New Regime (Rune Alexander Book 5) Page 26
“The one the sheriff took?”
“Not yet.”
She ran her fingers over her concave belly and up over ribs so prominent she flinched. She was a monster.
And she could never die.
There was no longer any doubt.
Once upon a time that thought would have sent her screaming into the depths of a black despair too deep to climb out of. It would have shoved her headfirst into madness.
She took Strad’s hand, frowning at the shakiness in his fingers. “A month?”
He nodded.
Shit. He and the twins had been dealing not only with the horror of her decapitation, but with their addictions as well. They’d been mired in withdrawals for the last fucking month.
“Help me sit up, Berserker. Ellie, go get the twins. They need to feed.”
“No,” Ellie said, but slowly, it seemed to dawn on him that she was really okay. “The twins?”
She nodded and hung on to the berserker’s arm as he helped her sit up. “Their withdrawals must be killing them.”
Ellis stared at her for a moment longer, his mouth working but nothing coming out. Then he turned and fled the room.
The berserker watched her with glittering eyes that made him look, to her, half mad. A month, watching her, wondering…
He smelled of freshness, of outdoors. She spotted his spear leaning against the wall behind him. He’d clubbed his long hair into a ponytail and let it fall over his back, and had dressed in a simple dark T-shirt and khakis.
As usual, he wore a variety of weapons. He crossed his arms, his muscles bulging. She wanted to grab him, to hold him, to feel him. To soak in some of his vitality.
She pulled the IV from her arm and tossed it away, then reached up to smooth her hair. She would look like death. And death was rarely pretty.
Her arms grew tired from that little bit of activity, and she lowered them to her lap.
Finally, she met his stare.
“Berserker,” she said, almost afraid, and not quite understanding her new hesitancy. “I…will you—”
He growled, and in that sound was every horror and every pain that had tormented him over the last month. He leaned forward and yanked her off the bed, into his arms, and squeezed her so hard she couldn’t breathe.
“Damn you,” he whispered.
“We kicked ass, didn’t we?”
He blew out a hard breath. “We fucking did.”
She wrapped her arms around his warm neck and pressed her lips against his soft, familiar skin.
“How is Fie?” she asked.
“She…” he hesitated, and in that hesitation was her answer. “She’s alive.”
“And Bill?”
She could feel his frown. “Bill?”
Later. Later, she’d worry about Bill.
“Berserker,” she murmured, then repeated the words he’d said to her weeks ago. “You’re mine.”
He pulled back and stared at her. He said nothing.
She smiled, and her lips, in their dryness, cracked. She had to say it again. “You’re mine. But you know that, don’t you?”
All the bad shit in the world still waited, and that was okay.
Because she had the berserker.
She had her crew.
She had her life.
And at that moment, it was really just that fucking simple.
About Laken Cane
Laken Cane is the pseudonym of a published paranormal romance author currently living in the Midwest. Shiv Crew is her debut book under this pseudonym and the first in the Rune Alexander series. You can learn more about her and join her mailing list at www.lakencane.com, follow her on Twitter @lakencane, or friend her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/laken.cane.3
Books in the Rune Alexander series—
Shiv Crew, book one
Blood and Bite, book two
Strange Trouble, book three
Obsidian Wings, book four
New Regime, book five
Book six in progress
From the author—
Authors need reviews like vampires need blood! If you’ve enjoyed this book, would you consider rating it and reviewing it on Amazon.com? Thank you!
Available now from M. Stratton—
Devlin Cross is one of Hollywood's biggest stars. He has his pick of the scripts and his pick of the women. While on a break from filming his current movie, he takes a drive through the countryside and stops at a local art gallery. There, the owner isn't star struck by having him in her shop.
Lily Walker is a single mother who wants nothing to do with men. Her goal in life is to raise her son to the best of her ability and give him the stable home life she never had. With her failed marriage behind her the last thing on her radar is a relationship, especially one with a famous movie star.
Not every break up is mutual. Some ex-lovers never let go. Some will do whatever it takes to have that person back in their lives. Dead... or alive...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MT3TK8E