Breaking Her (Love is War #2) (47 page)

She'd always been one that took self-criticism to new extremes, but even she admitted that she was happy with her performance and with the movie as a whole.

When the lights came on, she was watching my face, a grin on hers.

There was a twist to her smile always, but just then, she was happy.

As was I.

"Scarlett Theroux," I told her with quiet reverence.
 
"I will love you to the end of my days.
 
There aren't a lot of guarantees in life, but that is one of them."

"I know, lover.
 
I don't doubt it for a second.
 
You've earned that."

*****

"They say marriages are made in heaven.
 
But so is thunder and lightning."

~Clint Eastwood

SCARLETT

For months I'd waffled between wanting a huge wedding and saying to hell with it and just eloping.
 

But Dante had promised Mercy that she could be a flower girl, and I really, really liked dressing up, so we settled for small but lavish.
 

And most importantly of all.
 
Quick.
 

We took a small entourage to an extravagant Durant property in southern Italy and threw one hell of a party.
 

I wore a champagne lace Givenchy number that made every other dress in the room have a small, intense orgasm as I passed by.
 

And red Louboutins, of course.
 
Because shoe porn.

Leona was my maid of honor, Demi a bridesmaid.
 

They'd both been even more shocked than I had when they found out about Farrah.
 
Shocked and disgusted.
 

The girls hadn't even had to kick her out.
 
She'd disappeared one night amid the Adelaide fallout.
 
None of us heard from her again.
 
Good riddance.
   

Gina was my third and final bridesmaid.
 
When I asked her to do it, she cried like I'd just granted her a wish.
 
I still wonder all the time what I ever did to deserve such sweet, amazing people in my life.
 

Bastian was the best man, but his fiancée was not invited.
 
Just no.
 
Never.
 
I was still waiting for her to die in a fire.
 

I live on hope.
 

The groomsmen were rounded out with Eugene and Anton.
 
I was more surprised than anyone was when I introduced Dante to Anton and the two men actually became friends.
 

There weren't many attendees beyond the wedding party, and that was perfect with me.
 
It was a beautiful, happy day, filled with laughter, friends, and love.
 

We both had tears in our eyes as we watched our gorgeous little flower girl decorate the small path to the altar for us.
 
But they were happy tears.
 
Progress.

"Marriage is the most valuable, treasured friendship of your life," the officiate began.

I won't lie, we barely heard the rest, but at least it was a strong start.
 

Dante and I were having a moment, staring at each other, thanking the powers that be that in spite of everything, in spite of ourselves, somehow we'd ended up here.
 
Together.
 
Joined.
 

Whole again.
 

"Dante Durant, love of my life," I said at the end, still drowning in his ocean deep eyes, my mascara a mess down my face.
 
"There aren't a lot of guarantees in life, but I promise you this:
 
I will never lose my faith in you again."

I saw in the way his face fell and lifted, the way his eyes melted at me, that I'd said the right thing, what he'd needed to hear.
 
What I'd needed to say.
   

It took me time to make peace with the decisions Dante had made, even after I'd come to understand them.
 
He hadn't had a lot of choices and his priority, as ever, had been to protect me.
 

It took me longer to come to terms with the fallout I had caused as a result.
 

Some wounds time couldn't heal, this I had always known.
 

But what I learned, even as I learned what it meant to forgive, was that some wounds it could.
 

It was a revelation to me.

I had forgiven him and he me.

But perhaps most important of all, I had learned to forgive myself.
 

BOOKS
BY R.K. LILLEY

THE LOVE IS WAR DUET

BREAKING HIM

BREAKING HER
 

THE WILD SIDE SERIES

THE WILD SIDE
 

IRIS
 

DAIR
 

THE OTHER MAN

TYRANT - COMING SOON

THE UP IN THE AIR SERIES

IN FLIGHT

MILE HIGH

GROUNDED

MR. BEAUTIFUL

LANA (AN UP IN THE AIR COMPANION NOVELLA)

AUTHORITY - COMING SOON

THE TRISTAN & DANIKA SERIES

BAD THINGS

ROCK BOTTOM

LOVELY TRIGGER

THE HERETIC DAUGHTERS SERIES

BREATHING FIRE

CROSSING FIRE - COMING SOON

THE BISHOP BROTHERS SERIES

BOSS - COMING SOON

Crossing Fire

This is the followup to Breathing Fire
 
(Heretic Daughters #1)
 

CHAPTER ONE

HOT MESS

JILLIAN

The house was small and nondescript, and right smack in the middle of a shockingly populated area. This, though, was the best thing about the hot mess that was Las Vegas.
 
Hiding in plain sight.
 
Mixing in with loud, messy crowds of strangers.
 
Conducting top secret meetings in rows of cookie cutter houses.

I parked my black, brand spanking new Dodge Challenger at the curb, and approached the house cautiously.
 
My two-handed, double-bladed battle axe stayed in the trunk, unfortunately.
 
I had a small pistol strapped to my ankle, hidden under the hem of my bootcut jeans.
 
A large knife was strapped to my other ankle.
 
I wasn't expecting trouble at this meeting, but ruling the idea out completely went against every instinct I had.
 

My weapons were a considerate gift from my ex.
 
Ex-ish
?
 
Hell, I didn't know what he was, but he'd supplied me with everything he thought I'd need on short notice.
 

It had been a nice thought, but I was already itching for my old, familiar arsenal, which had been lost when I'd been captured by my deranged relatives.
 
I'd escaped, but hadn't been exactly in the mindset to find my confiscated stash, as I'd bolted from the place in my dragon form, then promptly flown far, far away.

I knocked softly on the light blue door of the tiny stuccoed house.
 
It was the darkest house on the street, the porch lit only by the streetlights.
 
From what I could see of the inside from the small, twin front windows, every light inside of the house was off, as well.
 

The place looked deserted.
 
There was even an old for sale sign in the tiny desert landscaped front yard.
 

I wondered briefly if I was somehow at the wrong address when the door flew open, and a hard hand yanked me inside.
 
A harsh voice that I recognized well kept me from lashing out at the sudden contact.
 
"About time," Caleb told me, shutting the door quietly, then dragging me further into the dark house.
   

I shook him off, waving him ahead of me when he shot me a glance.
 

I certainly didn't need the sociopath chameleon alien to hold my hand.

He led me down a dark hallway to a door with faint light showing through the bottom.
 
I was surprised, when he opened it, that it led to a basement.
 
Basements were hard to come by in Vegas, especially in a tiny house like this one.
 
But it did explain why the rest of the house was completely dark.

Caleb waved me down the narrow stairway first, closing the door very quietly behind us.

I just blinked for a moment when I saw the inhabitants of the top secret basement meeting place, and what they were doing.

Christian and Luke both rose as I entered, but I didn't miss what filled their computer screens, the bright colors vivid even across the room.

Christian positively beamed at me, rushing forward to lift me up in a bone-crushing hug, spinning me around and talking all at once.
 
"We missed you, girl.
 
And you're all glowy and golden.
 
Preetty.
 
Is that what color your dragon is?"
 

I didn't answer, since he was both squeezing the air out of me, and not stopping long enough to let me get a word in.

Caleb managed to cut in with an answer.
 
"The pictures I saw of her landing on the roof looked to be pale gold, or even silver, in the dark."
 

"Ohhh," Christian said, setting me down to study me.
 
He took a lock of my hair between his fingers, rubbing.
 
"It's so bright, it looks like it could rub off."

I shrugged it off, not really worried about the after-effects of my dragon-trance.
 
I knew that they would fade away, eventually.
 
I pointed at his computer.
 
"How's WoW treating you these days?
 
Please don't tell me that you made me come here for a top secret World of Warcraft party," I told him archly.
 
If they had, I was going to be royally pissed.

Christian waved a cursory hand at the gaming computers set up in the corner.
 
"That? Naw.
 
That was just to kill time."

I looked at Caleb.
 
He met my gaze with a very blank expression.
 
"No, Jillian, we did not invite you here for a gaming party," he said, his tone slightly disgusted.

I supposed that, while I could have expected something that silly from Christian, I should have known better, with Caleb involved.

I was suddenly distracted by Luke, who had moved close behind me and gone to his knees, his head lowered.
 

Oh Lord, he was still doing that.

I sighed.

"Um, hey, Luke.
 
How's it going?"
 
I asked, patting his head rather awkwardly.

"Good, Mistress Jillian, now that I've gotten to see you again.
 
My Mistress is even more beautiful than I remembered."

Christian giggled like a school boy.
 
I glared at him.
 
I had no idea what to do with a submissive man.
 
Generally, the men I hung out with were sarcastic, crude, dominant, aggressive, borderline or not so borderline psychotic, violent to the batshit crazy degree, and sometimes just plain obnoxious.
 
None
of those qualities could be called submissive.
 
Frankly, I didn't even know what to do with a man that didn't give me shit just for breathing.
 
Which reminded me . . .

I pointed a finger at Christian.
 
"You need to stop baiting Dom.
 
It's gotten old already."

His giggles died until he was just smiling at me, an almost fond expression on his face.
 
"You know I'd do almost anything for you, girl, but I won't do
that
."
     

I closed my eyes and counted to ten.
 
This meeting was not off to a productive start.
 

Caleb spoke, finally bringing up the reason I had come.
 
"Tianlong is still in town, though the rest of his people left months ago.
 
Luke here has joined his household, becoming one of his favorite pets.
 
He overheard news of another dragon visiting Vegas, one of the Chinese, and he thinks it might be Drake.
 
Luke needs to get back undercover very soon, but he refused to go without getting to see you, since he unfortunately overheard us talking about your return."

Caleb gave Luke a very unfriendly look.
 
"Well, here she is.
 
Anything you want to say before you go back?"
 

Luke just shook his head, darting a quick glance at my face, then looking back down at my feet.
 
"No.
 
Everything I need to say to Mistress Jillian I've said in the letters that Christian is holding for her.
 
And I have gazed upon her beauty.
 
I can go back to my duties with a light heart."
 

I shook my head at him, exasperated, but still, I tried to be nice.
 
I could do nice.
 
Sort of.
 
"You're, um, doing a good job, Luke.
 
Thank you for helping us."
 

He was kissing my feet suddenly, and I backed hastily away, the room filling with Christian's most obnoxious laugh.
 

"I am not worthy of your thanks," Luke said, prostate on the ground.
 

I cringed, but tried to talk some reason into him.
 
"You are, Luke.
 
Of course you are.
 
I'm proud of you.
 
It sounds like you're doing a really good job, and it's a very selfless thing that you're doing to help my sister."