I can't promise her one hundred percent safety. I can't do that with anyone. But I believe the best chance of taking this guy down and preserving her life is to do it on my terms and not his. I want to see him coming, so I need to open a pathway to her. I'm confident I can keep her safe while we wait for him.
Jocelyn stands and moves to refill her glass before taking her seat again. When she does, she kicks her tennis shoes off, curls her legs underneath herself, and leans against the armrest. After contemplating the color and legs of the red liquid she swirls around in the glass, she lifts her eyes to me. "What would that look like? How would you accomplish this?"
"We're going to put on a show for him, and he won't be able to resist coming after you." At least that's my initial thought. I'll run this by my team for additional input, but I feel confident in the idea. "We'll get your publicist on it. Announce that you and I are a couple. We'll do a few photo ops. I'm going to brag about how you're absolutely protected now under my watch and this loser isn't going to get anywhere near you. His ego won't be able to handle it. His psychosis will demand he prove me wrong. Then you and I are going to take a little trip somewhere for an ‘extended vacation,' and we're going to reverse hack him. We're going to leave a trail of bread crumbs, and then we're going to watch as he picks them up. Hopefully, we can identify the bastard before he even gets near you."
Jocelyn takes another healthy slug of the wine before asking, "And you think this is the best way?"
"I do," I tell her with that cocky assurance I'm known for in my line of work. Without the ego I have, I'd be dead by now.
Her gaze drops to her glass, and her words come out so softly I can barely hear them. "And you're . . . okay with helping me?"
I tamp down the anger that has been bubbling low in my belly since she walked through my door, but I don't keep the chill from my voice. "You're a client, Jocelyn. The amount of money I'm going to charge you makes it more than okay for me to work for you. But don't think you're anything more than a good-paying job that will make my stock portfolio look a lot nicer by the end of the year. I'll protect you, keep you safe, and take this psychopath down. Then I won't think about you again after it's over."
Jocelyn cringes, and the corners of her mouth draw downward. Still, she nods in acknowledgment of the boundaries I just set.
Of the rules by which we will both abide.
I'm surprised when she looks back up to me, her face impassively blank. "And just where are we going to go on this 'extended vacation'?"
I give her an amused smile. "You're going home, Jocelyn. I'm taking you back to Cunningham Falls."
<<<>>>
The conclusion to this prequel, Wicked Force, releases in March, 2019.
You can pre-order at:
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If you want to check out The Wicked Horse Vegas series, you can find the books at:
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If you want to check out the original Wicked Horse series, you can find the books at:
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For all of Sawyer Bennett’s other books, you can visit her Book Shop at:
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About the Author
Since the release of her debut contemporary romance novel, Off Sides, in January 2013, Sawyer Bennett has released multiple books, many of which have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.
A reformed trial lawyer from North Carolina, Sawyer uses real life experience to create relatable, sexy stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From new adult to erotic contemporary romance, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.
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Magical Cock and Bull
K.F. Breene
A bonus short story set in the Fire and Ice and Magical Mayhem worlds featuring Moss, Darius's right-hand-man.
* * *
This is raw, original material written just for this anthology. Due to constraints and the immediacy of the timeline, this story has not been edited.
Copyright © 2018 by K.F. Breene
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
One
“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you, vampire.”
Moss slowed in his approach to the mansion hugging the side of the cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Lights illuminated the large picture windows, showing elegantly clad people standing within, drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces. By his estimation, they would be nearly ready for the transformation that would secure his boss a new generation of revenue earners.
He turned slightly, spotting a woman sitting on the hood of a nineteen sixty-nine Corvette in mint condition. Stretchy black material covered her toned body, ending in black boots with one scuffed toe splattered in deep crimson. A leather band circled her trim thigh, supporting a large blade that had likely found its way into more than one poor sod’s rib cage.
He hadn’t noticed her sitting there, blanketed in moonlight. He couldn’t even smell her, though the breeze should’ve carried her scent right to him. She had effectively hidden from him in plain sight, a rare feat with a vampire of his age.
“And why is that?” Moss asked.
Her shrug was minimal. She slowly shifted her gaze to the large house not far away. “Call it a hunch.”
His phone vibrated in his pocket, awakening the watch at his wrist. They were ready for him.
He paused in starting forward, her loose posture and easy confidence tickling his predisposition for caution. “What do you know?”
A smile drifted up her lovely face. A vein gently pulsed along the side of her neck. His hunger gnawed at his gut, he having foregone feeding in anticipation of the Turning to come.
“Oh nothing,” she said in a teasing tone. “Just that a bunch of furry men and women are waiting a mile or so away for when the vampires—you—are the most vulnerable. Same old, same old with one of these things, isn’t it?”
Moss couldn’t help the rigidity in his body. She meant shifters. If they caught vampires feeding on humans, and especially attempting to turn them from human to vampire, they’d enforce the supernatural laws and kill on sight. They loved this part of their job. Got off on it.
But his maker and boss, Darius, had personally overseen the planning of this Turning. He’d received written consent from each human, and had homes and wills properly laid out for afterward. They’d all been monitored for secrecy. If they’d told anyone of what would become of them, Darius’s people would’ve known.
Which begged the question, how had this woman found out about the Turning?
“This is Darius’s show, is it not?” she said before he could ask, her velvety voice sliding over his skin. Heat kindled in his core. “A friend of mine helped a woman under Darius’s protection. The Natural Witch, they call her. Do you know her?”
She meant Penny, a powerhouse of a magic worker that had been integral to taking down the Mages’ Guild not long ago. Which meant, this woman’s friend must’ve been the warrior druid that had been paid to stay by Penny’s side.
He barely kept his mouth from dropping open.
“Not much of a talker, huh?” she said, and slid off of the hood of the car. Shadows reached for her body, momentarily wrapping her up and confusing his mind. A moment later they were gone and she was striding toward him, her hips swaying erotically. His cock started to pound and hunger pinched his gut. His fangs elongated, desperate to be
buried in her neck.
“You’re a druid,” he murmured.
“A warrior druid, yes.” She laughed, a low, husky sound. “It took you a while to realize it. I have a kill order for someone in that house. A human—soon a vampire. He’s wanted dead or alive. I prefer to take them in dead. There’s less unnecessary begging.” She reached him and ran one sharp, manicured nail down the side of his neck. “My friend respects Darius. He would’ve wanted me to warn you about the danger.”
“What about the others in the house? Did you warn them?”
“No. They are pee-ons, yes? Expendable. But you…” She stopped in front of him, and finally her scent reached him. Earthy and rich, it crawled into his consciousness and lay there, delighting his senses. “You are in charge here. You’re also strong, and fierce. And hungry.” Her hand glided over his chest and on down, over his stomach. Down further still. “I can feel the hunger in you. The aching lust. You want to fuck me. To bite me.”
He clenched his jaw as his phone rang yet again. He was late now. He had to get inside. He had to cure this insatiable hunger.
“I’ve never had a vampire,” she purred. “Stopping you from going into that house would save you, and give me something I’ve been meaning to try. What do you say?”
“And the kill order?”
“Why waste effort killing him myself when the shifters will do it for me? I just have to go in after and bag the pieces.” She shrugged as her hand wrapped around his hard bulge.
“You called the shifters.”
Her smile was dazzling. “Maybe.”
“Why?”
Her hand stroked slowly. “The contract wasn’t officiated until after this party was underway and trying to kill vampires is tedious. I’d rather work smarter, not harder. Apologize to Darius for me. Tell him it’s business. He’ll understand.”
Moss pushed her out of his way and stalked forward, bringing the phone up from his pocket. “Odd way of showing your respect.”
“Okay, okay,” she called after him. “You got me. Stopping you was selfish. Can you blame me? You’re handsome, made more so by the power of your magic. I long to experience it.”
Moss gritted his teeth as he reached the door and pulled it open. His cock throbbed and his hunger was like a live thing, scrambling his thoughts and slowing his movements. All he wanted to do was thrust into a warm body while sucking in hot, thick blood. Only now, this new development put everything in jeopardy.
“Sir, there you are.” Carmen, a slight female in her twenties with a doll-like face rushed forward, her pupils dilated and her fangs dropping from her gums. As a lower middle-tier vampire, she didn’t have nearly the control he did. Her intense hunger showed in every line on her face. “The subjects are ready. They are in the kitchen.”
“They’ve consumed the serum?” he said, bringing up his phone app.
“Yes. The transformation is starting to happen. I can barely keep the others at bay. Blood lust is setting in.”
Moss bit back a swear as he tapped Darius’s name. “We have to move. The shifters have been notified of this Turning.”
The blood left her face. She shook her head. “We can’t fight like this. We’re all starving.”
Darius answered on the second ring. “Yes?”
“We’ve got a problem, sir.” He explained quickly as he reached the kitchen.
“Get them out. Now,” Darius barked through the phone. “I’ll send you arrangements.”
“It’s not that easy, sir. I’m the only one who can withstand the bloodlust, and I’m fighting it hard.”
Carmen grabbed one of the humans leaning against the edge of the kitchen table, a tall man with thick cords of muscle. A sheen of sweat covered his face and his erection tented his pants. Before she could lift him to standing, trying to get him moving, he slid his hands up her body before cupping her breasts.
She froze and her eyes drifted closed. Her fangs finished their descent and her body trembled. Before Moss could command her to move, she yanked the man closer and swung her face down, digging her fangs into the side of his neck.
The man moaned and fell back, dragging her with him onto the table. Her hands pulled at the buttons on his pants and he ripped her shirt open in the front. Buttons scattered across the table.
Another vampire grabbed a female human before unceremoniously biting the inside of her wrist. His hand felt up her inner thigh before massaging her apex. She writhed under his touch before pushing on the top of his head, clearly wanting his mouth to replace his hand.
“Fuck,” Moss swore. “I’m losing them.”
“Get Felicia Draven and get out,” Darius yelled. “Call me with your location. I’ll send someone to get you. And kill that druid. It’s business. She’ll understand.”
Moss gritted his teeth, drowning in desire and hunger. Trying to get his thoughts back on track.
He’d barely be able to get out of the house, let alone kill a trained assassin purposely bred for the role. Darius had clearly forgotten Moss wasn’t an elder. Some things were beyond his reach.
Without delay, he shoved a younger vampire out of the way and reached for a beautiful human, her eyes dizzied with lust. The telltale sheen of sweat covered her forehead, and she was panting. She needed blood to continue the change.
He threw her over his shoulder, and then groaned as her hands explored down his back. The second he could get her to a secure location, he’d be all too happy to give her what she craved.
A loud crash tore through the house, coming from the back. Another out the side. Glass shattered as a huge wolf body crashed through the sliding glass door on the other side of the shifters.
That damn druid had sped up the shifters, he’d bet his life on it. And if he didn’t get out of there fast, his life would be exactly what he was betting.
Two
Moss dodged a lunging wolf, its jaws snapping and a line of spit flinging past him. The stench of shifter permeated the space as shapes darted in. Carmen jumped off of the writing human and into a crouch, blood dripping down her face. Her body exploded into her other form, with leathery skin, long claws, and increased reflexes. It was the vampire fighting form, similar to a shifter changing into an animal.
Canine snarls preceded a vampire screeching. A human screamed.
Moss didn’t wait around to see how it worked out.
He sped off toward the interior of the house, a direction the glorified dogs wouldn’t expect. He climbed the stairs in twos, desperately trying to ignore the firm touch of the woman on his back. At the landing, he barely caught a glimpse of a four-legged shape running in his direction.
He turned right and raced down the hall, all his focus on getting out in one piece. These wolves were clearly organized, which meant they were higher up in the shifter hierarchy. The situation had Roger, the head alpha, written all over it. That druid had gone all the way to the top.
He bit back a swear and kicked open a door before sprinting to the windows and looking down. No roof. It was a straight drop. He turned as a furry shape surged into the room after him.
Moss dropped the woman—Felicia—onto the bed before lengthening his claws. Strength and power filled every inch of his frame as the wolf attacked. He grabbed the head and whipped the body around, smashing it into the wall. One wolf was no match for a vampire of his advanced age.
The wolf rose, but Moss was there, grabbing it by the throat with his fangs and ripping out the jugular. Hot blood rolled over his tongue, heady and delicious. His senses exploded and his stomach clenched, everything in him wanting to lap it up. To give up the plight and indulge in the much needed substance.
That was a sure way to die.
With everything in him, he turned away. The door was clear, for now. He grabbed the woman and darted out of the room, giving a quick glance to make sure no one else had followed him up. They were shifters, though. They’d smell his trail. They wouldn’t be long.
He ran into the last room and found what he w
as after: a window leading out onto the roof. He took a moment to open it before climbing out. A moment later, a wolf loped through the door.
Moss yanked down the window and gave the doggy a wink. Wolves didn’t have thumbs, and breaking through this glass would mean it couldn’t stop in time before plunging off the roof. Sucked to have a four-legged animal for a second form.
He threw the woman over his shoulder again before jogging along the roof to the side of the house. Away from the cliff, the manicured lawn ran into coastal trees, the land quickly becoming wild. Further along and a wooden fence with a flat top closed in the backyard. He hopped onto it, jostling the woman but landing easily. With effort, he ran along the top, ignoring the snarls from around the corner of the house. The vampires were still putting up the good fight, but Moss doubted they’d make it out. Not if Roger had been in charge. Darius would lose a good few minions he’d be loath to part with.
Off the fence now, at the back corner of the property, branches reached out to cover his progress. His feet crashed through the underbrush, stealth impossible in his current state. His stomach felt like it was turning inside out, famine making his movements stiff and clumsy.
The cars waited off to the left, and if he could get inside one, he’d be fine. He’d get out of there by the time a shifter could change and break the glass. But the odds of the shifters leaving an obvious getaway unattended were small.
The scent of Felicia’s skin teased him. Her body grew heavier by the moment. Her hands more exploratory.
Laboring, he weaved in and out of the trees, putting distance between himself and the house. Soon he’d tug out his phone and see what Darius had organized in the way of pickup.
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