Eternal
Authors: London Saint James
Evernight Publishing
Copyright© 2012 London Saint James
ISBN:
978-1-927368-75-6
Cover
Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor:
Dana Horbach
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is
illegal.
No part of this book may be
used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This
is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end.
And so it is with a truly grateful heart I say farewell to the end of a
series that will eternally hold a special place in my own heart.
To Evernight Publishing. Thank you for giving me the
opportunity to get Winter’s story out there.
Thanks to my editor, Dana, who helped me make The Heart Of
Winter into a better series, and for sticking with me until the end.
To Dara
and Sour Cherry Designs. Thank you for making such beautiful book covers.
To my number one fan. Thanks for not pulling your
hair out while listening to me read and re-read this series when working on
edits. I love you.
And finally, to all the fans of the series. Thank you so
much for your support and your encouragement.
ETERNAL
The
Heart of Winter, 4
London Saint James
Copyright © 2012
Prologue
From the haze of my sleep Cayden’s voice buzzed
at my ear. “Winter, my love.”
I opened my eyes and scrubbed them before I
glanced over to see the clock on the side table. 5:02 a.m. glared in bright
green numbers. Arching my back like a cat waking from a nap, I stretched my
arms up. Cayden’s chest pressed firmly against my back. A sense of satisfaction
filled me. The corners of my mouth turned up into a smile.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered against
my cheek. His hand slid down over my hip. “I love you.” He pressed a kiss to my
shoulder.
“It’s early,” I mock grumped and rolled in
Cayden’s arms. The sheets rustled. “Hi.”
I placed a soft kiss to his lips. “I love you, too.”
We had spent the night talking, making love, and
talking some more. Maybe I was going to get lucky again, start my morning off
right.
“I’m sorry to wake you. I have to go soon. I
have an early day of filming. So as much as I hate to leave you, I have to.”
Cayden’s angelic features turned into a frown.
I pressed my lips to the hollow of his smooth
throat. “Are you sure you can’t stay a little while longer? I thought I might
get lucky.”
He laughed his low even laugh. “You have no idea
how much I want to get lucky myself, but if I am ever going to get this film
done then I better follow through with my obligations.”
My hands fondled his bare chest. Fingers
circling his flesh while my lips continued over his throat until I found his
collarbone. “Please stay,” I begged.
Cayden sighed. It sounded conflicted. “Do you
know how hard it is to say no to you?”
“Please.” I continued, “Don’t say no.”
Cayden’s voice became quiet almost pained
saying, “Winter.” He held me close, encasing me within his arms, and stopped my
advancing hands. I kissed his stubble covered cheek. “Baby, I really do have to
go.”
“I’m sorry.” I tucked my face into his chest and
muttered, “I understand you have to go.”
He pulled my chin up from his chest and gazed at
me with a blazing determination. “Never say you are sorry. If it were possible,
I would spend all of my time holding you in my arms. I’m not sorry you want me
to stay. The only thing I am sorry for is leaving you today. I hate it. I hate
to leave you. I hate being away from you, but I have to go.”
Clearly I wouldn’t bend his willpower. Cayden
kissed the top of my head before he slipped out from beneath the sheets. I
flipped around in the bed to see him pulling on his jeans. Once they were
buttoned, he searched for his shirt. He located it dangling off the side arm of
the chair by the window.
“Baby, I will be filming until Wednesday.”
“Oh,” I interjected, my voice sounding more than
dejected.
He turned and looked at me for a long moment. “I
am going to miss you every minute of every day. I’ll be back out to the estate
Wednesday evening.”
“Three days is a long time, but I guess I
understand.” I tugged the sheet up over my head, throwing a pity party all of
my own.
Cayden slipped the sheet down, exposing my face.
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Hide your face from me. I never want you to
hide from me.”
I sighed and kicked the sheet. It billowed up
before floating back down. “Just ignore me, Cayden. I know I am being more than
stupid right now. I know you have obligations. I’m being selfish. Forgive me.”
He smiled his guilty crooked smile. “I love that
you are selfish. So am I, remember?” He paused. “Anyway, there is nothing to
forgive. I will call you from Zander’s phone a little later to make sure
everything went well leaving the hotel today. I need to know you are safe and
at the estate.”
“Cayden, you really do not need to worry or
check up on me.”
“Just the same, it makes me feel better to hear
your voice.” Cayden kissed the tip of my nose. “I love you. I will see you on
Wednesday so please be good while I’m gone.”
“I love you.” I smiled what had to be an impish
grin, because I was going to be naughty. I sat up on the bed, allowing the bed
sheet to fall until it exposed the top of my breasts. “Oops,” I said, biting my
bottom lip.
I stopped the material just above my taught
nipples. They were present and accounted for and pressed through the material.
I glanced at Cayden from beneath my lashes, spread my legs, and permitted the
Egyptian cotton sheet to puddle between them. Cayden’s eyes widened. His tongue
slicked out. He licked his lips as if he were tasting me.
“Cayden, you know I will be the model of virtue.
With you gone I have to be good. You won’t be around to tempt me so I have no
idea how to get into any trouble.”
“You are sexy as hell, Winter.”
“So are you.” I lifted my bare left foot to his
chest and traced my foot down the length of the buttons on Cayden’s shirt.
Next, my toes shimmied down his pants until I rested my foot on his crotch.
“Very nice jeans,” I commented. He pressed forward.
Cayden picked up my foot and tapped his
fingertips down my leg in a sinful way. “You are extremely naughty.”
“Sorry,” I said, but I wasn’t sorry at all.
“Maybe I should paddle that sweet little ass for
being so naughty.”
“Definitely,” I replied. He smiled wickedly.
He wrapped his hand around my ankle. Lifted my
foot up to his face. He put his mouth on the top of my foot and kissed it
softly before Cayden placed my pink painted toes to his mouth where he
proceeded to suck on them one at a time. Goosebumps flashed across my flesh.
“Baby, every part of you tastes good,” he
crooned. Cayden let loose of my foot. He stripped off his shirt.
“Babe, what are you doing?” I asked, giggling.
“Winter, I’m taking off my clothes,” he stated.
His shirt hit the floor. He started to remove his jeans.
“I see that but….” My mouth was stopped by his
lips. Cayden removed the sheet from my body. He swept his penetrating gaze over
my bare flesh. Laying me back on the bed, he slid his naked body up against
mine. “Babe,” I mumbled.
“Shh….” Cayden hushed me.
“I thought you had to go.”
“They can start without me. I’ve got work to do
here,” he teased while he played with my breasts.
I moaned with pleasure.
“Cayden, I can’t….” My lips seemed to stumble.
Cayden continued to touch me. “I….” I shivered. “I can’t make you late,” I
finally said.
“Stop talking and give me those luscious lips.”
And with his request I did.
Cayden was pressed between my thighs when his cell
phone rang, “Papercut” by
“Should you answer that?”
“No,” he muttered before his mouth paused at my
throat, and my hands slid down his muscular back, lingering in the furrow of
his spine above his ass.
My cell phone started ringing. I let out an
exasperated sigh.
“Should you answer that?” Cayden asked.
“They’ll call back,” I assured.
My phone vibrated across the side table before
grazing Cayden’s phone,
pinged
and slid off. I heard it hit the floor by
the bed.