Killian: A West Bend Saints Romance Read online

  Killian: A West Bend Saints Romance

  Sabrina Paige

  Contents

  Killian (West Bend Saints, Book #4)

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1. Author’s Note

  2. Lily

  3. Lily

  4. Killian

  5. Lily

  6. Killian

  7. Lily

  8. Killian

  9. Lily

  10. Killian

  11. Lily

  12. Lily

  13. Killian

  14. Lily

  15. Killian

  16. Lily

  17. Killian

  18. Lily

  19. Killian

  20. Lily

  21. Killian

  22. Lily

  23. Killian

  24. Lily

  25. Killian

  26. Lily

  27. Killian

  28. Lily

  29. Killian

  30. Lily

  31. Killian

  32. Lily

  33. Killian

  34. Lily

  35. Killian

  36. Lily

  37. Killian

  38. Lily

  39. Killian

  40. Lily

  41. Killian

  42. Lily

  43. Lily

  44. Killian

  45. Killian

  Epilogue

  Elias (West Bend Saints, Book #1)

  Synopsis

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1. River

  2. Elias

  3. River

  4. Elias

  5. River

  6. Elias

  7. River

  8. Elias

  9. River

  10. Elias

  11. Elias

  12. River

  13. Elias

  14. River

  15. Elias

  16. River

  17. Elias

  18. River

  19. Elias

  20. River

  21. Elias

  22. River

  23. Elias

  24. River

  25. Elias

  26. River

  27. Elias

  28. River

  29. River

  30. Elias

  31. River

  32. Elias

  33. River

  34. Elias

  35. River

  36. Elias

  37. River

  38. Elias

  39. River

  40. Elias

  41. River

  42. Elias

  Epilogue

  43. Bonus Epilogue

  Silas (West Bend Saints, Book #2)

  Synopsis

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1. Tempest

  2. Silas

  3. Tempest

  4. Silas

  5. Tempest

  6. Silas

  7. Tempest

  8. Silas

  9. Tempest

  10. Silas

  11. Tempest

  12. Silas

  13. Tempest

  14. Silas

  15. Tempest

  16. Silas

  17. Tempest

  18. Silas

  19. Tempest

  20. Silas

  21. Tempest

  22. Silas

  23. Tempest

  24. Silas

  25. Tempest

  26. Silas

  27. Tempest

  28. Silas

  29. Tempest

  30. Silas

  31. Tempest

  32. Silas

  33. Tempest

  34. Silas

  35. Tempest

  36. Silas

  37. Tempest

  38. Silas

  39. Tempest

  Epilogue

  40. Bonus Epilogue

  Luke (West Bend Saints, Book #3)

  Dedication

  Synopsis

  Copyright

  1. Autumn

  2. Autumn

  3. Luke

  4. Autumn

  5. Luke

  6. Autumn

  7. Luke

  8. Autumn

  9. Luke

  10. Autumn

  11. Luke

  12. Autumn

  13. Luke

  14. Autumn

  15. Luke

  16. Autumn

  17. Autumn

  18. Luke

  19. Autumn

  20. Luke

  21. Autumn

  22. Luke

  23. Autumn

  24. Luke

  25. Autumn

  26. Luke

  27. Autumn

  28. Luke

  29. Autumn

  30. Luke

  31. Autumn

  32. Luke

  33. Autumn

  34. Luke

  35. Autumn

  36. Luke

  37. Autumn

  38. Luke

  39. Autumn

  40. Bonus Epilogue

  Also by Sabrina Paige

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Killian (West Bend Saints, Book #4)

  Killian

  White picket fence and a family? Not my style.

  I live life on my own terms. That means alone. I like my solitude, and that's not going to change.

  A woman like Lily Grant? Yeah, right. She talks too much and has too many damn opinions. And that kid of hers might be more of a smart-mouth than she is.

  If I were a better man, I’d walk away. But once I taste her sweet lips, I want to possess every inch of her.

  The girl is mine. Even if she doesn’t know it.

  Lily

  Killian Saint is wild and untamed, gruff and solitary, an arrogant loner from a family that people in West Bend say is no good.

  I should know better. A man like Killian Saint should have no part of my life, not with a kid to raise and a bakery to run.

  Not even if the way his hands feel, rough against my skin, sets every part of my body on fire. Not even if the dirty things he whispers into my ear leave me so on edge I can’t think about anything but his lips on mine.

  Everything about Killian is wrong.

  The problem is, nothing has ever felt so right.

  Copyright © 2016 by Sabrina Paige

  Cover Design by Cormar Covers

  Cover Model Stuart Reardon

  Photographer Claudio Harris

  Photograph provided by Love N. Books

  Editor Daryl Banner

  Proofreader Sue Banner

  Formatting Vellum

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real events, people, or places is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without the permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used for review. If you have not purchased this book from Amazon or received a copy from the author, you are reading a pirated book.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status of products referred to in this book and acknowledges that trademarks have been used without permission.

  This book contains mature content, including graphic sex. Please do not continue reading if you are under the age of 18 or if this type of content is disturbing to you.

  NOTE: All characters in the book are 18+ years of age and all sexual acts are consensual.

  To check out the rest of Sabrina Paige's catalog on Amazon, CLICK HERE!

  Created with Vellum

  For my husband, the best dad in the world. And for my daughter Emma, as always.

  For my patient readers, you’ve waited while I wrote this se
ries very slowly. I’m pretty sure glaciers move faster than I write. Thanks for sticking with it.

  1

  Author’s Note

  *Special New Release & Bonus Content*

  Killian wraps up the West Bend Saints series. The book can be read as a standalone, although it’s better if you’ve read the others prior to reading Killian, especially because Killian does have spoilers in it for the other books.

  To celebrate Killian’s release, I’ve included THE ENTIRE SERIES in Killian for a limited time! And if you’ve already read the first three books, don’t worry — I have some new fun content for you, too! Read on, because I have some BONUS EPILOGUES included!

  I’ve placed Killian first in the book, so if you’ve read the other books, you don’t have to flip through the book to get to Killian. If you haven’t read the other books in the series, you can find the links to each of the other books (in order after Killian) in the table of contents. The series order is as follows:

  Elias (Book One)

  Silas (Book Two)

  Luke (Book Three)

  Killian (Book Four)

  Since I’ve included all of the books, that means that Killian itself is not fifty bajillion pages long, so don’t be misled by the ginormous page count on the Amazon page or the crazy number of Kindle locations in this file.

  These are full-length novels, and Killian weighs in at around 80k words, so it’ll end around 30% on your Kindle, if you’re trying to keep track of the pacing. The other books range from 60-75k words each, with Elias ending around 54%, Silas at 77%, and Luke at 100%.

  As a fun extra bonus, I’ve also included bonus epilogues for the prior books! Those are marked in the table of contents for easy access. If you’ve already read those books, I hope you enjoy seeing what the future has in store for Elias and River, Silas and Tempest, and Luke and Autumn. (Spoiler, one of the couples ends up with twins and triplets!)

  I know a lot of you have been waiting patiently for Killian, and I hope that you love him as much as I do.

  Sabrina

  2

  Lily

  Almost Eight Years Ago

  One knock on the door, and my entire world was changed forever.

  I’d prepared for that moment since Adam slipped the wedding band on my finger back when I was eighteen years old, young and naïve and invincible. I felt like I’d aged two decades in the past six years.

  I would age even faster after the knock on the door. Every cop’s wife thinks about that moment, steels herself against the fear that her husband won’t return from his shift. Each time Adam left, I held my breath, wondering if this would be the time he wouldn’t come back.

  “Mrs. Nelson?”

  When I saw the officer in dress uniform standing in the doorway, I knew all there was to know. I didn’t need to hear anything else after those words, even if I could have heard the rest of what he said over the sound of my own sobbing.

  Adam Nelson. 1984-2008. Killed in the line of duty.

  One sentence to sum up a whole life.

  One knock on the door, and I was a widow at twenty-four years old.

  I hadn’t told Adam I was pregnant. I had just found out. I was saving the news until after the first trimester.

  He died not knowing he was a father.

  It wasn’t until later that I found out everything I knew about Adam had been a lie.

  3

  Lily

  “Shit.” I mutter the word under my breath as I glance up at the clock, wiping my flour-covered hands down the length of my apron. Why am I always running late? "Not running late" should be next years' New Years resolution. Of course, acquiring organizational skills and eating fewer cupcakes should probably be up there on the priority list too. In fact, if I had better organizational skills, I’d write that down on a sticky note or put it in a planner so I remembered the next time I was making resolutions.

  “Opal, are you absolutely sure you’ve got things covered?" I ask. "I hate to leave you here manning the front and back of the store at the same time. We could easily shut down early.”

  Opal rolls her eyes at me as she walks through the kitchen, headed toward the front of the store. My kitchen. I bought the bakery a few months ago, yet it still feels strange to think about this place as my own. I’d never owned anything before this, not even a house, and here I am running my own business. Cupcakes and Cappuccinos is my store, a combination coffee shop and bakery. "It's Monday. This place isn’t exactly teeming with activity,” she says as she breezes past me, the door swinging behind her.

  "I have the Peterson anniversary cake," I call, hanging my apron on a hook and following her to the front. "I'll drop the cupcakes off at Chloe's school and then I'll be back to decorate it."

  "Take your time. The bakery won't burn down in the hour or two you're gone." Opal tsk-tsks me the way she always does before slowly meandering around with a cloth in her hand to clean the empty tabletops. A handful of customers are scattered throughout the front of the store reading newspapers and typing on their laptops.

  Opal shakes her head at me because I can't let go of my city roots, the rush-rush-rush of life that people in West Bend, Colorado just don't seem to possess. Everything moves slower here, and everyone seems to like it that way. I'm the odd one out, too high strung for this place, perpetually juggling a hundred different things and feeling like I'm failing at all of them.

  Opal has been here since I bought the bakery. She came with it, a carryover from the prior owners. She was the only employee who stayed after I bought it – and not by my choice. I wanted to keep the other existing employees as well, but she was the only one who wanted to stay and work for me.

  I came to West Bend, far removed from Chicago and the weight of my husband's name, in order to shed my past. Within days of my and Chloe's arrival, rumors spread that we were hiding something – that we were in the witness protection program or fleeing from an abusive man, or even that I was a felon evading the authorities. Town residents decided that I was a woman to be either hated or pitied.

  All of the residents except Opal.

  Opal just shook her head and clucked her tongue, all too aware of the drama apparently inherent with living in a small town. She's a fixture in West Bend, born and raised here, and is probably the most even-keeled person I've ever met. “People in this town got no business poking their nose in your past,” she’d said. “Glass houses and all that. Besides, we all got pasts. Don’t let it bother you. They’ll come around eventually. People always do.”

  The first month, I cried myself to sleep most nights convinced this entire thing was a mistake. I could count the number of customers on one hand that came through the bakery that month. But then, by the second month we were here, customers began slowly trickling in and we started to build up regular business.

  None of that kept the old biddies in town from continuing to speculate about what we could possibly be running from, of course. The rumors haven't stopped. And they've affected Chloe, despite how much I've tried to protect her. Mean girls in her first-grade class tease her.

  I check the basket on the counter: two boxes of cupcakes, paper plates, and napkins. "Shit. I forgot juice boxes."

  "Get out of here and go on over to Connie's," Opal orders, waving the cloth in her hand. She gives me a look over the edge of her purple leopard print glasses. "You’ve got time. Are you sure about going to the school?"

  I frown, briefly regretting not simply dropping the cupcakes off at school this morning. I'd feel just awful if my going to her elementary school fueled more whispers and rumors from Chloe's classmates.

  But it's Chloe's birthday. Technically, we celebrated it on Saturday, making the four hour drive to celebrate it with my parents. But today is her actual birthday and on her birthday of all days, I didn't want to drop her off at school and let her fend for herself. So what if I'm a little overprotective? It's my fault that she's a pariah in her class. It was my decision to move here from Chicago, and it's my job to be
protective of her.

  “I’m sure,” I say, my voice firm. “It’s Chloe's birthday. She only turns seven years old once.”

  I feel a pang of guilt at the prospect of leaving Opal to manage the store by herself. Rachel, the front counter girl, quit this morning. Any day but today, I'd have been glad to get rid of her, since her work ethic was less than stellar. But her drama this morning left me behind schedule with baking. Opal said it was good riddance because the girl was more trouble than she was worth anyway.

  In twenty minutes, I need to be at Deerfield Elementary School armed with cupcakes and juice boxes because I want to be there in case those bitchy little first graders give my daughter any grief.

  I dart over to the general store, not even making an attempt at polite conversation with Connie C., which is just fine. Connie C. decided when I arrived in town that she didn’t like me on sight. I usually avoid coming into her store, but desperate times call for it. I grab two packages of juice boxes and stuff one under each arm. I'm glancing around, trying to decide if there’s anything else I've forgotten when I get hit by a brick wall.

  A brick wall that spills icy-cold liquid all over my shirt.

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” I squeal as the juice boxes fall to the floor with a thud. I look down at my white t-shirt, now covered in brown liquid that is rapidly spreading across my breasts. Of course I wore a white t-shirt today. That’s just fantastic.

  “Damn it, woman. Watch where you're going.” The brick wall has a voice. A voice that calls me woman like we’re in the nineteen-fifties. A baritone voice that sends a tingle through me or maybe that’s just the freezing-cold liquid that is making my nipples hard.

  It also smells like whiskey.

  That's stellar. Now I can head to the elementary school reeking like I've been hitting the bottle all morning.