Dark and Dangerous: Six-in-One Hot Paranormal Romances
Page 14
Sharon fed in her photos, tears running down her face, too choked to say anything. Myka put her arm around Sharon and let her cry.
Jordan raised his arms for Spike to lift him. He kissed the last photo of Jillian and dropped it into the flames. “Good night, Mama.”
The five of them stood gazing into the fire, safely delivering to the Summerland the young woman who'd been daughter, friend, mother. Jillian, whom Spike had barely known, had given him the most precious gift he'd ever received—his son.
“The Goddess go with you,” he repeated in a whisper.
The flames started to fade. Ella put one hand on Spike's shoulder and one hand on Myka's. “You two, inside. Sharon, how about we take Jordan and go back to the party? You look like you could use a cold one.”
Sharon pulled out a tissue and wiped her eyes. “Thought you'd never ask.” She opened her big purse again, took out an envelope, and thrust it into Myka's hands. “I meant to give this to you at the funeral, but maybe this is a better time. Jillian wrote it to you.” She glanced from her to Spike. “Read it tomorrow. For tonight, you just be happy.”
Myka brushed her fingertips over the envelope. She could almost feel Jillian on the other side—she'd held this, written Myka's name on the front.
Sharon kissed Myka on the cheek and took Jordan's hand, then the two women walked away, Jordan between them. Jordan's loud voice floated back. “Connor told me Dad and Aunt Myka are going to shag tonight. Great-grandma, what's shag mean?”
Ella's answer was lost in another roar from the distant Shifter party.
Spike slid his arm around Myka's waist. “You all right?”
“Yeah.” Myka brushed her always-untamed hair out of her face. “Can we go inside?”
Spike led her into the house, his arm around her. They went upstairs and to his bedroom without speaking, and Spike shut the door. “You want to read that now?”
Myka looked at the letter again, written on the thick blue stationery Jillian had liked. She’d found email and texting too informal, and sent her friends and family cards and letters for special occasions.
“No.” Myka slid the letter into her purse. “Sharon's right. Tonight... I need you.”
“I need you, Myka.” The low throb in Spike's voice undid her. Myka opened her arms, and Spike came to her, enclosing her in his strength.
*** *** ***
Myka gave herself to the wildness that was Spike. He pinned her on the bed with strong arms, showing her how much better he felt by driving inside her until her shouts and his mingled in the cool air.
Spike also showed her how gentle he could be, kissing her fingertips, her lips, her skin, the touches tender and light. He licked her after that, tasting her breasts, her belly, and the heat between her legs. Myka arched under his mouth, letting herself come again in a crazy storm of pleasure.
Spike was back inside her right after that, his face softening as he felt her, eyes staying dark, beautiful brown, mouth finding hers as he spilled his seed.
After that, silence. The quiet ticking of a clock, the final creak of the mattress, the warmth of Spike along her back. Myka tumbled into a hard, spirit-soothing, sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, the room was still dark.
Spike slept, relaxed, on his stomach, his face turned to her on the pillow. He'd slid one arm across Myka in his sleep, cradling her close. Moonlight trickled through the window, sharpening the lines of Spike's tattoos at the same time it softened his face.
The moonlight also fell on Myka's purse, and the blue of the envelope sticking out of it. Myka carefully slid out from under Spike's arm, took the two steps across the room, fetched the letter, opened it, moved to the moonlight, and started to read.
Jillian's voice came to her across the divide.
I hope that while you're reading this, Myka, you're with Spike.
Don't jump in surprise—you have to know that I sent you off to find him because I wanted you to meet him. I could have called Spike myself, or sent my mom to pick him up, or hired a cab to bring him to me. But I wanted you to know him.
Why? Because when I first met Spike, he reminded me a lot of you—lonely and pretending not to be. When I realized I'd be leaving this life, I knew I had to let Spike find you, and you him.
Shifters are incredible beings, Myka. They have more humanity in them than humans, I think. I learned that when I hung out at Shifter bars, talking to them, getting to know them. Everyone called me a Shifter groupie, but I didn't care. Shifters worry about the same things we do—how to raise their kids, how to put food on the table, how to keep the family together.
Stay with Spike. Please. I knew him only such a brief time, but I could see something in him that was remarkable.
Besides, what better people to raise my son than my best friend and the Shifter who helped convince me that Shifters were the most amazing creatures I've ever met?
If you're wondering why I didn't tell him about Jordan right away, it was because I was scared. I didn't want to lose Jordan, and I didn't want to become a Shifter mate. Or anyone's mate, or wife. That wasn't me.
A free spirit, Mom always called me. Selfish, maybe, but you knew me. Somehow I always sensed I didn't have much time to live, and I wanted to grab as much of life as I could. Jordan was part of that life, the best part.
Now Jordan will be with his dad, which is where he belongs. And you should be with him and Spike too.
I love you, Myka. Kiss Jordan good night for me, and tell Spike thank you.
God bless.
Spike's callused fingers took the letter from Myka's hands. He read it, while Myka watched him, tears blurring her eyes.
Spike's throat moved in a swallow as he finished. He set the letter aside and enfolded Myka into his arms. “I wish I'd known her better,” he said in his low voice. “The mother of my son.”
Myka rested her head on his chest, loving the thump of his heart. “I can tell you all about her.”
“I'd like that.”
Myka tried to smile. “She was a crafty woman. Matchmaking to the last.”
“I'm glad she was.” Spike put his thumbs under Myka's chin. “I'm glad she brought you to me. Mate of my heart.”
Myka kissed his chest, right over the place where his heart lay. “Mate of my heart,” she echoed.
“I love you, Myka.” Spike kissed her mouth, his lips warm with afterglow.
“I love you, Eron.”
Spike's arms tightened around her at the sound of his real name, his naked body hot against hers. The jaguar tattoos moved with his embrace, as he scooped her up to him to kiss her again, this kiss tinged with wildness.
The moonlight touched them with kind light, and under that light, Spike carried Myka to the bed one more time, coming into her and surrounding her with bliss.
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Ashley has written more than 70 published novels and novellas in romance, urban fantasy, and mystery under the names Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, and Ashley Gardner. Her books have been nominated for and won Romance Writers of America's RITA (given for the best romance novels and novellas of the year), several RT BookReviews Reviewers Choice awards (including Best Urban Fantasy, Best Historical Mystery, and Career Achievement in Historical Romance), and Prism awards for her paranormal romances. Jennifer's books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have earned starred reviews in Booklist.
More about the Shifters Unbound series can be found at
http://www.jennifersromances.com
Or email Jennifer at
mailto:jenniferashley@cox.net
BOOKS BY JENNIFER ASHLEY
Books in the Shifters Unbound series
Pride Mates
Primal Bonds
Shifter Made (short story)
Bodyguard
Wild Cat
Hard Mated
Mate Claimed
“Perfect Mate”
in Unbound (anthology)
Lone Wolf
Tiger Magic
Feral Heat
Wild Wolf
And more to come!
Books in the Mackenzies series
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie
Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage
The Many Sins of Lord Cameron
The Duke's Perfect Wife
The Seduction of Elliot McBride
The Untamed Mackenzie
The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie
And more to come!
The Mating Hunt
by Bonnie Vanak
Welcome to the sensual world of the Lupine, where the burning drive to mate claims all...
Arianna Sanders doesn’t remember everything that happened to her when she was 12. All she knows is a savage monster left her terrified of sex and a freak among Lupines, werewolves known for their sensual nature. Her guardian is the only male she trusts, the one she secretly desires. Arianna longs to overcome her fear and make love with the sexy, mysterious shifter. But Kyle Morgan harbors a dark secret, one that if Arianna knew, would send her screaming into the night.
The fiercely protective Kyle hungers for the voluptuous Arianna, who’s been teased for her generous backside. He thinks she’s perfect and dreams about consummating the passion smoldering between them. When Arianna makes a lethal mistake and is told she must mate before the full moon or face execution by the powerful Silver Wizard, Kyle knows the time has come.He musttame the savage, sexual beast inside him before he can claim the woman he’s vowed to protect from all harm.
But a greater threat emerges when Kyle and Arianna find three missing Lupine children stolen by humans. Vowing to protect the children with their lives, they must band together to fight a growing evil that threatens the entire Lupine population, an evil that will reignite Arianna’s old terrors...
Book 2 in the Werewolves of Montana series
Table of Contents for THE MATING HUNT
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Author’s Note
About the Author
CHAPTER 1
Someone was having sex in the bathroom of Spuds Saloon.
Arianna Sanders wriggled her Spanx-clad bottom on the hard wood seat. The musky scent drifted down the hallway, tickling her nostrils. Low groans and high squeals throbbed against her eardrums.
Bad enough to be a 19-year-old unmated Lupine werewolf ripe for breeding, but to hunger for sex was pure hell.
Pure hell when you were terrified of the very thing your body craved.
Pure hell when you emitted a cloud of pheromones so powerful, you attracted everything from male werewolves to Ogres.
“Blame your big butt,” Darius had told her. “From the back, you look like a female Ogre. Hubba hubba.”
The pack beta ended up sporting a black eye for that remark.
Sitting at a table against the brick wall, Arianna flexed her sore knuckles. Yeah, she had a fat ass. But she also had the best nose in the pack, other than Kyle, her guardian and partner in hunting. And if she and Kyle were to get a bead on three missing Lupine young, they needed information. Spuds was the place where cowboys traded gossip in Hancock, Montana.
Booted heels hooked over the barstool rungs; men lined up at the bar like cattle at a watering trough. Her nostrils flared at the stench of spilt beer and heavy cologne. A wailing country western song pounded against her temples. Damn, she hated bars, but vowed to find out what she could. The three little ones had vanished two weeks ago while hiking with their parents near Mitchell Mountain. The frantic parents contacted Amber Alert, pretending the young were Skins, the Lupine term for humans.
Her sensitive hearing picked up a few stray conversations. “Missing kids.” “Searched forest.” Arianna studied the crowd, looking for signs of nervousness as Kyle had taught her. Rugged bikers sitting at a corner table scowled at the crowd, but she scented nothing unusual.
Except at the bar. There.
Two men in sheepskin jackets studied their beer mugs as sweat oozed from their pores. Their hearts began to pound harder as talk centered on the missing young.
They knew something.
As she headed for the jukebox to eavesdrop, a woman screamed from the back room. “Oh God, oh God!”
Several cowboys snickered. “Damn, thought this was a bar, not a church,” one shouted out.
An embarrassed flush suffused Arianna’s body. She needed to get info and get the hell out.
Her boot heels clicked on the scuffed wood floor as she crossed the room. As she reached the jukebox, her targets pulled money from their wallets and tossed a handful of dollar bills on the bar. She strained to see their faces, but they turned and headed for the exit. Arianna followed.
A drunk staggered into her and grabbed her arm. “C’mere, honey, you smell good. That little lady back there ain’t gonna be the only one getting lucky tonight.”
Practically drooling, the Skin looked more woozy than threatening. Dryness coated her throat. She’d thought Skins couldn’t scent her approaching heat.
Guess not. Arianna pulled away and shook her head.
His mouth flattened. “With that fat ass, you’re lucky I’m interested. Should be honored, bitch.”
The insult stung. “With that ugly face, you’d be lucky to find a willing sheep.”
The drunk’s gaze darkened and narrowed. He grabbed her breast. “At least you have some tits.”
“Stop it,” she cried out, immediately snared in a dark memory.
Dark memories surged: greedy hands groping her nubile breasts. Not again. Never again.
Claws emerged from her fingertips as she danced out of reach. Suddenly the familiar scent of sharp, crushed pine and crisp, fallen snow flooded her senses. Then a quiet, deep voice spoke. “Leave the little lady alone. Or else.”
Relief filled her. Kyle.
Drunk guy sneered as Kyle slid out of the hallway shadows, zipping up his jeans. Arianna stiffened. Her guardian had caused the woman’s ecstatic screams.
Wide shouldered and leanly muscled, he stood well over six feet. In a plaid shirt, tight jeans and scuffed boots, he looked like just another tall, muscular cowboy, except for the distinctive Z slashing his left cheek. Despite the scar, females found Kyle irresistible. His beast emerged during the full moon, a savage sexuality resulting from his mixed blood.
Dark brown hair peeked beneath the brim of his black Stetson, hiding his mesmerizing green eyes. They could grow sharp with impatience one minute, hot with passion the next.
Or glacial, as they did now, as he tipped back his hat.
“Or else what?” The words barely fled the drunk’s mouth before Kyle’s fist smashed into it. The man staggered backward, vermillion trickling from his split lip. “That all you got?” the drunk sneered, and swung at Kyle.
Great. She groaned as the duo began to fight. Other patrons crowded around, cheering them on. Time to leave, before all the surging testosterone went turbo.
Arianna headed for the door as Kyle made dog food of the drunk, her attacker, but found it barricaded by five bulky cowboys with rapid pulses and lust-darkened gazes.
“Hey, darling,” one drawled. “You smell soooo good. Why don’t you come here and show us a good time?”
Her breathing ragged, Arianna fought panic. Breath fled out of her bellowing lungs. As they stalked toward her, a low growl ripped from her throat. Oh please, not now, I can control this. Stay in Skin. I can defend myself.
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This wasn’t the other time. Not chained and helpless, a scared 12-year-old facing the bad man who wanted to hurt her.
Breathing heavily as they circled, she reached for the switchblade in her back pocket. One rubbed the increasing bulge in his crotch and stalked forward. And then someone seized her from behind, forcing her to drop the knife, pinning her arms.
Logic fled, replaced by a surge of terror, triggering Lupine instinct. With a low snarl, she flung off her attacker, sending him crashing into a nearby table. Fur rippled along her arms. Her bones popped and snapped. Go for the target.
The wolf loped toward the man’s groin as screams broke out.
Oh shit.
Kyle threw the drunk against the bar and turned to see a gray wolf growl at a cowboy. A large wet stain spread over the man’s crotch, triggering Kyle’s own Lupine instinct to attack. Unlike Arianna, he had control.
As the man stumbled backward and fell, the wolf snarled. Someone pulled a pistol from his holster and cocked the trigger. Double shit.
Vaulting over a table, Kyle tackled the wolf as she loped toward the terrified cowboy. He rolled, tussling with her, putting a hand over her nose.
Letting her scent him.
Instantly Arianna calmed, her body growing limp. He climbed off as she lowered her head between her paws. Something deep inside him broke.
Bar patrons stared, jaws dropping. A few took out their phones, and his guts clenched as he imagined the ensuing videos on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
His gaze shot to Dell, the bar’s owner and a fellow Lupine. Dell nodded and pressed a button, scrambling all electronic communication.
Holding open the door, Kyle gestured. The wolf loped outside. He slammed the door shut and leaned against it, fishing out his cell phone. Didn’t need to get a signal for this particular call.
He hated this, but had no choice. Not with that little display before half the town’s male Skins.
Kyle pressed the speed dial, the OtherWorld equivalent of 9-1-1 as the wolf sat, her gaze fixed on him.