Demons are a Ghoul's Best Friend: Afterglow, Book 2 (24 page)

She snorted. “Trust me, he already did.”

Logan’s mouth curled in wicked devilment. “You only got a small taste of the potion’s capabilities. To truly appreciate its gift to the fullest, you need to ingest it in a more…intimate manner.” Before she knew what he was up to, Logan unlaced the ties securing the sundress to her shoulders and pushed the bodice down, exposing her breasts. Gasping, she shot him a startled look. He awarded her a crooked smile. “Don’t worry, you’re gonna enjoy this.”

Something warm and sticky stroked her nipples. She jumped at the unexpected sensation, her gaze shooting to Griff’s sauce-coated fingers as they painted her areolas with the creamy substance. He lowered his head and followed the path of his fingers with his tongue, sparking a new conflagration of fire inside her. She shivered and Griff peered up at her, his eyes blazing. Curving an arm around her waist, he stood and claimed her mouth in a hot, devouring kiss. He tasted of Béchamel and exotic spice. Of magic and sex. She wrapped her fingers in his hair, tugging him closer, ravenous for more. Their tongues rasped in a mating dance and she wiggled against him, her nipples aching for the sumptuous devotion of Griff’s mouth.

Logan’s knuckles skated the length of her spine. “Noticing the effects yet?” She mewled a response and he chuckled. “Excellent.” He worked the dress over her hips and the garment floated to her feet. His feather-light touch skimmed above the elastic of her bikini, teasing the dimples near her tailbone. She arched against Logan’s hand, her knees turning to jelly when he palmed her ass and gave it a good squeeze. He snuggled close behind her, so close she easily detected the hard ridge of his erection suggestively rubbing into her. “I’ve got something for ya, darlin’.”

Oh yeah. No mistaking
that
.

Griff’s mouth trailed to the crook of her neck, and something soft and silky caressed her cheek. She reached for the fabric, but Logan swept it behind her head.

“Not yet. First I want something in return.”

She licked her lips, a hot liquid rush of excitement pulsing low in her belly. “What?”

“A taste.” Logan’s teeth scraped her earlobe, making her breath stutter. He moved lower and tongued the pulse point beneath her ear. “Same as you gave Catman.”

A whimper escaped her and Logan tilted her head, his fingers tunneling in her hair as his lips glided along hers. Sucking her tongue into his mouth, he gave her a sneak peek at the devastation he could wreak on her body. If she let him. The question was, would she?

There’s more than one way to outsmart a fox…

Foxy Lady

© 2010 Marie Harte

A
Cougar Falls
Story

Trust Julia Easton to screw up Sheriff Ty Roderick’s March Madness plans. The pixie-faced vixen might be the picture of feminine perfection, but she tests his innate sense of order to its limits. Weeks ago, he let his conscience turn down a proposition his body still burns to accept—then she vanished. Now he’s in the middle of Nowhere, Washington, racing to rescue her from danger.

There’s risk in leaving Cougar Falls, but it’s the only way Julia can hope to save her sister from making the same mistake she almost made with Ty. Settling down and having kits is one thing, but it can’t be done with a human, especially one from a hunting family. Unfortunately, her sister isn’t budging, and the fiancé’s brother won’t take Julia’s no for an answer, either.

When Ty comes riding to their rescue, Julia plans to use him and lose him. No way is she throwing herself at that alpha jerk’s feet in gratitude. Then Ty gives her the answer her heart still longs for: he wants to spend the rest of his life making things right. Now if only she can find the courage to say yes.

Warning: Beware a foxy sheriff, a backwoods bad guy, a cunning vixen, sexy escapades in and out of the bedroom, and the return of stubborn male shifters who think they know everything.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Foxy Lady:

Ty didn’t know whether to spank Julia or kiss her senseless. Just seeing her again aroused him in a way he was hard-pressed to explain. Her scent, the feel of her smooth skin under his hands, her soft kiss, all of it made him want to throw her down on the nearest bed and fuck her until he couldn’t move. He wanted to tie her to him and make her admit she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Because he sure as hell couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Hearing that Neanderthal claim Julia had nearly ended Ned’s life. It had taken a lot of discipline to remain still. Ty didn’t like that loss of control. As town sheriff, he came into contact with conflict on a daily basis. He had a reputation as calm and collected. So why did Julia Easton tie him in knots?

At least the woman looked nervous. As she should.

“Well? I’m waiting,” he said in a quiet voice, pleased when Julia and Gabby jumped.

The three sisters were exceptionally popular in the clan. Meghan was the youngest, and at the age where she needed to explore. No one had balked when she’d left town for college on the outside. Still, this Jason business would need some explaining.

Everyone liked Gabby, the most outgoing and genial of the three. She had a tawny complexion that suited her dark red hair, and a curvy frame where Meghan and Julia were leaner.

Slender, sexy and beautiful, Julia made him ache. She made him want to beg. He huffed. A Roderick didn’t beg. Hell, at home he rejected sexual offers from women left and right. But Julia had never asked a thing from him, not until the sly vixen had propositioned him, drunk as a skunk. Now how the hell could he say yes to that and not have her hate him in the morning?

Meghan was the first to answer him. “Ty, uh, I’m, well…”

“Get on with it, Meghan.” She really was cute. A younger version of Julia.

“The brat thinks she’s in love,” Julia said, her words laced with disgust. Her gaze met his before it skittered back to her sister.

“I
am
in love,” Meghan retorted. “Just because you’re turning into the neighborhood cat lady is no reason to be jealous I’ve found someone special.”

Ty coughed to smother a laugh. “Cat lady?”

“You know, the old lady with no life who lives with like thirty cats for company.”

“We like cats,” Gabby defended, shooting Meghan a look that surprised Ty. She seemed genuinely annoyed.

Meghan flushed. “I’m just saying Julia blames me for having a sex life.”

“I so did not need to hear that,” Ty muttered.

Julia’s eyes sparkled and her scent grew richer. When angry, the little spitfire turned him hard in a heartbeat. He casually crossed the room to stand behind an oversized chair to hide his erection. Talk about embarrassing, not to mention irritating. The vixen made him crazy like no one could.

“Okay, you want to talk about your sex life? Fine,” Julia sneered. “Are you using birth control? Does Jason know what can happen when you go into heat? Is he prepared to help rear your litter?”

Fascinated, Ty watched the family interplay. He’d never seen Julia so impassioned. Normally she did her job with calm precision and couldn’t be described as anything other than cool. But with Meghan, she acted like a virtual firecracker. A sultry redhead with a temper to boot. God, he wanted her.

Meghan stared from Julia to Ty and back again, her cheeks scarlet. “I am not going to talk about this in front of Ty.”

Thank God.

She continued. “I’m going to call Jason to come get me.” Tears filled her eyes. “He’s the only one who understands me. The only one who
cares
.” She sobbed and fled the room.

Everyone stared at the slammed door in silence.

After a moment, he asked, “You sure she didn’t major in drama?”

Julia’s lips curved.

Gabby choked on a laugh. “I’ll go talk to her. You deal with him,” she said to Julia, a knowing look in her eyes that made Julia blush. Gabby joined Meghan in the bedroom, leaving Julia and Ty alone together.

“Now it’s just you and me, honey. Where should we start?”

Julia gnawed on her lower lip, and he wanted to kiss the sting away. She turned her direct amber-eyed gaze on him. “Why are you here?”

“You’re welcome for saving you, by the way. Or would you rather I stepped aside so you and Ned can head down the aisle?” he asked dryly.

“Please. I can handle Ned.”

“Oh?”

“Granted, he’s an ass. But I know how to handle the type.” The look she gave him heated his blood to boiling.

“I raced nearly two hundred miles on no sleep and shitty gas station food. I left the raptors in a frenzy, ready to rip out Sarah Duncan’s feathers one by one. The cats are at the throats of the gray wolves again, the bears are losing their minds, and half our clan is in favor of instituting a new mating policy, whereby the silver foxes will soon have arranged marriages. I left all that behind to save you from Hunters.”

“Hunters?” Julia blinked in confusion. “Rip out Sarah’s feathers? Is she okay?”

He spoke through gritted teeth. “The Whitefeathers and Gerald have it all under control. Sarah’s the one who told me you were having trouble with Hunters.”

“What do the Whitefeathers have to do with this?”

“Julia, focus, would you? Why would Sarah think you were dealing with Hunters?” The thought of Julia being hunted down and killed had nearly stopped his heart before he’d managed to bear down and concentrate on finding her.

“Hunters? Where would she get that idea?” Her expression cleared. “Oh. Right. The last time we spoke I mentioned Jason’s family’s disgusting hobby of mounting dead things in their homes. She might have gotten the wrong impression.”

“I’m not sure she did. Ned Williams seems pretty threatening.”
And he likes you way too much for my liking.

“He is, but he’s nothing I can’t handle.” Now she sounded like the competent legal assistant he knew her to be. Sexy, unruffled, self-contained. “I’m sorry if you rushed out here on our behalf, but we’re fine.”

“Oh, right. I can see that. Some asshole just shot all of our tires. Your sister is involved with an outsider the clan knows nothing about, and you’re getting married to Ned No-Neck Williams.”

Julia pinched the bridge of her nose. “I didn’t say we weren’t having some problems, but it’s a family matter. Not your concern, Ty.”

He liked her saying his name. He’d like it a whole lot better if she’d cry it out as her body clenched around his in orgasm. “Oh, but it is my concern. Meghan’s in some serious trouble. And it doesn’t seem like she’s going to drop this Jason anytime soon.”

“I know.” Julia sighed. “But we’ll handle it.”

“Yes,
we
will.” Ty made a sudden decision. Maybe he could fix a few issues at once. He had no transportation at the moment. Considering the “long line of Williamses” in Nowhere, he’d venture a guess he’d have a hard time finding spare tires for his truck in town.

Time to match wits with a sexy, conniving adversary. Satisfaction flooded him at the thought of tangling with Julia again. He really had missed her.

“What does ‘we will’ mean?” Suspicion made her voice husky.

“It means I’m here to fix a few things. But first things first.” He took a step closer, pleased when she licked her lips, nervous.

“Ty—”

He answered how he should have the first time she’d asked, four weeks ago. “
Yes,
Julia. Yes, I’ll take you home and make love to you until neither of us can walk.”

He kissed her before she could close her pretty mouth.

Demons are a Ghoul’s Best Friend

Wynne Hayworth

If she’s a tree fairy, how come he’s the one with the wood?

Afterglow, Book 2

Detective Cheney Fisher is used to the back-of-the-neck feeling that tells him he’s being watched. When attorney Pandora Jackson strides into the precinct, he’s the one doing the watching—and drooling. Her mile-long legs and fiery hair encase a sharp legal mind and a body he’d like to de-brief.

Despite his effort to keep his powers on the down-low, Pandora knows that Cheney is uniquely qualified to solve her problem—evaluating a strangely unfriendly bit of evidence from a court case. But it’s her instant attraction to the detective that scares her. Any loss of control and her powerful Fae ability could consume her, body and soul.

A suspicious fire in Pandora’s apartment drives Cheney’s suspicion that she’s being stalked by a very real threat. Bringing her under protection is the only option, even though proximity means there’s no way to fight the searing passion erupting between them.

Cheney’s instincts are spot-on, though. A madman with a taste for unnatural selection has a plan for Pandora. The only way to fight it is trust themselves, their powers…and each other.

Warning: Refrigerate after opening. This book contains scenes of magic, illusion and scorching hot fairy sex. There are also a few murders, a super sexy cop, a giggle or two, and a tip of the hat to Mother Nature. It is, of course, fiction, but was written using 100% organically grown words.

eBooks are
not
transferable.

They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

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, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520

Macon GA 31201

Demons are a Ghoul’s Best Friend

Copyright © 2010 by Wynne Hayworth

ISBN: 978-1-60928-219-6

Edited by Sasha Knight

Cover by Kanaxa

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: October 2010

www.samhainpublishing.com

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

It’s all about the story…