Sweet Dreams

by Dana Marie Bell

  “No!”

  She was laughing outright now as he began to tickle her. “Tell me.”

  “Uncle! Uncle!”

  He sat up, grinning down at her.

  “Your phone’s ringing,” she sputtered.

  He leaned down and kissed her as the phone in his pocket began to ring.

  About the Author

  Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with honors despite herself.

  Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul-mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, two evil ice-cream stealing cats, and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.

  You can learn more about Dana at: www.danamariebell.com

  Look for these titles by Dana Marie Bell

  Now Available:

  Halle Pumas:

  The Wallflower

  Coming Soon:

  Halle Pumas:

  Cat of a Different Color

  What would you risk to make your darkest dream a reality?

  Immortal Illusions

  © 2008 Ursula Bauer

  The Eternity Covenant book 2.

  Outcast sorcerer Jack Madden has waited fifty years to take revenge against the Council of Wardens for wrongly convicting him of a crime, binding his powers beyond repair. When the Council turns to him to help retrieve four missing arcane artifacts, Jack decides it’s his best shot at vengeance. And Raine Spencer—fearful of her power and clueless about how to use it—is his perfect mystical surrogate and mark.

  Raine loyally serves the Council of Wardens as a top Occult Operations Analyst, but she longs to take the sacred oath and become a knight. With the taint of Elven blood in her veins, she has a snowball’s chance in hell of making that dream a reality—until she is chosen by “Mad Jack” to act as a mystical surrogate.

  Raine is ready to face down her fear of her wild Elven side, and team up with the most unprincipled scoundrel to ever haunt the halls of the Council of Wardens.

  But is she ready to pay the price with her heart?

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Immortal Illusions:

  As if she heard him speaking his indecent thoughts, she stirred, and turned to gaze at him. “Jack’s not the only one with a price.”

  Kerr drew in a deep breath. Hugh looked suddenly alarmed. Jack grew more curious. What secret agenda did his little surrogate with the mysterious grey eyes hide that had everyone so on edge? He hoped it was suitably scandalous.

  “That’s right, gentleman,” he said smoothly. “The lady has a price and it will be met. We are, after all, partners.”

  Ramon appeared truly interested in this new turn of events. “You didn’t tell me this when I first approached you, Raine.”

  She licked her pretty lips, a motion that made Jack’s blood run thick.

  “I needed time to consider what it was I most wanted.” Raine’s voice was clear and strong. As she spoke, power and passion welled inside of her. He wanted to break the physical contact, but he couldn’t resist the lure of her. She called to him in a way he’d not heard in a very long time, and suddenly he wondered if he’d not gotten himself in too deep.

  “I want the chance at knighthood.” She continued with her demands, her voice echoing into the quiet room, sounding distinctly like a glove being slapped across an enemy’s face in challenge. “If I’m to do this for the Covenant, they must make an exception to the rules. They must accept me to squire and give me the chance to prove my worth, earn my spurs and don the chains of fealty.”

  Jack’s soul warmed over. Raine was playing brilliantly. He was hard-pressed not to jump up and clap. Her demand was far more outrageous than his own, one if met that would throw the Council of Wardens deep into the darkest, foulest scandal yet. Imagine that, a half-breed knight. He wanted to laugh out loud, to dance around the table, to kiss her for her audacity. He wanted to kiss her to satisfy his own longings, to know if she tasted as unpredictably wonderful as her spirit hinted.

  Kerr began to shake violently, so much so, Hugh had to steady him. “No one will sponsor this vermin as squire,” Kerr bellowed. “We are the Wardens. We must protect the Eternity Covenant. We must be pure. Clean. Beyond reproach. The half-breed soul is stained with the taint. She’s nothing but a savage.”

  Jack, never known in the first place for his self control, lost what little of it he’d managed to muster for today’s performance. “You’re calling us savage? You were born on the dirt floor of some mud-walled hovel and spent the first part of your mortal life killing villagers to ensure fertility in the fields. Now that is some seriously backwards, savage stuff. If anyone has a stained soul, I think it’s you, Druid.”

  Kerr actually lunged for Jack, but Hugh held him fast by the shoulder. “I’ll see you damned for that,” raged the Elder Warden. “When this is all over, I’ll make you pay.”

  Ramon seemed unmoved by it all. He smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle on his expensive suit, then cleared his throat again, silencing his counterpart. “I’d be happy to sponsor you, Raine. My paladin, Uller, will take you as squire.”

  An uneasy silence fell over the room. Raine removed her hand from Jack’s. She nodded stiffly. “I accept your offer, Ramon Salazar. I assure you that you’ll not regret this.”

  Kerr continued to sputter and rant. Jack sensed a dangerous change in the climate of the room. The demand was crazy enough, but Ramon’s rapid agreement was sheer insanity. A line in the sand had just been drawn, marking a war amongst the ranks of the High Wardens. Naturally, Ramon had been the one to etch it, but to do so easily spoke of other issues at work. Raine appeared untouched by it all, but her uncle held in check a barely suppressed rage, and Jack noted he could not meet his niece’s eyes.

  “So we’re in agreement. Should we get down to the fine points, then?”

  Salazar looked to Jack, then to Kerr, and a strange light came into his cold black eyes. “Jack, Raine, we’ll meet up later at my brownstone this afternoon to work out our particulars. If you’ll give us some privacy, Kerr and I have other matters to discuss.”

  This confirmed Jack’s suspicion. Something was going on, something wild and juicy. Ramon looked up to no good right now. Jack itched to be back in the thick of it, something he’d never imagined possible. “Time’s wasting, Ramon. Let’s ink the deal.”

  “Later, Jack. Plenty of time this afternoon.” There was a finality in the dismissal that didn’t allow for argument.

  Jack shrugged. One door shut for now, but he’d find another. “Fine. So glad we could have this little reunion.”

  Raine appeared equally as startled by the turn of events, but did manage to say a civil goodbye to her uncle and his crazy boss. She followed Jack into the antechamber.

  With the last of his energy, he used the residual magic from the first spell to blow open the doors to the hall, and they walked by a stunned Wiggans and his security team. There was a good deal of ranting from Wiggans, resulting in an armed escort as they waited for, and then boarded the elevator. Raine stayed silent and stoic. Jack made some cracks to the security force, but they didn’t respond to his half-hearted attempts.

  “I’m sorry you had to deal with that prize ass,” he said to Raine when they stepped outside the Warden’s building. The words came out stilted and sounded idiotic, but he felt he had to say something. He was trying to figure all the angles, including hers. “You were right to ask for the moon. You’re risking your life for them. They owe you.”

  “I’m not doing it for them. I’m doing it for me.” She broke free of his hold and stepped clear of him as if he carried the p
lague. “Just like you, Jack. I’m in it for me.”

  Half -man, half-beast, untamable…except by the one woman born for him.

  Tyger, Tyger Burning Bryght

  © 2008 Cathryn Cade

  The Orion series

  As a novice interpreter aboard the space ship Orion, Calla Fellura is in uncharted territory. Especially when it comes to figuring out how to approach the ship’s sexy navigator, who seems to have no shortage of willing women vying for his attention.

  Tryon Jag is an alpha male tyger, one of the few who possess the instincts to guide a ship safely through the deadly Cattarus system. Handsome, wealthy, and of royal blood, Jag controls his universe—and most of the females in it—as easily as he navigates the Orion.

  But when Jag unexpectedly undergoes his mating shift on board ship instead of safely on his home planet, he must have a woman or go mad with rage and lust. With an eco-saboteur somewhere aboard, there couldn’t be a worse time for him to lose his mind.

  For the sake of duty, Calla forces herself into Jag’s lair. And finds herself blossoming into a true Tyger lily, a woman born to enchant a powerful beast.

  The only woman who can save Jag—and the entire crew—from certain annihilation.

  Warning: Submitting to a big cat can lead to a tongue-lashing & steamy sex at his command.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Tyger, Tyger Burning Bryght:

  Tryon Jag moved a little, disposing himself more comfortably in the soft moss, and looked down at the sleeping woman draped over him. She was lovely, a quintessential Tygean with her strong but delicate frame and graceful curves. Her hair curled riotously about her head as it dried in the warm air, and her skin glowed soft golden tan, a rosy flush on her slanting cheekbones. He saw a red mark from one of his claws on her hip, and frowned. He would have to be more careful with her.

  The sight also afforded him a glow of sheer Tyger satisfaction, though. Only a true tyger-mate would allow him to use his claws on her, and even be sexually stimulated by it. He pulled her a little closer, enjoying her soft curves pillowed against his hard muscles. Whoever had sent her to him had made an excellent choice.

  He had noticed her at crew lineup that first day of the voyage. She had looked up at him with clear interest, then blushed shyly when he looked back. He had felt a quick surge of desire, but dismissed her as a possible sexual companion for the voyage—he didn’t like the emotional baggage that came with taking a younger woman. They inevitably thought themselves in love, and cried and made demands even as a male’s interest was waning.

  But when Calla had offered herself here, he was in no position to refuse. He had to have a woman or go insane with the demands of his body, in thrall to the male moons of Bryght. And he was well pleased with her—she was lovely and she had spirit. Even though she was a Tygean, it would have been frightening to offer herself as the sex-mate of a big male like himself in mating shift. She had even fought him a little, daring his anger.

  Her surrender had been sweet as jaguari honey. He purred softly, recalling how she had allowed him every liberty he demanded, and even crawled to him, pouting so prettily, to ride him. She enjoyed being mastered. And that was very, very good, because it enhanced his own ferocious pleasure twofold to have a spirited female surrender to him, and take pleasure in it.

  Now that he had her sexually bonded to him he could relax, knowing that she would be within reach, ready whenever his hunger swelled. This was his tenth shift, as he was in his thirties, although it was the first time he had been caught off-planet. Always before he had been able to den up with a willing female and do nothing but mate and sleep and eat. His chosen females had always left with smiles of satiation on their pretty faces, and reluctance in their footsteps. He was sure Calla would be no different.

  He stretched lazily, enjoying the heightened cat senses of his shift. He could smell every plant in the arboretum, the water in the pool, every food still in the hamper, and every nuance of her body, from the herbal scent of her shampoo, to the heady musk of her pussy mingled with the tyger-nip oil, and his semen that lingered inside her. There was nothing like the scent of his come on a favored female, nothing like the scent of her pussy on his fur.

  He could also smell the items in her small duffel, which lay discarded nearby. His nostrils flared, enjoying the scent of chataulette, the rich creamy golden confection dear to Tygean adults. It had a slight bitter edge to its sweetness, and was a mild stimulant, but it also seemed to soothe females. Strange, but he had noticed that the females of every planet had a similar substance, from the glowing green chlorogyn of Pangaea, to the chocolate of Earth.

  Perhaps she would share some with him later. But now, he sighed. He had a job to do, the one he had signed on for, guiding the Orion to planet Bryght. It was time to communicate with the other crew leaders. The cat in him was still uppermost, and he felt no shame in his current situation. His Tyger needs had come first, now he would do his job.

  Bryght had once been isolated by the risks of navigating through its dangerous asteroid belts and past its several moons, all of which had their own gravitational pulls. Now it was a lucrative market for intergalactic trade. Tyger navigators were highly prized. The owners of the big shipping companies courted them, and put up with their quirks. This was one he had certainly not planned on subjecting them to, but it had happened, so everyone must deal with it.

  He reached up to his ear, and manipulated the tiny com link button there.

  “Captain,” he said quietly. “Commander Jag here.”

  The reply was immediate.

  “Jag, how are you? And how is the girl?”

  “Both fine,” Tryon drawled. “You picked a good mate for me. My thanks.”

  “I didn’t have much choice,” the captain replied, an edge to his normally mild voice.

  “Neither did I.”

  “I suppose not. Commander, we are three and a half days out of the Cattarus system. We’re starting to pick up some stray asteroids. The deflector shields are taking care of them, but we’d all feel more confident if you could resume your duties.”

  Unspoken was the fact that if he did not, they would reach the dense asteroid belt, and certainly die there—unless they turned around, and made the long voyage back to Earth. That would be a very expensive decision, and one the captain would make only if he had to.

  “I am at your service, Captain,” Tryon said politely. “If you’ll open a passageway to the navigation room, I’ll take over.”

  The captain sighed. “You’re going to keep the arboretum to yourself.”

  “I need it—I can’t be cooped up in walls all day; it would drive me mad. I’ll be keeping the woman with me, of course.”

  “Of course. I, ah, need a visual of her. Commander Mra is worried about her.”

  Tryon pulled Calla’s leg a little higher over his cock, and slid his large hand down her ass, to cover her pussy. No one but he would be looking at it from now on.

  “Go ahead,” he said. He smiled slightly, knowing that the captain and probably the other crew leaders were now looking at a holographic image of the two of them, lying relaxed, naked and replete in the sylvan glade.

  Eat your hearts out, he thought, closing his eyes. A quick cat nap and he would go to work.

  Is Emma ready for a bite?

  The Wallflower

  © 2008 Dana Marie Bell

  A Hunting Love story

  Halle Puma Series Book 1

  Emma Carter has been in love with Max Cannon since high school, but he barely knew she existed. Now she runs her own unique curio shop, and she’s finally come out her shell and into her own.

  When Max returns to his small home town to take up his duties as the Halle Pride’s Alpha, he finds that shy little Emma has grown up. That small spark of something he’d always felt around the teenager has blossomed into something more—his mate!

  Taking her “out for a bite” ensures that the luscious Emma will be permanently his.

  But M
ax’s ex has plans of her own. Plans that don’t include Emma being around to interfere. To keep her Alpha, Emma must prove to the Pride that she has what it takes to be Max’s mate.

  Warning: This title contains explicit sex, graphic language, loads of giggles and a hot, blond Alpha male.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for The Wallflower:

  Emma realized Max had stopped moving. Looking up at him, she found him staring down at her with a quizzical look. “Well?”

  Emma blushed. She’d been rubbernecking in Max’s house, trying to take in everything at once. “It’s incredible.”

  He smiled with satisfaction. “If there’s anything you want to change, you’ll have to let me know.” Gently he placed her on the quilt. “This is now as much your house as mine.”

  Emma’s mouth fell open as he toed off his shoes and socks. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  Max began unbuttoning his shirt, diverting her attention from his whole “Mi casa es su casa” attitude. “I was in Simon’s shop when you called about the Madonna, you know.”

  “Oh. Really?” she replied absently. She could barely speak as Max unveiled the finest chest it had ever been her privilege to see. It was lightly sprinkled with light brown hairs, trailing down his stomach to point directly into his pants. Dark brown nipples peeped out from the hair, tempting her into some very sinful thoughts.

  “Yes, I was. And you know what?”

  Emma didn’t know her own name; Max was unbuttoning his jeans. “Um, nope.”

  “You live up to your voice,” Max purred as he slipped his jeans down his legs.

  “Urgh,” Emma choked, “naked.” She could feel her eyes bugging out of her head. Max went commando. A sinful buffet of man-flesh was laid out before her in one single sweep of his hands. She didn’t know whether to sigh or to sob.

  “Yes, I am.” Max laughed huskily. “Now it’s your turn.”