by Robbie Cox
“It must have been hard, starting over.” He couldn’t imagine what she went through when she finally left Kyle. It seemed as if she left everything and everyone behind, truly starting over. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.”
“Me, too, but in a way it worked out. It brought me here and got me to you.”
They turned the corner, an animal scurrying off in the underbrush off to the side. Arlin stopped, twirling her until he had his arms wrapped around her, holding her against him, her breasts pressed to his chest. He was sure she could feel his growing cock against her. “I’m glad at the destination, but I hate the path you had to take to get here.” He leaned down, kissing her softly, first her lips, and then her nose. “Of course, that only means I’m going to spend the rest of our lives making it up to you and proving to you how a lady should be treated.” He loved the way her eyes sparkled when she gazed up at him. “Eve Hartlow, you make my heart happy.”
He felt her squeeze him to her, her head on his chest. “You make me happy, too. I never thought it possible, to be honest. Or that I deserved it.” She leaned back and stared up into his eyes. “But I do deserve it, and what’s more, I’m ready for it. I’m ready to finally be happy. I’m ready for us.”
“So am…” And that’s all he got out before he felt a skull-cracking thud against his head, stars flashing across his vision before darkness swallowed him, his legs turning to jelly, no longer holding his weight. The last thing he heard was Eve’s scream.
Sixteen
Kyle stood there, a broken tree limb in his hands as he glared down at Arlin’s body, Arlin’s motionless body, Eve noticed. She couldn’t tell whether he was dead or just unconscious, but he definitely wasn’t moving. Her heart lurched in her chest, the pounding echoing in her ears. They should have known Kyle would not give up that easily. They were careless and arrogant, and now Arlin paid the price for their flippant behavior.
“People should learn to mind their own business,” Kyle snarled, as he sneered down at Arlin. Glancing up at Eve, he shook his head. “This is your fault. If you would have just done what I told you to do, just packed your bags and headed home instead of sowing your wild oats, none of this would have happened.” He pointed at Arlin with the end of the branch he wielded like a club. “You made this happen. You did this.” With each word, his voice grew louder, angrier. “Don’t blame me. I didn’t want this to happen, but I told you it would if you didn’t come home.” He stood straighter, his shoulders flat and his chest puffed out. “Now,” he motioned the way she had been walking, “let’s go get your stuff and go home. We can put this whole mess behind us.”
“No,” she snapped, doing her best to keep the fear from making her voice quiver or the tears that threatened to fall from revealing how scared she was. “I’m not going anywhere with you. You don’t own me, Kyle. I’m not some prize you won or some helpless female you can bully. This is my life and it no longer includes you. Just go away.”
Kyle raised the branch high over Arlin’s head, his lips twisted into a crazed leer. “I’ll bash in his head if you don’t get moving. If he’s the one making you act this way, then I’ll get rid of him. Only you can spare his life.” He motioned as if to bring the branch down on Arlin’s skull, making Eve cry out for him to stop.
Hands held out, as if warding off Kyle’s threat, the tears finally fell. “Okay, okay. I’ll go. I’ll go. Just leave him alone.” She took a few steps backward, hoping to lead Kyle away from Arlin’s prone body. Her tiger raged within her, wanting to bust free and attack, the orange and black
striped fur slipping through her flesh. Eve gritted her teeth, biting the inside of her mouth as she fought to tamp her animal down, doing her best to control her tiger. Please, not now. We’re too close. If she shifted now, it might scare Kyle and cause him to attack Arlin. She needed to lead him away from her mate, far enough away so she would have time to shift and not risk Arlin being hurt. Then she could shift and take the bastard out with pleasure. But first, she needed to create some distance between her past and her future.
He gave her a wary look, only lowering the branch a little as he stepped over Arlin’s body. She backed up a couple more steps, turning only slightly, wanting to keep him in her line of vision. To her relief, he followed her. To her dismay, however, Arlin still wasn’t moving. I just need to get him away from Arlin. She allowed herself to face forward, determined to make Kyle believe he had won. Then I’m going to kill him. She took a deep breath and kept walking.
“You could have made this simple, Eve. Could have kept all of this from happening.” His voice held a tinge of anger, the threats of the past coloring his tone. “But, oh no, you just had to make me come looking for you. You shouldn’t have done that. Nope. Shouldn’t have done that at all.”
She heard him walking behind her; it sounded like he drew closer to her. Chancing a quick glance over her shoulder, she noticed the branch still in his hand, but now dangling at his side as he walked. He focused more on chastising her than protecting himself. Taking a deep breath, she clenched her fists. He still sees me as some weak female he can bully. Won’t he be surprised?
With another deep breath, she flexed her fingers, ready to unleash the tiger inside of her. Yet, just as she was about to shift, a blur roared past her, taking Kyle with it, the two of them tumbling over and over on the dirt road. She stared, unsure what had happened or what to do. Kyle screamed as whatever took him—an animal—growled, its massive paws and sharp claws slashing the man across the chest, knocking him across the road and into the grass. Eve stared at Arlin in his tiger form as he braced, paws apart ready to pounce one more time, his mouth open, lips curled back, growling, attention focused solely on Kyle.
Glancing at Kyle, she watched as he rolled over, his hands behind his back as he did a backward crab crawl to get away from the tiger. “What the hell? Why is there a tiger here?” Arlin took a step closer and Kyle screamed. From Eve’s angle, it appeared he wet his pants as well, which made her smile.
Eve closed the distance between her and where Arlin stood, reaching out and stroking his raised fur when she reached him. Keeping her gaze on the tiger, she spoke to Kyle, however. “I warned you. I told you I wasn’t going and I meant it.” She scratched behind Arlin’s ear as she turned her gaze back to Kyle. “I don’t need knives or restraining orders or anything else to make sure you understand me. I have Arlin. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me and he gave me the greatest gift anyone could ever give.”
Kyle’s gaze stayed riveted on the tiger. “What did he give you that I didn’t?”
She smiled, soft and warm. “He gave me his love, unconditional and open.” Then she grinned. “And then he gave me this.” With a smirk, she took a deep breath and shifted, her bones popping and snapping as her body transformed from the small, sandy-haired woman to a strong powerful female tiger, the perfect counterpart to her mate. When the transformation was complete, Kyle gawked with wide eyes and an open mouth, his bottom lip quivering. She roared, taking a small leap toward him, Arlin’s tiger roaring with her, and it was all Kyle could take. He jerked himself off the ground, spinning as he did, and ran into the woods, screaming. It was the greatest sight Eve had ever seen.
Her roars turned to purrs as Arlin brushed his muzzle up against her, rubbing her, his own contented purr mixing with hers. After a few moments of mingling fur, she heard his voice in her head. As much as I want to continue this, Little Warrior, we should follow him and make sure he truly leaves.
She growled, nipping at the ruff of his neck. As much as she didn’t want to agree with him, she knew he was right, and with a burst of speed, she shoved off the earth and headed after Kyle. She’d thank her mate properly soon enough.
Kyle wasn’t faking it. They followed his scent to the edge of Bull Creek and an oil-burning Chevy that left rubber track marks on the road where it was parked, heading west. When they reached the edge of the forest where Kyle vanished, they both shifted back, the
evening breeze brushing against their naked flesh. She stared at the open road, the empty open road. It was over. It was truly, finally over. Kyle was out of her life. Gone.
She felt Arlin’s strong hand on her arm, pulling her to him. Turning, she placed a hand on his chest as she gazed up into his golden eyes, his smile brightening up her night. “It’s over, Little Warrior,” he said, reaching up and brushing her hair out of her eyes.
She reached up, turning his head to the side, causing him to wince. “How’s your head? I was worried Kyle had succeeded in killing you.”
His voice seemed strained when he answered, the pain evident in his tone. “Oh, it hurts like hell, but it’ll take more than that to knock me out.” He grinned, giving a soft chuckle. “It wasn’t even hard enough to knock some sense into me.” He winked at her as he turned his head back toward her. “I just needed him to move away first so I could shift. Besides, we’re a hardy breed, quick healers.”
She felt the grin pushing up her cheeks. “Thank you. For everything.” She pressed her head against his chest, taking a deep breath of him into her.
He stroked her hair and she had never felt so much love in a touch. “Little Warrior, you haven’t seen everything yet.” He pulled her back so he could gaze into her eyes. “But you will. My entire life is going to be all about showing you.”
She squeezed him, the emotions washing over her like a waterfall. This is what life was supposed to be about. Not fear, but love. This was Heaven, and she had to go through Hell to find it. Now that she did, she would never let it go. She heard the growl within her. Not that her tiger would permit her to let it go. No. This was her life. Her future. And she would enjoy every minute of it. This was the journey she craved all her life and she would savor every step.
Make sure you’ve read the first in the Sanctuary of Bull Creek series ~
•.¸✿¸.• ♥ • ¯`v´¯) Shards of Sass by Robbie Cox ¯`v´¯) •.¸✿¸.• ♥ •
A broken heart led to her broken magic. Now, Adira Brennan, just wanting to escape Jensen's betrayal, accepts Barbara Wolfe's request to go to Bull Creek in order to aid shifters in a battle against prejudice.
Dimitri Everest couldn't believe his eyes. Or the timing. She appeared out of nowhere, just when he needed someone by his side to stand up against Bane and his coyotes. His panther, however, needed her for much, much more.
Together, they stand against shifter prejudice in order to protect the humans of Bull Creek. That is, when the two of them can keep their hands off each other. While Adira heard about the mate bond, she never believed she'd be feeling its overwhelming pull. And what about her magic? How would she fix the shards that only sputtered from her fingertips in time to help Dimitri defeat Bane?
Would the mate bond heal her Shards of Sass?
Amazon
#kindleunlimited
The Sanctuary of Bull Creek series continues in May with
•.¸✿¸.• ♥ • ¯`v´¯) Touch of Sass ¯`v´¯) •.¸✿¸.• ♥ •
Lainie Everest left her home in Blue Creek to avoid the mating her parents chose for her. Now, making a new life for herself as a deputy in Bull Creek, she’s quite happy solving crime and hanging with her friends as she helps her brother, Dimitri, protect the people of Bull Creek.
Rance Culpepper likes his life as an FBI agent, adventure, travel, and one-night stands aplenty. That is, until the death of a witness he was tracking takes him to a small township called Bull Creek where he meets a sassy deputy who wants him to mind his own business. He’d be happy to do that, if she would just keep her nose out of his case.
However, Lainie’s panther and Rance’s wolf have other plans.
About the Author
Robbie started writing to escape—escape his teachers, escape his fears, even to escape his insecurities and doubts. However, his stories of seduction and adventure, not only allowed him to hide in the lives of his characters, but also captivated those who wanted to escape with him. Now, he enjoys a full-time career as a storyteller and novelist, and invites readers to run away with him—to escape, getting lost in the seduction of adventure.
When he is not writing, Robbie can be found on his back porch enjoying a cigar, a scotch, and a good story. He derives pleasure from his large family and his crazy group of friends who provide the inspiration for his blog The Mess that Is Me.
He is the author of the Urban Fantasy series, The Warrior of the Way, along with the paranormal series, The Witches of Savannah. His Contemporary Romance series includes The Rutherford Series, The Harper Twins, and the Fangirls series.
Connect with Robbie online:
Website: www.robbiecox.net
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Visit www.robbiecox.net to find out more about these great books by Robbie Cox!
Losing Faith
"What's your fantasy?"
An innocent enough question asked by Selby to his wife Faith, but it leads them down a journey that may or may not have dire consequences to their relationship. Wanting to please each other, they decide to open up their marriage to other sexual adventures.All is well when they explore their sexual side together, but what if they played with others without the other one present? Sex isn't always just about sex. As they explore their desires, they discover how it affects not only their marriage, but the relationships around them-family, friends, even work relationships. The question is, will they survive?
Amazon US - http://amzn.to/2wM5AKF
Amazon UK - http://amzn.to/1oyCrav
Roll the Dice
Jacqui Karston has lost - her husband, her daughter, her mother. Now, she lives life with a purpose, playing it safe and leaving chance in the past. Her life is stable, predictable, that is until Rutherford Construction opens up an office in Biloxi.
Morgan Brewer, however, believes that unless you roll the dice, you'll never achieve that big payoff. He lives his life on the edge, making the most of every opportunity that comes his way, taking every gamble he can and wasting his winnings. That is until his roll of the dice brings him across Jacqui's path.
Can Morgan stop taking chances long enough to give Jacqui her chance? Does Jacqui even want a chance? Or does she just want to be left alone to grieve?
Amazon US ~ http://amzn.to/2wbCHZ8
Amazon UK ~ http://amzn.to/1fK1laH
Reaping the Harvest
On his way home from a moving job, Rhychard Bartlett heard a scream and ran to help. That action changed his life forever and tossed him into a war between the Way and the Void. Given the Guardian Sword, assisted by an ellyll who only stands two feet tall, and bonded to a mind speaking coshey the size of a Newfoundland canine and a taste for pepperoni pizza, Rhychard must stop the demon Vargas from carrying out his plans. Once he finds out what they are, of course. In the meantime, he longs for the girlfriend who left him because he suddenly had too many secrets. Not only must he save the day, but he also must convince Renny Saunders he's not the cheating lover everyone thinks he is.
Amazon US ~ http://amzn.to/2vmZIs0
Amazon UK ~ http://amzn.to/2aaA5jP
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