“Get out of here,” Dimitri snarled, speaking with the clarity he achieved when his emotions were at their most intense. “Asshole.”
The Lupine gave him a look of sly amusement. What the hell was so funny, Dimitri didn’t know. He pushed the man to the side of the ring and over the blocks.
The Lupine turned to study Dimitri from the other side of the wall. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “You’ll be perfect.”
“For what?” Dimitri yelled, not sure he’d heard him over the crowd.
The Lupine smirked and walked away, his shoulders back in arrogance; then he disappeared into the darkness beyond the arena’s flaring light.
Another Shifter smacked into Dimitri, carrying him sideways. Dimitri gave up on the Lupine and rolled back into the fight.
Jaycee was yelling at a couple of Shifters who were barely past their Transitions—their fighting blood would be at its hottest. Dimitri waded over to help her.
Behind him, a truck was pulling up, a big thing, unmarked, with a water hose coiled behind it. Shit, where had a Shifter found . . . ?
He stopped worrying about it. Dylan, the most powerful Shifter in South Texas—or his son Sean, a Guardian; or Kendrick, Dimitri’s leader—would have the resources to come up with a water truck on the spur of the moment.
Dimitri reached Jaycee and the overgrown cubs. They were Collared, from the Austin Shiftertown, and eager to fight.
“Time to go,” Dimitri said. He swept open his arms, carrying Jaycee and the two younger Shifters out from under the old barn that was their arena and into the night.
Behind him, squeals and howls rose as a hundred Shifters suddenly got very, very wet.
“Jaycee,” Dimitri said.
She turned from shoving the younger Shifters into the trees at the edge of the clearing, inquiry on her face.
Dimitri wanted to yell at her. He wanted to demand what the hell she was thinking rushing into the ring like that, breaking every rule of the fight club. She’d endangered herself not only from the crazy Lupine fighting Dimitri, but from every Shifter in the place.
He thought about how she’d fought the wolf, almost casually avoiding his attack and then smacking him down into unconsciousness.
“What?” Jaycee asked when he didn’t speak. “You mean, why am I such an idiot?” Sometimes she’d talk for him, so he wouldn’t have to struggle with what he wanted to say.
Dimitri shook his head. He reached for Jaycee and dragged her to him, her fine flesh bare against his. He tucked his hand under her soft hair and turned her startled face up to him, his mouth coming down on hers in a long, hard kiss.
Around them, pandemonium reigned, Shifters shouting and furious as the water truck cooled down the hot mob. None of that reached Dimitri, in a bubble of calm with Jaycee.
Her mouth was hot, her body the same, her kiss holding her fire. She wrapped her arms around him and stepped closer, letting him know she could give into mating frenzy if he did. Her breasts were firm against his chest, her nipples tight, her skin smooth as he slid his hand down to the round softness of her buttocks.
The chill in the air to either side of them kicked Dimitri out of the warm place into which he’d been sinking.
He lifted his head to find Kendrick, his leader, a white tiger Shifter, on his left, the hilt of the Sword of the Guardian rising above his shoulder. On Dimitri’s other side was Dylan Morrissey, a Feline every Shifter around answered to.
Jaycee looked up, color flooding her face. She kept close to Dimitri, hiding her body, her sudden shyness making Dimitri’s protectiveness surge.
“Dimitri,” Kendrick said in his growling voice, which was deceptively soft. “Jaycee. We need to talk.”
Also by Jennifer Ashley
Riding Hard
Adam
Grant
Carter
Tyler
Ross
Kyle
Ray
Shifters Unbound
(Paranormal Romance)
Pride Mates
Primal Bonds
Bodyguard
Wild Cat
Hard Mated
Mate Claimed
“Perfect Mate” (novella)
Lone Wolf
Tiger Magic
Feral Heat
Wild Wolf
Bear Attraction
Mate Bond
Lion Eyes
Bad Wolf
Wild Things
White Tiger
Guardian’s Mate
Red Wolf
Shifter Made ("Prequel" short story)
Immortals
(Paranormal Romance)
The Calling (by Jennifer Ashley)
The Darkening (by Robin Popp)
The Awakening (by Joy Nash)
The Gathering (by Jennifer Ashley)
The Redeeming (by Jennifer Ashley)
The Crossing (by Joy Nash)
The Haunting (by Robin Popp)
Blood Debt (by Joy Nash)
Wolf Hunt (by Jennifer Ashley)
Forbidden Taste (by Jennifer Ashley)
Stormwalker
(Paranormal Romance
w/a Allyson James)
Stormwalker
Firewalker
Shadow Walker
“Double Hexed”
Nightwalker
Dreamwalker
Dragon Bites
Historical Romances
The Mackenzies Series
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie
Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage
The Many Sins of Lord Cameron
The Duke’s Perfect Wife
A Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift
The Seduction of Elliot McBride
The Untamed Mackenzie
The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie
Scandal and the Duchess
Rules for a Proper Governess
The Stolen Mackenzie Bride
A Mackenzie Clan Gathering
Alec Mackenzie’s Art of Seduction
The Devilish Lord Will
Nvengaria Series
(paranormal historical)
Penelope & Prince Charming
The Mad, Bad Duke
Highlander Ever After
The Longest Night
Regency Pirate Series
The Pirate Next Door
The Pirate Hunter
The Care and Feeding of Pirates
About the Author
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Ashley has written more than 85 published novels and novellas in romance, urban fantasy, and mystery under the names Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, and Ashley Gardner. Her books have been nominated for and won Romance Writers of America's RITA (given for the best romance novels and novellas of the year), several RT BookReviews Reviewers Choice awards (including Best Urban Fantasy, Best Historical Mystery, and Career Achievement in Historical Romance), and Prism awards for her paranormal romances. Jennifer's books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have earned starred reviews in Booklist.
More about the Jennifer’s books can be found at
http://www.jenniferashley.com. Or join her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/47kLL
Follow Jennifer on
@JennAllyson
JenniferAshleyAllysonJamesAshleyGardner
Tyler
Riding Hard, Book 4
Copyright © 2017 by Jennifer Ashley
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All Rights are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
Cover design by Kim Killion
ISBN: 978-1-941229-76-7
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Jennifer Ashley, Tyler (Riding Hard Book 4)
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