Moon Kissed (18 page)

The cat’s eyes widened in an innocent look that didn’t fool anyone.

“Your accent gets thicker when you’re annoyed.” Erin dropped her keys into her purse. Though she knew Luca was originally from Italy, his accent was faint enough that it was difficult to tell. Unless he was irritated. Or passionate. She had no idea how long he’d been in America or even how old he was. He could be forty or four hundred, and she wouldn’t be able to tell. Magickals tended to stop aging somewhere in their thirties and stayed that way for five hundred years before they croaked. That kind of lifespan still boggled her mind, but she’d only known about magic of any kind for a handful of years, so there was a lot she didn’t know and even more she didn’t quite understand.

Her Aunt Angela had married a werewolf, Darren Kerr, and he’d Changed her into a wolf too. But it was all one massive secret—Magickals were as far in the closet as they could get. They had to receive approval from the All-Magickal Council to tell anyone about the existence of magic. Angela and Darren had been married for decades and Erin hadn’t known a thing about their big hairy secret. It wasn’t until she’d moved to Seattle and opened a restaurant with Darren’s other niece, Holly, that they’d gotten permission to clue her in.

“You can take the man out of Italy, but you can never take Italy out of the man.” Luca glanced up and snared her with his gaze. A little grin kicked up one corner of his full lips. “I came to see if you were available for the evening.”

“They have this invention now, you know. It’s called a cell phone.”

“True.” He stepped closer, ducking down until their eyes were level. Almost close enough to kiss. His breath brushed over her lips when he spoke. “But I find I get better results in person. If I’d called, you might have said you’d had a long day and were too tired to see me.” The tips of his fingers grazed the curve of her hip, and her breath hitched in reaction. Even so simple a touch could make her body begin to ready itself for more. “It’s harder to say no to someone standing right in front of you.”

He was being presumptuous, but that didn’t mean he was wrong. Her pulse sped, heat flowing inside her like liquid fire. She wanted him. Always. She could pretend to be pissy, but as a vampire, he’d be able to tell her heart-rate and body temperature had elevated. As a regular person, she was at a disadvantage most of time, but she didn’t have to let that stop her from winning. Holding his gaze, she reached out to cup his cock through his trousers. He choked, sucking in a shocked breath as her fingers traced the outline of his shaft. A low hiss burst from his throat, his fangs baring as he thrust his hips forward to increase the contact.

She felt him lengthen by the second and lust tightened his features. In the harsh light of the parking lot, she could see his face flush. Making him respond for her was a rush—it always had been. The man was powerful in every sense of the word—rich, well-connected, Magickal, an FBI agent with all the authority that came with it—and there were times when she could make him beg for her. It damn near made her purr.

Her grip tightened on the rigid arc of his dick, and she rolled her thumb over the head where a bit of precome had seeped through his pants. “You’re right. It’s so hard to say no to someone standing in front of you.”

“Your place is closer than mine.” His voice dropped to a low, dangerous growl. “Let’s go or I will take you against the door. Now.”

No one can outfly the speed of fate.

Secret Passions

© 2013 Loribelle Hunt

Forbidden Passions, Book 5

Though Sara Beth Reynard shuns the spotlight, her sensual animal nature always draws unwanted attention. On the rare occasions she leaves fox territory to supervise a construction project, humans are her number one hassle.

When the discovery of human/animal DNA makes her a sleazy tabloid’s lead story, Sara finds the whole thing laughable. Right up until some goon attempts to kidnap her. Worse, her alpha sends her to the wereeagles, clan of her childhood nemesis, for help.

Patrick Aquila takes one look at the grown-up version of “Foxy”, and wants to peel away all her layers of uptight and proper. His attempt to show her a night of lighthearted fun turns into an off-the-charts explosion of passion. But romance among weres is never that simple.

Patrick is in a race against time to convince Sara Beth they belong together, and find the snitch who is feeding information to not just one stalker, but two. The reporter who wants to hang her out to dry, and a hunter who wants to hand her over to her worst nightmare.

Warning: A reluctant fox, a sexy alpha eagle willing to pull every erotic trick in the book to keep her, and an obsessed big game hunter.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Secret Passions:

Someone had to die, but she couldn’t decide who should go first. The list was growing. Some asshole had attacked her. Her father and Michael had insisted she come here. And now Patrick, the grown-up teenage crush from Hell, was…she wasn’t sure what. He wasn’t exactly flirting, was he? But he seemed to be trying to engage her on a personal level she knew she shouldn’t allow. If he wanted to hop into bed, she was
so
there. But she wasn’t about to get emotionally involved with an adrenaline-junkie eagle.

On second thought, sex was probably a bad idea. She might not be able to protect her heart if he touched her, if she gave in to the desire to feel him over her—moving in her. It would probably be a colossal mistake.

She was a fox, for crissakes. She did home and hearth and she did it damned well, thank you very much. She wanted comfort and warmth and a man who was devoted to her because of it. Patrick would never be that man, which was a cryin’ shame, but as her favorite aunt always said, “Life’s a bitch and then you die.”

The hell of it was Patrick was the only man who’d ever tempted her wild side. He hadn’t noticed her since the day he’d gone off to college, three years before her. She hadn’t been as blind. And this was who she got stuck with as a bodyguard? Hell with that. Two days tops and she was going home. She’d hire someone if she had to. There were plenty of werewolves in the personal protection business.

Actually, if she’d been thinking straight, that would have occurred to her earlier. She was an idiot and irritated with herself so she might have been a bit testy when she asked about sleeping arrangements. It all went downhill from there.

“Where is the guest room?”

“There’s only one bedroom in the house,” he said. “We’ll be sharing.”

Oh fuck no. She might think about trying him on for size, but she knew the danger to her heart. “I’ll take the couch.”

“The hell you will,” he snapped.

“Does that mean you will?” she asked, sweetly even though she could tell by his scent and expression he intended to sleep with her. More than sleep. His arousal was rich and masculine. Seductive.

“You’re pushing it, foxy.”

“Don’t call me that,” she bit out. Gods, she hated that nickname. “Frankly, it’s insulting. You called me that when I was an unattractive kid you wanted to get rid of. It isn’t getting you anywhere now, I promise.”

She just wanted to go home. For some reason, her ego was more bruised now than right after the attempted kidnapping. It took every ounce of her control not to respond when he stepped closer and stroked his hands up her arms.

“You were beautiful. Why do you think I called you that? So sensual, so sexy and so damned young,” he whispered. “You scared me. You made me feel things I wasn’t supposed to feel. You were too young for me then.”

She wrenched out of his grasp and knew her smile was saccharine sweet, totally fake. “I’m still too young for you. You can take the couch.”

She tried to stalk away before he could protest, but she wasn’t fast enough. He stopped the bedroom door from shutting with ease, slapping his palm against it as she tried to push it closed. There was no way she could compete with his strength and she didn’t see the point in embarrassing herself by trying. She set her hands on her hips and used the look her brothers called the death glare. Unfortunately, it didn’t have much effect on a tall, well-built wereeagle. And why the hell were eagles so damned tall when she was cursed with shortness?

“What’s that look for?” His expression may have been calm, but she was pleased to hear the exasperation in his tone.

“Do you have to keep looming over me?” She waved her hands in a shooing motion. The sun had set hours ago. She just wanted to change and curl up in bed. “Go away. It’s been one annoying thing after the other today and you’re making it worse.”

He arched an eyebrow, pale blond and as perfectly sculpted as the rest of him. His hair was pulled back, but she guessed it was about shoulder length loose. And those eyes…bright, shocking blue. He was tall, his body roped with muscles she wanted to explore. He was disgustingly good-looking and if he got serious about seducing her she knew her resistance would turn to dust with the slightest effort on his part. It wasn’t fair, was it?

“First of all, I don’t loom,” he said. “Second, I am not leaving you alone.”

She wanted to scream. Or throw something at him. “Why am I with you anyway? You’re Ajax’s senior advisor. Bodyguard duty isn’t exactly in your job description, is it?”

“No one else can keep you as safe as I can,” he said, arrogant and haughty.

“Wow. Does that hurt?”

He looked confused. “What?”

“Carrying around a head swelled that big.”

At first he looked stunned. She doubted anyone ever gave him grief over anything. Then
he
stunned
her
. He laughed, deep and full, totally genuine. When he reached for her, it didn’t occur to her to dodge. He held her close with one hand on her ass and the other on the back of her head. As she became aware of every hard inch of his body, he fell silent.

“You are something else, baby,” he whispered.

His eyes darkened to a stormy blue, the skin around them pinched tight as if he was under a great strain. His head lowered, his lips moving closer to hers slowly enough she could turn her head and struggle free. If she’d had an ounce of self-preservation, that was exactly what she’d have done. She had more curiosity, though. She’d imagined what his kisses would be like, and even though she had no knowledge, she’d compared the kisses of other men to her fantasy. Now was her chance to find out.

Moon Kissed

Aline Hunter

Claiming your mate can be murder…

Bitter memories have kept Wolfe Trevlian away from New Orleans, but an alpha’s call for help has him reluctantly returning to the Big Easy. His tasks sound simple: Keep an eye on things, and initiate a truce with the pack’s enemies by killing a local pest.
 

His target turns out to be the last creature on earth who should be his mate. His instincts insist otherwise, even after she fills his hide with silver and warns him to leave her alone.

Arden Moran looked into the mind of her dying friend and saw the face of a killer. Vengeance has brought this half human, half vampire to New Orleans. Nothing will stop her from nailing her target, including the bossy, sexy werewolf who stirs both fear and desire within her.
 

Wolfe’s never been one to back down from a challenge, but saving, and then claiming, his female is easier said than done. Particularly with a mate who’s pissed off every supernatural creature on the planet—and is walking around with a price on her head.

This book has been previously published.

Warning: Contains a reluctant substitute alpha who didn’t sign up for complications, a wary half-breed vampire who’d love to take “no” for an answer—especially since it’s
her
“no”—and friends who refuse to interfere, figuring it’s more fun to sit back and watch the fur fly.

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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.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Moon Kissed

Copyright © 2014 by Aline Hunter

ISBN: 978-1-61922-181-9

Edited by Holly Atkinson

Cover by Kendra Egert

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.

Original Copyright: 2009

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: August 2014