Lucifer (Brimstone Heat Book 1)

by Rayne Rachels

  I love reading, science fiction, coffee, and hot tea. I enjoy photography, fishing, playing poker (Texas Hold’em), rummaging through flea markets, and spending time with my husband.

  It is rare to find me without a pen and a notepad, because I’m constantly jotting down stuff. My head is full of story ideas and characters.

  I enjoy talking to fans.

  http://raynerachels.blogspot.com

  raynerachels@gmail.com

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  Other Titles by Rayne Rachels

  Bryant Station Curves series

  Lisa’s Bear (Book 1)

  Chasing Tara (Book 2)

  Abby’s Heart (Book 3)

  Saving Courtney (Book 4)

  Lauren’s Mate (Book 5)

  Claiming Harley (Book 6)

  Reluctantly Undead series

  Reluctantly Undead (Book 1)

  Briary Creek Wolves series

  Bailey’s Secret (Book 1)

  Gracie’s Wolf (Book 2)

  Tangled Fates

  Chance to Love Again (Bear Shifters)

  Wolf for Christmas (Wolf Shifters)

  CHANCE TO LOVE AGAIN

  A Tangled Fates Paranormal Romance

  Tori Brooks, a curvy human, lost her mate and her unborn cubs in a car wreck ten months ago. She has grieved alone, believing her in-laws blame her for Ben’s death.

  Bear shifter, Brad Harris, believes human women are all gold diggers, and assumes the only reason Tori mated with his twin was to gain access to the family’s money. Brad refuses to have any contact with Tori because he doesn’t want to tempt Fate into making her his one—his mate. Brad has plans to settle down with a safe female bear shifter.

  However, a letter demanding money sends Brad to meet Tori for the first time.

  The mating pull is strong, but assumptions, tempers, deceptions, and the past are taking away Tori’s chance to love again.

  Will Tori and Brad overcome the obstacles they face and find love?

  EXCERPT:

  “Have you heard anything from Ellis Transportation?” asked Bentley Harris, as he walked into Brad’s office.

  “Not yet, but I’m not surprised. We just sent over the contract with a new set of numbers. It may take them a few days to go through them,” said Brad Harris, as he loosened the tie that was suddenly too tight around his neck. Contract negotiations were a pain. He hated the paperwork and the back and forth dance that went with it.

  There were times like this when he wished he had been more like his twin, and not give a damn about business attire. The whole suit and tie number was beginning to drive him crazy. He would rather be outside, using his hands to build something.

  Brad ran a hand through his short, brown hair. He thought about how it was when he and Ben actually worked on the job sites. He could almost feel the hammer in his hand, smell the sweet order of freshly milled lumber, and he could hear Ben’s laughter.

  “You’re thinking about Ben again,” said Bentley. There was no use asking questions, when he knew he was dealing with facts. He walked over to the expensive leather couch and sat down.

  “Does it show?” asked Brad as he looked at his father.

  “I see the signs. It has only been ten months. I think about him too, but for you, there is more to it. You see Ben’s face every time you look into the mirror, and you wonder about what could have been.”

  “I can wonder all I want, but—”

  “You are restless. Your bear is riding you hard about finding your mate. I know your mother has been hinting about giving her grandchildren. I think she is trying to fill a hole in her heart.”

  “You call what she is doing just hinting? I think she has managed to parade every eligible female in the whole state in front of me.”

  “You’re her only hope for grandchildren now that Ben is gone.” His father sounded sad. “If there is to be an heir to Harris Construction, it is up to you, which means you need to find your mate.”

  “Not you too!”

  His father gave him a weak smile. “Grandchildren would be nice, but I want you happy, and right now, you are not happy.”

  “My engagement to Jessica Avery will be formally announced in a couple of weeks at our engagement party. That should make both you and mother happy.” Brad picked up the letter again and stared at it. The urge to wad it into a tight ball and throw it across the room was strong—almost too strong.

  Who did she think she was? Did she think they wouldn’t react to this?

  “Jessica is a lovely woman, but I don’t think you will be happy with her. It’s obvious she is not your one.” Bentley raised an eyebrow. “Why are you settling for anyone less than the one female meant for you? You will never be truly happy without the one meant to be your mate.”

  “I’m not settling. Jessica is a beautiful bear shifter, and she is willing to have a cub,” said Brad. “Mother will get her grandchild and you will get your heir.”

  “But there is no spark, no passion between you. I’m not the only one who has noticed something missing between you and Jessica. In fact, you are acting as if this were a business deal instead of mating for life,” said Bentley.

  Brad did not look up at his father, because the man was right. Jessica was not his one—his mate. He had known it for months. He had a strong suspicion as to who his mate was, but he didn’t want to admit it. Brad figured it was Fate’s way of getting back at him for turning his back on his brother and for his beliefs about human women.

  “I think you are about to make a big mistake that will haunt you for the rest of your life, especially when you do stumble across your one. You’re letting your head rule your heart. That is a mistake. Not all human females have issues with shifters or are they out to use you for money. Ben’s mate was human.”

  “And look where that got him. He is dead because of her and she refuses to have anything to do with the family.” Brad hated that his father was right about Jessica. She was not his one. Nothing about her even slightly interested his bear. The sex was okay, but he did have to admit it was just a means to take care of his needs and even that hadn’t happened in months. She was not his one, but it was his choice to mate her. There was no way he was letting Fate pick a female for him. He didn’t want to take the chance of his one being human, especially the one he suspected Fate had picked out for him.

  “Have you thought that maybe you are to blame for Tori’s refusal to have anything to do with the family?” asked Bentley. He stared at his son.

  “Her mother was very clear at the hospital about what Tori thought about shifters. I did what I had to do to protect the family,” said Brad. He didn’t like defending his decisions to his father.

  “But you never actually spoke to Tori. You just spoke to her mother. You didn’t give Tori a chance to say goodbye to Ben, and you didn’t give us the chance to help her through the loss of her mate.”

  “Her mother made it very clear that Tori didn’t want our help.” Brad could still remember every hateful thing Tori’s mother said about the family and how Tori wanted nothing to do with them because of how they had ruined her life.

  To protect the family, Brad closed all of Ben’s credit cards and bank accounts. He, to be fair, sent Tori a check for half a million dollars. Any money hungry female would have been happy with that amount.

  Three weeks later, the uncashed check arrived in his mailbox with a nice “FUCK YOU!” written in bold, red letters across the check. Obviously, it wasn’t enough for her.

  Gracie’s Wolf

  A Briary Creek Wolves Paranormal Romance

  A curvy human on the run, Gracie Stewart wonders if she will ever be able to quit running and find a man she can love and who will love her. And then she meets her new boss, Quinn Hunter. He’s rude and mean. He yells. He growls. And she is falling in love with him.

  Quinn Hunter is a very grumpy wolf shifter. With his life consumed by his fight against the darknes
s residing inside him, he has given up on the dream of having a mate. He knows the darkness would destroy her. And when he meets his mate, he is determined to do everything in his power to protect her by chasing her away from him.

  But when Gracie’s past comes calling, will Quinn realize just how much he loves and needs her, and save her from a fate worse than death?

  EXCERPT:

  Quinn Hunter grabbed the paper bag and walked into his house. He didn’t bother turning on the lights. Quinn could see just fine in the dark. It was one of the perks of being a wolf shifter. All of his senses were heightened and they were on alert.

  He sniffed the air.

  Brimstone.

  Carefully, he set the bag on the table. “What are you doing here?” he asked the man sitting on the other side of the table.

  “I got a call about a fight going down at the river bottom, but when I get there, the fight was already over and one of the fighters was gone,” said the man sitting in the dark kitchen.

  Quinn shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not unusual for fights to happen.”

  “We arrested the bookie who was running the show. He had quite a story to tell about the huge man who won the fight.”

  “Most of them do have good stories to tell especially if they’ve been drinking. I’ve heard quite a few at the bar over the years.” Quinn pulled out a chair and sat down. He reached for the paper bag and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

  “The bookie said the man was so angry, that a strange darkness radiated from his very soul.” The man slowly drummed his fingers on the tale. “He also said the man’s eyes turned coal black.”

  “Probably just contacts making the guy’s eyes look coal black. They make all kinds of contacts these days.” Quinn opened the bottle and took a long drink from it. He held out the bottle to the man across from him.

  “Not tonight. I’m on duty,” said the man. “Besides, the alcohol has no effect on people like you and me.”

  Quinn snorted. “But it dulls the sense at least for a little bit, if you drink enough. Besides, you are not like me. You aren’t a shifter and you’re definitely not human.”

  The man snapped his fingers. All the lights in the kitchen suddenly turned on, flooding the whole area with light. He stared at Quinn’s face which still had shadows of bruises, though they were fading. “The alcohol and the fighting have to stop. You are going down a path you won’t be able to return from”

  “It helps keep the darkness at bay.” Quinn took another drink from the bottle. He winced when the bottle hit his bottom lip. His opponent had gotten in a good hit, splitting Quinn’s lip. It was almost healed, but it was still sore.

  “That’s what the darkness wants you to believe. The fighting and alcohol only make it stronger. Trust me. I know from experience.”

  “I figured you were immune to it.”

  The man shook his head. “It affects me, just in a very different way. The only thing you’re doing is making the darkness worse. It will consume you if you keep on this path.”

  Quinn slammed the bottle down onto the table. “I have to do something to control it because if I don’t, I will hurt someone I care about. I can’t let that happen.”

  “Your mate can help you control it,” said the man.

  “I won’t subject any woman to what I’m dealing with. It’s not fair to her or to any pups we might have.” Quinn closed his eyes and sighed. For years he had longed for his mate. He wanted to hold her, to make love to her, and to watch her grow large with his pup. “That dream is gone.”

  “No, it’s not if you stay on this course. Your soulmate is the only one who can balance your dark with her light,” said the man.

  Quinn shook his head. “I don’t want a mate.”

  The man stood up. “You may not want her, but you need her in more ways than you can dream. When she shows up, don’t push her away. If you do, you will sentence both of you to a horrible darkness. You need her, but she needs you to save her”

  “There can’t be anything worse than the darkness I’m fighting,” said Quinn.

  “Yes, there is, and if you stay on this path, you will find out sooner than you think.” The man disappeared leaving behind the strong scent of brimstone in his wake.

  Quinn reached for the bottle of whiskey, but it was gone. He shook his head. “You could have left the bottle. It’s not like I don’t have access to more.” Quinn got up and walked to his bedroom. “I will do everything I can to protect my family and pack, but I won’t take a mate. I won’t sentence her to my darkness.” He felt his dire wolf stir. “And don’t you start whining about a mate. You know why we can’t have her.”

  Quinn flopped down on the bed and fell into an exhausted sleep.