Chapter One

by Selena Blake

  André came next, his huge cock filled her. His fingers tightened on her nipples, and he pressed his cheek against hers, uttering words in French. Jules went rigid inside her and then she felt the warm wash of semen as it shot into her. He kissed her, long and slow, and deep. He needed no words. His kiss said everything.

  Chapter Seven

  That afternoon, after they'd dressed, Angelica pulled the neck strap of her camera over her head and followed Jules and André out of the house. Gin followed her out the door and she closed it behind them.

  Gin growled ferociously, and she turned to see William standing at the bottom of the steps. The gun in his hand caught the sunlight, and her stomach dropped and did circles around her knees.

  “I hired you swamp rats to find her. Not to screw her,” he ground out. Before she could open her mouth to tell him the thousand angry words flowing through her mind, he aimed the gun at Jules' chest.

  Jules pushed her behind André just as the gunshot blasted through the quiet bayou.

  Her scream was even louder. André lunged at William. Before her eyes he shifted. Transformed. A streak of gray hit William in the chest, knocking him backward. She dropped to Jules' side and pressed her hand over the wound in the center of his chest.

  “Jules. Jules!” she screamed. He lay slumped against the railing, his eyes closed. “Don't you dare die on me.” Tears blurred her vision, and she ignored the terrible sounds... the growls, the cries, then the deathly quiet that settled over the wetlands.

  She needed to call someone. Call for help. She couldn't move, couldn't move her hand.

  “André,” she croaked out. Turning, she saw a huge gray wolf standing over William's lifeless body. There was blood everywhere. The sight chilled her to the bone, and she crouched protectively over the man at her side.

  “Jules,” she called, feeling for a heartbeat. “Stay with me.” She felt a slow, steady beat and kept her hand pressed firmly against his chest. A shadow crossed over them, and she looked up to see a naked André standing over them.

  He leaned close.

  “Don't touch him,” she bit out.

  “He'll be all right, Angel. Are you okay?” André's voice was low, calm. How the hell could he be so calm? Tears rolled down her cheeks. Pain burned in her chest.

  “Don't stand there, call 911.”

  “It won't help, chérie.”

  “Just do it,” she yelled.

  “Angel—Angelica.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. She fought him like a wild cat. “I promise you, he'll be fine. But he's gonna be pissed when he wakes up.” He sat her away and picked up Jules’ limp body. She followed closely as he carried his brother up to his bedroom and laid him on the bed.

  “Where's the phone?” she asked, looking frantically around the room.

  André held out his hand, and a cell phone suddenly appeared.

  “Holy shit.” She backed up a step, her heart beating wildly in her chest. “Who—what the hell are you?”

  He held the phone to his ear, his dark eyes locked with hers.

  “Burke. Problem. They shot Jules. No, he's fine. He'll be fine,” he said, his eyes boring into hers. “There may be more. Thanks.”

  “Now, about who and what I am,” he began.

  Half an hour later, Angelica sat curled up in the corner, staring at the man on the bed. He was breathing. She couldn't believe her eyes. But she had to believe her heart.

  André sat across the room, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt.

  Jules made a gargled sound and then moaned. Her heart did a happy dance, and she unfolded herself from her hiding spot. But then his face contorted, and he made a ferocious sound that scared the hell out of her. She took a step back, her hand over her heart. It thumped against her palm.

  “Jules,” she whispered, unsure where she found her voice. Her knees were banging against each other, the rest of her body trembling right along with them.

  He relaxed and those gorgeous black eyes opened and searched for her. “Chérie?” She was at his side in an instant.

  She took a shaky breath and sat gently on the bed. He sat up, cupping her cheeks in his warm hands.

  “Oh, my god.” She started to cry again.

  “Shh...”

  “I thought I'd lost you,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.

  “Lost me?”

  “Well... not that I ever had you.” She gave a shaky laugh. “But your crazy brother wouldn't call 911, and there was so much blood,” she said in a rush, her heart sinking. She felt sick to her stomach and looked everywhere but his eyes.

  He closed the few inches between them and kissed her lips. She couldn't believe it. Couldn't wrap her mind around it. But as he coaxed her lips apart and plunged into her mouth, she clung to him, happiness washing over her like sunlight.

  When he pulled away, he looked over at André . “William?”

  “No longer a threat.”

  Jules nodded at the news. “I'm sorry you had to see all that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you—”

  “I told her,” André inserted.

  “Everything?” Jules asked, his head cocked to the side. He stared at her in wonder.

  “Everything,” his brother confirmed.

  “What are you still doing here?” he asked with an uneasy laugh. She realized then that he’d expected rejection. He’d expected her to head for the hills. She couldn’t imagine being so different. Living such an alternate life.

  Her eyes grew wide. “Where else would I be? I had to make sure you were okay! And this one here kept telling me you'd be fine. I didn't believe him.” She nodded at Andre.

  Jules grinned at her, and her heart did a back flip. “I'm fine. We wolves are tough.”

  She stared at his chest, at the blood stain.

  “I'm gonna go check in with Burke and Laurent,” André said and strode from the room. She heard his heavy footfalls against the stairs.

  “I'm sorry if you were frightened,” he murmured, his thumb rubbing against her cheek. He kissed her forehead. “I didn't want you to find out like that. Are you okay?”

  She nodded, unable to do much else. Everything was surreal.

  He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. The warmth of his strong body chased away the chill that had enveloped her the moment Gin had started growling at William.

  “I love you,” he whispered, kissing her temple.

  “What?” She pulled back, staring up at him wild-eyed. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest and she pressed it with her hand to ease the ache.

  “I think I loved you from the moment I saw you standing in the clearing. Your eyes wide like you thought we were going to eat you,” he said.

  “Well—” she said. “You did bite me.”

  “Sorry, love. I had to claim you. We wolves have to mark what's ours so someone else doesn't come along and take it.”

  “André wouldn't do that.” But the puzzle pieces clicked together. That’s why he’d been so distant. While he’d shared his body, he’d kept himself disconnected otherwise.

  “I know he wouldn't. But my were didn't.”

  “It's crazy, you know.”

  “What is?” He tugged her head back and licked his way down her throat. She found it hard to concentrate on what she'd been about to say when he did that.

  “Loving you after four days,” she finally managed to eek out.

  “Mmm.” He pulled her into his lap, and she wrapped her legs around him. He stared down at her chest, and her shirt dissolved into thin air. That was definitely weird.

  Her jeans were next and then his clothes. “It comes in handy,” he said and kissed her. Even though her head was spinning, her body wanted him. She rubbed her naked breasts against him and suddenly remembered his wound.

  She pulled back and looked at his chest. It looked as it had every other time she'd seen him. Strong muscles covered with a dusting of black hair.

  “As good as new, mon amour.”

  His w
ords made her melt, and she leaned forward, kissing his chest. Figuring they'd work out the details later, she was happy to just wrap her arms around him. Rub herself against him, soak in his nearness.

  When he lifted her onto his cock, she was wet and waiting. She slid easily down his hard length and moaned as he filled her. They sat for several long minutes, staring at each other, not moving, not saying a word. She kissed him softly, letting her kiss tell him what was in her heart.

  Slowly, she began to grind against him. He cupped her ass in his hands, lifting her up and down on his shaft. His strength amazed her, and she had the crazy thought that she was the luckiest woman on earth.

  “I agree,” he told her with a cheeky grin.

  Eyes wide, she froze in his arms.

  “We can read minds, chérie. Yours is fascinating.”

  Her mouth dropped open but she didn't know what to say. He leaned in and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, nibbling on it. The move turned her on like a light switch, and she braced her arms back against the bed and thrust against him as hard as she could. Faster and faster she moved, driving herself toward release. His cock rubbed against the front of her pussy, driving her wild. He was so close, so very close to hitting that special little spot.

  Make me come, she silently begged, biting her bottom lip.

  “Your wish is my command,” he murmured and then reached between her legs. The side of his finger raked over her clit. She was so on edge that the gentle pressure set off her climax, and her inner muscles squeezed him tight.

  He threw his arms around her and groaned against her throat as he emptied himself inside her. Every nerve ending throbbed with pleasure, and she wondered if she could stay like this forever.

  But eventually the ecstasy ebbed, and she snuggled close to his chest.

  “About that litter of pups,” he whispered against her temple.

  “Pups?” Her eyes went wide and he laughed.

  “I'm thinking I should adopt a mate for your wolf... so he can feel as wonderful as I do.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. When the giggles subsided, she cupped his strong jaw in her hand and stared deep into his dark eyes.

  “I love you, Jules Deveraux. It may be crazy to love you after four days, but I do.”

  “That's what I like to hear, mon amour.”

  She kissed him softly, savoring every moment.

  “You know,” he murmured, sometime later in that sexy accent of his. “Once you're marked, you can never leave your mate.”

  A part of her knew she should be mad that he'd bound them without her permission, much less her knowledge. But her heart warred with her mind and won.

  “There's nowhere I need to be. And I figure if I can make it through a hurricane, living in the bayou with you can't be that bad.” He held her to him, his hands caressing her back.

  “You’re part of our pack now. You can meet my other brother and his new wife. And my cousins.”

  For a brief instant she wondered how she’d explain him to her friends and what was left of her family.

  “We can take it slow. And we can buy a house wherever you want.”

  “You don’t have to tell them anything…too specific. I’ll tell them you rescued me from a gator of a storm.”

  He grinned. “It’s the truth.”

  “I’m fine with staying here. This is your home. I’m kind of a nomad.” And it was important to her for him to be close to his brothers. She was an only child. Close family would be nice.

  “You don’t mind putting down roots with an ol’ Cajun?”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” she whispered and then kissed her way along his jaw. His stubble grazed her skin. “Just one thing,” she said. “Do you think you could get André to tone down the spices in his gumbo?”

  He laughed. “I can try.”

  And then he kissed her.

  The End

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  Author Bio

  An action movie buff with a penchant for all things supernatural and sexy, Selena Blake combines her love for adventure, travel and romance into steamy paranormal romance. Selena’s books have been called “a steamy escape” and have appeared on bestseller lists, been nominated for awards, and won contests. When she’s not writing you can find her by the pool soaking up some sun, day dreaming about new characters, and watching the cabana boy (aka her muse), Derek. Fan mail keeps her going when the diet soda wears off so write to her at selenablake@gmail.com.

  Visit her online at http://www.selena-blake.com or if you’re on Facebook, become a fan at http://www.facebook.com/authorSelenaBlake

  Other Books by Selena Blake

  Series: Stormy Weather

  The Cajun’s Captive

  Bitten in the Bayou

  Seduced by a Cajun Werewolf (formerly Bound & Determined)

  Mated to a Cajun Werewolf

  Surprising Darcy

  Series: Deep Space Encounters

  Reclaiming Isis

  Rescuing Natacha

  Azula’s Rebellion