King of Pain - Tasha Black Page 0,34

fae are playing it and it’s hilarious, and… oh...”

He was gaping at them, suddenly realizing what he had interrupted.

“What’s going on?” Tabitha asked, sticking her head out, too.

“They’re getting married,” Tristan whispered and elbowed her.

“We’re getting engaged,” Cullen corrected him. “At least we were.”

“Don’t let us interrupt,” Tabitha said, dragging Tristan onto the porch to watch.

“What’s everyone doing?” Miranda asked, appearing in the doorway. “Oh my God.”

She disappeared back into the house.

Jessica looked to Tabitha.

Tabitha shrugged.

A moment later Miranda came sailing back out the door with Bron, Sara and Dorian in tow.

“Okay,” Miranda announced. “You can start now.”

“But I already—” Cullen began.

Jessica cleared her throat loudly.

Luckily, he got the hint.

“Jessica Bell,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “I chased you through realms and across time. I want you by my side forever. Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she cried.

The others clapped and cheered.

Cullen slid the ring onto her finger, then stood and swept her into his arms.

As he spun her around, she heard the joyful celebration of her friends, the cries of the night birds outside, and the music spilling out of the midnight ballroom.

Jessica Bell was living in two worlds.

And she truly had the best of both of them.

“I will love you forever,” Cullen whispered in her ear.

She closed her eyes and envisioned the two of them - hosting family dinners with all their friends as the years went by, children running around the table, visits to the fae realm with gifts for their magical friends.

Even forever didn’t seem long enough for all the happiness she foresaw.

***

Thanks for reading King of Pain!

Have you read all of the Rosethorn Valley Fae books? Check out the rest fo the series here:

https://www.tashablack.com/rvf.html

In the mood for some steamy shifter action? Want to read about when a hunky, single dad from the neighboring town of Tarker’s Hollow meets a curvy con-artist that just might steal his heart?

Then keep reading for a sample of Axel, or grab your copy now!

https://www.tashablack.com/axel.html

Axel (Sample)

1

Axel

Axel Swann took a deep breath, anticipation building in his chest as the change took hold. He let the air out with a whoosh, his whole body expanding as he dropped to all fours.

By the time his hands hit the lawn, they were no longer hands.

Tender blades of grass tickled the pads of his massive paws.

He shook his thick pelt and lifted his snout to the swollen moon, drinking in the delicious sounds and smells that rushed toward his enhanced senses.

Fall had begun working its magic on the landscape. The colorful leaves still held fast to the trees, but he could practically hear their stems loosening, and he could taste the edge of cold in the fresh night air.

He loped off towards the trees, yearning for the scent of pine that his paws would kick up. His muscles sang as he leapt.

He had so few chances to indulge the beast within, and it had been so long…

“Hal, is that a bear in the neighbors’ yard?” a woman’s voice called from the deck next door.

“It’s not a bear,” the husband yelled back in a bored way.

“I think it’s a bear,” she repeated.

“Edith, it’s not a bear,” he said. “We live in the suburbs. There’s no bear.”

Axel froze, holding his breath.

There was a loud crackle of static, followed by the faraway sound of wailing.

He sighed, and let his body shift back to its human form.

The scents and sounds faded.

And his sense of fear returned.

Shit.

He scuttled back to the house, grabbing his bathrobe from the back porch in one hand and the baby monitor in the other.

He managed to get inside and lock the door before Edith could come over to investigate. But he knew she’d be over in the morning to tell him all about the animal she’d spotted in the yard.

He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

Shifting at home was a risk. The backyard was so small - just a wooden fence, and an expanse of lawn with a stand of pines in the back.

But it wasn’t like he could go anywhere else.

No matter how seductive the call of the moon, Axel would never leave the radius of that baby monitor.

He placed the monitor on the kitchen table and pulled on his robe, tying it firmly around his waist.

The baby had quieted, but Axel would check on him anyway. He liked any excuse to visit Noah in the night.

The doctor had told him not to hold and feed Noah so much if he wanted him to sleep through the night, but it