The minute Boral leaves Carrick’s condo, Maddox asks, “Feel like blowing off some steam?”
I had thought he meant a workout in the gym, and I was game for that. So I say, “Sure.”
But rather than heading toward the gym, Maddox pivots in the opposite direction and leads me to the southwest side of the condo. It’s an area I don’t go to a lot as it holds a guest suite identical to mine and another guest bedroom.
Maddox opens a door I had thought was a utility closet, and I gasp when I realize it’s a man-cave.
Dark paneled walls and gleaming hardwood floors, but the decor is distinctly different than the cool blues, light creams, and silvery grays throughout the rest of the condo. Persian rugs in crimson, navy, and beige are scattered under various pieces of furniture. There’s a pool table, a bar to seat eight, a poker table, and even a dartboard. One wall boasts a flat-screen TV so large I can’t even begin to fathom how big it is, and it’s sectioned off with a massive U-shaped couch in cocoa brown, distressed leather with ornate carved clawed feet.
It was the antithesis of the rest of the condo, and not just because it’s designed to serve men and their desires for liquor, football, and cigars. It’s just overly staid in my opinion.
“Holy shit,” I murmur as I follow Maddox in. “I had no clue this was even here.”
He plops down in the middle of the couch, then reaches for a remote control. “I brought over my PS4. I thought you and I could practice our battle skills in a more chilled sort of way.”
I snort as I take in the handheld gaming controls, the only reason that I recognize them is that Myles is a big gamer. He waves one at me provocatively and then nods to the cushion beside him.
“Come on, Finley,” he urges with a gleam in his eye. “Take a load off for a while and come spend just half an hour with me blowing shit up.”
Playing video games just isn’t my thing, but it’s better than sitting around and letting my mind become overwhelmed with planning, contingencies, and what-ifs. It would actually do me good just to take a brain break.
“Okay,” I reply almost giddily, moving to the couch and hopping the back of it to land on the cushion beside Maddox. He hands me a controller and says, “We’ll play Final Fantasy VII. You’ll love it.”
I wait as he boots up the game, studying the controller. I assume he’ll give me a lesson on what the buttons do.
“Does Carrick even come in here?” I ask as I kick my tennis shoes off and cross my legs.
“He used to PF,” Maddox says as the game starts to load.
“PF?”
“Pre-Finley.” He grins at me, then takes the controller I’m holding out of my hand. “But only to have a drink, conduct business, or maybe play some poker with friends.”
“But Carrick doesn’t have friends,” I point out. “And why hasn’t he come in here since I came into his life?”
“You are correct… Carrick doesn’t have friends. Maybe I should have said business acquaintances. And I imagine he doesn’t use this room very much these days as he hasn’t had much downtime since you came into his life wreaking havoc.”
I know he’s teasing, so I bump my shoulder against his good naturedly. “Well, maybe I can convince him to play a few games of pool. I’m really good, and I’m not above hustling him.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not a sucker then,” Carrick’s voice sounds from behind us. Maddox and I both twist to look at the door to find Carrick standing there casually, one arm raised and his hand resting against the jamb slightly above his head. The smile on his face is amused.
“You’re back,” I exclaim, pushing up from the couch. I was looking forward to unwinding a little with Maddox, but if it’s a choice between time with him or Carrick, I’m going to choose Carrick every time.
It seems just so natural, despite the fact I know Maddox is watching, to walk right up to Carrick and kiss him.
Or perhaps it’s him who is kissing me.
Regardless, my lips are happy for that brief connection, and I take stock of the fact I’m infinitely happier at this moment than I was a mere thirty seconds ago hanging out with Maddox, and I was pretty damn happy then.
There’s no getting around it.
Carrick just does it for me in all ways.
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SOME BACKGROUND: All of her life Finley Porter has been treated for hallucinations but days before her twenty-eighth birthday Finley is pulled into a world of the Light and Dark Fa...
SOME BACKGROUND: All of her life Finley Porter has been treated for hallucinations but days before her twenty-eighth birthday Finley is pulled into a world of the Light and Dark Fae by a man who stirs something deep within our story line heroine. An end of the world prophecy declares our heroine the savior, and in this Finley struggles with her fated destiny. As the gods watch the prophecy play out, some take it upon themselves to interfere where they do not belong.
Told from first person perspective (Finley) and third person (Carrick) A BATTLE OF BLOOD AND STONE picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book three wherein Carrick remains missing, and Finley continues to prepare for her role and fated destiny. Struggling to remain under the protection of Demi-gods and daemons, Finley is desperate to locate the the ‘Blood Stone’ purported to give the user immortal powers but a desperation brought about in an effort to keep the stone out of the hands of the Dark Fae. As Finley and Carrick, Carrick’s brothers Maddox and Lucien, and daemons Boral and Zaid head to a magical island to retrieve the missing stone, lives are lost, and our intrepid ‘Scooby gang’ is no further ahead but falling farther behind.
Like the previous instalments, A BATTLE OF BLOOD AND STONE is a complex, detailed and riveting entry in Sawyer Bennett’s Chronicles of the Stone Veil. As the prophecy begins to take shape, Finley is desperate to reach into the Underworld, in an effort to make contact with someone from her past. Sawyer Bennett pulls the reader into an exciting and wonderful story line of revelations, betrayal and secrets, power and control that ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.
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