by Stacia Wolf
Enjoy the following excerpt for Look What Santa Brought.
Tara nearly swallowed her tongue. “Wha…what?” she gasped. Her hands shook with his announcement. She carefully set the mug on the table so no coffee would slosh out. If only he knew how much she wanted him to be the other man.
He’d been such a good friend. And that’s all he’s offering right now, dummy. Friendship. Tara dug her nails into her jeans and inhaled.
“Scottie, be serious, would you? This isn’t a game,” Brianna snapped.
Tara nodded, agreeing with her best friend.
“I am dead serious,” Scott ground out, his face taut.
Tara’s heart lurched. What would it feel like to be held in Scott’s arms, to be cherished by…
She shook her head. Not possible. The man was richer than rich, and besides wanting to help a friend, he wouldn’t want anything romantic. Not when he could have his pick of any woman in the country.
Gathering her errant thoughts, Tara cleared her throat. “That’s sweet, Scott, really, but not needed, I assure you.” I’m lying, please see that I’m lying! I do need you.
Scott slumped in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. His face looked dejected. Why? She would have thought he’d be overjoyed with being let off the hook.
“Somebody needs to help,” Scott demanded. “You see any other candidates around?”
Tara had to smile. The man was sulking, pure and simple.
“Jeez, Scottie, we didn’t know you cared so much,” Brianna teased, reaching across to slap Scott on the thigh.
He didn’t take too well to that. His lip curled and he stood. Tara let her gaze move the length of his delicious body from his knees, to his firm thighs, over the decidedly large bulge at his fly, the smooth hardness of his abs beneath his tight-fitting T-shirt—
Tara did a double take and returned her gaze to his fly and the very noticeable bump he did nothing to even attempt to hide.
Her throat was suddenly parched.
“Whenever you twits decide how you want to handle this situation, let me know, would you? I was only trying to help,” he grumbled.
Scott moved away, letting Kissy-Face lead him through the crowded café.
Damn. Why did that make her feel like a complete loser? She hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings.
“Did he just call us twits?” Brianna asked.
“I believe he did, little one.” Tyler wrapped a big hand around Brianna’s neck and gave it a caressing squeeze.
Tara sighed. She’d never had that kind of attention before. She wanted it. Badly. Would Scott be like that? Would he lavish her with sweet little kisses like Tyler was doing on Bri’s neck?
“Oh, get a room,” she barked, coming out of her musings. Scott and she together would never work. Ridiculous to even contemplate it.
Brianna cleared her throat and pushed Tyler’s roving lips away. “I’m sorry, Tara. You’re right, we need to think about you. What can I do?”
Tara snorted and flopped back on the small couch. She covered her face with her hands and rolled her head back and forth. “I don’t know,” she groaned. “I have to find a place to live, so unless you know someone who needs a roommate, I—”
“Stay with us.”
She jumped at Scott’s deep voice behind her and twisted to look up at him. “What?” She laughed, willing her heart back into a normal rhythm. She hadn’t even heard the man come back. He smelled so yummy. His belly was eye level and Tara longed to rub her cheek against it.
“I said, stay with me, us, I mean. Stay at the house.”
House? From what she’d seen, they didn’t live in a house. The place was huge in an over-exaggerated sort of way. No. She couldn’t stay there. Not with him. The nearness would drive her batty.
“I can’t do that, Scott.”
“Why not?” Brianna asked, drawing Tara’s attention. She leaned forward, excitement lighting her eyes. “It’s perfect. Moving in with us would have to make Eric see you’re no longer interested. Plus, you wouldn’t have to go apartment hunting. She could stay there, right, Ty?” She elbowed Tyler in the ribs.
“Oof.” He rubbed the offended body part with a grimace. “What the hell did you do that for?” Tyler grabbed Brianna’s fingers and held them under his palm on his thigh. “Of course you’re welcome to stay. There’s no reason to become violent,” he mumbled at Bri.
Tara smiled. She could see how pissed he was as his thumb traced a soothing path over Brianna’s wrist.
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” Scott growled behind her.
She turned again but he’d already moved. Stooping over, he ran one set of fingers along the table’s edge and the other searched for his seat.
“Two steps, Scott,” Tara whispered.
He stopped moving and turned his head toward her, his gaze hidden behind the sunglasses. She wished she could see his eyes just once. In all the time she’d known him, she’d never seen them.
He stood tall and took two steps. After doing a ninety-degree turn, he sat without feeling for the seat.
Her heart pounded. She hadn’t meant for him to hear her, but he had. What if she’d been wrong? What if he’d taken two steps and fallen on his ass? Her cheeks flamed.
Scott’s smile lit up the café, making her tummy quiver. “Thanks.” Kissy flopped to the floor beside him. “Now then. Why in the hell can’t you take our offer? If you want to show this dickhead you mean business, let me help.”
Stubborn bastard.
Forgiveness is the most difficult thing to give but the most cherished thing to receive.
Love Me, Still
© 2007 Maya Banks
Beloved mate to two wolves, Heather lived an idyllic life until hunters destroyed the pack’s peaceful existence.
Believing their mate betrayed them and was responsible for their father’s death, Cael and Riyu cut Heather from their lives. But when they realize their terrible mistake, can they ever gain her forgiveness and win back her love?
Enjoy the following excerpt for Love Me, Still
Cael pulled the heavy furs tighter around him as he, Niko and Riyu fanned out and trudged higher up the mountain. Their inability to shift and move faster frustrated him, but there was a human in the area. A trapper if he had to guess. They didn’t want to startle him by coming up on him in wolf form. It was a good way to get themselves shot.
For a week, he and the others had scoured the area around their old encampment. They could detect no trace of Heather’s scent. Then yesterday, when the wind had shifted and blew from the north, he had caught the faintest whiff of her.
They had charged up the mountain in the direction of the wind, anxious to find her.
Suddenly Riyu stopped ahead of Cael. He lifted his head and sniffed. A low growl emanated from his throat.
“What is it, Riyu?” Cael demanded as he surged through the snow.
Niko joined them and raised his head as well. “It’s her. I smell her. Much stronger now. She isn’t far.”
Cael inhaled deeply and closed his eyes as the sweet smell of his mate drifted through his nostrils. Longing, regret, so much sadness swelled within him.
He shoved past Riyu and Niko, increasing his speed up the mountain slope. Her smell grew stronger, and his body tingled with the anticipation of seeing her, even as his palms sweated in the frigid air at the thought of what he would say to her. How he would gain her forgiveness.
Then he stopped. Riyu nearly ran into him from behind. A low sob carried to them on the wind. Cael looked in the direction of the sound, and there he saw her. Poised on the edge of a drop off. Heather.
She took a step closer and stared down into the abyss. Terror clutched at Cael’s chest. Beside him, Riyu hissed in fear. She was going to fall.
Oh God. They’d never get to her in time.
In a flash, Cael transformed, lunging forward in the snow. He dug into the terrain, running as fast as his wolf shape would allow. B
ehind him, Riyu and Niko shifted and set out for Heather as well.
No! He couldn’t lose her again.
Just when he thought she would step off the edge, she crumbled into the snow and lay still. His heart raced with relief, but still he flew the remaining distance, his need to touch her, to hold her, to reassure himself that she was okay was all consuming.
He reached her just seconds before Riyu and Niko. He gently nudged her with his snout, but she was unconscious. He nuzzled her cheek and licked at her skin, trying to get her to awaken.
She was burning up with fever.
Cael shifted then stared down at his mate. Tears stung his eyelids, threatening to unman him completely. She was so fragile looking. Pale, thin, so breakable. And she wasn’t well.
“Is she alive?” Riyu asked in a rush of fear.
Cael nodded grimly. “She won’t be for long if we don’t get her out of the cold. She’s burning up with fever.”
“There’s a cabin in the distance,” Niko said pointing. “It could be where she’s been staying.”
Cael picked his precious bundle from the snow and hefted her into his arms. She had always been a tiny thing, but her lightness, even amidst the furs she wore, was alarming.
He pressed his lips to her hot forehead and closed his eyes as he followed Niko toward the cabin. I love you, my heart. I’m so very sorry for how I have wronged you. Please come back to me. I cannot live without you.
Riyu fell in beside him, looking anxiously over Heather’s unconscious form. He reached out a hand to touch her cheek, and Cael could see tears in his brother’s eyes.
“We failed her,” Riyu croaked. “When she needed us the most, we turned our backs. How are we ever supposed to get past something like that?”
Cael shook his head grimly. He didn’t have the words to offer comfort to his brother. Not when their mate was without.
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