Michael could bear no more torture. “Come to the edge of the bed,” he demanded.
He watched Albert’s shape like a hawk, watched him hesitate, watched him rise slowly, watched him smooth his clothing. He watched the blurred figure move closer.
When Albert stepped into Michael’s field of vision, it was as if he stepped through a magic portal, morphing from shaped blob into man, into the man Michael remembered, only he was here now, not a memory but real. Dark hair, neatly combed, conservative clothes. Tall, wide frame. Same jaw as his father. Long, almost pretty nose.
Lips, parted and wet, revealing a hint of teeth.
Hands, strong and smooth, resting on his hips, fingers curved inward.
Soft, beautiful brown eyes trying so hard not to let Michael get the better of him, hoping so hard this would not be a disaster.
Michael stifled a sigh of relief.
Albert’s chin came up. “D-did you ask for m-me?”
Proud. So proud. So tender and gentle, yes, but proud, and so very strong.
Sitting in the center of the bed, Michael kept his eyes on Albert as he replied, “Yes.”
A blush crept over Michael at the confession, but he decided it was worth it when Albert smiled and reached up for the tie to his cravat.
The road to believing can be one wild ride.
Running Wild
© 2012 Joely Skye
A Northern Shifters Book
Seamus O’Connor thought his friendship with Zachariah Smithson was just that—a relationship born on one horrific night seven years ago. He never thought he’d end up inheriting the old man’s farm.
Tons of chores and hard work are nothing new for Seamus. The farm comes equipped with all he needs—and something he didn’t expect. Unsettling, late-night visits from Zachariah’s grandson Ri, a man who appears and disappears like a ghost.
Ri has had little contact with the outside world, with good reason. Horse shifters aren’t any human’s idea of normal. Plus, he’s wary of being the next target of the werewolves who took his twin brother. Trust his matchmaking grandfather to give him a reason to come home—Seamus.
As Seamus gradually learns the truth of Ri’s life, their relationship tentatively grows—and danger grows closer. For it was Ri who rescued Seamus on that terrible night long ago. Seamus is about to realize he’s had his own encounters with werewolves. He just doesn’t know it—yet.
Warning, this story contains unexpected night visits, expected night visits, wild rides and growing love.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Running Wild:
So Ri walked back out to the living room and stared down at Seamus. Mostly he was hidden in darkness, but a sliver of moonlight through the kitchen allowed Ri to see his dark brown hair and freckled face.
A strange emotion turned over in Ri’s chest then, something he couldn’t quite identify, but he was glad he had saved Seamus’s younger self all those years ago.
He was trying not to think of the earlier conversation Seamus had had with his horse, specifically his mention of a boyfriend. It set something going within him that he found rather alarming.
“Jesus!” Seamus shot up to sitting while Ri startled back, and they stared at each other in the dark, a just-woken Seamus peering blindly while Ri could see the man’s outline. “Would you stop doing that?”
“Doing what?”
“Looming over me while I sleep. It’s creepy. I do not need you stalking me for Christ’s sake, so cut it out.”
“Oh.” Ri bit his lip, uncomfortable. “Should I wake you up next time?”
“Yes. Even better, visit during the fucking day and knock on the door.”
Ri preferred shifting at night, and he didn’t like to stay human long, but he found himself saying, “Okay.” Then added, “I apologize.”
Seamus jerked himself up to standing, still angry, and Ri backed up. Then Seamus stopped moving, and his voice softened. “I’m going to turn on the light, alright? I can barely see you.”
“Okay.” Ri hated when Seamus turned on the light, preferred shadows where he wasn’t properly seen or recognized by humans. That was all too late anyway. After two visits, it wasn’t like his face could be scrubbed from Seamus’s memory.
As they blinked at each other in the sudden light, Seamus ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair. His arm was thick, almost bulky, and quite a different shape than Ri’s, and for a moment, the play of skin over muscle mesmerized Ri. He brought his gaze to meet Seamus’s, to find those gray eyes amused.
That was a relief, better than pissed off.
Seamus’s mouth quirked. “We have to stop meeting like this.”
Crossing his arms, Ri puzzled over the meaning of it and gave up. “We do?”
That charming quirk disappeared. Seamus rubbed his neck. “What I mean is, you need to stop arriving like this.”
Ri’s heart sank. He supposed he’d held out more hope for Seamus than he’d acknowledged to himself. He’d always told himself and his grandfather that the idea of befriending Seamus was a dream. That he couldn’t declare himself to a human. But he’d been toying with some kind of friendship here, and Seamus didn’t want that.
Seamus sighed. “Alright. I don’t know what is going on with you, but I am making coffee. Want some?”
“Before I go?”
Seamus set his hands on his hips and looked up at Ri through his eyelashes. Ri couldn’t interpret that look, but it made his heart beat faster.
“I was hoping to come back,” he blurted out. There was a clutch in his voice, he heard it, and the loneliness that he kept so well contained was suddenly straining to get out. He held still, his own words having startled him.
“You were, eh?” Seamus eyed him, like a specimen perhaps.
Ri didn’t know what to make of it, but he nodded.
“Why?”
He might not be the most socially adept person who ever walked the earth, but even Ri knew this answer was make or break, and he didn’t know what to say.
“Something is going on with you,” Seamus said quietly. “Isn’t there?”
Ri froze. It was that or bolt.
“Is someone after you, Ri?”
It was painful, but he just couldn’t speak. If he started saying anything, his whole story would come tumbling out, and either Seamus would think he was crazy or Seamus would have something to hold over him when Ri wasn’t ready to cede that power to him.
At his non-response, Seamus scratched his cheek. “Listen. Two things. Don’t bring your trouble to me. And knock on the bloody door instead of walking through walls. Okay?”
Ri nodded.
“You can speak, you know.”
“I know.” Ri attempted a smile, but it didn’t quite work.
“Oh, one more thing. I’m gay. If you have a problem with that, you should leave.”
A shortness of breath assailed Ri, though Seamus had already given his horse this information. This is not a come-on, Ri chided himself. Not that he’d know what to do with a come-on.
“Ri.” It was a warning. Seamus thought Ri was reacting badly to his being gay. Words were needed.
“No problem,” Ri managed, abruptly understanding why Grandfather had pushed so hard for this friendship. Well-meaning but naïve. As if being gay was all Ri needed to trust someone.
Seamus’s gaze was steady on his, but not unkind. His next words proved him to be more observant than Ri had thought.
“Ah. You’re not out, are you?”
Ri looked down and away. All he could think was, If you only knew.
My Regelence Rake
J.L. Langley
Before you find your prince, you have to kiss your share of rakes.
With his days occupied with duties as Captain of the Guard, and nights consumed with upholding his reputation as a rake, Lord Sebastian Hastings’s schedule is filled. There’s no extra time to be anyone’s bodyguard, but the royal family’s safety is a task he sees to personally.
Prince
Colton Townsend has loved Sebastian for as long as he can remember, but he’s done pining for a man who has vowed never to remarry. So he consoles himself with the second love of his life—horses. Stable building and horse racing consume his every thought, at least until he’s stuck with Sebastian dogging his every step.
While looking over the prospects at an auction, Colton is trying to ignore his sexy, pesky bodyguard when he feels compelled to take on a bully to protect an abused horse. Sebastian is dragged into the fray, and their good deed sparks a string of nasty rumors.
There’s only one way to quell the political storm: marry. But instead of solving everything, Colton realizes his new husband is a bundle of secrets, none of which he’ll give up easily. Unless Colton makes one, last-ditch effort that could break his heart for good.
Warning: Contains an obnoxious filly, a love-struck prince, a meddling king, a matchmaking duke, vicious rumors and hunky ex Special Forces soldiers.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
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My Regelence Rake
Copyright © 2012 by J.L. Langley
ISBN: 978-1-60928-952-2
Edited by Sasha Knight
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: October 2012
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My Regelence Rake Page 32