by Brenda Trim
Rowen Sisters Trilogy 2
Brenda Trim & Tami Julka
Copyright © 2015 by Brenda Trim and Tami Julka
eISBN: 978-1-63452-602-9
Editor: Amanda Fitzpatrick
Cover Art by Patricia Schmitt (Pickyme)
*****
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writers’ imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the authors.
Dedication
We don’t know what our lives would be like without sisters. They are often the ones you fight with most growing up, but in the end, your sisters are the ones who always have your back and can be counted on.
Tami and her sisters, Brandi and Valerie, are as different as night and day, but when she gets together with them it’s definitely a party and they’re more like three peas in a pod. Brenda has enough sisters to form a Volleyball team and when she gets together with them it’s often organized chaos, but an unforgettable adventure. Brenda, Belinda, Becky, Bridget, Barbara and Beth are the reason their father lost all his hair, or so he says.
So whether you and your sisters get matching tattoos, tie Christmas trees to the roof of a car backwards, dance to your favorite childhood songs, or do shots until the sun comes up, make sure you laugh until you cry because those are the moments you’ll never forget!
As always, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of our readers! We are thrilled that you love our Dark Warriors and have embraced our young, energetic witches. We have fierce dragons, angels bent on vengeance and more demons coming your way!
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CHAPTER ONE
“If I have to hear that bear growl one more freakin’ time, I’m going to paralyze his vocal cords. Goddess, do they ever come up for air?” Isis asked, unable to curb her irritation any longer.
“Not since the mating ceremony,” Suvi laughed. “Come on, sis, Pema deserves this happiness.” Isis watched the youngest of her sisters closely, envying her levity.
“I know she does, and you’re right, but I feel the walls closing in on me. Let’s go to Confetti Too,” Isis said. She had contemplated moving out over the past few days, but in the end, she knew that wasn’t an option. Unlike humans, supernaturals didn’t thrive from independence. Supernaturals prospered when they lived with family and friends; whereas, lone individuals tended to wither away.
Isis looked over and noticed Suvi was typing out a text. Before her eyes lifted from the phone, it chirped. “I’m in. The Dark Warriors are going to be there. C’mon you, need to put on something sexier. And, we need to leave some food outside Pema’s door before we leave.” Suvi’s musical voice was filled with excitement and Isis couldn’t help but get excited about the evening, too.
Isis resisted Suvi’s prodding and smoothed her hair down. “I’ll go, but I’m not changing. These are my favorite jeans, and, what’s wrong with this top?” Isis asked, examining her clothing. It was a stylish top and she’d gotten several compliments on her tight, hip-hugging jeans in the past.
Suvi reached out and undid the top two buttons of her green shirt. “What’s wrong, sister, is that you need to flash more cleavage.”
Isis rolled her eyes and headed for the back door. “I don’t need to flash my shit to get attention. In fact, a little lesson for you, males like a little mystery. Make them use their imagination, work for it. No one wants what they can see. Half the excitement for them is the fantasy they create about you in their head,” she smiled and winked at her sister.
“Well, I’m changing. I’ve never had anyone complain about the way I look. In fact, less is more,” Suvi chuckled with her reply as she headed for the stairs. Isis followed her up to the second floor where the noise of hot-shifter-on-witch sex was getting louder.
Isis glanced down at her crinkle-chiffon top and thought about changing as well, but decided against it because she wanted to get out of the house sooner, rather than, later. Suvi’s dress choice was always well-put together, but she hoped she didn’t take too long.
As they walked into Suvi’s room, Isis had never been more thankful for being a witch than she had been since Pema was mated. Witches’ hearing wasn’t as strong as other immortals, so she wasn’t able to pick up the minute sounds of their lovemaking like she would if she were a vampire or shifter. She laughed aloud thinking of the paybacks for Ronan when she or Suvi finally found her Fated Mate. He’d be able to hear everything.
Her mind wandered to the Dark Warriors, and she idly wondered if their rooms were soundproofed to muffle the noise. She surmised that it could get testy in that house with a bunch of un-mated males and two mated couples. One thing she had come to learn, since the mating phenomenon had returned to the Tehrex Realm, was that Fated Mates were combustible together.
Isis wasn’t like her sister, Pema, who hadn’t wanted her Fated Mate. Pema and Ronan had had their work cut out for them before they were officially mated. Ronan’s ex-girlfriend, Claire, had tried to kill Pema twice, and Pema had to work through her biases to eventually accept Ronan. Just the thought of what Claire had done to Pema had Isis’ anger flaring and, instantly, several lightbulbs in the ceiling burst. As tiny shards of glass went flying, she quickly tamped it down before any more damage was done.
“You okay?” Suvi turned around, eyeing her warily.
“I’m good. So why isn’t that red dress good enough for you to wear?”
“Because I’ve had it on all day and I want to wear this new purple one I just picked up. I have a cute, little green dress that will look better than your jeans,” Suvi tried again to convince her to change. Isis watched Suvi toss clothes out of her closet as she searched for something to wear.
Isis wasn’t against dressing up, or wearing clothes that others might consider revealing, but she didn’t feel the need to make a production out of every outing. She already felt sexy in what she was wearing, so she didn’t feel the need to change. She sat down at Suvi’s vanity and glanced in the mirror, admitting she could touch up her make-up, though.
Suvi came out of the closet holding up two dresses. “I think you should wear the green one, because it will look great with your red hair, but the blue would look amazeballs on you, too. Here, try it on.”
“I’m not changing, Suvi. I like what I have on,” Isis gritted out, trying to hold back her frustration before it turned to anger. She turned back to the mirror and finished with her eye make-up.
“Okay, point taken. You know I can’t help myself when it comes to clothes and shoes. Oooh, nice smoky eyes. Try this shimmery lip-gloss.” Isis smiled at Suvi in the mirror. True to form, nothing much ruffled Suvi’s feathers.
The three of them perfectly balanced each other, but Isis was having a hard time adjusting to the changes in dynamics that Ronan had created. Their mating was for the best, and she would never want Pema to be without the bear, but things were definitely different in Casa de Rowan. Normally, Pema would have been getting ready with them and joining them for a night out. One third of the power of three had been missing lately.
Suvi stripped out of her red dress and poured herself into a slinky little purple number. The garment was one of the shortest dresses she had ever seen. “Suvi, you had better not bend over tonight. I know you don’t mind showing the males your assets, but I don’t think you need to flash them your black thong.”
A loud roar from the next room had them looking at one another. “Time to go,” they said in unison and burst out laughing.
They quickly headed downstairs. “You’re free to roam the house naked for a couple hours. We’re heading to Confetti,” Suvi called out as they passed Pema’s door.
“There are leftovers in the fridge, but
don’t you dare touch my piece of key lime pie or I’ll pound your ass,” Isis threatened, meaning every word. No one touched her favorite dessert and lived to tell about it.
They ignored Pema’s muffled reply and Isis grabbed the keys to the Audi off the hook by the back door and tossed them over her shoulder. “You’re driving, bitch,” she winked at Suvi.
*****
“Oh Goddess, here comes Plain Paula,” Isis leaned over and whispered to Suvi. “Whatever you do, don’t let her talk about her personal-training bullshit…like anyone cares. Doesn’t she realize we don’t need to exercise? Apparently not, since she never shuts up once she gets started. Boring as hell.” Supernaturals were naturally fit and didn’t need to exercise to maintain it, but that wasn’t to say that most didn’t have a daily regimen they followed. Some, more than others, she thought, ruefully.
Suvi held back her laughter, snorting her drink into her nose. “Crap, that burns. And, we can’t avoid her now, here she comes.”
“Hey there, how are you two? It’s odd to see you without Pema. How does she like mated life? Don’t you just love the new club?” Paula asked as she reached their table. Isis was shocked the super-short nymph stopped talking long enough to catch her breath.
“Hey Pl…Paula. We’re great and Pema is superbly happy. Mating like bunnies as we speak,” Suvi said, her musical voice an invitation Isis didn’t want her to deliver.
“You know, sex burns five calories per minute, so, if they have sex for five hours, they have burned fifteen hundred calories. Of course, on my ten-mile hike today, which I did in less than two hours, I burned sixteen hundred and ten calories. See,” Plain Paula pulled out her cell phone and began pushing buttons, “this FabFit app keeps track for me. I can even post it to my TRex page. And, then I did twenty-four reps on my weight circuit and burned another thousand calories.”
Isis was supremely glad that she hadn’t accepted Paula’s sup-connect. She had no desire to see this female’s hourly caloric burn. The TRex page was the supernatural social media. Humans thought they invented such ways to connect, when truth was, Killian, a Dark Alliance council member and owner of Confetti Too, developed it at least two decades before. Even supernaturals fell victim to vanity and used their pages to flaunt what they had and make others jealous. Difference was, the public bulletins usually involved demons and skirm attacks.
When the Vampire King, Zander, was blessed with his Fated Mate several months ago, breaking the mating curse, the feeds went crazy with the news. Isis remembered reading about it, thinking the realm’s reaction was overkill. She and her sisters were young, she realized, and maybe unable to appreciate the full impact of going without mate blessings for over seven hundred years.
The lapse had led to all sorts of changes the realm had never seen before, such as the Adorned. Adorned were the children of unmated couples and were extremely rare. Being one of a set of Adorned triplets was even more rare and made her and her sisters subjects of a long-ago prophesy. Children of any kind had been scarce over the spanning centuries. Of course, there were some previously-mated couples having children, but the Tehrex Realm population had dipped drastically.
Having spent time with the Dark Warriors and members of the Dark Alliance council, Isis better understood the importance of this decline in population, especially considering the war they had been waging against the archdemons for centuries.
Isis shuddered at the thought of the archdemons and their skirm and the destruction they were capable of causing. She and her sisters owned a shop where they sold magical accoutrements, potions, and did tarot reading for both supernaturals and humans. Black Moon had seen its share of devastated individuals in their store searching for ways to help their loved ones heal from injuries or ones looking for ways to ease the grieving process.
Suvi’s voice intruded into Isis’ musings. “How many calories would they have burned if they’d been fucking for three days straight?” Isis wanted to smack her sister upside the head for encouraging Paula. They’d never get rid of her at this rate.
Plain Paula cocked her head to the side and considered for a fraction of a second, oblivious to the fact that Suvi was poking fun at her. “Approximately twenty-one thousand, six hundred calories. Now, that’s a serious workout. You need to come down to my gym and let me put you through the paces. You’ll feel like new witches.”
“Och, female. Are you really a nymph? I canna understand how you think of nothing but your exercise,” Bhric harangued as he approached the table.
They turned their heads and ogled the six-foot-three, drop-dead gorgeous, Vampire Prince. His amber eyes gleamed with humor as he ran a hand through his buzzed hair. She heard Suvi inhale sharply and understood the feeling. He was a fine specimen with his bulging muscles, black leather pants, and tight blue t-shirt. Not to mention, Isis loved his thick, Scottish bur.
Isis was certain Plain Paula was about to begin another diatribe about the benefits of being a personal trainer, but Bhric saved them. “Come, my lovely lasses, let’s dance.”
Isis eagerly jumped up and grabbed her sister’s hand, following the big, burly warrior onto the dance floor while Plain Paula called out to their retreating backs, “You know dancing is another great way to burn calories.”
“That female is a wee bit obsessive aboot the exercise, is she no’? ‘Tis disturbing and most definitely no’ natural. Her da must have been human,” Bhric observed as he turned to them when they reached the middle of the floor.
A smile spread across Isis’ face, thinking obsessive was too mild a description. “Thanks for saving us. I almost grabbed the gun from my purse and shot her between the eyes.”
Bhric shimmied his hips and sauntered closer to them. The male really was a sexy beast and was built like a brick house. “Ah, lass, my motives are no’ entirely selfless. I plan to have you both pay me back.” He waggled his eyebrows, making Isis laugh.
“I’m happy to pay you anything you want,” Suvi replied, gyrating against the prince. Her little sister had a thing for vampires and Isis was certain she would be happy to take one, or ten, for the team.
Isis shook her head and threw her hands up, quickly losing herself in the music. She jumped and wiggled and moved her hips, having a blast. She and Suvi danced close to Bhric, arousing the Prince, if his erection was any indication. She stepped back into Bhric and rubbed her backside against his groin while her sister stood behind him caressing him. Suvi maneuvered her way in front of Bhric and they continued their movements. The dancing ended when her sister cupped Bhric through his pants.
When the growling and nipping started, Isis left the dance floor, heading to a table far away from Plain Paula. She was hot and sweaty, needing a drink, and rethinking her stubborn choice to wear jeans given they were sticking to her skin.
She lifted her long hair off her neck and scanned the room for any of the other Dark Warriors, especially Rhys. Her body had been amped up since she entered the club, and Rhys, a cambion, would be just the ticket to sate her need.
While Suvi had a thing for vampires, Isis enjoyed a cambion. They were the offspring of a human and a sex demon and had many sensual powers. Given that they needed sex frequently to keep their strength, they were always searching for someone, and all that experience made them incredible lovers. They were notorious creatures of heat, fun and passion, all three of which she needed at the moment.
She didn’t see the Dark Warriors, so she headed for the far bar and ordered a vodka tonic. Isis turned her back to the bar and leaned against it with her foot propped on the stool next to her. She contemplated re-buttoning her shirt as it pulled tight across her breasts when she rested her elbows behind her. A surreptitious check told her that her breasts were spilling out of her black bra. Given the sheen of sweat on her skin, she decided to unbutton a couple more instead. When she looked up, a particularly sexy male caught her attention. They locked eyes, staring at one another for several moments, before he began walking toward her.
*
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CHAPTER TWO
Isis enjoyed watching the tall male saunter her way. He had to be over six feet tall and had searing blue eyes. She had a weakness for bald males, and there was nothing sexier than his sexy, black shadow beard. He had swagger in his skin-tight black jeans and black t-shirt. It was a wonder the fabric didn’t rip as it struggled to cover his muscular chest. She was instantly aroused and a broad smile broke over her face as she fluffed her red hair. No reason to play coy when she was hoping to get a piece of his fine ass.
“Hi, handsome. Buy me a drink?” she asked, getting right to the matter.
“Looks like you already have a drink.” He smiled at her and she questioned if he was going to move on until he sat down next to her.
She picked up the drink and downed it. “Not anymore,” she replied, licking her lips. His musky male scent reached her and made her abdomen clench with need. Her mind immediately ran through the various scenarios she wanted to act out with this male. After several moments, she nearly climaxed from the images alone. Her body was out of control, and it didn’t have anything to do with the liquor.
He raised one eyebrow at her and motioned to the bartender. “What are you drinking?”
“Hmmm, I’m thinking tall, bald and handsome for this round. I’m Isis, by the way.” She almost laughed aloud at the spark that lit his eyes.
“I’m Braeden Hall. And you, Isis, are a sassy little bit and I love it. I can sense your magic, are you a witch, or sorceress?” He oozed a sensuality that only cambions possessed, and she would bet her store that he was one. He leaned toward her and she could smell his arousal.
“I’m a witch, armed with lust spells. Interested?” If she wasn’t mistaken, that wasn’t a bat in his pants.
He smirked and the look he gave her made her cream in her panties. “I can tell that you are the type of female that if I go back to one of these rooms with you, I’d be there all night. Unfortunately, I need to get home to my son.”