Contents
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Description
Acknowledgments
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Sneak Peek
Sweet Freedom: 1
About the Author
Other Titles
Feverish
By Amanda N Richardson
Copyright © 2015 by Amanda N Richardson
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
For T.K.,
You’re my rock and greatest supporter. I love you.
Warning: Only for 18+ due to strong language and graphic sexual content. This book consists of two sexy white tiger shifters and a human woman as their third (M/M/F & some M/M sexual content).
She’s their Anchor & they’re her Protectors
Dara’s life is falling apart. Every night she has a reoccurring dream that feels so real only to wake up aching and unsatisfied. Along with sleep deprivation she is on the verge of panic when crippling pains threaten to break her down. Nothing she does take the pain away, but when it disappears, she is left burning with a fever.
To top it off, she knows she is being followed, but she never sees anything in the shadows. She feels like she is losing her mind until she finally meets the two men who have been stalking her. They put claim on her showing her their inner beasts, and turn her world upside down with the threat of demons. And to make matters even more overwhelming, the only way to save them all is to form a bond with them both. She is the anchor to their Triad. Pressure to bond causes her to hesitate putting her and her men in mess they might now be able to get out of.
Waking up in a dank cave is a nightmare come true, but will Dara realize she has something the demon doesn’t? If she’s smart she’ll find a way to save them all without succumbing to the darkness that is slowly taking over her mind.
Without her they will never be whole. Eden and Dix have been searching for their mate for years, and now that they’ve finally found her the demon takes her from beneath their noses, and it will take them working as one to find her and save her, to save themselves. Will they make it in time to erase the darkness that is consuming her, driving her into a madness she will never recover from?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I began this book when I first started ghostwriting for clients. I was trying to think of a story line for a paranormal story. The client gave me a lot of freedom, and while I was working on that story, this outline came to be, but since it didn’t meet all of the proper guidelines (m/f) only. I couldn’t use it. So instead of scraping it, I decided I’d keep it for myself and go with it to see where it went. I am so glad I did.
For that, I really want to thank my client (M.C.) for opening up my mind to new stories. Ones I never thought I’d be writing, and now that he’s got me writing themed stories, I am finding outlines come easier. I have the next 14 books outlined for myself. It seemed once I started ghostwriting, writing become easier, not easy, because it never will be, but easier to where I have gained confidence and the ability to go with something even if it makes me nervous.
I want to thank my family. My mom who has always known I’d be a writer and gets just as excited as I do with my writing. My partner, who deals with all my ‘boring’ talk of characters, and stories even though anything book related bores him to death. He’s a rock star, because I could go on and on about writing and books and he deals with it pretty well. He never tells me to shut up at least. I also want to thank K.K for praising the changes I’ve made in my life. It’s nice to have those changes acknowledged.
My lovely daughter who loves that I write, and hates that now that she can read I don’t let her anywhere near the screen (LOL). I told her she could read my stuff when she is older, much older. She thinks it’s cool that I write, and she is the reason I never give up, because every day I show her that you can reach your dreams if you never give up, then hopefully she will do the same. I always want her to have confidence and faith in her ability to do whatever she wants to do.
I want to thank anyone who reads my book, and I hope you enjoy it. I don’t write for myself to make money (of course it’s nice). I write to get my stories out there and just give something back to the rest of the world.
I hope you enjoy getting to know Dix, Dara, and Eden. They are the first of many supernatural beings that will have their own stories in the coming future. Each one of them is close to my heart.
1
Dara strode down the cracked sidewalk. The eerie sound of her boots clicking on the ground echoed in the ominous silence. She felt like she was being followed, yet when she glanced over her shoulder no one was there. Chills crawled up her spine and her body tingled. For weeks the same thing happened. Every night after she got off work and walked home she felt a presence, and each night she never saw anything lurking nearby, but somewhere out there, something was there, watching and waiting. She didn’t know what it was waiting for, but it was really freaking her out.
Picking up her pace, she turned the corner and sighed in relief when the street lights illuminated her path. Things had taken a strange turn in her life. Everywhere she went it always felt like she was being shadowed, but if she really thought about it, the presence didn’t feel threatening—to her at least. It was the fear of the unknown that left a bitter taste in her mouth. The sharp pains that followed didn’t help matters. They didn’t happen consistently, but once they began they caught her off guard and stole her breath. She was useless until they faded away into nothing, and then it was as if they weren’t there in the first place making her feel as though she was losing her mind.
When she went to bed at night her mind took over making it difficult to relax. Already exhausted from work and lack of sleep, she couldn’t get her mind to cooperate. Every time she shut her eyes she saw them. Sometimes before she fell into a restless sleep they were already there coaxing her into a sexual frenzy. Her body burned for them, and in her dreams there were always two of them. Even though she never saw their faces, she knew it was the same men every night. They were always shadowed in the darkness. It was as if they didn’t want her to see them—yet. They teased and pleased, but something held them back. Their concern for her overshadowed their lust, even as they touched her body in ways no other man had.
Everything they did to her body felt as if they were right there with her. Each touch and every brush of their fingers left her wanting more. It wasn’t only that. She felt their emotions. Both men had an attachment to her, as well as to each other. They yearned for her to love them—to accept them. Without her they would never be one.
They were the faceless men of her dreams. Nothing had ever felt so real, yet so unbelievable. Hands caressed her skin touching her in the most intimate ways. A tongue licked a path along her skin and lips kissed her naked body bringing her to the brink, yet she ne
ver completely reached that final point. She always woke up before her climax.
Her body was drenched in sweat and her core ached in need. She burned with a fever as each of her senses was heightened. Lights were brighter, scents were stronger, and most of all, touch was the most sensitive. Her nerve endings were on fire for hours after the dreams. She couldn’t even bring herself over the edge because it was them she wanted—needed, and she had tried to no avail.
It was unbearable and sleep evaded her. She hoped and prayed that the men were real and that they would come for her and do all the things she dreamed of—and soon before she lost her mind. Her body flushed with need thinking about how much she enjoyed their touch and all the things they did to her.
Dara shuddered and pulled herself away from her lingering thoughts. It wasn’t the time to think of them. Hell, she wished she could get the two men out of her mind, if only for one night. At least long enough to really sleep. It had been weeks since she had a good night’s sleep, and her body desperately needed it.
In the distance she heard the same yowl she had heard every night for the past month. It was then echoed by another as if the two feline creatures were communicating with one another. Dara’s breath caught in her throat. A strange flutter filled her, but she wasn’t scared. It was a yearning that was indescribable. It wasn’t the first time she had felt this way. In fact, she felt it every night when she woke up from her dreams. It was like deja vu, only she knew it was real, and it happened every night.
Down the street her small one bedroom ranch-style house waited for her. She picked up her pace feeling the urge to get home. Suddenly a shadowed figured appeared looming in the distance right where she was heading. He stood under the streetlight up the road a few feet from her house. She stumbled mid-step and froze. Her body trembled and tensed. The figure cocked his head to the side and his body straightened to an intimidating height.
Dara turned to go the other way, but another shadowed figure appeared much like the first. He was freaking huge. She was surrounded, and she wasn’t sure which way to go or what to do. Her breath came out in pants and her heart raced. Sweat covered her palms and she wiped them on her jeans with shaky fingers, but kept her eyes on the man in her line of sight.
The figure moved closer, so she turned forward again only to see the other figure doing the same. They were closing in on her, and that’s when the pain hit. All at once it sliced through her gut and spread throughout her body. Fiery pain filled her core. It burned deep inside in the lowest most intimate part of her body. Her eyes filled with tears and they slid down her cheeks. She licked the salty drops from her lips. The yearning was back with a vengeance, worse than it had ever been before. She bent over in agony and cried out clutching her sides.
Falling to her knees she moaned in agony and rocked back and forth hoping to ease the torture, but it didn’t help. Something was happening to her. Closing her eyes she tried to will the pain away, but it didn’t work, and the closer the figures came, the more intense it became. Wrapping her arms tighter around her middle she tried to force the throbbing away. Dara screamed, and her vision faded in and out. She bit her cheek and the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. Nothing was helping, and she prayed for sweet relief.
Suddenly the figures were not longer shadowed, but she still couldn’t quite make out their faces. Her eyes had gone fuzzy as the pain over took every inch of her body. She fell back losing all control of her body as it weighed her down, but when her head would have smacked the pavement she found herself swept up in the arms of one of the men. She stared wide eyed into the strangest eyes she had ever seen. The last thing she saw was one gray eye and one golden eye staring at her as if he could reach her very soul. Dara felt peace settle over her and fell into darkness.
2
Eden held Dara in his arms and sighed glaring at his Dix. “We pushed her too hard, and now she’s going to be afraid of us.”
Dix shook his head and squeezed his shoulder. “No she won’t. It was the pain that caused this, and besides, she only thinks what she is feeling is fear, but deep inside she knows she doesn’t need to be afraid. Not of us at least. She’s ours and we are hers, and as soon as she wakes up, we’ll tell her that.”
Eden wasn’t sure if it would be that easy, but he hoped Dix was right. The search for their third had taken a long time, and now that they found her, he worried she wouldn’t accept them. If that happened, well, he didn’t want to think about that. For the past few weeks he and Dix shadowed her. They followed her from a distance.
It was a way to protect her from the demons as well. He hated not approaching her, but they didn’t want to do it too soon, because once they did it would somehow alert the demons. He wasn’t sure how it worked, but he knew that once they made initial contact with her, the demons would sense it. He and Dix scouted nightly to see if there were any demons on to them yet. Because once that happened they’d have to move fast or they could lose her. Her safety came first so they made sure they were careful.
He adjusted her in his arms and all of his stiff muscles relaxed for the first time in a very long time. He felt relieved like he never had before. As soon as she was cradled comfortably against his body he felt alive. Happiness filled his heart, and he could already tell she was perfect for them.
He walked towards her house feeling both excited and nervous about how she was going to react when she found out that he and Dix were her tiger mates. It wasn’t everyday a human learned about the supernatural world.
Dix crowded close to him without a word, but Eden could sense his need to be close. Fear radiated from his body and Eden found he was surrounded by too much energy. Dix wrapped cold finger around his bicep as if he craved the touch, and Eden gasped. The three of them were together for the first time. He felt a strange tug on his heart as it sped up and tingles filled him sending shudders through his body. The first touch connecting them all triggered something inside Eden. It was as if he was waking up for the first time. “Do you feel that?”
Dix looked over at him. “No,” he replied. “What’s wrong?”
Eden shook his head and smiled. “Nothing’s wrong. I don’t know how to explain it really, but I feel different—amazing actually.”
“Okay then, let’s get her inside.”
Without a word Eden stalked down the sidewalk anxious to get her house.
For so long he and Dix weren’t sure if they would ever find her. Each year that passed brought a feeling a dread and sorrow. They lived to find their third. It was everything they waited for their whole lives. It was the way of the tigers. Without their anchor, they would never be whole and eventually they would go crazy. He’d seen that happen too many times in his life, and it wasn’t something he intended to feel. As the eldest, it was his job to not only protect their female anchor, but Dix, the second in their tri-mating, as well.
Approaching Dara’s tiny house, he climbed the stairs and stopped in front of the door while Dix pulled her keys from her purse to unlock the door. Dix went inside first and held the door open. Eden stepped through her doorway and inhaled. The house was filled with her sweet scent. It coated his tongue and he groaned. Just the thought of tasting her had him harder than ever before. Tigers needed to mate. It was in their blood, but there was a difference between fucking and mating. With their third the bond would be unbreakable. When she succumbed to her desires, nothing would ever feel better to any of them. He could imagine sinking deep inside of her, while Dix took her from behind. The three of them would become one, and soon.
Dix turned on the light in the living room and turned towards Eden. “Lay her down in here.”
“Why not take her to her bed, that way she’s more comfortable?”
“Oh, probably because waking up in her bed with two strangers won’t help her feel very safe.” Dix shook his head and chuckled. “You have to calm down. I know you’re happy, and I am too, but we’ve already scared her more than once. We need to talk to her. Tell her what’s go
ing on, and if she feels threatened that won’t happen. She'll run screaming. Is that what you want?”
Eden glared, but laid her on the couch. He didn’t like admitting that Dix was right, because no matter how close they were, they were still males. And males always had to be right. “No asshole. I was thinking she might want to be in her own bed. I don’t think she’ll be waking up any time soon. We might be waiting awhile.”
“I could wake her. We need her to know what’s going on so she’s prepared. The demons will be after her especially now that we’ve made contact. Just because we haven’t spotted any yet doesn’t mean they aren’t there. She needs to bond with us, before they get her. We can’t always be with her.”
“One of us can,” Eden argued. He didn’t like thinking about the demons taking her. They would drive her to the brink of insanity and then send her back to them. She wouldn’t be the same, and he wouldn’t ever be able to save her. She would eventually end her own life.
No one knew exactly what the demons did, but their long history told them enough. It wasn’t something Eden wanted to happen to their mate. The demons did everything they could to weaken the tigers. Their ultimate desire was to steal shifters’ powers. If they could possess one, they could tap into the powers and take it over. It wouldn’t be a good thing if one successfully gained control of a tiger— or any shifter for that matter. All Hell would break loose.
The only way she would be safe was to complete the bond. So far the demons hadn’t been successful. Once the triad was formed, the demons were no longer powerful enough to possess either of the males.
“That won’t be enough and you know it. Shadox Demons are stronger than either one of us by ourselves.”
Feverish Page 1