Badlands Read online

  Epilogue

  Six weeks later

  Sunlight seeped through the porthole, stirring Ever from sleep. She sat up and watched the light play on the planes of Spencer’s face. Her fingers trailed along his skin, pausing for a moment at the red, puckered wound on his abdomen.

  So many injuries, so much pain. Zeke’s death still weighed on her conscience, but at least Henrietta had managed to work through her pain from the graze in her side and tend to the rest of them. Still, one death was one too many, and while Henri’s healing skills may have convinced Spencer to allow her to retain her place on the ship, she hadn’t come close to earning anyone’s forgiveness or trust.

  Spencer twitched beneath her hand, and she poised to tickle him awake when a sharp pain lanced through her wrist.

  She forced her hand into a fist, pushing past the agony. It didn’t matter what Henrietta said, Ever would have full use of her left hand again. While surveillance duty on the Dark Hawk was pleasant enough, it wasn’t Ever’s calling.

  As soon as word of Laurette’s crowning reached them, their people had come out of hiding and begun to rebuild the fortress. For now, the new queen was housed deeper in their borders, at the north end of the very mountain range where they’d made their stand. What remained of the border guards had been joined by men—former prisoners who had earned their freedom—and helped even now to hunt down their brethren. Ever argued against the plan from the beginning. The new queen had turned the Badlands into something different, something foreign. Laurette decided Ever needed time to heal and ordered her to patrol the air with the newly outfitted Dark Hawk in order to ensure their skies stayed clear of more invaders.

  For the first time since childhood, Ever had regretted abdicating the throne to her sister.

  Looking at Spencer, she bit her lip. If she were queen, she’d never be able to be with him. Still, she needed to be on the ground…at least some of the time.

  He rolled toward her, and she lowered her hand, enduring the pain to stroke him awake. His eyes drifted open as he hardened beneath her palm. “Is that the proper way to wake your captain?” His voice was still husky with sleep, but the playful smile on his lips told her more than the words.

  “No, sir. However, the proper method involved you staying asleep a few moments longer.” Ever had never expected to willingly follow a man, but on this ship, she knew titles were meaningless. Whatever she called him, she knew they were equals in his eyes.

  He growled and rolled over, pinning her to the mattress. “Well, Princess, I think we better remedy the situation immediately.” His length pressed against her, and her muscles tightened inside as moisture made her slick and hot and ready.

  “If that is what you think best.” She lowered her eyes for a second, playing coy, then lifted her head and nipped at his chest.

  A throaty laugh rumbled through him. “Still feeling feisty, I see. I’d have thought the last two weeks on board would have bored that out of you.” He shifted his weight, his tip teasing her.

  “It will take longer than a fortnight to make me sick of being with you.” She raised her hips, yearning to get closer, but he moved just out of reach. Ever growled.

  Spencer lowered his head, his breath tickling her neck as he trailed kisses up her throat. “But there have been complaints from the rest of the crew. I’ve been told if you scream my name one more time, they’ll mutiny and I’ll be cast bodily from the ship.”

  A slight turn of her head and Ever’s mouth was a breath away from his. “Then I suggest, Captain, you find a creative means of keeping me quiet.”

  His lips curled into a smile an instant before he covered her mouth and thrust into her.

  Ever clutched his back, her nails digging into his skin as he stroked inside her, her moans and screams lost in his mouth. Perhaps ground duty could wait a few more weeks.

  About the Author

  Seleste’s first attempt at a novel was a sweeping epic romance called Wars and Wishes, Disasters and Dreams. She finished about three chapters before deciding she had better things to do. At twelve years old, most girls wouldn’t have made it that far. She went on to write numerous short stories and poems throughout her teens, but it wasn’t until after earning a degree in chemistry that she returned to her love of writing fiction. In addition to her Carina Press work, Seleste also has work with Decadent Publishing, including her debut story Of Course I Try.

  These days, Seleste splits her time between the worlds in her imagination and her home in southwest Michigan. Her husband and two children have learned not to worry too much when she doesn’t seem all there, and her dog is attached enough that he waits patiently by her feet until she returns.

  Where no great story goes untold.

  The variety you want to read, the stories authors have always wanted to write.

  With new releases every week, your next great read is just a download away!

  Keep in touch with Carina Press:

  Read our blog: www.CarinaPress.com/blog

  Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarinaPress

  Become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarinaPress

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-9125-0

  Copyright © 2011 by Seleste deLaney

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  www.CarinaPress.com