Текст книги "Unconditional"

Автор книги: Lauren Dane

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

Chapter Seventeen

Ten days later…

Josh watched as she came back, Tracy at her side. His chocolate wolf, he liked to call his mate, approached and stretched as she took her human skin again. He handed her a sweater, which she put on before getting back into her panties, jeans and shoes and socks.

Tracy and Pam had been teaching Michelle to track as a wolf, and she’d been using her unique talent with magick to attempt to locate the mages. They’d hit many dead-ends but something very bad had appeared on the horizon.

The witches were keeping it close to the vest, but something they called the Magister was responsible for the disappearances. Only they didn’t know how to stop it yet. Or even what it truly was aside from a whispered nightmare from legends older than recorded history.

The wolves had upped their patrols, and everyone in a pack, jamboree or pride checked in at least twice a day with their leadership. Michelle had been working with the witches and Pacific to liaise between and keep everyone in Portland prepared.

Back in Boston, they spoke to Akio nearly daily about what was happening as the wolves at National worked with the cats and one of the very few witch clans on the Eastern seaboard.

Big, bad things hung over them, and there was a weight in the air as they did what they could to prepare, but knew it would be bad when it finally came down.

Michelle had clicked with the pack when she’d come back newly turned. Tracy had taken her under her wing as she now shared Josh’s rank.

Even better was just how adept she was at the job. Her training as a police officer had prepared her, and she had a natural gift for investigation and most definitely protection.

Plus it enabled them to work together, which meant he got to keep an eye on her. And that they could sneak off here and there to run home and get down.

As if she knew what he was thinking about, she looked up from where she’d been poring over a map with Pam and caught his gaze with a smile.

He’d nearly lost her. It was so close he still woke up in a cold sweat some nights just remembering it. But she was stronger now that she had a wolf. Faster. Better able to protect and defend herself.

It had brought them closer, even as he still had trouble letting her out of his sight for very long. She got that and did what she could to stay in sight or close by. She hadn’t been home, though she and her mother had spoken—briefly—on the phone. They’d had a wake for Allie just a few days earlier, and he’d gone with her to Roseburg where they’d packed up her apartment and moved all the rest of her belongings up to Portland.

She checked in on Kathy daily, but she was forging a new life, one with Josh at her side. It wasn’t always safe, but she was loved and she filled his life in a way he’d never thought possible.

So when the shit finally hit the proverbial fan, when this Magister thing everyone spoke about in hushed voices finally made its move, he’d protect her with everything he had and they’d survive because there was no other choice.

About the Author

To learn more about Lauren Dane, please visit www.laurendane.com. Send an email to Lauren at [email protected] or find her at twitter @LaurenDane.

A whole world exists…beneath the skin.
Beneath the Skin
© 2012 Lauren Dane
De La Vega Cats, Book 3

Gibson de La Vega is the Bringer, one of the Alpha’s right-hand cats. It is his job to mete out justice and defend the law that holds their jamboree together.

After a contentious meeting with another jamboree, he’s shot—Mia stumbles onto the scene and saves his life. He’s immediately drawn to the female who dug three silver bullets from his body. Even after he discovers she’s a Porter, a family his own harmed grievously half a century before.

Mia has enough in her life. She’s recovering from a vicious hate crime—an attack using silver has affected her ability to do what she loves most. The last thing she needs is a bossy alpha cat like Gibson. A de La Vega no less.

Despite the myriad reasons to stay away, even as they continue to hunt down the would-be killers, their attraction deepens into something else entirely.

The answers they find bring that threat far closer to home than anyone could have imagined and it’ll be up to Gibson to end the mess once and for all. And up to Mia to stand at his side, even as he risks his life…

Warning: A super hot alpha male with a gruff façade, and an uppity female who’s not buying it. Some violence. Some red-hot sex. Bad words. Lots of fun.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Beneath the Skin:

She stood between his thighs as she’d been tweezing the glass out of a wound on his shoulder. He made her dizzy. Which was also part of the adrenaline, she knew. But it was him.

His pheromones changed. Surged and then sort of blanketed her in warm, sexy hotness. This was… Well, she’d never had this before. Her arm throbbed, her leg throbbed, and she really should sit down and rest. But she was rooted to the spot as one of his hands slid up the back of her thigh and came to rest, cupping her ass.

The heat of him blasted against her chest as his scent rose to her nose. His dreads brushed against her bare arm. His cat was just barely leashed, but he vibrated with all that self-control.

He tipped his head back and her breath caught.

She shouldn’t be doing any of this. But she dipped her head just that small amount to meet his mouth and that was it.

He surged to his feet, his free hand joining the other, cupping her ass to haul her closer. Not that she minded. He was hard against her. A mass of man and muscle that nearly sent her to her knees.

Which, all things being equal, wasn’t a bad next step.

His taste slid through her. Her cat approved of his, approved of this man with his hands on her ass, his tongue in her mouth, teeth grazing her lip until she gasped and he growled.

He opened his eyes and met her gaze, and it shocked her into total stillness. But when she freed herself, she nipped his bottom lip like she’d wanted to earlier.

He’d been nearly back under control until she grabbed his bottom lip between her teeth and tugged as her fingers dug into the muscles of his shoulder, hanging on and driving him right back to the edge of sanity.

He exhaled and tried to let go of her ass but found it impossible. His cat wasn’t having any of it.

She moaned, her fingers relaxing, no longer digging into his shoulders, but didn’t make a single move to disentangle herself from him. His cat eased back a little, but he kept that luscious ass in his palms.

“Where you goin’?”

She swallowed with some effort. “Where do you want me to go?”

He groaned, tugging her close enough to grind his cock against her. “What do you think?”

“I want you to say it.”

He smiled, mainly because she had a spine of steel and he liked that about her. But also because she knew what she wanted and she demanded it.

“I want you to go into my bedroom so I can get you naked.”

“Was that so hard?”

“It is, yes. I hope that penchant for demanding your due extends to fucking.”

It was her turn to smile. “Fuck me and find out.”

He bent his knees and picked her up, adjusting his hold on her butt. She wrapped her legs around him as he carried her into his bedroom and put her down carefully on his bed.

“I’m not fragile.”

He snorted. “You got shot today. If I break you, how can I fuck you?”

She whipped her shirt up and over her head, tossing it across the room. Her bra followed, and she shimmied from her shoes, socks and jeans. “That’s true. You’re not naked.”

He remedied that while he watched her get totally naked. Not bothering to hide his hum of satisfaction as she slid the panties from her legs and lay back, her gaze roaming over his body.

“You’re something else.” He got on the bed, kissing the pink parts on her chest and shoulder, and she shivered.

“I was about to say the same.”

Her fingertips traced over the muscles of his back as he kissed over her collarbone and watched her nipples stand at attention.

“The piercings are so hot I can’t quite stand it.”

He stretched to take her mouth again and she pressed her body to his.

Skin to skin, she gasped at how good it felt, and he swallowed the sound. He smelled good and felt even better. He kissed her nearly senseless. The scratch of his facial hair only made it better.

She pushed him back and got to her knees to look down at him. He was…holy shit he was amazing.

“You shouldn’t put your weight on that thigh.”

Smiling, she threw one leg over his body and straddled him, resting her weight on his thighs.

“I like this view.” His gaze moved from her face down, down and straight to the heart of her.

“What a coincidence.” She flicked her index fingers over the piercings in each nipple. He hissed and writhed a little so she dipped her head to lick over first the left, then the right. He seemed to enjoy that so she filed it away for later. “Love the tats.” His chest was broad and hard with muscle. Her hands slid over warm, taut skin as his gaze never left her. It was…disconcerting and yet really exciting to have him watch her the way he did.

He was a predator after all. But so was she!

But not with him. With him she was his prey. This made her shiver a little.

“Are you cold?”

“No. Just…delighted.”

A flash of his smile in the dark.

She tugged on one of the ropes of his hair. “I like this too.”

They were to his mid biceps, and they added to the overall badass vibe. Tattoos, muscles, dreadlocks and enough smolder to send a girl’s underpants up in flames.

She kissed down his neck, pausing to breathe him in at the place where it met his shoulder. Which in retrospect had been stupid because his scent bounded into her system, sending it into overload. Her cat surfaced, pressing against the human skin it wore, and his responded.

She can’t shift, but she can shake their world.
Diamond Dust
© 2013 Vivian Arend
Takhini Wolves, Book 3

Caroline Bradley is having one hell of a week. Her wolf lover has sniffed out his mate, making her an instant free agent. Not only that, Takhini territory has been overrun with aggressive bear-shifters electing a clan leader, and the wolf pack is feeling the effects—pushing her diplomatic skills to the limit.

Tyler Harrison is a grizzly on a mission. If he’s going to win the majority of the bears’ votes, he needs one final thing: a female companion. The only woman in town with influence over wolves, humans, and more bears than he’d like to admit, is Caroline.

Despite the sexual pull between them, though, Tyler’s not seeking a permanent relationship. And Caroline isn’t looking to be anyone else’s political pawn. But she should have remembered that when shifters are involved, changes happen in the blink of an eye.

Warning: Billionaire bear hero plus kick-ass human heroine equals a sexually volatile power struggle. Get ready for what might be the naughtiest game of tag that’s ever been played in the great outdoors.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Diamond Dust:

The partially open French doors caught his eye. He dropped his tie, grabbed up an apple from the massive fruit bowl decorating the kitchen counter and ate it as he wandered to the balcony railing. An incredible view greeted him, with the mountains rising behind the city streets. The lack of skyscrapers added to the beauty, and he breathed deep to fill his lungs with fresh air.

A faint scent of human made him turn, but there was no one there. Only the door he’d left open behind him, and at the far side of the deck an open lounging area with a hot tub, the lid strangely askew.

A hand draped over the far edge, just visible from his new position.

Hell.

Tyler raced forward, reached into the water and scooped up the limp body of a blonde woman. Her head had been resting on a drink holder, the only thing that had kept her from becoming completely submerged.

“Wake up, little mermaid.” Tyler cradled her against him. He nudged the door open and brought her inside, dripping wet, examining her face for a reaction. She was breathing, but shallowly. He lowered her onto the couch then pulled a handy throw blanket over her shivering torso. “Can you hear me?”

Her lips moved, eyelashes fluttering. Nothing but slight muttering to his question.

Damn it. He had to call someone, and now. He leaned over her to snatch the phone from the side table. Her arms flailed. In his unprotected position, one hand connected sharply with his nose, and he grunted in pain.

Ignoring the phone for a second, he tucked her in again, holding down her arms to stop her from hurting herself or taking more pot shots at his face. “You don’t need to hit me, I’m trying to help you.”

“Bear…”

The word whispered past her lips, and Tyler paused. Leaned in closer and sniffed.

The scent of wolves clung to his waterlogged woman, but she wasn’t wolf. Human through and through, yet the fact she’d just called him a bear?

Something was happening he wanted to get to the bottom of.

“Can you hear me?”

Her lips moved steadily, drawing his attention to them. For the first time he paused long enough to look the rest of her over. Her blonde hair stuck up in spots, the pale colouring all the way to the roots. Her skin was pale as well—whether from soaking in his tub or her natural colour, he wasn’t sure. The deep red of her lips contrasted sharply against her skin, a delicate pout forming on their soft surface as she attempted to speak.

Speaking of bears, his was at full alert. The beast bumped to the surface, keen on him shifting for some reason. While he was the bear and the bear was him, there was one part of his brain that remained independent. His human side reasoning, rational. His animal side more…well, animal. Earthier and more connected to the wilder roots of shifterdom.

He understood why his bear was interested. Pretty face and pretty body, the swells of her breasts rose and fell as her breathing evened out and grew stronger. That was the reason he was staring at her chest, to make sure she was recovering from her ordeal. Not because he could see straight through the wet shirt and the bra underneath it. Not because the lush redness of her lips seemed to be reflected in the tips of those breasts…

Tyler shook his head to make his brains settle back in place.

Damn bear.

His mystery woman sucked in a deep breath, her eyes opening all the way. “Frack.”

He soothed her, attempting to keep her horizontal on the couch without actually forcing her back. “You should stay still.”

Her gaze darted over his face, and this adorable little crease appeared between her brows. “Who are you?”

Caution made him word his answer carefully. If this was someone planted by another bear clan, he wanted to know, so he used the oldest ploy in the book. His friend would understand. “I’m Justin. What’s your name?”

“Caroline.” Her eyes widened. “Why am I soaking wet?”

“I found you in my hot tub. I hoped you could tell me—”

“Oh, shoot.”

She would have surged upward, and this time he made contact, hands to her shoulders, to keep her from jerking to vertical. “Don’t. You nearly drowned. Until you remember what happened, you shouldn’t move.”

The fabric separating his palms and her skin warmed, and the scent of her skin grew stronger. She relaxed onto the overstuffed fabric as she tentatively touched the back of her head.

“I remember. I was finishing cleaning the suite and slipped on the tub.” She moved her fingers slowly but still cringed in pain. “There’s a goose egg to prove it.”

Tyler settled on his heels beside her. Cleaning staff. Okay, that was a possible solution to the question without turning this into some kind of political intrigue.

“Do you mind if I check?”

“Be my guest.” She frowned. “You’re Justin? You’re the security man for Tyler Harrison.”

Cleaning staff who knew details of the room’s occupants? Tyler returned to being suspicious all over again.

He lifted her carefully until he could examine the back of her head. “I’m checking things out in the room. Everything seemed to be in order other than you doing unsupervised synchro.”

“Can you get me out of here before he arrives?”

“You sure you’re okay to move?” Tyler helped her upright, sitting next to her on the couch. He held one arm around her to stop her from shifting from side to side.

Caroline groaned lightly. “I’ll be all right. I’m not nauseous or anything, which is good. I would hate to throw up and ruin the great cleaning job I did.”

Tyler laughed. The conversation was far more blunt than he usually got to hear from people. “Well, yes. Let’s avoid vomiting, shall we?”

It was rather comfortable sitting with her. Far more comfortable than he should be after rescuing a strange woman in a strange place. He wanted to be wary, wanted to remain alert to the potential troubles in the situation, but with her wet body cuddled beside him, his damn bear seemed to have taken control of his mind.

Her shirt had separated from the waistband of her pants, and a sliver of bare skin rested under his fingers. The sheer willpower it took to keep from stroking that soft section of skin shook him.

His human side pushed forward in defense with logic. “I should call a doctor to check you out.”

She frowned. “I’ll go to the clinic. Let’s not have ambulances at the hotel today. It wouldn’t be a great way to start things off. Might set a damper on the meetings.”

Curiousier and curiousier. “You’ve obviously worked at the Moonshine Inn for a while.”

Give her a chance to admit she knew about shifters, and the game would change all over again. A tiny bud of a notion had burst forth in the last minute, probably planted by his bear, but damn if it wasn’t a working idea.

She nodded slowly, wincing. “I’ve been on staff for nearly five years. Since before the Takhini pack bought out the previous owners.”

And there was his answer. “You know about shifters, then.”

She snorted.

His bear was far too charmed by her instant and honest response.

Caroline motioned upward. “Help me to my feet, and we’ll see how I do. Yes, I know about shifters. Half-blood family, actually. My stepdad’s wolf, so I’ve lived with pack most of my life.”

A human who grew up with shifters. This might be the solution to one of his problems during the upcoming conference days.

Not to mention a lovely distraction, as long as she hadn’t injured herself with that crazy fall.

He had her standing, his arms still around her in case she wobbled. Caroline clutched his shoulder momentarily as her knees gave way. He caught her around the waist and pulled her against him for support. She was tall enough to make him not feel quite as enormous as he usually felt around the ladies. Other than that, he was desperately beating back the bear, who had just suggested they should peel her out of her wet clothes to make sure she wasn’t hurt anywhere else.

“I think we should get that doctor in here.”

“No.” Caroline spoke firmly. “Damn, you shifters are all the same, bossy as get out. I’m fine, and I really have to leave before your boss gets here.”

His boss. Oh right, his little name game. They could drop that ploy. “Actually, I’m—”

The door opened, and Justin walked in. His best friend froze in midstep as he took in the entire scenario. From the open door, the trail of water across the carpet, the wet and disheveled woman, and Tyler himself.

Caroline swore and to his great surprise, hid herself against his side, arms curling around his torso.