Excerpt from Assumed Calling, Book Five, Identity Series...

Please enjoy a snippet from Assumed Calling… 

Glancing at the clock on the mantle in his study and wondering if sleep was in the cards for him at all, Allen sank into the welcome comfort of the leather love seat opposite the couch where Kyle had taken up residence, sipping on a Cognac.

“You look like you could use one,” Kyle said, holding up his glass then setting it on the table between them and standing to go to the liquor cabinet. “Where did you happen to come across this vintage?”

“It was a gift,” Allen answered, sinking further into his seat and accepting the glass Kyle offered.

“You can’t keep letting Mason’s death dictate what you do with the rest of your life.” Kyle retook his seat and resumed possession of his drink. “Life being the key word.”

“When the hell did we wake up old men?” Allen asked, slipping off his shoes and propping his feet on the cocktail table. “All this…” He waved the hand holding the glass around and his eyes roamed his study. “The houses, the money, the cars. None of it means shit in the end, does it? We get creaky, we turn gray, and we fucking die. And if fate really hates us, we leave behind some beautiful creature heartbroken and alone.”

“She is beautiful,” Kyle agreed, one corner of his mouth quirking. “I looked in on her. Cute as a button and so very…innocent looking. You'd better snatch her up and play with her before someone else does.”

“Playing with her is exactly what it would be.” He wiggled his toes a few times, wishing he’d at least found someone to rub his damn feet for him before he pitched a bitch and sent them all packing. Was a foot rub so much to ask for in the scheme of things? “She needs more than I’m capable of giving her. I saw it in her eyes. I have a feeling she’s been neglected and tossed to the side more than once and me stringing her along to let her go at some point would be just plain cruel.”

“More than you’re capable of or more than you’re willing to give? Is she agreeable to a temporary arrangement?”

Allen rolled his eyes and drained his tumbler, wishing the warmth it spread across his palate and sent through his veins would find its way to his soul, that part of him which had been icing over for a while now.

“You didn’t even bother asking her, did you?” Kyle accused, his eyes narrowing. “You’re not afraid of your mortality. You’re afraid of yourself. Afraid you might actually be able to care for someone.”

“I’ve cared for plenty of someones,” Allen said.

“But never loved anyone.”

“No.”

Thanks for having a read,

Lila Munro