by Tia Louise
“Jesus, Mercy,” he groans deep in my ear. “You are so fucking good.”
Large hands grip my ass, and I’m flying. He’s working me, pounding out his orgasm, and I’m riding waves of bliss. His movements, the friction of our bodies has me climbing again, but in that moment, I feel the scrape of his fangs over my neck.
“Oh, god, yes!” I wail, holding his face and turning my head. It’s only a moment before I feel the prick of his teeth on my skin. He draws my blood and my body ignites. I scream with the intensity of my second orgasm, even more powerful than the first.
As my insides clench, in one powerful burst, he lets go, swearing and groaning as he fills me, pulsing deep in my core. I feel every move, every jerk and throb of his cock.
“Oh, god, Koa.” My voice is a ragged whimper. My arms are limp around his shoulders.
He gradually slows and then holds me so tight in his arms. I feel as though I’ve ascended to the most beautiful place in the universe. Nothing compares to these moments of oneness with my beautiful panther.
Lifting his head, he looks deep in my eyes. “You and I will never be apart. Not ever again.”
I smile, touching his lips with the tips of my fingers. “No more going ahead without me, sending for me once you’ve found a place?”
“My place is wherever you are.”
“And my heart will always belong to you.”
He moves to the side, and I curl into him. His large hand strokes the skin of my back in warm circles. My entire body relaxes into him.
“I had pretty much decided my life was over when I set out from Princeton,” he says, and I love the vibration of his low voice.
“Then you came here,” I say with a grin.
His warm hand cups my chin, lifting it so our eyes meet. “I’d do it all again so we could be together. I love you, Mercy.”
Reaching for him, I pull my body against his, the warmth of completion hugging around my heart. “I love you, Koa. I can’t wait to start our life together.”
He leans down, nibbling the side of my neck. Shivers scatter down my body, and I laugh in delight. “We’ll start our life tomorrow. Tonight I’m catching up on everything I missed.”
“Insatiable,” I purr against the side of his face. He rises and captures my lips, pushing them apart and taking me with an aggressive growl. It’s incredible and amazing and everything I want.
He lifts his head and looks deep in my eyes. “We’ve been to hell and back. The only thing left for us is heaven.”
His gorgeous mouth covers mine, and heaven is right where he takes me.
The End.
Epilogue
New Start
Koa
Soft beige sand slips between our toes as we walk along the shoreline barefoot. Breakers crash, and the briny air pushes Mercy’s long dark waves behind us. The day is cool, but our shifter blood keeps us warm, and Mercy is hugged tight against my side, my arm around her shoulders as we walk. She’s holding my waist with a contented smile on her lips.
Bayville, New Jersey, is a far cry from San Francisco. I still can’t believe Mercy agreed to go east instead of west when we finally sorted out her situation in Woodland Creek.
Once Hayden was exposed as the lying motherfucker he is, he returned in a self-righteous godlike huff to the underworld to lick his wounds, and I’m sure regroup to resume his trickery on some other unsuspecting female.
Mercy stayed with me in my aunt’s garage apartment until she was sure Dylan and Penny were settled and could stay in the mansion. The High Council granted her family ownership rights of the house and the grounds as restitution for all the years they’d been enslaved to Hayden. He claimed he didn’t want the place anyway.
We were all set to head west when Slayde called me out of the blue one night.
“We could use a guy like you,” he’d said, an unexpected smile in his voice. “Instead of starting over alone in a new city, think about coming home where you have friends.”
Friends. Yes, we are friends. Saving Mercy had changed everything, and my old bitterness at his work and his new life has been washed away.
Still, I couldn’t ask Mercy to give up her dreams. It’s exactly what Hayden had done. I hadn’t expected my beautiful little lynx to be right at my shoulder listening to our conversation.
“Derek Alexander gave Slayde a second chance,” she’d said later that evening after I’d fucked her royally and was holding her in my arms. “Who says he couldn’t do the same for you?”
“Mercy,” I exhaled against her skin, pressing my lips against her beautiful neck where I’d tasted her. “I found my second chance the moment I laid eyes on you.”
Pushing me onto my back, she’d propped her elbows on my shoulders and looked deep into my eyes. “Tell me about Princeton. Could I do my art there?”
“Slayde and Kenny actually live in Bayville. It’s a little coastal town about forty-five minutes away. Kenny is a painter.”
Her eyes light, and she smiles. “A beach and a painter. Maybe she and I will be friends.”
Rolling her over, her small body is back under me, and I’m trying to decide if I’ll ever grow tired of having her near me. Our separation almost finished me.
“You missed out on so much being trapped here. I want you to have everything you dreamed about.”
Slim fingers thread in the sides of my hair. “I never dreamed about you, and now I wouldn’t want to live without you.”
Leaning down, I capture her lips briefly. “If you want to try New Jersey instead of California, I won’t argue,” I say. “I would like the chance to make amends with my mother.”
Doris’s revelation is heavy on my mind. I thought my mother had been a perfectly normal human when she raised me. I never knew the secret she was hiding.
“No decision is permanent.” Her soft lips cover mine, and my hunger for her returns quickly. “We can try one place, and if we’re not happy, we can go somewhere else.”
“You’re reveling in your freedom,” I chuckle. “I get it.”
“You’re damn right I am,” she says. Since her escape from Hayden, she’s grown even stronger, which I love. “No one will hold me prisoner ever again.”
The Riverside Condos on Tom’s River in Bayville are a far cry from the Quinlan-Strong mansion in Woodland Creek. They’re a few steps above my garage apartment, but it’s still a shock for my girl.
“It’s so… quaint.” I hear the nervousness in her voice, and I laugh.
“You’re such a princess,” Walking through the small place, I survey the laminate flooring, cheesy wallpaper, and fluorescent lights. “I bet we can spruce this place up. Maybe no marble floors and limestone accents, but we’ll make it more homey.”
In a sweep she’s in my arms, holding my shoulders, her blue eyes urgent. “I don’t care about those things, Koa, you believe me?”
She’s so serious I kill the laughter, and hug her. “I do believe you, babe. I know what you’ve been through.”
“Even before Hayden, I didn’t care. I only ever wanted to be normal.”
“Well, this is about as normal as it gets.”
I’m just about to lean down to kiss her full, beautiful lips when my phone goes off. Pulling it out of my chest pocket, I see Slayde’s name on the face.
“Hey, man, what’s up?” I give her a peck on the cheek and walk to the small balcony.
The nice thing about our condo is it’s located right on the river. I can walk out and see the body of water most residents use to access the Atlantic.
“Hey, I know you’re getting settled in.” His voice is serious, and I’m impressed by how much he’s changed. “I appreciate you taking a chance on working with us.”
“Alexander-Knight saved Mercy,” I say, referencing our new employer. “Whatever went down in the past is water under the bridge.”
“I’m glad to hear it because our dealings have caused quite a stir in the subculture.”
That surge of protectiveness
tightens my stomach. “What’s going on?”
“I’d rather not discuss it over the phone. Is there any way you could drive into Princeton? Derek would like to have a meeting with the team. That includes you now.”
“I’m on my way.” My fist has tightened over the slim phone, and my mind is already sorting through the possibilities.
So many things could set us up as targets for attack. Slayde and I personally took the Lord of the Underworld’s prize when we saved Mercy. In addition to that, Derek has hunted vampires, exiled criminals like me… Stuart and Patrick Knight have taken down countless rogue shifters through the years.
When I agreed to work with the paranormal Alexander-Knight LLC, I had no idea how twisted this line of work could get. Still, I like the prospect of being on the right side of the law. I want to make up for my past.
“What’s going on?” Mercy walks back into the room.
I allow my eyes a moment to drift over her long legs revealed by her short, denim cutoffs. The sand still sticks to the top of her feet from our walk earlier, and I love the idea of her chasing her dreams.
“Slayde just called. Something came up, and they want to meet with the entire team.”
She only grins, wrinkling that perfect nose. “I guess that’s what you get when you join the paranormal investigation club. Those guys never sleep.”
Sliding my hands to her narrow waist under the thin tee, I pull her closer. “You’d better wait up, because I haven’t finished making up for the time we were apart.”
A little laugh only fans my desire hotter. “Don’t you worry, panther.” She rises on her tiptoes to nip my bottom lip. “I expect to hear all about this emergency meeting as soon as you get home. In the meantime, I’m setting up my pottery studio.”
“Maybe you can show me how to make another bowl.”
“Mmm… I know where that leads.”
Leaning down, I give her a real kiss. Only one thing would pull me away from my lady tonight, and I’m hoping I’m wrong about what it is.
Hayden Cross wasn’t happy when we bested him in Indiana. I can only imagine what the King of the Underworld has up his sleeve as payback this time.
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First, a huge thanks to Scarlett Dawn for inviting me to be a part of the Woodland Creek collection of shifter stories…. and then for not letting me back out at the last minute—LOL! Above all, thanks for all her hard work organizing this world!
Delving into this world was a great challenge for me as an author, as I’d never written a shifter book before. I’d never even read much shifter romance.
As always, enormous thanks to my husband “Mr. TL” for being my sounding board, helping me brainstorm, and then reading the first draft and flagging all the “holes.”
Another huge thanks to my sweet daughters, who were incredibly patient during the month of October when Mom almost lost it. Too many books!
Thanks to Ilona, Candy, Ilsa, and Aleatha for being my first readers and cheerleaders and being so incredibly encouraging. I value your friendship so much.
THANKS to my “A-Team,” to all the early readers for their enthusiasm and for helping me spread the word, and most of all to ALL my “Babes,” who keep me going when I’m ready to give up and take up scorpion petting. I treasure your comments, your excitement, and your love more than I can ever say.
So much thanks to Melissa and Kristi of Sassy Savvy Fabulous for all the hard work you do for me! And a big thanks to all the bloggers and fellow authors who help me spread the word.
Love to Lauren Perry for her gorgeous photography, and to Jennifer Munswami for the incredible cover design that truly inspired me to keep going.
Above all, to every one who leaves a happy, encouraging review, sends me a kind word, or simply buys my books and enjoys them, I appreciate you more than I can say.
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<3 Tia
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Chapter 1: A One-Week Stand
In the cool darkness of the semi-crowded bar, I could allow the last year to dissolve into a hazy fog, a far-off memory. Each low thump of bass that disappeared into the dull roar of voices beat it further down. With a little more alcohol, it could even become a dream—something that never occurred in real life. Something that could be brushed aside like a phantom, not a true form. Not a reality that burned shame, low and deep in my stomach.
Bars had become a thing of my past, along with flirtatious passes from unfamiliar men, but sitting alone in this hotel club, hundreds of miles from home, I felt wonderfully liberated. I could be anyone. Any anonymous woman having a drink before bed. I could pretend to be free.
My eyes traveled to the dance-floor where younger women in shiny slip dresses and chunky stilettos twisted and swayed, their smooth blonde or red hair matching their movements. They squeal-laughed when songs they liked came on, and the lines around their eyes disappeared as soon as their cheeks relaxed. They could da
nce all night and still make it to work tomorrow, eyes sparkling.
A bitter laugh slid from my throat as I stared back into the amber drink I’d ordered. The thought of dancing all night made me tired.
The bartender didn’t notice me. I’d stood for almost five minutes trying to get his attention to order this drink, and it was gross. “Seven and seven” was all I could remember from the days when I used to order drinks for myself. It was a popular combination then, but I never liked the flavor. Refreshing citrus dragged down by a heavy undertone of bitter syrup. I took a long pull from the tiny red straw and winced.
I should’ve gone back to the room with Elaine. My best friend since childhood said what I needed was a trip to the desert. She’d booked us a week at the Cactus Flower Spa in Scottsdale, where we could get massages, sit in steam rooms, soak in mud, and let our tensions melt away with hot-wax pedicures. She said it would break me out of my “funk,” as she called it. I didn’t have anything else to do this week.
It was with those sunny thoughts in my head that I saw him. At first I thought it was an accident, my eyes flickering across the square-shaped bar at the same time as his. Blue eyes, strikingly blue because of the way they stood out beneath his dark brow, coupled with collar-length, thick dark hair. He had a beard. I didn’t like beards—not even close-trimmed ones like his. He was huge. I could see his muscles from where I sat. His chest strained against the tight, black shirt he wore, and his biceps stretched the sleeves. I preferred smaller men, long and lean model-types.