Bound In Fire: Phoenix Shifter Paranormal
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Praise for Erzabet Bishop
I started reading and couldn't stop until I turned the last page. I really enjoyed the characters and thought there was the possibility for more stories with these characters. I thought this was a very entertaining story. This is the first book by this author that I have read, and it won't be my last.
~ Loves to Read (A Cozy Booknook)
Omg what a great story I just Loved Jonathan, Lucas, and Natalie. I can't wait to read more in the Shifting Hearts Dating Agency series
~ Belinda, Amazon Customer
Praise for Erzabet Bishop
Bayou Shadows By Erzabet Bishop was so so good! I actually wanted more! The heat factor was HOT! Great storyline and great characters!
~ The Literary Vixen
This is an amazing suspenseful, sweet, touching, and scorching hot romance. You will love it!
~ Roxie's Romance Reviews
Praise for Erzabet Bishop
I could not put this book down. Awesome writing had you riding the roller coaster of the story with the characters. Loved the dating agency angle. I would highly recommend this book to all shifter lovers.
~ Missbbbarnes, Amazon Reader
Loved the characters and the storyline. Hoping to read more of the Shifting Hearts Dating Agency!
~ Anne Dodds, Amazon Customer
Praise for Erzabet Bishop
Erzabet Bishop brings us a wonderful, heartfelt drama in Orchard Rain. Kim has had a row with her lady Maggie over finances. They meet at a wedding that Maggie has planned as part of her job. Their reconciliation is sexy and sweet. I was intensely enchanted with this story.
~ Ameliah Faith, Amazon Customer
Praise for Erzabet Bishop
Hedgies, and bears, and cats, oh my!
This was my first hedgie shifter book...have to say, Natalie is adorable. Throw in a gorgeous cat, and a bad boy biker bear, you get a very steamy, sexy mix of fun. My only minor tweak , was that the kinky aspect is minimal, mostly spoken of, not actually practiced...would have loved more. Altogether a really fun read.
~ Talulah D., Amazon Reader
Praise for Erzabet Bishop
Bayou Shadows by Erzabet Bishop
Voodoo dreams and buried lies bring Delia to New Orleans. A sexy shifter with secrets of his own might just get her to stay...
~ DarkJade, Amazon Customer
This short story had humor, family drama, sexcapades, and a steamy HEA. What’s not to love!
~ TJ, Amazon Customer
Bound in Fire
The Gibbous Moon Series,
Book One
Copyright©2018 Erzabet Bishop
First Edition
ISBN: 978-1-77357-055-6,
978-1-77357-036-5
Naughty Nights Press LLC
http://naughtynightspress.com/
Cover Design by Willsin Rowe
Names, characters and incidents depicted in this ebook are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
About Bound in Fire
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
A taste from Burning Midnight
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Where to Find More of Erzabet Bishop
Also By Erzabet Bishop
About Erzabet Bishop
Dedication
To my husband, who keeps the home fires burning bright, and for the many nights watching King of the Hill on your iPad because the television was dead. Viva la chicken strips and mac and cheese. These are the things memories are made of.
For my furry kids, who light up my heart every day, both old and new. May the passage of time be slow and thank you for spending your days and nights keeping me on my toes. I love you guys. #dogsareawesome #love #puppiesrock #furrymuses
For my dearest Chloe. Ardent writing companion. Bringer of joy. You will be missed my girl. Your corner of the bedroom is so lonely now. Rest in peace and may there be a heaven filled with peanut butter toast, French fries and all the treats your bountiful heart desires. Snack time isn’t the same without your constant mooching.
For my mother and sister. Thank you for all you do. Hot water rocks. Especially during a snow storm.
For Barb, Betty, and Charles. Thank you for keeping me caffeinated. You are true friends. Oh yes, and the cookies. We mustn’t forget those…
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to all the men and women who comprise our nation’s first responders. You are true heroes. In particular, thanks to Station 511 for their helpful information about life as a firefighter, the gear, the equipment, and all those shiny, awesome trucks. Any errors made were my own. You guys are everyday heroes and you deserve all the cookies I could ever bring you for what you bring to our community.
And a hearty nod to the silent souls who catalog our museums and galleries, keeping knowledge and art sacrosanct against the battle of time and elements.
To all my friends at my local B&N. Thank you for all of your encouragement.
For those who serve our community in the form of therapists and grief counselors, you deserve more than a thank you. Your work brings light in the darkness and lends a helping hand toward the future. It’s nice to know the light bearing down on you isn’t the oncoming headlights of a train.
To the brightest star in the sky- Kathleen Grieve. You inspire me. You had wings before you ever stepped a toenail into heaven. And dang it, I miss you.
Gina. You rock it. I can’t say it any better than that.
About Bound in Fire
The witch with the phoenix tattoo…
Isobel Fieri loves her dream job of working as an archivist in the city’s most prestigious museum. Well, aside from the creepy advances of her boss, that i
s. But when her mentor goes missing and a valuable exhibit piece vanishes into thin air, she knows something is very wrong. Bound by her desire to find answers, some really steamy flashbacks, and an attraction to a certain sexy fireman, opening weekend is about to get interesting.
He will find her again and protect her at all costs.
Roark Jameson has never forgotten the mate he loved and lost. He and his cat have pledged their lives to fighting fire, the very thing that took her from them. When he finds himself in front of the Remington Museum, he is drawn in to the mythology exhibit despite himself. A chance meeting will upend his universe and bring his carefully constructed world crashing down around him. Discovering his long lost mate here seems impossible, but when danger roams the hallowed halls of the museum, he must fight for her or lose her forever to the twisted web of fate.
“Fire that’s closest kept burns most of all.”
William Shakespeare
“Words are only painted fire; a look is the fire itself.”
Mark Twain
“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.”
Ferdinand Foch
Prologue
Ten years before:
Roark steered his truck along the uneven dirt road toward the abandoned quarry. Teeth clenched, seething, he gripped the wheel with white knuckles and peered into the darkness. He was late and Isobel would be waiting. They’d met here every Friday night for the past three months; her after school and her part time job at the bookstore, and him after his day job on a construction crew and his night shift at the pizzeria. As tired as he was tonight, he wasn’t about to let her down by not showing.
“Be careful mixing with witches, Roark. Especially that one.” His Alpha warned him only days before. “I’m hearing rumblings that something’s going down and I don’t want you in the middle of it.”
Roark snorted, the memory of that conversation settling in his stomach like a brick. Dustin had been a steadying force, and the pack his family since his own had been taken from him when he was too young to remember. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make up his own mind.
He was already so far in the middle of things he didn’t know where he ended and Isobel began. Izzy was his mate. Pure and simple. His cat knew it and so did he. The rest of the fucking world needed to leave them the hell alone. She had three years left and she’d be out of high school. Then they could make plans. But, until then, he would bide his time the best way he knew how and make whatever money he could.
His asshole of a boss at Buck’s Pizzeria held him over for some imagined infraction, but he knew better. A relative of Isobel’s, the prick was probably keeping him there in the hopes it would dissuade them from getting together. It was a crap job, but he needed something on top of the construction work until he could get the money together to hit the community college two towns over. Anything to get out of Bradford, Texas. At least, that was the plan. In three years he could do it. The only difference was Izzy was coming with him.
He still remembered the first time he saw her.
It was right before the last dance of his senior year. His best friend, Grant, begged him to come. Said he would fix him up on a blind date so he could go out with a scorching hot female wolf shifter he’d been eying.
“Come on, man. I owe you one. Desiree won’t go to the dance by herself.” Grant pleaded. His gaze was glued to the hot brunette standing by her locker. She tossed a textbook in and stood there waiting, her nose buried in a paperback copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Pining after her for months, Grant had been dodging his parents who had been trying to foist a pack female on him. Like Roark, he hadn’t been interested. Until now. And the hot brunette, aka Desiree, was apparently the daughter of the neighboring werewolf Alpha.
His idiot best friend always did have a death wish.
The hallway was packed with kids trying to get to class and if Roark had any sense, he’d get moving before he ended up with another infraction for being late. Mr. Schultz didn’t need a reason to give him a hard time.
He checked his watch and slung his backpack onto his shoulder. Five minutes. Roark shoved his hair away from his face and started looking for the nearest way out. Taking time off work for a dance he didn’t give a rat’s ass about wasn’t going to happen.
Roark grinned at the drool practically pooling at the corner of Grant’s mouth. “I didn’t know you went for anyone with brains.”
A low growl slid from his friend’s lips. “Shut up. Are you going to do it or not?”
He’d been about to refuse when he caught sight of a long legged, shapely redhead weaving her way down the busy hallway.
It was that girl. The one he’d heard rumors about. She’d been accused of setting one of the science labs on fire last year. Supposedly she’d gotten sent away to some rehabilitation center for fire bugs but as far as rumors went, it was pretty lame. His interest was immediately piqued.
What was it they called her behind her back?
Oh yeah. Firestarter.
Watching her approach, he bet she hated it.
“Desiree!” She called out, hurrying toward the locker, a panicked expression on her face. “There was a quiz in history. God. I think I just failed it. My parents are going to kill me.”
The brunette spun toward the redhead, a look of horror on her face. “No way!”
“He didn’t even announce it.”
“That jerk!” Desiree responded, grabbing a textbook from her locker and banging the door shut. “That’s my next class.”
“I know. Just don’t be late. He’s in a foul mood today.”
“Figures.” Desiree rolled her eyes and the two started down the hall, walking toward Roark and Grant.
His cat purred, pacing back and forth beneath his skin. Clad in jeans and a long sleeved tee, she was like pouring fire on gasoline inside of his veins and Roark froze in his tracks.
“Shut up,” he muttered to the beast. Jesus, she was gorgeous. Even if she was an arsonist witch.
Arms loaded down with what looked like notebooks and a few textbooks, she struggled to fix the glasses sliding down her nose and stumbled, her books flying from her arms.
The girl squeaked and Roark didn’t wait for a response. He shot forward, his arms out to catch her as she lurched forward.
“Isobel!” Desiree called out, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.
“I’m okay…Oh!” She landed in an audible thud against Roark, fitting perfectly against his chest. Her green eyes stared up at him from beneath sooty lashes and the wide frames of her glasses.
Her scent of warm apples and cinnamon enveloped him and he was lost.
His cat wanted to lick her to see if she tasted as good as she smelled. Jeans uncomfortably tight, he cleared his throat and let a few inches slide between them.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” She pushed her glasses up her nose, a flush creeping over her cheeks.
“Grant!” The girl who was standing next to the redhead squealed and launched herself into his arms. “Is this him? Does this mean we can go?”
“I…ugh.” Grant kissed her and lowered her to the floor. He scuffed his sneaker on the floor, not meeting her eyes. “Desiree. We really haven’t had much chance to talk about it.”
“But I thought…”
Enough of this shit.
“Yes.” Roark interrupted.
“Yes, what?” The redhead swiveled her head to Desiree and finally back to him. No. Isobel. Her name was Isobel.
“He’s taking you to the dance!” Desiree crowed, looping her arm through Isobel’s and giving her a hug even though she was still in Roark’s arms. “If he takes you, then Grant can come with me. It’s all settled.”
A storm brewed behind Isobel’s green eyes and he waited to see what she would say.
He should let her go. But, he didn’t want to.
“Wait a minute. We haven’t even spoken two words to each other. Besides, he
hasn’t even asked me.” Isobel’s gaze met his, the challenge bright in her eyes. The warm and fuzzy moment was over and she stepped from his arms, leaving him absurdly off kilter.
Where had that even come from?
Roark opened his mouth to respond but the girl had other ideas.
Isobel rounded on Desiree. “I told you, I don’t need you fixing me up. If I want a date for the dance, I’ll find one of my own.”
Wait. What?
“Isobel, you know Daddy won’t let me go if you don’t go.”
“I’m not your babysitter.”
Desiree cocked her hip mean girl style, a warning cloud settling over her features. “Well, apparently you are. So, please?”
Her devastating green gaze turned in his direction.
“Well?” Isobel crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised her chin.
Roark picked up his backpack, an idea sparking in his brain. “What?”
“Are you going to ask me?”
“Maybe.” He bent down and scooped up her books, giving her a wink.
“Hey, you just said yes.” Desiree pouted.