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Land of Falling Stars - Keta Diablo

Published by ketadiablo January 4th, 2009 in Erotica, Romance, Romance Excerpts
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Author: Keta Diablo
Buy the Book: Land of Falling Stars
ISBN: 978-1-60777-076-3
Publisher: Ravenous Romance

Gavin turned to the sound of the door opening. Sophia stood under the archway, her slender body drenched in a pale shaft of moonlight. She wrung her hands, her small toes pointed inward. Stammering, she said, “I . . . I came to check on your wound.” She glanced at Ricochet lying on the bed. “Defector,” she mumbled under her breath.

Gavin clenched his fists. He saw her standing in front of him the day he left for the war. Tears had pooled in her eyes when she said goodbye to him. Speechless, he had handed her a stupid white stone he had carried around for years. Every time he looked at it, he saw Sophia in the depths. Now she was before him again, and he wanted to put his fist through the wall.

Arrested by her beauty, long moments passed until he found his tongue. “You didn’t come to see about my wound.” Another timeless moment crept by. “You should know, unless you leave, things will never be the same between us. There’s no going back.”

She took a step toward him.

“If you’re looking for prettified words, you won’t hear them from me.. I’m not Jesse.”

“You never were.”

His resolve to stay clear of her evaporated. He strode toward her, grabbed her by the wrist, and pulled her hard against him. Her eyes flew open and a startled gasp left her lips.

“You should be afraid, Sophia, you don’t know what you’ve started.”

“Gavin,” she whimpered and rested her head against his chest. “I can’t fight it anymore.” She lifted her head and searched his eyes. “I don’t know what’s happening, I don’t care.” A tear slid down her cheek. “I want you, I need you.”

That ruined him. He swept her into his arms, carried her to the bed and knelt over her with his knees straddling her hips. He gave a command to Ricochet, and the dog slithered from the bed. His mouth came down on hers, rough and demanding. He moved on to her neck and shoulders, smothering her with desperate, urgent kisses amidst her sobs.   

He stopped and looked at her. “Last chance, Sophia.”

She shook her head and closed her eyes. Thank God. He didn’t know what he’d do if she changed her mind now. The buttons of her nightshirt flew through the air when he ripped it down the middle.

Her eyes flew open and she placed a hand against his chest. “Gavin?”

He drew a deep breath. He had to get a hold of his emotions. He couldn’t take her brutally despite his ravenous hunger. Not her first time. Whatever had pitched him into the ashen waters of despair—the war, Jesse, his love for her—it wasn’t her fault.

“I’m not the same man who left to fight in this godforsaken war.” His voice broke under the strain. “Things happened, I saw and did things you could never understand.”

She slid her hand from his chest and touched his cheek. “It’s all right, Gavin. I know―”

“You don’t know, Sophia, and if you did, you’d hate me.”

God, he had to tell her before he was carried beyond himself, but her dark green eyes looked at him the way he had wanted her to look at him all his life. 

“I don’t care what happened in the war and I could never hate you.” With her eyes locked on his, she whispered, “Please, Gavin, I want you, only you.”

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