Free Divided Souls (Captured Miracle #3) by Alannah Carbonneau

my beating heart that posed as the one thing he could lose, that could ensure he bowed down as a slave to fear.
    The bathroom door opened then, interrupting my thoughts as the sight of Calix’s large body, toned and delicious, appeared. Behind him, flickering golden light glowed and the sound of running water provided a soothing kind of constant background.
    I smiled. “What are you doing?”
    “You can’t sleep,” he paused by the edge of the bed, bending to scoop me into his strong arms. I giggled and he continued. “So I figured I’d find a way to relax you so that you can sleep.”
    “You don’t think you’ve tired me out enough already?”
    “Not even close.”
    He chuckled, and the sound was a deep melody I knew I would forever hear in my mind, whenever the world became too much. It was a record I was filing away for later use - because our war wasn’t nearly fought and won - and I knew there would come a time when the melody would guide me through a seducing kind of darkness that would aim to hold me captive within the mocking deception of its safe confines.
    Calix kicked the bathroom door closed behind him, shutting out the cold from the bedroom and encasing the warm steam from the bathwater filling the enormous tub. Bubbles glistened like domed rainbows of radiance in the dancing light of the candles lining the foot of the tub. The room smelled warm, like honey and brown sugar. It was positively divine. I appreciated the scent wafting in aromatic swirls in the air surrounding us, because I knew Calix had chosen them particularly because of me, and my unexplainable infatuation with honey.
    Gently, he placed me on my feet next to the tub and I gazed down into the water. “Are you joining me?”
    “Absolutely.”
    I watched as Calix stepped into the water, slowly lowering his large body into the large tub, before crooking his finger at me. “Come, love.”
    I didn’t need more prompting. The water looked divine and the candles gave the space a romantic feeling that no woman could refuse. Before I could count to three, I was in the water between Calix’s outstretched legs. His hands gripped my hips immediately; his fingertips coarse against my delicate skin as he pulled me back against the hard warmth of his chest.
    Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back into the nook of his shoulder and sighed. This was just the kind of relaxation I needed.
    For long moments, Calix’s hands simply caressed the skin of my belly as we sat together in silence. The warm water soothed every aching muscle in my body and the aroma calmed the quick pace my heart had taken to beating. I was feeling a heavy kind of peace settling over us as my lids grew tired and my breathing evened. As sleepy as I was, I wasn’t ready for this to be over.
    So, I asked the first thing that came to my mind. “Why Alaska? Of all places, why here?”
    Calix stiffened and I thought for a moment, that I had upset him with my question. I’d been seconds from a retraction when he replied. “I owned this house already, so there was no need to purchase new property.”
    “Oh.” I hadn’t known he’d owned property in Alaska.
    “It’s one of the best places to do business.” He offered.
    “Alaska?”
    “Yes,” he nodded. “Taxes are good here.”
    “I see.” I had a feeling he was dancing around the real reason he was here with minutely interesting fun facts, but if he didn’t want to tell me, I didn’t want to press.
    Calix sighed and his hands flattened over the expanse of my belly, where our baby was growing. “My parent’s owned this house.” I gasped audibly before wrangling in my shock. I didn’t want to do anything that might deter his opening up to me, so I remained breathlessly still as I waited for him to continue. When he did, it was almost hard to contain my relief.
    “Apart from the shipping business I now run, this house is the only thing my parents left me. It was their vacation house, which was more their only house