“So you ripped out one of your songs and hoped someone would find us?” I cupped her cheek. “Estelle, you do know which song you tossed into the sea, right? You do know you didn’t write down any details of us, the crash, anything to help them locate us if by some miracle the tide carried the bottle to help, rather than circle the atoll to wash up on the very shore you threw it from.”
“I...I’m not sure. I don’t remember much of that night, to be honest. I just grabbed a page, stuffed it into the plastic, screwed the cap on, and threw it.” She shrugged. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Then why were the words about us?”
Her cheek warmed beneath my palm. “What—what do you mean? They weren’t about us. The lyrics were about death and darkness and pain.”
“No, Stel...they weren’t.”
We stood silently, her eyes searching mine, trying to understand.
Dropping my touch, I pulled out the crinkled, waterlogged page from my back pocket.
When I’d found it last night, bobbing in the tide as if begging me to find it, I didn’t have a clue what the contents were. For a moment, I worried some other poor schmuck was capsized and castaway, desperate for someone to rescue him.
I wasn’t prepared to see Estelle’s hand-writing.
Or read a song I’d never had the pleasure of seeing.
But somehow, after almost five years of bliss on an island that’d given almost four years of nightmares, it was the fautless end.
The only end.
The beginning of our new conception.
Breathing shallowly, Estelle straightened out the page and read, “I crash landed to find him. I fell from the sky to know him. I died a mortal death to be worthy of him. I am reborn because of him.
“If rescue never comes, know I didn’t need it. If help never arrives, know I didn’t want it. If we die here together, be happy knowing this was our destiny.
“Don’t find us. Don’t mourn us. Don’t weep for us. Because we were the lucky ones, the chosen ones, the only ones for each other.”
Tears rained from her eyes as she looked up.
Our bodies melted together; our lips kissed softly. “I knew you loved me, Estelle. But that...knowing that even in your darkest moments, you were prepared to die beside me, that you wouldn’t have left me, that you’d chosen me over life, over safety, over everything. You couldn’t have given me a more priceless gift.”
“But don’t you see, I didn’t give you that.” Her lips curved into the sweetest, sexiest smile. “You did. The day you gave me Coco; the day you gave me Finnek. The day you gave me your heart, G, you made my fate shift, and all of this—our island, our home, our very existence could vanish and I would still be the happiest woman in the world because I’d have you.”
I couldn’t do it anymore.
The guests would have to wait.
Dinner would have to wait.
Our children would have to wait.
Taking her hand, I guided her to our bedroom and locked the door. “You have me, Estelle. You have me for as long as you want me.”
Pushing the sundress straps from her shoulders, she let it pool to the floor, standing in the middle of our elegantly simple bedroom with its seashell chandelier and white bed. “Forever?”
Unbuckling my shorts, my heart switched owners, giving every remaining beat to her. “Forever.
“More than forever.
“For eternity.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pepper Winters is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller. She loves romance, star-crossed lovers, and anything to do with character connection. She strives to write a story that makes the reader crave what they shouldn't, and delivers tales with complex plots and unforgettable characters.
After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She's a multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. She's also honoured to wear the IndieReader Badge for being a Top 10 Indie Bestseller, and recently signed a two book deal with Hachette. Represented by Trident Media, her books have garnered foreign and audio interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages. They will be in available in bookstores worldwide.
Her Dark Romance books include:
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)
Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark #3)
Debt Inheritance (Indebted #1)
First Debt (Indebted Series #2)
Second Debt (Indebted Series #3)
Third Debt (Indebted Series #4)
Fourth Debt (Indebted Series #5)
Final Debt (Indebted Series #6)
Indebted Epilogue (Indebted Series #7)
***
Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed
Ruin & Rule (Pure Corruption #1)
Sin & Suffer (Pure Corruption #2)
***
Upcoming releases are:
Je Suis a Toi (Monsters in the Dark Novella)
Super Secret Series (5-6 book series)
Indebted Beginnings (Indebted Series Prequel)
***
Her Audio Books include:
Monsters in the Dark Series (releasing early 2016)
Indebted Series (releasing early 2016)
Ruin & Rule / Sin & Suffer (Out now)
Destroyed / Unseen Messages (releasing early 2016)
***
To be the first to know of upcoming releases, please join Pepper’s Newsletter (she promises never to spam or annoy you.)
Pepper's Newsletter
Or follow her on her website
Pepper Winters
You can stalk her here:
Pinterest
Facebook Pepper Winters
Twitter
Instagram
Website
Facebook Group
Goodreads
She loves mail of any kind:
[email protected] All other titles and updates can be found on her Goodreads Page.
Playlist
Ain’t Nobody Like You by Felix Jaehn
Roots by Imagine Dragons
Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons
Book of Love by Felix Jaehn
Adore by Jasmine Thompson
Like I’m Gonna Lose You by Mehan Trainor and John Legend
Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding
Starlight by Muse
Hearts a Mess by Gotye
Creep by Radio Head
Dancing by Elisa
Bright by Echosmith
Acknowledgements
FIRST, A MASSIVE thank you to my husband who put up with me when the issues at the airport happened (in the exact same sequence it did in this book) and just chuckled when I read into the messages warning me not to board. For not rolling his eyes too much when I stuffed my pockets with the exact same things Estelle did, and for letting me vanish for days on end into this island world where I’ve left a piece of myself.
This book has a lot of me in the pages. I’m an ex-flight attendant, I was lucky enough to go on a SIGNing tour not a SINGing tour in the USA, and my life changed just like Estelle’s when my dreams came true with my writing. I’ve put my heart and soul into these pages and I hope you liked reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
I’ve taken my own life events and plaited them into this story. I borrowed my memories of enjoying a P&O Cruise around the islands with my hubby and used my mother’s symptoms of cellulitis when she got sick a few months ago and ended up in hospital with such a simple but deadly infection.
I referred to experts who know the land and sea and learned so much writing this that I’d be confident I could at least feed myself for a few days if the worst ever happened.
I have to say a massive thank you to my father for hi
s help with the helicopter crash and terminology (he’s a retired Royal Air Force Pilot). A big thanks to my stepmother for her guidance in the maladies and broken bones suffered (she’s a General Practitioner). And a shout out to Stone's Nursery & Fresh Island Foods in Fiji for answering my produce questions, sea life availability, and what would be edible on a remote island such as Seven Turtles.
A massive thanks to my beta readers: Amy, Yaya, Tamicka, Melissa, and Nikki. To Jenny for editing such a long book and to Ellen for proofreading. Thanks to Selena for running my groups so well and having my back, Glorya for her crazy support and friendship, Nina and Aussie Lisa for being rockstars, and Skye for being my bestie and reminding me how to sample foreign food.
Also thank you to Nalini Singh for her help with the Fijian translation and for becoming a friend after I’ve admired her work for so long.
Thank you to Inkslinger for agreeing to work with me and help run my chaotic life. Thank you to the authors I talk to daily online and all the support you’ve given me.
And mostly, thank you to you, the reader. If this is the first book of mine you’ve read, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. If it’s a few, then I hope I’m delivering quality you enjoy. You make my dreams come true and I’m forever in your debt.
BOOK BLURBS BY PEPPER WINTERS
Complete Duology
Ruin & Rule (Pure Corruption MC #1)
"We met in a nightmare. The in-between world where time had no power over reason. We fell in love. We fell hard. But then we woke up. And it was over . . ."
Buy Now
***
Sin & Suffer (Pure Corruption MC #2)
“Some say the past is in the past. That vengeance will hurt both innocent and guilty. I never believed those lies.”
Buy Now
***************
Complete Trilogy
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
“My life was complete. Happy, content, everything neat and perfect.
Then it all changed.
I was sold.”
Buy Now
***
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)
“All my life, I battled with the knowledge I was twisted... screwed up to want something so deliciously dark—wrong on so many levels. But then slave fifty-eight entered my world. Hissing, fighting, with a core of iron, she showed me an existence where two wrongs do make a right."
Buy Now
***
Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark #3)
“After battling through hell, I brought my esclave back from the brink of ruin. I sacrificed everything—my heart, my mind, my very desires to bring her back to life. And for a while, I thought it broke me, that I’d never be the same. But slowly the beast is growing bolder, and it’s finally time to show Tess how beautiful the dark can be.”
Buy Now
***************
Complete Series
Debt Inheritance (Indebted Series #1)
"I own you. I have the piece of paper to prove it. It's undeniable and unbreakable. You belong to me until you've paid off your debts."
Buy Now
***
First Debt (Indebted Series #2)
“You say I’ll never own you. If I win—you willingly give me that right. You sign not only the debt agreement, but another—one that makes me your master until your last breath is taken. You do that, and I’ll give you this.”
Buy Now
***
Second Debt (Indebted #3)
"I tried to play a game. I tried to wield deceit as perfectly as the Hawks. But when I thought I was winning, I wasn't. Jethro isn't what he seems—he's the master of duplicity. However, I refuse to let him annihilate me further."
Buy Now
***
Third Debt (Indebted #4)
“She healed me. She broke me. I set her free. But we are in this together. We will end this together. The rules of this ancient game can’t be broken.”
Buy Now
***
Fourth Debt (Indebted #5)
“We’d won. We’d cut through the lies and treachery and promised an alliance that would free us both. But even as we won, we lost. We didn’t see what was coming. We didn’t know we had to plan a resurrection.”
Buy Now
***
Final Debt (Indebted #6)
"I'm in love with her, but it might not be enough to stop her from becoming the latest victim of the Debt Inheritance. I know who I am now. I know what I must do. We will be together—I just hope it's on Earth rather than in heaven."
Buy Now
***
Indebted Epilogue (Indebted #7)
INDEBTED EPILOGUE is a bonus book to be read after the series.
Buy Now
***************
Standalones
Destroyed (Grey Romance)
She has a secret.
He has a secret.
One secret destroys them.
Buy Now
References
Stone's Nursery & Fresh Island Foods
http://mesfiji.org/sea-turtle-nesting-season-begins
http://www.zippla.net/they-said-coconut-oil-was-great/
http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/7-nutrient-deficiencies-that-can-make-you-sick
https://humblelore.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/30-uses-for-wood-ashes-you-never-thought-of/
http://www.healthline.com/health/cellulitis
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00162
http://fijimarinas.com/medicinal-plants-of-the-fijian-sea-shore/
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Malnutrition/Pages/Symptoms.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/RealPasifik
Thank you so much for reading.
Pepper Winters, Unseen Messages
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends