PROJECTED PLEASURE
Sequel to Passion Projected
Jennifer Salaiz
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
PROJECTED PLEASURE
Copyright © 2010 by Jennifer Salaiz
E-book ISBN: 1-60601-752-7
First E-book Publication: May 2010
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2010 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter from Jennifer Salaiz
Regarding Ebook Piracy
Dear Readers,
I am honored you have purchased one of my books. Nothing makes me happier than to know I’ve written a story interesting enough to capture your attention. With every sentence I write, I try to put as much care and emotion into it as possible. These stories are my passion but also my job. This is how I help to support my family. I ask that you please not share this book or send it to your friends. Please understand that pirating books is equivalent to stealing. It’s morally wrong and it’s also illegal.
With deep gratitude,
Jennifer Salaiz
DEDICATION
My dedication is to the fans. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.
PROJECTED PLEASURE
Sequel to Passion Projected
JENNIFER SALAIZ
Copyright © 2010
Chapter 1
While Cole looked at the beautiful vision before him, he knew it couldn’t be real. As much as he wanted to believe Marley was here, she wasn’t. Disappointment settled deep within, but he was too selfish to let go of even the smallest piece of his alpha’s mate. Even if her lovely body wasn’t anything but a dream.
The fact that Cole loved Zachary’s wife was no news to his best friend. All three of them had become very close in the months he lived at the estate. But a point had come when his alpha picked up on his resistance to leave and ordered him to look for his companion. Now, back in the familiar atmosphere of the mansion, he conjured dreams of the one woman he wanted but couldn’t have, Marley.
Over the months he had been gone, projection was something he kept on the back burner. Rarely did Cole do what his alpha taught him, but now in his dream Marley hovered above him, reaching for him to come to her.
Lifting his hand upward, he felt the pull on his stomach. Just the simplest action and he would be able to leave his sleeping form to be with her. The tingling erupted over his body, and a knock at the door made everything vanish. Cole sat up rubbing his eyes and couldn’t help but smile. Finally, it was time.
* * * *
Light rain covered the passenger window as Marley tried to stare out into the thick cluster of trees. The vast forest surrounding them on both sides of the two lane road sent chills down her spine. Ever since the incident almost a year ago, she was left haunted. It had taken countless weeks for her to even walk the gardens. That didn’t include the repeated trips down the driveway just for her to chicken out at the last minute and make Zachary bring her back to the house.
After months of the repeated episodes, she finally grew brave enough to let her husband venture with her into the small Virginia town. But no matter how many times they left the estate, her body stayed on constant alert.
She knew Jordan was dead. In horror, she watched Zachary’s pack tear him apart. So why couldn’t she get over the feeling like everything between her husband and the rival pack was long from being over?
A whimper instinctively made her turn around in the passenger seat of their new Escalade. The increase of her heart rate had Zachary’s hand sliding into hers. The light squeeze of reassurance settled the thrumming, but not entirely.
“Everything’s all right, Marley. I think Demetri’s just getting hungry, that’s all,” Kylie said from next to the infant carrier in the second row.
Zachary’s sister might have been her son’s aunt, nanny, and personal body guard, but Marley saw her as so much more than that. Kylie happened to be her best friend and most trusted confidant. Although a blood tie linked her and her husband together, something recently blocked a part of the tie. And it all happened in the last stages of her pregnancy causing their telepathic connection to grow more distant every week that went by.
No longer could Zachary read her mind as clearly as he used to be able to. For that, she was forever grateful. The last thing she wanted him to know was how unstable her emotions were. A feeling so complex she couldn’t comprehend continued to tear at her insides. As much as Marley wanted to believe what Dr. Jacoby said about it being postpartum depression, she knew that wasn’t the case. The increased mood swings and raw cravings led her to think it was something more than a hormonal imbalance.
“We’re almost home. Everything will be fine.” Zachary tightened his grip on her hand.
Nodding, she looked back at the top of her three-month-old son’s head. Dark wisps of the beginning of curls bobbed while he fussily gnawed on his tiny fist. A smile couldn’t help but stretch across her face.
The blue-green of Kylie’s eyes beamed proudly. Zachary, Kylie, Aria, and now her son, Demetri all shared the amazing color. It was the first distinguishable thing Marley noticed about her husband. The fact that the color illuminated in the dark hypnotized her from the beginning.
She opened her mouth to ask a question when she paused. Movement from the corner of her eye flashed so fast she wasn’t sure she was seeing things correctly. Both Kylie and Marley’s gaze ripped from each other to the monstrous forest outside of her sister-in-law’s window. A scream became trapped inside her throat at the ghostly shape that disappeared behind a large trunk of a pine tree.
Visions of Jordan assaulted her mind. Something akin to anger and panic began to boil inside her blood, pushing its way throughout her body in a bundle of incompatible sensations. Almost as if tiny bugs pushed against her skin, things twisted and clawed to get out of her. Marley wasn’t sure whether to scream at the uncomfortable feeling or to scratch her nails down her body.
“What the hell was that?” Kylie half screamed. “A ghost? It couldn’t have been. I mean, it looked like a ghost, but a ghost?”
The car began to slow down, and Marley felt a surge of panic. “Zachary, don’t you dare stop this car. Our son is here. You can’t stop!”
Conflicted, Zachary’s eyes bore into Marley’s deep green depths. “Did you see it? What was it? It couldn’t have been,” her husband paused, taking a deep breath. “He’s dead, love. No rival pack exists anymore, and no one knows how to project other than…”
“Cole,” Marley finished. “Do you think he came home? Oh, Zachary, could that have been him? Maybe he was seeing how far away we were. Maybe he wanted to check to see if we were all right.”
The Escalade pulled in the long, paved road leading to the estate. Marley’s heart thudded at the possibility that Cole might be back. She hadn’t seen him since her son was born and even before that he’d only been present for half of her pregnancy. The mission he was on was much like the one Zachary had undergone when he found her. Cole was looking for his mate, using techniques her husband taught him, projection. Supposedly, it came naturally to werewolves if they knew exactly what to do. After a little practice, Cole learned the basics and left.
Emptiness filled her that day. To Marley, the three of them were the perfect threesome. Where Zachary left off, Cole picked up and vice-versa. But she understood his need for a mate. She and her husband couldn’t truly satisfy what Cole would ultimately long for, or at least what she assumed every man longed for—a family, a home nestled somewhere for privacy.
Marley hadn’t finished closing her door when Cole appeared not five feet away. A joyful scream escaped her throat while she threw herself at him. His warm laughter filled the hollowness in her chest while he lifted her, spinning her around.
“You look absolutely stunning. I missed you.”
Cole brushed his lips across her cheek. Tingly sensations covered her body at his touch. God, how she had missed him. Just at his nearness she could feel her body react.
Zachary walked around the car, smiling. “How are you? Did you bring home a surprise?” He approached them, slapping Cole on the back. The joy radiating off of Zachary’s face was evident to her. He missed his best friend as much as she did.
Marley’s feet brushed the ground while Cole’s arms held her up against him tightly. “No, I got as far south as Louisiana and for some reason felt the need to come back north. When I got to Virginia, I decided to stop by. You know I had to see my new leader.” She watched as he smiled proudly.
As if on cue, Kylie walked around the car holding the infant carrier. Demetri’s blue-green eyes stared at Cole intently. So much intelligence flashed behind his gaze. It never ceased to amaze Marley how much her son seemed to know things someone his age shouldn’t. He was the calmest baby she’d ever seen, minus meal time.
“There he is,” Cole said, putting her feet back on the ground. He leaned toward her son, sliding his arm from around her shoulders to her waist. Zachary smiled and looked back to Cole and Demetri.
“Wow, he’s grown. What in the world are you feeding him?” He traced his finger along Demetri’s chubby cheek. Quicker than what seemed possible for Marley to comprehend, her son’s mouth tried to latch on to his finger. He jerked it back just in time, laughing.
“Wow, he’s fast. I would expect nothing less from my future alpha.”
“Yes, well, he’s hungry. Let’s get him inside and I’ll feed him. Then we can visit before dinner.” Marley took the carrier from Kylie and led everyone inside.
Making her way upstairs she headed for the nursery. Her best friend was right behind her with a fresh bottle. Unhooking the buckles, Marley picked up her son and began rocking him in the wooden chair by the large opened windows. The sucking sounds he made from eating soothed the growing anxiety building inside her.
The way she reacted in the car when she felt the panic of Zachary stopping refreshed inside her mind. What was happening to her? Her skin felt like it literally had moved, like she would burst from it at any moment. The need to protect her son had turned automatic. Sure, she was his mother, but it was something so much more than that.
“What are you thinking about?” Kylie stared at her inquisitively. The frown darkening her face made Marley chew her lip. As much as she wanted to lie, she couldn’t, not to Kylie. Lowering her breath barely above a whisper, she tried to make sure her husband wouldn’t overhear.
“When I thought Zachary was going to pull over, I almost lost it. Kylie, it’s getting worse. My skin felt alive, like something was crawling around inside. All I could think about doing was protecting Demetri.” Marley ran her fingers through her hair, nervously. “There’s no telling what I would have done if he would’ve followed his instructs and actually stopped.
“You need to tell Zachary. I know you don’t want to worry him, but, Marley, if it’s getting that bad maybe you should see a doctor.”
“Why, so they can tell me it’s postpartum depression and drug me? No way!” Marley took a breath, trying to control her rising temper. It was also something she was having a problem with lately.
Lifting Demetri to her shoulder, she began to gently pat his back. “Kylie, promise me you’re not going to tell Zachary. I don’t want to concern him. He has so much on his mind lately with the pack. The last thing he needs to worry about is the sanity of his wife.”
“I told you this before, and I’ll tell you again. As long as you’re acting sane in my book, my lips are sealed. If I feel you’re not safe or something is wrong I’m going to my brother, my leader. I shouldn’t be hiding this from him to begin with, but you’re my best friend. I’ll keep your secret as long as I can.”
A ragged breath broke through her lips. “Thank you, Kylie, that’s all I can ask.”
While Marley began feeding her son again the thoughts about what could possibly be happening drifted along the lines of crazy and impossible. Things began to enter her mind that she didn’t even want to consider. It was bad enough that these new feelings left her questioning her sanity, but if her skin had actually moved, what did that mean?
Soon Demetri drifted to sleep in her arms, and Kylie took him, placing him in the crib. They both tip-toed out of the room, bringing the voice monitor with them.
“I should get ready for dinner.” Marley stretched her stiff limbs, feeling them pull. Every inch of her body ached from the tension of their earlier scare.
“Let me take the monitor while you get showered and changed. We’ll talk more, later. Zachary has pack business, and we’ll have privacy since he makes me stay here with both of you. The house will be empty, so we won’t have to worry about someone overhearing.”
Marley nodded and handed her the voice monitor. “If he wakes up come and get me.”
“Will do, sister dear,” Kylie purred, rolling her eyes playfully.
A smile broke across her face while she shook her head and walked in the direction of her and Zachary’s room. The moment she found herself alone in the hallway, she felt a sense of mental whiplash. She couldn’t help but wonder what was happening. Was she losing her mind? Or was it worse? Over and over, questions poured through until she was sure a headache was on the way. They repeated so fast Marley could hardly process what they were even saying.
The unstableness caused her to tremble in fear. Did she really want to question the truth, or had she known all along? Maybe her mind was just telling her to pay attention and focus on what she sensed was her new reality.
Flashes blinded her while an all too familiar voice echoed in her ears. Chills covered ever inch of her body, tightening her flesh and permeating to the bone. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear Jordan was standing behind her. No! She couldn’t believe that or even think about the last time she saw him. She’d spent months locking everything away in her mind, and locked they would stay.
Chapter 2
Marley opened her bedroom door and quickly turned, closin
g it. The need to rest her head against the wood and collect her thoughts was tempting, but she didn’t have time. Dinner would be served soon, and all she wanted to do was to get back downstairs around her family and friends. They proved to be the perfect distraction from having to think too much on her condition.
Heading toward the restroom, she almost fell over her feet at the abruptness of her stop. The sight of Cole standing at the foot of the bed, only clad in a towel, caused her heart to beat double time. The smile that edged across his face only made things worse. It had been so long since he had joined her and Zachary in their bed.
“Cole.” Marley wasn’t sure what to say. What exactly was he doing here? His room wasn’t but three doors down from theirs.
“Zachary seemed to think you wanted to see me, privately. Is that the case?”
The huskiness of Cole’s voice tightened her stomach, causing havoc to her insides. Not to mention the water that kept catching her eye as it dripped from his blond hair down to his tanned, muscular chest. It took all of her control not to rush over there and lick it off.
“Cole…” Still the words wouldn’t come to her mind. She couldn’t think with him standing there looking so damn edible.
* * * *
Cole didn’t give her a chance to think. Her scent told him enough. She wanted him. With Zachary’s permission, this was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
Marley haunted his dreams. Trying to find a mate proved impossible when all he could think about was his alphas. If he could have her just one more time, he was sure he could at least focus on finding someone else.
Projected Pleasure Page 1
