Beating Hearts (A Contemporary and Paranormal Valentine Anthology)

by Krystal Shannan

  BEATING HEARTS

  A paranormal and contemporary VALENTINE collection.

  Smashwords Edition

  Morgan’s Match by Krystal Shannan

  ~paranormal~

  Duke’s Valentine by Jennifer Kacey

  ~BDSM~

  Sorath’s Sinnis by Natalie Gibson

  ~BDSM, paranormal~

  Grabbing Fate by Jinni James

  ~contemporary~

  BEATING HEARTS

  Copyright © 2014 Krystal Shannan

  Copyright © 2014 Jennifer Kacey

  Copyright © 2014 Natalie Gibson

  Copyright © 2014 Jinni James

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons –living or dead –or places, events, or locales is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. This book contains content that is not suitable for readers 17 and under.

  Cover design by Erin Hill

  www.edhgraphics.blogspot.com

  All rights reserved.

  Please be aware that this book cannot be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission from the authors, or within the sharing guidelines at a legitimate library or bookseller. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction, sharing, or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/) and is punishable by up to five years in a federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Morgan’s Match

  By

  Krystal Shannan

  What’s a girl to do when she can find love for everyone but herself?

  Computer genius and matchmaking witch extraordinaire, Morgan O’Neal, created a computer program from an old family recipe. Her business is a huge success, churning out dozens of matched happy couples, but her love life is still where it stalled out years ago.

  The biggest catch to being a matchmaker…you can’t work a spell on yourself.

  When Connor McGuire, hot high school flame, suddenly inserts himself back into her life, will the hunky Irish warlock seal the deal? Or will a decade-old betrayal keep them apart forever?

  CHAPTER ONE

  “You know you really should run the program and find yourself a Valentines date, Morgan.”

  “Not a chance. These guys have paid good money for me to find them a date. Not for me to use my own service to get serviced.”

  “Whatever you say, boss.” Hilary, her receptionist, giggled and went back to her reports. “They’d be crazy to turn you down.”

  Morgan O’Neal stared at the screen full of eligible men who’d signed up for her matchmaking service. Little did her receptionist know, the computer matching algorithm that “chose” good matches for her clients was a three hundred year old spell reduced to zeroes and ones.

  Matchmaking had been in the family line for generations. Her mother and grandmother had practiced it using photos and now she did it electronically.

  Everything was electronic now. Why not magick?

  The only drawback to being an O’Neal matchmaker was not being able to match yourself. The spell wouldn’t work on a member of the family. Nope. She had to find a man the old fashioned way –casually bumping into him at some point in her life and feeling a spark of chemistry. Her problem was she’d already felt that spark and lost it –a long time ago.

  She scrolled the screen and drooled over a few photos. Some of the guys were extremely good looking, but she could see their true character through their aura and knew many of them would never find true love. They loved themselves too much to truly care about another person.

  Didn’t hurt to drool over a picture though. A girl could always dream.

  The whirring of the printer distracted her from the hunk on her screen. “Accounts balanced, already?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Is it okay if I scoot out of here a little early? Henry is taking me out for dinner and I wanted to freshen up first.”

  “Of course.” Leave me alone to pine over profiles of men I will never go out with. She pasted on a smile and nodded. “Have fun with Henry. Tell him I said hi.”

  Hilary snatched her coat from the hook on the wall and her wallet from where is lay on the big wrap-around desk they shared in the small office. She dashed out the door with a smile and a wave.

  Morgan grinned. She adored Hilary –spunky, fun, and always tried to have a word of encouragement for everyone. Mama tried to get her to hire a family member, another O’Neal witch, to help her run the business. But, Hilary was a breath of fresh human air. Morgan liked being a witch and she liked matching people, but she enjoyed not having to constantly talk about the magick or family. Her family was always full of drama and magickal mishaps.

  Life wasn’t all about magick.

  With Hilary, it was easy. A new client came in. They input their information into the computer program Morgan designed and –voila! If there was a good match for that person in the system…someone that really had the potential to be that person’s Happily Ever After. The program would flag them immediately. If not, they would let the client know as soon as someone popped up as a good match.

  Her contracts state specifically that matches were not guaranteed. Some of her clients were never matched, but some kept paying anyway, hoping for the Happily Ever After. Referrals from satisfied clients kept the doors at Magickal Matchmaking with Morgan opening and closing faster than she’d ever expected. Word of mouth advertising brought in most of her business.

  Her cousins kept asking for a copy of the computer program, but it was her baby and she had no intention of sharing her business model with her loud and suffocating family. She graduated Texas Tech with a programming degree and decided to stay in the oversized prairieland of the Lone Star State. Fort Worth was homey and she loved the old buildings and stockyards. Sundance Square was always alive with music and activities, plus it was the perfect place for her little office. Lots of foot traffic.

  She hadn’t found many other witches in town. At least none that announced themselves very loudly. But, she did introduce herself to the fortuneteller a few blocks over. Madame Ruby was in fact an old Gypsy witch who possessed the gift of sight. She made good money reading palms and telling fortunes, but rarely had to use magick to do that. People were easy to read if you just learned what to look for. Ruby had offered to read her fortune –for real. Morgan turned her down.

  What was the fun in life if you knew what was coming around every corner?

  She glanced up at the wall filled with photos of happy couples. Happy clients. Smiling faces in wedding dresses and tuxedos. Hilary called it the Magickal Wall of Success.

  It was the perfect name.

  There was no better reward than seeing her magick help someone find happiness. Not all her matches ended in marriage or even relationships. The spell only helped people find someone they could fall in love with…someone that would appreciate them for who they were on the inside. The spell didn’t make anyone fall in love.

  She turned off the computers, locked the emergency back door, and headed to the front. The lights dimmed with a wave of her hand. She slipped into her coat and locked the front door behind her.

  The Irish pub, O’Malley’s, across the street called her name. It was a little bit of home mixed with a lot of Texas charm. She smiled. T
he owner tried to be Irish, but he just couldn’t keep the Texas twang from sounding through. His family had immigrated decades ago. He didn’t have any more of an accent than she did. But he took pride in his roots and educating unsuspecting guests about the Emerald Isle. O’Malley did have the best Irish beer in town though.

  She waited for traffic to clear and hurried across during the red light. The door to the pub swung open and a burly gentleman in a flannel shirt, jeans, and a cowboy hat held it for her. She nodded and slipped inside as he continued out.

  The smell of good beer greeted her senses. She smiled and headed for the bar. A good pint was exactly what she needed to forget that she was once again unattached and dateless for Valentines.

  Customers were seated sporadically down the bar and at many of the tables. Laughing from the corner caught her attention. A group of college kids were playing darts.

  A deep voice rumbled in front of her. “Morgan!” Patrick O’Malley, the owner’s son, was behind the bar.

  She slid into an empty stool and laid her purple clutch on the counter. “Evening, Patrick.”

  “Are you going to let me take you out for Valentines this year, my love?” He grinned and flashed his adorable green eyes in her direction.

  “No.” She shook her head and grinned. “You need to find a nice girl your age, Patrick O’Malley.”

  “I like a mature woman,” he quipped back and set a pint of her favorite brew in front of her.

  “I’m not that old, just too old for you. Thanks.”

  Patrick winked and turned to help another customer who’d just sat at the other end of the bar.

  She sipped the sweet Murphy’s stout and sighed. She was thirty-two years old. The last thing she wanted was to deal with a hormonal twenty-one-year-old. Patrick was sweet, but just a kid. He always flirted with her. If he didn’t ask her out at least twice a week, she might think aliens had abducted him.

  “What about me? Am I the right age to take you out for Valentines?”

  Morgan choked on her beer and covered her mouth to cough. Holy shit. She turned toward the raspy male voice. It couldn’t be. Familiar dark brown eyes lit with a smile met her gaze.

  Connor Maguire. In the flesh.

  Memories of high school overwhelmed her brain and she just stared. He’d left New York when she was seventeen. His dad got a job in California he couldn’t pass over. They’d tried to keep in touch, but he joined the army after he graduated and eventually they’d both gone their separate ways.

  He’d been her first love, the boy she’d measured every man against since.

  “I thought I’d never see you again, Morgan O’Neal.” His voice stoked a fire in her belly and she shivered.

  The boy she’d known a decade ago had grown into a man. Blonde curls hung haphazardly past his ears and a hint of stubble gave him a relaxed carefree and really sexy look. She clenched her hands to keep them from reaching up and running through his sexy mop of hair. She’d always loved his hair.

  “I’ve never seen her so quiet.” Patrick’s voice snapped her out of dreamland.

  “I…Patrick this is Connor.”

  Connor reached across the bar and shook the younger man’s hand. “Hello.”

  More words refused to form. Where had he come from? How did he find her? Why was peeling him out of his tight black T-shirt and khaki-colored cargo shorts the only coherent thought she could manage?

  “Nice to meet you. I guess. Though, I think my days of flirting with her might be over thanks to you.”

  Connor chuckled. “I wasn’t sure she’d even remember me.”

  They were talking as if she wasn’t there. How could she not remember her first crush? Her first love. The boy she’d lost her virginity to. The one who’d broken her heart.

  “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

  Morgan glared at Patrick and he sidled off quietly. Then she directed her laser vision toward the man on her right. “What are you doing here?”

  Connor chuckled and settled into the stool. “I came for you, Morgan. Why else would I be all the way out in Texas? Why are you in Texas, anyway?”

  “I’ll have you know, I like it here. It’s much quieter than New York and a long way from O’Neal family drama.”

  “No, kidding. I had to hear all about your Aunt Donna’s cyst, your cousin Clara’s ex-boyfriend cheating on her, the hex they cooked up to punish him, and the remodel from hell your father hasn’t finished for your mother.”

  Morgan snorted. She knew all about the remodel. Mom wanted Dad to do it by hand and not use magick. It’d been a work-in-progress for the last five years. The hex sounded about right for Clara. She blew through her poor choices of men at the rate of several per year.

  “I guess you saw some of the family then?”

  He nodded. “Your mom finally gave me your address when I promised to ask you to marry me.”

  Morgan sputtered. “You did w-what!”

  “She said she wouldn’t let me break your heart again. I was the reason you moved away and left your family.”

  Heat blossomed on her cheeks. Leave it to Mom to lay it all out on the table. “After you left, I started applying to colleges all over the country. When Tech accepted me, I graduated and hopped a plane to Texas.”

  “I see you’re making good use of the family recipes with your business across the street. You were always a genius with a computer.”

  “I love my work. The dating service helped me truly embrace who I was. What about you?”

  “I left the military a few years ago. Then I was offered a position with the FBI.”

  The Maguire family line had strong magick, too. They were a warrior line, strong active powers, and usually lived in service protecting others. It made perfect sense for him to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the FBI.

  “Depending on what the gorgeous woman in front of me says, I plan to ask for a transfer to the Dallas office.”

  Holy guacamole! He’s really serious. Her unused and dusty libido kicked into high gear. An unfamiliar ache began to throb at her core. Sitting at a bar was not where she wanted to spend the evening with Connor Maguire. A bed was the proper place to discuss restarting this relationship.

  She opened her clutch purse, pulled out a twenty and tossed it on the counter. “Thanks, Patrick.” She waved and then grabbed Connor’s hand. He followed without protest.

  The red bricks of the sidewalk blurred, her focus only on walking the three blocks over to her apartment at Sundance West. She’d been on a waiting list for over a year before one of the popular apartments became available. It had been worth it. The view of downtown was breathtaking and she loved being close to all the music and nightlife. Fort Worth always had some event going on in the square. She was never bored.

  Just lonely.

  Now, perhaps, just maybe the spirits were giving her the one thing she’d wanted more than anything. Connor.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The elevator doors closed and the six-story ride began. She turned. “Why now?”

  Connor glanced down at the floor and shoved his hands into the loose pockets of his shorts. “A friend set me up with a really sweet girl. She was cute, funny, had a great sense of humor, dark brown hair, blue eyes, and just a smattering of freckles.”

  Holy crap. He just described me.

  “I sat through dinner and chatted with her. I really enjoyed her company, but all I could see was you. Your long brown hair and the ever-present mischievous look in your beautiful blue eyes. Even her freckles reminded me of yours –dark enough to be seen through makeup and cute as could be.”

  The elevator dinged, opening to the sixth floor, and he followed her out. She turned to the right and made her way to the end of the hallway.

  “So that’s it, another girl reminded me of you and on a whim you decided to go to New York to see my family and then all the way to Texas?” She fiddled with her key, struggling to get it into the deadbolt. His breath was on her neck. If h
e wasn’t careful, she’d jump his bones before they got into the privacy of her apartment.

  “I never stopped thinking of you, Morgan. Leaving you our senior year was the hardest year of my life. My dad wanted me to finish my clan training without distractions and running private security for GenTech was too good of a job opportunity for him to pass up. Then I joined the army. Then the FBI. Life just never slowed down.”

  He skimmed his hand along her upper arm, sending shivers down her spine. “I’m making it slow down, now.”

  She knew he hadn’t wanted to leave. But, her mom was right. He’d broken her heart. Was he really willing to move? To live here, in Fort Worth with her where she’d rebuilt her life?

  The latch clicked and the door to apartment 605 swung open. He’d better be serious, because her heart was already opening to the possibility of having him back in her life for good. He did promise my mother to ask me to marry him.

  “I want you, Connor.”

  He slipped his hands around her waist and kicked the door closed behind them. “Heaven help me, if you’d said no. I nearly jumped across the bar at the pub when that kid came over like he had a claim on you.”

  Morgan giggled against his chest. “Patrick is sweet. He’s had a crush on me since I opened the shop four years ago.”

  He ran his strong hands moved up her ribcage, caressing the edge of her breasts, before coming to a stop on either side of her face. He tilted her head up and she met his hungry gaze. Passion burned in his chocolate gaze. She parted her lips and gasped.

  He crushed his lips to hers and swept his tongue inside her ready and willing mouth. A mumble about a bed brought her out of the euphoric state she was in long enough to turn the knob on her bedroom door. He bumped her into the doorframe as she backed into the room. Her stomach pressed briefly against his hard length and drove her arousal higher.