For The Sake Of Sin

Suzie Grant

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living

or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

For the Sake of Sin

Copyright © 2011 by Suzie Grant

Cover Design by Heather Boyd

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or

mechanical means—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—

without written permission.

For more information: www.suziegrantauthor.com

For the Sake of Sin

A retired assassin, a vengeful courtesan, and a night of explosive discoveries — revenge brings

them together under the magic of a desert moon, when the courtesan known only as Sin seeks to hire a
retired assassin to kill her lover. Can sharp shooter Gabriel Stone justify helping the woman for more than
the Sake of Sin?

Dedication

For the love of my life for being my inspiration and my pillar of strength when I need him

One

Just outside El Paso, Texas

1892

“I thought you didn’t meet with potential clients?”

A thrill of awareness shot through Gabriel Stone at the whispered words in the dark. Shadows

danced across the adobe walls of the Spanish church ruins. “I don’t.”

“Then why are you here?”

Why am I here?

The silhouette moved and the rustle of fabric tantalized him, luring him to round the corner to

confront the woman. But he held back. “Why did you choose me?” he asked.

“Because you’re the best.” The sultry voice whispered with slightest Spanish lilt. Again tremors

ricocheted through his body. Jasmine and almond oil wafted on the breeze and hinted at the exotic nature
of the woman close enough to touch but just out of reach.

How many times had he heard that phrase?

Gabriel hung his head and shifted as the scrape of his boots against the gritty dirt floor echoed in the

abandoned adobe church. Moonlight spilled through the open section of roof and pooled in the center of
the room. A short burst of wind whistled through the ruins and lent eeriness to the atmosphere.

“Captain McNielson recommended you, but he didn’t tell me your name or how to contact you.”

“He’s the only one who knows me and the only one who can contact me.”

“Can I see you?” The woman in the dark asked.

“No.”

A soft sigh carried on the breeze. “I must admit I am disappointed.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m retired.”

The softest chuckle sounded. “Funny, so am I.”

The sound of her breathe broke the silence and the slightest peek of her dress from around the

corner tempted him. Dusky red material swished against the corner of the building and seemed out of
place amongst the dirt and dull tones of nature, like a rose at midnight. When darkness washed all the
color away, only the brilliantly hued petals could still be seen.

“You never answered my question. Why are you here?”

He sighed. How could he, when he wasn’t sure of the answer himself. “I wanted to know more...”

About you. “About the case.”

Her letters had intrigued Gabriel from the moment he’d opened the envelope revealing the subtle

hint of jasmine. McNeilson had asked him to help the woman but he’d refused. The next day though he’d
dropped an unsigned letter into the mail. Two days later, McNeilson had brought him another jasmine-
dusted envelope.

A husky laugh accompanied the sigh. “But I thought you weren’t for hire.”

“Humor me.”

Silence settled like a heavy fog between them, coating everything with its moist weight. Had she

heard his question? Seconds passed and the only sounds were the distant chirp of crickets and the lone
howl of a wolf.

“Every day gets a little worse.” Her voice wrapped around him, enfolding him within its sensual

grasp and enticing him to give up his foolish, self-imposed torment. “I can still see their faces and hear
their screams. They wake me every night as I lay in my bed...drenched in my own sweat. You have to help
me silence them.”

“Who?”

“My memories.”

Something inside his chest twisted and his brow furrowed. How easily he could relate to those very

words. How many nights had he lain in bed as the visions of his past haunted him, and he’d been unable to
quiet the voices?

Agony from a dark past choked off his every breath and rendered him speechless. How could he let

go of the anguish and harness the emotions at night when he could barely control them during the day? And
here stood another tortured soul. One who understood the way he suffered. One who sought to ease the
pain.

“This won’t make them go away,” he assured her.

“I know.” She offered no excuses, no explanations for her actions, and no remorse. And yet, he

could sympathize. Some people deserved to die.

Gabriel had given up playing judge and executioner. He no longer offered his gun for money and he

refused to play God again. Not after...

“The only thing I understand anymore is revenge.”

“You’re wasting your time,” he whispered and leaned against the wall, kicking the broken pieces of

adobe out of the way. The clunk of stone on stone fumbled in the silence. He reached inside his shirt
pocket and retrieved the square, metal box of cheroots.

The strike of the match flared briefly revealing a pair of silver eyes before they vanished around the

corner once again. He strained to see more clearly but the vision disappeared. He lit the cheroot and
discarded the match.

“It’ll make me feel better and give me peace,” she whispered in the dark. “Please...what do I call

you?”

A hush fell as she awaited his answer.

“Call me Stone.”

“Please help me, Mr. Stone. I need you.”

His body blazed to life at those words and he tamped down the urge to round the corner and kiss

her. “I wish I could help you but I’ve washed my hands clean.” If only that were true. “Understand it isn’t
because I don’t want to help. I do. But I can’t live that life anymore.”

She exhaled. The darkness did little more than bring his imagination to life. And every image of the

mysterious woman around the corner flashed in sordid detail. Entangled limbs, melded lips, and the flush
of heat on pale cheeks beguiled him. A woman he’d never even seen before fascinated him as no other
ever had. A woman whom he’d only corresponded with through letters and who now stood in the
darkened chamber of an abandoned church in the middle of the desert. Her persuasive attraction included
more than just her sultry voice and charm. He wanted to ease the ache in her chest — one he could relate
to all too well — and assure her that revenge solved nothing. If anyone knew that, it was him.

Gabriel puffed on his cigarette and blew the smoke into the air. Through the haze of smoke and

shadows, she eased out from around the corner. “Is there any way to change your mind?” she asked.

Lust pounded its way through his veins. Yes. “No.” The word slipped from his mouth.

He traced the figure in the shadows with his gaze. What little he could see drew him on a sensual

torture rack and taunted him for turning her down. What man in his right mind would refuse this woman
anything? The deep curve of her waist intrigued him and seemed made for the span of a man’s hands. Her
slender frame drew his gaze again and again. And since he remained in shadows he allowed his curiosity
free rein.

“Call me Sin,” she whispered.

“How fitting.” He chuckled. “The sin cast among men to punish him for his weakness.”

“I like to think of it as the pleasure of a man’s greatest fantasies brought to life.”

“In the hands of Sin,” he whispered.

Seconds passed before she turned on her heel and headed out the arched doorway. The wind

fluttered her dark red skirts in her wake. “Now that you know my name, you know where to find me if you
change your mind,” she said over one shoulder.

Gabriel remained in the shadows long after she’d disappeared and finished his cigarette. And he

would see her again, for the sake of Sin.

~*~

Ava Sinclair settled back into the plush seat of the carriage and tapped on the roof. Her gaze moved

back to the darkened corridors of the ruins and searched for any movement within.

Was that a flash of red from his cigarette or was she just imagining things?

The door clicked shut, and minutes later the carriage lurched forward. Curiosity about the man she

left behind ran rampant through her thoughts and she couldn’t seem to make herself quite forget him.
Although, she should. He’d said he was no longer for hire and yet somehow, she sensed she would see

him again.

Hours later her carriage pulled into the cobblestoned drive and clattered to a stop next to the

enormous fountain. The trickle of water lent the Spanish hacienda a tranquility that didn’t quite reach
within. Descending from the carriage, she headed for the stairs. Lamplight spilled across the front
entrance. The door swung open and revealed the very man she sought to kill.

Marco leered at her as she brushed past him. “Where have you been?”

“Out.”

Marco Santiago grabbed her wrist and yanked her around. “You think I don’t deserve an answer?”

Ava gritted her teeth. Peering over one shoulder she purred, “Would you have me describe my

outing in sordid detail?”

Marco clamped his mouth closed and his eyes dropped to her mouth. “Was it good?”

Smothering a smile, Ava determined men only cared about who was better in bed. “Perhaps.”

He drew her closer and pulled her wrist up to his mouth to kiss the soft skin there. “Shall I remind

you who is better?”

“Perhaps,” she whispered.

Marco swooped down and captured her mouth in a fierce kiss. He made her hotter than the desert

sun in the middle of the day but...he was the man who’d killed her family. Slaughtered them like animals.
And she would kill him — with or without Stone’s help.

Marco was a veritably insatiable lover, a man whose appetites never waned and who took his time

with a woman...making sure she left his bed thoroughly satisfied. If only he weren’t a soulless man with
no heart.

Ava had sought him out. As soon as she was old enough, she requested Madam Marcel’s tutelage on

men and Sin — as she’d come to be known — and had used every weapon in her arsenal to lure Marco to
her bed. The leader of an untouchable criminal empire, the very man who’d ruined her life and set her on
this course for revenge.

As the most sought after courtesan in Texas and the only woman who occupied Marco’s bed, her

goal was within reach. And yet she hesitated. She’d never killed anyone before and was uncertain if she
were capable of such violence. But it was more than that...she’d somehow come to enjoy herself in
Marco’s bed.

Even now with memories of her sister’s cries, she gasped as tingles ricocheted through her body at

his touch. He had long ago mastered the art of lovemaking and his every touch branded her as his. But she
wasn’t and she endeavored to make it clear. Ava sensed that was what kept him coming back for more —
the fact that he could not have all of her. Her elusiveness drove him to distraction and she used it like the
weapon it was.

“What are you doing here so early?” she asked between kisses.

“I could not wait until tonight.”

“Then it is good news that my nine o’clock appointment called off for there would be two of you in

my bed at once. I do not think you would like that so much.”

“It would not take long to determine who the real man is, dulce uno.”

She chuckled. “How do you know it is a man?”

He withdrew and studied her face. “Then I stand corrected, and I must say I am incredibly

intrigued.”

Ava winked at him and withdrew to toss her fan on the table. Of course, she’d jested but his

widened gaze and surprised grin, indicated she’d stoked his imagination. And his desire.

Ava called out orders to her household and mounted the stairs. The opulence of the dual mahogany

stairwell bespoke the riches to be found throughout the rest of the house. Expensive paintings adorned the
adobe walls — many of them of her — naked. Marco had an eye for great art, and he loved to watch an
artist stroke her every detail onto a piece of canvas.

Afterward, he would take her before the man could even pack the rest of his belongings and leave.

He’d paid for all of this...the house, the belongings, the extravagant clothes and most of all...her. His most
prized possession. And yet he allowed her to live alone.

Secretly she enjoyed the freedom, perhaps a little too much. Perhaps that was what kept her from

finalizing the deed, her fear of being dependent on another man. After all, Marco never abused her. He
thrilled her in bed and gave her everything she ever wanted, including freedom.

Many married women couldn’t boast of such a life. The life of a courtesan might seem horrifying to

some but she knew differently. It gave a woman power. It gave her control. Ava chose when and whom.
Not the other way around.

He came up behind her, his chin tucked into the hollow of her throat to kiss the flesh there. “You are

ignoring me.”

“Does that bother you?”

“Yes,” he hissed and pushed her up against the wall. She gasped as his hands captured both breasts

and yanked the front of her gown to reveal them to the warmth of his hands.

His breath tickled her ear. “You will take me here — in view of everyone?”

“Yes. You are mine to take are you not?”

“Perhaps.”

He thrust his lower body against her. “That damnable word. You know I detest it.”

Marco captured her mouth in a sweltering kiss. His tongue plunged inside and her heart thundered

inside her chest. Surely he heard it too.

Lifting her skirts, Marco’s palms sought and found the prize between her legs.

But what he did not know was the moisture was not due to his presence. No, the slick readiness had

come from the man she’d just left — a man named Stone — and the mystery surrounding him.

The very man she’d asked to kill her lover.

~*~

As soon as a beautiful woman entered a room full of men and the hounds bared their teeth, sniffing

after the bitch in heat. Gas lights gave a golden hue to the adobe walls. The crush of bodies increased the
temperature or perhaps it was the woman within the throng of men.

Gabriel had followed her.

He’d had known he wouldn’t like what he found. A courtesan. He should have guessed. A woman

unprincipled enough to engage a hired gun to kill her lover could only be a courtesan. And yet, he couldn’t
resist the lure of Sin. Now that he knew who and what she was, he found himself infatuated with her.

After his first meeting with her, he had sought her out and located her home. Watching. Waiting. The

woman had simply taken his breath away. Her beauty was beyond all his imaginings and he’d become
addicted to her. Obsessed. Why hadn’t he left well enough alone and moved on with his life as he’d
intended to? Was it the plea in her voice? Or her enticing scent?

Either way, he could not resist.

To be surrounded by water but dying of thirst was a fate worse than death, and yet that is exactly

how he felt. Close enough to touch her and yet still unreachable. The courtesan named Sin glided into the
room full of guests and the throng of men parted like the Red Sea. Music from the band twinkled in the
distance but very few danced. This wasn’t a traditional ball; instead it was an orgy of flesh, one man’s
exhibit of his most prized possession.

And the trophy outshone every other courtesan there. She dazzled her audience and they played right

into her hands. The dusky rose of her dress bore the sweetest resemblance to what he imagined the tips of
her breasts would look like. Even a saint would forsake all his ideals for the sake of Sin. The spectators
converged around her and closed in like sharks circling their prey.

Only she didn’t cower in fear. Oh, no. Her soft sultry chuckle indicated pleasure at the attention. Its

huskiness incited something primal in him. He wanted to hear her voice next to his ear.

“Gentlemen, please, give my lady some room and remember who she sleeps with this evening.” The

dark Spaniard with the scarred cheekbone handed Sin a glass of champagne. “My lovely.”

“Perhaps it’s my new perfume that is attracting so much attention.”

The Spaniard chuckled. “If you wish to call it that.”

Several guests chuckled with a salute. Did he plan to auction her off to the highest bidder? And was

she aware of it? An intriguing pink color blossomed on her cheeks and it drew every man’s attention. A
courtesan who still blushed. The irony.

Sin’s gaze swept the room and collided with his. Gabriel nodded and raised his glass to her. She

paused and narrowed her eyes, tilting her head in the slightest way. She studied him. He set the empty
glass on the server’s passing tray and headed for the entrance.

He’d had a belly full of Marco Santiago’s display of opulence, especially when it was bought with

blood of other people. As self-appointed mayor of the small town called Iniquity, Santiago had made a
small fortune from its residents. Word spread that he ruled with an iron fist for more than a decade.

A breeze cooled the heat from Gabriel’s face as he exited the stuffy hacienda and waited for his

horse to be brought around to him. Why had he come? To torture himself?

“You left before we could be introduced,” the voice whispered from behind him. He didn’t turn,

because he knew who it was. He would always remember that sultry tone.

“For a reason.”

“And why is that?” She eased around, facing him. He peered down into silver—grey eyes. Unusual

for a Spanish girl.

“From what I could see, you had your hands full with enough men.”

A slight grin tilted her lips. “I could never get enough of men,” she teased him though he didn’t

return the smile. “Maybe I should introduce myself—”

“I know who you are, Sin. There’s not a man in that room who doesn’t know exactly who you are

and who you belong to.”

Sin frowned. Long, dark strands of hair escaped her coiffure to trickle down her neck. He tamped

down the impulse to drag them away and kiss the tender flesh of her collar. “Then perhaps you can clear
up the mystery as I have no idea who you are.”

He chuckled. “Is that what drew you all the way out here? The fact that there was a man in the room

you hadn’t met before?”

She paused and scrutinized his face. “No, mi cielo. Your face is so arresting I couldn’t help but

notice you. And then I feel as if...I have met you.”

His heart quickened at those words. She remembered him. Somehow, she sensed him, like an

animal sensing its mate. It had been two weeks since their last encounter and somehow she’d known who
he was.

Gabriel smiled. “Impossible. I would remember a face such as yours.”

“And so would I, but I still I feel as if we have met.”

He reached for her hand. The first contact of skin sent a jolt of awareness through him and, like

lightening, his heart thundered inside his chest. Her quick intake of breath indicated she’d felt it too.

Lowering his lips to her gloved hand, the heat of her palm seeped through the fabric and his only

thought was to peel the silk away. He lingered over her hand far too long but she said nothing. Instead, she
seemed as entranced as he.

When he straightened, their gazes collided each searching for answers within the other’s eyes. Her

lips parted and her breath escaped. Wind fluttered the threads of hair across her ruby lips, and she
brushed them away.

“I fear I’ve lingered too long, and I hate to pull you away from your...guests. Good evening, mi

princesa.”

“Good evening,” she whispered.

Gabriel turned on his heel and headed down the driveway.

“Stone! Will I see you again?”

He stopped at her use of his name. He neither turned nor answered because she already knew the

answer to that question. As did he.

There was little that could keep him from holding Sin in his arms...just once.

Two

A breeze fluttered the sheer wisp of bed curtains through the opened doorway. Alone, Ava stretched

deliciously against the soft, white sheets.

Marco had to leave town and would return in two days. Freedom danced through her body and

giddiness forced a smile from her lips. Two days to do whatever she wanted. Delicious freedom.

Marco had diminished her clientele over the years to two. For some reason she’d refused to give

them all up despite the fact Marco paid the most. She held onto those last two clients for simple rebellion.
Independence. It was her secret weapon. But she’d cleared her schedule for the next two days. She
wanted no distractions, no responsibilities.

Just freedom. Exhilaration. Her own little paradise.

Afternoon faded into a sweep of dusky colors across the sky and she turned onto her side, gazing out

the window at the picturesque scene of the desert at dusk. Nothing stirred her blood quite as much as the
West Texas landscape. Red jagged peaks speared into the brilliant blue skyline leaving her speechless. Its
rugged beauty reminding her of the man named Stone.

Desert magic wrapped its sultry fingers around her and dampened her skin. She sighed and closed

her eyes. An image of the mysterious cowboy reappeared and with it a tingle of sensation traveled the
length of her body. She shivered despite the desert heat.

A noise clattered from outside the archway leading to the courtyard. Ava bolted upright. Her ears

strained to detect any sound. The courtyard fountain’s trickle whispered through the door. Sliding through
the sheer panels of fabric, Ava slipped on her slippers and clasped her housecoat to her chest before
sliding it over her sleeveless camisole.

She crept out the adobe archway, the gurgle of the fountain greeting her. Brilliant roses climbed the

walls, a splash of color in an otherwise neutral surrounding. Her heart pounded in an increasing rhythm as
awareness doused her in cold chills. Someone was watching her.

“Who’s there?” She searched the shadowed alcoves, but nothing moved. Unease infused her with

uncertainty. “Answer me, who’s there?”

Ava hovered close to the door, and then he separated himself from the shadows. Long, tall and

wrapped in mystery. “Mr. Stone. Do you add spying to your list of vices?”

“Perhaps.”

Curiosity drew her closer until his features below the wide brim of his hat came into focus. “Why

are you here?” she whispered.

“I don’t know.”

His deep tone flooded her every sense and chased all reason away. Whatever his purpose, she no

longer cared. All that mattered was that he was here, and something they could not name drew them

together. “I am glad you came.”

“Are you?”

“Si.”

He circled her in slow strides, his gaze never wavering. A sense of being stalked entered her. He

smiled, a soft lift of the corner of his mouth. Dangerous. “You knew I would come. It’s the reason you sent
him away.”

Ava lifted her chin. “Perhaps.”

He stopped midstride. “I like it when you say that word,” he whispered.

Stunned silence followed his statement. Confusion furrowed her brows. Surely, he couldn’t have

known Marco said the exact opposite of those very words. “Call me Gabriel.”

“Gabriel,” she said, testing his name. It slid across her tongue as if it’d always belonged there.

“Yes, I heard him say he doesn’t like it when you say that.”

Surprise lifted her brows. “H-how?”

He crossed the courtyard in two strides until he stood directly before her. Nose to nose. Chest to

chest. And yet, their bodies did not touch.

“I refuse to take another case where I don’t know every detail.”

“You refused to take on the case, if I remember correctly.”

He studied her. His eyes scanned her features then down her neck and hovered over her body. Her

nipples tightened in response to his attention. “I may have changed my mind.”

“Why?”

He circled her once again, his eyes straying to every inch of her flesh as an erotic thrill shot through

her. So close and yet still so far.

“You failed to mention you were his lover.”

“It was irrelevant.”

He paused just behind her and his breath whispered across her bare shoulder. “It was very relevant,

Sin.”

She turned to stare at him over one shoulder. “Why?”

“Because it puts my client — you — in the line of fire.”

Ava stiffened. “If you’re worried I won’t pay you, then let me do so now.”

The click of her slippers on the red terracotta tile as she walked away split the silence. He seized

her wrist and pulled her around. A strand of dark hair fell from its restraints across her shoulder like
another caress. Only it lacked his heat while his palm burned a brand across her flesh. “I am not
interested in the money.”

Her gaze collided with heated green orbs. “Then what do you want?”

Sheer sparks ebbed from his touch through her arm. Her heart hammered against her chest. The

atmosphere between them seemed to come alive and breathe. An ebb and flow of power neither could
deny.

“Is there double meaning to your question, mi princesa?”

She smiled. “I am no princess. Just a courtesan. There is always double meaning in everything I say,

Mr. Stone. The question is how will you answer me?”

“What do you prefer, truth or fantasy?”

“There is always room for fantasy. What do you enjoy more?”

“Normally I enjoy truth.” He took a deep breath. His hand still clasped her wrist gently and he

twined their fingers together, easing her hand to his mouth in a slow, sensual ascent. A thrill fluttered in
her stomach. His nearness ceased every breath as she experienced pure pleasure at his touch.

“And what do you prefer tonight?”

His mouth lingered over the back of her hand. Warm breath tickled her skin as he placed the

slightest kiss on her knuckles. “Tonight, I prefer fantasy as well as Sin.”

~*~

Ava didn’t resist him. Gabriel drew her closer by the hand. Her breath quickened, and his gaze

settled on her mouth. She had a delectable, full mouth. Lips he could kiss for eternity. Her tiny tongue
snaked out to trace their shape as he placed her soft palm on his shoulder.

“What have you done to me?”

“Brought you to life,” she whispered.

She had. Years had passed since the death of his family, when the dead weight of guilt had entered

his heart, blotting out everything else. Pleasure, joy and ecstasy had simply vanished.

Not even sex left him satisfied anymore. A darkness left a void in his life he could no longer fill.

And so he’d simply survived each day. He’d lost all feeling, until he’d met Sin.

Excitement surged through him and his erection filled to the brim with a power he hadn’t

experienced in years. “I should leave,” he whispered.

“But you won’t.”

He shook his head as his hands wrapped her into his embrace, her arms twining around his neck. “I

don’t think I can.”

“I don’t want you to.”

He seized her mouth in a searing kiss and she surrendered easily under his assault. Her fingers

twined through the strands of his hair and every thought scattered.

He broke the kiss. “I came to talk you out of it.”

“What?”

“Killing Marco. Seeking revenge.”

She nibbled at his lower lip. “No one can sway me from my goal. Not even you.” Her hands

splayed and flattened over his chest muscles. “Do you really wish to discuss this now?”

He exhaled. “No.”

The sweetest hint of jasmine and almond oil intoxicated him, lured him closer, disregarding every

goal save one: getting her naked and under his hands.

His arms wrapped around her and he kissed her lips, sucking at the soft flesh. She parted her lips

and he plunged inside to taste her. His tongue delved deeply and twined with hers. Every ounce of his
flesh burned in the sweetest agony.

Her soft sigh escaped and he drank it in, deepening the kiss. His lips trailed a gentle path to her

chin, across her jaw and into the sweetest spot beneath her ear. Ava inhaled deeply.

Pressing against her, he lifted her legs around his waist and carried her back through the door she’d

exited earlier. Without stopping, he tumbled them across the bed, wrapping them amongst the sheer
coverings.

She laughed softly as she untangled them but he seized her mouth once again, plundering her depths.

He couldn’t wait. He couldn’t slow down. He needed her.

His hands slid up her sides to the edge of her breasts, their fullness begging for his touch. The thin

cotton of her camisole was little barrier from his gaze and he soaked in the vision she created. An
ethereal being in white. Her exotic eyes and the cream of her flesh beckoned his mouth.

Her chest rose and fell with every breath, teasing him, taunting him. Cupping her breasts, his palms

filled with their weight and the pads of his thumbs grazed her erect nipples.

She moaned softly against his ear. Thrusting against her body, he ground his hardness into her soft

belly. Good God. Had it been so long since he’d enjoyed sex so much?

What made it so different this time?

Soft fingers sank into his hair and urged him closer. Hot breath fanned one nipple before he sucked

it between his lips. She shivered against him. Male possession surged through his veins. By God, he’d
make her scream.

She tossed her head back, exposing every delicious inch of her skin and he couldn’t wait any

longer. Gabriel yanked the front ties of her gown open to reveal perfect, round globes. He worshiped
them as they were meant to be worshiped, giving each delicious ounce of flesh his full attention until she
panted under his mouth.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. And he meant it.

Those words hadn’t passed his lips since the day he’d buried his wife.

Gabriel reared upright, away from her, and sat back on his haunches. He panted and attempted to

catch his breath. An image of his wife eradicated every sense of lust in a cold splash of memories. He
gasped. What had made him stop? This was just sex. He’d had sex plenty of times with women since
Elizabeth’s death. Why was this time so different?

Because I enjoyed it.

Chills traced his spine. He had enjoyed every second. This woman created something inside him he

couldn’t define. Something he wasn’t ready to name. And he wasn’t ready to let go of his past.

“What is wrong?” she questioned, confusion marring her brow.

He leapt from the bed. Her tousled look acted as a reminder of his surrender. “I can’t do this.”

“Why not?”

“If I take this job, our relationship must remain platonic,” he lied. How could he admit to someone,

even a courtesan, he still grieved for his dead wife even a decade after her death?

She sat on her elbows. Her look clearly erotic, a temptation his throbbing cock didn’t miss as it

reared against the fabric of his jeans. “I don’t mix business with pleasure.”

“Neither do I, Mr. Stone.”

“It’s not the same. Your business is pleasure. I must keep my head or else I’ll wind up dead.”

Sin rose in sultry slow motion, her camisole sliding off one shoulder revealing one beautiful breast.

“You mistake me, Stone. I remain aloof from my clients for the simple reason I cannot afford to lose my
heart. So let me remind you of this, I have not hired you...yet.”

Her hands splayed across his chest and yanked open his shirt to reveal his naked flesh to her eyes.

She drank him in. Gabriel couldn’t remember a more erotic moment in his life. Her sheer pleasure just
from gazing at him showed in every detail of her face. The soft “Oh,” she whispered and the widening
eyes all said she liked what she saw.

She stepped forward, gingerly, testing the waters. Her hesitation was a lure in and of itself. She

lowered and placed a soft kiss under his chin and then trailed her tongue to his collar bone. Fire heated
his veins.

A slow heat grew inside him as her fingers drifted up his arms to his shoulders. Chills traced their

path.

Slowly, she kissed her way down his chest to his stomach. Gabriel’s body was set aflame. His

erection strained against the fabric of his pants as her eager mouth crept closer. No, his mind argued but
his body didn’t listen.

Sin settled on her knees and tugged the jeans open, freeing his cock from its restraints. Her gaze

widened at his size, and he throbbed painfully.

He should leave. He should tell her no.

But his hands slipped into her hair as her mouth brushed a breath across his head, and he groaned in

surrender. Her mouth slid down his length and sucked him inside. How could he possibly resist this
woman?

Tender, gentle ministrations turned into longer, stronger suction until he near burst inside her mouth.

When her hands joined the fray and stroked him with both her mouth and palm, he almost lost himself.

Ducking down, he lifted her onto the bed and shed her camisole from her body. He looked his fill,

her legs dropping open to reveal the treasure he sought without shame, and her boldness drove him to

distraction.

“I can’t resist anymore.”

“I never wanted you to, Gabriel.”

His name on her lips sent a thrill through him. “I haven’t taken the case yet, and I’m making no

promises.”

Her hand clasped his member and stroked him until he gasped. “The only thing I want from you right

now, Gabriel, is you inside me.” Whatever thoughts he’d had scattered and his surrender to Sin was the
sweetest he’d ever experienced.

~*~

Desire spiked her temperature as he drove Ava back atop the bed, spread her legs and ground his

erection against her. Coherent thought fled as she clawed at his back, silently urging him on. He lavished
attention on every square inch of her body until he reached the apex of her thighs.

His hot breath brushed her thigh and she arched upward, seeking relief. Their gazes locked for

seconds as his mouth descended with agonizing slowness. The first touch of his tongue shot her off the bed
as it slid over her swollen nub.

Pleasure wracked her body and swirled through her veins. His tongue plunged inside her, licking,

sucking and nibbling until she exploded in a frenzy of need. His finger joined his mouth, rubbing the pad
across her sensitive core. Ava lifted her hips and spread her legs wider, giving him better access.

Sensation built inside her once again as he worked his mouth in a rapid pace. She sobbed, needing

another release. Her hands gripped the bed sheets and her head tossed back as the tension coiled tighter
and tighter.

A breeze wafted through the open doorway, cooling her heated flesh and brushing her sensitive

nipples just as she burst into a thousand shivers. Convulsing shudders wracked her body again and again
as she plummeted back to reality.

And then he rose over her, like a Greek god, shedding his clothing as he moved. Powerful, hungry

and demanding, he entered her, filling her with his flesh. Another hot sensation cascaded into liquid fire
around him, easing his entry.

Gabriel ground his teeth above her as he seemingly attempted to control the pleasure. But she didn’t

want his control. She wanted his complete release. Ava lifted her legs onto his shoulders and he gasped.
All restraint fled as he pounded into her depths. The muscles in his neck and shoulders expanded with his
fierce grip and struggle to maintain control.

“God you’re so wet.”

No one had ever brought her to climax so quickly. As his rhythm increased, she felt the stirring of

another on the brink. She clawed at his arms as blinding hot desire raked her body. Gabriel’s howl of
pleasure mixed with her own high pitched whimpers.

His hard body collapsed atop her, their breathing ragged and shared. He rolled to her side and

gathered her close. Hot breath fanned her shoulder before he dropped a quick kiss to her bare shoulder.
She peered over at him. Their gazes met.

Reaching up to brush his sweaty hair off his brow, she gave him a quick smile. He captured her

hand and eased it to his mouth kissing each knuckle. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Her brow furrowed. “For what?”

Murky green eyes studied her. “For bringing me back to life.”

Words left her, and she rolled onto her side to face him. “I didn’t do anything.”

He kissed her fingertips. “You did more than you know.” Gabriel then placed her hand over his

heart. “I’ve been dead for years. I lost my wife and my son ten years ago because a criminal robbed a
bank.” He shrugged. “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

His voice choked. “I died the day I buried my four-year-old son. I forgot what it was like to feel

pleasure or pain. And you’ve given it back to me.”

“You give me too much credit.”

He shook his head and cupped her cheeks. “No, I’m certain I’ll never love another woman the way I

loved Elizabeth, but for the first time in years I can feel my heart beat.”

Tears burned her eyes, filled them, and then trickled down her cheeks. His own eyes shimmered

with emotion. “I’m not sure where to go from here and I know I’ll never forget them.” He ducked his
head. “But it’s time to start living again...”

“Call me Ava, Gabriel.”

He smiled gently. “Ava. That’s a beautiful name.” Releasing her cheeks he crawled from the bed

and held a hand out to her. “Come on, I’m famished. Let’s go find something to eat.”

She giggled and scooted to the edge. “Let me get some clothes on.”

Gabriel pulled her up to squeeze her tightly to his chest. “No, let’s stay just like this.”

“What?” She laughed. “We can’t! Someone will see us.”

He grinned. “Who cares?” Kissing her mouth, Gabriel nuzzled her neck. “Come on, live a little

dangerously. It’ll be fun.”

How could she resist such boyish charm? “All right. You win.”

He gave a shout of joy and swung her around in his arms. When he set her feet on the floor she

raced from the room with him hot on her tail, laughing like children. They made it to the kitchen without
running into anyone, grabbed a plate of fruit, and raced back to the bedroom. Entering, Ava slammed the
door shut, giggling and breathing heavily from their run.

Realization struck her like a fist to the gut, she’d been dead as well. All these years, she’d simply

survived each day. For the first time since her childhood, Ava smiled with genuine joy, rejuvenated and
carefree.

She clasped Gabriel’s hands after he deposited the plate of fruit onto the bed and drew him closer.

“I guess I need to thank you as well.”

“For what?”

“For bringing me back to life.”

And he captured her mouth in a fierce kiss, backing her into the wall. “Then let me make you come

alive once more, mi princesa.”

Three

Gabriel woke her once more with kisses down her back and Ava smiled. Rolling over, she smiled

as he took up the kisses across her chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed. “That’s a
wonderful way to start the day.”

“I’ll say.” He smiled. “It’s hard to resist such a beautiful woman who smiles in her sleep.”

Her gaze widened. “Was I smiling?”

He nodded. “Oh, yes, and I want to know what you were dreaming about.”

Sunlight slanted across the floor and speared the side of his face, casting a golden glow across his

tousled, dark brown hair. “Very likely it was last night.”

“Care for a repeat?”

“Perhaps,” she whispered and drew him atop her.

She captured his mouth in a scorching kiss. His large hands clasped her hips and flipped her over

onto her knees. She gasped at the sudden change of position and then moaned as the head of his cock
swept along her dampened cleft. He eased his body inside, leaned down and bit one shoulder gently. Ava
arched as delicious heat snaked through her veins. The man simply amazed her. He set a slow pace, a
driving, but unhurried motion that drew her across a sensual torture rack. Blinding hot desire shuttered her
lids in ecstasy. She tossed her head back and his lips coasted along her jaw line to her mouth. Turning,
their lips melded, sealing all sound.

His deft fingers crept around her hips and between her thighs and toyed with her soft button. She

bucked in response and moaned. He slid forward again in an agonizing measured tempo. His growl
created shivers down her back. He was losing control. Ava lowered her chest to the bed and spread her
hands to clutch at the sheets so that her rear arched in a sensual slope. Gabriel reared up, seized her hips
in his fierce grip and hammered inside her.

She gasped and panted as raw lust took over. In seconds brilliant lights burst behind her eyelids as

tiny cries ensued from her mouth. Her sheath tightened and convulsed around him, sending him over the
edge as well. Together they trembled and strained as their climax shook them to the core. Together they
collapsed to the bed.

They lay in silence, their harsh breath mingling. Finally, he moved to her side. “Are you all right? I

didn’t mean to hurt you if I did. That was pretty powerful.”

She chuckled. No man had ever cared whether he’d hurt her or not, during sex. Most just rolled

over and went to sleep. His compassion was a charming characteristic she’d never encountered before. It
endeared him to her even more.

She smiled and rolled onto her side. The idea of living the rest of her life in his arms flitted through

her mind for a second. A simple, unrealistic dream. She must never forget the reason they were both here.

He was a retired assassin.

She was a murdering courtesan. Or at least she would be once she killed Marco. Setting her course

years ago had eliminated any chance of a happily-ever-after. Only the slightest pang of regret slithered its
way inside.

The slow draw of his fingers down her side and then back up once again lulled her to sleep. “Are

you sure you want to go through with this?”

She stirred at his voice. His intense gaze studied her. “You mean killing Marco?”

He nodded.

Ava sighed and drew the sheet up to her chest. “Yes, I haven’t changed my mind. Why?”

Gabriel leaned close and kissed her shoulder. “It’ll change who you are, Ava. Do you realize that?”

“I don’t care.” She scooted to the edge of the bed and adorned her housecoat to cover her

nakedness. “I can’t let him live! It’s only a matter of time before he does to someone else what he did to
my familia. Don’t you understand? Don’t you think if I could be assured that he would never kill anyone
again, that I would never risk my life this way? But he will kill again. I must kill him before he does.”

An ache, a memory surfaced and a need to make things right drove her. For the last decade or more,

Ava had planned her life. And things were working in her favor. She refused to let Marco go free. She
would die making sure no one else ever had to endure the same pain and loneliness as she had.

“My father worked for him for years. But Papa tried to quit. He rushed home to pack us up, but we

didn’t leave fast enough.”

Tears burned her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “I was the youngest. My sister shoved me into

a wicker basket when Marco came to find my father. I was forced to watch his men slaughter my father
and mother like animals and rape my sister before my very eyes. She was ten and she leaned against the
basket to help hide me. I saw everything. As she died, she wrapped her fingers through the wicker to
touch mine.” She choked on the words. “It was her way to say goodbye.”

Ava sobbed into her hands and drew her legs up as pain wracked her. Gabriel’s arms wrapped

around her and drew her onto his lap. He held her as she cried and for the first time since the death of her
mother, she allowed someone to comfort her. She reveled in it.

She missed her parents and sister so much. Nothing could ever heal the wound Marco had dealt her,

and nothing short of his death would ease the pain. She would do everything in her power to make sure he
died as brutal a death as they had, even if it meant sleeping with the enemy.

Gabriel shushed her until she quieted and when she awoke next, she realized he was gone.

Disappointment tore the center of her heart, right down its center as brilliant sunlight cast the truth around
her. Gabriel had gone to kill Marco, and she would likely never get the chance to see him again.

~*~

Marco entered the courtyard and strode to Ava. As beautiful as ever, she rose from the stone bench

like an angel cast amongst the garden of Eden. She smiled at him and straightened her white skirts around
her legs. “Did you have a good trip?”

“Of course.” He lifted her face for a kiss and asked, “how was your time off, my sweet. Did you

miss me?”

She chuckled. “Of course.”

His hands tightened and he forced himself to ease his hold. She sensed his mood for her eyes

widened. “I have heard you enjoyed yourself immensely in my absence.”

She stiffened in his arms. “I did as a matter of fact, as I always do.”

He leaned down into her face. “Who is he? He isn’t one of your regulars. I do not know this man.”

He shook her. “Who is he?”

Ava yanked from his embrace, frustration furrowed her brow. “My clients are none of your concern,

Marco. The last time I checked we were not married and therefore you do not own me.”

He seized her again, clasping her to his chest, his hand pointing to their surroundings. “You forget

yourself, my love. All of this that you see...it is mine. This courtyard is mine.” He moved with her to the
archway and they entered the bedroom. “This bed...it is mine.” He yanked her back around to face him.
“That means you...are mine!”

She gasped at the force of his tone. “Let me go,” she whispered.

“The power you pretended to wield over me was because I allowed you to have it!” He shook her

by the upper arms. “Everything that you have...I gave it to you!”

She panted now and fear widened her gaze. He soaked it in and reveled in the power it gave him.

Struggling to free herself, Ava pushed at his chest until he let her go and she plummeted to the floor. She
gasped and peered up at him. “He was just another man, Marco. There is nothing to be jealous about.”

He smiled. “You think it is jealousy?” He chuckled and strode over the sideboard to pour a drink.

Turning, he leaned a hip against the mahogany piece as she climbed to her feet, straightening her skirts.
“My driver tells me you met with him out at the San de la Vega ruins.”

She nodded. “That was our first meeting, yes. He wished to discover our compatibility. You act as

if I haven’t slept with other men before.”

“My maid has informed me of the letters.”

She stilled visibly and then continued brushing out invisible wrinkles. “They’re just letters,

Marco.”

Marco swallowed the whiskey and tossed the glass into the fireplace, shattering against the mud

bricks. She jumped and screamed. He strode to her and clasped her upper arms once again. “Do not lie to
me, Ava. I have made you what you are today. You are rich beyond imagining and you could retire today,
living the rest of your life in the lap of luxury. Do not be foolish enough to bite the hand that feeds you.”

“I-I don’t know what you mean, Marco.”

“You hired an assassin to kill me.”

Her eyes widened to the size of the desert sun and she slowly denied it, shaking her head. “N-no, I

swear. You’ve been misinformed.”

He rattled her until she sobbed. “Do not lie to me!”

She yanked from his hold, her eyes narrowed. “All right! I did try to hire him. He refused me. Says

he’s retired. So you have nothing to fear.”

Marco gritted his teeth. “Nothing to fear? Do you really think I am afraid?” He struck her cheek and

she collapsed at his feet. “Do not be a fool. I could care less if he tries to kill me. I am furious that you’ve
betrayed me. I’ve given you everything your heart desires and this is how you repay me?”

Tears streamed down her face when she peered up at him, but she clenched her jaw in defiance.

“You must first offer loyalty in order to betray someone.” She climbed to her feet. “You wanted a fuck
and I gave you one whenever you so wished. Do not speak of betrayal to me. This was business. It has
always been business and I earned every damn penny you gave me.”

Marco smacked her again and she cried out. “You bitch. You made me care for you, pant after you,

and then you hire someone to kill me?” He grasped a handful of hair and leaned into her face. “Tell me
why I shouldn’t kill you now? I’ve killed people for less.”

“Then do it and be done with it!”

His heart pounded against his chest and he seized her neck, squeezing the air from her lungs and

hating the pain in his heart as he did so. He shouldn’t care for her. He should never have come to care for
her.

She was a weakness he must rid himself of now — while he still could.

But his hand released her as she choked, swallowing air into empty lungs. He’d killed every person

who’d ever betrayed him. Why couldn’t he kill her?

“Just tell me why?”

She seemed to hesitate. “My father was father Estevan de la Vega. He was a man of God, and you

slaughtered my family and raped my sister!”

The ghost of a name that had haunted him for more than a decade caused him to gasp, and stumble

back in surprise. De la Vega was the only regret he’d ever carried. Fearing God’s wrath, he’d made sure
no one would ever utter the man’s name again. He’d forgotten that day, placed it in the back of his mind
and erased all memory of it, but it easily resurfaced with just a hint of breath.

He strode away from her and exited the room, heading for the entrance to the house. She was De la

Vega’s daughter. He must get away. An explosion threw him back several feet as the entire front of the
house was consumed by a fire ball. He tumbled to the floor with a jarring thud. The east side of the house
quivered with aftershocks as the dust settled in a cloud.

Marco coughed and tossed debris off, climbing to his feet. Soot covered his hands and arms — and

likely his face — and his shirt lay in tatters. Glancing over one shoulder, Ava scrambled away from the
door and he loped after her.

If someone were trying to kill him, they’d have to kill her first.

~*~

Ava tripped over the fallen bookshelf and headed for the open courtyard. Marco’s footsteps

pounded behind her and just as she reached the archway, pain shot through her scalp. He yanked her back
by the hair and she fell into him. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Peering up into his blackened face, fear slithered up her spine. “Please stop, Marco!”

“And now you beg?” He laughed. “It’s a little late for that, Ava.”

Darkness covered the courtyard. The only light spilled from inside the house. She trembled under

his hands, her heart thundered in her ears, and her palms grew moist. Certain he would kill her, Ava
whimpered. He dragged her close and wrapped his large hands around her neck. “You’re going to ensure
I make it out of here.”

“You won’t make it out alive, Santiago.” The voice came from the bedroom and then Gabriel

emerged from the darkened archway, his stride slow and steady as he loaded his pistol.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Once my men—”

“They’re dead.”

Marco stiffened behind her and Ava gasped as his hold tightened. “I don’t believe you.”

Gabriel shrugged. “Then don’t. Make it easy on yourself and release Ava.”

“Do you think I am estupido?” Marco shook his head. “I’ll break her neck if you take another step.

If you were a smart man you’d let me go.”

Gabriel shook his head. “A smarter man would know when to fold.”

Ava sensed the desperation in Marco’s tense hold. Mistakes by any of them could result in

unnecessary deaths. She tried to avert his attention. “Marco, I’ll go with you. Just calm down.”

“There’s no need to go with him, Ava. Two more seconds and he’s a dead man.”

She clenched her teeth in frustration. Couldn’t Gabriel see she was trying to defuse the situation?

Things were getting out of hand. “Marco,” she whispered. “Just listen to me. I’ll go with you, wherever
you want.”

“I’ll give you one more chance, release Ava, Santiago,” Gabriel inserted. Marco panted now. His

gaze swung from the left to the right, searching for an escape. Gabriel smiled. “There’s nowhere left to
run.”

“Don’t be so sure about that.” Marco yanked her back and she stumbled to keep up. Marco’s grip on

her throat stung. “I’m taking her with me. Make a move and she’s dead.”

“Ante up, Santiago. I’m calling your bluff.”

The gunshot exploded and Marco’s body jerked in response. She gasped as blood spattered across

her cheeks. Stunned, she plummeted, still wrapped in Marco’s arms. Her entire body shuddered and shock
rippled through her.

Screaming, she leapt up and whirled. Marco’s lifeless eyes stared back at her, and the tiny bullet

hole centered in the center of his forehead. He was dead. Her sister’s dark eyes flashed through her mind.
You can rest in peace, María, mi hermana.

Ava trembled fiercely. Her body shook until her teeth chattered. Warm arms encircled her and she

immediately sought Gabriel’s comfort. She cried into his shoulder. Relief released the weight from her
shoulders.

“It’s over?”

Gabriel nodded. “It’s over.”

“That easy, huh?” she chuckled.

“Yup, that easy.”

She leaned back in his arms to peer up at him. “Why did you change your mind, Gabriel?”

He sighed. “Years ago, I sought the man who’d killed my wife and son. I hunted him until I finally

caught him but I was just a greenhorn. He held a young woman hostage and I missed the shot. I shot them
both with a single bullet through the neck.” His voice broke. “She was little more than a child at
seventeen. And I killed her.” His gaze grew distant as he shook his head. “I can’t let that happen again, do
you understand? I can’t let another innocent person die for the sake of revenge.”

She gasped at his admission. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He cupped her cheeks. “I went into the military, learned to kill, perfected the craft and became an

assassin after that. But over the years I’ve learned an eye for an eye doesn’t relieve the pain.” Gabriel
wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin atop her head. “Vengeance changes people. Strips all the
joy and laughter from a person’s life. Rip’s out your heart and closes off any chance at love. I can’t sit by
and watch what happened to me, happen to you. After everything you’ve been through you deserve some
happiness. Don’t let anger and hate waste the best years of your life.”

The crack in her armor completely broke and fell away. Ava hugged him close and cried tears of

happiness and disappointment into his shoulder. Something akin to love blossomed in her chest. Warmth
she hadn’t felt in years bloomed and spilled over through her tears. “You’re a good man, Gabriel. How
can I ever repay you?”

He stepped away from her and held her at arm’s length. “Live long and be happy, and share that

beautiful smile with everyone.”

A void centered in her chest. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Why had she whispered those words,

when she truly did not want him to answer them.

He nodded. “You have a chance at a new life, Ava. Use it wisely. You’re too good for this.” He

pointed to their surroundings. “I only hope whatever is next for you was worth all this.”

“It will be,” she whispered, meaning it. She was ready to start a new life. Retire from being a

courtesan and perhaps learn to love someone again. Although, some distant thought reminded her no man
would ever fill Gabriel’s place. He was right, he’d become...too precious. “And you? Where will you
go?”

He smiled. “Back to my retirement plans.”

“Which are?”

He ducked his head and color actually flooded his face. “I’m headed to Southern California. I’m

going to own a vineyard. My wife loved wine and it was her dream to make wine someday. Somehow it’s
become a dream of mine as well.”

A twinge of pain erupted somewhere deep inside. He still loved his wife. She smiled through her

tears and cupped his cheek. “What a beautiful dream that is, Gabriel.” She kissed his cheek and his breath
caught in her ear. “You deserve some happiness, too. I hope you can find it.”

He captured her palm and kissed it. “Thank you.” They whispered the words in unison, both

realizing this as the end as well as a new beginning. In a matter of days, they’d both changed. Only time
would tell how things would turn out, but for now, a promise of tomorrow brightened the horizon.

Her hands slid from his face as he backed away, his eyes on her. Then he turned and strode through

the archway and into the ruins of the burning buildings. Gone from her with only a single night of bliss and
a promise.

She stood amidst the chaos of the ruins for what seemed like hours, a hand over her aching heart and

tears washing away the last remnants of her previous life. Hoping against all hope that one retired
assassin would change his mind for a second time.

Epilogue

Four years later

Sunlight poured in sheets even as a misting rain pattered across her face. Ava Stone, wiped the

moisture from her forehead and climbed to her feet. She needed to get inside before the rain came down in
earnest.

She’d moved from El Paso into a small house outside the small town of Stone Creek, Texas. The

name reminded her of one retired assassin and perhaps it was her way to stay close to him. She enjoyed
working in her garden and selling her produce to the townsfolk. She lived comfortably. Thanks to
Marco’s money. But she’d buried that life and her past, seeking to grow something new here, and she’d
succeeded.

Meeting new friends and returning to church, to finally learn who she was as a woman had became

her first priority over the last few years. She found she was a good person and a wonderful friend, but she
was definitely a lonely woman.

Ava sighed and entered through the back screen door when a knock sounded from the front porch.

Curiosity furrowed her brows as she scuttled around the furniture and into the entry way, opening the front
door.

Ava glanced back and forth but no one was there. She frowned. I’m hearing things I guess. Just

before she shut the door, she glanced down and something caught her eye.

Opening the screen, Ava walked out onto the front porch. A lone bottle of wine wrapped in a

yellow ribbon sat on the top step. Her breath caught, her heart thundered, and she glanced around.

She knelt and picked up the beautiful green bottle to cradle against her heart. Could it be?

“I thought I should share my dream with the woman who helped me realize it.” Gabriel materialized

from around the corner of the house and her heart shot into her throat.

“Gabriel?”

He tipped his dark hat. “Howdy, Miss Stone.”

Those incredible green eyes devoured her and she stood, quivering under his gaze. “I can’t believe

it’s you. Am I dreaming?”

He grinned, dressed in a dark, tailored suite. He fair took her breath away. Propping one black boot

on the porch he leaned an elbow on his knee. “No, mi princesa, you’re not dreaming. I was in town and
thought I’d stop by.”

“How did you find me?”

“Well, it was a bit difficult once you changed your name but let’s be honest, a beautiful single,

woman named Ava is fairly easy to track down, Miss Stone. Especially one as beautiful as you.”

Pleasure heated her cheeks but she raised her chin. “Why did you return, Gabriel? It was difficult

enough to get over you the first time you left.”

“I have a business proposition for you.”

Her heart sank and every hope died on a solid breath of disappointment. “Oh? I don’t do that kind of

work anymore, Mr. Stone, so I’ll thank you to leave.”

He leapt onto the porch and swept her into his arms. With a single kiss on her stunned lips, he knelt

on one knee. “I need a wife, Miss Stone. I’m in desperate need to fill this void left by the sweetest
Spanish girl I’ve ever known. Marry me and help me run my vineyard. Besides, we already share the
same last name, all you need to do is say yes.”

Her mouth had dropped open in shock at the first word and by the end, she could no longer hold in

the emotion. Tears gathered in her eyes as she whispered, “why?”

He stood. “Because I can’t live without you. I can’t stop thinking about you and I damn well want

you in my bed, next to me every single night for the rest of my life. Say yes, mi princesa. I need you.”

Ava’s lip quivered. Tears tracked twin paths down her cheeks, and she nodded.

“Say it,” he whispered. “I have to hear you say it.”

She laughed and smiled. Pure joy flowed through her veins as she leapt into his arms, almost

conking him on the back of the head with the wine bottle. “Yes! Oh Gabriel, yes! I’ve waited a lifetime
for you, why would I waste another damn day?”

He kissed her lips and drank in her tears. “Let’s make sweet wine and sweet love together for the

rest of our lives.”

~The End~

About the Author

Suzie Grant remembers sitting at her grandfather's feet watching cowboy shows like Gunsmoke,

Lonesome Dove and Bonanza. Her love of the Wild West started by the age of four and has grown ever

since. Cowboys, wide open spaces, the freedom of the west and family are what draw her to this genre.

That and the fact that when a cowboy falls in love - it's for life.

Suzie still believes in the happily-ever-after and currently resides in North Carolina with her own

real life hero, three children, and one shitzhu named Peppy Le'Pew. Take a journey with her into the lives

of a dying breed of man and the unforgotten way of life called the Wild West.

The Devil’s Defiance

Book two in the Devil Ryder Series available August 2011

New York City Lawyer Garret Ryder takes the law into his own hands when a vicious killer gets

away with murdering his family. Nothing will stop him from delivering the justice denied him by the law

he vowed to uphold. But when the killer kidnaps a judge’s daughter, his childhood sweetheart, he must

decide if any price is too high to exact revenge.

San Antonio socialite Sophia Maria Osbourne doesn’t trust easily. With a dirty politician and a

blackmailing judge for a father, she learned not to rely on anyone but herself. But when her father’s shady

dealings lead to her kidnapping, she must place her faith in the man who broke her heart, if she hopes to

survive.

The American Dynasty Series

Coming 2012

Family, Ideals, Love and Money

When four daughters of a Texas rancher take on the west conquering four men and the dynasties that

built the American dream, will love conquer all, even greed?

Georgia

One man’s revenge becomes one woman’s salvation.

Rio Ramirez had ulterior motives when he accepted the job to find a gang of cattle thieves; revenge

against the man who’d killed his family. When he runs into the boss’s daughter at her bath he’s entranced
and his investigation exposes her scheme to steal her own father’s cattle. Dark family secretes are
revealed and a suspicious murder forces him to make a choice. Un-heroic, Rio’s always lived selfishly,
now he must choose the revenge he’s longed for or save the life of the woman who’s managed to bring out
the hero he’d long thought buried.

Georgia Devlin has lived her life trying to prove herself to her dying father. When he remarries a

woman who only wants to sell her beloved ranch, George concocts a plan to steal the cattle in order to

buy the ranch back. Only her plan backfires when her stepmother hires a ranch detective. She struggles to

guard her secretes from the handsome stranger but fails to guard her heart. Now she must choose to trust in

the Detective to save her from her own good intentions.