Tall, Dark and Paranormal: 10 Thrilling Tales of Sexy Alpha Bad Boys

by Opal Carew

The pain in his friend’s voice made Gabriel flinch. He’d known Quinn had been unhappy at Penn State, but he hadn’t realized how miserable he’d really been. “Hey, man, we’re all freaks in some way. You grow fur. I can stop a bullet in midair.”

  Quinn frowned, drawing lines between his eyes. “You know I went out with a couple of girls in college, right? I never wanted one of them. Not Tammi, either. How freaky is that? I can’t live like this anymore. The past six years have been hell, knowing I can’t have the one person destined for me. How bad’s it going to be if I let it go on another ten or fifteen years?”

  Quinn turned away to open the door, but Gabriel caught his arm before he could get out. “Serena loves you. Maybe you just need to show her how much.”

  Blue eyes considerably dimmed, Quinn shook his head. “I wish I had your switch, Gabe. I brought a couple doses of Bullet. They’re in my bag. Just wanted you to know, so if I start acting weird, you’ll know why. I’ll see you up there.”

  Quinn opened the door and stood then shed his clothes and dropped them on the front seat.

  “Hey,” Gabriel called to him before he took off. “Don’t be too long.”

  “Yes, Mother.” Quinn flipped him off, shook his hair back from his face and let the change roll.

  The movies had gotten it more or less right about werewolves, the thought passed fleetingly through Gabriel’s mind. It was painful but worth the grace of the animal.

  Quinn rarely talked about the pain, but the howl that erupted from his throat as his spine contorted, his muscles lengthened and his bones reformed said it all.

  A soft gasp from the backseat made him look in the rearview mirror. He saw Leo staring out the window with wide eyes. Shea remained asleep, one arm still around Leo’s shoulders.

  “Is Quinn okay?” Leo’s voice quivered in the grayish-pink light of dawn.

  “Yeah, he’s fine. He’s almost done.”

  Quinn was on all fours now, his back humped as his hands and feet curled into paws and his skin erupted with fur.

  With a final shake, Quinn’s tail unfurled behind him and he turned to look at them with his human eyes. With a howl, he shot off into the forest without looking back. Gabriel figured Quinn would need at least an hour before he showed up at Serena’s door.

  “Does it hurt?” Leo asked in a quiet voice.

  Gabriel put the car in gear and started up the hill again. “Yeah, but Quinn says it’s a fair trade, the pain for the pelt.”

  “What’s the pelt?”

  “His fur.” He hit the edge of a nasty pothole and the car bucked. “Shit. Hold on, kid. This lane’s a bitch.

  “Gabriel, watch your language.”

  Shea had woken and, of course, the first thing she heard was his foul mouth. Just add it to the list.

  He didn’t bother to answer because it took all of his concentration to stay on what little there was of a road. Neither Shea nor Leo complained about the ride, although he heard them hit the sides of the car more than a few times.

  When they reached the end of the line, and he turned off the engine, Leo was the first to see the house. Gabriel could tell by his hushed, “Wow.”

  If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you could walk right by and not know you’d passed it. Built entirely of wood, with no windows in the walls but plenty of skylights, the one-story house rambled for close to a city block. Bark lined the outer walls, blending the building into the trees. Though the house was fully electrified and plumbed, you’d never know it from the outside.

  Even the stone chimney was camouflaged, due in large part to a heavy network of spells.

  “We’ll park in the underground garage then meet Serena.”

  None of them said a word as he drove around to the side of the building. After he’d muttered a spell and clicked a remote he pulled from his pants pocket, the wall split open to reveal a descending ramp.

  The sun had finally dawned and the light held a hazy blue hue. Then the garage door closed and the overhead lights flickered on, shutting off the outside world completely.

  The power, the magic, in the structure of the building shimmered like a low-frequency hum in the air. If you stayed long enough, you got used to it. He hoped like hell it didn’t trigger another one of Shea’s migraines.

  Gabriel had the bags out of the car before Shea and Leo climbed from the backseat. The kid hung close to her side, eyes wide. Her mouth set in a straight line, Shea took Leo’s hand and tugged him even closer.

  Gabriel fought the urge to pull them both into his arms and ease the fear on their faces. In the short time he’d had them, they’d gotten under his skin. And that, he knew from first-hand experience, could be deadly.

  If he wanted to keep them safe, he shouldn’t let them get close.

  But isolation sucked and he was sick of living in a vacuum.

  “Come on, let’s get inside.” He waved them up the stairs to a door at the top. “Serena’s waiting.”

  * * *

  Watching Gabriel open the door, Shea had the irrational urge to run. To take Leo and go somewhere no one would find them.

  Which is what you tried to do for a year and look how that had turned out.

  An insidious fear had started to creep up on Shea since they’d left the safe house, a panicky weight that settled on her chest and constricted her breathing.

  Would Serena, a five-hundred-year-old strega, want to offer Shea up on a plate to Dario if Shea revealed what her grandfather had written in his journal?

  Or would Serena have another theory on breaking the curse, one that didn’t end with a knife in Shea’s chest?

  Hope and fear made her chest tight. Damn it, she was no coward. She wanted answers. If she wanted to get Dario off Leo’s back, she needed to be strong.

  Leo’s thin arm snaked around her back, hugged her closer. She looked down, expecting to see fear in his eyes.

  “It’ll be okay,” he whispered.

  So young to be so solemn. She blinked back tears and forced steel into her spine. “I know, bud. Come on, let’s get this done. You and me, just like it’s been for the past year.”

  “And Gabriel and Quinn.”

  Her smile faltered for just a second. “Yeah. Them, too.”

  With one last hug, she took Leo’s hand and forced air into her lungs before she walked through the door into a homey, cottage-style kitchen.

  Just in time to see a beautiful, dark-haired woman run one, slim-fingered hand down Gabriel’s cheek while the blasted man smiled at her. Something sharp and mean cut across her chest, some emotion that made Shea want to run her nails across the woman’s perfect cheekbones.

  The voices immediately rose up in opposition. They wanted her to get closer, to embrace the woman. They missed her. Shea felt their longing as an almost physical ache.

  Shit.

  Her entire body stiffened, muscles quivering, ready to run. Away or straight into Gabriel’s arms? Hell, she couldn’t do either.

  Finally, the woman, who couldn’t have been more than thirty, turned to her with a sad smile that looked remarkably like Gabriel’s.

  “Shea. Leo.” She stepped toward them, her arms lifting just a bit before falling back to her side as Gabriel moved around her to stand next to Shea. “I’m so pleased to meet you. And so very sorry about your parents. Your mother was my best friend. I miss her everyday.”

  God, the woman’s voice. Her accent was just the same as her mom’s. The one that came from English being her third language.

  “Yeah, well, she never talked about you other than to say you were one of the priestesses.”

  Damn. She wanted to take the words back the second they left her mouth. She was being petty but her default setting lately was smart ass.

  Banding her arms around Leo’s shoulders, she pulled him back against her, drawing strength from his warm body. She flicked a glance at Gabriel, now leaning against the wall at her side, arms folded across his chest. Watching her.

  He’d been ready to k
iss this woman.

  And that matters why?

  Serena’s expression didn’t change. “No, dear, and I understand why. She and your father disappeared soon after you were conceived, as far as I can calculate. If I’d known what was going to happen…”

  Despair hit Shea low in the stomach, as if she’d been sucker-punched. A reaction to the same emotion in Serena’s voice.

  “Not your fault.” And it wasn’t, not any of it. “I’m sorry, it’s been…”

  Shit, how did she finish that? Shea stared straight into the other woman’s odd, shattered eyes—that exactly mirrored her own. The exact same eyes as her mother.

  Serena just shook her head. “Shea, please. You have no need for apologies.”

  Serena turned to Leo then, and her smile returned. “Welcome, Leo. I must say you look very much like your father. He was such a handsome man.”

  “Was” being the operative word, Shea thought with a painful lurch of her heart.

  Serena’s smile faded as she met Shea’s gaze again. “I know we have a lot to talk about, but maybe you’d like to have something to eat or take a shower? Maybe Leo would like a nap?”

  Leo shook his head, but didn’t speak.

  Serena nodded. “That’s fine, too. I understand Gabriel has started your training and that you’re doing very well.” Serena looked to the door then looked at Gabriel. “Is…Quinn still in the garage?”

  “He needed to stretch his legs,” Gabriel said.

  Serena nodded slowly and sighed, a hint of a shake in it. “Good. That’s good. Then why don’t you show Shea and Leo their rooms and, when you return, we’ll figure out what happens next. I’ll be in the kitchen. I’m sure you’re all hungry…and Quinn will need to eat.”

  Serena moved toward Gabriel with a loose-limbed and utterly confident gait. Her old-fashioned peasant dress swirled around her bare legs and she wore no shoes. She appeared utterly comfortable in her skin.

  Guess that’s to be expected after five-hundred years.

  Raising both hands to his cheeks in a gentle caress, Serena then slid her fingers into the softness of his hair, letting the strands slip across her skin.

  Shea’s fingers curled into her palms at the intimacy of the action. Serena smiled, and Shea knew why. Gabriel’s hair felt like silk. She knew the pleasure to be had from running her fingers through it. She would never admit it to Gabriel, but she loved his hair.

  And another woman had her hands in it.

  Her fingers itched to scratch Serena’s eyes out, which really would’ve been a stupid-ass move. But, Goddess, she wanted to. And when Serena stood on tiptoes to press a kiss to each cheek, Shea felt her nails break through the skin on her palms and forced herself to unclench her fists.

  Shit, this was so not good.

  When the other woman walked out of the room, Gabriel turned back to Shea.

  His hair a little mussed from the other woman’s fingers, he looked sexy and kissable. And she wanted to smack the man.

  What was his relationship with Serena? And why the hell had he kissed her back at the safe house if he had a relationship with Serena? Bastard.

  His eyes caught hers, and she tried to unclench her jaw, to force the tension from her body. To hide her jealous reaction. Which just pissed her off more.

  Of course, she didn’t fool him, not if the hint of a smirk on his lips was any indication.

  “Come on,” he said. “I’ll show you your room. I figure you’ll want to stay with Leo.”

  He led them through the house but Shea had too much on her mind to notice her surroundings. Leo had a death grip on her hand, and she wasn’t about to let him go.

  Halfway down a hall full of doors, Gabriel opened one, stepped in and took a quick look then waved them through.

  Shea registered four walls, two beds, a large armoire and an attached bath. No pictures, no TV, no personality.

  Leo headed straight for the attached bathroom, closing the door behind him, leaving Shea standing in the middle of the room.

  Gabriel walked up behind her and put his arms around her shoulders, pulling her back against his hard chest.

  She stiffened even as she soaked in the warmth of his large body. Damn, she really shouldn’t like the sense of being enclosed by him as much as she did. Everything was so complicated right now and adding her feelings for Gabriel to the mix just made everything seem like a powder keg doused in gasoline.

  Still…was it so wrong to want to be safe?

  “Take a deep breath.”

  His words slid past her ear on a warm breath, stoking the fire in her blood. She’d been so cold only a moment ago and now her skin burned where he held her against him. But it wasn’t only her skin that burned. It was a place deep inside that burned as well.

  “And drop the attitude,” he murmured in her ear.

  His hands shifted around her shoulders as she turned to meet his gaze. “Is she your lover?”

  The full-blown smile she’d longed for days to see on his face made her stomach flip.

  “She’s my mother.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gabriel’s grin spread as Shea’s jaw unhinged.

  “Your mother?”

  “Yeah.”

  “But…but she’s…” She broke off and looked down, her mouth beginning to tremble at the corners. “Oh, hell. I’m completely lost here, Gabriel. I don’t know what to think anymore. There’s just too much…too much I don’t understand, too… How old are you?”

  He took the non sequitor in stride, his hands firm on her shoulders in case she fainted. She had that look. “Twenty-eight.”

  “If you’re her son, then you have two sisters who were cursed at the same time as your mom, according to the history.”

  He nodded. “Maddie and Furia. You’ll like them. They’re a lot like you. Stubborn, strong. Mouthy. I love them both, but Furia’s got issues.”

  Something else I’ll make Dario pay for.

  Shea nodded and, for a second, he thought she might lean into him. He wanted her to lean on him, wanted her to need him and damn the consequences.

  The door to the bathroom opened and Leo walked out. Shea pulled away, making his hands drop, and turned to smile at the kid. “Think you can eat something, bud?”

  Leo looked from Shea to him, his gaze considering. Gabriel stood a little taller and looked the boy right in the eyes.

  “Are you gonna take Shea away?”

  Smart kid. No one had said anything, but somehow Leo had picked up on the plans. “Yeah. Shea and I have someone we need to see.”

  “Will Quinn stay?”

  “I don’t know.” He hoped so, for Quinn’s sake and for Serena’s and Leo’s. “He will, if he can. And there’s someone coming to take over your training, someone I think you’re going to like.”

  Leo’s mouth quivered. “But…I like you.”

  His heart twisted in his chest. This shouldn’t hurt so damn much but he was already in deep with these two. “I like you, too. But your sister and I have something to do.”

  Leo blinked, as if trying to hold back tears. “I’m not supposed to leave Sissy, not ever. And I could help.”

  Gabriel kneeled down to look into Leo’s eyes. “I’m sure you could help. But you need to train, too. And we won’t be gone long.”

  Leo just stared and Gabriel could tell the kid was about to lose it.

  The tightness in his throat told Gabriel he was, too. He stood, not all that steady himself. He didn’t want to leave the kid behind. But it was the right thing to do. “Don’t worry about it now, bud. Come on. Let’s find something to eat.”

  * * *

  Another pot slipped from her hand, making a jarring clatter as Serena tried to put a meal together. That was the second pot she’d dropped. If she wasn’t careful, she’d break something. She’d nearly cut her finger off slicing the ham—

  “Serena.”

  Gasping, she dropped that pot one more time.

  Sweet Mother Goddess, she had
n’t heard Quinn enter the kitchen. That was dangerous. The boy slipped through her defenses in more ways than one.

  And that voice. Goddess bless her, his voice tugged at her very soul.

  She caught herself just before she turned and threw herself at him, which would have been completely embarrassing for a woman of her age. She drew in a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart before she faced him.

  Oh…Goddess. This was why she stayed locked in her house on a hill.

  He stood in the doorway, sweaty, intense and, Goddess help her, completely naked.

  And no longer a boy.

  If she was honest with herself, Quinn hadn’t been a boy for six years. Still, he was young. And so damn mortal.

  “Are you hungry?” She refused to back down from his stare. “I’ve got pancakes, eggs, bacon, ham, home fries.” Because she knew he loved all of them.

  Jaw set, he nodded. “You know I am. I need a shower first, but after I eat, I’m leaving. Gabriel called Matt, so they won’t need me. I’m not staying.”

  Her heart contracted in her chest until she was sure she was having a heart attack. “Where are you going?”

  He looked at her with weary blue eyes, his beautiful face set in stern lines that looked so out of place there. Those lines were her fault.

  “I’m tired of this game, Serena. Tired of waiting. You won.” He moved toward her and she struggled to keep her gaze from slipping lower than his chin as he got right in her face. “But here’s something to think about, babe. Until you decide to take another lover who isn’t me.”

  She should have seen it coming. Should have known he was going to kiss her. Maybe she had. Maybe she didn’t care. She closed her eyes and shut off her brain.

  Quinn wrapped wiry-strong arms around her shoulders, brought her body flush against his and took her mouth in one perfect motion. His lips, hot and firm, devoured and devastated. The heat of his naked body blasted through the thin cotton of her dress, and the musky scent of his sweat made her sex clench in response.

  Quinn groaned deep in his throat, and his body surged against hers. His erection hardened against her stomach and his kiss became more powerful, more desperate.