by Liza Street
“Um, I believe you hinted at being ready for bed,” Blythe said, putting a mock stern expression on her face. She pointed to the trail of solar-powered landscaping lights that led to their cabin. Jase had installed them so it would be easier for her to walk at night.
“Just a sec,” Jase said. He picked up the paper and saw it was covered in handwriting.
“What is it?” Blythe asked, coming up behind him.
“I’m not sure.” Jase handed the paper to Blythe. “It was on the ground where Stetson was sitting. He must’ve dropped it.”
In the soft light of the dying bonfire, they read the words together.
What I find
After a night of want
Breathings of desire
Haze of yearning gray and blue
* * *
What I find
In morning grasses
Petals waking
Sparkling in the dawn
Is Dew.
Blythe looked up at Jase, her eyes shining with emotion. “Damn, that man can write!”
“But what is it?” Jase asked.
“I think,” Blythe said thoughtfully, “I think it’s a love poem.”
“Really?” Jase would not have expected that.
“Yeah. Looks like your second has some secrets.”
Jase nodded. He could live with Stetson’s secrets. Not wanting to leave the poem out for others to find, he stuffed it into his pocket and said to Blythe, “It’s time to get you home, mate. I have plans for you.”
“Do they involve an orgasm?”
“More than one.” He pulled her to his chest and buried his face in her hair. She smelled so good, and she was his.
“I am the luckiest,” she said.
“We are the luckiest.” He tilted her chin up so he could kiss her beautiful mouth. Then he took her hand in his and led her to their cabin where he could make good on those orgasmic promises.
Are you ready for more trashy, junkyard romance? Read Stetson’s story in Filthy Cowboy!
Her heart thudded in her chest as she stepped closer. She didn’t believe for a second he wasn’t interested, not if the growing bulge in his jeans was any indication. She didn’t know much about sex, but she was pretty sure a boner was a sign of interest. It didn’t necessarily signify consent, of course, but she believed it indicated interest.
Or perhaps it was merely a physiological reaction to something unrelated. Like how her nipples got hard on cold mornings when she undressed for her shower, or when she sat too close to the air conditioning vent in the library basement.
“Dew,” he said, his voice low and rumbling.
Her heart stuttered. “Yes?”
“We shouldn’t.”
And then her heart fell. “But all those poems you wrote. You talked about peaks and valleys, delights of skin and salt. Your taste will linger on my lips. Stetson, you wrote those things. To me! And now you’re saying you don’t want me?”
He turned his golden eyes to her then, and she saw the conflict raging within them. “I’m not saying I don’t want you, Dew. That would be a lie.”
He pushed forward from the old delivery van where he’d been leaning. She knew on an intellectual level that the men here were not human, and logic followed that Stetson, too, was not human. Heck, she’d seen a big old bear surrounded by a white light, and then a naked man had stood in its place.
And she’d felt the invisible wall with her own hands.
So she knew magic existed.
So no, he probably wasn’t one hundred percent human. And she found herself one hundred percent okay with that.
Stetson stopped two feet away from her. Twenty-four inches. She could reach forward and touch the sturdy build of his chest—she bet he’d be just as firm as that damn invisible wall.
He said, “Did Blythe and Jase tell you, yet, what this place is for?”
Dew shook her head.
“It’s a prison,” Stetson said. “The wall is there for a reason—it’s to keep all us bad shifters from leaving.”
“But Jase and Blythe…” Dew began.
“They’re a different case.” Stetson shook his head. His eyes continued to blaze as he looked at her. “Why the fuck didn’t you listen when I told you to stop?”
“Don’t swear at me,” Dew said.
“Don’t—what?”
She put her hands on her hips. “I’ve seen your verses, Stetson Krom, and I know you’re capable of better language. So use it.”
His lips twitched, and his darkly stubbled jaw dimpled. Then he restrained his features once more.
Dew held in a sigh. She’d been so close to seeing him smile. It grated on her nerves that the smile was nearly earned because he was laughing at her, but still, she wouldn’t mind seeing him grin.
He took another step forward, leaving only about six inches of space between them. She had to crane her neck to look into his face. His fingers were warm on her cheek as he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Dew,” he whispered, the syllable guttural. “You make me forget my words.”
The blazing gold of his eyes pinned her in place. She raised her hands to his waist, to yank him toward her, to ask wordlessly for the contact she craved.
But before she could even touch him, he was gone, and her fists closed on emptiness.
Filthy Cowboy will be released in January 2021! Get your copy on your favorite retailer.
Also by Liza Street
Fierce Mates: Sierra Pride
The Sierra Pride: The Complete Series
Fierce Wanderer
Fierce Heartbreaker
Fierce Protector
Fierce Player
Fierce Dancer
Fierce Informer
Fierce Survivor
Fierce Lover
Fierce Mates: Corona Pride
The Corona Pride: Books 1-5
Savage Yearning
Savage Loss
Savage Heartache
Savage Thirst
Savage Bliss
Savage Redemption
Irredeemable (a FREE prequel)
Savage Penance
Fierce Mates: Dark Pines Pride
The Dark Pines Pride: Books 1-3
Wild Homecoming
Wild Atonement
Wild Reunion
Wild Engagement
Fierce Mates: Rock Creek Clan
The Rose King
Ruthless Misfit
Ruthless Outlaw
Ruthless Fighter
Ruthless Rogue
Ruthless Knight
Junkyard Shifters
Filthy Vandal
Filthy Beast
Filthy Wolf
Filthy Alpha
Charmslinger
Blood Bounty
Blood Beast
Spellbound Shifters: Dragons Entwined
(with Keira Blackwood)
Dragons Entwined: Books 1-3
Dragon Forgotten (a FREE prequel)
Dragon Shattered
Dragon Unbroken
Dragon Reborn
Dragon Ever After
Spellbound Shifters: Fates and Visions
(with Keira Blackwood)
Oracle Defiant
Oracle Adored
Spellcaster Hidden
Spellbound Shifters Standalones
(with Keira Blackwood)
Hope Reclaimed
Orphan Entangled
Alphas & Alchemy: Fierce Mates
(with Keira Blackwood)
Claimed in Forbidden
Fated in Forbidden
Bound to Forbidden
Caught in Forbidden
Mated in Forbidden
Forever in Forbidden
Destined in Forbidden
About Liza
Liza Street got her start in romance by sneak-reading her grandma's paperbacks. Now she’s a USA Today bestselling author. Whether writing paranormal romance or urban fantasy, she delights in throwing humans and super
naturals together and watching the magical mayhem.
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