Raising a Cowgirl

by Jana Leigh

  Tears fell from her eyes as she looked into his again. “I love you, Adolfo.”

  He just growled his response, but she knew it was him telling her he loved her too.

  With that she raced out the door and jumped in her car. She was still in her pajamas and had no luggage with her to take, but she didn’t care; she just needed to get as far away from there as possible. She peeled out of the driveway and sped down the road. As she turned the corner on to the road that would take her to the airport, she heard a howl of pain breaking through the night, and knew her dearest and closest friend was dying—dying to save her from a fate worse than death. She sobbed as she sped along the road. She was alone now, all those she loved were now gone.

  She looked in her rear-view mirror to make sure Diavolo wasn’t right behind her. But when she met her own eyes in the mirror, she couldn’t help but cry harder. No, Caterina didn’t see hope when she looked at herself. She never saw hope, and she doubted she ever would. There was no god—there was no hope.

  Excerpt from the Mating Call

  The Drekinn Series Book One

  By Jana Leigh

  "Hello?" Calli yelled as sweetly as she could, waiting to see if her friends were close, or if the assholes that kidnapped her were intelligent enough to see she was awake, come in here, and tell her what the hell was going on.

  In the distance, she could hear her friends cussing. Cherri's voice came out the clearest as she screamed, "Muther fucking assholes, come back in here and show me what kind of men you really are. PUSSIES!"

  Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the drug-induced coma. Calli wanted to laugh hysterically. If any of them got free, they were going to kill their captors, or seriously disfigure them.

  "Cherri shut the fuck up. Where the hell are we?" Calli yelled and waited while her friends, who were obviously together, argued.

  "Cherri, seriously, answer her, you have got to stop the screeching," Rissa said calmly. Calli wanted to laugh, because out of all of them, Cherri was the most levelheaded, unless she was given drugs, it pissed her off since she was a doctor. She lectured them constantly on putting foreign chemicals in their bodies. Like caffeine, Calli had to have at least three cups of coffee in the morning as well as a shot of caffeine in the afternoon. They didn't make it like they used to, she thought. Coffee had been deemed bad for you, so therefore, the days where you could get a double shot of espresso were gone. Now when you ordered a cup of coffee, you were lucky if you got a slight nervous buzz from it.

  So many things had changed over the years. When the Breyting, or magical community, came out of the closet, suddenly everything changed. Besides the fact that Central Park was overran with shifters running in the open, the humans thought they could control things. They just didn't realize that they had been around for a lot longer than humans. So they did what any normal race would do, they tried to fight them. That lasted for only a few years until the Drekinn Agency stepped forward and compromised. The damage was done though. Caffeine was labeled bad for shifters just because one stupid dragon had gone crazy on a caffeine buzz. Really, if anyone drank twelve cups of coffee to stay awake for a midterm, they would have reacted the same. However, the college had not appreciated their classroom being torched just because the guy was jittery and misinterpreted the guy next to him handing him a test for an attack.

  It was the little things that pissed off the humans. Calli heard a door open and swung towards the door. They may have her chained to the wall with silver, a big misconception by the way, but if she could get free, it wouldn't even leave a mark. Silver only drained the shifter's powers for a little while, but it wouldn't kill them. No, the only way to kill a shifter was the normal way, a bullet through the head. And that was only if you were a good shot. Most shifters were too fast and could react, but they couldn't heal from a bullet to the brain. In other words, whoever took them had a purpose. One Calli didn't think she was going to like.

  The door opened to the cell she was in and her heart sank a little. Yep, she was going to die. Calli hung her head and shook it in resignation. She could hear the murmur of voices outside the door. Great, when she was done with this asshole, she had to kill the others. The man was strangely proportioned with a large body and small arms, though his hands were huge. His long, greasy, unwashed hair added to his disgusting appearance. She totally would not fuck him, even if she were paid. His face was the ugliest thing she had seen in a long while, with brown, dirty teeth and a thin mouth.

  "Seriously, you fuckers are gonna pay for this," Calli growled and then pulled against the chains. They had her chained against a wall, spread eagled, with her hands and feet bound and then chains crisscrossing her chest. Her feet weren’t even touching the ground, so she couldn't get any momentum to move.

  Excerpt from Playing with Zach

  Cassidy Family Series Book One

  By Jana Leigh

  Jade made the decision a few months ago that she needed to try to make the man take notice. So far, all she had to show for it was a bunch of pretty underwear and used batteries that she needed to dispose of. It was sad when the best action she had seen in the last few months was with a silicon toy. She just had no clue how to make the man stand up and notice what was right under his nose. She watched as he dated blonde bimbos for years, never once bringing them home with him to meet the family. No, his mom complained right along with theirs before she died, about the lack of grandchildren.

  For too long she fascinated about being the woman who gave him a child. She couldn’t even get him to admit she was a grown up, let alone a woman he wanted to live the rest of his life with. “ARHHHHH,” she yelled in the car interior.

  Jade sighed and decided she had postponed the confrontation for long enough. She just wanted them to back off long enough for her to make a real play for Zach. So far, she had been tiptoeing around the issue. Dating other men in front of Zach, until he realized what he was missing. It was all a process to get him to wake up. That didn’t mean her brothers had any right to interfere and screw up her time frame. By now, she was supposed to have him jealous from all the guys she was seeing. This of course would not work if her brothers kept scaring the shit out of her dates. Zach had to be laughing.

  Needless to say, this wasn’t going to be fun, but it had to be done. These dumbasses couldn’t and would not, run her life. She sat in her truck for a few minutes, thinking of what she needed to say before storming into the house. If she went in there half-cocked like usual, they would pat her on the head and send her on her way. Her friend had listened to her rant and rave for the last two hours. She agreed that something needed to be done if Zach was ever going to look at her like an adult.

  None of her brothers were married or in a solid relationship. Basically, they had slept their way through the women in the town. Now they were working on the rest of the Front Range. They had no room to talk about her dating life, when they couldn’t make it through a week with one woman.

  Last night had been the last straw. She had been on a lovely date with Rodger, a new attorney in town, and then her brothers had showed up. They reminded her date that she was their little sister and as such needed to be home at a good hour safe or he would have them to answer too. That had made the evening go downhill and soon she found herself left on her doorstep without even a good night kiss. Frustrated after another night with her battery operated best friend, she had woke up with one thing on her mind and that was vengeance.

  Excerpt from Dangerous Trio Part One

  Dangerous Series

  By Jana Leigh

  She heard, rather than saw Caesar and Bruno come into the office. She could see their shoes beneath her desk. They came closer to her door, which stood open so she would be able to move freely around and hear if someone came into the office. Unfortunately, she never left her door open at the end of the day, so it was like a red flag waving to the men that she was here.

  “Bailey?” She heard the old man call. She squished farther under
her desk so unless they came all the way into her office and around the desk, they wouldn’t be able to see her.

  “Did you find her?” Caesar called to Bruno.

  “No, but she was on all the computers sometime over the night,” Bruno said grimly.

  “Are you sure? She may have been just working late, you know the audit was due,” Caesar said softly.

  “Caesar, you know she isn’t stupid. I told you last night when we found the file opened and copied on your computer. Bailey knows what’s going on now. We need to deal with it,” the young man said.

  “Bailey could come around. You know, I think she would make a great addition to the family. She is just what we need, Bruno. We just have to convince her it would be best if she stayed with us. If she refuses, I guess we have to get rid of her, but you know I have a soft spot for her,” Caesar said.

  “I know, Pops, but we have to get her under control now. You know what Junior said, if we don’t have her by the end of the day, they will come here and help.” Bruno grimaced. “Junior will not care if you have a soft spot for her or not, he will take care of the problem.”

  “No he will not. I am still head of this family. He will do what I tell him. I want her brought into the fold before she is hurt. Bruno, she was beginning to warm up to you. I thought we were making progress with her.” She was hearing what they were saying, but her brain was refusing to function, she just wanted out.

  “I told you that you should have bedded her a long time ago. We could have used that to control her.” Caesar censored.

  “Pops, she is a cold fish. Do you know how many times over the last year I took her out on a date then had to go to a hooker after, just to make it through?” Bruno whined.

  “You dipshit. We can control those ones. How many times have I told you she would be grateful to have you in her bed? A shy little mouse like her would be happy with a handsome man like you just to look her way. All you had to do was fuck her once a week and she would be happy,” Caesar said and hit the man on the back of the head.

  Bailey had heard enough. It wasn’t as if she needed to hear she was a cold fish, she never seemed to get the whole sex thing. What was the big deal? She wasn’t a virgin for god sakes, but her experience was limited to a few very unsatisfying encounters which proved to her that she wasn’t a real sexual person. Her co-workers would often talk about their evenings with their boyfriends, Bailey would never join in the conversation because she couldn’t relate at all. She had never had an orgasm in her life, and she was convinced she never would.

  She waited behind her desk for the opportunity to get out of there, blocking out their conversation about her inability to keep Bruno’s interest in bed. She had no idea where she was going to go, she had few friends and no family. Her ears perked up when she heard Bruno and Caesar making plans to leave and find her. She listened to the places she needed to avoid, which unfortunately was every place she had been thinking she could go. Bailey was so predictable, she couldn’t even think of a place to hide that was original.

  Excerpt from Meridian Warriors: Xander and Des

  Meridian Warriors Book One

  By Jana Leigh and Zach Collins

  The expansion of their underwater world had been slow, but once their techs figured it out, they moved quickly. The bottom of the ocean was not smooth, and they had to clear little by little so the bubble would be sealed. They used the ship as a place to live until they were able to get materials to build their own homes. It had taken a long time.

  “So what do we have to talk about?” Xander asked when Des sat down across from him and sprawled in a similar manner.

  “Rosul developed a better security monitoring. There is a storm coming in, it looks like it will be strong. We have several men above water, and we are calling them back, but we are not sure if they will be able to make it back in time. In addition, a ship was using their radar, scanning the bottom of the ocean floor. The technology too advanced for humans,” Des said somberly and watched as Xander’s face hardened and his lips thinned.

  “Have they found us?” Xander asked briskly.

  “No, we have our own cloaking. We still have to be careful though,” Des said.

  “For now, when everyone gets back, we stay inside the city until we can figure out what is going on. We will come up with a plan,” Xander said and smiled at his mate closely.

  “I will call the command center; we will have to lock the doorway after the last Warrior returns.” Des picked up the small communication device they used. It worked in their underwater city. When they left the safety of their city, it was equipped with a locator, and the ability to communicate with whomever was on the surface. The device resembled the human’s cell phones, but more advanced.

  “I am pretty sure that can wait,” Xander said, standing and taking the communication device from his mate and grinned, “I think we should get cleaned first and then we can see about work.”

  Des laughed and pulled the man in for a kiss, “I agree.”

  When they reached the shower, both were naked and hard, Xander felt his erection practically pulsing. He had been in this state since he saw the man who was his mate walk through the doors; it was like this all the time. Gorgeous, sexy, smart, Des was everything he wanted in a mate. If only they had found their third, she would have been on the ship with them. Most the men who survived the last attack were mated but none had met their third yet. Warriors had a hard time finding their mates.

  It was because of their makeup. They were hard, and rough, and their women needed to be strong with potential as a leader. That was the way of their people. The King was once the most powerful Warrior, Xander was next in line for the throne. His mates would be the King’s Consorts and considered leaders, too.

  Standing under the needles of hot spray, he reached down and grasped his mate’s cock. Shit, his lips were thick and sexy, and Xander could only imagine them being wrapped around his cock. Xander drew his hand over his cock, closing his eyes and dreaming it was his mate’s mouth.

  Des wrapped his hand in his mate’s long hair and brought him in for a passionate kiss. He was demanding and knew it. After training all day, his aggression was peaking. Xander knew that, and although he was also dominant and took control of their sex life, many years ago they came to terms with each other’s differences. Des explored his mate’s mouth with his tongue, making sure he tasted his mate’s flavor. He loved when they were close like this, it was intimate, and made their bond strengthen. Slowly Des pulled his mouth from his mate’s mouth and then kissed down Xander’s chest slowly.

  Excerpt from Perfect Reflection

  Shifter Justice Book One

  By Jana Leigh and Bryce Evans

  Vander stood at the doorway while Jewel did her mojo. He would take notes of things he saw and they would compare notes later when they would type their summaries. Vander learned so much from Jewel that he was making a name for himself dealing with crime scenes, too. Jewel told him her theories and Vander told his, then they were able to come up with several scenarios that most cops wouldn’t recognize because of their different styles.

  Jewel walked in a circle around the crime scene talking into her recorder. She came to the table where the Victim was tied up. “She was scared, she knew what was going to happen, only if she could talk him out of it,” Jewel said into the recorder.

  “He talked to her, made her think she had a chance if she did something,” Jewel muttered and then frowned because the image would not come to her; she had no idea why he was doing what he was. It was pissing her off, as if someone was blocking her, impossible of course, but still frustrating.

  The M.O. was the same. He put tape over her mouth and used thin rope to tie her hands and legs to the table. She was nude and appeared to be raped just like the other victims. “Teaching her a lesson, she should never have gone out to the bar with such a sexy outfit. She was asking for trouble,” Jewel said into her recorder—it was the same thing she felt before. Somehow, th
e perp felt like he was justified in killing them, as if it was his job.

  The Victim was pretty and usually came from money. Looking at where the malicious perp had tortured the girl made her blood boil. This was the third victim in Atlanta. Captain John Marks informed her after the second one that he had received a call from Captain Lex Doyle from the New York Police Department asking about their murders. Captain Doyle informed her captain that they had two murders with the same M.O.

  That meant he was traveling from one city to another killing, leaving his own brand of destruction in his path. His killing zone was specific though, all at construction sites. Jewel made a note to see if there was a connection there.

  Captain Marks wanted Jewel and Vander to go to New York, meet with Captain Doyle, and see if the crimes were connected. They would work together in trying to solve this if it was connected. Jewel wasn’t happy about this development; she was comfortable in her own territory. A wolf traveling out of her territory would need to make sure she didn’t piss another pack off. That’s all she would need. Then there was her fear of flying, being in a small tube that is lofted into the air was not natural. Besides the fact, the cute little flight attendants that inevitably flirted with Vander got on her nerves. She didn’t care about the flirting so much as the hair flipping and disgusting odor of perfume that would always make her want to gag. Then there was her wolf; she hated being enclosed for a long period of time. Only shifters knew how much pain their wolf could cause if they were pissed, the clawing on the inside was painful, so Jewel usually drank to help with the pain.

  However, since Captain Doyle believed that this was a serial killer moving from New York to Atlanta, she had to go. Now with this third murder here in Atlanta, the press would be all over it. And she was going to have to be front and center, damn it, she thought. They were going to make her cut her hair and wear something business-like instead of her standard jeans and t-shirt.