Taken by Passion: King of Hearts (Wonderland Book 1) (25 page)

“Sweet Alice.” Jarronn smiled, his heart and soul so full of love for his queen. “The first time I took you as my mate and released the
tigri
pheromones the process was started.”

She stilled. “Process?”

With a slow nod, Jarronn said, “Eventually you shall become a weretigress.”

“No kidding?” Alice’s body tensed and her face lit up with hope. “That means I’ll live longer and all that other stuff? And I’ll be able to shape-shift, too?”

Jarronn couldn’t help but grin. “Yes, my love.”

The weretigress already brewing within her stirred, and she pulled him down for a long and hard kiss.

When he pulled away from the kiss, Jarronn’s eyes locked with Alice’s and he slid into her core.

Even as she gasped with pleasure, he growled and stated, “You are mine, Alice O’Brien. You belong to me.”

Slowly he made love to her, driving them both beyond their limits. Further and further he pushed them both until they climaxed together in an explosion of passion and love.

As they floated down together, Alice sighed and murmured, “I love you, Jarronn.”

Jarronn kissed her sweet lips and replied, “And I love you, my Queen of Hearts.”

IT WAS MIDNIGHT BY THE TIME THE TAXI PULLED up to Alexi’s pastel blue San Francisco town house. She and Annie had enjoyed a relaxing evening of several courses, from shrimp cocktail, to clam chowder, to Caesar salad, then grilled salmon, cheesecake for dessert, and coffee with Baileys afterwards. Alexi had imbibed a couple of glasses of beer and wine during dinner and had managed to keep up her good buzz.

For a fraction of a second, when she looked up at the dark town house, a sense of loneliness bled through Alexi and she wished she wouldn’t be alone for at least one night. But she shoved it away, gave Annie a quick hug good-bye, and climbed out of the cab.

“Get some rest, y’hear?” Annie said as Alexi stood outside the car. “Need me to walk you to the door?”

“I’ll go straight to bed, and nope, I’m fine.” Alexi gave her cousin a smile and tried not to wobble on her heels so Annie wouldn’t realize just how tipsy she still was. “You made this night so much easier to get through.”

Annie pushed her glasses up her nose and returned Alexi’s smile. “For both of us.”

After she shut the car’s door, Alexi watched the taxi pull away until its red taillights disappeared over the hill.

With a sigh she turned, her purse slapping against her hip beneath her jacket. She tottered up the steps to the townhouse she’d been renting since Alice disappeared. It was supposed to have been a surprise for Alice—one of Alexi’s law partners had taken a position in New York City and agreed to rent the two-story town house to them at a rock-bottom rate. The day that Alice vanished, Alexi had finalized the deal.

The first week after Alice’s disappearance, while she searched for her twin, Alexi had hired movers to bring all of Alice’s belongings from that little apartment she’d lived in with her asshole of an ex-fiancé. Everything had been moved in and was ready for when Alexi found her sister.

But she never had.

Alexi’s gold bracelets jangled as she grasped the old-fashioned brass door handle as she reached the small concrete landing. She breathed deeply of the smells of ocean and fresh-cut grass. The sound of a foghorn floated through the night along with the clang of a ferry’s bell.

For some reason, even though they were different types, Alexi’s gold bracelets reminded her of the woven bracelet she’d given Alice. Her twin never took it off. The thought filled Alexi’s chest with sadness.

She paused. She almost didn’t want to go into the house…to be alone again. But what else was she going to do?

After unlocking the door, she let herself into the dim interior lit only by a colorful stained-glass lamp on a small table in the foyer. One of Annie’s beautiful seascape oil paintings adorned the wall just above the table. Alexi locked the door behind her, then started to slip her jacket from her shoulders. Familiar odors of cinnamon potpourri and lemon furniture polish surrounded her, and she almost imagined she could smell the rose-scented lotion Alice used to moisturize her skin.

But then Alexi caught smells that didn’t belong, and she dropped her jacket to the carpeted floor in a rush, freeing her arms. The unfamiliar scents set her senses on alert because they didn’t belong in her home. Wildflowers, sunshine, and a fresh mountain breeze. Pleasant, yes, but they shouldn’t have been there.

Her purse still hung from her shoulder, and she slipped her hand inside until her fingers met the cool Mace canister. Hair prickled at her nape while she withdrew the canister. Slowly she let her purse slide to the carpeted floor where it landed with a soft thud. Her heart pounded, and the pleasant buzz she’d had vanished.

An eerie blue glow flared from the direction of Alexi’s bedroom.

Anger burned in her gut. Someone was in her home, and she was going to kick the person’s ass. She might not know martial arts like her aunt Awai, but Alexi knew self-defense techniques and worked out. Not to mention she had a can of Mace along with a hell of a temper that more than made up for any lack of martial arts training.

Mace held high in her left hand, Alexi gritted her teeth and silently eased down the plush carpeted steps and through the living room. She clenched her right hand into a fist, prepared to deck the son of a bitch once she nailed him with the Mace.

All her senses were on high alert, and her ankles didn’t even wobble in the killer stilettos. When she reached the bedroom door she waited a second, then peeked around the doorframe.

A giant mirror stood where her bed should be. An incredibly beautiful mirror with an ornate frame that glittered in the strange blue glow now filling her bedroom. Sparkles flashed within the blue misty glow, looking as though Tinkerbelle had come for a visit.

What the hell?

Anger and confusion mingled with curiosity as Alexi moved toward the mirror. The bead fringe along her blouse caressed her belly as a breeze seemed to come from inside the mirror and flow out into the bedroom. Her steps faltered and she wondered if maybe she’d gotten a whole lot more buzzed than she’d originally thought. She had to be hallucinating all of this.

When she finally reached the mirror she stood face-to-face with her reflection. Her almond-shaped turquoise eyes, her auburn hair, her hand held high, still gripping the Mace. What was she going to do, Mace her mirror image?

The whole moment was bizarre and surreal, and Alexi was sure she’d lost her grip on reality. Hell, maybe her sanity, too. She let the canister slip from her fingers and it gave a soft thump as it landed on the carpet. The gold bracelet on her wrist glittered in the room’s eerie light as she raised her hand and placed her palm flat against the mirror’s surface. It was smooth, but surprisingly warm to her touch.

It sure didn’t feel like a hallucination.

Her reflection rippled and changed and Alexi’s knees almost gave out.

A mountain meadow appeared, surrounded with thick forest to the left, a ridge of mountains to the right, and lots of wildflowers scattered through thick grass. A cool breeze washed over Alexi, fluttering the bead fringe at her belly and chilling the gold tiger charm at her navel. In the distance water tumbled down a steep mountainside and she heard the rumble of the falls and birds twittering. Rich scents swept over her with the breeze—smells of pine, damp forest loam, wildflowers, and fresh water.

Okay, she was certifiable. Call the funny farm, because Alexi O’Brien had done lost it. No more beer for her—crappy-tasting stuff, anyway. She might as well just curl up on the floor, take a nap, and sleep it off.

A man moved into her mirror view, and Alexi thought she was going to scream.

That or orgasm, because he was the most gorgeous, most dangerous-looking man she’d ever seen. His penetrating green eyes were staring right at her, as if he could
see
her.

Alexi’s nipples tightened beneath her scanty midriff top.
Damn, this was one fine hallucination.

The man held up a golden playing card and the muscles of his bare chest and arms rippled with power. His features were strong and chiseled and his long wood-brown hair stirred around his shoulders in the breeze. He looked bad to the bone from the gold earring he sported in his left ear to the tattoo of a spade on his left wrist, to—
hold on
—that one hell of a package between his powerful black-clad thighs. She’d bet he’d be man enough to take her on. Maybe even man enough to tie her up and give her one hell of a ride.

Alexi sucked in her breath and pressed her palm tighter to the mirror.
Damn. If he were real I’d fuck him in a heartbeat.

The hallucination man’s lips quirked and Alexi thought she’d climax from the sinfully sensual movement.

Time to get out the vibrator.

With a twist of his fingers, the golden card vanished. On his side of the mirror, he raised his hand and placed his palm against Alexi’s.

Shock tore through her at the feel of his warm, callused hand against her palm. When his fingers interlocked with hers, Alexi gasped and tried to free herself, but he was too powerful.

The man pulled, and she stared in horrified fascination as her hand and wrist slipped into the mirror. It felt like she was being drawn through a Jell-O wall.

She struggled for real then, fighting to get away from his grip. “Let me go, you son of a bitch!”

A predatory rumble rose up from the man and he yanked her arm. Alexi screamed and pitched forward, right through the mirror.

“Wonderland” Series

Taken by Passion/King of Hearts

“Tattoos and Leather” ménage Series

Inked

Branded

Marked

Stranded

“Hearts in Chains” BDSM Series

Wounded

“The Auction” Series

Sold

Bought

Claimed
(with bonus novella
Taken
)

“Taboo” Series

Wicked Nights: three Erotic Tales

Taboo Desires: three Tales of Lust and Passion

Playing Rough: three Stories of Sensual Submission

Romantic Suspense

“Lawmen” Series

Hidden Prey 1.0

No Mercy 2.0

Slow Burn 2.5

“Riding Tall” Series

Branded For You

Roping Your Heart

Fencing You In

Tying You Down

Playing With You

Crazy For You

Hot For You

Made For You

Held By You

Belong To You

“Rough and Ready” Series

Silk and Spurs

Lace and Lassos

Champagne and Chaps

Satin and Saddles

Roses and Rodeo

Lingerie and Lariats

Lipstick and Leather

Paranormal

The Touch

Dark Seduction

Night’s Captive

Future Knight

By Jaymie Holland

“Tattoos and Leather” series

Erika gave a soft gasp as Dawson’s mouth met hers. He moved his mouth slowly over hers, his stubble scraping the soft skin about her mouth. His kiss was gentle and searching, so different than what she would have expected from him.

Her head spun from the wine, from the kiss, from her wild attraction to this man. She breathed in his scent of leather and pine and it filled her, drew her into him.

With a shuddering sigh she slid her palms up his biceps as she returned his kiss. She clenched the rock hard muscle as if it might keep her from sliding into a molten puddle at his feet.

He slid his tongue into her mouth, searching, tasting. He brought her closer to him and she melted against him, her body seeming to meld with his. His cock was hard, insistent, and she ached between her thighs, wanting him, needing him.

Just when she thought the kiss would never end, that they would stay there together forever, he parted his mouth from hers.

He looked at her and smiled. “Now that was a kiss,” he murmured as he stroked hair from her face.

She swallowed and managed to get out, “Not a good idea.”

A smile tipped the corner of his mouth. “Oh, I think it’s a very good idea.”

Somehow she found her strength and pushed herself back a couple of steps. He let his hands slide away from her.

“I’d better get back to—to—” For the life of her she couldn’t remember what.

He grinned. “The wine?”

She ran her tongue along her lower lip, tasting him. “Yes.” She dodged around him and strode back down the hallway toward the living room. Before she left the hallway, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, hoping like hell that her mouth didn’t look red from Dawson’s stubble and her lips swollen from his kiss. And she hoped her desire for him wasn’t clear in her eyes.

When she’d gathered her wits and composure the best she could, she walked into the living room. She was grateful to see that Holden wasn’t in the living room or kitchen. Maybe he’d gone into the master bedroom, wherever that was, to use his own bathroom.

She curled up on the couch again, this time clutching her glass because her hands were shaking from her encounter with Dawson.