“I let her talk, let her cement the plans. I even chose the pattern for my bridesmaids’ dresses. And then, when they left, I lay there, trying to decide what to do. Going back to Carlo, to that life, wasn’t an option. I couldn’t stand to look at him, let alone marry him. Which meant I could either find a way to kill myself before I got released or I could run away. And it turned out, despite the suicidal actions that had put me in the hospital to begin with, I didn’t want to die.
“So I waited until the nurse came around for my nightly medicine dose and vitals check. Then, when I was sure it would be hours before she knew I was gone, I pulled out the IV, unhooked the monitors and walked out with nothing but my purse and the silk pajama set my mother had brought me at the hospital. I went to the closest ATM, took out the three hundred dollars it let me take, and I never looked back.
“I went to the cheapest hotel I could find, spent a week healing enough to cover my bruises with makeup, and then another week looking for a job to pay the bills while I worked out a better plan. I knew I should just walk away, should just leave Vegas forever. But I couldn’t leave Lucy forever. Not with them, not when she’s so fragile and sick and no one even knows how long she’s going to live. If it wasn’t for her I don’t think I ever would have spoken to my parents again.”
“You shouldn’t have to speak to them again, shouldn’t have to have anything to do with them—“
“I need to see Lucy—”
“I know a lot of really good lawyers, Aria. Lucy doesn’t have to stay with those bastards any more than you do.”
“But I can’t afford—”
“Are you kidding me?” he demands, pushing me away just far enough that he can look in my eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me with that?”
“I know you want to help. I get that. And it means more to me than I can ever tell you, but there’s no way I can let you make yourself a target like that. My father would kill you if you tried to interfere with his family—”
“Your father is welcome to try. But he needs to understand that you’re not his family anymore. You’re mine. And unlike him, I protect what belongs to me.”
My breath catches in my throat at the possessiveness of his tone. At the certainty that I am his. “I don’t belong to anyone. Not now, not ever again.”
Sebastian swoops down and kisses me, and it’s the most thrilling kiss I’ve ever had. Hard yet soft, demanding yet giving, burning hot yet so sweet it literally takes my breath away. When he finally pulls back my knees are weak and my heart is beating so fast that I can barely catch my breath.
“You belong to me, Aria,” he tells me and he’s never looked more serious. More determined. “Just like I belong to you. This isn’t about control, isn’t about anything but the fact that I love you and—”
“What did you say?” I demand, certain that I’ve heard him wrong. Certain that he didn’t just say what I thought he did.
“I said I love you. And I want to spend every day for the rest of my life proving it. I want to cherish you like you deserve, Aria. To give you all the things Carlo was too fucking stupid to.”
I don’t answer for long seconds—I can’t. My throat is thick with unshed tears and shock and I don’t want to be crying the first time I tell Sebastian that I love him.
So instead of answering his declaration with one of my own, I tangle my hands in his hair and tell him, “Say it again.”
He looks a little alarmed. “Which part?”
“The part where you told me you love me.”
“That’s easy. I love you, Aria, and I want—”
“That’s enough.” I clap my hand over his mouth. “That’s more than enough. Because I love you, too. And I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you, too.”
He takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. Even manages a smile. “Thank God, Aria. Thank God.”
And then I’m in his arms and he’s kissing me and I’m kissing him and nothing else matters. Not the past, not the future. Not the pain we’ve caused each other nor the pleasure that is to come. In those seconds, wrapped in each other’s arms with the Strip lit up and spread below us at our feet, everything is perfect.
It’s minutes—or maybe hours—before we come up for air. When we do, Sebastian walks over to the bar and pops a celebratory bottle of champagne. But when he goes to hand me a glass, he looks a million miles away.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask, after pressing a soft kiss to his mouth to regain his attention. He hesitates, and I can tell he’s trying to figure out if he wants to tell me the truth. But I don’t want lies between us, no matter how small. My whole life has been filled with secrets, with things we just didn’t talk about. That’s not the kind of life I want to build with Sebastian.
I tell him so and he nods, sets his glass of champagne to the side. Then does the same to mine. It’s only when he has my hands tight in his that he finally answers.
“I was thinking about Dylan. About how he never had the chance to fall in love with a woman. How he never had the chance to build a life for himself away from all the darkness.”
It hurts me to see him look so sad, so lost. Sebastian always knows what he’s doing, always knows what he wants. Seeing him look so uncertain hurts me in a way even my parents’ neglect couldn’t.
“What happened to Dylan wasn’t your fault.” It’s not the first time I’ve said it to him and I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last. But that’s okay. I’ll keep saying it until it gets through. Until he believes me.
“What happened to James isn’t your fault, either.”
My eyes meet his and I want to argue with him, want to tell him that it was totally my fault. That I should have known better than to think Carlo would understand. Should have known better than to think it could turn out all right.
But as I stare into Sebastian’s eyes, I finally understand the truth of his own guilt. Just like I understand that the best way to help him is to let go of my own feelings of culpability. It’s not easy, not something I ever thought I’d be able to do. But for Sebastian…for Sebastian, I think I’d do just about anything. Even this.
“Maybe we could do something,” I tell him.
“Do something?”
“We can’t make what happened to them any better, can’t undo what they suffered. But maybe we could, I don’t know, start a foundation or something. For victims of violence. To help with medical bills, and help them get their lives back on track.”
Sebastian looks at me for long seconds, and I’d almost think he hadn’t heard me except I can all but see his brilliant mind whirling with ideas. “We could do that. We could totally do that. We could even have services and stipends set aside for the families of victims. To help them get counseling or whatever they need.”
I know he’s thinking of Janet now and somehow it makes me love him more. I don’t know how—out of all the pain, all the violence—I managed to find this man. Don’t know what I ever did to deserve him. But I’m keeping him.
“We could name it after Dylan,” I suggest tentatively. “Maybe see if Janet wants to be involved somehow. It could help her get clean.”
“Yeah. And you could run it.”
“Me?”
“Damn straight. Maybe you can finally put that Vassar degree of yours to work.”
I start to smile as the idea sinks in. “Yeah. Maybe I could.”
“We’re doing it, then. You’ll run the foundation and I’ll…”
Something about the way his voice trails off makes my voice chill. “You’ll do what?”
“From the moment I found out about Dylan, I’ve always known I would bring the Valduccis down for what they did to him. But now…”
“Now what?” I ask, almost afraid of his answer.
“Now, after what Carlo did to you? Bringing them down isn’t enough. I’m going to destroy them and everything that matters to them.” He looks me dead in the eye and that’s how I know he’s serious. Because there’s no fury in his
green eyes now, no pain or outrage or horror. There is only a stone-cold determination to make his words come true. “By the time I’m done, they will, quite simply, have ceased to exist.”
Don’t miss this continuing series, five installments available now from Loveswept
Play Me #1: Play Me Wild
Play Me #2: Play Me Hot
Play Me #3: Play Me Hard
Play Me #4: Play Me Real
Play Me #5: Play Me Right
BY TRACY WOLFF
Play Me
Play Me Wild
Play Me Hot
Play Me Hard
Play Me Real
Play Me Right
Ethan Frost Novels
Ruined
Addicted
Exposed (coming soon)
Extreme Risk Series
Shredded
Shattered
Slashed (coming soon)
Other Books
Full Exposure
Tie Me Down
PHOTO: © KEVIN GOURLEY
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author TRACY WOLFF lives in Texas and teaches writing at her local community college. She is married and the mother of three young sons.
tracywolffbooks.com
Facebook.com/TracyWolffAuthor
@tracywolff
The Editor’s Corner
I don’t know about you, but this is my favorite time of year. Sure, the month is crazy with holiday preparations, but before you know it, they’ve come and gone…which always makes me a little sad. Never fear—I’ve some great romances to lift you out of those seasonal doldrums. Loveswept in December—guaranteed to keep you on that holiday high!
New this month is the latest tantalizing Rule Breakers novel, Want It, from Jennifer Chance, in which an irresistible alpha male follows his ex into a deadly standoff—and reignites a heated affair. A warm welcome to Wendy S. Marcus as she makes her Loveswept debut this month with Loving You Is Easy—she’s a survivor of the political front lines and he’s a wounded soldier returning home from the battlefield. Can they place their trust in the power of love? You bet! You’ll be thrilled to know that the conclusion of Ella Patton and Liam Stone’s story is here in Laura Marie Altom’s Possess—more of the contentious love affair that began in Control. Historical romance fans will adore His Saving Grace, by Sharon Cullen, a captivating novel that tells the deeply emotional tale of two devoted lovers facing the ravages of war.
And a little something special for you this month: Play Me, a serialization written by New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff. Five wonderful installments complete a full-size novel, and each section will tantalize you. Listen to this: Aria Winston lives the life of a loner, waitressing at a popular Las Vegas casino. Sebastian Caine is the hot son of the owner who manages the business while his father recovers from a series of mini-strokes. Things heat up fast, and the glimpses of the man behind the façade disturb Aria but also make her want him more (contains BDSM elements).
Wishing you a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season—and just in case Santa doesn’t deliver on the goodies, remember: Loveswept has what you need this month in romance. Until next time…
~Happy Romance!
Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher
Love stories you’ll never forget
By authors you’ll always remember
eOriginal Romance from Random House
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Tracy Wolff, Play Me Right
(Series: Play Me # 5)
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