Read Online Claiming the East Wind by Anna Hackett - Free Book Online

turned her head and he was there, his mouth finding hers, the rock of his hips never diminishing.
    Moments later, she splintered apart and he followed the next instant, spurting his release inside her.
    Their harsh breathing was the only sound in the room, their sated, sweaty bodies a warm tangle that could never be parted.
    He pressed a kiss to her hair. “Let me fall in love with you, Skye? You have to say yes.”
    She smiled. “Yes. A hundred times yes.” She only wanted to think good things, of the perfection of this moment, but she felt the past like a terrible shadow, lurking, never far.
    He must have read her mind. “Our pasts will always be there.” He turned her to look at him, his hands cupping her face. “They made us into the people we are today, so we can’t forget them. The ghost of greed will always be inside me.”
    “And my ghost—” would always haunt her.
    “But together we have the chance to move on. We can build something new, something stronger.”
    She nodded. “Together.” She leaned forward and claimed his mouth.
    The kiss was long and slow and lazy. But soon it heated, turned rougher and more frantic.
    Soren fell onto his back and gripped her hips. He shifted her firmly astride him. “Fancy another chance to ride the wind?”
    Her laughter filled the room. “Soren!”
    ***
    Soren held onto Skye’s hand as they went through the front door of the villa. The sun was setting, turning the lake to liquid gold ringed by shadowed mountains.
    Down the stairs his brothers stood, each of them also holding the hand of the women who’d crashed into their world at the worst possible time and helped save them.
    His fingers tightened on Skye’s hand. Grazie Dio.
    Luca nodded to him. “You look…rested.”
    Soren saw Skye blush and smiled. “ Si , I am.”
    “It’s time we finish this.” Dante tugged Samia close to his side. “We plan to take a vacation. A long one.”
    “Sounds good to me.” Antonio flashed his trademark smile at Sophia. “What do you think?”
    “I think you won’t hear any complaints,” she answered.
    Rayne slung an arm across Skye’s shoulders. “So, get this ritual done. Then I plan to have a long talk with Soren about taking good care of my baby sister.”
    The redhead’s words were light but Soren saw the deeper glint in her eyes. He was glad that Skye had someone else who loved her.
    “Let’s do it,” Soren said.
    The women moved back and Soren stepped into formation with his brothers. They each moved until they faced their cardinal direction.
    Soren’s back was to the setting sun, staring past Antonio to the darkening eastern horizon. It felt right. A close to the vice that had plagued him all his life and almost consumed him the last few weeks.
    But the best was the promise of a new beginning. A new life with the brothers he loved and the woman who was his.
    The brothers reached out and clamped their hands around each other’s wrists. A strong link they’d proven could never be broken.
    They summoned their winds.
    They’d never completed this ritual before, but with the memories of their ancestors, it was easy to follow the faded recollections of past rituals. The cardinal winds roared up, twining together between the men in a strong funnel.
    The wind ruffled their clothes, their hair. The combined strength was beyond anything Soren had experienced.
    The tornado speared into the air. Around them, Soren heard the vicious whispers of the banished Venti Tempesta . Whispers of envy, anger, lust and greed. They grew in volume and urgency, until the winds snatched them up and the funnel lifted off the ground and flew away to the south.
    Toward Isola del Vento and the horses there that would house the evil. It would once again be their prison.
    “We’ll need to appoint a new Keeper to watch over them.” Luca scowled. “Livia is perfectly happy being mortal again with our damn horse trainer.”
    Soren’s lips quirked. Love certainly hadn’t mellowed