decision council refers to it as Celestra in retrograde, but I like where your head is at.”

“Funny, I figured you’d like my head in more interesting places.” She raises a brow. “So, are you going to tell me?”

“You mean the younger you, the one that nearly clawed my eyes out over my unwillingness to aid in the homicide of your mother-in-law?”

She belts out a laugh as we make our way down the dirt path while Salem smolders behind is.

“Of course.” I pull her body close to mine as we meander back through time. “I can hardly wait for you to try and keep this from Jock Strap.”

“You know I hate keeping secrets from Gage.”

“I know.” I give her hip a squeeze. “I know everything about you, Skyla Messenger.”

“That hasn’t been my name in a very long time.” She looks up, her cheeks filling with color.

“You’ll always be Skyla Messenger to me.”

I pull her in under the tangerine moon bewitching the night and seal my mouth to hers.

Skyla and I fight a fierce battle with our heated kisses, wrestle for dominance with our tongues for hours in this stolen sliver of time.

The dawn breaks, and time regurgitates us back to where she found us, with me safe on Paragon and that version of Skyla locked away further down in time.

Skyla and I were meant to be together, just not at this juncture. For now I’m relegated to friend, confidant, counselor, teacher. I’m nothing more until destiny unites us in the future—unless, of course, she visits.

And, if she’s good, next time, I might even find her a bed.

Acknowledgments

BIG thank you to my awesome readers who have been so kind and supportive. I cannot tell you enough that you are like family to me.

Thank you to Christina Kendler you really do save me time and time again! Hugs and kisses for that. I think it warrants an extra gift at Christmas. Rachel Tsoumbakos, your proofreading superpowers astound me. You are word ninja that demands honor. Sarah Freese, where to even begin? I love that you push me to go further and fix scenes that need adjustment (read murderous hacking sprees). And in the event I never tell you, I think you’re always right. No, really, I do.

To my family, I’m just glad that most of you remember what I look like. Also, thank you for letting me use the dining room table as my office. It makes it totally reasonable for me to snack All. Day. Long.

And finally, to Him who sits on the throne; worthy is the Lamb. Your word is manna for my hungry soul. I owe you everything.

About the Author

Addison Moore is a
New York Times
,
USA Today
, and
Wall Street Journal
bestselling author who writes contemporary and paranormal romance. Her work has been featured in
Cosmopolitan
Magazine. Previously she worked as a therapist on a locked psychiatric unit for nearly a decade. She resides on the West Coast with her husband, four wonderful children, and two dogs where she eats too much chocolate and stays up way too late. When she's not writing, she's reading.

Feel free to visit her blog at:
http://addisonmoorewrites.blogspot.com

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Addison-Moore/140192649382294

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AddisonMoore

Table of Contents

Prologue

1

Leafless in Loveless

2

The Summer of Ecstasy

3

All The Dirty Details

4

The Build Up

5

Catching Shadows

6

Spitters are Quitters

7

Last Dance

8

Fireworks

9

Head Over Heels

10

Platonic Delusions

11

Loving You, Loving Me

12

Catching Ecstasy

Celestra in Retrograde

Acknowledgments

About the Author