by Vella Day
Will broke the kiss and dragged his soft lips down her throat. Her pulse soared, and she dug her nails into his shoulders, desperate to maintain the connection. Holding her up, he tunneled into her over and over again. When his teeth sunk into her neck, an orgasm the size of a tsunami crashed down on her. He came seconds later, and it was as if time and space had collapsed into one, confirming they would be together forever.
Only when Acacia caught her breath did she lower her legs to the floor. “Is this how it’s always going to be?” she asked.
Will’s chuckle came out weak. “I don’t know, but if we don’t get this under control, we’ll never be able to leave this apartment.”
“Well, thank goodness for delivery service,” she giggled.
He laughed. “You are something else, Acacia Faiten. I could use a shower,” Will said. “You?”
“Yes, but I don’t think we should be in the same space just yet.”
He tapped her nose. “You might be right. The longer I’m with you, the more I have to have you.”
“I feel the same way.”
Will walked her back to the bedroom and then led her into the bathroom. “You can shower first.”
“I’ll be fast.” Acacia stood on her toes and kissed him. “Thank you for coming back to look for me.”
“I can’t tell you how happy I am that I did. As you can tell, I can be a little short-sighted at times. Next time you see Lucas, you can thank him. He has a way of showing me the light.”
Acacia stroked his face. “I will.”
As she reached in to turn on the shower, she grinned.
Just as Will was about to leave, Acacia reached out and grabbed his arm. “I changed my mind. Get your fine ass in here with me, my mate.”
They were instantly tangled together, all arms, legs, lips, and laughter.
She was going to have one hell of a tale to tell her sisters. This vacation and the next week to come were going to be remembered forever!
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I hope you enjoyed Acacia and Will’s story. Next up is Magnolia and the water dragon’s story [No, I’m not going to give away his real identity!]
Here is the first half of chapter one.
Magnolia Faiten was now alone—a most deadly condition for her psyche. It didn’t matter she was a goddess of Fate and had more power than most in the Tarradon realm. As soon as her three sisters headed off on their two-week vacation, a vacuum surrounded her. Sure, she claimed she wanted to stay at the pottery shop to work on some creations, but that had been a lie. In truth, she’d been afraid to travel to the other provinces and experience life. While she was good with customers, it was ordinary people that she had a hard time relating to.
Shake it off, Magnolia. You’re strong, she told herself. Take time off to relax for once. You’ll enjoy it.
Or was she just lying to herself to feel better? Whatever. Dwelling on such negative thoughts wouldn’t help her creativity.
She parked the family’s communal car behind their shop and entered through the back of the house she and her three sisters shared. Magnolia carried in the groceries to the kitchen and set the bags on the counter. When she opened the fridge to find three of the shelves mostly bare, another wave of depression assaulted her.
Trying to ignore how empty her soul felt without them, she placed the cold items into the fridge and closed the door. After being around for a hundred and thirty years, Magnolia knew the best antidote to this malaise was work. There were several pieces of pottery she needed to fire in the kiln and a couple she needed to glaze. There was no time like the present to get started. She inhaled deeply, ready to get the job done.
Their workshop and showroom was connected to the house by a long, interior hallway. When she stepped into the pottery workshop, she flipped on the lights. Ah. This was her comfort space. Magnolia had put a Closed for Two Weeks sign on the front door, so she made sure the interior door leading to the showroom was closed. She didn’t need anyone peering in the storefront window and seeing her rush about in the back.
The first thing she did was to locate the dried pieces she needed to fire and place them in the kiln. She then turned it on in order to do the first firing. As it heated, she straightened up the shop since not all of her sisters were the neatest. This kiln only took a few hours to reach the perfect temperature instead of taking all day and night, like the ones she’d heard about on Earth.
Just as she finished straightening up the workplace to her liking, her stomach grumbled. It was no wonder she was hungry. She hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. This morning, instead of eating, she’d driven Poppy to the train station, said her goodbyes, and then gone shopping. Spending a few hours cleaning this space had pushed her way past her usual lunchtime.
In need of some food, she headed back to the kitchen for a very late lunch. When she looked in the cupboards, Magnolia wasn’t sure what to make. She was the one who usually cooked all the meals since her sisters were quite a disaster when it came to meal prep. Okay, that wasn’t totally fair to Acacia. She had some talent. Poppy and Primrose? Not so much. Cooking for one would be hard, but if she pretended all of her sisters were there, Magnolia would have enough food for three days’ worth of lunches.
Because she didn’t have to work in the store or, fingers crossed, handle any spells for the Guardians and their potential mates, Magnolia decided to make something special.
Indulging in her love of cooking, she searched several cookbooks before she found what she wanted to make. After setting out the ingredients, Magnolia went to work. Not only would she prepare a main meal, she’d make two vegetable dishes, and a gloriously decadent dessert. Having a purpose always made her feel better.
Magnolia was half way through preparing the dessert when she smelled something coming from the workroom. After wiping her hands on a kitchen towel, she headed through the living room and then down a corridor that lead to the shop. Halfway there, the odor registered: smoke!
Holy crap! Could the kiln have shorted out and caused a fire? Teleporting to the shop instead of going on foot, she landed in the middle of a room encased in pure white smoke. Flames were not only shooting around the kiln, they were licking the side wall of their building. How could this have happened?
Her mind raced. Before she had the chance to decide how to put out the fire, a coughing fit stopped her from taking another step. They had a fire extinguisher someplace—a useless requirement imposed by the fire department because doing a spell to extinguish the flames would be so much more effective. So what if she’d promised not to use any of her magic for two weeks? This was their livelihood. Then again, she’d just teleported, which already broke her promise to herself.
To put out the fire, Magnolia held out her hands and said a chant to extinguish the flames. Instead of them going out, they grew larger. The heat rose. The smoke intensified. Why wasn’t it working? If only her sisters were there, they could have joined forces. Together, their powers would have been strong enough.
The four of them had put out a fire once when a shifter’s mate had been in trouble. Why didn’t it work now? Was it because a mate wasn’t in danger? This was the worst time for her powers to stop working—something that had never happened before.
Her eyes stung, and it was becoming more difficult to breathe. Magnolia debated opening the door to the showroom, but that might cause a draft and make things worse. Why oh why did her sisters have to choose this week to leave?
Do something!
She bent down at the waist, and with a hand over her mouth and nose, shuffled to find the fire extinguisher. Waves of heat assaulted her, making it more difficult to traverse the room. Unfortunately, teleporting the few feet wasn’t practical since she wasn’t that precise.
Magnolia choked. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t see.
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Where is that stupid extinguisher?
If she didn’t do something soon, the shop and their home would be destroyed. Putting one foot in front of the other, her toe smashed into a table leg and caused her to trip. Her hands shot out in front of her to brace against the impact. Her knees hit the floor first, then her elbows, and finally her head.
A sense of peace filled her as she sprawled out on the floor. Something cracked, and the air went out of her body. Being immortal, she couldn’t die, but she wondered if her brain wasn’t playing tricks on her. Even she needed oxygen.
Just as she was about to teleport out of there, a huge ache stabbed her forehead. And then her world went black.
HIDDEN REALMS OF SILVER LAKE (Paranormal)
Awakened By Flames (book 1) – FREE
Seduced By Flames (book 2)
Kissed By Flames (book 3)
Destiny In Flames (book 4)
Passionate Flames (book 5)
FOUR SISTERS OF FATE: HIDDEN REALMS OF SILVER LAKE (Paranormal)
Poppy (book 1)
Primrose (book 2)
Acacia (book 3)
Magnolia (book 4)
WERES & WITCHES OF SILVER LAKE
A Magical Shift (book 1)
Catching Her Bear (book 2)
Surge of Magic (book 3)
The Bear’s Forbidden Wolf (book 4)
Her Reluctant Bear (book 5)
Freeing His Tiger (book 6)
Protecting His Wolf (book 7)
Waking His Bear (book 8)
Melting Her Wolf’s Heart (book 9)
Her Wolf’s Guarded Heart (book 10)
His Rogue Bear (book 11)
PACK WARS (Paranormal)
Training Their Mate (book 1) – FREE
Claiming Their Mate (book 2)
Rescuing Their Virgin Mate (book 3)
Loving Their Vixen Mate (book 4)
Fighting For Their Mate (book 5)
Enticing Their Mate (book 6)
Boxed Set (books 1-3)
Boxed Set (books 1-4)
Complete Box Set (books 1–6)
MONTANA PROMISES (Full length contemporary)
Promises of Mercy (book 1)
Foundations For Three (book 2)
Montana Fire (book 3)
Montana Promises Box Set (books 1-3)
Hart To Hart (book 4)
Burning Seduction (book 5)
Montana Promises Complete Box Set (books 1–5)
ROCK HARD, MONTANA (contemporary novellas)
Montana Desire (book 1)
Awakening Passions (book 2)
PLEDGED TO PROTECT (contemporary romantic suspense)
Panic and Passion (book 1)
Danger and Desire (book 2)
Terror and Temptation (book 3)
Pledged To Protect Box Set (books 1–3)
HIDDEN HILLS SHIFTERS (Paranormal)
An Unexpected Diversion (book 1) – FREE
Bare Instincts (book 2)
Shifting Destinies (book 3)
Box Set (books 1–3)
Embracing Fate (book 4)
Promises Unbroken (book 5)
Bear ’N Dirty (book 6)
Hidden Hills Shifters Complete Box Set
A NASH MYSTERY (Contemporary)
Sidearms and Silk (book 1)
Black Ops and Lingerie (book 2)
Author Bio
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Not only do I love to read, write, and dream, I’m an extrovert. I enjoy being around people and am always trying to understand what makes them tick. Not only must my books have a happily ever after, I need characters I can relate to. My men are wonderful, dynamic, smart, strong, and the best lovers in the world (of course).
I believe I am the luckiest woman. I do what I love and I have a wonderful, supportive husband, who happens to be hot!
Fun facts about me
(1) I’m a math nerd who loves spreadsheets. Give me numbers and I’ll find a pattern.
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(3) I also like to exercise. Yes, I know I’m odd. Not only do I lift weights, I love to hike and walk on the beach (yes, it sounds like an ad for a date).
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