Excerpt: 'The Gilded Cage' by Lauren Smith
Lauren Smith shares a scene from her new release, The Gilded Cage, the latest in her Surrender series.
About the book (courtesy of Forever Yours):
Passion that takes no prisoners, and love that tests the limits of ecstasy ...
Fenn Lockwood comes alive in the shadows. Though he might have physically survived the kidnapping that stole his childhood, the trauma and pain he lived through have marked him forever. Now the only place where Fenn can be himself is within the walls of his private BDSM world-a place of erotic obsession, where desire isn't just captured ... it's bound.
Hayden Thorne knows that behind Fenn's hardened exterior is a man worth fighting for. Yet to save him from the past that still haunts him, Hayden will have to abandon every inhibition she's ever had and venture into Fenn's intoxicatingly sensual world. Each tantalizing second she spends in Fenn's searing embrace is more delicious than the last and soon Hayden begins to think that she may never want to leave such torturous bliss ...
Lauren sets the scene for us …
Lauren: Hayden Thorne, city girl and socialite, has grown up with the stories about the infamous Lockwood kidnapping where two little boys 25 years ago were taken from their home and went missing for three months. One twin, Emery, was found alive, but Fenn was never seen again. Now, two decades later, Hayden has discovered Fenn is alive, and she's determined to bring him home to his family on Long Island. Here, Hayden and Fenn are in a small diner in Colorado discussing his family and the life he doesn't remember losing as a child and how he wants to stay in Colorado with the family who took him in and raised him.
EXCERPT
Fenn stretched his arm across the back side of the booth and watched the flow of people passing by the diner's windows. Hayden didn't miss the opportunity to study him. The top two buttons on his shirt were undone, exposing smooth, tan skin. When he swallowed, his Adam's apple shifted and that fascinated her. It was in that moment that she was completely under his spell.
The tendrils of attraction, desire, and lust which had been slowly weaving their gossamer-fine spell around her solidified into an almost tangible cloak of seduction cocooning her. The way his lips formed a relaxed line, his eyes remained distant and unfocused, like the God of War resting after a mighty battle in the quiet solitude, made him look absorbed by his own thoughts and somber moods.
She didn't want to compare him to Emery, but she found herself doing so. She'd grown up with one twin as an older brother figure in her life; this other…he'd been a dream conjured by the whispers of loved ones, the fears of a family, and the torch of light burning inside the brother and two friends he'd left behind. Part of Hayden feared that finding this lost child, the missing golden boy, would prove dissatisfying or unfulfilling. As she stared at him now, however, she knew that fear was forever silenced.
Fenn was a man lost in a deep sense of grief, grief he had no memories to explain, yet he had forged ahead and carved out a small piece of the world to call his own. It was easy to see he didn't want to give it up. This place, this life, was all he'd ever known and he felt he was meant to stay here. Maybe he could…but he had to return to Long Island first. He had to face the past and confront his fear of the unknown. But how would she convince him?
"Fenn?" she prodded gently.
Clarity sharpened his gaze, and he focused on her.
"We need to talk about you going back to Long Island."
"No." His refusal was uttered before she'd barely finished her sentence.
"Please, just hear me out."
He arched a brow. "I've done nothing but listen to you for the last day."
Irritation skittered through her. "Have you really listened? I get that you want to stay here. But you can't. You have to go home at least once, see your family, and then you can come back here and hide."
He dropped his arm from the back of the booth and leaned over the table, a menacing darkness gathering in his eyes.
"I don't hide."
She had hit a nerve, but she didn't pity him. The man needed tough love right now. "Prove it. Make one trip. That's it."
He leaned back in the booth, a dark expression on his face, storm clouds brewing in his eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere. The ranch needs me. Jim needs me. He had a heart attack a few days ago. Nearly died. I didn't let the doctors tell Callie how serious it was; that news would break her. She's too young. I won't let her lose her only other parent."
Callie again. Hayden ground her teeth together, fighting off the wave of disappointment. It wasn't that she wanted Fenn to drop everything and pay attention to her, but she had hoped he'd really hear her out and return home with her.
"Fenn, this is serious. The ranch and Jim will be fine without you for a few days. We need to get you home to meet Emery, and make sure you're protected from whoever is trying to kill you both. That's what's important here."
He bared his teeth like a wolf. "No. It's not. Emery can take care of himself. I can take care of myself. Jim and the ranch? They need me. This is my home. I'm not going to just get up and leave it because you think I'm some famous twin to some rich guy. My life is here; the people and things I love are here. We can't afford to keep ranch hands anymore and if Jim tries to do work around the barn or feed the cattle…" His eyes were dark, burning with furious intensity. "He could die, Hayden. I'm not going to let that happen. The doctor told me how dangerous this is. Jim needs to rest for at least a month, let his body recover before he can start working the land again. Even then, he won't ever be able to handle the type of work he used to do. It's all on me."
Hayden was taken aback. She hadn't thought…hadn't considered for a moment how precarious his life was here. He was just a razor-thin line away from losing everything he'd spent the last twenty-five years building.
Find out more about Lauren and her books at www.laurensmithbooks.com.