Wyoming Warriors 6
Commando Cowboys Entice Their Beauty
Raoul Sherwyn and Aleron Alois are shape-shifters. Jewel Camilius is the woman they desire. Jewel fights her attraction to them. Her lifelong secret has kept her from marrying anyone. But now she has to stay at the ranch. They can't know what she hides. But can her heart resist their enticing seduction?
When Elle, their Priestess, confronts her, Jewel admits she is a rare woman shape-shifter. Elle suggests she can help them fight their enemy. First Jewel must face her fears and tell Raoul and Aleron. They reassure her and accept her as a shape-shifter. But, they don't want her to join the fight. When she is attacked, they think they may lose her.
During the battle, Mitch and Daren discover another traitor, a friend. In spite of Raoul and Aleron's protest, Jewel risks her life to fight and saves Daren. Her people and her dreams of happiness must endure.
Genre: Multiple Partners, Paranormal, Western/Cowboys
Length: 54,461 words
COMMANDO COWBOYS ENTICE THEIR BEAUTY
Wyoming Warriors 6
Paige Cameron
EVERLASTING POLYROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Polyromance
COMMANDO COWBOYS ENTICE THEIR BEAUTY
Copyright © 2012 by Paige Cameron
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-495-6
First E-book Publication: September 2012
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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DEDICATION
To all my friends who listen patiently when I’m talking about my writing and continue to be interested and supportive. Thank you.
COMMANDO COWBOYS ENTICE THEIR BEAUTY
Wyoming Warriors 6
PAIGE CAMERON
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Dawn lightened the night sky and dew sparkled on the grass as Jewel Camilius carefully moved her paintings into one of the visitor cabins. Mitch and Daren, the leaders of their two tribes, had suggested she live here until she could return to her home in Oregon.
She’d appreciated their offer. Her parents’ home, just a few blocks over, was full. Her brothers and sister and their families were staying with her parents temporarily. Anxious to have her own space, Jewel had packed the car last night and got up very early this morning. After placing her paintings in the second bedroom, she walked back out for her suitcases.
The sky had brightened. She glanced around and gasped. In the far-south corner a strange glow lit the sky. Fire! She pulled her cell out of her pocket and dialed the main ranch house. Mitch answered.
“Did you see the south sky? It looks like a huge fire to me.”
“Give me a second.” The phone went quiet for a minute.
“Damn. No, I hadn’t seen it, but a group of our men are saddling their horses as we speak. I’ll sound the alarm. Thanks, Jewel. Where are you?”
“Moving into the cabin.”
“Come here to the ranch house until we see what’s going on.”
“I was—”
Mitch cut in. “Here, now. No arguments.” His phone clicked off.
Jewel hated leaving her paintings unguarded. They were like a part of her. But, she knew to obey the leaders. She closed and locked the door and drove to the ranch headquarters.
Mitch was leaving as she came up the steps. “I’ll talk with you later.” He mounted his waiting stallion and joined Daren and the others.
Jewel watched them ride out of sight. Raoul Sherwyn and Aleron Alois had been in the group, and so had Rae’s husbands, Garth and Caedmon. The sky was an ugly red now, and the smell of smoke drifted closer with the wind. When she went inside, she saw Sara and Rae standing by the windows.
“Welcome, Jewel,” Sara said. “I’m glad Mitch insisted on you joining us. Come and have some breakfast. I'm not sure I can eat much, but we have to try. I worry about Mitch and Daren. They’re the leaders and must be out front of their men. But I love my husbands, and a little fear yanks at my heart in spite of my resolve to be brave.”
“I’m sure that’s pretty normal. If my husbands were going to fight a fire I’d be worried.” I already am and Raoul and Aleron aren’t even my fiancés. She turned to Rae. “You’re here, too,” Jewel said. “I thought being so close you’d get to stay at home.”
“Not with two husbands determined to keep me wrapped in wool. I wanted to go with them, but that was vetoed.”
Jewel heard the annoyance in Rae’s voice. “I can’t blame them. No one knows what we’re dealing with, and they don’t want to lose their new wife.” She smiled at Rae.
Rae grinned back. “I know. But I like to be at the front lines helping.”
“I’m not surprised Garth and Cad would worry about you,” Jewel remarked as they followed Sara down the hall. “You almost died from the poisonous beak injury you received from one of the enemies’ bird shifters, and then you were kidnapped. When you think about it someone appears to want you gone.”
�
�And when our people, who had visited the third tribe in New Mexico, were on their way home, the bird shifters tried to attack the plane. Thank goodness Ethan was piloting. With Rae’s warning and his expertise in flying they foiled the enemies’ attack. Now this fire, which the enemy undoubtedly started. Fire is bad, since most of the third tribe is living in tents. But we can help in our own way.” Sara directed them into the dining room. “After breakfast we’ll join hands and meditate. With three of us maybe we can pick up more of our enemies’ diabolical plans. It would help if we had an idea of what their next attack will be.”
Sara sat down and drank water from the glass by her placemat. “If only we had gotten reconnected with the third tribe earlier, we’d have had better accommodations built before now. This has to be difficult, for families to be brought to a strange place and live with few basic comforts and have to fear the fire will take that too. I hope after this is all over the three tribes can be rejoined and truly become family.” Sara grinned. “And that’s my lecture for the day. I tend to ramble when I’m anxious.”
Shortly after they sat at the table, Tessa brought in three plates of pancakes and cups of coffee.
Jewel took a bite of the pancakes. “These are so good. I envy you having her for your cook.”
Sara nodded. “She’s the best, and she was one of the first friends I made when I came here.”
They ate, silently enjoying the meal. “Where are your children?” Jewel asked. The house was uncommonly quiet.
“Downstairs, in the underground facility, with their grandparents and Phillip. I don’t know what we’d do without our butler, and man of all trades. He’s tireless and always there to help with anything. Tessa will be taking food down to all our visitors who are camping out down there.
“We’ll stay up here until after we meditate.” Sara took a sip of coffee. “If we joined the others below it would be safer, but because of the extra-thick walls, we’d never be able to pick up any information. Phillip left three rifles for us. We’ll be armed.”
“Jewel and I are both good with a rifle. But I haven’t shot anything or anyone in a long time,” Rae added.
“You may get your chance. Most of our men are fighting this new menace. Whoever’s in charge of the enemy might be smart enough to try and attack our headquarters,” Sara said.
Rae stood. “I agree. If we’re all finished, let’s get started with the meditation.”
“We’ll go to the study, sit on the floor, and join hands.” Sara led the way.
The curtains were drawn and there wasn’t a fire in the fireplace. Jewel shivered. The air was cool, and with the dim light, the corners of the room were shadowed. Sara walked to the windows to open the drapes.
“Don’t.” Rae stopped her. “The setting is apropos for trying to contact evil.” Rae sat on the floor and put out her hands.
Jewel hesitated. She didn’t have the same talents as her friends. All her life she’d had to deny her talent. Only her father knew what she was capable of.
He’d instructed Jewel when she was very young about why she must hide her true self. After she graduated from high school it was easier to move away and hide in the Oregon woods. Not even her best friend, Rae, suspected what Jewel had hidden.
“I’m not sure how I can help,” Jewel said. “I’ll hold a rifle and sit to the side. If anyone comes barging in, you’ll be protected.”
“Good idea.” Sara handed her a rifle and then sat beside Rae. “Shall we hold both hands?”
“Yes.” Rae took her hands. They closed their eyes and sat perfectly still.
Jewel held the rifle ready. She wondered how the men were doing fighting the fire. Men could get hurt or burned dealing with a wildfire that large. Her heart had jumped a beat when she saw Raoul and Aleron. It was difficult to deny her attraction to them. She’d fought it ever since she’d met them. They hid something, too. She’d sensed it. Something that caused her to be wary and cautious. But still she had to admit she was worried about their safety.
When she brought her attention back to Sara and Rae, she noted their breathing was slow and deep, and they were still as statues. The room had suddenly gotten darker. Jewel tightened her grip on the rifle. Goosebumps rose on her arms. There was no one in the room but them. Yet she sensed the danger. Quickly, she lifted the rifle, aimed at the darkness in the left-hand corner, and shot.
Rae and Sara jumped and fell backward. The darkness was gone, leaving a smell of burnt fireworks.
“Thank you.” Sara’s voice sounded weak and breathless. She sat with her head in her hands.
“Are you all right?” Rae moved to Sara’s side.
“I will be in a moment.”
“I’m sorry I frightened you two,” Jewel said just as Phillip came storming into the room with his pistol drawn.
“What the hell happened in here?”
Jewel shrugged. “I shot at a shadow and scared Jewel and Rae. How did you hear the shot?”
Phillip pointed to the monitor on his belt. “This lets me hear any upstairs noise.”
“She saved us.”
“What?” Jewel was surprised by Sara’s comment. “How?”
Phillip took the rifle Jewel was waving around from her. “You might accidentally shoot me.”
Rae took Jewel’s hand and helped her up. “When we started meditating and opened ourselves, he or she was ready. I don’t know how they did it, but it was like a net thrown across us. We couldn’t move, and the voice kept trying to plant thoughts into our heads. My strength had weakened, and I feared we wouldn’t last much longer against them when you fired.”
“Immediately, we were freed and the darkness exploded and disappeared,” Sara added. “What did you shoot at?”
“I have no idea. The room got darker, especially in that corner.” Jewel pointed toward the spot where she had fired her rifle. “I didn’t realize you were in trouble. I thought you’d gone into deep meditation. I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Phillip said. “I’m not sure I’d have thought to shoot at the darkness.” He chuckled. “It must have scared whatever it was, pretty bad.”
* * * *
Mitch, Daren, and Garth, and Lann, leaders of the three tribes, rode at the head of the group. They stopped a good distance from the fire. Mitch watched as it roared and ate up any trees or shrubs in its path. Unless they managed to stop its progression, the tents and the main part of town would be gone.
Their foreman, Lang, and his men had already arrived with the ranch’s fire department. They pumped water onto the blaze. When Lang saw the others he rode over.
“It’s got a good head start on us. Thank goodness we put in the water pipes to run across most of the property, especially the areas closest to the main part of the ranch. But we need more help.”
“I contacted our fire captain. We had our own outfit in New Mexico because of our distance from town. He’s bringing the firefighters we brought with us. We left one unit behind,” Lann said.
Lang nodded and went back to join his men. They were busy digging ditches to try and stop the inferno’s advance.
Mitch turned to the other three. “Any other suggestions?”
“Aleron can shape-shift into his eagle. I’ll have him fly above the fire and report back what he sees,” Garth said.
“How does he report back?”
“He can send messages telepathically to any of us who are shape-shifters.”
“All right. I’d like to know just what we’re facing. I may call the fire station in town and ask them to send a unit to assist us.”
Garth motioned Aleron to them and gave him his instructions. The leaders watched as Aleron walked quickly behind a large bush. In seconds, he flew into the sky as a huge eagle. He soared upward and flew out of sight.
“That’s amazing,” Mitch said. “He’s larger than a regular eagle.”
“And he’s faster and has even better eyesight,” Garth added. “He’ll probably contact Raoul. They
’re close, and he’s more receptive to Aleron’s messages.”
Raoul walked briskly in their direction. He came directly to Mitch and Garth. “Aleron says if the wind switches you’re going to lose a lot of pasture and cows. We need to send some workers behind to dig trenches, but there are about six men standing guard. He doesn’t think they’re yours.”
Mitch called Lang over. “Do we have men to the back of this burn?”
“No,” Lang said. “I thought we needed all of them here.”
“Let Aleron know they aren’t our men,” Mitch said to Raoul.
Raoul walked a short distance off from the group. “They aren’t our men. What were you thinking about doing?” He sent the message telepathically to Aleron.
“I’m going to buzz them fast and see what happens.”
“You should wait till some of us get closer in case you need help,” Raoul cautioned.
“Too late. I’m going down.”
“Damn.”
“What is it?” Mitch asked. He’d walked closer to Raoul.
“Aleron is taking a risk. He’s dive buzzing them to see their reaction. If they change into those bird shifters that attacked Rae and almost killed her, he could get in trouble.” He shook his head.
Mitch flipped his phone open and punched in the code for Ethan. “Where are you?” he asked Ethan.
“I’ve been checking out the helicopter. I thought we might try dropping large barrels of water out the helo doors.”
“Good, you’re right where I want you. Take the helicopter up and head south. Hopefully, you’ll see a large eagle. He might need your help.”
Commando Cowboys Entice Their Beauty [Wyoming Warriors 6] Page 1