by T. S. Ryder
"Sanjay!"
Gunfire erupted, making Audrey scream. She pressed her hands over her ears. Sanjay jumped back. His body was as big as the van, fur a tawny-gold with bold black stripes. His tail twitched and he yowled, his massive paws batting at the van, shaking it from side to side.
The back doors opened. Audrey opened her mouth to scream again when a pair of arms wrapped around her. A couple of the men started to turn. One of them pointed a gun in her direction. And then Sanjay was back on them, tearing the side of the vehicle open.
Dimitri pulled Audrey from the van. He tucked her into a ball in his arms and ran. Gunfire, Sanjay's howls, and screams followed after them. Audrey clung to her vampire king's arms, protests of leaving the Liger behind getting caught in her throat. The vampire bolted through the forest, jumping over logs and ducking under branches to put distance between them and the kidnappers.
Eventually, they emerged from the trees again. A white Lexus sat on the road, doors open and the engine still running. Dimitri slid her into the passenger seat before leaping over the vehicle and getting into the driver's side. Audrey could still hear gunfire among the trees.
"Stop," she gasped as Dimitri threw the car into gear. "Dimitri! Stop!"
The vampire ignored her, eyes sharp as he scanned the road ahead of them. They were off within seconds. Dimitri's foot pressed the gas petal flat to the floor. The forest whipped by around them, making Audrey feel sick to her stomach. She clutched at her seatbelt and the armrest. But she knew better than to try to open the door.
"Dimitri," she said again, her voice cowed. "Dimitri, you have to stop. Sanjay… we can't just leave him behind. They'll kill him."
"The shifter is far stronger than you realize, Audrey." Dimitri glanced at her. Worry was etched into his face, but he managed a small smile. "He'll be fine. Besides that, there are other vampires on their way to help him. As soon as we saw them taking you, we knew what we were going to do. We needed you safe above everything else."
A lump rose in Audrey's throat. "But Sanjay… if he's killed, I don't know how… I love him."
Dimitri slowed just a tad and reached over to grasp her hand. "I know. And he knows. It's going to be okay, Audrey. He's going to be fine."
Audrey closed her eyes and prayed he was right.
***
Even back at the palace, Dimitri wouldn’t leave Audrey's side. He was constantly on the phone, getting updates from the vampires he sent to help Sanjay or calling the human police to get them involved. If Audrey wasn't so distressed about the possibility that Sanjay might never come back, she would have admired the way he set things in order.
Hours stretched by, and each minute felt like an eternity. Finally, the vampires called and told Dimitri that they had smoked out the rest of the humans involved in Audrey's kidnapping. They returned quickly after that, driving ambulances painted all black.
Sanjay, in his human form, was wheeled into the palace on a gurney. Audrey wasn't allowed to see him, but doctors came to update her on his condition. Major blood loss. Riddled with bullets. Immediate surgery required.
Audrey's mind was in a haze as Dimitri explained what had happened, how Sanjay had found out where the kidnappers were taking her, and that he had gone after the rest of them on his own. The vampires were barely able to get there in time. He took more bullets than anybody Dimitri had ever met, but he was alive.
"He's one strong shifter," the king said with admiration. "No wonder the other shifters are in so much awe of him, even though he doesn't have his own pack. I thought the stories were exaggerated, but they're not."
"He does have a pack," Audrey whispered. Her eyes were dry, though guilt consumed her. "He has me and you. But all this is my fault. If I hadn't run away—"
Dimitri wrapped his arms around her. "No. Don't think that way, Audrey. We were forgetting that you were human, and we put too much pressure on you. It's our fault that you ran away."
"I don't know about that. I always do this. Do you know how many relationships I've had that have lasted more than three months? None. Because I always get stressed and scared and confused. And my job has always been my excuse. It's like I'm addicted to it."
"We aren't asking you to give up your career."
"I know that now. But I think it would be healthy for me to scale back, anyway. And to have others to live for besides myself." She had to repress a sob that crawled up her throat. "What if Sanjay doesn't make it?"
"Of course he will. And we'll make this work. Once Sanjay is healed, the three of us will talk."
Once Sanjay was healed. Audrey buried her face in Dimitri's shoulder, breathing in his scent.
I'd give up everything for them, she thought. Was that why I was so frightened before?
It had to be. But that didn't matter, because from this point forward, she wasn't running away. She would give her all to Dimitri and Sanjay. Her life, her love, her forever. And she knew they would give her the same back.
Chapter Ten
Audrey hurried back to Sanjay's room, gulping down the bottle of water he had insisted that she go get for herself. He had made it through surgery without any particular difficulties, although he was on bedrest for a few days just to make sure he was going to be okay. He was already bored with it, so it didn't look like there was any worries there. Audrey didn't want to be away from him for more than a few minutes at a time, though.
As she got closer to his room, she heard his deep voice rumbling down the hallway. He said her name, and she strained to hear what he was saying. Dimitri's voice answered, too quiet for her to catch.
"I completely agree," Sanjay said. "It would be utterly unfair to expect her to give up all of her career dreams for us. And I understand that you have your duties here, but I can still travel with her if need be. I don't have a lot out in the bush I'll be giving up on."
A murmured reply had Audrey speeding up, wanting to hear what they had to say. Both men were watching the door when she entered. They must have either smelled or heard her coming. She smiled at them both as she moved to sit by Sanjay's side. He was fully dressed, sitting on top of the blankets.
"How are you holding up?" she asked, taking his hand in hers.
"Ready to get out of here," he said with a frown. "I just want to get back into the forest for a couple of hours."
Dimitri cleared his throat. "That is something that you would have to give up, Sanjay. I can't go live in the forest, and I'm not sure it would work if we weren't all living together at least most of the time."
"I can't live in the forest, either," Audrey put in. "At least not full-time."
Sanjay's brow furrowed. He nodded slowly, glancing around. "I'm not sure how well I'll do in stone walls. But we can plan for trips out to the woods. And you have extensive orchards, don't you Dimitri?"
"Yes."
Audrey sat straighter and clapped her hands. "I see what you're saying. We can build a treehouse. We can have it out in the middle of the orchard. I know it's not the same as being in the forest, but we'll still have cell service and we won't be stuck in stone walls."
Dimitri looked doubtful, but Sanjay nodded. "My thoughts exactly."
Audrey beamed at him and squeezed his hand, then turned to Dimitri. "Would it work for you?"
"Well…" the vampire king hesitated. "I think it would be okay. It would have to be more than just four walls and a roof, though. There are security issues that we have to take into consideration. And it gets cold in the winter months, I wouldn't want you to get chilled, my dear."
He kissed her hand, making her giggle, but Sanjay rolled his eyes and pulled her into his lap. "I know how to keep this honeysuckle warm, even if you don't. And as for your security issues, you just told me that you and the human police both agree that the group that was killing the human women have been eliminated, and your security has already been increased."
"I do believe the killings will stop," Dimitri agreed reluctantly. "But there are other issues that we have to consider."<
br />
"Issues like you're too fond of your carpets and feather beds and golden halls to trade them for a humble wooden house?" Sanjay challenged, a grin on his face.
Audrey smacked his shoulder. "That's enough. We all know that we'll have to make changes in our lives. And as long as we're not feeling overwhelmed and going to run out because we've stressed ourselves out to the point where we can't think, it should be fine, shouldn’t it? We'll figure it out."
Dimitri and Sanjay eyed each other for a long time, as though waiting for the other to agree first. Audrey frowned.
"We agreed to compromise," she reminded them. "I know that you've both decided to give up on your things for me, but if it's going to work for all three of us, then all three of us have to sacrifice for each other. Maybe we can have three houses. The palace, a nice house in the orchard, and a little lean-to out in the woods."
Dimitri's face fell into a mask of horror. "A lean-to?"
"I'm fine with the house in the orchard." Sanjay chuckled and nuzzled into the back of Audrey's neck, making her moan. "I can take you out into the woods anytime I want."
"Not any time," Dimitri said, sounding dazed. "She has work."
"I'm going to scale back. A lot. Focus more on humanitarian stories, rather than the sensationalist stuff that I've been writing. I think I'm going to quit my current job… Tiana's great, but she doesn't want to hear about how shifters are oversexualized or that vampires aren't all posh snobs. I want to write the real stuff. Help people. And of course, have lots of time to be with you two."
Sanjay growled as he nibbled her neck, making her moan again.
"A house in the orchard will work," Dimitri said, as though just working through his shock at her suggestion of a lean-to. "And as for your job, I'm sure that we can make whatever you want work."
"I've got a few shifter families lined up for you to live with for your article when you're ready," Sanjay whispered, nipping at her earlobe.
"And I'm ready for that interview you want whenever you want," Dimitri added. "That should make your boss very happy… I hope it makes you happy, too."
Audrey pulled them in closer, grinning. "It does make me happy. There is a lot of misinformation about vampires I want to clear up."
"Good. Now let me get in there."
He pushed Sanjay's head to the other side of her neck and dove in where the shifter had been kissing. Heat swirled throughout her body and Audrey gasped, wrapping an arm around each of her men. Part of her brain said she needed to stop this, that if Sanjay was still supposed to be on bedrest he should be resting, not doing anything else, but as their hands began caressing her body, she didn't care.
"Can we maybe close the door?"
Dimitri detangled himself from her and went to the door, shutting it. He came back and sat back down. His hands cupped her face as he kissed her gently. "There should be protection in the nightstand."
"Um…" Audrey bit her lip.
"Um?" Sanjay repeated.
"Well, maybe we don't have to use anything. The three of us are together now. And it's forever, right?" Audrey curled each of her hands around one of their biceps. "We can start our family right away. If you think about it, I might already be pregnant."
Sanjay's brow furrowed. "What about your work?"
Audrey smiled hesitantly. "I've used work to fill in the hole where I always wanted family to be. When you were hurt, I realized… I'd give up everything for you two. A Pulitzer doesn't seem nearly so important now that I have you two to love me. My worth isn't based on what the world will praise me for accomplishing. And like I said, I'm going to scale back. I want to be a person again, not just a reporter."
Admiration shone out of Dimitri's eyes. He grinned at her. "Will it scare you if I said I love you?"
A deep sense of calm settled over her, followed quickly by a burst of warmth in her chest. She smiled. "No. I'm over that now. I love you, too. Both of you."
"I love you," Dimitri said, a grin bursting over his face. He kissed her again, deeply. "I love you."
"Love you, too, bro," Sanjay joked. "But I love Audrey more."
Dimitri pushed at him. "Shut up."
The shifter laughed and returned to kissing Audrey's neck. As Dimitri caught her mouth again and began undressing her, the human couldn't help but grin. So what if she had come here without any intention of finding herself a mate? She had two now, and her future had never looked brighter.
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 2: The Werewolf Boss's Baby
Description
A curvy gal climbing the corporate ladder PLUS her disturbingly sexy shifting boss PLUS an enemy lurking in the shadows…
Clara Maddison has fought her way towards the top of the corporate ladder every day since she was hired to work for Snyder Inc. She has no desire to let anything get in the way of her path. She is strong, independent and determined to one day become the CEO of the company.
That is, of course, until she meets Mr. Snyder himself...
Nathaniel (Nate) Snyder is everything that Clara has ever pictured her dream man to be. Dominant, witty and mysterious, there is something about Nate that drives her wild...
But she finds out that there’s more to Nate than meets the eye after accepting an invitation to join him for drinks after work. Clara is thrown into a world of shapeshifters and power struggles even more intense than those in the corporate world.
On top of it all, Clara can’t shake the feeling that someone or something is following her, watching her from the shadows and waiting to strike...
Will Clara be able to accept what Nate really is? Can she shake off her stalker? Will Nate protect her? Find out now in this steamy billionaire romance...
Chapter One
This job was going to be the death of her.
Clara Maddison’s cerulean eyes narrowed in on the stack of papers on her desk that seemed to be growing instead of shrinking as the day went on. All she was supposed to do was go over the accounts from the past quarter and put them into the system, and yet, as the day wore on, her coworkers continued to show up with files they had found buried in their desk.
It looked like it was going to be another late night for her.
Clara had been working for Snyder Inc. for over two years as a project manager. Her job was to develop and manage the construction of new restaurants, clubhouses and stores under Snyder’s growing veil of influence. It was not to work on files that should have been processed the previous quarter.
Unfortunately for her, the woman who was supposed to have done the work she was completing now had been fired two weeks before, and she was left cleaning up the mess that was left behind. Her direct supervisor had insisted that it be her that completed the project because she was the most likely to get it right.
She should be flattered, she told herself, but she wasn’t. She was just irritated that her plans for the night had to be canceled so that she could work well into the night.
Groaning softly as she sat back in her chair, Clara reached back and pulled her shoulder-length, chestnut brown hair free from the tail it had been constructed in since earlier that morning. She was a powerful woman in the company, working her way up the ladder quickly, and soon she was hoping she could work her way onto the board of directors. She always believed that her strong, curvy body looked better in pantsuits than it did in street clothes, and if she had her way she would be running the corporation before she turned twenty-eight at the end of the year.
That did, unfortunately, mean she had to do a lot of extra work around the company.
The last of her fellow employees had left over an hour ago, the groups chattering about their after-work plans. She had been invited to join several of them, but of course, she needed to stay behind and finish her project or risk the wrath of her supervisor, Mr. Snyder’s personal assistant Jeremy.
She wasn’t sure why, but she was pretty sure that Jeremy hated her. The man seemed to make it his personal goal to keep her at
work late or ruin her weekend plans. On top of it, she had caught him staring at her out of the corner of her eye on multiple occasions. It was never in a friendly or even flirtatious way, either. It always seemed to be threatening and angry.
It took all she had to convince herself that she was just crazy.
Jeremy was the least of her worries at that point. If she wanted to get out of work before midnight she had quite a bit to get done. Her plan was just to keep working until the files were all digitalized, but unfortunately, she hadn’t eaten all day and her stomach was starting to sound like a war zone.
Grimacing as her stomach rumbled, Clara let out a grumble and pushed back her chair. She could at least go around the corner and find herself something to eat. Snagging her purse where it was hidden away under her desk, she quickly exited the workspace and headed for the elevator.
It was getting dark by the time that she exited the building, the sun dropping down behind the buildings. Waving at the security guard and explaining that she would be right back, she rushed to the nearest fast food restaurant she could find before making her way back.
The moon had risen completely behind her, and a cool breeze moved through the street, making Clara wish she had thought to bring her coat. Grimacing, Clara made her way up to the front doors, only to hesitate when she thought she could make out a shape trotting through the halls inside.
Moving closer, she felt her eyes go wide when she saw the shape disappearing down another hall. It looked like a dog of some sort, probably a stray, but how had it gotten past the fences and into the building?
“What in the world?” she whispered, slowly pressing open the doors. Holding her bags close to her chest, she moved into the deserted building once more. “Hello?” she called, making her way down the hall where she had seen the dog disappear.