by Jayne Rylon
When she went to fit her key in the lock, the door at the top of the stairs swung open. Had they forgotten to pull it closed? A bunch of them had grown up on the streets or in places a hell of a lot less protected. Security wasn’t something they slacked off on despite the relative safety of Middletown.
“Um, hello?” A shiver ran down her spine. Something wasn’t right. When a skitter of motion flickered through her unadjusted peripheral vision, she didn’t hesitate.
Using the self-defense instruction Roman had often given her, she balled her fist and swung at the shadow rapidly encroaching on her. Her knuckles connected with flesh. Holy crap.
It hurt, but not enough to keep her from landing a second punch to someplace softer. Who the hell was in their house? In the dark? Had they hurt her Hot Rods?
She’d rip them apart with her bare hands if they had.
“Oompf.” The grunt sounded somewhat familiar. But Sally wasn’t sure the person she’d decked was Eli until he hollered, “Guys! Turn the lights on.”
Brightness flashed into existence, blinding Sally.
“Welcome home!” a chorus of male voices shouted, mostly together.
She nearly toppled onto her ass when fight or flight instincts propelled her headlong into the bizarre scene in front of her. Eli bent in half, clutching his abdomen with one hand and his face with the other. Alanso stood slightly behind him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
After them, a mass of guys milled around with beers, ridiculous party hats, oversized balloons from the shop and an impressive assortment of snack cakes that looked like they might have come from the convenience section of the gas station.
“Uh-oh.” She dropped her keys.
Holden cracked up first. He adored mischief. This one might go down in the history books as the most awkward greeting of all time. “Well, he had it coming.”
“Somebody hand me some paper towels.” Alanso rushed to Eli’s side. A trickle of blood spattered onto the floor.
“I’m fine. It’s fine.” Eli tried to shake it off. He lifted his head and ignored any discomfort he might be in. Peeking at her from the slivers of his eyes not scrunched in pain, he said, “Hey, there.”
“Oh my God.” Sally’s shoulders drooped. “I’m so sorry. I thought… It was dark. I didn’t think you were home. The door was unlocked.”
“And you still came inside. By yourself?” Roman practically growled at her.
“She can hold her own.” Eli surprised her by taking her side. He pressed the napkin, which Carver had offered, to his face and tipped his head back as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
And just like that, Sally couldn’t handle any more. She didn’t give a damn if they thought less of her. She’d always made a point of showing no weakness around the gang of mechanics. Or at least she’d tried. But tonight there was no stopping the flood of tears that swept over her.
“Shh.” Alanso was there in an instant. He smelled nice, like grease and the cinnamon gum he liked. Breathing deep, she didn’t resist as he wrapped her in his stocky arms and fitted her to his chest. “It’ll take a hell of a lot more than a bop on the nose to put King Cobra in his place. It’s okay. We shouldn’t have startled you like that. Hijo de puta, why do we keep screwing things up?”
“No, no.” She squirmed in his hold, wanting to peek over his shoulder to verify she hadn’t imagined the effort they’d gone to. They cared. They’d missed her. Maybe even a fraction as much as she’d pined for them. “It’s perfect. Amazing. I ruined things. Again.”
“I wouldn’t say that, Sally.” Kaige raised his beer in her direction. “I’m having a wicked good time. Nice hook, by the way.”
A weak smile began to turn her frown upside down. Her eyes skipped over his bold tattoos and his golden dreads to the older man standing quietly at the rear of the gang.
King Cobra’s dad, Tom, nodded in her direction, then held his hands up so that his curled fingers made the top of a heart and his thumbs pointed together, completing the shape. The gesture alone brought fresh tears to her eyes.
Damn, this wasn’t going to be pretty.
She let go of Alanso just long enough to flash the sign in return.
Together she and the engine tuner faced Eli.
“It’s stopping. All cool. No worries.” He crumpled the paper towel and jammed it in the back pocket of his jeans. “I missed you, Sally.”
“I missed you too.” She held out her arms. Both Eli and Alanso stepped into them. She hugged each of them with one arm and they mimicked her until the triangle was complete.
With the three of them bonded in their own private assembly, Eli whispered into her ear, “We have a lot to talk about. After the party. You. Me. Alanso. Please let me explain?”
She froze. The plan had been to charge in and hit them with her demands, both barrels. Would she still have the nerve to be so bold after an hour or two of hanging out, pretending all was normal when everything inside her had disintegrated and rearranged? And what about her unfinished business? She wouldn’t have time to dive into it before the three of them hashed things out. Crap!
Is this how Alanso had felt when he’d returned from the guys’ visit to the crew after Dave’s accident? If so, she had no clue how he’d held it all together so long. His strength awed her. Just like it had when he’d burst inside that night a few weeks ago and announced he wanted to experiment with guys. She had to take a page from his book and be brave enough to share her desires. Otherwise, there was no hope of getting what she needed.
Sally kissed the bald guy’s cheek as she rubbed his head. He nearly purred when she found the spot he loved so much. Then she turned to Eli to bestow the same peace offering on him. Though she’d kissed his cheek a million times in their lives, this time was different.
At the last instant, he turned his head.
They met lips on lips for the first time.
Sally’s heart sputtered in her chest like the engine on one of their fresh finds. To finally touch him, like this, with intent to do more—it amazed her. He was gentle, more than she would have expected. His thumbs brushed her cheeks as his fingers buried in the long strands of her hair.
When her knees turned to motor oil, Alanso held her up, tucked tight to his frame.
He lifted her toward his best friend, allowed the man to feast at her mouth.
Eli’s tongue traced her smile. He nibbled on her bottom lip while she tried to shake herself from the stunned trance his touch induced. She purred, then kissed him back, clutching both him and Alanso as they made out in front of all the witnesses that mattered.
What will grow from the seeds of desire?
Hope Springs
© 2013 Jayne Rylon & Mari Carr
Compass Girls, Book 2
Hope Compton never considered her parents’ unconventional relationship a dangerous thing. Until, after a few too many drinks in a crowded bar, she admits her desire for a ménage to her college boyfriend—and uninvited guests try to turn her fantasy into a nightmare.
When Wyatt catches some thugs harassing the pretty daughter of his bosses, he doesn’t hesitate to call on his partner Clayton to kick some asses. But then he realizes what a temptation the sweet, sheltered Hope presents. Especially her naughty wish to unleash her inner vixen—with both of them.
Hope has no doubt her playmates want to fulfill her every desire, but something’s holding them back. She has an idea what those somethings are. With luck, and a little help from her Compass cousins to hold her fathers off, she’ll find what she needs in the shadows of the past—and convince them she’s found two men of her own who are worthy of her love.
Warning: Compass books bring love in every direction and every season. But not all of life’s moments are filled with joy. Take the good with the bad, and the steamy.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Hope Springs:
“Are you insane?” Wyatt shouted at her before kicking a hay bale.
“He could have hurt you,” Clayton murmured
as he approached.
“Boone’s big mouth means you must know what that does to me.” Wy rubbed his chest. “There were a million people in that house who love you and you’d risk yourself like that? For what? I know I’m freaking uncivilized sometimes, like this morning—not my best showing, I admit it—but being so inconsiderate of the pain you could have caused your family…that’s just plain selfish and rude. Stupid.”
When he put it like that, she shifted from foot to foot. “I wasn’t afraid of John. I just wanted him gone. Permanently. And maybe to show him that he couldn’t touch me, not really.”
“But he could have.” A vein stood out in Wyatt’s neck, making her worry he’d over exert himself. Relapsing would prolong his recovery and stress him out. None of them needed that. Clay especially, since he had to live with Wy.
“One scream would have rained down enough angry cowboys on him to hold their own rodeo. Sterling knew what was going on and she’s one of the best shots around.” Security at Compass Ranch was guaranteed, in her mind. Nowhere else could have been as safe a haven for her. Unless it was in the arms of two loving ranch hands.
“No kidding, how do you think we realized what you were up to? You’re lucky your father didn’t notice her staring out the window. Hope—” Wyatt’s persistence in his beliefs made her realize civil discussion wasn’t an option. Maybe it never had been. A man like him respected action and bluntness over diplomacy.
Invoking the platinum rule, she prepared to treat him as he preferred.
A sudden fury ignited a conflagration in her like the lightning bolt that had struck the south hay field after last year’s summer-long drought. In this case, the dearth turning her insides to kindling had lasted more than two decades, she supposed. “You know what? Shut the hell up. I’ve had enough of men deciding my future. My dads, my uncles, my ex-boyfriend and now you guys. You can suck it. If you don’t want anything to do with me, you have no right to say how I live my life. A week ago you barely knew my name. Son of a bitch. You were half-dead yesterday and now you’re going to come in here and start brawling to defend my honor or punish me for giving that dirt bag a piece of my mind? I don’t need a lecture from you. Save your energy.”
Wyatt’s grin spread slow and wide. “You cursed. A bunch.”
“Screw you!”
“Hope, you’re wrong about one thing. We’ve known all about you for a while. How could we not?” Clayton’s quiet honesty cut through her rage. “You stand out.”
“You think we didn’t see you prancing around here?” Wyatt scoffed. “We noticed you plenty.”
“Then what the hell were you waiting for? Even after you found out I was curious about trying out your lifestyle, you didn’t make me any offers. Damn it, I practically gave you an engraved invitation and you declined.” Allowing him to see her cry was out of the question. “So go home. Rest. Do the smart thing for once in your life.”
Wyatt ignored her rant. He stared at her as if he actually considered what she’d shouted.
Crossing her arms, she refused to retreat.
“I get wanting to be in control of your destiny. I can respect independence. So is that all you need? To test drive two guys? Doesn’t matter who?” Wyatt peered into her eyes as he put it on the line. “Will screwing us delete this ridiculous idea of the three of us together from your big brain? If you want to have sex, we can handle that. If you want more, it’s impossible. Look at Boone. I won’t do that to another person. And I certainly won’t make you a target for ignorant jerks like the guys at the bar, who’d assume you’d be up for playing with them. Hiding in the shadows isn’t any way to live either. You don’t know what you’re asking for. I didn’t think you were the kind of woman who could separate emotion from sex, but I didn’t think a lot of things about you. I like being wrong sometimes. Maybe this is one of those rare instances.”
Something in her chest fluttered at his adaptability. Could she have judged him wrong too? Was he somewhat more flexible than she’d given him credit for? Steel instead of stone.
If he was bluffing, he was about to be sorry.
“Glad you’re comfortable with screwing up because I think you’re an expert by now.” She loved how she could blurt exactly what she thought without polite phrasing and he could take it. Heck, he seemed to revel in their passionate exchange, which grew more vibrant by the instant.
Arguing with him, debating their future, did something wicked to her.
Hope took a step closer, tilting her head up to maintain eye contact. The intensity of his stare sliced through her, deep into her core.
“You’re pushing him, sweetheart.” Clay’s nostrils flared like one of the horses when it scented a potential mate. “Me along with him.”
Wyatt met her halfway. He caged her between himself and his bunkmate. Their powerful bodies formed canyon walls. She loved being trapped by them. Every instinct she possessed sang with the rightness of it. Surrounded by the two men—their heat and their scent—she feared she might beg them to teach her about all the things she could sense lying barely outside her reach.
“Serves you right.” She pouted just a little.
“Why?” Clay tipped his head. “What’d I do?”
“You’ve been doing the same to me. Teasing me. Putting all these damn ideas in my head. Turning me on with no way to relieve the ache. Don’t leave me like this.” She tossed his words from last night in his face and sealed the deal.
“I won’t. I—I can’t.” Clayton swallowed hard. He looked to Wyatt quickly before he tipped her head up and covered her mouth with his.
Exactly as it had the day before, the connection of their bodies sparked a reaction more potent than the electrostatic attraction that bonded the compatible compounds she’d studied so hard. With Clay, everything was covalent. They agreed on so much. Their personalities had made last night’s companionship easy and light. Wyatt—opposite, and ionic. An explosion of magnetic energy. Or maybe the three of them could fuse into an archetypical bent bond.
Any case provided a similar outcome. A single, perfect connection.
Super Nova
Jayne Rylon
His demons are no match for her passion.
Hot Rods, Book 3
Kaige “Super Nova” Davis doesn’t carry a chip on his shoulder. It’s more like a beast in his belly…and right now the monster he’s fought so hard to tame is growling to unleash its legendary temper.
Eli has gone behind his back and hired a marketing consultant. But when Kaige storms into the office to give Eli hell, one look at the mocha-skinned brunette seated across the desk flips a switch in his brain. And in his pants.
Nola Brown has never experienced Kaige’s powerful brand of sexual charisma. He makes her want to ditch her professional façade and be herself—a mistake she can’t afford to make. Yet just as he talks her defenses down—and proves that grease marks look just as good on her skin as a silk suit—she stumbles in on one of the Hot Rods’ late-night, full-throttle sessions.
Now Kaige wonders if she’ll embrace this glimpse of their future, or if she’ll run as fast as her killer stilettos can take her.
Warning: Contains a garage full of hot, passionate men who are good with their hands, and a woman who isn’t afraid to get a little down and dirty. And cute puppies. And did we mention hot men?
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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.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Super Nova
Copyright © 2013 by Jayne Rylon
ISBN: 978-1-61921-344-9
Cover by Angela Waters
Cover Photo by Sophia Renee
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: December 2013
www.samhainpublishing.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
About the Author
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Back Cover Copy
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