Twin Flames (10 page)

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She’s the only mate he wants. But love isn’t on the menu.

What’s a Ghoul to do?

© 2008 Mardi Ballou

Lilith P. Graves needs to get a life. A social life. This shouldn’t be a problem, since she’s partnered with her best friend in the “Fangly, My Dear” dating service. Problem is, she keeps falling for the wrong guys, and they don’t get more wrong than the super-hot alpha Rafe Graywolf.

With the history of bad blood between her kind and his, the message is clear: Vegetarian demi-ghouls need not apply.

Obeying the call of duty, Rafe took the role of alpha at a rough time for the pack. For the sake of stability, the elders insist he find a mate.
Now.
A dating service isn’t normally his cut of steak, but he has little time—or choice.

But Lilith…now there’s a choice morsel he could sink his teeth into. Too bad they’re on opposite ends of the ghoul-werewolf social spectrum. Not to mention the food chain…

Enjoy the following excerpt for
What’s a Ghoul to do?

She was going out with Rafe Graywolf. Even if it was only to conduct an intake interview, she could almost consider it a date.

His grin came slow and easy. “I take that as a ‘yes’. Lilith, as you’re doing me the favor here, where would you like to eat?”

Huh
. She couldn’t see Rafe going for Vinnie’s Veggie Garden or any of her usual haunts. Weres went for red meat, cooked rare. Stifling her usual “ewww” at that prospect, Lilith reviewed a roster of possibilities. No way could she could endure a steakhouse. Then it struck her. She had to be upfront with him about not only what kind of food she ate, but who she was. “Before we go any further, I need to tell you some things about me.”

A wicked grin lit up his face. “From the expression on your face, I’d expect you to confess to being a serial axe murderer or something along those lines.”

At the moment, she’d prefer that identity to the one she was about to reveal. “I’m a vegetarian.”

He cocked a brow. “So you won’t ask to sample my barely singed filet. Can’t say I understand why anyone would want to be a vegetarian, but I like a bit of mystery in women. Is that it? Are you ready to go?”

If only. “One more thing. The reason why I’m vegetarian. You see, I’m a demi-ghoul, on my dad’s side. If I weren’t a strict vegetarian—”

That rattled his cool. Lilith could see the precise moment when the truth of her identity registered—the moment he jolted back in his seat. What a moment for her empath skills to kick in. On the other hand, it wasn’t like this had never happened before—or wouldn’t happen again. Lilith held her head up and locked eyes with Rafe. She loved her family, both branches. Any guy who set a speed running record in his sprint away from her wasn’t worth—

“That’s a new one for me, Lilith. Anything else you want to mention?”

He wasn’t running. She straightened her shoulders. “I’m also an empath from Mom’s side of the family.”

“Great. Then you realize I’ve got to eat pronto or I’ll get crabby.”

Her mind scrambled to come up with the perfect place to satisfy their needs. “Italian or Mex?”

“Italian,” he snapped back.

“Cassio’s?”

“In North Beach? Sounds great.”

“But what about the elders waiting in the outer office?”

He looked at his watch and made a face. “They’ll have to get their own dinner. I’ll let them know. Ready to go?”

Rafe whipped out his cell, had a quick conversation with an elder and then phoned for a reservation. Before she could think of anything else to hold them up, they were out the door.

***

Seeing Lilith shuffle the lettuce, olives and cheese cubes of her vegetarian antipasto around her plate, Rafe figured she wasn’t very hungry. At least she seemed to enjoy the excellent sourdough bread and Chianti. He, on the other hand, practically inhaled his steak and pasta.

He wondered what was bothering her. Lilith was an intriguing mixture of shy and sophisticated.
Sophisticated
wasn’t hard to come by in San Francisco, but Rafe met very few people he’d consider shy. He liked that about her. He also liked the way he felt near her. Warm. Hot. She appeared to have no idea how damn sexy she was. He wanted to nuzzle the porcelain skin of her long, delicate neck. She brought out a mix of lust and protectiveness unlike any he’d ever felt. Pleasurable as these emotions could be, he also sensed he should be on his guard with her. Lilith P. Graves had him experiencing emotions very new to him. Most of all, though, she turned him on. He wanted to brush the blond curls back from her ivory cheeks and kiss the path they traced.

She’d cleared a spot on the crowded table for her papers and pen. “Before we have dessert, I thought we could get these questions out of the way.”

He nodded to her still almost-full plate. “You didn’t eat much. Didn’t you like the antipasto? Do you want to order something else?”

“Busted. Now you know my guilty secret. I loaded up on the bread. It’s my weakness and they just kept replenishing our basket. I couldn’t resist.” She smiled.

Talk about not being able to resist. The animal in him wanted to reach across the table and grab her, lay her down and ravish her. Of course, he had his inner animal well under control now. It wouldn’t do to frighten her off, send her screaming into the night when she saw the power of his lust unleashed. His cock, fully erect for what felt like days, throbbed. He knew in very precise terms what he wanted for dessert.

Right now, though, he had to divert his blood supply from his erection back to the head on his shoulders.

“What is the physical description of your ideal woman?’”

“You,”
he whispered so softly, she almost didn’t hear. “I like beautiful women.” She shouldn’t have needed the words to know what he felt, but her empath skills had deserted her just when she needed them most.

She rolled her eyes. “Can you be more specific. Eye color, hair color—that sort of thing?”

He grinned. “Let’s see. Curly blond hair, down to about where you have it.” He pointed to her. She gripped the pen with such focus, he wanted to slip it from between her fingers and suck on each one. “Big blue eyes that are true windows to the woman’s soul. When I look in her eyes, I want to read her soul.”

That netted him a look before she wrote.

“What about body type?”

“Female,” he growled.

“Short, tall, willowy, more rounded—“

“Stand up so I can see.”

Wonderful blush. She turned so red, he’d have sworn her blush must extend from the roots of her naturally blond hair clear down to her toenails.

“Rafe, get real. You have to stop kidding around, or we’ll be here all night.”

He lounged back in his seat. “You have other appointments?”

She turned away. “It’s not that. I promised Dominique I’d get you to focus. The sooner we can get the forms done, the sooner we can input your responses and start finding matches for you.”

“You’re the exact image of my perfect woman. To answer your questions, just describe yourself. You’re what I want, physically, socially and whatever other ‘ly’ you’re looking for.”

She pursed her gorgeous full lips. “Look, Rafe. It’s not that I’m not flattered. Heck, what woman wouldn’t be? We can’t forget, though, this isn’t about us flirting and playing around. I understand where you’re coming from about choosing a mate and I’ve agreed to help. Still, we at Fangly, My Dear have made a commitment to locate suitable candidates for you, even if you end up rejecting them all. We want the candidates to seem feasible. Please, cooperate.”

“I am, Lilith. I want to go out with you. From where I’m sitting, you’re the exact image of my perfect date, even if I didn’t get your name from a dating service. Will you go out with me?” Though Rafe realized Lilith’s family background made her unsuitable to be his life mate, and that his pack would never accept her in that role, he couldn’t deny how attracted he was to her. He wanted her more each moment they spent together, even if she was a demi-ghoul. He had to be with her or he’d spend the rest of his life sure he’d missed out on something major.

She blushed even harder and batted her eyelashes. “This is so unprofessional. Not at all what I had in mind when I agreed to have dinner with you for your intake.”

He waved away her objections. “Are you hiding behind your professional persona to say no?”

“God, no.”

“Do you want to see me? Because Lilith, I want to be with you.” He took her hands in his, dislodging the pen and crumpling several papers.

A series of emotions flitted across her face and he could smell the conflict brewing in her. All her pheromones told him she wanted him.

Alone on a strange planet, forced to call a mate…

Call and Response

© 2008 Sara Rustan

Janeth Dewellin, a powerful empath, is on the planet Dragnath to find her missing brother. Her search is interrupted when she abruptly enters a second puberty and must quickly find a mate, or risk losing herself to madness. Alone and far from her people, her only hope is to “call” for a mate.

Empathic investigator Tom K’Restan follows a strange broadcast to see if this is the source of the negative empathic energy he is investigating. He finds Janeth, and an explosive attraction to her he cannot understand—and cannot resist.

Running out of time and options, Janeth secretly mates with Tom and uses their intense sexual energy as a beacon to call to her missing brother. Love will have to come later, if she can overcome Tom’s dismay and convince him they are destined to be forever lovers.

But the dark entity is still on the loose, one that feeds insatiably on their energy, threatening not only their fragile relationship, but their very survival.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Call and Response

He took a step closer and she moved back against the rough brick wall behind her.

“And this sexual arousal? Is that caused by another of your
talents
?”

Her eyes widened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He stepped even closer, and she could feel the rigid shaft of his erection pressing against the softness of her belly. The arousal she’d been fighting surged through her, and her legs shook. Only the wall behind her prevented her from collapsing to the ground in a puddle of hormones. Her gaze fastened on the lips that were so close to her.

“I don’t normally go around with an erection that could break rocks, and certainly not for someone I don’t even know, even though you’re an attractive woman.” His lips skimmed hers, and pleasure coiled inside her. He pulled back an inch. “So, answer the question. What are you doing to make me so goddamned horny?”

She heard the words, but the meaning didn’t quite make it to her brain because all functioning neurons had been drafted into the service of her body, which wanted sex
right now
. It took all her willpower to keep herself from pressing against him, licking those tender lips, wrapping her arms around him. If only she knew how he would react.

He repeated, “What are you doing to me?”

She felt dazed and fuzzyheaded. “Sorry. My brain isn’t working very well.”

He waved a hand in front of her eyes. “Can you answer the question?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain…”

“Try.”

“Well, I’m not deliberately doing anything to you. But my people… Let’s just say I’m very aroused—and very attracted to you. And I can’t control it well right now.”

“And why does
your
arousal make
me
horny?”

“I’m an empath and…we have an emotional connection. You’re responding to my need.”

His body stiffened. “I don’t like being made to feel things against my will.”

“Well, it’s not my choice either. I don’t even know you.” She pushed against the wall, trying to put a little space between them.

“Why me? Why not that kid down the street?”

“You’re especially sensitive to me. There’s a…a link between us.”

He frowned. “I don’t understand. When did you figure out that I was sensitive to you? How?”

“I called, and you responded.”

“Called? That empathic broadcast?”

She nodded.

“So the fact that I came to figure out what you were doing means… Hell, it doesn’t make sense. I chose to come to where you were. You didn’t make me.”

“That’s how it works.”

He pressed his erection against her. “There’s nothing you can do to stop making me feel like this?”

She licked her lips and whispered, “We could have sex. That would satisfy the need. For a while.” Her face felt hot with embarrassment.

He stepped back, and she missed having his body against hers. “Do you do this a lot?
Call
men to have sex with you?”

Now it wasn’t only her face that was hot; her whole body warmed with shame. If only she were at home on Lorelly where people understood. “No, never. It usually only happens once. I’ve never done it before.”

“Once. And I’m just the lucky guy?” He raised an eyebrow.

She flashed a weak smile. “Yes, I guess so.”

“Do your people have a name? I’ve never heard of a race like yours.”

She looked down. “I’m sorry. We like to keep our existence quiet.”

“So what are you going to do, wipe my mind?”

“I won’t wipe your mind. I promise.”

He paced back and forth in front of her. “This is just…too much.”

He was right. This was getting too complicated. She couldn’t keep up these explanations, couldn’t make the situation plain, couldn’t tell the entire truth. Her body was so eager for him she couldn’t think. Maybe if she were away from him, her mind would clear.

If she pushed him to have sex with her, she would feel even more responsible for concealing the truth. If he made the move, her guilt would be less. It might be splitting hairs, but the stakes were very high. That ought to count for something.

“I understand that it’s hard to accept.” She straightened her shoulders. “Let me know if you are willing to help me.” She took a step. “I’ll be in my room, where we met yesterday.”