Marrying Her

By Kelly Lucille

In Keeping Her we fell in love with a scarred, tattooed x-Navy SEAL wolf shifter from an unconventional pack, and his sassy full figured mate. Now, my Christmas gift to you is a glimpse into the life they have made together.
In times of trouble and times of Joy, find out if happily ever after looks as good from the other side.
It begins with a phone call about her father and a cancer she was never told he had. Demon is going to come to the realization that in the eyes of normal human society he has very little claim on Clytie...and you can imagine how well he takes that.

If he can convince Clytie to marry him after the worst proposal ever, he still has to survive the wedding planning, a whole host of visiting pack, life changing news... and Aunt Essie.

While all the other books in the Keeping Her Series can be read stand alone, this novella is different. To fully appreciate the characters and back story I recommend reading at least Keeping Her, if not the entire series.
As always in the Keeping Her series, expect explicit language and hot sex.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelly Lucille
• Release date: Feb 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310027826

Kelly Lucille

Kelly Lucille was born in Bremerton, Washington. April 9th, 1974.She has a B.A. Degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Naropa University.Her first book "Keeping Her" published in July of 2013."The Dragon's Mage" was release August 2013"Loving Her" (Mac and Ben's story in the Keeping Her Series) just released on August 31st,2013.Still to come: "At Ones Pleasure." and "Web of Bones" the second in the Dragon Mage series.Also in the works:Two Fantasy/Paranormal Romance novels: "The Journeys End" and "Claiming Her"and a Contemporary Romance "Beatrice and Douglas."On a more personal note- I read my first romance novel: "Shanna" by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss when I was 13 years old. I still read it every year or so just to remember how amazing a really good romance novel can make you feel.Check out more of what's coming next at kellylucille.com

Book preview

Marrying Her

A Keeping Her Christmas Wedding

by

Kelly Lucille

Smashwords Edition

All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2015 Kelly Lucille

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ONE

Clytie vaguely heard the ringing of the phone but ignored it. She was working on the final touches of her newest encaustic and everybody knew that she was incommunicado when she worked. When it stopped and then started again, she looked briefly in the direction of the great room but didn’t think anything of it. Then it kept ringing. She knew Ben and Mac had taken Cassandra and Roxanne into town to Cold Stone Creamery, but Demon was somewhere close by. When he was not out on assignment for Lionsgate he always was. And he tended to guard her private art time as zealously as she did, if not more so. Unless he was patrolling deep into the wilds in his wolf shape, he would hear the phone and come. She brushed the long strands of red curls that had escaped her braid off her face with the back of her free hand.

The thought of the way Demon would growl and snap at anyone who even thought about disturbing her made Clytie smile to herself. But then there wasn’t much he did that didn’t make her smile. Even after nearly two years of living together, half of that with an adopted daughter, a family, she still felt like she did the first time he kissed her. There had been some rough times. And as often as he made her smile, he also made her crazy with his over-protectiveness and alpha tendency to give commands. But she would not trade any of it. Not when he still looked at her the way he did. Like she was the special one and he would protect her with his last breath. Like he needed to touch her as much as she needed to touch him. And with Demon and his heated brown eyes and warrior body she could not keep her hands to herself.

Clytie shifted thoughts of Demon out of her head before it distracted her beyond redemption. She turned down one of the burners that was cooking the wax too much and tried to get her mind back on her work. Her tin cans were hot enough that the wax was the perfect liquid for painting, but too hot was as bad as not hot enough for some things. In this case, she needed a slightly cooler texture to build the waves. The pigments she was using were darker than her usual swirls of color, but this particular piece was a nighttime dream. The textures and the shimmering moonlight on water were giving her trouble, not coming out exactly right, so she added a touch more silver to the mix and tried again. The phone stopped ringing when it went to voicemail. Then it started up almost immediately. Demon was definitely not anywhere close to the house or he would have already tromped in snarling and likely verbally smashed whoever was so insistent. It happened a fourth time and Clytie sighed; giving up, she went to answer the phone, noticing absently that she had spilled some green wax on her overlarge t-shirt, but had managed to miss the loose sweats so far. Her naked toes were painted a metallic blue and she liked the flash of it when she walked. Her absent thoughts shifted to the insistent phone. Who would call on the landlines and not the cell phones or the Lionsgate security office phone anyway? Someone was always stationed in the booth, today it was the newest member of their little pack. A young crow-shifter who, so far, she had barely seen herself. She was starting to think he was purposely avoiding her for some reason, and he was fast enough and quiet enough to do just that. Not to mention those advanced shifter senses. It had been nearly a month since Logan showed up with him and asked if he could stay for awhile, well passed the time for her to weigh in. Physically, the child was a lanky thirteen, but his eyes were going on a hundred.

What kind of name for a crow-shifter was Crow, no last name, anyway?

Thinking of having a talk with Demon about the boy, Clytie picked up the phone and answered with a distracted, Hello?

Clytie?

Sara? she asked even more confused when she realized who it was. How did you get this number?

I tried your cell. Her sister’s voice was brittle. No one is answering it. Jordan gave me this number. She said it was for emergencies. She paused here, her voice cooling slightly. Though I was surprised you gave it to my daughter but not to me.

Clytie ignored that and did her best not to react to the accusation. I’m sorry, Sara, I was working. I usually turn off my phone to work; and Jordan was here when the house phone was installed. She took the number just in case. Since we got it for emergencies, as in 911 calls, I don’t give it out and just use my cell.

I see, but the cold frost didn’t thaw. There was a silence where Clytie could hear nothing but some jagged breathing.

Clytie clutched the phone tighter. Has something happened?

Father is in the hospital in Oklahoma City. The cancer moved to his liver.

Clytie felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach, and tried to breathe through airways that had closed. She tried to speak and it came out raw and pinched. What cancer?

***

Demon was out of his depth. Give him a battlefield and an army to fight and he could take on all comers, but seeing his mate listlessly sitting on their bed, staring at nothing with that quietly devastated look in her green eyes, all he wanted to do was pound his fist through the walls. This was not Clytie. Clytie was smiles and energy. He didn’t like it; no, he fucking hated it, and the feeling of helplessness in the face of her pain was enough to make his wolf want to rend and tear at things.

Lucas is sending the jet, Mac said from the doorway. Cleo will be flying with Shawn, backing us up with security. They have already left for the airport and expect to make it in tonight. We can head out as soon as they fuel up. Smokey silver eyes grim, Mac was not one to smile just because, and his own mate was feeling this hit as well. Cassandra was Clytie’s cousin; she had never been close to her uncle but family was family, and besides that connection, she was Clytie’s best friend. She was feeling this, too, and Mac and Ben were in nearly the same situation as Demon, having a mate in pain and unable to do a damn thing about it except handle the itinerary and be there. Mac moved his eyes to Demon but continued to talk to Clytie. He says to tell you that any of your family are welcome. The plane and Cleo are at your disposal.

Clytie looked up and smiled, but unlike every other time he had seen it in the two years they had been together, this one didn’t reach her eyes. That’s kind of him. I’ll call my sister and let her know.

I called her, Cassandra said from behind Mac. He turned and she walked into his open arms thankfully, her golden-brown hair looking light against Mac’s dark coloring. Worried hazel eyes moved to her cousin. They decided that driving out as soon as she gets the shop covered is more appropriate in this case. Cassie moved her eyes to Mac, which were heated with anger, ensuring that Demon was not going to like what she said next. She would not like to be beholden, or stranded. And she doesn’t think bringing strangers to a family affair is appropriate, especially when we know that her father would not approve.

What the fuck does that mean? Demon asked on a growl.

Clytie sighed and answered before Cassandra could. Exactly what it sounds like. A massive disapproving slap in the face of your kindness. She blew out a breath and stood up to finish packing. She didn’t look at anyone else in the room, and her voice was listless.

Incidentally, I asked her why neither you nor I knew about Uncle Gilbert having cancer, Cassandra said, her voice turning downright hostile.

I asked her, too, Clytie said, her voice giving none of her emotions away. She said my parents did not want anyone but immediate family to know about it.

Cassandra opened her mouth, a fire in her eyes, but then looked at Demon who shook his head grimly, turning his attention to his mate. Without another word, Cassie pulled Mac from the room and shut the door. She was forgotten along with everything else but his mate by the time the door shut behind them.

He took Clytie’s arm and swung her gently around. He held her there until she finally looked him in the eyes. The void he found there made him want to howl.

Don’t be nice to me right now, Demon, she said with a break and a swallow to force back down her tears. I’m holding on by a thread.

Why?

She blinked at the unexpected