Hearts on Fire
Joslyn Browning’s got it bad for her boss, Cyanna Storm, and Joslyn would love to show up at her sister’s wedding with her boss on her arm. There’s just one problem. Cyanna doesn’t know Joslyn exists.
Cyanna wants Joslyn in her bed, but she’s always been careful about getting involved with her employees. However, Joslyn’s one honey she can no longer resist. So, when fate hands her the perfect opportunity, Cyanna grabs it, but she has no idea that the object of her hunger is also being hunted by two jackals who want to claim or kill Joslyn.
Blind to the danger stalking her, Joslyn wallows in the affections of her boss until a jackal attacks. It is then that Joslyn and her pursuers realize a cynogryhon in the grip of mating heat will stop at nothing to protect prey she’s marked as her mate.
Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Contemporary, Interracial, Paranormal
Length: 32,203 words
HEARTS ON FIRE
Serenity Snow
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
HEARTS ON FIRE
Copyright © 2015 by Serenity Snow
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-726-7
First E-book Publication: September 2015
Cover design by Christine Kirchoff
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
About the Author
HEARTS ON FIRE
SERENITY SNOW
Copyright © 2015
Prologue
Joslyn Browning leaned against the counter in the small home she rented with a glass of wine in one hand. The kitchen curtains were open, and he stared inside, wondering what they were laughing about. Joslyn’s head was thrown back and she laughed with her entire body, but that was Joslyn.
Vibrant and full of life, she was the perfect woman for him. There was no way he was going to lose her.
The chill of the wind harshly kissed his cheek, cut through the warmth of his jacket and shook the trees behind him until some of their dying gold leaves fell away, but he didn’t take his eyes from her as her lush lips pursed. He couldn’t see her blue-green eyes from here, but they were pretty and vivid against the gold of her skin. Her auburn hair looked to be pulled back in a loose ponytail. He wanted to see it tumbling around her face. He wanted her naked before him.
* * * *
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do,” Joslyn murmured. “I don’t want to go to the wedding alone.”
Misty Goldbrooke gave her best friend a mischievous grin. “You could just rent a date for the weekend.”
“I don’t think so.” Joslyn scrunched up her face. “I’m going to be in close quarters with this person for a few days. I want it to look natural, and I want to have fun.” She wanted to take the sexiest woman in the world, but her parents were still struggling with the issue of her being gay since she came out last year. On top of that, she doubted her boss was interested in her.
“Well, you could invite her,” Misty said with a teasing smile. “I mean, if she says no, then, so what? The worst she could do is fire you, and then you could sue her ass for discrimination.”
Joslyn made a face as her stomach churned with the very idea of asking her boss to this event. She’d only been working for the small company for a year, but she’d grown to adore her boss. She hung on her every word, and craved her with every breath she took. However, there was no reason for a beautiful, confident woman like that to even look twice at her.
“Can’t you just postpone your trip?” Joslyn asked quietly.
Misty shook her head even before Joslyn finished her sentence. “You know I would so love to go to your sister’s mating ceremony, but I can’t get out of this. At least you won’t be sitting at home pining over your boss all weekend. You haven’t had a date in months. You’re going to have to get over her, honey.”
“You’re all heart, Misty.”
Misty gave her a mock sigh. “It’s tough being me.”
They both chuckled. “It’s not that bad, anyway. I went out on that blind date three weeks ago.”
“And you didn’t see her again because you’re so hung up on a woman who’s not gay, so when we get back, we’re getting you over her.” Misty took a sip of her wine and put the half-finished glass on the counter. “In the meantime, you have almost a week to find a date.”
Joslyn made a face. Yeah, she had to stop fantasizing about the woman before it started to show at work. As it was, she looked a little too long, a little too often at her boss. She might even be starting to notice by now. “You’re so—” Her phone rang. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’
m going to go ahead and go,” Misty said, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “It’s getting late. I’ll talk to you before I leave.”
“Okay, but just wait, and I’ll walk you out.” Joslyn hurried from the kitchen to the living room where a palette of red and gold predominated.
* * * *
He froze when Misty’s eyes locked with his through the window, but that was only momentary. Moving quickly into the shadows, he cursed himself. Moments later, the back door opened and Misty stuck her head out. She stepped out onto the porch and glanced around.
“Who’s out here?” she called softly. “If that’s you, Neal, Joslyn isn’t interested, so stop skulking around. It’s not cute anymore.”
“Misty?”
He held his breath and Misty took a few more steps toward the end of the porch. She would see him if she continued. The shrubs casting their long shadows over the side of the house provided some cover, along with the house itself.
“Misty, what are you doing out here?” Joslyn asked. “While you’re out there, put out the trash.”
Shit.
He quickly took a few steps back as Misty backtracked for the trash. He needed to get to the cover of the trees further out in the yard. He raced out to them and skirted around a trunk just as Misty rounded the side of the house. The dog next door began to bark furiously, but the privacy fence hid him from the mutt.
“Is someone out there?” Misty called again.
The dog barked viciously and a second later, a cat meowed before leaping onto the fence. The dog collided with the fence, his growl even more determined, and the cat jumped down and streaked across the grass.
Misty let out a startled scream. “It’s just a cat,” she said, and he exhaled softly as she headed back to the house. “I thought it was that jerk Neal spying on us again. He’s such a perv. You really need to call the cops on him.”
She would be trouble if he didn’t get Joslyn soon. Misty was around way too much as far as he was concerned, but after Joslyn was his, she would be too happy and busy with her duties as his wife to see much of Misty. ‘Course, there was the courtship. If Misty proved a problem during that period, she’d have to go. Joslyn would grieve and make new friends from those in his circle.
Chapter One
Joslyn grimaced and glanced at her watch as she stood in line at the Coffee House the next morning.
She was going to be late if the line didn’t start moving a little faster. Her boss had asked her to come in a little early this morning to finish up some documents. She rubbed her hands together, thinking about abandoning her morning caffeine.
“Morning, Joslyn.”
The warm, masculine voice was familiar and friendly. She turned with a smile for her old friend Seymour Chandler. “Hi, Seymour.” He’d only been out of the navy a few weeks and had taken a job here.
“Grabbing that morning coffee?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I guess you are, too.” She smiled and took a step up as the line moved. “You haven’t been anything more than a grump without it since tenth grade.”
He chuckled. “I’ve gotten a little better about that part,” he said. “Mari invited me to her wedding. She said you didn’t have a date yet, so I was thinking we could go together.”
Seymour was a great guy. He’d been a terrific boyfriend, but they had never been meant to be anything more than friends. That process of breaking up might have been a slow decaying of their relationship that killed their friendship if he hadn’t up and gone into the military as a way to get out of small-town Ridge Hollow.
She’d gone to college to explore the wider world where her sexuality wouldn’t be under constant scrutiny. Her freedom to be who she was had been curtailed in the conservative small town they’d grown up in.
She frowned. “Oh, I—” She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to hurt him, either. They had been good friends since she was thirteen, and she’d known him all her life. “I just want to relax,” she said, “be free to help out if I’m needed, so I’m going alone.”
He smiled and brushed her shoulder lightly. “You can still tell everyone you came with me and we can hang out.”
“Umm, if I have time,” she said. She stepped up as the line moved, and she’d be next.
“You’ll have time,” he said, taking her hand and lightly squeezing. “I hear your mother has everything well in hand. We’ll see what mischief we can get up to.” He released her hand. “It’ll be like old times.” Seymour gave her a wink.
Joslyn gave him a friendly smile. They weren’t going to be getting up to anything except a conversation or two. She wasn’t interested in rekindling their romantic relationship, even though she knew her parents would be thrilled. They’d always thought she’d marry Seymour and have a couple of kids with him. They still held out hope that she was just “confused,” but that was their mistake and his, too, if he was entertaining such a notion.
Joslyn placed her order and was glad it didn’t take long. She waved good-bye to Seymour and hurried to her car. She groaned as she saw Neal Fitzpatrick, her neighbor, strolling toward her. His runner-sleek body looked good in his dark suit with his blond hair neatly combed into place, and his black-framed glasses perched on his nose.
He usually wore contacts, and that elusive smile, which slipped into place as he came to a stop in front of her. “Hello, darling,” he drawled, and she almost growled at him. He would be a perfectly likable man if he would just stop hitting on her.
“Hi, Neal. You’re out early.”
“Early meeting. I guess you have one, too,” he said, and his gaze slithered down her in her red-violet dress and black pumps. She’d left her coat in the car despite the winter chill because, as a wolf shifter, she merely didn’t feel the cold as acutely as humans.
“Yes.” She nodded. “Well, have a good day.” She started to go around him when he touched her. Her wolf snarled inside her mind, rejecting his touch, and urged her to claw his face for the uninvited contact. Instead, she reined the animal in and met his gaze.
“Why don’t we have dinner tonight? We can double date with Misty.” He gave her a charming smile that had been disarming when she first met him. Now, it irritated.
“I can’t,” she said. “I have to work late.” She worked at a home-goods store that was very busy, but as the owner’s secretary, she rarely worked late. Only stockers and other store staff did.
“I can come over for a nightcap.” He gave her a grin. “I’ll be tired,” she said patiently, “but thanks for the offer. I better go. The boss will dock my pay if I’m late.” He let her go this time with a “see you later.” Joslyn made a face. She was going to be at least five minutes late.
She arrived at the office four minutes late to find the reception area where she sat quiet, which was no surprise, but her boss’s office light didn’t seem to even be on. Joslyn sighed and put her purse on her desk before hurrying to the office.
The distinctive scent of sandalwood hung in the air and the sharp, clean lines of the desk and the dark colors of the art framed on one wall gave the space a decidedly masculine air. The wolf that was her other half, a part of her that couldn’t be excised, saw only the delicate femininity of the amethyst crystal, the neatness, and the laptop with its dark butterfly decal.
The books filling the bookshelves that flanked the window, with its black roman shade pulled down against the budding winter sunshine, reflected intelligence. Most of the books had been used, as evidenced by the fine crease lines in the spines.
This office spoke of the quiet and seductive power of an alpha female.
Joslyn put the box of pastries on the desk and wondered why there were no pictures of family or friends. She didn’t live with her family, but pack was important, and honoring their presence in her life with pictures was the least to be done.
“You’re late, Miss Browning.”
Cyanna Storm’s quiet, slightly husky voice was a caress down her back, and her wolf almost arched i
nto it. The wolf felt the power of the woman and wanted to wrap itself in it. Joslyn wanted to do the same, but she jerked around with a startled gasp.
Cyanna was striding toward her in a navy suit with a gray blouse and red tie. Her black, wavy hair was cut short with bangs swept casually to one side. The cut emphasized Cyanna’s beautiful, chestnut-brown eyes with their darker outer ring, her high cheekbones, and lush lips. Her gaze was as enigmatic as ever, but her tone held strands of tiredness.
Joslyn swallowed. “I—”
“Let’s cut to the chase this morning,” Cyanna cut in, moving around her, and their bodies brushed, sending shivers of heat running down Joslyn’s spine.
Joslyn’s wolf growled in her mind, enjoying the faintest feel of the other woman.
“I need you to get the documents typed. I need them for a meeting today.” Cyanna folded her five-foot-eight-inch frame into her leather chair without breaking eye contact with Joslyn.
“I’ll get right on it,” she said apologetically. Her stomach twisted in knots and her mouth dried out. Her heart beat fast as nerves and desire washed over her. “That’s a nice dress,” Cyanna said. Her gaze took a slow stroll down Joslyn’s body. Joslyn felt branded, undressed. “And thank you for the…the pastries.”
Joslyn blinked, taken aback by the compliment. Cyanna was sporadic with them, but Joslyn didn’t think her boss really noticed her at all. “Thanks.”
“It cups your ass so perfectly,” she said without looking up from her computer.
Joslyn flushed and her tongue felt like a lead weight had been tied to the end of it. Her jaw was stuck closed and her mind grappled desperately for a comeback that wouldn’t sound like a come-on.
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