Bonded by Thorns (Beasts of the Briar, #1)

by Elizabeth Helen

Some people call these guilty pleasure reads, but why should I feel guilt for wanting to escape to somewhere else, even for a little while?

I like the rain. It makes me feel less guilty for huddling inside, away from everything and everyone else.

‘My mother would say one must be fearless to love, and to let oneself be loved. Love in itself is a leap of faith.’

‘Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?’ I look down at her hand on my arm, then up at her face, her shining eyes, her soft smile. ‘No,’ I whisper. ‘Never before.’

‘It’s not a spark. It’s an eternal fire that burns from deep within my heart and reaches out to you.’ Ferocity flickers in Kel’s gaze. ‘And every moment I am not touching you, it eats my soul inside out, tearing me apart, until merely looking at you is an anguish I would only wish upon my worst enemy.’

‘Am I still your prisoner?’ ‘Oh, Rosalina, you’re reading my mind now,’ he murmurs. ‘On the contrary. You were never my prisoner, and I was always yours.’